#damsels aren't weak

[curlysgirl0202]

Writing a Damsel in Distress:

We all know this theme began before any other, and we also know this theme exists in every generation; the idea that a beautiful woman would call a man's name when his nemesis tries to mess with his girl. So a few things to consider about writing a damsel in distress:

* Our damsel should possess the ability to fight off enemies for the most part. So, if we're writing about a damsel, we must arm our character with certain skills that demonstrate an ability to hold ones own.

* Damsels don't need to be delicate. A damsel simply means that a woman needs assistance. However, just because she requires her hero to untie her, that doesn't equate that she cannot hold her own. She's just used to men behaving like men.

* Our damsel can become the hero. Sometimes our hero becomes the target of the antagonist and if this occurs upon her release, a truly grateful damsel would push back against the enemy.

* Remember that our male character desperately wants to save you so he can show you his soft and kind side and in addition, that our hero is patient.

* Damsels in distress are just so damn sexy! Women who fall victim to a known villain seem to have a certain vulnerability about them that comes across as sweet and endearing. So when they're kidnapped by the villain, of course our hero feels the need to come to her rescue. And why not? Our damsel will shower her hero with gratitude.

* A damsel in distress doesn't equate to a wimp! We all need assistance some time, right? Our damsel character can be the target of a kidnapping, but she can still hold her own! She may still require her male counterpart's intervention and so what? Look at what she's been through!

*Men love the damsel in distress. She's appreciative and responsive and allows the main protagonist to rescue her.

*Some memorable damsels:

**Remember when Perseus rescued Andromeda? She was a strong and capable woman, but was overwhelmed by a vengeful goddess. Andromeda couldn't defend herself against an angry goddess and a giant sea monster so she needed her hero, Perseus. To find a way to destroy the beast that includes killing Medusa would prove challenging to anyone. And Perseus had a group of several strong men to aid him. That doesn't mean Andromeda was a helpless victim.

**If you watched Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides, you'll recall how Syrena was abducted by Blue Beard. As a mermaid, her tears were powerful and could transform old into new. Syrena certainly could defend herself. She was surrounded by pirates who wanted to torture her so she would cry tears for them. When she's tied to a tree and left to drown, Philip comes to her rescue. She returns his devotion by saving him and even cries tears of joy just for him! Syrena didn't expect Philip to save her and didn't have a sense of entitlement about the matter. Sure, she was a damsel in distress, but still showed she was strong and brave.

**Ann Darrow from King Kong. One of the original damsels in distress. But she also could survive on her own and participate in the adventure of it all. Before being sacrificed to the overgrown ape, she sang and danced and entertained. She wasn't a delicate lady whining about needing a man. When she was tied to the altar, she was truly helpless and in need of rescue.

***It's ok to have a character who exhibits the signs of requiring rescue. A damsel in distress doesn't have to equate to an inept girl. We need more stories like this. Daring rescues of women who are already strong makes for a great story. Chivalrous men and women who appreciate the masculinity of their hero.

[deception-united]

Let's talk about strong female characters.

And, more specifically, the problem with them. Don't get me wrong, I am all for a fierce leading lady who can hold her own in any situation. Inspiring, intimidating, capable. All-around badass. But it seems like lately, every other female character we meet is cut from the same warrior cloth, and it's starting to feel a bit predictable.

First, let's give credit where credit is due. The influx of strong, capable, and independent female characters in recent media is undeniably empowering. Seeing women take charge, wield swords, and save the day sends a powerful message to audiences young and old: girls can do anything. And that's a message worth celebrating.

However, there's a flip side to this trend that's worth examining. In the rush to break away from the tired old tropes of delicate damsels in distress, it seems like some writers have swung too far in the other direction. How many recent female protagonists can you name who aren't strong and independent? Who have weaknesses that they aren't afraid of showing, or aren't able to hide? We're seeing a lot of new male leads with these characteristics, which is great, but it's like we've traded one stereotype for another.

All this results in a lot of one-dimensional female characters. I want to see girls who are witty, goofy, immature, sensitive, cocky. While it's great to see women kicking ass and taking names, it's also important to remember that strength comes in many forms.

One of the things that makes characters truly compelling is their complexity. Sure, it's empowering to see a woman single-handedly lead or defeat an army, but what about her flaws? Her insecurities? Her moments of vulnerability? Those are the things that make her relatable, that make her human. That makes her resonate with readers.

Take the classic "strong female character" archetype and add some depth to her. Maybe she's a skilled warrior, but she's also quick with a sarcastic quip. Or perhaps she's fiercely independent, but she's also afraid of being vulnerable with others. Or maybe she's not. Maybe she's not strong or independent or fierce at all. Maybe her strength lies somewhere else. Give her layers, give her contradictions, give her flaws.

And let's not forget about the other roles that female characters can play. The witty sidekick, the comic relief, the immature goofball, the sensitive soul—these are all valid and important character types, and they deserve to be represented just as much as the badass warrior woman.

So, to all the writers out there: by all means, keep giving us strong female characters. But let's make sure they're more than just stereotypes. Let's make them human. Let's give them depth and complexity and nuance. Because in the end, that's what makes a character truly unforgettable.

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[ruthlessrps]

𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐍𝐄𝐘'𝐒 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒 (𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟕) 𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒. - feel free to make any adjustments as necessary!

"what is the measure of a true hero?"

"will you listen to him?"

"lighten up, dude."

"i'll take it from here, darling."

"it was a nasty place."

"behave yourself."

"look how cute he is."

"he's strong. like his dad."

"keep those away from the baby."

"let the kid have a little fun."

"is this an audience or a mosaic?"

"there's the little sunspot."

"i regrettably have a full time gig."

"you'll work yourself to death."

"i know you know."

"did you cut your hair or something? you look fabulous."

"my fate is in your lovely hands."

"okay, fine, fine. i'm cool, i'm fine."

"how do you kill a god?"

"perhaps they've answered our prayers."

"that boy is a menace."

"he's too dangerous to be around normal people."

"he didn't mean any harm. he's just a kid."

"i'm warning you. keep that freak away from here."

"you shouldn't let those things they said back there get to you."

"i try to fit in, i just can't."

"i feel like i really don't belong here."

"i have often dreamed of a far-off place."

"this is where i'm meant to be."

"i know every mile will be worth my while."

"i would go almost anywhere to feel like i belong."

"it's the symbol of the gods."

"you're old enough now to know the truth."

"how do you become a true hero?"

"i will please the gods."

"you sure this is the right place?"

"haven't you ever had a dream?"

"come inside. i want to show you something."

"every single one of those bums let me down."

"dreams are for rookies."

"i'm different from those other guys."

"i'm too old to get mixed up in this stuff again."

"i'm down to one last hope."

"you're not exactly a dream come true."

"you'll have to do."

"now that's more like it!"

"you want a road test? saddle up, kid."

"not so fast, sweetheart."

"i'm a damsel, i'm in distress, i can handle this."

"what are you doing? get your sword."

"a hero's only as good as his weapon."

"is wonderboy here for real?"

"at least i beat him, didn't i?"

"did they give you a name along with all those rippling pectorals?"

"are you always this articulate?"

"who are you calling a rodent?"

"he comes on with his innocent farm boy routine, but i can see through that in a new york minute."

"people here are nuts because they live in a city of turmoil."

"it seems to me that what you folks need is a hero."

"i have this terrible fear of heights."

"try to be a little bit more careful next time."

"i don't think we covered this one in basic training."

"you gotta admit - that was pretty heroic."

"he was so hot steam looked cool."

"everybody's got a weakness."

"there is nothing you can't do."

"it's great to see you. i missed you."

"you sound like you could use a break."

"i didn't know playing hooky could be so much fun."

"wonderboy, you are perfect."

"when i was a kid i would've given anything to be exactly like everybody else."

"you're the most amazing person i've ever met."

"when i'm with you i don't feel so alone."

"i would never ever hurt you."

"let's both do ourselves a favour and stop this."

"that's it. next time, i drive."

"no man is worth the aggravation."

"get yourself another girl. i'm through."

"i can't believe you're getting so worked up about some guy."

