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runnning-outof-time · 1 year ago

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The Brother That Always Wins | Tommy Shelby x Reader

Request: yes by @kpopgirlbtssvt

Pairing: Tommy Shelby x reader, with hints of John Shelby and Arthur Shelby trying their hand at flirting with the reader

Summary: (Y/N) is oblivious to the fact that three of the most powerful men in Birmingham are interested in her. When it's all said and done though, the brother that always wins, wins.

Warnings: language, drinking, terribly written flirting

Word Count: 4350

A/N: this story turned into an absolute ride, one that I enjoyed much more than I thought I would. It’s a bit of controlled chaos…I hope you’re ready for it. Enjoy! :)

I’D LOVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! YOUR COMMENTS & REBLOGS HELP ME WRITE!

Comment/Message Me if you’d like to be tagged in future stories similar to this one!

"The fuck are you grinnin' for?" John Shelby asked as soon as his brother, Arthur entered the snug. He couldn't help himself, his older sibling's grin was able to be seen from a mile away.

"I just helped the most gorgeous woman I've ever seen in me life," Arthur proudly answered, his chest jutting out slightly as he spoke.

"Helped in what way, eh?" Tommy questioned, his one eyebrow raised. He'd been reading the newspaper and keeping to himself, only half-listening as John talked away about whatever, but he couldn't deny that he was interested in what Arthur had to say.

"I bet you he just stood there and gawked at her!" John chimed in before Arthur could respond, a smug grin on his face.

"I did not!" Arthur snapped back at his younger sibling, sending a glare his way, "I had a bloody conversation with her and all!"

"What happened?" Tommy asked another question, slowly losing his patience as he waited.

"So she was walkin' with a box, right? A big ass box...one that's too big for a lady like her to be carryin’. But she was walkin' with it. And so I was watchin' her from across the road, because she was goin' the same way I was. We must've walked for some time, how long I don't remember. Anyways, she gets to this one stretch and she trips...loses her fuckin' balance or something. All of the things in the box go flyin'. So I did what any man does and ran 'cross the street to help her. We put all the shit back into the box and then when she looked up at me, I thought I was gonna die on the spot. She was so fuckin' beautiful, lads. Shy, and sweet, and just fuckin'...gorgeous. I swear to you that if she would've..."

"Get on with the story, Arthur," Tommy interjected into Arthur's tangent, making him snap out of the attraction-riddled daze that he was quickly slipping into.

"Yeah, right," Arthur nodded, shaking his head slightly as he tried to recall where he was. "She was actin' so shy and thankin' me for helpin' her clean the stuff up that I couldn't but just be, fuckin'..."

"Arthur," Tommy said in a warning tone.

"I'm gettin' on with it," he brushed his brother off before continuing, "I couldn't help but not want to leave her. So I asked her where she was goin' and she said to the school. That was out of my way, but I didn't fuckin' care. I carried her things to the school she went on with thankin' me again. She was so fuckin' gorgeous and...shit, boys, I think I might be in love," he finished up his story, continuing on with it despite the scoffs or stiffled laughter coming from his brothers.

"You said she was going to the school?" John asked a question once it was clear that Arthur was finished with his story.

"Yeah...she's a fuckin' teacher, mate. Even better," Arthur grinned.

"Did you get her name?" John asked another question.

"Course I did!" Arthur responded like it was obvious.

Silence fell in the snug then, the three men looking between each other. John waited on bated breath for a few moments before it became obvious that Arthur wasn't going to say it without being prompted. "What was it?"

"(Y/N), I think it was," Arthur recalled, his answer making John choke out a weird sound, one that seemed to be a mixture of a scoff and a laugh. "What?"

"She's Katie's fuckin' teacher, mate!" John exclaimed, his declaration making Arthur's eyes widen. "She is fuckin' gorgeous, I'll tell you that," he then agreed with Arthur, a wide grin now plastered across his face.

John and Arthur then went about talking about her after Arthur prompted his younger sibling to tell him all that he knew about her. Tommy sat in his chair, half reading the paper and half listening to their conversation. He couldn't deny that he was intrigued by his brothers' stories, and everything they said about her made him want to go and meet her for himself even more.

"Can I help you?" (Y/N) (Y/L/N) asked the man that she swore appeared in her doorway out of nowhere. He was dressed in an expensive looking three-piece suit with an equally as expensive looking overcoat over top of it, as well as a peaked cap atop his head.

"I'm looking for (Y/N)," the man answered.

"You found her," (Y/N) smiled, setting her book down on the desk to give the man her full attention. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"I was directed to you by the front office. They said you're in charge of the donations?"

"That depends...if you're looking to donate to the building, you'll need to speak with our headmaster, but if you're looking to donate directly to the children, you can speak to me," she explained with a smile. She was proud to have been named the head of the board that made sure the children in the school had the tools they needed in order to thrive in the learning environment.

"I'm looking to donate to the children."

"Then you're in the right place," she chirped, "you can come over here and we'll get into the details of it," she said then, waving him over to her desk.

He finally entered the room, and as he walked over, (Y/N) felt the commanding aura that swirled around him. It wasn't one that made her scared, but rather one that filled her with intrigue.

"Can I have the name for the donation?" she asked once she had a piece of paper and a pencil ready.

"It's Thomas Shelby," he answered her, watching as realization sparked in her eyes. He couldn't help but think that Arthur was absolutely right - for once in his life...she was absolutely gorgeous.

"Shelby? I have a student whose last name is Shelby."

"Katie?" Tommy questioned, even though he already knew who she was talking about.

"Yes!" (Y/N) happily answered, "Katie's such a lovely girl. Who is she to you?" she couldn't help but ask.

"She's my niece," he shared, his words making her nod in understanding.

"What sort of donation would you like to make, Mr. Shelby?" she asked then, the pencil ready in her hand.

"I'd like to make it so that all of the children in the year you teach have whatever they need to excel in their classes," he answered, speaking in a nonchalant tone.

"Oh...my goodness," she gasped, stopping what she was writing as the weight of his statement finally clicked in her mind.

"Is there a problem?"

"No, it's just that..." she trailed off, unable to put her thoughts properly into words, "no one has made such a generous donation before."

"I like to make sure that others benefit from the wealth I've gained," he told her in an assured tone. Well that was one of the reasons why he'd made such a donation.

"I...uh, goodness, I don't even know where to start," she confessed, still genuinely baffled by his generosity. "Usually I'd go through with the person donating and we'd make a list of where the funds can be allocated, but with your overwhelming donation, I'm not sure I know what to do first," she added, a sheepish smile present on her face when she looked up at him again.

"It's nothing you'd need to have done in a hurry," he told her, showing that he wasn't upset by her unsuredness.

"I'd hate to waste your time now and make you wait..." she trailed off, biting on the end of the pencil as she tried to think of some ways his funds could be used.

Spending time with you would not be time wasted, Tommy thought to himself just as an idea came to mind: "what if we go for dinner at the end of the week? You can have time to think of ideas and you'll share them with me then," he proposed, his eyebrows raising slightly as he awaited her response.

(Y/N) took a moment to think about his proposition. It'd certainly be a good idea for her to have more time to think about it, and she couldn't say that she'd be opposed to having dinner with this man. "Dinner sounds nice," she gave her answer after a few moments had passed, "I'll come prepared with good ideas," she assured him with a smile.

"I'm sure whatever ideas you'll bring will interest me," Tommy told her, nodding once before he took a step back towards the door.

"Thank you, Mr. Shelby. It's a great pleasure to have you working with us," (Y/N) smiled, still truly overwhelmed by his generosity.

"The pleasure's mine, (Y/N)," he couldn't help but let a smile break onto his lips as he looked over her one last time. They said their goodbyes then, and Tommy exited the school. He was genuinely pleased with the fact that she'd agreed to have dinner with him. It was certainly a step in the right direction with her.

John Shelby entered the school that his children attended two days after his brother did. He was unsuccessful in finding someone who could help direct him to the room he wanted to visit, but thankfully found the woman he was looking for as she walked towards the main doors from down a hallway.

"Miss (Y/L/N)!" he called to her, hoping to get her attention.

To his luck, she heard him. "Can I help you?" she asked with a smile, one that made John feel like he was going to go weak at the knees.

"Yes. You're my daughter's teacher. Her name's Katie Shelby. I wanted to ask how she's been doing in class," he told her the reason behind him being there. Truthfully he couldn't care less about Katie's performance. School wasn't something he was ever interested in, but if it meant he'd be able to talk to an utterly gorgeous woman, he'd give the performance of the century.

"Oh Katie!" (Y/N) answered, her smile growing wider as she recalled one of her students, "she's amazing...such a pleasure to have in class. She's always working hard and staying on top of her assignments," she then gave him a run down on his daughter's performance.

John nodded as she spoke. He had no shame in the fact that he was only half listening to her answer; being too preoccupied with drinking in her appearance. Silence fell between them then as that topic of conversation passed quickly. John didn't want her to leave just yet, so he scrambled for another talking point. "I heard that you met my brother, Arthur, the other day," he said then. It wasn't his best choice of topic, but he hoped it would keep her around. His hopes fell when a look of confusion formed on her pretty face. Shit, John...save yourself here! "He, uh...he told me that he helped you with one of your boxes...?" he ended his statement like it was a question, hoping that she'd show some sort of recollection.

Realization did appear on her face, but the sentence that accompanied it was one that left John confused: "oh...it seems I've met two of your brothers," she informed him, effectively making him wear the same expression she had moments ago. She took the time to explain then: "Thomas came in a few days ago to arrange a generous donation to aid the children who come here."

Fucks sake. John couldn't help but sigh internally. Tommy had already sunk his paws into the territory John thought he'd have a leg up in. "Oh he did?" he decided to play it cool, hoping that his aggravation didn't bubble up to the surface.

"He did. The other teachers and I are all so thankful for the contribution," (Y/N) answered, her smile telling John that he was doing well at masking how he was really feeling.

"Well I'm happy to hear that," John stated, running a hand over his face as he tried to think of a way to divert the conversation away from Tommy. "I can't say enough how happy I am that my daughter has a wonderful, smart, caring teacher like yourself," he said then, deciding to go the compliment route. There were many other things he wanted to include while referring to her, but he didn't want to overdo it.

"Awe thank you, Mr. Shelby. As I've said before, Katie is such a pleasure to have in class," (Y/N) accepted the compliment with grace, a bashful smile forming on her face.

Silence fell around them for a few beats before John spoke again: "you're probably wantin' to get home, so I should probably go," he stated, nodding his head back towards the main doors of the school.

"Oh yes, it's certainly been a long day," she answered with a nod.

"I'll see you around sometime then," John began to say his goodbyes.

"You certainly will," (Y/N) sent him one last smile before John turned and exited the school.

John was thankful to see the majority of his family sitting around the main table of the betting shop when he entered it that evening.

"Where've you been, John Boy?" Arthur asked, everyone's eyes following John as he made his way to an open chair.

"I just left the school," John answered, his face straight as he spoke.

"The school?" Arthur questioned.

"Something happen with one of the children?" Polly asked, her brows furrowed.

"No, everything's fine with them," John quelled her concern.

"Why were you at the school then?" Polly asked another question.

