#just one (1) female character that gets to act independently of a male character… is that too much to ask for ���?

[melljam]

oh,!! oh dude!!! her design is so cool !!!!.!.

[yarrayora]

i like how falin being a maiden to be saved, a reward to be coveted, isn't a point to criticize in dungeon meshi. because we have various other female characters who are written as having their own agency

we have marcille, of course, whose story can be observed since chapter 1. how she's not depicted as the "girl team member" but "part of the team". when you're writing a protagonist group where there's only one female character among the male cast, you can always feel this sense of alienation in the writing, like she doesn't belong in the group as the story focuses on the rest of the boys. the way masashi kishimoto writes team 7 is a major example

but marcille is still allowed to be a "typical girl" who doesn't want to eat gross things and enjoy feminine clothing without forgetting the fact that she's a multifaceted person. she's a researcher who isn't afraid to get dirty when it's something relevant to magic and her goal, even though she's also grossed out at the idea of feces being used as fertilizer for crops

and when falin comes back as a monster who can't speak, it's still not a point to criticize. oftentimes stories involving female characters losing their speech (or, well, becoming disabled in some way) is meant to make her vulnerable, a fragile 'something' to be protected. but this is not an argument about how chimera falin is super strong, because that's a shallow way of thinking that ignores the fact that being a Girlboss doesn't ensure your female character is written as a fully realized person. this is about the fact that almost right after that Izutsumi joins Laios' party.

She joins late in the game, so it'll be easy for her to only be tacked on as an afterthought. A notable example would be Okumura Haru from Persona 5, where her character gets overshadowed a lot by the other party members' more colorful personalities, as if the writer wasn't sure how to integrate her into the already developed dynamic.

there's also how she's written as a sweet and shy girl yet the way her school uniform is designed betrays that image. it's heavily customized even compared to the trendy girl like ann which means it's impossible for her outfit to not go against school regulation. not something an obedient girl would have done. which makes me wonder if they couldn't decide on her writing until last minute.

but Izutsumi is different. her involvement and her own personal story arc eventually intertwines to the overarching plot. she hates having her options limited. she hates having responsibilities to uphold. she hates eating veggies! she hates that people expects her to do things their way! she wants freedom to do whatever she wants!

but in the end she learns that to have the freedom to choose, she has to uphold her responsibilities. starting from the simple things like taking care of her health by eating balanced meals, not just the ones she enjoy. she has to do work to get enough money for her food and travels. and she has to learn how society works so she can live independently. she has to learn which desire she has to prioritize that she can balance out with her responsibility as a living being.

her own self-realization culminates into her giving advice to laios that leads to him steeling his resolves to become king.

so you have Falin, who gets turned into a monster that cant communicate her desire and needs while under the mad sorcerer's control, and in exchange you get Izutsumi, the 'beastman' who knows exactly what she wants and throws a tantrum about it without shame, not understanding that what you want isn't always what you need. i think it's a really cool parallel!

this is a prime example of how tropes that get associated with misogynistic writing can be used as a proper tool that serves a narrative when you have more than multiple female characters having their own character arcs

in fact, you can apply this to pretty much every other things. when you're writing gay characters, having only one of them and they act camp can make people raise an eyebrow at whether this is meant to be a caricature of gay people or not. having two of them and one acts camp and one acts normie can be read as a bias against gay people expressing themselves. writing multiple gay characters, all with different personalities and desires will avoid accidental stereotyping.

even the minor female characters, be it the canaries or namari, help show that the way the narrative treats Falin isn't born from thinking that women are an alien breed compared to men. that her lack of agency means something for the themes involved.

[writers-potion]

Hi! How do I write a mafia novel?

How To Write A Mafia Novel

The term “mafia novel” makes me think of a few possibilities here. It could be (1) an action-thriller where our hero is either fighting the mafia or is a part of the mafia or (2) a mafia romance novel, where the love interest(s) come from rich mafia backgrounds.

If you’re writing an action/adventure story where mafia are the bad guys:

They need to have a cause – a twisted one. No matter how bloodthirsty these mafias might be, no one works so hard for fun. 

They’re struggling financially. This is a great motive for the bad guys to attack the hero, or use more cruel methods than usual. 

The ones who are going against the mafia would be independent investigative agencies or the Federal Bureau of Investigation, not your typical cop or police. 

They’re allied with other crime groups, even with some backdoor government organizations. I don’t think the depiction of mafia groups as a self-sufficing group always exchanging insults with other groups in inaccurate. Also, this raises the story stakes when your back guys combine with other bad guys to get back at the hero.  

They can’t be threatened with just an incriminating recording or photo, especially if they’re obtained illegally – which means they’re unlikely to have power as evidence.

Mafia leaders realistically won’t force their children to take over – in fact, they’ll want to keep their family out of it altogether. 

If you’re writing an action/adventure story where mafia are the good guys:

Give them a motto that gives them a cause for the higher good. Like ‘manners maketh men’ in the Kingsmen movies. In a loose sense, the Kingsmen are mafia too – they’re a secret society with lots of money, etc. 

A running theme would be that you can afford to use questionable methods as long as the outcomes are good. The mafia would kill, steal, imprison and murder – but they always have a convincing reason. Plus, the bad guys are doing a lot worse. 

The mafia organization is flawed in a critical way. This can be anything – a newbie who starts to question the mafia’s practices, or a corrupt leader, etc. This flaw will cripple this apparently sturdy organization at the end of Act II, raising the stake sky high. 

Give them secret codes, special weapons, a quirky dress code, a tattoo? 

Show how the mafia are tightly networked among themselves, often in a good way. The senior mafia mentoring the newbies, colleagues struggling through their probation periods together, etc. The mafia are a tight-knit organization. 

For a mafia romance, what the mafia really does or how they’re structured, etc. isn’t that important. As long as you get the black suits, expensive Jaguars, and exclusive clubs/hotels vibe right, you have enough mafia worldbuilding. What’s important are the characters. 

If you’re writing a male mafia love interest:

They’re high-ranking, filthy rich, intelligent, and cold-minded individuals who are powerful beyond your usual realm of rationality. The absolute unrealness of these sexy competent men is what’s appealing. 

The mafia background becomes the “hurtful dark backstory”. One of the main selling points of dark mafia love interests is that on the inside, they’re fractured puppies in need of some sunshine to soften up. Give them a good reason why they’re assholes to your female love interest in the beginning. They’re repressed – high time.

They must be able to draw a line between being adorably overprotective and unreasonably controlling. The same goes for their use of violence. Sure, a male mafia love interest may kill that stalker who’s been bugging our heroine but don’t have him putting bullets in the heads of people who just mildly irritate him – that’s a huge turnoff. 

If you’re writing a female mafia love interest:

Your heroine is a clear-minded, physically fit, confident, and competitive mafia queen/princess with both eyes fixed on power and success – until the male love interest comes along, either as an enemy mafia or a clueless softball. 

Alternatively, they’re oppressed by their father/brother(s) who are hard-core, bloodless men. These heroines are capable in ways that are not approved by their mafia family (like a career in social services or running a bakery, whatever) and need someone to understand and remove them from their toxic family – our male love interest. 

Again, feel free to use the mafia background as a source for some juicy, traumatizing backstory.

Hope this helps :) 

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[maxdibert]

Could you rank the Weasleys from your favourite to the one you hate the most?

1- Percy. The only Weasley with a brain and enough common sense to have ambitions in life beyond gathering as a family and crying because they’re not rich but are humble. I mean, that’s fine, but the Weasleys made it their whole personality, which is honestly pretty cringe. Percy is basically hated for what? Wanting a future? Honestly, Rowling’s moral framework is quite exhausting.

2- Charlie. Basically because he has the personality of an amoeba and doesn’t bother anyone. He seems to stay outside of his family’s cult-like dynamic, doesn’t he? He’s more independent. Plus, he’s the only one who doesn’t get married or seem destined to produce little Weasleys, so all my respect tbh.

3- Arthur. His obsession with Muggles, like a primatologist observing orangutans, creeps me out, but he doesn’t harm anyone. Compared to his kids and wife, he’s honestly less unbearable.

4- Bill. Here it gets tricky because Bill strikes me as a total creep, being 25 and dating an 18-year-old teenager, then marrying her when she’s 19—seriously, what a cringe-fest. But well, I like him more than the others, so what can I do?

5- Ron. He’s not a character I particularly like, but I don’t dislike him either. As the protagonist’s friend, he always seemed pretty conventional, without any unique traits that would make him stand out from other typical protagonist’s friends. He has his funny moments throughout the series with occasional comments, but his proud Gryffindor attitude shaming Slytherins from book one, before they’ve done anything, really disgusts me. His treatment of Hermione in the fourth book and slut-shaming Ginny in the sixth honestly makes me gag. Sorry.

6- Fred and George are together because they’re always together. I don’t dislike them more than Ron, but honestly, what a pair of bores. I would’ve hated them in class. The typical duo of jokers whose pranks only amuse people with just enough brain cells not to soil themselves. Humor for the cerebrally impaired. They were never funny, just a constant nuisance. If they’d been my schoolmates, I’d have ended up hitting them with an iron rod.

