#frankly i think the original is beautiful as is | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

boxingcleverrr · 11 months ago

Text

Popular Hades & Persephone "retellings" are, rightly, getting dunked on all over the socials right now and, as a Pagan who has an altar to the Queen, I could not be happier. But also, I feel like a lot of people miss WHY they're bad - aside from just plain bad writing and lazy tropes. Which are, yeah, also REALLY bad.

Pretty much all retellings try to wave away, or excuse, or twist the whole kidnapping bit. And I actually do have sympathy and understanding for why, when speaking from a modern perspective.

But honestly...you gotta get over it. There are other stories to play fix-it with, not this one.

The Abduction is The Thing.

Were I a little more sober I could bring up chapter and verse of the Hymn to Demeter but frankly, if you know even the middle school mythology curriculum version of the story, you SHOULD know the themes. The story of Persephone was one mothers and daughters in the ancient world held dear, because it was a reality: you will, one day, be swept away from your home to go cleave to a man you most likely know nothing about. You will miss your mother, but chances are very good that he will be a good husband, once you get to know him, certainly better than Zeus or Ares, and he will make you a queen of his home.

Leaving home to marry was often scary, and violent (look up the history of the tradition of Bridesmaids, if you don't already know it - they were originally decoys on the marriage road). Centuries later we'd have tales like Beauty & The Beast serving the same function: comfort, hope, you are leaving your safe loving home to figure life out with a (often older, powerful) stranger. Your trauma over this sudden ending of your childhood made manifest in a Beast, or a God of The Underworld.

It's wonderful that we don't NEED stories like this anymore to comfort us (here, at least, in this culture). But if you try to force them into modern vernacular it just will not work, not really, because you're gutting out the whole point just to have a more tidy romantic male hero.

I have read MANY very good ...novelizations? fanfic(? however you would frame them, but they're certainly not "retellings"), etc. that simply take advantage of the blank spaces in the myth, and there are many!

It's not explicit that sexual assault happens - "The Rape of Persephone" as a title was coined in much earlier eras, when the word was just as often used to simply refer to abduction.

"She was starving!" the gods didn't need to eat. So it's easy to read her eating the Pom seeds as a deliberate choice on her part. Like, shit, people, scholars have written whole papers on the symbolism of this moment, between marriage rites and even yeah, Seph choosing both worlds with her husband's knowing consent.

And that, I think, is the real heart of the thing. People want an utterly mundane, spelled-out story here, as opposed to what it really is, has always been, just like any other myth or religious parable: IT'S A METAPHOOOOOOR.

They don't need to be destined, or meet at a goddamned BALL and then CONSPIRE to fake her kidnapping, or shit, I once saw one where Hades got MIND CONTROLLED by Zeus?! Jesus.

Persephone was yoinked into the Underworld against her will.

That's how it went.

I don't mean this in a "stay out of my belief system!" way, shit I'm a white American chick with delusions of witchery. I mean this in a "stop stressing yourself out trying to make things palatable" way:

This is a very real, very precious myth to many people, BECAUSE for at least that one event, Persephone had no autonomy, BECAUSE for thousands of years most women had no autonomy. Erasing that, sanitizing the fact that a girl is ripped out of the spring, from her mother's arms, is erasing the thing that gave comfort to women for centuries. And people can and should still find power and healing in it now!

Fill in the blanks the story leaves in whatever manner seems fit to you, there's plenty of room, but. Come the fuck on.

#blathering #truly had a ramble bubbling for weeks #just pagan things

3K notes · View notes

mirx-xko-offical · 12 days ago

Note

giggling and kicking my feet about this Scenario!!

Yuu /reader say "You have beautiful eyes" and the character say "your kid may have the same"

Then a silent quiet....

Frankly, I find Leona/twin /Malleus and Lilia suitable for this scenario.

I’m going to cry- I had all of these already written down but then it never saved 😭 Anyways uhm, this is why you make sure that you save everything and don’t rely on autosave 🫶

as per usual, not proofread and probably won’t be for a while! This contains LEONA and MALLEUS! LILIA and maybe someone else will be in part 2 (open to ideas!) mainly because I can not think of any scenario for him right now!

prompt: ‘Your eyes are beautiful.’ ‘Well, your children could always have them.’ (I love this sm 💕)

The autumn breeze came across the both of you, yet not being bothersome but rather comforting. LEONA couldn’t deny that times like these, when the air was cooler compared to the autumn nights where he had lived, was rather a nice change. He had dragged asked you to join him out here on one of these colder evenings mainly because he knew that you’d both enjoy it. Your back pressed up against the rather uncomfortable tree as he laid his head on your lap, humming almost like a low purr as your hand played with his hair (although my mind imagines it to be really greasy, even if it’s probably not😭✋). Looking upwards at the sky as it faded to a blank and purple. You had expected him to already be sleeping since he had stopped making a sound. Looking down you find him to just be admiring you, your cheeks reddening slightly at the fondness in his usual piercing gaze that always seems to calm when they laid upon you. LEONA’s eyes had never looked as mesmerizing as before, the moonlight almost hitting them perfectly. ‘You know, your eyes are beautiful.’ You said softly, hand still running through his hair. LEONA lets out a low chuckle before giving you a teasing glare. ‘Careful herbivore, your children might just end up having them one day.’ He said that to get a reaction out of you originally but now that he thinks about it, LEONA wouldn’t mind sharing his eye color with your kids.

As you walked out into the cool evening breeze, grabbing your coat from the stands before closing the dormitory’s door behind you. You turn around to see someone you’ve grown ever so close with, MALLEUS. You smiled as you walked down the long and, rather ruff, walkways to the gate which was always left open since people would find ways to enter anyhow. Your eyes landed on him as she stood there patiently for you. Once you made it down to him and greeted him with a soft ‘Hello.’ you started your way around the campus, something you and MALLEUS loved doing. During the walk you decided to intertwine your hands with his, causing him to look down at you with surprise. ‘Your eyes are beautiful.’ you hummed without little shame, looking up at him. ‘Well, Child of man, perhaps our children could have them one day.’ You knew MALLEUS meant it which didn’t help the fact that your face was growing a red hue. ‘I definitely wouldn’t mind it if they did.’ You said softly as you both continued your walk.

481 notes · View notes

woso-dreamzzz · 6 months ago

Text

Injured (Jenni's Version): Future

Grace Clinton x Reader

Summary: You need to leave

"Mami! Mami! Mami!"

You smile slightly, continuing to pack your suitcase as your son lays back on your bed.

"Yes, my James?"

He grins at you. "Can I come?"

You shake your head. "You know you can't."

"But why?"

"Because Paris is a long way away from Lyon." You add another set of pointe shoes to your bag. "And I need you to do a very special job for me."

You sit down on the bed, patting the spot next to you.

James is more than happy to crawl towards you, leaning close to hear his special job.

"You're a very responsible boy, aren't you?"

He nods. "I helped Mummy pick up Ollie's poo yesterday on our walk!"

Ollie's your family dog. Grace had gotten him for you when the first two rounds of ivf didn't take and you'd been so down about it. You were right in the middle of your third round and losing hope when Grace had come home with a German Shepherd puppy.

You called Ollie your good luck charm because two weeks after you'd successfully potty trained him, you fell pregnant with your other golden boy, James.

"That's very responsible!" You tell him," Because I need a very responsible boy to help me out."

"I'm responsible! I'm responsible! What is it?"

"I need you to be in charge of the house while I'm gone," You tell him," That's why you can't come with. You've got to make sure Mummy doesn't order takeout every day and cleans up Olivia's toys when she's done playing."

Olivia's the other light of your life, your nearly one year old daughter.

You didn't particularly want to leave either of them but you'd been called up by the Paris Opera Ballet to be their guest Principal for one of the shows they were putting on and you loved dancing in their venue.

Originally, you were going to say no but Grace pushed you to accept. She was more than capable of looking after both of the kids at once.

"I'll make sure Mummy eats healthy and cleans up!" James tells you," Can I go tell her I'm in charge while you're gone?"

"I'm sure she would love that."

James goes bursting out of the room and you take the time to finish packing.

Ollie whines a little as you zip up the bag.

"I'm sorry, Ollie," You say, gently stroking his head," You know I'll back soon."

Ollie's the family dog, technically, but, secretly, you know he's yours. He had been incredibly protective over you when you were pregnant with Livy and he had been super excitable as a puppy when you were pregnant with James.

Fully grown now, he loved being in the same room as you. He adored the kids and Grace, of course, but you had always been his person.

Frankly, you were getting a little worried he was lonely in the house alone all day so you and Grace had been in talks about getting Ollie his own puppy.

It was only fair to Olivia as well.

Ollie grew up with James. It's only right to have a puppy for Olivia to grow up with too.

But, that was a conversation for when you got back and after your planned trip to Spain in the summer.

It would be nice, you think, to have a puppy for Ollie to be the best big brother too just like how James is the best big brother to Livy.

Ollie follows you down the stairs, his favourite tennis ball in his mouth as you start pulling your suitcase down.

Grace appears at the bottom, hurrying up to swap the bag with Livy and carry it the down for you.

"Careful, beautiful," She says as you swap," You don't want to strain anything before you go on stage." She winks at you and you roll your eyes.

"Did James tell you I've left him in charge?"

"He did," Grace replies with a grin," I think he's already planning on demanding Big Bed access."

"Don't let him," You remind her but your wife just shrugs.

"I don't know. He's making a convincing case. Says that it would be cold without you and he should be there to warm it up."

"If you get him in the habit of sleeping in our bed while I'm away, Grace Clinton, then you're in trouble and I'm choosing what breed the next puppy is."

"Oh, come on!" Grace is laughing though so you know she isn't taking your empty threats too seriously. "Cab's here though. You finished up just in time."

"Okay." You pull on your coat surprisingly well for someone balancing a baby in the other arm.

You litter kisses all over Livy's face as Grace calls James to the door.

"I'll miss you, Mami," He tells you and you crouch down to give him kisses too.

"I'll miss you too, James," You say," I love you, baby."

"Love you too."

He curls into your arms and your rock him side to side softly before pulling away.

"Remember, you're in charge, okay? So I want you to boss around Mummy and make her eat healthy, deal?"

He nods. "Deal."

"I'll see you in a week, amor," You tell Grace, pecking her lips a few times and laughing when she tries to chase your kiss each time.

"Love you, beautiful."

"Love you too."

