#black background and white letters I mean

[starpros-sunshine]

"It's on the internet archives" "You can just buy the eBook" "there's probably a pdf somewhere out there 　you can pirate" those are all very valid and very good options and alternatives but have you considered I don't want to spend hours upon hours looking at a screen until my vision gets blurry because the eye strain gives me headaches and it's also bad for the eyes in general because the blue rays damage your retina and also it gives me headaches and makes my eyes hurt

[hazard-symbols-that-fuck-hard]

Okay time for the PBS Kids essay

Read it under the cut!

:readmore:

In 1968, before there was PBS Kids proper, there was Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. While it came several decades before the children’s block, it laid the foundation for the themes and values present in every facet of the network’s history.

Mr. Roger famously hated children’s programming at the time. To him, it all was droll and useless. But he didn’t dissuade the medium entirely— he saw potential. Potential that led to a few smaller television jobs, and eventually the creation of Mr. Roger’s neighborhood.

Rogers didn’t invent educational TV for children, but he did perfect it. He poured real heart and soul into probably the most sincere, heartfelt program in history.

Honestly, he could have his own essay. The more things you learn about the real man of Mr. Rogers, the more you’ll like him.

Anyway, the biggest thing that makes PBS different is the fact that it earns money through grants, fundraisers, and private donors— not through sponsorships and merchandise sales. This way, PBS Kids can push programming that it feels is important, rather than programming that merely sells well.

This also means PBS is less afraid of pushing social boundaries. Money doesn’t go away when their shows become subjects of debate— and Mr. Rogers took full advantage of this.

For context, this was 1969. The Jim Crow era had just barely, barely ended. Pool segregation was still very much legal.

Mr. Rogers sharing a pool and a towel with the Black Mr. Clemmons was a pretty big deal at the time— especially on a show made for children.

Rogers was far from the untouchable sacred cow of today. When he was alive, he had a large number of detractors. Let’s just say that scene didn’t fly nicely by everyone.

Just one year after the debut of Mr. Roger’s came Sesame Street.

While Mr. Roger’s was made for all children, Sesame Street had the explicit goal of supplementing the education of underserved communities— especially inner-city Black (and later Latino) children.

While it was made to be accessible to children of all races and income levels, they definitely went the extra mile to make it something special for inner-city Black and Brown kids. (Why do you think it it’s “Sesame Street” and not “Sesame Cul-de-Sac”?)

At the time, a wholesome, sweet show set in a brownstone street was practically unheard of.

Jon Stone, the casting director, deliberately sought to make the cast as rich with color as he possibly could, bringing on a huge amount of Black talent such as Loretta Long, Matt Robinson, and Kevin Clash, as well as featuring Black celebrities as guest stars. Later, the show would expand its horizons, bringing on actors from Latino, Asian, Native American, and many more backgrounds.

White actors were and still are a minority on show.

In addition to letters and numbers, the purpose of Sesame Street is clear: make kids of color know that they’re smart, beautiful, and loved.

It doesn’t get more explicit than this.

I want to point out this comment because it’s funny

You’re telling me this bitch isn’t Hispanic???

Anyway, these two were followed up by Reading Rainbow in 1983. And guess what?

That’s right. Non-white focus.

These three shows, (along with other, lesser-known programs like Lamb-Chops Play Along, Newton’s Apple, and Shining Times Station (who featured Ringo Starr himself?? seriously how did that happen and why does no one talk about it) and some other nostalgic favorites like Bill Nye the Science guy, The Magic Schoolbus, Arthur, and Thomas the Tank Engine) aired on the new PTV block, which evolved into PBS Kids in 1999, bringing along Between the Lions, Dragon Tales, and many more.

Arthur is another stand-out that I’d like to talk about— it doesn’t have the same racial focus of Sesame Street, but it does focus on different income levels. The characters have various housing situations, from apartments to mansions to no home at all.

It also takes cues from Sesame Street and Mr. Roger’s in regards to talking about tough topics, though as Arthur has a slightly older target audience, it discusses things through stories rather than talking directly to the audience.

Cancer, religion, workplace discrimination, along with current (at the time) events such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina are all discussed on the show.

Another big focus on Arthur is disability. For once, they don’t stick a character in a wheelchair and then pretend he’s not in a wheelchair. A striking number of major characters either develop or get diagnosed with physical disabilities and/or neurodivergences, such as asthma, severe food allergies, and dyslexia, and they deal with them in very realistic ways.

A handful of minor characters have more obvious disabilities, and THANK GOD they go beyond the trite messaging of “disabled people can do everything abled people can do! everyone clap now!”

One episode in particular has the awesome message of “holy shit stop trying to help me all the time— it’s patronizing as fuck. I can get around just fine without you stepping on eggshells and trying to be the hero all the fucking time”

There are sooo many other shows I could talk about, but I can’t write about them all. I’m definitely gonna point out some more standout ones, though.

Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat

Created by Chinese-American woman Amy Tang

Dragonfly TV

Features a multitude of female and non-white scientists to foster an interest in science with kids in those groups

Maya & Miguel

One of the network’s first Hispanic-led shows

SciGirls

I shouldn’t have to explain what the goal of this one was.

Molly of Denali

When was the last time you saw a show that treated Native Americans as people? Much less a children’s show? 90% of the cast is Athabascan, and the show revolves around Athabascan culture, not shying away from topics like boarding schools and modern-day racism. Most of the writers are also Athabascan, and the show even has an official Gwich’in dub!

It’s this commitment to real, authentic social justice that makes PBS Kids so much different from its competitors. Could you imagine the Paw Patrol dog looking at the camera and earnestly discussing what happened to George Floyd? I don’t think so— but Arthur talked specifically about it, Sesame Street did an hour long special about race in general, and the network itself made a 30 minute special.

Disney Jr. could never. (Other than trying to teach colorblindness, of course.)

I’m gonna have to cut this into two parts, since I just hit the image limit

[eldritchravens]

Welcome Home - The Homewarming Update : A compilation of the secrets I could find

⚠️SPOILERS AHEAD!⚠️

This post is simply a compilation of all the things I could find during my exploration of the website. I'm not going to delve too much into theories. Enjoy the read!

1- Statics

Every background is now filled with statics. I tried zooming out but I couldn't find anything. Not really a secret, but still interesting to note.

2- It's a dog! Oh, and a pea!

Found in the "Official Welcome Home Cook Book" in the merchandise page. I am... A little worried about Barnaby. For those who are aware, the pea is foreshadowing for a much bigger secret.

3- Audio distortion

Surprisingly, I was only able to find one instance where the audio distorts. In the "Homewarming Storybook Record", when Wally speaks here (timestamp is 18:16), the audio gets distorted. Please let me know if you found more audio glitches on the main website!

4- The page is breathing

I was able to capture something that made my skin crawl. Look very closely at this illustration. It's... breathing. I'm unsure if any other image in the website does that too. Very troubling.

5- Lost track of time

Uh-oh! Looks like our beloved writer is losing their perception of time itself. An effect of the black substance maybe? You can find this on the News page.

6- Pixels? Smudges? Oh, and a new friend!

In The Neighboorhood page, Home now has little white pixels around him? I'm unsure if this was intentional or not. Interestingly, the secret link under Home dissapeared along with every other traces of Wally.

The logo on certain pages looks... dirty? Look closely, there are brownish stains on some letters. This doesn't appear everywhere.

And! New friend! Hello new friend!

7- Symbols!

Okay, now onto the main course. Something I think we've all noticed straight away! There's a ton of tiny little doodles splattered around the website. The doodles are all named after a letter. Here is every letter translated from their respective symbol you can find on the website :

Home : M I O A Merchandise : P Y E R Media : Y G About us : A R Stickers : E News : T Neighboorhood : S F N E Wally : W Exhibition : N Ghestbook : W W W Transcript : Y

"www" huh? Interesting, like a web link. At first, all of this doesn't really mean anything, until we stumble upon this!

Fascinating, it's a code! Eddie here is giving us the translation to every single doodle. Next, if we solve the question here "What does Home wear at parties?", it gives us the next clue we need. The answer is "ADDRESS". Address? Now, remember the "www" thing? That's right! We need to assemble the letters we found to make a link!

8- Away from Prying Eyes

After assembling a link, you will be able to visit a secret page. In it is by far the biggest secret in this update : https://www.awayfrompryingeyes.net/

When I tell you I lost my marbles when I discovered this. There is a lot to say here! Firstly, one thing to note is that unlike any other secrets we had found in previous updates, Wally didn't put this here. Instead, it was this mysterious "W". Go read the whole thing! It's PACKED with information!

"W" purposely put this here for US to find. W is in distress, confused and scared; this looks like a call for help.

Might or might not be important, but the word "Paranoid" here starts with a capital. It did catch my eye, so maybe it is noteworthy.

This entire phone call is absolutely fascinating and gives us answers about the lore. I highly recommend people to give it a listen : https://www.awayfrompryingeyes.net/phone

AND THIS??? OH MY GOODNESS!!! Clown is spoiling us with gifts for this Homewarming! Truly, thank you Clown and the whole WH team, you're doing such a marvelous job. Watch the whole thing here : https://www.awayfrompryingeyes.net/commercials

And what's this hidden among the commercials? Eddie! Remember how I said the pea was foreshadowing? Eddie can hear Home's heartbeat. Well, our dearest mailman doesn't look too well :( Thankfully Frank seems to be looking out for him!

_________________________

Important things to note: This update is almost completely void of any trace of Wally infesting the website. The symbols were placed by the website manager here. Wally is not there anymore. Also, Eddie is purposely left out of the main update, only to be the center of attention in the commercial compilation.

Well! That's all I managed to find for now! Please let me know in the replies if I've missed anything. Thank you for reading, and Happy Homewarming! <3

Edit : Added some new things I just noticed!