7- Ginny. Honestly, she fiercely competes with her mother for this spot, but Molly annoys me more. Ginny is basically a Mary Sue created just so Harry has a love interest and stays tied to the Weasleys forever. She has absolutely ZERO relevance throughout the series, and you forget about her for three books, but suddenly we’re supposed to believe she’s the hottest girl at Hogwarts? And not just that—she’s also the coolest girl because she’s "not like other girls," doesn’t care about her appearance, is violent, acts like a boy, doesn’t cry, and has all the typical traits of a dude but with a conventionally attractive female appearance. She’s the male fantasy of the "girl bro" who can play video games with you and also give you a handjob. A disgusting stereotype. Plus, she has a terrible personality, is arrogant, and resentful toward women who don’t fit her "tough girl" ideal. Honestly, gross. She’s the opposite of a "girls’ girl," and if you’re not a "girls’ girl," I don’t like you, sorry.

8- Molly. She’s a woman who acts morally superior but is the first to judge people. The typical idle housewife with nothing better to do than judge other women (especially young women) quite unfairly. And, what a coincidence, those women tend to be either brilliant (like Hermione) or extraordinarily attractive (like Fleur). She meddles in everything that doesn’t concern her, has an opinion about everything that’s none of her business, and is the kind of nosy old lady who drives me up the wall. I mean, I can’t stand her. Look, I’m the first to criticize Sirius Black and question his behavior, but her treatment of him in the fifth book was entirely out of line. It’s like she felt entitled to lecture everyone according to her standards, when she’s a woman who hasn’t done anything in her life beyond smothering her kids and complaining about not having much money. Lady, what do you mean you don’t have money? You might not have a manor like the Malfoys, but you can feed seven mouths, and there’s never a plate missing from the table. If she wanted to buy fancy clothes, she could’ve gotten a job. There’s nothing wrong with giving up being a trad wife to afford some treats.

Let’s not make it too obvious that the Weasleys generally disgust me and that I find that family the equivalent of a cult, ticking every box of a perfectly functional, heteronormative, traditional nuclear family that triggers and annoys me to no end. I could never stand being part of such a family through marriage, nor could I tolerate spending much time with one. Families like that make me want to hang myself, sorry.

[slytherhys]

About the mindless misogyny post you made; I agree, but I think it’s subconscious to the point of becoming misogynistic. Let me explain.

Common misogynistic traits such as assuming women are only good as dutiful wives, homemakers, baby ovens, demure, polite, etc. is bulldozed to pave the way for strong women who are the opposite of this— brash, loud, strong headed, independent of a man, etc. This is not a bad thing! It doesn’t become bad until the misogynistic traits become demonized for ALL women characters. A female character wanting to have children and stay at home? She’s a victim!!!

I think what we’re seeing is people demonizing Maas female characters “stereotypical” traits. It’s easy to see a character behaving according to these stereotypes and pushing for them to pivot towards something they view as more acceptable. This turns into hating characters for acting out from what is expected of a strong female protagonist and defending harmful ideologies that are directly contradicted by the narrative.

Case 1: demonizing Elain for not wanting to choose Lucien (we have yet to see why this could be. Why not reserve judgment until we get her POV?)

Case 2: Feyre is a bad painter/demonizing her for her motherhood (no proof she’s a bad painter in the narrative. Also, how dare she have a child when she’s a strong independent woman??!)

Case 3: Mor is a liar about her experience/Eris coukd be good we don’t know!! (There are indeed unreliable narrators. However, we have not seen enough to say Mor is lying. We don’t know. Coming out and assuming Mor is a liar and thereby ignoring what the narrative DID tell us about her (i.e. being nailed up by her family, and left to suffer there at the foot of Autumn with no help from Eris who saw her as only useful when she was a virgin))

Ultimately, the pivot towards pushing woman into being warriors is okay, but when it’s taken to mean that any other traits mean she’s a victim or a poor character, it ruins all female characters from being unique. I just wonder why we can’t have women who can do both? What’s wrong with Feyre fighting in war and then becoming a mother and wife?? Women are not just one or the other, just as men are not just masculine and STRONG. Characters SHOULD be diverse and carry a mixture of stereotypical masculine and feminine traits. It’s what makes stories good!!

Side note: if we criticize female characters for being too (feminine trait here) we should criticize male characters for being to (masculine trait here).

Absolutely agree, anon. It's a very thin line we're threading when we want to see strong women represented in the books we read, but it's important to remember there's many, many different ways for a woman to be strong: something Maas shows us with every single character she writes. We have Elides and Elains as well as Aelins and Feyres, Manons and Nestas... The dangerous thing is forgetting exactly that women can and should have different strenghts, different dreams, and different struggles, and that doesn’t make them any lesser.

Questioning ourselves when we make these claims "would I think this about a male character" is a long way to go. I assure you the answer will often enough be "no".

Thank you for your input. It's very much appreciated. 💜

[onf-headcanons]

ONF Fake Marriage AU headcanons

(idea dump version, might expand and elaborate to single post when i got more time to spare. Also, happy belated ONF month~)

Hyojin

-Maybe a long lost friend/classmate/university club mate, and coincidentally your parents nagging you two to get married asap.

Both you and Hyojin already passed a few candidates and you two knew that your family members are getting annoyed.

So when both of you end up matchmaking with each other and the moment you two recognised each other, you two hurriedly clicked on the plan of fake marriage for the short time being.

The one that agrees to play along but will list down a bunch of rules and consequences to make sure both of you are on the same page.

No one is taking anyone's advantage. (not even if he is actually in love with you deep down).

Cues in comedic moments that migh happen: because your lifestyle are still like of a non married single, for example, you went out clubbing and Hyojin is at home. Parents decided to visit without notice, and then Hyojin had to hurriedly call you to prevent things go south lol. And then it made both of you understand the importance of the power of teamwork.

Also I think the tendecy is high to happen, so I will specifically write it here, Hyojin defending on your behalf when parents are pressuring you to get pregnant.

if 10/10 is super slow burn, I think for this, the speed maybe a 6 to 8 on character relationship development.

Changyun

- More like marriage as politic kind of arranged marriage at first, but he fell harder later.

Might be your aristrocratic family corrupted and nearly died out, and then Changyun's family took you in. (Or even worse for you, your family sent/presented you to his family hoping you can influence his family to provide your family benefits)

You don't want to use and manipulate him so you come clean on the first day you both met.

Nevertheless, Changyun agreed and said he can help you to be independent. Maybe you are actually very good at doing business (is just that your family thinks you are better off married away, or maybe they value male heir/eldest rather you being the female/second or younger child).

It could be Changyun helping you by paving way for you to build your business foundation, but in return, you need to pay him back some income shares later on.

Respects you and even though he can put up an act of PDA but in private he is very timid on getting close to you.

*btw, younger prince who is not qualified for the throne X the younger child whose talent being dismissed by family is actually not a bad setting imo. Slow burn meter wise, I think could be 7 to 8.5 for this one, as it will take even longer time for both of you getting to know each other.

Seungjun

- IDK but I think it will be crazily hot to imagine this under Spy undercover family AU (yeah like SPY family and Mr and Mrs Smith). Enemies to lovers and then kick*ss together.

(could be rival in business like he is top 1 and you are no.2 and both of you are assigned to complete this mission. or spyX assasin like Spy Fam)

Cue in awkward PDAs from you but when it was initiated by him, it was smooth af and you flustered really hard.

Also, to your suprise, he actually admires you and see highly of you very much (if its Seungjun X fem Spy colleague), I can see him mentioning and praising your hardwork and he sometimes felt he should not be the top 1 only just because of gender advantage.

Another trope that I think it will be cute is that in secret, you are crushing on him so hard and you start to confuse yourself later on.

Slow burn meter, 3 to 4. (I wont elaborate, but in terms of spice this has the highest tendency to be the spiciest lol.)

Jaeyoung

- Happy to help you, but, i do feel this will be fluffiest Friend to lover ever. Helping you out with the act not because he is aloof, more on he is kind and gentle.

He doesnt want people to hurt you so if that is the most efficient way to protect you for the time being, so be it. However that does not mean he will let things slide just like that.

Just my selfish thoughts, Mafia! Jaeyoung vs reader might do the trick. I mean we can emphasize more on why Jaeyoung does not want to make a move on you because he does not want to put you in trouble (might be safer when people only see you as plaything rather than soulmate.), and also he thinks that he is not qualified to "walk under the sun" with you.

BTW, if you think this is the defrosting the ice king trope, you might be half right. Jaeyoung might be just holding himself back alot because he does not want to burden you, he doesn't want to cross the line.

Alot of activity you two did are more on hanging out with each other and getting to know each other better.

High chance this might just end up with you two getting divorce but remaining as best friends.

Or, another high chance is both of you are not divorcing, but end up continuing the play until both of you are so used to each other, and maybe 4 to 6 years later both of you agreed to stop thinking too much and officially become a true couple instead.

slow burn meter might be 6 to 8.

Minkyun

- maybe come to you with a contract and even set up rules like, divorce in 3 years later.

another Office AU maybe? The rich CEO X reader trope.

But actually he wanted to try his best to make you fall in love with him within 3 years.

(He has been eyeing on you ever since, but you are the independent type and unlike those who will constantly circling around him. Might be thinking having you as his fiancee/bride is a conveninent case but fell in love with you damn hard when he got to know about the values you believe in).

BTW if wanna include angst for this, may insert you thought Minkyun trying to use you as a bluff so that he can see other person, cues in love rival that creates unwanted drama, and you are scared af that people might know you are the one that got married to him.

And you did thought the love rival is more of a match to Minkyun than you are.