#woso x reader #grace clinton x reader #grace clinton #woso community #woso imagine #woso fanfics #woso

587 notes · View notes

w2sology · 1 year ago

Text

in your skin, harry lewis.

summary: harry feels like you two haven't been spending enough time together, only he doesn't want to come off as clingy.

warnings: language, reader has an occupation in fashion.

harry felt like he couldn't breathe or function properly. for the past week, he'd been doing nothing except attend video shoots and moor around the house until you got back from work, and even then you'd still be doing work.

he felt like you two were drifting apart a little, and after the years that you two had been together, that had become one of his worst fears.

today was no different, except you were working from home instead of at your office desk. a phone in one hand and a pen in the other, you jotted down important notes from your call as your eyes occasionally skimmed through your laptop, looking for any changes in this week's runway.

harry walked past, originally planning to go straight to the kitchen to get a snack, but his mind got the better of him and he found himself standing right at your feet in the living room.

looking up at him, you flashed a smile as you hummed in response to your colleague on the other end of the phone.

not satisfied enough with your answer, harry huffed to himself, throwing his arms up in defeat as he walked towards the kitchen.

"she won't even look at me for more than a second, what am i, chopped liver?" he muttered under his breath.

you heard him mumble, but didn't hear exactly what he said, choosing to brush it away.

"okay, so what do you think about adding a few more models to the shoot before the show?" you suggested to your colleague.

"hm, that's doable."

harry rummaged through the cupboards, settling on some winders to eat before making his way out of the kitchen, only to see you still on the phone.

you looked up to meet his gaze, raising your brows as if to ask him what was wrong.

"you're still busy?" he whispered.

placing the phone on mute so your conversation wouldn't be heard, you sent an apologetic smile towards your boyfriend. "i'll only be about fifteen more minutes, babe."

that was a good enough answer for harry, so he stuck by your words and sat on the couch opposite you, deciding to use his phone to pass time.

this wasn't a new feeling to harry, he always felt this way when he had been away from you for too long or when he felt like he hasn't been with you for long enough. to others, it was just the effect of being with your partner for so long. but to harry, it was like if he didn't have you, his whole world would come crashing down.

fifteen minutes turned into twenty, which turned into thirty, and before harry new it, you had began discussing a whole other plan to the one you were originally discussing.

frankly, harry was getting a bit fed up. his attention span was bad enough as it was but with you denying him any sort of attention, he felt like he was going to die.

tossing his phone next to him, harry got up and walked where you were, flopping in the spot that wasn't covered in notebooks, fineliners, unfinished designs, and gel pens.

you rolled your head to the side to once again greet him with a smile, and only then did you see the frown on his beautiful face.

mouthing a quick 'what's wrong?' to him, you brought your hand to gently caress his cheek, touching his forehead as well to make sure he wasn't feeling ill, which he wasn't.

at the feeling of your touch, harry swore he could've melted right there and then — his eyes began to flutter as you cradled his face, but his from was still visible.

"hang up on her," he mumbled, still clear enough for you to hear.

"i'm almost done, harry."

"you've said that four times in the past two and a half hours, y/n."

"someone's needy today," you giggled, seeing absolutely nothing wrong with your boyfriend's clingyness.

in fact, you found it wholesome how harry always wanted to spend time with you — some boyfriends would get sick of seeing their girls every single day.

"i'm not needy... am i?" he doubted himself.

"right, carly, is that everything then?" you began to wrap up your phone call, saying goodbye to your co-worker and packing up your notes and stuff.

"fucking finally, i was beginning to run out of air!" harry groaned, sinking down in the couch.

laughing at his dramatics, you put your things on the coffee table for now, before turning to harry.

his arms wrapped around your — his — t shirt, pulling you onto his stomach so you could be properly embraced by him. however, harry was never fully content until you had skin to skin contact, so his hands snuck under your shirt snd rested on your hips.

as you straddled him, your hands once again cradled his face, basking in the intimacy of the position you were currently in.

leaning forward, harry's eyes naturally closed as he met your lips with his, sighing into the kiss.

kissing harry would never get old, you still felt those jitters that you had the very first time that he kissed you.

placing small kisses on your lips before totally pulling away, harry looked up at you through hooded, love drunk eyes. "i miss you."

"i'm right here?" you raised an eyebrow.

"no, i know that," harry sighed, running a hand through his hair. "i just feel like we haven't been that close lately."

pouting at his confession, you pushed your body closer to harry's, wrapping your arms around his neck so that you could hug him as closely as possible.

he returned your hug, letting a smile drift onto his face at the form of contact.

"i'm sorry we haven't spent much time together lately," you whispered. "but i promise, i'm all yours now, and whenever you want me to be."

"do you pinky promise?" he asked, holding up his pinky finger.

with a laugh, you took his pinky and linked it with yours, both of you sealing the promise with a kiss. "i do."

"good." harry was about to kiss you again, before he was interrupted by your phone ringing besides you both.

turning your head to look at the id, you saw it was talia calling you. your mind was split between answering the call or tending to your boyfriend, who held the biggest mug on his face.

"don't answer it."

"but harry..."

"y/n..." he groaned, throwing his arms about. "you're my girlfriend, not hers!"

that line had you laughing, as you forgot about your phone, making a mental note to ring talia back before the end of the day.

"right. now i'm all yours." you mumbled against his lips.

#wroetoshaw #wroetoshaw x reader #sidemen #sidemen x reader #wroetoshaw imagine #wroetoshaw imagines #w2s x reader #w2s #harry lewis #harry lewis x reader

1K notes · View notes

exhaslo · 1 year ago

Note

Hi love! How are you? I’m so in love with your writing and I wanted to see if you could write something for me? 🥺 (only if your requests are open.)

I was wondering if you could write a Sugar daddy!Miguel? The reader is working at little club and notices her one night working, running all over the place serving drinks to other drunk people. Miguel calls her over for a drink and talks to her for a bit. He tells her “someone as beautiful as you shouldn’t be working in a place like this?” And offers her to be his sugar baby, she’s surprised at his request but takes it. After he spoils her she realizes she starts to have feelings for him and he does too. 🫶🏻💗

Sure thing! This might be late from when you originally requested, but I finally got it done! Haha. I won't do too much of a age difference, since I'm not too comfortable with large age gaps, but hell, sugar daddies can be the same age too!

Right??

Warning: Fluff, language, teasing, fluff fluff and fluff

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another day, another dollar. That's how you tried to keep motivated. Did it work? No, but your bills sure did play a part in getting your ass off the bed. Being an adult sucked. Where you worked, also sucked; but were you going to quit...Not yet.

Although, you were desperate for something new.

You hated your job. Working at a stripe club, serving drinks to drunk and perverts. It wasn't your ideal choice, but it was the only place that was willing to give you a chance. You couldn't afford to go to college and your bills were too high to wait for anything else.

You had been told by your boss that you'd make more money as a stripper, but to hell with that. You knew the risks and quite frankly, you were afraid to dance half naked in front of so many men. Though, it didn't stop you from getting some tips here and there.

"Another round over here, sweet cheeks!" One of your regulars called out.

You let out a huff, pouring more beers into glasses. Before hitting the floor, you fixed your booty shorts once more and hurried to him. The drinks hit their mouths before you even put them on the table.

"Geez, trying to hit a record? At least let me get them on the table before inhaling them," You teased.

"Drinks from you are too good to not have, baby. I'll take it nice and slow next round if you get on that stage."

"Not even in your dreams, pal." You huffed, walking to the next table.

You hated this place. You hated the customers. Hell, sometimes you hated the pay. It was not enough for the shit you had to deal with on a daily bases.

"(Y/N), VIP guest is requesting you from bring them a popular drink. Doesn't care which one, he just wants you to deliver it. Don't fuck this up." Your shitty manager said over the radio.

"Great."

------------

Miguel let out an obvious sigh, signaling to his brother that he was not happy to be there. He would groan and grunt, but unfortunally Gabriel had gotten used to those noises and somehow tuned Miguel off. Honestly, it was a talent.

Since Miguel was forced to come to the club, he might as well have made the best of it. Miguel grabbed the VIP room and made himself comfortable. His sunglasses making him the center of attention sure did help with keeping Miguel seated in his seat.

He watched the crowds of men cheer towards the strippers, begging for more and throwing their money. Miguel exhaled softly, looking at his private stage. There was no need for him to be here. He should be outside, stopping crime.

"Miggy! Stop being such a brood and have fun!" Gabriel huffed, poking his head into the room. Miguel shrugged,

"I am having fun. See? I'm here."

"Such a bore."

Miguel rolled his eyes towards his brother. He hummed lowly, watching the people in the club. He furrowed his brows, spotting you run around with a scowl on your face. He couldn't help but smile. To think there was someone else in here who was just as unhappy as him.

Miguel pondered to himself. He had been wanting to do something risky lately. That and he was touch starved. Perhaps he could save someone tonight, but in a different matter. Hell, it could be fun too.

Requesting for you, Miguel leaned back in his seat and waited. With his heighten senses, Miguel resisted a chuckle as he heard you cuss under your breathe. By the time you arrived, you had a obvious fake smile against your lips and a tall, colorful drink in your hand,

"Hello! You requested me?" You asked sweetly. Miguel raised a brow as he took a sip of his drink,

"Couldn't help but noticed you working too hard out there," He said smoothly and motioned to the seat across from here, "Your boss can't see us from here. Take a break."

"Ha, you trying to get me fired?"

"Perhaps, if you're willing to listen and take my offer," Miguel said, continuing to force the sweet drink down his throat.

Miguel watched you hesitate before taking a seat. Your clothes were obviously too tight for you.

"So, what's your offer?"

"It's obvious that you're too good and beautiful for this job. So, hear this bored man out," Miguel tried to get you to smile, "I have too much money and not enough to spend it on. Would you allow me to waste it on you?"

"Huh? Like...Have you as my sugar daddy?" You questioned, observing him, "You only look a few years older than me. How can you be that rich?"

"Plenty of ways. I won't have you do anything you don't want. Just a date here or there, and in return you can spend as much money as possible on whatever you want."

"So....just a date in return?" You hesitated and glanced at the club, "I am being punked right?"

"Why would I lie?"

You glanced at the club once more, honestly considering the man's offer. You were desperate and what was the harm in just playing along for a date or two? If you can pay off your bills and get enough money, you could run away if things got too scary.

"Deal, I'm (Y/N)"

"Miguel."

