#//Cause it makes me feel bad at the idea of disrespecting it (which is maybe stupid) but I love him so much that I just??

[yanderes-galore]

Thank you so much for accepting mine early, I'm not sure how to confirm that it's me but if you need any sort of proof lemme know and I can dm you I suppose!

Anyway I wanted to ask for either headcanons or a scenario (if you need me to choose I'd choose a scenario, but I'm happy with either!) For Cicero in skyrim!! Reader is the listener, as per usual (in regards to reader inserts involving Cicero I mean, hehe). I like to think Cicero is Quite the devoted little guy, with a slight crush even before they become listener (specifically if the reader helps him at the Lorieus(sp?) Farm). Them becoming the listener was simply the nail in the coffin Already for him to fully dedicate himself to them <3

(Bonus: I think Cicero has a shrine of the reader in some way. Just little trinkets and tokens that either represent the listener or that used to even Belong to the listener and went "missing".)

Hope that's good enough flavour text!!! Again thank you for the early request acceptance, I really really appreciate it <3 <3

- Dirk Anon!

I decided last minute to merge the two Cicero requests as they both wanted a concept, I'll probably do a scenario later with the ideas I make in this! Sorry for the sudden change but I hope you enjoy regardless.

Yandere! Cicero Concept

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Stalking, Delusional behavior, Worship yandere, Manipulation, Murder/Death, Violence, Some disturbing descriptions, Blood, Jealousy, Dubious/Forced relationship

Cicero is certainly the delusional yet devoted type.

What makes him quite bad is he's an assassin.

Which means he's quite skilled and used to murder.

In fact he gets excited about it in voice lines.

You could've met him when his wagon broke or met him at the Dark Brotherhood.

(Personally I met him at the Dark Brotherhood since I fast travel too much)

His obsession is quick when he learns you're the listener yet subtle before that.

His first impression are you're just another new assassin.

New like him to this location.

He has a feeling you'll be good for the job but isn't sure why.

It isn't until you get a few jobs done and are then instructed by Astrid to spy on him that things click.

It's here he learns you're The Listener.

One meant to fulfill an important role for the Dark Brotherhood.

His obsession develops from here.

He now knows why you're so important.

Mother has picked you! While at first he was envious... he begins not to mind much.

He waits for you to come back from jobs and put pieces of the big plan to get rid of the Emperor.

As he is not your follower yet he's still a bit tame.

His obsession is mostly kept under wraps.

He does indeed steal some stuff from your room to make a small shrine dedicated to you and your work.

It's filled with random trinkets, weapons... fluids (blood).

He often praises you for your recent work and holds you in high regard.

He loves that you please Mother!

Even with the fall of the current Dark Brotherhood he sticks by you.

He doesn't feel bad that he attacked some members for disrespecting you and Mother.

If anything they deserved it.

He doesn't understand why you look so upset about it, either!

You had come to hunt him down to the old location of the Dark Brotherhood, he could see the annoyance on your face.

What probably solidifies his obsession is the mercy you give him.

You allowed him to live, maybe even using a healing spell before leaving.

He didn't see you again until you moved the Dark Brotherhood location and became the leader.

It's then he decides to show himself as your servant.

After that he never parts from you.

He had already moved his shrine to the older location before the fire caused by the failed assassination of the Emperor.

He even continues to grow his shrine as he follows you about.

He collects souvenirs from your assassinations and never stops following you.

He is devote to the Night Mother and you.

He loves how you yourself are dedicated to the job.

Regardless on if you like him or not, Cicero promises to help serve you in your duties.

Cicero has no problems with targeting those around you.

They could be people attacking you, or maybe he's even jealous you're giving new recruits attention.

Either way... Cicero is rather trigger happy.

He feels the best way to impress you is being stained in the aftermath of a job!

Surely you don't mind the sight of blood, you're used to that!

Cicero insists on coming to every assassination job you do.

He wants to witness your work!

He would not abduct you, no, you have way too much work!

Instead he just wants to follow and help!

He soaks in every bit of attention you give him like and eager sponge!

He isn't a big one for intimacy.

Although the slightest touch you give makes him pause for a moment.

Maybe he does like this?

Cicero would do anything to help aid you...

He wants to kill for you... he wants to do it a lot...!

More than anything... he wants your approval and praise as The Listener.

[khaire-traveler]

I don't want to be disrespectful but I'm feeling conflicted working with Hermes sometimes.

He's always been kind to me. I'm very grateful for that.

He has encouraged my passion for helping others especially the homeless and disabled. It's just so much discourse around me is telling me he's evil or at the very least dishonorable because he's apathetic and a trickster/thief. That he's only in my life because I'm amusing or easy to manipulate.

Gods aren't human and they're complicated. I just sometimes feel alone in my appreciation of him. I feel like I have to give up when it comes to talking about him around anybody else. Have you ever felt like this before in your practice? Thank you for listening.

***Please read this knowing I had good intentions and my tone is meant to be kind, respectful, and serious. I say this now because this feels like it may be a sensitive topic, and I don't want you to interpret this as me trying to be critical, rude, mean, etc. I promise I am not upset at you, Nonny. I know this was probably difficult for you to share.***

Hey, Nonny, thank you for entrusting me with this topic.

Honestly, I haven't seen any discourse about worshipping Hermes (keep in mind that this is the only social media, besides YouTube, that I use), but what you're describing sounds very similar to the discourse around worshipping Loki (I am a devotee of them as well). If you don't know about the discourse around Loki, I actually encourage you to look into it because it's a good example of how people will literally criticize a deity to hell and back, especially for things they did in myths or based on a person's random UPG.

The thing is, Nonny, that there is nuance in everything. Nothing is ever so neatly black and white or good and bad; there are always layers. Hermes is a god of thievery, yes, but have you considered that some people steal because they literally have no other access to basic needs, such as food or medication? Hermes is a trickster god, but have you considered that maybe it contributes to his love of laughter and fun? That in order to have a good time, sometimes you need to be witty and a bit chaotic? Being a god over these things is the same as Zeus being a god of storms: these things will happen passively, and it doesn't have to mean that god is making or causing something to happen. Just because someone gets their wallet stolen doesn't mean that Hermes was behind it. I guess it's kind of the idea that correlation does not equal causation.

About Hermes being apathetic, though, that's an absolutely ridiculous claim if I've ever heard one. In the myths, who tended to come to people's aid the most, unprompted? Hermes. Who has the epithet of joy-giver, ready-helper, and luck-bringer? Hermes. Who did some ancient shepherds pray to when their herds (their livelihood) were attacked, ancient beggars struggling to survive on the streets, ancient travelers who were terrified and lost their way? Hermes. Hermes is MUCH more than just a god of trickery and thievery. He is a god of the people. He genuinely cares about his worshippers, which literally every worshipper has told me that I've interacted with, and he takes good care of his devotees. I encourage you to research Hermes further and read about how he was worshipped in ancient times. Try to better understand who he is as a god; the view of him you're describing to me comes across as being rather black and white and disregards all of his other domains and aspects.

You need to know, Nonny, that I am someone who believes that the gods can and do love us. I believe that they can and do support us. I also believe they can and do make mistakes or upset us sometimes, but that doesn't make them (or us) evil, bad, or wrong. I believe that Hermes loves me and all his worshippers (and even others who don't actively worship him, I bet), but that's just my belief, similar to how these people talking about random Hermes discourse are simply expressing their beliefs. Remember, Nonny, that these people's beliefs are not facts. They do not dictate your life or your world view or your relationship with Hermes. Only you can decide how those things look for you. So I ask you, what do you believe? What do you believe is true about Hermes? What has he shown and expressed to you personally? How has he treated you? What has he helped you with? What has he done for you? Do you feel happy worshipping him? This is something that you need to settle within yourself. No one but you can give you the answer you're searching for.

Maybe it would also help for you to look into any potential religious or personal trauma you have and see if that is also affecting your relationship with Hermes. I did this a while back, and it was immensely helpful for me personally. I can't say that I ever viewed Hermes as being evil or anything like that, but I did have some trauma that was making me anxious about spirituality and worship in general. I recommend looking into anything that you may be dealing with as well.

If you feel something is not right within your personal relationship with Hermes, that's something you need to directly communicate with him about. Get his opinions, his insight, and even his advice, if you want it. I think it'd really help you to speak with him as directly as you can about this topic. And you know, if you are really having a hard time worshipping this god, then maybe it just isn't meant to work for now, and that's perfectly ok. It's normal not to get along or click with every deity ever. There are some deities I personally don't worship simply because I don't feel we click well, and that's ok. It's the same as how some humans just don't mix with each other well; you simply go your separate ways and continue on.

When it comes to being alone while worshipping Hermes in the community, I do understand how you feel, but to combat those feelings of loneliness, I try to actively surround myself with other blogs and people who worship or venerate Hermes. There are actually quite a lot of blogs on Tumblr that worship him; it's simply a matter of seeking them out intentionally. I don't know how it is on other social media, however. If you use TikTok (specifically PaganTok), I would actually straight-up encourage you to not. Not for spiritual stuff, anyway. People spread misinformation there like a fucking wildfire, and you will find an overabundance of hatred and ignorance in all its forms. I deleted TikTok specifically because of PaganTok, and it was literally the best choice I've ever made for myself. I encourage you to do the same if that is the issue for you.

Anyway, I wish you the best of luck on your journey ahead. I hope this answer helped you in some way. Regardless of what happens with Hermes, I hope you find deities you worship that blend well with you and help you grow as a person. Remember that you are never required to worship a deity if they make you uncomfortable. I feel that's just important to say in general. Gods will be respectful of the fact that you're not, or no longer, interested. They're thousands upon thousands of years old; they have the maturity to accept your rejection respectfully.

No matter what happens, Nonny, you will be ok. Please take care, and have a good day/night. 🧡

[crguang]

i feel growing up with kafka as a parent would make the kids have high standards. maybe kafka would set an example by always giving R gifts in front of them and other romantic gestures. she needs to teach them how to pull and be a gentle(wo)man!!!!

bit delusional here but she'd always brag about she pulled R while probably gives a side eye from afar.

she is a very chill parent ane probably lets her kids get away with a lot while R is about to die from a heart attack caused by some much stress 😭😭

i think if her kids ever disrespected her or R or maybe got themselves in danger, she'd get pretty mad. so mad maybe even R has to break it off.

so sorry for the part 2 ramble, but like this AU idea eats my brain like thank you sat ☝️☝️ love kafka, i need to cannabilize her and like analyze her by like doing brain surgery or something...

