#and doing it at the expense of a female character of colour who has already been dragged through the mud by racist shits | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

bluberimufim · 1 year ago

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Oh ho ho, now I'm curious, do you have any refs for anyone that might want to draw your OCs? Pictures or specific descriptions or anything of that sort? Just curious...

Thank you for the ask! I'm so glad it interests you!!

Well You See: I'm an artist. I should have references lying around. But if I were to present them, it would be some super sporadic stuff bc I never got around to drawing MOST of my ocs, for some reason...

That being said, I have a few things lying around. I'll post it here and maybe update when I make more.

(Also, I know the digital drawings suck. I have 0 experience with it. I am Trying Very Hard)

This is gonna be Long, so buckle up.

Dystopia WIP:

This WIP was originally concieved at a graphic novel, so I have a few drawings - especially a few rough sketches mapping out outfit shapes and colours. Let's go through the main cast:

Veta, Vi and Veo (aka the Communist Polycule):

Veera:

Alexis Ivanik:

Cristover (left) and Nester Kalenev (right):

I have a post explaining the significance of most of the colour palettes of the 3 WIPs here

Notes on the characters:

Nester, Cristover, and Vi are all guys. They're wearing skirts bc they're Fashionable. Vi has a beard

Vi's outfits are inspired by traditional portuguese costume

idc what you do with Alexis, they NEED to be wearing extremely over-the-top eyeliner at all times

Devourer of Souls:

So here is the Thing. Most characters in this WIP being female is a very recent development. Almost all except for Flick used to be guys. So the only pic of Seth is her as a man. Literally just picture her with longer hair and it's almost accurate.

Seth (very zoomed into a drawing I once made):

(pls don't forget that she's a cane user)

Flick (the people on the sides are Allana and Hunter, the two souls their body houses):

Notes on characters not pictured (Jane and Theo):

Theo and Jane are technically twins, and they have a Snow White/Rose Red motif

Theo has bright red eyes long white hair in a huge braid. She wears all white tends to prefer overalls

Jane has short red hair and white eyes, the inverse of Theo

Black and White

Considering this WIP is my main one and the one I've had the longest, I have shamefully little material on it that I like. And also, I've already reaches the limit on pictures I can post.

I mean, my icon is a drawing of Darius, and there's also the Great Reyna Picrew Show-Down, but otherwise? Almost nothing. When it comes to descriptions, it's kinda vague ig? But let me kinda compile a little bit. Here's the most relevant characters in order of appearance:

Johann:

[...] He was significantly older and dressed much more presentably. His deep black suit had a refined and expensive-looking cut. He carried an old walking stick, which might have been in fashion in the previous century, to complete the look. Besides that, he had a box-shaped camera hanging from his shoulder. His hair was almost completely grey and perfectly combed, which made him look organized and important. When he walked closer, Darius noticed the strange shine in his eyes, his crooked nose, his lively smile. There was no doubt. He looked like all the pictures he'd seen. [...]

August:

He would almost be a perfectly normal person if not for his height. He wasn't a giant, but he had a considerable advantage over most people, although not at the expense of any muscle. His hair was longer than one would normally see in a man, almost shoulder-length. Otherwise, he looked pretty average, dressed in a half-opened shirt and very tight trousers. He couldn't decide if he should categorize him as "weird" or not.

Extra note: he wears a glove on his right hand that he never takes off. I once made a joke about the glove staying on during sex and it's 100% true.

Reyna:

[...] The girl was absolutely enormous. He'd never seen anyone so tall. She was taller than August, who was almost a giant himself. Even without heels, she was taller than anyone he'd ever met. And besides that, she was dressed quite scandalously. Her red dress barely reached the middle of her legs, leaving part of the knees exposed. The skirt was made of various layers of light fabrics, like chiffon and tule, all of them ending in excessive frills. It looked like a flower upside down. The dress had no sleeves, being held in place solely by two thin straps covered in glitter, reflecting the light of the sun. All of her seemed more suited to a burlesque show than a circus.

Diedrich:

His red hair, tied into a ponytail, fell down the side of his neck, like a small flame. He wore a crisp black suit, like any common man would. [...]

I can't believe I never actually described Diedrich. I know he's a POV character but still, wtf??

I mean, I guess there wouldn't be a point in describing him from Darius's or Reyna's POV because Darius spent years collecting pictures of him and Reyna has seen him every day for the past 5 years. But if you want an age range, he's 50 in the main story, just like Johann.

You know what? Hit me up if you want a drawing or better description. I'd be happy to do it for you, if you wanna actually draw him.

(if you're wondering why the descriptions are so weird about fabrics, it's because this is narrated by Darius and he's a tailor - he's really into sewing)

As for Darius himself, he's only ever described as "looking like Alphonse". And what does Alphonse look like, you ask? Johann describes him in relation to Diedrich (a description we don't have), and Diedrich feels no need to describe him because he's literally his son and he's known him since he was born. I need to fix this, holy shit.

Anyway, I hope this gave you better insight into how (some of) my ocs look! And I hope you had fun looking at sketches, zoomed-in pictures and 1 (one) fully fledged illustration of Flick.

Also, feel free to ask if you need more info! I can add it here to paint a more complete picture.

#this took WAY too long to compile #but it's nice #maybe I'll update it and make it a masterpost #who knows #writing #writeblr #my wips #black & wip #asks #the dystopia wip #devourer of souls wip #oc reference #my art #the images are behaving weirdly in the draft PLS HELP

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hotonhoth · 24 days ago

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Star Wars Costuming Groups - The Elephant in the Room

I've been on a bit of a journey around Star Wars costuming groups, and there seems to be a major issue with the entire thing, that all groups to some degree have in common. It's the elephant in the room, the subject people really don't want to talk about.

It stems from poor representation in Star Wars. The original trilogy was made in the late 70s and in the 80s. Back then, representation was poor. Unfortunately it means that you won't find a diverse range of people dressing up as these characters. I would say this is the main reason for the lack of diversity in Star Wars costuming groups.

Now, for costuming groups that get together for fun, this shouldn't be a problem or an obstacle at all. Cosplay is for everyone no matter what level or accuracy, and it doesn't matter if you have the same hair or skin colour as the character. What's important is that it is fun for the person that is cosplaying, that they feel safe, and that everyone feels welcome. In my experience, the fun groups do tend to be the most welcoming. However, I would say there is somewhat a lack of diversity in these groups. Again, I would say it is because of the lack of diversity in the films. This is however changing, and hopefully there is more representation now.

With certain costuming groups, that actually do require screen accurate costumes, interestingly (though perhaps not surprisingly), there have been huge problems with diversity. I must stress that not all cosplay groups are the same, and some groups might be free of politics. The group I'm talking about, is the one in the UK. I think it was 4 or 5 years ago, there was a lot of controversy. There were people calling a number of things, including racism, transphobia and elitism. The trouble with screen accurate costumes is that they either require a lot of free time and skill or a lot of money. It can cost thousands. Already that is a massive barrier to people from a less advantaged background. This has resulted in elitism. My friend was sneered at because his costume wasn't accurate. Getting exact replicas and high quality costumes costs. You can tell how much people pay, once you see the suppliers they used. It certainly limits who can dress up as what because it might be way over budget. This is an expensive hobby.

The other way screen accuracy presents barriers is that it might not be possible to look exactly like the character you want to dress as. A man can't dress as a female and a female can't dress up as a male. Also, if you don't look like the character - size, height, different skin colour etc, you can't dress as them. There are plenty of masked characters, but is that representation? It's still very difficult to get into that because it means spending a lot on armour etc. If you're disabled, then there are barriers both mental and physical. There are no stormtroopers in wheelchairs on screen. So it's not the carefree, super-welcoming, equal opportunity group they claim to be.

I naivly thought maybe they changed since they changed leadership. They've been posting about zero tolerance to racism, and celebrating pride, as well as supporting female members. I think they're pink washing really. I see no positive stories about members in the LGBTQ+ community, just a rainbow flag on their social media. Sorry, but that's not enough. And when I talk to people, they still say this group is full of bullies.

Recently, I've come across a member that is allowed to attend events, and goes to hospitals, but all the while has extremist right wing views and seriously believes Britain is being taken over. It makes me sick to think that when he goes to these hospitals where there are sick children, that he is ignoring or looking down at those in ethnic minority groups. He's very careful to keep his views private. He has openly admitted he only posts his views on Twitter (under a username) and not on FB because he doesn't wish to go 'nuclear' meaning he even knows his opinions are dodgy. As he keeps his views confined to his private life (although you could easily affiliate him) the costuming groups he's in turns a blind eye. It's disgusting quite frankly.

I won't name and shame and I haven't bothered to report him, even though he was incredibly rude to me after I called him out on his racist comments. I was tempted to report him, but I realised that this would probably be a waste of time. I did take screenshots but I think the problem is with the costuming groups themselves. Any criticism and they'll just close ranks. Even though they claim to have a safeguarding officer, I see no evidence of vetting practices when accepting members either, which makes me believe they don't care. So, instead of going to the trouble of writing a complaint, I've decided not to go any further with these costuming groups.

There is at least one other costuming group at the comic cons I go to, and he's in those groups too. The people in those groups are definitely aware they have this guy, and are aware of his views, but again turn a blind eye because that's his "private business".

We even have mutual friends. I really don't understand how they can just ignore him and the vile crap he comes out with. All the while this bigot gets away with hate speech, going unchallenged and even rewarded for his "raising spirits" in the name of charity. I feel like he's using a charitable cause to somehow justify that he's not a bad person.

I could call out the groups I've mentioned, and the member, but I've decided not to, at least until I can find a way to go about this. All I can do at cons is ignore the guy. I'm open to any advice though.

#star wars #star wars costuming #cosplay

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oneofadiamond · 8 months ago

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𝟎𝟎𝟓. “𝑩𝑰𝑶.”

𖢻 “I have one goal and I will achieve it at all costs.” ౨ৎ Name: R E D A C T E D .

౨ৎ Also goes by: Diamond (name given by the IPC), Leader and Founder of the Ten Stonehearts, Emanator of Preservation

౨ৎ Rarity: R E D A C T E D.

౨ৎ Path: Preservation (?)

౨ৎ Element: R E D A C T E D.

౨ৎ Gender: Cis male (He/Him)

౨ৎ Physical Age: 29-32

౨ৎ Actual Age: Unknown

౨ৎ Sexuality: Bisexual (?)

౨ৎ Ships I like for this character: No one in particular, everyone’s cool. (except illegal ones ofc.)

౨ৎ Race: Human (?)

౨ৎ Place of Birth: R E D A C T E D.

౨ৎ Faction: Interastral Peace Corporation (IPC)

౨ৎ Moral Alignment: ???

౨ৎ Likes: Stocks, digital marketing, monetary gains ( stellar jades, credits etc.), power, money

౨ৎ Dislikes: People who prove of no use and waste time

౨ৎ Weaknesses: R E D A C T E D.

𖢻 APPEARANCE.

౨ৎ The leader of the ten Stonehearts is unsurprisingly quite tall and well-built. He has blue eyes representing those of diamonds, and double-coloured short hair. One side dark-bluish black and the other side a light beige. Diamond wears a proper suit, a white shirt with a black vest and pants.

𖢻 PERSONALITY.

౨ৎ Diamond is one of the leaders of the Interastral Peace Corporation or the IPC. Known for his reserved nature, he exudes an intimidating and domineering aura and expects respect from both his allies and adversaries and he’s not exactly approachable either. He possesses great tactical thinking and strategic skills, which makes him an exceptional force in combat. Due to his unpredictability, nobody can read his next move, but he can certainly read yours. Diamond prefers to create a respected and grand image with hidden ideals. He seems like a person who’s understanding and willing to listen. But he is a person who is powerful, nonchalant, domineering, enigmatic and confident, gaining his position through power, he will not allow you to forget who he is and what authority he holds. A narcissistic, overbearing and confident man who could care less for those around him, emotionally or physically. He cares only about himself, and this makes him incredibly self-absorbed. Losing the power of empathy, this disallows him to look at other people as his ‘equals’. Filled to the brim with unpredictability, you certainly cannot know what he could or can do next. All of this stems from the core of perfectionism and responsibility. Diamond only sees people around him for their worth, making him regard other people below his standards (be it male or female or any gender) as something even less than garbage. He only cares about the amount of potential a person has, that determines their “worth” to him. He considers the Ten Stonehearts as people who have “a lot of potential.” He’d rather be disconnected from the outside world, so that he can focus on his next goals and what exactly does he need to do to get them. He ensures everything he does is done with absolute perfectionism and elegance. He prefers to wear expensive and lavish clothing and accessories, all while complimenting himself for his visual appearance in the mirror. His normalcy is a fucked up game of pretend, and anything less would be unsightly.

𖢻 CONNECTIONS.

౨ৎ OPAL (Co-Worker)

౨ৎ OBSIDIAN (Co-Worker)

౨ৎ JADE (Co-Worker)

౨ৎ RUBY (Co-Worker)

౨ৎ AVENTURINE (Co-Worker)

౨ৎ TOPAZ (Co-Worker)

౨ৎ PEARL (Co-Worker)

౨ৎ EMERALD (Co-Worker)

౨ৎ SAPPHIRE (Co-Worker)

𖢻 STORY.

౨ৎ Diamond has a thing for fashion, always keeping up with the latest trends. Expressing himself externally is also a benefit. He deduces the world around him to everyone beneath him, genuinely just seeing them as objects to use. His mind is always creating a plan, a strategy, a new tactic. Diamond was invited to join the Genius Society once, to which he refused. This proves that not even an Aeon can convince him otherwise to leave alone a goal he already has his eyes set on.