I think this one might be fun and comedic when it is more on you trying to hide the secret that you are married with him, but on the contrary he has no problem telling everyone he is already married (but he did not disclose your identity).

Under the comedic moments, insert some serious moments/conspiracy that actually Minkyun purposely chose someone else(you) for the marriage was due to him trying to protect family business.

Should he really engaged/married with the love rival, things might end up real bad.

Cues in Minkyun saying things like, I am not manipulative and prudent enough like my family members but I am still capable enough toprotect the things and people that I treasure deeply.

Slow burn meter I think will be 6 or 7.

Yuto

- I felt that Yuto X Single parent AU might work(?), also very very loose citizenship marriage trope can be applied here. Oh, I will very much prefer the idea of dead spouse single parent rather than divorced single parent for this idea.

You see him as younger brother/junior before. But knowing that you need a father figure/another parent to keep your child. And knowing that he a local to help him prolong his visa/PR. After a long talk, you two agreed to get married (only just on papers).

Of course I am don't feel it is wise to cage the idea that Yuto being a house husband and you are the one providing for the family. (not that this idea is a bad one, but its too cliche for me)

I would like for this to epxand on how both of you adjusting life to take care a toddler, and the bond slowly grows. Maybe you are not that used to taking care of your toddler and Yuto will help out and guide you.

Also because of the change of your mindset, your character also started to change in a good way.

In the begining, both you and Yuto will still act up some PDA to trick other people. But as times goes by, both of your chemistry and bond getting stronger, the interaction between single parent and Yuto gets more natural.

Because of good chemistry, alot of people around you really thinks both of you are truly a pair. And both of you will deny every speculation that you two are a couple.

I think this one might either end up you both being really good friends/team mate in the family, OR once both of you found someone (and the child is now older lets say 12 or 13) a friendly divorce to end the "relationship". Two of you be like BFF until old age.

Cues in the child calls you "Mama"(for those who identify themselves) and Yuto "Papa", but with your new partner, the child calls them "Dad".

[oklcmc]

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀BILLIE JEAN ❪MASTERLIST❫࿐ ࿔*:·ﾟ [18+]

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀〝⠀For FORTY DAYS and for forty nights，THE LAW was⠀⠀⠀on her side，〞

I do not permit anyone to repost nor translate any of the work that lies beneath this line break. May this also be a quick reminder to not，and I repeat⸻ do not take from my characters，plots，graphics nor formats and try to use them as inspiration to those of your own advantage without asking me for permission or rightfully crediting me first! I originally came up with these ideas myself，that including my forewarning and playlists’ formatting. I would hate for new readers to be led astray by thinking I’m stealing from someone else when that really isn’t the case at all! I will not hesitate on blocking you from my account indefinitely either. Let this be your final warning!

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁰⁰¹.⠀⟆⠀WANNA BE STARTIN’ SOMETHIN’࿐ ࿔*:·ﾟ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀❪SERIES⠀╱⠀CINEMA❫

▋⠀UNDERGROUND COMBAT ❪URBAN❫

PAIRING⠀⦂⠀street fighter!black!male oc ❪keith powers❫  ✕  black!female oc ❪kelis rogers，circa ‘99❫ ⋮ㅤㅤㅤ⠀⠀⠀HAVING BEEN BIRTHED IN SEATTLE，Washington of late August with vaguely enough parental guidance，Kei Valentine had rightfully earned the persona of being spunky，straightforward，eccentric and diligent，but so had the boy whom was birthed twenty-four hours later，five years earlier and more than two⸻thousand miles apart from her. The only difference was that while Kei was discovering the positives in life though being abandoned at an early age， Tyree Devlin was raking up all the negatives before her. He was eager， callous，streetwise and rebellious as they came，thanks to the teachings of his only false God. ㅤㅤㅤFar from compatible，how the two Leos paths aligned was something that only the underbelly of New York City took to swallow，digest and keep sacred，but it wasn’t at all unattainable to one’s own access. You just had to know the correct route to take and connects to make. This is Underground Combat.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀or⠀⠀⠀in which even the innocent can wind up being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀TABLE OF CONTENTS⠀⦂

❱⠀SYNOPSIS. ❱⠀CHARACTER VISUALS. ❱⠀ACT I⠀⦂⠀〝MONEY，POWER ⅋ RESPECT.〞╱SOUNDTRACK.╱CHARACTER AES.

❱⠀CHAPTER UNO⠀⦂⠀〝HEAT WAVE.〞 ❱⠀CHAPTER DOS，PT. 1╱2⠀⦂⠀〝SING ABOUT ME，〞 ❱⠀CHAPTER DOS，PT. 2╱2⠀⦂⠀〝I’M DYING OF THIRST.〞 ❱⠀CHAPTER TRES⠀⦂⠀〝LOVE THY NEIGHBOR.〞 ❱⠀CHAPTER CUATRO⠀⦂⠀〝STOCKHOLM？〞 ❱⠀CHAPTER CINCO⠀⦂⠀〝HELL HATH NO FURY LIKE A WOMAN SCORNED.〞 ❱⠀CHAPTER SEIS，PT. 1╱2⠀⦂⠀〝HIGH RISKS，HIGH REWARDS.〞 ❱⠀CHAPTER SEIS，PT. 2╱2⠀⦂⠀〝FORTUNE FAVORS THE BOLD.〞

❱⠀ACT II⠀⦂⠀〝IMPERIAL OVERSTRETCH.〞

❱⠀CHAPTER SIETE⠀⦂⠀〝THE MARATHON.〞❪COMING SOON❫!

▋⠀IF YOU WANT ME TO STAY ❪BLAXPLOITATION╱THE GET DOWN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE❫

PAIRING⠀⦂⠀shaolin fantastic ❪shameik alti moore❫ ✕ black!female oc ❪beyoncé giselle knowles-carter，circa ‘02❫ ⋮ㅤㅤㅤ⠀⠀⠀REFLECTING ON MY YOUTH，I must’ve pitied myself. That was the only real explanation I could think of when it came down to injecting my developing mind，body and soul with any chemical compound that broke me down until I completely surpassed the feeling of numb. Numb to the fact I was being exploited more ways than one by the hands of those other than my own. Numb to the fact I endured it all just to temporarily substitute the void my mother left Roam and I in since the ages of six and ten. She manifested every aspect of the young woman I was so desperately trying to become；independent， selfless and seemed to have the answer to any question thrown her way. I grew dependent on men，selfish to my own habits and breach to every promise I vowed to keep，even those that were left lying on her deathbed. I was untouchable，Mr. Nicky Barnes，until I was repeatedly caught up in my own acts and imprisoned by the same narcotics that made me numb. The good thing about rehabilitation was that I found time to humble myself，the bad thing about rehabilitation was that it was always hard to resist temptation. My final recovery couldn't have came at a better timing. It was Summer of 1977 when I made my return to the burning borough of the Boogie Down Bronx to make amends with my only sibling，make steep career choices，fall in love with a man with just as much venom as myself，resist folding under the pressure of the crooked cops and maybe even get a hit of that sweet stuff they call Hip-Hop.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀or⠀⠀⠀in which the origin of hip-hop is told from a woman’s perspective.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀TABLE OF CONTENTS⠀⦂

❱⠀PROMOTIONAL POSTER. ❱⠀SYNOPSIS. ❱⠀CHAPTER ONE⠀⦂⠀〝BE THAT AS IT MAY.〞 ❱⠀CHAPTER TWO⠀⦂⠀〝DISCO INFERNO.〞❪COMING SOON❫!

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁰⁰¹.⠀⟆⠀BABY BE MINE࿐ ࿔*:·ﾟ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀❪IMAGINES⠀╱⠀ONE⸻SHOTS❫

Beneath this divider you’ll find imagines╱one⸻shots all written by me that will more than likely consist of black insert，heterosexual and sexually explicit content. lesbian╱bisexual imagines╱one⸻shots will rarely occur in this instance. My name or the names I’ve made up will be what the original characters go by，so no〝y╱n，〞❪？✕  reader❫，but feel free to replace these names with one of your own if you so please.

❱⠀SHE’S OUT MY LIFE ❪HAMILTON ALTERNATE UNIVERSE❫

PAIRING⠀⦂⠀soft!john laurens ❪anthony ramos，circa ‘15❫ ✕ black!toxic!female oc ❪beyoncé giselle knowles⸻carter，circa ‘08❫

❱⠀IN LIVING COLOUR ❪HAMILTON ALTERNATE UNIVERSE❫

PAIRING⠀⦂⠀aaron burr，jr. ❪leslie odom，jr.❫ ✕ black!journalist!chorus substitute teacher!female oc ❪faith renée evans，circa 1995❫

❱⠀ANYWHERE ❪BMF ALTERNATE UNIVERSE❫

PAIRING⠀⦂⠀demetrius edward〝big meech〞flenory，sr. ❪demetrius edward〝lil meech〞flenory，jr.❫ ✕ black!female oc ❪cheryl renee〝salt〞james，circa 1988❫

❱⠀WALKED OUT ❪EUPHORIA ALTERNATE UNIVERSE❫

PAIRING⠀⦂⠀fezco ❪conor angus cloud hickey❫ ✕ black!dentistry undergraduate!female oc ❪taylour dominique paige❫  

❱⠀ANYTHING GOES

PAIRING⠀⦂⠀kendrick lamar duckworth，circa ‘22 ✕ black!female oc

❱⠀PLUVIOPHILE

PAIRING⠀⦂⠀bryshere y. gray ✕ black!publication editor⸻in⸻chief!female oc

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁰⁰³.⠀⟆⠀THE GIRL IS MINE࿐ ࿔*:·ﾟ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀❪HEADCANONS⠀╱⠀DRABBLES❫

❱⠀NATURE FEELS ❪BLACK PANTHER ALTERNATE UNIVERSE❫

PAIRING⠀⦂⠀n’jadaka╱erik〝killmonger〞stevens ❪michael b. jordan❫ ✕ black!female oc ❪chaka khan，circa ‘77❫

❱⠀PLAY NO GAMES

PAIRING⠀⦂⠀kendrick lamar duckworth，circa ‘17？ ✕ black!female oc ❪lorraine ward❫

❱⠀LOVE.