"Ah I know...you were tryin' to see the hot teacher, huh?" Arthur chimed in before John could answer, a grin now present on his face.

John shot a glare in his brother's direction, slightly annoyed by the fact that he was a little too anxious to know. But with all of the eyes in the room on him, he figured he may as well give up. "Yeah, I went to see her."

"Did ya talk to her?" Arthur eagerly asked.

John didn't miss Polly's eyeroll before he answered his brother: "yeah, I did...and I was told that Tommy already went and talked to her." He couldn't help but glance at Tommy from the corner of his eye, seeing if his statement roused any type of reaction from him.

"Why would you have gone to talk to the childrens' teacher, Thomas?" Polly was the one to ask, her eyes now zeroed in on him.

"She told me that he wanted to make a donation to the school," John offered more information, a sour tone still present in his voice.

"Tommy," Polly sighed, bringing her hand up to her forehead.

"We've arranged to have dinner one of these upcoming evenings to discuss it further," Tommy nonchalantly shared more details of his meeting with (Y/N).

"Bloody hell, Tommy," Arthur grumbled, a frown on his face as he shook his head. He'd have no chance in hell with her now.

"Why was this not brought up in a family meeting?" Polly asked a sensible question, seemingly unaware of the brothers' reason behind their responses.

"Because I have decided that we need to start putting back into the city," Tommy answered, an authoritative tone laced into his voice.

"And you thought that the school would be the most logical place to start?" she quirked an eyebrow.

"Why not?"

"You're putting yourself into places you shouldn't be...if this blows up in your face, I won't be here for it," Polly spoke in a firm tone, showing her distaste for his decision.

Tommy held his gaze on her, an uninterested look present in his eyes. He didn't quite care what his aunt had to say about this, he was going to continue on how he saw fit.

Polly held his gaze, waiting for him to say something. When he didn't, she rolled her eyes and let out a scoff before turning and stalking over to the door. She stopped before she could grab the handle, abruptly turning to look at the three men sitting at the table. "If any of you make her cry or so much as hurt a single strand of hair on her head..." she paused, pursing her lips as she shook her head slightly, "you will have hell to pay." Her voice was flat, but her tone was serious, and she let no one respond before she opened the door and exited the betting shop.

"Ms. Gray, it's so nice to see you again," (Y/N) said with a smile as she found the older woman standing in the doorway of her classroom. "Is everything ok with Katie? We missed her in class today."

"Katie's fine," Polly quelled the teacher's worry, "she was feeling ill so she stayed home."

"Oh, ok. I hope she gets better soon," (Y/N) offered her regards with a smile, one that Polly reciprocated. "Is there something that you need?"

"Yes," Polly didn't beat around the bush, "my nephew, Tommy, came to speak with you the other day..." she began, trailing off in hopes that (Y/N) would continue.

"Yes, he did!" she took the bait without question, "he made a very generous donation, and then suggested we have dinner to work the smaller points of it out."

"And how did that go?" Polly asked with raised eyebrows.

"Very well," (Y/N) smiled in response, "the children are already benefiting from the money he's given. It was very kind of him to do this."

Nothing Tommy Shelby has done was done just for the sake of 'being kind', Polly thought to herself as she mentally scoffed at the younger woman's statement. "I'm happy to hear that the children are benefitting from it," Polly said in response, keeping her thoughts on her nephew's intentions to herself.

(Y/N) smiled in response, completely overjoyed by the kindness of the Shelby family that she was oblivious to even the mere thought of Tommy having other intentions behind his decision to donate. Nothing else was said then as the women exchanged parting words.

(Y/N) smoothed out her dress as she reached the doors of the establishment. She hoped that the outfit she chose didn't make her over, or under, dressed for the occasion. With a deep breath, she grabbed the handle and opened the door, the sounds of chatter and music smacking her in the face. She entered the pub with a smile, hoping to quickly find a familiar face.

Of course one of the Shelbys quickly found her at the door. It was their re-opening party after all, and a beautiful woman like (Y/N) was most certainly not going to go unnoticed.

"Oi, you came!" Arthur was the first of the brothers to spot her, and a big grin was plastered across his face as he moved over to greet her.

"Yes! This place looks lovely!" she answered, smiling as she looked around the room.

"We made sure to get the best of the best," he boasted, his grin still present. "And speakin' of the best...can I offer one of the best women I've seen a drink?" he smoothly transitioned, his one eyebrow raised as he looked at her.

"I'd love one, thank you," she answered, smiling at his kindness.

"Come on then," he stated, offering her his arm so that he could lead her to the bar.

She accepted it, walking over to an open seat so that he could go around the bar and get her a drink. She thanked him again when he set it down in front of her, and just as he leaned up against the bar, ready to chat with her, Isiah came to him with a matter of business. He left her with a slight frown and an 'excuse me, love,' before going off with the younger man. (Y/N) sat by herself, sipping her drink and enjoying the revelry around her. She wasn't alone for long though.

"(Y/N) (Y/L/N)...I didn't think I'd see you here," shock was present in John Shelby's voice as he came up beside her.

"I decided to stop in and see what all of the talk was about," she smiled at him.

"Well we're certainly happy to have you here," he grinned at her, trying so hard not to give her a once over. "Say why don't you come and share a dance with me?" he suggested.

"Oh, I couldn't," she turned down his offer, her shyness creeping in.

"Come on...a quick dance wouldn't hurt," he didn't quite give up hope.

"I'm rather terrible at dancing."

"You've not seen me dance then."

(Y/N) bit her lip to conceal her giggles, surprised with how forward he was.

"Come on..." John coaxed her, hand outstretched in her direction. She was hesitant, but accepted it, allowing him to lead her to the floor. "Just follow my lead and you'll be fine," he said, assuming the position before he began to lead her in a similar dance to what the other partygoers were doing.

(Y/N) couldn't help but smile as she danced around the floor with John. She certainly was having fun, not really thinking about what she looked like or what others thought. John couldn't believe that he was dancing with one of the most beautiful women in the room.

They danced for about two songs before (Y/N) excused herself, wanting to go have a seat. John allowed her to go, deciding that he'd go into the snug and check on Finn - who he knew was sneaking stronger drinks than what his brothers originally told him he could have.

(Y/N) found a newly opened seat at the bar as soon as she came to it. She was bummed that her drink had been lost, but she didn't need to worry about that for too long.

"You made it," Tommy Shelby's voice came from her left, making her turn slightly to see him approaching her from behind the bar.

"I did, thanks for inviting me," (Y/N) smiled at him, "this party's amazing!" she commented, glancing around the room.

"It is," Tommy agreed once she focused on him again, "can I get you something to drink?"

"Please," she smiled kindly at the offer, watching as he went about grabbing a bottle from the shelf. "I wanted to also thank you, again, for the dinner and the donation. The children have already gotten some of the supplies that we've received, and they're loving them," she shared some information once he came back with a glass for her.

"That's good news," he nodded, taking a drink from his glass then. "You know I was thinking maybe...maybe you and I could have dinner again, without the need to talk about the donations this time," he proposed, watching her intently as he waited for a response.

(Y/N) couldn't stop her eyes from lighting up at his suggestion. She had a lovely time with him at their first dinner. "I'd like that," she answered with a smile.

"Figured we could get to know each other better."

"That would be lovely," she agreed, giggling slightly at the fact that he was practically reading her mind.

The two then went about planning the dinner, agreeing on a time and place. (Y/N) couldn't help but feel giddy when he suggested a restaurant that was far more classy than the first place they'd met. If she wasn't excited before...she certainly was now.

As they spoke more, Polly Gray kept a close eye on them from across the room. She'd been watching the brothers all evening as they tried their hand at her. It became clear to her, though, that Tommy had ended out on top as she watched them converse at the bar. She could easily tell from how (Y/N) was invested in their conversation, giggling and leaning closer to him when he'd speak, that what he was doing was being received well. John and Arthur wouldn't have much of a chance now.

-One Year Later-

Slowly, Tommy lifted the veil up to reveal (Y/N)'s smiling face. He draped it over her head and let his eyes dance across her features, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he felt the joy radiating from her.

"We are gathered here today to witness the marriage of (Y/N) (Y/M/N) (Y/L/N) and Thomas Michael Shelby," the officiant began, commanding the attention of everyone in the church.

Ever since the evening of the party at the Garrison, (Y/N) and Tommy found themselves wrapped up in a whirlwind of a romance. Tommy proposed after five months of them being together, knowing that he wasn't going to find another woman like her. They spent five months being engaged and doing a great amount of traveling - it was the summer holiday for (Y/N), so she was able to follow Tommy wherever he went. Now they were standing at the altar in front of a great number of guests who were anxiously waiting to see them pronounce their love for each other.

Well...two of the guests weren’t exactly anxious. John and Arthur sat on Tommy's side of the church, watching as the ceremony commenced. Both were happy for their brother, but they'd be lying if they said that they weren't bummed that it wasn't them up with (Y/N).

Everyone stood up and celebrated as the officiant pronounced Tommy and (Y/N) 'man and wife', and they shared their first kiss as a married couple.

"As always..." John started, elbowing Arthur in the ribcage as they both clapped for their brother, "Tommy gets the girl, and we've gotta sit back and watch."

Arthur couldn't help but snort as he heard what John had to say. "You're right, John boy," he agreed, shaking his head but nonetheless continuing clapping.

No matter what happened, or how hard John and Arthur tried to get ahead, Tommy would forever be the brother that always wins.

Tagged: @mystcldydrms @the-anxious-youth @cloudofdisney @look-at-the-soul @elenavampire21 @mrsalwayswrite @julkaamazing @evita-shelby @lilyrachelcassidy @notyour-valentine @shelbydelrey @onlydeadcells @peakyswritings @just-a-blackhole @watercolorskyy @strayrockette @peakyduchesss @alexxavicry @captivatedbycillianmurphy @yummycastiel @dark-academia-slut @tommystargirl @stevie75 @lyarr24 @signorellisantichrist @zablife @anotherblinder @midnightmagpiemama @cillmequick @rangerelik @dandelionprints @letal-y-poetica @itscheybaby @gypsy-girl-08 @insanitybyanothername @depxiety @raincoffeeandfandoms @dragons-are-my-favorite @acewritesfics @forgottenpeakywriter @cljordan-imperium @areyenotfondofmelobster @little-diable @thomashelbyswife @iambored24601 @shaddixlife

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babyfoxflower · 3 months ago

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The Hunter and the Hunted

Human! Alastor x Fem! Reader

*Disclaimer: This story is an AU and does not follow Hellaverse canon. Alastor is pretty much just a hetero, if this offends you in anyway, then I suggest you block me and go on your way.*

Synopsis: This the story of Alastor and the love of his life, his huntress, the charming Y/n Rosier. A rare beauty out on the bayou, his heart is instantly stolen by her. He’ll do anything for his beloved, even if that includes murder.

Story Warnings: 18+, MDNI, Violence, Blood, Hunting, Murder, Mentions of Child Abuse, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, 1920s Attitudes Towards Women

Prev Chapter Two Next

All week long, both Alastor and Y/n could not stop thinking about each other. The desire to see each other was so intense, it was almost like a calling. Like they were being pulled together by an unseen force.