#005. Bio

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demonesseulgi · 1 year ago

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𝑲𝒂𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝒆𝒖𝒍𝒈𝒊

This is a character created by admin. All lore belongs to me.

❝ Why make a deal with the Devil, when I'm so much sweeter on the tongue? ❞

❝ Seductress ❞

29 [human years]

[1994.02.10] when she rose from Hell

Personality: Flirtatious, meticulous, seductive. Seulgi thrives of chaos, sex and lustful desires. She is open and honest about who she is and where she's from - uncaring about whether people believe her or not. While Seulgi comes across as shallow and superficial, there is a lot more to her than meets the eye. She does not get aggressive, once she's pushed to that point - she will either kill her annoyance or walk away.

Background: Seulgi is one of the seven deadly sins, she is the third oldest but is the oldest female identifying sin. All of the succubi and incubi in Hell were modelled after her and bestowed with minute bits of her power so she is often referred to as a Hell Mother, another called by this name is Lilith - the original mother of the sins. She left Hell due to a rebellion in Hell that caused her siblings to decide to scatter onto Earth for freedom. She was left in Hell, abandoned because she was preoccupied, and when she realised what was going on - a war had already started so Seulgi decided to take chase after her siblings. She came to Earth on the day that she calls her date of birth and has been travelling all around the world in search for her family. She ended up residing in Seoul, settling in an expensive apartment complex that is often home to celebrities, Seulgi finds enjoyment in the way they live their lives.

Physical Appearance: Seulgi has long dark hair which is often straightened and kept down, falling to the middle of her back. She doesn't often colour her hair but she may style it different depending on how she feels. She's got dark brown eyes that glow a soft pink hue when she's using her powers or black when she's extremely hungry. Height is 5 ft 2, Seulgi has a lean build with lovely thick thighs and a body line to lust over. She has one scar underneath her left breast, measuring 2mm in length. She has one tattoo down her spine that she can hide at will, it is ancient markings that when spoken can take her back to Hell whenever she wants. Seulgi has her ears pierced, two in each as well as her tongue.

Demon Info: Seulgi has control over the sin of lust. Her sin is controlled through a kiss and needs direct skin-to-skin contact to be effective. Her kiss can make anyone fall in love with her for 24 hours, completely under her control and willing to do anything that would make her happy. When making deals, she seals them with a kiss. Seulgi's powers are only active when her eyes are glowing. When her eyes are black, it means she is hungry and needs to consume a soul. The souls tend to come from those who have recently passed but she may take a piece of someone's soul during sex.

Unlocked Info:

Seulgi can teleport to wherever she wants to go as long as it has a door - this means she cannot drive. She can teleport people with her but there is often a risk them losing a limb if they fidget too much.

In her spare time, Seulgi can be found in different cafes, trying seasonal dishes and her favourite colour is pink. She doesn't really need to eat food but does simply for the show.

She loves thunderstorms and horror movies, specifically zombie ones.

She handles her alcohol really well but doesn't care for smoking or any sort of drugs. She also doesn't like the taste of those who smoke, it taints their souls.

This will be updated as more is discovered about her.

Bisexual, no lean. Switch, no lean. Vers

Poly/Multi-ship

Kinks: oral, exhibitionism, lingerie, marking, bondage, pain, sensory deprivation. Seulgi is very sexually active and loves it whenever and wherever.

More will be added as it is discovered about her.

She loves to be called 'Demoness' or 'Seductress'. Tends to call people 'lovely' or 'precious'.

Forbidden Love Trope Recommended

Seulgi doesn't mind relationships but it isn't something she is overly convinced on. She is willing to meet someone and work on things but considering who she is, she will be selective about who she dates to make sure they aren't bothered by her needs. She's never had a relationship before but she has had many casual hook-ups or she's messed around with fellow demons. Relationships take time and effort to develop. Once Seulgi has made it clear that she is interested, she will make sure that person feels special.

She doesn’t really have a preference in what she looks for. Seulgi likes what she likes and if she finds someone cute then that’s all that matters.

❝ Lust is a tool, desire a trap. Wield the first, and you can take someone's soul. Fall into the second, and they can take yours. ❞ — Riley Shane

#✧.* [ seulgi ]#✧.* [ muse info ]

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izurou · 2 years ago

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SPOILED ROTTEN FT. JUJUTSU KAISEN MEN

features: sugar daddies gojo satoru, nanami kento, fushiguro toji, geto suguru, and how they spoil slash fuck you.

contains: female reader. modern au. age gap; charas are late thirties to early forties + reader is early twenties. unprotected sex. female receiving oral. fingering. thigh riding. praise + pet names. approx 0.4k words per character.

GOJO SATORU

satoru insists that you keep him company as he sends email after email, about what and to whom you’re not certain—but he does this almost every saturday night. he hands you his phone and tells you to go on that website you like and pick out whatever you want while you wait for him, just so he can have you around.

he looks over every few minutes, eyeing the little screen in your hands as you ask for his opinion on different items. he’s always honest, telling you which dresses he wants to see you in, and which he’d rather burn—he loves anything short, but that’s no surprise. though as much as you enjoy it, adding things to your cart can only cure your boredom for so long.

“so fuckin’ needy, hm baby?” he purrs against the shell of your ear as he leans over you, cock buried in your slick cunt. he has you bent over his desk, laptop shut and shoved to the side—all because you couldn’t keep your greedy hands to yourself.

“please, ‘toru,” you whine, pressing those sinful palms against the cool glass as you attempt to push yourself back on his cock, hoping for some friction of any kind. unfortunately, he’s not keen on you doing so—pulling his already loosened tie from his collar.

“be a good girl, would you?” he hums, looping the fabric around your wrists and pulling it taut. your hands are now immobile, banished to rest at the small of your back for the foreseeable future.

he leans down to press a soft kiss between your shoulder blades before grabbing onto your hips, thrusting into you at the exact pace you’ve been yearning for. he marvels at the loud squelch of your pussy, and the way you leave a sheen of your arousal on his shaft—like you’re marking your territory.

“fuck,” he hisses, digging his nails into the fat of your hips as your velvety walls start to suck him in. “squeezin’ me so tight, baby. you gonna cum for me?”

you’ve long been reduced to a whimpering mess, responding with nothing but a choked out moan as your vision blurs with ecstasy. he leans over you right as you cum, nuzzling his nose into the crook of your neck as he releases into you. he’s reaching down to undo his tie before you even finish—wanting you to grab onto him like you always do.

“there she is,” he coos, feeling his heart swell as you immediately place your hand on top of his, lacing your fingers. “my good girl.”

NANAMI KENTO

kento would have dropped everything to be there, at your college graduation, but work is work—and besides, he thinks it’d be rather inappropriate for him to show up there, even if he was the one who paid for the final two semesters.

nevertheless, he bought you the prettiest dress to wear underneath your graduation gown, one that he knew would hug your waist and compliment your hips—an expensive, champagne coloured, silk dress. you sent pictures of course, all dolled up and flaunting the silver k pendant that always sits right above your tits—and kento has to ignore the twitch of his cock for the remainder of his meeting.

two weeks and one hellish business trip later, and his first stop is not his place, but yours. the fact that you’re wearing nothing but his diamond initial and a smile as you greet him is proof that you deserve absolutely everything he gives you—and it has him dropping to his knees like you’re some type of god.

“missed you sweetheart,” he sighs into your cunt, and you’d almost think he was talking to it rather than you, but he definitely isn’t. “i’m so proud of you,” he confesses, glancing up at you through his lashes as he hovers his mouth over your clit. “wish i could’ve been there to see it.”

“kento!” you gasp, watching with wide eyes as he dips his tongue between your folds—lapping at the mixture of your arousal and his saliva before gently sucking on your clit. “‘s okay, you’ve done enough, f-for me.”

“you deserve it, sweetheart,” he groans, and the light graze of his stubble against your thighs has you shamefully bucking your hips into his face. he barely notices—fully committing himself to the hot makeout session he’s having with your pussy, absolutely coating your cunt in his spit. he needs to breathe though, opting to slip two fingers into you as he flicks his tongue over your clit.

“oh god, kento, ‘m gonna cum,” you pant, and he reaches up to intertwine your fingers, letting you squeeze his hand as hard as you need—break it for all he cares, maybe he’d get a few days off.

you dig your nails into the back of his palm as you cum—clamping your thighs shut around his head which, in hindsight, only allows him to eat you out through your orgasm. your chest heaves as you come down from your high, and kento leans up to kiss you—letting you taste yourself on his tongue. he stands upright, keeping a knee between your legs as he reaches for his belt buckle.

“what’s wrong?” he asks, noting the slight look of confusion forming on your face. he frees his cock from his dress pants, lazily pumping himself as you gawk at the sight. “you think that was all i’d give you?”

GETO SUGURU

suguru thinks it’s utterly adorable when you start worrying about his spending habits, clinging to his arm and telling him you don’t need another pair of shoes—it never fails to make him want to blow even more money on you.

one of his favourite things to splurge on is lingerie—because it’s something that doesn’t run cheap, and the look on your face as he absolutely ruins it is priceless. he’ll pick out a few sets, ones that he would kill to see you in—pardon him for being a little selfish—and he’ll sit and watch as you give him a personal show. if they’re really expensive, he’ll fuck you in them—seeing just how much he can tug and pull at the delicate fabric before it breaks.

so, when you pad towards him wearing that—the daintiest, most angelic baby blue set he’s ever seen, coated in thin lace that reveals everything, and paired with matching thigh highs that strap to the little band of fabric clinging to your waist—he knows he’s going to fuck you in it, and hopefully, maybe, destroy it in the process.

“c-careful sugu,” you warn, but it doesn’t sound threatening in the slightest. your panties didn’t pass the test—ripping rather easily, and your bra, well it’s useless anyways—his words. that leaves you laying atop suguru’s satin sheets in nothing but your socks, garter belt, and the straps that unite them as one.

“hm? am i goin’ too hard for you, angel?” he slows the pace of his hips at your words, scanning your features for any signs of pain. he has one of your legs resting on his shoulder, fingers tangled in the fishnet material and evidently creating less holes.

“no, but,” you pause as he repositions you, more or less folding you in half as he pushes your legs against your chest. he thrusts into you again, and the new angle has you seeing stars immediately. you can feel his true size, the full weight of his cock as it drags against your walls. “don’t—ah—don’t ruin it sugu, ‘s expensive.”

“you’re so sweet, angel. always lookin’ out for me, huh?” he grunts, noting the subtle gathering of your arousal at the base of his cock. you moan—a breathy little whimper of his name, unintentionally spurring him on. his hands vanish from your legs, reappearing as they grab onto the belt instead.

you’re all babbles and incoherent sentences now, losing all sense of reality as he fucks you dumb—lace fabric threatening to tear from his grip alone. you don’t even notice the belt searing into your skin and, surely leaving an indentation—because you’re too busy creaming on his cock.

“mm, so sweet,” he sighs, dropping to his knees and tonguing at your clit—accelerating the rate at which your mixture of cum seeps out just below. he reaches up, using his large palms to massage the spot on your waist where the fabric snapped. “guess we’re going shopping, hm angel?”

FUSHIGURO TOJI

toji knows that his line of work is much different than yours—but he also knows that by the end of the week, you’re both stressed, and you more or less desire the same type of relief. so, every friday night he’ll pick you up from your minimum wage job—the one he’s hellbent on having you quit, and he’ll bring you to his place for the weekend.

the purring engine of his slick black sports car is unmistakable—you know he’s there before he even sends the text. he watches as you near the vehicle, hand hanging out the open window with a cigarette resting between his middle and index fingers.

“what’s with the long face?” he huffs, noting the slight pout clinging to your lips as you settle into the passenger seat. he turns his head, taking one last puff of his cigarette before flicking it into the near empty parking lot and focusing back on you.

“bad day,” you mumble, and that’s all he needs to hear—he’s fully aware that you want him to make you feel better. within mere minutes, your back is pressed against the steering wheel as you sit on one of his thighs, stripped down to nothing but your oversized sweatshirt and—are those his favourite black lace panties?

“fuck, you wear these to work?” he gawks, lifting the excess material up and over your tits. he runs the back of his index finger over your clothed cunt—and the fabric is wet. “if you’re tryna make me jealous princess,” he pauses, flicking his eyes up to meet yours. “it’s working.”

“no toji, i—” you start, but you’re cut off by your own moan as he drags you along his thigh—the lace of your panties brushing against your clit in the most heavenly of ways. “i knew i was seeing you t-tonight,” you pant as he nips at your neck, grinding you down onto his leg some more. “‘m yours, all yours.”

“you’re a real sweet talker, princess,” he chuckles, cock straining against the confines of his tight black trousers. “you gonna behave tonight?”

you barely have time to choke out a yes before he slips a hand into your panties, spreading your lower lips and pushing his middle finger inside. your mouth drops open in a silent scream—one that doesn’t stay silent for very long as he curls his finger upwards, hitting that sensitive spot.

“every time you cum for me,” he hums, adding a second finger and scissoring them inside you. “i’ll add a thousand to your allowance.” his grin triples in size, and you’re sure he’s dripping pre cum as he allows his thoughts to run wild. “and if you’re real good, you can finally quit this fuckin’ place.”

#izurou #jujutsu kaisen smut #jjk smut #jjk x reader #gojo smut #gojo x reader #gojo hcs #nanami smut #nanami x reader #nanami hcs #geto smut #geto x reader #geto hcs #toji smut #toji x reader #toji hcs #jjk x you

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dat-town · 4 years ago

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not gonna miss this chance

Characters: Han Seojun & soloist!female reader

Genre: fluff

Setting: true beauty au, set a year after the tv show’s ending timeline

Summary: Your career is on the verge of ending, hence your management puts you up to do a duet with the infamous Han Seojun. You have heard too many rumours about him to keep track of and yet, none of them could have prepared you for the feelings that came with meeting him.

