#obviously.. this is not ship. do not tag as such.

[aimmyarrowshigh]

(via @mythopoeticlicense)

OOF. Yes. Absolutely this. Tags so good I had to reblog the same post again.

The coopting of "fandom" by large franchises in the last 10 years -- mostly the MCU, Game of Thrones, and Star Wars, although the fandomization of some books like ACOTAR and the Raven Boys certainly fits, too -- has absolutely been used to control and redirect fannish activity and expectations. They want to sell the merch they already invested in, so they need the characters and pairings and worlds they invested in to be the most popular.

And most people -- people who are not naturally inclined to transforming what they love and being unhinged by the third guy on the left with no lines who dies ten minutes in, or whatever -- are primed to say, "Oh, that's the popular pairing, so it must be the one I like, too! Because I enjoy this popular thing!" So they go out and buy the merch that's being sold to them... rather than making their own. And they pay for supplemental novellas or comics or whatever... instead of making their own. It's a quietly insidious way to get people to stop creating and stop engaging in good faith with those who do. Because capitalism.

And I may be saying this as a 2025 Stucky fan and viewing through a Stucky lens, but I honestly think a big part of why the MCU has pushed Peggy Carter so hard as The Most Important Woman In Existence (per What If, etc.) is to push back against the fact that the most popular thing to actually organically grow out of their billion-dollar franchise is a gay ship they never intended. (Or two gay ships, if you also count Steve/Tony fans.)

They can't market the gay ship because homophobia/investors/homophobic investors/whatever, take your pick, so they have to Kill It Dead. And the best way to do that without actually saying homophobic words that might (MIGHT) invite pushback is to make it seem like the M/F alternative is So Obviously Much More Powerful And Better And If You Disagree You're Crazy. (While also getting to make money off Captain Carter merch out the ass.)

[flufftober]

🍀🍂 Hello and welcome to Flufftober's (first) Fluff Bingo 🍀🍂

In our poll, nearly 50% of you voted for a handful of bingo cards to fill the other half of the year with more fluff before we jump right back into the excitement that is Flufftober - and of course, we're here to deliver 😊

Find all the important info, more cards, and all the prompts in writing below the cut.

We hope you like this event and our prompts, and now

Happy Creating 🥳

🍀 Pick your card - we offer:

🍂 one card with 5x5 prompts (as seen at the top)

🍂 two cards with 3x3 prompts:

🍂 three themed cards with 1x5 prompts:

🍂 and as a bonus, a 3x3 card with tasks instead of prompts:

🍀 How does this work?

🍂 our standard blog rules apply and you'll find answers to most questions on our FAQ post

🍂 aside from that, you can go wild: fill these cards however you like, as quick or as slow as you like, as often as you like, and use as many of them as you like. We just want you to have fun 😊

🍂 if there are prompts on the bigger cards you don't like, feel free to use the 1x5 cards as alternate prompts and switch them out

🍂 download the cards and tick them off once you've finished a square; make a post for every square or only once you have a bingo or even a blackout - it's all up to you!

🍂 as with all our events, this one will never close, you can always use these cards. If you need a timeframe/deadline because (like me) you'll never finish otherwise, consider these loose goals:

finish until July 1st when we release the new Flufftober list

finish during October, maybe by combining some of these with the Flufftober prompts

finish until the end of the year so you're ready for whatever event we plan for next spring

🍀 What about tumblr reblogs and ao3?

🍂 tumblr reblogs will still happen but not daily as you're used to during Flufftober. It will strongly depend on how many posts there happen to be at a time and how the modmin team will have time. But as long as you mention us and/or use the tag (and follow the rules, obviously), reblogs will happen

🍂 please use the tag #fluffbingo

🍂 feel free to also add the general #flufftober tag

🍂 please make sure to clearly show the fandom, either in the first few tags or noticeably in the post

🍂 contrary to how we do it during Flufftober, we will only use four tags during reblogs this time: #fluffbingo #fluffreblog #[fandom] #[your user name] - that means we will not tag any ships, characters, or which prompt you're covering

🍂 on ao3, our collection for this event is Flufftober Fluff Bingo

Prompts

We're going left to right, top to bottom!

🍂 5x5 card

Fresh Start

To-Do List

Craft Fair

Creature AU

“This was a bad idea.”

Exploring Together

Plushie

Secret Signal

“You’ll love it.”

Late Night

Hidden (...)

“It’s just so much.”

Free Space

Fake Dating

Carnival

“You’re the best!”

Royal AU

Missing the Other

Never ever, ever

Rainbow

Hanahaki

Pep Talk

“I really mean it.”

Hoodie

Movie AU

🍂 3x3 card I

“Where do I start?”

Famous AU

Traveling the World Together

Enjoying a Lazy Day

Task: Write in a tense you usually don’t write/write less than another tense

“You said you had it handled!” - “Yeah, well, I lied.”

Birthday

“Hey, wait, that’s mine.”

Direction

🍂 3x3 card II

“You’re late!”

Hospital AU

Grocery Shopping Together

Going for a Walk

Task: Write from a POV you usually don’t write/write less than another POV

“Could you not do that, please?” - “Spoilsport.”

Sunshine

“I don’t know, you decide.”

Concert

🍂 1x5 card - Smiles

Secret Smile

Relieved Smile

Honest Smile

Devious Smile

Teary Smile

🍂 1x5 card - Hugs

Soothing Hug

Hug in Celebration

Sleepy Hug

Hug from behind

Desperate Hug

🍂 1x5 card - Kisses

Kiss on the Hand

Kiss to distract

Goodbye Kiss

Forhead Kiss

Kiss on the Cheek

🍂 3x3 card - Tasks

Finish your WIP

Sort all your Ideas and/or WIPs

Edit an entire Chapter or Oneshot

Outline a Story

Work on that hard Scene that is giving you so much trouble it is holding you back

Finish the next Chapter of your WIP

Join in a Writing Event (this card doesn’t count 😉 but the others do!)

Finish a Oneshot

Dig out an old Draft and work on it

Have Fun and Go Wild 🥳

[leclercsixteen]

𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒂 ! ᶜˡ¹⁶ ᵐᵛ¹

you don't have to be sorry for leaving and growing up ⋆˚࿔

𝓬harles leclerc + 𝓶ax verstappen x 𝓶ale reader synopsis: reader was the rookie in the upcoming formula 1 season. his name was in everyone’s mouth and on everyone’s social media page. but, he’s still a person who has homework, feelings, and two nonbiological older brothers—or nonbiological dads, however you want to look at it.

genre: familial, smau and irl, hurt/comfort, fluff warnings: lestappen is shipped but theyre not together, stressed reader, reader replaces liam

author's note: not intended for female readers & not written for female readers. this came to me in a dream.

masterlist. navigation.