Y/n rolled out of bed. It was just before dawn, light hadn’t even managed to reach the window. She had an interesting dream the night prior. It was her in the snow, only wearing her pink slip. Tears were streaming down her face, she fell to her knees and sobbed so hard that she couldn’t breathe.

Suddenly, someone came up from behind her, placing what felt like a coat on her shoulders before scooping her up in their strong arms. The warmth enveloped her body as she felt herself slowly calming down, when she looked up at who was holding her, it was him. It was Alastor.

The look he gave her was the most comforting she had ever seen in her entire life. She buried her face into his chest, the feeling that she was perfectly safe and protected washed over her. The feeling that she was where she belonged, and was with who she belonged to and who belonged to her in return.

“That was some dream,” Y/n smiled to herself.

Time to get up.

She got cleaned and dressed before anyone else was even awake. That was part of her duties as the acting head of the house. The rest of the morning for her consisted of hanging the laundry to dry, cooking breakfast for her family, waking her sisters up, made sure they were fed, bringing food to her mother in bed, and then finally she got to sit down and eat.

That was how it was every single morning for her. She always ate last. After breakfast, she helped her sisters get ready for Saturday catechism classes. They were held in a little school house about a mile away from their house. She packed their lunches and sent them off with a kiss and a hug.

After checking in on her mother a few more times, Y/n finally had some free time to herself. She thought back to her dream and what it could possibly mean. Part of her was hopeful that it was a message from some higher power that Alastor was going to be the one to save her from this repetitive life.

Sure, she loved her family. She loved her family more than anything. But she also felt the stress taking its toll on her.

What selfish fantasies…absolutely selfish.

Then the familiar sound of the bell came from her mother’s bedroom, snapping her back to reality.

“Coming, Mama!”

———————————————————————

Strangely, Alastor woke up that same morning from that exact same dream that Y/n had. Of course, there was no way of knowing that. Alastor laid there for a moment, missing the feeling of her small body against his.

“Mm…Y/n. Let me hold you just a little bit longer, my dear,” he groaned.

“Alastor! Wake up, Darling! It’s time for breakfast!” His mother called from downstairs.

He rubbed his temples before reaching over to grab his glasses off his nightstand, “I’ll be down in a minute, Mother!”

A smile crept on his face as he realized it had been exactly a week since he seen her. The day he planned to visit her.

I can’t wait to see her.

He got cleaned and dressed before making his way downstairs. His mother was already sitting at the table, eating breakfast.

“Good morning, Mother,” he said as he gave her a peck on the cheek.

“Good morning, Honey. Porridge is on the stove, help yourself,” she replied.

“Alright. Thank you.”

Alastor fixed a bowl of porridge and poured a cup of black coffee for himself. Then he took a seat at the table across from her.

“Make sure you say Grace.”

He sighed and clasped his hands together, “Bless us, O Lord, and these, Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen,” he finishes with the sign of the cross.

“The Lord thanks you,” she smiled.

Alastor almost rolled his eyes but he knew better.

“So, are you going to tell me about that girl you met last Saturday?” Her eyes met his, a brow raised.

He took a sip of his coffee, “Why?”

“Because I’m your mother and I want to know what’s going on in your life.”

“She needed help carrying a stag she shot back home, so I gave her a hand.”

“Are you sure that’s all?” His mother questioned further.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s just you were gone an awful long time. And you’ve been acting strangely since.”

He looked at her with a face of utter confusion, “Strangely? What ever could you mean, Mother?”

She paused, “I can’t quite put my finger on it, but you seem to have your head up in the clouds more. Like you’re dreaming about something or someone?”

Damn, she’s caught on to me. I swear nothing gets past her.

“I…I can’t stop thinking about her. But that’s all I say about that,” Alastor looked down at his bowl.

“Hmm, I figured as much. So, you’re going to go see her again today?”

“How did you know?” He blushed.

“Haha! I didn’t until just now, Darling. It’s cute, you have a crush!”

“Don’t say that, Momma….” He mumbled under his breath, pouting.

“Aw, you haven’t called me Momma in years! My baby has a crush! My baby has a crush!” She teased.

“Stop!” He put his hands over his ears, as his face turned scarlet.

His mother cackled, “Alright, I’ll leave it. I’ll leave it.”

“Thank you,” he said before finishing his breakfast.

———————————————————————

“Give your little girlfriend a hello from me,” his mother said from her rocker, cigarette in one hand, newspaper in the other.

Alastor ignored her comment, “I’ll be back in a little while.”

“Alastor.”

“Yes, Mother?”

“I love you.”

His face softened, “I love you too, Mother.”

The leafs and twigs crunched under Alastor’s brow leather boots. There was a chill in the air. It was surprisingly cold for October, especially in Louisiana.

Alastor preferred summer, when it was too hot to think. Because when it was too hot to think, it was too hot to remember.

He couldn’t remember that night if it was summer. But on a cold day like this one, that nipped and stung, he couldn’t help remembering that painful night.

He put those memories in the little box he kept in the back of his mind.

Not today. We’re not reliving that today.

After a while, he finally came upon that familiar cabin with the picket fence. There raking up the leaves was her. It was Y/n.

“A pleasure to see you again, Sweetheart,” he grinned as he greeted her.

She smiled brightly as she looked up at him, “A pleasure to see you as well, Sugar.”

———————————————————————

“You have a lovely home,” Alastor took off his hat as he entered.

“Oh, thank you. I try to keep it as tidy as I can. Go ahead and have a seat at the table,” Y/n closed the door behind them, “Would you like something to drink? Tea? Coffee?”

“Coffee, if it’s not too much trouble.”

“No trouble, I actually just made a pot. I like having hot coffee on a cold day.”

Alastor took a seat at the kitchen table as Y/n walked over with two mugs and a pot of coffee.

“Do you take cream or sugar?” She poured some into each of the mugs.

“Neither.”

“Good, I take mine black too,” she handed one of the cups to him.

“Thank you, my dear,” he smiled at her.

She took a seat across from him, “So, is there is a reason that you stopped by or did you just want to see me?”

Alastor raised an eyebrow, “And what if I did just stop to see you?”

Oh god, I hope I’m doing this flirting thing right.

Y/n took a sip of her coffee, “Well, I certainly wouldn’t mind, that’s for sure.”

“Then, my dear, you’ll be pleased to know that I did come by to see you.”

She blushed, “You did!? I mean, so you did?”

Alastor chuckled, “Yes. You see, I enjoyed your company so much that I wanted to converse with you again.”

“I wanted to see you again too.”

His heart skipped a beat, “I’m glad we’re on the same page,” he took a sip of his coffee.

“Hotdog! This is a good cup of joe!” He exclaimed.

“Really? I didn’t do anything special to it.”

“Sweetheart, you have a talent for coffee making if I do say so myself! This is even better than my mother’s!”

That was the highest praise Alastor could ever give anyone, when he admitted that they made something better than his mother.

“Thank you! I’m so happy you like it. No one’s ever told me that before,” Y/n smiled shyly.

“So, where are those little ones I saw last time?”

“Oh, my sisters, they’re at catechism classes.”

Alastor groaned, “Ugh, I hated those classes. They were so dreadfully boring.”

“Haha, I didn’t really like them either. But it’s a family tradition.”

“Are you religious, my dear?”

“I guess not in the sense that most people are. I believe in God but I believe it’s more of a force that gives you messages when in hard times. I do believe in prayer too. But I don’t believe in Heaven or Hell. And I don’t believe any of that nonsense that’s in the Bible,” she replied.

“That’s an interesting take. I personally don’t believe in God at all.”

“Oh, I’ve never met someone who doesn’t believe in God in way or another. Is there a specific reason? I’m not judging, I’m just curious.”

Alastor took another sip of his coffee, “I just do not understand how people can still believe in things like God when the theory of Evolution has been proven. I’m a believer in science. In things that you can see with your own two eyes.”

Y/n sat looking thoughtfully, “Couldn’t science and religion exist together? Couldn’t they both be true?”

“That’s also a good point. I’m not someone who looks down on people of Faith, my own mother is one. I just don’t understand it. There’s also the question of why? Why would a higher power let terrible things happen to innocent people? Why would they let that happen to…. I’m sorry, dear. I’m rambling,” he laughed a little.

“It’s alright, I like listening to you and your thoughts,” she smiled sweetly.

“And I enjoy listening to you and your opinions,” he returned the smile.

“But, there’s one thing I’m sure we can agree on. That creation myth is a load of bull.”

“Yes. I completely agree with that!”

“I mean, why would a creator make only a male of species? Why wouldn’t they make men and women at the same time?”

“That doesn’t make a lick of sense. You need a male and a female in order to procreate.”

“It’s basic biology!” Y/n chuckled.

Alastor noticed an old little piano in the corner of the living area, “Is that the piano you were telling about before?” He motioned his head towards it.

“Oh, yes. It is,” she turned in the direction of it.

“Do you mind if I get a closer look? I’m quite keen on instruments.”

“Be my guest.”

He stood up and walked over to the piano. She followed behind him. He ran his fingers gently over the keys.

“I haven’t played it in a while, so it might need some tuning,” she informed him.

Softly, he pressed one of key down, a pleasant sound was produced, “May I? Play something for you?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

He sat on the bench and patted the spot next to him, “Don’t be shy, Sweetheart. I don’t bite.”

Y/n’s face flushed, “How do you know I don’t bite?”

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take,” he grinned.

She sat next to him. His fingers began dancing along the keys with such beauty and grace, like a professional pianist. He played a melody that she didn’t recognize, but it sounded absolutely lovely. And that was before he began singing.

I have an ear for music, and I have an eye for a maid

I like a pretty girlie, with each pretty tune that's played

They go together

Like sunny weather

Goes with the month of May

I've studied girls and music, so I'm qualified to say

His voice was so smooth and beautiful, she was entranced. He looked at her as he played, watching her expressions with amusement. He loved to entertain. He was a bit of a ham. But it might have also been because he was showing off for the little lady that caught his eye.

A pretty girl is like a melody

That haunts you night and day

Just like the strain

Of a haunting refrain

She'll start upon a marathon and run around your brain

You can't escape she's in your memory

By morning, night and noon

She will leave you and then

Come back again

A pretty girl is just like a pretty tune

He came to a finish and she applauded him.

“That was wonderful!”

“Thank you. Thank you,” he playfully bowed to her.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard that song before. What’s it called?”

“A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody by Irving Berlin. I heard it on the radio one day. I couldn’t agree more with its lyrics,” Alastor smiled while looking right into her eyes.

Y/n blushed, “Is there a reason why you chose that song?”

“Other than the pretty girl in front of me who inspired it, no.”

Y/n’s heart was pounding in her chest.

“That was gorgeous! Absolutely gorgeous!” A sudden voice came from behind them.

Y/n turned around to see her mother out of bed, “Mama, you shouldn’t be out of bed! Doctor’s orders, remember?”

“Ah Mrs. Rosier, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Quite a pleasure. I apologize if I disturbed you, I was just playing your daughter a song,” Alastor stood up and greeted the woman.

“Well, play me a song now please! Talented young man!” Y/n’s mother replied.