Words: 4.1k

Self indulgent little snippet because he deserves happiness too.

You had heard of Han Seojun before meeting him, of course you had. Everybody who was in the industry had heard of the hot trend of a Newstagram star-turned idol and his band's shining debut from a year ago. They were told to have snatched teenage girls hearts all over Korea with their good looks and soulful music. You had heard their title track and you had to admit it was nice but nice wasn't enough in a cut-throat industry like entertainment.

Look at you, starting training at twelve, debuting at fifteen and now barely twenty-one you were on the verge of becoming a thrown away doll. Once you had been called cute and the it girl of your generation and now? People were saying you got boring just because your music had matured. Gosh, you couldn't keep singing about first love like your hit song had been for the rest of your life for god's sake. Your last album had been a flop, your company had been losing money and you were still afraid that even with a year left of your contract, they would cut you. But your manager had begged them for a chance and here it was: a collaboration with the newest love of Korea.

But the thing was, Han Seojun had quite a reputation and you didn't know who to believe. Some said he was well-mannered and hard-working. Others gossiped that he was always flirting with his makeup artists and Chen claimed he had been rude to her even when he had just been a ‘nobody’. Not that you were particularly fond of Chen either but as a fellow solo female singer you were a tad bit worried how the infamous singer would treat you.

Well, standing in front of Move Entertainment, you were just about to find out. Taking a shallow breath you followed your manager's lead, bowing to the receptionist and getting into the elevator after taking your visitor's badge. You had heard the company has gone through many changes after the executives were replaced due to the revealed Seyeon scandal but everything looked expensive, shiny and new, unlike in your small agency.

“Hey, I’m Lim Heekyung, nice to meet you. Seojun will be in a minute, too,” a woman in a pantsuit walked up to you on the right floor with a confident smile as she introduced herself. She led you to a meeting room which was apparently customized for a few people only and started preparing papers. She looked excited which was a relief and nice to see, at least someone from Move Entertainment was happy for this project apparently. You were a bit afraid they would see you like a leech, trying to cling onto their new star’s popularity.

“Shall we start? Seojun is a fan of dramatic entrances anyways,” Miss Lim laughed joyfully as if it wasn’t new to her that the idol didn’t make it on time. Ah yeah, you had heard rumours saying that he had something on the company and that was why they were so lenient with him.

You sat in silence, let your manager do the talk about the collaboration project. Seojun could play the guitar, you could play the piano, apparently it was perfect for a ballad duet, though if you used instruments yourself it added to the preparations time. But luckily, there was a songwriter named Leo at the company who had already sent in a few samples specifically for Seojun, so you didn’t have to start from zero.

“Ah, I see you started without me. What did I miss?” A tall boy opened the door wide and flipped down onto the chair across you casually. He had grown into his lanky limbs and with those wide shoulders hugged by the leather jacket, helix earrings in one ear and soft brown hair brushed to one side, it wasn’t a surprise how many female fans swooned over him. But there were a lot of handsome boys in the business, just his looks – no matter how confident he was in them based on the way he carried himself – wouldn’t make a difference.

Miss Lim patiently let Seojun know about the advances and only when she mentioned your name, did the boy glance at you. His dark brown eyes had a sharp form, just as piercing as his gaze, but the cunning smile spreading over his lips softened it a bit. He looked at you as if he wanted to see through you, to figure out how he should have approached you. You expected a snarky or arrogant comment, but in the end, he just flashed a blinding smile at you, one you could see on his posters, before turning back to Miss Lim.

“What’s the schedule?” he asked simply and you both were notified about the deadline of deciding and finalizing the song, the dates of planned recording sessions and the photoshoot. Since there would be no promotion period, it all would be done within a month and half from start to finish. You were a bit relieved hearing that and leave Move Entertainment without any confrontation.

You thought you were good at masking your wary feelings since the further meetings went well and the first recording session went okay-ish. Although both of you had been a bit scolded by the producer for not putting enough feelings into your singing. He claimed that the demo sent by Leo was much more emotional which made Seojun scoff and mumble under his nose. The PD called it for a day, making you promise to practice for next time and one by one they all left. Your manager told you that he would bring the car while you refresh yourself in the bathroom, so you really didn’t expect anyone to wait for you when you stepped out of the restroom, much less Han Seojun.

"Spit it out," he bit out barely glancing your way as he leaned against the corridor’s wall.

"What?" you spluttered as you were really taken aback by his out of blue appearance and question. The guy let out a tired sigh at your obliviousness and pushed himself away from the wall just to walk up to you, towering over your height with his.

"You look at me as if I killed your hamster or something. Which rumour about me bothers you? I fucking can't keep walking on eggshells around you, especially when it's just the two of us," he tsked and you gulped at the sudden called out. You didn’t think it bothered him, or that he was considerate enough to ‘walk on eggshells around you’, you merely thought he was so distant from everybody. It was still better than what Chen had told you.

"Oh, I… nothing. It's stupid. Sorry," you mumbled, feeling embarrassed for your your actions but Seojun apparently wasn’t satisfied without a real answer as he carried on:

"I didn't bully kids in high school but I threatened ones that deserved it, I didn't only get a pity chance from the entertainment, one of our makeup artists is actually one of my best friends, I'm not…"

"Chen told me you are rude and arrogant and have no respect for girls," you blurted out to stop him from speaking because you felt like you didn’t deserve to hear all that. He didn’t owe you any explanation for the way he was. You were just co-workers for a project after all, you had no place in his life, nor he had in yours, so he shouldn’t have been that bothered by your opinion but you understood that he felt uncomfortable due to your silent accusations.

Hearing your hasty interruption, the singer scoffed, a laugh-like sound leaving his mouth.

"Well, I have no respect for girls like Chen who harass my friends and turn their lives into hell just to go on a date with me," he said and it made you blink slowly.

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh. Check your facts before you go around believing such crap," Seojun stepped back with a roll of his eyes.

The whole situation made you feel made about how you acted, so you wished to apologise but it fell from your lips all too carelessly: "Sorry, I was just worried. This is my last chance, so–"

"Last chance?" the guy quirked a brow at you, curious but you quickly waved his question away.

"Nevermind, I just need this song to do well."

"Of course, it will. I'm Han Seojun, it will turn to gold under my hands," he grinned and made eccentric gestures as if he was about to do magic. You couldn't help a smile. “Or well, vocal chords.”

And turn it to gold, he did.

The rest of your recording sessions went smoother, even the previously grumpy PD complimented your for the development in your chemistry. Funny, you wouldn’t have thought that the wall pulled up between the two of you mattered that much, but at least you didn’t have a knot in your stomach, nor did you worry about every small thing you did around Han Seojun. He also acted more casual, more playful, joking around when both of you had a bit of time to take a breather. He snapped silly pictures, showed off with his height, smirked when he got too close but despite all his bravado and lowkey flirting, you believed even he wouldn’t have jeopardised his career over something like this.

Maybe that's why wrapping up the recording felt a tad bit weird: you got used to his presence, his jokes, his beautiful, deep voice that you could have fallen asleep to. Sure, sometimes he was cocky, a bit rough around the edges but he was a great singer and a fun guy. The project seemed to work out well and you loved it a lot, so you hoped the listeners would appreciate it as well.

But before all that you had one photo shoot together for the promotional pictures and the single's cover. You were grateful for the simple pastel colour background and elegant setting. The warm light latte colour and the clock in the background really fit the song's vibe. Luckily, your dress was decent and pretty as well, you didn't have to feel uncomfortable in it at least. However, you didn’t expect that happy yelp coming from one of the makeup artists stepping into the dressing room. You turned to face the girl, wondering whether she was your fan judged by her excitement.

"Oh my! I'm so happy to finally meet you! Seojun told us about you so much!" she beamed at you which obviously took you back. Well, that you didn’t expect at all. He spoke of you to others? Ah. Apparently to the makeup artist who was most probably that certain one of his best friends he had told you about?

"Don't exaggerate, Imju, I mentioned her like what… once?" Seojun walked in on cue. He rolled his eyes and cleared his throat, trying to avert the topic. "How's Suho?"

You had know idea who that said guy was but after a moment or two you could breathe properly once again while listening to their chatting.

“Just the usual. He’s excited about your duet.”

“Of course, he is,” Seojun grinned, a bit snarky but you could hear the proud undertones of it. When he looked at you, you were surprised by him leaning close though as he quieted down until only you could hear it. “Don’t worry, Jugyeong is really good and just stop her if she gets too gossip-y.”

“Are you talking about me behind my back, hah, Han Seojun?” The pretty girl called Jugyeong raised her fist as if she was about to hit the idol but he just laughed it off and left you two alone when he was hurried onto the set to start with his individual shoots.

“Have you known each other for a long time?” you couldn’t help but wonder as you were seated to get your makeup from her.

“Ah, almost 4 years, I think. We went to high school together. Plus, he’s best friends with my boyfriend. Though, they are always bickering like a married couple,” Jugyeong chuckled joyfully as she started with the cushion. You closed your eyes, listening as she kept going on about the time when Seojun had been obsessed with his motorbike, getting into trouble with his mother. It was strange hearing about a whole other side of him, mama's boy but the image tugged on your mouth, making you smile even though you weren't sure you had the right to know all that. You also learned that Seojun's sister was dating Jugyeong's brother and you felt so involved with the girl's trust albeit it was your last meeting, you were sure Seojun must have only told good things about you.

Hence, you felt shy under his knowing gaze when you walked out of the dressing room. He must have known that Jugyeong couldn't shut up for the life of her, so he looked a bit uncertain, too, stretching the back of his neck, forcing a cunning smile onto his smile when you took your place next to him.

To fit the ballad's theme, the setting was a piano decorated with flowers and you were instructed to sit beside him as if you were about to play a four hands piece. As you did what you had been told, you were very much aware of the way your arms brushed, his long fingers over the keys close to yours, his smile small but genuine.

"Great, great, guys! Someone help her onto the piano and Seojun, stand in front of her," the photographer directed the next scene but before any staff members would have rushed up to you, the singer next to you shushed them.

"I can do it," he insisted as he stood up and looked you in the eyes, silently asking for permission. You nodded while holding your breath back before Seojun put his hands on your waist above the fluffy tulle skirt part and counting on three, he lifted you onto the lid of the beautiful instrument.

You crossed your legs, watching in awe as your pink skirt fell down on waves but your breath hitched for an entirely different reason when you looked up, gaze meeting Seojun's feline eyes trained on you. You had never seen him look at you like that, lacking playfulness or suspicion or curiosity. He looked open, vulnerable, outright starstruck. Your lips parted meaning to ask something but your brain shut off when you heard the shutter of the camera go down and the director yelling compliments at you. It made you snap out of it and later, you blamed the evident blush on your cheeks on the makeup. Seojun blinked too, his guarded expression back in no time, finishing the photo shoot professionally, always lingering close to you, but never touching you. Even though you wouldn’t have minded.

"Hey," Seojun peeked into your dressing room just as you were about to leave, packing up, with a smile on his mouth and sparkles in his deep brown eyes. But unlike half an hour ago when he wore a fancy suit and looked at you like a prince would have looked at his princess, he acted just as casual as he looked in his denim jacket over dark tee. "Wanna grab something with me if you finished for today?"

His question took you back but first thing first you glanced towards your manager, eyes begging for permission which you had gotten with a sigh.

"Just be discreet and call me if you need me to pick you up," your manager shrugged, leaving you two alone with a knowing look that told you to be careful. You didn't need to be told though, you knew how much depended on the current public response to your image.

"Seems like a green light. Have you thought of anything specific?" you turned back to the boy with a subtle smile.

"Not really but I know a few less frequent, secluded places to avoid much talk about us," he said and you nodded, following his lead. Masks, caps and hoodies on, you barely talk on your way to the tent with the lovely ahjumma who welcomed Seojun (two heads taller than her) with a pinch of his cheeks and told you to get seated.

"Are you a regular here?" you inquire, carefully pulling down your mask since not many people are around.

"You could say that," the boy hummed letting you adjust to the place at your own pace, not pressuring you with extra reassessments about how safe it is there. Yet, he is so casual as if he wasn't afraid of a getting mobbed by Dispatch out of the blue. Not that it happened to you a lot of times but you heard stories and at such a crucial time in your career, you feared something like that more than anything.

"Do you want to come up to mine instead?" Seojun blurted out suddenly which made you wide eyed in a span of a moment as you splattered out a surprised yelp. "Come on, I don't mean anything by it. You just look really nervous being in the public," the singer said, his deep voice softening, soothing by the end and you needed to take a breather before answering. You didn't think it was so obvious but apparently you had never been a good liar with him.

In the end, you decided on going over to Seojun's place, so he asked the ahjumma to pack your food to go and you headed towards his flat a few blocks from the company. It was a small but cozy place, much softer and brighter than you expected, lots of pastels and photos of friends and family. While the boy busied himself in the kitchen, getting you plates, chopsticks and beer, you were encouraged to look around and you couldn't help but smile at his photos with not only his band members but high school friends, too. You had seen photos of his graduation with Jugyeong, then another one of his debut with her and another guy. He was a recurring person on a lot of pictures, so you assumed that he was the so-called Suho.

"He's Jugyeong's boyfriend," Seojun affirmed as he walked up to you which you acknowledged with a hum and smiled at his photos with his sister and mother. The makeup artist was right when she said he was only tough on the outside.

"You knew Seyeon?" you whispered as your gaze shifted of a picture of three boys smiling widely into the camera. The middle one was the talented boy you had known from the news of his committed suicide. Such a tragedy.

