#i've always looked up for the more mature women in a story as a child

[so-that-was-okay]

Hm, not a fan of these shows with main female characters who are supposed to be geniuses but the shows are all comedic. Like these women are never shown as serious/regular people, they have to be funny, borderline ridiculous/over the top.

I get that it might make them more... palatable for the general audience but it sucks. And you wonder why I have very few favorite female characters. The ones I really like are nothing like that.

[genericpuff]

I'm going to try to say this without sounding condescending. But every time I see someone coming into the critical/anti tag to defend LO, specifically the gross maturity/power difference and it's implications, the blog is almost always run by a child. Like, their bio will say 14 or 15, or you can just tell that whoever wrote it is either an actual child or very immature adult. I think it's a testament to the fact that LO very quickly falls apart with any real scrutiny that someone who is immature/young and inexperienced won't apply. And it's also disheartening, because the comic is obviously appealing to a very young audience (mostly young girls), so while an adult with maturity and worldly experience will be able to discern "hey, even though this story is trying to paint such a gap in age and power as something both healthy and romantic, this isn't okay in reality", a child probably won't. It makes me angry with RS and honestly a little sad when I see a comment from a young girl saying that Hades is "goals" or that "Persephone is an adult so it's a-okay". I just have to hope that they have other influences, so if a predatory person comes around trying to be "their Hades", they won't think it's okay.

Not condescending, but definitely concerning. And I say this as someone who's been chronically online since age 14, sometimes the adults around you do have a point when they say "be careful on the Internet". It's not meant to be condescending, it's not meant to be putting anyone down for their age, it's just the reality - there are a lot of shitty things advertised to younger audiences that really shouldn't be consumed by younger audiences. Especially when it comes to things that are easily internalized (like romance, relationship dynamics, etc.)

It's why I've gone on about how LO is basically morally bankrupt at this point, along with many other comics in the romance genre on Webtoons - so many of them are problematic, promote unhealthy relationship dynamics, put a lot of emphasis on normalizing otherwise shitty people and attitudes, and outright objectify women in a very fetishizing if not often sexist way.

Unfortunately WT has figured out that these sorts of stories sell to their main demographic - because their main demographic are made up of literal children who don't know better, and emotionally immature adults who never LEARNED better. It's not a problem that's exclusive to romance webtoons, nor is it one that's solely on RS' shoulders, but it's definitely one Webtoons and RS themselves have capitalized on in a very manipulative way.

It also doesn't help that when you go back far enough in RS' art history, you can see there's a very obvious pattern of her fetishizing innocence and youthfulness, particularly in girls and "little girl" relationship roles (see: she read Lolita and clearly completely missed the point of what it was trying to say). Not enough for me to outright call her a p*dophile, but still enough to make me raise some eyebrows and wonder why she hasn't been called out for it in a more extreme way. I guarantee you if a man were writing this comic, it would have been crucified for its bullshit years ago. Her being a woman doesn't mean her work is automatically less prone to sexism or misogyny or the male gaze than what it would be if the genders were reversed. And I say that as an AFAB creator.

TL ; DR: no, I'm not surprised in the slightest that most of the people defending all the weird and gross infantilization and fetishization crap in LO are literally children. They don't know better, and it's technically not their job to know better because they're children, it's the responsibility of creators like RS to look at themselves in the mirror and ask themselves what the actual fuck they're doing. Unfortunately if the creator herself has internalized and normalized creepy and gross relationship "goals" like this for herself, she's not gonna see the glaring issues in peddling it to children.

[hislittleraincloud]

It is a real photo lol, it’s from 2020 when she had her grad photoshoot: https://m.vk.com/album-144642807_268780469

Forgive me Prince, I let you get wrinkled

But I also have another UTCM shirt

My cloth mask I wear whenever I go out

My nerdy Prince vest (more on the other side but this was the one w/Parade pin)

I also had a large sticker of the Parade pic on my old phone, which I loved but had to upgrade bc it wasn't 5G (😭).

Yeah...I'm not sure anyone but my exes know just how much of a Prince and Parade/UTCM fan that I am. I have a pretty extensive collection back home in Massachusetts in my Sign O' the Times themed room (it's peach and black LOL).

Say what you will about him, we've known about it (to the extent, maybe not, and I despise how he treated Mayte when their baby didn't make it). Creatives are fucked, particularly the most talented ones (like Prince was). He was the GOAT for many reasons.

He wrote too many songs for other artists. I haven't placed too many of his songs in the Afterburn library yet (only the cover of "Take Me With U" on the Birthday Soundtrack); I think I've purposely shyed away from doing so because there would probably be too many of them on there. Up to the 90s his catalogue was mostly sex, and he has songs about age gaps ("Curious Child" and "The Morning Papers" being the bigger ones probably). But his style of music doesn't generally fit with the vibe of my story/Wednesday. He did write and produce the song I need to add to the soundtrack for Chapter 8, though.

He loved his beautiful Latinas. Apollonia is Mexican. Mayte is Puerto Rican. He certainly had a thing for them. 100% if he were still alive he might have 👀 on the kiddo, though Aliyah is more his type (Prince was never really into baby faces, his women were always more classically mature in the face, if that makes any sense. Like look at a photo of young Mayte or young Vanity/Denise Matthews and you'd see the type).

By the way. Prince was a very short king 👑, an inch shorter than me. Y'all don't think we gave him affectionate nicknames? But it was all of that high heel wearing that destroyed his hips, leading him to the surgeries and the pain pills and...yeah. I don't like to see people hurting themselves over their insecurities or for fashion.

Anyway. *stares at the wall...*

...Maybe since Wenovan is so sex positive, I'll have to do a funky smutfest with a Princely theme. It's canon that Donovan has Prince albums in his collection.

[neuroprincess]

Just a rant here...

I was just talking about a subjetc that triggered many memories of when I was a teenager, WHY THE FUCK DO WE NOT TALK MORE ABOUT SEXUAL PREDATORY WOMEN? As a teenager I fell into the trap of "you look too mature for your age" or "you're so smart, so this and that, etc", not phrases spoken by men but women, I was just a 14/15 year old girl finding out about my sexuality and thinking I was in love with a 24 year old woman because she was the only one who "validated" me. So I ended up in tears feeling like shit when she got tired of me, then along came 24, 28 and even 33 women who used the same clichéd phrases, giving me some attention and I really felt special about it (mostly because I was a child prodigy and thought no one my age understood me, yes, I was a teen shit), they reinforced. At 16 I deprived myself of several things of being a teenager because according to the woman I was with "this is not mature", are psychological reinforcements for the shit that I already faced from the teenage crisis. Male teen predators suck as hell, but I think female predators have more emotional manipulation over teenagers, easily.

I also largely blame the fanfic media tsc tsc especially wattpad tsc tsc, teenagers read this, fanfics that basically romanticize female teachers with much younger students, mature women sleeping with girls. I wasn't the only one who find such a story while researching lgbt+ history, was I? In 2016 it was the theme that had the most in this niche, the stories are still there and have new ones. And unfortunately there are still stories, fanfics and the like that normalize this. And it's all very beautiful, romanticized... Protective, for being with a woman. When not so. It becomes a relationship about power when there is a big difference in age and one is an adult and other not. I'm going to have to use myself as an example again, sorry, but I was 16 and I was with someone aged 24 (almost 25) who always used her age in her favor, like "I know I'm doing it and telling you to do it because you're just a teenager and I'm an adult, don't do shit" and acted as "boss" in the relationship in every way because she was the "mature" one. It was about her being able and I not, about her knowing I wasn't, it was about how she attacked my self-esteem with small and big things, and I know a lot of girls go through something similar. I am very afraid of those who use their gender to get away with this type of psychological abuse (and other types of abuse) in same-sex relationships with teenagers. It's not talked about enough, about women looking for teenagers who don't know what they're doing or are in fragile moments for their own pleasure (and sense of power). Making it clear that I am talking about the age difference between ADULTS AND TEENAGERS, age difference between adult people is totally okay when are healthy and don't have this question of power. It pisses me off that there are still female writers who normalize this shit, I think I've seen three or four one shots with Wanda or Natasha with teenage readers, girl, TOTALLY NOT. And even though it has some dark tags, it can still be considered fucking pedophilia, it's a 16 teenager being coerced by adults to have sex. Dude, it's ok to write dark (I respect those who do, I'm not judging, everyone has their own tastes), but at least don't put teenagers in it. And damn, this content is so accessible to minors on multiple platforms, I bet there's a 1Xs year old reading this and thinking "Oh, an adult can be interested in me like this? Okay, sounds... Interesting?", sometimes they just get into things like that and don't experience anything healthy until adulthood. I have a friend 3 years younger and at 17 she was with someone almost 30, she read these fanfics/stories, idealized a mature and experienced woman as in what she read, at the end of the relationship that bitch stalked and used her until I had to intervene. Now she's having to recover from all the shitty emotional abuse.

Idk, I'm just rambling, but in conclusion I condemn anyone who puts and fetishizes teenagers and children (I love and hate AO3 at the same time), who normalizes relationship between women and underage girls as if it's something beautiful, just tell the truth, they are sexual predators as well as older men who prey on teenagers. Internet is a trap, there is no control, we just have to guide and protect these kids. Sorry for the rant, but I just got mad when I realized it still happens and hardly anyone talks about this shit. If you're a fucking teenager, don't think that's normal, they are adults wanting to take advantage of you just like men. If you have a teen sibling or relative or friend watch out for female predators too, not just males. They are still not fully formed people and need protection, especially lgbt+, we don't know their reality, how they see themselves or see the world, in the end they can be really fragile prey for these women.

[luv4blackbooks]

This book was banned because *checks notes* black people are the main characters 🤨

In recent years, banning books has become a really big issues in some states. It's not because these books have inappropriate themes for children or are too scary or traumatizing. They simply talk about experiences that minority groups face, and this makes some parents and educators (but mainly parents) uncomfortable. It's very upsetting that these books are getting banned because minority groups, whether they're black, muslim, LGTBQ+, disabled, etc., simply want to create stories where they are properly and positively represented. Some adults simply see this as leaving other people out, which is far from the case.

Today, I'm gonna focus on black books being banned in schools and why the reasonings for doing so are ridiculous. I've noticed when looking through lists of banned books that a lot of black books that were banned were either because A) racism is a main theme in the text and some people get uncomfortable discussing the topic or B) the main characters of the story are black and proud of their identity and this makes some people uncomfortable. One time, I came across a TikTok video of a women who dedicated her page to purchasing and reading banned picture books to children so they could get access to them. I thought the topic of the book was going to dive into some heavy topics about racism or something that some parents felt was too mature for their young kids. But nope. The story was simply about a little dark skin black girl going on a fantastical journey to discover why her dark skin makes her special and beautiful. Why in the world would someone want to ban this book??? It never said that people who didn't have dark skin WEREN'T beautiful. The book was created because dark skin girls are not represented as often as brown or light skin black girls are, and the author wanted to make sure these girls could see themselves represented positively.

"But Kayla, if the books are just banned in their schools and not the libraries or bookstores, can't kids just get access to them there?"

While this is true, there are other places kids can access these books, sometimes, school is the only place some kids can get access to books at all. Some parents aren't able to read to their kids before bed or afford to purchase books in stores. School can sometimes be the only option available. This is why it's important that all kinds of students are represented in the stories that they read, not just a select few.

It is extremely important that young kids are able to view themselves in a positive light in the stories they read or watch, especially when they're young. When they are in Pre-K and elementary school, they start to get a better understanding of how the world works, how to socialize with other kids, and how to see themselves. Black kids reading stories about loving their hair or growing up in a neighborhood similar to theirs or participating in similar cultural traditions makes them feel seen and appreciated. I grew up reading books like this throughout my childhood thanks to my parents. I'm extremely grateful that I was able to be exposed to stories like this, but unfortunately not every child has or will have the opportunity to do so.