YESSSSSS i swear kafka can be so romantic because she’s very perceptive and a smug little shit so she’d love to come home with flowers or chocolates or other gifts just for that small smile on your face and she’d pat herself in the back each time. the kids grow up witnessing how protective she is even if shes a laidback person, she’d never stand for disrespect towards R and she’d be very firm about that so they see firsthand how she treats their other parent and they’d interiorize that as normal. kafka tells them to never settle even if their mom settled for her while R is in earshot and rolls their eyes ghdhdjfkg. but yes since she’s the fun parent, when she gets mad it’s really a sight. she doesn’t raise her voice but if they see those pursed lips? abort abort abort. still, i feel like she’d be the one they’d call when they’re in trouble because shes very resourceful and will resolve the situation in a clean manner but that comes at the price of her disapproval which hurtsssss. she’s quiet on the ride back and the whole time her kid’s anxiously waiting for the other shoe to drop but right before they leave the car she just goes, “never do this again.” and her tone is so chilling they really never do that again 😭😭 i think it’d take a lot for her to erupt, i generally feel like her anger is the more quietly simmering type so if R has to break the fight up then it’s something super serious fr

kafka would be so essential as the type of parent who lets their kid explore, take risks and get hurt because that’s how you build confidence and a good self-esteem in children. overprotection can be harmful and lead to anxious children who don’t feel good enough to do the things they wanna do so kafka being laidback and going “relax, they’re fine” whenever her kid takes risks is so important. obviously she’d never let them get too hurt and is always keeping an eye on them but she’s necessary to balance out the anxiety of parenting i feel like. she understands a human body’s limits like she might seem careless at times but i believe she’s great when it comes to making sure a child is safe. she’s strong, has quick reflexes and isn’t opposed to going low if it comes to it so imo she’d be a good parent on that front

never apologize for rambling about kafka, in fact i forbid it from now on… i wanna eat her ughhh i miss her so these asks make me very happy. i love kafmom so bad

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

Hey, Michelle! I'm a night owl, which is why I'm still up at 1 a.m. 🦉

I have a question for you, and it may be a tough one considering how many awesome stories you've written, but...

Which story are you most proud of? If it's easier, one series, one one-shot. 😆💕

I'm a night owl too! Which is why it's so unfortunate I have to start my workday at 7am 😂

Stories I'm most proud of, hm? Well that is definitely not the easiest question, especially considering the volume of them! So I'm going to cheat juuuuust a little bit and keep the list to under 10 (you may want coffee, wine and/or snacks cause this turned into a novel):

The Daughter!Reader Fic With More Timestamps Than Parts (😂)

Probably the one series I'm most proud of because of the impact it's had on my readers is A Place to Call Home (or APTCH as it's been affectionately dubbed around here). And it's a funny little story to me to have that special designation because it really shouldn't be so popular. It's a Jensen x foster daughter!reader story which is so niche in the first place. I don't really read daughter!reader stories myself so I really have no idea why I wanted to write this one. I held onto it for almost a year after it was written because I thought I'd get such a negative reaction to it for being weird, disrespectful, you name it. Yet, it's turned into this never-ending saga that I get told over and over is one thing: comforting. It's such a simple story, a girl who needs a family but has been so hurt she's given up on the idea of one and a man who will do whatever it takes to show her she's worthy of love. And it's that story over time from a scared 17 year old high school kid to a young woman falling in love, figuring out her own career, navigating her own family, her own adulthood and how overtime that relationship with Jensen grows and changes as it does for all of us with parents as we grow up. Having people who were actually in foster care/were adopted/are foster/adoptive parents themselves reach out and say it captures a lot of those real life feelings and desires is still probably the best compliment I've ever gotten. For every situation there is, good or bad, I've been told it's a pick me up by so many and for that I will always be proud of this one.

The Canon-esque, "Hey this is like a post-show movie"

Staying in canon is fun. Staying in canon at a point beyond the show? That's even more fun for me. Beautiful Loser was really my first crack at, "hey what could a post series finale pickup look like?" Bring in some kids, bring in good ole fashioned hunter paranoia, bring in a creepy little kid...this one felt like writing an episode of SPN and I'm SOOO happy with how it turned out! The lore, the ups and downs, damn it still gets me.

The Arranged Marriage Political Thriller

I mean, Unconventional originally was supposed to be a fun little ABO quirky arranged marriage story and then...then it became "this idea of being lesser is the shit women have to deal with even in the real world". I didn't intend to write that story but it ended up going there and I'm incredibly proud of the message it puts out there that change is hard, change requires sacrifice sometimes, but not everyone is bad and if you fight for it, sometimes you can make a real difference.

The Fast Paced Detective Story

39 Hours was the first story I ever wrote based on the aesthetic and one of the first cop!Dean stories I did. I wrote it like a good thriller mystery. The clock is ticking down faster and faster. The protector is a grump with maybe a soft side? The victim isn't weak and some threat is looming in the air. This was such a departure for me to write a long condensed story like this too but it broke open that avenue for me and I still consider this one of my favorite stories I've done.

The Body Issues One

It's such a trope of women having body issues but what about if the guy had them too? Because we know they do they do, they just talk about it so much. And we all always call Jensen that male model SOB so a model Dean was faaar too tempting. Now give the reader some physical scars from an accident Dean's own dad caused, a father who's disowned Dean for his career choice...we've got two people who very much seem themselves as broken yet can't see it in one another. This was a heavy topic on a lot of fronts to work in Broken Like Me but I'm really happy with the messaging that comes through.

The Jensen Shower Pics Inspired One

Thank god for Jensen Ackles cause this one wouldn't have existed without those shirtless late night pics. ABO has always been an interesting world I like to push the boundaries of but this was my first real attempt at going big, adding my own rules and boundaries. Coming up with the new science, adding the mystery elements, adding that growing sexual tension...yeah Feral is my favorite ABO story I've ever done hands down.

The Best RPF I'll Ever Write

RPF isn't for everyone but if you only ever read one by me, it's got to be If I Fell For You by a landslide. A Jensen x nanny!reader fic can be, let's just say, really easy to screw up. They can go down routes I don't like to go. But this story deals with so many themes that are worthwhile. Grief. Loss. Learning to love again. Parental love and when it's lacking. Forgiveness and pain. It hurts so good is the best way to put this one. And the safety net analogy I came up with in Part 4 is something I'm particularly proud of.

Making You Forgive The Asshole

I know you in particular will understand this Zep but writing a redemption story for Soldier Boy is fucking hard. It's really easy to watch the show and go he's awful but he's so cute, he can do whatever he wants. Throw in an actual reader and suddenly him being walking sin ain't gonna cut it. Writing character growth realistically can be hard. It can be ever harder when we got like a grand total of 15 mins of screen time with that character. I was nervous as hell to write Thunder In Our Hearts quite honestly. So when I got the reaction that I didn't screw it up felt so, so good. Now I can't wait to do it again with The Villain's Protector! 😉

I'm quite proud of myself for narrowing this down to 8 fics lol. There are many more I could list but these are the big hitters! And thank you for the trip down memory lane! 🥰

[wrylu]

ugh thats too real like sometimes i feel too overwhelmed to know / understand(?) what im feeling nd my head starts to hurt😓😓 ALSO WHY RU SKIPPING BREAKFAST??? u need to eat luuuu :(

NOO school is praying on ur downfall like why ughh BUT I BELIEVE IN U i believe u passed them <3 !! omg twinsies cuz im doing math in tooo!! UGH PROCRASTINATION WILL BE THE DEATH OF US rip mkmi + lu

ugh i wish i was a silly little npc :((( no worries just living!!!! omg yesyesyes do what makes u happy lu cuz u need a break!!!!! draw all the middle aged wives u want!!!!!!

what the fuck??? whoever did that to u WILL get their just deserves cuz how miserable is ur life that ur gonna disrespect someone?? like how bad is ur life hello..... ( and ofc i care / srssrssrs<33 )

NO ITS OKAU talking a lot is the best trait ever i love it!!!!!

STOP THE SAME HAPPENED TO ME UGH I WAS ABT TO GO ON AN HOUR LONG RANT BUT THEN FORGOT MID THOUGHT

hellow 'gain mimi..........,,.... sorry i didn't answer earlier 😓😓 insert a poorly made excuse here....

ANYWAY

LOOK II...... UHM I SAID I'M OKAY!!! /srs I REALLY AM TGOUGH my food schedule thing is kinda messed up so when i eat breakfast niw i feel sick........ Which isn't great BUTT i'm healthy i swear !!! /gen i think

SCHOOL HHATES ME AND MANY OTHER. PEOPLE....... it's unfortunate really i'm just a bug.........,. I ACTUALLY DID DJDGSGGSGAA I got full points I really thought j wouldnt maybe that's just my doubtful-ness talking BUTUTTTT :3333 we are so twinning 🎀🎀 REAL........ I procrastinate everything and I have no idea why!!! i need help!! /sil in loving memory of lulu and miso soup........,.. (i misread "US" as u.s like the usa I'M SOBVING)

SAME but like id be a homeless npc that you can choose to kill or not and the majority of players kill them you know??? or is that just really weird and specific i don't know I just Talk. I guess!!! HSHSHSH i did actually draw my wives!!!! they're so epic dude i love old men!!!!!! <333 they keep me going evry day....,... /sil

IT WAS TWO OF MT FRIENDS AND I HAD TO LITERALLY YELL AT THEM IN CHAT WHILE WE WERE IN HOMEROOM😭😭 it was mostly just one cause he kept spamming my deadname cause he thought it was Erm.... getting my attention🥲 i'm okay though!!!! :3 (thank you for caring that's a really strange thing to be thankful for but i'm odd like that!!!!<3/gen)

JSHSHDG I just feel like!!!!! I don't know!! but thank you :3

JEHRHELP.....we are twinning so hard dude!! /sil/pos dare I put the ribbon emoji again ,,,,,,,,,,,🎀🎀🎀

[the-martyrfication-of-the-matron]

You can pick this apart if you want, cause I am definitely uninformed on the topic, but I think that lets me give a bit of neutral input I wanted to add to the conversation to see what people who do know about it have to say, but basically I think the “Overbearing Demeter” characterization is like...kind of the modern aspect of some of those retellings? People are drawn to that characterization over “Grieving mother” because in the society these retellings are made in, women (and really all people) do tend to have like? A bit more agency over their love lives, and sometimes their biggest adversaries are their parents. The idea of a mother not wanting to give up her daughter to her husband just doesn’t often mean because no one has a choice in the matter, it often means it’s because the mother doesn’t respect the daughter’s choice or doesn’t see her daughter as her own person or as an adult. I think maybe this characterization evolved not out of disrespect but because that’s the type of a story a reader, or writer, is more likely to feel seen and resonate with, which may also be why it’s touted as feminist because people think that because it resonates mlre with them Now that it must’ve not been feminist before, when it reality it’s just feminist about an issue we don’t face as often in this western society.