PAIRING⠀⦂⠀kendrick lamar duckworth，circa ‘18 ✕ black!female oc ❪lorraine ward❫

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁰⁰⁴.⠀⟆⠀HUMAN NATURE࿐ ࿔*:·ﾟ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀❪REQUESTS⠀╱⠀SUGGESTIONS❫

The requests╱suggestions section is currently unavailable for the time being，so please refrain from sending me any. I vow to inform you guys in the near future⸻ When I actually have more time on my hands⸻ On when this tab will actually be open to the general public and with more information regarding to how to earn one，so don’t fret! Just to inform you guys ahead of time，I will not be writing homosexual ❪boy ✕ boy❫ imagines╱one⸻shots╱headcannons forewarning.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀OKLCMC presents… ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀BILLIE JEAN࿐ ࿔*:·ﾟ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀❪THE MASTERLIST❫

⠀⠀⠀heavily inspired by michael jackson’s ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀thriller ❪1982❫ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⓒ oklcmc，2024.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀❛ BUT WHO CAN STAND ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀WHEN SHE’S⠀⠀⠀IN DEMAND ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀HER SCHEMES 𖬺͟ PLANS，❜ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀❪THE TAGLIST❫

[suzieburself]

Mike and El’s Opposing arcs in Season 3 and how They Will Lead to the Downfall of Mileven

This will mostly cover season 3, but I’m going to briefly go through the first 2 seasons as well for a bit of context to the overall analysis

Season 1

The milder version of the born sexy yesterday trope. A lot of smart  people have already analyzed this but it’s basically when the nerdy male protagonist that’s easy to project onto gets the superpowered woman who knows nothing about the world. The Duffers faced some backlash for this and said they were subverting the genre by giving El some independence. 

Season 2

Separates the two to give El a new arc not centered around Mike at all while Mike is centered around both her and Will. At the end, they still have had pretty much zero real conversation but they do share a kiss. 

With these two seasons in mind, it seems obvious to the GA that they are in love, but in reality, there is a lot to question in their relationship. Is it really love if El is the first girl that’s ever shown interest in Mike? Is it love if Mike is the first person her age to ever show her any kindness? Is it love if they’ve never had an emotional talk? Is it love or is it still just the born sexy yesterday trope?

Queue season 3 answering these questions…

This is where I can see people disagreeing, but here is what I believe to be El’s arc first throughout season 3, how she gets her independence to throw off the trope and proves her genuine love for Mike. 

Eleven

The season starts off with the Mileven makeout where they playfully disagree and then Mike has to leave, already opening up the illusion that this season is going to be full of Mileven. Then what happens? They break up the next episode and stay broken up for pretty much the whole season. The breakup opens up for the Max and El friendship and for El to become her own person away from Mike.

With Max’s advice, she dumps Mike, not because she doesn’t want to be with him, but because there is a clear lack of communication in their relationship. And although El seems generally happy broken up with Mike and hanging out with Max, Max does have to reassure her that Mike will come crawling back to her. 

The most interesting El line from the season is “How do I know what I like?” 

This holds a lot of significance in terms of Mileven because again, El is very new to the society and all relationships. She’s still figuring herself out and I think this line perfectly captures her arc this season of figuring out what she likes or in this case, who?

Through the season, we see her warming back up to Mike during the sauna test, at the hospital, and then when she overhears him at the cabin. Max gives her a lot of advice, but ultimately, no one tells her whether or not she should get back with Mike. That is her decision that she comes to at the end of the show. 

So, where does El’s arc wrap up?

Now she has a female friend which is one of her strongest platonic relationships, she has a father, and she gets to act more like a normal teenage girl and discover what she loves, in other words, she’s starting to fully figure herself out. She’s now a more fleshed out character that doesn’t fall into the born sexy yesterday trope with complicated relationships and real interests. So that leaves the ultimate question… Where does Mike fall into all this?

And that leads us to the closing of the season. This is where El decides that she does know what she likes and even with everything else in her life, even with her independence, she still wants to be in a relationship with Mike. 

Whether you ship Mileven or not, the break up was absolutely necessary for El’s narrative, allowing her feelings to finally be truly confirmed and real. “I love you, too,” she says and this is absolutely genuine, at least based on the rest of her arc. 

So if El’s romantic love of Mike is genuine, then it must be true for Mike as well, right? Obviously, he wants to get back with El just as much as she does with him. Obviously, they are the main couple and so what if they have a small fight? Clearly Mike and El would have similar arcs since they are soulmates and meant to be, right? Right????

Mike

It’s all in the opposing narratives of Mike and El in this season (and honestly the other seasons as well) which is laid out for us in the first scene where they want different things (Mike singing and El telling him to stop). Sure it could be not that deep, but let's look at the two characters narratively speaking. 

Mike is in the perfect nuclear family, he has interests, personality, and good friends. Sure he’s not popular, but like he says in season 4, what if he doesn’t want to be? The only thing he’s missing? A girlfriend, obviously. We all know in order for someone’s life to be complete, they need a romantic interest. 

Original pitch for Mike’s character for the Montauk Project (now Stranger Things)- “Mike Wheeler is twelve. He is a cute kid, but a birthmark on his left cheek leads to much bullying and near-crippling insecurity. He has never had a first kiss, much less a girlfriend. He escapes his insecurities through reading fantasy novels, spending time with his three best friends (Lucas, Dustin, and Will), and retreating into his own vivid imagination. The Dungeon Master of his Dungeons and Dragons group, he writes sprawling adventures with fantastical monsters. When he finds himself on a real adventure, facing real monsters, he will discover a courage he didn't know he had. By the end, he will even kiss a girl.” (Taken from Stranger Things Wiki) 

His arc surrounds a lot of things, but kissing and being with a girl to fight his insecurity is very obviously one of them. 

If we look at Eleven, her arc isn’t about romance at all. Her arc is about discovering the world and finding friends and family who love her, things Mike already has. This comes to fruition at the end of season 3 where she gets everything, friends, family, and romance. When El is without Mike, she actually grows her other relationships such as with Hopper in Season 2 and Max in Season 3 (one could even argue Will in season 4). 

The opposite ends up being true for Mike when he’s with El. Season 3 is the first time we actually get to see them act as a real couple (excluding the Snow Ball) and it is also the first time we see a rift in the party, specifically caused by Mike.  Mike and El are the first ones to leave Dustin and the others in the first episode, he’s the one late to the movies, prioritizing El who he sees every day, over his friends. Sure Lucas is also responsible for making fun of Will’s campaign but that’s not who Will calls out…

“You’re ruining our party!” 

“You’re destroying everything and for what? So you can swap spit with some stupid girl?” 

Everyone is putting the blame on Mike and his prioritization of El over everyone else. So while El is making friends, Mike is losing them. 

Another difference between the two is how they receive relationship advice. This is both of their first relationships so obviously it’s normal to go for advice, but the key is when. Max gives El advice on breaking up with Mike, sure, but she follows her heart in terms of getting back together with him.

In the hospital scene, this is the first time after their break up that they are interacting alone. This only ever happened because Lucas pushed Mike to talk to her, to give her the olive branch. Without him, Mike would have continued to do nothing and let them be broken up.

Through all of this, we still don’t quite have a grasp on Mike’s real feelings. Sure we know he thinks getting back with Eleven would be “logical”, but does he love her?  Well, just like El, Mike does get a moment similar to El’s love confession at the end of the season that is supposed to prove Mike’s true feelings, but just like everything else, it is pretty much the opposite of El’s.

“I love her and I can’t lose her again!”  This is loud, this is panicked, this is public, and this wasn’t even supposed to be something Eleven heard. 

Compared to El’s “I love you, too,” which was quiet, something she took time considering saying, during an intimate moment, and something that was only supposed to be for Mike’s ears. 

Hm, I wonder which one was more genuine?

And if you think just saying he loves El is enough, well look at season 4. Why would they reuse the plot of Mike not being able to say he loves El if it’s so obvious he does love her and already said it? Just the fact that that was an actual plot line proves this one wasn’t enough to prove Mike’s real feelings. 

So still, Mike’s true feelings in his relationship with El are hidden from us. 

And this brings me to the other differences in Mike and El’s actions at the very end of the season when the Byers move. 

All of the romance in this goodbye is initiated by El. Mike’s being friendly, sure, but he doesn’t make any romantic moves on her. El even tries to flirt with him and he is so friendly with her, it becomes incredibly awkward. 

And as El fulfills her arc and initiates a kiss with Mike, saying how she loves him, and making it her own decision, what does Mike do? 

Absolutely nothing. He doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t kiss her back. He doesn’t even close his eyes. 

Thus ends El’s arc. 

And thus opens Mike. 