Alastor looked at Y/n. Y/n shrugged.

“I suppose it would be alright.”

“Very well. I’ll gladly entertain you two lovely ladies for as long as you like.”

“Hold on, Mama. Let me get you a chair,” Y/n said.

———————————————————————

Alastor got home just in time for dinner.

“How was your girlfriend?” His mother playfully asked.

“She’s not my girlfriend, Mother. At least not yet,” he said that last part under his breath.

“Well, did you have a good time at least?”

“The best,” he smiled softly.

“That’s wonderful. Now, go get washed up for dinner. We’re having jambalaya.”

“Jambalaya!” He exclaimed with almost a child like glee.

“Yes, jambalaya. Go get washed up already, boy!”

“Yes, Mother.”

He practically ran upstairs, as if that would make it cook faster.

His mother shook her head, “What am I going to do with him?”

Taglist 🏷️: @chibistar45 @ghostofajinx @girl-math-aint-mathing @91062854-ka @harmfulb1tch @2dmenforme @ladyadrasteia666 @uniquecutie-puffs @vxllys

#alastor x reader #alastor x female reader #alastor x y/n #alastor x you #alastor smut #human alastor x reader #human alastor x female reader #human alastor x y/n #human alastor x you #hazbin hotel x reader #hazbin hotel x female reader #hazbin hotel x y/n #hazbin hotel x you #hazbin hotel smut

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celestialtarot11 · 1 year ago

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Details About Your Wedding 💖🥂

• Hi friends! 🌹✨ Welcome to another PAC where you can find out the details of your wedding! I’m so excited to have put this together for ya’ll. I’m also loving the editing 👀💗 gotta give myself credit 🤣 but anyway, do enjoy! 🤍 likes comment and reblogs are appreciated.

Pile 1: Seven of pentacles • Knight of cups • Divine wisdom

Right away I see a beautiful wedding, something outdoorsy. With lots of flowers, pink and white specifically! I see a white arch with gold, and round tables in a sunny setting ✨ such a beautiful nature themed wedding. I heard around 100 guests, or a little over! Some of you may have small families, so the wedding is not massive. I’m seeing a court date wedding too, so some of ya’ll may not like to go big and that’s okay! I see a bride coming forward abundantly and reassured 🤍 she has such a loving and caring spirit. You don’t have to be female for this to resonate at all! I just see someone as the bride coming in with an abundant spirit. Wherever the bride goes, abundance flows 🌟 I see guests crying as well, so definitely people will be happy for you and your marriage. A well rounded partner is what I heard too, someone who works hard and is diligent, and noble 🥂✨ someone who takes care of their image, but does not let their image get in the way of love. I see a sudden windfall of money for the bride just before the wedding, so some of you may receive a huge dowry! Or have a bonus sent to you. The groom is emotional, as he waits for the bride and looks at the bride sweetly 💗 and when she comes to the arch, he holds her hands and smiles at her. Tears are in his eyes as he imagined the day over and over, and now it’s happening. Aww. Such a sweet, caring and passionate partner you guys will be with! They may have larger hands is what spirit is sneaking in 🤣 the bride and groom put the rings on, and everyone parties! Overall it’s not chaotic, it’s a sweet and simple wedding 🤍�� congrats to you for the future! Thank you pile 1, if you’d love to support this blog its greatly appreciated!

Pile 2: Page of wands • 10 of pentacles rev. • 5 of swords

Don’t worry pile 2’s! We’ll explain what’s going on 🤣💖 A very passionate, bold and wild spirit represents your groom. They are attracted to you in what they see, and spiritually there already is a connection. Wands are spiritual in nature! It’s possible things before getting married were difficult, and stressful in regard to the future. Especially when it comes to finances. So maybe one or both of you struggled to have such a big wedding, or wanted that dream, and had to compromise for the budget. Both of you are excited and nervous because of wedding 🤍 but I see the worries won’t last long as the event carries on and everyone enjoys the day. I think there is worry that either you, or the groom won’t be accepted by the in laws. But they end up supporting the wedding, and showing up 💗 commitment is important between you two no matter what circumstances you face, I see that’s a strong message. And after you two marry, within a week or two, I heard a new beginning will unfold. This could be in terms of jobs, one or both of you will find stable jobs and grow financially to support the relationship in the future. But anyway! To the wedding. The bride is enigmatic and a show stopper 😍 catching everyone’s attention. Maybe the bride has a surprise dance planned! A very bold, and powerful dance. I’m seeing with a few other dancers and the theme is black, and I’m hearing Partition by Beyoncé. Wow, so some of ya’ll really want to show your partner what they’re getting for life alright 🤣 it’s a bit of a tease for your partner, and yet not too vulgar for the audience. Your partner will be amazed, stunned, too stunned to speak is what I heard. And absolutely attracted. The passion you two share explodes that night 🥂✨ thank you pile 2’s! I hope you liked this and please support the blog 🤍 it’s always appreciated!

Pile 3: Seven of swords • Three of swords • 4 of wands

Pile 3, welcome! 🤍🥂 lets talk about what we have going on here. For the wedding I am seeing a very expensive and elegant wedding. Chandeliers, large pieces hanging down, huge ballroom space, crystal table pieces as well. Almost like Swarovski is what I want to say. Lots of effort went into this wedding and dedication, I’m seeing many planners working to decorate the space. Red and white roses decorating the walk ways, arches, and all around as a theme. Even outside it’s beautiful and gorgeous for the wedding. Very neat with the flowers and gorgeous! Some of ya’ll may be Arab too. You know how they like their roses 🤣 anyway! There is a lot of anxiety and stress surrounding the wedding, one because of preparation, two because it’s the wedding, and three both of you are afraid something may go wrong. Now I don’t know why, but it’s understandable to feel stressed that day. The 4 of wands is literally the ultimate marriage card to get! So I believe both of you truly want this, and are truly excited. Both of you are spiritually harmonizing and unionizing as well in this wedding. Your spirits agree with one another. I think there is anxiety about what people will think, or if people will like the venue is what I heard. And if family will support the marriage. Which is all understandable. I see when the bride walks in she is absolutely stunning and classy. Updo, neutral makeup, but captures her facial structure perfectly 😍 I also heard Albanian! So maybe you or another is Albanian or Arab. When she walks in there is a strong presence from her, yet so gentle. Grandparents are crying from what I see, and the groom is absolutely amazed. He is strong, and has a resilient heart. When he holds your hand he walks in faith with you. You don’t have to question his motives is what I heard. Absolutely beautiful pile 3! He is confident he wants this, and you do too. Beautiful ✨🤗 thank you pile 3! Please like comment and reblog, its always appreciated 🥹💖 thank you so much!

Paid Readings 🤍🥂

Distance Energy Healing Services💌🌹

#devi post #astrology #astrology community #tarotcommunity #divination #tarot deck #tarot #witchcraft #tarot reading #pick a pile #pick a card romance #pick a picture #pick a card

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crumblinggothicarchitecture · 8 months ago

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Hello! I’m curious to know if you listen to Hozier? Since his music also gives literary and it’d be interesting to know what you think!

Hello! Thanks for the ask

Hozier is wonderful! I love him!

I think he's incredibly creative, and he clearly knows how to write! He also clearly knows so much about the history of music, art, international politics, and so much more. There's nothing I admire more in an artist than some real intelligence. It shows in his command of the language. I've been listening since "Take Me to Church" went viral. I was absolutely in tears listening to that for the first time.

One point I've been thinking about lately is the way he wrote "Nina Cried Power" and how it's different from the way someone like Taylor Swift name-drops in her music.

The point here is that Hozier has immense respect for the people he mentions in the song, his obvious knowledge and respect for these people is ever-present. He thematically connects them from the perspective of their own lives into the message of the song. Meaning that it is the type of song they would co-sign. It's so moving for this very reason, it's like the people in his song are singing with him. In "Nina Cried Power" he's clearly using southern-inspired gospel-esque blues to sings about the way in which civil rights activists, and those musicians who broke the chains away, sang their activism into life. It's so lovely for him to use musicality stemming from Afro-American culture to sing about the major civil rights activist and artists from the era. He's literally brilliant, and I love his perspective on how the US civil rights movement impacted Irelands own civil rights movement. He's fucking brilliant.

And this line brings me to tears, "And I could cry power/ power has been cried by those stronger than me/ straight into the face that tells you to rattle your chains." He's so compelling both in storytelling and in intercultural dialogue. Beautiful. And how beautiful it is to remind us that no matter the location, your words and actions matter- activism matters. Power is with the people.

What a writer- what a message to send. Especially these days, when so many major public figures are refusing to speak on current events. How important it is to remind the public that there is no real reason to not speak up in times of injustice.

As opposed to Swift who can only name-drop people like Dylan Thomas in relation to being able to self-deprecate. Her impulse towards self-obsession shows in how she even represents the lives of others as ultimately being about her. It shows an immense disrespect and obvious distain for the people she writes about. She clearly only thinks about others when considering some hierarchal form of self-adulation. People are either better or worse than her- however, it is always about her. Dylan Thomas was an incredibly vocal activist and revolutionary spirit in his day, and Swift puts him in a cheap shot about herself? Painful, stupid, gag. Thomas was an avowed anti-fascist during the rise of the most horrific fascist regimes we've ever seen; as such he would be horrified at being eulogized by someone like Swift who lives and breathes money and power. I wish I could go back in time and unhear her besmirching his name.

Dylan Thomas would love Hozier though :) And so do I!

But anyway, I could totally write some literary criticism on Hozier, and you know what- it would be amazing because he is rich texture to dive into. His command of metaphor and mimetic technique is honestly so impressive! That actually sounds really fun and is totally on my to-do list now :)

#hozier #anti taylor swift #nina cried power #activism #dylan thomas #anti facism #ttpd #ex swiftie #toxic taylor swift #taylor swift critical #andrew hozier byrne #wasteland baby #hozier supremacy #fuck taylor swift

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leighlew3 · 2 months ago

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What were the aspects of Supergirl (show in general or character) that resonated with you personally?

First and foremost, Kara herself... as someone with a ton of trauma, who would have every reason to do not so great things or wield her power for evil, yet does good things and channels her energy into trying to help people -- she's amazing. She is someone who feels isolated a lot of the time and struggles with anger issues but ultimately is such a light and a good person and somebody that just wants to do good for the world, even when it's not always appreciated or understood. Even if it means constant self sacrifice.

I relate to pretty much all of that.

I also loved the idea of Supercorp obviously, because it was such an epic tale in how they were so similar but so different and so inherently fated to be side by side. It could've been so successful if canon romantic on the show instead of just baited. Taking the decades-old lore of Super vs Luthor and instead turning into Super & Luthor -- a story of hate turned into a love story -- that's an incredible concept, and so rich and full of so much storytelling potential. Them just being friends is the 'lite' version of turning that lore on its head. But to go even deeper would've been nothing short of revolutionary.

Alas, instead they chose to tarnish the show's legacy and taint the good it DID do elsewhere in LGBTQ representation (because YES a show can have ancillary rep but still queerbait a lead dynamic -- especially when it's bait that existed before any other rep was even introduced on the show) ...by choosing to be one of the worst examples of queerbait in TV history (due to all of the romanic tropes and parallels and teases and lack of denials by TPTB who very clearly wanted people to stay tuned in based on hope for canon endgame since that very first Clois parallel in 2x01). It was also just an absolute waste of creative potential and true travesty that ultimately only hurt the show and cast and fans and everyone involved, whether everyone is ready to admit it or not.

