#i mean without getting into the extremely important political context that is obviously at the heart of derry girls

[neil-neil-orange-peel]

I love reading your asks, so I wanted to ask you if you had any favorite female characters from Rik and Ade projects?

Helloooo! Thank you, that's so sweet. ❤️ Let's see... I'm going to single out some TYO characters specifically and then talk more generally. This post is absolutely going to become a big, incoherent mess. 😂

Sue from Sociology is my favourite minor TYO character. Don't get me wrong, I love Helen the Murderess too, but there's something that draws me to Sue. To be fair, I'm just seriously weak for Jennifer Saunders in general, and she's basically done up as a female Rick here, if Rick was actually cool. I like inserting her into fanfic sometimes (okay, once... but I have plans). She's very much a background character for the majority of Interesting, but Interesting itself is one of the first (and only, possibly the only?) time there are lots of women in a TYO scene at once, even if they're not getting to do much. Shout out to Dawn's Christian who gets crushed by the gigantic sandwich too, of course! (As an aside, I find it funny that both Jennifer and Dawn got to strangle/smother Mike on the sofa on different occasions.)

Vyvyan's mum. Pauline Melville pops up a couple of other times in TYO as well, and she's just very good whenever she does. I believe she gave French & Saunders a bit of guidance when they were all on the standup circuit. Vyv's mum is a great character because she's just SO awful. Let female characters be awful! She's so spiky and sharp in every way, and she's probably the only semi-developed female character who appears on the show. I think letting the audience meet her gives Vyvyan a bit of texture and depth - sure, we could imagine any family background for any of them, but we're being told THIS HERE is Vyvyan's. Poor Vyv. Pauline Melville herself, of course, is a prize-winning writer now! The dream.

The devil and her condemned soul is one of my favourite TYO cutaway segments. The condemned soul is Helen Atkinson-Wood, who is most well-known for playing Mrs Miggins in Blackadder the Third. She also has a small role in the Comic Strip episode Consuela (and possibly others, but I looked up the cast list to that one yonks ago because it's my favourite). I wonder if Lise wrote this sketch, considering the subject matter. Either way, Dawn and Helen's delivery is great, especially the faux discrete way Dawn says "period pains". I hope it put stuffy men's heckles up.

Aside from TYO, Jen and Dawn were often the only female presence in the Comic Strip episodes, particularly the earlier ones. Of the first two series, Dawn wrote Summer School and Jen wrote Slags - neither were standout episodes of their series, the kind often recalled today, but with Slags especially, the female characters within them were given more agency and stake in the plot than usual. Jen played five different characters in Happy Families in 1985 - a little gem written by Ben and also starring Ade.

I'd like to give a little shout out to Helen Lederer, who popped up a lot in Rik and Ade's - and French & Saunders' - comic output, while never really being given her own opportunity to shine on TV. Oh, and I'd also like to give a shout out to Marsha Fitzalan, who played Sarah B'Stard in The New Statesman - she did such a good job of playing an intensely flawed, funny female character. There are countless male characters who are basically terrible people - I mean, Alan B'Stard for one - and it's vital women are also allowed to be that awful in comedy.

Comedy has always been a pretty male sphere. Even these days, there are definitely still men Ricky Gervais who believe women can't be funny. Misogyny is still massively prevalent in society. Male comics attract female attention; female comics attract male abuse. That's a simplification and generalisation, of course, but it's broadly true. And I don't see younger generations of men getting better with this, to be honest. Actually, I see them getting worse (thanks, Andrew Tate). Sorry to be all doom and gloom!

When Rik and Ade started out in comedy, women getting to play characters other than wives or the like - that is, straight characters and caricatures there largely for the male characters to bounce off of for their laughs - was still uncommon. Despite the existence of successful female comics across the pond like Lucille Ball, and beloved 1970s sitcom The Good Life having a main cast split evenly gender-wise (I know Richard Briers technically had first credit, but Penelope Keith as Margo Leadbetter was absolutely the funniest of the four of them), there was a genuine belief that women couldn't (and maybe shouldn't) be doing comedy.

Women like Victoria Wood were pushing boundaries in important ways around the time of the alternative comedy boom by writing specifically about women (and, quite often, northern women - which I personally think is important, since Last of the Summer Wine had such a chokehold on portraying almost all of its female characters as ostensibly the same). Her sitcom dinnerladies was both melancholic and hilarious. Her sketch shows and other comic output, quite often featuring Julie Walters (her friend and muse), Celia Imrie, and many others, were all written entirely by her. She was also a gifted pianist and wrote several comic songs.

All of this is to say, Victoria Wood definitely helped pave the way for French & Saunders. She even referred to herself as an alternative comedian in her material. But honestly, I don't think it was until much later that women stopped being regularly restricted to straight roles in comedies created by men (which, of course, most comedies were). This was part of why Absolutely Fabulous, written by Jen, was such a breath of fresh air in the 1990s. For once, every single major character was a woman - men were the scarcity! And Jen has mentioned before that producers would constantly pressure her to write more roles for men. Meanwhile, we can observe that Girls on Top (dubbed the female TYO, which is... sort of true and sort of not), which Dawn and Jen starred in with Ruby Wax and Tracey Ullman in the 1980s, isn't very well-known today. I'm not 100% sure how well it was received at the time, but clearly it wasn't as popular as TYO had been before it. Ruby Wax and Tracey Ullman have both also had successful careers in comedy, but I'd argue that's mainly thanks (particularly in Tracy's case) to opportunities in America.

So I'm not saying women never got to be the funny (also I'm just talking about the UK), but the fact is: if your comedy has a completely/majority male cast, with women only popping up in supporting roles or in guest appearances, it's obvious which characters are going to be better developed, more beloved, and just funnier. I mean, even the Vicar of Dibley, which was obviously written for Dawn and showcases her comic prowess, features a supporting cast of funny men (there was also Emma Chambers as Alice and Liz Smith as Leticia - before she was killed off - but the women were outnumbered by the men). I get that this perhaps fits with the idea of a tiny, slightly backwards village in Oxfordshire - and the fact Geraldine was a female vicar shocking these men was very important to the premise - but still.

We know certain men just REALLY struggle at writing women, too, so they've either done a really bad job or just avoided trying altogether. I do have an example for this, but I don't want to name them since I do love the show they created - it's just, y'know, writing women is definitely not their strong suit! And I'm really not trying to poo poo any shows here by pointing this out. I'm just making observations. All of these comedies I'm referencing here are very old now.

So! To get back to where I started with this!

I love that Lise Mayer was one of the writers of The Young Ones. In some ways, the fact one of the writers was a woman feels pretty incredible for 1982. At the same time, though, it's not surprising that she's often the forgotten one when people talk about who wrote TYO.

Rik and Ade were/are feminists, and it obviously wasn't their fault as individuals that comedy was so male - comedy was also restrictive in other ways before them. In terms of social class and political attitudes, they were definitely something refreshing and new. That said, it wouldn't be until later, with people like Caroline Aherne (who really changed the fundamentals of the sitcom genre with The Royle Family), that working class voices who weren't fucking Bernard Manning actually got some notice in comedy. And I've not even mentioned race in this ramble. If comedy was male, it was even more pale. There were comedies starring black and Asian comics in the 1980s and 1990s that started to break through - The Lenny Henry Show, Chef!, Desmond's, The Real McCoy, Goodness Gracious Me - but there's no denying BAME people, BAME women especially, have had to struggle a lot for a voice in comedy. Comedy is more diverse today than it was 40 years ago. There has been progress. But it's absolutely still male dominated, and still very white, at the top.

Rik was pegged as the golden boy of the alternative comedy movement, and he was and is undoubtedly remembered for so many different comedies. But in terms of pure success and fame? Actually, I think Dawn and Jen have been the standouts of their cohort. I don't think anyone would've predicted this 40 odd years ago - I mean, Christ, Rik had to speak up just to ensure they got equal pay at The Comic Strip. The boys were given their chance to shine first, there's no doubt about that. But it was Dawn and Jen who were the subjects of a BBC documentary last Christmas.

...Maybe there is hope for funny women, after all.

[qqueenofhades]

Hey! Okay so I know this is gonna be a Big Ask, and will probably need the help of some of your followers. I definitely am not asking for a Complete List, but...

As an European, it's really difficult to get a good oversight of which American news outlets are used a lot, and what their general bias is in reporting politically (i.e. republican/democratic/neutral). I mean no doubt this is hard for Americans too but for me everything kind of blends together because I have no cultural context to place these things in.

In other words, could you give me a general oversight of the major news sites and how they tend to report on political news (i.e. "fox news: blood-red republican, best known for cherry-picking their stories so democrats can be made out to be filthy liars who lie and the republicans are the USA's, nay, the world's saviours). So kind of like but for media outlites like the NYT, CNN, etc.

Welp. So, just a minor thing then. I do congratulate you on your, uh, Extremely Accurate description of Fox News, because. Yeah.

It is worth noting that as is the case elsewhere in the world, Americans increasingly get their news of all kinds, including political, from social media (ie Twitter and Facebook) and that news is often aligned with the individual's existing political preferences. This is how we get echo chambers where the only information a person sees is what already confirms their existing bias, and mainstream news organs are increasingly falling out of use as most people's first go-to source. However, just by size and status, they are still important, so:

New York Times: Has become increasingly and rapidly worthless, despite enjoying a prestigious reputation as America's "paper of record." Of course I can't find it now, but a guy did a long, LONG thread on how bad their reporting was, especially about police violence and so-called crime waves, in regard to the headline that they put out this morning without ever taking responsibility for it. They are the KINGS of Both Sides Baderism and otherwise dwelling endlessly on so-called scandals for Democrats in the name of Editorial Objectivity, though of course Republicans hate them for being allegedly "too liberal." I have also posted various things on here about how they suck big time now, so yes.

Washington Post: Another prestigious "paper of record" that advertises itself as defending democracy (their site tagline for a long time has been "Democracy Dies in Darkness") and which has definitely printed some useful pieces. However, it is now owned by Jeff Bezos of Amazon (in)fame, and so is prone to printing things that are transparently in the interest of said billionaire club. Also a big offender in the recent Naomi Biden wedding nonsense.

CNN: Has openly tried to lurch to the right and remake itself as more Republican-friendly, resulting in many liberal or liberal-leaning commentators either leaving the network or being fired. As before, no clue who this is intended to attract; liberals will get pissed and stop watching and conservatives will still regard it as Biased Liberal Trash (aka Not Fox News). So. Good luck with that, guys.

MSNBC/NBC: Generally regarded as more liberal and hosts daily shows with liberal/progressive hosts such as Rachel Maddow. However, likewise their favorite pastime is obsessively dwelling on How Everything Is Going Wrong For The Democrats Right This Very Minute, so it is obviously a very mixed bag in terms of use.

CBS: Another major cable news network that pre-emptively lurched to the right and went recruiting sources in Republican Congressional circles and whose coverage has been tenored accordingly. What a surprise.

[ooooo-mcyt]

Yknow what? I'd actually go so far as to say that, as much as ive seen it complained about, it's actually pretty hard to "UwU" or "Woobify" Grian within the context of yhs.

I mean. It's possible if you go really extreme with it, but it's hard.

Grian at his core is actually a primarily decent person most of the timeand is a primarily innocent party in most things. One who goes through a Lot.

If you really think about it Grian's moral compass isn't too far off normal basic human morality. He's often anxious and hesitant when faced with any involvement in criminal activity, he's frequently dismayed and offput by suggestions of violence (the less deserved the more dismay is expressed as well), he's disappointed and frustrated at seeing the people around him do fucked up things, he's almost always polite with a good head on his shoulders when faced with a kind or reasonable person. Even well into ts, long after first coming back to Japan, Grian is still incredibly uneasy and fidgety with the suggestion that he take part in violence, I mean, remember that time he, Taurtis, and Sam were tasked with killing Geode and Grian not only initially tried to refuse outright but then checked in shakily with the other two multiple times just to confirm if they were really going to kill someone. Grian's typically the character most likely in the entire series to be incredibly put off by and very hesitant about doing bad things (especially to people he's not one million percent certain deserve it).

And while one could argue that we can't really praise his moral compass for being hesitant about involving himself in crime/wrongdoing when he often ends up participating anyways. Actions speak louder than words and all. However I disagree. The fact that Grian vocally does not wish to be involved in this kind of thing and has proven to behave on the more reasonable and polite side when acting independently in relation to likewise level headed people....is Very important. In fact, in actual legal cases, oftentimes a factor in trying individuals is the question of whether they would commit the crime in question indepently or under normal circumstances. This is the basis for necessity, duress, and insanity pleas, amoung other's. People who would not act the way they did in a certain scenario under normal circumstances are often liable to be judged favourably in their actions. In fact, speaking of duress pleas, Grian's got a pretty solid one for a lot of his actions. The times Sam or Yuki held a knife to his throat or the times police threatened to kill him if he doesn't comply with orders or any alike incidents. In cases where duress isn't applicable to Grian's behaviour there are oftentimes incidents in which an outright case for violence in self defense can be made. In fact, most of Grian's circumstances leave him very viable to be judged sympathetically on a legal standpoint. The fact that he was a minor, the fact that he had no apparent history of violence or crime, the fact that he was in a severely abusive relationship with a criminal and entering said relationship marked the start of any sort of criminal behaviour from Grian, any criminal behaviour from Grian always being in a group setting never lead by himself, the fact that he always clearly and openly protests when pulled into these group settings, the duress and self defense pleas that are applicable to pretty much all incidents in which he does engage. Which are also all factors that can and should be accounted for on. a moral basis as well, obviously. And like, Grian has a reputation for being arrogant, cynical, and rude or whatever, but he's really not. He very rightfully calls out other people's horrible bullshit and makes snappy remarks towards his abuser but that's the opposite of a problem and Grian's proven himself more than capable of reasonable civility towards reasonable people. Grian just isn't the selfish arrogant disrespectful criminal that he's sometimes implied to be and in fact he's largely innocent- or absolvable, if you'd rather- in most of the things levied against him. Grian's not a literal saint giving to the needy and taking care of orphans in his spare time but he's a decent guy overall???

And hey, speaking of that super abusive relationship Grian landed in. Let's not forget the impact of that situation. Sam was undoubtedly abusive towards Grian. He threatened Grian's life various times, he basically told Grian he was nothing compared to Taurtis, he shoved plastic down Grian's throat and laughed when he choked, he got Grian locked up in solitary confinement through complete lies just because he thought it'd be entertaining I guess, he forced Grian to kiss an abnormally large amount of people against his will (some of these instances sam recorded despite being asked not to), he himself tried to make out with Grian without consent while Grian was sleeping in his own private room, he forcefully dressed Grian up in feminine cosplay meant to be ~attractive~ complete with fake breasts, he lied to Grian about the gender identity of someone Grian dated as a joke (his words) and lightly mocked Grian afterwards, he locked Grian in a basement for three days straight and it's unclear whether or not he was planning to let him out anytime soon, he dragged Grian into a closet with school staff despite Grian's very vocal distress and discomfort then scolded Grian for considering reported it when this staff member made uncomfortable comments on the outfit Sam had forced Grian into, Sam offered to give Grian to another guy who made a similar uncomfortable comment later on as part of some trade, he consistently dragged Grian against his will into criminal activity whether by threatening him, tricking him into participating, or just altogether falsely implicatng him, amoung Many other things. And every step of the way Sam did his best to completely gaslight Grian. He used every gaslighting technique in the book. Telling blatant lies (for example, "i would never stab taurtis", "you are taurtis", "grian's crazy and he stabbed taurtis"), he denies doing shit to Grian that Grian knows damn well he did ("i would never stab taurtis"). He hard projected his bs onto Grian (from blaming grian for 'making' sam do awful shit sam did to claiming grian actually fullstop did the awful shit sam did). He was just constantly trying to turn people against Grian (convincing yuki and taurtis to back him up in calling grian a bad manipulative friend and insisting he needed to apologize for 'making' sam horrifically abuse him. arriving in the police station and instantly without hesitation telling them grian was crazy and dangerous and pinning his own crimes on grian. having taurtis back him up and help scold grian for getting mad about being locked in the basement for days). Telling Grian he's crazy (taurtis incident again, solitary confinement incident, the time sam kissed grian without his consent while he slept and grian got mad). Telling everyone else that Grian's a manipulative liar (taurtis incident again, solitary confinement incident again). Yknow. Gaslighting. Sam was just so unbelievably abusive. In like. Every possible way. Which adds a LOT of trauma to Grian. That on top of his parents abandoning him as a little kid too because we couldn't leave it at severe abuse.

Grian's not a bad person. And he's certainly a very sympathetic person. Which is why it would be hard to woobify yhs Grian. It would be hard to make a very sympathetic very sad character egregiously sympathetic and sad. His whole arc is getting abandoned by his parents, going to visit his friends, and getting violently abused and forced into a multitude of disturbing activities against his will for an extended period of time.

One could argue that sure Grian isn't a bad person and sure Grian's got a pretty sad life, but certainly a lot of people are guilty of making Grian more helpless and scared and generally 'pathetic' than he is in canon.

To which I reply...not really?

Grian already doesn't have half the fight response people ascribe to him throughout the series. That was a whole other post but honestly Grian's response to traumatic situations is very frequently to cave to them and he's got a much stronger submissive streak than people often admit. I mean, Grian was asked to dress up as his best friend who just got stabbed "to make things less awkward and make me feel better" and he did it within ten seconds of being asked without the others even needing to threaten him at all. Grian does express quite a bit of despair, fear, and submissive tendency in canon when faced with dangerous or traumatic situations. And while it's possible to go a bit too far with that if you consistently leave out the token fight entirely, I see people swing way too far un the opposite direction way too often. There's a reason Grian never actually killed Sam in canon. There's a reason Grian never made a serious attempt to get him arrested for his crimes. There's a reason Grian never just left. When Sam found Grian after he ran out of the gym during the Taurtis incident? Grian didn't lunge for Sam. There was no serious altercation between the two. Grian scrambled back and tearfully babbled platitudes while shoving plastic down his own throat on command. And even beyond that, a lot of the interpretations accused of making Grian too helpless/scared/'pathetic' are works that involve Grian processing trauma years after the fact. Which. Even if Grian was the most aggressive on edge fighter in the history of trauma responses during the traumatic events? People don't process their trauma after the fact the same way they instinctively respond in the moment. Even if Grian never shed a tear throughout any of the traumatic ordeals he experienced, it would be far from unrealistic behaviour for him to still process after the fact by panicking and sobbing his eyes out regularly. Which, again, Grian wasn't even all that fight oriented while it was happening so panic and tears isn't even super far removed from his actual in the moment responses let alone processing after-responses. It's just. It's really hard to "UwU" Grian tbh. He's a decent person, he went through hell (his own words actually), and he was never even really very effectively aggressive when he did. And while it's possible to dip too far into that territory, far more often I see things swung egregiously far in the other direction.

[septembriseur]

I want to come back to this article, which I reblogged a post from (after seeing it reblogged by loads of people on my dash). I recommend reading the article if you haven’t done so. Its central argument revolves around the idea that “modern liberal democracy presents itself as non-ideological beyond ideology,” and that ideology itself is always presented in literature/media as unacceptably violent— villainous. (I would argue that, in fact, any sort of cultural “accretion,” in the sense that culture is perceived as "on top of” and obscuring universalized western ideology,  is tolerated only insofar as it is not really taken specifically or seriously. That’s why even characters who are presented as deeply religious (think of Matt Murdock or Rogue One’s Baze and Chirrut) are portrayed as religious in a way that is broad, universal, flexible, and vague. 

One issue that the article doesn’t really delve into is that supposedly “ideologue” villains are actually profoundly anideological, except insofar as their ideology is, like, anti- modern liberal democracy’s lack of ideology. A really interesting example of this is in Iron Man: Tony Stark gets held hostage by a group of extremists whose extreme belief is... well... even the MCU wiki seems unable to provide any detail on this beyond “destroying world peace.” The film employs a weird move where it obviously relies on the Afghan setting of the villainous Ten Rings to suggest associations with radical Islamism, yet also provides evidence that the Ten Rings are not Islamists. On the one hand, it provides a sort of generic Western specter of radical Islamists— brown men speaking foreign languages and living in Afghan caves— and on the other hand it coyly removes all potential religious, political, or cultural motivation for their actions. These guys aren’t impoverished tribesmen who’ve been subject to tumultuous centuries of imperial warfare, and they’re not religious extremists living out masculine power fantasies. They’re just a group of dudes who kind of look vaguely Middle Eastern and kind of sound vaguely Middle Eastern (since Arabic and Persian are the languages we hear the most). 

Of course, there’s a real-world explanation for this: Marvel wants to be able to tap into that specter of radical Islamism without offending Muslim consumers. But the textual effect is to create a picture of the world in which terrorism in Afghanistan is evacuated of all meaning. Don’t get me wrong: terrorism in Afghanistan is unbelievably destructive and to a large extent nihilistic, in that it benefits no one and spreads only despair and suffering. But at the same time, it arises out of a historical, political, economic, and religious-cultural context, and if you refuse to understand this context, then you will fail to understand why people make the choice to become terrorists (or how to stop them).

That’s the real problem here: the creation of a world in which the only rational choice is modern liberal democracy, and all other choices are nonsensical. 

Marvel is a great site at which to explore this, simply because there’s so much of it. (You could also easily look at Star Wars, as MacQuarrie does in that article— why does the First Order want power? New extended universe writers have fleshed this out more in their web of liminally canonical texts, but on screen the answer seems to be, in the words of the also-manifestly-guilty-of-this-and-guilty-in-other-ways Joss Whedon’s Dr. Horrible: “the world is a mess, and I just need to rule it.”) 

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is a wildly characteristic example of this. It has the thankless task of trying to engage with the effects of the canonically almost effect-free (cf Spider-man: Far From Home) blip, and pieces together a weirdly nonsensical storyline in which the blip enable border-free mass migration, which was revoked when the other half of the world’s population reappeared. The plot revolves around a group of super soldier refugees/displaced persons who want to stop borders from being reimposed on the world. Sam Wilson refers to the refugees as “people who have been welcomed into countries that previously kept them out with barb wire,” and indeed it's hard to imagine any version of this narrative in which the “migration” we’re talking about is the migration of Global South nationals to the Global North. There’s a really plausible specter here: the Global North does source its manual and domestic labor from the Global South while, whenever possible, keeping Global South nationals out with barbed wire. It does make sense that the Global North would import laborers and then attempt to deport them when their presence was no longer convenient. That is, in fact, literally what has happened/is happening in the UK to foreign healthcare workers during the pandemic.