Book banning doesn't only make it more difficult for black kids to find books that will reflect their own experiences. It also makes it harder for non-black kids to read authentic and diverse stories from perspectives different than their own. If white children simply continue to read stories that only reflect their own experiences, it will be harder for them to interact with a more diverse world as they grow up. Their parents may also unknowingly teach them to think in negative ways due to their own biases towards certain minority groups. These types of behaviors are almost always taught, no one is ever simply born having a mindset where they consider people of color or black people to be less-than. Having access to these types of stories helps children break away from these mindsets and hopefully encourages them to treat more of their peers with kindness and respect.

I also briefly want to mention that books in higher grades like middle school or high school are getting banned as well. Books like The Hate U Give or Their Eyes Were Watching God or The Color Purple were removed from certain reading lists in schools despite the relevance and importance of these types of stories. While it is much easier for older kids to gain access to books on their own, being able to learn about certain stories having to do with race or gender or LGTBQ+ themes are very important. Especially because students can benefit from discussing these themes with each other as well as their teachers in order to get a better understanding of them and apply them to the real world.

Luckily, book-banning isn't something that is occuring nation-wide. And some of the states or cities/towns that HAVE been banning books have been starting to receive some push-back. However, there is still much more work to be done to ensure that the banning doesn't continue or start to get worse. I would highly encourage students, parents, and educators alike to research lists of books that are being banned in states, look up why, and find ways to get access to them if they appeal to you. I would also encourage people to continue to push back against constant book banning and challenge the reasonings for why the stories were even banned in the first place.

The book recommendations for the day are Sulwe by Lupita Nyong'o and The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. Both of these stories have been banned in certain schools and it is important that black kids (as well as non-black kids) are able to read stories with important messages like these.

[justmybookthots]

The Bear and the Nightingale

One good thing (among others) this book had going for it? The MMC doesn't really show himself in great detail until the last third of the book. If he'd shown himself so much earlier, I'd have lost interest fast. He was pretty underwhelming as a winter king/demon, and I'd have felt demotivated to continue. But because he showed up late, the main plot of the story got to shine, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

I was really sceptical about this book at first. Everyone on Goodreads said it was slow-moving and very dense and sometimes it felt like nothing was happening at all in the first half, and even though that was partly true, I kept turning the pages. The slow, subtle plot beats had some kind of grip on me, and even now I can't tell you exactly why they did. 

This book plays on tropes I'm not the biggest fan of: the heroine embracing more traditionally masculine traits and being lauded as better than the other women in the story because of that. But it's a tricky situation because if she was submissive like the other women, I'd have felt unsatisfied too. I don't know what the right move is.

Nonetheless, I liked Vasya a lot. She was pretty likeable for the most part, especially as a child. Sometimes I just wanted to give her the biggest, tightest hug for the stuff she was going through. I hated Anna, her stepmother, who I'd sympathised with at first but grew to loathe. It was unsatisfactory how Anna just died in the end without realising how wrong she'd been about Vasya. I wanted her to wallow in her awful decisions but that never happened. She just died after getting attacked by the Bear and there was no reflection on her part.

(Also, I saw a reviewer feeling sorry for the priest and I'm like, ARE YOU SERIOUS. Guy was the second worst person after Anna. Or maybe the first. I don't know. They take turns to vie for the foulest existence in the book.)

Overall, a pretty solid read, even if not the most memorable. There's some stuff that gets glossed over (marital rape, blatant misogyny) but I guess it's an evocation of its time period and makes sense. I don't think I'll be picking up the next book because it concludes quite nicely and the winter king was meh, but we'll see.

- 5 February 2024

I Hope This Doesn't Find You 

I'm really, really sad.

This book was one of my most anticipated books this year because This Time It's Real was my five-star favourite last year, but this just… did not make me feel the same way.

I'm torn about my feelings in two parts. One part believes that if I had read this some time last year, I'd have enjoyed it more. I'd been desperately craving some story with an academic-rivals/hate-to-love relationship. I'd felt Divine Rivals lacked the anger and heat I was looking for but now? This had all the anger and tension I had craved but I just found it tiresome after a while.

The other part of me just didn't get the swoon factor I was looking for in Julius that I got from Henry and Caz. I guess in romances I've always liked proactive heroes who were sweet on the heroine later into the story (not right away, but preferably through a slow burn)—and I don't mean by just doing things for them. Yeah, Julius did some things like running the race for Sadie and cleaning up some of the mess in her house… but for some reason, those actions didn't really move me. 

Maybe it's because Julius just isn't proactive about his feelings the way Sadie is. He does those nice things for Sadie—but you know he's still holding back, that he hasn't come to term with how he feels. In the end, all his kind acts do is make Sadie more emotionally beholden to him, and I don't like that. 

Sadie is the one who realises she likes him, who decides she's going to have the maturity to try to confess to him, but he fucks it up anyway. He assumes she's nice to him because she pities him, and he makes it about himself, and plays a victim in this situation. All this, when Sadie was the one who stood up for him in front of his brother, who took the courage to take the first step outside their decade-long feud by being nice to him and trying to confess, and he makes it about himself. And he says horrible things about her in retaliation.

There's one part that really got to me: when Sadie says she's been thinking the best of him, and he's been thinking the worst of her. That line hit me REALLY hard, and made me disgusted.

And how does it get resolved? By him overhearing her confession of her feelings towards him. Only when he has concrete proof that she likes him back that he allows himself to be proactive. He doesn't take a risk, doesn't let himself take the first step into the unknown like Sadie did. Never once does he let himself believe the best in her. He only believes that when he gets proof. 

This book left a horrible taste in my mouth, and I'm gonna admit I'm quite upset. I don't know how This Time It's Real was 5 stars and this book is like… 2. I was also disappointed by Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands and I wonder if I'm just gonna be met with disappointment after disappointment with all the releases I'm anticipating this year. 

The last one that I was really looking forward to is The Prisoner's Throne, so I shall see. I'm no longer feeling as pleasant as I did about it before this book.

- 6 February 2024

[thejustmaiden]

So out of nowhere I was tagged and quoted by a SR shipper for a blog of mine posted in August of last year. Talk about throwback but, hey, gotta appreciate that level of snooping. 😉

Back in the day I actually used to encourage discourse amongst Inuyasha fans- both shippers and antis alike- but I've since realized that it's a lost cause. But for you, @feministmetalgreymon , I'll grant this exception. Just 'cause it's been a while so why the hell not. haha

I want to assure you, however, that nothing you say will ever convince me that Sesshomaru and Rin are meant to be together romantically or that the story intended it so. Nor will you find any validation here. You can ship them for all I care, but please for all that is good and holy while I have your attention try- I mean really try- to understand why it is so many of us Inuyasha fans are so against this pairing in the first place (newsflash: it's not about ship wars), and why we believe a romance between the two of them is completely and utterly out of character.

For those of you interested in reading this, the blog of mine in question that the above shipper mentions in their counter-argument is here for reference. It's titled "Jaken = Rin's Dad?" I'm going to try and keep this short, but I'm also making no such promises. After all, I'm not exactly known for my brevity. haha Now let's get crackin'!

Like you, feministmetalgreymon, did for your recent blog here where you took screenshots of mine to address certain parts, I will be doing the same and dissecting yours accordingly.

[Snippet 1]

I worked with kids for many years as a teacher, and many people in my family have too or still do. Two of them happen to be just over 5 feet which is quite short for the average adult woman living here. I've also worked alongside many a women of short stature, and never did I hear any of them complaining of issues with their students having difficulty differentiating them from their own peers just because they were short as well. I'm sorry but that's just ridiculous. Kids are quite smart and pick up on a lot more than you seem to give them credit for. Height is not the only characteristic they look at to determine who's an adult and who's not, and it's foolish to suggest otherwise. So unless you're a babysitter who's still in their teens and/or who has very childlike features or behavior then I'm afraid what you're getting at is total hogwash. This is just another example of how you shippers offer nothing of real substance to your reasoning, it's only ever cherry-picking or strawmanning from you guys. Stop deflecting from the real issues please, because this certainly isn't one and only winds up being a complete waste of time for all parties involved.

[Snippet 2]

Okay, calm down now. I wasn't insinuating that relationships between parents and children can't change over time in terms of how they get along. Of course that's possible, as all families experience their fair share of estrangement and abuse. What I was speaking about was in reference to the overall dynamic between the two. Because a bad mother or father can still be viewed as a parental figure to their child even if say they're not in said child's life anymore. Since Sesshomaru and Rin share a healthy bond- and just a friendly reminder that in my blog I even said that he doesn't have to necessarily be labeled her father but that a romantic relationship later would still be inappropriate- I didn't deem it necessary to address what you brought up. Plus, it kinda, umm, misses the point?? Please, let's stay on topic. And it's not captured in the screenshot, but stop acting like there isn't a small part of them that idolizes their parents at some point during childhood. Just like you mention later on how it's normal for kids to have innocent crushes on adults that they eventually grow out of? Well, guess what, the same concept applies here. Kids eventually learn that their parents are far from perfect and make mistakes too. Rin is so damn young in the OG series though that we never even get to see her reach that maturity level.

[Snippet 3]

LOL! Alright, okay, so the "unbreakable bond" bit you're mentioning was actually me quoting you sessrinners. Did you not catch that? I literally spelled it out. *sigh* The whole point I was making is that shippers like yourself make hypocritical and contradictory statements all.the.goddamn.time. One moment you guys claim that Sesshomaru and Rin were essentially strangers and meant very little to each other, only to say in the same breath a few seconds later that they were destined to be together and their bond is like no other. I agree, their bond is special, but why must that mean they're going to fall in love?

That is the root of the matter here. Too many animes/mangas have romanticized this older adult man & young girl growing up falling in love trope that it's become way too normalized and widely accepted across the world- and yes, in some cultures more than others. Sadly, you lack the awareness to recognize how this all works. You know how we know that? When we see that you shippers are so desensitized to sexualized images of girls in the media that you share posts like this one below which *subtly* imply a future romance although one half of that pairing is still just a child in the pic and then try and pass it off as cute. That's like super fucking problematic and it scares me that you can't see that (or deny you do). 🤢

After all that's said and done, Sesshomaru leaving Rin in the village with Kaede is to me the strongest indicator more than pretty much anything else he's done for Rin that proves he is her adoptive father. It's so funny to me how you somehow see the exact opposite though. 🤔 What I think is happening is that you got yourself on some squeaky clean ass shipper goggles fresh out of your little echo chamber. Because I hate to tell you, but what you're fantasizing is what you want to see and not what's actually there on screen or was written into the story. I'm strictly talking about Inuyasha and the manga of course. [For the TL; DR version skip to the last paragraph.]

Parents looking after their kids is what parents are supposed to do. A good parent will do anything to keep their child safe and ensure they are cared for, so what he did for her by leaving her there was in her best interests clearly. Besides, as a babysitter, you more than most people should understand that parents aren't always able to be there for their kids so sometimes others gotta step in to help. Haven't you heard of the saying, "it takes a village to raise a child?" Which in Rin's case is literally true! 😂 Sometimes kids are even sent off to stay with grandparents and that's who raises them instead. Or maybe they have to temporarily live with an aunt or uncle because their single parent's job requires they work out of town 4-5 days of the week so they're hardly home. But that doesn't mean that the parents care or love their kids any less, and it's foolish to assume that Sesshomaru must have thought very little of Rin simply due to the fact that he made the decision to leave her in the village. Come on, y'all are acting like he abandoned her there!!