But again. I don’t actually know a lot about myths and the retellings or anything, my brain just saw a possibility as to Why things may be how they are.

I get the idea of what you’re saying, the ‘overbearing mother’ is more relatable. But the fact is, we have so much of that in media.

To bring this back around again, (and to preface, I’m not an expert, this is all from personal study) Persephone being taken to the underworld, whether consensually or otherwise, is a metaphor for arranged marriage/dying young, and Demeter grieving her daughter after losing her, and fighting to get her back. Of course, the Arranged marriage thing isn’t very relatable any more, at least not so much amongst the general western population. So to focus on the death,

There are ways to do this, and have Persephone choose Hades. Mental Health is very topical now, y’know, and having a story of a young girl choosing to go to the underworld, choosing Hades, choosing death, could be very meaningful, especially when this is then followed up by having her mother grieve for her, and fight to get her back, and want to make things better for her again. Retellings could twist the tale any way they want to, make it so Persephone takes the pomegranate seeds knowing what it means, but not being able to take herself away from the world of the living forever.

But there’s this big latch onto the concept of Big Evil Mother, Who won’t let her daughter be happy. Instead of trying to find ways to keep the positive mother/daughter bond between Persephone and Demeter.

Because as much as feminism is ‘letting women have agency’, feminism is also not demonising women for… being women. Because that’s what Demeter’s story is. In this Hymn, she is a grieving mother. And of course there can be bad women in media, I’m not saying that there can’t be, but to twist a figure into a villain solely for the sake of ‘feminism’ when the sake of their story is to provide a comfort to women is… odd

Because the thing is, to modernise a tale, it’s not about modernising the plot but also the moral, the meaning. It was meant to comfort grieving mothers, by showing a grieving mother taking power and bringing back the daughter she has lost. Even from Persephone’s perspective, it’s about her mother loving her so much that her mother brings her back from the underworld, and Persephone then using her knowledge as queen of the underworld to comfort those who are scared of dying. It’s about comforting those who have lost and those who are lost.

And my problem with the overbearing Demeter trend is that they entirely forget that.

I haven’t done enough study into different iterations, perhaps there are some which portray Demeter that way, but I don’t have to in order to know that, regardless, people don’t care about those versions, they care about what they want to say and they don’t put in the effort to find the versions of the myths that dance to the same tune they’re playing. I’d love to see thematically faithful retellings, even with Demeter overstepping. But that’s not what’s happening.

[cool-cowboy]

Summary:

In which Leon is the priest of your church, a very kind and noble man, who you, against the church’s (and your shitty husband’s) wishes have grown quite fond of, confession being one of the few times you get to relish the one on one attention. Little do you know, your godly priest has been having some not so godly thoughts about you as well.

I have literally no idea. Leon in a sweet caring kind of way, but kinda out of character, since he's a 1600's priest and speaks hopefully like one. A bit of a historical thing, the idea popped into my head and I did some research, and found out it used to be pretty common for married women to enjoy their confessions, often falling for the men on the other side of the wall.

Tags:

Alternate Universe - Medieval, Catholicism, Catholic Guilt, Adultery, Confessional Sex, sex in the confession booth, Dominant Leon S. Kennedy, Dirty Talk, Clothed Sex, Priests, Priest Leon S. Kennedy, Oral Sex, Rough Oral Sex, Making Out, Semi-Public Sex, Eye Contact, Penis In Vagina Sex, Come Shot, Skirts

Blurb:

“You find me godly?”

“Perfectly… Though you are the cause of many other's sins, so perhaps you are sinful…”

Text:

“Bless me father, for I have sinned. My last confession was Wednesday.” He’s staring at me, in his usual way, open and accepting, ready to hear all about my wrong-doings, one of them a cardinal sin, no less. I’m not sure what it is, why he has such a draw, roping me in and making me forget my teachings over and over, his looks and person much too sinful for such a godly man. “I was rude, I spoke unkind words to Stephan. I refused him… When, um, when he-”

“There is no judgment here, only forgiveness. There’s no need to be nervous.” I nod, not looking at him, embarrassed to be confessing yet another tiff with my husband, sure the father is tired of hearing about my disrespect. He reaches through the little door, something he’s not supposed to do, but often does, getting my attention or soothing me down after a particularly nasty sin is disclosed, something that only causes further sin, the feel of his kind hands always forcing some further than friendly thoughts into my mind, never fessed up in my confessions, which is probably my biggest offense to god to date. He makes me look at him, tilts my head up by my chin, stares at me in his quiet, sweet way, soft eyes always able to draw out my deepest secrets without much prompt. “Tell me.” He always seems more interested to hear about my transgressions toward my husband, for why I don’t know, but it’s better than the harsh judgement of my childhood priest, anyways, so I try not to dwell too much.

“He wanted to… Bed me. I refused… It’s my duty to bear children, but I- He isn’t… I hate him.” The truth, something I’ve been toeing the line of for a while, only confessing the passing sins rather than my most heinous one, but he’s known all along, doesn’t seem surprised at all when I meet his eyes, maybe a little amused, but I don’t believe that, he has no reason to be, only reason to assign me a hefty penance.

“I see… That is… Quite the confession. Don’t look so fearful, miss, you know I’m a believer in earning your keep, and it doesn’t seem Mr. Belman is trying his best to do so.” My throat’s dry, my swallow barely making it down, his eyes on my making me sweat, my skirts making me feel a little faint, claustrophobic in the small booth. “A bad man does not deserve a woman as godly as you, at least I don’t see him as fit.” He’s not meant to give his opinion, only fact, that or prompt me to better help me lay my secrets out to him, but he always tries to make me feel better, in a way, for the wrongs I’ve committed, well aware of my repentance, and my desire to do better.

“You find me godly?” I’m really not, most ladies who attend the mass are a whole lot more godly than me, almost perfect Catholics. He smiles, soft and kind, making me sin all over again, though I’m unsure what I can do to keep from sinning in this way, my thoughts not easily controlled, especially for him, a man no woman has ever had the pleasure of pleasing, a man who’s devoted his whole being to serving the lord, but still manages to be entirely enticing, his unattainableness adding a sinful edge to his allure.

“Perfectly… Though you are the cause of many other's sins, so perhaps you are sinful…” He’s amused, and I’m confused, not an idea what he means by that. I stare at him, not incredibly eager to get on with my confession, more than willing to let him keep talking as long as he likes. “You’re an object of many’s affections, miss, and envy as well…” He’s going against his oath, speaking of other’s sins outside their own confessions, giving me a shred of all that he knows, offering it up with a relaxed expression, watching me, assumedly waiting on me to continue telling him, but I’m not ready yet, need a little longer, a few more moments of his soft stare before I tell him, tear down the image he’s painted of me in his head, desecrate his idea of me.

“Father..? Who do you confess to?” He smiles, only a little, amused for some secret reason, his gaze a little hazy, his hands smoothing down the front of his robe, the sound of him clearing his throat a little loud in the small space.

“Myself, I suppose… Though there’s something I find more suitable to confess to you.” My brows draw down, unsure why he’d have anything to confess to me, if he’s able to repent and move on without any type of formal confession, but I wait patiently, not wanting to sin again by disrespecting the father. He doesn’t say anything for a few seconds, just stares at me with his head tilted a little to one side, his gaze hazy, his smile barely pulling at one side of his lips, his face close to mine, just on the other side of the little confessional door, his breath warm on my skin. “Forgive me miss, for I have sinned.” He watches me, signing a cross over his chest, a little slow, the anticipation making me feel feverish, wet palms wiped on the front of my skirts while I wait, not bringing my eyes from him, wary to miss a second of his terribly enticing gaze. “I have committed the sin of lust. My craving for you is ungodly, and I have performed self-pleasing adultery to the mere thought of you too many times to count.” I have not a single clue what to say, just stay perfectly still, feeling sick at the pleased feeling burning my skin, flaming and not at all what I should feel in response to his reveal.

“Father, I-”

“I am sorry for this and all my sins.” He doesn’t seem sorry, more confused, staring at me in a way that makes me near fainting, all heat and intensity, trying to unravel his own desires. “You may continue.” I swallow, looking down at my hands, now much too afraid to tell him, to reciprocate his lust, unable to do anything about it, aware I’m bound to Stephan, and he is never to be wed.

“I told a lie.” It isn’t something I usually need to confess, I’m not even sure why I did it, needlessly covering up my actions to keep Stephan as far from figuring out my adulterous thoughts as possible, though he’d never suspect a tryst between the father and I. “I told Stephan I was going to the market on Wednesday, when I came to see you.” I let my eyes come up, flitting from my lap to his hands, clasped over his lap, up to his face, seeming a little pleased, adding to my unease, his feelings now out in the open, glad to be a subject of sin for me as well, I suppose. The others are being noisy, the church overly full today, the last session before Christmas, eager to be forgiven.

“Why did you lie?” I look back down, unwilling to look at him when I tell him, give him the satisfaction of reciprocated lustful feelings and actions.

“I didn’t want him to become suspicious.” He hums, ducking down a little to draw my eyes back up, looking at me pleasedly, not at all bashful in the way he should be, never the one to be shy, always so open, even now, after he’s told me about his self-pleasing to me.

“Suspicious?” He’s enjoying himself, too casual to be questioning me about what has become so glaringly obvious, backing me into a figurative corner and forcing it out of me, something he’s entirely too good at, receiving confession after confession and helping numerous work through their own minds.

“I have committed the sin of lust.” He’s looking at me, not that I can see, my eyes cast down at his hands, listening to the sounds of people mulling about outside, stretching out the quiet between us to steel myself for what I say next. “I’ve been having impure thoughts about you, father. Please forgive me.” He hums, one of his hands lifting up out of my view, this whole thing making me feel sick from guilt, adulterous behavior one of the few things I never thought would be something I’d have to speak to him about.