However, as in Iron Man, Marvel wants to mobilize a specter while also evacuating it of all meaning. None of the displaced people we see in TFATWS bear any resemblance to real-world displaced persons. In spite of their United Colors of Benetton racial diversity, they display no marks of culture, religion, nationality, or indeed poverty. They even have British and American accents. They are completely neutral in every way.

This matters for several reasons. First of all, it allows the viewer to differentiate between the migrants on-screen— Western-looking, English-speaking, non-religious— with migrants off-screen: [perceived to be] too religious, non-English-speaking, culturally and racially “other.” Secondly (again as with Iron Man), it removes all context from the act of migration. Why did these people become migrants? Uh... because of the blip, I guess? Beyond some vague references to suffering, it’s never addressed. This allows the viewer to completely detach the question of migrants/displacement from any of its structural context. Why do people migrate in the real world? Because their countries have been completely devastated by warfare, often proxy warfare carried out by imperial states. Because climate change has completely devastated the regions where they live, with or without triggering devastating warfare. Because they belong to ethnic, political, and/or religious groups that are being systematically destroyed by state governments. Because colonialism and neoliberal capitalism have completely devastated the economies of the regions where they live. This is why the stakes of migration are high. 

If, as the show suggests, people just migrate for various personal reasons that really aren’t that important, then the stakes are not high, and we don’t have to feel bad about the behavior of our governments. This is a huge problem at a time when Denmark is shipping Syrian asylum-seekers back to Syria because it’s apparently fine now, Joe Biden is failing to make good on campaign promises about increasing refugee quotas, the UK is housing asylum seekers in situations that violate human rights law, migrant drownings in the Mediterranean Sea have become a regular feature, and the United States has systematically resisted fulfilling its promises to Iraqis and Afghans who risked their lives working for US forces in exchange for visas.

But, like, above and beyond the specific political issue of migration: what is the Flag Smasher ideology? “One world, one people.” I accept that there might be some viewers (mostly those with no knowledge or experience of immigration) who oppose this on principle, but it seems pretty obviously... good. So the bad part is... that they’re fighting for it? (According to people in my notes, this is Bad.) It’s possible to read this as another example of what the MacQuarrie article discusses: personal violence good, ideological violence bad. However, once again we have an example of an ideology that is not ideological, an ideology that is a specter cleaned out of any possible substance. The nonsensical choice here (the one beside which modern liberal democratic norms are obvious) is the choice to commit violence when there is no urgency that justifies this— none of the urgency that, in fact, exists in the real world, and explains why people regularly sacrifice their lives in desperate attempts to escape their homes. 

This is a really good example of how capitalism— a force with no real agency or subject, no evil committee planning its deeds— ends up enacting a project that systematically enforces its ideology. Attempts to render narratives apolitical are themselves profoundly political, even when justified in terms of appeal to the consumer. This is one of the most dangerous aspects of media, IMHO. 

[akookminsupporter]

It me, the big bad multifan anon. *kisses*

1. Glad to have someone new to fight that’s not a taekook anon? Please take this response as lightly as I mean it. I am not offended by your response or the other responses I skimmed. I do take offense at the person who disliked Ateez, so rude taking potshots at my other favorite boys. Jungkook vs Jongho sing off when? (I lie, Jongho is too nice to be subjected to Army).

2. Saying I love BTS but I have problems with the fandom does not downgrade my argument. You can love something but have problems with things associated with it.

3. I think we’re coming at this from very different angles. I run in a lot of fandom spaces. Some of y’all say that I’m wasting my time doing that; that’s fine, but fandom is important to me (also you’re fighting with me on a fan blog so don’t fall off that high horse lmao). I’ve been in many over the years. When I mention stans I don’t talk about casual listeners but people who are active in online fan spaces. And Army has a pretty embarrassing reputation online of saying things without knowing context or believe BTS is unique in ways they aren’t. That’s specifically what fans I speak about. Obviously it’s in part love; when I’m having a bad day I have a BTS pick me up playlist and I actually keep BTS songs for special occasions so I don’t get tired of them, because it’s so special to me. No other group I treat like that.

4. Buuuuut. I think the One True Group idea perpetuates this behavior. I think Army and Blinks tend to be the worst, and not just because they’re big because other big name groups have better behaved fans, but because they tend to have a lot of the one group superiority complex.

5. So my opinion that you should explore beyond your favorites IF you want to involve yourself in kpop spaces.

6. Oh, and I didn’t mean that at you. I already knew your stance on others groups as a been there didn’t like it. My problem is with superiority complex’s stans have without looking past BTS ever.

7. I concede Jackson was a bad example, Blow is just my fav song of the year so far.

Anyways this is getting too long, I’m stoked about the anthology album even though they denied us Ddaeng. :/

This came out as a cocky, sarcastic and ironically with a hint of a superiority complex. You're a better fan because you like several groups and are in several fandoms. Let's have a party. I'll post this ask out of politeness but I think this conversation ends here. Anon, if I don't want to talk about tkkrs, I just don't do it. I just have to say that you, whoever is reading this can like 1 or a thousand groups. You can be a fan of BTS only or them and 5 other groups. That doesn't make you better or worse, it just makes you a person with a varied taste in music and maybe content in general. Anon, it's true that many fans have problems, extreme and biased opinions about many things. Many fans think they are superior because BTS is on top and that feeling of superiority makes them be stupid and say stupid things but that doesn't mean being a fan of just one group is bad. And that's basically what you said. You multi fans have a lot of problems too, some of you are "fans" of bts but are upset that your other favs don't earn what bts earn or don't have what bts has. "It's not fair for bts to win again, I'm a fan of them too but X group deserved it more" I've read more than one multi fan say. That doesn't sound good either.

People can like and be fans of whoever they want.

If they don't want to listen to other groups, that's their problem, they may be the ones missing out. But it's THEM. I don't understand how that's YOUR problem or anyone else's problem.

[acaiis]

The Existence of Capitalism in Skyword Sword and How it Makes No Sense Contextually

First off, before I begin, I would like to make it clear that this is not meant to be a a post to bring politics into Zelda; it is my analysis of the information we are given about Skyloft and subsequent questioning of a lot of different canonical aspects. This also won't contain any major spoilers for Skyward Sword, as this is viewed almost entirely from a world-building perspective. Continued beneath the cut (because this is a monstrous post)

The Canon Economy In game, the citizens of Skyloft rely on a monetary system of trade, i.e. using money to purchase goods. This in and of itself works fine for the game, but I'll get into later why it's not very well founded later on. We see that the Skyloftians have to pay for necessities such as food in game. Seeing as this isn't something that carries much weight story-wise, it's hard to find lots of information, but it can be asssumed that Skyloft operates on a typical "use money to purchase goods" system. Furthermore, the only large source of food we see in game (pumpkin island), appears to be owned privately. Patrons must pay to consume pumpkin soup. This indicates that other islands with the means for producing food may also be owned privately, though these theoretical islands do not exist canonically. Most of this will become relevant as this post goes on; for now it offers contextual knowledge. The Money Problem

Across the Zelda franchise, Rupees act as the main currency. It is not stated anywhere how or where Rupees are created, so there's a few potential routes.

1.) Rupees are mined from the earth.

In the very first installation of the franchise, rupees are referred to as Rubies by the game manual. Rubies being used to refer to them implies that they may share similar properties -- so from here we can assume that rupees are some sort of gemstone that are mined from the earth and made into money. If you're thinking, "but money is made out of paper, why would they use gemstones?", then I will direct you to the historical use of silver and gold as currency. 2.) Rupees are created magically.

In game, rupees can be obtained in an eclectic variety of methods. Killing monsters, cutting grass, and so on and so forth. This could imply that they are generated by some outside force at seemingly random. This particular theory is the weakest of the three.

3.) Rupees are formed via living organisms.

Hear me out. Seeing as a potential drop of enemies is rupees, the creation of rupees is not explicitly stated, and they're not so common that they're essentially worthless, one could assume that, similar to pearls, rupees are created by living organisms. This would explain why they are dropped sometimes by enemies, and even why you find them in the grass (outside of the minish) -- if a monster dies, the rupee(s) could be left behind in the grass and so forth. When taken in the context of Skyloft, the theoretical origin of rupees that makes the most sense at a first glance is the second one -- there are few monsters on Skyloft, which rules out no. 3, and seeing as they have very limited ground to work with, mining is out of the question. However, when we look at the option of magical origins, it starts to break down -- they can't exactly disperse any excess money, as they are extremely limited in who they can trade with, and if money just keeps showing up out of nowhere the economy will inevitably undergo inflation, which wouldn't be good for anyone. So, this leaves us with a limited supply of rupees on Skyloft, following either theory 1 or 3.

The problem here is that they live on a floating island, and frequently travel between multiple of these islands. If, say, one was to drop something off the edge, we know that it would be as good as lost canonically -- they cannot reach the surface, and therefore have no method of retrieving any objects lost in this manner.

In my initial ramble about this, the example I used was this: Young children clearly exist on Skyloft, and typically children enjoy playing with things and imitating their parents. I'm sure most people have had an experience in which a young child has either destroyed or lost money. If there's one toddler that has the idea to start chucking money over the edge, they could potentially even wreck the economy depending on the current finite amount of rupees available on Skyloft and the amount of which is being thrown off. Basically, the economy of Skyloft could be wrecked by a child.

They could potentially use something other than rupees as money, but options here are pretty much nonexistent -- what would they use? The amount of resources they'd have to use to produce money simply wouldn't make sense, seeing as they have limited resources -- which brings us to our next section.

Limited Resources

To add to the dubious monetary system of Skyloft, we have the very clearly limited resources. They live on floating islands. In the sky. With no access to the greater world below. They have very limited room for production. Even with the small canonical population of Skyloft (we're strongly going to assume that the npcs present in SkSw are not the extent of the sky's population, however, because otherwise they'd be competing with the lines of the european royalty), managing food would be a large and very important undertaking. In order to keep myself going a rant worthy of its own post, I won't be going too into depth on how they would make use of the land for survival. All that is needed to know is that food is very much limited and also, obviously, essential for survival.

When looking at an isolated community like this, food would likely be the most important part of life on Skyloft. If food isn't available, you die. Given that it is so important to have food in this situation, it would be a reasonable assumption to have a community in which everyone works to ensure the production of food. With these circumstances, the private ownership (for profit) of gardens is both unrealistic and extremely unethical. Farmers could charge a premium for food, making themselves extremely wealthy, and everyone else would be forced to pay these rates in order to survive.

Summary of Canonical Issues

Basically, we have this community in which resources are vastly limited, obtaining replacements for lost money is more-or-less out of the question, and the community would likely be all working together for the collective benefit of said community. In this context, having both money and capitalism make very little sense, and capitalism on its own is horribly unethical.

Potential Solutions

The full scope of world-building solutions to the "look at it wrong and it crumbles" situation of Skyloft gets into far more than the economy, and this post particularly was spawned from a conversation about Skyloftian food production. This will be pretty much a summary, but if I get around to making a separate post for the food and resources of Skyloft, I'll link it here and reblog this with a link as well. Anyways.

The conclusion I eventually came to falls into socialism. There's not really a central government on Skyloft, so production would be in the hands of the community at large. They would all be working for the benefit of one another and continued survival of their civilization, and seeing how essential food is, wages wouldn't really be a factor either -- you garden, or you die. This eliminates the need for money, as essential goods can be obtained via working for them and contributing to the community. Outside of essentials, any luxury items could be obtained through the trade of items or skill, which would make sense. Someone who is, for example, a woodcarver, could want silk from a weaver. Instead of paying in money, which wouldn't serve any purpose outside of luxury items, they could instead carve something for the weaver. This continues to promote the learning and use of specialized skillsets while avoiding the money conundrum. Plus, seeing as Skyloft would likely be tightly knit as a community, it fits far nicer than charging your neighbor ridiculous prices.

Also, as a bonus thought, Rupees would probably just be seen as gemstones on Skyloft. They could be used by craftsman or as decoration. I'm at a loss as to how to end this post, because I pretty much summed up the bulk of everything I could without going on wild tangents, so I leave you with this:

[sheriff-caitlyn]

I started this blog in 2014, as the first Caitlyn on tumblr, and obviously I’ve been through a lot of retcons and changes myself, not only adapting to Riot’s own public retcons (from the minor, like her aesthetics, to the major, like the removal of the Institute of War as an integral part of their lore) but also to my own. That’s the thing about playing a character as complex as this, is that you learn more as you go. In your interactions with others and the creation of backstory, history, and other bits of worldbuilding to better understand the world you’re in, a character goes from a handful of images and some in-game voicelines to a fully-fledged person with a complex narrative. Sometimes things change, and that’s fine. But there are some changes which... aren’t. 

For all the fingerprints I’ve put on her, she is still not my character. But I care. Sunk-cost fallacy, maybe, but I care about this character I have been involved in and I care about the direction she has been taken. So, without further ado, I’d like to delve into:

The Recent Caitlyn Update In Piltover’s New Context or, We Gotta Fetishise Police Violence, I Mean, Look At Her, She’s So Hot

Back in August 2015, I went, ‘Oh No, they’re going to try to turn Piltover into Gotham City, aren’t they?’, and lo and behold, suddenly we have Poison Ivy now. But I will get back to that, later. In this particular thread, I noted that many of the characters in Piltover seemed destined for a revamp that would rob them of what originally drew us to them in the first place, and that Piltover seemed destined for a rework that would wash out much of their character. Piltover and Zaun were always meant to be polar opposites, but suddenly we were seeing glimpses of Piltover being ‘not as good as everyone thinks’, which hinted that Piltover and Zaun were destined not to be polar opposites in the future, but indistinguishable from each other. It worried me that the only thing telling these two fascinating cities apart would be the sunlight.

So, when we have so much potential for a clash between Zaun and Piltover, between ‘Science No Matter The Cost’ and ‘We Must Advance The World With Care’, why change Piltover to some murky middleground, turning peace and security into wartime capitalism? A world where the people are shitty, where weapons and profit come first, and the only ones making a stand are the ones who are so embittered they have nothing better to do?

Because it has to be ‘interesting’. We’re going to lose bits that we like, that we’re familiar with. And that’s why I’m concerned.

This was before Piltover and Zaun were squished together in an ugly - and utterly ham-fisted - method of showing How Complex The Future Is. There’s layers, guys! Literal layers to this one single city! That means it’s deep! But when I say ‘bits that we like, that we’re familiar with’, I’m not clinging to a fanon interpretation. I’m saying the things that drew us to the world and to the characters to begin with. I could adapt from Caitlyn turning from brown-haired and brown-eyed to black-haired and blue-eyed, because even through I had been doing art, at that point, the change gave me an opportunity to express and discover more about her character (her eye colour being influenced by her mother’s magic, for one). But some of the more stark changes - to family, to job, to personality, to the city of Piltover itself - these result in a character changing completely. I was worried that the cool detective who literally made the world a better place would be chopped and changed into something unrecognisable. I even expounded on my concerns in November 2016, where I could see some of the ways the writers at Rito might make adjustments in the direction of their lore updates.

All this to say, I’ve been working on her for a while, and I was bracing for some bad news. This? This is kind of the worst.

Caitlyn has always been the Sheriff of Piltover, an authority figure, a representative of the law and order that Piltover is famous for. Piltover’s peace and financial prosperity has been directly linked to Caitlyn’s concerted effort to eradicate crime (not criminals, crime! Which, as I have mentioned particularly in this post from 2014, means she upended and reformed the justice system, from the legal process to the prisons to how people are treated as citizens). The city is safe, people have greater access to personal wealth and development, classism is erased, society is flourishing. Zaun, as Piltover’s polar opposite, is a corporate nightmare, with ‘do as thou wilt’, private bodyguards for the rich and powerful while the poor scramble to survive in a system that barely treats them as human. Vi, as a Zaunite, brings a lot of her ‘violence as a problem-solver’ methodology to Piltover’s law-enforcement, though she seems to have no intention of returning to Zaun and seems to have bonded with Caitlyn (‘teamwork!’) to Get Shit Done. And, apparently, there is still shit that needs to be done, though nowhere near as much as there had been in the Bad Old Days.

Vi was, at the time, the awkward-grit-teeth-grin-ha-ha-um-yeah representation of police violence. ‘Resist arrest’, she cries gleefully, as she beats people and breaks down buildings, and we are supposed to go ‘ha, isn’t that funny’ with varying degrees of sincerity. Of course Piltover is going to have problems: anywhere that has wealth and stability is going to be targeted by the envious and the needy. Peace needs to be protected. The problem lies in how that protection is enacted.

So now we have the recent Legends of Runeterra update to Caitlyn, an update which looked at the context of Piltover needing protection, as well as the modern context of Riot’s California location in the Years of Our Lord 2020-2021, and then decided ‘you know what we need? Police violence, everyone loves police violence’.

MAN I thought the stripper-cop skins were bad but here we go!

Her Yordle Snap-Traps (which I envisioned as from the Yordle Military, rather than a racially-profiling weapon as, y’know, they work on human-and-larger-sized people as well) have now been replaced by electroshock grenades, the intent gone from incapacitation and observation to outright paralysis and destruction. Her net-short is now apparently electro-conductive (admittedly, I have had one (1) single RP where that happened, but it came at both a cost to Caitlyn and to her weapon’s efficiency as a result, a last-resort against a dangerous opponent). Caitlyn’s cards in LoR take her from being a detective coordinating ideas and people and putting together a case to a SWAT team leader. This might be the biggest problem in working for a non-combat-oriented character in a MOBA, or in any fighting game: the game needs to find rationalisations for all of their characters being there, being combatants, being able to kill (even if, as Riot says, the lore is separate from the game). We have monsters and soldiers and ancient powers who of course they know how to spill blood and relish in doing so. But pacifists, like Karma or Bard? Explorers like Ezreal? And a sheriff, a peacekeeper, a law-keeper, someone mindful of responsibility and the importance of saving every life possible, like Caitlyn? They’re stripped of that depth and complexity in-game, but there was always the lore that backed them up. But they’ve done away with that completely. Caitlyn was never special operations. She was never military. But now she is, because she had to be changed to fit better into a fighting game. They had to make her violent, and as a result, they have undermined not only everything about the character that made her interesting to begin with - turning her now into a representative of police brutality, but with long hair, pouty lips, and a thigh gap - but they’re also re-writing the context of Piltover. It was bad enough to squish Piltover and Zaun together. But now, Caitlyn’s update is proof that Piltover has gone from a steampunk utopia to a violent, oppressive and cynical post-industrial world. The depiction of Caitlyn as a SWAT team leader (complete with special-forces beret, because hat! Caitlyn wears a hat! Nevermind the fact that she’s no longer wearing a distinctive tophat but instead a symbol of extreme state-sponsored force!) shows us that Piltover’s ‘army’ is not designed as a defence against outsiders, but as an offensive force against their own people. Caitlyn is supposed to be the representation of how peace and order is maintained in one of the largest factions in League of Legends, and if her method of maintaining order is straight-up police violence against their own citizens, then it’s not really peace and order. It’s authoritarianism at best, and facism at worst.

Piltover was different from every other nation in Runeterra because it didn’t have a military. It had defenders, and it had a powerful economy, and it had a democratic political system. But the Piltover update retconned Caitlyn’s hard work. The gangs were back - though now they’re big powerful families like Clan Ferros - and Caitlyn has been de-aged so that she’s still new to the force, that she hasn’t even had her chance to change anything. Her importance to Piltover is minimised... and why is Vi even there? (Oh boy I guess you’re going to have to watch Arcane to find out! Coming to a Netflix near you soon!) With a younger Caitlyn in a violent society, she has no choice but to be violent herself... even if that undermines everything previously established about Piltover and about Caitlyn. This update has made Piltover just as ugly and oppressive as Demacia, Noxus, and Zaun. It’s just another army equipped to do violence, but now that violence is turned inwards. This isn’t protection, it’s control. It’s fear. It’s oppression. Caitlyn is no longer a peacekeeper. She’s a monster. Chopped and changed, as I feared, into something completely unrecognisable from how she began in a world that no longer looks like what it had been... or should be.

It’s hard to tell what came first, the change to Piltover or the change to Caitlyn. Either way, the changes are inextricably linked. Caitlyn was integral to Piltover’s modern state, and Piltover is integral to Caitlyn as a character. Her (original) drive was to make the city and all its people better; Piltover was a utopia because of the effort of Caitlyn, and of people like her, people who wanted a better world. This new iteration of Piltover - full of fear and violence and hypocricy, layered over Zaun in such a way that makes ham-fisted commentary about the wealth/class divide - undermines the value of the individual. It removes agency. It removes hope, which had been integral to Piltover. Piltover is no longer the CIty of Progress... it’s the City of ‘you better be rich and pretty if you want to progress’. And Caitlyn is no longer a force for good or a representative of responsibility, because those things don’t exist in Piltover anymore. Legends of Runeterra has turned Caitlyn into a bitch, someone to hate. She has a marked lack of respect for people, as demonstrated in her new character traits of ‘casually-racist’ (her lines to Veigar), ‘condescending’ (her lines to Viktor), with some added pride in her violence (’here’s my calling card *shoots gun*’ and ‘I aim to win and my aim is excellent’). She is a representative of her city, and she is a terrible person now. Piltover is terrible. Piltover is ugly. 

But Caitlyn avoids that last part. And she’ll get away with it, because she’s a hot twenty-something.