[luvelve]

husband!mingyu who secretly knows that one of your weaknesses is seeing the band of his underwear whenever he stretches. something about seeing CALVIN KLEIN in all bold letters whenever the giant man stretches his limbs. hanging just below his torso, let it be red, black, grey, or just the classic white calvins, it’d be sure to make your stomach flutter.

how else could he have picked up on this not so little obsession of yours when every time his underwear peaks, your cheeks turn a bright pink hue and suddenly you forget what mingyu was talking about just then.

“though we could get 2 vacuums instead, one for upstairs and one for downstairs.” mingyu says after your mind has somehow turned 7 innocent seconds of him stretching into a short calvin klein montage with some flirty doja cat song playing in the background.

“that’d be smarter and easier for us, right?” he adds, fixing the folds of his shirt. you’re now completely unaware that your mouth is hanging slightly open and that your cheeks are now the same color as mingyu’s favorite pink hoodie.

“yeah, uh huh.” you nod your head absentmindedly, now finally shifting your gaze at your husband’s face. this doesn’t go unnoticed by him though.

“okay, so what did i just say, my love?” his tone playful, deciding whether or not he should tell you that he knows why you’re all flushed right now. he turns his body on the couch so he can fully face you.

he scans your face and he recognizes that look on your face. it’s the same flushed look you had when mingyu first kissed you outside your apartment. the same look when he showed up with flowers and your favorite chinese takeout on a random tuesday. the same look when he brought you to his parents’ house and accidentally said he wants to marry you.

after being married to each other for almost 3 years, mingyu finds it endearing that he’s still able to leave you all flustered. whether it be stopping in his tracks to tie your laces, to removing the strand of hair on your face, and even flashing the band of his underwear apparently.

“uh, we’re getting a new vacuum… and we can get those dyson? ones that you’ve been telling me about.” you shoot him a sheepish smile and it takes everything in him to not kiss you right now.

he pauses and flashes you his signature smile. his canines poking out at the side.

“what?” you say, giggling at the giant teddy bear that is smiling at you for a reason unknown to you.

“baby, i know.” he huffs, closing the tiny gap in between the two of you.

“know what?” you reply, raising an eyebrow at him.

being the gentle giant that your husband is, he wants to lay it to you gently so as not to totally embarrass you, but he’s afraid it’s gonna happen either way.

“my love, i know that whenever i stretch, like when i put my hands up like this and my tummy shows? and so does my underwear? baby, i catch you staring.” he trails off after demonstrating to you and he starts giggling and snakes his arms around your waist. your faces are now practically centimeters from each other. there’s only love and adoration in mingyu’s eyes.

“you-what do you? no, i don’t. babe, i don’t even know what you’re talking about.” you bite your lip in attempts to hide the giant smile that’s about to form on your face.

all mingyu can do is laugh and bury his face into the crook of your neck. meanwhile, your insides are burning from the embarrassment that your husband knows your little secret and your cheeks are turning bright red this time around.

“my love, its okay. so what if you find my underwear hot? i mean i find a lot of things about you hot. like when you pump gas into our car. hot. when your hair’s wet and you wrap it in a towel and you take it out from the towel? hot. oh, when you wear my shirts and hoodies. well that’s more of cute, but you get the point. babe, i could go on and on, you know.” he continues to rub circles onto your waist where his hands are resting.

you’re reminded of how loving and gentle your husband is because only he could rub away the embarrassment of finding his briefs hot.

“how long have you known?” you whisper, the bright red stain on your cheeks fading away. holding his chin between your thumb and index finger.

“i don’t know, i guess when we were having lunch this one time at that fancy place near us. that was the first time i caught you. so maybe a month ago?” his gaze is soft with a hint of playfulness.

“well, there goes my secret, i guess.” a pout forms on your face and all mingyu can do is lean in for a kiss. it’s not rushed, it’s the kind that says i love you. you can feel yourself melt into him as he takes one hand from your waist and places it onto your cheek. both of your arms wrap around his neck to pull him even closer than he was before.

“doesn’t mean i’m gonna stop doing it though.” you break away from the kiss momentarily to say to him. you shoot him a naughty look that he’s all too familiar with.

“that’s my girl.” he replies, leaning in for another kiss.

so this was completely self indulgent, and the first thing i’ve written. this was supposed to be like a 200 word blurb MAX but i got carried away :<

anyways, please enjoy <3

[iloveaustinelvisandmannymore]

Only him

Pairing: Toji Fushiguro x reader

Summary: You always had a thing for retro games. When you got a old dating game from a pawn shop for practically free, you thought you were blessed. how wrong were you.

Warning: Yandere!Toji, Fictional love triangle, Horror? Al!sentient!Toji, Angst, Panty smelling, A hint of somnophilia, Perv!Toji, Domestic abuse, Manhandling, Smut, fingering, squirting, cum-shot, cream pie, hair pulling, choking, this is a dark fanfic.

Today was the best day ever! You had a good feeling about this day, but you didn't know why until now!

You squealed loudly as you stepped out of the local pawn shop, unable to help it; you danced with happiness and began to walk to your shoe box of an apartment while ignoring the disapproving stares of those who watched the scene.

The thud of your purse colliding with the floor didn't faze you, either when you almost tripped over your toss shoes. Too absorbed to care.

Flopping onto your bed, you took in the details of the Nintendo game card. The picture on the front was a bit chipped but it was still eye-catching. A pink heart sat front and center, with tiny red lettering of the title in the middle, and a park with cherry blossoms trees was the background. Mr. Right, hmm? I see about that.

Grabbing your old Nintendo Switch from your bedside table, you popped the card in the side and waited. A cheerful, 90s tune sounded out as the picture on the card filled your switch screen. With a smile, you turned to lay on your back as you clicked play, and once the pink screen faded, a menu of different features graced you. Character list?

The first roll of characters was less than eye-catching, and although the designs were made to be attractive, none captivated you. The second roll appeared to be just the same when two characters that stood side by side caught your attention. Black ragged hair lay on his forehead and almost covered the beautiful green eyes of the first character; they were like a freshly cut emerald, shined to perfection. His lips pulled up into a smug smirk, and an old scar ran down the right side of his mouth. The black jacket and white button-up shirt did nothing to hide his muscular build.

You gulped as your core pulsed.

The other character was just as handsome. His hair was white as snow, styled in a half down half spiked hairstyle, giving him a boyish look. His eyes rivaled the older man before him, pure light blue. Unlike the other character, his build was slimmer but no less attractive, his playful, cocky grin did things no real man could do to you.

Well, you knew what characters you'd be playing with.

Days passed and you couldn't put down your switch. Every lunch break at work was spent playing Mr. Right rather than eating and at night, the only light in your apartment was the screen light of your game. You were like a dead girl walking, dark bags under your eyes and a slouched posture; you swore you heard a kid's small scream as you placed down his and his mother's food on the table of the cafe where you worked.

So when things begin to go missing, you blame it on your tiredness. Surely, you must have misplaced them. You mean, who would break into your home to steal a few of your used underwear, o-or like your old t-shirts? Right, that's insane! You didn't think you were too interesting to be stalked; god you need to take a break from reading Yandere stories.

You shook your head and scoffed at yourself as you left your apartment, locking the door before you walked to work.

The room was purged in an eerie silence until suddenly loud, unsettling static screamed out of your left open switch. The lights of your apartment flickered rapidly as the sound seemed to grow louder when everything turned off, pitching the entire apartment building into darkness.

Toji stood in front of your twin-sized bed, running his hand over the imprint in the mattress when the light flicked on. He inhale shakily as the tips of his fingers traced the slight dip as memories flood his sick head, the nights he lay behind you his hands on your tits, pawing and squeezing them in his palms before he abandoned one breast as he runs his hand down your body to your warm cunt but just before he touched you there. He stopped. He couldn't. He wanted you to be awake to feel his love.

Toji stepped back, pushing the memory away as he moved around the small place you called home.

Shamrock orbs tailed around the quiet space, taking in the half-clean and half-messy state until they found the object of their desire. Toji walked in the direction of his favorite item, and without much thought, he snagged a pair of used panties from the laundry basket and buried his nose in the worn fabric. A deep rumbling groan escaped his chest and his eyes flattered shut. The scent of your old musky still clung to it, and he inhaled it like it was the most intoxicating, sweet smell. To him. It was. It was the essence of his goddess, his doll. The one who helped him see the value of life.

Without you, he'd never have broken away from his cured reality, who always seemed so eager to see him and..that white-haired punk. Toji shook his head, disgusted at the thought of the other man, and instead filled his mind with you. Toji spent the rest of the time you were gone to learn more and, of course, returned to the game after picking some trinkets along the way.

The game was starting to get a little weird. At first, it was normal. You'd interact with Toji, your in-game father none the wiser of the relationship between his daughter and best friend, then you'd hang out with your college classmate and friend Gojo. When you begin to notice every time you played with Gojo, a small chibi in the form of toji would peek around the corner of the screen every once in a while. Then it became more disturbing. You couldn't find the blue-eyed male anywhere; almost like he was completely deleted from the game.

On top of that, the older man would say and ask things that were too specific and too possessive. One day, he'd ask you where you went and who you were with when you suddenly had to leave your switch at home because of a family emergency. He'd go on about how he was your true love, and you simply thought maybe he was programmed that way, but it was no less creepy. You eventually just decided to take the day off from playing.

You woke up with a jump and groaned. Your phone vibrated and pinged with your chosen notification sound constantly. "Ya gonna answer me dollface?" A guff, baritone voice spoke in the empty room, and with a small scream, you slammed your back against the wall your bed was pushed against. Scanning hecticly for any human form.