“Is that all?” I nod, finally looking at him, his eyes always on me, never showing me any less attention, offering up his services in maybe a little less selfless of a way than I used to suspect. “Then I assume it’s time to assign your penance…” He runs his hand down over his lap, his other in the space of the little window, gripped over the little ledge there, crossing over into my space, the hand on his lap drawing back up slowly, his eyes a little cloudy, dazed, almost. “I have to say… The lord will forgive you, no matter the sin, miss, you’re saved.” It seems almost like a suggestion, though maybe I’m just imagining it, hoping for something I really and truly shouldn’t, something the opposite of righteous, one of the most evil and depraved wants possible. “Perhaps… Indulgence is our solution.” He stares at me, unmoving, giving me the choice, offering something so enticing, so terrible in nature I’d be damned to accept, looking at me in such a bold way after uttering something so forward.

“Father… Are you suggesting..?” He’s touching me, running rough fingers over the side of my jaw, our faces close, closer now that he’s leaning toward the little window, all of him seeming larger, more masculine than I would usually find him, his comfort fading into a simmering nervousness as I wait on his reply.

“I’ve satisfied myself in your name countless times, miss, and not once has it settled the need, not even diminished it, only choked it down until I can’t keep it at bay any longer. I am a man of God, but with all my devotion you’re the one and only thing I’ve ever found myself helpless to resist.” My breathing’s gone uneven, his hands on my face and in his lap, stroking softly, both soothing me and indulging in his desire, a soldier of God, succumbing to the same earthly pleasures as me. “Our penance. Finding a way to dispel this need, holding ourselves accountable for time spent lost in the other, returning that time to our father, pleading his forgiveness for our frailties.” He’s leaning close, face nearly passing the frame of the window, eyes cast down at my lips, his parted and slick, all of him so very enticing, especially like this, so far gone he can’t even deny himself this, and neither can I, my lips flush with his the next second, sealing my fate, an adulterer and a sinner, depraved and dirty and lustful, all for him.

The kiss is nothing like what I’ve come to expect, separate from the necessary, rushed kisses of my husband, this kiss searing, sending a wave of heat over me, the passion of it making me faint, all the want I’ve been keeping quiet to myself passing between us, his hand slipping back and into my hair, keeping me close, our indiscretion between only us and God, a sin kept quiet, the act horrible, but so satisfying I have no reason to believe God would be against me indulging.

“Father…” We’re both breathing heavy, lost in the admittance and act of sin, his hair messier than I’ve ever seen it, his lips rosy and shiny with shared saliva. “The others are waiting…” He sighs, drawing me back in by his grip on my hair, speaking in his quiet, comforting way half an inch from my lips.

“And they will.” He gives me no time to offer a response, goes back to pressing warm, careful kisses to my lips, his pace a little faster, his breathing shaky as mine, the booth heating up from labored breaths, muggy and heavy with shared desire. “Lord… You’re… Truly breathtaking… A temptress… My own personal test…” He pulls back, letting go of me, standing himself up, face hidden behind the wood above the window, his waist a little below my eye level, his robes hanging heavy, a reminder of his promise to the lord, now broken. “I’ve failed our father… But I will not fail you… Sink to the floor, miss, show me your devotion to your penance.” I meet his command, slipping off the bench and onto my knees, a little unsure, not quite understanding why I’d be on the floor if he intends to take me. “I’ll tend to you shortly, miss, just- for now… I need a bit of preparation.” He shuffles his robes out of the way, exposing himself to me, his manhood larger than I thought possible, more than twice the size of my husband’s, and I wonder how it’ll fit, if it can. “Take me inside your mouth, miss. Close your perfect lips around me and let me feel what I've long awaited.” He’s holding onto himself, waiting for me to comply while running his hand up and down, his body revealed to me for the first time, unexpectedly muscular, legs and some of his midsection bare for my greedy eyes.

I close my lips over him, only the first inch, unsure what he wants me to do, his hand leaving its place to stroke across my jaw, back into my hair, gripping what slips between his fingers, his hand pulling me in, sliding himself inside my mouth, a small pleasured sound passing his lips sending an odd sensation through me, some sickly hot satisfaction. He’s leaning his free arm on the wood above me, his head downturned, his eyes hidden from my view by the wood of the booth, his mouth gaping in pleasure, his chest heaving beneath his robes, cross around his neck swinging as he moves against me, a reminder of our frailty, our unworthiness of God’s image.

“Ah- You’re… This feeling is… Lord forgive me… For I will sin again…” His teeth are gritted, his hand pulling me in a little closer, my throat tightening around him startling me, his pleasured noise deep and pleasant when I press my hands to his thighs to get a breath, sputtering embarrassingly, his hand smoothing my hair helping me calm back down. “Forgive me… I got carried away…” He’s ducked down to look at me, seeming perturbed, stroking at my hair, his cross drawing my eyes before I look back up at him, slipping my fingers up the underside of his manhood, watching him, his pleasured noise sending a searing shock down to my privates, my mouth closing back around him, moving on my own, humming when he allows it, just keeps his hand on the back of my head, guiding me, his head rested back on his forearm, my eyes on the lower half of his face, the portion I can see, his expression looking pained from the pleasure, teeth ground tight, jaw clenched with stress, my hand running over his exposed stomach making him flinch, his length twitching between my lips. “Wicked girl… You’re-hah- ruining me… Turned me into a damned-!” He pulls me back, my lips leaving him with an obscene amount of saliva, smeared over him and connecting him back to my lips, his hand slipping forward to tilt my head up toward him, his eyes back in my view, looking down at me, his thumb stroking the mess on my lips. "I won’t let this end until I’ve shown you all that a lover can be, miss. Surely this isn’t what you’ve sought after… I can offer you more… you need only relax and let me show you…” He wraps his fingers over my bicep, pulling me gently up until I stand before him, his hand pushing me gently back to seated on the little bench, his fingers finding my upper legs through layers of skirts, running slowly up, giving me an awful sense of yearning, the feeling pleasurably painful, sickening, his cross swinging at eye level while he's doubled over reminding me I should be ashamed to be satisfied in any way from something so heinous.

“Father, what’re you-” He drags me, fingers tight on my legs, pulling me until my hips rest on the six inches of wood separating my space and his, my upper body laid on the bench, propped on my elbows, only a couple inches lower than the window.

“You’ve bewitched me, truly… Made me insatiable… My lust for you is painful, forcing me to succumb to your allure time and time again… Now you’ll see what you’ve done to me, feel the craving- the need I have for you, firsthand…” He sinks to his knees, keeping his eyes on my face, my elbows digging into the wood a little uncomfortable, but the look in his eyes keeps me from breaking my gaze from his, watching him as he pushes up on my skirts, leaving them pooled at my waist, my undergarments unobscured, his hand making its way back down to grip to my ankle, his skin scalding hot against me, lifting until my leg is in line with his lips, his head turned to the side to press his lips to my inner ankle, his gaze on me as he trails his way up, leaving saliva along his path up the inside of my leg, the whole display more pleasurable than probably anything I’ve ever experienced. “I know how to please you… I’ll be sure to satisfy your ungodly desires… Leave you so perfectly complacent you’ll never let anyone else bed you…” He finishes his kissing, pausing with his lips pressed to my lower thigh, easing my foot down on the bench just behind him, my knee bent, his hand moving to my other ankle, easing it up to repeat the process, drawing it out, kissing unbearably slow, looking at me in a lustful, entirely sinful way.

“Father? It’s… There are people outside… Shouldn’t we… Hurry this along?” He smiles, eyes creasing in such a beautiful way, his hand guiding my foot to rest on his other side, his head between them, shoulders just below my knees.

“Impatient woman… Confess it.” He lets his hands slide up the outsides of my legs, fingers pausing on the waist of my undergarments, his eyes peering at me, intense and masculine, commanding in his calm, even-toned way. I’m having trouble keeping my breathing even, the anticipation of his promise hanging heavy, blanketing the cramped space, the people milling about outside the booth making me wary to be caught.

“I have committed the sin of impatience. I don’t want to wait, forgive me.” He smiles, pulling down, exposing me to him, pulling my legs back one after the other to rid me of the pesky clothing, his eyes cast down once he’s finished, his expression clouded and lustful, his chest heaving, eyes a little low as he takes me in, bare before him, willing and ready to commit a cardinal sin for him.

“You’re forgiven… Now I must confess…” He leans forward, hands sliding up the back of my thighs before gripping to my skin, both of us clammed up from the suffocating heat of the space, his warm breath against me making me shiver. “I have committed the sin of envy… Stephan is the luckiest man in history… To have a woman as phenomenal as you… I’m truly envious, in utter disbelief he has not a clue how incredibly beautiful you look when you enjoy yourself…” He presses a finger against me, startling me, all of this foreign, his thumb trailing up wetness that usually comes much later, once Stephan is nearly done, his slippery finger pressing a couple inches above my entrance making me flinch, the feeling shocking, pleasant in a tight, unexpected fashion. “Ah… Perfection… I wasn’t sure… But that monk really did figure out the secrets of women…” I have no idea what he’s speaking about, all I know is this pleasure is foreign, tight and nearly too much, his thumb rubbing softly up and down as he watches me, seeming pleased to confirm I can feel in this way. “I was told a woman can achieve the same type of euphoria as men… I hope I’m well-equipped enough to give you at least one climax… I’ll try my best, miss, in God’s name.” I’m trembling, the feeling building into something far more than what it began, a sickening tension, my muscles wound tight, teeth gnashed and head leaned back onto the wall, his thumb pulling away releasing the tension building, his look amused.

“What’s… Why..?” He laughs, fanning hot air against me, his lips pressing to the place his thumb just left, his smile widening when I gasp and squirm, bag hands on my thighs holding me still as he uses his tongue, letting out a soft pleasured noise at the flavor, or the action, I’m not entirely sure.