It's just given the circumstances Sesshomaru finally came to learn that Rin traveling with him was no longer safe. I also like to think it's because he wished for her to live a more normal life and to learn how to fully trust humans again. Plus, continuing to travel with him as young as she was would have proven dangerous and unwise. Now for you to know all this and still manage to turn his past actions towards her while she was just a child into a romantic gesture is what boggles my mind. Regardless of how you look at it, from my perspective or your own, Sesshomaru is in the wrong. Either he's a father figure who impregnates his daughter at the young age of approximately 14. OR he's this man she used to travel with who maybe isn't a father to her but who nonetheless basically rapes her since kids her age can't consent to sex with an adult. Idk about you but it sounds to me like nobody here wins with either scenario we're given. In other words, you should be just as mad as we are. If only one side didn't choose to forsake their morals they know we both have in common for the sake of a ship. Welp. 🤷‍♀️

I agree, incest is disgusting but that's not the only problem we have with this pairing. A romantic bond forming between Sesshomaru and Rin would also constitute as grooming.

You realize that over the years he visited her in the village that he brought her gifts too and essentially watched her grow up right before his very eyes, right? I mean, I know you do, but I really shouldn't have to explain further why pursuing a romantic/sexual relationship with each other is plain and simple wrong. And before you say it's not because he didn't have any malintent, please understand that considering their history and power dynamic up to then that yes this is still considered grooming even if Rin supposedly "wanted it" or "made the first move." Whether you consider him her father or not, as the adult who took on a role resembling that of a caretaker in her early life- a critical developmental time for a child- Sesshomaru is obligated to turn down any advances by Rin and most definitely should not initiate any himself. As the first close adult figure she's had in her life since her parents died, it's unfathomable to imagine how Sesshomaru could go through with taking advantage of this young girl who was under his care and supervision since they met. To think he could be capable of betraying that trust sickens me to the core.

This. Now THIS is how a parent/guardian or a similar adult caretaker (babysitter, teacher, etc.) talks to a child. And, in turn, this is how some young children talk to adults. You'd be insane and delusional to deny it! We see it in our everyday lives, do we not? From where else do you think our stories draw most of their inspiration? Yes, obviously these fictional universes have aspects of fantasy that don't exist in the real world, but so how then do you suppose we're able to relate to them? The reason for that being is because these stories are written by people for people, so naturally there are going to be real life aspects embedded throughout. Sure, a little escapism doesn't hurt as we don't need to take everything so seriously, but ultimately we all need to recognize that the messages in the stories we tell matter. Most stories possess a combination of both light and dark themes, but when it specifically comes to the latter we gotta be careful with how we tackle this in children's media since kids are far more impressionable.

So if at the center of a story we have two of the main protagonists whose mom is basically their same age and to top it off she knew their dad when she was just a girl and who just so happened to help raise her, wouldn't you say that's beyond fucked up or at the very least so fucking weird? Like why would we think it's even remotely okay for our children to watch this garbage?? Really think about it. Try and be objective for once and think about how it would sound explaining this storyline to an outsider who's never watched IY or HNY. Well, antis have tried this before many times and we always get the same reaction: Ewww!

Like I said earlier, if you wanna ship it then fine, but 1) please stop seeking our approval or trying to change our minds - your ship wish came true didn't it, so why do you need us to validate it? 2) even though it's not canon, respect that we don't support this sequel portraying pedophilia in a positive light. It's harmful af to not only allow but glorify the continuation of sexualized images of young girls everywhere. And I shouldn't have to say this, but just because this trope is popular as you say does not make it right. Lolicon themes in the media have been an issue forever and it needs to stop. Yes, even some people in Japan or "the East" would agree. Shocker!

We're pissed off and rightfully so because Yashahime's TV rating is 14, not to mention it airs at the prime time kids in Japan watch TV after getting home from school. That's Towa and Setsuna's age, true, but if Rin being the mom when she's like only a year older than them (please don't argue w/ me about the math- antis have so far been right every time with it) is straight-up disgusting and not something we should be supporting or endorsing. Rin's a whole ass child!! Please don't start with the "but times were different then so her having kids at 15 is acceptable" argument either, because we've already debunked that and every other single excuse you guys throw at us. Besides, how or why would you expect young viewers to know these historical "facts" anyway, especially if as you suggest fiction doesn't affect reality so what does it matter? Yet here we are, arguing over a fictional show in real life almost a year and a half into the "Sesshomaru fucks?" sequel being announced. My ass, your ass, hell all our asses fiction doesn't affect reality!

Look, I do apologize if the tone of this blog came off as snippy or condescending at times. I do not wish you any ill will, it's just I'm not really sure what you expected to get out of all this besides maybe getting on my nerves perhaps. haha A lot of you shippers have been desperately scrambling to interact with us, lurking in our tags, jumping onto our posts screaming canon and getting so defensive even though you sought us out first. We've been sticking to our tags, so how about you stay in your lane too. By the way since we're on the topic, have you seen Twitter or Reddit?! SR shippers there are the actual worst and many Inuyasha fans (not just antis) have complained of not feeling welcomed to engage in fandom spaces anymore. Shippers swarm them and scare them off simply because fans don't like your ship and refuse to accept it. It's pathetic, really. No one should ever be bullied or harassed just because they don't like something you might. We're all fans of Inuyasha, aren't we? So let's act like it. Yashahime on the other hand, you guys are welcome to that pungent heap of trash. Fans have a right to criticize it too, but if you like it then good for you, so keep on liking it and don't mind us.

I'm almost done, but real quick back to Jaken! Let's not forget about how the official Yashahime website- which came out after my blog, mind you- described Jaken. This translation isn't the best one available but it's the only version a fellow anti friend could track down. They do recall a better one done by a native Japanese speaker who was also an anti, and that member confirmed that Jaken is indeed called Rin's babysitter. So you see, I was right in my interpretation. In the original post I did compare Jaken to a brother, but after talking to others (some comments can be found under said post) I did acknowledge that he's more of a reluctant babysitter who's not related. And if he's not at least a brother to Rin, then he's definitely not her father.

At the end of the day, the creator Rumiko Takahashi has the final word. Which is guess what? Hogosha. 💖 Probably should've just started out with that and saved us all the trouble, huh? Good day/night to you.

Papamaru bids you adieu now. 🤞

[munchkinmarauder]

To my knowledge the first time Pietro and Monet met was in Xfactor investigations post Son of M where Monet was an adult and had at various points relationships with Jamie Madrox, Darwin and Guildo and much later on post this series she has a relationship with Sabertooth infamously. All men older than Pietro, who might probably be the partner closest to her age since she dated Synch (and maybe sunspot as I saw a tweet saying that was briefly a thing but haven't been able to find anything else on it). Those relationships rarely if ever get brought up when it comes into age gap discourse.

Looking at her relationships with those other men, there is a lot to be said about the way the story framed those relationships and how that was problematic. However, I don't really think the age differences with those partners was the primary problem as she was an adult and those men were not taking advantage over her or had power over her the way Magneto did Rouge or Warren did Paige for example. The former pairing definitely doesn't get the same level of scrutiny or "age gap discourse" as Pietro/Monet does despite Pietro and Monet actually being within the same peer group in modern comics. The way Xfactor framed Monet, the one person of colour in the group as a sexual being and how Guildo felt entitled to her and how she's considered "more mature and experienced" then say Theresa who I'm sure is older than her is problematic because it speaks to the sexualisation of women of colour (a treatment many WoC including Wanda) have been subjected too. Monet definitely hasn't had the best treatment in the past but from what I've seen of the modern day depictions of the female characters it's gotten a lot better. But people being upset at these past depictions and maybe taking them out on the relationship between Monet and Pietro is maybe somewhat understandable but considering it's never brought up by those fans I think that's just me making assumptions.

A problem with this age gap discourse as well is that it's definitely somewhat infantalising the female character and undermining their sexual agency.

With the sliding scale, where do we draw the line with comics in particular - Jericho seems to be a couple of years older than Wanda, should that not have happened? Are people not allowed to ship Pietro or Namor who he did meet as a teenager under the context that Daddy Mags was trying to pimp out Wanda to Namor? Similarly is WandaVision problematic because vision is technically much younger than Wanda (despite mentally being an adult) lol

People bring up Pietro having Luna around the same time Monet was introduced as a teenager, ignoring that Luna was a baby and a toddler and still to this day doesn't look like she's hit puberty with the sliding timescale. Cannonically around the time Pietro and Monet met Luna was six and Pietro cannonically married and had child very young so they both would have been in their twenties when they met for the first time. The Monet we were introduced to in Gen X was also 16 because she was a fusion of her two little sisters (8 at the time) who also confusiny don't seem to have aged beyond their early teens despite their sister being aged up.

Ultimately they're both adults, who met as adults and are on equal terms. It's fine not to like it cause it's not your thing or you feel the character should be with other people. You don't need a moral reason not to like it and focusing on an age gap when the sliding timescale as confusing as it is, somewhat of a moot point.

Honestly I'm surprised marvel are actually trying to develop a couple beyond it's initial run. I think it's a fun dynamic and has a lot of story potential but that's just me haha. Let things cook basically.

To go on a tangent I've really appriciated how a lot of the recent comics I've read, especially the scarlet witch ones are from the female gaze. Wanda is beautiful and stunning but always viewed with respect. Darcy makes comments expressing attraction to Quicksilver and Joseph and it's not blinked at. Sex isnt really implied until Pietro/Monet show up and in those scenes Monet is fully dressed or more dressed than Pietro and framed differently to him. The scene from the last issue when Darcy is dropped in their room, Monet is fully clothed and looking radiant while Pietro seems to be by all accounts naked unless hes got very low resting boxers on under that sheet. None of it is particularly vulger or glorified it's just an amusingly pleasant subversion to have that dynamic flipped. Women being drawn respectfully and still being beautiful and alluring is always a plus.

Ive been loving the fact Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch show that Monet and Pietro are still together (and potentially living together) however, there is a small vocal part of the Xfandom arguing the paring is wrong because of an "age gap" between the two. Is that... actually a thing? Especially with the sliding timescale?

Yeah, I've been seeing that online, and if I'm being honest, I don't think it hold water-- especially not since SOME of those people are still pulling for Pietro/Namor. Now, that's an age gap.

Pietro is about the same age as all of the original X-Men. Within the context of X-Men comics, you can assume that Monet is notably younger than the original team because she was introduced as part of the third generation of mutant students.

However, because of the sliding timescale, a lot of the student characters from the 80s and 90s have all fallen into the same twenty-something age group. And now, a lot the 2000s students are young adults too, and specifically, can drink. So if we assume that those kids are all, like, twenty-one, Monet's probably in her early to mid-twenties

In the timeline that was established in HoxPoX, it's only been ten years since the original team was founded, so none of these people are older than thirty. I think that timeline was a little too condensed, but at max, they're not older than thirty-five.

So, no matter how you slice it, they're both adults, and they're not more than ten years apart, and Monet is not, like, college a girl or anything. But comic ages aren't real-- it's all relative. It would be different if they had known each other when Monet was still a teenager, or if Pietro had ever been positioned against Gen X cast as their elder, but I don't think either of those things is true. So, relatively, their age gap doesn't feel significant. It's the same with Wanda and Jericho-- know, logically, that he's older than her, but not in any way that feels material or relevant.

