#the 'slavery is bad' human mc

[mechawolfie]

& then the fact it’s literally stated the khemians & adastrans have very different cultures and, as far as we know, neferu is just acting the way any khemian would, but mc & amicus are acting like he’s super suspicious & untrustworthy for how he acts is. hmm

[chirp-a-chirp]

What is one fact(or facts) that the CoD community need to accept

That nearly EVERY consort has done at least one seriously questionable action in his book one or has had at least one event in the past three years with a screwed up motive/grey area of consent depending on your trigger.

The exception to the above is Rio/Tino, because they are otome Cinnabons.

And I say this as someone who loves court of darkness as a game. Including the layers to these characters and exploring some of their darker/psychological angles. But those questionable motives include:

ALL the S Ranks using their power on MC in their book one (and some trying to make a move on a frightened MC or forcibly kissing/touching her when she first arrived to Saligia)

Grayson’s drunk kissing as a mechanism to show “passion” for a stoic character (and Fenn sometimes watching)

Events featuring kidnapping/slavery

Events with convenient use of magic to make a normally softer character act questionable (ie, when Voltage wants Lynt to “act more like Guy” it often makes Lynt pushy/not take no as an answer)

All of Jasper’s book one.

Lou’s magic mirror. I don’t wanna imagine the things he’s seen on that. He’s certainly seen enough to cock block a number of consorts at the end of their book ones…💀

And these things don’t mean the characters are bad or others should be/feel ashamed for liking them. Good characters do bad things! Also, bad writing makes characters do bad things 💀

There are a ton of past CoD events, so it’s not stunning there are events with things that make some readers go ICK. It makes the characters human though. But Seriously—Voltage really needs to include trigger warnings.

However, those same character flaws can also make these characters’ good actions rewarding. (Below are just my opinions—others may disagree)

Guy going from non-consensually kissing mc in the prologue to fiercely protecting her from assassins because of his devotion to her is a beautiful character arc to witness. Fenn swinging from butt pinching Knight without consent to craving and asking for tender hugs from mc is endearingly sweet. Roy’s book one confronts his shiny prince persona—including shattering the notion he’s perfect and 100% morally upstanding—and highlights that his true self (a man of principle and kindness) he thinks is his weakness is actually his strength.

So yeah, we need to accept morally grey actions and events from most of the love interests do exist. Unfortunately, there aren’t warnings to alert us to events featuring those grey areas if they are triggering to others.

[mdhwrites]

Why Do Modern Isekai Like Slavery?

So the easy answer here is that it allows the MC to treat a girl like complete shit and she still has to suck his dick. That it's part of the power fantasy. However, that's the easy answer. That's treating these authors like they're just trying to find an easy answer for fetish bait and for getting to the tropes that their audience likes. I don't find that useful analytically. So, for now, we're going to hang that up and talk about shudders for a moment the narrative utility in a fantasy story of including slavery. God I hate some of the shit this will make me have to say.

I do want to be clear: Slavery is bad. Absolutely terrible. There are few worse things you could to a human being. I would personally argue that killing another human being is less inhumane than slavery. I feel like I should make this clear because I am going to talk about, from a storytelling perspective, how acknowledging slavery in your setting can be useful, especially for these sorts of stories.

With that out of the way:

Any fish out of water story, which ALL isekai inherently are, need a few things to make sure our protagonist doesn't just wander around for a couple days before dying of lack of food or pissing the wrong person off. Those things, though this list is not comprehensive:

A basic understanding of the world, or at least someway to be stopped from breaking common knowledge on accident.

Something that can help them survive in this new world.

Something to help them not go crazy

If we address MODERN isekai's tropes directly, we could also add "Must be a love interest" to this because these are harem anime trying to not have the stigma of harem anime. This actually does add an extra wrinkle of:

4. Isn't going to fuck off when they get the protagonist to safety or when they choose to do things like go fight the demon lord or whatever.

So you need adhesion. That moment in a romance title where the two people aren't just potentially interested in each other but stuck. Something that makes sure that no matter what happens, the starter town farm girl nuts up and shuts up.

A slave girl, genuinely, fits ALL OF THESE. They can be a constant companion who is always on their side who also has a familiarity with the world and has lived at least some amount of a harsh existence and so likely knows something about surviving in this world. The fact that they can't go anywhere or question you inherently adds to this adhesion. Even if it's an isekai protagonist who frees the slave girl in question, they'll just go with the angle of "I owe you my life and so I pledge it eternally to you."

Put a pin in that last part. We'll get back to it.

It also accomplishes a lot of things outside of just this narrative utility for our protagonist mechanically. It also allows for worldbuilding and character defining. Does he just buy the slave like in Shield Hero? Well, he's kind of a bastard then and he's a bit more anti-hero because he's willing to help the slave trade. Does he instead kick down the door, slaughter the slaver and free the girls? Well, you get an early moment of being a badass and unarguably the hero. In both cases, it also opens the door for both author and audience to claim that this is 'dark' fantasy because they're tackling real atrocities like slavery!

Rolls eyes out of the back of his head.

It's incredibly efficient storytelling... and it's also really fucking lazy. Slavery is the poor man's option here and requires you to just acknowledge slavery as the selling of people and not its wider contexts or even the wider traumas of anyone who has even been threatened to be enslaved. It is a very callous, very utilitarian way to use the trope which is kind of terrible for something that actually happened.

Remember that pin? Yeah, that's just a character deciding to enslave themselves rather than being officially enslaved which... What? Who the fuck chooses that? Now yes, an argument can be made of "If I don't stick with you, I'd die," but that's STILL the argument of the slaver as well. That they're too far from home, or that their home is gone, and so they HAVE to behave until they can have a master who will take care of them. It is just another prison. But that's NOT useful for the narrative purposes being exploited here and so we just go with some fantasy 'life debt' bullshit which immediately obliterates really any attempt to claim you're dark fantasy. REAL dark fantasy has the hero free the slaves, them look at him like "Okay, what now motherfucker?" and question how he's now going to keep them alive because at least the slaver was doing that much. Or when he tries to make them work for him, they will bring up the arguments I am because if he actually gave a shit about them, instead of posing virtuously, he would help them get home and back to their own live. They wouldn't force these people to just be an extension of themselves because 'dark' fantasy interrogates the tropes of fantasy and how they ACTUALLY might play out because fantasy worlds are always a place of grand cruelties and injustice due to their commonly very violent nature.

The point to all of this is that at the beginning of this, I discarded the meta or marketing reasons for the use of the trope. The problem is that modern is isekai is so poisoned in so many aspects that even if you discard one explanation of laziness and poor writing... You just run into another. That's why these shows have the reputation they do. Do they sometimes manage to be better? There's too many of them not to have exceptions. The rule though is that the writing is bound by genre law to be as abused and warped as the author needs it to be to just get the story done.

And that's bad for everyone, like always. See you next tale.

======+++++======

What's extra funny to me is that if you wanted to not have the real world baggage and actually make the life debt thing maybe work, there's a really easy answer: Highway rescue. Someone is accosted by bandits, the hero saves them but OH NO! The wagon that's destroyed already had all their stuff so they need their savior's help further and if they will help them live, they will do anything for them. There you go. Just as easy but you don't look like a creepy dick of an author who is exploiting real world tragedies without actually acknowledging what they do to people.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[transman-badass]

All of these stories feature gay trans man protagonists, with rich settings and diverse casts. Click the cut for info

Black Velvet is a gothic fantasy story set in a world of eternal night, where a 19yo detective for hire is trapped in a castle by a violent storm, and must free the castle’s inhabitants from the vampires who imprison them - and save himself from the vampire god who plans to claim him, and corrupt the handsome, powerful nobleman he works for. --First in the Runner Owen Series --Tropes: Victorian aesthetics - reincarnation - dreams both ominous and steamy - magic allergies - hetero romance sideplot --CW: slavery, blood, character death, possibly more

Enthralled is a Cthulhu Mythos story set during the early days of the Great Depression, where a private detective and his secretary best friend scheme to take down a mysterious mobster that controls the whole city. It doesn’t go well for them. It also features the events of the Lovecraft tale Dreams in the Witch House as a subplot.  --First in the Pharaoh Syndicate Investigations series --Tropes: bad ending - told with hindsight - found family - everyone has secrets - eldritch worship - Cthulhu Mythos gods that aren’t Cthulhu! -  --CW: period typical bigotry, character death, discussions of human sacrifice, body horror, possible discussion of child abuse, possibly more

Lionheart is an erotic urban fantasy thriller set in the present day American south, where a 32yo agent from a supernatural organization infiltrates a private university to investigate a possible terrorist cell, only to be targeted by the school prince, a punk unicorn with a human form and dark desires for the new temporary professor. A teacher/student tale where the power imbalance is not in the teacher’s favor. --Stand alone? --Tropes: rich people are assholes - fish out of water scenario - token human MC - shameful pasts - older than they look - so many secrets --CW: bullying, misogynistic characters (not sexualized), dubcon (potentially?), possibly more

If you've read this far and are interested in any of these, please reblog this post. I'd like to hear your thoughts!