In 2015, I drew Caitlyn-as-Swain, as an AU for what might have been. The overwhelming response at the time was ‘aaa she’s so hot I’d follow that leader of Noxus’, prompting a good friend Swain RPer to comment that Swain - who was, at the time, the withered man in green and gold who needed a cane - was just as smart as Caitlyn if not more so, a proven capable leader, but when it comes down to it, sex-appeal will always trump characterisation and storytelling, and that’s disheartening for someone who puts so much work into stories, to context, to something deeper than ‘Just another MOBA’. And here I am, in 2021, looking at how Caitlyn has been stripped of her fascinating and complex characterisation while maintaining her long legs, long hair, and corsetted figure. Now, I do appreciate the fact they’ve given her a better costume than miniskirt and boobtube. She deserves so much better. I even commissioned back in 2015 for a Better Look for Caitlyn; Tom aka FaerieFountain went on to make her new look canon. But she’s supposed to be a detective. She’s supposed to be careful and methodical and mindful of her status and power. Instead, she’s been made gleefully violent, leaving a lot of depth behind in order to become just Hot Cop With Gun. (As an aside, was anyone else uncomfortable with Caitlyn’s high-school skin? Especially when the writer actually tweeted ‘step on me’? Hello? Ma’am? That is a high school student, that is a CHILD you are talking about? But Caitlyn is hot so it’s fine! Sexualise a child! it’s fine, she’s hot, it’s fine!) Almost everyone who has contacted me about Caitlyn’s LoR cards has been excited to see her. Good! She’s a great character! Or, she was. But the enthusiasm about her is tied to how she’s so violent, how she uses her power to abuse those who don’t conform. But she looks great, smoking hot, you know? And when she’s smoking hot, her dangerous and abusive behaviour and attitude are completely excused. An update to a character needs to take into account characterisation as well as the visuals. Her update, sadly, has focused on the all-too-prevalent problem of the viciousness of state-sponsored violence, rather than the complexity of detective work, of puzzle solving and intellectualism, but because she looks hot and speaks in that British accent, no-one’s going to care. Hot ladies can get away with so much, because legs and pouty lips, but I guess she’s also a cop or whatever.

And, as a momentary aside, why is an eco-terrorist suddenly Caitlyn’s longtime foe? It makes zero sense for Piltover and for Caitlyn that someone who plant-based powers is her biggest rival and the city’s biggest threat. Zero sense, until you take into account that Piltover has been stripped of its character and made into something more aligned with modern authoritarianism than the hopeful vibes of steampunk. Environmentalism? Not on my watch! Deploy the police (the good guys!) to silence the protesters (who are obviously the bad guys becase they’re protesting)! Because Piltover and Zaun are one city now, and therefore indistinguishable, we have a fucking Poison Ivy character causing enough trouble in Piltover to warrant entire fucking SWAT teams opening fire within the city limits and around peoples’ homes! Not Zaun, which is the environmental nightmare, but Piltover! With its fresh air and open skies! Yes, that’s a great place for an eco-terrorist to blame and/or try to fix! The whole thing is honestly so backwards! Like they’ve decided to make a cool character in the form of Corina and just shove her into the story, rather than finding a place in the narrative that suits her. The idea that Corina is C makes no sense. Caitlyn vs C is supposed to be Sherlock versus Moriarty, Ganimard versus Lupin, ACME versus Carmen Sandiego, world’s greatest detective against the world’s greatest thief. It focused on the intellectual battle, the need for self-improvement, and - most importantly! - that this was a fight that didn’t result in gunfire or people being put in bodybags. But we can’t have that in our fighting game! We can’t have people thinking, because that’s not the kind of game we have, it’s left-click-shoot out here on the Rift or in the cards. So now we have a woman with plant powers bombing Piltover, and a policewoman kicking down doors and opening fire. And she’s right there, in Caitlyn’s new splash art, within reaching distance of the sheriff!

She’s right there! In hot pink with a flower in her fucking hair! And Caitlyn doesn’t even notice? Looks like one of my major gripes about Caitlyn being updated - Incompetence - is rearing its ugly head. She cannot even see someone not five feet from her. Oooh, look out, Piltover, no-one can figure out why this single eco-terrorist is causing problems for years, but Caitlyn will figure it out! With her gun! Because she’s a cop with a gun, and cops with guns never cause more problems than they solve, right?

Look... I know. I know she’s not my character. I know that everything I’ve done is fan-interpretation. But I’ve worked for so long and hard and done so much research, and things I’ve done have even been seen by - and used by! - the company itself (not just in the ‘oh what a coincidence’ sense, either, I know my link on Hextech as a form of magic made it to several of the writers, some of whom later contacted me). I might be too jaded by all the disappointment to take it personally anymore, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t still happen. We know Riot Games could be and should be better. So many people in this community - and people who have since moved on - put so much love and effort into the characters and the world, building up from scraps and guesswork and extrapolation. It wasn’t our world, but we enjoyed playing in it. We enjoyed struggling in it, because it pushed us to be thoughtful, creative, to be engaged and interested. Critical Theory doesn’t have to be negative... but this recent update to Caitlyn’s character and to Piltover as a whole is... it’s a step backwards. They’ve gone for the ‘ooh isn’t this gritty and dark’ approach, and swept away so much of what made the original so interesting, creative, engaging to begin with. They’d rather have controversy than people genuinely enjoying the thing that they’re opening their wallet for. 

Caitlyn was a detective who focused on responsibility, intellectualism, and care. What she is now is not the same Caitlyn they started with, and expresses a set of values that I do not support. This blog will continue to be focusing on the old lore, on what Piltover has been and what it should be: a hopeful utopia, a place for people to grow and be responsible and thoughtful and mindful of their place on the world stage. It’s not going to be perfect, but there’s hope, and there’s people here who want the world, and everyone in it, to be better than it is. I hope you join me, no matter who you are.

[sanstropfremir]

I'm curious for your take on a fashion trend that always has been hanging out in the wings, but seems to have really taken off in K-Pop in particular the last few years.

It seems like every way I look these days, we're getting hit with luxury "looks" that are legit just the luxury brand printed all over a bland or non-innovative item. This definitely isn't new (it makes me think of the prevalence of those stupid - and stupidly expensive - Abercrombie & Fitch t-shirts in the US back in the 2000s), but I feel like it's now seeping into K-Pop album concept photos and stage outfits in addition to just their every day fashion/sponsored photo shoots. In some cases it doesn't bother me as much because its a small addition (like Sunmi's triangle Prada barrettes in some of her latest comeback photos - I don't like the barrettes, but they work because the wider concept is great) or its used unconventionally (like TxT's latest concept photos, where you can see some of the usual brands but thrown together with unconventional pieces so they feel fresh).

But in other cases, it feels like they're just phoning it in by picking luxury clothing so they can say "look, we're expensive" and calling it a day. I'd submit the examples of The Boyz in some of their latest teasers, the latest Stray Kids concept photos, and quite a few of Blackpink's albums/promotions since they all have their own brand sponsors that they stick to these days. A lot of American celebrities are guilty of this as well so its not just K-Pop, but I honestly just don't expect more from Hollywood like I do from K-Pop.

It's clear that you can have effective styling without defaulting to the luxury branding (A.C.E comes to mind immediately), and there are plenty of luxury pieces that don't have their branding all over it that often allow the same luxury feel without shoving the brand in your face. So this branded merchandise trend really ends up rubbing me the wrong way.

What are your thoughts? I think my stance is clear, but I'd love a different perspective from someone that has a lot more background in fashion, particularly stage fashion, than myself.

anon ilu i have many thoughts on this topic but i don't think i've ever mentioned it before so thank you thank you for somehow reading my single braincell and asking about it!

basically for anyone who doesn't want to read me going off about luxury branding the tldr is yes i agree, i personally don't like branding in general and luxury branding especially. i don't own a single item of clothing or accessory with an obvious/recognizable brand logo and i haven't for probably over a decade now. now let's get into some nitty gritty.

in the current fashion climate i think most of the time it's tacky to display wealth so openly and obviously and it is one of the main factors in driving the machine of fashion consumerist culture. i also think it's a weak styling choice because it only has one association: money. 99% of the time it does not contribute anything meaningful to the artistic vision of the work and it's just to brag. sm stylists pull off luxury branding better than most other groups because they tend to integrate it well into the overall aesthetics of the specific mvs, and it's usually pretty sparing. with sm they use it more as a confirmation of the quality of the sm brand than just boasting about money in general. notable examples where i think visible branding works are kun's supreme jacket in kick back, and taemin's balenciaga 2017 in day and night, because both well integrated into the aesthetics of the videos and they're also offset by other looks. i also like the styling in bambam's ribbon, because although the whole mv is designer looks, he only uses one actually logo-ed one (louis vuitton escale summer 2020), which gives a visual indication of expense to anyone who isn't familiar with fashion. the only time i can think of an idol using a brand ironically is taemin's supreme instagram bad bitch outfit in advice, because he's parodying a specific look.

most of the clothing from designer houses is absent of logos, with the exception of a few (lv, gucci are the main offenders). but, there is the caveat that it does tend to be the ready to wear collections that have that kind of design. (ready to wear is the stuff that is available for off the rack purchase). here's a few examples:

taemin and key in balenciaga menswear ss2018 for story of light, taemin and ten in louis vuitton menswear ss2021 for advice and paint me naked.

in my opinion there's only one house that can get away with the irony of its own branding and that's balenciaga, because they consistently do the weirdest shit you could possibly think of. they have a collaboration with crocs. no i am not joking. the shoes for their fall 2021 collection are platemail stilettos. yes like the medieval armour. they launched that collection as a video game. they recently cleared their entire instagram but prior to that they were just letting models post cryptid blurry shots with no captions. there are designers that are doing interesting things, but very rarely is it with the physical branding itself. it's difficult because like i said before, it locks the audience into an extremely specific connotation and honestly most kpop stylists are not deft enough to work around that in a truly meaningful way.

the important things to hit in any styling are colour, harmony, and silhouette. thank you for bringing up a.c.e because i would have done it anyways, because their stylist is probably the best in the business right now. i talk about the basics here (of styling and of a.c.e in particular), but anon you are correct, a.c.e uses very very little branded styling and they look great. good styling is not about looking expensive, it's about looking the best as befitting of the concept.

but here's where we come to an important point. like with most things about kpop and western pop culture as a whole, luxury branding and streetwear as a trend has been appropriated from black hiphop artists and black streetwear fashion in the 90s and 00s. it started in the hood as a reclamation of items that were meant to be 'outside their station' (luxury) and an elevation of plainclothes that were available to them. sportswear by and large was always cheaper and mass produced, in comparision to day to day wear, which used more expensive materials and had more complicated construction. and was activities based only. it wasn't until around the 1860s that sportwear even existed at all, and even then it was not what you would think of as sportwear by modern standards. there was, up until the 1980s, a pretty strict unspoken dress code that if you wanted to be taken seriously in polite (white) society, you had to dress according to the class standards at the time. (this still exists by the way, it hasn't gone away at all, especially in relation to workplaces and black/natural hair). streetwear at the time was a form of celebration of black excellence and a subversion of white society. but like all innovations by black people, it got jacked by white america and now it's lost the meaning behind its context. on black bodies and paired with black achievements, branding is an important and relevant styling choice. on kpop boys? they're already lifting second hand at this point. do better.

[mrsjadecurtiss]

A different ask! What do you think Roose actually feels about Ramsay? Just before the Red Wedding he talks very dismissively about how Ramsay could be executed for his crimes, but obviously he knows Robb's never gonna get the chance so maybe he cares more than that. But Ramsay (probably) killed precious Domeric? What does he actually feel about him and potential Walda baby(-ies)?

Thank you for your question :) I have divided my answer into points regarding the different aspects of your ask.

What do you think Roose actually feels about Ramsay?

In regards to the Roose-Ramsay relationship, some facts are important:

Roose did not raise Ramsay, and as far as we know did not interact with him in his childhood beyond the two times the miller's wife came to him after his birth. ("She was never to tell the boy who had fathered him." - Reek III, aDwD) All he knew about Ramsay was that he was his son, had his grey eyes, and was "wild and unruly" (the reason Ramsay's mom demanded a servant).

"Lord Bolton has never acknowledged the boy, so far as I know," Ser Rodrik said. "I confess, I do not know him." - Bran II, aCoK

Ramsay only came to the Dreadfort in 297AC (after Domeric died). This is extremely recent - for context, we have Dany chapters in aGoT taking place as early as 297AC, and the War of the five Kings starts at the end of 298 AC according to this timeline.

As a consequence, since Roose leaves the Dreadfort for the War of the five Kings, he assumed a paternal role for Ramsay in between 297AC and at most very early 299AC (The timeline has the battle of the green fork in January 6 and he'd need to travel to the south before that in the first place). This is only between 1-2 years depending on how early or late that year Domeric died (Shoutout to @blueagia who made me realize this timeline years ago).

Ramsay is violent and cruel, but not stupid (Roose even says he is “cunning” in Catelyn VI, aSoS). He was able to present himself as an ally to Theon in aCoK, and it stands to reason he might have given a salvagable impression to Roose at the beginning while he was testing the waters. Ned Stark is a just man who tried to execute the remote-living Jorah Mormont for slave trade; Since he never went after Ramsay, we can assume whatever Ramsay did during his time with Roose was discreet enough that word did not get to Lord Eddard, and so at the beginning Roose must have had no reason to complain too much about Ramsay's conduct either.

Eddard Stark had never had any reason to complain of the Lord of the Dreadfort, so far as Jon knew. - Jon VII, aDwD

"No tales were ever told of me. Do you think I would be sitting here if it were otherwise? Your amusements are your own, I will not chide you on that count, but you must be more discreet. A peaceful land, a quiet people. That has always been my rule. Make it yours." - Reek III, aDwD

Roose gets a legitimization for Ramsay as part of his benefit from doing the Red Wedding, showing that back then he still had an intention of keeping him as his son and heir. However, returning from the war in the south shows Roose how bad Ramsay's political decisions are when left on his own, including:

Leaving Donella Hornwood for dead, horrifically abusing Theon who is a valuable hostage and a potential ally, being unable to keep good optics and alienating his allies ("Surely you misspeak. You never slew Lord Eddard's sons, those two sweet boys we loved so well. [...] How many of our grudging friends do you imagine we'd retain if the truth were known? Only Lady Barbrey, whom you would turn into a pair of boots … " - Reek III, aDwD), abusing his wife "Arya Stark" who is beloved by their Northern allies, and more...

We see in the aDwD Theon chapters that Roose is still giving Ramsay advice and counsel (see again the Reek III quote), however he also appears to be despairing of him:

"I know." Lord Bolton sighed. "His blood is bad. He needs to be leeched. The leeches suck away the bad blood, all the rage and pain. No man can think so full of anger. Ramsay, though … his tainted blood would poison even leeches, I fear." - Reek III, aDwD

We also see in later Theon chapters that he frequently holds meetings without Ramsay:

[Roose:] "The hall is not the place for such discussions, my lords. Let us adjourn to the solar whilst my son consummates his marriage. The rest of you, remain and enjoy the food and drink." - The Prince of Winterfell, aDwD

Lord Bolton was not alone. Lady Dustin sat with him, pale-faced and severe; an iron horsehead brooch clasped Roger Ryswell's cloak; Aenys Frey stood near the fire, pinched cheeks flushed with cold.  - A Ghost in Winterfell, aDwD

[Lady Dustin said] "Roose is not pleased. Tell your bastard that." - The Turncloak, aDwD

Implying he is losing faith in his son, or otherwise does not trust him or value his input when it comes to political situations; a bad omen considering heirs like Robb usually sit with their fathers in councils.

My impression is that Roose initially adopted Ramsay as an heir for the following reasons:

- Sentimentality, since Ramsay is a son of his own blood ("I should've had the mother whipped and thrown her child down a well … but the babe did have my eyes." [...] "Now [Domeric's] bones lie beneath the Dreadfort with the bones of his brothers, who died still in the cradle, and I am left with Ramsay. Tell me, my lord … if the kinslayer is accursed, what is a father to do when one son slays another?" - Reek III aDwD). As a member of a patriarchal society, Roose was raised with the expectation that he will continue his bloodline, and so likely has the wish to be succeeded by his son.

- Practicality, since Ramsay is already an adult, so he doesn't have to raise and invest in another child for years ("That's for the best. I will not live long enough to see new sons to manhood, and boy lords are the bane of any House." - Reek III, aDwD). [Speculation: For a new son, he would also have to remarry, and both his prior wives are implied to not have liked him ("The two before her never made a sound in bed" - Reek III, aDwD) while he also doesnt speak of them with fondness - so he might also prefer to be single and raise his bastard instead of having to deal with yet another unpassionate/unloving marriage (considering he's middle aged and uncharismatic, a young new wife wouldn't be thrilled about him), until he finds a marriage that provides him a good benefit (like the Frey money + alliance).]

- The belief that, despite Ramsay being raised a peasant and having violent tendencies, it is possible to "educate him" so that he becomes a functioning member of society (see again my point about Roose counseling him). Roose possibly initially projects some of his own personality on Ramsay (Compare this meta i wrote).

During aGoT-aSoS he must have still thought Ramsay viable, which is why he has him legitimized by the crown. He has not known Ramsay closely for long; This explains why he kept him around even though he is so unfit as an heir (it takes time to fully realize that), but also explains why he is so dismissive of him, as that short time of knowing him as an adult would not make him fond of Ramsay the same way one might be fond of a child they raised.

Roose then realizes after the war, as seen in a Dance with Dragons, that Ramsay is not a fitting heir. What this means for the later books is open for now... Will he abandon Ramsay? Use him as a scapegoat? Or still try to salvage him? I personally believe he is starting to see Ramsay as a danger, and is starting to think about how to best get rid of him.

Just before the Red Wedding he talks very dismissively about how Ramsay could be executed for his crimes, but obviously he knows Robb's never gonna get the chance so maybe he cares more than that.

My belief is that Roose is fundamentally selfish and worried about his own skin. While he has the goal to establish Ramsay as a capable heir, he prioritizes his own safety and reputation. By distancing himself from Ramsay's crimes in front of the other Northmen, he can't be blamed for them; by using Ramsay as a scapegoat for Bolton crimes, he himself can wash his hands from the involvement and won't be hurt if any crimes come to light. If he keeps pointing attention at how Ramsay is wild/cruel/treacherous, then the northmen are more likely to suspect/blame Ramsay than the "peaceful" Roose. Also, even if he cared for Ramsay, he would never openly admit it because it's something that could be used against him (same reason as to why he generally keeps his emotions under wraps).

If you compare this scene from aCoK (where Ramsay is believed dead) with the scene you mentioned from aSoS, you can see that to prioritize his own safety and reputation he will sacrifice Ramsay; but he will also defend Ramsay ("Yet he is a good fighter, as cunning as he is fearless.") as long as it serves his interests, of course while still keeping an emotional distance.

One important thing about Roose is that he does not always say the things he actually thinks; When looking at his quotes it is not only important to look at what he says, but which intentions he has with his words and what effect he wants them to have on the person listening. Compare this quote by grrm:

Lord Bolton may well have all sorts of things in mind. Whether or not he would act on any of those thoughts is another matter. Roose is the sort of fellow who keeps his thoughts to himself. - SSM

But Ramsay (probably) killed precious Domeric

"Ramsay killed him. A sickness of the bowels, Maester Uthor says, but I say poison." - Roose in Reek III, aDwD

This is speculative, but I personally believe that case is not as clear-cut as it is made to look. Poisoning Domeric does not necessarily seem like Ramsay's style; i often see people in fandom suspect that his mother is actually the culprit. I personally suspect the first Reek of killing Domeric - we know he once stole perfume, meaning he knows his way around the castle, and he also got looked at by a maester implying he might know the maester’s chamber where poisons could be kept. He has ample reason to hate Roose, who let him live with the pigs and had him whipped and later sent him to live with Ramsay, but also seems to have interest in improving Ramsay's status ("She made him, her and Reek, always whispering in his ear about his rights." - Reek III aDwD). He is also known to be inseperable from Ramsay, so if Ramsay went to meet Domeric, Reek would come with him.

Either way it could be that Roose just didnt initially believe Ramsay killed Domeric since it looked like he died from sickness, and only later changed his mind on this issue - note that Barbrey Dustin, whom he is implied to have regularly spent time with shortly before the quote about Ramsay killing Domeric, seems to be a believer that Ramsay was the murderer, so she might be the one who convinced Roose; And maybe Ramsay's bad conduct during the time of the war aided to make Roose believe her. Changing his mind on this could influence his decision on what to do with Ramsay come the Winds of Winter.

Or alternatively, if we’re keeping closer to the text, he just thought the positives of keeping Ramsay outweigh the negatives of him being a kinslayer; however it seems odd that Roose, who is so worried about his safety, would adopt a man if his first act he knows of was this treacherous and dangerous. Then again he frequently verbally states that he does not see Ramsay as a threat, which can be read in different ways depending on if you take it as a literal statement or as a tool to enact dominance over his dangerous son.

"All you have I gave you. You would do well to remember that, bastard.” [...]

“I know what he said. You're to spy on me and keep his secrets." Bolton chuckled. "As if he had secrets. Sour Alyn, Luton, Skinner, and the rest, where does he think they came from? Can he truly believe they are his men?"  - Reek III, aDwD

What does he actually feel about him and potential Walda baby(-ies)?

I think he would like to have a son that continues his values and manages to be a capable heir to continue the Bolton line. Domeric was the ideal son, talented and competent, and Roose invested a lot of time and money in giving him a great education. Now that Domeric died and all of this is down the drain, and Roose himself isn't getting any younger, he wants to have a new heir in a way that's the most convenient for him. It appears to me like he is currently weighing the positives of each option (Ramsay or new Baby), and it might even be that he has already come to a decision, considering how he is starting to grow frustrated with Ramsay.

"I have become oddly fond of my fat little wife. [...] Ramsay will kill [all the sons she bears me], of course. That's for the best. I will not live long enough to see new sons to manhood, and boy lords are the bane of any House." - Reek III, aDwD

In line with my earlier point about Roose’ words also being about the effect and not just the message, I believe the line about him being ok with Ramsay killing his sons might be very calculated towards the fact that Roose knows Theon is to report everything he hears back to Ramsay. If Ramsay hears this, he is placated, because it confirms that he is still the main Bolton heir - which means that he does not have to think about harming Lady Walda (because the sons are no threat to his position), and he does not have to think about harming Roose (because he just has to wait until he can succeed him).

Of course all of this post is based off the first five books, so the interpretation may change once the next book comes out or through a different reading of the lines.

[writerofthespiral]

Kane's Court Analysis #1 - Phule

Author’s Note: I don’t know if I’ll make this a full series or not, but I really just thought that the Armada court, and Phule by that extension, was interesting, especially read from a historical and psychological standpoint. Yes, I'm a nerd.

Word Count: 4,205

Tw: Mentions of Mental Illness

Kane’s Court Analysis - Phule

I. Introduction

A lot can be said about Kane’s court and the machines he built to achieve his grandiose ideas of a perfect world, but more can be said about the cogs in his system. Phule is a broken cog — one that stepped out of line, helped us, and saved the day. He’s someone to be cautious of, love, or fear. There's a certain complexity about him that, when put into perspective, adds a fresh layer to Phule.

II. Behind the Design

When talking about a character in any game, film, or media space, it’s important to tackle the significance of their design. Oftentimes, a person can tell a lot about someone from their looks, which is especially true for the Armada Elites. Phule, for example, is obviously based on a court jester, but it’s not all jokes and laughs.