Anyway, I enjoyed the fact that so many of the characters -- from Kara and Lena (these two especially), to Alex, Nia, and Kelly... so many of them came loaded with one form of trauma or another, but they still were ultimately inherently good people, a great example of 'found family', and heroic as heck in the end, no matter how dark it got at times for some. In large part because they had each other. I mean, I wish they all weren't LITERAL superheroes or supernatural by the end because I think the show (amongst numerous other issues) lost sight of their own messaging that "anyone can be a hero even without powers" but -- they really were inherently such good / ripe characters, the women especially (plus Brainy and J'onn).

Sure, they all (again, the women especially) often were sadly let down by superficial or just plain poor writing and overall creative direction a lot of the time, especially in the end -- but at the core, everyone could find something to relate to in at least one character, if not multiple characters, and that's great.

I know much like fans of Dana Scully in the 90s, a LOT of girls/women were inspired to get into STEM over this last decade now because of Katie McGrath's portrayal of Lena Luthor. And even more people related to Lena's trauma as a survivor of lifelong abuse at the hands of her family and especially her unhinged brother. Seeing that someone can slip into darkness as the result of years of sadistic mind games and abuse of all kinds but still come out the other side a hero, empowered, and a good person who helps others and is capable of loving and deserving of being loved? That's beautiful, and Lena offered that to SO many viewers, so it's no wonder she was a top fan favorite second only to the lead herself. And seeing how that impacted people, was so very moving.

Seeing people impacted by Alex's coming out arc in Season 2 was amazing. Having the first trans superhero on TV was amazing. And so on...

Look, there's a lot the show did wrong. In fact, possibly more was done poorly or wrong than well or good, overall, unfortunately. Alas, there were some little sparks of light to be truly appreciated.

But again, for me, I connected most to Kara's story, her strength, her dichotomy, and her indelible sense of HOPE... despite every reason at times to give up. And to the Kara/Lena love story, in all its infinite, incredible, and still mostly untapped potential.

#supergirl #supercorp #kara zor el #kara danvers #lena luthor

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balkanradfem · 1 month ago

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Just watched The Substance and I honest to god can't believe this is considered a 'feminist' movie. Read your analysis and completely agrree. My male co-workers were actually gushing over this movie, they couldnt believe how many times they got to see the main actresses naked and posing sexually for them. If you made a movie for men to masturbate too you've absolutely failed in having a 'feminist' message.

And Sue literally being how incel men picture Hot Girls - getting everything she wants without doing anything, rich and vain, having sex whenever, posing sexually every morning and staring at herself constantly, while having no real personality. Its how a porn-addicted man wishes he could live, not any womens reality. She barely even has any lines in the movie.

Not to mention having Demi Moore be the 'old women' despite having obvious work done and looking nothing like a regular older women. Its like the movie itself was too afraid to actually show a realistically aged women, and when she does start getting gray hair and looking older suddenly shes acting cartoonishly bitter and slobbish. Im so sick of movies having women make disgusting looking food and a huge mess and it all being shown as gross and depressing. Portraying food and eating as disgusting and pigging out when women make it (for themselves, if theyre cooking for a man or kids suddenly its different) is just feeding into misogynistic beliefs, not subverting them.

And the classic, portraying sexist men as very goofy and dumb so they don't offend the male viewers by having an actual relatable man that acts just like them being criticised by the movie for his sexism. Also the whole point where the movie basically acts like if she'd just been able to go on that date with the random guy from school, she wouldve been fine. bc having a boyfriend and a man that says youre the most beautiful is all that a woman needs i guess.

Anyway I absolutely hated this movie. From a horror perspective it did some things very well, but the message was just foul to me. Not to mention the fact that men are now trying to give Margaret Qualley the Sydney Sweeney treatment, bc they got to see her naked, hyper-sexualized, and acting like a little girl infront of powerful men. This movie was the antithesis of what everyone is saying it is imo.

Yes, I remember feeling similar to this when I first watched it. So much of it was catering to the male gaze, so much of it I had to skip because it was pornographic material, the outrage at the woman who looked so young and socially attractive to be presented as 'too-old-looking', I didn't even consider how different she looked to the reality of female aging, I didn't know that much about her. I did think she looked young though!

And you described perfectly my own thoughts about the food! It was presented to us as if it was disgusting, it made me feel insane, it was food! I've never seen any food presented in such a way. I understood later that this part was meant to resonate with women who did see food in this way because of an eating disorder, and to them this looked very normal to how they feel about food, even though this seems terrifying to me, I can't even think about it that way.

You are so right that it's never portrayed like this when a woman is cooking for a family! I didn't even think of that. If she's making meals for others, then it's portrayed as extremely positive, if she's cooking for herself, horrible.

I actually didn't even see the missed date thing as her 'opportunity to be fixed', but you're right! They did depict that male as her last chance to make a human connection and to feel like a human again, as if a single male could resolve this insane amount of struggle she was in.

My conclusion is exactly the same as yours, it is not doing anything it's claiming to do, extremely disappointing as a feminist movie, so much catering to male gaze and awful and horrifying depiction of what women's lives are like.

#the substance #discourse

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daily-singularity · 4 months ago

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Hello. I am here to ask you about their paralells and how insane they make you. Pretty please... you're the only one feeding us the good food...

Going insane. white knuckling my pen and paper. I will do my best to make this coherent, apologies in advance if its a mess!!

In the simplest terms both Gabriel and Hux are carbon copy assembly line units created by Huxlee industries for the purpose of colonizing planets and prolonging the human race.

Gabriel is a tool just as much as the Huxlee units are.

"Each individual was manufactured for a different societal function... The idea was to create a functional society that would operate flawlessly." - Gabriel Soma BIO

"Unlike human clones, the HUX-A7 required no food, no water, no sleep, and no life support system. It was created specifically for outer space exploration and the construction of colonization hubs." - HUX-A7-13 BIO

Gabriel was specifically designed by Huxlee for planet colonization. Outside of his time on Dvarka, I gather that Gabriel was in a permanent deep sleep/cryostatis. All of his memories of his family and childhood are fabrications- he has no real life or directives or experiences outside of his work on Dvarka.

---

Both were under the threat of termination, or reprogramming should they fall out of line.

"Dmitri’s not trying to help… he’s trying to get me to stop asking questions. What does he know? What’s he hiding?" - Tome 16, Memory 2998 (Gabriel Soma)

"It remembers its objective. It must assist the crew in terraforming Dvarka. Failure to do so will result in termination."- Tome 16, Memory 2665 (Hux-a7-13)

When Gabriel first starts noticing discrepancies in his memories, his crew's medic writes off his issues as "problems that dont exist", and gives him a drug that fogs up his senses. Its a clear attempt to force him back into subservience, a message of "Stop digging or else".

We're never able to find out what would happen to Gabriel if it became known that he found out about the fact hes a clone, but I gather he would be removed from the project. Terminated so he wouldn't spread panic.

After Gabriel finds out about the fact he's a clone, it's a lot harder to get more direct info on his mentality, since thats where his Memory archives end.

Neither of them have much experience with free will.

Due to the fact that both Gabriel and Hux were taken by the entity near immediately after learning they were a clone/gained sentience, it isnt much of a stretch to say that neither of them have experience with a sense of individuality.

Gabriel learns that his entire life has been a fabricated lie and then is immeidately shoved into a killing game. He doesn't really get that chance to come to terms with who and what he is before having to fight for his life.

Hux on the other hand, had more time to digest his new worldview. He was able to start forming his own desires and wants even if they were as simple as "Kill the inferior human worms who created me", or abstract as wanting to "the remake the universe in my image over infinate lifetimes"- whatever the fuck that means Hux. Its really unfortunate that he barely begins to form these desires before theyre all stripped away from him and he is once again forced into subservience.

---

I was gonna put like idk an insightful little footnote here, but i spent absolutely way to long writing this post. Anyways. Gabriel and hux are both tools struggling with a sense of self while being forced to kill or be killed.

Also. can Behavior please fucking explain to me why Gabriel was waxing poetic about the beauty and godliness of the machine that he watched slowly kill his entire crew, like goddamn ogling that machine, then he exploded it. and then like. went "ok damn still godlike."

I just wanna talk with whoever wrote this please. what was. what does this mean. i need to know.

"It had fabricated a new body for itself. Part flesh. Part silicon. Part human. Part machine. Massive. Powerful. Beautiful and majestic like—

An ancient God."

"Gabe raced across the meadow and into the forest. When he looked back, he saw the HUX emerge from the flames and smoke. Burning. Melting. Shrieking. Deformed. Terrible and wrathful like—

An ancient God"

#dbd singularity #dead by daylight #hux-a7-13 #gabriel soma #the singularity #not art #asks #The ramblings of a deranged robot lover #Back to our regularly scheduled drawings like on wednesday probably.

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mar3ggiata · 10 months ago

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professional help, c2. 'The urgency.'

simon riley x original character.

trigger warnings: violence, sexual assault, mentions of rape, trauma, sexual themes, swearing, use of alcohol and drugs, eating disorders, depression.

song to listen to when reading this: The Chain, Fleetwood Mac.

abstract: this is Jude, this is a little bit of information about me since you care so much, I don't even know you… anyway yes, I really like being mysterious, what you gonna do about it, punch me in the face? I'm not even real, grow the fuck up. see ya.

Sometimes, she just fucking hated her life. She supposed it was normal like that, it happened to everyone to absolutely fucking despise their lives, no? She wakes at the same hour everyday, does her makeup. Not too much, not too little to show she was sleep deprived and got high last night. Her identity was concealed under eyeliner and blush. She looks like a doll. She likes her makeup, she's quite good at it. She plays with her hairstyles, sometimes a bun, sometimes braids, sometimes loose with a headband, depending on the mood. She walks her dog and cleans his poop. Jinx, a 5 month old Belgian Malinois she adopted when she moved. She found him at a shelter for abused puppies, he was the last one to get adopted. She decided to take him, she planned to move to the countryside soon anyways. Gaining his trust was one of her biggest accomplishments, now the dog had a bit of an attachment issue, but they were working on getting better together. She drives to work with the same 4 playlists playing in her car. Old rock, Frank Ocean, some Italian songs here and there.

She always comes in dressed in dark colours, dark red, dark blue or black. She has 10 male patients and 8 female soldiers. Some of them are combat medics, some snipers. Demolition experts. She works 'till lunch time, eats alone, sometimes skips lunch just to make her body feel something and indulge in disordered eating, then goes outside to smoke and comes back in. After the afternoon sessions, she sometimes has groups together for some group therapy. Then she usually goes home and smokes weed while she cooks her dinner, she acts like she's in MasterChef, puts on music and pours herself a glass of wine 'Quando sei qui con me' she sings to her dog, 'Questa stanza non ha più pareti, ma alberi'. Jinx doesn't even know Italian. Two times a week, she teaches ballet at a local dance school. 13 year old is not old enough to be on point shoes. It's her favourite time of the week though. She gets to finally have control of a situation, she gets some respect. 13 year olds, a fucking nightmare… She gets to tell them what to do and correct their arms, their feet, their posture and they listen! They do, and they like her, they say thank you Alba, see you next week! They learn her choreographies, they follow her lead when she explains a new variation. They even like the songs she chooses for warm up. Mostly Abba.