--------------

Part of you still doubted Miguel and his offer. Even as you quit on the spot and held his card in your hand, you still doubted it. It was only until you officially paid off a bill and was asked on a date that it hit you. This was real. You nabbed yourself a Sugar Daddy.

And a hot one at that.

Honestly, you weren't too disappointed with your situation. Miguel was really kind to you and didn't ask for much. Your first few dates were honestly some of the best you've ever had. The most you did was hold hands and a small peck on the cheek here and there. It was sweet and simple.

You really only used his money to pay off your bills and do some small groceries here and there. Honestly, you were more into having another date with Miguel. He actually listened to you and took care of you. Something that made your heart flutter.

"Hey, Miguel, want to come over to my place tonight? I'll make dinner." You asked him over the phone.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. I want you to come over," You said with a smile as you cleaned your apartment, "I want you to try my cooking for once."

"Then I'll be there."

---------

Miguel was honestly surprised by your request. He was new to this whole Sugar Daddy business and was enjoying it for what it was. Your little dates gave him energy after a long day of Alchemax and the Spider Society.

Your little touches made him want more. Honestly, Miguel was having a hard time holding back. He was enjoying this too much and wanted more from you, but that was not part of the deal. Miguel didn't want to push you away.

Swinging around the city, Miguel tried to think of ways to approach you in the matter. He wanted to kiss you. He wanted to tell you that he liked you, but what if you didn't? Miguel only approached you because of how beautiful you were and how much you looked like you needed a break.

This wasn't part of the deal.

"But please say yes."

----------

You could feel the sweat on your palms as you finished prepping dinner. You even wore a sexy dress to get Miguel's attention. Hearing your door bell, you hurried over and let Miguel inside. You greeted Miguel and pecked his cheek, hiding your blush.

"Um, don't mind the mess." You motioned him inside. Miguel tried his best to keep his hands to himself,

"It looks fine. You on the other hand, beautiful." He hummed. You hurried to the table, placing the plate before him, "Smells amazing. You truly didn't have too."

"Like I said...I wanted too." You sat beside Miguel, watching his reaction, "I can only thank you for much. I want to show more of my appreciation."

"You don't have too, baby," Miguel rubbed your head, "I chose to take care of you."

"And if...I want more?"

"Money?"

"No!" You nearly yelled and inhaled deeply, "Sorry, I didn't mean to raise my voice, but I'm not that greedy. I was wondering if maybe, I can give you more....affection."

"I don't want to force you to-"

"I want too!" You told Miguel, grabbing his hand, "Miguel, we've been in this relationship for about two months now. You've done so much for me and honestly...I really, really like you. I want to be with you and kiss you and-"

Miguel was the one to interrupted you this time as he pulled you into a kiss. Both of his hands cupped your cheeks, holding you in place. He could feel shivers run down his spine as you wrapped your arms around his neck.

This was what he needed. What he wanted. Thank whatever God listened, but Miguel was grateful that you shared his feelings in return. Breaking the kiss, Miguel stroked your lips and hummed in response,

"You are such a good girl for me," He whispered. You rested your forehead against his,

"You know, I never mentioned how much of a turn on that is whenever you say it."

You couldn't help but laugh as Miguel immediately grew flustered. He nudged his side and signaled towards his plate. Miguel cleared his throat and finished his meal alongside you. Once the two of you were done, you both decided to watch a movie.

More like make out on the couch.

Your Sugar Daddy soon turned into your 'Daddy' really quick. You now had new bills to worry about, aka pain killers and muscle relaxers because Miguel was a beast in bed.

But hell, it was worth quitting your job for him.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Waaaaaah, I hope you liked it!!!!

@tojishugetiddies

#miguel o'hara #miguel o'hara x reader #miguel spiderverse #spiderman 2099 #miguel o’hara x reader #miguel spiderman #atsv miguel #across the spiderverse #miguel x you #miguel x y/n

666 notes · View notes

majimasleftasscheek · 4 months ago

Note

I've been thinking, about how you would make sea creature kazumaji... do you already have headcannons for that or is it something more new?

a lil mix of both 🤔 I originally drew eeljima for MerMay and was gonna leave it at that but I got really attached to the idea of kiryu and his dumb fish boyfriend so I rolled with it kdlsjfddsf. I got a few ideas tho 👀

majima's an eel - nothing specific but I leaned to electric since the rpg games give him electricity as an element. also, knifefish (what a coincidentally convenient name 👀) have spots that remind me of his snake's spots so that fit well with his overall theme plus they're related to eels so even better >:D saejima's also a fishdude, a grouper specifically because they're huge and chonky but also gentle uwu

kiryu's a silly lil fisherman guy, one of them commercial types that goes out on a boat to get big hauls. nishiki's there too being the saddest wettest little beast. other characters make up part of the crew in similar ways the canon families are set up. so like kazama and kashiwagi for example are captains of the crew

I have thought about if they were fish too if I wanted to do a branching AU of this and kiryu could maybe be a thresher shark - because they got that big slappy tail but also their huge beautiful eyes™. OR a betta fish because I think the colors would really compliment his heat colors. nishiki can be a koi because of course

kiryu and nishiki live in a lil shack on the shore. nishiki hates it but kiryu likes the simplicity and being close to work. nishiki would move closer to the city but frankly all the haircare product he buys is so obscene that he can't afford a place on his own ✌

majima and saejima (+ yasuko) live in some nearby kelp forests/coral reefs. merfolk tend to stay away from humans and live further out in the ocean, deeper underwater but these three take advantage of all commercial fishing going on to get some easy food. but being so close to fishing trawlers, this leads to majima getting caught in a discarded net, being trapped and beached where kiryu finds him 👀

merfolk can breath air and go on land but it is as awkward as you can imagine. when majima hangs out with kiryu, kiryu drags him up the beach to enough dry land where the tide isn't a problem. merfolk do have to be moisturized often so majima's either doused with a bucket of water or gets a big ass lathering of lotion. whether or not that'd actually be realistic doesn't matter to me I just think it'd be funny for nishiki to be very suspect of the comical amount of lotion kiryu suddenly starts buying

majima's fav thing to do with kiryu is have him fry up some fish since he's never had cooked food before and thinks it's the bee's knees. kiryu will often go into town to buy all sorts of things for majima to try or majima will catch some wack fish from who knows where for kiryu to fry up. they pick secluded beaches as not to be disturbed but kiryu is ready to fling majima into the ocean at a moment's notice just in case

majima has a second set of jaws normally not visible unless he's snacking on a fish. sometimes he pops em out for a smooch and kiryu is wary but willing to try anything 😤 nishiki is often very worried about the numerous weird bite marks kiryu comes home with but kiryu chalks it up to clumsily falling face first into some coral. you can tell by now I'm very into the trope of person dating a cretur is very bad at keeping it a secret dsklgjk

majima tends to have electrical flare ups when he's feeling emotional so kiryu ends up getting zapped a lot. it's not enough to be dangerous but kiryu has since avoided touching light switches and makes nishiki use them first

rarely kiryu will take majima out on the town in a wheelbarrow covered in a blanket and everyone's like *squint* but eventually gets used to his funny lil friend who seems fascinated by literally everything

there's defo some tigerfish action at a later point once nishiki eventually decides to follow kiryu to one of his little secret beachside escapades to not only find out kiryu's being a weirdo as usual but now with a weirdo fishguy. on the other side, saejima is eventually convinced that there is not a bunch of people on the shore waiting with harpoons and nets and joins majima for one of kiryu's fish fries and finds out hey maybe humans ain't so bad if they can put up with majima for more than five minutes

#I had this side idea that there's also a boat that daigo's on and Mine is constantly trying to get transferred over there #but there is a comical number of obstacles in his way and he's bout ready to swim over there himself in the middle of a hurricane #everyday their boats part you just see Mine gripping the side of his ship with big melty eyes and daigo on the other ship doesn't notice #just random drama happening over there while kiryu and majima frolic in the background #merfolk!au #yakuza #ryu ga gotoku #kiryu kazuma #majima goro #saejima taiga #nishikiyama akira #kazumaji #my art

237 notes · View notes

bobbiedebruyn · 5 months ago

Text

I've seen a lot of absolutely wild takes in the past few days regarding the change from Michael to Michaela, and I have some thoughts about it. One of the main complaints I've been seeing is about the infertility storyline. But who said it wouldn't be adapted? It's clear that Francesca's season is not next, but we will see her, and she'll still have some kind of storyline/side plot. They can easily make the subplot about her struggling to have a child with John.

We can follow this storyline throughout Season 4. Then she finally gets pregnant, and both she and John are happy. But in the last episode of the season, John suddenly dies. When we move to Francesca's season, unlike in the book, she won't lose the child and will give birth to a son (so now there's an heir to the Kilmartin estate and the earl title). Her storyline could mirror Violet's, showing her struggles as a single parent, dealing with the devastation of losing John, and grappling with the reality that their son will never meet his father or know his love.

Michaela, however, will still struggle with the fact that she's in love with her late cousin's wife. Maybe they can add a bit where Michaela has to run the Kilmartin estate and look after Francesca while she's grieving John. Therefore, Michaela would still feel like an imposter when this responsibility falls on her, because she'd think that she's taking John's place. Maybe Michaela won't go to India out of guilt/no purpose, and we'll see her struggling to cope with everything while being at Francesca's side.

Michael is the perfect candidate for a genderbending storyline. Since Francesca is a widow, she won't have to answer to society anymore, she doesn't have to get remarried. She and Michaela can just live together in Scotland and avoid all the gossip and pressure of the ton.

There are numerous possibilities for them to adapt this book. Honestly, it was clear from the beginning of this TV show adaptation that they would make crucial changes. The books are 20 years old, catered to a predominantly straight audience, and include some pretty outdated tropes and stereotypical writing choices. A lot has changed in the past 20 years in terms of representation, and I think it's beautiful that people now have a chance to see themselves represented on screen and relate to Bridgerton.

And frankly, Julia Quinn thinks the same. She gave her blessing for this storyline and this change. For example, when talking about autistic!Francesca, she said it brings her tremendous joy that with every season, more and more people are able to see themselves in Bridgerton. So even if the creator of the original material understands her books were catered to only one group of readers and is open to changes so that more people feel seen, why can't you?