"Over here." The voice spoke, closer than you heard the first time and to your right. Looking to your bedside table, sat your phone, lit up with an unnerving light; you picked it up with a shaking hand, and a cold dread settled within your stomach as Toji stared back at you with a small smirk, his eyes dark with such intensity. "There ya are. Hi, doll." His smirk widens at your terrified expression. "H-how?" Your voice cracked with fear, how was this possible? This couldn't be real; this only happened in movies! But apparently fucking not.

"Don't know myself, but that not 'mportant. You thought you could just ignore me? Doll this doesn't work that way." his smirk faded, and without warning, your phone suddenly flew out of your hand, crashing to the floor, and a blinding light overtook the space, blurring your vision. Once your vision came back, the beefy man stood before you, his eyes bore into you.

That was only the beginning of the nightmare that became your life. You were trapped in a place you once thought that nothing bad could happen to you as long as you lived there. Toji never let you leave his sight, food and other stuff you needed were ordered and brought to your door. Your phone and other devices were completely contorted by the man who currently seemed to watch your every move like he was taking you in. Many times, you tried to escape, but you came to the knowledge that although Toji could sleep, the moment your feet would touch the floor, Toji's eyes opened and, in a sleepy voice, asked where you were going. He was a light sleeper, that's just your damn luck.

Maybe...there was a chance you could tire him out enough he was knocked out cold, giving you enough time to escape. Now you were no virgin, you had your fair share of sex, so you thought it would be a piece of cake. Oh, how laughable.

Toji's thick digits, curled and pushed against that gushy spot in your spongy core, and his palm smacked against your poor, rubbed raw clitoris as you desperately tugged at his cock. You cried out as your head was pulled back by the strands of your hair. "There she is. C'mon on, doll, look at 'er," He whispered against your ear as he forced you to look into the mirror, his grip tightening as your pussy clenched. In the reflective glass, you look just as wrecked as you felt. Lidded eyes stared back at you as you took everything in, your hair was pulled into a ponytail by the man behind you, three of his fingers thrust into your puffy cunt, and squirts of slick jutted out to cover your thighs, his palm, and the floor. One of your hands holds onto his arm, and the other slides up and down his cock.

"ain't she the fuckin' prettiest?" Toji bit your earlobe as he no longer thrusted but began to shake his digits rapidly against your walls. You screamed as you violently came, clear liquid spraying out, drenching Toji's palm that rubbed your clit as he continued to finger you. Your hips jerked, your legs shook, and tears cascaded down your face; you looked like a slutty mess in the mirror.

"Fuuuck!" You hissed in pain, your hands barely catching yourself as your knees sit the hard wooden floor; the only thing that held you up, that being Toji's arm, was ripped away. Yet you had no time to truly feel the pain in your kneecaps as your locks yanked backward, training your orbs onto the man in all his naked glory, his strawberry pink tip wept pre-cum and the owner of such a beautiful tip, fisted his dick as he growled and snarled until he let out a groan and pearly, spurts of semen painted your face, to your cheek, nose, and chin.

"Fuckin' hell, doll," Toji panted, "s' beautiful covered in me." He wiped his seed off your chin with his thumb and spread it on your lip like a gloss, and without thought your tongue traced your bottom lip, tasting his cum. Earning yourself a pretty groan before you were pulled up from the ground and onto your wobbly legs. "Toji-i can't." You stuttered, your back hitting the mattress, crawling up the bed in a fertileless attempt to worm from his grasp, but his hands gripped your hips and pulled your back til your ass laid on his thighs, "T-too sensitive. Please." You begged basically to a wall.

"ya can handle me, my doll can handle anythin'." He cooed, his thumb rubbing the dip of your hip as his other hand, took the base of his member and lined up with your cunt. "Toji-plea-" your words were cut as you screamed, his fingers dug into your neck and his thick length buried itself in your snug pussy

"Mmmm..Shiiiit babydoll!" Toji laughed as he stared down at where he disappeared into you, slowly drawing his hips back, "She's squeezin' me, nugh..think she's lovin' my dick." Toji's wicked green eyes glanced up, and with a nasty grin he snapped his hips, and your mouth dropped as you openedly moaned, tossing your head back against the pillow. Your thighs were pushed to the side as The older man put all his weight onto you and used it to drill you into the mattress. "You..mmfuck like this? Betcha do, takin' my cock like a champ." He chuckled, groaning at the end as your pussy clenched at his words. You babbled in denial and shook your head. You didn't want to give him an even bigger ego, but you couldn't help the mewl that left your lips as his fingers squeezed the sides of your neck and his other fingers entangled in your hair, "Don't fuckin' lie to me, girl." He sneered, his heaving chest against your smashed breast as his hips snapped, not missing a step behind him, "Jus' let me make that..fuck..pretty pussy cum." He lowered his voice, almost like he was begging you, as he gently kissed your chin, his hand letting go of your hair and his grip loosening around your neck.

You nodded desperately, you gave up on pretending like you weren't losing your mind from this pleasure, and the way it felt his cock felt was in your tummy, or the pleasurable stinging of his hefty ball smacking against the carve of your ass. The softness in Toji melted away like it was just a show, an act, and a wicked, nasty grin was your one warning. His beefy biceps wrapped around your thighs, and he stood up. Your shoulder was the only thing besides your head that stayed on the bed. The echo of your ass smacks against his hips, the wet, squelching echo as he rapidly pounded your slick drooling cunt, the cream of your sex and his pre-cum that framed his base, and the new punishing angle was all it took. You came, your slick gushing down your body.

"Mmfuc..you're milkin' me baby doll." Toji moaned, his cock throbbed as he stilled to a stop as his cum flooded your womb and walls. You had a second to catch your breath before Toji resumed his brutal fucking.

Your eyes slowly open, adjust to the darkness of the room and turn to Toji, the said man in question, lying beside you, sleeping peacefully after multiple rounds, and yet somehow, someway, you were conscious; maybe someone was rooting for you out there. Inhaling you softly planted your feet on the cool wood and lifted your weight. Not a single stir.

Hope gripped your chest as you quietly put on the clothes you wore that were fling when you seduced Toji. Every cautious step towards the door was like you could finally breathe, and once you touched the handle of the door and twisted it open, you could taste your freedom.

Burly appendages wrapped around your stomach, and you yanked away from the door, ripped away from your only chance at escape. "LET ME GO!!" You screamed and thrashed in his arms. "Ya thought I was stupid? Huh?" He grunted as he tightened his hold as you doubled your efforts. "DAMN IT LISTEN TO ME!!" Toji yelled, turning you around. "N-" you tried to scream, to call for help, do anything, but all you could do was stare up at Toji in shock after your body barreled onto the floor by the force of his slap. "You think I'm dumb? You showed no sign of sexual arousal to me until now. Ya thought I wouldn't have known you were gonna pull some shit like this after we fucked?!" He sneered, pulling you onto your feet by your arm, his other hand on your back.

"You ain't leavin' me," Toji vowed. The low static sound that hung in the background became louder as the light bulbs flickered. "I'll make sure of that." The screening static grew more deafening until it all stopped; the bright light of your switch faded away, and no later did it slam shut.

Locking you from the real world forever.

@ilovewriothesley, @scratkount , @tojishugetiddies, @shyartnerd564, @blobkvna, @1800imgay, @plsthinkabtme @karla91663, @pierrotandsam , @miau-ficreader, @tojispepperonis, @darkstarlight82, @crimbabyops , @verlhfghhy, @xxmaddhatter39xx , @grima4lurking, @littlesealpup

[kokoa-la]

Prompt from @help-i-need-a-cool-username

Jason has once again snuck into Gotham University. Now, before any assumptions are made onto why the crime lord would break into a college, the reason is because he likes the library. That's it. The public library is trashed and small, barely taken care of, but Gotham U's? It's beautiful. Multiple floors, organized and in sections, taken care of, alphabetical order, it's magnificent. The chairs were a reason alone to sneak in, but the students here added an extra charm. 

He had gone to the very back of the library on the second floor. This area was  pretty well hidden and enclosed. He would come here to read without anyone questioning him, even hiding the books he wasn’t finished with yet to continue on later. Jason wasn’t expecting someone to be so close to his spot though. A few tables across stood a student, thin, tall, with pitch black hair, baggy cargo jeans, and a white t-shirt. The other hadn’t noticed him yet, so he remained quiet and just watched. He was in front of a large white board on wheels, seemingly taken from the rooms he saw down the hall. 

“That doesn’t work, goddammit.”

On the white board was lines upon lines of equations- at least he thought they were equations, with most of them being letters and symbols rather than numbers. It made the vigilante’s brain hurt. The student - assumed STEM major - just kept mumbling to himself.

“Stupid physics, won’t allow interdimensional travel”

What? Jason may have been out of school since 15, but he knew no courses were asking for the answer to traveling between dimensions. It seemed the student had a habit of talking to himself when worked up or focused, possibly why he isolated himself from the rest of the library. 

“If your parents could do it, why can’t you? Think Danny, think!”

That sentence wasn’t concerning at all, but at least Jason learned the boy’s name. Danny seemed to have a strange background, what did he mean by ���if your parents could do it’? Had his parents managed to travel between dimensions? The other was chewing on the cap of the white board marker, his other hand resting on his hip as he swayed back and forth.

“Oh! Oh! Oh! That! The thing! That thingy!”

Jason could practically see the lightbulb go on above Danny’s head. Just then the other erased a solid portion of the whiteboard and dropped to his knees, ouch. He started frantically scribbling, fast and messy, barely cohesive. Though, Jason was sure that if it was Tim sitting where he was instead, the boy could probably understand everything on that board. He’d stick to English literature, thank you very much. 

“That’s it! Oh my ancients! I got it!”