"people are gonna get hurt, aren't they?"

"now you know how it feels to be just like everyone else."

"i know what i did was wrong, but this isn't about me."

"if you don't help him now, he'll die."

"people always do crazy things when they're in love."

[kkpwnall]

wanted: pool boy at the vampire mansion

for my darlingest louseph @cheatghost who a few days ago sent me the words "pool boy steve at eddie's vampire mansion" at 6 in the morning and immediately got my brain whirring. like 0 to 60, dead asleep to wide awake and writing. so here's less than 1k words of pure ridiculous fun.

[also on ao3]

It’s not a bad gig, really. Even if it stipulates in his contract that he has to be shirtless while he’s on the property. But Steve also signed the contract in his blood so he’s not sure how legal it is. 

Plus the pay is insane. He quit his other jobs, and he’s basically got free reign of the pool all day. So he takes his time with the skimmer fishing out all the leaves and dead bugs, swims laps for a while. Spends the rest of the day in a lounger before adjusting the chemicals so it’s perfect by morning.

What do vampires need with a pool anyway?

The four guys stay in the house whenever Steve comes by, but they're friendly enough and wave at him through the dark tinted windows. 

One guy ogles him the whole time he works. Not that he really minds. So what if Steve gets to work early, just to put on sunscreen? Who’s gonna know if he puts some extra flex in his muscles while he works? And who cares if they’ve got the cleanest pool in all of Indiana? It’s not hurting anyone. 

But Steve's drawn to him the same way he was drawn to the ad in the first place, with his long dark curly hair and unending collection of black band shirts. His crooked smile and dimples and shining brown eyes.

It's just... they've never once spoken. And Steve is dying to get to know this guy who makes the goofiest faces at him. Who was pissed when Steve laughed the first time he did, hands up like devil horns, tongue lolling and eyes crossed. Until Steve made his own face back. 

This guy, who plays elaborate charades with Steve through the glass, trying and failing to do the classic walking-down-stairs bit. Who went boneless when one of the guys in his band (? coven? pod? Ask Dustin what a group of vampires is called.) dragged him away while Steve mimed crying, waving an imaginary hanky at him. This guy, who clutched his heart and fell over when Steve lowered his shades and winked at him one day.

And it's because of those shades that Steve has to drive all the way back to the mansion late one night to retrieve them from his usual chair.

When he gets there, someone’s floating in the pool. Someone, with long curly hair spilling all around their head. Someone, wearing all their clothes, and Steve can't tell from the weak pool light if they're face up or face down, but they sure as hell aren't moving. 

His lifeguard training takes over between one step and the next, as he bolts for the pool, launching into the water, and throwing himself forward with broad strokes. 

Except when Steve gets to him, the guy isn't drowning, he’s sputtering and swearing and pushing away from him in the water. “What are you doing here?!”

“You're not drowning...” Steve says blankly, trying to catch his breath as he treads water. 

“No! And thank you for the rescue, Lancelot, but you need to get out of here.” His long hair streams over his face as he spins while Steve paddles around him to make sure he’s really alright. 

“Lancelot?” he asks, just to keep the guy talking, to hear more from his honeyed voice. Better than anything he could’ve ever imagined. 

“A knight in shining armor,” the guy mumbles, trying to hide his face. “A hero rescuing fair damsels and slaying vile beasts.” 

Steve chuckles, but doesn’t miss the venom in his last words. He catches him by the upper arm to stop his spinning. “No, I know who Lancelot is, it’s just–”

It’s just he’s even prettier close up. It’s just his skin is freezing cold in the sun-warmed pool water. It’s just he’s looking at Steve, caught somewhere between a grimace and a grin, and his teeth are so so sharp. 

“I’m Steve,” he says, moving closer. Entirely entranced by the pool light, the moonlight, the starlight, glimmering in his eyes. Steve’s hand has a mind of its own, rising out of the water to cup the guy’s cheek with a wet palm, “And you’re…” 

Gently traces his lower lip, runs his thumb over the sharp canine, careful not to touch the pointed tip. 

“You’re beautiful,” Steve breathes. 

The guy surges forward, reeling Steve in with a hand on the back of his neck, and kisses him fiercely. Steve kisses him back just as fervently, wraps his arms around his waist and kicks out with his legs to keep them afloat, as his tongue slides past the guy’s teeth to swirl and dance with his. 

It's messy and uncoordinated and they sink and bob in the water as they move against each other. The guy's fingers tangle in the shaggy hair at the base of his neck, twisting and snagging. Steve groans and stretches a broad palm up between the guy's shoulder blades, pressing further into him, drinking all of him in.

“It’s Eddie,” he says, pulling back and panting when they finally part. “I’m Eddie.”

Steve grins at Eddie and kisses him again, pushing them through the water towards the edge at the shallow end of the pool. He can think of better uses for his legs right now.

[olderthannetfic]

https://olderthannetfic.tumblr.com/post/757354383894790144/httpswwwtumblrcomolderthannetfic757095427492#notes

Oh my God, you catapulted me back into some POC but especially black shipping "etiquette" from the bad times on tumblr.

"Black tops are bad bc it plays into the narrative of black people being aggressive and violent." "Black bottoms are bad bc it plays into the narrative of being subservient and lesser than. (Esp with white top)" "Black women dating white men is bad bc it plays into the narrative black men bad/abusive, and white savior complex." "Black women dating black men bad, because you imply black people should only date other black people." "Shipping light black characters plays into colorism, and that dark black people are less desirable." "Shipping the dark black characters plays into the narrative that black people are more promiscuous and sexual." (Second verse same as the first) "Making a bisexual character plays into the narrative that black people are more promiscuous and sexual." "Making an asexual character creates the narrative that black people aren't allowed to experience romance, and love."

On and on and on and on... dumb shit side of tumble has breached containment!

Also remember some for Asian characters: "Asian male bottoms plays into the narrative that Asian men aren't masculine." "Asian women dating (anyone not Asian) plays into the narrative of subservience." "Asian women only dating Asian men (and excluding other POC men) plays into the stereotype of Asian racism." "Asian women being kinky plays into orientalist fetish fantasies." "Asian male characters dating (anyone not Asian) plays into the narrative of feminizing Asian masculinity." "Asian women being strong plays into the dragon lady stereotype." "Asian women being weak plays into the lotus damsel stereotype." (Both of them being basically just the femme fatale and damsel in distress BS from old movie times, but with an #Asian twist.) Mainly remember these two, but there were so many more of these types of passive aggressive and poorly thought through "Etiquette" guides.

--

[sports-on-sundays]

omgg i'm so relievedd,😭😭 anyway here's the request

can you please do an enemies to lovers with pedri wherein the reader is frenkie's sister and pedri and her have beef with eachother and fight like cats and dogs all the time but pedri is lowkey in love with her and sneakily keeps dropping hints but the reader is too oblivious to notice them, then gavi, sick of their banter tries to get them together by pretending to be interested in the reader and pedri get's furious with gavi cuz he's in love with the reader?

anyway i hope you're doing well, sending you lot's and lot's of lovee 💗💗

she's mine / Pedri González

Summary: Pedri x de Jong!female!reader - Enemies to lovers - Pedri can't help but feel more than hate towards his enemy. And he won't stand for it when it seems her attention is being given to anyone else but himself.

Warnings: censored swearing, reader is SO oblivious haha, I'M SO SORRY FOR THE CHEESY ENDING BUT IT FELT SO RIGHT OKAY, her being Frenkie's sister didn't end up becoming a part of the plot so sorry if you wanted it to be anon

Author's Note: Thanks so much for the request, and I hope you're doing well also. :)

Requested?: yup!

A gust of warm wind blows your hair in your face as you enter the Barcelona training pitch. You tuck it behind your ear as your eyes scan the green field, searching for someone.

You tell yourself you're looking for your brother, Frenkie, but your eyes only stop searching when they fall on Pedri. He's sitting on one of the coolers, talking with Robert Lewandowski and Sergi Roberto. You smirk and saunter over, slipping down to sit on the cooler next to him. "Hey. Why aren't you out there playing, Pedri?" you say with a condescending smile.