Y/N WAS A force to be reckoned with on the track. His talented overtakes and passes on the track helped him climb up the ranks easily. He quickly made his way up to Formula 1, skipping over Formula 2, and became the youngest rookie for the upcoming season. It was no surprise that he was all everyone talked about; Red Bull dropping Liam Lawson to pick up an inexperienced rookie who was still in high school.

He was a high school student by day and a Formula 1 driver, also by day. His schedule was the definition of stressful and he had no competition for the most stressed award. Y/n took online classes seeing as there was no way for him to go to a school while flying all over the world for races. It was surprising to the drivers around him that he was able to do everything, including perform well in his car when it really mattered, and not show any signs of stress.

It was surprising to y/n too; he was covered up to his ears in stress and he felt as though he was drowning every second of the day.

liked by f1, redbullracing, charles_leclerc, and others tagged: charles_leclerc, maxverstappen1

youruser life recently

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userone god i really need to lock in bros life looks amazing and he's younger than me

usertwo i think we're forgetting the fact that he's a student AND formula 1 driver? like i can barely get through just school but he's a double agent liked by youruser

charles_leclerc why that picture :( ⤷ youruser my parents obviously

maxverstappen1 you couldn't've picked a picture that i took with you? ⤷ youruser of course not :)

redbullracing 🔥🔥 liked by youruser

userthree can't wait to watch you kill it this season! ⤷ userfour alr he aint that good bro ⤷ userthree he skipped f2 and red bull literally dropped liam lawson for him ??????? okay ...

charles_leclerc maxverstappen1 why are you looking at me like that ⤷ maxverstappen1 that's how i look at all of my friends ⤷ youruser you guys don't even follow each other still stop flirting in my comments

userfive red bull check on your driver challenge ⤷ usersix wdym? ⤷ userfive i saw y/n recently with max and charles and he just looked so tired and so out of it. it doesnt look like red bull is doing much to help him out with schooling and his mental health liked by youruser ⤷ usersix nah you're reaching 😭😭 ⤷ userfive y/n literally liked my comment but whatever

Y/N THOUGHT F4 and F3 were bad, but F1 was a whole different rodeo. Their schedule wasn't as hectic during F4 and F3 as it is in F1, but it was still pretty stressful having to do homework on the road when you couldn't talk to anybody about it since most of the drivers dropped out of school. F1 was worse; nobody was in school or they dropped out before they could graduate so nobody understood what he was going through, he was shipped around the world on a weekly basis, he had training day in and day out, and he had to do calculus homework in between practices.

He held his forehead in his hand as he leaned his elbow against the table in front of him. Y/n was currently looking at his math homework like it had 5 heads instead of 0 since it was a piece of paper. The eraser of his pencil tapped against the table that distracted him away from his homework momentarily. The problem he was stuck on stared back at him as he felt almost guilty for not being able to solve this problem.

"You okay?"

Max.

When it was announced that y/n would be taking Liam's spot, y/n had already met with Max multiple times. They were trying to see if the team chemistry would be there between a seasoned driver and an unseasoned one. Their relationship formed quickly as Max became an older brother figure to y/n. Max connected him to Charles, both having some idea what y/n was going through. From there, Max and Charles became y/n's mentor's in Formula 1 and helped him through everything he needed to know.

Y/n turned his head away from the worksheet and he looked over at Max, who was walking over in his race suit as he just got done with his FP2. He wore a worried look as y/n was tucked into the corner of the Red Bull hospitality with a confused and frustrated look on his face.

The rookie sighed as he dropped his pencil and hid his face in his hands. "Not really," he groaned as both his arms and head dropped onto the table; his head laying on his folded arms. "Calculus is going to be the death of me, Max. I can't do this," there was a slight waver to his voice, but he refused to cry in front of his teammate.

Max pursed his lips and sighed. He looked around the room to see if there was anything he could grab that might be of service to the young driver. When nothing came to mind, Max sat in the chair to y/n's right and he turned it so it faced y/n.

"Hey," Max said softly as he nudged y/n's knee with his own. Y/n's head rolled to the side so he could see Max's face and Max could see his. Y/n's eyes were starting to turn red, but Max paid no attention to it because he knew y/n would hate him for it. "If you need help, or a break, just ask, or talk to me or Charles. We care about you, y/n, and it sucks to see that they," he nodded over to the Red Bull team who was working on Max's car, "don't care about your mental health or school work. But, Charles and I do, okay?"

Y/n pursed his lips and nodded, blinking away tears that threatened to fall from his stinging eyes. He cleared his throat as he leaned back in his chair, his arms falling down into his lap as he looked back at the table

"Yeah. I care about you guys too," y/n started, looking down at his hands which were starting to fold his fingers together as a distraction, "but it's hard. I never liked asking for help and it's still a hard thing for me to do, even if you and Charles are trying to tell me it's okay to do so." Y/n rubbed at his nose as that too was starting to sting. He blinked away tears once more. "I just wish people understood. Fans and reporters. I feel like they only see me as the rookie that got picked up, and not as a high school student who happens to be good at racing," he looked up at Max, who was nodding along to what he was saying, paying attention to every word he said.

Max smiled sadly and nodded. "It sucks, it really does. They never understand and they don't even try to. I'm sorry about that, y/n, I really am," his eyes were wide and filled with sadness and sympathy. "They don't have to understand, though. You don't have to care about what they think, alright?" His eyes turned serious as he leaned forward and put a hand on y/n's knee. "You just need to focus on your school work and driving. Your real fans understand and they care about you too."

Y/n nodded along and he sniffed before wiping his nose on his hoodie sleeve. His FP2 was before Max's, so he slipped out of his race suit and into comfy clothes quickly so he could hide himself in the corner he and Max found themselves in now so he wouldn't be bothered.

Max's eyes narrowed at y/n before they glanced at his worksheet. "When is that due?" He asked as he pointed at the worksheet, which was halfway done.

"Um," y/n hummed as he looked over at the worksheet. He wasn't sure, so he had to double check. "One second," he said as he opened up his computer that was previously closed and shut off as he kept trying to look at the answer key. He pulled up Google Classroom and scrolled to his calculus class. He clicked his tongue a couple of times before saying, "Not until Monday." He looked back at Max, who had a smile on his face. "Why?"

"Tomorrow isn't Monday," Max smiled at y/n. They had a qualifying tomorrow, but an idea was brewing in Max's head already for tonight.

Y/n's brows furrowed, "I'm glad you know your days of the week, Max."

Max laughed. "How about we do something tonight? Invite Charles and we just go hang out around town?" He asked with a smile.

It wasn't unusual for Charles, Max, and y/n to do some adventuring in the town they end up having races in, but it was starting to get rare as y/n's midterms were sneaking up in the next month or two.

Y/n went to deny as he wanted to finish the worksheet, but Max held up a hand and leaned forward in his seat. "Don't try and get out of this because of your homework that isn't due until Monday. You're still young, y/n. You deserve to have some fun in your life, yeah?"

The younger driver scoffed a laugh as he leaned back in his seat. He shook his head, "You're unbelievable and I hate you." Max raised a brow and he held out his hands as he waited for a confirmation. "What the hell, sure," y/n shook his head as Max smiled and hit his shoulder.