#bridgerton #bridgerton spoilers #michaela stirling #francesca bridgerton #just some thoughts #just a little rant

220 notes · View notes

sadclowncentral · 4 months ago

Note

hi I like your post about your beautiful dog and the bone but I wanted to tell you that the phrase is cut of his _jib_, not job. it evolved to mean nose, but originally it was referring to the shape of a boat - sailors could recognise the nationality of a ship from its silhouetted cut (its jib) on the horizon before seeing the flag. if you like the cut of his jib, that makes him friendly shaped!! I realise that it may also have been a typo (my phone keeps trying to change jib to job) but I wanted to say because I think it is a fun phrase and it warrants preservation/understanding. sorry for correcting you I'm not trying to be a know-it-all or anything I just really like linguistics. you have a lovely dog I hope he enjoyed his bone.

never ever apologize for teaching me new information this is so fucking cool i didn't know it was a sailing term!! didn't even know jib was a word frankly what a world...

i do fucking judge ships by their jib so this is more than delightful to know. next time i'm looking at a bavaria* i will make sure to announce that i do not like the cut of her damn jib that's for sure

*the boat type. not the people to be very clear i do not have beef with the shape of the bavarian people. this is about unshapely sailing yachts. ugly ass boat.

#i only knew the german word. klüver!!!

118 notes · View notes

crooked-wasteland · 1 year ago

Text

An SA Survivor's Reading of Stolitz

I don't believe that creators should be confined to telling one type of story. The beauty of fiction is to explore worlds, emotions and scenarios that are by definition unreal. It gives a safe space to interact with extremes that we would never necessarily wish to experience in our real lives with the ultimate safeword of no longer engaging with the material.

That being said, as creators, there is an ethical awareness that must be maintained in order to tell stories of things like trauma and abuse. Being alone in a cabin in the woods with a killer, that scenario is not a pervasive subculture in our society. Whereas cases of child abuse, sexual and domestic abuse are not only real, but common. And the complexities of psychological damage that perseveres long after the traumatic events are necessary aspects to telling these stories.

If you are not consciously aware and attentive to the lasting impact these events have, you run up against the horrific possibility of retraumatizing an individual unprepared for the callous invalidation of their experience.

No one should ever be shamed for engaging with media that depicts trauma they themselves may have experienced. For many, engaging in the fiction of it is a way of processing and validating their experience. Frankly saying, if you wish to write about trauma at all, you should be writing for that audience in specific. Otherwise you are simply exploiting the horrors that real people live through and struggle with every day for some cheap drama at the risk of triggering someone whose story you are inadvertently telling.

And much like most therapy speak, the term Triggered has become appropriated and misused to the point of losing all meaning in the lexicon. According to the University of North Carolina, "A trigger is a stimulus that elicits a reaction. In the context of mental illness, "trigger" is often used to mean something that brings on or worsens symptoms. This often happens to people with a history of trauma or who are recovering from mental illness, self-harm, addiction, and/or eating disorders."

The university breaks down the types of triggers as well and gives examples as to what those subcategories mean. I highly recommend that even if you are not the sort to follow up on references, I do recommend going over the article. It offers coping suggestions as well for those who are at risk of becoming triggered and helps refocus the sense of control back to the individual.

With that said, this is where I came across the inspiration for this essay. I completely removed all information for this user because the last thing someone needs when expressing how the misappropriation of abuse triggers them is how it is their fault for being triggered. These are the original tweets this response was in reference to.

As such, I feel the empathetic need to write this essay as a sympathetic reading to this person and others who have experienced SA who find that Stolitz resonates in an undesirable and even harmful way. I think this person deserves to feel seen.

To make the argument that the relationship between Stolas and Blitz isn't fundamentally abusive requires an author-intent reading of the series. It necessitates massive leaps to fill in gaping plot holes that never clarify the story Medrano is intending to tell. This is plainly just a reading of the series as is with all the context that has been physically, actually, shown in the series and that alone.

Throughout the series, Blitz is depicted as emotionally volatile and unpredictable with low self-esteem and crippling loneliness. He is constantly hounding his employees through sexual harassment from a sense of envy over their loving relationship, and infantalizes his twenty-two year old adopted daughter through an abusive dynamic where she ranges from rude to outrightly cruel while he consistently sacrifices any personal boundaries and self-respect.

The relationship between Loona and Blitz in specific feels like a masochistic self-hatred on Blitz's part where he allows himself to be used and abused by a parasitic family member to feel wanted, showing a pure desperation to be desired by someone in any way. Loona is verbally and physically abusive to her adopted father, using terms of endearment like "Dad" as a tactic to control Blitz's behavior, rewarding him when he does something for her benefit and taking it away when she deems him embarrassing or unwanted.

Blitz's tie to Stolas in the main story comes when he is called in a vulnerable time. Hiding from Martha who is hunting him down, he explicitly tells Stolas that now is not a good time to call. Stolas, who has a visual of Blitz's situation, ignores all of it. He is unconcerned about the danger Blitz is in, instead viewing Blitz solely as a sexual object as he offers the trade of the book for sex.

Stolas is more knowledgeable of Blitz's situation than even Blitz is aware of. He not only is told that the current moment is not a good time, and Blitz's tense tone portrays a sense of anxiety, but he can physically see Blitz. It exists entirely within reason that he chose this specific moment to call while he knew Blitz was in a difficult position, using the tension to leverage a quick response that would get Stolas his way without needing to intimidate Blitz himself. Using the threat of a third party to pressure compliance from Blitz.

Come Loo Loo Land, the interactions between Blitz and Stolas are simply outright hostile. Blitz actively does not want to have a sexual encounter with Stolas and is even so untrusting of the Goetia that he is repeatedly asserting the boundary that he is not at all interested in sex, which Stolas explicitly mocks by being openly sexually suggestive to him. Everything Stolas has to say to Blitz is steeped in objectified sexuality as Blitz asserts his person, dehumanizing him to the point that Blitz is first and foremost an object of gratification. Even to the point of neglecting and humiliating his daughter, Stolas uses the excuse of spending time with her as a means of leering on Blitz.

In this episode we see Blitz has a history of being overlooked and unappreciated. His act in Loo Loo Land went nowhere and we see the first hints of his failed performance career. Over the course of the series, this hint towards a crippling lack of self esteem masked by an extroverted exterior is reinforced.

In Harvest Moon, Blitz is genuinely flustered when given recognition by Striker. He is quick to devalue his relationship with Stolas because there genuinely isn't a relationship at this point.

After having gone missing for two episodes, Stolas returns, being slightly less sexual and slightly more affectionate. It is a sudden recharacterization, but it is only for this scene. The rest of the episode once again shows how Stolas values Blitz physically in a sexualized manner and claims Blitz through the use of a pet name he repeatedly requests not to be called. In the opening scene, Blitz vocalizes that he "doesn't mind" their arrangement for the book, which could be taken at face value in regards to the first season. He does have the option to reject the agreement at any time and return the book in the context of this episode. It's why, despite still being an abuse of power dynamics overall, the relationship itself doesn't tip over into abuse. Blitz has the same amount of autonomy as Stolas at this time, before the context of season two, he has just as much power to end the agreement.

With the addition of The Circus, this retroactively is a situation of placating one's abuser. Blitz assuring Stolas that he doesn't mind the sex would be a way of asserting Stolas' complete control over the relationship and that Blitz isn't necessarily threatening the status quo by his question.

They don't actually know anything about each other, they aren't friends and don't spend time together outside of their forced meetings. Blitz doesn't know anything about Stolas and questioning the need Stolas has for his book could very well be read as a means of interrogating the agreement as a whole and figuring out why this was the arrangement.

(The argument that Blitz had any opportunity to negotiate things comes from an audience bias. It is probably the dumbest thing I have ever seen put into writing. Blitz doesn't know that he has any leverage in the relationship at all. He doesn't actually know Stolas has any feelings for him. That's kind of the whole point of the hot and cold romance slant that Medrano is trying to replicate.)

This is because the book is not the reason the relationship exists.

Blitz does not instigate sexual conduct, Stolas does by leading Blitz into a private room and locking them both inside with the impression Blitz would have sex with him. Blitz has no choice in the location or the isolation. He was caught trying to illegally break into the home for the explicit purpose of stealing the book. He was caught and is effectively at Stolas' mercy in every sense of the word. Not only is he still alive due to Stolas' whimsy, but if he tries to escape now after being shown this grace he could risk having the guards hunt him down and the second time will most likely not be so kind.

He literally does not know Stolas. They met for a day as a playdate and Blitz spent the whole time manipulating Stolas into facilitating his own robbery. There is no trust between them, there isn't even a relationship. While the doe-eyed pink vignette animated around Blitz shows that Stolas has an attraction to him, Blitz is entirely in the dark about this. Stolas' behavior is merely unpredictable and precarious from his position and limited knowledge.

(And even when placed in the context of their single day together, Blitz is still objectified by Stolas immediately, and Blitz is repulsed and forced to interact, just like when they are adults.)

(Just another side note, the argument that because someone decides to do something must mean they are not afraid is just asinine. Generally speaking, most people who commit crimes are in a state of fight or flight, it is more akin to gambling your actual life. Its a rewards and risks assessment, not a case of being sociopathically unafraid.)

It isn't until Stolas dramatically announces his desire for sex that Blitz realizes he has something that can be used to distract the Prince while he steals the book. And that's the issue with the argument that Blitz is the one willingly escalating the situation: it's not sincere. Throughout the entire sequence, Blitz isn't once sincerely interested in Stolas. He leans into the pretense to gain control of the situation, of which, might I remind you, he has had zero control over up to this point. Not only is he not interested in Stolas, but this is a bid for control from the position of helplessness. This way he is not relying on Stolas' unpredictable behavior, he is reclaiming power in the dynamic by playing into Stolas' desire.

("But Stolas says nevermind and Blitz keeps going!!"

Yeah, because he needs to maintain control of the situation. This is what power dynamics actually look like; there is a two-way push and pull. The only way he has any power is through the lens of sexuality. He needs to keep Stolas interested in him to keep his position. But throughout the scene, he is explicitly depicted as being put off by Stolas. In fact the entire reason he ties Stolas up is because he was becoming too into the act. He is shown to not be sensually performing bondage, he is trying to remove a problem.

And side-side note, I know I said I wouldn't lean into Medrano's intention or explicit dictation on how she demands her show be interpreted, but she was the one who said that The Circus and Loo Loo Land are connected in the timeline and Blitz's hostility in Loo Loo Land reads far more like a man who feels used and taken advantage of. So even the argument that Blitz was an enthusiastic participant is disproven by Medrano's own metacommentary and character interactions.)