His head snaps over to look at you, and his jaw visibly clenches as he demands, "Where did you come from? You weren't there a second a-"

"Maybe you just weren't paying attention, idiot. I didn't know you were that unaware of your surroundings..."

"Would you stop?" he snarls, gently shoving you. "Why are you always here, anyway? Do you think you have rights to walk right on in just because you're Frenkie's sister?"

You shrug cockily. "Pretty much. Everyone loves me, including Xavi. You're the only idiot that doesn't."

At this, Sergi (mysteriously) gets up and says, "I'll leave you two to fight this one out."

Robert nods and follows close behind, calling over his shoulder, "Don't be too aggressive with each other now!" You hear a snicker in the more experienced player's voice, which only fuels you more to bug Pedri.

"You aren't being too aggressive," you turn back to Pedri. "What kind of weak shove was that, anyway?"

"I just didn't shove you any harder because you're delicate and weak." He glanced up, meeting your eyes as he added, "Shame you've got no boyfriend to take care of your damsel self."

"Oh, for f***'s sake! Shut up- you know you're pulling crap out of thin air now!"

"That's what you do every single argument we have," Pedri comments with an eye roll. He bends down to tie his shoe, but then looks up, meeting your eyes again in that annoying way, and says, "Wait, you have a boyfriend?!"

"Don't say it like that!" you snap. "I don't, but I don't need one. I'm just fine without a stupid man to boss me around!"

He snorts and comments softly as he stands up, "I wouldn't say I'm stupid, and I certainly wouldn't boss you around..."

"Huph! Yeah, right!" you snap, the intention of his statements blowing straight over your head. "I bet you'd be the worst of them all! My God, no woman deserves an ass like you! Sure hope you never get a girlfriend- any would be too good for you."

"So sharp with your comebacks!" Pedri looks back. "But you use the same ones every time. You're so predictab-"

"Hey, Pedri."

Both of you look up to see Gavi sauntering over to the two of you. He pulls a water bottle from the cooler Pedri just stood up from and tells him, "Quit all the chit-chatting, for God's sake. Break time is done for you, Pedri."

"Yeah!" you grin, calling after him as he sulks away, "Lazy!"

Some days later, you walk down the hallway of the training centre. You're waiting for Frenkie, since you're going with him to visit with him and Mikky and some friends after training, when suddenly your nerves are hit simply by a familiar voice calling behind you, "Hey, Y/n..."

You swivel around to meet the obnoxious brown eyes of none other than Pedri. Your jaw clenches, but you're always ready to pick a fight with him- especially if he's up for it.

There's a flash of emotion in his eyes, and all the sudden he goes from walking toward you to being right in front of you. Your back hits the wall it's facing, and you gasp as the scent of his cologne fills your nose. You open your eyes slowly to see only Pedri's eyes. You exhale slowly. He's got you here, with his hands leaning on the wall behind you. You can't read him- you can't tell if he's about to slap you in the face or playfully tease you. All you know is that your nose is about six centimeters from the face of your rival, whom you've hated on a countless number of times.

"What the hell?" you snap. "What's your problem?"

"You know what you did!" he snaps right back, his eyes flashing again.

"What did I do?" you ask innocently as you replay all the rude comments about him and obnoxious tricks played on him.

"You know!" he says, jabbing his elbow into your shoulder- not enough to hurt, so you don't bother with him. He's a coward. He never really hurts you.

You smirk, eyebrows raised, and say, "Was it the chewing gum in your football boot or the 'Kick Me' sign on you last away game?"

"It was the gum-! Wait, 'Kick Me' sign?!"

At this, you break into hysterical laughing at his frightened face. You laugh and laugh, until you finally get out, "You take yourself so seriously, and that's why I know stupid pranks like this really will work in getting under your skin!"

"Tell about the 'Kick Me' sign!" He actually looks quite nervous.

"I managed to give you a 'friendly' pat on the back before you walked the red carpet to the hotel. All the away fans saw. I guess after getting a high-five from their hero, Pedri, they saw he would've rather been kicked in the ass!"

"Wait, it was on my ass?" His eyes widen, and you laugh more, practically wheezing now as Mr. Tough Man is getting dethroned- again. By you, as always.

"No! Lower back, idiot. I guess someone must have taken if off of you before you noticed, and didn't tell you because your pride is so delicate..."

"...Is not!" Pedri snapped, shoving you softly again. "Anyway, the f***ing gum on my expens-"

But you interrupt, showing you really couldn't care less. "Why don't you shove me harder, huh? Weak."

His face twists. "If I did, you might fall over. Clumsy."

"Oh, yeah? Am I? Am I clumsy, or are you just too scared to hurt a woman? Well, I'm not too scared to hurt a man, and I'm also not slamming men into walls to assert my dominance!"

Pedri gapes a little, which feeds your mean-spirited ways.

You grin, and suddenly shove him away. He stumbles back, and reaches back to steady himself on the opposite wall of the hallway.

"Alright, I've f***ing had it with you!" he barks, reaching for you. But you grab his wrist, twisting it. He, with his other hand, clutches the collar of your shirt, and you raise your fist, about to hurl it at his-

Suddenly, another hand grips your wrist, mid air.

Both your's and Pedri's heads flip to the new presence and rest your eyes on the younger Gavi.

Pedri's hand slips off your collar in unison with your hand slipping off his wrist.

Gavi sighs and walks past, in the middle of the two of you, calling behind, "You two, always fighting like cats and dogs! Won't you ever leave each other be? It's starting to get out of hand, with you two wrestling in the halls, and all."

You watch awkwardly as Gavi walks away, both feeling called out at how foolish you were acting.

You sit next to Gavi, swiveling back and forth on a bar stool, in a club. You sip your drink, looking down, because of the slight headache you're starting to obtain from the flashing lights around you, when suddenly someone sits on the other side of you. You look up, seeing that it's none other than Pedri. Again. Now you sit between Gavi and Pedri, and ask obnoxiously to Pedri, "Why are you here?"

He smirks, his eyes glimmering in the flashing lights. "I was here all along. But I could be asking you the same thing, baby."

You snort as Gavi looks over with unimpressed raised eyebrows at Pedri.. "Baby? Your insults are getting worse and worse every day," you remark back snidely, taking the name in a completely different way than most people- including Gavi- probably would.

Who knows how Pedri meant it?

Pedri falters for just a moment, and a strange look of slight confusion and maybe... disappointment?... flashes across his face, before he blinks away the dazed look and replaces it with that stupid smirk again. "You're a stupid baby because I don't think you can handle..." He gently takes your glass from your hand, and it's so sudden, you just watch him do it. "...that."

You glare. "What the hell, Pedri?" you snap. "I'm not anywhere near drunk! Give that back!"

He lifts the quarter full glass above his head, but leans his face close to yours and mutters, just loud enough for you to hear over the blasting party music, "Make me."

You glare more fiercely and snarl, "You know full well I'm capable of beating your ass! Now give me the glass!"

His grin just grows wider, and it annoys you that, for whatever twisted reasons, he's genuinely having fun. Enjoying himself. When you tease him or play pranks on him, you guess you have some fun, but it's mostly just about going out of your way to make his life harder because he's annoying. But he's genuinely having fun right now. Anyone could see that much.

The nerve!

You grab at Pedri, trying to wrestle the drink down, but fail, and just end up stumbling into him. He laughs and very gently elbows you, saying, "Be careful, baby. You've got no prince to catch you if you fall..."

"I don't even get your jokes anymore!" You say in frustrated annoyance. You grit your teeth and double back, ready to ram yourself to his stomach, but suddenly stop yourself when two hands grip your shoulders, and a body slips in between your's and Pedri's. "Gavi!" you say in exasperation. "Stop doing that!"

"You guys stop doing this! These arguments are getting out of hand, for God's sake!"

Pedri sighs, setting your glass down, but says, "It's really none of your business, Gav-"

"It is when you constantly do this with me and every-f***ing-one else around! It becomes our business!" He sighs witha little grunt, sitting back down. You swipe your drink off the table and sit back down next to Gavi, saying, "I'm sorry, Gavi... You see, Pedri's just so stupid..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Gavi rolls his eyes.