"Uhum. We were best friends. Him, Suho and me," Seojun nodded and without having to ask, he told you how they had gotten to know each other, what were their favourite past time activities and how they fell apart when he died. You could see he was hurting even now as he was talking about it, so you grazed your fingers against his knuckles as though to say you were there for him to listen, or whatever he needed.

Talking about his best friends and how a group of guys including someone named Chorong stuck by his side over the years warmed your heart. It was nice to know that not everyone had it as lonely as you who basically missed out on high school and memories from that time to be able to turn your dreams into reality. Your only friends were also in the industry but it made things both easier and harder.

"What about you? What did you mean by this being your last chance?" Seojun asked like a loaded gun but after everything he had just told you, you knew you could trust him with this and being in the industry for a while now, he must have understood, too.

You told him about the rising expectations, about your image and your company's ultimatum. It actually felt nice to talk about with someone other than your manager. Especially since Seojun seemed to understand exactly why you felt conflicted over the matter. You have given your youth to this dream of yours, so giving up on it would have felt like betraying yourself and everyone who believed in you but you weren't sure you could give it another 10 years of your life no matter how much you liked music. You had decent CSATs result, maybe you could have applied for a university program. Seojun even offered to arrange a meeting between you and Suho who was studying to become a proper songwriter.

You talked for hours and ate the tteokbokki even though it had gotten cold long ago and you couldn't remember when was the last time you had felt so light. You felt giddy even with just the tiny bit of alcohol in your system by the time you knew it was time for you to go.

Once you had felt relieved knowing that promoting your duet would be only one performance but recently, you started dreading the moment because that meant that you wouldn't have any more excuse to see Seojun. In the backstage, this time around you greeted Jugyeong like an old friend and teased to give Seojun a funny makeup before walking up to your own assigned staff members. Your look was full of sparkles and glow fitting the silver colour of your dress, completing the ethereal vibe off the stage you were going to do and the beautiful song you had grown to love so much you held it close to your heart. The last rehearsals went smoothly and if you noticed Seojun's gaze lingering a bit too long, you didn't comment on it.

"Are you nervous?" he asked before the final recording and you knew it would have been unreasonable to deny it, so you replied with a small smile.

"A bit."

"Don't be. You're pretty and you'll do amazing," he reassured you and the way he said those words oh so easy. As if they were natural. As if he believed in you and maybe this was all the reassurance you needed because when you walked up onto the stage, not taking your eyes off his, it felt like it was just the two of you there. All the stress about not being good enough, about being judged for who you were and what you wanted to do with your life was subsided as you focused on the moment, just to sing this one song with one while trying to fight your heart's crazy beating.

You didn't really have the luxury to have crushes. You had always been concentrated on your work, you couldn't let yourself have distractions, especially since love scandals always affected girl worse than guy. At least that was what you told yourself for always putting up a wall around you and guarding your heart all too well. But during the past few weeks, between playful or flirty remarks, between smiles and ruffling hair, Seojun took apart your wall brick by brick even if he wasn't aware.

So it might have been only a few days since you had last seen him but in that rare moment of boredom, alone in your room, you realized that you missed him. Hell, you liked him and the feeling made me want to scream into your pillow as if you were a silly teenager. As if on cue, your phone buzzed with a new message and seeing the KakaoTalk ID made you shy.

duet partner, han seo jun

so...

i've been thinking

you

sounds dangerous but ok

duet partner, han seo jun

don't get sassy with me, miss

you

what have you been thinking about?

duet partner, han seo jun

that i don't want to miss my chance

there's this girl i like

i thought of asking her out

do you think she would say yes?

you

oh. well... why wouldn't she?

i mean, you are talented, handsome, funny and reliable

duet partner, han seo jun

and what about my job? it's busy and a bit crazy

don't you think it would be unfair of me to ask?

you

I think you should let her decide that

duet partner, han seo jun

okay

are you free on friday?

you

um, sure?

duet partner, han seo jun

cool, then go on a date with me?

#han seo jun x reader #seojun x reader #han seojun #han seo joon #true beauty #stories #i just wanted to give him a happy end after ep16 #that's what this is about

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farfarawaygirl · 3 years ago

Note

Am I the only one who is not seeing this “increased focus on Nolan”? Other than Firefight, I haven’t seen any increased focus on him, at least In terms of screen time. I do think the show is struggling in terms of planning out its stories now that they aren’t rookies anymore. There are too many characters and too many stories. Plus Wesley is regular now so they have given him his own story which wasn’t the case before. I do think Nolan being a Mary Sue is very annoying. So they should tone that down.

Hello!

One of the ways that they have focused on Nolan this season, has been at the expense of the female characters.

We have seen him give Angela a talking to, and receive multiple apologies from her in last weeks episode! This struck a chord with many viewers, because it forced a woman of colour to be chastised by a older, white man, with a lower rank. It’s not that Angela acted out, it’s how they followed up with the situation. Also, Angela was calm and collected when dealing with Oscar - who stabbed Wes, and La Fiera - who had literally broken into her house to leave a doll, and a bracelet, but this guy, this time? When everything she love is already in jeopardy?

He has condescended to Lucy in several episodes. Calling her behaviour childlike, rolling his eyes at her, especially when he used her as a ‘boot’ for training. Yikes.

The focus doesn’t just mean screen time, it also means how the stories are told - and this season more than any other, Nolan can do no wrong.

A prime example of this is Nolan running for the rep position. He briefly dangled it in front of Nyla, and yes she declined, but for a show that wants to focus on police reform and has talked about racism on the force, as well as simply existing post 2020, having Nolan (46) replace Smitty (late fifties?) doesn’t do much in terms of diversity. It’s just another old white dude, who also has had to have diversity on the force explained to him, replacing another. I know Smitty is played for comedy here, but c’mon.

Also, there is no focus this season on Nolan bettering himself. He’s suddenly no longer in school? There’s no growth - his relationship with Bailey isn’t growth, because she is even more flawless than him!

We do have a lot of characters! I was surprised to learn Wes was made a regular back in season 2! And I won’t even dive into the bigger Bailey issue.

I wish they would go back and look at what worked in season 1/2 and find a way to bring that forward!

#the rookie #emma shouts into the void #John Nolan #the women of the rookie #Angela Lopez

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tepkunset · 4 years ago

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@avatarfandompolice is a blog that likes to misuse progressive language in attempt to make ignorant, racist posts sound more intelligent than they are. While most of their blog consists of arguing about ‘zutara,’ (which I recently learned is a ship name for Zuko and Katara from an anon), there is also a large number of posts and reblogs under the premise of being “hot takes” on how unfair it is to address racism in fandom and in media.

Avatarfandompolice is very sensitive about people pointing out that Avatar: The Last Airbender is not, in fact, flawless. That a show made by two white men featuring Asian and Indigenous characters and influences is fully capable of getting things wrong. That their western colonial views are influences all on their own, and it shows. Rather than listen to fans of colour point out things like these posts for example: [Link] [Link] [Link], avatarfandompolice has decided that such things must simply be fake, and has made multiple posts complaining it. This is not just regular ignorance, this is wilful ignorance. The dismissal of critique simply because they cannot fathom not everyone being able to handle the amount of issues they are freely educating others on, or people holding the ability to like something overall while also pointing out where it could be better.

It is my firm belief that you should never absorb media with an uncritical eye. If this was the case, if people just accepted everything given to them, then we would never see any progress. We need to be able to look back at something and say here’s what we did right, and here’s what we need to do better with.

The argument that A:TLA was made in 2012 and therefore should not be analyzed with a modern understanding of the world is downright hilarious, too. As if we aren’t taught to write literature analysis on books and plays that are centuries old in school. In particular regards to the whole cop thing... if anyone reading this seriously thinks that hate and fear of the police is just a 2020 trend, you can meet me in the pit. I was four years old when I learned how terrifying cops are. If your experiences differ, let me tell you that does not make them universal. And as for all the 20-somethings talking about it today, well, gentle reminder that as said by avatarfandompolice right here, the show aired in 2012. Little 10-year-old kids don’t have social media, (at least I hope they don’t,) and unless they grew up experiencing first-hand police terror, probably were not aware of it at that age. I do not know why avatarfandompolice insults people's ability to grow and learn. I can only guess it’s jealously from their lack of ability to do so.

Now let’s address their defences of whitewashing, which is easily the most backwards reaching I’ve seen on this issue in a while. Primarily their defence relies on four repetitive “points” —

Fake minuscule percentages to downplay the high prevalence and extremity of whitewashing in the fandom

Deflecting the addressing of whitewashing with rapid-fire fake scenarios and claims of “reverse racism” / “blackwashing”

Claiming whitewashing isn’t real because people only care about it with Katara

Claiming that calling out whitewashing in fandom is wrong because it hurts artists

I have only so much as dipped my toes into the A:TLA fandom, and even I have seen a lot of whitewashed fan art. If you do an image search for fan art, I guarantee within the first couple rows of results, there will be in the absolute least, a few examples. The idea of these artworks not substantially lightening skin is also just plain inaccurate. Just from a quick Google search, this is literally the first result for ‘Avatar The Last Airbender Katara fan art’:

Avatarfandompolice is also hyper-focused on the lightening of skin, and seems to be under the impression that this is the only component of whitewashing. I come to this conclusion because when someone pointed out the equal prevalence of depicting these characters of colour with Western European features instead of their actual eyes, noses, etc., they rip a giant turd out of their ass and scrawl the words “but stereotyping” over it. No, not all Asian peoples and Indigenous peoples look the same. The original poster made no such claim of this at all. Avatarfandompolice jumped to this conclusion all on their own... (which really says a lot in itself). It is entirely unrelated to the point. The point being the erasure of how these characters look, in favour of giving them whiter features. And guess what? This does hurt. But I’ll get to that below.

The lack of understanding of whitewashing is on full display when avatarfandompolice talks about “blackwashing”; the idea that colouring characters with darker skin is just like whitewashing. Firstly, there is no such thing as “blackwashing.” “Blackwashing,” “brownwashing,” etc. does not exist because it is a false equivalency to whitewashing. It is a false equivalency to whitewashing because white people are not even in the slightest loosing representation when a white character is re-imagined as a racial minority, whereas when racial minorities are re-imagined as white people, they are taking away from what is already very little representation for us. If we lived in a world where the statistics of representation were not so drastically disproportionate, then there would be something to talk about. But if you are really wanting to support equality, you should focus on equitably supporting those who actually need it, not white people. As for specifically depicting characters like Sokka and Katara with darker skin than what they have in the show, the same applies, (so long as it’s not racebending them as we really shouldn’t be taking representation away from each other, and the artist avatarfandompolice ridicules above has done no such thing,) because colourism also exists within nonwhite communities as well.

As for the fake questions about cosplaying, the answer is really simple: Cosplay however you want, but don’t make pretending to be a different race part of your cosplay. If you want to cosplay Katara, you can do it without painting your skin darker, aka brownface. If you want to cosplay Zuko, you can do it without editing yourself to look East Asian, aka digital yellowface. The racist history behind this is an internet search away, but I suppose that is too difficult for avatarfandompolice to do.

Avatarfandompolice has made multiple claims that people must not really care about whitewashing if they only call it out for Katara. It is laughable at best, and sad at worst, that this is the conclusion they come to, and not the fact that unfortunately Katara just happens to be subjected to more whitewashing than other characters. I assume this is from a mix of her popularity as well as being a WOC and not MOC. This is not to say that whitewashing does not exist with male characters—not in the slightest. Half the images on this “10 fan art pictures of Sokka that are just the best” list from CBR are whitewashed. Only that across fandoms, whitewashing is more prevalent in female characters, by my observations at least.

Finally—and this one pisses me off the most—avatarfandompolice claims that whitewashing is no big deal, but calling out whitewashing is too harmful to justify. How fucking dare you put the feelings of artists who can’t handle critique of their work (that they publicly share) over fans of colour, who are constantly subjected to seeing our identities and looks not being worth respecting. As if it doesn’t imprint on your mind from a very young age how only villains ever have your facial features, because they’re ugly and I guess that means you’re ugly. As if there is something wrong with you. As if respecting you is regarded as extra effort, and not just common courtesy.

Whitewashing is a form of colourism, which is a form of racism. It is the favouritism, unconscious or not, of white features and the erasure of visible characters of colour. It is not fandom drama. It is not being too lazy to focus on “real issues” because it is part of a real issue. It is yet another part of why fandom spaces are so uninviting to POC. We live in a society that favours lighter skin. Corporations make fortunes from selling products to bleach your skin, products to contour your features away or go as far as surgery, all to meet beauty standards set by and influenced by white colonizers. That does not exist in A:TLA, and that’s called refreshing escapism. But it’s hard to escape that when the fandom constantly reminds you otherwise. It is a perfect example of how the classic “just let people enjoy things” complaint is nothing but disguised racism, because it’s only ever said regarding white fans’ enjoyment, at the expense of fans of colour.

None of the characters in A:TLA are white. Redesigning them and recolouring them as if they are, be it out of accident or intent is wrong. If you get called out for it, apologize, learn from the experience and do better going forward. You’ll also improve your art this way.

Beyond excusing whitewashing, avatarfandompolice has overt racist posts as well. A Black fan said they like to headcanon Katara as being partially Black; “I swear Katara was a sister. Im convinced there ain't no way she didn't have some black in her.” Avatarfandompolice jumps in saying “She's literally an Inuit but ok” as if being an Inuk person means Katara can’t possibly also be Black. The OP never claimed Katara was not Indigenous, simply that they also saw her as Black. Black Indigenous peoples exist. Black Inuk peoples exist. It is overtly anti-Black to say otherwise. But what even is the point of talking to avatarfandompolice about that? You know, you would think in trying to put such a front up of caring about the Inuit, they would do the most basic learning of the proper grammatical use of Inuit and Inuk. (As is the case with a great many Indigenous Nations, Inuit is both the Nation and plural. Inuk is singular. “An Inuit” / “Inuits” as avatarfandompolice has used just makes their dressed-up racism all the more pathetic. It’s similar to as if you said “Chinas” instead of “Chinese”.)