[tuiyla]

Gah! Same anon as before. I just want to clarify that in no way was I blaming Puck for the relationship with Shelby (summarizing thoughts in asks gets so messy!). I was just trying to express how weird it is that we can recognize the trauma behind Quinn's terrible decisions in S2-3, but a lot of people seem to view Puck as somehow having it together? I mean, he gets arrested, almost fails his senior year, and ends up in a sexual relationship with his baby's adoptive mother, but somehow the show and a lot of the fandom only see Quinn as the traumatized one in this plot, and I've never understood it. The show seems to want me to view Shelby/Puck as some hot, sexy milf storyline where "oh, if only circumstances were different, they could be great", when all I see is a fucked up teenager who sees this as a way to get his child back and a 40-something woman who keeps egging him on by dropping lines about how hard it is being a single parent and "oh gosh, will you please come to the hospital and hold my hand and play act that we're parents together".

So, in summary, Puck is ALSO traumatized by everything related to Beth, but while Quinn is generally villainized over her trauma, Puck's is often presented as him just being a cool badass who likes to fuck. And a not insignificant portion of the audience seems to buy into that fully, which might make his plot in 3A even more frustrating for me than Quinn's.

No worries Anon, thank you for explaining. I wasn't 100% on where you stood with Puck based on the previous ask but that clears it up, all good.

The show's framing is entirely to blame for this. As much as they villanize Quinn, they acknowledge that she's a mess and crying out for help. Puck is portrayed as Shelby's peer and Glee shows no effort to show how messed up that dynamic is and how fucked it is that Shelby actively encourages Puck's belief that he has to be some kind of provider. He's 18!

Sad truth is, viewers are often willing to take what the show says, explicitly or implicitly, at face value. They're being told that Puck is being "mature" here and don't question how messed up that is. It reminds me of people comparing characters' trauma, too, very often with Quinn and Kurt, as if this is the fucking suffering Olympics. Puck is a complicated character and many have complicated feelings about him but there's undoubtedly a story there about a boy with issues. And though I do think Glee treats Puck with a surprising amount of care and put more effort into his story than most of the girls, there's an utter lack of respect when it comes to his relationships with older women. It's always, always a joke. Even when they had this opportunity to explore how messed up it was with Shelby, they still leaned into him being this more mature guy who needs an older woman anyway. Puck is anything but mature and it's whack that the show would explore his feelings of inadequacy but legitimize this fucked up relationship.

Then again, I think the show fumbled the potential of the Puck and Beth storyline when they showed that flashback in 1x22. Quick makes me so uncomfortable and it is the one thing I can't look past when it comes to Puck, and knowing how incredibly dubious Beth's conception was I frankly feel less inclined to care about Puck's complex feelings on his own fatherhood. And I wanna care! He could be such an interesting ch. But as always, the issue is Glee's inability to recognize what story it's telling. And so every time I want the show to explore what Beth and that experience means to Puck I remember that, at best, he pressured Quinn, and at worst Beth is the result of deception and full-on assault. That does make it more complicated. But bottom line is I agree that in terms of the season 3A storyline audiences should recognize that Puck is also a victim at Shelby's hands here. Because she just never stops being the absolute worst.

[nomunamuinmybrain]

Work you out (M)

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

Rating: M

Genre: Smut

Word Count: 2.4K

In collaboration with the lovely @alwaysdarkestbeforethedawn94

Disclaimer: if you are under the age of 18 please know that this contains heavy sexual themes and mature language.

Summary: Working for Hybe has been an experience. Being Jungkook’s manager is another story. His sharp eyes, firm jawline and snarky attitude was a deadly combination to begin with. The guy easily found his way to your heart and you simply couldn't take it anymore.

Thinking back to how I managed to land such an unimaginable employment opportunity must have been a miracle. Unquestionably, working for HYBE had so many benefits; I swore to never leave this place. Sure, I was a simple manager's assistant, but I was by the side of one of the managers that handled the most important talent in the stretch of South Korea, the entire globe to be honest, BTS. I was assigned the position of assistant to the manager of one of the guys, none other than Jeon Jungkook. I really couldn’t believe my luck. Not only was I a part of one of the most skyrocketing influential enterprises in the country, but I also had the chance to meet some of the most inspiring people in the whole world! Who would have thought?!

Did I have a crush on the guy by the end of my first month working here? Yes, but who wouldn't? He is the sweetest, always polite and courteous. I've met my share of self-boasting asshats; this industry is flooded with such. This guy is worth billions and he has remained ridiculously humble. Word got around about him being a wonderful young man and I could positively say he is so much more up close. Jungkook is ridiculously handsome that’s a given already, but his personality was the real deal-maker. He reminds me of a dark stormy thundery night where I cover myself with my favourite warm fluffy blanket starring out of the window a rich flavored hot chocolate in hand.

In general, I quite enjoy working at the company’s principled environment. Don’t get me wrong, nothing in this world is rainbows and butterflies, but overall, I can confidently say that it’s been a mainly positive experience. Thankfully, the department I am in is assembled by kind, funny people who like to get things done. There hasn’t been a day were I regretted coming here. As for my daily duties as an assistant, working for Jungkook meant keeping up with his appointments, helping him with anything at anytime, managing his schedule, making sure it matches with the other guys' and so much more. I was required to work around the clock and as a single independent woman in her late twenties who was trying to figure out the world around her that didn’t sound like such a bad idea, though I digress. Essentially, I was one of the employees responsible for pretty much anything and everything he needed. Our department was at his disposal 24/7 running around, living that busy life.

That's until the pandemic struck. That was the first time I thought to myself that this might be nature’s valiant plan to get back what man so forcefully took from her. Suddenly, everything was canceled; life got put on a hold. My dearest supervisor, Jungkook's manager, had to stay at home because he had kids. In fact, a lot of people had to stay at home. Abruptly, days became weeks and weeks became months. The desperation and frustration we were feeling was like nothing else ever experienced. Truthfully, it felt like something had been stolen from us and we could never get it back. In this manner, when the gears finally started grinding again I was assigned to be the on-site manager for Jungkook. That meant being in direct contact with him more so than before and of course, being responsible for a ton of other obligations.  

Not going to lie, the first months were slightly awkward for both of us and understandably so. We both were used to very different working arrangements. I might have been working behind the scenes before, but now I had to step into the spotlight becoming his own personal shadow, and I am sure he wasn’t really comfortable with that. Taken into account the current situation everyone looked like a volcano ready to erupt.  

Once, I happened to accidentally step in a not so common incident; maybe it was a circumstance I wasn’t supposed to witness. He was on the phone at the time, when I saw him. That’s why I decided it was best if I stayed behind the half closed door of the studio. I couldn’t hear what he was saying and it was none of my business after all, but I could tell by the minute I laid my eyes on him that something was wrong. Something had been bothering him; irritation written all over his face. He was pacing back and forth, phone still on his ear. He was clenching his fist so hard I wondered if his nails cut into his skin. He was breathing heavily, almost as if he would burst and his muscles grew tense.  

Then, in an instant, it seemed that the call ended and as he was putting the phone in his pocket he slammed his fists down onto the table a loud bang echoing in the room. After some consideration, I knocked on the door to make my presence known and he sharply looked at me. Without having the chance to say anything to him he let out a loud growl and left the room leaving me dumbfounded and unaware by the door. Soon after that, he apologized for the way he acted confessing that he had an unfortunate falling out with one of his closest friends and at the time he couldn’t process what was happening. I would never forget that day. It was the day I came across a not so familiar side to him.

From that day forward, things miraculously became easier and Jungkook was way more relaxed around my presence, we joked around often and he even texted me to ask about a variety of things outside of regular working hours. We managed to develop a teasing relationship full of endless borderline flirtatious banter. He had this other side to him that only a selected few got the chance to know. Jeon Jungkook was indeed a comforting raging night, but he was also an infuriating playful mischievous brat when he wanted to be. This in all honesty, made him a hundred times more irresistible in my eyes.

Life was going on smoothly until Jungkook decided that taking after midnight trips to the gym was perfectly acceptable, insisting that I escort him instead of his bodyguard. I cursed every single time but I went anyway. Forty-five minutes after midnight he was lifting weights, unbothered. Taking secret short glances towards him I contemplated what I had done in my previous life to deserve this torment. Don’t get me wrong, I couldn’t care less about the late hour, but to have this view in front of my eyes was causing me both mental and physical pain. The guy was clearly sculpted by the gods. With his broad chest, muscular arms and thick thighs he could have anyone he ever wanted. He even sported an hourglass figure; He is insanely unreal. That’s the main reason why I decided to sit there preoccupied with a silly game on my phone to kill time until the suffering ended. I was barely hanging from a string at the verge of blowing off the barrier between my personal and professional life.

Out of the blue, with a loud grunt, he dropped the weights, drawing me out of my contemplation. He looked annoyed for whatever reason. He tried his best to seem nonchalant but it was obvious, in his beautiful stern eyes. Could he be craving for an audience? Abandoning every rational thought I had, I put my phone away, looked in his direction as I got up to get water. I smirked at his clear annoyance. Surely, we weren't supposed to interact with the artists this way but I am cranky and sleepy, and for the first time ever, he was being kind of an ass to me. Was I perhaps the reason behind his sudden personality change? The thought kept floating at the back of my mind.  

This kept going on for about three weeks or so and I gave him nothing. His annoyance prominent in his expression, more and more as the weeks went by. He was hot but I am sure all he had been seeking was an audience given that he missed it, or so I thought. Thursday evening rolls around and I was particularly iffy tonight ‘because I was extremely frustrated, sexually. This one was making my situation worse, sporting a tight black tank top and skinny grey sweatpants which made him look like a treat. He could easily pass for a bodyguard with those broad well-built shoulders. As my eyes scanned his body I realized this was the first time his tatted sleeve was on display. I couldn’t help but let my eyes wander. By the time I was done his eyes were already fixed on mine and I turned away immediately, embarrassment written all over my face.  

Seeking solace in the women’s bathroom I tried to extinguish this ravenous yearning. The feeling of cold water did nothing to help the burning desire that was building inside me. Without warning, a knock at the door was heard, his sweet angelic voice following "Are you okay?" he asked, the remnants of a smirk could be heard still. "Jungkook you cannot be here, I am okay. I'll be out in a minute." I exclaimed, as calm as I could. "It's been ten minutes. I can't continue unless you're there." He insisted, I heard him chuckle after that.

With that, it was now or never, I pushed the door’s handle and made my way outside rolling my eyes in the process and he caught that, quickly moving closer, clearly annoyed, jaw clenched, eyes taking in my features, making him look not quite intimidating but definitely interesting. No, it was my mistake. Not just interesting, he looked ravishing. "As I said, I'll be out in a minute. Then you can finish up" I argued. But he didn't budge, moving even closer, if that was even possible, he was almost a breath away. "I don't feel like working out anymore" he declared like a child whose toy was taken away from him. As if I chose to play heads or tails with my career, I poked the beast further, "What is it that you want to do then?" I asked making sure he heard the annoyance in my tone. Coming even closer, to the point where he was completely pressed up against me, "You" he uttered calmly yet authoritatively. Before I could process what he had just said his soft lips crushed mine with a vengeance, thirsty. Pulling my lip with his teeth, he kept planting kisses from my lips to my jaw trailing down to my neck and décolletage; a surprised panting left my lips.  

It felt as if I had involuntarily awakened this beastly hunger within him. His kisses insatiable and his touch was possessive, "I've been thinking about this for so long" he confessed as he took my hoodie off. "Sitting there, not giving a word let alone a glimpse. If you think this is off-limits you're wrong" he growled pointing at himself. "I can guarantee that once we're done here you definitely won't be able to look at me, ever." As he said all that, he managed to get me in a compromising position against the sink, his slim waist in between my legs. He kept my gaze as he lowered his head between my thighs. Little shit kept giving me hickeys on the soft flesh of my inner thighs, so close to my now dripping core. He enjoyed tormenting me and it showed. I was helpless but oh, God was all of this hot. He licked a stripe over my soaked panties, "Oh baby, you smell delicious" and with one hand he took off my underwear completely.