The Meaning Of The Mask

When talking about Phule’s appearance — or any of the Armada Elite’s — it’s important to understand that they’re mainly based on the Venetian Carnival, the Commedia dell’Arte, and Greek theatre (with hints of Roman influence). Phule’s mask is based on four different masks: The Joker Mask, Comedy & Tragedy, the Pantalone Mask, and the Arlecchino Mask.

The most straight-forward element about Phule is the Jester Mask, seeing as he is a jester. Simply put, "The Joker or Jolly Venetian Masks depict the role of the Jester in the Italian Middle Ages...The Jesters... wore brightly colored clothing in a motley pattern and they were known for their incessant laughter" (Venetian Mask Company). The Jester Mask represents someone who is colorful and entertaining to his audience. It's a universally known mask meant to be taken at face value, just like Phule, until one looks at the other key components of his mask.

When looking at Phule, one sees the famous Comedy & Tragedy Mask associated with theatre and the extremes between euphoria and sorrow. But what most don't know is that the mask has a long, rich history associated with emotions and the human psyche. According to The Greek Designers, "The Comedy mask is known as Thalia, who in Greek mythology is the Muse of Comedy and Idyllic Poetry, portrayed as a happy, cheerful young woman crowned with ivy" (The Greek Designers). The Tragedy mask, in turn, is known as Melpomene, the Muse of Tragedy, who's depicted with the mask in one hand and a knife or club in the other.

The historical significance fails to stop there. "People often relate the masks to Dionysus originally. Dionysus is the Greek God of wine. The masks depict the happy and sad emotions that drinking wine can bring. They have also been linked to the Greek God Janus which is known as the two-faced god of beginnings. It is said Janus lent the name to the masks" (OnStage Blog). This detail is important, because Dionysus and Janus are both significant Gods. Commonly known as the God of wine and ecstasy, Dionysus was the God of madness. And as the God of madness, he was often a symbol of liberation and rebellion for the lower class and marginalized of Greek society — namely slaves. Then, there’s Janus, known as the two-faced Roman God, representing the transition between war and peace, and beginnings and endings.

In addition to this two-faced mask, Phule's mask has hints of the Pantalone Mask. The Pantalone Mask's features include: an exaggerated nose, cheekbones, eyebrows, and a mustache. The Pantalone Mask is the best-known Venetian Masks. It arose from the La Commedia dell’ Arte character, Pantalone, who was one of the most powerful characters. But, the mask itself was created before the Commedia dell’Arte theatre began to use it.

The character of Pantalone is described as “An old Venetian merchant, often very rich and highly esteemed by the nobility, Pantalone is originally known simply by his formal title, Magnifico. A self-made man, he has reached his wealth with ruthless tactics and keeps his money close to him" (The Venetian Mask). He is rich, greedy, lustful, and naïve. Pantalone is, “gullible enough for being taken advantage of from his “servant lovers” or male subordinates: servants, doctors, captains, whoever can get money out of him" (Roberto Delpiano).” His lust also leads to him being rejected by the women he pursues, making him an enemy of the youth.

Applying the Pantalone Mask to Phule, it’s easy to see why he and the Pirate — for the majority of the game — were enemies seeing as Pantalone is a natural enemy to the young. However, it also implies that he was taken advantage of by those around him and was a laughing stock. And, of course, his willingness to save himself and betray his father to save himself is 'selfish' in nature — more on that later.

The last mask, of course, is the Arlecchino Mask (which also inspires Phule's general get-up). More commonly known as the Harlequin Mask, the wearer serves a similar purpose to the Jester, which evolved over time. According to one article:

"As one of the lower ranking, lazier, and stupider servants, he [Arlecchino] is often abused by being yelled at or beaten (with slapstick stage combat) by his masters and others or never paid his wages. Yet he does have a certain luck and can be clever enough to grab hold of any seemingly fortunate situation that happens upon him. He might not think up a plan on his own but he can come up with some amazingly complicated and absurd explanations and rationalizations. Later period harlequins were more prone to become clever tricksters and rascally tramps while still often being foolish or stupid" (Commedia Dell'Arte).

On top of being a tragic figure for the entertainment of others, Arlecchino is said to have demonic origins. “One of the demons in the XXIst, XXIInd and XXIIIrd cantos of Dante’s Inferno is, indeed, called Alichino. The name itself seems to be related to the Old French word for “ghost”, i.e. hellequin, which, in turn, comes from the Germanic root for “hell”. Starting from Dante’s Inferno, this demon would therefore develop into a comic character" (CA’ MACANA). In a way, this gives one some insight into Phule not being a monster, but a tormented soul.

What It Means To Be A Court Jester

One can’t analyze Phule without talking about what he is — a court jester. But his role is no laughing matter. In fact, in a historical context, Kingisle did a decent job in portraying him.

To understand fools, it’s important to understand the three different types of fools: the innocent fool (or natural fool), the amateur fool, and the professional jester (or licensed fool). A natural fool was someone with physical or mental deformities that made it hard for them to receive employment as anything else. Typically, “wealthy or noble families also adopted men and women who had mental illnesses or physical deformities, keeping them almost as pets for their amusement or as an act of ‘Christian charity’”(History extra).

A licensed fool, on the other hand, could best be described as someone hired for their wits and talents, normally wearing regular clothes. Lastly, there were Amatuer fools — they usually wore the jester costume we’re associated with. In any case, “..those with physical deformities, such as extreme hunchback, malformed limbs, particularly ugly visages, etc. were prized, as were dwarves…” (TodayIFoundOut). Taking this into account, and the brazen nature of Valencia, it’s apparent Phule served as both a natural fool and a licensed fool, possibly serving as entertainment for King Casimir. But seeing as court jesters had duties other than entertainment, Phule served Kane very differently.

Although we didn’t see the entertainment-based responsibilities of Phule, we, as players, did see part of his militaristic responsibilities. That’s right — court jesters served important roles to their lord during times of war. In fact, they were political advisors. “Because they had no real fear of reprisal, jesters were able to speak their mind and offer advice when others may have feared to give it” (WeirdHistory). Kings and Queens would often go to them for advice on political matters and choices they’d made. On top of that, Court Jesters were expected to be the bearers of bad news for their lords, having to utilize their wit and comedy to tactfully deliver unsavory messages.

In addition to delivering messages to their lords, jesters would also deliver messages to their enemies during times of war. They were theoretically protected, but there were some that would shoot the messenger — from imprisonment to execution. In addition to their messenger duties, jesters would entertain the King’s troops during times of war to raise their morale.

On top of that, they were also masters of mental warfare as well. Some jesters would ride on the front lines, spewing insults at the enemy. They rode in front of troops to make sure the opponent could hear them. And while this may seem ridiculous, "...the idea was for the jester to provoke those enemies who had explosive tempers into breaking ranks and charging prematurely" (Weird History).

Phule did his job, and did it well, despite his apparent shortcomings. He got under our Pirate’s skin by claiming that he could hear our heartbeat, and lead his own squadron of soldiers. He’s just as threatening when we next see him captured in Fort Elena, albeit much friendlier. And of course, he still manages to affect the Pirate, though he has little time on screen, by causing us a few inconveniences.

He may not have been Spymaster, but he was effective in implanting fear and paranoia in his enemies. Take, for example, the Villa Trigante instance in which the Pirate is — presumably —betrayed and sent to the cellars by Don Giovanni. One of the resistance fighters we face, Beniccio Amati, is quick to say: "You're persistent. I'd expect no less... From Phule's spies…” (P101). And although we aren’t one of Phule’s spies, it makes one wonder: Just how many times has this happened?

In addition to his competence, we can presume Phule is powerful. He’s clearly akin to a Witchdoctor, but we don’t know much else about him. We have, however, seen the results of a battle with him. He cleared a path for the Pirate to enter The Machine, in which, there are plenty of Armada soldiers strewn about. It’s possible that his abilities manifested themselves similarly to Bishop’s use of electricity, that he had some mojo capabilities comparable to Kane (meaning that he could possibly teleport), or that he is wholly chaotic and mojo-based like the Player (if they're a Witchdoctor). If the latter is true, it plays into what Phule said about being destroyed due to being imperfect, especially since the Armada banned hoodoo within their sphere of influence. In any case, it is interesting to see how so much can be told from Phule’s character design alone, but there's still more to explore.

III. Character Analysis

Kingisle put a lot of thought into what type of character Phule would be. According to his Rouge’s Gallery video, Phule “seems to operate purely out of whimsy and caprice” (KI) and “speaks in two different voices, shifting back and forth between twin personalities who are as antagonistic toward each other as they are to any enemy…” (KI). Phule isn’t all there, but make no mistake: he is very capable of doing what he does. The video goes on further to elaborate “that Phule shifts allegiances faster and more often than any other court member”(Ki), which makes sense with how his relationship with the Pirate turns out — which will be touched on later — and gives the player a basic idea of who Phule is, though there is more to analyze.

Our Meetings With Phule

Besides a few outside sources, most of what we know about Phule comes from the three times we see him: Granchia, Fort Elina, and at The Machine (with the exception of the Villa Trigante Cellar), in which a lot more can be observed.

When we first meet Phule in the Granchia Catacombs, the Pirate sees him leading a small squadron of soldiers. It is here that we first meet the two sides of Phule (whom I will refer to as Comedy and Tragedy).

Comedy is a mix between welcoming, eccentric, and mischievous. In one breath he says “Don’t bother trying to hide, I can hear your heartbeat” (P101), yet he also claims to want to let us go. Furthermore, he calls the Pirate resourceful, saying that, “you’d be quite a thorn in the side of Deacon, Bishop, or Kane himself…” (P101). Meanwhile, it is Tragedy that orders his captains to attack us, calling for our surrender.

What's interesting about this first meeting, upon reflection, is that Comedy seems to think about helping us. I’m not suggesting that one side of Phule is ‘good’ and the other is ‘evil’, but that Tragedy seems more inclined to be protective of whatever is in Phule’s best interests. Comedy, on the other hand, is Phule’s desires. This may be why the two sides often disagree. One side thinks we’d be useful in his desired goals while the other does what needs to be done.

When the Pirate discovers Phule in Fort Elena, their interaction is short, but something to note: Phule slightly warms up to the Pirate. Tragedy is still hostile, but comes off as though he was attempting to keep up a facade. Comedy, of course, is the opposite, going so far as to ask us about why we weren’t in Cool Ranch messing with Deacon. In fact, Comedy gives us a well done, because “...[you’ve] become quite the thorn after all” (P101), then tells us to run along with our quest.

And then, there’s the final time we see Phule — right before the machine. Instead of arguing, both sides of Phule are working together for a common goal: to oppose Kane. Both sides of Phule were waiting for us at the machine, both of them told us Kane’s plan, and both agreed to give the Pirate the Key.

And why does he do this? Phule is able to recognize that he isn’t perfect as Kane would say, in his own words. As Comedy it’s, “I've grown fond of this world, and would hate to see it destroyed. I've also grown fond of you. But most of all? I'm just curious to see what will happen" (P101). And after Tragedy sends his regards to Kane, this is the last we see of Phule.

Another thing of note, is when Gazpaccio calls Phule a tormented soul, which begs the question: Does Kane see Phule in the same light he sees Gazpaccio? More than likely, yes, which may have influenced the way he treated the Clockwork. Another thing — how well Gazpaccio and Phule knew each other? Sadly, there’s not much to work with to answer this question.

In any case, these events reveal the type of person Phule is: part of him is chaotic and wants freedom, the other side of him is objective, if not spiteful. Together, the two sides of Phule make a being that is neither wholly good, nor bad, but certainly eccentric, which begs the question: What is Phule to us, the Pirate?

Friend Or Foe?

Although it’s safe to say that Phule is on friendly terms, he and the Pirate aren’t exactly friends. He did betray Kane, but had ulterior motives of his own. And while it appears he’s been contemplating his betrayal for some time, there have also been times when he’s antagonized the Pirate. We also know that he’s a jack-of-all-trades with experience in espionage, being a general, and an admiral. And referring back to the Rouge’s Gallery, “the most paranoid Valencian intriguers wonder if Phule’s antics aren’t just a clever act, hiding a method behind the madness” (KI).

The thing is, we may never truly know if we can or cannot trust Phule. While he may not be our friend per se, our goals aligned, and it's been established that Phule’s alliances don't often last long. He may laugh and revel in the failure of his fellow court members, but he isn't there to like us. In fact, we may serve as a form of entertainment to him, because Phule did watch us instead of fighting by our side (which he clearly showed himself capable of doing). But, it's unlikely he’s going to show up as a foe in the future, and it would be a surprise if that were the case. It’s more likely that Phule simply disappeared somewhere, and the player may never know what happened to him.

The State of Phule’s Mind

Before ending this section, it’s critical to talk about Phule in terms of his light and dark side. While in the game, he is described as eccentric or insane, it’s clear that Phule is mentally ill by our standards. And although it’s hard to judge him by human standards, due to the fact that he's a Clockwork, since Clockworks have shown their ability to showcase complex emotions, they can exhibit mental illnesses.

In Phule’s case, he likely has Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), but here are some important things to understand: you cannot be born with DID, an alter is not necessarily a different personality, and the portrayal of Phule is not wholly accurate. Again, Phule isn’t a human, though his backstory does somewhat align with the development of this disorder.

DID usually occurs in children who have undergone immense stress and trauma for long periods of time, and as a result, were not able to develop a unified sense of identity due to the weight of their memories. Due to this, they develop a system of alters in order to cope with day-to-day life. Similarly, Phule was created to be perfect by a narcissistic father who could never admit to being wrong, and as a result, his mind was ‘off', and he was written as 'insane'.

Phule also has two distinct alters: his light side (Comedy) and his dark side (Tragedy). Comedy is whimsical, friendly, and mischievous and may very well serve as the host, as he seems to front the most, talk the most, and has the most lines out of any of the events. While Tragedy may serve as either a protector, seeing himself as a beacon of logic and strength doing what needs to be done; or a prosecutor, who may have protective goals in an attempt to keep the system from reliving the trauma and abuse they’ve faced, but tend to be harmful and have a distorted view of reality.

In any case, understanding the two sides of Phule is essential to understanding him as a character. He is someone who’s been persecuted due to both his appearance and his mind, which he could not control, and it clearly has had an effect on him.

IV. Phule & Kane’s Court

In analyzing who Phule is as a character, it's just as important to ask why he is the way he is. It’s easy to see how he developed, but, due in part to a lack of backstory, the question of why is somewhat hazy. The player is given a few details in the form of implications about Phule, but also information that was info dumped that leaves behind more questions than answers.

What Was Phule’s Role In The Court

Cannonly, nobody really knows Phule’s role in the court. As said by the Rouge’s Gallery:

“He is neither general nor admiral, though he has captained Armada fleets and armies. He is no spymaster, yet he has performed espionage and been involved in the deepest of Bishop’s intrigues. He is the ultimate wild card, appearing in the most unlikely of places from the Great Halls of the Palaces of the Spiral to the humble backwaters of Skull Island” (KI).

As a character with multiple roles, Phule proves himself to be a valuable player and a jack of all trades. Due to this, one can assume that he would have been more sociable than the rest of the court, or at the very least close to it, due to the fact that it’s established that his allegiances are often fleeting. Though, it can be speculated that his strongest relationship may have been with either Bishop, seeing as he worked for him, or Deacon since both of them seemed to be the most active of Kane’s court.

In relation to the historical context within Pirate101, I could also possibly see Phule being a sort of voice of reason for members of Kane’s court — at least those who would listen. We know what Phule thinks of Kane, but have never actually seen Kane interact with Phule on screen, so the details are murky here. On top of speaking with Kane’s court, it’s possible that Phule entertained and advised King Casimir, in addition to Kane.

Aside from military duties, with how festive Phule is — in concept at least — he may have either planned out various events in Valencia, or at the very least been apart of them. After all, Phule is a court jester, and one of the fundamental jobs that comes with being a court jester is making other people laugh.

Phule’s Relationship With Kane

Another important part of who Phule is is his personal relationship with Kane. Kane is many things: a military genius, a diplomatic wonder, and effective in ruling with an iron fist, but he fails as a father — just as his father failed before him. Kane is a narcissist who expects everything he creates to be unquestionably perfect, which is why he looks at Phule with absolute scorn.

Phule is what he would, likely, consider a worthless child. He wasn’t born right in his eyes, yet Kane continues to use and depend on Phule for his missions. It’s likely that Kane wanted to keep Phule in place, as he did with his other court members, but Phule is the only elite who’s not based on a chess piece.

Phule is a wild card who knew he wouldn’t live up to Kane’s expectations, and he decided to save himself. And although this choice may seem selfish, it’s important to remember that many victims tend to stick around for various reasons — sometimes they aren’t mentally capable or able to leave. We, the player, have seen Phule express himself, and learn kindness. And although he may have hurt people in the past, he was willing to make up for it.

He decided to leave behind a father that never loved him, and never would love him or see him as an equal. He had every right to be scornful and bitter, maybe even take after Kane, but he broke free from the cycle and decided to help the Player because he maybe, genuinely, fell in love with the world that never loved him and all its flaws. That is the beauty of Phule’s character. He’s neither here, nor there, but he’s just as human as you or I — ignoring all the cogs, of course.

V. Conclusion

In terms of character design, personality, and backstory speculation, Phule is a great character despite the little screen time he got. He may be one of the strongest members of Kane’s court, is definitely one of the more mysterious ones, and is an interesting, tormented soul. Whether or not he’s friend or foe, Phule illuminates the environment around him.

Works Cited

CA’ MACANA. “The Arlecchino Mask: a Motley History.” The Best Venetian Carnival Masks in Venice: Ca' Macana, www.camacana.com/en-UK/the-arlecchino-mask.php.

Commedia Dell'Arte. “ARLECCHINO.” Mayhem, Madness, Masks and Mimes - Commedia Dell'Arte, mayhemmadnessmasksandmimes-commediadellarte.weebly.com/arlecchino.html#:~:text=Arlecchino's%20costume%20and%20mask%20are,Arte'%20Character%20Analysis%22).

“Drama Masks: Thalia + Melpomene.” The Greek Designers, 6 Nov. 2018, thegreekdesigners.com/2016/03/07/drama-masks-thalia-melpomene/.

“Jester (Jolly or Joker).” Masquerade Masks & Venetian Masks Company, www.italymask.co.nz/shop/Decorative+Masks/Jester+JollyJoker%3Fcat=01108.html#:~:text=The%20Joker%20or%20Jolly%20Venetian,known%20for%20their%20incessant%20laughter.

KingsIsle, director. Pirate101 Rogue's Gallery: Phule. YouTube, YouTube, 3 June 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VdwBDdeMYo&list=WL&index=69&ab_channel=KingsIsleEntertainment.

“Pantalone Mask.” Kartaruga, 7 Aug. 2017, kartaruga.com/mask/pantalone-the-magnificent/.

“Pantalone Masks.” THE VENETIAN MASKS, 21 Jan. 2021, www.thevenetianmasks.com/pantalone-masks/.

Staff, OnStage Blog. “The Origins of the Comedy and Tragedy Masks of Theatre.” OnStage Blog, OnStage Blog, 21 June 2020, www.onstageblog.com/editorials/comedy-and-tragedy-masks-of-theatre.

TodayIFoundOut, director. What Was It Actually Like to Be a Court Jester in Medieval Times? YouTube, YouTube, 31 Oct. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkLZYEIslWM&ab_channel=TodayIFoundOut.

“Welcome to the Pirate101 Wiki.” Pirate101 Wiki :: The Largest and Most Accurate Pirate101 Wiki :: Featuring Guides, Companions, Quests, Pets, Bosses, Creatures, NPCs and Much More!, www.pirate101central.com/wiki/Pirate101_Wiki.

“What Life Was Really Like As A Medieval Jester.” YouTube, YouTube, 3 Apr. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7F5ioUQLJc&ab_channel=WeirdHistory.

“What Was Life like for a Court Jester?” HistoryExtra, 26 Nov. 2020, www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/what-was-life-like-for-a-court-jester/.

www.delpiano.com, Roberto Delpiano -. “PANTALONE.” Pantalone | Pantalon De' Bisognosi | Grevembroch Watercolor | Traditional Mask of Venice Carnival, www.delpiano.com/carnival/html/pantalone.html.