"Alright!" Max smiled and stood. His hands hit his thighs as he stood. "You can stay in that if you want," he gestured towards y/n's oversized Red Bull hoodie and matching sweat-shorts, "but I'm going to take a very quick shower and change. I'll text Charles as well."

Then, Max left towards his driver room.

A smile formed on y/n's face. Even if he was close to tears just a minute ago, his eyes were dry as he packed up his calculator, pencil case, and tucked his worksheet into his math folder. It felt nice to be liked and to be needed. While he did have a loving family cheering him on from home, it was hard to be away from them during the season. It was nice to have two people who could fill in those roles while they were away.

Y/n made his way to the couch that was in the Red Bull hospitality, but not before grabbing a Red Bull from the mini fridge that was at the end of the couch. It was nearing dinner time and y/n was sure he would fall asleep on the couch he just sat on if he didn't have at least a couple of sips of Red Bull in his system.

As Max showered and changed, y/n played a mindless game on his phone that Charles downloaded a while ago after his own phone had died and was bored. Y/n remembers it vaguely; he doesn't remember where they were or what they were doing, but Charles's phone had died and he asked y/n id he had games on his phone, to which y/n responded no and Charles acted as if he killed Leo. Then, Charles said that it was his favorite game and was convinced that y/n was living under a rock because he didn't have it downloaded.

He played a couple of rounds before Max came out of his driver's room in a surprising pair of sweatpants and one of his classic Red Bull collard shirts. It wasn't common to see Max in sweatpants, he usually wore jeans with his shirts. Max typed on his phone as he walked, and he almost ran into the couch, but he stopped right in front of it before he could.

"You ready?" Max asked once he looked up from his phone. He chuckled at the sight in front of him; y/n holding his red bull can close as he was curled in on himself in the corner of the couch. His phone was close to his face as he played his game.

Y/n looked up and nodded, quickly unfurling himself. "Yep," he said, popping the 'p'. He stood from the couch and adjusted his hoodie. "Charles already outside?" y/n asked as Max started to lead the way to the door of the hospitality. He didn't get an answer from Max, but his confirmation was Charles standing in front of the door once Max opened up the door.

"Hey you two," Charles smiled at them as y/n and Max bent down to slip on the quickest shoes they could (sneakers for Max and Birkenstock clogs for y/n). Charles wore a red hoodie with a small black Ferrari horse on the heart with white sweatpants and creme Puma suede shoes. "Let's go, yeah?" He nodded his head toward the car park where all of the drivers kept their cars during race weekend.

Max and y/n stepped out of the Red Bull hospitality with smiles on their faces, happy that their trio was back together. Sometimes it's hard for the Red Bull duo to get together with Charles, seeing as their teams want to make sure their secrets aren't being shared with their opponent.

"Where are we going?" Y/n asked as the trio started to walk toward the car park; y/n was in the middle with Max to his right and Charles to his left. He looked from Max and then to Charles, both having smiles on their faces as they looked at each other past y/n's head.

"Seriously guys, where are we going?"

liked by oscarpiastri, redbullracing, maxverstappen1, and others tagged: charles_leclerc, maxverstappen1

youruser had to buy a swimsuit at the store cause they didn't tell me i needed one when we left

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charles_leclerc do people not go streaking anymore? ⤷ youruser you are NASTY! NASTY i tell you

userseven did you get your homework done

usereight alright ..

maxverstappen1 at least you got a new swimsuit out of it, i just got sandy pizza ⤷ charles_leclerc that was your own fault ⤷ youruser maxverstappen1 free protein for quali!!

oscarpiastri whore behavior on main is crazy ⤷ youruser leave me and my whoreiness alone 💔

usernine i wish i had a relationship like y/n and lestappen ⤷ userten so..parents? ⤷ usernine that was unnecessary

usereleven YOU'RE GOING TO GET POLE POSITION TOMORROW Y/N I BELIEVE IN YOU!! ⤷ usertwelve nah he's washed ⤷ userthirteen it's literally his first season 😭😭??????????

lando high school senior & f1 driver by day WHORE by night ⤷ youruser what's up with the mclaren teammates calling me a whore just say you want me and move on ⤷ lando woah alright i touched a nerve there my bad

TURNS OUT WHERE they were going was a beach—actually, first a clothing store, then a pizza restaurant, and then the beach. Charles and Max only told y/n they were going to the beach after pulling out of the car park in Charles's white Ferrari, so he whined and forced them to stop at a clothing store nearby so he could run in and buy a new pair of trunks and even a cover shirt.

Y/n leaned back on the blanket that Charles pulled out of his trunk when they pulled up to the beach. His elbows and heels dig into the sand as he laid back relaxed. He watched as Max and Charles played in the water like children. They had tried to pull him to the water with them, but he just denied and wanted to stay dry. He pulled on his Red Bull sweatshirt from before as the sun was starting to set and it was starting to get windy on the beach.

He must've zoned out, because suddenly both Max and Charles were laughing right next to him and falling down onto towels that they brought. They were sighing and laughing through breaths as they sat on either side of y/n, Max to y/n right and Charles to his left like before.

"You guys have fun?" Y/n asked, a smile on his face as he looked from Max to Charles, and then back to Max, and repeated that a couple of times before he got an answer.

Charles laughed and nodded, "Yeah. It's been so long since I've had fun in the water at a beach. I usually go on my boat, but I haven't been on a beach in so long."

Silence fell onto the three as they watched the sun slowly set and listened to the crashing of the waves and the chatter of birds that were further down the shoreline.

Suddenly, after a beat of staring at y/n and questioning whether he should actually speak up or not, Max asked, "Are you okay, now?" Y/n turned to Max while Charles turned to watch y/n like Max.

Y/n took a breath and looked back out towards the water. He pursed his lips and after a beat, he nodded. "Yeah," he breathed out with a smile on his face. "Yeah, I am. Sometimes I get too caught up in my own head and I act like I never have enough time for a break, and my life is always go, go, go. While it is that way sometimes, I feel like I never ask for help, or for a break." He took a deep breath in, smelling and taking in the smell of the salt water. Y/n looked to Max and then to Charles with a smile, "Thank you guys. Really. This was really nice, and definitely needed."

Charles smiled back at y/n and he glanced to Max quickly before looking back at y/n. "We're always here for you, y/n. Whether it's for school help, driving help, mental help, or even to kill someone," they all let out a chuckle, "we're here for you, okay? You're special, y/n, and we don't want you to lose your young spark just because you're stressed, alright?"

Y/n smiled, teary-eyed. He nodded, "Alright. I love you guys."

"We love you too, but," Max stood and he bent down to pull off y/n hoodie, which went willingly as y/n rolled his eyes, "it's time to get you in the water."