He sank in my folds, letting a guttural moan that I felt vibrating through my core. Not being able to think about what was happening I let myself indulge in my carnal desire my hands tangled in between his luscious hair.  

He loved food and I've watched him eat before, but this must be one of his favorites ‘cause he was doing his best not to let a drop go to waste; he acted like a man starved. His hands held me in place, thankfully, ‘cause everything was too much; nothing could stop me from shaking, feeling everything deep in my core, he was too much. He just had to be good at everything. He kept a torturous tempo, from sucking my clit to his sinful tongue penetrating me, and as tears gathered around my eyes he decided to add his slender fingers in bringing me closer to heaven than I've ever been. "That's it baby, let go. Let go for me" he exhaled and just like that I had the most intense climax. My limbs felt numb, my whole body felt like rubber.  

Before I could register what was happening he was back at it, sucking my over stimulated clit, my thighs unconsciously closing around his head as oversensitivity hit. "One more, please, come on baby, you can do it" he begged. He kept pumping his fingers while sucking my clit, as if it was his only goal in life. My screams muffled through my own hand clamped on my mouth as I reached my high for a second time that night. I felt it take over me with such intensity I didn't register what had happened. He emerged from between my thighs, soaked from me squirting and with a proud look on his face he declared "Now I look like I had the workout of a lifetime".  

He helped me get dressed and pulled me close for a soft peck. He must have noticed my concerned look because he wrapped his arms around me in a warm hug and said "Don't be scared about this, we can work it out. I really like you and I'd like you to stick around". Starring into his eyes, I nodded and he pulled me close for the sweetest kiss, trying to tame my bewildered hair. He helped me get dressed and got out the door first to make sure that no one was around. I waited for a moment and then I got a text.  

[khoicesbyk]

A/N: I'm officially obsessed with Wolf Bride and what does one do when she's obsessed with a certain book? She writes an AU about it! 😁 So, Talley Ho! *in my Sherlock Holmes voice*

Rated: Mature. | Contains sexual content and strong language. (You know? The usual from me. 😁) | Bolded and/or italicized words are conversations and thoughts of the characters. | Main Characters: Roman (LI) and Naia Evans (MC) | All Characters and names: (except MC and certain original characters, created by me) are property of Pixelberry.

Current Word Count: 1,790 words. (May be a little more and may be a little less. I stop counting after editing and re-editing. 🤷🏾‍♀️)

Song And Story Inspiration: Funny How Time Flies (When You’re Having Fun)-Janet Jackson | All This Time (Vocal Version)-Lalah Hathaway | Can’t Let Go/Vision Of Love-Mariah Carey | If I Ever Fall In Love/Comforter-Shai

This series is rated Mature. It is NOT reading material that is safe for those under 18. Reader discretion is STRONGLY advised!

This series may contain spoilers. If you wish not to see spoilers, please do not read any further.

If you’d like to be added to my tag list. Just reblog or dm me and I will gladly add you. 😁😘

TW: character death. Death of a parent. Reader discretion is STRONGLY advised!

Tag List: @shewillreadyou @choiceslady @aussieez @secretaryunpaid @pixie88 @bebepac @hopefulmoonobject @sfb123 @lucy-268 @glaimtruelovealways @txemrn @texaskitten30 @choicesficwriterscreations

Chapter 2.) The Alpha.

Roman is Alpha of his Pack.

He was always taught to be strong, to lead, to guide, to hunt, to fight, to defend and especially to breed. It is his duty to carry on the next generation of Alphas like his father did and grandfather before him.

He is the oldest of his parents' children. His father Xander was his hero and he praised the ground his mother Delia walked on. Growing up in the pack wasn’t always easy for him. Growing up he would have dreams of a young girl. She was beautiful, especially when she smiled. Her eyes would light up when she smiled. Her laugh made his heart skip. He loved seeing her in his dreams.

He couldn’t wait to wake up and tell his mother about her.

“Did you see her again?” She asked him as they walked. His mother loved to walk amongst the trees.

“Yes! She was so pretty mother! I love to see her. Even if it’s in a dream.” He replies.

The joy in his voice made Delia smile.

“I’m happy to hear that my son.”

“I do hope that I get to see her again.”

Delia smiled at him then said, “I’m sure that you will see her again, my son.”

His father raised and trained him to be stronger, faster and better than his siblings or any of the other wolf pups. He was being groomed to be the next Alpha. He loved to hunt. Silently listening for his prey before making his move gave him an adrenaline rush. Conquering his prey gave him pride. He loved providing for the Pack.

He became the Alpha at 19 when his father died. Although it is a burden and some of the elders felt he was too young and not ready for it. Roman was more than ready, willing, capable and able to lead the Pack. Even though he missed his father, Roman is a great Alpha. The Pack respects him and follows his authority. He is stern but fair with those he protects. And when he defends the earth as well as his pack, his ferocity is on full display. And even when he is occasionally challenged by others from within the Pack, he always proves why he is Alpha.

He was the leader his mother knew he would be. She loved watching him flourish in his role as Alpha. Seeing his confidence grow brought her joy. Delia loved each of her children and was proud of all of them, but Roman being her oldest and firstborn child had her heart.

Which is why he took her death so hard. He loved his mother and always made sure that her needs were tended to. Even after her cancer diagnosis, if she wanted it then he made sure that she had it. Even if it meant just sitting with her holding her hand or worse singing to and with her, he was happy to do so.

Her final moments were spent in his arms. He knew she didn’t have much time left. He held her in his arms but he wasn’t ready to let her go.

“Roman, it’s time for you to choose a mate.” She said in a voice just above a whisper.

“No. Not now. My focus is on you mother.” He replied cradling her closer to him.

“You must my son. You are Alpha now. It is up to you now to have and raise pups.”

“Mother please…”

She smiled softly at him then said, “My sweet boy, you must. It is our way of life. You must carry on the next generation.”

“I can’t mother. Not right now. My role as Alpha doesn’t allow me time to search.”

“My son, you don’t have to search. You’ve already found her my son.”

“Who?” He asked.

“The young girl you used to dream about. She will be your mate.” Selia replied.

“Mother she isn’t real.”

“Yes she is my son. I’ve seen it. You two are meant to be together. Find her in your mind and your heart and you will see the bond you both share. Find her Roman. She is your mate.”

“Y-yes mother.” He said as his voice cracked.

“I love you my son.” She whispered.

“I love you too mother.”

Delia closed her eyes and took her final breath. Within seconds she was gone. And although he grieved her, Roman understood what his mother was telling him. He needed to find a mate. He tried finding a mate within the Pack and while many of the women had interest in him, he really had none in them. But he forced himself to choose anyway. He settled on his now ex Isobel. They tried to make their relationship work but for him, his heart just wasn’t in it.

His heart was calling on someone else. So he went to the Pack Elder Noemi for guidance.

“What can I do for you, my child?” She asked. Her voice soothing. She was like a grandmother to him.

“I’m having trouble finding a mate, Speaker.” He replied.

“Then let us find you a mate, my child. Come! Let’s go to the grounds.” She replies as she rises to her feet.

He walked behind her as they walked to a plateau known as the grounds. Old stones covered in moss that were placed in a circle. Noemi sat down on the edge while Roman entered the middle.

“Tell me what you want me to do Speaker.” He said to her.

“Close your eyes and open your mind and heart.” She instructed him.

Once his eyes were closed, he opened his mind and heart.

“Heart of the earth, hear me. Open yourself to my child. Guide him on his path to his mate.” She chanted.

Deep in his subconscious, Roman searched. Concentrating on what he remembered about her. He unlocked his mind to the earth. And that’s when he saw her. The girl from his childhood dreams. Only she was no longer a girl. She had grown up to be a beautiful woman. Her long black hair framed her face perfectly. Her brown eyes sparkled. And her beautiful brown skin was hypnotic to him.

He’d found her after all these years. As he looked at her, he noticed that she was singing. He’d heard her voice for the first time in decades. It’s just as beautiful as she is. She was on stage at a karaoke bar with her friends singing “Vision Of Love” by Mariah Carey.

“Treated me kind.

Sweet destiny.

Carried me through desperation.

To the one that was waiting for me.

It took so long.

Still I believed.

Somehow the one that I needed.

Would find me eventually.

I had a vision of love.

And it was all that you've given to me.

Prayed through the nights.

Felt so alone.

Suffered through alienation.

Carried the weight on my own.

Had to be strong.

So I believed.

And now I know I've succeeded.

In finding the place I conceived.

I had a vision of love.

And it was all that you've given to me.

I had a vision of love.

And it was all that you've given me.

I've realized a dream.

And I visualized.

The love that came to be.

Feel so alive.

I'm so thankful that I've received.

The answer that heaven has sent down to me.

You treated me kind (yeah).

Sweet destiny (yes, you did).

And I'll be eternally grateful (oh).

Holding you so close to me (prayed through the night).

Prayed through the nights (so faithfully).

So faithfully (faithfully).

Knowing the one that I needed.

Would find me eventually (he would find me).

I had a vision of love.

And it was all that you've given to me.

I had a vision of love.

And it was all that you turned out to be…”

As she sang, he felt close to her. He could feel her emotions as she sang. She was heartbroken. And it made him furious. He wanted to hold her, to comfort her, to tell her that it will be okay and to tell her that he would protect her. As she sang she could feel a presence around her but couldn’t put her finger on what it was. Like someone had their arms around her and was holding her close. It was their hearts, minds and souls becoming connected and awakening their bond.

When Roman finally opened his eyes, Noemi was smiling at him.

“Have you found her my child?” She asked

“Yes I have. She’s beautiful.” He replies.

“What is her name, my child?” She asked.

“Naia.” He replies.

Noemi smiled warmly at him.

“She will be your mate, my child.”

“Of this I have no doubt, Speaker.”

A week later, Naia looked up Hunt’s Peak and soon found herself enthralled by it. She loved the pictures she’d seen online. She felt connected to it for some inexplicable reason. Soon, she was dreaming of Hunt’s Peak and started hearing a man’s voice. The voice belonged to Roman. And when he was able to dream about her, that’s when he would call out to her. He wanted to have her at his side. His heart longed for her. His body yearned for her. He could feel her even though he had never formally met her before.

Early one morning he was awakened by the pull of his heart. She was close, he could feel it in his bones. She was closer to him than she had ever been before. She was coming. He left the den in search of her. When he went into the woods, he shifted from human to wolf. Being a wolf gave him a better sense of smell and direction. He quickly picked up a scent and followed it.

His being called him to follow his bond with her. The closer he got to her, the stronger the bond became. Soon he arrived at the Days Inn outside of town. He shifted back to his human form and stood at the edge of the woods across from the parking lot. He was drawn to her. Especially when he heard her sing. It was through the bond that they shared that he heard her. He closed his eyes and listened.

“There you are holding her hand.

I am lost.

Dying to understand.

Didn't I cherish you right?

Don't you know you were my life?

Even though I try I can't let go.

Something in your eyes.

Captured my soul.

And every night I see you in my dreams.

You're all I know.

I can't let go.”

Listening to her sing confirmed to him that he’d finally found her. And that very soon, he and Naia would be together.

[thatsgay-writes]

Spop x Reader

Summary: Catching up with your friends at a Glimmer and Bow’s son’s birthday party.

Warnings: Light cursing? (I put that in everyone cause I can’t remember if I swore or not)

A/N: I wasn’t even supposed to post today lol, but I haven’t posted in 2 weeks on my Wattpad plus it’s my birthday (11/17) sooo...😂 here we are.