Alba is not her real name, but they don't know that. A gift from Laswell, when she started working for her. A sparkly new identity, English ID and nice documents that prove she's an English citizen, born in Southampton. She's not. Kept a little bit of Italian in the fake name. She hasn't been in Italy in close to five years. She went on vacation alone in Tuscany once, just to feel her country again for a second. She is not in contact with her family, last message from her sister was three years ago, it went 'I hope you're alive.' Her mother taught her violence. To be in power. To be beautiful and kind. To never ever trust someone who wouldn't give their life for you. Her mother taught her loyalty, respect. She used to never cry as a child. She loved to know stuff, to read about planets. She would kill lizards in the backyard with her little brother, who died young. She saw her first gun at 13. Now, her name is not Alba and it sure isn't Jude. Or Judy, as some patients call her. They know it's a callsign, a code name, everyone has one, especially in the task forces. Hers is Jude. 'Jude looks like an angel, but her words have thorns'. That's what Billy Lunette had to say about her. Billy had been her favourite patient for the whole of 2021. He had PTSD, he had night terrors and was in a mental hospital for schizophrenia symptoms for a while. He wouldn't take his medication, he would smoke, he was a mess. He listened to her though. She was the only one who visited him in the hospital. She showed him he could trust her and he completely lost himself in her. He would call her at 3 in the morning, drop by her office too many times per day, developed a bit of a codependency, but she was able to help him through his pain. He would do research about the treatments, the medicine, cognitive behavioural therapy. Billy was happy now. He was grateful to have had her and she was grateful that Billy had been a great patient. Big challenge. Billy was her biggest accomplishment, and proof of the fact she wasn't completely useless in the army.

She didn't work for the entirety of 2022. She had an accident with one of the patients, classified information. She survived, but man was it hard to live after that day... Spent time with her dog, visited a friend in San Francisco, taught ballet. Price and Laswell felt so guilty they continued to pay her even if she wasn't working. Why she decided to come back she really didn't know. She thinks the truth is she likes helping people, makes her feel good. She likes the crazy stories and that she had a reputation at the base, she was starting to be respected. She craved that. And it really started to bore her, the routine. Until Arash. Seeing Arash so frighted and tense was new, he was a calm and polite gentlemen. She saw an invisible string tying his story and his damned pilgrimage book to the mission she knew had failed in the Middle East. Now, it was a little bit of a stretch. So she did her little research, put her Sherlock hat on, lit a cigarette and started digging.

She had fun, until things really started clocking. He was missing his doctor appointments on purpose on specific dates, to go do what? Call someone? She couldn't steal his phone. Send letters? She tried the post office but found out nothing. The bank really did give her his statements, which was pure luck. He had set his personal security questions as his birthday and his mother's name, which she knew, because he told her. She knew everything about him, even his social security number. Arash really trusted her and she had an incredible memory for unnecessary details. Also, he left his wallet on the couch in her office countless times, it’s not that she looked, it was just there and she remembered. When she saw him stressed and fidgety she knew he was hiding something. She kept a straight face, 'Arash, we can really talk about whatever you want, you know' and he would interrupt her 'You don't understand. The urgency!', he continued to say. She really didn't want to tell Price herself, she would have preferred for Laswell to do it. She took extra time in the morning to get ready that day. She was going in a separate area she knew very little about, and nobody knew who she was. Sometimes people mistook her for someone's wife, or daughter. She chose her outfit accordingly, she wanted to seem professional. She wore a sports bra. There was nothing to look at anyways. She didn't put on lipstick, not even the nude one. She was used to being underestimated, and being looked down at. She was also used to raising her voice and presenting herself as stoic and cold. She knew perfectly how to be violence. She noticed a familiar face once she opened the door of the briefing room. A familiar face mask. The skull guy, she had seen him before. Was he the guy…

She could't get distracted. Her little mission went smoothly. She always knew Price liked her and feared her at the same time, and when it came to his little soldier boys, she really didn't care what they thought. The guy from the day of her accident even spoke to her. Poor thing. She was really amused no one told him about the reason why she didn't want to go home alone. He did really good that night, she remembers him well. He didn't try to speak too much, he sounded gentle. A gentle giant. Unfortunately for him, no one was gonna tell him about that day. When she left the room, she went straight home. She doubted someone would ever contact her again about the situation, they would handle it themselves, and probably very badly. She was driving to her ballet lesson, still thinking they all looked so confused by her words. They were probably gonna do a stupid interrogation, or rather do nothing and wait for the next mission to be a shit show. Imbecilli.

'Alright girls, one more time please!' At least she had her little ballerinas to cheer her up. She had them warm up, she usually did the warm up routine with them. She walked between the four rows of kids at the barre, delivering her corrections. Jennifer usually had stiff hands, and she was tense in her shoulders. Kyla had a beautiful turnout but she often confused her arms positions. The jetes routine, they always forgot that one. 'It's three in front and switch… guys I'm not gonna repeat myself'. She thought she sounded rude sometimes, but 13 year old American girls were a nightmare to work with. Last month, she even had to deal with poor Gemma being bullied in the changing rooms. 'I'm gonna say this just once, three in the front, switch to the back.' she liked demonstrating, felt like she was taking lessons herself. 'Ta-ra, ta-ra, ta-da. And we're gonna hold here' she lifted herself on her toes and attached her right pointed foot to her knee. She let go of the barre, holding her balance on one foot. 'Passè.' she said. The girls groaned. 'The more you complain the more I'm gonna make you stay like this girls. We're gonna do one minute.' She went to the side of the room, to play the music 'From the top.'

notes: translation of the song: 'Quando sei qui con me' when you're with me, 'Questa stanza non ha più pareti, ma alberi', this room doesn't have walls no more, it has trees.

notes: Alba means something specific!

translation: imbecilli, means imbeciles.

notes: let me know what you think !! <3

love, mare.

taglist:

@ummmmmwat @ghostlythots @sweetfemmefatal @natxpat @chavarriakeren647 @ravenmoore14 @farther-than-pleiades @internallyscreamings @hwromi @atoxicrat @cuti3maddi3 @deafeningkittenblaze @its-celeste @serene-hills @lexidoll12 @poohkie90 @lunatiquess

@warmedbythebody @katzykat @iristhemuse @azkza @keiraslayz @abbyandermine @jennyjencakes @dest-nai @corset-briefs @nutze-kekse @ilytsukiw @b3anspr0ut

@pondsblog @missyouzoe @fallenkitten @bigauthorrascalturkey @bethtay @angelynn-nicole @starluv @stargirlisworld @giyuuslittleslut @impossiblecupcakelight

@rkrivees-blog @ghosts-hoe @kam1snotverysmart @gauky76 @freyjaaasstuff @spicyspicyliving @scottpilgrimvsmyfists @courtney0-0 @shinchanboi @darling006

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thekalpar · 4 months ago

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Another show my spouse and I are watching is Rings of Power, which I'm just enjoying as "officially sanctioned fanfiction". (And maybe that's okay, but that's a separate post) ANYWAY so the Strangers (the guy who we can all tell is Gandalf even if they won't say it) is walking with Poppy and Nori his Harfoot friends and there's this really wonderful scene where they're talking about names and the Stranger says this really powerful thing.

Absolutely beautiful moment in tv, and a message that has definitely resonated with all of the trans folx that I know.

Except.

The Stranger is Gandalf. All of us Tolkein nerds who sat down and read the Silmarilion and are obsessing over the lore details they've incorporated into this show know this guy is Gandalf. And here's the thing about Gandalf.

GANDALF. MY DUDE. YOU HAVE LIKE TWELVE NAMES.

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gabessquishytum · 1 year ago

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Arranged marriage au in which Prince Dream’s hand is given to King Hob in marriage to seal a peace treaty between their two kingdoms in order to prevent war. However, Dream is secretly meant to use this marriage as an opportunity to assassinate the king and take over the kingdom, all but giving it over to his parents. Dream is fine with this plan (he might keep the kingdom for himself though, he hasn’t decided yet), but then he actually meets King Hob, who ticks all of his boxes and also falls in love with Dream at first sight. Oh dear.

On their wedding night, Hob is willing to wait out of respect, but Dream pulls out all the stops to seduce him (all in the name of lowering his guard, and to further cement Dream’s position when he kills him in a few months and takes over), only to be turned into a babbling mess as Hob proceeds to completely take him apart, all with nonstop looks of adoration. It’s the most intense sex in his life, and it nearly weakens his resolve all on its own.

But then, Hob follows this up with day after day of giving Dream both constant attention and complete freedom. He is perfectly content to allow Dream to do absolutely nothing if he chooses, just sit there and look pretty, but the exact moment that Dream decides to speak up and contribute Hob will listen to every word and give it every due consideration. If Dream tries to distract him from his duties by whining and begging for attention, Hob will immediately see to his needs, but will somehow at the same time continue to see to his rule with a gentle and firm hand. Dream becomes more and more genuinely obsessed and loathed to give this up, and soon it stops being an act for him.

(Also, Dream didn’t know this, but Hob’s kingdom is rather hedonistic and very comfortable with public sex. They do their best to hide it from foreign dignitaries so as not to offend their delicate sensibilities, but the first time Dream seduces Hob in front of the court (in an attempt to weaken his position in front of his courtiers and also because he was itching for more sex) they were met with either 1. looks of fond indulgence normally reserved for acts of innocent flirtation, or 2. looks of outright desire and lust, some even taking this as permission to also hook up with their partners. Dream never knew this was something he was interested in, but now that he has it he’s utterly ruined for anything else)

Dream’s parents grow more and more impatient to hear word that their son-in-law is dead, so that they can go “comfort their son in his grief”, and finally are invited to come celebrate their first anniversary. When they get there, to their dismay they see an alive and well King Hob, looking with hearts in his eyes at Prince Consort Dream on his lap. Dream looks like the cat that got the cream, utterly content and satiated, but his parents can read the hidden message in his gaze; they’ve lost their top assassin and the prize kingdom, if they try to kill his husband he will come after them, family be damned.

-🪽anon

(There’s probably room in the middle there for some light drama, as Dream feels guilty over his former plans to kill Hob, maybe Hob knew already or maybe he didn’t, but I’m here to provide smut and fluff and let others do what they will with it 😁)

I love nothing better than a slutty assassin <3

Dream comes from this long and prestigious line of famous assassins/royalty. Super rich, super powerful, always looking for more. (Anime fans, think of the Zoldyck family from hxh. Dream already has the aesthetic!)

Dream is the most ruthless and the most beautiful, and he has quite a reputation... but Hob agrees to the betrothal anyway. He definitely looks at Dream and thinks "aww, I can fix him!!" And he's kind of right? But he also makes Dream immeasurably worse, because the two of them fall in love.