"Maaaax," y/n whined, but they weren't heard as Charles laughed and joined Max in standing. He helped grab y/n and drag him towards the water. Y/n's yells were helpless as he laughed and squirmed in their grip. "I hate you guys!" Y/n yelled before he was tossed into the cold water.

He came back up with a scowl as Charles and Max laughed with each other at y/n. "I know where you sleep."

liked by youruser, maxverstappen1, f1, and others tagged: youruser, maxverstappen1

charles_leclerc much needed quality time before quali 🌊❤️

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userfourteen bro theyre so cute 😭😭

userfifteen they don't want us to ship lestappen then they post pictures of them playing in the water like alright mate

youruser don't be fooled by the smile on my back, i was NOT happy ⤷ charles_leclerc i don't know i remember you telling us you loved us ⤷ maxverstappen1 you know i remember that too ⤷ youruser i told you guys i hated you actually

usersixteen the only family in formula 1

userseventeen can't decide if y/n is their kid or brother ⤷ usereighteen if we're shipping lestappen, kid. if we're not, brother.

maxverstappen1 ❤️ ⤷ charles_leclerc literally just a heart? damn what the hell ⤷ youruser my parents are fighting 💔

oscarpiastri um where was my invite????? ⤷ youruser you can come when you have a mental breakdown over homework ❤️ ⤷ oscarpiastri oh.. hope you're doing okay ⤷ youruser this made me giggle yes i am doing okay thank you oscar 😭😭

lando BAN family's from formula 1 next thing we know they're going to get 1-2-3 positions for the rest of the season ⤷ charles_leclerc no need to be salty lando nowins ⤷ lando I WILL SLASH YOUR TYRES

usernineteen im living for this family we have in f1 like y/n is literally lestappen's son

[lemotmo]

I choked on my water 😂😂😂

Q. Sarcasm goes both ways, dumbass. So that line can be read as sarcastic either way. It can be read as sarcastic towards the people who ship them or it can be read as sarcastic towards the people who don't. It depends on your opinion of the topic. So we don't know the author's sarcastic intentions because we don't know what their opinion on Buddie is. Hope that helps. I know intelligence is hard.

A. Why do you all act like you've never human'd before? Sarcasm does go both ways but not in the same line, dumbass. The wording of the line would be different depending on which viewpoint the writer wanted the reader to take as truth. So for instance the line we are talking about was saying, very clearly, that believing their just bestie bros at this point is kind of ridiculous. Now if the writer was making a statement about how ridiculous the idea of anything romantic between them is, they would have written something entirely different. Something more like:

"News of Eddie's potential move came as a surprise to his bestie Buck, weird for a supposed pair of soulmates who can read each other's every thought".

See the difference? That line is clearly mocking the idea of them as romantic partners. You can't read every piece of sarcasm as sarcastic towards both ideas. That's not a thing. Just like believing every scene we see on television is open to the viewer's interpretation to determine what it actually means is not a thing. Intention exists. And it exists obviously within the text of most things. Some things are open to the readers, or the viewers, interpretation, but not most things. Most things have an intended purpose and a particular conclusion the audience is supposed to come to. Hope that helps, jackass. I know intelligence is hard. Seriously there is no way you all are actually this stupid. And if you have to pretend to be this stupid in order for your character/ship to still sound possible then that should tell you something. Nevermind, convincing yourselves that none of this is weird or crazy behavior already tells me everything I need to know about your intelligence.

Thank you Nonny. 🤗

What is it with the rudeness of these people? There is a better, more polite way to ask someone a question or to make a point if you don't agree with someone else's take.

Anyway, Ali already said all that needed to be said in her answer.

It's like these people are willfully ignoring every single thing that is buddie-positive because they are convinced that we are all having some sort of mass-delusion that Buddie is going canon in 8b. At the same time they are convinced that BT are soulmates, which... no. 🤷‍♀️

I'm so tired of dealing with these people. I hope they all just go away during 8b as soon as they see that Buddie is really happening. 🤞🤞🤞

Heads up! For anyone who is giving me the shifty eyes for reposting Ali's updates instead of reblogging. Read this.

Remember, no hate in comments, reblogs or inboxes. Let's keep it civil and respectful. Thank you.

If you are interested in more of Ali’s posts, you can find all of her posts so far under the tag: anonymous blog I love.

[aaplecore]

Doing the Dirty Work

(Carol Danvers x fem!reader)

Summary : Carol gets stuck doing the Avenger’s dirty work: transporting a fugitive to them. But of course it can’t just be a normal trip.

Warnings / tags : smut (18+ !!): fingering (r!receiving), oral (r!receiving), pet names (darling, baby), js general dirty talk (tell me if i’m missing anything!)

Notes : so uuhh this is my first time writing smut… this might be a lil freaky or just not v good… I can’t really tell… and I didn’t proofread…

You had no idea how you ended up here. Right now, you were laying in a bed, your wrist zip tied too tight to the nearby bedside table. For some reason, a teenager had tied you up. A sixteen year old. Because of course. At least the view of space from the window was nice.

Technically, there was a reason for you to be here… unknowingly, a couple of weeks ago, you’d punched a SHEILD executive for hitting on you at a bar… then proceeded to escape when they tried to detain you. So, yes, technically, you were a fugitive… with the Avengers searching for you. Still, being tied up on some random ship didn’t seem very fair.

You were running through your list of complaints as you tried to pull yourself free from the zip-tied, a faint red mark forming on your wrist. Cursing quietly to yourself, you were too busy struggling to see a woman walking into the room.

“Stop struggling. You know how a zip tie works, don’t you?”

The woman huffs, shaking her head as she walks up to you, placing her hand on your wrist to stop you. That was what made you look up to see her. She was stunning�� shoulder length blonde hair, curling slightly around her shoulders, a french braid tying back around her head. She looked down at you with a glare, but you were too busy staring at her toned arms, which were very obviously visible with the white tank top she was wearing. Around her waist were the sleeves of what appeared to be some kind of suit, allowing just a bit of her abs to show in between the hem of her shirt and pants.

“Hello? You there?”

The woman asks, noticing that you are just staring at her, not responding.

“Yes, uh- yeah. I- let me go!”

You shake your head to snap out of your daze, looking up at her with a glare, regaining your footing to argue against her.

“No chance, darling. You’re a fugitive.”

She says matter of factly, standing over you, leaning over the bed with her hand still holding your wrist. Her hand was a little warm, her grip firm on your wrist.

“Okay, yeah, maybe… but who are you to be detaining me, anyway?”

You scoff, looking her up and down as if trying to recognize her. Her face wasn’t that of any of the main Avengers, yet she was out in space doing their dirty work.

“I’m Carol Danvers. Captain Marvel.”

She says matter of factly, glancing down to your wrist. It’s clear she notices the reddish mark from the zip-tie because her expression turns a bit sympathetic.

“Damn… how tight did Kamala tie this thing?”

She mutters, kneeling down beside the bed, looking between your wrist and your face. The way she made and maintained eye contact made your heart flutter a little.