And little to either Pedri or you know, but the gears in Gavi's brain start spinning.

You sit on the bleachers, typing something up, enjoying the sunshine, when you hear footsteps. You sigh, knowing it will be Pedri approaching, but refuse to look up.

So you're surprised when Gavi says, "Hey, Y/n."

You look up and watch as Gavi sits close next to you, putting his arm around your shoulders. You don't think much of this, and don't mind that Gavi sits with you for a while, just chatting about whatever. He speaks softly, making the conversation personal. You respond in your regular tones, because why would you do anything different?

For weeks after this incident, Gavi keeps doing things like this, and, strangely, you've realized Pedri's been bothering you less. And you've been bothering him less.

But he keeps sending you the most venomous glances, it's almost worse than his occasional antagonizing.

Gavi's been getting kind of touchy with you, and you're not sure why, but you assume it's just because... you don't know. But you figure there must be a good, normal reason for it.

So you don't mind it. You enjoy your talks.

Today, you sit on the grass next to Gavi. You can't tell if it's just in your head, but you keep catching Pedri's eyes. And he doesn't look happy.

Well, Gavi's sitting quite close to you, so your shoulders are bumping, and has an arm around you, gently touching your lower back. You watch as Pedri starts walking towards you, and automatically a soft sigh escapes your lips.

Right then, Gavi gently slips his hand onto your thigh.

Automatically, your muscles clench, but you don't even look at Gavi.

Because you're watching Pedri.

He looks livid.

You swallow, and glance to Gavi, but as soon as you do, Pedri reaches him, knocks his hand off your thigh, doesn't even glance to you, and says directly to Gavi, "Come with me."

His tone is hard and cold.

Gavi stands up a little too casually (which seems to just feed Pedri's anger even more) and follows Pedri without a fight.

You stare, watching them go, in kind of a shock.

Once they're gone, you give it a minute or so, before standing up and immediately following. Snooping and eavesdropping are not below you. Can't hurt a girl for being curious, right? Besides, you've become pretty good at not getting caught.

You slowly walk down the stairs into the building, light on your feet, and peek behind every corner, listen through every door.

Finally you freeze when you hear voices, coming from behind a closed door. You lean against the wall slowly, intently listening, and grin softly when you can make out the sentences, before your face becomes serious again.

Gavi is saying, "...you've been the nicest person to her anyway!"

Pedri growls (which makes you swallow nervously), "But it's like you're taking her... She doesn't even like you... I saw the look on her face... Get your hands off of her, anyway... She's mine."

Your eyes furrow in confusion. Clearly he's talking about you, but what does this all mean...? Whatever it does, it certainly makes you feel a little angry, along with the utter uncertainty.

"Yeah? Why haven't you gone for it, then? Shoot your shot? You've just been being rude to her to get her attention without even showing how you really feel- I went about it in the-"

"She doesn't like you!"

"Yeah? Prove it?" Gavi says, just as fiery as Pedri himself, but it sounds a little different. You can't place your finger on what's different about Gavi's tone, though, from Pedri's...

There's a few seconds of silence, before a huff and a smaller comment from Pedri: "But I bet I like her more than you."

"Then prove it. I don't believe you."

"How the hell-"

"Whoever pulls her first."

You stare ahead, eyebrows knitted together.

And suddenly it clicks in your brain that was so opposed to believing anything even close to that, and it all makes sense.

All the stupid comments from him.

This conversation itself.

His dumb nicknames.

Has Pedri really... felt that way... all along?

Then why has he been acting like that?

There's silence between the boys, too, as you consider these things.

And, suddenly, you hear the doorknob turn, and your stomach drops to your knees. You try to swallow down a lump in your throat, looking for anywhere you can go to hide so that they don't see y-

"Y/n-!" Pedri stares at you, frozen.

Oh God. What... What is he going to do? Pick a fight, walk away? Lash out on me or Gavi? Pretend nothing happened?

He whispers, "You heard all that..."

You don't respond. And you're not sure if you could, even if you tried to, anyway.

But he does the most unlikely thing. The thing you weren't ever expecting.

Maybe someone else would. Maybe your brain just doesn't work that way.

But suddenly he pulls you to him, in a half-hug kind of thing, his muscles soft, and whispers, "I'm sorry, but... Maybe this will convince you to give me a shot..."

Suddenly, before you can react, he pulls you into a steamy kiss. You gasp, shocked, and although you don't want it to be happening, you don't want it to stop. You stare ahead, but slowly find the strength to close your eyes.

He pulls away and mutters, "Anyway, let me explain now..."

But suddenly Gavi walks by, casually, a smug look on his face, and he says, "I would have done it differently, but with someone like Y/n, you never know, Pedri... I mean it's funny you two are so immature about the way you're going about this, when I'm younger than both of you."

"You-"

Gavi glances back and interrupts, "Oh, and by the way, it was all a show. I'm not really into Y/n, and I know she's not really into me. It was just to make you jealous. You know, so maybe you'd finally admit your damn feelings and quit bothering her so much. Looks like you still haven't done it though. I've leave you two to that."

Pedri starts gaping as Gavi saunters away, and you stand just as shocked, but for more things than what Pedri's shocked about.

"For God's sake, Gavi," Pedri mutters under his breath, turning back to you. "Well, anyway," he breathes. "I've got a lot to explain... And say sorry for."

"Why were you..." you trail off.

He snorts. "I thought you'd be into that. I thought you'd like that sort of attention."

"I might've..." you chuckle nervously. "If I understood what you were doing in the moment..."

All the sudden, those glimmering brown eyes look deeper than they did before. More complex. Interesting. Beautiful.

Captivating.

Perhaps even... enchanting?

You swallow, and find yourself gripping to his shoulders tighter- which you didn't even know you were holding onto until now.

Now he mutters, but it doesn't seem mean.

You would say it was sexy, if that didn't mean you'd be calling him sexy.

"I've got a lot of work before I can call you mine..." he swallows. Usually a comment like this would disgust you.

But the way he just kissed you makes you not dread, but anticipate (just very, very, very slightly) eagerly all that work he needs to do in order to call you his.

Well, in other words, that set off butterflies in your stomach you didn't even know existed.

And now he whispers, "Sorry if it's too soon, but... Can I kiss you again?"

You grin stupidly and remark, "Only if you're not a coward."

He leans in, and his lips meet yours once again.

[lovemyromance]

I think objectively, it is very difficult to pull off writing a traditionally feminine woman in the fantasy genre.

Because fantasy used to be kind of a "guy" thing. It used to be exclusively written by men, for men. That's where we get the wizards, the warlocks, the damsel in distress tropes. The women characters existing for the sole purpose to be love interests or sexual objects or witches or cruel succubi.

The introduction of romantasy as a genre is a double edged sword. On one hand, it allowed for a whole new generation of women to join the industry, dip their toes into a genre that used to be predominately men. It drew in women with the romance element, and empowered them through a main character that was typically also a woman. She was strong, she was brave, and she kicked ass. We all wanted to be Daenerys, or even someone like Susan from Narnia. It was meant to be empowering.

But I say it is a double edged sword because I'm uncertain if it really had that desired effect.

Kicking ass and fighting in epic battles, being cunning and brave and clever - these were all qualities of a male MC in most fantasy novels. With romantasy, we see those traits in many FMCs now as well. And they are very popular. Violet, Feyre, Katniss, Aelin, etc. are all extremely popular female MCs. But why are they popular? What is it about them that really drew people in?

In other words, are they popular and so adored because now instead of the soft, feminine and grace women were typically known for - they have hardened, masculine traits instead?

Is that all it took for these FMCs to earn respect and admiration? Switch their knitting needles and gardening gloves out for crude humor and a sword?

I don't even know how to explain it. I understand there are women with those qualities and they feel validated by the change in pace in literature now having real characters, women who have a purpose outside sex and serving as the arm candy for some hero. I appreciate how amazing it is that women are now painted in a light that shows how capable and brave they are.

But I think, in the process of doing that, we went a little too far on the other extreme. Instead of showing how "Hey, women are also brave and strong and beautiful and bold and clever" we have gone all the way down to "If you're not a fighter, if you're not a kickass warrior - then you're weak. Then you're boring. Then you're unworthy."