And ultimately, it all boils down to that last moment scene. Between willingly having sex with Stolas when he is tied up or the book, Blitz makes for the door to leave. He doesn’t willingly engage in sex with Stolas. Either you can read the scene as a form of pity sex, which in the context of Medrano’s timeline and Loo Loo Land, shows Blitz was not enamored with the encounter or you have to read this as being manipulatively pressured into it. There is no way to argue Blitz has any leverage in the situation and no grounds to argue that it was mutually enjoyed.

That doesn’t even start to cover the fact that all the way to Ozzie’s, Blitz is repulsed by Stolas. When calling, he openly shows that this is something he would rather not be doing. He doesn’t have feelings for Stolas and despite just using the man who is using him, just having to deal with Stolas is distressing for him.

This is not an equal or fair relationship dynamic. It is not a mutual relationship. This is a relationship of self-preservation and coercion. And the fact is, it could have worked with very small changes to The Circus. Having the dynamic be actually mutual would have been a great start, but just properly addressing the actual dynamic and having Stolas take ownership of what he's done, and validating the fact that coercion is sexual abuse. Because out of all the sweeping changes, retcons and inconsistencies, the one aspect that has persevered throughout the show is just how trapped Blitz feels.

In Truth Seekers, Blitz’s hallucination is contradictory in its attempt to be visceral, and that is not inherently a problem. Trying to be abstract, it is normal for people to experience contradictory emotions over something. It makes sense in that way, but it needs reinforcement in the expanded narrative to tell it's story. As such I am just going to give my reading on the sequence based on my narrative and state it as fact.

The clown costume shows that Blitz sees himself as a joke, feeding into his low self-worth that no matter what he does, he is always the clown being laughed at. The murky wasteland is a reflection of his life. Devoid of anything bright or good, it is populated by dead trees and the ground is a quicksand like sludge, showing how he devours the good and extinguishes it in his own life. He kills his own happiness. Moxxie exists as a critical voice Blitz hears, telling him how stupid and awful he is to everyone around him. Blitz rejects his own self-criticism, reaffirming his self destructive victim mentality that appears when faced with the consequences of his own actions.

It's when the characters of Fizzarolli, Verosika and Striker appear that Blitz gives his regrets, insecurities and resentments voice, poorly impersonating the voices of those who saw the real him. Striker mocking Blitz’s need for companionship, how he lies to himself constantly and presents himself as independent and assured when really he sees himself as needy and pathetic.

Fizzarolli adds to it, pointing out Blitz’s failures to make it on his own, however this portion of the series should probably be considered non-canon as the newest episodes established that Fizzarolli and Blitz have not had any contact with each other since the accident. The more important line Fizzarolli says “You're going to die alone”, have been written out of the show. There would have been no time or place for Fizz to have ever spoken this to Blitz.

Then there is Verosika, who brings up Blitz’s self destructive tendencies, showing Blitz’s own abusive behaviors towards characters like Moxxie. It also suggests an explanation to why Blitz tolerates Loona, because her constant rejection of him contradicts his reactionary need to push others away, as well as feeds his self-flagillation.

It is when he endeavors to flee the reflections of the worst parts of himself that he runs into Stolas. Perched atop a pristine staircase of gold, being fanned by two silhouettes of Blitz. This shows the power imbalance in every way. Blitz doesn't even walk up the stairs, but crawls. Himself just a faceless accessory to Stolas’ desires, but everything he has intrinsically tied to the power Stolas' exerts over him. This is shown explicitly by the chains around his hands and neck, Stolas' reeling him in as he bears a grimace of reluctance. It is the most explicit representation of being trapped between two bad decisions. Either he is just the joke, the failure, the asshole, the stupid piece of shit, or he is the pet, the object, the toy. Stolas mentioning Blitz being "afraid to love" is less a suggestion that Blitz has any feelings for Stolas, but instead his psyche convincing himself that the relationship is not so exploitive. That he is not being dehumanized and abused, but on some messed up level he is being wanted and desired, which is better than the wastes below.

Maybe one could say that Blitz is being elevated out of his situation for how the feathers removed the costume and sludge, essentially wiping him clean of his worst self, providing a sense of safety. But he only has this opportunity because of Stolas, and it isn't free as shown by the feathers also becoming the chains binding him. Because at the end of the day, Stolas isn't the prize at the end of the climb to self actualization, the stairs belonged to him in the first place. To escape the horror-filled wasteland below, Blitz has to play by the rules of the owner of the stairs.

And ultimately, that isn't a story that is off-limits.

The Stolas apologist argument is why the depiction of this dynamic is triggering and harmful, not the fact that it exists in the media. Just owning the scenario and having Stolas acknowledge that he has sexually abused Blitz would have gone a long way. Instead, Medrano and the fandom have insistently represented this victim-blaming interpretation where Blitz is responsible for his own abuse. And that will never be okay. This goes all the way back to my "Not All Victims are Survivors" post. Blitz is the victim in this and his bad behaviour and own abusive actions directly correspond to the fact that he is a victim with a victim mindset. He actively lives in the middle of his abuse and has formed maladaptive strategies through manipulation, harassment, verbal abuse, and self harm. These do not remove his victim status. There is no such thing as a "Perfect Victim". And he should not have to be any sort of way in order to have that experience validated. And the issue that is at the heart of this show is that the narrative and the fanbase require a victim to be framed as delicate and hapless to circumstance with a soft and gentle personality to be a victim. To come out of abuse aggressive and harsh with sharp edges is framed as being less valid. But this outcome is normal and it's a difficult battle to work on oneself to feel safe again. It's absolutely a story worth telling.

But you first have to be interested in telling a story.

#helluva boss critique #helluva boss critical #helluva boss criticism #vivziepop critical #spindlehorse critical #spindlehorse criticism #vivziepop criticism #tw self destructive behavior #tw sexulization #tw sa

328 notes · View notes

amuseoffyre · 1 year ago

Text

I can't think of many shows that use both the original orchestrations and the songs with as ruthless and beautiful efficiency as pirates. I know a lot of shows who give it some of the focus, but it has been so solidly consistent across the board for every. frigging. episode of OFMD.

The songs they pick not only tie in perfectly, but the tone, style and mood carries across into the scene. And are even incorporated into the filming of the scene as well, to make sure they get exactly what they want.

The way they used The Chain is quite frankly mind-boggling, knowing that they filmed it with the music playing on the set at a higher speed, so when they slowed it down, they had pinned beat-by-beat every single shot of that scene to exactly the point they wanted in the song. The drumbeats matched up with the British drummers and having Frenchie on his lute knocked flat right as the guitar cuts off. It's just... AAAAAA.

And now we're in S2, they're doing the same brutally perfect scalpel work with the themes from the score for the first season. I've yelled about it before, but I will yell again about these three in particularly coming for my throat:

when Stede shows Ed around the Revenge and shows him all his cool things, there's a jaunty little harpsichord melody playing. That melody came back when Izzy showed Stede how to be a pirate and do cool pirate things

when Izzy crawls away from the crew, the solo cello notes that are part of the Blackbeard theme start playing

when Izzy opens his note from the crew, letting him know he belongs with them, he starts crying to the piece of music that plays over Ed's mum telling him "we're just not those kind of people"

It's such perfect understated parallel story-telling, demonstrating that something similar is happening to the characters without having to say a single word, and I am hoping against hope that we get either "Do You Concur?" or "Be a Lighthouse" back again in the next 3 episodes.

ohhhhhh if we get Ed and Stede doing a fuckery together with Lighthouse over it, I might actually cry. That is far and away my favourite piece on the entire OST because their signature instruments switch and alternate between harmony and melody and it's so perfectly them.

(However, if we get Ends Tonight again, I might bite someone)

#ofmd s2 #ofmd #music

520 notes · View notes

mossy-opal · 2 years ago

Text

Succubus

Shigaraki x Reader

Warnings: SMUT!!!! SMUT SMUT SMUT!!!! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!!

It was difficult, living in this world and being what you are. It's not your fault, you were born this way! All those years ago, you were brought into this world and taught how to live.

You lived off of pleasure, and off of the souls of those you pleased. It wasn't all bad, but it was difficult when you were picky.

You weren't like most succubi, you had certain tastes. You didn't settle for every average Joe who came across you and fell into your trap of beauty and lust. Sure, it made you weak and very hungry, but your resolve was strong.

You liked it when they wanted you for more than just your body and pleasure. You liked it when you felt something for them. It broke your heart every time one of your new playthings died, but what were you expecting?

Mates for a Succubus were a rare thing, and frankly, you were losing hope.

That is, until you met him.

Your resolve was almost broken before you had met, thinking that you'd have to settle, go to a bar to find some poor schmuck to get yourself fed.

And there he was, in a dark alley at night, probably making his way home, but you were stuck.

He was beautiful. Light blue-ish gray hair, striking features, beautifully red eyes, and the cutest beauty mark. He noticed your staring almost immediately, and he got aggressive quickly.

"What!?"

"I'm- I'm sorry, I just... Have we met?"

"Tch... No...?"

Gods, his voice was making you weak! You laughed it off, immediately turning on your charm.

"Well I'm certain I'd remember someone like you... Who wouldn't~?"

He stepped back when you stepped forward, before you put your hands up in defense.

"I'm sorry, I'm just awe-struck by you..."

He huffed a small chuckle, before he moved past you. You were on his tail immediately, a small smile on your face. He didn't seem to mind your following, but he did stop again soon.

"What do you want?"

"May I ask for your name?"

He turned back with a glare. "Not until you give me yours first."

You gave him your name, and he looked you up and down, before he turned with a small huff.

"Come with me."

And that, was how you met Tomura Shigaraki, leader of the League of Villains.

Your work relationship went well, and surprisingly, being in his presence alone satiated you. It was new, not feeling nearly as empty as usual, and stronger too. He made your wings soar, and it made you feel fantastic.

He never asked for more from you, but you were always sure to go above and beyond for him. Always going the extra mile, just for him.

He noticed, too. He originally thought it was a joke, how close you seemed to be to him. You were very touchy, very flirtatious, and he didn't exactly know how to handle it. No one really complimented him the way you did, or touched him as softly as you did, or did anything the way you did. You were... Odd.

But, he grew used to it. He... He liked it. He liked you.