“Really tight.”

You deadpan, trying to keep up the whole tough act around her, rather than swooning over an attractive woman who was literally holding you captive.

“You could always… untie me? I promise i’ll behave.”

The look on your face turns to something close to a pout as you turn to face her, wiggling your wrist a little. You could’ve sworn you saw a slight smirk on her face.

“You promise?”

She asks sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

“Why should I believe you?”

She asks bluntly, letting go of your wrist and crossing her arms, her gaze fixed on you.

“Because by the looks of it, you could knock me out even if I tried to escape. It’s pointless for me to try one way or another.”

You shrug, making up an excuse to try and get her to let you go. You also remember how she seemed a little sympathetic earlier. Maybe tugging at her heart strings a little would work?

“Please, Carol?”

You nearly whine, frowning at her.

At that, Carol’s cheeks flush a little and she smiles more obviously now.

“Well, if you’re going to ask so nicely…”

She mutters, grabbing your wrist gently again, sliding her fingers under the zip-tie. Before you can question it, she’s pulling the zip tie in half, feeing your wrist. The little display of strength was, admittedly, more than a little hot.

“Better?”

She asks, looking up at you with a proud smile, almost like a puppy looking for praise.

“Much… do you have any of that bruise stuff?”

You smile back at her, gently rubbing the area where the tie had been clamped around your wrist, now able to sit up freely. If she would leave the room to find some sort of bruise solution, she would leave the room… and that would be your chance.

Carol stands up, putting her hand on your knee to stabilize herself. The sudden, casual touch was enough to make your heart skip a beat again.

“As long as you stay here. You can get up or whatever you need, but just stay in my room, okay?”

She says firmly, crossing her arms while she looks down at you.

Innocently as you can, you smile up at her.

“Aye, aye, Captain.”

You say jokingly, saluting her as a wave when she leaves the room. For a moment, you watch the way she walks with such confidence. But you don’t let that distract you too much. As soon as she’s out the door, you’re bolting into the hall of the ship, running through until you reach a control room.

Honestly, it’s shocking how easy it was to escape. Especially because her control room was so out in the open. You could literally change your coordinates like it was nothing! This was perfect. Even though you sadly wouldn’t get a chance to stay and chat with Carol, some sacrifice was due if you didn’t want to get thrown in jail again. Right as you were entering the coordinates for any planet other than earth—in this case, Aladna—you felt warm hands on your waist and hot breath on your neck.

“What are you doing here?”

Carol asks you from behind, pressing you against the control panel. Your fingers froze. Your brain was nearly short circuiting with her pressed up against you from behind.

“Looking for the bathroom.”

You say sarcastically, glancing back at her. Her head was practically resting on your shoulder, so when you turned, you were barely an inch from her. Her lips were barely an inch from yours.

She scoffs, shaking her head.

“Yeah, right. Let’s get you back to my room, shall we?”

She asks, as if you had a choice. Slowly, she begins to pull you way from the control panel… but you keep your hands gripping the side firmly. Unless she was going to drag you, she wasn’t bringing you back.

“Hm. You’re going to be stubborn? Do you really want to try that, darling?”

She asks, squeezing your waist tighter.

The way she’s grabbing onto you definitely makes you want to stop all you’re doing just to kiss her… or feel those arms. But you couldn’t. Not if you wanted to escape, at least. In protest, you don’t even respond, huffing stubbornly.

“Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

She shrugs, smiling as she hoists you up, quickly pulling you away from the control panel as if it was nothing. In a second, you were over her shoulder, one of her arms wrapped tightly around your waist, the other… resting on your ass.

Your face heats up quickly again, the way she’s carrying you like you’re feather light, holding onto you tightly… there was a certain, familiar heat spreading between your legs.

“Put me down, asshole!”

You yell, hitting her back as she starts walking you back to her room. She barely wavers.

“No.”

She says flatly, shrugging. Seeing that she’s not doing anything, you start kissing her, swinging your knees to hit your chest as best as you can from this position. This does a little to deter her. She readjusts your position a little to try and get you to stop, her smile falling from her face.

“Stop that.”

She mumbles, groaning as you indecently kick her. Clearly, it’s working to annoy her and get her to slow down. Killing two birds with one stone. As she’s walking down the hall, she literally can’t deal with your kicking and fighting against her anymore, and all of a sudden, she seems totally pissed off.

“Alright, that’s it.”

Carol groans one last time, dropping you from her shoulder and pushing you against her wall, glaring. Even though she seemed mad, the heat between your legs only got more noticeable. Her face was merely centimeters away from yours. You opened your mouth to say something… but she interrupted you before you could speak anyway.

“Listen, you’re not getting out of here one way or another, so stop struggling, okay? You’re only making this harder for the both of us.”

She explains, pressing you tightly onto the wall.

“That’s kind of the point.”

You reply, rolling your eyes. As much as you can, you struggle to get out of her grasp, trying to push off the wall.

“Let me go!”

“I already told you! No!”

Carol says firmly, her voice low as she presses tighter against you. To keep you still, she brings her knee up between your legs, as a threat… but all it does is pull a quiet moan from your lips. The slight friction was enough to cause it and also enough to stop her in her tracks. Your face was flushed out of embarrassment. You didn’t mean to do that… it just happened. It was involuntary.

“What was that?”

Carol asks smugly, the anger in her face fading into a cocky smirk.

“Nothing.”

You say quickly, shaking your head. You’re a bad liar… and Carol notices. To get a real response out of you, she presses her knee up against your core, cocking her head to the side. This time, you know to purse your lips to try and hide it… but even then, there was still a little noise.

“Nothing… sure, it was nothing.”

She laughs a little, keeping one hand firmly on your shoulder, the other one slipping down to your hip, playing with the hem of your jeans.

“You didn’t just moan at the slightest bit of pressure against your pussy?”

Her tone is now teasing, and she’s looking at you like she’s downright hungry. The anger from merely a few minutes ago is completely gone.

This was… unexpected… but if you were going to be trapped here, might as well enjoy yourself.

“Maybe.”

You say quietly, looking at Carol.

She hums in response, nimbly unbuttoning your jeans, slowly sliding down the zipper. All throughout, her eyes are on you.

“Maybe? I’m going to need better than a maybe.”

She says sultrily, reaching her hand down over the fabric of your underwear, right between your legs. Right where you want her. Even the feeling of her fingers just ghosting over your underwear is enough to make you want to go weak in the knees and fall into her.

“Were you moaning for me?”

She asks again, pressing her fingers more against your underwear, already feeling the wetness there.

“Yes.”

You finally admit, biting your lip. This causes her to smile now. She got exactly what she wanted. As per usual. Quickly, she slides her hand out of your underwear, garnering a whine from you.

“Carol, wait-“

“C’mon baby, trust me.”

She mumbles, quickly hooking her arms under your thighs to pull you up, yo legs wrapped around her waist. As soon as you’re up, your arms are wrapped loosely around her shoulders, making sure you don’t fall and to stay close to her.