“Forgive me… I couldn’t go without a taste… My god… You’re the most divine thing I’ve ever laid eyes on… the most raw and formidable temptation I’ve ever had the pleasure of letting ruin me…” He’s rubbing me again, pressure more firm than before, sure of himself, the satisfying tension coming back quicker than before, my eyes on him, the sight of him with my wetness smeared over his skin drawing a pleasured noise from deep in my chest, my breathing more frantic than I can ever remember, my legs trembling lightly from his ministrations, his gaze holding mine, his skin a rosy pink, lips flushed red. “You are my ultimate desire… An itch that has been gnawing, working away at me… Tearing me away from the lord… luring me into a pleasant trap…” I’m barely registering his low words, drawled with his cheek pressed to my skin, the tight pleasure clouding my mind, blanketing me in the feeling. “You’re nearly there… So beautiful… Keep your eyes on me… Face what you’ve done… Given into lust… Taken me down your depraved path as well… Don’t fret, your sins are forgiven… So get on with it, show me how blasphemous you are… deriving pleasure from being bedded, let this be for your pleasure and that alone… There, that’s it, you’re doing so well, trembling so beautifully, making those sweet sounds for me…” The feeling peaks, my body convulsing, drawing in on itself, the pleasure hot and tight, all of me clenched tight, his fingers pausing, my eyes barely open to heed his order, looking into his eyes, his expression pleased and lax. “I could never receive enough of this… Watching you come undone before me, my actions giving you this much pleasure…” I feel droopy when I come down, slumped on the bench, legs lax and open around his head, his expression entirely pleased, glad. “Let me inside.” He pulls me, and I let him, stood up in front of him after a few seconds, waiting on him to sink inside, my skirts and his robes making it seem nearly impossible, but he doesn’t make any move to bury himself inside, only meets my lips in a searing kiss, his body flush against mine, pressing me into the wall of the booth, my body feeling overly hot, both of us sweating, his face shiny with perspiration and my mess he’s neglected to wipe away.

“Father… Please… I’ve already confessed my impatience.” He laughs, low and sinful, the softened pleasure coming back, my body ready for him, likely more ready than ever before. He pulls up on my skirts, though they’re getting in the way, bunched up to my waist when he gives me a look, pressing my hand overtop my lower abdomen to hold them up, his hand gripping his manhood, pressing toward my entrance, rubbing lightly at that pleasurable spot, my low pleased noise muffled in the chest of his robe, his cross pressed cold to my overheating cheek.

“I wouldn’t like to hurt you… express any discomfort, miss, I’ll move slowly…” He pushes, pressing slowly inside, the feeling a little like the sting of antiseptic, his length and girth well over what I’m used to, but not painful, the wetness he caused allowing him to slip inside without incident, pressing tight inside, the full feeling filling some carnal, animalistic desire. “I’ll spill it outside… I won’t desecrate you too harshly…” He pulls back, pressing back inside equally slow, his hand sliding down to clasp around the inner side of my knee, drawing it up to parallel with my hip, his eyes on mine as he moves, slow, passionate and careful in a perfectly unexplainable way, the pleasing feeling of his eyes on mine prompting me to let my head lean back onto the wood, gazing up at him in a way that is surely embarrassingly wanton, but he doesn’t mind, just tucks his chin, gazing down at the place we’re connected, brows drawing together as a low rumble rips through his chest. “Is this… Are you in-hah- pain?” I shake my head, holding up my skirts a little higher, my other hand trapped between my chest and his stomach, gripped tight to his robes. “Confess… Bare your sins to the-ah lord-!” He speeds up his movement, the sound of skin hitting skin tearing pleased noises out of the both of us, his grip going a little tighter on my knee, his eyes holding mine captive, staring at me in an obscene fashion, pained and pleasured and anguished and adoring all at once.

“I-ah- I’m committing the-hah- the sin of-! Adultery-! I-hnn- I couldn’t resist the- the father… Please-ah- please forgive-! Me-!” Speaking isn’t all that easy, his manhood hitting the deepest parts of me, only a little painful, mostly pleasing, his thumb moving back to that spot making me keen, my face pressed to his chest until it passes, his movement gaining a steady, quick rhythm, his thumb moving in time with his hips, his breathing labored and shaky.

“Forgive us-Nnh- for we have sinned… Miss-ah-! I will now-hah- close the-Hnn-!” He ducks his head down, face pressed to the crook of my neck, his body shaking against me, mine against him, all of us ruined, torn apart from the need burning inside, a desire satiated only by action. “God the- the father of mercies-hah- Through-Nnh-! The death and resurrection of his son-ah- son-! As recon-hah-ciled by the-hnn- the uh-Nnh-!” He’s losing himself, and his teachings, mind too full of lust to recall his closing prayer, his hips pressing to mine in an almost animalistic fashion, rutting with the force of a needy dog, his head pulled back to look at me, his expression sinfully beautiful, all of him wet with sweat, red, his eyes low, held open by his need to see himself ruin me, make me into something just as terribly and fully depraved as him. “You really are-hah- the perfect temptation-nnh- In a world full of sinners we’re-ngh- only two of millions… If this costs me my spot in heaven so- so be it, this is my own-Nnh-! personal heaven, buried inside and gazing into your eyes-!…” He’s panting, and so am I, both of us near the inevitable high, shaking and releasing low noises into the space between us, our gazes locked, the eye contact offering a passion and sickening tension, spurring me closer, his thumb moving with harsh pressure, sending me near insanity, his quick thrusts driving me up the wall, his low words rushed and raspy, groaned out and whiny, nearly sounding pleading, his expression gone fearful, distraught at his own pleasure. “The world to- himself and sent the- the-nnh-!” He leans his head back, eyes closing and a loud groan ripping out of him, the sight drawing a decidedly needy noise out of me, my eyes trailing down to his cross, just in front of my face, bouncing agonist his chest, condemning me, my transgression seen and judged by God. “Damnit-! Sent to us- for the-ah- forgiveness ‘f sins-! Through the minis-ah- may god give-nnh-! May god give us pardon- yes-ah- and peace-nnh- I-ah-ab-oh- absolve-!” He slows down, both of us coming down from the near climax, his eyes coming back to me, forehead pressed to mine, his hips working in more of and arc like motion, the feeling of him dragging inside tearing an overly wanton sound from me, his eyes watching me as he draws this out, keeps us both teetering, giving himself a moment to finish his broken prayer. “I absolve you of your-ah- sins, and myself of- of mine…” He takes a few more seconds, pressing inside slowly, keeping his eyes on mine, bright blue shadowed by his hair, messy and sweaty, before he speeds back up, sinking inside over and over again at a pace that seems inhuman, his body impossibly tight to mine, the feeling of nearness coming back, my release denied now back to ruin me, leave evidence of my sin. “In the-ah- name of the- the father-! And of-hah- the-nnh- son and the-! The-ah- holy-hnn-! Spirit!” I’m squeezing him, my body almost uncontrollable when I clench and shake from pleasure, head tilted back and my eyes on his as he pulls out, leaving me empty, his seed spilled over the front of my thigh, trails dripping and soaking my skin, his release enticingly sensual to watch, a raw kind of experience, my mind hazy and full of him, watching him until he’s done, my leg returned to standing, his hands gently smoothing my skirt over both our messes. “Amen.”

“Amen.”

[theygotlost]

I'm really sorry guys but i dont think I have any more artfight in me. i have been defeated. i just cant find any kind of motivation to work on more attacks and i feel dread thinking about it like it's some kind of job. this might be my last year participating because I've become so allergic to creating art for other people unless its under an incredibly specific and arbitrary set of circumstances. i love everyone's ocs so much they are so so cool and I really do wish i could draw them but its so hard to make myself do it and when i do its hard to enjoy the process.

this is combined with the fact that lately ive just been feeling kinda unspired and I havent been feeling great about my art as a whole for the past like 2 months at least. I feel like i've stagnated again and i need to change how I do things like I did last year but now that I already did that big overhaul and experimentation with my style im out of ideas for how to change it and i feel like im stuck.

idk maybe i will be able to make a few more attacks before the month is out if the mood so strikes me but I can't promise anything. i just feel frustrated with myself and it sucks. i do have some other ideas for fanart I kind of want to draw but i would feel bad for drawing anything not artfight related during july cause it feels like I'm disrespecting and/or ignoring the other participants when i could be using that time to draw for them WHICH I REALIZE IS STUPID AND FAKE AND NOT TRUE AT ALL AND NOT A HEALTHY MINDSET TO HAVE BUT THATS JUST HOW IT FEELS !!!!!

wahtever this all probably stupid as hell i hate feeling this way. i gotta take a break or change or die

[prettycottonmouthlamia]

So there was a conversation about queer representation in video games, and this got said in response to the perception that lesbians are more represented in video games compared to other LGBT identities (particularly gay men):

"Lesbians are fetishized by straight men, so that's why they're more common"

I'm going to be honest and say it's never really sat right with me from that point on. Not because I don't think there isn't some truth to the matter, but because I think it lacks a lot of nuance and a lot of much more important feminist thought. So let's just, break down my thoughts alright?

What does it mean to fetishize lesbians in this situation?

This is actually something I think is worth examining in a lot more detail, because when you talk about lesbian characters in media, there's usually one of two responses from predominantly cishet men regarding them:

The character(s) in question are vehemently disliked, often getting little attention, or as is common in fandom circles, having their character and the content surrounding them relentlessly criticized.

Strong affirmations that the characters involved are Definitely Not Gay and that it's reaching to insist they are.

This, to me, is kind of strange? It's in obvious contradiction to the idea that lesbian characters are getting the most representation. So what exactly is going on?

In truth, both responses highlight some truth, and to understand this, we need to look at the primary way men fetishize lesbians, which is through porn. When it comes to porn, often there is not an overt need to deal with the people involved as wholly unique individuals with their own feelings and thoughts and what not. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, porn actors are sex workers and that's going to be the result of that. It's just kind of a natural result and porn can handle this either gracefully or not.

But as an interesting side result, this means that it becomes very easy to decouple the actors away from the content. The second reaction becomes a dominant factor here: it becomes very easy to view the women involved as being available and often the primary way this developers from there is the idea of performance: a girlfriend and her friend performing for the boyfriend, or maybe two girlfriends etc. Now, again, there's nothing strictly wrong with that in concept as a sex act as long as everyone involved is aware and consenting and happy with it, but it's how it crops up in regards to how lesbians are viewed.

Lesbians are only tolerated when they're viewed to be available to men, and are often violently disliked when that's shown to not be the case. The world has not stopped oppressing lesbians for being overt in their affections towards other women just because of porn videos. This often has the effect that lesbian characters in media are rarely very explicit in order to preserve that illusion, or the much less comical and honestly perhaps somewhat grosser option I call the IntSys method where you just make your characters all bisexual.

To be clear, I find this really disrespectful and cowardly on principle. It really illustrates the extent that the creatives involved just see bisexuality as a convenience and not actually its own important identity. It becomes a way to still sell your lesbians to men, and frankly, eugh. Lesbians and bisexuals really deserve better than that and IntSys are still in fact tremendous cowards.