Danny practically jumped in the air, punching the air in triumph. Jason almost felt proud of him, this complete stranger he’s been watching, wow he was being creepy, huh? Danny shot both of his arms straight up, the marker gripped tightly in his right hand fist. 

“I did it!”

He looked so happy, so excited. He began to buzz, even spinning, before stopping mid loop and turning around slowly. Shit, Jason had been caught. To be fair, Danny hadn’t exactly turned around the whole time, meaning Jason was just watching his back the whole time as he worked through his… problem? It’s such a shame, Jason was thoroughly entertained by this random kid. 

“Uhhh, hi? How long have you been there?”

Oh shit, Jason had to talk now, didn’t he?

“Not very long, but long enough to know you were trying to solve interdimensional travel before apparently succeeding.” 

The color drained from Danny’s face. Whoops?

“Uhm, no I didn’t.”

Now that he got a closer look, the student looked like someone Bruce would adopt. Black hair, clear blue eyes, tan skin, sharp features, the whole nine yards. He was actually fairly attractive, maybe even cute. 

“Really? I could have sworn that you said ‘stupid physics won’t allow interdimensional travel’”

“I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah sure, and I’m a student here.”

“Wait, you’re not a student here?”

“That’d only be true if you were lying.”

“Well I’m not so-”

“Uh huh, sure you’re not.”

“Look dude-”

“Jason.”

“Look Jason, there’s no way that I could solve interdimensional travel, the multiverse doesn’t exist.”

“Look Danny-”

“How do you know my name?”

“I won’t tell a single soul if you explain how you did it to me”

Curiosity won his gambit. Would he regret what he was about to say? Perhaps.

“Maybe over a coffee?”

He knew it was worth it when the marker hit the floor and Danny moved his hand to cover his red face. Well, it wasn’t the first time he’s done something he regrets, maybe this time it’d be a cute STEM major who knows the secrets to the multiverse. 

[vilebird]

FUNERAL AFTER A NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE

a painting of a pale sky and bright blue sea crashing onto dark rocks and foaming. it's oriented the right way. - Day, by Frederick Judd Waugh

"and the man looks me in the eyes and he points to the blue-orange vault over heaven's gates and he says the face of everyone you miss is up there and i know i know i can't see them but i know" - And What Good Will Your Vanity Be When The Rapture Comes, by Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib

"i've cut myself off. i can feel the place / where i used to be attached. it's raw, as when you grate / your finger. it's a shredded mess / of images. it hurts." The Door, by Margaret Atwood

"i found you / i found the door / but when i stepped through / there was no floor" I want you, by Mitski

a still from a video of a bright setting sun against a dark orange sky and dark blue sea, with the caption "don't cry" - The Green Ray (1986)

"i feel dead. / i feel as if i were the residue of a stranger's life" - The Lost Pilot, by James Tate

"the shuddering moan of blood, a song to calm the sacrificial, the loss across the river. the way a dying animal will look at you is seared into me. we tie together and all over again." - i cant remember what this one is sorru

"i am feeling numb. it's a curious feeling, and i get it all the time. my attention to the world around me disappears, and something starts to hum inside my head. far off, voices try to bump up against me, but i repel them. my ears fill up with water and i focus on the humming inside my head. / i am inside my skull. it is a little cave, and i curl up inside it. below it, my body hovers, unattached." - Madness: A Bipolar Life, by Marya Hornbacher.

"-though we're dry and waiting. part of me died here so another could go on. the body i raised-" - When They Say you Can't Go Home Again What They Mean is You Where Never There, by Marty McConnell

text: "there'll always be a few things / maybe several things/ that you're gonna find / really difficult to forgive" image: a black silhouette of a minotaur sitting on top of a pale pillar rising out of a pale maze, looking out at an orange sunset over an empty desert beyond the walls of its maze. the text is black letters on white pasted in strips over top. - Up the Wolves by the Mountain Goats and Minotauro by Jordi Garriga Mora. collage put together by @scatterghosts

"i know there are things i haven't survived." - Lord of the Butterflies, by Andrea Gibson

"it seems to me that the dead only return for love or for revenge. who did you come back for?" - White is for Witching, by Helen Oyeyemi

a painting of a bright white bird on a background split between dark blue and black - Promised Land (2013), by Michael Creese

"and with or without your support, i will continue / what im trying to say is you never know what you've been through / til you pause and cough it out" - Cough It Out by The Frontbottoms

"painting all the mirrors black / i won't see you staring back / i'm getting lost forever / searching in the broken glass / trying to ignore the past / and put myself together" - Mirrors by 8 Graves

"saint calvin told me not to worry about you / but he's got his own things to deal with / there's really just one thing we have in common: / neither of us will be missed" - Saint Bernard by Lincoln

"so many bright lights to cast a shadow / but can i speak? / well, is it hard understanding / that i'm incomplete?" - Famous Last Words by My Chemical Romance

"being in a completely normal nonthreatening scenario & environment and thinking 'i have GOT to get the fuck out of here' with the intensity of some trapped neurotic prey animal" - tumblr post by user @greelin

"but you know me / what can't i conjure into hysteria / and longing? / any place is a funeral as soon as i get there. / of course i'm the disaster / but you're the one foolish enough / to learn my name." - The Next Time We Talk on Facebook, by Clementine von Radics

"if your wounds are still open, trust / they are the doors to an answer, / and walk through." - You Better Be Lightning, by Andrea Gibson

text: "what a tremendous thing to learn from" image: black text on white strips across a blue-orange gradient - i forgot this one too sory

"when the body remembers, it bucks wildly / when we try to heal, the phantom smell returns / while in the shower, you break down / while you wash your body you realise it is not your body / and at the same time, it is the only body you have" - Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head, by Warsan Shire

"that was the thing. you never got used to it, the idea of somebody being gone. just when you think it's reconciled, accepted, someone points it out to you, and it just hits you all over again, that shocking." - The Truth About Forever, by Sarah Dessen

"the spirit is so hurt / it don't know the / body / it / looks in / the mirror / and asks, who is it?" - On/My/Aging, by Carolyn Marie Rodgers

"could we sit together in new bodies, shoulder to tender / shoulder, / the lovely and the thorned, the bitter and the failed, / the grave to the left of us, the sea to the right?" - 8, Always a Rose, by Li-Young Lee

"the fact of the matter is / you survived, / it's what you do. / death and you / walk side by side / all sigh and scythe / you stay alive. / and you have the right / but struggle to believe. / you're still allowed / to be alive. / it feels inappropriate." - It's What You Do, by Lena Oleanderson @lena-oleanderson

a painting of a bright orange sky at sunset, sun nowhere to be seen, over a pale sea crashing onto dark rocks and foaming. it's oriented upside down. - Night, by by Frederick Judd Waugh

[redfoxwritesstuff]

LOOK AT THIS AMAZING BOOK COVER THE WONDERFUL @redvexillum did for MisD! It comes with a matching banner you’ll see on all MisD posts now.

The symbolism behind her choices is amazing. A true love letter from a reader to my pride and joy of a fic. As you may now, she also drafted the current MisD banner and I’m so excited to see how her vision of the fic has evolved as chapters rolled out. 

We have Dandelions which represent hope, transformation and strength. Some are scattered in the wind, oh how fleeting those things can be. Plus, who hasn’t picked a dandelion and made a wish on the fluff before blowing, sending the wish out into the world, even as an adult? (those of us who live where they grow, at least)

The black and white is so 1920’s entertainment, such a classic touch. It also references how morality is colored in shades of gray. 

Red bloodstains, stark and bright. What better sign of murder and passion! 

Then we have all the cracks in the background, everything breaking apart. The perfect image of lives lived and everything that hides under the surface. 

Needless to say, I love it. I love everything that MisD has grown to become. I cannot express to you, my lovely followers, how much it means to me that you’ve let my little story touch your hearts, even for a moment. 

Thank you to each and every one of you for reading. 

Thank you to each and every one of you that has commented.

And thank you Red, for loving MisD as much as I do.

Read chapter 1 on tumblr here or on AO3

[star-daughter]

Whooh boy. Hi everyone! Sorry, It's been a while. But I have quite the post for you all today, because we'll be talking about a webcomic I just finished! ... I will warn you all though, that I do not have the kindest of words to say about it.

You may be aware of this comic, as it has a considerable following, especially here on tumblr, the comic is called Sparklecare. It currently has 4 volumes and is on a short hiatus so the website can finish it's redesign, but the plot summary of the comic from the last available snapshot of the website is as follows:

The comic follows the story of a cat named Barry Ill and his experience of being admitted to the Sparklecare hospital. Despite its glamorous reputation, the hospital is actually a prison that tortures and kills its patients and drains their families of insurance by the corrupt hospital's owner, Dr. Cuddles. Cuddles is a greedy Capitalist scumbag who cares about nothing but money, and so far, everything is working out for him. Any patients who escape or try to speak out against the hospital aren't believed and are written off as crazy. The story follows Barry's journey into uncovering the truth about why this place really is the way it is, and why nobody's talking about it.

From the outside, the comic is very striking and intriguing! From it's prominent art style and art direction, to the concept itself, it sounds like a fun time! ...Right? Well that's where the comic gets you; see just like the in-universe hospital, Sparklecare isn't as inviting and pleasant once you really sink your teeth in. And I'm here to talk about why I think that is.

Before we begin, I'd like to clarify since I've become aware of the community's um... Questionable attitude towards critique, that if you enjoy Sparklecare, that's totally fine! I'm not gonna tell you what you can and can't read, I'm here to express my own thoughts on it.

Now, I won't torture you with this post if it ends up on your dash, so the full post will be under the cut! Please check the reblogs, I may add more there if I run out of space.

Also, CW for bright colours, blood and a whole heaping o' medical mispractice.