We are looking at traditionally soft, feminine women the same way men used to look at the whole lot of us. We are considering them 'less than' because they don't have a sword in their hands, they aren't spitting and fighting back, so therefore they must be weak. They must be boring. They must be useless.

I think that's why I fight so hard for Elain. Why I want her desires to be heard. Why I protest when I see her wishes and wants and actions so adamantly ignored in this fandom. Why I get so annoyed when I see her callously referred to as "Gardner girl" and "the useless sister"

Because as an individual? I am nothing like Elain. I probably have more things in common with the likes of Kim Kardashain than I do with Elain Archeron. But I still fight tooth and nail for this fictional character because fighting for her is in some way a representation of fighting for those women who hold onto that femininity. The graceful way they act, the kindness, the compassion they show and spread in this world. All they want is peace.

And we need that in this world. If everyone were a fighter, we'd always be in some war. These types of people (not limited to only women) hold a different kind of strength. These are the types of women that hold a family together, that create a sense of safety and belonging, and bring a community together. They care, they nurture, and they grow.

And I'm so tired of people suddenly acting like that kind of strength pales in comparison to a traditional warrior carrying a sword and shield.

[annabelle--cane]

I get wanting a take on lucy westenra where she wanted to be vampire'd in some measure; she very clearly doesn't in the text of the book, but I understand the desire for versions of classic damsel-in-distress characters where they're re-written to have agency in the narrative and actually desire the thing that's representative of defying social norms, this isn't a novel concept. the thing is, sexual repression isn't one of the tools of misogyny used against her in the source material. her vampire self's (and the roommates') sexuality is clearly meant to be part of her evilness, but sexual norms aren't something she seems to chafe against before she dies, she has her one line about wishing a woman could marry three men but it's more of a passing fancy and her amiable relationship with her three suitors is something that the narrative looks on favorably, so I don't think it checks out for her to want dracula as a symbol of sexual liberation.

imo if you want to give lucy a reason to choose dracula, give him a bit of a villain monologue in his big break-in where he taunts her about how van helsing has known a vampire is after her for almost two weeks and refused to tell her, and what's more she's had two more blood transfusions that she doesn't know about. give her a minute to let herself finally be angry that no one treats her like a full thinking person. if everyone's been lying to her about such important things to do with her own body, how can she trust anything else they've ever said? why have her doctors felt like they need to lie to get her to do as they say? are they afraid she'd make different choices if she had the whole truth? do they think she'd have refused the transfusions if they'd asked her? do they just want to manipulate her to be exactly the person they want instead of the person she wants?

and she looks at dracula. and she knows he's been attacking her, draining her, making her weak, leaving holes in her memory. but at least he hasn't told her it's because he has her best interests at heart.

[rottendollface]

Smoke Relationship Headcanons

Character: Smoke | Tomas Vrbada.

Warnings: NSFW, fem!reader, dom!Tomas, toxic relationship, jealousy; mental and physical abuse; unprotected sex, thoughts of baby trapping, oral sex; the action takes place before Bi-Han's betrayal, 18+.

• Tomas, who is searching for a civilian woman on purpose. He knows how to make a good impression, and he is well aware of his soft, lovely appearance. Once he has his eyes on you, he will act his best only to lure you into his trap.

• Tomas knows whom to target. He doesn't want a strong woman. He wants a shy, soft girl, a damsel in distress, so he can be her hero; but don't be fooled by such a valiant motive: the more he saves you, the more you owe him, and he won't hesitate to charge you for everything he has ever done to you.

• He lies about his background shamelessly. For you, he is a good guy, Tomas, who works as a policeman in a neighborhood district department. What about his family? His mother and sister tragically perished, and he was adopted by family friends. Tomas is a nice guy, and so are his brothers. He never tells you the names, dates, and places – and you can't even notice it because Tomas just doesn't shut up. He tells you so many things that you constantly lose the plot. However, from you, he expects to hear the whole story with all the following facts.

• Tomas is very caring with you. He assures you that you can trust him all your worries and your mind. His words are sweet, and his hands are gentle when he touches you. Tomas helps you with everything – you don't even have to ask. He is perfect, but he does it only to learn your weaknesses. Got too emotional and told him about your mental struggles? Tomas will make a note on how to put you into stress. Shared your fears with him? He is already planning on how to use it against you to make you vulnerable.

• He always belittles himself in front of you to hear you praising him. You put your whole pure soul into the kindest words he has ever heard in his life. Sometimes, he thinks that even his mother loved him less than you do. You are a marvelous persona, and he does everything in his might to become like you. Staying in your presence feels like basking in the Sun, and Tomas wants to become a better person for you. Did you really believe it? Well, it's better for him. Tomas does it on purpose – he gives you a false feeling of being a savior, an angel in a relationship to make your bond feel special.

• Does Tomas love you? Of course, he does, but the way he shows it is a little... different. He was raised by people who massacred his family. Since childhood, he had to kill to survive. He is a disgusting, sick creature, a predator who lives by animal impulses. Tomas doesn't know love in its normal way. He is afraid to lose you due to this reason, so he is hunting you in a different way: he wants to bind you to himself, make you addicted to him. Tomas will succeed, he believes.

• Tomas is jealous of you. He hates every man for looking at you, he hates you for being so kind with everyone around you, and he hates himself for allowing you to walk everywhere you want. It would be better for him if you were isolated from society. Tomas starts to scare you with police statistics on assaults on young women; he asks you to be extra careful when you leave your home, recommends you to give him access to your location, controls your outfits and makeup. You can shine with your beauty only when he is around, and while he isn't with you, you are allowed to wear something neutral so as not to draw attention to yourself. If you want to party with your friends, he has to know all their phone numbers and be in constant contact with you: if you aren't answering his messages for more than an hour, he will call you until you pick up. Tomas is aware that it scares you to see so many missed calls, and he does it to force a guilt on you. You have to excuse yourself and leave for half an hour in the best case to call him back, mentally prepared to hear his annoyed voice.

"...was found in an alleyway with her throat slashed."

"...her eyes were gouged."

"...drugged her drink and then raped her unconscious body."

Begging him to stop won't give you any results. Tomas wants you to remember once and for all: without him, you can easily become a heroine of tragic news reports. He will continue to intimidate you until you become too scared to exist in society.

• In relationship fights, he uses dirty tricks. Tomas gives you silent treatment to provide you an opportunity to think about your actions and goes on missions, keeping his phone turned off. It drives you crazy – every time you are afraid that he will be injured, and you will be the last to know about it. You would prefer him to scream at you than look you over and keep silent.

• Sometimes, when you two are not fighting, but starting to argue, he grabs your hands or claws his fingers in your shoulder dangerously close to your neck. Tomas is a strong man with an impressive physique – and some of his touches leave bruises on your skin. You ask him to be more careful with you, yet it goes unheard by him. His way to say sorry in this situation is to kiss each bruise after it gets its beautiful cornflower-blue color with purple streaks. The tenderness in his lips when he is doing that makes you think that Tomas likes to hurt you.

• Still, Tomas is a good husband material! He provides you, always makes sure your fridge is full of the best food. With Tomas, you don't have to worry about money. He will easily pay for your education and your cravings.

Tomas is traditional and believes that you should be a stay-at-home mother for your future children. To be honest, in Lin Kuei, you will have nothing else to do but to watch after kids. Sometimes, he dreams of leaving the clan and living with you like his parents did. One day, when it will be safe for him and you will have nowhere to run, he is going to tell you the whole truth about himself.

• Talking about children, Tomas loves the idea to be a family man. His foster parents made sure to raise all of the sons this way. It is also a good way to chain you to him. Constantly pregnant, you will have no other way but to stay with him.

• Tomas just feels the urge to breed you. Like an animal in rut, he won't cum anywhere, but inside you. Want it or not, he will force his seed in your womb. Tomas is the type to sabotage your birth control if you take any and impale condoms. He will find the words to assure you to have unprotected sex – he knows you so well he can convince you in everything.