But all this is nothing, nothing compared to the worst post I had the displeasure of seeing. In a single post, avatarfandompolice manages to squeeze in insult against low income people, Mexican people, Jewish people, and Black people in a mockery of financial help posts. Absolutely disgusting, childish behaviour from a place of privilege. As someone who has had no option but to make such a post before, more than once, let me fucking tell you that the embarrassment and desperation when in that situation is unparalleled. It is not done lightly. It is done when you are at the last resort of having nothing but hope that the combined generosity of others will be enough to save you and your family. And what adds a whole other level to the odiousness of avatarfandompolice’s post is that they specifically targeting low income minorities to boot. Because we’re all poor beggars, right?

All in all, for someone who prides themselves in calling others ignorant, avatarfandompolice has to be one of the most obtuse fandom blogs I have ever scrolled through. They are as vile as they are pathetic, and my sincere sympathy for anyone who has been unfortunate enough to interact with them. It has been a while since I so strongly recommend blocking someone.

#avatarfandompolice #atla #atla fandom #racism #whitewashing #long post #fit for a queue

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imo-chan-imagines · 4 years ago

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『 Waking up and finding you on your period | FKBU Headcanons 』

Characters: female!reader, Kambe Daisuke, Kato Haru

Tags/warnings: Fugou Keiji Balance: Unlimited (anime), 15+, mild sexual references, fluff, so much fluff, teensy bit of a daddy kink implied for Daisuke, bit of breeding link implied for Haru *COUGH*

⚠️ 15+ CONTENT! MINORS: PLEASE DO NOT INTERACT ⚠️

A/N: Guess who came on her period and was in dire need of some comfort from her best boys? That's right. Me. So I freaking wrote it. Here you go.

Despite the tags, it's like, 95% fluff, and even the sex is fluffy, and it's not even described. This is just pure wholesomeness. Thanks for reading! Please enjoy! Imo~

Kambe Daisuke

At first, when Daisuke sees the blood in the bed, he thinks you might be injured and worriedly wakes you up, asking if you're hurt with his hair down because he's been sleeping

As you wake, you feel the crushing pangs in your abdomen and shake your head

"That's not is," you say, embarrassed about the amount of blood staining the sheets

"I see," he says, deducing that you must have got your period in the night

He sounds as calm as ever, but he's actually genuinely relieved you haven't injured yourself

But he can see that you're in pain and he hates it serious daddy vibes

He carefully picks you up and carries you to the ensuite bathroom princess style, baby

"I'm sorry," you whimper into his chest

"There is nothing to be sorry for," he says firmly

His voice rumbles in your ears that deep, sultry voice, omg

When you reluctantly ask him if he's grossed out, he gives you a blank look

"Why should I be?" he asks. "It's perfectly natural."

"Yeah, but…"

He senses that you've experienced unpleasant situations with boyfriends in the past and can't help but feel fiercely protective and angered that they hurt you like that

"Any man who is 'grossed out' – as you put it – by something like this," he continues, entirely seriously, "does not deserve to be called a man."

He sits with you and helps you clean yourself as he draws the bath for you, having got his servants to fetch pain killers, sanitary products, and clear up the mess in the bedroom

You keep apologising for ruining the incredibly expensive, luxury bedding like so expensive, you want to die

But Daisuke keeps telling you not to worry about it, insisting that it can easily be replaced

He's literally already got HEUSC to order some new stuff

After you're clean, he helps you into the bath and gets in with you, sitting you between his legs, his arms around your body, and pulls you back against his chest

He insists you use all your favourite scents and products, planting little kisses on your neck and shoulders as he caresses the bubbles over your skin

He helps you get dressed into some of his comfy, oversized clothes and sits you down on the sofa he bought some after he wore Haru's, lmao

Come to the comfy side, we have hot guys

You grab hold of the back of his shirt when he turns to leave

When you ask him to stay with you, he immediately has tells HEUSC to clear his schedule for the day, calling in sick for work so he can do just that he must look after his princess

He can never say no to you

Hoodies and sweatpants all round

He has his chef make all your favourite foods and orders in whatever chocolates and treats you want

He even purchases a giant, expensive teddy with same-day delivery when you showed even the slightest interest in it we're talking a 2 metre plus bear, here

You spend the day curled up next to him in a cosy room, watching whatever movies, TV shows, K dramas, etc. you want

He probably has a cinema room in his house, okay? Don't @ me

Lots of cuddles and spooning hnng

He ignores any sexual urges he gets if he knows you're not in the mood

When you say you want a massage, he immediately goes to get HEUSC to call his private masseuse

When you ask him to do it instead, he's caught off guard and doesn't really have any idea what to do

He's hesitant and nervous, worried he might hurt you

But he eventually gets the idea, and feels proud of himself when you say it's helped relieve your cramps a little

Lots of hair stroking and back rubs

While you're asleep on his lap, he researches into dealing with period pain

He hates that his money can't buy you out of your pain entirely, but he's going to do the absolute best he can this sweet man, I can't

He makes sure he orders all sorts of high quality products, like super expensive heat pads, magnets, the best quality pads and tampons etc. so he's properly prepared next time best boy

While looking this stuff up, he reads that orgasms and sometimes even penetrative sex can help relieve cramps and pain, and immediately starts looking up how to go about it

When you wake up, he gets you some water and goes to ask you about what he read, but ends up a little too shy to, and vows to himself to bring it up next time

Which he does and it's adorable and hot at the same time??

And he really goes all out, focusing on you completely

You're glowing afterwards as you come down from your high, and he rests his forehead on yours

I'm dying, this is so cute. Why can't this be real?!?

Kato Haru

You wake up first, feeling your stomach sink at the all too familiar sensation of blood between your legs

You nervously turn to Haru and wake him up, but can't manage to get the words out

Haru knows exactly what's happened as soon as he sees it

He gives you a hug and a kiss and tells you it's okay, and to get out of the bed

He fetches you pain killers and hurries out to the convenience store to buy any other products you need

A range of different pads, tampons, a hot water bottle, more over-the-counter pain killers and medication, chocolate it's necessary, okay? Haru knows what's up

It's dishearteningly early in the morning and still dark out brave boy, best boy

He returns with the items as quickly as possible, smelling of a fresh, crisp morning, still panting a little from hurrying to get back to you I freaking can't, it's too cute

He starts cleaning the sheets as best he can, soaking them in the tub while you clean yourself up in the bathroom

He also prepares a quick meal or two for you in advance because he knows you'll feel too awful to do anything yourself today he's so knowledgeable and practical

#boyfriend material

Lots of small smiles, hugs, and forehead kisses to remind you that he's not mad, because he knows you're worrying about it

When you're all clean and the bedding is changed, he puts you back to bed with a hot water bottle and a blanket, kissing your forehead

He has to get ready for work

You want him to stay, but you know how strong his sense of duty is, and don't want to put him in the position where he has to choose

He kisses you softly before he leaves, saying he'll call you later on his break

You spend the whole day missing him while enjoying the food he lovingly prepared

You wait with your phone by you, watching the clock

When he calls and you hear his voice come though on the other end of the line, you sink under a wave of relief and finally start to relax

He asks you how you are, if you've been eating, tells you to eat that particular food you always leave, because it's good for you, damn it, and reminds you where things are in case you might need them, etc.

He says he loves you soft boi

You can hear Kamei in the background, poking fun at Haru – who pointedly reminds him who has a girlfriend and who doesn't rip Kamei

Daisuke's voice briefly drifts down the line, and Haru says he has to go

He says he loves you again, and you say it back

When he hangs up, it's suddenly very empty in the apartment

You hug a pillow all afternoon in place of him

It's late when he gets back, laden with groceries, the ingredients for your favourite meal, and a bouquet of small, pretty-looking flowers from the supermarket

You're immediately feeling better now that he's home, getting some colour back in your cheeks

You watch him cook up a storm in the kitchen he's so hot when he cooks, I can't

You always love his food, but it tastes so much better now that he's with you

After eating, you curl up together and watch TV

Lots of goofy grins and raspberries on your neck and tummy – anything to make you laugh and smile again

When you finally laugh, he leans in and says, "There it is."

Spooning yes, both of them

I like spooning, shut up

He can't help but get hard, and he apologises bashfully when you notice

You tell him it's okay wink wonk

He grins

"You know, I think I have a remedy for this affliction of yours," he says, nuzzling your neck with his nose

"Oh yeah? What's that?" you ask sceptically, sensing something mischievous is afoot

"I could always put a baby in you, free of charge," he says, only half joking as he nibbles on your earlobe getting steamyyy

"Babe, we're broke," you say, breaking out into a giggle

But you get down to it anyway because he freaking loves you and knows that you needs to be reminded of it right now

#imo chan imagines #fugou keiji balance: unlimited #the millionaire detective balance: unlimited #fkbu #imagine #headcanons #fkbu imagine #fkbu headcanons #kambe daisuke #kato haru #fkbu x reader #fluff #fkbu fluff

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officialwagnerrant · 3 years ago

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Wagnerrant Review #6 - Tristan und Isolde

Work: Tristan und Isolde Bayerische Staatsoper Date of performance: 31.07.202

Team Director: Krzysztof Warlikowski Conductor: Kirill Petrenko With: Jonas Kaufmann, Anja Harteros, Okka von der Damerau, Wolfgang Koch, Mika Kares, Manuel Günther, Dean Power, Christian Rieger

Review: @beckmessering

Here’s an entirely hypothetical question: when not very familiar with an opera, is a Regietheater production with hotly anticipated role debuts the best opportunity to form an emotional understanding? Answers may vary, but take it from a someone whose opera education had a shamefully large Tristan-shaped hole: Krzysztof Warlikowski’s Tristan und Isolde at Bayerische Staatsoper is a production to to gnaw on – conceptually elusive and a puzzle with many pieces, but finally a great reward in scenery and in music.

Jonas Kaufmann lends Tristan his well-known baritonal timbre, although it’s not quite as prominent as usual. His voice is dense and rich, though not artificially darkened, and brings delicate piani as well as strength to the role. The third act with Tristan’s near-incessant monologues of increasing volume and intensity provide an audible challenge that doesn’t leave Kaufmann’s voice untouched: he sounds somewhat taxed by the time he’s finally allowed to collapse once and for all. Granted, it’s a punishing and brutal feat; the sheer amount of energy required to sing oneself to death likely isn’t equivalent to the amount a badly wounded man would still have. Kaufmann thus doesn’t quite look to be on death’s door despite a shirt soaked in progressively darker shades of red, but he nonetheless he provides a well-grounded interpretation of one titular character. He steers away from classic hero territory into something more nuanced and disconcerting if one only looks closely enough – Isolde, for that matter, hits the nail on the head when she replies “Frag deine Furcht!” to his “Und welchen Feind?”. He’s scared – or perhaps haunted by thoughts that won’t leave him alone, unable to keep his hands and his gaze still when not singing. He doesn’t outright long for death, but from the very start, he sure doesn’t seem at ease with life, either. Something isn’t quite right with Tristan – and just the right person is needed to unleash it fully.

That just-right-person is Anja Harteros as Isolde, who deserves perhaps the audience’s grandest ovation. Vocally, she is still in excellent shape until the last measures of her delicately sung Liebestod, having preserved her gleaming heights and pristine sound over all three acts. Her middle register, uniquely crystalline and incredibly poignant, could conceivably serve to distinguish her voice from thousands. Yet her singing by far isn’t too pretty to show feelings – Harteros’ voice suits a seething young woman with a rich inner life that progressively unfolds throughout the opera. “Lass’ uns Sühne trinken!“ is an actual threat, one that Tristan wholeheartedly embraces. After losing herself in love in the second act, she reemerges from it lonely and bitingly aware of it. Her grief, like her rage, is controlled yet bone-deep, and it inevitably leads her to die. Perhaps something wasn’t quite right with Isolde, too.

Wolfgang Koch sings Kurwenal with a vivacious, robust baritone that energetically prizes life – a great contrast to Tristan’s inclinations. However, Koch stays far from acting clownish, particularly in the third act, where he wears the worry about his friend on his sleeve, but ultimately remains powerless against Tristan’s impending death. While the latter ecstatically sings himself into delirium, Koch remains comparatively static, demonstrating his character’s inability to help and by extension, vastly different attitude towards life.

Okka von der Damerau’s Brangäne is a well-meaning figure trying her best to put Isolde at ease in this admittedly highly tense situation. While initially reminiscent of a caring aunt, the two women’s bond becomes far more sisterly in nature once the first act’s dialogue – or perhaps conspiracy – around Isolde’s secret potion stash unfolds. She braves the act’s finale with top notes of impressive volume and provides a surprisingly bright, silvery metallic sound for a mezzo. Considering the standout dynamic between the two women, it’s perhaps fitting that her voice blends so smoothly with Isolde’s and even elicits comparisons to a soprano’s sound.

Mika Kares as King Marke packs much disappointment into his clear, well-articulated bass, though it’s about far more than the good old besmirching of honour – this betrayal is personal to him and runs deep. Regrettably, he’s given little to do once he has discovered the wrongdoers in each other’s arms except stalk back and forth between Tristan and Isolde, so he resorts to various pronounced eye movements that verge on accidentally amusing. Brangäne’s single look of horror upon assessing the scene says more than any eye movement could.