She smiles up at you once you’re hanging onto her, leaning in to kiss your neck as she starts walking. Her steps are a bit clumsy and she seems to be walking in a zig-zag of a line… but she’s too busy kissing from the curve of your jaw down to the pulse point on your neck to care very much.

Within a minute, Carol is tossing you into her bed and climbing over you, moving her lips to kiss the skin just above your jeans. Slowly, she slides her hand under your shirt’s pushing it up so she can get more access to your bare skin.

“You’re pretty damn cute for a fugitive, you know that?”

Carol mumbles against you, tapping your ur side as she pulls her lips away from your skin.

“Can I?”

She asks quietly, pulling up your shirt.

“Yes. Please.”

You say quietly, nodding with a slight smile. She smiles right back and pulls your shirt up and over your head, tossing it thoughtlessly onto the ground. As soon as your shirt is over your head, she leans down and kisses you, now finally on the lips.

Her lips are soft, and seem to fit perfectly against your own. Quickly, the kiss turns hot and a little messy and, before you know it, she’s trailing messy kisses down your neck, kissing marks onto your neck and collarbones, smiling against you. Before you know it, her hands are around your back, unhooking your bra with practiced ease. You’re not used to being so exposed… but you let her toss your bra along with your shirt anyway. Now, she sits above you, straddling your hips. Her gaze is nearly predatory, and before you can speak up to break the silence, she’s bending down to kiss around your chest, palming your breast in one hand.

“Such nice tits…”

She mumbles, smiling up at you when she bites down gently on your nipple, getting another quiet noise out of your mouth. She’s loving teasing you already, and she has barely gotten started.

“I wanted to hear more of your pretty little noises, baby.”

Her hand moves down towards your already unbuttoned jeans, trailing down to your panties again, just like they had been before.

“Lift up.”

She mutters, sliding down to pull off your jeans, leaving you laying in her bed in nothing but your already soaking underwear. Although, that doesn’t last for long, because before you know it, she’s joining her fingers under the hem of your underwear and pulling them off. Now, she’s kissing your thighs, her hand rubbing the inside, all the way up… until her fingers finally reach your bare center.

“Please, Carol.”

You whine quietly, biting your lip. She’s teasing you, clearly. But, the little whine seems to have the opposite effect, since she brings her fingers up to the crease between your thigh and hip, leaving them there. Plus, leaving you arching your hips up, searching for some sort of friction.

“Darling. I’m one of the strongest beings in this galaxy. Ten percent of my strength would be enough to knock you out. If you want to be able to walk tomorrow, you’ll be patient.”

She shrugs, knowing exactly what she’s doing. Slowly, she brings her hand down and trails it gently up and down your folds, spreading a bit of the wetness around.

“Can you do that?”

Now, she brings her head down to kiss just below your stomach, getting closer and closer to where her fingers are working.

You groan in response, pouting down at her. Honestly, there was a part of you that wanted to see what exactly that would be like…but, for now, you’d let her take it slow.

“I’ll be patient.”

You mutter, nearly whimpering when you feel her finally kiss your clit, so gently that you’re almost bucking your hips to get more friction.

“Good. Thank you, beautiful.”

She mutters, moving both of her hands to hold your thighs open. Now, she’s trailing her tongue along your folds, looking up at you the entire time, her blonde hair already getting a little messy.

It doesn’t take long for you to become more sensitive, each flick and lick from her tongue causing you to moan quietly. And it doesn’t take long for Carol to get ready either. Soon, her mouth is off of your center, her hands still on your thighs. You open your mouth to complain, but are quickly cut off when she moves one hand from your thigh to shove two fingers into your pussy.

The moan that drags from your mouth is almost pornographic and causes Carol to let out a low groan in response. Her fingers are all the way into you, and with their length are basically pressing up against your cervix. The slight stretch is exactly what you need.

“You’re taking me so well, darling.”

She mutters, biting her lip as she slowly starts moving her fingers in and out of you. Unable to hold off, she starts speeding up within a few thrusts. Each time she curls her fingers and shoves up into you, you moan somehow louder.

The sight of you under her, panting and moaning, looking absolutely stunning, fuels her even more. Her other hand moves to rub circles onto your clit, flicking and circling it. Her fingers are roughly thrusting into you, her finger is moving just-so on your clit, and it is the most perfect feeling of overstimulation. With their way her hands are moving, it seems like you’ll come onto her fingers within a matter of seconds.

“Carol, I- i’m gonna— I’m close.”

You whine, mumbling between moans. She smirks again and leans down, keeping up her incessant pace while kissing your collarbone again. This time, with the way she kisses and sucks, you know there’ll be marks there in the morning. But, you’re too busy focusing on the way she’s causing pleasure to shoot through you as her fingers slam particularly deep, hitting a sensitive spot… and causing you to fall just over the edge, practically screaming as you come on her fingers.

She moans in turn when she hears you, slowing down her fingers as she helps you ride it out. As soon as you’re done, the aftershocks finishing, leaving you a hanging mess, she pulls her fingers out of you and licks them clean.

“You did so good for me, baby.”

She mutters, bringing her face up to yours to kiss you more softly now.

“And… that means you’ll let me go?”

You ask quietly, smirking up at her. She pulls away from you, resting her hands on either side of your head.

“I don’t think so.”

She scoffs, smiling down at you, gently resting her hand on your cheek, keeping you facing her.

“You’ll be staying here with me. Why hand you over to the Avengers if I could have you all to myself up here?”

[ceoandslutler]

as a young adult who grew up w the series, the majority of proshippers i have noticed in this fandom specifically don't seem to have a paraphilia towards these things but rather have a fascination exclusively with sbcl which is natural considering the manga, im writing an entire document on it atm, is very much centred on this duo.

i, like many others, like the fact that this relationship, taboo is many ways, has a dichotomy of kindness and tenderness while also being full of violence and pain. for some it's agency after trauma. for others, it's just the fascination of the relationship (like me). i don't have any trauma so i find it difficult to write about adult/child relationships which is why my fic has him aged up to his 20s. because that's what i can relate to. at the same time, i understand it's okay if other people enjoy that kind of content because it's fictional, the story itself has these elements and the people i interact with aren't using shota content maliciously.

for me, i personally don't love seeing ciel depicted as a child in sexually graphic material but i find it easy to look away and forget about it. i understand others aren't the same so i believe in the importance of tagging. my indifference makes it easy for me, because it's fake. i cant stand seeing irl people in pain though, even if it's acting. i can only manage drawings or writing. even then, i almost always scroll away because it's usually done in a way that makes me uncomfortable. what i don't do is accuse people of paedophilia, threaten them or insult them.

i think if you get really negatively impacted, it's always best to block every tag related to it. keep yourself safe first, esp if you're a teenager. be careful online!

overall everyone's taste is valid (obviously including yours) but we all perceive media differently and black butler is a very dark manga which invites an audience of dark fiction enjoyers into its fandom, i agree we should coexist but i find that the anti side is unacceptably harsh to people for drawing and writing stuff they deem unacceptable. we should just scroll, block tags or people and move on.

i'm proship because i think people can ship whatever they want as long as nobody's forcing the content into my eyes.

oh and thanks for clarifying you were joking, i still don't think it's a fair comparison even as a joke but i'm not gonna police people's comedy as long as it's not heinously offensive. i joke a lot too, it helps keeps things civil i think.