• Tomas lives to grope you. He adores the way his big palms squeeze your buttcheecks, this delicious fat taking the form of his hands. He will grab you by your thighs when you sit next to him, making his way in between your legs by pressing on your skin roughly, impelling you to spread them.

• Thigh-sex from behind is a must for him: just one thought of his dick nestling in between your sweet inner thigs, right under your dripping pussy, gives him a boner. Your slick makes it easy to move, and Tomas shamelessly uses it for his pleasure. For you, it is nothing more, but a sweet torture, as you feel his throbbing length rubbing under your awaiting hole. You beg him and whine for him, but Tomas just grabs you by your hands, making you arch your back, and goes faster, bringing his climax closer.

• He won't go further without oral. Expect him to eat you out until you go stupid. Tomas is an expert in what he is doing: toying with your clit by sucking, munching and licking on it, he is then sliding his tongue down to your hole. Stuffing you with his saliva and tongue, he changes it on his thick fingers when it's time to go back to your trembling clitoris. He will slide up and down, his tongue flat to cover all the parts of your pussy.

Tomas expects you to give him head back after he finishes with you. The clouded gaze with heavy eyelids you give him when your plump pink lips close on the tip of his dick makes it more erotic. He is training you to take all of him in your mouth in one go, yet it brings Tomas more pleasure when you're starting at the tip and slowly making it down to the base, letting his length into your hot tight throat. You are sucking him, trailing every vein with your tongue. Saliva is streaming down from the corners of your mouth to your chin, making bubbles – Tomas is watching you with attentive eyes, memorizing every detail. Tomas is the type to grab you by your hair and start fucking your mouth roughly, enjoying you choking on his cock.

• No matter the position, Tomas is always in control of you. His hands never leave your body, helping you to adapt to his pace instead. Yet Tomas' favorites are doggy and missionary. For him, deeper penetration means better chances to make you pregnant. Taking you from behind allows him to go rougher on your poor cunt, that certainly will be swollen by the end of the intercourse. Pulling you on his cock, Tomas shivers at the feeling of your wet walls spasming around his length. His head is spinning when he sees his seed leaking out your red and messy pussy. Tomas pushes it back with his fingers, watching you squirm under him, as he is stuffing your already sensitive insides. For sure, he will go on you for another round, fucking his cum at the deepest parts of your womb.

• Every time you fall asleep by his side, Tomas is thinking about introducing you to his reality. It will be a long, painful process of your complete disappearance from previous life. Saying goodbye to old friends and family is never an easy task, but you will do it for Tomas – he will gladly help you with it.

[heartfullofleeches]

I remember there was an ask about Damsel with a weak darling.

What if there is a knight that tried to upstage weak darling? What would Damsel do?

They can see it in your eyes.

The total erasure of hope and will to fight on. For a knight, such lose would surely spell in death, but the ally you swore to protect til last breath has prove time and time again they'd place their own life as bargain for your yours. Pathetic- how could someone like you call themselves a hero. They deserve better. A knight who ran into danger as opposed to waiting for it to find them. A hero noble and brave - like the challenger who has approached you in battle for your maiden's hand.

"There you are!"

Golden hair blocks your view of the risen sun. The accompanying party tucks the end of their flowing skirt beneath them as they sit with you in the grass. Their hands pull your head to their chest and your arms from your lap - their voice a haunting lullaby as lace biting the skin of your wrist draws you from the trance it pulls you under. You inspect the charm, curiosity written in every move.

"What is this?"

"You're worried about your upcoming battle, aren't you? As long as you wear this you will never lose a fight as it's infused with my faith in you, and an even stronger magic no one can snuff out."

"And this is?...."

"My love."

The dread in the pit of your stomach returns, but with it comes a glimmer of hope. You're sure to lose this fight, but you'll give it your all as promised in the past and go out like a true hero. That determination, and the way you hug your wrist to your chest as they leave is all Damsel needs to know that in their eyes you will always be the hero of their fairytale.

-

Damsel finds your rival on the opposite side of the field. It's true that they are strong, but their vanity - and the audacity to make ill of your name muddies any praise the royal had for them. Practicing for battle, their blade and a single drop to the earth as Damsel approaches. The knight rises from their bow without given word and reaches for their hand. Damsel recoils as if touching hot stones. Repulsive.

"Fair maiden. It.. is an honor. Have you come to congratulate me on my winnings so soon?"

Damsel's smile never falters - disgust corroding their core with every second they hold it steady. "Not quite. Since as I've given my knight a present it is only fair that I give you one too. Hold out your hand."

The rival knight stands with a grin as they extend their hand. Their expression drops to that of discomfort as their skin pairs with Damsel's. Their complexion is not as soft as first look would lead to belive. Their skin is sticky, stretching like raw honey as the knight attempts to back. It is with horror and a numbing pain firing up the length of their arm that they're attached to this monstrosity by thin barbs poking from their palms.

"It's true that my knight isn't the strongest, but there's so much so this world and them than strength. They are brave... Kind.... The most selfless and charming knight this land will ever see, but there's one more important than that and what separates you from them most of all..."

Crashing to their knees, a stray whimper leaves the knight's throat as Damsel's free hand nears their face - stroking falling tears into their skin. The pain in their arm and body is gone. There is nothing anymore - same as them.

"They still have their head."

[beyonsatan]

How to spot an amateur astrologer who's misleading you and doesn't know as much as they're letting on 🤏

Some people that read this are gonna think I'm being toxic or a bit excessive and that's fine, not that what other people think even matters anyways but...I just don't like when ppl are getting scammed and lied to and also because alot of people charge (way more than I do) for readings and it's alot of misinformation that gets around with these readings and money in additional to time is being wasted so I see this as me doing people a favor. I'm going to go over some things only a person who has absolutely no knowledge of astrology beyond social media will do

• they associate the outer planets, neptune, uranus and pluto with the signs aquarius, pisces and scorpio. This is like the most obvious sign and I talk about it so much not just on here and because the outer planets change signs every decade or so, they're generational planets, not personal ones so think long and hard about what "personal" even means and then get back to me. It isn't really fair to assign the signs I listed above to planets that aren't personal and then to assign the rest of the other signs to the inner planets that reveal so much more about our daily lives than the outer ones do, it just seems so elitist to me honestly and overall misleading. The signs themselves literally rule over certain aspects of our life and they get their meaning from their traditional rulers. Aquarius being an outcast ? That comes from saturn not uranus, pisces being spiritual gurus with lots of love to give, that's from jupiter not neptune, Scorpio being a sexual sign that confronts us with our trauma, weaknesses and mortality? That comes from mars 😫

• 90% of their posts begin with "astro observations." This one especially I think is gonna upset some people because it's all you'll run into across astrology Tik tok or like I said even on here and everyone eats it up because they get an ego boost off of these posts that don't offer anything real or helpful in your everyday life but I wanted to say that a lot of these posts are just so surface level from the observations down to the critiques especially since so many speak from a personal place and arent objective enough about it. You'll read things like "moon in the 2nd house can indicate you like savory food" which even if that were true there's so many other things to consider with that placement like what it's aspecting, what sign is it in, is it fallen etc, if they're not elaborating on why and where they read this, it's null and void and they're making up shit as they go like i'm actually ROTFL as I type this 🤣

• they associate the houses with certain signs. Among everything I listed before and after this, this is probably THE most misleading one because I've had so many people come to me thinking that they had an exalted venus because their venus was in the 12th house and I really don't mean to laugh when people tell me this but hearing this did give me one hell of a chuckle ☠️. This idea that the signs have some proximity to the houses (like i mentioned in a previous post) is what created the grounds for people to think pisces is this misguided damsel in distress junkie who has no sense of direction and is more likely to fall victim to a drug habit which is just not true. Having alot of planets In this house is an indicator of partial drug use or habitual however having planets in pisces in NOT, like it's not even similar a little bit 💀💀💀 people keep getting pisces meaning from neptune and the 12th house and it's a mistake westerner astrologers especially Americans continue to make and it plays a role in why astrology is so ridiculed. Just like having personal planets in the 1st house isn't like having planets in aries because the 1st house isn't even the joy of mars, its the joy of mercury which finds exaltation in Virgo. Sounds familiar to you guys?