Kirill Petrenko’s conducting is fluid, gentle, a statement in and of itself never at the cost of the singers. He crafts the prelude into an intensely lyrical treat, promising much and delivering on that by keeping the orchestra’s sound light yet rich enough to satisfy. He eschews heaviness, but never at the expense of intensity. Particularly the tense moments of the first act are played out very well, and the performance is audibly a successful collaboration between singers, conductor and orchestra: the singers are never drowned out, the orchestra makes its mark, and Petrenko himself brings both together with excellent timing to savour a spectrum of emotions.

Director Krzysztof Warlikowski transplants the setting into a wood-panelled room with high ceilings that traps all characters within its high ceiling, allowing them little escape from what troubles them. This room serves as a continuous backdrop throughout all three acts, although each act adds elements uniquely suited to the current happenings. During the prelude, two silent dancers dressed as almost frighteningly life-like dolls, one male and one female, appear. Their movements are tentative, childlike, evocative of a fragile state as they interact and cautiously touch each other. In the second act, a projection that previously illustrated the view outside a ship’s porthole serves as perhaps an emotional window into the lovers’ psyche. It shows grainy, black-and-white footage of Isolde sitting – waiting – alone on a bed, suggestive of a security camera’s spying eye. In the film, Tristan enters only during “O sink hernieder” and the two sit silently next to each other sans any eye contact, while the real-life Tristan of course has of course entered the stage some time ago. While both of these elements receive their resolution in the final act, the act two film is already subtly reflective of the singers’ actions onstage. While the first act was far more dynamic in terms of interaction, much of this movement disappeared once Tristan and Isolde fell in love, causing the lovers to remain comparatively static during their time together. This takes some time to notice and even more time to get used to, but it allows for much inference on the nature of this love. It’s of the paralysing sort, and it can’t coexist with normal life and regular interaction. There is wallowing in this love or interacting with the rest of the world – but ultimately, a choice will be have to be made. It’s a consuming love, yet clearly not of the physical or even romantic sort, judging from the frequent lack of touch and eye contact – perhaps it’s more of a kinship, a matter of two people having found a part of themselves in each other that they had lost. In any case, the concept avoids the stylisation of Tristan and Isolde’s love as something bright or pure – they may be enraptured, but their state of intoxication doesn’t induce wishful thinking in the audience. The music, more than anything else, connects the lovers with the onlookers. It’s a maddeningly subtle concept of interaction that can easily be taken as stiff or confused with lack of ideas, and the only time it doesn’t pay off is during King Marke’s confrontation in the second act, where Mika Kares isn’t given enough space to physically communicate the emotions of the normal world.

The place of Tristan’s youth in the third act finally unites the previously introduced ideas: Tristan awakes at a table surrounded by dolls seated at a dinner table and dressed like the one representing him in the prelude. As he recalls the early death of his parents, the suggestion that he grew up in a boarding-school atmosphere and carried the burden of being orphaned plants the core idea that he comes from a place of loneliness. Absent a place of emotional safety and affection, his outlook on life is shaped by the inner fragility and unsteadiness he was instead endowed with, and causes him to escape into a love – or a construct – that opposes this life. The question of whether his love is static and at odds with life by nature or rather by Tristan’s nature remains somewhat open, but both are conceivable. During Isolde’s Liebestod, the projections return, showing the lovers lying side by side on the bed again while the room floods with water. As the two inevitably drown, they gaze into each other’s eyes for the first time while the film turns colourful. What initially seems oddly romanticising of death and clichefully pleasant becomes exceptionally poignant when seen as the lovers’ attitude towards death and final fulfilment rather than the director’s views.

It’s an interpretation that becomes more wrenching the longer one thinks about it – multi-layered, elusive, and it refreshingly strays from unduly heroic characterisations that don’t fit the story well. Admittedly, the focus is somewhat aimed at Tristan, and by necessity of the set, much of the psychologization of Isolde in the first act has to occur in the same setting Tristan’s mind will eventually be dissected in. Partially bound by the story and partially by the staging, she can’t be given the same due, which, considering Harteros’ standout Isolde, is a slight shame. Nonetheless, the production doesn’t feel uneven, and when adding music and singers, it becomes a harmonising whole entity. I myself may have closed my eyes in an attempt to fall in love, and I don’t see anything more befitting this opera.

#tristan und isolde #wagner #richard wagner #opera #opera review #wagnerrant review

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digitalvoidheart · 3 years ago

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A Pixelated New Moon

This is a random idea I came up when extremely down in the dumps and also wanted to try writing angst for the first time... (also new moon is a moon completely shadowed soit's basically something in the oneshot)

Also, this is a random au I made up where everyone's life is in a multiplayer game. I know not very original but pls enjoy!

Players/Characters:

♠ Moon (passive nightmare)

♠Nightmare (corrupted nm and a separate being)

♠Horror

♠Killer

♠Dust

♠Cross

Moon knew his team was unstoppable and was proud of it.

Horror, even with that cracked skull from a false 1v1 (his opponent had an accomplice hidden for a sneak attack, Horror came out victorious eventually), his agility is unaffected and he can pack a punch with his attacks.

He may say that he lacks in the defense department but when it comes to combat, he usually attacks when the team is surrounded, creating a soundwave-like attack with his bone weapon constructs, giving him the title of the team's main offence.

Next comes Dust. He's a mysterious one if Moon had to be honest. Not only did he refuse to narrate his backstory or history of his previous teams, but his level on all skills seemed to be on par. No one knows what he specializes in wether it is defense, healing or combat because he has activated his hidden card. A special item which hides the stats of the player. An expensive item but with the high level he's in, it's possible for him to own one.

He could protect the team in one second, heal Horror the next and attacking side by side with Nightmare on the next, all mid battle. Moon found it very impressive.

Another dangerous member is Killer. He may not have the same knockout attacks as Horror, nor the magic abilities like Dust, but he makes up the team by his traitorous speed. His slump posture may make it seem he's lazy but he's far from that.

He could land a good amount of slashes onto his opponent in the least amount of time, immobilizing them temporarily sometimes. He doesn't fear much, proven by the wide cocky grin plastered on at all times and the fact that he chooses close range attacks while his target shaped SOUL was always within the enemy's grasp? Deliciously terrifying.

Lastly, Nightmare. The leader of the team, one who plans ahead, always knowing way the opponents are thinking. He has the highest level compared to everyone under his wing, the aforementioned trio having a small reduction to reach his level, and Moon a LARGE one.

He didn't even know why he was needed in the team. Horror's attack, Dust's magic and Killer's speed made up the perfect balance of a team. His constant request for why they need him always went unanswered by Night. He can't even leave without Nightmare's consent, that being the rules of the life-or-death game they play. Any player who wishes to leave their team has to have their removal granted by the team leader. His permission for leaving went deaf as his questions.

The trio always had their answers on them for him, albeit it's a little untrue.

"Need ya for...shieldin' me. Got low defense, r'member?" You don't need me. You've got Dust.

Dust's minute responses were similar "You're useful..." No Dust, I'm just a burden. You don't need to heal me midbattle either. Use it for Nightmare or Horror instead.

"Pretty sure 'cuz you hold up a shield better than any of us" Funny, Killer. And I'm at least another 25 levels below you guys...

He's pretty sure no one knows of his secret to try up his levels, so that's out of the options. Everyone has their share of G, albeit higher than his for earning more EXP than him for being on the offense. So why do they want him if it isn't money or battle?

His answers come to him when they enter the next quest. The blue screen appearing before each of them reading :

Welcome to level XX!

Here, you will be separated into two groups. Team one with any number of players will be challenged with X number of quests through the white gate while team two with one player will pass through the abyss through the black gate.

Choose wisely!

Oh... A sacrifice.

"I'll go" Moon smiled even when the heavy words sent a metaphorical spear to his SOUL. He can do this. It's for the team. He might not know what the quest in the abyss is but no one's returned once entering the abyss r-right? They needed him so they could pass this level. So why did it hurt to line the facts together?

"No." Nightmare deadpanned, his decision locked with no room for argument. "We'll rest up at the checkpoint and discuss who to go where tomorrow."

What? I-I'm not th- a sacrifice?

Moon's voice failed him from the assertiveness of his leader. And like that, he was lead to the previous checkpoint where they discussed at the inn for whom to go, and honestly? Moon wasn't listening at all.

This could be his chance to detach his leeching body from their assets and give them a higher chance of success! Maybe they can even find a better player with a higher level than himself to benefit the guys more. But why do they need to discuss who to go when the answer was right in front of them?

While Nightmare and the others planned for who to go, Moon made his own plan to carry out during their slumber. As the moment arrived at midnight, he slipped out to carry a few errands quests the inn offered for G and his own personal plans.

He won't let their efforts go to waste. Not when he was around.

***

The next day, the team of five made their way back to gates of the next level.

Moon spared a glance at Nightmare to see him nod at the trio. As one of them stepped closer to the black portal. It was Killer. A valuable and speedy asset to the team.

Moon let out a sigh and exhaled his message to them.

"I'm sorry"

Killer was pulled away with blue magic as his purple cloaked companion whisked past his fallen figure and into the abyss. The portal closed before any of them had time to figure out what had happened.

---

The rumours were false. The Abyss wasn't heavy. Sure, it was dark but you could still see yourself in a white outline only. And apparently, he wasn't the only one.

He watched as players teleport into the Void, some calm, others screaming and shouting for someone (probably they were betrayed by their own team) before they all are faced with a monochromatic screen. Upon his distraction, he didn't notice the exact replica of the screen in front of him as well.

Welcome to the abyss!

This is a test of patience and trust for your team. You will watch as your team completes their quests and at the end, choose your fate

It didn't say much but the pixelated screen then glitched, showing a live view of his team. They look upset and unhappy, except Nightmare.

He looked furious. If he wasn't mad with Moon before, he was now. Maybe he might allow him to leave the team. That is if he can leave the abyss in the first place.

Looking back, he noticed the distraught player a small distance away from him as they tapped on their screen.

He watched, wide-eyed as they disintegrated into pixels. Like monster dust. Death...

Although, he was quickly distracted by another monster watching through his screen.

A skeleton monster they were. The same outline white around him didn't tell the colours the monster possessed but his right eye light and lightning-bolt scar on his right cheek were red. Does that mean eyelights remain their colour?

Getting a response from the new guy was difficult. He refused to speak.

After multiple attempts Moon sighed "Could I get your name at least?" More silence from the skeleton and Moon gave up.

"It's Cross"

His head shot back at the red eyed skeleton. Before he decided to shut up himself and watch his team.

He turned in time to see Horror summon a shield himself to protect Dust from an attack. So it was a fluke. The incapability to defend himself...

"I knew it..." he said to no one but Cross turned to his direction from the screen. "They really didn't need me. It was all a lie..." tears welled up in his sockets, blurring the view of his team effectively.

"B-but why did they wanna keep me if i wasnt for a sacrifice?" He croaked. He watched as Nighmare and the guys cleared the stage in a blur.

Another thing he was. A deadweight.

Completely forgetting that he was crying near a complete stranger, he swiftly wiped his tears and residual magic from his face. He pulled up his cloak's cowl only to hear Cross speak once more.

"You're their anchor." Moon turned to Cross.

"W-what?" What did he mean by anchor?

"Having high levels means you are more likely to loose control of your mind, resulting in messes you never intended on happening. "

Eyes never leaving the team, he continued, "You were basically kept so that they have a distraction from overdoing things. Like that grey hooded guy," he pointed at Dust "he seems to keep healing the guy with a cracked skull mid battle to avoid losing his sanity from his bottomless well of magic"

Moon looked at Dust, then averted his gaze to his feet in shame.

Cross explained how the others may have benefited from him and Moon took it all in.

And even if it seemed like minutes, Moon felt like he'd been talking with him for hours and have been friends for longer.

He didn't want to leave Cross. He could take him with and show him to the team. Maybe they will accept him and-

Ping!

Moon looked up to see hi- Nightmare's team has passed through all quests and now are waiting in front of a transporter. The screen glitched once, twice before turning back to the message screen. This time, it displayed a volume symbol and a female voice spoke.

"Player Moon, your team has successfully passed through level XX. You have an option to go back to your team which costs 78000 G, or stay in the void till you disintegrate. Choose wisely on what will benefit your team."

W-what? Already? He can go back! He has enough G for three tickets from scraping all the G from his secret task job in checkpoints! He can redeem himself, apologise to Nightmare and-

"Congratulations" Cross' voice pierced through his thoughts. He was smiling, but Moon knew better.

"Come with me" he demanded.

"That's against the rules, little Moon" Cross countered. He looked over Moon's shoulder at the screen, which had apparently heard him, giving a robotic 'affirmative'. "Besides, I don't have a team to go back to nor the G to buy myself out"

Moon's eyelights began wavering as he paced. Looking at his options, he only had three.

He took deep breaths to calm himself from the edge of panic. Opening his eyes, he looked at Cross.

He was hiding sadness behind a stoic mask, wanting to be strong with Moon returning safe to his team. It crushed his Soul to know that the determination in it was slowly burning out to a flickering flame.

Cross' stats were a considerably good amount, higher than Moon's obviously. His understanding and calm during a panicked situation is admirable.

But if only one of them can leave...

Who should?

☆********☆

I'll do 3 endings after my exams so look forward to it!

Btw to all angst writers... HOW TF DO YOU DO IT WITHOUT HAVING TO BE SAD?!!! I was only able to write this cuz I was sad. :(

#Void writes #digitalvoidheart #Moon #Nightmare #Killer #Cross #Horror #Dust #Game au #Tw depression #First time writing angst #Tell me how it is #C y'all after exams

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marvelfansince08love · 4 years ago

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Beneath your scars

Word Count: 3597

Pairing: Wilhemina Venable x Female!Reader

Prompts: “You deserve more than this” “You think I’m beautiful” “I can’t live...not with you” “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Warning: angst with a happy ending, mentions of fighting and scars, Mina showing her vulnerable side. NSFW 18+ you’ve been warned lmao.