You smiled as you walked into the dining room, seeing the waiters and other workers rushing around to get the decorating done. It had been a while since the war with the Horde was over, years in fact. You had returned to the castle a few times in those years. A few times for a wedding and then some birthdays and child births. Adora and Catra had gotten married first, then Glimmer and Bow, and finally Perfuma and Scorpia. Sea Hawk and Mermista had finally gotten engaged and were planning on having their wedding next year. The last time you all came together was to celebrate Frosta's 18th birthday. Today, however, you were there to celebrate Glimmer and Bow's son's 3rd birthday. "Y/n!" You hear someone yell before getting practically tackled to the floor.

When you open your eyes after getting hit, you see a poof of blonde hair and Catra standing over you holding Finn. You immediately push Adora off of you and stand up. "Finn!" You say with excitement, causing them to gurgle out a response before reaching their hands out to you. You happily take Finn from Catra and start bouncing in your spot while holding them close. You hear Adora clear her throat and look to see her looking jealous and Catra laughing. You raise your eyebrow at Adora before focusing back on Finn. "Looks like someone stole your best friend spot Adora." Catra says with a laugh causing Adora to glare at her before walking away.

You spent most of the party walking around with Finn and greeting the other princess. You made sure to catch up with all your friends since you hadn't been back in the kingdom for a while. You had been in the Fright Zone, now known as just The Zone, helping it become a kingdom again. It was hard work and still in progress after 7 years but it was almost over now. All your friends thought you would be returning to Bright Moon after it was all over but you weren't and had to break the news to them tonight.

"Food!" You hear Glimmer yell and watch as everyone runs over to find their spot at the table. Sometimes the princesses still act like kids. You find your seat in-between Adora and Perfuma before handing Finn over to Adora. As much as you love that kid, if there is spit up you don't want to be on the other end of it. You spend the whole evening talking, joking, laughing, and just having fun with your friends. You were so happy to see your friends and how happy they were. You all weren't teens anymore, except for Frosta but she was way more mature than her age. Your smile grew as you sat watching everyone interact with their loved ones and children.

*Time Skip*

Now that the kids were in bed, it was time for the after party. Meaning y'all would play truth or dare with alcohol. You did allow Frosta to join you even though she can't drink, usually Catra or Perfuma refrained from drinking too to make sure Frosta didn't feel left out. While deciding on who wasn't gonna drink tonight, Mermista spoke up. "I won't drink tonight." Everyone gets silent and looks at Mermista in confusion, she never turns down a chance to drink. "Are you sick or something?" You ask causing some of your friends to laugh. "Umm... Actually I'm pregnant... Surprise?" You all froze in shock before cheering and giving your congratulations. Mermista didn't really like all that attention on her and quickly moved on, "Alright, let's just play now."

You had been playing a few rounds and now it was Glimmer's turn to ask. "Alright, y/n. Truth or dare?" Now, you had been choosing dare all night but Glimmer's dares were always crazy and you don't feel like drinking anymore tonight. "Truth." Glimmer nods her head in thought and thinks for a moment about her question. "Okay, why are you still single? I mean all of use are either married or engaged, except for Frosta because she's not allowed to date until she's 30." Frosta makes a noise of distaste cause everyone to chuckle. You scratch your neck nervously, "Actually I've been meaning to talk to you all about that." Everyone can detect your nervousness and seem to sober up some. You clear your throat before speaking.

"Well as you know I've been working in The Zone for a while now, helping rebuild and things like that. And we all also know that since Scorpia decided to drop the title of Princess that The Zone has been looking for a new one." Everyone nods their head in understanding. "Well during my time there I met this baker and we became friends. Well recently we had a vote with everyone living or moving to The Zone to choose a new princess. Well the baker I had became friends with won the vote and will be made into a princess once we're fully done with rebuilding." Everyone nods again, completely engrossed in your story. "Well one night, I was walking by my friends new room in the castle and I heard crying and knocked on her door. She let me and it turns out she had been crying and that she was scared about what was to come. I ended up comforting her that night and I don't know what it was or when feelings changed but holding her and looking at her, even with her eyes slightly swollen with tears stains down her face, she was and is the most beautiful women I had ever seen. I ended up spending the night and kissing her the next morning. We've been dating ever since." You look at your friends trying to gauge their reaction. Of course, Bow had stars in his eyes like the first time he saw Catra's space suit ears.

"THATS SO CUTE!"

[tthael]

What are your thoughts on trans eddie? I love it bc I'm trans and eddie is like one of my comfort characters. Since you're the best writer I've ever seen I'm curious on your thoughts.

Thank you, that’s so nice! I also have some Gender Trouble (transmasc isn’t quite the right word) and I think about gender dynamics a lot, and I think Eddie in particular has an interesting relationship with his masculinity in canon that makes him ripe for this kind of analysis.

Back when I was mostly interested in Hobbit fanfiction, I read a lot of good fics that played around with the gender dynamics of the characters; so while I know that genderswap fics can be a hot button issue because of transphobia and accompanying dynamics, I do like those stories when they’re well-written and taken seriously. For instance, this Dwalin/Nori fic by @thorinsmut features a genderfluid pirate captain and an identity porn romance during the Golden Age of Sail (https://archiveofourown.org/works/1861419) and it’s one of my all-time favorite fanfictions (content warnings for violence against animals, discussion of sexual assault, explicit sex, and a genderfluid character experiencing dysphoria). I tend to prefer always-a-different-sex fics, but I’ve also read a couple of a-wizard-did-it fics, like this Coulson/Hawkeye fic by amireal (https://archiveofourown.org/works/1173773) from back when I was into marvel (content warnings for internalized homophobia, explicit sex, and workplace harassment). I myself have had an idea for a while about a Hunger Games genderswap fic where, because 1 girl and 1 boy are always sent to the Games, Katniss can’t volunteer to go in his sister’s place, but he can volunteer to go in Peeta’s place because he plans to die to save Prim.

So, if we accept that gender essentialism treats children assumed to be girls and children assumed to be boys differently (which it does), I think that a transman!Eddie would have a slightly different experience growing up. Canon Eddie has a sort of glass closet going on and a lot of his childhood bullying is homophobic, and it’s implied that this is because he’s not performing masculinity to the expected level. Also Sonia’s abuse focuses on illness, injury, and contamination. She wants Eddie to be “safe” (goes into hysterics when he tries to get his feet scanned at a shoe-store because of the radiation), but she also wants him to be “clean” and “good to his mother.” Especially in the 90s miniseries and the Muschietti movies that take place in 1989 and 2016, a lot of that is coded to involve the AIDS epidemic, needles, and fears of transmission, which means that there’s an element of homophobia to Sonia’s influence. Also, Sonia canonically sex-shames Beverly, calling her “a dirty girl” and saying that she knows all about her, specifically singling her out of the whole group of Losers. There’s an element of sexual protection to her emotional abuse, as well as just a general unwillingness to let Eddie leave the house or get free of her control.

So if we reverse this dynamic and Eddie is a transboy, I think that the pressures he would experience would involve him not performing femininity correctly as a child, because he’s a boy. Eddie would still be very polite and somewhat soft-spoken and dreamy, and he’d be squeamish about bullies belching in his face and Richie playing in the sewers, just like he is in canon; but I think that his discomfort with his traditionally “feminine” responses would come from him instead of externally now. I’d have him lean harder into his traditionally “masculine” interests--cars and trains and other vehicles of getting away from his mother--and I’d have Sonia be even more aggressive towards Bill, Stan, and Richie, to the point of them not ever daring to enter the house the way they do in the 2017 movie because I think Sonia would be just as revolted by the idea of Eddie going around with a pack of boys as she is by Beverly in canon. I think that Sonia would be very invested in Eddie’s appearance, probably pressuring him about his hair and the way that he dressed, probably preferring him to wear skirts and nice clothes instead of things that he could wear to ride a bike or go running around in the Barrens in. I think that there would be a greater element of sexual shaming and body- and weight-policing to Sonia’s abuse, with elements of her wanting to protect Eddie’s “virtue” from “those dirty boys.” @pineapplecrushface wrote an always-women AU Nightingale (https://archiveofourown.org/works/24979312) and while Richie and Eddie are women in this story so it’s not the trans Eddie fic you are looking for, I think that the mentions of Eddie’s childhood bedroom seems pretty accurate for the environment that he would grow up in if he were assigned female at birth--a pink canopy bed and looking for clothes that don’t make him “feel like a cupcake.”

Actually, I think that this might look a lot like Carrie. I know that other people have already talked about the similarities between Sonia Kaspbrak and Margaret White, but Margaret’s abuse tends to orient not just around control but also around sexual maturity and perceived virtue.

I don’t know when or to what degree Eddie would transition--I don’t know if he would take the opportunity to do it while Sonia was still living, though I believe he’d be financially stable enough to afford it very early on. It would all depend on how the writer wanted to handle Eddie’s adult life--is he married to Myra? Does Myra know that he’s trans? Do he and Myra have a sexual relationship? Does Eddie know that he’s attracted to men? Is Eddie out before he gets the call from Mike and goes to Derry? What kind of transition does he want to have, if any? There are so many things to consider and I think it would all depend on what kind of story the author wants to tell--for me, I’d probably write a story where Eddie happens to be trans, and I’ve read some good fic to that effect--Rapacious from the Very Start (https://archiveofourown.org/works/22853020) by InkandOwl (I tried to find their tumblr to tag them and couldn’t) is one of my favorites, though tbh when I read fic I’m looking for explicit sex and that seems to be the core of this series.

But yeah, I’d be down for trans Eddie fic. I think that there’s a lot to unpack there, from how Eddie’s “gazebos” confrontation with Sonia would take place because the primary issue there would not be the idea of keeping Eddie compliant and in the house as a mama’s boy, it would be the idea of keeping him locked in a tower like the witch in Rapunzel because Sonia keeps treating him like a princess; to the idea of needlephobia changing from a threat involving AIDS contamination to perhaps something empowering and self-authenticating like T injections. And Eddie’s such a well-rounded character anyway, I think that there’s a lot of room to dig into his bickering with Richie and his outward aggressiveness and see how much of that is stress and how much of that is the idea that masculinity never shows weak emotions and how much of that is Eddie is quick-witted and thinks arguing is fun. There are also several parallels between Georgie and Eddie, particularly in their relationship with Bill; I think that as a kid, Eddie would think that Big Bill is just the best role model in a real little-brother kinda way, and Sonia would be super threatened by that because she’s Eddie’s mother, Eddie’s supposed to want to be like her.

I think in general I’d be down for most trans fic, as long as it was well-written. In the book there’s an interesting passage from the perspective of Richie’s mother where she reflects on how much she wishes that she had a daughter, because she doesn’t understand Richie and Bill, and she’d feel more confident if she had a daughter she could do things with like baking cupcakes. And I think that a trans Bev would change the way that she experiences abuse from her father, who in the book prefers her to behave in a feminine way (stops being angry at her when he thinks she’s afraid of spiders, because “all girls are afraid of spiders”; becomes irate at the idea that Beverly is playing with boys; obsessive over her virginity) but would behave differently if he thought he had a son and that Bev was transgressing masculine rules.

Anyway! *hammers fist on desk* Bring me my all-trans Losers AU!