Fetishization does not correlate to representation either.

Guess who else is also fetishized by straight men its trans women babyyyyy! This is a very known quantity and its curious how that hasn't also caused a similar explosion in the number of trans women in video games. Actually what it has seemingly actually resulted in is more of the "trap" archetype, the transphobic and homophobic character who exists primarily as a joke.

Which is honestly a nice segway into the next point.

Lesbians do not necessarily represent a threat to masculinity.

If you wanted to know why so many lesbians in media are extremely femme and often conform to straight women beauty standards, this is it. It all has to do with masculinity. In fact, this really ties the knot with the problems with both lesbian representation in media (the absolute dearth of masculine women and butches (sorry that Genshin character is not butch)), the lack of representation of trans women, and the lack of representation of gay and bisexual men.

To transgress against masculinity in general has a habit of making you way more hated in our society which worships masculinity as a golden standard. If a woman is too masculine and is trying too hard to be like a man, she's often virulently hated. For trans women, the rejection of masculinity and the embracing of femininity makes them beloathe, and for gay and bisexual men, having sex with men is embracing what is seen as the female sexual role. We can even circle back here to the fetishization and lesbians and the anger of exclusion: it's okay for women to kiss each other and have sex as long as a guy is involved and enjoying it (and very bad if that's not the case). That doesn't even work with gay men, even though statistically more men are enjoying it.

There's an entire thesis that could be written about the stigmatization of the sexual role of the bottom in homosexuality, or on the eventual estrangement of the femme gay men in queer society. Ideas of masculinity are inextricably tied to straight men's perception of gay men, and unfortunately, gay men are often viewed as directly transgressive. A straight man being hit on by a gay man is often viewed as a direct assault on that straight man's masculinity, and as a result, gay men are just directly hated a lot more. There's a reason violence towards gay men is still staggeringly common. It's not like the video game industry is making any progressive waves in combating any of this either.

But there's one point as well in addition to this I would feel remiss not to bring up:

Are we really laying at the feet of a lot of good, honest queer representation in video games the burden of appealing to fetishistic straight men?

This one in particular bothers me because it is actually worth noting that there is a lot of lesbian representation that has nothing to do with fetishization at all. Not because it isn't sexual in any way, but because its created by queer lesbians wanting to see themselves in the media. So one must ask if there's something else involved.

For me, I have a general pet theory that's called Cluster Behavior of Exclusionary Qualities. The gist of it is that I've noticed that outsiders to a community often do not have one single defining trait that separates them from the majority, but often have more of them. The primary reason for this is that people who are already excluded will generally start to re-examine a lot of the other norms they take for granted. But I think another aspect of it as well is that the more reasons you have for not being accepted, generally the more it just makes you stubborn and angry. What are they going to do, exclude you harder? Ultimately, the industry is still really, really sexist and it's harder for women to even make a foothold in the industry at all to begin with. You're not fighting any less uphill, so why not just make something authentic to yourself and resist a lot of the bullshit?

This isn't to say there aren't gay men in the video game industry, there absolutely are, but I think the pressure to conform is probably a lot stronger, because acceptance really is just right around the corner. Sometimes it is easier to just go with the flow when its beneficial, and I don't judge for that its a bitch of a world and we all gotta eat somehow.

So what do I think at the end of all this?

I think that the fetishization of lesbians actually results in us getting a lot less authentic, well-written lesbian characters and stories, and what it does produce are a lot of ambiguously written characters and token attempts at inclusion that often fall flat. I do think it's likely even then that still outweighs a lot of other representation in video games, but I think there are much stronger factors to explain that.

At the end of the day, we're all fighting for fucking scraps out here. We're not going to get better representation by taking jabs at each other about this. But maybe, one day, we can live in a world where a Final Fantasy 19 has two women absolutely destroying it so I no longer need to see the straight couple from 16.

[erosjournal]

hi i have an idea and if yall wanna hear pls do.

so, me and my friend were talking and talked abt what could've made the heros of olympus series better. mind you, we r now high schoolers, we first read the series in middle school, like 6th grade. also, they are aro/ace (ish, still questioning) and i like to write + i love valgrace.

(BTW IM DOING THE KEEP READING THING BC ITS LONG AND ID FEEL BAD IF U HAD TO READ ALL THAT WITHOUT IT)

so one of the things we decided would've made it more interesting was if piper and jason never ended up together, like at all. ik im a hardcore valgrace shipper, but my friend isn't and we agreed mutually that this didn't make much sense. their whole relationship was built on false memories and one quest, piper pining over him the whole time. we think that also would've enhanced pipers destiny as an aphrodite kid. an aphrodite kid who never dated in the most "important" part of her life, the main part we follow. an aphrodite kid who couldn't get the boy she'd loved. if she'd never dated, it could've really brought out more of the "aphrodite" part of her identity. i'm bad at explaining, but trust. it makes sense in my head. plus, it could show how she's this aphrodite kid who actually is a lesbian yall. which could've been a rlly interesting aspect, maybe some comphet.

one more thing is that whenever jason talks about piper, as his girlfriend, he comments on her physical aspects. as her platonic friend, he comments on her mind. idk if that makes sense, but when reading it, it felt more like how he'd compliment leo, or frank, or someone who was "just a friend".

plus, it feels weird that all of their friends are dating, maybe it could've caused peer pressure? like how leo felt, always being "7th wheel" (idk i came up with that on the spot)

the next thing was if leo and calypso never fell in love. as said before, im a valgrace shipper and they aren't, but we both thought this was an awkward and toxic relationship. the reason why, i'll get into later, but first i wanna talk about why it could've been better in the series.

we think that it could've been more impactful for calypso's side of the story. yes, i know calypso wasn't a great person in mythology, but we have to think of this from both characters perspectives. this is how my friend put it:

it could've been more impactful for calypso since it would've had an ending that was going against the god's curse of her falling in love with everyone on the island, but they couldn't leave. it would've been more interesting of the one person who did save her, was someone she wasn't in love with. the one person she didn't fall for was the person who actually came back for her.

that would've really made things more interesting for her story.

for leo's side, a (not important, but very hugely stated) part of his character is falling for people as a coping mechanism. idk the quote, but sometime in TLH, he talks about how he falls for people who are impossibly out of his league. ok, maybe this doesn't count as a coping mechanism, but it seems to be. sort of like attachment issues, always on the run since the people who did care about him died/left.

i think that it seems wrong (for rick to write, they could never make me hate you leo... with exceptions) for leo to fall for a girl who was "destined" to fall for him anyways. my poor boy. he'd gone through so much yall :(

and to the point of how caleo is sort of toxic, i haven't read much of toa, but i do find that they both cross boundaries.

for example, calling each other names they don't like. i find it VERY disrespectful for leo to call calypso "mamacita". i don't like her, but all girls deserve respect. she also states how she's told him not to call her that, and by the way he reacts, he knows.

similarly to calypso calling leo "leonidas". i don't have much information on this, but i'll link a tumblr post i read on this.

tumblr post on calypso being her own person (extra, not related to before but some other thing to read)

tumblr post on the name thing (read the whole thing, and check out some of the other reblogs, some are interesting, some are just like "f calypso", so just be careful)

one thing, i think i don't like calypso much, but i will not hate her till 1. i've done more research and 2. have more evidence why. i feel it unfair, and i know many people don't like her. i'm also incredibly biased towards leo, so yeah. but, i will give her the chance till i have more information on the subject.

on that note, i don't like caleo. i quite hate it. but for good reason, from what i've talked about. it was just too forced and toxic, and not good overall. maybe it could've been if it was written different, but i hope u understand where i am coming from. ALSO! I AM NOT A HATER BC I LIKE VALGRACE, IF YOU READ ANY OF THIS YOU'D KNOW THAT. im just saying, caleo could've just stayed platonic. just read it all of this + maybe the other blogs before commenting.

MAYBE I'LL WRITE MORE, BU T THX FOR READING

[pompcoco]

Currently making a post about what I have so far with my TTTE AU, which develops and focuses on the crew of the engines + their relationships and influence on their engines. But one idea I want to share already is to imagine the crew, especially during the early years/first stories; while they all mostly got along, they probably clashed when other engines got into trouble with their respective engine.

For example, Gordon’s crew, whose names so far are Nicholas (Driver) and Brendon (Fireman), are very professional workers but friendly and more humble than Gordon is. His crew didn’t approve of Gordon’s bullying and disrespect of Edward during the early days/stories and always told him to be more respectful and less boastful, but maybe not enough, especially in the eyes of Edward’s crew.

Things also might have been heated or tense during the strike with the strike trio’s crews because while the other workers knew that it wasn’t their fault and the strike was their engines’ own decision, they still questioned, "How did their engines get this bad?” and “How did they learn about strikes cause this not the way to do it and their reasons for it aren’t for a good cause.” And with the strike trio engines also bullying Edward during that time, Edward’s crew were definitely not happy with them and really didn’t want to be around the trio’s crew for a while.

And this brings me to the idea of how disappointed the strike trio’s crews were with their own engines during this time, cause they knew that their engines were stubborn, boastful, and prideful but they didn’t know it would go this far. and maybe their crews' disappointment is one of the things that made the strike trio feel guilty and think and regret their behavior and decision to strike.

[bonefall]

I definitely see your point about the pro-xenophobia messaging, though I've always liked about Needletail's character how she knew the Kin were violent and romanticized a more violent life to give her purpose as opposed to being just a poor deceived innocent.

And I've personally never minded the inconsistent ideology because sometimes people (particularly very young people) can be inconsistent like that, shifting their ideology to oppose the status quo on every front even if it doesn't internally make sense. I don't think one incident of showing the rebellious faction like that would erase your planned many arcs of showing xenophobia as bad and those who fight against it as good. 

@halogenwarrior

It's less that I mind the idea of the ShadowClan apprentices not having a strong ideological framework (especially as young people, it's perfectly consistent they're still working out what exactly fits into their moral system) it's more that they don't seem to have... anything at all.

Radicalization, politics

Every time the cats lose their moral center in the books, every time, they go from "Having Society" to "THROW OLD PEOPLE INTO THE WOODS, EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF, MURDER IS OK!"

You still need to start with some sort of value to exploit at all when you're talking about radicalization. Fascists specifically are notorious for having a GIANT list of internal contradictions ("The enemy is both strong and weak" is even named in Umberto Eco's 14 points of Fascism), but to have a contradiction in those beliefs, multiple things must be believed.