[pygmi-says-hi]

In one of the stories that I want to write, the premise is basically of one of the mcs being held hostage emotionally to another mc because of something horrible she'd done to him the past. Like, seriously ruining his life. And guilty, she holds herself accountable by submitting to him, because he has a need that must be met. Something he didn't need before until she'd basically inflicted this 'wound' on him, something that only she can fulfil. She's basically his slave, and I plan on him using the word slave at some point. I like disturbing stories because I enjoy the ache that comes with it.

It's not a smut btw, lol (maybe, I'm focusing on their relationship. And if it ever comes to having any smut, so be it).

Now, my dilemma is that the protagonist is black. And I'm black, so I want to make all of my protags black because I desire representation. I don't think it's wrong if I made her black but at the same time, he'd use the word slave to describe her? It certainly would not be racist. I'm just concerned about whether or not the audience would have the literacy to understand with the clear signs that I would be providing that it is in relation to the main characters relationship.

Because at the end of the day, I want my protag to always look like me.

Thoughts on this?

tw: mentions of human trafficking and slavery

-

I am not a person of color, just to preface this. The story sounds really interesting, and I think you could add a lot of perspectives and social influence on the progression of the captured person.

As with anything that regards a sensitive topic (in this case, human trafficking/slavery), do extensive research on the uses of the term 'slave' and how it might pertain to a poc character.

Racial literacy is sorely absent from today's culture, unfortunately. Understanding when you're reading racism in a contextual, educational light (aka like in To Kill a Mockingbird; racism is present but isn't the core message. it is a concept addressed to highlight the bad opinions of the time)

Historically, slavery exists in all cultures, so that term in itself isn't inherently racist, though it is associated with prejudice and racial abuse. If the term is used in the context of the character's race, then yes, it would be considered racist.

However I urge you to read into the term and connotations to make sure you don't overstep any boundaries. Research is meant for that purpose! here are some sites:

Foundations of Race - AA museum of history and culture

racial literacy - The Black Curriculum

[romilly-jay]

COSY CATASTROPHE: Rating The Murderbot Diaries (<3)

***mild spoilers***

The Murderbot Diaries (series of novellas and novels) by Martha Wells (the initial four novellas being published 2017-18)

Plot setup:

A part-machine, part-cloned-human construct, designed as expendable security, hacks its control unit to achieve freedom of choice (and then decides to watch TV instead of going on a rampage). The inciting incident for the series is when the MC’s Nice Scientist clients are attacked by Evil Capitalists looking to exploit the planet they are surveying and the MC defends them.

Genre (according to *me* anyway):

Science fiction / space opera / dystopian.

Before going on, a reminder about the nature of the exercise -

Starting from the concept of a spectrum with cosiness at one end and catastrophe at the other, I ranked some of the books I’ve read through the course of the MFA (and one book I haven’t read and where I’m relying on the assessment of Adam Roberts to guide me…)

I'm working with the (okay, perhaps arbitrary) assumption that for any given selection of somewhat related books, it's possible to plot the events, characters, and moral tone along a cosy-to-catastrophe scale of increasing moral complexity. For me, this means:

At one end of the scale, everyone is noble and there are few moral compromises. At the other end of the scale, everyone is compromised or evil and there’s no sense of a just universe.

Rating The Murderbot Diaries at 20% (= very dystopian world and situation but the core characters and relationships are lovely and tone is, well... cosy )

Rationale:

The setting is far-future Dystopia where humanity has colonies across the galaxy, most of which are being run by callous, extreme-capitalist corporations. Slavery and bonded labour are common and constructs like the MC are treated as objects. So far, so dark. However, the core (human) characters are lovely while the Baddies in the early novellas are simplistically Bad. The ‘machine’ characters are ambivalent but consistently ‘do the right thing’. The tone is generally warm, and the outcomes largely reinforce faith in a moral universe. The main enemy is Neoliberalism and the behaviours it rewards.

Genre texts mapped on the cosiness/catastrophe "index":

§Wells, M. (2017-8) The murderbot diaries (first four novellas: all systems red; artificial condition; rogue protocol; and exit strategy). New York: Tordotcom.

[mmmbapache]

Does it ever bother anyone that the protagonists in Isekai manga/anime usually don’t seem to have any problems with slavery? Like they participate in it and do nothing to actively fight against it and dismantle it?

Like where are my John Browns at?

We live in the 21st Century! Why do people in these isekais not have a visceral reaction against such barbaric, outdated practices?

Because this genre is a breeding ground for juvenile power fantasies.

Although there is plenty of potential for this idea; someone from our world could get into active arguments with other characters from this other world, what are their justifications for such an outdated system of labor in a world where MAGIC exists?

Is it religious reasons? Historical reasons? Was there a war over it?

What if the main character decided to orchestrate a revolution/slave revolt after watching a slave being beaten for something stupid like the soup they served being too hot/cold? This brutal repression could make the MC realize that slavery is monstrous and make them do something about it.

Isekai Slavery gives the main character a shallow “Save The Cat” moment because they treat their slaves with basic human decency.

Having slaves makes someone a bad person regardless, they still benefited/participated in the slave trade. Whats worse is the relationships that form from it; it doesn’t matter how good your master treats you, a relationship based around the idea that one party can do anything they want to another and face no consequences-- a relationship based on inequality --can never be a good one.

I just wish some authors approached this topic in their stories in an interesting way. If there are some stories like that, then I would love to hear from you about them and why you like them so much.

Am I maybe expecting too much of the genre? Yeah probably.

[physsting]

CW: Starvation, force feeding, lady whumper, slightly animalistic whumpee, it as a pronoun, institutionalized slavery

First time posting! Please let me know if I missed a tag or warning. This is my first time writing a nameless MC, so let me know how it goes over, hope you enjoy!

@kim-poce (You mentioned a while ago that people could tag you in things, hopefully this guy isn't too animal-like for you)

Edit: so, uh, I only posted the first 600 words or so the first time aroud. Its 2k now. Riperoni.

Something crouched in the shadows next to the dumpster, presing itself against the rotten metal, eyes darting from point to point. It trembled slightly in the cold, the soiled rags clinging to its body doing nothing to protect against the night air. Another dumpster sat in the dingy yellow glow of a streetlamp across the road. The thing's stomach growled.

It pushed off the dumpster, tentatively taking a few steps forward, head cocked into the wind as it moved. Caution gave way to desperation before it made it to the sidewalk. The thing burst into a lolloping run, gaze fixed on the dumpster ahead. It only saw the oncoming lights an instant before it heard the squealing screech, both a half a second before a great force slammed into its shoulder, sending the world into black.

…..

It next noticed antiseptic stinging it's nose. It frowned, bordering on a snarl. Harsh light burned its eyes, and the grating hum of flourescent lights worked its way into its brain. Its body ached, claws of pain wrapped around its shoulder and down through its ribs. It shifted, letting out a soft whine as the injuries shifted too.

A door closed somewhere nearby. It gasped and shifted back, measuring its breathing to approximate sleep and straining its ears. Several seconds passed before it heard the footsteps, light and quick and squeaking against the tile. The thing bled all the tension from its limbs, sinking down against the hard ground, breathing evenly. The footsteps stopped nearby, and it had just enough time to hope there was another one in the next stall over before a rattling cage door put an end to it.

It didn't know how deeply it had been sleeping, if the rattling alone would have been enough to wake it up or if it needed to wait until it was touched. Waking right up and jumping to it's knees all ready to please would be the "correct" thing to do.

The footsteps entered the cage and took three steps towards him before stopping and kneeling.

"Hey there, sweetheart," she cooed. It tensed despite itself, at once knowing the jig was up and yet unable to open its eyes to face the sweet lie dripping from the human's enemy. She tried a couple more times, rubbing its arm to wake it up. Eventually she let out a sigh and unzipped a bag.

A burst of pain lit up its calf. The thing yelped and curled further into itself. The pain wasn't all that bad, an uncomfortable vibration turned just this side of too much. The memories it brought of the blue buzzing pressed to the soft flesh of its belly or cheek were much worse.