[crazygaysex]

incomprehensible conjecture and rambling about sunny/rcg under the cut! idk man I got 1 hour of sleep in the past 24 or wataver and my brain is an abandoned swamp Good Nigte

i certainly am not arguing that mac Absolutely Isnt a stereotype of a predatory gay man/self-hating homophobe or whatevr. i wont argue the homophobe one at all really,not great even if they rectified it and further tried to make up for it or whatever w mac finds his pride (which i love, regardless). but honestly i dont think the predatory complaint really makes a whole lot of legitimate sense considering every charatcer on the show is Extremely predatory in their own right. if he wasnt i’d be irritated to be honest. i do agree w wat mcelhenney said something like that its cool that they decided to acknowledge he was gay without changing him fundamentally as a person; he still needs to fit into the show or watever. like idk he’s not Ideal Gay Rep ofc but he’s awesome still. To Me. I like when character’s sexuality can be an improtant acknowledged facet of them but doesnt overtake the rest of te narrative! It never occurred to me that his behavior toward dennis would be seen as predatory ina stereotypical way seeing as how their relationship dynamic is so fckign bizarre. charlie has the same level of dogged cluelessness about the obj of his affection’s true feelings, so it didnt occur to me to see mac touching dennis’ knee or stuff of that variety as being any different ig or as making fun of queers or watevr. if i am wrong/misunderstanding i apologize. i have never considered mac from that perspective before.

honestly i kinda get the complaints. i’ve never rly thought rcg all have 10000% pure intentions with the insensitive kind of humor they are into, no matter their loophole justifications for shit. sometimes i almost believe their reasoning and do basically understand but it still seems flimsy when you considers stuff like the blackface stuff which is indeed kind of funny at times mainly bc the joke is the absurdity of it all, like mac in the shower with the brown dripping off him like he’s melting; it’s not funny at the expense of black ppl but more so at the expense of how goddam stupid and unaware mac is. i havent seen the blackface/brownface ones in years sos i dont have a whole lot to say excepe they seemed to be clearly against using blackface as the moral while still using it to get laughs. so. really honestly i don’t know that it’s Liderally Ever edgy white people’s call to use something like blackface regardless of context, regardless of their obvious intent? i dunno i have tried to find Black ppls opinions online a couple times but struggled to find any tangible results. the only other thing i have to say with ym white person words is that i think it’s stupid that the streamig companies take down all insensitive episodes like theyre trying to brush them under the rug and pretend it never happened in wake of a changing political climate. i get it, but kinda just seems like corporate scrambling ie disney getting ridof all of song of the south but still profiting from splash mountain eprhaps. something seems dodgy to me about pretending it doesnt exist anymore just to cover their asses. i understand the sentiment i guess but i dont think that’s really the main goal of the BLM movement, to purge streaming services of any questionable/racially insensitive/Fully Racist material; there’s surely more important things at the top of the lists besids Good Branding . im not sure if that makes sense

also a lot of episodes the joke is the blatant but somehow woefully oblivious homoerotic overtones present between the guys, like a Lot of the time. it is very funny though is the thing and a lot of thm are my favorites. i dunno. i also thought hte pooping transgender bit was pretty funny mainly cause it was absurd. i think maybe because i have my own what i think are reaosnable and empathetic views about certain stuff like queer shit it doesnt necessarily occur to me that they are trying to make fun of queer people.. like people make fun of conservative fans for having completely missed the point of it all being satire, and wat if i am being tricked to into assuming rcg has kind intentions and isnt trying to make fun of queer people just cause the thought didnt occur to me? instead of taking all the gay subtext serious- WHICh i Do, i should probably be more aware that to rcg it is just a bit and not really that deep. but mac and dennis were totally fucjing in s5 canonically. anwyays like aside from the carmen shit which is handled So Fuckign Bad and it makes me so upset cause i actually love carmen they were just very clearly not bothered with actually representing trans people accurately. so in the bathroom one if even fuckin dee reynolds is like, saying a trans woman in a woman’s bathroom is obviously normal.. it seems like they’d rectified some of their previous Very flawed rhetoric surrounding trans women (ie the whole “u slept with me when i was still a man” line. makes me cringe a bit ebery time)u get wat i mean?? not that it atones for it obviously. i love carmen she desreved better

butreallt i dont have any like. Pure Faith in rcg to be super accountable or honest about their intentions or to have the most accurate or agreeable beliefs or whataver. theyre just fucking about really because they can without any lashback. and people i think like being able to laugh at offensive shit thru scenarios which supposedly distance you from bigots/evil people and make u feel better about yourself watching these dumbass evil people talk slime. when like. glenn yelling supposedly arabic-sounding gibberish for example: it is funny in this context not just cause it’s wildly inappropriate and absurd but also because there’s prob significant amt of people who actually dont have an issue with it who could watch it and not have that takeaway whatsoever. i dont kno wt im talking about anymore btu honestly if youre trying to watch a show that isnt rife throughout with controversial/offensive/insensitive language and story beats, i dont know why you would try to stomach it with sunny. like for gods sake they used blackface more than once! i dunno man

[friendoftheelves]

People, what is somethings you wish writers knew about your culture, I'll start (I'm English):

If you say British-English I will riot. It's standard English, American English is just the most commonly spoken version of English, being the dominant culture

Nobody cares about sports at Secondary school, I didn't realise my school had sports teams until like year 11 when I saw them leaving and it was just a casual observation

Also Primary school = reception to year 6 or ages 4 to 11, Secondary school = years 7 to 11 or ages 11 to 16, Sixth Form (attached to a secondary school) and college (independent from a secondary school but otherwise same thing) = 16 to 18. Primary school to Secondary school is compulsory, after that you have to attend some form of further education whether that be an apprenticeship or sixth form/college is up to you. It is common to have a compulsory uniform for secondary school and less common for both primary school and sixth form/college. Primary school and sixth form/college uniforms are noteworthy whereas a lack of compulsory uniform in secondary school is noteworthy

American culture is the dominant one, we have watched and read a lot of American media

If you're poor, you live in a council flat and probably have free school meals, "trailer trash" isn't really a thing because trailers just aren't a common occurrence, the only group I can think of that commonly lives in "trailers" is 'gypsy' who are their own community and live in motorhomes. Discrimination against them is common but not in your face, which I will explain in a bit because that is its own point

People care a lot about both rugby and football and if you call it soccer and act all superior about you will make a lot of people mad because British football officially came first and a lot of languages call it something that sounds very close to football in their language and American football is closer to rugby in how it looks to us so it is a very sore point

Also, in case you haven't gathered, Britain is subtly anti-American we had an empire and we are bitter we lost it so seeing America get to where we were is something Britain does not react well to

British culture is all about pretending everything so normal and subduing, ignoring and otherwise refusing to acknowledge what strays from that "normal" so unless we are forced to openly acknowledge it we will not and then we will passive aggressively snipe at it. American culture is all about being in your face, British culture is all about pretending we don't see what's wrong. We refuse to acknowledge we even had an empire

Class is a big deal. The elites in our culture have historically been their own one and this is still seen today. Class divide is what defines us. We have things like the house of commons and the house of lords. Rather than the rich ending up in positions of power due to society falling to prevent their privilege, British culture and actively encourages elite power. There is still discrimination but because of the importance of class divide and the British refusal to acknowledge our own faults, it presents differently. Race is seen as it's own class below working class and there is discrimination between the white classes. The working class are seen as beneath the rich and the rich are seen as 'upperclass tw**s'. The middle class are then seen as traitors and having abandoned the working class because the elite government has purposefully drafted policies to ensure that happens

Also,all of the above applies to English culture. There are three countries in Great Britain and 4 countries in the UK. England, Wales, Scotland and North Ireland and the divide between these countries is clear. Scotland actively hates England, Wales passive aggressively hates us and Ireland is a mess we created (I would suggest waiting for someone who is Irish to explain that because I don't know enough about it and it is an incredibly complicated topic which plays a significant role in politics)

Also we dislike the French, Britain and France are rivals because we have been fighting on and off for centuries but the French are still seen as equals. We dislike them but we will fight alongside them if if comes to it

Also accents are important, because of the class divide, if you have a working class accent you are being discriminated against, if you have a posh accent you will be hated but people will respect your 'authority', no matter how much they hate

Oxbridge is elitist but there are so many other great Unis across the UK

To American media specifically, stop romanticising British culture, I have never seen the academia aesthetic you are portraying and it irritates, we are not just the rich upper class, look at our history people you portray and because of the class divide it hurts to see that as our only representation

Also London is its own thing, Britain does not recognise London as representative of Britain and London does not like everywhere that is London, it is the most diverse and the biggest city in the entirety of England by a large margin, it does not feel like the rest of Britain

On that point, there are many, many other cities and other towns outside of London, please acknowledge them (having never been to a lot of cities I can't explain them to you)

London does have divides within it such as the divide between North and South of the river, the South does not want to be part of London and the North refuses to acknowledge it. The Northern edge of London is also up for debate, for me it is the edge of Zone 3 (on a tube map) and the other side of the North circular by car but for others it might be further in or out so be aware of that. There is also divide between the post codes for example Wood Green and Tottenham, both have the same council (Haringey) but there is a clear divide between them only further emphasises by Haringey having two MPs one for Tottenham (David Lammey) and one for Wood Green and Hornsey. Both Wood Green and Tottenham have bad reps but the Wood Green half of Haringey starts drifting into middle class at its edges with Hornsey being solidly middle class so be aware of the variation in boroughs

And, London has no centre. It is a city that grew with its country and absorbed the surrounding towns. So if you say the centre of London people will assume you mean a specific part in zone 1 but will not know which part you are talking about and will assume you are talking in a generalisation. If they are traveling with you though, they will expect further clarification, don't say the centre and expect me to know where

Also, there is no space between houses in England, they are mostly semi-detached. I once watched an episode of escape to the country where someone tried to find a detached house and just struggled massively. You either have to pay loads of money or be in the middle of nowhere before your house is fully detached and it will still be only the same distance away from another house as the average American house is. We have one of the highest populations in Europe but a small land mass

Going on from that, Britain is definitely European and has a lot of shared culture whilst still obviously being it's own thing (like every single other country) but Britain acts like and will get mad at the suggestion that they are European like any other European country because 'we are entirely seperate and on an island and how can we not have become our own thing' the actual variation is because Rome (contrary to what the school system will teach you) had very little impact on Britain so we aren't as similar to the other Latin speaking countries as is expected, the main reason we are still similar is because of the impact of Norman conquest. Also everyone underestimated the effect of Scandinavian and Germanic culture on Britain because we act like all they did was pillage when in fact they settled down and where embraced by Briton (unlike Rome which did actually pillage and subjugate Britain without being widely accepted) so that's why there is variation. We are very European but not in the way people expect so Britain refuses to acknowledge it

Honestly British culture is a lesson in tolerance versus acceptance. But there is still active discrimination as people of colour and the LGBTQ+ can attest

Also Christianity is baked into Britain to the point that even atheists follow Christian customs without questioning it but significantly less extreme than France which just stops on Sundays (but is acknowledged as a Christian country so you know) and 'pagan' - so, in this case, Celtic, anglosaxon and Norse - culture has effected us being carried down in fairy tales and witchcraft

Some of this will be upsetting to many people as it should be because British culture hurts, it discriminates without acknowledging it and I want people to know that. I want people to see that when they write about it because the alternative is writing about Britain as if it has faults and that would be so much worse. So writers, please bear all of this in mind when talking about Britain, even and especially, the ugly parts

This has been a white, middle class, Londoners, perspective on Britain and no I will not call myself English because the divide between England and London means that being a Londoner rather than just English matters in this context

I would recommend listening to the perspective of Brits from other groups, such as England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, working class, upper class, Brit of colour, non-passing queer folk, Muslim, Hindu, Indian (the largest immigrant group is actually Indian and that's just immigrated in their lifetime rather than born British and Indian), Jewish (especially Jewish I can talk about that on another post but let's just say the Jewish have never been accepted but always been part of Europe) and so on, to get a more comprehensive view of Britain

[angels-heap]

Okay hello I feel like you are Wise and Know things... it’s kind of hard to explain but is it wrong to just... Enjoy Things? With all the HL pisscourse going around it’s making me nervous about liking things like TF2 and missing something critical and huge in the media I consume and being labelled as a bad person for doing that. ESPECIALLY for liking characters like GLaDOS or Wheatley from Portal. I want to just Enjoy Things but there’s guilt tied to not being critical about every single detail

Thanks for reaching out, friend, and I’m so sorry to hear the current nonsense has you feeling this way. I have a hunch you’re not alone, and although I don’t claim to have all the answers here, I hope hearing my thoughts on this helps alleviate some of that guilt. This got long and I’m not putting it under a cut because it’s important. 

The short answer to your question is no; it is not wrong to just enjoy things. You don’t have to constantly examine all your favorite media under a microscope and incessantly highlight or dwell on its faults to be a good person or a good consumer of media, and here are a few reasons why:

(CW for brief mentions of all the squicky/potentially triggering things that tend to come up in ship discourse conversations.)

1. It is virtually impossible to find a truly unproblematic piece of media.

And that’s okay! Media is both created and consumed by people, and people are notoriously imperfect and complex. Sometimes creators choose to explore dark or taboo themes that are always going to squick some people out, no matter how well (or poorly) they’re handled. Sometimes content creators are actually terrible people who deliberately try to perpetuate their messed-up ideas through media. Sometimes creators’ deeply internalized prejudices seep into a work in a way they may not even consciously realize. Sometimes consumers’ experiences or prejudices color the way they perceive a piece of media and may lead them to a very different interpretation than what the creators intended.

Point is, there are a lot of shades of gray here. We should always strive to do better as creators and consumers, but the goalposts for “perfection” are always moving.

There’s almost always going to be something about your favorite media—no matter how benign it is—that rubs some people the wrong way, or (perhaps unintentionally) perpetuates harmful stereotypes, or starts out okay but doesn’t age well down the line. Period. That’s an uncomfortable truth that we all have to sit with. But don’t despair, because…

2. It is still okay to engage with and enjoy media that you know is problematic. Even if it’s really problematic. For real. I promise. The media you consume does not determine your worth as a person. 

Since you specifically mentioned Valve games, I’ll start out by clarifying that (as of July 2020), Valve games and their fandoms are pretty benign overall. Perhaps in the future, more of the humor will start to age poorly, or Valve will make some extremely questionable design choices with their next game, or Gabe Newell will be outed as a prolific serial killer, or whatever, but for now, there’s really nothing about Valve games that should make the average person go, “holy shit, you’re into that?!” when you bring them up in polite company. (And anyone who insinuates otherwise re: Half Life shipping discourse is either very confused about the definition of certain words or is maliciously trying to stir up controversy.)

That said, everyone has a different threshold for what they do and don’t want to see in media, and those boundaries are totally valid! But it is absolutely possible to enjoy even notably problematic media (e.g., Game of Thrones, the new Star Wars sequels, old movies where the directors were huge assholes to the female cast members, etc.) without being a bad person or a bad social justice activist. Instead of rambling about that at length, I’m going to link you to this excellent blog post on the subject.

The big takeaway here is that you can love a piece of media while also acknowledging its faults. In fact, I’d argue that a key part of loving something is being able to think critically about it and trying to hold its creators to a higher standard whenever possible. However, that doesn’t mean you have to be constantly analyzing it or prefacing every single public acknowledgment of your love for it with an “I know this is problematic and I swear, I just like it for XYZ” disclaimer, because…

3. Tumblr’s black-and-white thinking about media consumption is not healthy, “normal,” or (usually) present to the same degree in other virtual or real-world spaces.

I think most of the people on Tumblr who seem to be on a constant (and ultimately futile; see point 1) quest to find the One True Unproblematic Media have good intentions. I really do. And I applaud them for actively trying to understand and un-learn their own biases while becoming critical consumers of media.

Unfortunately, for a bunch of complicated reasons I still don’t totally understand and won’t get into here, some online communities tend to take these things to such an extreme that, in their quest to create a safe and/or inclusive environment, they actually end up creating an even more hostile one. To reference the recent drama again, nowhere is that more apparent than with “pro-ship” vs. “anti-ship” discourse.

Basically, “pro-shippers” believe that fiction is entirely separate from reality and therefore, “problematic” content (up to and including p*dophilia, inc*st, noncon, etc.) has just as much of a right to exist as any other content; this makes some sense on a purely intellectual level, but in the real world, obviously things are much more complicated than that. “Anti-shippers,” on the other hand, claim to be specifically against the aforementioned Big Three Bad Things in theory, but in practice, they’re basically the fandom purity police; they strive to criticize and shut down any media or fandom activity that could be even remotely construed as problematic, because they seem to have a (perhaps well-intentioned but ultimately misguided) perception that discussing anything “bad” in fiction will glorify/condone/promote it in real life and that all creators of “bad” fiction are inherently malicious. Often, they’re willing to twist definitions and jump through some very strange hoops to justify why something is “bad.”

The truth lies somewhere between those two extremes; fiction absolutely can (and does) impact reality, but not in such a clear-cut cause-and-effect way. People can see or read about dark/complicated/problematic things without condoning or enjoying them in real life, and conversely, people can dislike even relatively benign things without having to have an extreme, profound reason for feeling that way. People can also enjoy “bad” media while being fully conscious of what’s wrong with it and taking steps to ensure that it doesn’t negatively influence them, or they may lack the knowledge/context to understand why something is “bad” at first and change how they engage (or don’t engage) as they learn. There’s a lot more nuance to this issue than Tumblr is willing to acknowledge, and as a result, a lot of innocent people who just want to enjoy things in peace get sucked into some truly absurd drama that can be really hard to deal with. And that sucks. A lot.

So, TL;DR: Almost all media is at least a little problematic, but that’s okay, because the media you like does not determine whether or not you’re a good person. (And especially if your primary interests are Valve games... you’re good, mate. Seriously.)

The fact that you’re even asking me this question shows me that you’re being a thoughtful, responsible consumer of media, and that’s all anyone can reasonably ask of you without being a gigantic hypocrite—because whether they’ll admit it or not, everybody who’s perpetuating this discourse both on and offline likes something “problematic.” It’s impossible not to, unless you live under a rock and consume exactly zero media. Take care, and try not to let the discourse get to you! Go forth and enjoy things! (As always, my inbox is open for follow-up questions.)

ETA: Here’s another excellent tumblr post on this topic! And another one! 

[bellablue42]

Myself as a writer and Death of the Author

I’m trying to write a novel, and it’s really hard. I feel like I’m not getting anywhere, I’m on my fifth draft and trying to create a lengthy enough narrative that doesn’t feel like filler. It is difficult, to say the least, and I really admire people with the ability to write quickly and well. 

But there’s a lot about She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named going around again, and it made me think. We all know that she’s not the best person, but she is a writer, and she is a creator, and her works are widespread. And that... causes problems.

Is it ok to consume her work? How much do her opinions reflect in her work, and can we spot it? I have no idea, but here’s my best shot, as an aspiring writer and a high-school literature student.

Please be warned I have no experience, and I’m kind of making this up as I go along, but here we go.

Last year, at the start of the school year, in Literature, my class watched Midnight in Paris. The movie was written and directed by Woody Allen, who is... well-known for all the wrong reasons, namely allegedly assulting seven-year-old Dylan Farrow. One of the girls in my class pointed out this fact, and my teacher nodded and said that we were discussing Death of the Author.

Death of the Author is an interesting topic. It holds that an author’s intentions and background should have no impact on interpreting a text. It is interesting, and it is really bloody hard to do.

Keep in mind that if you pick up a book by a relatively famous author, you will know something about them. If you take Mrs Dalloway, for example, if you’ve ever heard of Virginia Woolf, you will doubtless know that she was a writer and that she committed suicide, even if you know nothing else. The fact that she did commit suicide will influence the way you read Mrs Dalloway.

If you read Lady Lazarus by Sylvia Plath, for example, you will probably know that Plath was not mentally healthy and committed suicide by sticking her head in an oven. And that will influence the way you read Lady Lazarus. If you read any of Lovecraft’s work, you will come to the conclusion that he is a racist. It’s not hard to figure out.

Death of the Author means separating these facts from the way you interpret a work. It is really hard, trust me.

Because we look for links, everywhere we look for these links. We know that Sylvia Plath committed suicide, so when you read Lady Lazarus, you make connections. Go read Lady Lazarus now, go read it knowing that Plath committed suicide, and keep that fact in mind. Here’s the link: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49000/lady-lazarus

Now read it again, and try to forget it, all the connections you made knowing that Plath stuck her head in an oven. It is really hard to do, because you know, and you remember. Death of the Author is forgetting the context of the author, forgetting their impact on the text.

Here’s a thing, I write a lot. Like, a lot. Not published, obviously, but I write about as much as I read, and that is a lot. And I believe, that when you write, you put a bit of yourself into it. It doesn’t have to be obvious, maybe just the way you connect to a character, or your views on a topic. I can’t say I don’t do this - my main character is an asexual lesbian who panics a lot and loves her girlfriend. Her competence doesn’t come from me, but the gender, the sexuality, the panic? All of that is inspired by, you know, me. My experiences, my opinions. I am conscious in my word choices, I’m trying not to use gendered language for the soldiers, because they are men, women, non-binary, genderfluid and others, all together, so my main character can’t call them her men, they are her soldiers. It’s hard. I’m aware that I have biases, and my reading experiences are usually texts that ... do not do this. 

Sorry, I’m rambling, and no-one wants to know. 

But I as a writer, put a bit of myself in my work. And I think that’s what makes Death of the Author so hard to do, so hard to remember. 

And now onto HER. I can’t remember what brought my attention to her in the first place, maybe a post about a Harry Potter tv show?

The problem about JK Rowling is that she wrote Harry Potter. And Harry Potter is... huge. The problem is that we grew up on Harry Potter. 

Looking back, there are big problems with the series; plot holes bigger than my fist, a lack of original plot lines, and little creativity. Harry Potter is a mishmash of already well-established genres and archetypes, and it... doesn’t fit together particularly well. 

(Take Dumbledore, at once the mentor archetype from the fantasy genre and the authority figure in the boarding school genre. The problem is that being both causes a bit of dissonance. He mimics the typical ‘wise old mentor wizard’ from fantasy, like Gandalf, but he is also a school headmaster. He is a grandfatherly teacher who takes an interest in the son of two of his past students, nothing particularly new, but at the same time, he’s a figure out of legend, an incredibly powerful man, both magically and politically. It is hard for my brain to fit them together well because they are two different archetypes and they don’t mesh. They belong in different genres, because the way he is written can’t seem to decide which one he is. I might write more on this later if anyone’s interested)

But Rowling’s a TERF. And she’s been on Twitter and said all sorts of bizarre things about the odd mish-mash of genres she’s created. I’m not really a fan of Harry Potter anymore, I grew up with it. I have seven books in a shoebox under my bed. I have read far better books, I have read many, many books with more interesting stories, better internal consistency and characters with actual depth, who don’t need fandom to be interesting. 

And yet I still have all seven books in a shoebox under my bed. It’s hard. I genuinely liked the books - when I was twelve. I’d sooner recommend the Discworld books by the late great Sir Terry Pratchett than Harry Potter, and not just because of HER. They’re better books. Harry Potter is average. 

But we loved them. 

And Rowling’s a TERF. Her views on trans people are... not okay, by any measure. I don’t have words for ... how great the cognitive dissonance is. She wrote a series, a seven-book, eight-movie series, about the power of unconditional love. Over a million words, just under 20 hours about acceptance and tolerance. And yet she doesn’t believe that trans women are women. 

The problem is that it is hard to apply Death of the Author. Once you know that JK discriminates against transgender people, it is hard to read Harry Potter without remembering that. 

Then you get into other issues about how all of the endgame couples are straight. And Dumbledore’s only gay when the series is ended. And there’s a lack of diversity in the books and the movies. And once you start reading into it, it gets ... iffy. Because it’s not meant to be read into, not meant to be analysed. It’s a children’s series. But it’s problematic, not for the things it says, but fo the things it doesn’t say.

The thing is that SHE is impressive. As a writer, at least, not as a person. Because it is hard to write, and she managed an extensive, relatively-coherent storyline across seven books, released over ten years. But her first book got rejected, again and again. 

Her net worth is somewhere between 650 million and 1.2 billion. And she earns all that money off a book series whose main themes are friendship and love. And she’s a TERF.

I can’t say I hate her - I don’t know her. She might be a genuinely nice person, but she’s a TERF. She doesn’t believe that trans people are the gender that they say they are. I cannot understand how you can believe that, but. She does, apparently. She wrote so much about love conquering all evil, and friendship saving the day, but she doesn’t think that trans women should be allowed into female bathrooms.