Thus answers the question of El loving Mike with a “yes”.

And answering the question of Mike loving El with an “I think so?” at best, a “no” at worst, but more likely than not, and “I’m not really sure yet”. 

I’m not going to go into detail surrounding season 4, but his arc only continues from there. We still don’t have that moment of “oh, he loves her” (and if you think it’s the monologue then I don’t really know what to say…). I want to go into more detail of this in a different post and how Byler ties in to that. 

In conclusion, after season 3, we are able to determine El’s feelings as genuine and are not able to yet figure out Mike’s. 

The question still stands, how do we know what he likes? 

[maya-matlin]

More Degrassi asks for whenever you want to answer! 1. Three or four unpopular Degrassi opinions - the more unpopular, the better! 2. Two or three Degrassi couples most fans really like who you're meh or ugh about 3. Two or three Degrassi couples most fans don't like much who you love (spoiler alert: my answer for this one would be Jenna/Connor...please don't hate me! The underwear thing was a horrific choice by the writers, but otherwise I love both lof them individually and together so much. It's so lovely to see someone 'on the spectrum' in a loving romantic relationship, and imo he is actually who she needs and deserves after KC!) 4. Your top seven female Degrassi characters? 5. Your top seven male Degrassi characters? 6. If you could choose to bring just three Degrassi characters back from the dead, who would they be?! Enjoy - I can't wait to see your answers...and feel fere to mock me for loving Jonnor ;)

Thank you for the asks!

Unpopular opinions:

1.) While I don't ship Spinner and Emma, their marriage is far from the worst thing Degrassi ever did. The timing made it all very questionable, but it seemed like Spinner and Emma found each other at just the right time. If not for the marriage itself, I don't think most would have such a big problem with them ending up together. Even though Emma's relationship with Sean was far more popular, in a lot of ways I actually think Emma and Spinner were more compatible. Maybe not for most of their run on Degrassi, but definitely during their last four seasons or so. If there's ever a reboot and those three characters return, I don't want to see Sean and Emma ending up together unless the writing can justify it. But based on how their relationship was written during season 6, I doubt they could.

2.) The definition of suicide is the act or instance of taking one's own life voluntarily and intentionally. Therefore, Zig couldn't have murdered Cam and bears no culpability in his death. This shouldn't be an unpopular opinion, but I still hear this ignorance on a monthly basis. It's been almost eleven years. This is ridiculous.

3.) Nine times out of ten, Ashley is correct and 100% in the right. It's just that many fans find her boring and she's consistently pitted against more popular characters played by more charismatic actors (Craig, Jimmy, Manny, Paige). This includes but isn't limited to Ashley dumping Jimmy because he was being passive aggressive and admitted to only considering her attractive on the inside as well as wanting to record and pursue music independently of Jimmy.

4.) Even though I prefer Drianca, the Clare/Drew relationship was one of the best written and executed ships during the later seasons. The writers did a fantastic job building up their feelings for each other and showing how they balanced each other out. It was a complete copout to drop their relationship entirely just so that Clare could end up with her slut shaming, misogynistic, emotionally abusive, overrated ex.

Popular couples I don't ship:

1.) Miles/Lola (They fucked once while his boyfriend was in a coma. Lola's whole thing was not wanting to be someone's second choice. Miles did the same "You're the only one that understands me" song and dance with four different love interests)

2.) Eli/Clare (See my fourth unpopular opinion or just watch seasons 10-14)

3.) Cam/Maya (They're sweet for what they are and I loved Maya's arc, but overall it was a very brief relationship that left Maya with a lot of trauma and negative feelings towards Cam. Also, Zaya was right there. That made it impossible to invest in them)

Unpopular couples I ship:

1.) Clare/Drew (once again, see unpopular opinion #4)

2.) Dave/Alli (Dave was actually a good character and deserves twice as much nostalgia and appreciation as Johnny DiMarco gets for doing the bare minimum. No, they weren't perfect, but Dave unlike most Degrassi cheaters put in the work and effort to win back his ex's trust. I think they loved each other. The timing was just wrong and to be honest, they probably weren't meant to be)

3.) Tristan/Miles (To be honest, I'm currently having some complicated feelings about these two due to being in the middle of a Next Class rewatch and being forced to realize the biphobia was even worse than I'd remembered. But, the simple fact I still technically ship them and the response to admitting you do in the present day is frothing at the mouth and shame means they should be included. For what it's worth, I liked them in season 13, enjoyed the potential in 14, and have positive memories of their second relationship)

Nooooo! Jonnor is amazing! They're one of the sweetest, purest couples on Degrassi. Connor struggled to understand social norms and handled his hormones in a questionable way, but he also didn't have the guidance at the time to figure that out. He left Degrassi to get a grasp on that, so I think it's forgivable. We see during Connor's relationship with Jenna that he's learned a lot and is overall a very respectful, considerate boyfriend to Jenna. I also strongly agree that Jenna deserved better than KC.

Top 7 female characters:

1.) Manny Santos

2.) Maya Matlin

3.) Alex Nunez

4.) Liberty Van Zandt

5.) Bianca DeSousa

6.) Paige Michalchuk

7.) Fiona Coyne

Top 7 male characters:

1.) Zig Novak (I don't even care)

2.) Spinner Mason

3.) Sean Cameron

4.) Marco Del Rossi

5.) JT Yorke

6.) Jay Hogart

7.) Mike Dallas

Three dead characters to bring back:

It kind of has to be JT, Cam and Adam. I wouldn't bring back Craig's dad or Rick. Part of me wants to bring back Wheels's parents from the original series, though.

[onenettvchannel]

#K5NewsFMExclusive: 'Vannamelon' gets a signed autograph from The Amazing Digital Circus male voice actor 'Jax' connects both sides for Gaming and Animation in a historic Twitch stream

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA -- In a groundbreaking move within the online world of entertainment… Gaming personality and popular animated YouTuber 'Vannamelon' was received and claimed a physical signed autograph from a renowned male voice actor named Michael James Kovach last Saturday night (December 2nd, 2023). This exciting event took place on Michael's personal Twitch channel, where he conducted a LIVE printed autograph signing session for fans and even YouTubers.

Vannamelon, a 28 y/o content creator, general female personality, and a YouTuber from San Francisco, California, United States of America (U.S.A.), namely as 'Ms. Vanessa Marie Pareja', has been entertaining viewers ever since she started her channel on Sunday (November 1st, 2009 -- Pacific local time). She rose to fame for her active participation in the Pony fandom of 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic' in the latter part of 2011.

Meanwhile for Mr. Kovach (also 28), originates from Youngstown, Ohio, the aforementioned country. He's made a name for himself not only as the male voice character of Jax in the animated web series 'The Amazing Digital Circus' (TADC), but also as a popular Twitch streamer under the handle 'kovoxvg'. His charismatic presence and undeniable talent have garnered him a loyal following in the online gaming and art community.

The autograph exchange between Ms. Vanessa and Mr. Kovach was made possible through 'Streamily', a platform that offers limited edition autograph signings by various creators.

The commissioned art for the licensed autograph was provided by 'Sparky's Tea House', and Mr. Kovach personally handled the signing during his Twitch stream. Ms. Vanessa playfully added a personalized touch to the autograph, writing "to the #1 Jax simp", showcasing the dynamic between the two online personalities.

Speaking of the series, "The Amazing Digital Circus" follows the adventures of Jax and his companions, including Pomni, Ragatha and among others, as they navigate a virtual world filled with mystery and danger. Created by Glitch Productions, the show has gained a dedicated fan base, thanks to its compelling storytelling and high-quality animation. Mr. Kovach's portrayal of Jax has garnered praise from online YouTube viewers for his nuanced performance and unique voice acting.

As fans of both Vanessa & Kovach, speculate on the potential chemistry between the two (2), some have even theorized about a possible romantic relationship involved off-screen between Vannamelon's self-inserted persona and Jax (who is voiced with Mr. Kovach himself). Whether this dynamic duo will become a real-life power couple remains to be seen, but one thing's for sure -- their collaboration has left fans yet to be a crossover content at TADC, who were eagerly anticipating for what's happening next.

The physically signed piece of autograph exchange between Vanessa and Kovach, known for a possible shipping name as 'VannaJax' or 'VanessaKova', serves as a testament to the power of digital platforms, bringing fans closer to their favorite creators. As both of them continue to captivate hearts worldwide, one thing is certain – their impact on the world of gaming and animation on both sides is only just beginning.

As interactive experiences gain popularity between video-sharing and live-streaming platforms on YouTube and Twitch, the distinction between content creators, and their online netizens as audience becoming increasingly blurred, giving rise to a fresh era of independence in online entertainment.

THUMBNAIL PHOTO COURTESY: David Baron via YT VIDEO

SOURCE: *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AwsXqeUKs0 [Referenced YT VIDEO via Vannamelon] *https://youtube.fandom.com/wiki/Vannamelon *https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/vanna-pareja.html *https://hazbinhotel.fandom.com/wiki/Michael_Kovach *https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/MichaelKovach *https://streamily.com/the-amazing-digital-circus [Referenced Shop Listings via Streamily website] *https://www.twitch.tv/kovoxvg/about *https://tadc.fandom.com/wiki/The_Amazing_Digital_Circus_(Series) *https://tadc.fandom.com/wiki/Glitch_Productions *https://help.streamily.com/article/24-what-is-streamily *https://twitter.com/SparkysTeaHouse/status/1723480093186757008 [Referenced X Network Art Photo via Sparky's Tea House] *https://twitter.com/kovox/status/1726981565362880814 [Referenced X Network Relay Post via Michael Kovach] and *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuKrrJMkoyo&t=2209s [Referenced Twitch VoD Archive via Streamily on YT]

-- OneNETnews Team

[lovecanbesostrange]

ooooh 1, 4 and 10 for the movie ask? please, ramble away! :)

In a film you like, what's a stupid decision in the narrative that you despise?