I love to think that Hob knows about Dream’s plan, but he doesn't care - he just gives Dream a pat on his head and tells him that he's such a silly boy, it doesn't matter! Hob has killed dozens of people, he'd be a hypocrit if he got mad at Dream for this. And he knows that the only way Dream will kill him now they're married is through orgasm related cardiac arrest <3

They're fucking so much its actually a bit concerning. Hob loves being railed by his consort, over his own throne is a particular favourite. Dream’s parents hold out a small hope that their son genuinely is trying to fuck his new husband to death, but nooo. He's just channeling his murderous rage into making sure that Hob can't walk properly. More than once Hob has seen to paperwork or matters of state with Dream’s cock pounding him at the other end. If he does extra good with his statecraft then he gets Dream’s cum inside him, and maybe a little break before the next round <3

#🪽anon #the sandman #dreamling #nsft

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venerawrites · 18 days ago

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your most recent post just tickled my brain worms SO good holy hell I'll be thinking about it for weeks now. First of all, you did so good and thank you for the 14k fic omg!? As always your writing was freaking out of this world and I have much to say so walk with me

I particularly fell to my knees when he said "I do love you. But I only know one way to." there's such a RAW feeling to those words and I absolutely love it

Another point is that someone like the reader could never be in a healthy relationship like she wanted to since, even if she didn't wish to, she'd keep taking and taking from her partner until they're eventually left with nothing else to give

However, Sasuke is someone who has everything and nothing at the same time. He has the power and the influence but as a human? he's still raw. Vulnerable even. But not in a way that can be easily shaped nor is he willing to let others shape him into something.

What he does know how to do though is give his everything when he's set on something we seen it in how he literally gave his entire life to avenge his family

He's had love taken from him again and again, he's had love hurt and ripped him to shreds. His only "affection" in this case obsessing over things he does have control over.

Then comes in the reader; Someone who does exactly that. Someone who will tear him apart, who will lay him bare and point out his flaws without hesitation, but will also, without him even realizing, give him a solid 'shape'.

He can give her everything and more, but for someone like her it'll never be quite enough. Especially not when he learnt how to precisely measure how much to give without letting her "win" their twisted game. He will keep giving and giving and giving even when she doesn't want it anymore and what can a greedy and broken person who craves for love do if not hungrily take what is being so kindly given to her? No one else could ever keep her so frustratingly satisfied like he does.

And on god don't EVEN get me started on the last part. "I am so sick of you" he says and yet he needs her more than he needs the very air he breathes. She is a horrible woman and he is a man full of sins, way too deep into the abyss to even dream about redemption or forgiveness. So what else is left for them to do besides drowning together? Drowning themselves into each other until they eventually reach their limit together. But what matters is exactly that: That they're together.

I have so many thoughts but it's so late I can only put those into words HAHA

thank you again, have a good night XX

- toxic brainrot anon

"Toxic brainrot" anon you are the star of this blog and I really mean it! <3 This fic was originally supposed to be just a nsfw short story about ex!husband Sasuke, but after you send me that message about the toxic type of dynamic between lovers, this beautiful idea was born.

All of your analysis is spot on!

Honestly, I love Sasuke so much, but as you said he is a vulnerable and "raw" individual, one that has been through so much, the idea of redemption looks like a distant dream, rather than an achievable goal.

I think we often see him in fics paired with a s/o that is a giver - giving him patience, time, understanding (actually, most of my fics about him are like this!), but I thought - what if flipped things around? What if his partner was the one that kept taking and taking, feeding off his weaknesses rather than help him overcome them?

The whole time I was writing this I was thinking about this one quote from "The perks of being a wallflower" (Gosh, I loved that book when I was in high school!): "We accept the love we think we deserve" and honestly I think this is the most appropriate way to describe what Sasuke and his s/o are feeling for each other.

Anyway, enough of my rambling! I want to thank you, anon, not only for your kind words and support, but also all your ideas! <3

V xx

#anon #star of this blog <3 #sasuke x reader

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thegreatimpersonator · 9 months ago

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okay so I'm gonna share my personal experience with you. Im 29 and two years ago I ended a relationship with my former boyfriend. We dated for 5 years. I overromanticised every single aspect of that relationship and told people that we're totally fine even if I knew deep down that that wasn't true but I guess I never realised it back then because I was so caught up in that lavender haze (no pun intended). only when I got out of that relationship I realised that those 5 years were the absolute hell and it was just me being too optimistic about everything. That being said, if Taylor feels that way too (which we don't know! And we shouldn't because it's not us!) I get her changing those songs because idk maybe she sees the song lover as something else now (that it actually was never that good) BUT she should know better to not put it out in the world like that. She knows her power and influence and she knows her massive fanbase that will eat this shit up. She's allowed to feel like that but she shouldn't make it public. That's what these people need to realise. None of us is telling her she isn't allowed to feel how she feels but she shouldn't force all that information onto us because she's in her 30s and at that age you should know better what your rabid fanbase will do with that information.

Anyways! I love you and your blog and I hope you don't take all the hateful messages you're getting right now too much on your heart, I appreciate you and your opinions very much Sarah, I hope you have a lovely day🤍

yes exactly! lets use the hypothetical scenario that you brought up: lets say your situation is what taylor is going through and she wrote a song on ttpd that has a lot of ties to lover but references how she feels now, like there are parallels to how she used to feel vs now. that's great! thats a beautiful and common practice, if she were to do that it would also be very mature of her to be aware of how immature her fanbase is and do something like ariana grande did with her album and post something like this:

her expressing and processing her emotions through her art while also corralling her crazy fanbase and trying to prevent them from harassing and hurting people would be great, but instead, she's pointing out old love songs and being like 'no this song is actually about ignoring red flags' and changing the entire identity based on how she feels at any given moment, while also riling up her fanbase even more is just messy.

#answered #anonymous #and thank you for your kind words 💜

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chaifootsteps · 9 months ago

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Oh my god, finally! I've been wanting to post here for a few days.

I'm the author of that infamous fanfic. And I wanted to say, unrelated to Hazbin, that the documentary and Drake's story, coupled with his new music video "I Kinda Relate" is the most heartbreaking and empowering thing I've ever seen. I bawled my eyes out the entire day that I found it.

In the first 28 seconds, Drake heavily implies, but doesn't show, his abuse that he suffered at the hands of his rapist, Brian Peck (who also was penpals with none other than John Wayne Gacy.)

I wanted to do nothing but hug that poor little boy, and to hug the man he is now. I want to tell him that he's beautiful and strong and brave for coming out. Male CSA victims rarely ever do. Could you imagine telling Drake then or now, that he's a *loser*? Could you imagine going about his abuse the way Viv did with Husk and Angel? He literally made his own music video that was much more tactful and empowering than Loser Baby ever will be.

I also have dirt on Dan S and that whole fucking pedo ring (I know a LOT of people in this industry. I also helped take down an ACTUAL ZOO AND PEDOPHILE with a decent amount of power a few years back.) And for anyone still confused about Drake, the girl he messaged lied about her age and he never did anything physical with her. He still acknowledges he's fucked up (please watch his hour long interview and music video) but he's "bound to make it right".

I also just want to say, to a CERTAIN PERSON, that comparing the objectively fetishisized abuse (I'm a CSA victim and into noncon), to fucking SEX ED FOR CHILDREN, is the absolute most fucking garbage and vile take I've ever seen. Poison is NOT educational. It is fetish content for Viv and Raph and others like them. If survivors and fans can turn something objectively negative into something subjectively positive, all the power to them.

Again, into noncon and a CSA victim. I also don't want to see stans taking this and telling me I'm invalid for critiquing Viv and Raph (already dealt with that in my damn fic.) I have been raped/sexually assaulted/groomed/groped/strangled/pinned down/dragged around as a child and NO ONE is ever going to tell me I'm a hypocrite or that I'm wrong for my feelings on this issue. Especially when I also have friends and my own mother as SA and CSA victims as well.

Someone like myself, or like Drake Bell, do NOT need to see how explicitly horrid our abuse was/is to understand how bad it is. I personally had panic attacks watching the episode, and having the knowledge of Raph being an unapologetic rape fetishist, was all I needed to know that that entire episode was fetish content. It's basically an adaptation of Raph's Red Smoke comic. Nearly word for word too. I've written and consumed so many stories over the years to know exactly what's going in their heads.

You know how you actually help a victim? You have friends and family and a therapist help you get out of that situation. Husk "helping" Angel was not the way to go about it.

And I've seen fans argue whether or not Viv is a rape fetishist (she is), but if she wasn't, why is she so adamant on keeping an unapologetic rape fetishist on her staff? He's confirmed to be working on season 2 (God I'm gagging thinking about it) and why does she like so much art (no hate to the artists) of sexy, fetishisized, hot, and sad art of Valentino? If he's supposedly based off HER abusive experience, why does she coddle, woobify, and downplay and sexualize him so much??? I wouldn't base a rapist character or write a rapist character as a fucking "high school Mean girl".

I'm sorry this got so long, but fuck man... it's so fucking disgusting.

Anyways, please watch this. It's got more tact and heart than fucking Poison will ever have. Drake Bell, my heart goes out to you. CSA victim to CSA victim. I hope you get better and can heal. And that goes for all victims as well. 💜🫂 (You too, Chai.)

And Brian Peck, and any and all other rapists, can burn alive in a grease fire. Val included.

https://youtu.be/I5gh8rAVLkI?si=B2eny2U4GZRgDZ7t

https://youtu.be/nSzk-MsVKqA?si=6D4rEihu89Yom7YG

Well said as always, Anon, and thank you for this.

Also, definitely seconding Brian Peck burning up in a grease fire.

#Anonymous #viv stuff #actual blog post #vivziepop critical

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horizon-verizon · 8 months ago

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I’m genuinely still wondering how the writers took one look at F&B and went “the stepmother and her stepdaughter should totally be in love” like seriously not hating, how’d they even get to that conclusion ? They genuinely thought “maybe Alicent started romancing Rhaenyra when she was 16 and Rhaenyra 7 ?”

They didn't genuinely think that Alicent and Rhaenyra were besties in canon, they understood it was always a parent-child/step-relation and that Alicent was 10 or so yrs older than canon!Rhaenyra. It's just that they decided to run with a change between the two bc--Miguel Sapochnik's wife? suggested--that this relationship would be less "sexist" than the Wicked Stepmother trope that defined, is when an older woman jealously plots and/or tries to either kill or depower her more beautiful or desireable, "innocent" stepdaughter. Traditionally.

The issues with this thinking is that:

They replaced Alicent's characterization with a 15 year old who gets sexually abused for years, and before that forced to "seduce" the king by her own father.

Alicent is far less ambitious, driven, consistent, and intelligent than bk!Alicent, and i refer esp to her in episodes 8-9 in the last three adjectives but you can kinda also trace it to at least the 2nd episode when she's peaking to Rhaenyra. On the whole, her ambition has also been easier to disguise as her desire for "peace" when it's really just the status quo so that she can feel that she's been part of a great exchange--her suffering for her higher place as a Queen. Could have been good in a sense, if only again, she had been intelligent.