[positive-lesbian-vibes]

Hi! I was wondering, what are some examples of lesbian-coded characters in fiction? Whenever i've seen posts about gay-coded characters it's usually about male gay-coded characters, which is good! They deserve to be talked about! But I was wondering who some gay-coded female characters are.

generally speaking when people talk about “gay coded” characters in fiction its from older media during a time when it was actually illegal to show gay characters having happy endings. the bury your gays trope didnt just show up one day, it happened because for a period of time the only way producers were allowed to show gay characters was either if one or both of them died, they became heterosexual at the end, or they had otherwise unhappy endings in an attempt to discourage The Youths from being gay (side note here: making gay characters die doesnt mean fewer people irl are gay its just means they have no positive role models but uh i think we all know that here)

that meant that if directors or producers wanted to represnt gay people with happy endings, they would have to code the character as gay, but not explicitly say they were gay. most of the time this was done with whatever gay stereotypes pervaded at the time - in early hollywood that would be things like having the women smoke and work, the men would be more effeminate, etc. if that was too obvious, it would be “independent women” or men who werent interested in dating. 

as a result we dont necessarily get “gay coded” characters today like we used to, because censorship laws no longer prevent displaying gay characters in a positive light. if producers and writers want a gay character, they can just put in a gay character, and there are no rules about how that characters story has to end, although most writers and directors still choose to kill of the gay characters because theyre homophobes but thats a story for a different time

but “gay coding” hasnt necessarily gone away, either, because gay characters are still considered “mature” and cant really be shown in childrens tv shows, books, or movies without outrage from homophobes. so in a way, gay coding does still exist, just on a different level.

i dont really read or watch a lot of media from periods of time where gay characters were required to be portrayed negatively, so i cant really think of any off the top of my head. as far as characters that were gay coded in modern tv shows, janice ian from mean girls was gay coded (tina fey chose not to condemn lebophobic bullying by throwing janice into a shoehorned hetero romance at the end that makes no sense instead of letting janice be the lesbian she was born to be), i have never seen bend it like beckham but everyone talks about all the gay subtext in that, i think velma from scooby doo was actually going to be a lesbian but there was too much controversy over that so they made her straight but she was still gay coded imo, a lot of people see miss honey from matilda as gay coded

for the most part, i think most of the “gay coding” people talk about in modern media doesnt actually fit the technical definition of “gay coding” which was a system set up to defy to censorship laws by deliberately having characters flag as gay without forcing them to have unhappy endings. most of what we call “gay coding” today is not intentional by the writers (who will almost always adamantly defend the heterosexuality of their characters) but is instead an interpretation by the viewers, which doesnt necessarily decrease the value of the characters, but it does show authors true colors when they get very upset about their viewers interpreting the characters differently than the writers intended (im sure yall saw the supergirl debacle thing, it was all over my dash)

it does, to me, show an interesting disconnect between straight people and understanding the gay experience, however, for example, many lesbians see twilight and relate to bella heavily (bc shes a lesbian lol), mostly because bella’s experiences and emotions often match up very similarly to their own. while stephanie meyer will defend the Pure Heterosexuality of her precious characters, it doesnt change the fact that there are a lot of points in the twilight series that are very typical to lesbians experiencing lots of internalized lesbophobia: bella was never interested in dating until some Magical Unattainable boy came up, who then became Less Unattainable, who was Unlike Other Men, whose abusive behaviors she (unknowingly) misinterpretted for love, when in reality she confused her desire for male approval because of her father’s poor parenting that she got through edward as actual romantic love. the female characters she did connect to (alice, angelina, even rosalie if you look closely, wow im remembering more of these names than i thought i would) were all much healthier relationships, and in some ways closer than most friendships tend to be (if you interpret it that way) in the same way many lesbians confused romantic love for platonic love for their friends. when viewed through that lense, seeing bella as a lesbian who hasnt come to term with her lesbianism yet due to being abused as a child and having an abusive boyfriend, it makes a lot more sense than “she met a hot vampire dude who thinks shes great for some reason and now she wants to bone him.” but since stephanie is a shitty writer who doesnt understand the lesbian experience, she will refuse to see it that way and instead protest that no, it really is just a super elaborate love story, not that she doesnt know how to write romance and that she accidentally created a closeted lesbian character in an abusive relationship.

anyway wow sorry for this essay im supposed to be reading my physics textbook now which is why i psychoanalyzed twilight there for a hot second but anyway u didnt really ask for this but thats my hot take for the day

[rage-against-the-meyer]

Breaking Dawn (2008)

So, I've reviewed the other Twilight Saga books already, but I promiss you, this is gonna be the worst one yet. I must admit, as a 13-year-old girl this was my favorite book (don't kill me yet). I was growing up in a Dutch small Christian town that had had a big infuence on my views. In my mind, it was perfectly logical that the story ends with a child against all odd. As a grown-up Biomedical scientist, this does not go anymore. As such, I now view Breaking Dawm as the absolute worst one yet and here, I will tell you exactly why.

Breaking Dawn is a big fat book that consists of three different books. I will discuss the books seperately in fear that it might be too much otherwise.

Part I from Bella's point of view

It's no surprise that I actually do like this book. We get 6 chapters of sheer happiness and joy. Very much Edward/Bella intimacy and they finally have sex (woohoo). So what can I bitch about?

Well, actually not too much. I loved the wedding, the secret goodbyes (yes, I cried). I just believe that after the first 6 chapters Bella should have struggled with the decission to change instead of the pregnancy. Yes, Chapter 7 is the cursed chapter for me. It's the onset of all pending misery. Also, it is the first time that menstruations are mentioned and the weak excuse SM gave to explain the never-having-killed-her-due-to-smelling-period-blood on Edwards part is just that, weak. So, all-in-all, I hated this chapter but what comes after is exceedingly worse.

Part II from Jacob's point of view

I hate Jacob. That much hasn't changed. I hated the cold Jacob that is so prominent here very very much. Personal sun my ass. I have always loathed this POV but it offers us some interesting views on the wolves and the Quileute people. It was good to see the communication between the wolves, but it was also nonsense. The big difference between you can't hide what you think and thinking in directed full sentences became a blurry line that never really made sense to me. What was good about it, is that we saw how pure Seth's mind is and how deeply hurt and actually good Leah is. Seth, a mere teenager, is objectively one of the purest characters I have ever read and that's on that. The faint influence of the coming Gen Z was shimmering through in his defiance of made boundaries in communication: Seth saw the good in the Cullens and defied his tribes prejudice. Good for him. Leah, of course, is one of the most denied characters in the series. Such a fierce young woman that has suffered so much is the only character that does not get redemption. It is absolutely outrageous and I agree with many that it shows SMs prejudice against women of colour. She gets literally nothing. She stands on her own in a group of men that mock her for her guard as she has to suffer through knowing her ex's love for his new love. Then, of course, she cannot have children and she gets no love interests. To through all these (in SMs mind) limitations only at one of the few POC is not great. I do like the fact that Leah and Jacob become closer and that Leah cares most for Seth. It's not enough, though. Leah should have gotten the trip to go to college somewhere far away, paid for by the Cullens out of sheer gratitude. She should have everything and all but through Bella's (read: SMs) mind she is still depicted as sad, lonely and bitter. To show a woman's anger like that is straight up misogynistic. Great start.

Jacob's story skips so many valuable parts of Bella's story, which we have been focussing on until now, and it makes so little sense that Jacob would be there for all the important interactions.

In Jacob's part, some shocking facts become clear. As a biomedical scientist, I have been holding back the outrageousness of this one: the chromosomes.

Vampires are frozen in time; after the change, their bodies don't change anymore. They also don't grow new or longer hairs, new teeth, anything. They are frozen in time. Curiously, they still have a need to feed (blood) and their consumption influences four things: their thirst, the colour of their eyes, their strength and their behaviour. I will tell you why this makes absolutely no sense. In humans, we feed for much the same reasons: we don't get hungry, we stay alive, become stronger and we are nicer when we aren'r hungry. This influence is exerted by the distribution of food molecules throughout the body; to the brain, to the muscles, the organs, you name it. Vampires don't have blood, their distribution of food molecules would be so slow that it would take days if not weeks for the molecules to get to the eyes or the brain. We know vampires aren't mushy inside to increase the distribution so how does it work? It eludes me, I'll tell you. Also, every part of the vampire body is supposed to be solid. Where does the liqud from the blood go? A human averagely holds 5 litres of blood. That is a lot. And since the body doesn't change, where does the liquid go? Aside from the distribution, it makes even less sense that any of these factors should be influenced by anything at all. It is likely that vampires still have cells, their bodies still need to create impulses, movements, talk etc. But their bodies don't changes anymore, so after the change the cells stop producing hair molecules? Why don't the hairs drop anymore? It is so dumb that SM suggested a certain balance between the actiond that continue and actions that don't. We still move the muscles but they can't grow anymore but the cells in the muscle stay active?? This brings me to the chromosomes.

So, Carlisle has tested human, vampire and werewolf (without consent) blood. He found that vampires have 25 chromosome pairs, werewolves 24 and humans 23 chromosome pairs. His findings and his tone suggest that he attributes all the vampire qualities to the 2 extra chromosomes. Now, with everything that I have just explained, I see no possiblity behind that. The venom of a vampire just adds two pairs of chromosomes to your cells? One from your mother and one from your dad? And then, these chromosomes are able to pinpoint exactly with genes to silence and which to activate and that is enough to make your skin hard as granite? No way. The body makes strong pieces, but still the strongest is the teeth. Strong but not as strong as SM thinks.

All-in-all this science is straight up the biggest fucking bullshit I have ever seen. There is just no logic behind the logic SM gave. It doesn't stop here, though. No. I am 100% convinced that SM has not had any sex talk ever in her life. She started with Edward's 100-year-old sperm being vital enough to produce a baby. This sperm is saved at approxomately the temperature of a rock/as cold as ice. This is far far far too high a temperature to preserve sperm cells for long, let alone a 100 years. So, No. No, again. Then, Edward's dick is magically able to get hard without any liquids in the body? No. And THEN, his human sperm cells (human but also vampire?) are able to make a zygote with Bella's egg cell??? A zygote with 24 (!!!) chromosome pairs???? So, it's one of each of Bella's, one of each of Edward's and then just one of the two vampire pairs?????? No. Nah-ah.

I haven't been this vocal about any of my other issues, including racism and other forms of discrimination. Somehow, I have accepted that these concepts come from very well-preserved ideas and I can plainly discuss this matter. However, the pain Stephenie Meyer has put me through as a scientist is still very unknown to me and it annoys me to the core.

I suppose, while I'm on the matter, I should address the elephant in the room. Resumé. Renesue is the embodiment of everything Bella didn't need. The book should have ended before the pregnancy. A story of a woman that found a love in a vampire and she needed nothing else in her life but him. This was the story we were promissed. And then, SM takes her turn to make the last non-conservative woman in the book a mother (her being a mother will come later).

In conclusion, this part stretched every nerve in my body and made me cringe so hard I felt sick.

Part III from Bella's point of view

I'm not gonna lie, I have been pretty dark about the last part. But I LOVE Bella as a vampire. The tranquil chapters where she learns everything about being a vampire made me confident I wanted to be one. I loved Bella more confident and comfortable. I loved the new ease between Bella and Edward. Tranquil, as I said.

Of course, these chapters are overshadowed in part by Rususme. I don't mind the child. It seems nice enough - SM made it pure. But Bella is not a very caring mother. She meets her daugther and then, both Edward and her really don't mind her. They have no urge to be with her and have no trouble letting her go. They go have sex the whole night instead of looking at Relsume's dreams. Then, there is the fact that all tense and loaden discussions are held in the presence of the exceptionally perceiving child. Edward can SEE that she understands tensions. It's so fucking dumb. It really bothered me the last time I read it, maybe because I've matured or maybe because I didn't really care the first time.