The first thing that comes to mind definitely is the ending of The Breakfast Club. I loooooooove that movie to bits. It's so good. And then Allison gets a make-over. Why? WHY? AND THEN THEY DO THE SAME THING IN THE FACULTY TO ME AGAIN WITH STOKELY!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Oh no, the loner girl wearing dark clothes found her flowery self and has a crush. She's fixed now. I'm not saying nobody could ever change their style. Claire and Allison could have played around with make-up, make it a two way street (or even include the whole group, playing with image and appearance). But the way it's only presented at the end is... evil

4. A film you agree is not "good", but holds special sentimental value. (Share the reason if you feel like it.)

hmmmmm... I enjoy a lot of "not good" films anyway. So, yeah, I do agree that Austin Powers in Goldmember wasn't anything we needed. The sequels can't compare to the first and while entertaining, I wouldn't call it good. Hardly recommend to anybody out of the blue. BUT I saw it in theatres back in the day with a friend from uni I rarely spend time with alone. It was one of the few occassions it was just us. In front of us two guys laughed when in the beginning the location plops up as "Utah" and so "Utah, ahahahaha" became a joke between us. I haven't talked to this person in well over ten years and I doubt we'll ever meet again. But this film is a cherished memory in that regard. (Well, she's also the one who sat next to me watching Brokeback Mountain, but that is a very good movie. XD )

It happens a lot. Films are more fun with other people around to share. Can't think of a better example right now, although I'm sure there's more. Especially films I liked as a kid and overlooked so many flaws. Wait, now I'm wondering if watching terrible, terrible films, because of that one acting face you enjoy, would fall under "sentimental value". This list would be so long. (Starting with the extra bad film Dark House.) Nah, that's a thirst thing, I guess...

10. A remake you wish would happent for whatever reason.

I desperately need somebody to take another look at Sucker Punch and make it the kick-ass bizarre adventure for bodily autonomy and independence it should be. So, whenever I hear people talking that movie is utter shit, I will disagree and point out the various great ideas and how complex the character connections can be. The moment fanboys come out of hiding calling it the one true feminist down-with-patriarchy film, I need to scream a lot.

Some say you either love or hate the movie, but I do neither. I'm exactly on the fence. And I think that's terrible, because that film could actually be pure greatness. We need to give it another shot and the script needs women to work with it. The camera needs an extra female lense. (I say that as a lesbian who is at times fed by the male gaze, ngl.) We need a better focus and the male characters can't be pulling all the strings and move the plot by mere existence (I get the women being dolls is a theme, but they need more clear agency and be the driving force).

The one thing that nobody should ever dispute though is the cast of this film. I don't know how to imrpove that in a remake.

[gaelic-symphony]

1,6,18 💘

the character everyone gets wrong

Emily, hands down. She is: 1) a lesbian. 2) a multilingual Yale graduate who actually has her life together and is one of the most competent, highly trained, and highly skilled members of the team. 3) probably not independently wealthy. 4) introduced to Hotch for the very first time in 2x09 because Hotch NEVER ACTUALLY WORKED *FOR* EMILY'S MOM; HE JUST HAD A POSITION WITHIN THE FBI WHERE HE CROSSED PATHS WITH EMILY'S MOM. 5) a federal bureaucrat and career public servant, not a rogue vigilante.

6.

Already answered

18. it's absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on...

Later seasons team! It's actually so much better than the "Core 7" or whatever. Emily is a great unit chief, honestly better than Hotch ever was. Tara, Luke, and Matt are three of the best characters ever to appear on the show. There's finally an equal number of men and women and more than one character of color on the team. The dynamic is less male-dominated. You have scenes of two female characters working together and playing off each other in the field. You can tell from the way they are around each other that this isn't all acting; this is a group that genuinely all like each other and enjoy working together. That joy shines through in the later seasons in a way that it really doesn't in the earlier seasons when you had things like public spats between Thomas and Shemar, Mandy suddenly leaving, or the network treating Paget, AJ, and Kirsten like absolute shit.

[margridarnauds]

So, this is something that's been bothering me a lot, and so I'm going to apologize in advance to OP for the length. But it's also like. I have no interest in Haarlep. Mainly because Haarlep doesn't have any of the features of Raphael that I'm actually attracted to -- he's younger, he's smoother, he doesn't have the hard edges, he doesn't have the dynamic with Tav. There's nothing for me to dig into, really, and to make it worse, he makes disparaging comments about the character I *am* invested in (and, tbh, I fully believe that he's trying to manipulate Tav into a fight with Raphael.) And, to sweeten the deal further, the game will even punish you if you proceed with that romance too far, with a non-standard game over. Which you do not see with, say, Mizora (who is another devil! And therefore someone who could find plenty of ways to screw you over in the middle of sex!) or Minthara.

But the femme fatale is a well accepted archetype for female villains. No one shames men for being attracted to the femme fatale, and the femme fatale doesn't need her existence to be justified with the understanding that of COURSE she's deadly, but, of course, they like her for the RIGHT reasons, keeping in mind her flaws, because of course...

No. You don't see that kind of discourse around, say, Bond girls. (There is a lot of discourse around Bond girls, as there should be in the 21st century, but not "will they corrupt the brains of young boys into thinking that they'll get a woman like that or that a woman like that is perfect for an IRL relationship?") Lady Dimitrescu from Resident Evil 8 -- there was a LOT of discourse around Lady D (I was there, Gandalf, I remember the "Ethan Winters is actually a murderer" discourse), but not "Is it wrong to find her attractive? Is it shameful to find her attractive?" Because there was an understanding that she was an attractive villainous character, that she was designed to look attractive, and that Maggie did a stand-out job acting the role. Instead, they rolled out the Lady D body pillows and dozens of male streamers talked about her ass in front of a live audience, and it was seen as funny, because haha tall sexy vampire mommy wants to kill me. You don't see that kind of discourse around, say, Catwoman. Or Talia al Ghul. Or Poison Ivy. Or Black Cat. You do, however, see a lot of Rule 34 art that's very clearly geared towards male comic book fans.

And it isn't to say "Oh, femme fatales are proof that misandry is real" -- to the contrary, the femme fatale is a figure who is independent, yeah, but routinely treated like a sex object and can be quickly disposed of, especially after the hero's had sex with her (Hell, even in BG3, that you can kill Minthara as she's sleeping after you've had sex...there's a broader context, sure, but...). They're routinely killed off, sometimes at the end, sometimes, if there's a sequel, during the sequel. But there's an understanding that (1) they won't corrupt men's minds and (2) that they are worth considering as a viable sex symbol. And I am very clearly saying "the hero" because even though the femme fatale can be incredibly attractive to women who like women (I'm evidence for this! My first crushes were Maleficent and Ankh Su Namun!) , they are overwhelmingly still a fantasy geared towards men.

And do I think they did it INTENTIONALLY with Raphael? No. But I think that Raphael is part of a broader cultural context around villainous men -- that women don't know what they ACTUALLY want, that they have to be reminded that ACTUALLY, REMEMBER, THE DEVIL IS A *BAD GUY*. In reality...women are generally already aware of this. They know. But makers are not capable of seeing, generally, why women would willingly choose to go with the monster, so they think that, clearly, they aren't aware that he IS a monster. In all honesty, even as a child, I was aware that the villainous characters I was, naturally, drawn to weren't Morally Correct Options -- I just liked their style and I generally found that they treated the female protagonists with more respect than the so-called "heroes" did (especially in the 1990s-2000s.) Male heroes often talked down to the female characters, the villain, though? Treated them as a serious threat, or a valuable piece of the puzzle. (Even in BG3, I would say that a solid part of Raphael's appeal is that he *does* need Tav on some level, he does speak respectfully to them, and he does deal fairly with them, so long as they uphold the rules of the arrangement.)

In BG3, we have, functionally, two morally ambiguous male love interests -- the first is the Emperor, who is massively underplayed (and, on a fandom context, is constantly surrounded by people reminding you that he's a mindflayer...I couldn't have told from the tentacles.) The second is Astarion who...is very well written, sometimes to the detriment of other characters, but also...is curiously defanged at the same time? Great, he approves of when you do bad things, wonderful. He's never gotten to actually chomp down on a mortal, which is a plot point. The bit in the art book about him feeding mortals to Cazador and being a corrupt magistrate is gone, so that the Gur go from very correctly taking vengeance on him to....???? It's not clear what happened there, since all Astarion says is that they didn't like a ruling he handed down. And, of course, if you go with Ascended Astarion, instead of getting the chance to truly be his Dark Consort, partners in crime and equals, you get...oh, wait, the constant reminder, both in-game and in the fandom, that he's a Very Bad Option. The game goes out of its way to say that Spawn Astarion is the Nice, Healthy Choice. You go with Gortash, who also has a lot of flirting with Tav, both as an OC and as the Durge? Oh, wait, he dies. No matter what you do. You go with Raphael? Oh, wait, you're reminded that he's a joke, to the point where it can be unclear whether he's the butt of the joke or whether it's the players who found him attractive who are. There just are not that many options for women (who are attracted to men) who want to be power hungry equals with their partners. Minthara, meanwhile? You can take on Menzoberranzan together and establish a house in your name. She can be funny, everyone else can be, but the player isn't shamed for wanting to rule alongside her, or being ambitious. Even if you transform into an illithid, she'll have you as her consort, and there's no sign of "remember, she's Very Dangerous." And it's like...BG3 is an adult game. It is VERY CLEARLY an adult game. Intended for adults. It has a label and everything (and incredibly explicit scenes of sex and violence.) If your ten year old little sister is playing the game, then there are broader things to discuss. The audience, in my opinion, should be trusted with being able to go onto the dark side.