(will the kin be specifically fascist though, like Tigerstar? ...I'm leaning towards no, I'm thinking of modeling more general cults/communes specifically. I'm still in the early stages though.)

Besides, I don't want to throw my hands up and be like, "All my other reduxed arcs are thematically good, so it's ok if this one is bad!" (or, thematically consistent vs this one being a contradiction, but I'm being hyperbolic to make a point, you get me?)

So, back to the apprentices,

The apprentices need to believe something. They need to have actual grievances, even if they aren't wise enough to articulate them, even if they aren't correct, even if they buy the wrong solution... I would like there to be some truth to their initial grievances.

(especially tragic, then, for them to follow the wrong solution through Darktail. For Berryheart, arcs later, to think that her initial concerns were wrong because she was deceived. A sort of self-blame, because if you can change yourself, it gives you control over what happened to you.)

There's usually some source of real instability in situations like this. IRL it's typically economic problems, and then social problems are sold as 'causes' and they're brought to the wrong solution. In the arcs I've crafted so far, Clan Culture itself is the biggest source of conflict. It follows, and is consistent, to continue that.

So I'm looking for something that can draw in ex-Dark Forest trainees that feel othered, young apprentices sick of the clans not working together, people with real problems, which Darktail manipulates into, ironically, the very kinds of senselessly violent types they initially hated.

Needlepaw and Sleekwhisker

I actually do like how rough Needletail is in-canon and I do want to keep it. Though with Sleekwhisker specifically, something in canon REALLY bugs me.

In that first book of AVoS, do you remember how Alderpaw meets Sleekpaw and he's like... bothered by Sleekpaw's "Open Disrespect" where she's saying stereotyping is not good? "Omg she's just saying that you shouldn't judge someone based on where they were born... where is her mentor..." maybe it's petty but WOW that bugs me. Alderheart, your grandpaw was Fireheart, why is this such a radical statement to you?

I think that SHOULD be a radical statement by the standards of the culture, but of all cats, the one who's deeply self-conscious of himself, who is descended from THE kittypet and also is Tigerkin... Alderheart should be thinking, "This is comforting but I'm worried she'll get in trouble"

Sleekwhisker I would really like to make into someone who was a bright beacon at the beginning of the arc, and by the end, is unrecognizable, and beyond saving. I care her.

So that was a lot of waffling without a central point, so, I think the best way to sum everything up is... the inconsistency bothers me. So I want to make it different.

[thelediz]

Hello again! sorry I feel like I'm taxing your patience a lot just talking about Manic SORRY

I reflected more on the ask I asked and it opened up another question

What if by chance a villain influenced Manic?

Ok, Manic, even after these terrible questioning choices he made throughout the series, he is still a smart character, the problem is that he lets himself get carried away too much by emotion

which can make him become "easy prey" (which is almost what's happening in your fic) and of course, it depends a lot on the villain

Even though I said that he can be easy prey, at the same time he is not, I'm sorry, I don't want you to understand that he is very stupid and is easily manipulated, for example: manipulation like "your heart doesn't belong on this side, He's always been on this side." I don't think this will work

now, manipulating him by "messing with his ego", maybe it will work, as you said, Manic is very disrespected, which could be an opening for any villain to put the finger on Manic

"But why would a villain want to manipulate a teenager who doesn't seem to have a clue about the things he does?" because of Manic's powers

As I said in the first ask, this power is not for everyone, I have another idea that any villain who comes across these destructive powers will want a piece of it, with these powers, Manic can destroy everything whenever he wants!

the manipulation would be through compliments, which Manic hardly hears, such as "I think you're better than Sonic and Sonia" and over time this will become "You shouldn't be treated that way when you're better than they"

making it clear that I'm not talking as if this villain would turn Manic into a villain, that for me is quite impossible, the idea is that Manic is used for his plans without Manic realizing

I'm not so sure if that would work, maybe it would have a better chance if Manic was in those moments where he believes he's right but obviously isn't, then someone comes in to tell him he is

Now it made me wonder what happens to these thoughts that Manic has that leads him to do shit, he keeps it to himself and pretends it never happened? Does he secretly understand that he made a mistake but refuses to admit it openly? Does he still hold grudges about these things?

anyway, Manic seems like a lost cause, but even after all that, he's still a good person, he's just going down the wrong path (me saying this after having said several bad things about the poor boy lol)

And Aleena and Manic doing shit only this time together? When Aleena does something bad that she believes is a good deed, sometimes I think it runs in the family and has passed down to Manic lmao

I can't wait to read the next chapter. I hope you are having a great day!🩷🩷

Not annoying at all, I think it's awesome! And low-key enabling!

But on a more serious note, I think you have a story you need to write, my friend. Get on that typewriter and tell us this story of fall and redemption!

[tarnishedxknight]

[PANIC] In a moment of panic, the sender blurts out, "I can't lose you, I love you," while grabbing the receiver's hand. (Leah for Drace and Noah; @mxrvelouscreations

Drace had thought the evening casual enough. Noah was in good spirits, though she was still getting used to calling him Noah, and she herself felt like things with Leah were... somewhat stable. Awkward, and definitely not fully hashed out emotionally between all parties, but... stable. For now, she supposed.

During a rather difficult private conversation with Noah, Drace had made it clear that she would understand if he wanted to end any and all bedroom activities between them in favor of maintaining his relationship with Leah. She was, after all, expecting his child, which was something Drace had never been able to give him. Did it hurt? Oh yes, immensely. It broke her heart. She was only human. But she'd rather she be the one to hurt than Noah, so if giving him the guilt-free liberty to toss her aside for Leah would reduce his anxiety, then so be it. And really, she and Noah had never been anything official. At least, not on his end. He was the only one for her, but... clearly he did not feel the same.

No, that was unfair of her to say. Drace did not believe he would have looked elsewhere had she still been alive, but apparently, in some cruel alternate universe, Noah had been forced to kill her. That alone was difficult to digest, but then he'd gone and gotten involved with someone else, believing her to be lost forever. She couldn't blame him, really, and she was pleasantly surprised to see that he could find someone else, given how defensive he was and often difficult to deal with for most.

But... her selfless offer to let him cut ties without any drama or hysterics, guilt or blame, did not go as planned. Instead of reducing his anxiety, it seemed to cause it to flare, and soon he was having a panic attack before her. Bewildered, it took Drace some time to coax him to speak to her about what she'd said that had upset him so. Did he not want to be with Leah? Had she misread the situation? As it turned out, he did want Leah. He just... also wanted her. Needed them both. The thought of losing her had apparently, for lack of a more eloquent way of putting it, scared the shit out of Noah, and soon he was hyperventilating in her hold.

How, then, should she approach this situation? Clearly, Noah was deeply emotionally attached to both of them. This... was a problem. Certainly modern courting conventions were much the same as they were in their own native time, namely that once one was with someone... it was rude, dishonorable, and disrespectful to be with anyone else. Even so, if Drace had been willing to give Noah up entirely to make him happy, then surely she could tolerate him being in love with Leah and having a relationship with her in addition to herself? Actually, she would vastly prefer that to losing him entirely.

"Your being with Leah does not exclude you from being with me," she had told him. "However, I cannot speak for how Leah might feel on the subject. Before any of this proceeds, you must speak to her. Perhaps we must. To make certain this is what you both want and that no one's feelings are hurt."

She was leaving herself out of the emotional loop in that statement, she knew, but... quite honestly, she was more flexible than Leah. She'd spent nearly two decades with Noah, knowing better than to pressure him for more than he would or could give, resigning herself to the fact that they might never fully be together, both because of his own personal demons and the various constraints of their own time keeping them apart. Adding Leah into their situation, while not what she maybe would have outright chosen for herself, was not all that bad either. It was better than losing him, certainly. Leah, however, seemed a bit more emotionally fragile, and Drace was not certain how she would take the idea of Noah being with both of them.

Although Leah had not completely dismissed the idea, Drace got the distinct impression that she wasn't happy with it either. Maybe... that was just her own guilt or fear projecting a bit, and she didn't know Leah very well just yet, but it kept Drace on edge. She was wary of being too affectionate with Noah around Leah, of saying certain things, and she very often just let her have her time with him, even though she ached for her own. But it was not all terrible. She and Leah had bonded at certain points. Drace found her to be a sweet and caring woman, and rather cute, if she allowed herself to think as much. And she was more than happy with the way Leah handled Noah. Clearly, she understood him, and just the fact that Noah had shared his deepest, darkest demons with her spoke to just how much he'd come to trust her.

And so up until now, everything had been going about as well as one might imagine a suddenly awkward plural relationship might proceed, and this particular evening had been calm and stress free. Until... Drace had mentioned finding a place to live outside the Avengers compound, and Noah had started to discuss it with her. The assumption, on Drace's part, had been that Leah's home was her own, and Noah would stay with her, and therefore Drace should find her own place. This seemed to slightly bother Noah, who wanted reassurance that he would also be permitted to visit. Visit, Drace had chuckled. You can do a lot more than visit, if you wish. It had been a joke, but... also truthful. Leah, however, seemed to react rather desperately to it.

One hand had grabbed Drace's own, and the other, Noah's. When the words left her lips, all Drace could do was... blink. Surely she had only meant to reach for Noah. Surely... she held no love for Drace. Did she not represent a threat? A rival? The other woman, to Leah? Drace turned her head to look at Noah, who was already swallowing hard and looking like he'd done something terrible.

Had they been talking too long between themselves, Noah wondered? Had Leah felt excluded? Or was she afraid that he'd go live with Drace and forget about her. How could he forget about her? He loved her. And they were going to have a child. No, he was committed entirely to her, and he wanted to be, it was only that... he had also been committed in his heart to Drace for nearly half his life.

"You'll not lose me, Leah. I swear that to you," Noah tried his best to reassure her, sandwiching the hand that held his with his other and rubbing it. "I would not go to live with Drace and leave you behind. Never."

Given that she'd seemed to not differentiate between the two of them when she'd said she loved "you," Drace wondered something. "Would you... prefer us all to have living quarters together somewhere?" she asked. "Perhaps the three of us each having our own quarters within a single apartment, to share or not as we please on any given day, would be best?"

"She should not have to leave her home..." Noah said to her.

"I was not asking her to. But if she wished it. I was merely inquiring," Drace clarified. "If not, I will live alone. It matters not to me."