The human was cooing at it again, the tone washing over it more than the words. Soft hands held its arm and hip. It flinched away, muscles beginning to tremble. It's lip wobbled, its nose prickled, a tear threatened to fall -

At once, it took control of its mind like one would throw down a sheep for shearing. It grit its teeth and let out a deep growl as it opened its eyes and lunged upwards to a crouch.

The human scrambled several steps backwards, hand raised. It eyed her over its knees, huffing deep breaths against the screaming pain of it's injuries. She moved slowly, eyes darting away just long enough to take the handles of her doctor's bag. It shifted as she took a tentative step towards the cage door, the two circling each other with locked eyes until their positions reversed. Her movements were slow until the door unlatched, at once rushing through the doorway and slamming it behind her. The thing only thought to make a break for it when the opening was nearly closed, only succeeding in slamming into the chain link door with a loud rattle and sending the human running down the hallway.

...

"You're recommending him for euthanasia?" The shelter foreman tossed the nurse's report down on his desk. It was short, most of the text covered by a photo of the pet. It was crouched in its cage, scowling at the camera. The position was similar to many of the pets that came through the council shelter, but something about it was different. Ready to strike rather than curled in fear. He'd spent the last several days curled against the back wall of the cage, eyeing and growling at anyone who came close.

The foreman scrubbed a hand over his face and sighed. The no-kill shelter was a cornerstone of the mayor's last election campaign. Constituents couldn't stand the thought of sweet little pets being put down before they could find good homes, nevermind the fact that most pets that ended up without owners were faulty. Best case scenario, the one person in town with the resources to provide for one specific pet happens to wander into the shelter at the right time. Worst case scenario was sitting in Kennel 12.

The shelter had managed to orchestrate events so that no pet was put down while under their care. It was unlikely that they could even get Kennel 12 into the van, much less convince the next jurisdiction over to take him.

The nurse waited on the other side of the desk, knowing what the eventual response would be but letting the foreman come to the conclusion himself. After a moment, the man sighed. "Do whatever you need to, get him to cooperate."

...

The thing curled up against the back wall of its cage. The corner would be more comfortable, but Pets were in the cages on either side and it couldn't bring itself to curl up that close to them. They whispered to each other, silvery rasps that filled the air as soon as the lights went out. It didn't try to understand them; none of them were addressed its way, and the sound itself was beginning to drive it crazy. Sometimes the whispering would get too loud, fill its brain and bounce around its mind in endless overlapping echoes, and it would let out a desperate sound loud enough to drown out the noise. The whispering would quiet, and the thing could fall back into a fitfull sleep.

Mornings came with thin sunlight filtering through the high narrow windows near the ceiling, beams slanting down to the caged below. The filthy thing huddled away from the beams, curled in the shadows as they surrendered to the light, its brain filled with danger danger danger. When the light finally snuffed out the darkness, the thing buried its face in its knees and wished so much to be invisible that it might one day come true.

Meals were difficult. Twice a day, someone came down the hallway with a cart and slid the trays of food under the cage doors. The Pets around him came eagerly for it, some greeting the person and others waiting for them to leave before diving headfirst into their tray. Some ate it directly off the ground, some used their hands. The thing in the shadows didn't know what it would do; it just wanted to eat. The cart came too late and too early, the metal tray shining in the slanted beam of the sunlight. The hidden thing tried to force itself to move, to convince the wild part of its mind that the others were behind bars where they couldn't attack it for taking a meal. That it was already caught and the shadows were useless now.

That part of itself refused to be swayed.

...

The thing's body was trembling. It never stopped. The guard dogs standing over it would have been enough to send a tremor through its body to begin with, but add on the hunger and the thing's teeth were all but knocking together. It was so weak. It doubted it could run fast enough to escape the dogs, much less fight them off. The human stepped in front of them, showing her teeth. She knelt and slid a tub of grey mush across the ground. The thing flinched, pressing impossibly further against the wall.

"It's okay, its food," she cooed. It tore its eyes away from the guards long enough to glance down at the tub. It seemed food-like enough. It was so hungry that anything that might fill its belly would be sufficient. It uncurled a hand and reached towards-

NO!

The thing let out a whimper and snatched its hand back against its chest. Danger danger danger. It squeezed its eyes shut, tears leaking out the corners. No, no no no. The human sighed. A second passed before rough hands tore it out of its protective ball, away from the safety of wall. It screamed, in fear and in pain. It kicked and clawed weakly at the iron grips of the guard dogs as they threw it to the floor and pinned it there. They each had a hand on its shoulder and a hand on it's wrists, rendering its arms useless. Grunts and whimpers fell from its lips as it struggled, barely moving an inch.

The thing froze as the nurse came into view. She knelt down at its side and took the lid off the tub. She pulled out a funnel, and the animal started to scream through clenched teeth. She reached towards its face slowly, almost in slow motion. It turned its face away, away, into the floor into the arms of the guards anywhere, anywhere to escape. Her fingers curled around its jaw and forced it's mouth to open, the scream briefly ringing in the air before the funnel muffled it once more. A ridge clicked behind its teeth and wouldn't budge no matter how hard it pushed against it with its tongue. A limp tube slid down into its throat. It choked and wrenched its head this way and that to dislodge the intrusion. The nurse held the wide end and began to pour.

It inhaled once and felt the mush enter its lungs. It writhed on the ground, coughing and hacking to expell it. The nurse paused her pouring until it managed to take in a deep shuttering breath. When the mush hit the back of its throat again, the thing was careful to swallow. It slowly stopped its fighting and settled for weak crying, tears cutting lines down the sides of its head, some small part of it so, so grateful for the meal.

[timidloner]

Is it possible to be completely disappointed in the gods and hate them? And how would Joren react to such a statement?

MC: The Sun and the Moon are no different from each other, they are just heartless, ruthless monsters who created humanity as their toy. And now, like capricious children, they tear our flesh apart for the sake of their petty conflict. Therefore, I will never kneel before them again, I will no longer agree for a moment to endure this shameful slavery. And I swear that at least for one moment I will destroy their complacency even if the whole world burns down for this.

Yeah! You can choose sides or just reject them both. The endings for a MC who cares nothing for the Gods also aren't bad, but they are a bit restrictive.

The Church would kick MC out of the town, forcing them to live in the woods, where the creatures would want to eat them since they don't recognize MC as one of their own. So MC can either: die or live hidden away from everything.

To be honest, Joren would be sad and angry. It's like if you find the love of your life and they end up hating your mom, but in this case, your mother (Moon) is an asshole.

But he'll eventually get over it since he'd be too busy being worried. He'd never know peace after that, mostly because you just made his job of keeping you alive nearly impossible.

He has to find somewhere to keep you safe from everything, make sure you don't die on the journey to that place, or that you don't pass away from a disease you pick from the woods, or eat something that is poisonous for humans...

His actions and way of thinking would be very similar to a scenario where MC rejects him and decides to abandon society. It would go like this:

Now, if MC is ok with manslaughter, then he can just seize the Temple for both of you, or a stronghold, or a tower. Whatever that's easier to find. But if they aren't ok with it, they have to convince him to search for an abandoned place, even if it's more difficult.

EDIT: I forgot to say, I wrote this under the assumption that MC likes him back. Things are a bit more complicated if they don't, but mostly the same.

[antisocialxconstruct]

Personally, it’s the lack of consequences or just any type of response really that makes me avoid Evil choices a lot. That’s one of the reasons I thought Dragon Age 2 was the weakest game in the series & Liara the weakest ME character. You could be an unapologetically atrocious person & get no significant response positive or negative. Sell their friend back into slavery right in front of their face? Nothing. Sell another of their friends into slavery? Again, nothing. Kill your own sister unprovoked? Support unwilling human experimentation? Nada, the most you get is 1 sentence of recognition. It’s like the world is a punching bag & it’s just kind of boring/unsatisfying to me when no one’s even trying to hit back. Also, a lot of times the evil/mean options are just kind of dull imo too many times the choice is something cartoonish & the motive is just “Why? Because I’m evil.” When I was into my FH my character was pretty shitty & never really faced any consequences but I was still interested because they had a lot of narratively interesting things going on within & without (I probably got really rambly but this is also something I think about a lot)

Yeah, I was just saying to someone else I feel like there's... probably two conversations to be had here, because on the one hand there's the issue of games shoehorning in an Evil Option that doesn't really make sense within the narrative BOTH because they've given your character no real motivation to do it, and because the story isn't going to respond to it in a satisfying way. And I will freely agree that that's just bad writing, which doesn't make for a fun roleplay experience no matter how edgy and evil you might want to be.