These new kids in the fandom never cease to impress me. The level of ignorance and media illiteracy combined with the most incredible sense of entitlement is something. Maybe you gotta do some research before diving into a fandom where you start shitting on the canon ship which the whole show is about? I mean...

[izzypaw]

draw trans ppl to make the pain go away

[lucabyte]

On autonomy, and what it means to be Obliged to Help.

Bonus:

[darlinglute]

i think it's extremely fun to pair rook and solas together in any regard, no matter if he previously was being romanced because as clear narrative foils, having an enemies to lovers (and in tandem, bitch4bitch, hater x hater) dynamic feeds into that delicious 'whenever I see you I see myself and I hate that' and 'you are everything I hate about myself' soup.

I once saw a post with a collection of quotes that had this certain vibe, in the 'you and I are the same' (negative) way. if i had a quote to represent them it would be:

so shipping them feels very complex and interesting to think about, because, like in that one dialogue

(first of all, like c'mon) furthermore it's the cycle. rook is to solas what solas was to elgar'nan, there are several times in the game, especially the end, where they can see each other in each other. even if you dont see it in a shipping lenses (which you dont have to!) this is a juicy story.

moreover, at the end of the game if rook outwits solas by giving him the fake ritual dagger, solas not only recognizes that he was out played by 'wits alone' he also says that he's met his match. this mimics the several stories of fen'harel who uses his wits, wisdom etc to get out of a situation

(example: the story of fen'harel, andruil and anaris, solas goading them both into fighting each other so he could get out paralleling solas making rook fight the gods and in addition a thousand other enemies in order to get himself enough time to get out of the fade prison without rook getting ahead of it)

the betrayal too, i don't have much to say that hasn't been said already about the prison switcheroo, (evokes solas's betrayal of felassan yada yada) other then it's really tasty.

[queerdeans]

funnn thank you for the tag!!

Favorite character(s): dean by a fairly wide margin, and then cas, charlie, bobby, crowley, rowena, jack... plus like a whole lot of others, but those are kinda my main gang

Favorite moment/episode/season(s): SEASON 3!!!!! it has everything (except cas). the dean studies potential is just incredible, I love how it's sandwiched between the deal and going to hell, and I just love the way the inevitability of going to hell hangs over everything. the fact that they try again and again to avoid it and it happens anyway, that's chef's kiss for me

Least favorite moment/episode/season(s): i straight up will not watch the one where dean turns into like a dog or whatever, i honestly don't even know what that episode is about, i cannot abide by it.

Favorite storyline(s): seasons 3-5 are really peak tv to me. and then coming in second is the mark of cain storyline, though I have some gripes with how it was like, mark of cain -> demon -> mark of cain again? and demon dean should have lasted 1 million episodes and he should have massacred people like godstiel

Favorite quote(s): "freedom is a length of rope. god wants you to hang yourself with it." that's just amazing writing

Favorite monster/enemy/big bad(s): death 1.0 and lucifer are my two fave villains. i love crowley as well but he really goes from enemy to frenemy to whatever the fuck they've got going on in the later seasons.

Favorite ship(s): destiel obviously

When did you start watching? What got you into spn? i watched a few episodes way back in high school but didn't start watching until fall of 2015. sped through pretty quickly and was caught up by spring 2016. watched in real time for a very brief period, but didn't love the fandom at that point and struggled with the weekly episodes continually just being a disappointment lol. plus the actors' and creators' rhetoric at the time toward destiel was just... discouraging. started a rewatch in summer 2024 and finished in record time and decided to jump back into the fandom world, and really enjoying it!!

How many times have you seen spn? i've watched it all the way through twice, but have rewatched a handful of episodes a bunch of times

What do you like most about the fandom? i feel like at this point people are mostly pretty chill, there's not a lot of drama (at least that i've seen), and the events are all so fun and keep the creativity going!

(not tagging anyone bc it stresses me out)

Supernatural themed ask/tag game

Thought I would do one of these since I have only recently joined in and want to know more about my mutuals

Favorite character(s): Cas, Dean, Charlie, Jack, Bobby (not really any particular order, also could name a ton more)

Favorite moment/episode/season(s): Castiel's entrance, ending of season 8 (angels falling), "Baby"

Least favorite moment/episode/season(s): 02x02 "Everbody Loves a Clown", I do not love a clown, especially if it stands outside my window in the dark. 15x14 "Last Holiday" why is there no Cas? 14x13 "Lebanon": John

Favorite storyline(s): Mark of Cain, season 4/5 apocaplypse

Favorite quote(s): "I'm the one that gripped you tight and raised you from perdition"; "My people skills are rusty"; "Family don't end in blood"

Favorite monster/enemy/big bad(s): Angels, Death

Favorite ship(s): Destiel

When did you start watching? What got you into spn? I started watching around 2019/2020, when lockdowns were happening and I didn't have the excuse that it would take too long to watch anymore. I had seen it before on tumblr and was really intruged.

How many times have you seen spn? I'm only on my second true rewatch (have seen some episodes multiple times though)

What do you like most about the fandom? How welcoming everyone has been. (I know there's also a different side and I'm very glad I'm not on it.)

Feel free to answer with as many answers as you want. And add explanations if you want to.

Non pressure tags: @fatallyaddictedtofiction @dralruni @bluehandprint @heyassbuttlmao @queerdeans @markofcastiel @morallygreyintrovert @treezenith @strawlessandbraless @blanketforcas and anyone else that sees this

[stark-lord]

Constantly plagued with thoughts of Edwin now knowing he enjoys being courted and Charles (compulsive charmer) with a whole new arsenal up his sleeve (laser focus on Monty’s whole deal)

“I mean, my smile is prett-y convincing” yeah yeah okay I can see where this is heading. Outlook not so good (for me)

[hauntingofhouses]

Very interesting to me that a certain subset of the BES fandom's favourite iterations of Mizu and Akemi are seemingly rooted in the facades they have projected towards the world, and are not accurate representations of their true selves.

And I see this is especially the case with Mizu, where fanon likes to paint her as this dominant, hyper-masculine, smirking Cool GuyTM who's going to give you her strap. And this idea of Mizu is often based on the image of her wearing her glasses, and optionally, with her cloak and big, wide-brimmed kasa.

And what's interesting about this, to me, is that fanon is seemingly falling for her deliberate disguise. Because the glasses (with the optional combination of cloak and hat) represent Mizu's suppression of her true self. She is playing a role.