You knew that, and you loved it.

It really did something for you, so, you decided to make the next move. To truly, seal the deal with him.

Hearing a knock on his door he grunted, not in the mood to talk to anyone. He didn't answer, but he was shocked when the door opened.

Whoever it was truly had a death wish.

"Dabi I swear to god if you bug me right now I'll-"

"I'm not here to bug you, boss~"

Oh, it was you. He grumbled, less annoyed, but still not in the mood for your games.

"Whatever, I'm tired... Go away."

You chuckled, and it sounded different from your usual laughs or giggles, it sounded... He didn't even know how it sounded.

"I'd normally listen to you with no hesitation, but I have something to ask of you~"

Here it is. You didn't even ask for a place to stay while working recon for him, so he expected he'd have to pay you with something eventually. He sighed, turning around in his chair.

"What is it then?" He asked, seemingly irritated.

You walked up to him slowly, something about you seemed very different now. Maybe it was your eyes- A haircut? He was bad at these things, he didn't know!

Then suddenly, the room seemed... Darker than it normally was. His computer monitors were still on, his game paused in the background, but everything just felt really heavy.

"I've been looking for you for a very long time.... I'm so happy to finally have found you~"

"What are you talking about...?"

Why did you smell different? Not like he knew what you smelled like or anything, but he definitely noticed how different it was now.

Your chuckle rang through his ears, louder than it was before. Everything seemed much heavier, and he figured it was a part of your quirk- You mentioned this was something you could do, right?

"Tomura, I have to be honest with you... I don't have a quirk."

That got his attention, but what got even more of his attention was the tail swaying behind you.

"W-what-"

"Not only that, I've been feeding off of you- I'm so sorry... I just couldn't help it. All the attention you gave me, it felt so good, it did so much to feed me, and that's when I knew it..."

He couldn't even speak, confused and a bit concerned, what exactly was he working with?

"You're my mate, Tomura~"

Looking in your eyes, he swore he could see hearts. He'd be flattered if he wasn't so damn confused- This has never happened before, he doesn't know how to handle this sudden admission of feelings! Sure, he returned the sentiment, he just didn't know how to... Respond.

"I know this is overwhelming for you, and I'm sorry you had to learn this way, but I had to be sure, y'know?"

The whine he responded with when he nodded made you fall to your knees in front of him, a hungry look in your eyes.

"Ugh, you're so hard to resist Tomura~"

"W-what... What are you...?"

Your hands were on his knees as you got closer to him, a pair of wings emerging from your lower back, your tail swaying even faster as you contained your eagerness.

"I'm a succubus, baby~"

His breath hitched, his legs jumping as your hands moved up his thighs.

"And I want you."

He could barely breathe, everything was happening so fast and he didn't know what to do. He pushed himself back, away from you for a second to try and at least calm down.

"W-what do you- What exactly do you want from me? Succubus... You guys... You eat souls- Right...? I think..."

You shook your head, standing up, lifting your shirt over your head. Tomura looked away, not wanting to look at you, despite how mesmerising you were.

"Usually yes, we feed off peoples pleasure, and take their souls when we're satiated. But, seeing as though you feed me with just your attention, I don't need your soul. You're my true mate, something that's thought to have been a myth- or a legend amongst my kind~"

Tomura could almost laugh, looking back at you before looking away again quickly; you were shimmying out of your pants.

"F-fuck well I thought- I-I thought stuff like- Succubi were... Made up..."

You moved closer to him again, leaning onto the arms of his chair as he moved to cross his legs, moving his sweater to cover his groin. You giggled at how shy he was, making him look you in the eyes.

His breath hitched again, unsure of where exactly to look. His eyes flickered from your chest to your nethers, back to your eyes.

"Tomura.... Can I have you~?"

He wanted to, he really, really wanted to, but he didn't know if he should agree...

"I promise nothing bad will happen, and I won't hurt you~"

He gulped, "Uh... S-sure... Yeah- Whatever..."

You shook your head, putting your forehead to his. The sudden intimacy actually helped cool his nerves ever so slightly.

"No darling, I want to hear a yes. Because it's true, I want you, and I want to mate with you."

"I-I said sure-"

You giggled again, giving him a soft kiss. He whined at the feeling, kissing you back with a passion he hadn't felt before. The sudden change in his attitude was pleasant, something that you weren't really expecting. He pulled away from you before pushing himself out of his chair, grabbing your face with both of his hands, careful to keep his pinkies raised (even if he was unsure he could hurt you). He kissed you again, deeply. He pushed his tongue into your mouth, making you moan as you put your arms around his shoulders, letting him walk you back to his bed. He pushed you down, pulling away from you as he hovered above you, the both of you huffing for breath from the kiss.

"Is that enough of a 'yes' for you?"

The needy gravel in his voice was to die for.

You smiled wide, pulling him into another kiss, the both of you tonguing the others mouths, each of you pulling and squeezing at anything you could get your hands on. Tomura gripped your chest and your hips, pulling your thighs apart to press himself against you.

You were gripping his hoodie, before pulling at the waistband of his pants and underwear, shoving your hands up his hoodie, feeling his stomach and chest.

He pulled off of you quickly, yanking his hoodie off, before standing and pulling his pants down with an eager swiftness.

You imagined him to be just as pretty, but you didn't expect him to be this gorgeous.

The smile on your face worried him slightly, it made him think it was a joke again, maybe it was all an act.

"Get over here. Now."

The demand in your voice snapped him out of his sudden doubt, the hunger in your eyes was hard to resist. He crawled over you again, kissing you over and over. Softer, this time. You grind against him, making him moan and whine against your mouth.

You felt your wings flutter beneath you as you fed off his pleasure, and you felt vastly different from your previous toys.

You felt his love. You felt everything he felt, his doubt, his fear, his lust, his need. But most of all, you felt his love for you. You moaned when he touched you with two fingers, toying with your hole.

"Aah- Tomuraaah~"

"Fuck.... So needy, huh~?"

You wiggled your hips against his hand, your tail wrapping around his leg as he pushed his fingers into you slowly. Your mouth opened wide with the most sinful moan he'd ever heard, it was better than he'd imagined, even better than any pornstar he'd watched. He slowly fingered you open, scissoring you carefully, kissing your jaw and biting your neck as be listened to you. He never thought he'd get this hard, just from foreplay alone.

Your hands clawed into his sheets and his mattress, and he swore he saw you tearing the fabric.

"Tomuraaa, please- Please stop teasing me, I want you- need you~!"

With begging like that, how could he refuse? He pulled away from your beautifully marked up neck, and he was surprised, to say the least. Horns were atop your head, fangs poking out, your face already looking perfectly fucked out.

"Please fuck me baby, pleeeaaase~?"

Your whines and begging were enough to drive someone mad, and he was the one to hear them. You wanted him, you needed him. Lining himself up, he pushed into you quickly, shuddering a moan at the feeling of just how fucking hot you felt.

The gutteral moans the both of you exchanged made your eyes roll into the back of your head, your mouth falling open even wider as he was finally, finally inside of you.

"Aaaaagh- Yes~! Yes yes yeeeess! Thank you Tomura, t-thank yoouaaah~!"

He huffed a chuckle, gripping your thighs tight before pushing them against your chest, over his shoulders.

"Don't thank me- uGh- Yet~"

As soon as he said that, his hips snapped, making you moan in his ear, and making him shudder above you. He already felt close, but he held out- If only for you. His movements were quick, sloppy, he thrusted as fast as he could, as harshly as he could, as he shoved his tongue down your throat, swallowing your moans and your cute noises. Your moaning was endless as you fed from him, drinking in his sexual desire and energy, feeling yourself being more full than you've ever felt.

In more ways than one.

Your tail wrapped tightly around his leg as your wings helped push you against him, meeting his hips with every thrust.

He lifted himself up, smirking down at you, "Wa-Want me to cum in you? Fill you up? Haa?"

You cried out with a smile, "YeEess! Yes yeS! Please baby~! Please fuck me full! W-waahnt it~ want you! Want you~! M-more~!"

Tomura laughed condescendingly, groaning at the feeling of you fluttering around him as you felt him get closer. He couldn't last much longer than this- It was already too much.

Without much more stimulation, he came hard and quick. You had never cum as hard as you did with Tomura balls deep inside of you, your climaxes combined to drip out of you. You both moaned out, loud, your hands clawing the bed to shreds as you cried out in ecstasy.

As you both caught your breath, Tomura pulled out of you and laid on his bed, exhausted, you couldn't help but laugh.

Tomura groaned. Barely able to, he moved to lay on his back, looking at you.

"W... What.. What's so funny...?"

You slowly and carefully moved to sit on him, straddling his lap, your clawed hands on his chest, a sly smile on your face. Your tail waved behind you as your wings stretched out.

"Oooh baby... I'm far from finished with you~"

Tags: @slayersins @shadowsandshapes @dabislittlemouse @dabislittlebeaniebaby @the-milk-anon @shockinglysubmissive @elias-fable @starstruck-flames @daniidil @223princess

#bnha x reader #mha x reader #bnha smut #mha smut #tomura shigaraki x reader #shigaraki tomura #tomura shigaraki #tomura x reader #shigaraki x reader #shigaraki smut #tomura shigaraki smut #tomura smut #succubus reader #quirkless (i guess) reader #enjoy ya filthy heathens #I don't really care about spelling errors #tw bar mention #tw alchohol mention

989 notes · View notes

autumnmobile12 · 14 days ago

Text

Odysseus and Calypso Were Lovers

As problematic as that sounds because WTF, hear me out because it's complicated and there's a lot to discuss. Trigger warning for sa. Also, not directly Epic: The Musical related; that's a whole other ballpark.

She trapped him on her island!

I'm not denying that nor am I denying how objectively messed up that is.

However, the captor and prisoner trope is one that does crop up in Greek mythology now and then. The most famous example I can think of is Hades’ kidnapping of Persephone. I have seen that situation blatantly called rape in the original story, and yet today, modern storytellers do like to revise that myth into a version that makes Demeter out to be an overbearing mother and Persephone's ‘kidnapping’ so to speak becomes an escape. Personally, I think that is a very graceful way to make a barbaric story a bit more palatable to modern audiences.

So regarding Odysseus’ situation where falling in love with his captor is problematic…my thought process runs as, “Fucking Greek mythology and its weird idea of what constitutes as a love story.”