But there's also the question of games where even if the overarcing plot is fairly linear, there is at least enough writing to make you feel like your character has a distinct personality (whether that actually bears out or not, it's about the in-the-moment experience). That personality could be "unrepentant asshole on a power trip" or something, but a lot of people still won't do that simply because it involves being antagonistic toward other characters. Fallen Hero is actually a great example of the phenomenon I'm getting at, because that's a game specifically designed to make you play a bad person, and there are still a lot of people who will go out of their way to play their mc as a tragic antihero who really does want things to work out in the end. And I just personally can't seem to get my head around the appeal of roleplaying as someone who's polite and friendly and accommodating because I'm already roleplaying that every day in my real life :/

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

I'm sorely tempted myself but idk, everything the game touches turns to garbage. The antisemitism, not to mention the house elves as a selling point just...yikes.

The antisemitism is an entirely different subject by itself and I've touched on it before (to the extent that I am qualified to talk about it) but I will reserve my full judgment until I know the plot of the game. The Goblins are a part of this universe now, there's no erasing them...but there's also no need to put them at the forefront. If they're going to do that, the only justification I can think of is if they've written a story that somehow deconstructs the Goblin stereotypes and paints them in a sympathetic light.

Problem is, I somewhat doubt Rowling is interested in doing that, or even that she has the ability to do so at this point. What's strange is that Deathly Hallows pretty much already tried this, and it doesn't seem to have won over any of the readers. Like, DH already presented us with The Goblins' side of the story. To me, Griphook's story made it clear that they're not the bad guys and never were - that would be the humans. But it doesn't really change anything. They were still created with various features and traits that, (deliberately or not) make them a Jewish stereotype.

I did see a post expressing a similar sentiment, where it talked about how the game lets you have a slave, and how that's something they're advertising as a positive. I am likewise not qualified to discuss slavery and the impact it's had on the world, as I am neither a Historian nor a person of African descent...but I have to be completely honest, the House Elves...have never struck me as problematic in the first place. Happy to discuss this in greater detail if people are curious, and I'll reiterate that I don't know everything. But either way, I didn't really recoil at that particular detail.

Like...The House Elves, and your OC's family having one or not having one...it's just another one of those details. Those magical signatures that distinguish your character, that make this "your" Hogwarts adventure as HPHM, for instance, was always advertised to be. Some witches and wizards had House Elves. Yes, they had slaves. Doesn't mean they're bad people, and even if it does, that doesn't make you a bad person if your avatar has an Elf. It doesn't mean the writers or game designers are bad people for including it. Really, it's no wonder to me that they'd use this as a selling point.

Let me see if I can provide an example. If, during the character-building screen, the game asks if our MC is "Pro-Muggle," "Anti-Muggle," or "Neutral" I'm not going to condemn the game for letting us play a racist character. It's simply part of the world. Some witches and wizards were prejudiced against others based on blood status. That's just the reality of the potterverse. The option to incorporate that into our character, the choice being available, doesn't mean the player would have to choose it. But if they did, it would simply be an aspect of roleplay, right?

[sirenofthegreenbanks]

hello hello hello siren i hope u are doing well!!! i feel kind of terrible giving u show propaganda while i still have so many asks of yrs i need to answer but i have got to ask. have u seen black sails?? it really really really to me feels like something you would like. there are many lesbians in extremely load-bearing narrative positions doing varying degrees of terrible things & being really dykey onscreen. there are narratives about race & identity & messy awful relationships with desire & monstrosity and storytelling & lying and disability and bad sex with a disjuncture between what is desired and what is happening & violence and intimacy and true-selves and false-selves and becoming the story u tell about urself. it is a pirate story that does Not shy away from the slavery and human trafficking that both that idealized golden age of sail & 17th century europe were built on. the entire thing is a metaphor for otherness & the way anything other than the christian white western status quo is immediately considered an evil threat. one of the main characters reminds me a lot of wen kexing. also did i mention the lesbians. anyway. sorry for dropping this in ur inbox ggksksjf but it is. my favorite tv show of all time & one i'm cagey about recommending because what it if they don't Get It. but. i think u would get it. & enjoy it. anyway i hope yr good what have u been up to!!!! kleo looks awesome also should i watch kleo? 🖤🖤🖤

TvvvvvvvT

going to cry now because watching black sails is extremely difficult to execute when u live in germany and u dont want to go broke and like its not as if i havent been eyeballing all your posts for months and vicariously living through your meltdowns and analysises and gifs while manifesting a wonder to happen nooOOOoooOOOOOOoo YES u did mention the lesbians and YES that one lesbian gifset u reblogged where a woman pulls an arrow? out of her ex? girlfriend's shoulder and makes a joke about penetration lives rentfree in my mind

:]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]] look at u!!! confidently stabbing into one of my deepest wounds woagh

edit: after thorough research instead of going to sleep like a normal person i bought a new subcription service

okay as for your Other Things .,,,,,,.. mhm idk if u would enjoy kleo tbh. i would love for u to watch it because welllllll sharing stuff i like with people i like is cool :> but its not really going hard into any of the directions u might enjoy. the thing i enjoy about it is that it takes a look at a very specific time period in german history, when the country was still seperated by a wall, from the pov of a woman trained to kill people in the name of the soviet communist government. so like. evil. and it takes a look at propaganda and how people's actions and betrayals specifically shape u, but its mostly one woman stabbing and shooting and lying her way to a secret she's trying to unearth. sooo many women with gunsTM. and the MC and every single other woman is incredibly resourceful and fleshed out and cool. its not a dark show. its a little bit silly and very easy to digest, considering the topic, and sometimes even a bit gaudy. i personally think it could have gone a lot harder but what do i know hehe. i had lots of fun. but the last episode rose my blood pressure. u might enjoy kleo and her silly sidekick thilo but otherwise uhhh idk. BUT NEVVER SAY NEVER. its on netflix and i invite u to try it out!!!!! :33

what i would recommend u to watch if u havent already is peaky blinders!!!!!!!!!!!!! tommy shelby the most silly guy of all time <3

[ogdegenerate]

I'm writing a story where there's kingdoms that represents each of the deadly sins and I need help world building.

I know this post is different from what I usually put on here but I tried reddit and got little to nothing so I'm trying here.

so for some LORE.

the goddesses' little brother who is basically the devil™ from the bible™ made these seven cursed amulets that gives their user immense and fantastical power while slowly turning them into horrible people by enhancing it's respective sin. (for example: the amulet of lust grants the user supernatural charisma and enchantment skills but turns their vanilla kinks into downright horrid fetishes that would put you on a watchlist). the humans used these powerful items for worldly conquest and severing relations from the other races. that's until a hero from another world stepped up to appose the seven warriors and take the cursed amulets away from them. but for some bullshit reason and convoluted "I'm 5 parallels universes ahead of you" tomfuckery. the seven amulets are shot up into the air and then scattered across the world. landing on the laps of desperate souls and turning them into "princes" which is what you get if you mix elsa from frozen and the palace holders from persona 5. but instead the palaces are kingdoms and are VERY MUCH REAL and are is a huge magnet for fucked up people so the amulet can feed off the citizens down right evilness and grow bigger and stronger (ie: murderers and bigots makes the wrath kingdom bigger and stronger).

what this story is about is a comedy for making fun of weird (and down right unnecessary) tropes sub-plots, like incest, defending slavery, and relationship drama because you don't know how to write a healthy one. and the MC is pretty much like "this is stupid, why are y'all like this?" what i'm having trouble with is figuring out a society where one of the seven deadly sins is so magically ingrained in the area that you either have to be a shitty person or suffer.

here are some ideas I got for the seven kingdoms

Luxuria: unnecessary fanservice, oversexualization/fetishization of things that shouldn't be, indecency normalization, the writers barely-disguised fetish(es)

Gula: excessiveness, conspicuous consumption, making fun of fat people,

Avaricia: Basically vanity fair from the pilgrims progress, defending the rich, capitalism is good because I hate poor people

Acedia: characters not being interested in the plot, lazy writing, plot holes,

Ira: blatent bigotry, meaningless murder, "dark" humor,

Invidia: soulless power fantasies, yanderifications, bad rewrites,

superbia: badly written marry sue, "oh wow I'm so smart cant you tell because of how I'm writing this?"

what I'm going for is that the kingdoms are written by an author who heavily indulges in one of the sins while the MC beats up their self inserts while telling them that their vibe is rancid while also being a "please don't do THIS when writing a novel or making a manga".

hope this reaches out to alot of people

[bambazzle]

LGBT+ Fantasy/Fiction Books and TWs

-In the case that a book on the list is the first of a series, TWs will include warnings for the entire series-

IDNS means “I Do Not Support the Author”- reasons will be listed and linked! if you are interested in this author’s book, try to buy second hand!