Before I get into some of the more serious issues with the comic, I wanna first start off with the thing you're going to first see trying to read it: The art. Here I would say the website, but since it's getting a redesign, I don't feel confident speaking on it. I'll leave one note on it though: it needs serious optimization...

Onto the art: I will say, I found the art quite charming, especially the art in the first 2 volumes. I think the comic has a way with setting mood and tone using it's palette, specifically in the dramatic "blue/red" scenes - I think those look gorgeous!

The style in volume 1 & 2 is also very pleasing to the eye, although it can look off at points. I think the style succeeds extremely well with it's tendency to give characters large, exaggerated expressions - it's very cartoony and I love it. The lineweight is also used very well in my opinion!

However... There's a few big elephants in the room that they are The designs, lettering & panel work.

I'll begin with how the series handles it's lettering, as it's one of the most important parts of a comic. Although it's unique, that does not mean it's good.

In volume 1, it starts off fine enough, it's a simple speech bubble with white/black text.

It sort of flip-flops between having a shadow/glow and not having one, which although confusing and hurts my eyes sometimes, not a deal breaker! The bubbles are all colour coded also so no matter the scene, you understand who is talking. That is very good! I like that! I wish the colours weren't as bright as the backgrounds, but I understand why they are.

Volume 2 introduces what I consider my favorite of the lettering styles, big bold outlines with bubbles that better surround the text!

It's easily the most recognizable lettering style of all the volumes, and it's very readable. It's simple, but lettering is at it's best when it's simple and understandable.

This volume's lettering also introduces colour coded words & different fonts.

Which, I think looks lovely! It adds personality, and since fonts carry different tones with them, it helps with emphasis and how people read the dialogue. However, this isn't to say I think this lettering is perfect.. I'm not a huge fan of the random dots & spots, I think they clutter up the page when there too many characters on screen speaking, which distracted me from focusing on the actual words they were saying.

It also changes mid-way through volume 2! Suddenly, we get character-coded dots & spots... Which, cool in theory, but in practice, as I mentioned, it clutters the page if there's too many characters speaking at once.

Plus, they're used on background characters who do not appear again after their introduction, which is such a waste... If you're going to introduce these character-specific details, they should be used on characters who are important, not character we'll never see again.

When we get to volume 3 & 4, the lettering style almost completely solidifies, the same big bold outlining from volume 2... But now instead of just having personalized dots, we get fully personalized speech bubbles. Which, again, cool in theory! But in practice it's just... So hard to read.

On lettering, I will applaud the use of a custom hand-written font. It looks great! It's fairly clear and adds a nice touch to the comic's overall appearance... But how they use the font is, in my opinion, awful. Characters talk way too much for how much page space there is, which means that there isn't enough space for the bubble to encompass the text, which means text needs to get smaller.

These pages are over 2000 pixels wide and tall, but there's no consideration for how the images & text will look when shrunk down to fit into a normal browser page, which means the text gets tiny and barely readable if there's too much of it - which there often is. I'll get into how I feel about the writing in a moment.

On the panel work, it's fine, it's not super jaw-dropping but it's serviceable. Where the panel work starts to fail though, is it's pacing. See, in comics, pacing is extremely important, good pacing means a better and clearer reading experience, bad pacing can leave the reader confused and force them to reread repeatedly to understand what's going on.

Sparklecare suffers from this heavily, I feel. Take a look to this page below, while not the worst example of it, I think demonstrates a bit what I mean.

There's a lot of text, similar looking shots, and... Very little background to help, well, ground where we are, which made me feel dizzy while reading. There's not a lot of proper flow, because speech bubbles float all over the place, often times out of order in which you are supposed to read them. You tend to dart your eyes all over the page to "properly" read it, which makes for a bad reading experience - the clearer the order is, the better the flow.

On backgrounds, I do not like the near-complete lack of them. Sparklecare gets around backgrounds by filling the colour voids of the panels with dots, specks, lines and patterns - but they don't do the job! It makes the pages feel more cluttered and difficult to look at and read.

Even when they do have backgrounds, they're also filled to the brim with patterning to take your mind off how often strange they look.

Being unable to see what's going on is a reoccurring issue with the comic, and it doesn't just end at the panel work or backgrounds...

The character designs in Sparklecare also contribute to the visual clutter, what with many of them having many small details or otherwise being unpleasant to look at due to their colour palette.

Here's a few examples of characters I think have too much going on or are just eyesores. And see, I get it, they're supposed to be sparkleanimals - designed like a kid on DeviantArt was making them in 2011, but you can get that look without making the designs hurt to look at. Sparklecare both tries to work within a limited palette and tries to have every colour possible on a character and it pulls neither off well. Not to mention, the multitude of small dots & details, adding more to the pile of small dots in the comic.

When a ton of characters are on screen, it tends to make things more confusing to look at - due in part also to the comic's continuity issue. Things or characters that are in one panel or page, will disappear the next, or swap places. Overall, small art issues pile up onto a mess of bright colours and rainbow.

Now here's where we get to the fun point, The writing. Oh boy! For the most part, or at least in volumes 1 & 2, the writing is completely fine. Complicated, a bit odd, but nothing to scream about... Until volumes 3 & 4, because that's when the issues in the writing really starts to show it's rainbow-speckled face.

I'll be direct, I don't like the writing in Sparklecare. The characters are typically unlikable or annoying, and when they do have something interesting going for them, it gets walked back on for plot reasons. Characters also seem to be unable to do wrong, unless they're deliberately out to be the bad one. Characters will do something bad, but get reassured that everything is fine and it isn't their fault even though they did something bad - which is weird the first time, but awful the next 40.

The writing does have it's good points (I liked most of the writing in volume 2, I thought Hemera's struggles with wanting to keep her friends safe was really interesting and I liked the chunklings), but there's prominent issues I can't shove aside.

I namely have issues with the humor, specifically it's uh... Sexual humor. Now, don't get me wrong, I love a good penis joke every now and then, but volume 4 has about 5x the sex jokes of any volume. It was genuinely horrible to sit through because I knew every serious moment would get a joke about stroking it a page or two afterwards.

(One note on that first image there, it happens right after Barry [the green guy] completely belittles and insults Uni [the purple one]...)

The meta humor also felt very, very forced.

It always came out of nowhere, and completely out of place every time it was used. I like meta humor also, but this is supposed to be a more serious comic, yes? I mean, it should be considering the topics at hand, so suddenly throwing in references to this being a comic feels weird to read.

I will say, I do like some of the jokes, specifically these ones:

Let me circle back to the character writing really quick, because there was characters I enjoyed! ... Just not the main ones.

I think, out of everyone, my favorite characters were:

Several background characters with no lines

Dr. Party

Cyn

Jean

Rem

I also really enjoyed how Cuddles was written in volume 1 & 2, he felt very threatening to me.

Outside of these characters though, I found little interest in the main cast and even found myself rooting for the downfall of a few of them due to their poor writing.

Specifically on Barry, there's a small arc in volume 2 where he realizes he needs to stop violently denying that Uni has magic (Which is a stupid plot in my opinion, by the way, considering the worldbuilding has a lot of magic in it. You'd think the smart guy character would know that?) after Uni's magic helps them in the dump. However, right afterwards, in volume 3 & 4, Barry goes right back to verbally assaulting Uni about how magic isn't real! It's not enjoyable to read, and makes no sense to me after what happened in volume 2.

One note, since I don't know where to put this but, I don't like doom. I really don't ... I think I'm supposed to feel bad for him? But I can't! I saw him in volume 1 take glee in having power over the patients, and as the site states:

Doom is not a normal nurse, because he takes on the role of a doctor by harming people alongside regular nurse duties.

He literally tortures people! I'm sorry, I cannot forgive that! No matter how bad he feels about it.

Some more notes on writing before I end this because it's getting too long.. The disability rep in Sparklecare is, questionable sometimes. For the most part I think it's perfectly fine, buuut there are moments I don't think of fondly.. Specifically this moment in volume 2:

Barry starts having a paranoid and panicky moment due to his contamination OCD (Because they're in a literal trash heap) and Uni decides to...

Call it cute??? Genuinely what the hell, who thought this was a good thing to put in here? I haven't read the spin-off AU comic, but I hear it treats it's character with OCD even weirder. Yuck!

On a related note, I hate the cutesy names for disorders. They don't even come up often in-universe, there's little purpose in having them, especially if most of them are just real life, actual disorders. I know it's about an abusive hospital but come on man! You don't have to use baby names for everything! You don't even follow the weird naming pattern for everything! Things like autism don't get a weird cutesy name, but OCD and depression get one? Have some consistency if you're gonna make a weird universe decision.

Alrighty.. This should be the end of it, I'm not sure how to end it because there's still more I want to talk about! I'm super-duper open to talking about anything I've said here or elaborating on why I feel certain ways. This is in no way meant to be a hit-piece of the creator of Sparklecare, I think there's a lot of protentional, and I simply adore some aspects of the comic (Specifically visually). I really do hope this comic will improve over time and that it sees a long life of success.

If you come to this post to disagree, I ask you read through what I say carefully and come at me respectfully, I have no interest in fighting with people over a webcomic about furries.