As a result, I have no serious thoughts on the morality of certain figures of Greek mythology because they frankly come from a time period where the people had a very different culture and set of moral values and ideas on what was acceptable. Therefore, it's futile to judge their stories by my own modern moral compass.

Where in The Odyssey does it say they were lovers?

The main line I can't ignore that strongly implies the nature of their relationship is Odysseus' farewell to Calypso:

“The sun went down and brought the darkness on. They [Odysseus and Calypso] went inside the hollow cave and took the pleasure of their love, held close together.” - The Odyssey, Homer, translated by Emily Wilson.

Keep in mind, she’s already told him he’s free to go. He’s free to build his raft, she’s giving him supplies, and yet he says goodbye this tenderly. Note the absence of Calypso using magic to compel him. If you cherry-picked this line, you'd find a fond goodbye.

Odysseus’ Tears

A lot of people making the ‘Odysseus/Calypso was a non-consensual situation’ argument like to cite the line that Odysseus cried every day on Ogygia. And yes, he did weep every day he was there. But this is the full stanza.

“On the tenth black night, the gods carried me till I reached the island of Ogygia, home of the beautiful and mighty goddess Calypso. Lovingly she cared for me, vowing to set me free from death and time forever. But she never swayed my heart. I stayed for seven years; she gave me clothes like those of gods, but they were always wet with tears.” - The Odyssey, Homer, translated by Emily Wilson.

‘Beautiful and mighty….Lovingly she cared for me….she never swayed my heart.’ He speaks highly of her, not with hate or venom for her delaying him.

In my literature class where we read The Odyssey, the tears line was discussed and largely interpreted as Odysseus’ reaction to all the monsters he’d faced and losing all his crew and friends. The PTSD of a war veteran. From the cultural mindset of Ancient Greece, Odysseus was a king, and he failed his people when they all died under his command and he was unable to bring them home. Similarly, the hero Theseus was once king of Athens. He was usurped in absentia (Theseus being trapped in the Underworld at the time) and when he returned to his kingdom, he found another man on his throne, was forced to flee, and died a rather ignoble death when a supporter of his usurper shoved him off a cliff. So Odysseus being a king who let an entire fleet die under his watch is certainly grounds for shame to the point of tears in the eyes of the Ancient Greeks. And with an entire line-up of men attempting to court his wife and take his place, it drives home the idea that he was replaceable.

Also important to note: He’s still miserable when he leaves Ogygia. When he arrives at King Alcinous’ court, he is welcomed, provided food, shelter, and entertainment, but when the king checks in with his heartbroken guest, he pleads with him to tell him what’s wrong, which kickstarts the telling of Odysseus’ journey.

Odysseus was afraid of Calypso!

That said, it's also important to address this concept because this is Odysseus' reaction to the goddess telling him she is sending him on his way to Ithaka:

‘Goddess, your purpose cannot be as you say; you cannot intend to speed me home. You tell me to make myself a raft to cross the great gulf of ocean--a gulf so baffling and so perilous that not even rapid ships will traverse it, steady though they may be and favoured by a fair wind from Zeus. I will not set foot on such a raft unless I am sure of your good will--unless, goddess, you take on yourself to swear a solemn oath not to plot against me any new mischief to my ruin.’ The Odyssey, Homer, translated by Shewring.

His suspicion certainly suggests mistrust and fear that she intends to do him harm, and considering his track record of being hated by deities, that's understandable. This isn't exactly what you'd call a loving relationship. But this also brings up a weird contradiction in the poem. I would 100% say this was a completely non-consensual situation were it not for this line:

His eyes were always tearful; he wept sweet life away, in longing to go back home, since she [Calypso] no longer pleased him. - Wilson.

Not ‘she did not please him.’ She no longer pleased him. That implies she 'pleased' him at one point and because of that, one could argue Calypso was a mistress and Odysseus eventually tired of her. (Probably long before seven years had passed.)

What Do The Translators Say?

I can't speak for all translators, but in the Emily Wilson translation, she includes a lengthy introduction describing Odysseus' world, the culture of Ancient Greece, the reasoning behind specific English wordage in the translation, etc. In the introduction, she refers to Calypso and Circe as Odysseus' affairs. Not his abusers. He also has a brief flirtation with Princess Nausicaa, the daughter of his final host, King Alcinous. Wilson then goes on to describe how these affairs are not a character failing of Odysseus in comparison to the treatment of Penelope where she is expected to be faithful and how that is indicative of a good woman.

Taking a step back from Greek mythology, consider the actions of King Henry VIII of England. Most historians agree that, for the first few years, the king's relationship with his first wife Katherine of Aragon was unusually good for the times. And yet he was an unfaithful husband, had at least one acknowledged bastard and historians speculate there were more. But while 'indiscretions' such as this were frowned upon in the Tudor Period, Henry VIII did not receive near as much criticism as Queen Katherine would have if she'd had an illegitimate child. If Katherine was 'indiscreet,' that was considered treason because she compromised the legitimacy of the succession and that was cause for a beheading.

Because misogyny. Again, different time, different moral values.

Misogyny in The Odyssey

Whatever one's thoughts on Calypso are, it is incredibly misogynistic of Homer to solely blame her for keeping Odysseus trapped while he conveniently ignores the plot hole that her island is completely surrounded by ocean and we all know that Poseidon was lurking out there just waiting for his shot at vengeance. Odysseus is barely two stanzas off Calypso’s island before Poseidon goes after him. It’s almost hilarious how quickly it happens. The poem says Poseidon was returning from Ethiopia, not that he was there for the whole seven years, and Hermes clearly did not pass along the memo that Odysseus was free to return to Ithaka. Although I like to imagine it was Zeus who forgot about Poseidon’s grudge against Odysseus, and Hermes, being the mischievous scamp that he is, did not remind him.

If one line in the text says Odysseus/Calypso was consensual while another says otherwise, which is it?

Honestly, I don't think there's a conclusive answer with just The Odyssey. I'm a hobbyist, not an expert, so I do refer to the judgment of translators like Wilson to make that call. If she and other translators say Calypso and Circe were affair partners and I can see the lines in the text to support that, I'll believe it and chalk up the rest as Greek mythology being problematic.

That said, we can also look at the opinions of other Greek poets in their further writings of the mythology:

“And the bright goddess Calypso was joined to Odysseus in sweet love, and bare him Nausithous and Nausinous.” - The Theogony; Of Goddesses and Men, Hesiod, translated by Evelyn-White.

“… after brief pleasure in wedlock with the daughter of Atlas [Calypso], he [Odysseus] dares to set foot in his offhand vessel that never knew a dockyard and to steer, poor wretch…” - Alexandra, Lycophron, translated by Mair.

Both seem to be of the opinion Calypso was Odysseus' lover.

Interestingly, Hesiod also writes in The Catalogues of Women Fragment:

“…of patient-souled Odysseus whom in aftertime Calypso the queenly nymph detained for Poseidon.” - The Catalogues of Women Fragment, Hesiod, translated by Evelyn-White.

The wording ‘detained for Poseidon’ implies Calypso was acting at Poseidon’s command or she was doing the sea god a favor or she possibly didn't have any free will herself whether or not Odysseus stayed on Ogygia. Either way, it does neatly account for Homer's aforementioned misogyny/plot hole.

But if Hesiod and Lycophron's works are not part of The Odyssey, why should we take them seriously?

You don't have to consider them canon. Just because I prefer to consider all mythology canon doesn't mean anyone else does. Just as easily, I could ask why we should take Homer's work seriously even though historians can't even agree whether or not he was a real person.

The truth is, Ancient Greece as we think of it lasted a thousand years. Their culture/values changed several times and so did their stories to reflect those changes, and those stories continue to evolve to the modern day. Odysseus himself goes through a few different descriptions over the centuries, being described as scheming and even cruel in other works. So I consider modern works like Percy Jackson, Epic: The Musical, Son of Zeus, and so on to be just more cogs in the evolving narrative. Much like how retellings of Hades and Persephone are shifting to circumstances easier to accept by audiences today.

But why would Odysseus be unfaithful to his loving wife?

The loving wife he claimed as payment for helping out King Tyndareus? Yeah...Odysseus and Penelope's relationship may not quite be the undoubted loving one modern retellings make it out to be nor is Odysseus a saint in The Odyssey.

“A blast of wind pushed me [Odysseus] off course towards the Cicones in Ismarus. I sacked the town and killed the men. We took their wives and shared their riches equally amongst us.” - The Odyssey, Homer, translated by Emily Wilson.

Raiding a town unprovoked, killing the men, kidnapping the women, stealing their treasure is not indicative to what we in the modern day consider heroic or good protagonist behavior. Also, at the end of the Trojan War, Queen Hekuba was made a slave and given to Odysseus.

As for the chapter with Circe, Penelope's name isn't even mentioned. Moreover, the wording of the Wilson translation gives the troubling connotation that Circe may have been the one who was assaulted.

Hermes’ instructions to Odysseus are as follows:

"...draw your sharpened sword and rush at her as if you mean to kill her. She will be frightened of you, and will tell you to sleep with her." - Wilson

She'll be frightened of him? Hermes is encouraging Odysseus to render Circe powerless by eating the Moly plant so she can't turn him into a pig, then threaten her with a sword, which does frighten her, and then sleep with her. That line of events is disturbing. Circe is the one who offers to take Odysseus to bed, sure, but there’s a strange man in her house, she’s allegedly afraid according to Hermes, and she’s unable to resort to her usual defense and turn him into a pig as she did with the others. Under those circumstances, sleeping with an invader is a survival tactic.

However...after Odysseus makes Circe promise to turn his men back, she bathes him and gives him food like a proper Ancient Greek host. Yet before Odysseus accepts the meal, he puts his men first, saying he can't bear to eat until he knows they're well. So Circe turns them back, then Odysseus returns to where the rest of the crew are waiting on the shore. They're all convinced their comrades are dead until Odysseus tells them what transpired and they rejoice. All except suspicious Eurylochus who calls them fools for trusting Odysseus' word based on his previous bad decisions. Odysseus thinks about cutting his head off for speaking that way. Damn, that went from zero to a hundred fast.

But Penelope's name is missing from the story.

Odysseus only thinks of leaving Circe's island when his men speak of returning to their homeland, after which he goes to Circe about the matter, and she instructs him to go to the Underworld.