And, again, I don't think this is an example of misandry (I can talk quite a bit about how I think...while I truly believe that the female characters are good in BG3 for the most part, there are elements of individual plotlines that I don't really like the execution of -- including and especially the way that Minthara is treated) -- I think it's that female gamers (and I'm aware of the potential heteronormativity of specifying female gamers, but the reality is that, by statistics alone, while BG3 is overwhelmingly queer friendly in a way that I'm very proud of and that I applaud it for, most people playing will still be playing M/F dynamics) are never given a fair hearing, they're always treated as Not Really Knowing What They Want, Don't They KNOW That Devil/Vampire/etc. etc. Will Kill Them, or there's always an ongoing concern over Polluting Women's Minds (really going into the early fears around gothic novels there), instead of considering WHAT women find attractive around these men in the first place. It's not misandry, in other words, it's re-packaged misogyny.

While I don't have a problem with Haarleps existence, I don't like that Raphael is reduced to a joke on his behalf as if Haarlep is a replacement of equal value and he talks about Raphael with a wink as if it's expected of the player that we share his resentment for him. From a gameplay perspective the decision to implement a shapeshifter character was probably made for the purpose of being able to have "Raphael" shift into a woman so that dudes could get another romance scene as well. I'm saying this because the animation of that particular scene is clearly made with that dynamic in mind and only works if it's the female Haarlep on male player model or two males. Which is perfectly fine of course! But the end result we got is that men get both Mizora and Haarlep, while from your average womans pov it's just silly and pointless. So I think to make it more fair, the real Raphael should've been left as an option for the girls and those who prefer him. Could've had both.

[atla-suki]

my fav thematic things about atla:

1. the protagonists (the gaang) lose. a lot. they aren’t just portrayed as incredibly strong characters (though they ARE very strong/talented), and it makes sense that they aren’t the most powerful. they’re children. it’s realistic. and they have to learn to grow and improve, which is also portrayed realistically too (hence the fact that the gaang don’t win every one of their battles).

2. the antagonist’s redemption arc (zuko) wasn’t pushed or dictated by the protagonist (aang/the gaang). zuko came to decisions on his own - with guidance from iroh of course - and learnt, and changed ON. HIS. OWN. and he had to WORK for it. not once does aang force zuko to challenge his position in the story. zuko does this himself.

3. the final battle isn’t smooth-sailing. the protagonist (aang) isn’t even present at first. their plans to invade the fire nation and defeat of the firelord were ruined from way back in s2. it’s rushed, it’s messy, but it WORKS. people get injured, things get destroyed, and although aang was victorious, it isn’t painted as a victorious day. thematically, this is very strong, and shows the reality of war.

4. the antagonist’s mental decline (azula) is fitting to the story and doesn’t villainise her any further. it is portrayed as a tragic thing, and does a good job of showing that not everyone is as perfect or powerful as once thought. (this also applies to aang as the hero and his inner conflict on morals before sozin’s comet. he isn’t perfect. he isn’t an idolised character - for the most part. it works.)

5. female characters (katara, toph, suki, azula, mai, ty lee, etc.) are written as strong, independent, realistic women. they do not revolve around a male character, they are not exclusively in the story to act as love interests, and they are given freedom to explore their own emotions and motivations without being degraded for doing so. also, male characters are actually shown expressing emotion (sokka, iroh, zuko, etc.) on more than one occasion. breaking stereotypes and unrealistic beliefs on screen helps to influence the way audiences perceive the world around them - in a good way.

6. sokka and suki coming back to each other all the time ik this isn’t the same as any of the other above points but i just love them i love them and their relationship and their growth as individuals and-

[here-there-everyfuckenwhere]

Ted Lasso for the fandom ask thingy

Ooh this is going to be fun! Okay so-

Favourite female character: This is honestly kinda tough tbh, but.. I think I’m gonna have to go with Keeley Jones. I think the first time I watched the show, she was my favourite character because I kinda relate to her. Like she starts off in season 1 being kinda superficial, trying to still act like her 18 year old self (which we learn in s01ep04 when she says that she’s been dating footballers since she was 18), and she’s used to people judging her and assuming she’s just a dumb WAG, but she really comes into her own and learns that she’s strong and capable and worthy of being in a real, mature relationship. And I just loved watching her character development in season 2.

Favourite male character: I mean.. is this even a question? Trent Crimm? Independent? The love of my life?

Favourite season: I really do go back and fourth over season 1 and 2, but ultimately I think I enjoyed season 2 more. I do believe that season 1 had better writing overall, but personally I think season 2 is more enjoyable. I know people complain about “filler” episodes, (like the Christmas episode or Beard After Hours) but even the “filler” episodes are still fun to rewatch

Favourite episode: Definitely s01ep03 “Trent Crimm, The Independent”. Other than the most obvious reason (I mean it’s The Trent Episode™) this episode is great. It’s sorta the first time we see Keeley and Rebecca’s friendship, and its also the first time we really get to see Keeley and Roy’s relationship.Not to mention the first time we see Roy being the cutest uncle ever. It’s one of those episodes that kinda sows the seeds for more important plot lines later on, like Nate becoming coach and that photo of Keeley and Ted leaking. And idk if this counts for anything but the soundtrack from the episode is also A++.

Favourite cast member: I mean they’re all wonderful but it’s pretty hard to go past JSuds

Favourite ship: I mean, I live in the Tent full-time as you all well know, and Ted/Trent are my absolute OTP. But I also ship Keeley/Roy because they are the best couple in the whole show imo, and (and idk if this is a popular opinion or not) I actually really like Sam/Becca as well..

A character I would die defending: SASSY! Ohmygod the amount of Sassy hate I see on Tumblr genuinely breaks my heart I love her so much

A character I just cant sympathise with: If I may quote Sassy, fuck off and die Rupert.

A character I grew to love: Definitely Jamie. I really couldn’t stand him in season 1, even after we see his father for the first time in season 1, I really didn’t care for him much. But I definitely think his redemption arc in season 2 is straight-up on of the best redemption arcs I’ve ever seen in a piece of media in my entire life. He completely won me over when he decided to take part in sam’s protest and started acting more like a team player

My anti-OTP: I might piss off a lot of people but I really don’t ship Ted and Beard. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore their relationship so much and I love all of their scenes together, but I just feel like their friendship is so lovely and they should just stay friends

Ask game!!

Also, to make this ask game more fun I'm gonna tag some people who I think should do this ask (for Ted Lasso obviously): @bipolarjamietartt @enumchase @smooth-crimminal @trent-crimm @leupagus @infiniteeight8 @rimedio8 @polikszena @imgoingtofreakoutnow

[duggardata]

Anna and Mary Maxwell Might Be Attending [Bible] College.  (Wow!)

Recently, an eagle–eyed Anon spotted the 2 Youngest Maxwell Girls, Anna (28) and Mary (25), in the absolute last place you'd ever expect—a college campus.  It's all on Facebook... Anna and Mary appear in a photo posted by Appalachian Bible College to its official Facebook Page, along with caption: "The first day of classes. That's something to smile about!"  (Permalink.)

Why Are We So Surprised By This?

Ordinarily, two young women attending college wouldn't be at all shocking, but the Maxwells are not ordinary.  Anna and Mary's Parents, Steve + Teri Maxwell, are openly anti–college.  Steve thinks that state–run education, including higher education, is "a godless, promiscuity–promoting, humanistic environment," and that it traps young people in debt.  He is wary even of Christian colleges, since he believes they cause children to rebel.  He’s proud of his sons' lack of higher education, and praised them for "avoid[ing] the influence and cost of college." Teri is, sadly, just as opposed to college—especially for women.  Back in 1999, she wrote an article speculating that college may undermine a woman's ability to be a good and godly wife.  Her article laments—

"As far as our daughters go, I wonder how many of us developed independent spirits during our college or working days. Has this made it more difficult for us to submit to our husbands in the meek and quiet way we would like?"

Finally...  Anna and Mary's views on this topic seemed to be aligned with their parents, until now. According to Steve + Teri, all of the Maxwell Daughters had planned to be Stay–at–Home–Daughters until marriage.  (See Also.)  (And all 3 Daughters seemed to be doing so, since none had moved out.)  What is more, in 2010, Anna described college as "silly," and said that she thought attending would expose her to unsavory influences, and possibly hold her back from her ultimate goal of "be[ing] a stay–at–home wife and mother."

So, yeah...  This is quite a surprise!  And, while neither Steve + Teri, nor Anna or Mary, has actually confirmed that they’re enrolled at Appalachian Bible College, their appearance on the Facebook Page is definitely suspicious!

Tell Me About Appalachian Bible College.