I have removed some books that were on here, I know! I removed them specifically for problematic content- this book list was not just books I loved, but books I had yet to read and hoped to love. Books that misrepresent or fetishize our community don’t deserve to be supported and spread even more. I have replaced these books with ones that don’t perpetuate harmful stereotypes, so we can all enjoy our escapes! 

1. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell (Trilogy)-

(Fantasy, Witches, Vampires, kind of Harry Potter-y, MLM Romance, TW for suicidal ideation, self-destructiveness, abandonment, foster care, neglect, bullying, major character death, racism, murder and attempted murder, violence, gun violence and relationship issues. It has some heavy topics but is written in a pretty light tone.)

(DNS author: Racism/stereotyping/fetishization of Asian community)

2. Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston-

(MLM “Enemies” to lovers, about the son of the President and the Prince of England getting into a fight, they have to fake a friendship to fix their PR situation, TW for being publicly outed, semi-graphic sex scenes, politically charged discussions, addiction, underage alcohol use, blackmail, parental death (mentioned), homophobia, panic attacks, sexual abuse/harrassment (mentioned), racism, parental neglect )

3. Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller-

(MLM but not explicitly romance, Ancient Greece, demigods, exile, TW for abduction, abandonment, war, violence, ableism, child abuse, death, human sacrifice, human trafficking, murder, plague (mentioned), sexual assault (mentioned), self-harm, slavery, torture)

4. The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic (Trilogy)-

(MLM, very slow burn. Demisexual MC. Mafia mixed with kids with broken homes mixed with a kid who has a dream of being a pro at a fictional sport. The focus is NOT on the relationship, it is the subplot. TW for ableism, verbal and physical abuse, abuse within a psychiatric facility, alcoholism, underage alcohol use, physical assault, sexual assault, conversion therapy (mention), death of an animal, parental death, drug abuse, drug use, drug overdose, drug misrepresentation, violence, gun violence, knife violence, homophobia, hate crime, murder, panic attacks, rehab, self harm, suicide (mentioned), graphic torture, manipulation, police intervention, organized crime/mafia, graphic description of burns. It is a great series but it has heavy content and is not light reading if you go in unprepared.)

5. The House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune -

(MLM (WLW side characters), fantasy, found family, heartwarming romance, magical creatures, TW for abuse(mentioned), trauma-related anxiety, bigotry, body shaming, bullying, child abuse (backstory), internalized fatphobia, homophobia, microaggresions, violence, violence against children)

6. Heartstopper by Alice Oseman (Series)-

(MLM, graphic novel, slow burn, coming out, TW for emotionally abusive relationship, anorexia, self harm, suicidal ideation, bullying(mentioned), psychiatric facility, trauma discussion, homophobia)

7. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (Series)-

(MLM, Fantasy, about a secret private school, slow burn, found family, TW for underage alcohol use, drug use, suicide(mentioned), homophobia, domestic abuse, child abuse(mentioned), murder and attempted murder, burglary, car crash, fire related death(non-graphic), kidnapping, terminal illness, sick parent, ritual sacrifice, suicide, violence, gore, gun violence, knife violence, panic attack, PTSD, workplace harrassment)

8. They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera-

(MLM, Bisexual Latino characters, whole story takes place in 24 hours because at about midnight- aka the start of the book- they get a phone call saying they’re going to die, TW for death, animal death, child death, drowning, violence, gang violence, gun violence, homophobia, panic attack, parental suicide, suicidal ideation, sick parent, police intervention, and foster care)

9. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (Series)-

(Queer characters, but no romance in the first book, fantasy, found family, slow burn, TW for graphic depictions of violence, addiction, genocide/fantasy racism, gambling, drug use, withdrawal, ableism, abuse(mentioned), sexual slavery(mentioned/backstory), sexual assault(mentioned/backstory), imprisonment, murder and attempted murder, death, death threats, loss of loved one, prosecution, torture, violence, gore)

10. The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee- 

(MLM Historical Fiction Romance, Travel/Journey, Best Friends to lovers, TW for abuse, homophobia, adoption, alcoholism, breakups, death(mentioned), epilepsy/seizures, prison, robbery)

(DNS author: transphobia/biphobia)

11. In Deeper Waters by FT Lukens-

(MLM, High fantasy, “A young prince must rely on a mysterious stranger to save him when he is kidnapped during his coming of age tour”, TW for kidnapping, violence, abuse, war(mentioned))

12. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz (Duology)-

(MLM Latino coming of age story, TW for violence, surgery, transmisogyny, sexism, homophobia, hate crime, PTSD, hospitalization, alcohol use, drug use, animal death, car crash, death(non-graphic))

14. We Contain Multitudes by Sarah Henstra-

(MLM, coming of age, friendship and romance, TW for bullying, homophobia, abuse, underage alcohol use, drug use)

15. Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria-

(Asexual/Bisexual representation, fantasy, ragtag team goes on a quest, TW for death, abduction/kidnapping, blackmail, branding, child abuse(mentioned), coma, amnesia, execution, murder, addiction, violence)

16. More Happy than Not by Adam Silvera-

(MLM main character, YA, “it's about a boy who is considering a memory-alteration procedure to forget he's gay because leading a life as a straight teen would probably be way easier for him. It's about science versus nature, friendship, sexuality, and a quest for happiness.” About the happy ending and how even bad moments lead to good. Hopeful but despairing. TW for attempted suicide, suicide, domestic abuse, medical procedure to erase sexuality, internalized homophobia, homophobia, depression)

17. I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver-

(Nonbinary main character, nonbinary muslim side character, romance/love and building a family out of people you care about. About finding your voice. TW for bad coming out, misgendering, transphobia, family rejection/struggle, anxiety(detailed), child abuse, gender dysphoria, homophobia, disownment, panic attacks, suicidal thoughts, suicidal ideation, underage alcohol use)

18. We Are Okay by Nina LaCour-

(WLW, moving out and coming of age, self-discovery and childhood romance, TW for loss of a loved one, depression, loneliness(detailed), chronic illness, death, drowning(mentioned), suicide)

19. The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness-

(Contemporary, about the normal people’s lives while living among Chosen Ones. Family/coming of age/acceptance story. TW for monsters, apocalypse, violence/explosions, death, anorexia, relapse, panic attacks, anxiety attacks, unrequited romance)

20. Lizard Radio by Pat Schmatz-

(Dystopian story about a teenager struggling with their gender identity, TW for abandonment, oppressive government, outlawed homosexuality, hate crime, homophobia, transphobia, violence)

[arinbelle]

TW: slavery, racism

Now I'm really thinking about the concept of human slavery in SJM books and overall slavery in CC and how glorified it is. Idk if that's the right or good word for it, but that's how it comes off. Because in the end, it's used to further plot for the sake of things, angst for the sake of plot, but there isn't a solid conclusion to it. We kinda just hear, oh yeah the Fae like to hunt humans for sport and don't think anything of them, but it is what it is. Or the fact that we are told even though the Fae ENSLAVED humans, both sides are to blame for eventual conflict.

I would like to translate that to today's world. You go tell a black person in America right now "Yeah slavery was bad, but like...all of you fighting back eventually against it and then killing your oppressors was not right either. Like you added to the problem." That is the rhetoric.

And I think the more it hits me, the more bothered I'm getting, because at least with ACoTaR, it kinda becomes a low level brushed over problem, which, fucked up, but it at least gets covered up with the wings and the sex. But in CC we have BLATANT slavery. Literally SLAVES, with slave tattoos branding Fae. And ofc in the end, Hunt is freed bc he's our MC's love interest, and she can't actually end up with a slave, just be there for the initial moments of angst and trauma bonding, but not later on when it's actually problematic. And then there's Lehabah who dies a free Fae but doesn't even get to experience that freedom? And the whole time she's always complaining about how messed up their world is for even having slavery, she's shut down and told to get back to work. By our main character, WHO IS HALF HUMAN!!!!

And Bryce? Strangely both concerned for humans and yet also very apathetic. Gave me vibes of "Yeah it's wrong that we treat humans and slaves like this but maybe if they didn't fight back against their oppressors like this they wouldn't be mistreated." And no, her trying to save humans in the end doesn't forgive her for not caring much in the entire book, because she's doing the literal bare minimum.