I hate her ideology. 

Go read Discworld instead. Think about Death of the Author, then read Night Watch. It’s a great book. Or go read Good Omens, because Pratchett co-wrote that. 

The thing about Discworld is that you can tell what Pratchett thinks is worth paying attention to. Small Gods is primarily about religion, about belief, and about people. The last one is the most important, because Pratchett believed that the greatest thing you can be is human and kind, and he’s right. The witches on the Discworld are... perhaps not nice, but they are decent, and they are fundamentally people. They are human, and they are kind, and that is what makes them good people. 

The thing about Harry Potter is that “Muggle” sounds like a slur. There’s all this attention paid to the whole “mudblood” thing that people forget that behind all the blood purity nonsense - which sounds a lot like eugenics - the purebloods, the rich entitled kids, believe that non-magical people are less than animals. The Wizarding world is stuck in the Middle Ages, not even the bloody Renaissance. Human history has passed them by. It is so hard now to read Harry Potter without finding problems, like how all the magicals are fundamentally stupid, how a literal one-year-old is praised for supposedly killing an extremely powerful mass-murdering psycopath. A one-year-old. The Wizarding World is not a functional society, and it’s not meant to be. It’s not meant to hold up to scrutiny.

Look, Harry Potter is average, at best. Ask me for good kids books and I will point you in a dozen different directions, and I will point you in a dozen different directions - but not there. 

Because Death of the Author is hard. Not taking the creator’s intentions and background into account when interpreting a work is hard. You can know that an author is queer, or a person of colour, or of a certain religion, but once you know it, it is hard to not see it. 

You see, all the main characters in Harry Potter are white. They’re also all straight. Everyone not Harry Potter is flat. There is very little depth to anyone in those books, because they don’t matter. Hermione is defined by her relationship with Ron because her relationship is the most debated part of her character. Ron - in the movies at least - is seen as stupid because he is written stupid, he is written as comic relief. Book-verse Ron is a strategist, but that’s only really shown in the first two books. They’re not written with depth, they don’t need it. Harry’s the protagonist, Hermione’s the smart one, Ron’s the dumb-but-loyal comic-relief best friend. Ginny is the love interest, Luna’s the crazy one, the twins are comic-relief pranksters. Draco is the racist antagonist, Voldemort is a more extreme mass-murdering version. There are exactly zero trust-worth adults in a whole seven-book series, there are three? characters with depth in the whole series, everyone else is defined by a role and a single characteristic.

It is so hard to look critically at Harry Potter and not see everything that relates to Rowling. It is problematic as a series, and problematic as content created by a TERF. It is problematic as literature in the first place. It’s written as a kids book, but for all its ‘adult’ themes, it can’t stand up to scrutiny.

This got long - I got a bit carried away. Sorry.

Tell me what you think, tell me your opinion. I’d love to discuss this with you because it so hard to write about. Argue with me, tell me I’m wrong. Tell me I’m right if you think I am. Have I said anything problematic? Please lets start talking about this because it’s interesting and a difficult topic, and I think we need to start looking closer at authors and content creators. 

[libertarian-druid-in-greater-vt]

So, I started playing the original Bioshock after that post stating my political views

And really? I’d love to live in pre fall Rapture. It’s a little more Ayn Rand inspired than I’d go for personally, but, not needing to go through the FDA to license cheap insulin, being able to own whatever I wanted, and being able to create legitimate social mobility without dependence on a state all sound pretty fucking awesome. 

But I also noticed something. Everything went to shit because of an extremist version of an already extreme set of ideals. 

1: Freedom of religion was replaced by restriction of all religions. Which since Ryan came from the USSR, makes sense. 

2: Businesses were encouraged to screw over their workers because charity was seen as a sort of sin.

3: Crime was the only way to get things you wanted that weren’t able to be produced locally.

4: The poor were expected to be okay with working jobs they were overqualified for.

5: Charity was seen as reason to raid people who (admittedly not in this case but as far as was known) were just trying to help out their fellow man. 

Like, people claim that’s what Libertarians want, but it isn’t. Freedom of religion is just that to us, the right to practice what you want to so long as it doesn’t hurt anyone. And before someone gets up in arms about that, I’m talking human sacrifice type shit. I know Tumblr. 

When I owned my business, before the tax on my product went to 92%, I was paying my people what they were worth. 20% commissions and a $16 an hour wage. Of course, that was one employee, so it was more than worth it. 

I want to legalize things that are currently outlawed, not restrict more stuff. Same with damn near every Libertarian I’ve spoken to.

While I don’t want underqualified people working for me, I do want the people who are qualified working for me.

Charity, voluntary charity, is well worth it. 

It wasn’t Libertarianism that killed Rapture, it was a distorted and extreme version of Ayn Rand’s philosophy that was already the extremist version of Libertarianism along with an invented (in this case meaning fake) chemical addiction and gene manipulation that did it. 

I want the artists of the world to be free to create whatever they wish. I want inventors to be able to change the world for the better and earn what they feel is right for their inventions. I want medical researchers to be able to create medicine that helps everyone at a low price. Not capped, but low due to not needing the approval of a federal government organization taxing the fuck out of it. That was the original reasoning for Novolog being so damn expensive. Now it is greed and essentially a monopoly on insulin due to other sources of competition not being able to compete due to federal oversight. 

I want the movers of industry to be able to do so freely. To invent things like Nuclear Fusion, robots that are intelligent enough to do the jobs that nobody wants to, and to be able to really set their sights on the stars. 

So if Bioshock was your first look at Libertarian thought, it’s wrong. Those people were not Libertarians. They were radicals with an excessive importance on self interest from an already radical point of view. If you’ve read Ayn Rand’s book Atlas Shrugged then you know what the homage was to for Rapture. And you also know that this wasn’t anything like Galt’s Gulch other than being a new land for the captains of industry and art. 

If you haven’t, then I honestly wouldn’t suggest it if you’re looking for information on Libertarian thought. I’m far down when it comes to the political compass, which is what is typically called the Libertarian area. Left and Right don’t hold too much difference unless you get to the far side and economics. Socially, I’m pretty far left, financially, I’m right. That’s the typical tagline of Libertarians. They don’t usually go too far into what that means though. 

Financially right would mean, in this context, smaller government spending. Keep safety nets in place, but pull our focus away from the military spending and onto infrastructure and domestic issues as well as giving the free market more wiggle room.

Socially left would mean, in this context, that I’m in favor of LGBT rights, I want to legalize cannabis (and in my case all narcotics to reduce the amount of users, and I’ll make a separate post on that), potentially a single payer healthcare system with some distinct modifications, demilitarization of the police,  and other things typically favored by the left. 

We aren’t heartless assholes just looking to make a buck. In fact, if my ideas were more popular amongst our current government, then we’d likely have reduced taxes due to how much less we’d be spending on our military. There would obviously still be spending, but at that point it would be for upkeep, wages, and defense of allies only. No more invasions, no more civilians being bombed by drones and creating more extremists, and no more 20+ year long wars fighting against terrorists that we made. 

If anyone has any questions, my ask box and dms are always open. If you’re worried about people seeing you take an interest in it, then ask on anon, because that’s also open.

[kooksea]

sound (m);

pairing: jeon jungkook | reader —college!au, fuckboy!jungkook, fratboy!jungkook

genre: TOO MUCH SMUT? just smut, smut, and more smut. graphic smut scenes, multiple orgasms, daddy kink, cum play, overstimulation, oral (both male and female receiving), dom!jungkook but it changes...later, public oral (someone else is receiving tho), nipple play, hell amount of spanking, they just fuck in every way that they can lol, the story literally begins with smut and ends with smut...no between, fluff too if you push too hard

summary: you're taking a very interesting course this semester —sound psychology, and jeon jungkook, being the fuckboy he's always been, has an idea to record you while having sex for the assignment which was given.

wordcount: 13,738 (that’s how whipped i am)

“So Brian Eno invested the music for airports, and this awakened a new era for psychologists to investigate further. Can music changes the atmosphere of the place? We all know that music was used for therapy in many cases, but in this class, we’re not discussing therapy, it’s another class that you’ll be taking soon.  This…this is all about the music you don’t even think you were listening to in some places, and how they change your thoughts and again — you didn’t even know.”

Psychology was something you always wanted to study. You don’t exactly remember how you were fund over this field and when, and the only thing you know that in some way you just kind of —liked it.  A future with it seemed much brighter, and you worked your ass off to earn a good amount of scholarship from a very well-known university in the town. It was like a dream come true. 

That was a year ago.

This year, during the registration period of your third semester at the University, you saw a very interesting elective course: sound psychology. Which, you thought, would be a great opportunity for you to combine the first and second thing about life that makes you excited: psychology and—music.

So you registered the course, to listen to classes and get great grades, of course; not to try to focus (and failed everytime) on the Professor because a douchebag, cunt addicted asshole was sitting next to you, fingering some girl behind the desk, making it harder for you to hear what the Professor was saying.

University couldn’t be better, right?

“Mmh,” you hear the girl’s groans, echoing in the big class. Your cheeks get redder as soon as you hear more of them, uncomfortable with being very near to the incident. You were really, really wanted to listen to the class.

I mean, yeah, a few amounts of public sex could be an entertaining show for you to watch. But, that, wouldn’t be a problem when the class is boring, or useless. Unfortunately, you really liked the class, and you really needed a great grade to sustain your scholarship.

You don’t turn your left to face them, no, because you don’t want to have nightmares about your classmates doing oral while you were in the class, at the time the class is happening. As amazing and extremely filthy (in a good way) it sounds, (1). the girl wasn’t you, (2). you really liked the class (for the hundredth time you were pointing that out), and—the most important fact about why you couldn’t ignore a bunch of teenager playing with each other was because (3). Jeon Jungkook was giving the head.

Your history with fratboys and how needy their asses are were way longer than Jungkook’s history with girls, however, even though you didn’t know the kid — you just know that you weren’t going to feel empathy or sincerity to the any of the frat boys on any of the universities all around the world.

With you recalling some scenes from your freshman year in college, and how you lost your virginity to some fratboy who said that you were his and he was yours for months and fucking a few (or 20, actually) girls behind you was making you irritated, and surely making some bad memories going back. And because of that fucking asshole, you promised yourself two things.

One: No more fucking with the fratboys while you were in the University.

Two: You were surely going to come back again after your graduation, just to fuck around with a few of the fratboys—for fun, or to make them publicly humiliated. (Because of their dick sizes, or the lack of it.)

Fratboys were overrated —because they weren’t sex gods, they weren’t that wild, and it was a fact that they weren’t that thick nor long.

The girl (you didn’t know her name) started to sound like she was coming undone soon, and with that, you thought that she was coming really quickly because it was only been five minutes since they were being handy with each other if you recall it right. Of course, her coming sooner than Jungkook was going to flutter him in every way that it can, and probably will make him think that he’s, indeed, a sex god, but you knew the truth. He was choosing the ones who couldn’t resist, and another truth was that you could’ve made her come less than a minute.

No hard feelings, Jeon Jungkook.

That was, obviously, out of context—because you were supposed to be talking about how airplane music was changing people’s mood when they were rushing through gates and trying to find the right way to go, making them relax with some soft, classical type kinds of music. And also, as soon as the passengers go into the plane, a way more cheerful but still soft music is playing because the airways want them to be cheerful about getting through all the anxious parts of the day…

…But you couldn’t, and the only thing you were hearing was still how the girl was short of breath, murmuring sweet little sounds.

“Right there, Jungkook. Right t-there, I’m so…c-close.”

“Don’t come yet,” he commands. The prick’s voice was a lot deeper now. “You’re not allowed to come yet, baby girl.”

Fratboys.

…and how they always liked being dominant.

…and how they’re not that successful about it.

You were feeling like listening to the same old mantra, just the people were changing. I mean, really, the only spice you’re adding is that we’re in a fucking class?

A class that you must give with at least an A- because you were supposed to maintain a good academic semester if you want your scholarship to be safe and sound?

Oh, god, the class. Suddenly, without a flinch, you’ve decided to ask them —politely— to be a little silent, and that you really need to listen to this class. Courage always comes when you need it, and better use it while you still can, right?

You turn back to the incident that still happening in your left, your eyes welcoming a long lasting image in your mind: Jeon Jungkook’s long fingers going deeper and deeper while the girl is trying to open her little cunt to the man who’s sitting next to her, desperate for his touch. As if those legs could open themselves much longer. She looked like she’s doing some kind of cheerleading practice.

“Dude, can you fuck her pussy when we’re not supposed to be next to each other, in a class, if I remind you?” You not so politely ask, trying to look away from the very incident that is still, by the way, happening in flesh right next to you.

Jungkook stops with his fingers for a brief moment to turn you, a tempting smirk on his face. “Why, will you be joining with us after the class?” He tilts his head while tsked you, and he spends no more than a few seconds to go back to his duty.

“Ahhhg—like that!” The girl whines a little much loader, making you think that not just you but everyone in this class were hearing their voices.

Jungkook slows down his pace, taking one of his fingers back from where they are. A sticky texture covering his long fingers, highlighted by the sun which comes from the window right next to their seats. “You’re going to have to be quiet if you want my fingers back in you, you loud slut.”

“Yes, please, make it quiet,” you add from their right seat, using a tone that you’re sure that the both of them could hear. “Some of us still tries to listen to the actual class which is happening right in front of you.”

This time they act like they didn’t hear your comments, and that was predictable because you knew that you were being a mood breaker—all on purpose.

Her breathing fastened its pace, and you swear that you could hear how wet she is by the sound that Jungkook’s fingers, echoing in all the class. “Ugh, ugh, mmHg —yes, Jungkook, I’m there, I’m there!”

Jungkook adds his third finger pack to her pussy, hitting her g-spot tyrannously until she feels bliss taking over her body and soul. “Come, you loud whiney bitch, come on all of my fingers like the slut you are. You liked being fingering in a class with them, make them earn their prize, huh?”

Suddenly, you turned back to them to see the show, feeling extremely turned on with the idea of fingering in a class with everyone’s inside. You could swear that her cum was leaking through the chair, a golden light breaking from outside to highlight the juices. She made such a mess.

While the girl was trying to maintain her breathing to how was supposed to be, you were still watching them, your mind went another place where you could only think that it had been a really long time since you got laid. You don’t notice when the prick calls you again, catching you peaking through the show which just ended.

“Enjoyed the show?” The prick whispered as he lays down to your lost face. “Care to join us where I actually use something longer than my fingers?”

You bitterly laugh. “I bet that your dick is smaller than your fingers, don’t waste your time, fratboy.”

“You’d be surprised when you see it, beautiful,” Jungkook attempts to make a move on you, with —of course— his so-called “fratboy charms” that never in your life again would work on you. “Are we making the bet?”

“No,” you shrug your shoulders, leaving your eyes from his doe-eyes to the Professor, who was still talking about the history of adding music to specific places, and how that music affected our psychological states. “I’ve seen enough of the fratboy’s small dicks, I’m passing yours as well.”

A villain kind of smirk emerges on his tuned face.“I bet you only saw the small ones and missed mine.” He tilts his head, for maybe the third time in one minute, a signature of his.

You faked a gag to scoff with him. “Yes, I’m sure that your dick is huge and all,” you turn your face again to him, a begging look on your face. “So—can you, maybe, shut up for a while and help me listen to the class, the class that which both of us taking, I think, and would be nice for you to actually listen to it.”

His mouth goes open for a while, and his mind probably trying to digest rejection that he just got from you—while you were giving him a delightful smirk that will make him angrier than he’s already is (if possible, because fratboy couldn’t take rejection). Jungkook doesn’t say anything back, and that’s a surprise for you, he leans over his chair, acts like he’s interested with the class and gives you the prize of your contest for today.

“…So, for the assignment I mentioned at the beginning of the class, it’s time for me to talk about it little more, and maybe I can hear about a few ideas of yours and give you my ideas how to improve it. Don’t feel pressured about this assignment, it will only take the %10 of your final grade—and I will be very generous when it comes to grading since it’s the first assignment that you guys will produce.”

You’re now really thankful for Jungkook to prevent you from listening to the class.

Really. Thankful.

The Professor glances at the papers her desk before starting to explain the assignment. “…Um, so—the due date is a week later, as you can guess. The assignments will be individually done, so no groups allowed. Although you can record the work together or do brainstorms about the assignment, which I’d appreciate if you guys do speak to each other about the homework given to you on a normal basis.” She laughs a little at the end of her sentence, while the class bursts into a peal of big laughter after her words. Of course, no one was going to speak about it. “Again, I get it that you don’t do such things. Anyway, for this assignment, I want you to find a specific situation that normally doesn’t involve music in it, and I want you to add a specific genre to that—and record how that goes for you. What I mean by that is, let’s just assume that cafe’s don’t play soft music in the back, and we thought about adding a soft playlist in the background of a Starbucks, which let’s assume—in a very crowded area. What you guys would do in a situation like this would be recording it before and after the music is on, so we can feel the change. No visuals allowed, just the record. And I want a reflection paper of the work, for around 250-300 words. Easy, right?”

It was, indeed, easy and looked interesting as well. You were feeling that a few ideas were popping up in your brain. “And…for the recording, 30 seconds for each would be enough, don’t make it longer than 60 seconds though, let’s make it quick and easy. Okay?” You nod as well as some other students. “Any ideas or questions so far?”

A girl from the front seats raises a hand, and Professor allows her to speak. “So…what if we change the music genre? In an existing situation? Like…changing the genre of the Starbucks, maybe making it hard metal or hip-hop instead of classical or soft music.”

“That is allowed too—and in fact, it is a good idea. Thank you, Ms. Min, for this, and anyone else?” She raises her voice as well as her left eyebrow, looking for a hand.

Someone else raises a hand. “How can we test their reaction? Are we going to interview with them?”

“You don’t have to,” Professor explains. “Let’s take the Starbucks example. I mean, I know that they won’t allow for you to stop the music but let’s assume that they did. You’ll go there for two days, at the same rush hour, and in the first day, what you’ll be doing would be examining the talks between the employee and the costumer, writing down the possible little fights between them, and even how many of the customers actually smiled or thanked the employee for maybe like thirty minutes? And—the second day, with the music on, you’ll do the same, taking notes…and then you can compare the two. But you can always interview the people, asking them if they’re feeling something about the music. You’d be surprised when the %80 of them says that they didn’t hear the music at all if it’s soft or classical. Because it goes deeper than you thought.”

You raise a hand. “Can I share my idea?”

Professor approves, a tempting smile on her face. “Please.”

“Umh, so…I was thinking,” you start to talk, rubbing your neck out of shyness. “My mom is a birth giver in a private hospital near, so I was thinking if I can do something with newborn babies or the act of giving birth. Adding soft music in the newborn unites or in the surgery room where the giving birth takes place. Maybe I can examine how they react to the soft voice, like how many newborn babies stop crying or how giving birth becomes, even a tiny bit, easy for the mother?”

“I think taking permission to play music in the surgery room is much harder than the first one, and the second is much harder for you to examine to results since you can’t be in the surgery room with the mothers—but playing soft music for newborn babies sounds cool, and smart too.” She purses his lips with a startling look on her face before turning her looks to the class, looking for another hand.

This time the hand that goes up leaves you with a frozen frame.

“Yes, Jungkook?”

He was definitely going to criticize your idea.

“I mean, before saying anything about my idea,” he cleared his throat before switching to a much more deeper voice tone of his. “About the last idea, from my friend, was very smart—though most of us don’t have opportunities that come from our parents.”

See?

He was playing with you.

He was trying to make you uncomfortable.

But, he wasn’t going to win over, again.

“Aren’t you the son of a CEO or something, Jeon?” You chastised, pursing your lips while the class fulls with the voices of approval and some ouch, she goaled in’s over and over again. “I am sure you can record your dad bickering to his employees with and without soft music too. Though if he’s like you, I don’t think that would make a huge difference for you to examine. Once a jerk, always a jerk—sorry, Mrs. Kim, for the language but I had to do it.”

His veins were throbbing in his neck second by second, with the anger that takes over his state. Lucky of you, the Professor takes over the fight before Jeon get to say something, probably something very offensive to you. “Maybe you can stop whatever this fight you’re making in my class, and just allow others to actually share their ideas,” she hollered. “Are you going to say something about your idea or not, Jungkook?”

“Yes, Professor,” he muttered, his jaw still clenching. “Though it may end up with me getting dismissed from the class, an idea is still an idea, am I right?”

She pouts, humming at Jungkook’s words. “As long as you don’t offer something illegal like taking drugs or something, you wouldn’t be dismissed.”

“I don’t think sex is illegal,” he dared from the blue, with a little smirk on his face. “And I think, besides from a few of us, it’s something that we try to do on a normal basis.” Jungkook, intentionally, looks over you and locks his eyes to yours when he mentions the ones that don’t get to lay.

That bastard.

“And if I’m allowed, I would want to choose how music affects the human orgasm—though, I don’t think I’m allowed to record it.”

He caught the Professor off guard by using the very well known voice tone that highlights the part that he's “probably” not allowed to do that—tyring to make her feel worse about how society still not ready to talk about sexual interactions.

Well played, Jeon Jungkook.

Well played.

“I mean,” she starts with a fooled voice. “Technically speaking, yes—you can record someone having sex with particular music playing in the background to see how that would affect the orgasm that they’ll receive and the quality of the act and all…” Professor stops for a while, trying to choose the right words. She presses his lips together, trying to be a serious woman and ignores the giggles in the class. “…But, ethically speaking—I don’t think that I’m allowed to give you the permission to record porn.”

He smirks than laughs bitterly, shrugging his one shoulder. “Oh! Come on, Mrs. Kim!” He huffed. “It’s not even porn, it’s just a recording of it. No visuals allowed, remember? If Y/N can record a woman giving birth then I think I can record being intimate with another person.”

“Seriously, Jungkook?” You bickered. “Did you really compared giving birth to having sex?”

“Yes, I did,” he hissed. “My idea is just as naked as yours, baby—and my idea is way better than anyone in this room,” Jungkook turns away from you to the Professor, who is still patiently listening you two bickering each other. “Besides, if we look at that from a Freudian perspective, it’s a good idea for us to add something to his studies that he did for a lifetime, didn’t he say something like how sexual drives must not be something we should be ashamed of, no vice, no degradation—and must be fulfilled in order to gain a psychosexual development?

"Are you really a psychology major, Jungkook?” You accused, exasperatedly sigh. “Because they are not exactly true!”