TL;DR   If you just want to know how conservative and restrictive Appalachian Bible College is, skip down to “Student Life.”

Appalachian Bible College (ABC) is a tiny (~250 Students), insular bible college, located on 150 Acres in rural Mount Hope, West Virginia.  (The Maxwell Family hails from Leavenworth, Kansas, which >800 Miles Away.)  It self–describes as a “non–denominational and fundamental” institution, primarily associated with “Baptist and Bible churches.”  Unlike many so–called “bible colleges,” ABC is nationally and regionally accredited.  (Hurray!)

A lot, lot more information...  After the jump.

Admissions—

ABC requires prospective students to submit an application; transcripts from high school or home school; ACT, SAT, or CLT test scores; and two reference letters, one from a pastor and one from another mentor, e.g., teacher or youth group leader.  A high school diploma or GED is required, unless the student is homeschooled.  In that case, a detailed homeschool transcript is needed, and standardized test scores are “especially important.”

As part of the application, prospective students must attest that they agree w/ the college’s Doctrinal Statement.

Academics—

ABC offers four degree programs—Bible Certificate (1 Year), Associate of Arts (A.A.) (2 Years), Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) (4 Years), and Master of Arts (M.A.).  In addition, it runs an online program for degree–seeking or non–degree seeking students.  (But, Anna and Mary were spotted on–campus, so they don’t seem to be in the online program!)  Anna and Mary haven’t gone to college, so they almost certainly aren’t in the Master’s program.  Let’s just look at the rest...

(Sidenote—Before we go on, just want to point out...  All ABC graduates must, in addition to completing academic requirements, show that they are members of a church and that they possess good Christian character.  If they don’t, they won’t give their diploma!) 

Bible Certificate—ABC describes the one–year program as an “opportunit[y] for you to dig into Scripture and build your life on its unchanging truths.”  The program has two tracks—Bible + General Education and Bible + Ministry.  As the names suggest, both tracks’ core curriculum is the Bible and Bible study.  Both also require three courses in ministry—Foundations of Ministry, Biblical Theology of Missions, and Personal Evangelism & Discipleship.  Where they differ is is what else they require...

For the Bible + General Education Certificate, students must also take four ‘core’ classes—English Composition, Speech, Physical Education, Music, and “Success Seminar”—plus, an elective of their choice.  (This curriculum also mirrors the first–year curriculum of ABC’s A.A. and B.A. Degree Programs, so students can easily continue their studies, should they decide to do so.)

For Bible + Ministry, ‘core’ classes are waived in favor of extra theology.  Students take Principles of Biblical Interpretation, along with classes on Systematic Theology (2 Classes), the New Testament (Survey Class + 2 Classes), and the Old Testament (Survey Class + 2 Classes).

Associate’s Degree (A.A.)—ABC also offers a 2–Year A.A. Degree in Bible + Theology.  (That’s the only major offered.)  For this degree, the curriculum is a 50/50 split between General Education and Bible + Theology courses, plus a few ministry classes and electives.  All students take the following courses—

General Education   English Composition (2 Classes), Speech, Physical Education, Music, Biblical Worldview, and Ethical Issues in Ministry

Bible + Theology   Principles of Biblical Interpretation, Survey of the Old Testament, Survey of the New Testament, Matthew to Acts, Genesis to Deuteronomy, Paul’s Letters (2 Classes), and Doctrine (2 Classes)

Ministry   Theology of Missions, Foundations of Ministry, Evangelism & Discipleship, and Homiletics I (Males) / Bible Teaching (Females)  

Additionally, students must take a history class, a science or sociology class, and an elective.

Bachelor’s Degree (B.A.)—Finally, ABC offers a 4–Year B.A. Dual Degree in Bible + Theology and in Ministry.  Each student completes General Education classes.  Beyond that, each student is also a “double major.”  Everyone’s first major is Bible + Theology and everyone’s second major is ministry–focused—but, not everyone has the exact same Ministry Major.  (More on that in a bit...)  As far as curriculum, students must complete the General Education, Bible + Theology, and Ministry courses required for the Associate’s Degree, plus the following additional core classes—

General Education   Health, Psychology, Sociology, Finance, 2 History Classes (History of Western Civilization and American Church History), and 1 Science Class (Earth Science or Biology)

Bible + Theology   Joshua to Esther, Hebrews to Revelation, Isaiah to Malachi, Job to Song of Soloman, Doctrine (2 Additional Classes), and Bible Capstone 

Ministry   World Religion and Cults, and Homiletics II (Men) / Women’s Ministry (Women)

Finally, students must also pick a Ministry Major and complete its mandatory coursework.  At ABC, there are seven ministry majors to pick from—some of which have concentrations.  Here’s the list of Ministry Majors, with additional concentrations or sub–specialties listed in parentheses—

Biblical Counseling  (Youth & Family or Women’s Ministries)

Camping Ministry 

Elementary Education

Missions  (Biblical Languages, Foreign Language / Spanish, International Studies, Nursing, or Teaching English)

Music  (Pedagogy, Performance, or Worship)

Pastoral Ministry  (Biblical Languages or Youth & Family Pastoring)

Interdisciplinary

The Pastor Ministry Major seems to be limited to male students.

Click the links to check out the coursework each Ministry Major requires.

Student Life—

So, yeah...  ABC is not a progressive place.  At all.  They’re upfront about it, though, which is nice.  Their Student Handbook is online, available for all to read.  Here are some highlights...  (All italics are mine, not in original.)

Discipline / Consequences—Students who break the rules face discipline in the form of “a verbal or written Carefrontation, a fine, a work assignment, a temporary room or dorm confinement, a social [or] ... campus restriction,” or “some other determination.”  Egregious offenses may result in the student being “suspended ... , asked to withdraw from the college, or dismissed.”

Dress Code—There’s a detailed Dress Code, with different different activities requiring different standards of dress.  Perhaps surprisingly, pants are allowed for female students for all but the fanciest standard of dress.  (For that, they’ll have to wear skirts or dresses.)  Here are a few of the rules...

“Earrings may be worn by females only,” and “all other body piercing is prohibited.”

ABC students are prohibited from getting new tattoos.  If a student has an old tattoo, they may be required to cover it at all times if the Dean of Students deems it “offensive.” 

Prohibited Activities—ABC says that, “in order to remain above reproach,” students are prohibited from the following “questionable activities”...

Consuming “alcohol as a beverage,” tobacco in any form (including e–cigarettes), or drugs for non–medicinal purposes.  (Penalty for violating this rule is dismissal.)

Serving alcohol to others, even if done in the course of a student’s off–campus employment.

Gossiping, or engaging in “other forms of impure speech.”

Listening to, viewing, or reading “unwholesome” media or literature, or accessing websites “that do not promote godliness.”  (See Prohibited Media and Prohibited Music.)

Attending “commercial movie theaters.”

Gambling.

Dancing.

Prohibited Media—Per the ABC Student Handbook, ABC students shall not consume “any media (including social media) that features vulgar or obscene language, sexual innuendo, nudity, immodest clothing, or ... a blatantly non–Christian message.”  Additionally, students may not—  

Watch movies rated PG–13, R, X, or NC–17, or shows rated TV–MA.

Play video games or use apps rated A, M, or RP.

... and, they’re strongly cautioned to avoid media that promotes “unbiblical definitions of love”; endorses “witchcraft or the occult”; mocks “law or law enforcement”; denigrates “marriage and the traditional family”; or contains “excessive violence.”  Students are urged not to consume media made by people—e.g., actors, producers, directors—“known for their stand against Christian values.”

Prohibited Music—Students are banned from listening to music “that includes God–dishonoring language, anti–biblical messages ... , a prominent resurfacing beat, pulsating and driving or dance rhythms, or sensual overtones in the music itself or in the performance.”  They’re specifically cautioned to avoid...

Rock—Because the “lyrics may be unacceptable” and “[t]he beat of the music may become the most prominent element.”

Country—Because the “lyrics may be unacceptable” and the underlying “music may be connected to a heavy rock beat.”

Folk—As “[e]xistentialism, humanism, or hedonism may be propagated through the lyrics.”

Jazz—Since syncopation may be “extensive[ly] use[d],” and “a sensual performance style may be employed.”

Contemporary Christian—Since “a sensual performance style may be employed,” “a beat may be overly prominent,” and the “lyrics may be theologically incorrect or existential in their emphasis.”

Relationships—

“The Bible restricts sexual activity to marriage between a man and a woman.  Thus, fornication, adultery, incest, sexual abuse of a minor, homosexuality, indecent exposure, sexual harassment, and other such activities are forbidden.” 

“[N]o display of affection through physical contact (including holding hands) on the part of non–married couples, on or off campus.”

Dating students are forbidden from sitting together in class or chapel.

No male–female pair, dating or not, may be alone together in anyone’s home or residence, on– or off–campus.

No male–female pair, dating or not, may socialize off–campus without a chaperone, unless they’ve been at ABC for at least 4 Semesters.

Divorced students “shall not be permitted to date other ... students.”

According to ABC’s Student Handbook, all these rules apply to all students, at all times, on– or off–campus.

All in all, it’s great if Anna and Mary are attending college, even if it’s a super–duper conservative one, like ABC clearly is.  The fact that they’ve possibly left home and are out there, living on their own...  Crazy to even think about, given Steve’s apparent iron grip on his household.  It can only be good from them to venture out on their own, even if it’s just to a slightly less stifling place.