And obviously, this isn't me shitting on these characters, because the characters aren't real, but it says something about an author who constantly employs these themes and has no greater message or plot for them outside of what furthers the MC's narrative.

Of course someone can argue, "Oh it's not that deep, it's just a fantasy novel." And yeah probably. But considering that racism and its roots in slavery run very real and deep even today, it clearly sends a very messed up message.

Also! If you say that it's a fantasy book and we don't need to bring the real world's problems into it, then you're coming from a place of privilege where you can afford to not think about problems like these.

[broiderie]

Lost Princessa 28

First of all... don't kill me. This one ends in a bit of a cliffhanger. You can cuss me all you want though in the comments.

Thanks to @drabbles-mc, @xeniarocks, @iamthegraham, and @jemmakates. You guys are so patient! You always let me bounce cryptic ideas (or not so cryptic ones @drabbles-mc) off of you and I love you guys for it.

Please don't copy, translate, or replicate my writing anywhere else. If you see it somewhere else... it's stolen. I only post on tumblr.

Warnings: cursing, feels, cliffhanger, mention of human trafficking and sex slavery... let me know if I missed anything.

Megan woke up curled with Hank against her back. No sunlight got through her blackout curtains, but it was definitely morning. As she laid there - heaviness seemed to settle into her bones. Today was the run. Her papa would be six hours away and she REALLY had a bad feeling about it.

“I can hear you overthinking, Princessa. Breathe for me please,” Hank said quietly in her ear.

Megan took a deep breath and felt a little of the weight lift.

“Thata girl. Would you rather Taza stay with you and me go? It’s not too late to swap it out, Princessa. I’ll go in his place if you’d rather.” Hank tightened his grip on her gently. “You won’t hurt my feelings baby. Anything to make this easier for you.”

Megan shook her head. “Wouldn’t help. Either of you leave and I’ll be a wreck. You leave and I’ll be a wreck with no possibility of sleeping.”

“Okay, mi princessa. Just keep breathing for me. He’ll be gone thirteen or fourteen hours tops. And I’ll be with you the entire time, okay. Never more than a few feet away. I promise.” He pressed a kiss to the back of her neck.

“I know. It’s just my brain over reacting.”

“C’mon Princessa. Let’s get up and moving so it doesn’t have time to mess with you too much. “ He patted her hip gently. “Let’s go make breakfast. I’m sure Bishop will gladly wear you out with another boxing lesson this afternoon too.”

That got a bit of a smile out of her. She sat up and slid out of bed. “You think he would?”

“Of course. Any time he gets a chance, he’ll have you in the ring.” He chuckled. “I bet he upgrades the equipment by the end of the week.”

Megan giggled. “I doubt he’ll go that far…”

“I don’t. Bet he’s already started,” Hank teased.

Megan looked down at her leggings and tank top. Hank must have removed her sweater for bed. “Where’d my sweater go?”

“Probably in Taza’s room. We took it off before he carried you in here to tuck you in. He was worried you’d get too hot.” Hank pulled a t-shirt over his bare chest and sweatpants.

Megan laughed and pulled a cardigan from the closet and slipped it on. Now that she could see the clock and feel the chill in the air, she could see that it was VERY early for the bikers. Five a.m. to be exact. “Shit, Hank. What time did you go to bed? You don’t have to be up yet just because I’m antsy as hell.”

That pulled a full laugh out of him. “I went and got you from Taza at about 12:30. You fell asleep talking to him so I finished my report for Bish before bed.”

“Shit. Go back to sleep. You’ve only had like four hours.”

He grinned at her horror. “Easy, mi princessa. I’m fine. I rarely sleep more than that.” He pulled her close as he chuckled. “I’m all good. Let’s go eat.”

In the kitchen, Megan started to make coffee while Hank checked the fridge. “What sounds good? We’ve got just about everything,” Hank said.

“Since it’s so early - what if I make those sticky buns I promised? We can take some to the club house later too.” Megan smiled and started pulling out the flour and yeast to make the dough.

“That actually sounds amazing. How can I help? Is it complicated?” Hank stepped to the big basin sink to wash his hands.

“Decently. Did you ever make homemade bread? It’s basically the same base.”

“I helped Mama make pan de muerto when I was a kid, but I’ve never done it since,” he admitted as he watched Megan slip into a very concentrated mode.

Over the next two hours, Megan showed Hank how to make her sticky buns. He had no idea how she did it without a recipe - but she never looked anything up. While the dough was rising, they sipped coffee on the patio. During the second rise period, Megan put him to work juicing oranges while she prepped the rest of breakfast. When it was time, she slid the rolls into the oven to cook next to a pan of biscuits. Then together, they cooked the eggs and bacon.

The smells coming from the kitchen were glorious, and that’s what woke Taza. It was nearly seven, so he went ahead and got dressed for the day before slipping out to investigate. He couldn’t help but chuckle as he watched Megan chasing Hank away from the oven with a flapping dish towel.

“They’ll never cook if you keep letting the heat out1 Go set the table. They’ll be ready soon if you’ll just leave them alone,” Megan scolded through her giggles.

Hank kissed her smile gently while snitching a piece of bacon from the platter behind her. “Alright, alright mi princessa!”

“You better watch him, Chica. He’s sneaky,” Taza said, pointing out the bacon.

“Hey! Snitches get stitches, Taza,” Hank said as he dodged out of range of her flying dish towel.

Megan giggled. “Good morning Papa. We didn’t wake you, did we? We tried to be quiet.”

Taza laughed. “Good morning, Sweetheart. Not with noise. I couldn’t resist the smells any longer. What is Hank trying to get early access to?”

Megan poured him a cup of coffee. “Well, I couldn’t sleep this morning so we made sticky buns. There should be enough to take to the guys too.”

“You really are an angel, you know that Chica? They smell amazing.” Taza kissed her head and took the coffee cup from her.

“She’s also made eggs and bacon and homemade biscuits, Taz. All she’d really let me do was make juice. La Princessa can cook,” Hank bragged.

Megan blushed and muttered something before turning to glance through the oven door. She grinned and pulled the pot holders from the drawer to remove both pans from the oven. She quickly flipped the biscuits onto a plate. Then she flipped the sticky buns onto a cookie sheet and let the homemade caramel from the bottom of the pan drip down to cover the sides of the buns.

She suddenly had all of both Hank’s and Taza’s attention as she lifted the pan and put it in the sink to soak with a satisfied smile. “Voila. Homemade sticky buns. As promised.”

Hank tried to swipe through the caramel sauce with a finger for a taste and ended up blowing on his finger to cool a minor burn.

“You know, if you burn your tastebuds you won’t know what they actually taste like, right?” she asked with a giggle.

“Worth it. That shit’s amazing.”

Taza smiled. “I think I’ll wait a few minutes. Need me to help carry anything, Chica?”

“Sure. I think we’re all ready…” Megan checked to be sure everything was done.

“Good, Princessa. Go sit. Let us bring it in at least,” Hank nudged her towards the table he had set. “I’ll bring you some more coffee.”

“Alright, alright I’m going.” Megan sat and found herself having a heaping plate made for her.

After breakfast, they were finishing their coffee when a knock sounded at the front door. Whoever it was didn’t wait for an answer and just let themselves in.

“Anybody awake?” Bishop called.

“In here, brother,” Taza called back.

Bishop made his way to the kitchen after dropping something heavy in the front hall. “Morning. Thought I’d run something by for Poquito on the way to the club house. From the smell, I’d say I made the absolute right choice…”

Megan smiled. “Good morning, Padrino. Would you like some coffee? There’s sticky buns if you want them.”

“What the hell is a sticky bun? And sure, Sweetheart.” Bishop sat lacrosse from Hank as Megan hopped up to grab him coffee from the stove. She came back with a place setting for him.

“They’re kind of like a cinnamon roll…” Megan answered but was interrupted by Hank.

“Only ten times better. Seriously, Megna could put Patty out of business. Try one,” Hank urged, throwing a proud smirk at Megan.

“Don’t mind if I do..” Bishop winked at his blushing god daughter and took a bite. He groaned. “Poquito, these are amazing. Please tell me there’s more?”

Taza chuckled. “She made enough for an army. We’ll bring the leftovers to the club house. There’s eggs, bacon, and homemade biscuits too.”

Bishop chuckled as Megan took his plate to fill it with the other food too. “You feed us like this too often and we’ll roll more than our bikes.”

Megan smiled shyly. “I cook when I’m anxious.”