-Mod Star

[imperiuswrecked]

Let me feel your light Let me speak your name Goddess of the night Goddess of the rain

Art: Russell Dauterman, Rafael Domingues, David Nakayama Lyrics: Goddess of the Rain - Burn the Ballroom

ID below the cut

[ID: A series of comic edits featuring Ororo Munroe in her Hellfire Gala outfit, (black bodysuit, gold necklace, gold bracelets, hair a white cloud, black boots, lightning bolt earrings, lightning bolt hair piece) with a focus on colors of orange, black, red, yellow, and gold; Edit 1 - Ororo looks off into the distance while using her powers of electricity, a flashing gif of lighting overlays the edit with the words written in small white letters; you spoke once of power. you do not know the meaning of the word. I will show you power. Edit 2 - Ororo smiles while her head and shoulders are encircled in a shining golden sun with black background. Edit 3 - orange, red, yellow stiped background with the words of; goddess, weather witch, mistress of the elements, walker of clouds, storm, ororo munroe, windrider repeat under the image of ororo in a lighting bolt cut out. Edit 4 - Ororo stands and looks off into the distance, her eyes are pure white while smoky black clouds move around her in a animated gif with a gold flecked black background. Edit 5 - two halves of Ororo's face are on opposite sides of the edit with one being upside down over a yellow/orange background. Edit 6 - Ororo is flying through the air while using her powers set over a background of a tornado made of light with her name, Storm, in gold script. Edit 7 - Ororo looks out at the viewer in a haze of circles and light in red, yellow, and orange. The words "am I not Beautiful? and Terrible? Do you not fear me? you should" are scrawled across in light yellow coloring. [/End ID]

[jaggybot3000]

wait. i might sound super fucking stupid but is there any chance be born is just really just mind singing by himself

nowhere was it stated heart or soul sang in the song too, iirc it's just common for ppl to speculate on which of them is singing. even in the lyric video (where in the description chonny jokes about releasing the songs in the wrong order, meaning he already had a good idea of the lore/characters) there is only black lettering upon a white background, which is mind's signature. what if the voice changing is just the equivalent of voice cracking for mind. have we ever thought about that. this is highly embarrassing for him

(edit: hiiii if u see this check out my awesome reblog where i overthink on this way too much ty)

[poniesart]

It's been a while... my new job has been a lot to get used to, so I haven't really been able to finish any pieces recently, but here is this. I've been meaning to catalogue my gratitude for my low-dose T. Before I went on hormones, I had been fighting my body in the background for so long without noticing, and T made me realize it only after it stopped really being a problem.

And while I am not transmasc, of course people who are transmasc can (and likely will) relate to this! I added that second panel because I want people to stop calling me or my experiences transmasc in my notes when it is incorrect and makes me uncomfortable. Thank you.

ID below thanks to @/rjalker!

[ID: A comic done in mostly black and white, titled, "A Love Letter To What Testosterone Has Given Me" with four hears in the colors of the nonbinary flag, yellow, white, purple, and black, lined up vertically next to it.

The panel next to the title reads, "A note: I am nonbinary, genderqueer, & maverique. I do not identify as transmasc or relate to transmasc experinces. Please don't refer to me as such!"

The five remaining panels are the comic itself:

The first panel shows a drawing of a person mostly offscreen, black shirt, dark hair, sideburns, and glasses just visible, and reads, "To the sideburns I knew I wanted since I was 14."

The second panel continues, "To the arm hair I never knew I needed", showing a light arm with dark hairs on it.

The third panel continues, "To the broader shoulders", showing a bare-chested person from behind with arms partly lifted.

The fourth panel continues, "& thin mustache", showing a smiling person's lower jaw and neck, covered with sparse hairs.

The fifth panel concludes, "& to the realization that people don't have to spend their lives fighting their body for peace.", and shows a person wearing boxers and a bra, with hair legs, arms, and belly, one hand on hip and looking with a small smile towards the camera. At the bottom are two small trans and nonbinary flags.

End ID.]

[sanctus-ingenium]

I was wondering how achieve such a wonderful textured finish on your pieces? They are wonderful and I love their resemblance to aged photographs and the speckles of colors in the backgrounds. Your art is mesmerizing :)

you can see some of the texture brush sets i use in my #info_asks tag but i have some more (procreate) tips aside from just brushes

also hi i made this whole thing and then stupidly hit ctrl z to erase ONE word and i lost the entire bottom half of the post and all my image descriptions so fuck you tumblr i had to make this twice

to get a faded photo or old digital screen look, consider duplicating the canvas (once all the layers are merged) and using a gaussian blur tool on the new duplicated layer. then set that to low opacity to add a misty sort of look. looks nice in combination with some chromatic abberation and a small bloom effect. then a subtle noise filter on top:

for faded print effects, it's really worthwhile to learn how to use layer masks. you can use a layer mask to non-destructively 'weather' blocks of colour or lineart, without erasing the layer itself. the weathered ink/block print effect here was made using layer masks which means that if i just hide the mask, the lineart becomes solid black again and easy to alter or colour in:

for old paper effects you can just set a paper texture on multiply over the art sure, but you can also combine it with the blur & bloom thing, a really subtle drop shadow and canvas tilt, and highlights to make it look like an aged photograph of a card. this originally had a transparent bg but i'll post it here with a white bg so that the drop shadow is more obvious. the scuffed edges of the card (left) were hand drawn, simple white stucco brush. the bigger patch of scuffed ink (top right) was a texture stamp.

for block print looks you can move the colour layer out of alignment by a few pixels - but only after you're absolutely sure you're done with it, otherwise you'll get something like this -

i forgot to erase out her eye before i moved the red layer so now her eye defeats the 'look' of a misaligned print. the black lineart and red layer were also given the same layer mask treatment as described above to make them look faded or like the ink didn't stick down right to the paper

you can do this with multiple colour layers too. if the colour layers are separated and set to multiply (as in this cmyk example), it'll leave halos and edges around each shape which mimic old comic book print

just to show what you can do WITHOUT any special brushes, here's a piece of one of my mez tarot cards from before i got any extra brushsets at all. for this one, i added a green tint over everything to mimic a sun-bleached or faded print (my actual goal wasn't 'medieval illustration' but actually 'trading card from the 60s that got left on someone's windowsill for decades'). the background texture is the procreate noise brush. the texture under the green lion drawing is the procreate concrete brush (to make it look painted onto a wall). the lettering and lineart is procreate's 6B pencil. but to properly aim for The Look of it being a printed physical object, i also used a perspective blur so that the edges are out of focus, and metallic gold highlights which don't match the lighting of the actual illustration and appear to be catching some other external light. that texture was made from the procreate noise brush

it's pretty simple compared to my later stuff but i still really like the effect

in terms of colours, you need to keep them unified so that they all appear to be acting under the same external light source, like if someone is holding up a torch to a painting then the painting colours will be glazed with firelight even if there's no painted fire. a really easy way to do this is to slap a multiply layer over everything in one shade - grey-yellow for a weathered paper look, or greenish blue for sunbleached photos. this unifies all the colours of the drawing. or you can apply a gradient map at a low opacity so that there's only a subtle change. or just do it by hand - if you want everything to be slightly tinted yellow, just pick the colours you normally would, but move the colour wheel towards yellow to get a yellowfied version of the base colour. easy

it's really important to consider how fading and weathering can affect printed colour. white paper yellows, black fades. you will rarely see pure black or pure white. which means you can use pure black or pure white to add external effects like the white scuff marks on the hierophant card. if the whole drawing is yellowed from age but there's some white somewhere, it's an easy shorthand to show that the scuff mark or whatever was not originally part of the drawing (great way to add some nasty stains lol)

[badasgirlfriend]

Stolen Hoodie | Bada Lee Social Media AU

pairings: bada lee x shin nari

prev - masterlist - next (smut)

a/n: THE LONG AWAITED SMUT IS HERE huge thank u to @mikaleialt for writing it ily bae😩🫶

"Can you pass me the red lipstick?" Yunjin asked Nari.

Nari nodded before applying some extra lipstick onto her lips.

The two friends were currently in Yunjin's room, squished together at her makeup desk. While they were getting ready for the Halloween party, that was being held by Aeri

Yunjin looked at Nari, she couldn't help but give her a flirtatious grin. "You look hot," she said teasingly. "You're going to drive someone crazy tonight."

Nari blushed at the comment, and with a boldness in her voice, she responded back. "You mean I'll drive everyone crazy"

With a roll of the eyes and a light laugh, Yunjin elbowed her best friend jokingly both of them laughing

Sure thing! Here's one attempt at a possible rewrite:

Bada decided on the pair's Halloween costumes, opting for Lola Bunny and Bugs Bunny, an idea that Nari instantly approved of without hesitation (a little). The look consisted of tight white shorts with a white pom-pom on her bottom, making it resemble a bunny scut. She also wore a crop top jersey with "Tune Squad" written across it in bold black letters, along with white bunny ears to complete the whole thing.

Nari was impatiently waiting to see how Bada would look, for some reason she couldn't imagine her girlfriend with bunny ears in her head.

"Alright, sexy vampire, let's go!" Nari said, grabbing her friend's arm and pulling her out of the makeup desk.

"Wait I still need to add more re-" Yunjin started, before both of them were cut off by a shriek. They looked over to see the door, where Yunjin's mom stood with a camera in her hand.

"You girls look beautiful!" she said, gasping as she took a picture of the two friends.

"Oh come on, Mama, more pictures" Nari pleaded with the woman in the door, giggling as she started to pose.

Yunjin looked on with a fond smile, remembering how her mom and Nari's moms were close before the sad passing of Nari's mom. Since then, Yunjin's mom had insisted that Nari call her "Mama," and it felt right for both of them.

"Mom, come on, we need to go," Yunjin whined, but her mother kept ignoring her and continued to take pictures.

"Shush, Yunjin"

"Yes shush Yunjin" Nari replied with a mischievous smile. Yunjin stuck her tongue out and pinched Nari's arm. Both girls erupted in laughter, their mother snapping a picture in the background.

Yunjin's mom smiled sadly at the picture, the two girls reminding her of her old friend and herself. It was a bittersweet moment, though the laughter of the two girls made it slightly better.