Noah knew by now that whenever Drace said, "I care not" or "It matters not," what she was really saying was, "It matters immensely to me, but I will go along with whatever you need to do for your own self right now." When he'd been forced to execute her, she'd said to him, "Do it, I care not." That had been proof enough of what those coded words meant regardless of what Drace tried to have them mean.

"Either way, you will not lose me," Noah said.

Drace was still confused as to where she stood with Leah. "Nor me, if you do not wish to," she added.

[thattimdrakeguy]

You refer to the Barbie movie?

I don't think I've seen one person try to promote the Barbie movie based on heart and humor. I, with respect, genuinely have no idea how the fuck you got the idea it was the Barbie movie within like 0.2 seconds of me posting that. 'Cause you gave me this ask so fast, you'd think your life fucking depended on it.

I see Barbie get praised for it's outstanding visual look, and deep themes, all while doing it while still managing to be funny in a surprisingly outrageous way. With some genuinely stand-out awesome performances. It's a genuinely great movie.

I'm talking about shit like the Flash and Blue Beetle. Stuff that I feel like I'm only seeing be praised because people will shill anything with a super hero in it. Not to say that Blue Beetle is as bad as the Flash, but it feels like a very by the numbers movie that is getting praised by simply not being awful.

Humor and heart, humor and heart. There's other stuff too but it's those two movies that I remember the most. Probably because I'm well aware of the characters for obvious reasons, and to be honest, if it didn't have those names they'd be painfully forgettable apart from the Flash's odd tactic of disrespecting both the dead and living for entertainment.

People took the criticisms with DCEU's darkness way too to heart.

It wasn't just the fact those movies were too dark. It was that they were needlessly dark. Now we got movies that, while they seem to be made with enthusiasm, aren't made with passion. Also like they're made with safety scissors and storyboarded with crayon.

Which I think people are more and more confusing enthusiasm with passion.

A lot of things are being made that feel neutered and too sanitized. I like light-hearted stuff with humor, I love it a lot. But they're making stuff that's soft as baby shit, with quirkiness over the edges of anything of anything that could be interesting, had they not took such a bitch ass turn with it.

Again, that's not all to do with those two movies, or especially Blue Beetle, Blue Beetle just happened to be the movie that really got me sick of seeing that stuff.

I'm tired of movies or shows or cartoons that feel made in a factory with a check-list. Going for visuals before logic or good storytelling.

I want to watch more movies that just have the ability to tell a good story. They don't have to be overly complex, layered stories either. Just a genuinely interesting, entertaining story.

Like what the fuck even was the story of the Flash? Somehow Barry messing with time leads to them making the Burtonverse? Even though it does not fucking feel like the Burtonverse, it's just Michael Keaton's Batman. Which is where I say they're made with enthusiasm but not passion. Because if passion made the Flash, maybe the movie would've made fucking sense, and felt like they actually worked hard on it in the right places to pay respect to things, and not just use nostalgia as wallpaper for their shallow ass movie, that feels designed to be enjoyed by 7-year-olds who want to feel like they can handle an adult movie, 'cause people die in it.

I'm really rambling here, but it's just hard to truly describe what these movies and shows feel like.

It feels like they're making movies and shows and things for pussies. Pussies that can't take any real bite unless they layer it in some sort of quirky way, or do something where you don't really feel anything.

Michael Keaton's Batman dies by suicide bombing essentially, and all we get is Flash giving a cartoony NOOO if I remember right. It's not very serious at all.

My favorite movie is Jurassic Park, a movie that in a lot of ways is a horror adventure movie, made with kids still in mind. Yet it still feels like it has bite to it, because it doesn't talk down to anyone. It invites kids along for the ride and all, so they can still enjoy it along with everyone else. It's an everyone movie for the most part, since I wouldn't necessary recommend Jurassic Park to really really little kids given their still are scary moments that could give the teeny tiny ones nightmares given all the life experience you'd expect them to have.

At least with Batman v. Superman, for all the blatantly bizarre decisions they made with it, and how overly dark it is, I feel like it was made by a guy who genuinely tried telling me a helluva story. Even if the fucker botched it in the end.

As much as George Lucas doesn't understand a lot of aspects of filmmaking as much as you'd hope for him to do (I don't give a fuck if people like the prequels, they are not well made movies. I enjoy watching them, and I'm nostalgic for them too, but I'm not gonna play dumb about it), he knew that a special effect without a story is pretty boring. And he at least tried telling grand scope stories in the prequels even if he botched it to.

When your story feels like it had the general points of it plotted out in 20 minutes, it's probably dog shit.

And I can't get over how ugly the Flash is visually. I think I heard they fixed up some of the color grading on the NFT (who is stupid enough to buy that, I have no idea), but they think just moving around the camera a lot makes a good visual shot. No, it's nauseate. I love a moving camera a lot, but don't just do random shit with it. I learned basic photography in middle school, and I could compose some better shots then some of the crap they did.

I don't care about how much they cared, or how excited they were to do it. I don't give one single fuck about that 'cause it doesn't effect me one way or another. If they don't care about the right things to handle the basics they can get fired and go fuck a goat for all I care.

Make movies, shows, cartoons, comics, video games, fucking anything that feels like a show.

The ending of the Flash, oh my gosh the ending with all the universes. It's visual nonsense, none of it means anything. They just brainstormed for a bit about what would look cool and smashed some action figures together. But none of it makes any sense. They're smashing 'cause of messing with the timeline? Why the hell does the rest of the multiverse care. How would that get effected. Because it'd be biggerer and more epicerer if they made it tackle the multiverse despite the fact the logic of the multiverse is actually the absence of logic.

I know the speed force is still sort of a vague concept. And I know how time travel can create different timelines. That I get.

But Barry gets knocked into this not-Burtonverse because he's running through the speedforce and gets knocked by evil Barry. But how the fuck did evil Barry get there if he's traveling through his own timeline? It's really stupid, and really forced.

And why is the multiverse all big glowing spheres? As many mesmerizing images we have of our own universe, they thought the best visual for a mulitverse is a see-through glowing sphere? And sometimes parts of them look like a planet and other time they seemed layered with each layer being it's own multiverse?

It's not surrealist enough to be cool, it's just boring and creatively dull all while they treat it as this big blockbuster moment of the year thing. And I'm purposely not mentioning the shitty CGI, which is shitty no matter if they claim it's what the speed force looks like, 'cause guess what sunshine, it's still hideous to look at. The speed force isn't real dip shit, saying you wanted it to look bad on purpose is ridiculous.

This isn't even the only stuff that makes no sense in the movie.

Yet it had a score in the 70s for a while on Rotten Tomatoes. Why? 'Cause of humor and heart? Bitch, the movie has no soul, never mind a heart.

How is it one of the best? It's an incredibly stupid movie.

What's even the heart? The humor itself? The fact it acknowledges death is bad even if it plays out like a stupid cartoon? Having very basic and incredibly common human emotions? Doesn't mean much when every performance feels like they're confused as hell while doing it. Fuck Batman v. Superman had a lot of heart if it's just having human emotions. Or is it humor in of itself? What is this heart they're talking about?

Stop jiggling keys in front of me, and make a good movie.

Notice how I never mentioned Ezra Miller once? It's 'cause it doesn't matter if he's a terrible person, the movie is bad regardless.

And obviously this is all the tail end of this whole humor and heart thing, but people really overbear the importance of it. I think it's 'cause we're in an age where we're trying really hard to take back a lot of the cynicism that's plagued the world, which is a mighty fine cause in it's own way, but making stories that feel like they can only be viewed through either a lens of ignorance or painful cynicism because of the nature of things doesn't help.

Why am I supposed to think humor and heart by itself is good when anytime someone makes a completely fair criticism they get a mob stick down their throat because it's supposed to be fun.

A lot of things are supposed to be fun, that doesn't mean they're good. A merry-go-round that's run down and about to break might've had the intention of being fun and still be a bit of fun in a superficial way 'cause it still does run at the very least is still a piece of shit.

Humor and heart, humor and heart.

Fuck all of that.

Gimme something with a damn soul.

[dragontamer05]

I've only read the first book admittedly and while I did enjoy it I'm not gonna lie, the one thing that does put me off is that it seems to to fall into the same trap as nearly every other thing based off or inspired by Greek Myth which is;

Hades bad, and over all idk feels like they don't understand the myths/ depictions.

Yes there are a lot of myths, a lot of versions of myths, retelling ecetera however some details still tend to stick, the things that make them who they are.

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Like out of all the gods how and why on EARTH would he have a demigod child??? Any/every other God fine but like besides the fact my man rarely leaves his place, to busy doing his job. Hades is one of the very few with little to no interest in hooking up with anyone else but Persephone.

How? Why? If you want to give him a blood relation idk instead of directly Hades have them be the kid of *new made up god* who is the kid of Hades/Persephone

I'm not saying I expect total accuracy or anything but just the idea of even implying Hades would do that feels very off and like the farthest departure from any depiction of him you could get.

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Actually further research is just showing most of the series and it's problems are because of Hades of all gods??, Wouldn't it make more sense if it had been because of Zeus or even Posiodens illegitimate demi god kids running around and thus causing issues

With big bro Hades being the sensible one to point out why they gotta stop having kids with humans- espcially if taking place in WWII as lord of the dead he'd witness first hand the amount dead because of potential involvement.

Okay I can believe Zeus, Poseidon and Hades not always getting along and having their issues for whatever reason- if only just cause siblings you know. But Damm why is it need to go as far as to say everyone even them feared him... just for doing his job?? Like it's not like he himself is killing people man just watches over the souls (including ensuring the titans they put away stay sealed up )

Also idk feels a bit cliche/overdone in general to go "guy who deals with death is considered creepy and feared, no one likes him" or whatevee

Look I'm sure it's a fine series, not here to bash and if you like it great, but part of me is glad I didn't continue as from every new thing I read it feels like they just done did Hades dirty

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I don't mind Hades being mean, someone rough around the edges and not always easy to talk to , he's a busy guy so he'd rather not be bothered. Being surrounded by the dead would probably get depressing , Persephone offering that light and cheer in his life

But he is responsible, he may not grant your request but seems like the type to at least hear someone out if they come to him with a problem. Maybe even being on the compassionate side knowing abd heating the woes of the world, pain and suffering. God of the dead he may be but that doesn't mean he enjoys or wants to see one suffer.

Obviously if you're rude or disrespectful that'll piss him off but generally he's probably one of the more reasonable gods to talk to.

So sure a slight antagonistic role fits him, a block in the road but not like a full villain purposefully doing things or wanting bad things to happen.