“Indeed, I am not a psychology major—I’m majoring in music and performing, and for your information, this is an elective class and we don’t really have to know much about Freud or some other psychologist in order to record a one-minute assignment, am I right?” He intentionally looks away to the Professor when he’s ending his sentence, all part of the act. “Do we really have to be so smart to succeed at the class, is that it?"

You’ve got to be kidding me.

She’s a Professor with a good academic background, there is no way that she’s going to fall for this crap.

Right?

"I mean—no, of course not,” Professor says, leaving you with all of your concerns about whether the majority of humanity is now un-saveable from Jeon Jungkook’s all staged acts. “And part of the information you gave about Freud was, technically, true. Though I can’t deny the fact that he did so much more studies about psychosexual development and in fact, even though he contributed that sex is the major driving force in human nature; he also realized that not everything was about sex and once commented, ‘sometimes a cigar is just a cigar’. But, Jungkook, if you’re asking and wondering about at the end whether if you are able to do it or not, the answer is—yes, you can record it. Although you can’t mention names in the record, and please don’t make us know the people, alright? That is, the only way that I can give you permission.”

Fuck Jeon Jungkook.

Fuck Jeon Jungkook and how smart his idea was.

Fuck Jeon Jungkook and how he got the permission he needed anyway.

“Freudian perspective my ass,” you whisper to the asshole next to you, in a voice tone that you’re absolutely sure that he’s the only one that can hear, not even the girl who’s still high and sleepy because of the orgasm she not so long ago received.

He crosses his arms, holding his one eyebrow up. “What is it that bothers you this much, my friend, do you want to contribute to my assignment by letting me taste that tight pussy of yours? Is that it? Are you that shy to ask me whether if you can be the lucky girl in my porn?”

That fucking brat.

“Haha,” you fake a sarcastic laugh. “I’m just…feeling overly insulted and angry about the institution that we’re in because you just got permission to record yourself fucking someone, and I believe that is—the only thing that you’re actually capable of. Fucking.”

“You can’t deny God’s gifts, my friend.” Jungkook chimed in.

You narrow your eyes at his disgusting choice of words. “See? Only a talentless fucking brat would say something like that. Gift? You’re calling the act of sticking your not-so-thicker than a pipe dick into someone as a gift? I can do that too with a proper dildo that I bought from a sex store, my friend.” You ended the argument with a faked tone of his voice, only to make him more offensive.

“Ah,” he hollered, doesn’t care about that the class was still, somehow continued. “You’re getting on my nerves, Y/N, you really are getting on my nerves. It’s been only thirty minutes that we started to speak to each other for the first time in our lives and you’re mentioning about my dick for the third time—and not in a good way that I would’ve wanted. You’re giving me no choice but to prove you wrong, it’s almost becoming a matter of life or death, mh?”

All of a sudden you noticed how you started to rub your thighs together, an exciting feeling giving momentum to your blood’s flowing, all the blame goes to Freud and his stupid works (and how he was right about the amount of urge we have to have sex). In a brief matter, you were—horny.

So fucking horny.

You don’t know if it was because how he kept tilting his head to the ground and how he tsked when he said the last sentence that he had no choice but to prove it to you, or how he was looking ridiculously flawless from close, I mean, really close—or both, but that was it.

You were horny.

Jeon Jungkook made you horny.

You could just go and eat shit and tell everyone that you eat shit and it tastes better, and it would still be better from any kind of confess that you may do about how Jeon Jungkook made you horny, in a psychology class, without even touching you. And again, he just fingered the shit out of a girl next to you, but that was not an excuse for you to almost drip right now.

“Already tongue-tied, are we?” He smirks in the most tempting way. “You couldn’t even get to hear me talking filthy, baby.”

You chimed in. “I’m literally trying to act like you don’t exist but, somehow, you always find a way to make me irritated and overly regretful that I took this class, thinking that it would be fun."

You were okay, it wasn’t happening, you were just horny because of the lack of any kind of sexual interaction with any kind of person for over months. If it wasn’t Jungkook and someone else, you would be the same.

Relax, breathe, you’re not that horny.

"Oh, I’ll make it fun.” He expressed. “Join me with the recording, mh?”

Maybe you are that horny.

But, not with Jungkook. No way in hell, you won’t be sleeping with the selfish, overly exaggerated frat boy that has been doing nothing but to seduce you, because that’s what fratboys do all the time. They see a girl that gives them the cold shoulder, they attack. You weren’t going to let Jungkook attack you.

“Hear this, brat,” you fumed. “As long as being recorded while having sex sounds appealing to me, both visually or audibly, I’m going to pass this offer—because no way that I am doing it with you. I can do porn with every human being in the world except a few of the prime ministers of a few countries and plus some hip-hop artists, I don’t fuck with fratboys either."

It wasn’t you talking, it was anger. Anger that comes fulfills you with being horny over Jeon fucking Jungkook. And that’s why you hurriedly gathered all of your stuff and left the class as soon as the Professor announced that the class was dismissed, not looking back nor listening to the answer that Jungkook gave to you as you were vanishing between people, with the tempting smile that he was giving you for ten minutes.

"Oh, we’re so doing this.”

He laughed.

You didn’t hear.

unknown number: im thinking drake’s own it

unknown number: do you have smthng in mind? i can consider

unknown number: just please make sure that i don’t think i’ll be that hard if we listen to some justin bieber shit and all

unknown number: not that i don’t like it,,but i was a hard fan, that shit still makes me cry

you: jungkook?

you: how did you find my number?

unknown number: asked for a friend of yours named tae

unknown number: we have common classes together

unknown number: said to him that we recently become duo over an assignment and had to find your number

unknown number: wasn’t lying to him tho

you: i said no to your offer

unknown number: i guessed your inner voice said something else ;)

you: just because im psychology major, psychological stuff doesn’t make me turn on

unknown number: i can make you turn on in the seconds baby

you: im just going to ignore all of your messages and happily entertain myself with my friends doing typical weekend stuff, thank you so much

unknown number: im downloading drake’s own it…just in case, and i have to charge my jbl for a better volume experience

“Tae,” you inhale a good amount of air to your irritated lungs, and exhale whilst fuming with anger, to the boy who happened to be your lifetime best friend. “Did you easefully give my number to the number one fuckboy of our University today?”

He pouts, a sudden feeling of guilt takes over his eyes. “Yes? He said that you were a team on an assignment or something?”

“No, we’re not. He just happens to be the guy who ceaselessly hits me for a fuck, hasn’t stopped since the class and now he’s texting me.”

“Sorry, baby,” he mutters. He stops for a second with eating his fries where you guys so happened to choose to have dinner at McDonald’s. “He just seemed so convenient. I know him from my music classes and Jungkook’s like…always scores the best, so if you guys were doing an assignment, I wouldn’t be so surprised.”

Your eyes getting wide, your mouth shaping as an “o” when Tae mentions the words “Jungkook” and “scoring the best” together. “Who?” You doubted. “Jungkook? Taking good grades? In this school?”

“Yeah, Y/N,” Tae addressed while rubbing his eyes. “He’s the smart one in the class. He signs and performs well, he can take high notes from written classes like you guys have together now, and—he can do notes higher than the written classes, which is also very surprising, he also dances well…and…um, he—”

You chimed in. “Tae, honey, your gay is showing. Wasn’t he the fratboy of that massive boy house or something?”

He narrows his eyes. “Yes? Just because he’s a fratboy, is it means that he must be dumb too? Your double standards are showing, Y/N.”

“I mean, yes, I’m being stereotyping over here,” you hollered. “But, remember the Park guy I met last year and how he turned out to be a complete dickhead? All Jungkook has been thinking was to fuck me into my oblivion and record the voices while doing it, nothing more!”

Taehyung tilts his head as his eyes get widen. “Recording? That’s some kinky shit."

You narrow your eyes.

"Oh, come on!” He takes a sip from his cola. “Loosen up a little bit! Give the boy a few points for his courage to actually being able to speak about his true intentions. Not all of the boys do it anymore. They love the act when they’re trying to win over some girl. And besides—what’s the harm of a kinky fuck without any kind of feelings attached? You’re wild as he is when it comes to rough sex. I know because you weren’t stopping about the guy you were fucking last year, which turned out very disappointed because you tried to add feelings to the formula. Never worked.”

“Thanks for enlightening my shameful dark past about how I got fooled around by a fratboy sweetdick for months, Taehyung,” you howled, faking a bitterly smile.

He smirks. “No problem, baby, what best friends are for, right?”

There were points where Taehyung was right about, obviously, because he was kind of always right about everything related to you. Today, they were: (1) the fact that you liked it rough (like, rough), and (2) the fact that no feeling attached kinky sex seemed an exciting option for your lack of sexual interaction with someone lately—and third was the fact that how the guy you were fucking turned out to be a complete disappointment but you were not going to add that to the list.

Taking a fry from the tray, you start to chew while thinking about how Jungkook seemed serious about recording the two of you, doing the thing for the assignment. And with how class listened to you two bickering to each other, they were never going to know who the girl is from the sound—and you really didn’t think that the Professor would make everyone in the class to listen to that porn, anyway. Not that you were so overly thinking about what other’s think, never did and never will be, there was just one person that you couldn’t keep it secret from. Yourself—and how you gave yourself a promise for not fucking with any of the fratboys before your graduation, ever again.

“Does he still texting you?” Tae asks with a concerned face, tightening his lips. “Really though, I should’ve asked you before giving your number to him.”

“I haven’t checked my phone, I’m guessing he’ll stop at some point though,” you went on. “It’s okay, by the way, I’m not mad or anything. Not at you anyway."

Taehyung starts to shake his head. "Wait, wait, wait.” He repeats the word over and over until he stops and points his finger right in front of your eyes. “You are considering his so kind offer…am I right?”

“No! What?” You blurted with a loud tone. “No fucking way! No—oh, fine, yes, a little.”

“I knew it!” He chews the remaining fries he has. “I knew it, really, I was almost—almost sure of it, but with you, I’m never fully sure. I bet you got wet as soon as he opened his true feeling about fucking you, and oh, wait, I bet you’re still wet!”

“Oh my god, we’re not having this conversation in a fucking McDonald’s, Taehyung!” You mumbled. “Just, maybe, okay? I got horny when he mentioned how he must prove himself to me about his skills and all that shit, I think. I had a fucking promise to myself, Tae! I was holding on to that little promise. I shouldn’t be even thinking about this but all I’m thinking how he would toss my weak body over his bedroom’s wall and how he would rip my clothes off of my body in a mere second. See? This is how much I’m whipped over him.”

“I think it’s cute,” he admits. “How you opening up to me in a fucking McDonalds, chewing the rest of the fries.”

You roll your eyes.

“Just kidding, baby.” Taehyung smiles fondly. “Text him that you’re taking his offer. Do whatever you want with him, or make him do it. Have fun a little bit! Text him that it’s sad that you’re drinking cola and not his cum.”

“Ew,” you gasp. “Please shut up.”

“Again, kidding.”

He wasn’t kidding at all.

You grab your phone which you so irritatedly made silent before tossing it up to your bag, and welcome the texts that you haven’t opened from the same number, this time with a title you not so thought about it.

that dickhead: own it by drake is ready and my jbl is charging (21.19)

that dickhead: oh i see (21.35)

that dickhead: … (21.40)

You open it, and type, not wanting to think about any coincidences for just today.

you: really? three dots? that’s your way of handling with rejection? (21.45)

that dickhead: rejection? was it really?

you: try any other sarcastic words over me and i might change my opinion about this

that dickhead: so,,is it a yes?

you: im not fucking while listening to drake, jungkook

that dickhead: you’re so lucky today that you can get the choose the song, it’s all for academic purposes, baby

you: yeah, yeah

you: your place or mine?

that dickhead: mine

that dickhead: [attached adress]

you: ok be ready in 20

There was something about all of this experience that you were having. Something that you cannot explain easily. You didn't know why you were so whipped for him with just a day and how that got you into this situation—where you have literally vanished into the cold spring night to take a taxi, a taxi that will take you to Jungkook's place. 

Of course Tae understood your situation, considering how many times he heard you bickering and complaining about your sex life lately (or the lack of it), and how you weren't ready for any kind of relationship and starting a new relationship just to get laid seemed so unfair to you and the possible partner, so that was never an option for you. He was always offered you to one-night-stands, and let's say that he helped with it too, but they weren't that good—and you couldn't even come as you wanted to. You didn't know if you could come with Jungkook, and you were really serious about everything you've said about fratboys, you weren't going to take back what you've said, but—you had this different feeling, an excitement, a thrill, some anticipation that you got all from him. A silent, almost can't hearable, sound in your brain was telling you that, indeed, you weren't doing the mistake of your life by taking that taxi.

So it was happening. It was really happening according to the taxi driver's navigation status which said that "destination in 5 minutes" and the text that came from your best friend.

mytae: text me tomorrow! with details pls ;)

It was, happening, and surprisingly, you didn't feel any regret or fear flowing through your body.

It was—pure excitement with a good amount of wetness that was coming from your cunt.

That bastard.

You knocked on the door.

"Password?" A voice, his voice, called from inside.

"What password?"

"Password?"

"You didn't give me the password, bastard."

He was still playing with you. "Password?"

You weren't going to fool around with his stupid games. "Oh, then I have no choice but to leave if you don't open this goddamn door because I'm really horny right now and—"

"Correct," he opened the door, a casual black short sleeve t-shirt and a pair of black sports pants were on him which you had to give a few points to the look because you've always liked the sportive look on hot guys. "It was horny." He smirked as he opened the door for you to come in.

"Really, Jungkook?" You narrowed your eyes at him, a blush appearing on your cheeks, not that you were ashamed or something because today was all about not being ashamed, right? "You were making me doubt my choices there."

He crossed his arms together, a beautiful vein appearing on his left arm. He didn't seem that build up in the outside, or it was just you never giving any attention to how Jungkook actually looked like before. Maybe he was always that strong, built, muscular pig. "Y/N?"

He took a step to you, and one step again when he said your name again. He didn't say anything even though you quietly said "hm?" to his calling, both times. He was giving you a little hard time there, minimizing the place left between you and his door. He lowered his voice for the third time, making your back hit the wall. "Y/N, you see..." He whispered. "What you've been doing to me since this morning is to make me feel small about myself. That's why you're always acting like you're the one who holds the ropes, right? Always sticking your nose in things to make my day worse, and always trying to end the conversation with your scores up to the ceiling while mines are off the ground? Hmm?"

You wanted to tell something, anything, but as you felt his body touching you in front, making the two of you almost one body while your back is against the wall. (And, his perfume mixed with his natural skin smell wasn't helping at all) So, you couldn't say anything and stared right in the middle of his tempting, doe-eyes while he was squeezing them to give it a serious meaning.

He holds his one arm up and places right next to your head, on the wall. The other one was in his pockets, and because he was also squeezing it very hard, the veins were making you scared. Jungkook tilts his head as he leans to your level in front of the wall. "You like people when they think that you're some kind of ice queen, giving the fratboys cold shoulder because you don't want them to know the truth."

"And what truth it may be?" You quietly asked, in an almost whispering way, stuttering because of the excitement of him being so near to you.

He leans to your left ears now, touching it softly with his lips, sending shivers down your spine. "That you're so head over heels for me to fuck you so shamelessly that you just came here less than thirty minutes. You're that type, the type that addicted to the feeling of giving yourself to someone else but, all without closed doors. Because you don't want anyone to know who fucks your pussy that good."

"Mmh," you whine, chewing on the flesh of your bottom lip. "And who will fuck this pussy that good?" You teased, putting one of your hands to his stomach to feel his abs. He was muscular, indeed, and from this perspective where you were feeling small about yourself since he was standing in front of you with his intense, strong frame.

You felt a big amount of coldness that almost making your fingers turn purple, and you weren't sure if it was the coldness that was coming from the naked wall or how he was acting like he will turn you to a complete mess in seconds. He takes the hand which he was hiding his pocket and quickly puts on your ass with a quiet spanking manner, giving you no choice but to groan to that a little. "You see, since this is all academic purposes, and knowing that we cannot use our real names in the recording, we should use something different. And, believe me, as long as I would be completely fluttered if you say my name over and over again as I keep pounding into you, very deeply, I think for today you should go with the daddy instead."

A little whine escaping your lips as you hear the word "daddy" coming from his plumped lips from licking them every few seconds or so, Jungkook realizes how that is entertaining you and smirks with the feel of the joy. "I always knew that you had the daddy kink, by the way, it can be read through your gaze while you look at me."

"Hmm?" You groan. "And what are you going to call me today?"

He squeezes your butt with a wild manner, his eyes never leaving yours. "Oh, there are so many names today that I will call you with. You see, I always use baby with girls like you are," he spanks your ass while saying you baby. "If we were going to vanilla, I would call you princess," he spanks again. "But given the situation now, and how you whipped for my cock like this," one more. "I would probably use more of a needy slut since you are one." One more. "What else? Cocksucker, because you're going to get all of it." One more. "Whore, because you'll be a one in my bedroom, baby." Two more this time. One when he calls you whore, and another with the baby. "Are they enough, or do you want me to keep going with it?" He asks, his gaze on your ass, feeling a little sore from all the spanking but it was good that you had clothes on, which was going to change soon or later.

"Y-yes," you answer, feeling high because of all the sensations going on.

He lets go of you, gives a permission for you to finally breathe and to see his apartment for the first time really, since all his been doing was getting over and over you with his muscular frame, giving you no room for to see anything but his tempting eyes, burning from the think about what will going to happen the two of you.

His apartment was small, yet it seemed enough for him, and it looked like he was living alone. Predictable, since he always had some company within. "So, about the assignment," he starts, taking the hand he used to spank you to his hair, giving them a messy look. "I am really going to record us, so help me with the song, babygirl."

His voice much huskier, in a much more tempting way, of course. "Since you need two versions of the record, you should open the recording in the middle of it or something."

"Oh, we won't be needing that, babygirl." He explained. "We need your voice while you're having your orgasm, one with music and one without music. And I'm planning to fuck you more than one, or two, or maybe three. Making sure that all of the things you've said about my fingers and my cock was nothing but a lie."

Jeon Jungkook never likes to lose, that was something you got from his behaviors, and how he didn't like it when he loses something—how his eyes got darken and widen every time, almost like he disguising to someone else you've never seen before.

He doesn't give you a chance to realize your surroundings, and indeed, he never loses his oh-I'm-so-gonna-destroy-you posture, still staying right in front of you like a shadow that won't go away.

You gulped. "You know," you managed to say, out of breath. "I wouldn't mind if you just skip to the part when you use that cock of yours which you never shut up to me about how I would be wrong in the end."

"Is that so?" He asks before, finally, attaches his lips to yours. The kiss is lacking every emotion except desire, lust, and excitement. It's almost so dirty to talk about that even thinking about just kissing his soft lips in the most ambitious way you can, you're getting wetter and wetter. You climb over his embrace, bounding your arms together in the back of his neck as he lays down to grab your ass in his strong hands to take you on his lap. He holds to your asscheeks as he finds his comfort with tossing you over the wall of his apartment's hall, not so carefully carrying you to his bedroom.

You two keep kissing each other, and at one point his tongue ways his way into your throat right after his teeth grabs and captures your bottom lip like it his meal for today. (He was lucky that his meal was something else, though.) He takes no time to waste as he grabs your shirt to undress, still taking small steps as he carries you to his bedroom. You take the hint and hurriedly put your arms up, tossing your shirt somewhere in the hall.

You don't really see, but it's predictable that he amazes that you choose the sexiest, lacy black bra you had in your wardrobe. His attention for your lips suddenly vanishes as he takes his few last steps to the bedroom, hurriedly opens his door and tosses you onto the bed. He doesn't fucking care when he climbs over you to embrace your breasts over your bra, and he wants them off—he surely does, but Jungkook wants to take his time a little because he knows that it is the first and the last time that he will get playing with you. He leaves a few soft kisses first, taking his time with them after suddenly biting the sensitive skin on you.

"Mhh," you groan. "If you hated the bra that much, you could've just said so..."

"I hate every fucking clothing you have on you right now, babygirl."

"Rip them then."

He doesn't do it—even though he wants to, oh god, he really wants to, Jungkook always liked the foreplay.

A soft laugh escapes from his lips, swollen a bit from all the hungry and sloppy kisses you gave him. He stands up from the bed, his legs still capturing you like an animal that shouldn't be escaped. "I will now start the record, ready?"

You nod as he grabs his phone and opens the voice recordings. He touches the red button and places his phone to the bedside table. Then Jungkook turns over to you, still standing up, and he grabs and takes his black shirt of off him, swiftly launches the clothing away from the bed. He takes no time to grab your lips again, pinning your arms behind the bed. "From now on, you can call me daddy," he whispers to your ears as he grabs the flesh of your ear into his teeth. "And if you tell me anything different than what you have to say, you'll get punish."

You whine under this asset, your eyes turn to his body from his evil-like eyes, carefully and slowly capturing every second with his toned abs. He commands, "Eyes on daddy, babygirl. He's going to open the buttons of your pants now."

You're loving how he sounds deeper, huskier in a hegemonic manner. You moan when he touches your belly with his cold hands, sending shivers down your spine. He slowly leans over to you to open the button. You note that how he also liked teasing in somewhere in your brain. You help him to take off your pants, leaving you with your underwear only and you try to stand up to do the same to him, but he just hits your hand hard.

"No-no," he mouthed.  "Let's just play with your tight pussy of yours to make it ready for my cock, babygirl. Then you can have a taste of my dick too, this, if you behave though."

Okay, now, you sure know that you haven't been this wet at all. You don't know if it's your lack of sex life, or how long since you had someone doing oral to you, (again, most of your one-night-stands didn't want to use their tongues that much.) or just how Jungkook was hot and arrogant and sexy when he was dominating. (All of the above, was the answer.)

You groan as his hand traveled down to your panties, using his one finger to test out the wetness over your panties. "God, you're soaking." He smirks as he peeks his one finger beneath your wetness. His eyes get wide with the feeling of your wetness coating his finger. "Babygirl, are you sure that you can't get wet over fratboys, huh?"

He still likes to play. You roll your eyes at him. "You sure are a mood breaker."

Jungkook doesn't like when you misbehave, and he takes your comment as something to be punished as he inserts his finger very deep without a warning.

"Ju-daddy," you gasp, out of breathing, arching your body to the pillow to gain strength. "Mmh!"

"I'm sure that your mood now is unbreakable, babygirl. You're literally soaking right now, all for me, huh?"