Yunjin looked on at the time on her phone, her eyes widening. "Crap, we're gonna be late,"

"Alright, Yunjin, I don't want you to come home drunk, alright?" her mother said, wagging her finger at her before turning her attention to Nari. "You too, Nari," she added, a serious look on her face.

They both saluted, grabbing their bags before heading out the door, Yunjin giving her mother a quick kiss followed by Nari doing the same.

As they exited the house, they hopped into Yunjin's car, finally driving off

"You've seemed so much happier lately," Yunjin said to her friend with a bright smile. "And I'm so happy for you, you really deserve the best."

Feeling grateful, Nari hugged Yunjin tight and shared her own smile. "Thank you," she said softly, and with the boom of the music heard from afar, both friends began to make their way towards Aeri's house, excited to see all of the various fun costumes at the party.

The girls were nearing Aeri's house, and the music was heard from meters away, booming throughout the entire neighborhood. A variety of costumes were on display, some deemed scary while others were considered cute.

"As always, Aeri is the best at parties," Yunjin awed at the Halloween setup that filled her house. She parked her car further from the house

"One thing about her, she'll never disappoint for parties," added the brunette, her eyes taking in the sight of the scary clowns that added to the party's spook factor. From the music to the costumes to the decorations, Aeri never failed to impress with her fun parties.

The girls got out of the car, Nari fixing her ears as Yunjin fixed her hair.

Nari checked her phone to see if she had any messages from her girlfriend, and she did!

Bada told her she had arrived, making Nari nervous, either because of their matching outfits or her impatience to see how her girlfriend looked in the costume she picked out for them. Perhaps it was a mixture of both feelings, or the fact that everyone will know by the end of the night that they're dating. It's obvious

"Look at this sexy bitch" a familiar voice shouted, spanking Nari's ass.

Giggling, Nari turned to Aeri and looked at her costume. She had a red wig that gave her a hot look, as well as a blue sparkly dress with matching wings. "Okay miss Enchantix

Aeri gasped giggling, already tipsy. "How did you know?" Nari snorted back, pointing out her red wig and wings

Aeri hugged Yunjin and held her close "And you are... a bunny?"

Nari whined and moved to one side as lots of people came pouring in, both upstairs and downstairs flooding as everyone entered. "I'm Lola, hello, isn't it obvious?" she said with a roll of her eyes and a playful wag of her fingers, pointing to her Tune Squad top.

The red headed girl paused, thinking to herself for a moment before saying "I think I saw someone wearing the same thing, I honestly don't know." She looked at Yunjin, still in thought, before adding with a giggle, "What a shame that you aren't a real vampire."

Yunjin scoffed, flicking her head and laughing. "You're already drunk, idiot."

"Move your asses to the dance floor," the blonde girl said, taking Aeri's hand and dragging her onto the middle where everyone was dancing.

Nari smiled and headed over behind the two, looking at them. Tatter was wearing a dark turquoise bodysuit with a long blue cape, and she had her hair tied up in a tight, high ponytail. She looked exactly like Icy

Yunjin whispered into Nari's ear, trying to make herself heard over the loud music. "Let's go find the others," Nari nodded in response.

As the two made their way through the crowd of revelers, they went to the kitchen in search of the others from their little friend group. There, they saw Lusher on the counter, Yeonjun in between her legs, and Bada leaning back on a fridge, a red cup in her hand.

Everyone's eyes were on the bunny girl, both boys and girls alike, glued to her movements as walked in. But Nari was focused on a particular tall girl in a Tune Squad jersey with white shorts and bunny ears, matching her own. Her eyes were only on the tall beauty. She looked amazing, even more so when she was engaged and focused. Nari was taken aback by the pace at which her feelings were growing, feeling her heart race as she looked over at the dancer

Although she had experience in relationships before, what she was feeling towards Bada was unique and new. She never felt anything like this for anyone else. The feeling it gave her was scary, yet exhilarating. Everytime she was close to Bada she felt this rush of energy fill her, like she couldn't breathe, her heart beating loudly and quickly. It was as if she was in a dream and living in the moment.

The two approached the group, the brunette girl casually flicked off Yeonjun's hat, much to his surprise. He turned towards her with a furious glare, yet his gaze quickly changed as soon as he recognized Nari, his eyes softened

"Hey, loser," Nari said with a smile, teasing Yeonjun.

He groaned and put his hat back on, yet his expression remained soft "You just had to ruin it didn't you"

Nari shrugged, looking towards Bada for a moment, only to find her girlfriend already staring at her with a smile

The moment Bada saw her, she couldn't take her eyes off her. Nari looked absolutely dazzling, with her tight white shorts and the white jersey. Bada found herself almost hypnotized by her looks, and she knew that spending the entire night with Nari was going to be the highlight of her year.

She took in every intricate detail of Nari's face, finding every single feature beautiful. The way she smiled and laughed, it was as if one simple move could brightening her entire soul it was absolutely breathtaking.

Bada couldn't help but marvel at her beauty, and it made her want to take Nari in her arms and kiss her right there in front of everyone.

She put her arm around Nari's shoulder and pulled her in for a hug, whispering in her ear, "You look perfect." As she did so, she snuck a quick, kiss on her cheek.

Nari had never been someone to blush, at least on the surface, yet her past month with Bada had led her to find her cheeks flushing with a blush whenever they were together.

"You look perfect too," Nari said quickly and softly, getting lost in Bada's eyes and smiling. For both girls, it was as if their world had been paused, with no one else around them but the two of them in that moment. All that mattered was the time they were spending together, and for now, it was enough for them.

Until her big mouthed friend decided to ruin it

“Stop eye fucking each other"

Lusher couldn’t help but gasp, annoyed, and smacked Yeonjun’s arm "Yeonjun I swear"

Nari turned to face them, but as she did so, Bada's arm immediately wrapped around her waist. The subtle but clear move didn't go unnoticed by Lusher, who stood nearby, watching their every move with a smile on her face. "You two look really good"

Nari gave Lusher a wink, leaning into Bada's body as she did so. "Thanks, babe you too. If you ignore Yeonjun"

"Fuck you"

"I'll shove that ratatouille hat up your ass"

"Okay, let's show these losers how you play," Nari yelled, hand in hand with Bada. They stepped up to the table, 10 cups filled with beer directly in front of them. The crowd cheered and the music was pumping, all eyes were on the four girls.

"Can't wait to see their faces when they lose," Tatter said, her words a little too loud. She watched Nari and Bada's reactions with excitement, seeing that their competitive side was coming out. The duo chuckled at her bold comment, and they looked more determined than ever to win.

"She can't even finish a can of beer," Bada laughed, pointing at Tatter

"THAT WAS ONE TIME"

"Alright," Nari clapped, getting everyone's attention. "Let's start don't even bother picking the ball!"

She grabbed the small yellow ball and closed one eye, focusing on the cups. Her tongue poked out slightly, and Bada watched her with a smile, cute

Nari took a deep breath, and focused in on the task ahead, but her eyes kept focusing back to Bada. Finally, with all the confidence she could muster, she threw the ball, and that was it. The ball, going perfectly into the cup, and the entire room went nuts.

The moment she felt the familiar touch, she knew it had to be Bada. From the subtle perfume to the warmth of her embrace... it was impossible to mistake her for anyone else.

She pulled her in for a tight hug, and Bada kissed her on her hair, and she couldn't resist smiling at their little moment.

"Drink! Drink! Drink!"

Tatter and Aeri rolled their eyes in an amused way. Aeri grabbed the cup and immediately drank it up, to the cheers of the crowd.

"Good job"

Hearing Bada's whisper in her ear, Nari felt a shiver go down her spine. Oh she's fucked

Aeri cheered for Tatter as she warmed up, grabbing the ball and throwing it. Her throw was perfect, and it landed square in the cup, causing another round of cheers. Bada shouted "Cheater!" as Tatter gave her the middle finger.

As the game continued, Nada stayed in the lead while Taeri struggled because of Aeri's intoxication. It was Nari's turn to throw again, and this time she was feeling more confident. However, when she felt Bada's fingers lightly brush over her waist, she was almost caught off guard. It was unexpected, and it sent a slight tingle of excitement through her body.

She looked at Bada, who was looking at her with innocent eyes. She couldn't help but notice a slight slyness to her. It was a subtle yet playful look that made Nari feel a certain way. Bada wasn't even trying to hide it

"Throw it already, yall can fuck later," Aeri shouted impatiently as Nari rolled her eyes. With a laugh, Nari threw the ball and made the shot, causing Bada to shout, "Drink up!"

Tatter smirked and whispered something in Aeri's ear, causing her to smirk as well. Nodding, Aeri grabbed the cup and took a sip, then grabbed Tatter's face and kissed her. The beer in her mouth was passed to Aeri, and the two of them were now sharing it.

"GET IT!" Nari screamed, hyping up them up

"Ya'll will do that next if I shoot the ball perfectly," Aeri said, causing Nari to immediately hush up, and making Bada blush at the thought.

Bada and Nari didn't see a problem with their actions, after all, they were a couple, and it was what they did. But no one else knows and with the kiss everything would be confirmed

"We don't have to," Bada muttered, so only Nari would hear.

Nari shook her head quickly. She was done hiding

"No, it's okay. The Nada Nation needs to be fed," Nari smiled, winking at Bada.

"Nada nation?" Bada asked with a grin.

"Well yes, we have fans. Keep up, Bada."

"DRINK AND KISS, HOES!" Tatter screamed with excitement, jumping all over the place. The teo girls were so focused on each other that they missed the shot Aeri made

Smiling, Nari grabbed the cup. As she stood there, the moment felt almost magnetic. Everyone's eyes turned to them. Everyone was patiently waiting and anticipating the moment when they'd actually drink and kiss. It was something the fans had always been waiting to see, since their beef on the early days

Nari turned to Bada, her eyes never leaving her girlfriend's. Bada was going crazy with the way Nari was looking at her. The mess of hair, the almost faded lipstick, everything about her looked so hot. Bada was growing impatient by the second, as she could feel herself succumbing more and more as the moment drew closer.