Take this scene of Mizu in the brothel in Episode 4 for example. Here, not only is Mizu wearing her glasses to symbolise the mask she is wearing, but she is purposely acting like some suave and cocky gentleman, intimidating, calm, in control. Her voice is even deeper than usual, like what we hear in her first scene while facing off with Hachiman the Flesh-Trader in Episode 1.

This act that Mizu puts on is an embodiment of masculine showboating, which is highly effective against weak and insecure men like Hachi, but also against women like those who tried to seduce her at the Shindo House.

And that brings me to how Mizu's mask is actually a direct parallel to Akemi's mask in this very same scene.

Here, Akemi is also putting up an act, playing up her naivety and demure girlishness, using her high-pitched lilted voice, complimenting Mizu and trying to make small talk, all so she can seduce and lure Mizu in to drink the drugged cup of sake.

So what I find so interesting and funny about this scene, characters within it, and the subsequent fandom interpretations of both, is that everyone seems to literally be falling for the mask that Mizu and Akemi are putting up to conceal their identities, guard themselves from the world, and get what they want.

It's also a little frustrating because the fanon seems to twist what actually makes Mizu and Akemi's dynamic so interesting by flattening it completely. Because both here and throughout the story, Mizu and Akemi's entire relationship and treatment of each other is solely built off of masks, assumptions, and misconceptions.

Akemi believes Mizu is a selfish, cocky male samurai who destroyed her ex-fiance's career and life, and who abandoned her to let her get dragged away by her father's guards and forcibly married off to a man she didn't know. on the other hand, Mizu believes Akemi is bratty, naive princess who constantly needs saving and who can't make her own decisions.

These misconceptions are even evident in the framing of their first impressions of each other, both of which unfold in these slow-motion POV shots.

Mizu's first impression of Akemi is that of a beautiful, untouchable princess in a cage. Swirling string music in the background.

Akemi's first impression of Mizu is of a mysterious, stoic "demon" samurai who stole her fiance's scarf. Tense music and the sound of ocean waves in the background.

And then, going back to that scene of them together in Episode 4, both Mizu and Akemi continue to fool each other and hold these assumptions of each other, and they both feed into it, as both are purposely acting within the suppressive roles society binds them to in order to achieve their goals within the means they are allowed (Akemi playing the part of a subservient woman; Mizu playing the part of a dominant man).

But then, for once in both their lives, neither of their usual tactics work.

Akemi is trying to use flattery and seduction on Mizu, but Mizu sees right through it, knowing that Akemi is just trying to manipulate and harm her. Rather than give in to Akemi's tactics, Mizu plays with Akemi's emotions by alluding to Taigen's death, before pinning her down, and then when she starts crying, Mizu just rolls her eyes and tells her to shut up.

On the opposite end, when Mizu tries to use brute force and intimidation, Akemi also sees right through it, not falling for it, and instead says this:

"Under your mask, you're not the killer you pretend to be."

Nonetheless, despite the fact that they see a little bit through each other's masks, they both still hold their presumptions of each other until the very end of the season, with Akemi seeing Mizu as an obnoxious samurai swooping in to save the day, and Mizu seeing Akemi as a damsel in distress.

And what I find a bit irksome is that the fandom also resorts to flattening them to these tropes as well.

Because Mizu is not some cool, smooth-talking samurai with a big dick sword as Akemi (and the fandom) might believe. All of that is the facade she puts up and nothing more. In reality, Mizu is an angry, confused and lonely child, and a masterful artist, who is struggling against her own self-hatred. Master Eiji, her father figure who knows her best, knows this.

And Akemi, on the other hand, is not some girly, sweet, vain and spoiled princess as Mizu might believe. Instead she has never cared for frivolous things like fashion, love or looks, instead favouring poetry and strategy games instead, and has always only cared about her own independence. Seki, her father figure who knows her best, knows this.

But neither is she some authoritative dominatrix, though this is part of her new persona that she is trying to project to get what she wants. Because while Akemi is willful, outspoken, intelligent and authoritative, she can still be naive! She is still often unsure and needs to have her hand held through things, as she is still learning and growing into her full potential. Her new parental/guardian figure, Madame Kaji, knows this as well.

So with all that being said, now that we know that Mizu and Akemi are essentially wearing masks and putting up fronts throughout the show, what would a representation of Mizu's and Akemi's true selves actually look like? Easy. It's in their hair.

This shot on the left is the only time we see Mizu with her hair completely down. In this scene, she's being berated by Mama, and her guard is completely down, she has no weapon, and is no longer wearing any mask, as this is after she showed Mikio "all of herself" and tried to take off the mask of a subservient housewife. Thus, here, she is sad, vulnerable, and feeling small (emphasised further by the framing of the scene). This is a perfect encapsulation of what Mizu is on the inside, underneath all the layers of revenge-obsession and the walls she's put around herself.

In contrast, the only time we Akemi with her hair fully down, she is completely alone in the bath, and this scene takes place after being scorned by her father and left weeping at his feet. But despite all that, Akemi is headstrong, determined, taking the reigns of her life as she makes the choice to run away, but even that choice is reflective of her youthful naivety. She even gets scolded by Seki shortly after this in the next scene, because though she wants to be independent, she still hasn't completely learned to be. Not yet. Regardless, her decisiveness and moment of self-empowerment is emphasised by the framing of the scene, where her face takes up the majority of the shot, and she stares seriously into the middle distance.

To conclude, I wish popular fanon would stop mischaracterising these two, and flattening them into tropes and stereotypes (ie. masculine badass swordsman Mizu and feminine alluring queen but also girly swooning damsel Akemi), all of which just seems... reductive. It also irks me when Akemi is merely upheld as a love interest and romantic device for Mizu and nothing more, when she is literally Mizu's narrative foil (takes far more narrative precedence over romantic interest) and the deuteragonist of this show. She is her own person. That is literally the theme of her entire character and arc.

[natsudragneelgf]

[unknownarmageddon]

back to back

killer belongs to rahafwabas cross belongs to jael peñaloza

[yunyin]

Zag is making a Hawkyura statue

the way my mouth dropped open

I don't think they've made something that has surprised me this much in a while!

[recent-rose]

yknowwww there is something... deeply uncomfortable about the way mel never speaks directly to viktor in the 'build hextech weapons' scene. she really only speaks to jayce. plenty of people have pointed this out already but like the one scene they actually share a meaningful interaction and she treats him like he's beneath her. all this after jayce has emphasized how important viktor is, that hextech is theirs, together. she unequivocally ices him out, there's no other way to interpret this scene. the way it's shot too - from viktor's perspective, looking up at her, as though to reinforce the same belief in him. like he doesn't even bother expecting respect from her - or anyone from the upper echelon of piltover. he's fully accustomed to being dehumanized by everyone around him at this point. sometimes even by jayce, despite the trust they clearly have in each other.

then of course after this scene is viktor experimenting on himself. it's pretty clear that he has internalized his own dehumanization. crazy.