You don't—can't—answer to him as he adds another finger in, both in very deep, and all you can do is squirm under his touch. Jungkook seems like to enjoy the view of you, desperate for his touch under the dim light that he prepared for you, soft moans escaping from your lips as his telephone records all of the sweet sounds that you're making for him. Though, he wanted you to answer to him, so he just pulls his fingers from your cunt, leaving you high and dry. (not that dry, anyway)

"What the hell?" You roared.

"I asked a question, slut." Jungkook scowls, but still takes one of his hands to remove your panties off of your legs, leaving you with your bra and nothing left. "And when I ask you a question," he pats to your pussy. "I want an answer." He pats again, this time in a harder way. "And if I don't get the answer I want," he stops for a second to see your sensitive full of red pussy. "I become very angry, and you get a punishment, okay?"

You nod madly. "Yes!"

"So, babygirl, tell me," he softens his voice, but his eyes still scream over. "Will you remember who's in charge today? Will you behave for your daddy? Because he's a little bored and he wants to play with your pussy so, so much for a long time today."

"Yes!" You scream desperately.

"Yes, who, baby?" Jungkook smirks like the brat he is.

"Yes, daddy! I'll behave! Just please, please do something. With your fingers or your tongue, it doesn't matter. Just, touch me, daddy, please." You keep going with your whine as he likes the see you begging for him.

"I like it when they beg," he hums and captures one of your legs onto his shoulders, pushing you back to the surface of the bed while he places himself to the entrance of your pussy. It was still swollen, and red from all of the pats he had given. "But I liked it more when you begged."

He thrust his two fingers back where they are, hitting your g-spot relentlessly, his fingers going deeper and deeper now. You groan, whine, scream and all of the above when he adds his tongue to the formula. Your eyes roll back, your head hits the pillow as you fall back with bliss flowing through your veins. He kept his pace with his tongue, hitting that sweet spot on your pussy while his fingers still thrusting their way into it. You like it, you like it way too much that you swear this is some of the best orals you've ever got so far. "Mmmh, m-more," you squirm as your breath kept losing its pace. "Please, daddy."

"You like it too much, hmm?" Jungkook takes his tongue out to breathe, his fingers still buried deep inside of you. He uses his other hand to grab your breast over the bra, pulling the material off of your skin so that he can access what lays beneath. He pulls one of your nipples very painfully, but the pain only made you feel more blissful. Your groans get louder as he kept his one hand pinching your nipple and the other to finger you, a playful smirk on his face. "Now you regret that you didn't get to be fingered in the class today, right?"

"Mmh," you groan as you feel your nipple getting sore as hard as your pussy is. "I-I-I am."

"Maybe next time I finger you in class, you needy slut. Look at you, you're too desperate for my fingers. You already look like a mess, babygirl. Do you think you can take my cock today?" This time Jungkook doesn't wait for an answer as he dives into your cunt with his tongue again.

"Mhh, I will, daddy." You answer anyway, since he politely asked for you to behave. The sensations you were feeling came to a situation that you were feeling close now. His finger still playing with your nipple, rubbing it, pulling it mercilessly as pain and satisfaction both flowing through your body. His fingers were getting deeper and deeper as they could find their way with your juices helping them to, and his tongue—oh, god, his tongue—he was making you a complete mess and kept his pace until your eyes rolled over with complete bliss. He noticed how your breathing almost became like you were about to faint and slowly stopped his pace by giving your pussy soft kisses.

"Does my babygirl wants to come on my tongue, hm?" Jungkook asks, turns his face to your complete wrecked frame.

"Y-y-yes, da-daddy." You scream as much as you can.

You don't see but know that he is smirking as his eyes get the best view of you, all wrecked and red, covered with your own juices that happened to be only because of him. "Come then, daddy feels so thirsty now, babygirl. Give daddy all of you can and come on my tongue like the slut you are, babygirl. Don't hold back." Your eyes open like they were about to explode there, you groan and scream in a delightful way as soon as your orgasm hits you for the first time (of course, not last) today, you grab the sheets as your cum run to his tongue and then everywhere, and you couldn't help but squirm all over the sheet like you were holding that for five years inside of you.

"Shit, baby, you made such a mess," Jungkook adds as he glances over the sheet, looking at the masterpiece you've created in the bed. "I never thought that you were the squirter type, though."

"I thought that too," was all that you could say, still trying to find a way to breathe, properly, again.

He licks the cum off of his fingers, acting like he's having a dessert thanks to you, your cum covering his beautiful mouth. "Was it your first then?"

"Squirming? Yeah, fuck, definitely," you laugh a little with the pleasure that you were still feeling in every spot of your body. "Was it weird?"

"It was so hot," he laughs back. "Look at what the brat you couldn't shut up and bicker for non-stop for the whole day did to you, you loud slut. I'm sure everyone in the apartment now knows who fucked you that good."

"I wasn't allowed to call you by your name though," you pout, still acting for the game. "They still don't know."

"They can figure. If not, we can continue to fuck after this recording shit."

You gain your breathing again, and as long as you feel like you're capable to do so, you climb over the bed where Jungkook sits, and make him move over where you were a minute before when you were moaning under his touch.

"I want to suck your dick, Jungkook," you say, knowingly mentioning his name. He was going to edit the record anyway, so he could just take off the part when you said his names. Besides, the recording must include two orgasms—one with music and one without the music. So you were guessing that he would just use the times when his dick is buried deep inside of you. "I want to feel it deep down in my throat. Will you let me suck it babyboy?"

He was taking a back, eyes widen as his eyebrows go up with your sudden role change. "Did you call me babyboy?" He asked, mimicking your way of saying it. Jungkook liked being dominant, in every way that he can, actually—and he haven't acted in a submissive role for so, so long now. Albeit, he liked how you used the tone you've never used since all of the play now, and all of a sudden you're up on him and begging in a way that you're the one who says the rules there. He likes it, he likes it too much.

"I did," you whisper into his ears as you push him to the mattress, finding your place on his lap where you can feel the hardness of his cock. "Now, babyboy, do you want me to take of the problem with your cock, because it keeps rubbing itself to my pussy. I think he needs attention. Use your words."

"Oh, fuck, baby, yes!" Jungkook whines as his dick getting harder and harder beneath your naked pussy.

You quickly go up to take off his pants to reveal him but as long as you touch the sides of his sports pants, you stop and stare at him. "I said use your words, describe what you want. I don't think yes is an option here, babyboy. I'm getting mad here, you know?"

He was surprised, his mouth agape with your sudden change of attitude. "Please suck my cock. Take it, deepthroat it, do something, please!"

You laugh to how tables can be turned in seconds, and it was a perfect view of Jungkook laying desperately for your touch, making you wetter and wetter again. "Okay, since you screamed out so loudly..."

You grab onto his pants' sides, pulling them over with his boxer as well, only to be welcomed by his thick, erected member which was coated by the pre-cum because of all the rubbing it did, and even maybe your dirty talking and him coating with your cum made his this way. You don't know, nor care and you don't waste any time to grab his dick between your hands, throbbing it a few times to use his pre-cum as a cream, sloppy sounds echoing in the small room while you keep your pace. All, of course, was to make him ready to have your tongue on it. So when you do start to lick his cock's head, he lets outs a loud groan and his head falls back to the pillow. "F-fuck, baby, your tongue feels amazing."

"Mhh," you moan, your tongue still playing with the head, your eyes having a wonderful view of his hardened cock, all ready for you to release. You start with his length and lick all the way to the up, and when you're on the top of his dick for the third time in one minute, you surprise him with tucking all of the length—in once—to your throat. "F-fuck!" He screams in a delightful way that makes you think that you're doing good. "Babyy, do that again, p-please."

"Do what babyboy?" You tease Jungkook. One of your hand capturing his balls, massaging to them as he moans and moans in a loud way again. "Words. Remember?"

"F-fuck," he whines desperately. "Get it all the way in, please. Take all of my cock like you did, baby."

"Mhh, fine, then." You lean over to his dick again, and all of a sudden you take it into your mouth, this time as deep as you can. He notices how deeper you're trying to go and he appreciates that. His sweet little noises becoming deeper and huskier with you trying to go deep with him. He peeks to your wrecked frame, your eyes getting teary with his cock hitting your throat. Jungkook swears that it's the most beautiful scene he ever saws in his entire life, and he never wants it to end.

"Ba-baby," he manages to say. "I'll come if you don't stop doing that. And I, I really want to come into your pussy today."

You don't know if it's because he saw you getting a hard time there, or if it was really that he wanted to come into you, (sure, he could just come twice but anyway) but you appreciated when he suddenly takes his cock of off from your mouth and toss you over to the mattress where he is now upon you.

"Your domination is now over, babygirl."

Or it was just because five minutes of being submissive was enough for him for a lifetime or so. You don't mind at all, as long as you liked being dominant in time to time—you liked being submissive more, with Jungkook anyway. And you're again, full of appreciation when he finally opens that bra of yours to toss it over to the side. Jungkook likes playing your breasts, more, your nipples. He likes how easy the formula is, the more you pinch and pull and toss the nipple, they are more sensitive—and needy, to be exact. So he keeps doing that while getting a condom from his drawer. He fondly opens the package and wears it—he doesn't like to use one, though since it's a one-time thing, he knows that he must be careful. (But he'll be very happy if you guys can do one without a condom, even if it's later)

"Do you think you can do two more orgasms, babygirl?" He dares, his one hand still playing with your breast, while the other one tastes your wetness in your pussy. "Mhh, still so, so, so wet for me," Jungkook smirks as soon as his fingers get coated with your cum from your first orgasm. "I think...with that amount of wetness, you can hold on for a three more."

Your eyes get widen. "Three? I don't th—"

Your words get interrupted as he, without any warning, finds his way into your pussy. "Agghh!" You don't hold back your screams, nor your moans and let it all out while he tries to adjust his size into you. Your sweet sounds vanish as your screams take its place in the action while he finally stops when he's satisfied with the position: your legs on top of his shoulders, back arching to the mattress.

"You okay?" He concernedly checks, and when you nod mercilessly, he takes the answer and starts to pound into you. He's slow first, still trying to find his pace, and—oh, god when he does, he never stops pounding into you like a madman.

"Y-yes, yes, yes!" You scream so loudly again while he keeps thrusting into you in an impossible way, his hands reach to your arms to pin them over to the back of the bed. That way, he thinks that he can control everything in the world. That way, he knows that he fucks you in a delightfully incredible manner, and in that way, he never wants to stop.

Your eyes roll back and close a little bit, and when Jungkook notices that, he's a little bit fumed because he wants to see your eyes when he's pounding into you this hard. He wants to see the tears that will come out from your eyes and he wants to see you while you're having your second orgasm. "Eyes on the daddy, baby." Jungkook grabs your chin to make you force to look at to his eyes. Looking directly into his deep brown eyes doesn't help you with the situation because as soon as you open your eyes, you feel your orgasm coming. The pleasure and the pain are overtaking your whole body and with his every thrust the pain vanishes and replaces with bliss.

"I'm close," you manage to say between your hard breathing. You're almost sure that he doesn't hear, but he does, but he's just close as you are that he can't answer back immediately.

"Me too, baby." He answers back as he jerks on top off you, the voices of your skin's slapping each other and screams are doing much worse that he's not going to last.

You want to get over with and try to take back one of your hands to rub your clit but as soon as he understands what you're up to, he pushes your hand away and places it where it was before. "You're coming with my cock this time, slut. You're going to scream so much that every time when I listen to this record, I will remember you bickering me about my dick and laugh with memories of that screams."

You're feeling your orgasm coming as he keeps pounding into you. "J-jun..daddy! I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming!"

"Come slut, scream as loud as you can so everyone will hear."

And soon enough the time slows with your second orgasm approaching, trails of fire and bliss taking over you while you dissolve into pleasure. Jungkook doesn't stop his pace, not even slows down, and he keeps his truths hard and fast, chasing his own orgasm. He doesn't come that easily, and he never thinks about slowing a little bit when you start to feel sensitive about the situation. Your sore pussy cries over the overstimulation that it received, and with every thrust, it feels more painful.

"Kook," you managed to say, hardly breathing. "It hurts."

"You can and you will take it, you loud whore," Jungkook commands. "You still have to come two more times, one with music on, remember?"

You try to relax as he keeps its pace stable, the pain slowly vanishes and leaves its place to pleasure. You stop saying anything and fall back to the pillow as you listen to his pounding sounds and moans which felt like a piece of music to your ears.

"Look at you, almost coming for the third time today while I haven't got to come once," Jungkook smirks as he fastens his movements into you. And thinking how good he was taking care of you today, you feel like you're approaching your third orgasm for the day. Between your groans and moans, Jungkook's breath sounds like he's becoming undone in seconds too. "Babygirl," he jerks as he approaches his orgasm. "I'm so close."

"Come, Jungkook," you encourage him. "Come inside me."

Jungkook's eyes getting bigger as his fresh warm cum loading the condom inside of you. You keep saying his name over and over again, (doesn't give a fuck about the record since you already got an orgasm without his name) screaming "Jungkook, Jungkook, Jungkook!" as your third orgasm takes over you.

Both of you extremely tired and out of breath, he lays down on top of you for a while to maintain his breathing. The sweat from his hair drops to your neck and face, he looks like he just got off from the shower. Little moans that escaping after the sex you just had still echoing through the room, Jungkook turns over and tosses himself next to you, you don't see but you're almost sure that he's smirking like a little brat. "We still have to do one more, for the assignment."

"Ugh, I'm so sore." You say between your still-not-stable breaths. Jungkook takes his condom off and gets up from the bed to toss it into the trash. "Can you get me something to clean?"

"Why?" He turns back with shocked eyes. "For your last orgasm, I need that wetness, babygirl."

Suddenly you feel that Tae was right about how determined Jungkook was about his grades, and now he was insisting on that assignment, and he was sure having fun with your wrecked state. "Fine," you accept. "What music we're playing?"

"I said before, I'm saying again," Jungkook sassed. "You choose."

"Mmh, the Weeknd, maybe?"

"The Weeknd it is." Jungkook approves as he gets up from the bed to turn on his computer which was connected to his speaker. He wasn't lying about how he was preparing his speaker, and it was, kind of cute that he really did charge it. "Any song?"

"I know all of their songs, play something that sounds sexy."

"Okay."

He searches for a song there, taking his time for a while, probably adding songs to queue.

"I still can't believe that you got that permission, after all, Jungkook," you admit, lying naked on his bed, coated with your own come. "We're literally recording asmr porn here."

He cracks a little, joyful laugh over the laptop. His body is leaned over his desk, the dim light slightly touches his soft skin, he's coated in his own sweat because of the mess you've created together, his hair drops to his face and sticking a little to his forehead. He looks extremely hot like this, his body giving you a great view with his toned abs and still a little hard dick. Suddenly, you think that you have to stop thinking about how gorgeous he looks because again, he's extremely dangerous for you.

No feelings attached. You remember.

So you just take your time with his god-like appearances.

That wouldn't hurt, right?

"You're lying in my bed, Jeon Jungkook's, with your hair messy and your skin sweaty, wrecked because of what I did to you a few minutes before after all of the things you've said to me earlier today and how you wouldn't ever, ever fuck with me and you still can't believe that I got the permission to record porn?" He comes to bed after opening the list he just prepared. "I think you can already figure out that I can get whatever I want."

He's not wrong, indeed, he's overly right with this one.

That the Jeon Jungkook can get whatever the hell he wants.

The song keeps going in the background, getting you into a mood already, and it's not a very hard thing when Jungkook is playing with your hair, his elbow places on the mattress and he's getting the strength he needs from it. It almost, almost, feels like a romantic scene, but again, you know that it's not what you would think. (And you don't want to think at all) So, it leaves him almost surprised when you start the round this time.

"You're getting the first record from your dick buried deep inside of me, right?" You ask as you toss over to place yourself on his lap. He helps you to find your place with his hands on your sides, Jungkook leans over the pillow for a better view of your already wrecked body.

"Mhh," he groans as a yes. "So?"

"I'm thinking the second must be like that too." You smirk as you start to rub your clit to his naked member.

He likes it too much that he gets quickly hard beneath your ass. The cums you had inside of you still there, making all of the rubbings together thing easier for you. "Buried deep inside of you? I like that." He gets one of his hand from your sides to your clit, rubbing it to make you more ready for the next one.

But you've thought something more appealing for him, so he's extremely surprised when you push his hand away and takes his cock into your hands to place into you. His opens his as much as he can, a passionate moan leaving his soft lips which you haven't kiss enough, and he's still thinking about why you would want to ride him bare?

"Baby, I haven't wear a condom." He states, but you already know.

You lean over to his lost state and kiss his lips passionately before whispering to his ears that will make him eager to answer back. "I haven't slept with anyone for a long time, I’m using birth control for over a year now, and if you used protection every time then—"

"Yes! I always use one. I haven't fucked bare for months." He's too eager to make it happen that it almost sounds cute to your ears.

"Then I want your cum inside of me this time, very deep inside, daddy, please?"

You don't have to ask again.

He helps you to have the way you're comfortable with and waits until you're all the way up. You're already out of breathing while trying to ride him, and the view of your nor his doesn't help you both with the situation. Little moans escaping your lips as you start to fasten a little bit, one of Jungkook's hand is playing with your breasts while the other one is stable on your hip to help you. "You okay?" He softly asks.

You toss your head in the back with a delightful feeling that comes with riding him. "Mhh," you moan for an answer.

Jungkook, on the other hand, takes the answer to start his thrusts into you, slowly first but never again, until he chases the fast route he wanted—which is making you breathless in a way that you can't even say anything, only sweet little (sometimes louder) moans escaping your lips. You holding onto his shoulders with every hit that he gives, and every time you almost think that he can't go any more fast and deep but every time he does. Your head can't even stay stable, and which each thrust it goes back and comes again, and one time when you come back to his gaze only to see him smirk.

He started to speak with stopping for each thrust that he made. "I...was...hoping...for...to fuck...you bare...one day," he was getting out of breath with the feeling of you riding him and that he was bare inside of you. "Got...you...well...prepared...didn't I?"

"Y-yes! D-daddy!" You were getting out of breath too as he kept fucking you viciously. "You're, mmh, so good!"

"You too, babygirl, you feel amazing like this," he kept his pace in a mad-like manner as he finds your sweet spot to pound in a much, much harder way as if that was possible to do so. You kept riding him as your hands held him tightly, finding your strength over his shoulders. He pushed back again, and again, and again—only to wreck you completely. "I fucked you for...long...time, how can you be...this tight, fuck?"

You screamed out while music bursting through your ears. "So...good, fuck, I'm...not...gonna," you managed to say, out of breath, dissolving into your pleasure again as your orgasm approaching you.

"Make a mess again...babygirl," he groaned as you spilled your cum again, this time he was able to feel them on his dick inside of you. He held you as he knew that you needed help, but still pounding into you with a feeling of your warm liquid this time, and it felt so amazing that you were all around him. You were still tight and warm, looking absolutely gorgeous on top of him, wrecked and full of sweat, your mouth still agape from the overstimulation you had today. He finds his way to the crook of your neck, first to hold you because he was a little scared that you were going to faint in some point, and two because he never get to kiss you from there and he didn't want to regret tomorrow. He kept his pace into you as his breaths go crazy, a sign for his orgasm, and a few seconds later you felt his thrust getting slower as he kept moaning and groaning in your ears while his orgasm taking over him for the second time today. (it was the best he had, though)

You felt your sleep taking over you as soon as you tossed over to be inside of the bed, but you weren't going to sleep over since it wasn't part of the deal. Albeit, you were kind of sure that at least he must give you one hour to be ready to walk or breathe again. You close your eyes for a bit, listening to the songs he chooses for the act, and when you open your eyes you see that jungkook wasn't there.

It only takes him three minutes for to come again, and you can't even open your eyes to look at him but you sure that he's there because someone is cleaning the cum inside of you. "Thank you, you didn't have to," was all you can say and even with that, you're not sure if he's able to hear it.

"You were going to regret it in the morning." He murmurs, he also having hard times with breathing as well. "Do you want a t-shirt to sleep in?"

"I can just go, you know..."

"Naked or clothed?" He doesn't listen.

"Shirt, please."

Next week, on Friday, the day you have Sound Psychology, you're a little nervous that you're going to see Jungkook again. Not that you guys had something between, not even a little bit of weirdness happened. You slept, you woke up. He was already up and got you some coffee, you chatted a little. He offered you a shower, you kindly accepted before leaving his apartment. It was, almost, normal. No weirdness. No feelings.

But for the class, you're a little nervous that you are going to see him.

So, when you enter the class, Jungkook doesn't help you with your situation when he simply greets you. "Hi, Y/N."

"Hi."

"Ready to listen to the masterpiece I've created? It took me hours to edit that, and the paper I wrote, was the best part of the assignment."

Oh, you've got to be kidding me.

"Are you sure that the Professor will make us listen to that in class?"

"I mean, probably no? I asked if you want to listen though."

"Oh," your eyes get widen. "Ah, that, right."

He looks like he's a little bit broken since you weren't that hyped over the recording. Maybe he was thinking if you were regretting it, which you didn't at all, but it was just thinking of listening to your own sex sounds sounded very weird. "If you're uncomfortable with it, I can just—"

"—No, no..." You manage to say. "Um, you can maybe, send me? I don't think I can listen to that here, you know."

He laughs like he understands what you mean. "Oh? Right, sorry."

Your weird conversation gets interrupted as Professor Kim starts to talk.

"So...everyone," she starts the conversation directly looking into Jungkook's eyes. "Since everyone is exciting about Jeon's assignment, and how that went for me to grade, I would want to speak about that before the class. For ethical reasons, and how I want to keep feeding my family with my job, I'm sorry that we're not going to listen to his record, but let me say that—it was, unexpectedly interesting to hear, and well done."

You exhale a good amount of breath by knowing how you won't be listening to that in class, where everyone is seated.

"But, Jungkook, as long as I still think that you just wanted this particular subject to fool around with, you'll be surprised when I say that this is also an interesting area to study more, but I know that wasn't your intention—the human orgasm, I mean...anyway, you got an A with that assignment, and with that I think you're one of the first students in this University to get an A with a porn recording..."

You don't hear anything she says later, because the message that has been sent to your phone made your thoughts go away somewhere very, very interesting to dream about.

that dickhead: you think we can do a version 2 with my voice playing in the background

that dickhead: again, only for academic purposes

so, i haven’t proofread and all, but let me know how that goes for you! this happens to be my first graphic smut lol