A/N: For anon, I hope you enjoy reading. I loved writing this and messing around with Mina’s vulnerable side and delving into her character a bit more.

Tags: @waitingfortheendtocome @natasha-danvers @imnotasuperhero

I do not own this gif!

Prompts 1,8,11,17 Being with Wilhemina Venable was like being on a roller-coaster. You enjoy the ride while it's at its peak heading for that blue sky but then it drops making your stomach curl, wanting to close your eyes as tight as possible while you weave through sharp corners just hoping to get back to the peak within the clouds again.

You see, being at the peak close to the clouds was when you were at your best with Mina, you both may not admit it but you enjoy being around each other, you enjoy talking into the late nights after a hard day. Mina would travel home from work and take the first exit straight to you without realising it but you'd be there by the door, glass of red in hand for her and her favourite meal set at the table. You'd smile knowingly at her tired face and without a single word uttered you'd take her into your arms and hold her tight. You've both never brought up your relationship status, too scared to ruin what you've created but you both knew it was something special.

Six months down the line and you are still riding that coaster higher and higher into the clouds. One dark night you decide to change up your routine by driving to her home after a stressful day at the office to surprise her. You see, working for the rival company of your lover can be difficult and you both try not to delve into too much information about the companies in fear of clashing and ruining your private bubble you both have created.

You see to an outsider, your relationship looks like the classic same-sex relationship with passion and love, but the thing is you and Mina haven’t reached that stage of your relationship yet. Sure, you share heated kisses and flirt like real lovers but your relationship is much more deeper than that. You are each other's comfort, someone to hold tightly to at night when you need it; always full clothed per Mina’s request, who you can moan to about your day, to watch out for you outside the office.

You both work such demanding jobs it’s difficult to make the relationship any more than just two close friends enjoying each other's company, it would just complicate things or at least, that’s what you keep telling yourself.

You pull up into Mina's private driveway, already knowing that she's aware of your arrival from her private security cameras. She stands by the large doorway leaning slightly against her cane, dressed in her signature purple colour. However, one thing that catches your eye making you smile softly is that her usual classic ponytail that holds her beautiful red hair in place is now loose and draped softly down her back.

‘And I get the privilege of seeing her like this’ you think smugly, while gathering your work bag and walking casually over to her.

As you reach the last step towards her front door you smell that familiar scent of vanilla that surrounds the redhead making you sigh, already feeling the tension from the day falling away from you. Mina pushes off of her cane gently and takes a step forward, her hand grasping your work shirt and tugging you close until you feel those cherry red lips lock with your own making you hum lightly.

"That has been the best greeting I've had all day," you comment as you lean back slightly allowing one of your hands to comb through her hair basking in the softness of it.

"Oh? Well I hope I'm the only one who gets to greet you like this or else, I'm going to have to use this cane to whoop some bitche's ass," she murmurs, pulling you close once more and placing a dominant kiss to your lips before leading you into her home. You trail behind slightly admiring the sway of her hips as she takes you through into the kitchen. You place your bag by the doorway before taking a seat at the kitchen table.

"Oh, you’d use the cane now, that's hot." You tease, wiggling your eyebrows playfully at her as she brings over a bottle of red wine to the table before scolding you teasingly.

"Watch it you or I just might," she walks over and places an empty wine glass next to you before placing a gentle kiss to your temple and taking a vacant seat to the side of you.

You both continued on with your night laughing and ranting about anything and everything, you tease and joke to make her laugh and smile because ‘oh what a beautiful smile she has when she shows it’. After a while, you move towards the living room area and lounge across the sofa, Mina's back against your front as you sit upright against the arm of the sofa. You twirl a stray lock between your fingers as Mina reads from her latest book, you place gentle kisses at the back of her neck making her hum in satisfaction, her head rolling to the side an inch giving you more access.

"Mmm don't start something you can't finish Y/N," she mutters, eyes still glued to the pages of her book. You chuckle quietly before moving her hair to one side and planting a wet kiss on her neck.

"Who says we can't finish hmm?" Mina quickly turns over so she's chest to chest with you, her book falling to the floor as her lips meet yours in a heated kiss. You continue to clash lips, biting down on her delicious full bottom lip making her moan quietly. Hands move to caress one another, her cold hand making its way under your shirt making you squirm as they connect to your warm skin. Her finger tips tentatively graze across your stomach as if hesitant to continue further, you grab a hold of her wrist and bring her hand further up your shirt encouraging her silently to continue. Your hand reaches behind her back grasping the metal zipper of her dress and slowly dragging it down, Mina freezes above you suddenly and rips away from you so quickly you feel like you’ve experienced whiplash.

You blink a few times trying to gather your bearings again from within the mist of pleasure you were just experiencing. Quickly sitting up, you eye Mina’s guarded form as she quickly re-zips her dress, her face stonic as you practically sits on the armchair, as far away from you as possible. Your heart beats rapidly worried that if you make the wrong move, you’ll scare her away.

If you have learnt anything about Mina in the last six months, is that Wilhemina Venable may be a hard-ass but underneath that stonic exterior is just a frightened woman wanting to be loved and accepted.

“Mina are yo-”

“I think you should leave,” She harshly demanded, standing quickly and readjusting herself while grabbing a hold of her cane by the sofa. You stand cautiously and approach her like a frightened animal, stopping just a few inches away watching as her eyes focus on something over your shoulder avoiding your gaze.

“Miss.Y/L/N, if you could please leave and make sure to delete my number, your presence is no longer required.” Her tone unsympathetic, her lips pierced in a sour fashion. She turns on the spot and heads for the door, the only thing echoing around the room is the sound of her cane hitting the expensive flooring as she approaches the front door.

You stand still in shock at her suddenly harsh demeanor before shaking your head in disbelief.

“No.”

Your defiance causes her hand to pause, hovering over the doorknob she turns her head slightly in your direction from the open doorway facing into the living room.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think your simple mind heard me clearly. I.want.you.to.leave.” She punctures those last few words carefully making sure you heard her loud and clear.

“No. Not until you tell me why you are going all HR Venable on me. You know I know you better than that!” You grate, anger and confusion raises inside you like an exploded rage of fire. Your voice shakes slightly as you try to hold back your emotions.

‘If Mina can hide behind her devil mask, so can I.’ You think internally.

“Why do you defy me, Y/N? I’m asking you politely to leave my home, don’t force my hand.”

“Not until you tell me why you are kicking me out. I’m sorry if I overstepped any boundaries, but from what I could hear and feel, you wanted me just as much.” You state, cringing inwardly at your poor choice of words.

“Don’t tell me what you thought you felt Y/N. I owe you nothing, now get out!” Her raised voice startles you slightly, making you pause thinking of your next move.

‘You push her to open up, she’ll only close off more’ You remind yourself, deciding to try a different approach.

“Okay, you want me gone? I’ll go. But first, I want just one answer from you. You at least ‘owe’ me that much,” You compromise, watching as her eyes flash with confliction and hesitance. She moves reluctantly away from the door and towards the open living room still keeping her distance but showing she is willing to listen, her cane stands in front of her with two hands placed atop of it as she stands tall, her eyes holding yours steadily.

“I’m listening,”

“Are you afraid of what I’ll think if I see your back?” You ask, making sure you get to the point, knowing how much she hates riddles and pussy footing around questions.

You watch as she visibly flinches at the mention of her condition, her throat bobbing as she struggles to find the right words. You hold your breath for a single moment waiting for the harsh backlash of your question, but sigh subtly when her eyes drop to the floor. Her stoic mask slipping away, showing her true fear and insecurity.

“Yes,” she barely whispers, making your heart break at the sight.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” You ask, feeling your own unushered tears build watching as she struggles to gather herself, her chin trembling.

“Because... You deserve more than this… this ugly monster that I am, that hides behind thick purple clothes and her cane.” She laughs humorlessly, shaking her head slightly still keeping her eyes locked onto the flooring. You step closer to her, taking your time to courge her reaction to your approach.

Once you stand in front of her, you place a finger underneath her trembling chin and lift her face towards your own, making her eyes lock with yours.

“Wilhemina Venable, you look at me and you listen carefully to my words." You pause, making sure she understands. "You are not a monster and you certainly aren’t ugly. When I look at you, I see a brave woman trying her damn hardest to fight her demons day in day out just wanting someone to help take those demons away and love her for who she is… A beautiful woman who has the most blinding smile to grace this world. "I could die today and would be thankful that your smile was the last thing I saw.” You declare softly, your eyes pleading for her to understand to listen to your words. Her eyes glisten as a single tear drops from those big brown eyes, you move your hands to cup either side of her face brushing the strayed wet tears from her cheekbone.

“You think I’m beautiful,” She murmurs delicately. A soft frown appearing on her features doubting your statement. You kiss her tear stained face lightly and brush your nose against hers, hearing her unsteady breath as she comes to terms with your declaration.

“Mina, I think you are so much more than that. I know you only wanted this arrangement to help fill some of that physical contact that you’ve been missing lately but I… I can help but feel this is so much more than that now, and if you will allow this to blossom into something worth investing, then I’m all ears. I’m dedicated to you a hundred percent. We all have our demons Mina, we just gotta choose a partner who's willing to help us fight them and to hold our hand when things get rough but, I can’t live...not without you Mina, you are all I have.”

“You deserve more than this.” She insisted, moving her face away from your own as she goes to backtrack towards the front door.

“When I was 16 I got into my first fight on the streets. I was low in cash but I was good with my fists, some low run of mill back alley street fighting business. The guy I owed money for offered me away out of my debt, so I took it. That’s where I got my first knife scar,” you confess making Mina pause in her steps. She turns back towards you, a confused frown settles deep between her sad eyes but her silence indicates that she wants you to continue with your confession as you slowly unbutton your white work shirt, revealing a simple black bra, you watch as her eyes take in your form zoning in on the individual white lines that scatter across your torso and shoulders. You turn around slowly to reveal more small scars that pattern your back as you let the white material drop to the floor, leaving you bearing your very own hidden past.

“A few weeks later, my debt seemed to be stacking rather than actually going down, so I ended up participating in more than just one fight. That deep red scar near my shoulder blade was from an infected shiv that some amateur thought would win him the fight, he got pretty beaten up for that slip up. They may have been cruel to think of such an idea but they did protect their fighters.” The silence in the room became deafening and you were about to turn around when you heard the sound of her cane hitting the floor softly making you pause as you felt her hand wrap around your bicep as soft lips brush gently around the pointed out scar making you shiver under the touch.

“You deserved more than that,” she mutters against your skin, almost echoing your words. She squeezes your bicep indicating for you to turn around and face her. Once you face her, you take in her conflicted expression as she debates her next move. You watch in awe as she drops her cane and reaches behind her grabbing onto her own zipper and unfastening the tight dress until she is stood bare, her breast cupped perfectly in her lilac purple bra and fitted thongs showing her curves beautifully. She clears her throat and stands tall, her eyes slowly reaching your own as she holds your gaze.

“When I was thirteen, I cried for hours to my parents about how painful my back was, particularly around my spine. The pain was excruciating. I've never felt any like it in my life. Kids snickered and pointed at me in school for having this disgusting black back brace

A couple of years later when I was 15, they operated on it; called it a spinal fusion but the metalwork failed to attach properly. Just another one of god’s cruel tricks,” She breathed unsteadily, trying to stop herself from sobbing. You feel your heart breaking for a young Mina just trying to grow up in a world where people only saw her as a freak for trying to stop herself being in pain.

“Don’t.”

“Don’t what, Mina?”

“Don’t look at me like I need sympathy.” She hoarse, her chin trembling.

You walk towards her, holding her gaze. You continue to brush past her shoulder softly watching as her eyes close as she realises your intent. You take in her back carefully making sure to take in the scars around her curved spine, lightly tracing the area with your fingertip before pressing a light kiss to one of the scars feeling her shiver and tremble as she silently sobs.

You go to step away, thinking you had overstepped but before you can think, Mina turns around and pulls you close, nose to nose as your hands wrap around her elbows.

“Take me to bed Y/N, make me forget.” She demands desperately. Your eyes darken at the request as you take a hold of her hand and escort up the stairs of her elegant home.

You notice her hold tighten as she takes the stairs with caution, realising she has left her cane in the living room. You step in front of her and pull her in for a heat kiss before reaching your hands around her thighs. Understanding your intention, Mina allows you to pick her up, wrapping her legs around you as you hold her tight, mouths never leaving one another, making her moan.

“This is the only time I will ever allow you to pick me up, Y/L/N.” She murmurs against your mouth.

“Does that mean there will be more times?” You ask teasingly, as you softly spank her ass while rushing up the stairs. A nipple to your neck is your only reply.

You enter her bedroom and gently lower her to the bed as you peel away her bra making her gasp lightly as her nipples perk from the cool air. The soft moonlight's glow surrounds the room making her brown eyes sparkle against the light as you softly push her down into the cotton linen. Mina groans at your delicate slow approach, making you grin softly at her impatience.

“Y/N, i’m not a delicate flower. Fuck me,” she moans scooting higher onto the bed, but you can see the slight wince she makes while trying to lie flat.

“Shh baby, I got you.” You joke as you bring her left leg up, bending it at the knee before kissing it and leaning over her body slightly as you place her plush pillow under her neck and upper back. You see her sigh appreciatively at the better position knowing it eases the pressure from her back before you continue to leave wet kisses up her bare thigh, biting softly at the delicate skin leaving your own work of art along her pale skin. Her hands come up to your buttoned up black trousers.