• they give devised meanings to "empty houses." What I mean by this is when certain people teaching about astrology say things like "having an empty 2nd house means you will struggle with money" or "having an empty 3rd house means your academic performance will be poor." This is not something that they read up about, learned with a teacher or on their own, this is something they're making up as they go. I would never tell a client that "your empty 1st house means you don't exist and lack an identity" because that's just illogical. Empty houses do not mean anything at all lmao. When houses are empty you look at what planet is ruling that house and what house that planet is in to get an idea of how that empty house is being served in the horoscope. It is impossible to have planets in every house and there are going to be at least 2 empty houses in a horoscope

Ps: i'm not looking down on anyone for choosing to believe these things, I used to be like everyone else just learning everything about astrology online instead but if you're anything like me, at some point your curiosity is gonna get the best of you and make you ask these people where they are learning this stuff from, who is their teacher and where are THEY learning these things from, what books do they read, you know what I mean? I just want people to know the truth and who they're learning from. You can continue to believe the things that alot of self proclaimed astrologers teach their audience because i broke through a facade, that's fine but I'm not concerned with "letting people enjoy things" in order to maintain feeding their delusions, the truth is meant to hurt

Hope this helps xx

[agentrouka-blog]

I feel like this is kind of a dumb question, but what do you think about the term ‘Strong female character’?

Is it bad when female characters are presented (maybe not all the time but mostly) as ‘helpless’ or ‘weak’ or a ‘damsel in distress,’ and it takes a lot of time for them to develop and change and be more capable than they were before? Or just that they’re presented like that at all?

I don’t even know what I’m trying to ask here cause it’s really hard for me to word my thoughts but I’ve just been seeing a whole lot of videos where people are saying they’re tired of female characters that are weak and helpless and cry easily and can’t stand up for themselves, can’t save themselves, can’t do anything useful, etc.

It just makes me really emotional especially when it’s my favorite characters that are being criticized for this.

But, yeah, sorry for this nonsense 😭.

What Strong Female Character should mean: well written in a way that centers their own development instead of existing only to serve the story of male characters. Consistent within themselves. Equally complex to male characters, with equal standards applied to any shades of grey. A character who carries their own compelling story, whatever that may be. This can apply to female villains, female characters who are victimised and allowed to exist within and develop within their own victimization, female characters who are wrong and make mistakes, female characters who are active, female characters who are passive, characters who are doomed to tragedy, classic female heroeines, unconventional female heroines. It's about how the character exists within a story.

How it's often used instead: Girlboss who enables a power fantasy.

A character who is victimized and exists only to scream "Hero, help me!" to motivate another character and has no discernible personality or motivation or skills or development outside what is presented in the context of another character's interest, is not a strong female character and often justifiably frustrating to witness.

But so would be a quip-slinging, axe-wielding warrior woman who only exists so The Hero can look progressive because he Treats Her With Respect while we learn absolutely nothing about her inner life.

A character who is victimized and presents their own experience within the narrative, how it affects and perhaps changes them, can very much be a strong , i.e. a well written and complex character who is also a female character.

Say, if someone claims that Sansa is not a strong female character because she cries sometimes, they aren't looking for strong writing, they are just uncomfortable with writing that explores vulnerability.

If someone claims that, say, Val is a strong female character because Jon calls her strong that one time, they aren't looking for strong writing, they are projecting onto a blank surface the author has deliberately kept devoid of complexity to reveal the prejudices and desires of a male character.

But that's just my opinion.

[the-chemist-1138]

Disney's Frozen is a testament to how many ideas were wasted. And how little in common it has with the source material.

If you read it's inspiration, "The Snow Queen", by Hans Christian Anderson, you can see just how little in common Disney's Cash Cow has with that fairy tale. The fairy tale had so many elements that for some reason, Disney either removed, or changed so much, it might as well been removed...

A grand adventure, worthy of The Hero's journey, not just through the snow. We Start out with our two protagonists. Two youngsters named Kai and Gerda. A Boy and a Girl.

A grand scope of different visuals. A working class village, a vast and colorful flower garden, a grand castle with moving shadows of dreams, a golden carriage, a decayed Robber fortress, a reindeer ride under a sky lit up by northern lights. An Ice Palace.

You already have two characters of equal importance that Disney could have used to appeal to both girls and boys.

Plus, with Kai loving Roses and not being bothered with being best friends with a girl, something taboo in 1844 when the original fairy tale was written, Disney could have been bold and encouraged boys and girls to be platonically intimate, and they could have told boys that it's okay to have feminine interests, to be softies and that you don't have to see every girl as only a potential romantic partner.

For Gerda, you could show girls that you aren't forced to see boys as only romantic partners, and you could have made Gerda a Tomboyish Disney Princess, given her adventurous spirit, determination, and her willingness to get her hands dirty, while also contrasting previous princesses by having her be working class, and not being the damsel, but instead the rescuer, for someone she knows well and loves platonically already, instead of a prince.

Although if Disney decided to make them a couple in adulthood, you could at least make it a "Childhood Friend Romance", not unlike Simon and Nala.

If Disney wanted to poke fun at the "You can't marry a man you just met." You can counter it by having Gerda and Kai, as mentioned before, be adults that know each other well from being childhood friends, thus knowing each other and having a healthy relationship.

In the original fairy tale, Kai gets kidnapped by The Snow Queen. Gerda is the girl saving the boy in this case. You could show boys that it's okay to need saving, and it's not a weakness to need help. Plus Disney could have made jokes where they point out the gender reversed damsel in distress scenario.

For Gerda, you could also show her receiving help, to show a woman being helped out by OTHER WOMEN, and that it's okay to not be perfect and that you don't need to be a lone wolf.

Disney had a great roster of female characters from various walks of life, all of whom have their own goals and agency. More detail is made on another person's blog here. In short, Frozen ends up ber much LESS feminist friendly than the source material.

Plus, the fairy tale had a lesbian coded robber girl! Whom Disney could have made into their first openly gay female character.

The Snow Queen could have been a mysterious anti villain whose goals are intentionally made unclear. To contrast with previous Disney Villains.

Nobody dies in the original fairy tale, so you don't have to alter it much.

You could still emphasize the importance of platonic love. in this case, between a boy and girl, without them being related.

How did Disney reject all of those ideas? How did it take them since the 1930s to try and adapt this story? It was like they were presented with a bottle of high quality vodka... That they proceeded to water down, until the vodka gave up and turned itself into lukewarm water. Why Disney? Why didn't you use any of these ideas?

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

I wish if the ml writers really want the whole princess and knight thing they'd do it like Ariel from little mermaid especially since they both similar enough. 1) they're isolated 2) curious about the outside world 3) parents don't want them out. The whole meeting their love interest should just be a bonus, not become the whole personality like the writers did for Adrien in s4 and 5. :(

I have mixed feelings about the knight and princess thing. I'm big on messing with gender roles, so I like it in theory. I actually saw the art before I saw the episode that it's in and loved it because I thought that it was fan art. Then I realized that it was official art and I liked it a lot less because it didn't fit the story. Adrien wasn't a helpless princess. He was a knight, too.

Little did I know that the princess and knight art was apparently foreshadowing just how badly the writers were going to botch the ending.

Damsels in distress of any gender aren't a bad thing in and of themselves. It's perfectly normal to see a character get trapped and need outside help or to have a character start in a position where they have no power. The reason why Damsels in distress are so looked down on is a mix of the gender stereotyping involved and the way that they're traditionally written as having no agency. Adrien is, sadly, a perfect example of the second issue. He's the pretty arm candy who couldn't possibly help himself. He just needs to wait around and, one day, a big strong knight will save him!

This would make some sense if Adrien didn't have a miraculous, but he literally wields one of the two most powerful miraculous in existence. He has the ability to escape his prison when he's trapped in London. He just doesn't because he's a poor helpless maiden who needs someone else to save him, making us all wonder why the writers gave him a miraculous in the first place.