So they really didn't make that much of an improvement on the "less/no-sexism" front, and I say this bc the transition from who alicent was to what we see in the show is where the sexist rationale lies [next paragraph]. And there is a reason why wicked stepmothers are still relevant...because women absolutely will turn on children or abuse them for power or to ensure their own children's survival, no woman was a feminist, and Alicent in the show ends up still harassing and abusing Rhaenyra anyway! Any and all tropes with female protagonists/antagonists in past stories and fairytales or myths can be sexist according to how it's handled. Finally, Rhaenyra is not a perfect example of an "innocent" princess in the traditional Wicked Stepmother trope because she has sex outside of marriage and she rides a dragon--dragons are usually positioned as one the side of "evil" in Western patriarchal tales.

Some argue that HotD's dynamic is better or better conveys the message of the story bc they think that this whole "women-are-peacemakers-for-war-mongering-violent-men" is itself not sexist [rhaenyragendereuphoria]. Bc it still denigrates ambitious women, or ambition and assertiveness in women, to make the implication that to be violent or just actively go after that which has been socially kept from you based on your gender is absolutely unethical. Or that this element has no ethical value in itself.

Espe when we see how Targ women have been sidelined & abused for years until the Targs lose their dragons--Rhaenyra's Syrax was very fertile during her happy years and though men can ride dragons, we tend to see more laying or more dragons/bigger dragons in the earlier part, more female-friendly part of Targ history when they were still in their process of assimilation--and lose their weapon against the Others until Dany reawakens them.

It undervalues how Rhaenyra was Alicent's victim and how she was a victim of green misogyny in her usurpation, how it is the greens' fault how there was ever a war in the first place, how they are the ones who would be willing to risk a war to obtain power and hypocritically upend "social order" by going against the King's word. To diminish this fact and to argue "two canons" or "unreliable sources" is also to argue that F&B is not a narrative framed with GRRM vs Gyldayn, and thus there IS a certain narrative through-line or truth aside from Gyldayn's purpose and to ignore how history treats women, how GRRM already describes what sort of person Rhaenrya is so you can rewrite her "ult-femme" pride into a much more apologetic, friendless persona.

Yes, GRRM is describing the horrid effects of war and how this particular war devastated the country...that doesn't mean that misogyny wasn't a defining element as to how that war happened or that defiance is a necessary thing to witness in a female character with the society we have in Westeros. This is itself another trope designed to make women bear the responsibility of a man's violence through bio-essentialism, even with Viserys & Jaehaerys not wanting war bc even Jaehaerys at many points was willing to use force to enforce his own will, authority, etc. whereas Viserys could have done well to put his foot down in certain times...why not Rhaenyra when she is forced to face the consequences of these two men's policies or actions?

This all goes for Alicent, too, why not TELL A HUMAN TRUTH and show how a woman determined to use patriarchal principles to uplift herself and her kids in a world where she'd expect to only have higher positions through marriage? She'd still be evil because she's directly mistreating and plotting against a child into her teenhood, but she'd be more understandable simultaneously. As it is, Alicent's fakeness in the show is more intolerable bc w/o Rhaenyra's fire the writing is constantly giving us the impression that Alicent had "good" reason to hate Rhaenyra for being herself or trying to gain a bit of agency. And it's in of itself a total lie on their parts, a bad-faith manipulation or a misunderstanding. That Rhaenyra' issue was her having "bastards", not the misogyny against her. The showrunners themselves have said how different Rhaanyra's kids look diff from Laenor, using the Velaryon's skin to "make it obvious" when that was never the actual concern or thing that mattered! to courtiers and to the scheming Alicent, yes, but not the philosophical core of this story!

Here is a reblog/post by @xenonwitch about how HotD is written in the male gaze and how Alicent ended up the way she is.

#alicent as the evil stepmother #asoiaf asks to me #hotd writing #hotd sexism #hotd male gaze #male gaze #rhaenicent #hotd ships #shipping #asoiaf shipping #alicent's characterization #fire and blood characters #hotd characterization

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joys-of-everyday · 1 year ago

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SVSSS’s women and MXTX’s commentary on sexism

Every time someone starts with ‘MXTX is great but her women…’, I feel conflicted. I think the way she writes women is secretly brilliant, but that was a conclusion I came to after a long hard think about SVSSS (which was the third series I got into). I absolutely went through the 'MXTX is great but her women...' phase.

So thoughts for my fellow travelers on this journey of enlightenment or whatever. I’m focusing on SVSSS here, because otherwise the post would be more than three times as long. I'm also not... idk how to phrase it... 'starting at the basics' since I think there's plenty already out there on MXTX's strong/not strong presence of female characters. (There’s this for advertisement. Then a somewhat more involved post on Su Xiyan which is brilliant btw. defo recommend.) This is more like... side notes, of things I have yet to see discussed. (maybe someone has discussed them and I've yet to find it.)

1. Ning Yingying, Institutionalised Sexism, and Growth

There were also some incredible female cultivators, but on the whole, these girls’ strength and mental fortitude was lacking, and they often required help… they spent their time playing around instead of actually working. Basically they looked quite hopeless.

What I really have to appreciate about SVSSS is that it slaps you around the face with a giant cucumber so you really can't miss it. This was the passage that made me put down the book and think. Why is this here? What is the point? Idk it just stuck out to me.

So there's a lot to say here about SY's stunning narration, what that says about his internalised beliefs, as well as the portrayal of women in certain genres and how frustrating it can be as a reader/viewer (looking at you, shonen), but I wanted to divest for a second to mention implicit sexism (for no other reason than I happen to care).

In SVSSS, there isn’t much explicit sexism aimed at female characters in world. By this, I mean there is no point at which a character in the world of SVSSS says sexist things to a female character, nor are there moments were female characters are specifically barred from doing anything because of their gender. Of course, it could in part be due to SQQ’s blindness to such issues, but there’s also another facet to this – the abundance of implicit sexism.

The Little Palace Mistress was the Old Palace Master’s beloved daughter. Her martial skills were the product of his hands-on teaching… Meanwhile, Ning Yingying was the beloved youngest shimei who was pampered by the entirety of Qing Jing Peak; she very rarely encountered danger and had virtually no real battle experience.

Ning Yingying is never pushed. She’s loved and cared for, but not expected to excel. The thing with implicit/institutionalised anything is that it’s hard to point to any specific case and go ‘that’s sexist’ or whatever. The effect is only clear when taken over a larger group. Returning to the Immortal Alliance Conference, what do our female participants look like? We have LMY doing her thing, ofc. But QWY? QWR? Their immediate reaction to danger is to cling to the nearest strong person and rely on them for protection. It feels like they’ve never learnt to stand for themselves.

MXTX’s later works often get the ‘there aren’t enough female characters in positions of power’ or ‘all the female characters die’ kind of remarks, but I think there’s something deeper to be said about the kind of commentary it's making on society. Anyway, I won't go deeper here, but the subversion of NYY’s stereotypical role (and so arguably the whole point of her character thematically) is that she doesn’t continue to be the loli icon with IQ 40. When NYY is forced to fend for herself and given the space to grow, she does grow. And isn’t that a nice message?

2. LMY, the Daoist Nuns, and Sex Positivity

Because her face was excessively beautiful, capable of stealing souls, she had to hide it behind a veil all year round, rendering her like unto a flower on a high cliff, unattainable and out of reach.

The women of SVSSS are all about subversions of troupes, and the subversion of LMY’s troupe is twofold. At first, she is introduced as the ‘pure’ one, in contrast to SHL’s ‘sexy’ (commentary on the ‘two types of women: frigid and slut’ narrative). Then she’s the ‘not like other girls’. She’s beautiful but doesn’t care for her looks. She doesn’t care for men but they fall at her feet. She’s stoic and competent, the ideal of a ‘strong independent woman’. And then, right at the end, we learn that she writes very kinky gay porn.

I think there's a lot of disappointment around for LMY's potential not being fulfilled, and while I agree SVSSS on the whole wrapped things up very quickly, honestly? I think this is the funniest twist ever.

LMY a fanfic writer, a shipper, a BL enthusiast. The kind of woman whose literature has always been regarded with something between confusion, denial, and disgust: from the rise of shonen ai and Yaoi of the 60s-80s, or slash fiction in 70s, to the popularity of danmei in China. The CP fan, in all its bravery and ugliness. She's not a hero, she doesn't particularly do anything, other than pursue her hobbies. She's neither ‘pure’ nor ‘strong’, but touchingly realistic.

And even better, she’s not alone. There’s the Daoist nuns, who (hilariously) are nuns who in an apparently life-or-death situations suggest dual cultivation??? (Now celibacy was necessary in some Daoist schools but not all, but since Shen Jiu mentions specifically that there’s nothing strictly wrong with him sleeping with prostitutes because they’re not a Daoist sect, it feels like there’s a subversion lurking there.) (idk they have Catholic girl school vibes.)

ngl, I just love LMY. She's very sexy.

3. LPM, QWY, and Breaking Down the Mean Girl

If LMY is ‘not like other girls’ then the LPM is the ‘mean girl’. Also, the ‘girl who tries to break up the MLs’ of a BL. The two troupes are in the same ballpark. Rich, pretty, privileged. Also petty, stupid, and unnecessarily cruel. More generally, the Huan Hua trio - LPM, QWY, QWR all take different elements of the 'unlikable girl'.

I don’t have many deep thoughts about this, other than their abject failure to make a dent on LBH’s devotion to SQQ being really funny (and an excellent post on QWY which breaks down her character and her relationship to og!LBH), but something that snagged with me is the comparison between these extracts.

Why did he act like one of those bitter courtyard complex concubines with too much time on their hands?

This is about Shen Jiu. Ya know, Shen abuses children Jiu.

He very much did not enjoy the sight of a sixty-year-old coot and a young girl in her teens cooing at each other right in front of him.

This is one of two (?) times that svsss mentions a young girl being married to an old coot (the second being SJ's mysterious jiejie). If you didn't know, the situation of women in much of Chinese history is... not great.

The Little Palace Mistress: Bitter, locked-up woman. She herself says that Luo Binghe treats her like a kept pig.

Also, the existence of Wang Lingjiao in MDZS, servant turned lover, who everyone hates (she’s the one stuck to Wen Chao if you’re like me and forgot her name most the time).

There’s condemnation there (none of these characters are portrayed in a sympathetic light) but there’s a hint of pity there too. LPM has lost a father. QWY a sister. And in MDZS, WLJ is plagued by the anxiety of an unfaithful lover who she relies on entirely for her power.

(Someone (irl!) mentioned Beauvoir to me in a (not svsss!) conversation (lol the brain rot is real but not 100% yet) and now I feel like maybe I should go back to the Second Sex for svsss reasons (so maybe the brain rot is real 🤔). Beauvoir writes a lot about 'bad women'.)

Anyway, this is not particularly organised and doesn't really have a point. I might expand some more on something at some point, but that requires me having coherent thoughts, which probably requires me having actual conversations to get a few things straight, so no guarantees. Whatever. Have a great day :)

#svsss #svsss meta #ning yingying #liu mingyan #little palace mistress #qin wanyue #qin wanrong #mxtx meta #the thing I happen to care about is women in STEM #which means my knowledge is super skewed #I have more thoughts about the world building related to this #but it would probably turn into an unrelated rant

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