“Well, maybe what I brought will make you less anxious. Or at least give you another way to channel it,” Bishop told her with a grin. “I brought the stuff to set up a speed bag and a punching bag in your papa’s barn. That way you can train whenever you feel like it, Poquito. I’ve got the Prospect upgrading the stuff at the club house too.”

Hank chuckled. “And you were worried about if he’d be willing to give you another lesson today.” He slipped an arm around the back of her chair reassuringly. “Told you he’d upgrade the equipment…”

Bishop winked again as he bit into his second sticky bun. “Of course. Only the best for la Princessa.”

Taza smiled proudly as he watched Megan relax slightly in the presence of her godfather and his best friend.

Bishop finished his breakfast while gently teasing Megan. “We need to get you a locker at the club house for a gym bag. Then you won’t have to steal your man’s soft colors every time you want a lesson or a workout.”

Megan faked offended. “Excuse you! I didn’t steal anything. It’s not my fault he decided I looked better in his clothes.” She grinned at Hank.

“Well, she’s not wrong.” Hank smiled down at the top of her still sleep ruffled head.

Taza grinned. “Alright, Love Birds. Why don’t you go get ready to face the day. Bish and I will pack up the leftovers and do the dishes.”

Hank stood and pulled Megan up too. “Sounds good. C’mon mi Princessa. I’ll check your tattoo for you and we can pack you a gym bag for later.”

“Okay.” Megan went and hugged Taza’s shoulders from behind. “Love you, Papa.”

Taza squeezed her hands gently and cleared his throat. “Love you, Megan.”

She kissed the top of his head and followed Hank down the hall to their room.

Taza took a moment to breathe. She’d said it.

Bishop gave him a moment and started clearing the table. On his second trip, he grinned. “First time she’s said it? Nothing quite like it, is there?”

“Yeah.” Taza stood to help. “You’ll keep an eye on her, right? I know I won’t be gone long… but she’s super fucking nervous about it. Like - I rocked her to sleep last night because she was so nervous about me being gone.”

“You know I will, brother. I know Coco is supposed to be the second tonight because she’s comfortable with him, but if it looks like she’s still nervy when they come home, I’ll come too. She won’t be alone.” Bishop patted his shoulder. “She’s a strong girl. She can handle this run. We’ll limit your runs too for a bit after this. Riz and Creeper can cover what I can’t take.”

“Thanks. She’s trying so hard. She’s twenty-six - but she also never really got to be a kid. She told me last night that she started putting herself to bed at seven…”

“Family first, brother. We’ve got your back. And hers.”

Bishop went out to the barn to set up the boxing gear he’d brought while Taza finished up with the kitchen. Hank came out and joined him in cleaning.

“Megan okay?” Taza asked.

“Yeah. She was showering. Her tattoo is healing nicely. I told her she could probably wear her regular clothes today except her bra. I think that will still rub too much.” Hank started putting tupperware in bags and noticed a smaller box of sticky buns set to the side. The condensation on the inside said it had been there awhile. He chuckled. “She never forgets Mama, does she?”

“Nope. That was already packed when I started clearing. I’d bet it’s got the very center ones in it too.” Taza grinned but sobered a bit. “You keep her close, Hank. I don’t like leaving with this bastard still on the loose. You take care of my little girl for me.”

“I will. I won’t let her out of my sight. This bastard is too sneaky.”

Taza nodded. “ I don’t care if Galindo’s entire cartel falls down around his ears. Don’t even let her out of your sight for Templo. You proxy that shit.” Taza pointed a finger at Hank’s rank patch. “That applies to her now too. Don’t forget it.”

“I won’t Taza. She’ll be with me the entire time. I promise you.”

Megan poked her head around the doorway to the kitchen. “Papa, do you still have my jewelry?”

“Of course, Chica. C’mon, we’ll get it.” Taza smiled and led her to his kutte where he pulled out the jewelry he’d kept for her the night before.

“Thank you.” Megan took it and immediately fastened the necklace around her neck over the Mayan green top with the lace back that he had bought her. She had her wrist cuff on too, he noticed. And her black jeans and boots.

“Would you like some help with your hair, Chica? We’ve got some time before we have to leave.” He tugged gently on a loose strand.

“Please? Doesn’t have to be fancy. I’ll be in the ring later to work off nerves though. Need it out of my face.” She smiled up at him and led the way to her dressing table.

“Two braids then?” Taza asked as he picked up her new brush and ran it gently through her hair.

“Yes please.”

A few minutes later, Taza had her hair braided tightly in two warrior braids. He tied them off and indicated for her to wait a moment before she got up. He went to the wooden jewelry box and pulled silver feather clips out and slid them around the hair ties at the end of her braids hiding them. “These won’t get messed up if you leave them in for training. They’ll actually weight the braids down so they don’t swing as much.”

Megan laughed and pulled one around to look at it. “Grandmother did a lot of fighting, did she?”

Taza chuckled a bit. “Not exactly. They were mine as a teen. She just kept them for me in her jewelry box.” Then he reached up and unfastened one of the necklaces from around his own neck and fastened it around hers. It sat higher than her crown and was on a cord so it wouldn’t get tangled.

Megan looked down at it. It was the one he always wore. The silver symbol that looked like a partial circle with the turquoise stone at the crest. “Papa?”

He kissed her head. “Perfect. Wear that for me until I get back, okay? It’ll help remind you that I AM coming back. I’m not abandoning you, Megan. I know that’s where this anxiety is rooted. I won’t leave you, I promise.”

Megan swallowed hard and blinked away her tears as she touched the warm, worn silver around her neck. “Thank you, Papa.”

“You’re welcome, Chica. C’mon. It’s nearly ten. We gotta go.”

They arrived at the club house with Megan riding pillion behind Taza instead of her normal perch behind Hank. She just wasn’t ready to let him go yet. Hank had her gym bag stashed in his saddlebag though.

Inside, they put the leftovers on the bar, and they were immediately swarmed by the bottomless pits that are the Santo Padre Mayans. Creeper and Marcus sat back shaking their heads at the younger men.

“You’d think their mothers never taught them manners,” Creeper muttered.

Marcus agreed. “It’s like feeding time at the zoo…”

Megan giggled as she slipped over for a hug. “Morning Creep. Morning Padrino. Not hungry?”

Creeper chuckled as Marcus wrapped his arms around her. “Mornin’ Little Princess. I’m just not willing to lose an arm for my breakfast.”

Marcus hugged her close and could feel her tension. “I’ll wait until the feeding frenzy ends.”

“So… I could tempt you if I, say, had a reserve container of sticky buns for those who actually have manners?” she teased and pulled a separate tupperware out of the bag she was carrying. She winked and set it on the table between them.

“You’re not a princessa, you're an angel. I swear.” Creeper laughed and took a pastry.

Marcus agreed as he bit into his breakfast. “Poquito, promise me you’ll teach your tía how to make these?”

Megan winked again. “Of course tío.”

The guys prepared to head out shortly after the food was consumed. They would stop by the warehouse to pick up the truck and Galindo’s men and then drive straight through to Vegas.

Megan clung to Taza tight, trying to control her emotions in front of the visiting charter. Her face was buried in the front of his shirt and Taza held her tight, letting her take her time. “Shh Chica. I know. Breathe. I’ll be back tomorrow morning. I’ll even wake you up when I get in if you want me to. I’ll call at every stop. Breathe, Sweetheart.”

Megan took a deep breath and subtly wiped her tears. “Ride safe, Papa. Be safe please?”

“Of course, Chica. I promise.” He cupped her face in his big hands. “Stay with Hank. Don’t leave his side. Stay right with him and your tíos. Be safe. Follow the rules. Don’t let anything that bastard may try take you from me, you understand? I’m coming back. You be here when I do.”

“Yes, Papa. I love you.” She swallowed hard and gave him a small smile.

“I love you too.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and breathed a prayer before he handed her over to Hank so he could mount his bike. With a last wave, the Mayans rolled out.

Hank held Megan tight while petting down her back and rocking gently, making soothing noises the whole time.

The Oakland Mayans split off to go take shifts on the perimeter or to check in with contacts they’d made trying to find Brandon. His badge had been revoked and SPPD was looking for him too. He couldn’t be too far away.

Coco slipped into the club house for a cold bottle of water for Megan to drink once she had calmed. Angel and Gilly stood helplessly with their hands in their pockets. EZ went inside to clean the dishes from the breakfast Megan had brought.

After a few minutes, Megan calmed. Hank felt her start to relax into his arms and gave Bishop a reassuring nod.

“Angel, Gilly - go check in with Frankie. Find out what SPPD knows. Wherever they’ve already combed, do it again. This bastard is sneaky and we don’t know if he’s got allies or not,” Bishop ordered quietly.