Let's compare Adrien to Disney's Cinderella (the 60's version, not the 2010's update which was somehow less progressive than the original). The original Cinderella does what she's told because she has no way out. She's a victim of prolonged child abuse with no wealth or personal belongings, very similar to Adrien at the start of Miraculous. But when Cinderella is given a way to magically get out? She immediately takes it, just like Adrien does. And when she's locked away with no way to escape? She still tries to get out! She bangs on the door! She calls for help! And when help comes? She grabs it, leading herself to freedom.

That's how you write a good Damsel in distress. You give them as little power as possible while also making them an active part of the story. They're someone who wants to change their reality, who might even try to change their reality, but who truly can't due to circumstances beyond their control. It's a very relatable situation for many people and why Cinderella is my favorite fairy tale.

For Adrien to fit this role, season five needed to take away his power and they honestly could have done that. When he learned that he was being shipped off to London, he could (and arguably should) have told Ladybug that he was being forced to leave Paris. This could have led to him giving up the ring for the safety of the city. A selfless, noble act that no one could fault him for. After all, it's not like Ladybug has other heroes that she could call on! If Chat Noir isn't around, then she could easily be screwed.

Then, when the final comes and Ladybug has to fight alone, it's not because Adrien is too weak and frail to fight off the nightmare dust that literally every other teenage character in the show manges to fight off. Instead, dust or no dust, he literally cannot escape his prison. He has to rely on Ladybug because he has no other choice. We could even see him trying to fight his way out, thinking of her all the while.

Instead, we get Adrien once again failing to use his love to win the day. Between Chat Blanc, Ephemeral, and this mess, I'm not sure what the show is trying to tell us, but it's nothing good. It amazes me that some people think things are going to get better for our poor kitty.

I mean, they might! This show has never been anything close to consistent about anything, so he could surprise us all next season. But it would still be a massive, unexpected shift and you're better off expecting more of the same.

[delta-pavonis]

July Kinkfest Day 6: Drummer/Dancer AU edition!

The Sandman || Dreamling (Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling) || Rated E || 1062 words

Prompts: Praise Kink | Bruises | “Anyone could walk by and see what a little slut you’re being right now.” 

Warnings (in addition to the prompts above): sexual harassment, possessive Hob, semi-public sex, marking/biting kink

Author's Notes: It was more difficult to get all three prompts in here than I thought it would be. And the last one is paraphrased (hence not bolded, but also not crossed out). And, yes I am over 1000 words, BUT it gets you sassy Desire+Hob banter at the end, so I had to do it.

"You needn’t have come to my defense." Morpheus sighs, gathering the components for the healing spell for Hob. Two stunning black eyes have already bloomed on his lover’s face as a result of his need to be Morpheus’ savior, he doesn’t need to suffer any longer than necessary. “It happens quite often.” He murmurs the incantation while holding the components, then presses his fingers to Hob’s face just as the other man is opening his mouth to reply. “And no, of course that doesn’t mean it should happen at all, but the fact of the matter is that it does and I no longer think much of it. And neither should you.”

They had met another caravan just at the edges of the Southern Wastes and so, as tradition dictated, they made camp and made for revelry. The other group had been primarily sellswords, with the temperament and manners to match every possible stereotype therein. So, well into their cups, a few of them had started making lewd comments, heckling Morpheus and the others as they danced. And Hob had held steady, continuing his drumming through it. But then one particularly brash idiot had smacked Morpheus' ass as he passed by and… well. Hob is apparently willing to use his hands to back up the possessive he uses when calling Morpheus his Dream.

Morpheus would never admit out loud that Hob's response thrills him, makes him feel justified in his disgust at the sellswords' behaviors and makes him feel like he is something worth defending. 

“I refuse to let people think that they can get away with treating others like that, whether it is you or not.” Hob’s voice is becoming less nasal by the second as the broken bones and cartilage reset themselves. “It was just worse that it was you.”

Hob is giving Morpheus a look that he can't interpret. "What?" He finishes putting away the odds and ends of the spell and turns to his lover. "You want congratulations?" Morpheus pitches his voice up a register. "Oh, thank you, Robert Gadling, my hero." He puts the back of his hand to his forehead and swoons into Hob's lap, which gets the slightest hint of a smile, the crows' feet at the corners of Hob's eyes just beginning to appear. This only encourages the bard. "Thank the Nine you were here or whatever would I have done? I am so helpless and vulnerable!" He bats his eyelashes at Hob and that does it, the drummer cracks, a rolling laugh bubbling up.

Hob's arms wrap around his Dream's waist and he pulls him into a kiss. "Alright, alright. I get it. Point made. You aren't some pampered damsel." He tugs on Morpheus' hips until he is straddling Hob's lap on the medic’s exam table. 

"Hob. We are in a public space." Morpheus knows that his words contrast strongly with how he arches into Hob's mouth on his collarbones. "Hob!"

"You taste so good. All for me." Hob murmurs into his skin, seemingly ignoring Morpheus' protest. The bard's hands are in Hob's braided hair and he is rolling their hips together. "So good for me, my Dream." The breathy words curl around Morpheus' neck and he can't stop the whine that slides out through his clenched teeth. He desperately wants to be good for Hob. "Yeah, I know you like that. Just a few words and the right touches and you go all perfectly pliant in my hands. Yeah, that's my good, sweet Dream."

Oh. Oh fuck. Hob has found these weak points in Morpheus’ armor and has zero compunction about using them to his advantage. His hips, his whole body really, rocks into Hob, who grabs his ass in both hands, digs his fingers in, and pulls Morpheus’ cheeks apart through his clothing. Morpheus arches, holding on to Hob’s head, pressing his nose into his sternum, as he ruts against Hob’s chest and lets out a little choked off cry. 

“By the gods, listen to you sing. Choirs of astrals don’t sound so sweet.” Morpheus gasps as Hob just continues, sucking and biting marks into his neck in between sentences. “Nor do they sound so wanton. But you cannot resist, can you?” Morpheus trembles as he shakes his head. No, he has found he cannot resist Hob, cannot stop his body and mind from swaying towards him like a flower to the sun, from listing into each touch like he is starved for it. “Anyone could walk into this tent at any moment and you just want to bounce on my cock like the pretty little whore that you are…”

“Yes!” Morpheus moans and then Hob is lifting him, flipping him, pressing his face down into the table and tugging his pants down his thighs. 

He hears the soft pop of a cork and then slick sounds – Hob’s hand on his own dick, and then ohfuckyes Hob’s oiled hand is on Morpheus’ prick and he muffles his groan by biting his fist. “I keep oil in my pocket now, because of you, my sweet slut, my Dream. Never know when I am going to have to-” Hob thrusts into Morpheus with a grunt “-fill your needy hole.”

This must be what going insane feels like, Morpheus is sure. They fuck fierce and fast and he knows nothing but pleasure and the sound of Hob’s voice behind his ear, whispering filth the entire time. 

When Hob comes he buries himself so deep Morpheus swears he feels it punching a hole in his lungs, rearranging things in the back of his throat. 

"Mark me. Please." He hears himself beg, voice reedy and he is so so close. So close that as soon as Hob's teeth find the meat of his shoulder Morpheus climaxes, head snapping back in a silent scream, body tightening so violently that Hob's seed gushes down his thighs. 

They collapse, panting.

The quiet lasts only a moment and then Epithumia's voice rings from outside the tent. "While we all appreciate Hob's prowess in dicking down our eldest brother, my siblings and I would like to request you restrict your satyric ferret escapades to inside structures with walls made of materials more substantial than canvas."

Hob chuckles, still a little breathless. "Way to be a wet blanket, Epi."

"You've done enough blanket wetting for the both of us, drummer boy..." is the last thing they hear before footsteps fading away.

[december-earlyjanuary]

Put a show on for us when your time comes to die, won't you, Damsel? -🫀

You aren't the star you think you are, do you realize that? I've been watching you all the same, seeing you harass the others. It's pathetic. You're weak; you lack the drive to conjure up anything more insulting than continuous reminders of our mortality, of which we are already plainly aware. We all die, anon. No matter how much edge you display, how much venom you put into your words, you will never have as strong an impact as you wish you did. You are not Him, anon. Get over yourself.