When Nari lowered the cup, Bada wasted no seconds. She grabbed Nari's face and their lips smashed together. Fire and passion. Nari's body almost quivered with excitement and desire as she wrapped her arms around Bada and pulled her closer. It was as if nothing outside mattered. Only the two of them existed in that moment, and they were completely lost in the moment of lust and passion.

Bada bit Nari's lip, causing her to reluctantly open her mouth. With her mouth open and her lips parted, Bada took the chance to slip her tongue in, She felt the cold liquid of the alcohol on her lips. They were both losing themselves in the moment feeling each others tounge, and a rush of desire filled both of them.

As they parted, Nari didn't hear everyone cheering. Aeri and Tatter were shaking with excitement as they shook each other's arms, their mouths wide open in shock.

Yunjin, Tatter, and Lusher all shouted, the three of them shocked by what they'd just witnessed. They couldn't believe their eyes.

Nari waved her hand, her face as red as a tomato. Bada was no better. "Alright, we're done see you later, we don't give paragraphs" she said, grabbing Bada's arm and moving past everyone who was still cheering.

At that moment, "Buttons" by the Pussycats started playing. Bada's gaze turned to Nari's, and she let out a tiny smile. "Your favorite song"

With the music in the background and the atmosphere around them buzzing with energy, Nari held her girlfriend's hand tightly as they joined the crowd on the dance floor.

Nari raised her hand with Bada's, and the two of them started moving their hips slowly as they danced. Bada grasped Nari's waist with her free hand, pulling her closer grinding on each other

Nari locked her arms around Bada's shoulder, singing along to the lyrics. She leaned in, and their bodies were almost touching.

She started feeling even more overwhelmed with the heat of the moment. She wanted to get closer to her girlfriend, to feel her warmth and body next to hers. She wanted to be as vulnerable as possible, and she couldn't help but move her hips in a way that would drive her lover crazy.

Bada groaned, her eyes closing as the heat between them heightened. She became lost in the moment, and her sinful thoughts became even more intense. The movements of Nari's body were driving her wild, and she felt like she was losing all control over herself.

Her hand moved slowly over to Nari's ass, gripping it lightly. She kissed her neck softly and slowly, moving her lips up to her jaw.

Nari let out a soft moan, feeling her lover's lips as she moved higher.

Bada's lips moved close to Nari's, but she didn't kiss her. Instead, she playfully kissed the corner of her lips.

Nari whispered pouting "You tease."

Sure! Here's a more fun and romantic version:

Bada began laughing, pulling Nari closer. Nari put her head on Bada's shoulder as they stayed like that, comfortable and relaxed (horny too)

Nari pulled away from Bada, who's eyebrows furrowed as "I need to go to the bathroom," she said with a small smile.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, no, it's fine. I'll be back in two minutes," Nari replied with a wink.

But then it dawned on her. The person who had grabbed her arm was xiaothing, but her signature cherry red color was gone. Her hair was now black, and a new look that suited her well.

Nari placed her hand over her chest as she giggled. "You scared me," she said with a smile.

Xiaothing smiled back. "Sorry, I saw you across the room and I had to get to you." Her hand was still on Nari's arm, and she let out a light chuckle as her eyes stayed glued to Nari's face. "You look so good, girl,"

As they started talking, Nari completely forgot about her original intention of going to the bathroom and her girlfriend that she had left behind. She was so caught up in the conversation with Xiaothing that she didn't notice the person glaring at the black haired girl with jealousy from across the room

taglist: { @itstrashjustrash , @starryelling , @tikitsune , @yumtooki , @jesuschrist2006 , @senjuslashes , @sparksinsirius , @asweetcollide , @italiekim , @stella222 , @mikachacha , @deadgirlwalking3 , @yunjinified , @itsbokutosjuicyass , @kaaylvst , @manooffline , @aloneinacity , @rubywonu , @pansies-garden , @tswisal1 , @maximoff-jp , @yoonkiscutie }

[tisamustdie]

Buckle up, bitch. Let's analyze

So.

The date: Today's the 11th of November, the day Veterans Day, related to WW1. The only time (as far as I know) MCR has alluded to WW1 specifically is The Ghost of You music video, with the guys being the bloody first. They alluded to war in general many other times though.

Caption: this initially reminded me of the line from The End. "when I grow up I want to be nothing at all", but that's just the vibes.

Letters: new logo? Maybe. But it doesn't say MCR, but KCR. You know what has K in it? Paper Kingdom. So, since The Witch has been leaked in full this year, and Wake Up! and Dark Cloud had some snippets leaked, could this be A proper Paper Kingdom release?? Mostly wishful thinking

Background: The city reminds me of New York City. Knowing Gerard and his history with 9/11, it wouldn't surprise me that this is related to it. This could also be the non-ruined background of the Swarm Tour background. Kinda looks like the city in the background of The Black Parade promo art. In the topic of The Black Parade, the confetti reminds me of the confetti from the WTTBP music video, along with the overwhelming white color of the post. It wouldn't make much sense for it to be related to The Black Parade, though. The 18th anniversary was back in September, we already have a full rerecording+demos album (Living With Ghosts). WWWYF was three weeks ago, so it also makes no sense for them to post something about it, especially whilst being this cryptic.

This means one thing.

MCR5 IS FUCKING COMING

I told y'all. I FUCKING TOLD Y'ALL.

[masha-nikita]

The Archetypes of Red Rose, White Rose

I need to balance my brain out due to sudden onset of depression. It is the result. Rommel is probably the only general who, even if you draw him from the back, he's still recognizable- flowers, a camera, and love for beauty. Rommel has a Venus-Mercury conjunct with a direct Neptune influence; he is going to appreciate artistic expressions.

In fact, this colored-doodle with an unintentional Mucha vibe has the energy of his wife Lucy in mind. According to some sources, Rommel wrote home to Lucy daily, as it was reported to be his mental crutch- I imagine it to be transcendental emotional support, not unlike my own experience, my own relationship with our Tumblr community here. Whether you guys interact with me directly or not, you keep me alive. My sincere thanks to you.

Lucy was a formal dancer in Danzig with a decent middle-class background, her father seemed to be a land owner- Lucy being able to do art, probably added to his admiration for her- fellow artists, angelic companionship.

I suppose he did need emotional supports, and a lot of it-- Rommel is the only high commander with whom Kessering "the smiling Albert" did not get along-- which is a feat. After all, Kessering was very renowned for his exceedingly cordial and diplomatic temperament. The same could be said of von Rundstedt, the calm, gentlemanly, old Prussian field marshal. These two could put up with some bad BS from any one else, except Rommel. He was too intense, too mentally off-balance, too difficult to deal with for his colleagues.

There are a few things I noticed from Rommel's biography (including the Trail of the Fox, 2005), that allow me to make some observations. His love for Lucy appears to be non-sexual. They had their only son 12 years after marriage. That is a pretty long time, not customary with a Scorpio man who has a 8th house Mars (who is supposed to have at least above average sex drive).

As a matter of fact, Rommel had a daughter with Walburga Stemmer before his marriage with Lucy was finalized. At that point Rommel’s family felt the need to step in and strong-armed him back with his fiancée-- one reason being to prevent the young lieutenant from the pitfalls of sex and alcohol. In my humble opinion, the subtext here might be Lucy would not lead him astray in that regard, therefore his conservative family would rather have him marrying Lucy.

A side note, Stemmer family still holds a collection of hopelessly romantic letters from Rommel. Did Rommel write comparable letters to Lucy at that point in time? A bit hard to tell.

I could not recall which article comments that Rommel was "hen-pecked' in the household, but Lucy was dominant at home, that part had been very true.

Ouch, I don't know, some aspects of this living environment must've been toxic to Rommel no matter how much some folks wants to romanticize it. It is horrible to be in a friend group where there's a mean girl boss who takes pride in ruling over her husband and turning any girl who crosses her into a persona-non-grata. But I digress. Back to my title.

Nevertheless, for me, Lucy being archetypal White Rose still holds water as a concept.

The Red Rose- White Rose archetypes originated from the same-titled short novel by Zhang Ailing, one of the 20th century's greatest female writers. She depicts love's tragedies as Chin dynasty fell apart and China marched into an era of post-colonialism, world war II, civil wars and partisan conflicts-- and eventually, modernity.

White rose is your ideal wife, the guardian of your family's social standing. She is angelic, she seems docile, she reminds you that you are from a place of honor and integrity, not of seedy backgrounds and carnal desires. White rose kills love by loving you, by being stable, by calming you down whenever you freak out. Very slowly, she castrates you, she brings you home to domesticate you.

The Red Rose symbolizes those dark desires, a black hole that sucks you in to have sex with you, a fragrant bed, a sex dungeon you do not have the will power to claw yourself out of. Red rose loves you by conquering you, destroying you and everything you represent and cherish with triumphant strides. Very quickly Red rose tears you down, burns all your bridges, until you are beyond recognition, until you are flesh, blood, fire and desire, a literal mess.

It is implied in Ailing's novel that men invariably choose the White Rose, because they are human, all too human. Marrying her, he regrets it; not marrying her, he regrets it even more. Such is love's tragedy in the face of humanity, and tragedy is the only inevitability in Ailing's universe. That's why I pull Lucy in as a faint through-line in my Montgomery x Rommel fanfics... not that I am going to write any more, I don't think so.

And yes, Red Rose is synonymous with Bernard Montgomery, in my fandom brain's humble opinion.

I know I am weird.