When it comes to the final battle approaching, I enjoyed that. I loved Alice's plan. I like the Volturi and their grand dramatic scheming and such. I loved the new characters very much. I think they added a whole new demension to the story. I would have been there for Edward and Bella traveling around the world meeting these people with the oncoming thread of genocide for a child as well though. Of course, the racism is back. The Amazonian and Egyptian vampires are so blatantly racistly described. In that aspect, the movie deserves way more credit for giving us the straight up prettiest actors ever to cover this.

Wrongness continues as Jacob imprints (as the second wolf) in an infant. I know some people see no issue with this. SM tried to make it clear that it was just about her happiness by letting Edward see that Jacob wasn't thinking sexually about his equivalent-of-a-three-year-old child. I mean. Looking at this logically, it's disgusting and there is no changing my mind. Personally, I feel Jacob could have imprinted on any other female character (with the exception of Leah). For all I care it was a 35-year-old woman. But, reversed pedophilia (Jacob was still underage) isn't fun for SM so she sticks with what she knows.

I think I have adressed my most important issues. Please inform me if I've missed any. As usual, I urge you to inform yourself on the Quileut Tribe as it is and donate to them for SM has wronged and exploited them.

The Quileute Tribe

Information:

Donation:

TLDR: I curse Stephenie Meyer for creating that incredibly stupid child as a way to project Jacob's love to something of Bella. Please inform yourself on the Quileute Tribe and donate to them via the links above; SM has wronged them.

As a final note, I am a biomedical scientist at heart. I am always interested in a challenging topic, so fire away.

[jaroslavlewis]

I've got a hard question for you! What would you say would be your gosho boys ranking from the one you like the most to the one you least like, and why? What is that you like the most and what do you not like about each of them?

Hi Anon!

Wow. That’s a really difficult question for me to answer because I love all of the Gosho Boys and I think that Gosho-sensei is just wonderful for blessing the fandom with four, smart, gorgeous dorks. It really breaks my heart to have to rank them, but here it goes…

*heavy breathing*

1. Hattori Heiji

Top spot goes to Heiji. It was hard to choose between him and Shinichi. They could’ve tied, but yeah I chose Heiji anyway. (I could imagine Heiji rubbing this in Shinichi’s face already. *Insert “WEST is the BEST” Heiji here*) Heiji won the top spot by a few points against Shinichi.  

Just an anecdote:If this question was asked like a few years earlier, I could’ve picked Shinichi. Like, when I got into the fandom, I was a bigass Shinichi-biased DCMK fan. I was around 11 or 12 that time and all I ever talked about was Shinichi. I hardly paid Heiji any attention, to be honest. At around high school up to college, I was practically gone from the DCMK fandom. Like, I did some exploring in other fandoms and I just left for a while, kind of like a really long vacation. Anyway, I came back here after college and I’ve been drinking a lot of the Heiji appreciation juice.

I think the reason for this is because of the character development I witnessed in Heiji. (I’ve already stated this in one of my blog posts, “Heiji’s Character Development” ) I don’t think I could stress this anymore. Other than this, I’m just really drawn to the KazuHei couple recently and I love how Heiji’s being such a dork about his confession. It’s awfully cute and it’s bringing out a different side of him.

Also fun fact about me, I’m not a big fan of tsundere characteres. Especially guys who are a tsundere. IDK. They’re just not my cup of tea. Most tsundere characters are just too mean and disrespectful for me (*coughs* Uchiha Sasuke *coughs* Hyuuga Natsume. I could name more, but I don’t want to make this longer).  Anyway, Heiji’s probably the only or if not, one of the few tsundere characters that I do like. Him and Vegeta (WOW THEY’RE BOTH VOICED BY THE AMAZING RYO HORIKAWA!).

Anyway, Heiji is a big exception to my dislike towards tsundere characters because even if he is a bigass tsundere, he doesn’t disrespect Kazuha. I mean, he argues with her a lot, yes. But their arguments are just about petty little things. By the end of the day, it’s just a KazuHei thing and no matter what happens, he’d always be by Kazuha’s side, protecting her always. I absolutely love how he’s protective of the women, especially when sneaky guys are trying to get their way to them. And  it’s not just about Kazuha. Heiji’s also like that to Ran as well. I love this about Heiji because he may come across as arrogant and intimidating, but really, he’s a total nice guy. He’s the ideal boyfriend and ideal brother. (I honestly want to see more Heiji-Ran moments because he’s a really great bro to Ran but sadly, their dynamics is pretty underrated.)

What I also love about Heiji is that he isn’t the “safe” kind of person. He is impulsive and aggressive. It’s a bit dangerous yes, but it makes him take the leap and take risks, which is something that I really do admire because I’m very much on the “safe side”. I’m not a spontaneous type of person and I would love change that about myself and be brave to take more risks, every now and then.

Ironically, Heiji’s impulsiveness and aggressiveness is also one of the things that I sort of dislike about Heiji. Sometimes, it’s a bit too much and he’s hurting himself. He gets injured a lot and this worries me a lot. Hahahaha Other than that, it sometimes gives him a hard shell, it conceals his soft side, which we rarely see, but yeah, it’s showing slowly. (Also see my reaction on episode 873, “Heiji’s Attempt to Confess”) Also, what I dislike about Heiji, actually, this is not  about Heiji alone. This is on the story line. I dislike how he’s taking so long to confess to Kazuha. I mean coz unlike ShinRan, they see each other everyday. But yeah, I do appreciate his efforts and yeah I understand he wants it to be perfect. So, overall, I don’t dislike this about him that much and it’s not his fault if Gosho wants to prolong that development. Hahahaha XD

Phew! I write so passionately about Heiji, I don’t know how I’m gonna get this ranking done. ^^” Huhuhu Sorry about this. Anyway…

2. Kudo Shinichi

Like I said earlier, Shinichi could’ve gone first, if this was asked years waayyy back. But yeah, I  still love Shinichi a lot. He only lost the top spot to Heiji by just a few points. (So Heiji, honey, don’t be so cocky about this. Hahaha.) The reason why Shinichi came in second is because he hasn’t changed much throughout the whole series of Detective Conan, not that he has much to change anyway. I could say, his character is a bit more stagnant compared to Heiji’s but then again, Shinichi was already perfect all throughout the beginning of the series. I honestly like and dislike this about him. Of course, I like how Shinichi’s mature and he has a lot of wisdom in him. He’s a good character. But I have to say, sometimes, Shinichi’s just too good to be true. It’s hard to see his more human and more relatable side. I honestly love imperfect characters more than perfect ones like Shinichi. As a writer and viewer I think they’re more relatable and more interesting to work with and watch/read about. Although, I honestly think that Shinichi becomes more human is when he is with Ran. He gets to be less “safe” and more transparent with his emotions. He’s so heavy on his principles and very strong about them, but with Ran he is different and for Ran, he actually does get to defy the principles he believes in and I love this about him. (Going a little off topic, but still related to what I’m talking about: This is why I love the Kyoto Arc so much because we get to see more of Shinichi being a regular teenager. I also love the episode about Ray Curtis because I got to see more of Shinichi’s emotions and we got to see how he can be imperfect at times and that because he was a big fan of Ray, he was at first being blind in his deductions because he’s biased towards Ray, but in the end, he does the right thing.) I mean, he is all about the truth but he lied to Ran, the most important person to him because he doesn’t want her to get involved with the BO. Like after the Conan thing, he was scared and we get this because it’s a life and death situation. Okay, so overall, I think Shinichi’s “perfect” character works well because he’s gonna get more interesting in the end. By being Conan, we saw him fall and all of a sudden he was less perfect than he used to be and he was more vulnerable. (OMG. I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE, GOSHO! OKAY AS I’M WRITING THIS, I’M A WAVERING AND I’M CONFUSED IF SHINICHI DOES RANK AS SECOND! But what’s done is done. So… HAHAHAHA XD)

Anyway, I love how Shinichi’s more calm than Heiji. I think it balances their friendship really well. They’re like Yin and Yang. I also like how he is more softer than Heiji. I mean, with Ran he’s more transparent with his caring side compared to how Heiji is to Kazuha. I think Heiji’s more on the tough-love kind. (I think this sprung from how he is raised by Heizo. Just a little theory.) Shinichi’s more transparent with his love for Ran and he’s more sure of his feelings, compared to Heiji who took a  lot of time figuring out that he actually has feelings for Kazuha. Shinichi was sure from the very beginning that he already loved Ran from the very moment that he saw her and I think this is just cute. Also, Shinichi’s such a gentleman especially during his date with Ran on the “Desperate Revival Arc.”

Another thing I love about Shinichi is his way with words. I love how he phrased his confession with Ran and I love how he talks sense to people. I think Shinichi would’ve been a writer like Yusaku if he wasn’t a detective. Just my opinion.

I love how ideal Shinichi is. I think that his thoughts are very ideal and if people in this world think like him, the world could have been a better place. But ironically, I think that I also dislike this about him in someway because his thoughts could and have already gotten him into trouble. Huhuhuhu This world is a cruel place for you, my child.

3. Kuroba Kaito

Kaito came in third for the only reason that I’m more into Detective Conan than Magic Kaito. Since I got into the DC fandom first, I’m a bit more attached to Heiji and Shinichi than I am to Kaito. I also think that I still have yet to discover about him. But I really do love Kaito as well. I love his playfulness. I love his bright character. I also love how he’s not the conventional type of good character. It’s a good conflict to his story. (I don’t think we have to discuss this further. We all get the point right? XD) I think compared to Conan’s story which is heavy on the murder and mystery, not to mention drama everytime the culprit admits to his/her crimes, Kaito’s story is more on the comic relief and adventure.

I love his clever tricks and everything just seems so fun with Kaito in it. What I do dislike a bit about Kaito is that sometimes he gets too playful about things to the point where he disrespects the people around him. I also do not like him looking at Aoko’s panties every single day of his life. I mean, Kaito dear, let me quote your father’s words, “That is not how you treat a lady.” >.

I think I can’t talk too much about Kaito as much as I did with Shinichi and Heiji, since I feel that I still don’t know him too well and this is the reason why Kaito came in third.

4. Hakuba Saguru

I feel bad about placing him last. I think that he is the most underrated Gosho Boy ever. T.T My reason for placing him last is sort of the same as my reason for ranking Kaito the third. I think that Hakuba nad Kaito could’ve actually tied in the ranking. Kaito just scored a few points higher than him ‘coz I’ve seen Kaito a bit more than I’ve seen Hakuba. I really like Hakuba’s character. I like how he’s so sassy but still classy. He’s also really dreamy. But I feel that there’s still a lot that I should know about him. I think Hakuba needs more exposure, tbh.

I think I can’t talk too much about things that I dislike about Hakuba, since I don’t know him that much. Other than how Hakuba insulted Heiji in “Three Days with Hattori Heiji, (I’m not too salty about this. It was really entertaining how he ticked Heiji off. But yeah, he insulted my fave. Hahaha) I think there’s not much I could come up with since like I said, I still don’t know Hakuba that much.

So to sum things up, most of the things I dislike about the boys is about how they could be extreme with the distinct trait that they have (Heiji with his aggressiveness, Shinichi with his principles and idealism, Kaito with his “extra-ness” and Hakuba with his sass).  Over all, the ranking is based on how well I got attached to the character and how well I know the character, not necessarilly on who I liked best. I think they are all interesting characters to be honest. Also I think, this ranking is just temporary and I feel that it would change in time as their respective storylines progress.

I hope I made my explanations clear and I’m sorry this was really long. I tend to word fart a lot. I also hope I don’t disappoint anyone with my ranking. This is just my opinion and personal preference and like I said, this ranking could change over time. I also hope you guys know that I really do love these boys so much and it was really hard for me to rank them. Over all, I’m just really beyond thankful that Gosho blessed my life with the Gosho Boys.