“You are far too overdressed, sweet girl.” She hoarse as she makes quick work at dragging them down to your knees. You push off the bed to get rid of them before climbing back onto the bed and kiss her navel and up towards her breasts as she squirms beneath you making you chuckle huskily, your lips hovering over her own red ones.

“So impatient, Ms.Venable.” You tease, as you suck against the delicate skin on her neck.

You continue to tease and pleasure her all the while making sure she was comfortable throughout. You both make quick work at riding all underwear as you hover above her, gently rubbing her bundle of nerves with your index finger watching her moan and wither below you. You continue your steady pace until her hips are thrusting higher wanting more contact. You ease a finger into her entrance watching her mouth open wide at the new sensation as she rides your single digit while continuing to torture her clit with your thumb.

“Mm.. more.. I need..ahh.. I need more,” She breathes, stuttering over her words as she rides out her pleasure. You kiss her moans silencing them with your mouth and tongue. You continue your pace before inserting another digit watching her eyes roll back in pleasure.

“Yes…I... That’s it baby,” her words of satisfaction eggs you on to increase the pace making her cry out loud.

You watch her reach her peak as she grabs tightly to the back of your head bringing your forehead against hers as she allows her own release, making you moan with her.

“You look so good coming undone beneath me.” You comment smugly, knowing just how much Mina loves to be in control of things and being on top.

“I bet you would look even better beneath me.”

“Wha-” Before you can finish your word you're suddenly laying flat on your back staring up at those big brown eyes and devilish smirk as red hair flows beautifully acting as curtains hiding our faces within her red hair.

“Mmm, your right. The view up here is much better." She mocks, her eyes flash teasingly, making you shiver at the sight.

“Do your worse, Venable.” You challenge, settling into the soft mattress. She places scattering kisses on your scars making sure to appreciate every single one until she reaches the final one just below your navel, smirking up at you.

***

As the sunlight seeps through the window greeting you to a new day, you think back to the late night as you bask in the weight that lays against your body. Soft snores coming from the naked redhead, smirk slightly as you realise two things from last night. Mina has a very talented tongue and one wicked mouth that you know you will continue to love for all your days and second, you will continue to show her just how beautiful she is both inside and out.

#wilhelmina venable x reader #venable x reader #ms venable #sarah paulson x reader #ahs apocalypse #mina has my heart #light smut #totally didn't cry while writing this

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legends-live-in-memories · 4 years ago

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I Have Too Many Opinions. ep. 1

lmao. i got encouragement to post my opinions on fandom things and now i want to make a miniseries doing just that. so here i am. doing just that.

im putting it under the cut cuz this was 4 whole pages including the disclaimer. yes i put a disclaimer and i explain why.

Anyways, here is the first piece in what inevitably will become fandom info dump, this time on thomas astruc’s writing on miraculous ladybug. but only some of my opinions cuz we would be here all day otherwise.

So… a disclaimer before I begin…

I do not hate Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir (yes i'm using their government name). I am quite a fan of the show actually despite its faults. I am also older than the intended audience but was obviously younger when the show first aired which is how my interest was piqued (the fact that its been 6 years and only 3 seasons says more about the show than me being a fan for that amount of time but also i never want to rush content creators cuz they're doing their best) and due to my age, there will be inherent bias in my approach of what i'm about to say as there is in EVERY opinion. The fact that it is an opinion should imply the presence of bias but most people tend to lack the critical thinking skills required to draw that conclusion ANYWAYS…

If I did hate the show I would not have this blog nor would I be even writing this because i tend to not give more than 2 seconds of thought to things i actively dislike (some of yall should give this a try) and i'm allowed to like things that are designed for an audience that i was originally a part of but grew out of. (I don't suddenly stop liking things because I'm older despite what many younger fans seem to believe about older audiences. I also don't need to be ‘allowed’ to do anything cuz i wasn't asking for permission anyways.)

This will not be character bashing, astruc bashing nor fandom bashing cuz, again, that would imply i hate any of those elements and if i did, i would not dedicate brainpower to them. Analyses and criticisms of media are fun and engaging and required if you wish to produce good enjoyable content. Now most of this should be already assumed and self-explanatory but people on the internet like to play morality roulette roll dice on purity culture and I rather have documentation that I am in fact not bullying fictional 14 year olds or a grown man. But alas, people get trigger happy whenever someone has less than 1000000% positive opinions on something they like and will throw out words they can't define (gaslight, baiting, toxic, problematic, gatekeep etc) in an attempt to defend their blind devotion,

which is not needed, if you like something you never have to defend it, even if i don't like it. If you respond to anything I post saying you disagree with me, I will not argue with you. I won't debate back and forth and try to convince you that the things you like are wrong. Unless you are being absolutely tone deaf to what i'm saying, you wont get a negative reaction from me. So don't try to fish for a fight. Please. I got metaphorical hands for days and I'm mean, you don't want me hurting your feelings on the internet. Do yourself the favour. Difference of opinion is how we get diversification in media and is inherently a good thing. Now that that's out of the way, please don't ever let me have to say that again. I beg.

Now onto the fun stuff

I didn't know what I wanted as a first topic so my trusty internet friend @moonlitceleste suggested astruc’s writing…

AND BOI do i got some opinions on ole tommy boi. Again I don't hate the dude. In fact, he has worked on a few shows that had defined my childhood, including but not limited to W.I.T.C.H. (all eps available on youtube for those interested, 2 seasons, general fun time all around).

So I don't think he’s scum of the earth but I do think his approach to writing mlb specifically has more misses than hits.

The first big miss is that he has no idea how to write 14 year old girls. At all. Almost every girl he has ever written feels like some terrible archetype built entirely for marketability and childish projection and pubescent self-insert (kind of). He has never been a 14 year old girl. I have. In fact when the show first aired, I WAS around the (assumed) age of the mlb characters. The behaviour he passes off as quirky or awkward or just the character’s genuine personality tend to perpetuate harmful stereotypes of teen girls found in the media and are never actually addressed as harmful. they just get swept under the rug. Marinette’s exuberant collage of teen heart throb model boi Adrien Agreste and her very painful almost fan worship she has of him (which flip flops like a paper sandal in the rain) being portrayed as a cute school girl crush uwu, Chloe being the y7 Regina George, Alya being the token best friend of colour with her ‘sassy’ personality (i want y'all to imagine me eyerolling so hard i bust a vessel in my eye), Kagami being the very damaging Perfect Asian Child stereotype. And before y'all get on your dusty soap box and defend going on about “BUT IT'S FOR CHILDREN”,,,, know this.

i don’t give a solid fuck.

Not one.

Children arent stupid. Children are always going to remember the richy bitchy blonde who bullies the art kid, and the big kid, and the shy kid, and the non white kids, and was only nice to her equally rich white friend who she probably had a crush on or was only ever civil to her equally white lapdog. They're going to remember the half asian girl who was never allowed to actually be asian or the only black girl who existed solely as a soundboard for enabling bad habits or chastising the main character for the same habits she enables in the first place (boi aint THAT a topic for later). Like do i really need to explain that alya chastising marinette for taking max’s spot in gamer just to play with adrien rings absolutely hollow when she actively encourages her to sabotage the contest she’s in just so Kagami doesn't win?? Like I don't have to explain that right?? Again kids arent stupid and its quite something that Mari gets chastised for proving herself the best video game player regardless of her intentions just cuz it comes at the expense of max’s feelings/ego but is actively encouraged to sabotage not only kagami but herself by extension cuz kagami is ‘competition.’ Adrien is not a trophy to be won. And no I don't expect 14 yrs old to be perfect and to always make good decisions but these decisions are never addressed as being bad decisions. they get swept under the rug cuz those decisions were necessary for the ‘plot’ but astruc can barely keep characterization consistent and his characters suffer for it and it's the same children you preach are watching it that suffer as well. Cuz guess what? I KNOW 14 yr olds aren't like that cuz i've been there done that (this is the last time i'm saying that i promise) so I know astruc is just metaphorically throwing darts to figure out who says and does what without consideration for pre established personalities to drive the stalemate plot along. The same kids you say are watching this don't know that that's not how preteens work and will absorb and internalize those dynamics like baking soda and vinegar. Cata-fucking-strophically.

And I haven't even gotten to the boys yet. Which honestly doesn't require much explanation anyways cuz they suffer the same fate as the girls. Tired archetypes with nothing to give them life. Nino falls into Adrien’s person of colour token best friend who dates the female lead’s person of colour token best friend so they can have cute double dates uwu. Except the plot goes nowhere and we have no inclination of romantic development beyond moments that only act to actively convince me to anti ship the lovesquare (i don't want to do that so i self indulge in fanon that actually cares about the characters and plot. may i interest you in True Sight on AO3?). Max is the residential nerd but it doesn't matter (cuz he and everyone are dumbed down for the sake of ‘plot’), kim is the sports jock (which interestingly subverts the asian comedic relief stereotype but only barely) and luka is cute older guy ™ that wears black nail polish and is in a band. The point of all this is to say there is no depth in the characters. It's especially blatantly obvious with the characters astruc doesn't like (chloe). Again, it being a show for kids is not an excuse to be absolved of putting effort into the characters you make.

This is one of the biggest misses astruc has. I haven't even gone into all the nuances of this particular miss. And i havent gone into how that works against him in the plot either. Mostly because the plot itself hasn't gone anywhere and partially because I wanted to go into the plot (or lack thereof) separately as its own miss.

AND BOI is it a miss.

SO home boy astruc wanted to reap the benefits of a serial show with ‘engaging’ plot without putting in any of the work to make a linear storyline and relying on the episodic format for, again, marketability. You can't have the best of both worlds, you are not Avatar: The Last Airbender. Which btw has a lot less episodes and a desired end goal that didn't involve top dollar. Legend of Korra did but that's not the point and it had its failings with that too. I challenge you, tell me how many episodes actually contribute towards a plot point or introduce new thematic elements to the show? Can you name them? I can and I'm going to include the plot points that moved the story in some direction if only temporarily. Yes only temporarily for some of these and i will explain later. (if you're in the server you already saw this list *wink*)

25/26. Origins- self explanatory, the beginning of the story,

24. Volpina- introduction of the grimoire and Master Fu (kind of) and no, Lila is not a plot point,

28. The Collector- proper introduction of Master Fu,

37. Sapotis- introduction of Rena Rouge,

41. Syren- introduction of new aquatic power ups,

44. Anansi- introduction of Carapace,

47. Frozer- introduction of new ice power ups,

48/49. Style Queen- introduction of Queen Bee,

51/52. Heroes’ Day- introduction of Mayura and mass akumatization,

66. Startrain- introduction of Pegasus,

67. Kwami Buster- Marinette wears multiple miraculouses,

68. Feast- backstory as to how the miraculouses were lost,

69. Ikari Gozen- introduction of Ryuko,

70. Timetagger- introduction of Bunnyx,

71. Party Crasher- introduction of Roi Singe and Viperion,

73. Chat Blanc- alternate timeline that essentially means nothing but got a reaction out of fans anyways (myself included)

77/78. Love Eater/Battle of Miraculous- Marinette becomes guardian and other heroes lose their miraculous,

New York Special- other heroes exist and there is an American miraculous box,

That's 21 episodes. 21 out of a heaping 78 plus 2 specials. Everything else was just your typical akuma of the day episode and everything that happened outside that had no lasting consequences on the plot thanks to the miraculous status quo. Was it entertaining to watch Lila stir the plot of the class dynamic? Hell yeah. Too bad it meant nothing by the end of the episode cuz we were struck with miraculous status quo. She literally doesn't appear again until Heroes Day. that is from episodes 25 all the way to 51, she means nothing and yet she is treated with the severity of a b-villain/rival thing. She means nothing by the end of Volpina if I'm being honest. She is only relevant for 20 mins of episode time she’s in then it's back to magic status quo that undoes any shift in dynamics and relationships. It's like Spongebob who can't get his driver’s license. The worst part is I actually like Lila and I wish the story treated her with the seriousness we as an audience are expected to treat her with. Despite being painfully inconsequential by the end of each of the 3?? 4?? episodes she’s in, it's entertaining to watch a character create drama just because.

Too bad it means nothing.

Astruc is constantly building up suspense to something ‘important’ only for it to not deliver and fans are constantly having the rug pulled out from under us. Oblivio teased us with a reveal only that gets undone cuz memory akuma. Chat Blanc teased us with romantic development but that gets undone cuz time travel bullshit. Feast introduced more miraculous lore and the history of the guardians but that means nothing by the next episode or ever (i'm not including any reference to the season 4 trailer cuz i've been around the block a few times and im familiar with this lil dancy dance). Heroes Day teased us with a possible future team of heroes but that gets undone in Battle of Miraculous cuz ????? why?? (here's why; astruc was having a jolly ole time letting us know how irredeemable Chloe is at the expense of shooting his own stagnant plot in the foot. Again, discussion for later.)

Too bad anything that slightly swerves off course from the akuma of the day gets undone or ignored. Too bad nothing has any lasting consequence. I mean, if anything did, the episodes would have had a consistent order and release schedule so im not scrambling to watch the leaked ep in Portuguese or something while the french dub is two episodes behind while the english version hasnt even been dubbed. I really wonder how he plans to conclude the show when he’s so afraid to step out of the corner he painted himself in.

Again, not going into nuances. If you want you can ask for more specifics (i doubt anyone would) but this is really just a slightly detailed general overview of my opinions on astruc’s writing.

I was going to include another miss in his approach to this show but imma save that for another time.

How’s that for a ‘first’ post?

#mlb #opinions my guy opinions #i dont wanna tag this as salt #but mlb criticisms and analyses #IHTMO #the hashtag for this series #thomas astruc #miraculous fandom #miraculous ladybug #miraculous: tales of ladybug and cat noir #yes the government name again #come get yall juice #miraculous

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