"That broke my heart, and sitting on the bed I wept, and lost all will to live and see the shining sun." - Wilson

Odysseus and his men all lament the idea of sailing into the land of the dead. So his tears and despair did not start with Calypso. Also, they return to Circe's island after the journey so she can help them make sense of Tiresias' instructions.

But setting all that aside, even when Hermes instructed him on what to do, Odysseus didn't make some grand speech on how he can’t betray his wife. He doesn’t specifically say he’s crying for Penelope on Calypso’s island. He doesn’t mention Penelope at all, and when King Alcinous asks him about his sorrow, Odysseus tells his whole story, barely bringing up his wife or his love for her.

So is Odysseus a good guy?

In all, Odysseus is a clever character who is known for using his wits to get out of any situation. Polyphemus, the Sirens, Scylla, he had a plan. The idea that he’s suddenly helpless against Calypso and Circe is out of character. They may be goddesses, but they’re not exactly the heavy hitters of the pantheon, which is why Poseidon could absolutely order a minor sea nymph to stop what she’s doing and hold a man prisoner for him. And while Odysseus spends the entire story being thwarted by the gods, one could say he also thwarts the gods right back by refusing to give up.

Like most Greek heroes, I would say Odysseus is not what we today would call a hero. But when he shares a roster with characters like this:

Zeus: Serial rapist

Poseidon: Serial rapist

Hades: Kidnapped Persephone (setting aside modern interpretations she went with him willingly)

Herakles: Raped a princess named Auge (Yes, really.)

Theseus: Kidnapped Helen of Sparta when she was a child because he wanted to marry a daughter of Zeus, aided and abetted his cousin in an attempt to kidnap Persephone, abandoned Ariadne, etc.

Jason the Argonaut: Tried to abandon his wife. (I say ‘try’ because he didn’t get the chance. His wife Medea killed the other woman first.)

Hephaistos: Raped Athena after she refused him.

Achilles: Murdered a child to prevent a prophecy from coming true.

...Odysseus's atrocities are weirdly tame by comparison. Even the narrative where he kills the infant Prince Astyanax, modern retellings usually give that role to the lesser known Neoptolemus. More on that here.

In the end, it's not necessarily thematically important whether or not Odysseus is good or bad. The core of his character revolves around his cleverness and ability to build and strategize and make his own way in the world he lives in. Rounding this out is Emily Wilson's commentary on the symbolism behind the tree bed,

"In leaving Calypso, Odysseus chooses something that he built with his own mind and hands, rather than something given to him. Whereas Calypso longs to hide, clothe, feed, and possess him, Athena enables Odysseus to construct his own schemes out of the materials she provides." - The Odyssey, Homer, trans. by Emily Wilson, Introduction Pg 64.

So were Odysseus and Calypso lovers?

Based on the above, my opinion is 'Yes they were, but with the caveat they were problematic af.' Because problematic themes like that are pretty par for the course in Greek mythology.

81 notes · View notes

dontlookatmytmntcollection · 7 months ago

Note

Heyyy!! Could you write some HC for the bay-verse!tmnt x fem!angel reader? Like how would they feel if Mikey just showed up one day with a legit angel, like mike is trying to hard to not punch Leo because of how mean he’s being to her just because she has really big (and quite frankly beautiful) wings

Hello!

Angel Reader x Bayverse TMNT

Pretty, sweet, caring character with huge bird wings comes in out of nowhere

She gets cozy with Mikey - who, of course, is being SHAMELESSLY flirtatious.

These are their FIRST reactions. Because this is much more a 'beginning' to a long story.

-I agree that Mikey would be the ONLY one being cordial

-You are not a civilian of any kind. No matter how you became an angel, of if you're an ACTUAL angle, or how kind or funny or affectionate you are.

-You are a flying, highly specialized mutant with secretive origins, intentions and strength. You are NOT to be trusted.

-Your pretty wings and face could NOT matter less to these guys. Because tbh, giant bird wings aren't anywhere near the weirdest thing they've seen 😂

-Raph is still gonna be a scary piece of shit. He wouldn't ever hurt you without being explicitly provoked. But there is a LOT of sarcasm and eye rolls and he likes to LOOM over you. He's scary.

-Donnie will NOT be a piece of shit, but his curiosity will NOT come from a place of wonder. He will know almost everything about you very quickly without your permission. He won't talk to you much. He will talk about you a lot as if you aren't standing right there. Or info dumping about highly personal information about you to the room of people.

- Leo is gonna be a passive-aggressive scary piece of shit. They will NOT be happy or kind with you being around. Always drilling you. He'd loom too.

-Lots of, "Who are you?" "Where did you come from?" "Why are you here?" "How did you find us?" "What do you know?"

-Leo's contention and cynicism will have nothing with you 'having wings.'

-Your intentions, potential power and strength, and your mysterious origins are dangerous to him, his family, and his city.

-He will not trust a word out of your mouth.

-They would do the exact same with a giant ugly mutant like Bebop or Rocksteady. They were this way even with APRIL. They don't have the privilege to trust easily. ESPECIALLY flying humanoid creatures in New York trying to flirt with Mikey.

-BTW, if you start flirting with Mikey back, ALL of their alarm bells go off.

-Mikey getting hurt emotionally is one thing-

-But c'mon, Mikey wouldn't be able to pull anyone unless they were there to steal, betray or kill them, right?

-You'd have to do a lot of stuff for them. Usually in combative situations, to prove you aren't there to hurt anyone

-ESPECIALLY for Mikey. Leo, Raph and Donnie might think Mikey has negative rizz, but they will do their best to ensure you will not hurt him.

-There will not be a whole lot Mikey can do to curb their suspicions or cruelty, despite his extensive efforts. No, you will have to do that on your own.

-But with some crazy adventures and near-death experiences, you'd be the COOLEST addition to the mutant circle.

#it would make for an AWESOME story #but their dicks okay #they have to be #ESPECIALLY at first #bayverse #raphael #leonardo #tmnt #donatello #tmnt bayverse #bayverse tmnt #my writing #tmnt headcanons #tmnt x reader #ask

135 notes · View notes

what-eats-owls · 7 days ago

Text

It matters how you do it

I finished Dragon Age: The Veilguard and had some big feelings about it. Spoilers for basically everything under the cut, and frankly, it won't make sense unless you've finished the game anyway.

First of all: I had a blast with this game. I didn't find Act 1 slow, I did find Act 2 a bit of a whack-a-mole, and then Act 3 kicks you in the kidney (complementary) while insisting it's for your own good.

I've seen some recurring complaints: that it lacks depth/edge/darkness, that it abandons previous lore, that the previous choices don't matter. I don't entirely disagree. To me, it felt like a massive Dragon Age 4 game that pivoted to a different, tighter game after complaints about bloat in Inquisition. The key is that when editing down, there's such a thing as trying to trim the fat and taking a chunk of the roast with it.

I enjoy the concept of Lucanis's character, and the voice actor sold the hell out of him, but the storyline felt like being taken to a museum and allowed to see one (1) beautiful unfinished sculpture. Why did Spite, specifically, work? We know the spirit of Justice became Vengeance by abomination, we knew Solas was Wisdom before he became Pride, so what was Spite before, and why wasn't that tied to Lucanis's own personal arc? (Doubly so if you romance him!)

Similarly, Harding was a delight, and her greenhouse was such a lovely little haven. I would have loved to see more explanation of the connection between plants and the titans, and how Harding's own personal struggles with rage connected to that of the titans. She has every reason to be angry and scared, and the game tells us she pushed that away—but we don't actually see her toxic positivity manifest to that degree, until she abruptly has an angry clone.

On the flip side, I loved the other five character quests, and I felt they had solid, poignant arcs that delivered. I also adored their interactions with the codex—if anything, I wanted to see more of that type of interaction on the screen. You have to fill in a lot of the character work for Rook yourself; Rook has all these interesting potential backgrounds, but I think starting the game playing through those, a la Origins, would have gone miles towards establishing more personal stakes up front and made for a stronger start.

So that's all my nitpicking. But let's talk about the bigger theme: It matters how you do it.

In the first Fade conversation with Solas, he gets so mad when Rook refuses to let him DARVO them about the consequences of his botched ritual. This makes way more sense when you understand he's literally imprisoned by his own regrets, and he needs Rook to have that same kind of regret in order to take his place. His entire arc is about rationalizing binary choices and shitty actions that hurt others in the name of a hypothetical greater good that he wants.

Solas can't engineer every binary choice Rook's forced into, but he uses Varric to maximize Rook's regret. He is trying to quite literally mold Rook into him, and the game is great at presenting this both as a coldblooded manipulation and a broken plea for validation—if you let it. You don't have to give Solas a moment of consideration; you don't have to take time to view his memories, or kill his demons, or listen to those scraps of Mythal still holding onto the good in him. You don't have to do any of it.

But you can. And in the end, it matters.

It matters because for every companion, you can encourage them to either be more nurturing/compassionate or destructive/closed off versions of themselves, and that is frequently tied to continuing or breaking from a cycle. (The exception is either Neve or, presumably, Lucanis, who are forced into the Hardened version depending on which city you save.) These aren't presented as morally opposing choices, just who you want them to be. You can see how the Grey Wardens fucked up bad with griffons and decide they have a better place. You can help Emmrich face his fear by finding deeper meaning in life instead of indefinitely postponing death. You can help them do things differently.

So when you get to the final choice in the game, you may have two options: physically force Solas into saving the Veil, or trick him into it. The kind of binary choice Solas has molded you into making by pelting you with cruelty and manipulation.

Or, if you've taken the time, you can get him to understand he's wrong. You bring out the people who saw the best in him and speak to what he's had to endure, even as you're showing him there's another way. You reach him not as Pride, but as Wisdom. And he goes willingly.

Ultimately, I think DA2 and Inquisition grappled with big questions of oppression and violence, faith and authority. It makes sense for those games to delve into harder, uglier subject matter, and ask you to make binary calls.

But my read of Veilguard is that, at its core, it's about how those decisions are meant to trap you in regret at best, and numb you to rationalizing cruelty at worst. It's why the companion who loses their home city becomes colder, more isolated, in response—more like Solas.

That's why it offers you a third way at the very end, but only if you've worked for it. A better way is possible, yet it has to be more than words. You have to understand where the pain comes from, what maintains and is being maintained by the current cycle. Then, and only then, can you break it.

I can't wait to play it again.

P.S. Utterly obsessed with the Trevisan fish merchant.

#dragon age #datv #veilguard #text posts #spoilers #fish

69 notes · View notes