Marcus nodded. “I’ll go meet with Galindo’s guys. See where they’re at with this.”

“Sounds good. We’ll keep in touch on the burners,” Gilly said. He was relieved not to be on Megan duty. Crying women were not his strong suit. He and Angel headed to the pit and rode out the gates with Marcus not far behind them - a few of his crew at his back.

Once they were all gone, Bishop gently urged Megan to look at him. “Alright Poquito. You ready for lesson two?”

Megan cleared her throat. “Of course, Padrino. Just let me go change.”

“Take your time, Sweetheart. And tell the Prospect to get his ass in the ring.” He winked at Megan’s watery giggle. “Gonna need a moving target this time.”

Ad promised, Hank shadowed her as she went inside to change for her boxing lesson. Only once she was in the bathroom behind the bar did he relax a bit. “Prospect! Get your ass in the ring! Bishop wants Megan to practice on a moving target and you’ve been volun-told,” he called.

Coco burst out laughing. “What’d the Boyscout do to piss off the Prez? Gotta be something if he’s ordering him to get his ass beaten by a girl.”

“Dunno, but I plan to watch,” Hank answered with a smirk. “Maybe even record some of it for Angel as future blackmail material.”

“Fuck yes! Where’s my phone?” Coco started searching through his pockets. When he found it, he glanced at the screen. “What is it with teenagers sleeping all fucking day? Still no call from Letty. She's supposed to call when she wakes up so I can send Chuckie for her.”

“Dunno man. I never did it. Even hungover I barely slept over five hours.” Hank shrugged. “She’ll call - or we can swing by and check on her at lunch.”

“Yeah.”

Megan came out in tight black leggings and a long tank top that she’d pack to work out in. She even swapped to tennis shoes.

Hank stared a moment before clearing his throat and smacking a still staring Coco in the back of the head. “Ready, mi Princessa?”

“Yeah. I need to get a case or something for my jewelry so you guys don’t always have to hold it for me.” She smiled a little.

“I don’t mind. Need me to take the feathers out of your hair?” Hank asked, holding his hand out to take the crown necklace and earrings from her.

She added her wristband to the pile. “No. Papa put them in so they’d keep my braids from bouncing too much in the ring. I’m not taking Papa’s necklace off either. I promised I’d wear it ‘til he got back.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, Ma. Taza’s worn it in the ring a million times. Shouldn’t be any different for you,” Coco assured her while still rubbing the sore spot on the back of his head.

Megan held up her bag. “Bish said something about a locker for this…”

“We can put it in mine for now. Get you assigned your own later today. C’mon. Let’s get you taped and ready to beat on the Prospect.” Hank took her bag and led the way out the back door to the bank of lockers just outside the ring. He opened the third one and put her bag inside before pulling a roll of white tape from the shelf.

At the ring, Bishop was waiting. He had EZ in his undershirt waiting on the sidelines. “There she is. Get taped up, Poquito. Today you learn where to hit on someone bigger than you.”

Coco chuckled. “That’s just about everyone…”

Megan flipped him off. “You know… Bishop would probably let me swap you out for EZ. I can always ask…” Megan teased.

“My bad, Ma. I’m good.”

Hank chuckled. “That’s my girl. C’mon, let’s get you taped, Princessa.”

After a half hour of warm up with the pads, Bishop started guiding her through the first punch to EZ’s body. He outlined where he wanted her to punch to land at the larger man’s diaphragm. “Hit them here. Not much higher or you’ll hit ribs and that’ll hurt you too. Go for soft spots. You hit them here - they won’t have the breath to keep fighting.”

Megan nodded and absorbed the information while bouncing on her toes. “No breath means even if they do swing, they can’t put power behind it.”

“Exactly. Good girl. Now… hit the Prospect.” Bishop grinned.

Megan froze. “What?”

“Hit him. You need to know how hard the hit needs to be to do the job. Go ahead. Won’t be his first time as a punching bag.” He patted EZ’s shoulder. “He doesn’t mind. Do ya?”

EZ gave her an easy grin. “Nah. Go ahead Megan. You gotta practice on someone.”

Hank called from the fence, “You’re alright, Princessa. You can do this.”

Megan nodded and psyched herself up to take the swing. The first hit made him grunt a little, but didn’t penetrate the thick muscle EZ had shielding his abs.

“Good. Gotta hit harder though, Poquito. Put your body weight into it,” Bishop coached.

Megan nodded again. She landed a second punch and EZ’s breath whooshed out. He doubled over briefly.

“Thata girl! Good one!” Hank cheered.

“Nice shot, Poquito!” Bishop was proud. He continued to coach her to get more power into that hit. She took the shot four more times before BIshop declared himself satisfied and dismissed EZ. He moved with Megan to the new punching bag hanging nearby.

EZ climbed out of the cage and collapsed onto the picnic bench making Coco chuckle.

“You alright, Boyscout?” He handed him a bottle of water.

“Yeah, man. My abs are gonna be bruised as hell, but I’ll live. La Princessa throws a mean punch.” EZ gratefully gulped water.

Hank kept his eyes on Megan, but glanced teasingly at the prospect. “Give you more of a respect for our bartender, heh?”

“Dude, she may look fragile as hell, but that’s one tough chick. You’d never think it, as much as she lets you guys baby her…” EZ crushed his bottle and threw it in the recycling bin nearby.

“We don’t baby her…” Hank protested. “There’s nothing wrong with treating a woman right, Boyscout. It’s called manners.”

Coco snorted. “Besides, the girl could use some babying. It’s no fun in the system and you pretty much end up raising yourself. And that’s in the best case scenario.” He lit a cigarette and took a long draw.

“Whatever, man. I’m just saying, Megan is stronger than you guys give her credit for. You're gonna have to give her a chance, when it’s safe, to figure out where she fits with the club.” He leaned foreward and watched her whale on the punching bag awhile. “You’ve built her into la princessa de los Mayas, but what does that mean? She can’t be JUST Hank’s Ol’ Lady. She’s going to need a job - and I don’t mean bartending.”

Hank nodded. “We know. It’s being discussed. Right now, her safety is priority though. And then her party.”

Megan had been working out for over an hour when Bishop called her off. “Alright, Poquito. Time to cool down. Don’t sit still or you’ll cramp, but you need to drink some water.”

Megan reluctantly stopped and started pacing the yard as she unwrapped her hands and calmed her breathing. “Thank you, tío Bishop.”

“You’re welcome. Feel better?” he asked, handing her a towel and a water bottle.

“Honestly - not really, but I don’t have the energy right now to self-destruct.” Megan sipped her water and wiped her face.

“Then I’ll call it a successful lesson.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed her head. “You’ll be alright, Sweetheart. C’mon. Let’s get over to Hank before he has tantrum from Megan-withdrawls.”

She giggled tiredly, but let herself be led.

Bishop flamboyantly delivered her back to Hank. “Here she is, Caballero. Safe and sound.”

Hank flipped Bishop off with a grin before gently kissing Megan. “Good lesson, Princessa. You landed some good ones once you got the hang of it.”

“Thanks.” She turned to look at EZ. “You alright, Prospect?”

“Just fine, Princess.” EZ grinned at her and saluted. “Human punching bag at your service.”

Coco checked his phone again only to see no missed calls. “Hey, Ma? You got any calls from Letiticia today? She’s supposed to call me when she wakes up.”

“Lemme check.” Megan slipped to Hank’s locker and got her phone from her bag. “Nope. Nothing from Letty. Taza and the guys left the warehouse about thirty minutes ago though. They’re on their way.”

“Alright. That’s it. I’ma go roll her ass outta bed. Be back soon.” Coco sighed.

“Be sure she ain’t got a screwdriver handy, dude,” EZ warned. Coco just flipped him off and headed for his bike.

“Well, Poquito, that means you’re stuck with me and Hank for a bit. Let’s go get lunch, huh?” Bishop offered.

“Sure tío. Let me get changed back into real clothes.” Megan pressed a kiss to Hank’s lips and grabbed her gym bag. She headed inside with Hank while Bishop looked to EZ.

“Thanks, Ezekiel. She needed that.” He patted EZ’s shoulder.

“No problem, Bish. I’ll clear her a locker and find her a decent lock. Just leave her gym back behind the bar and I’ll take care of it while you guys are at lunch.”

“Thanks. We’ll do that.”

Inside, Megan's phone rang while she was changing. Letty’s caller ID made her grin, so she picked it up while pulling on her jeans. “There you are! Coco is on his way to roll you out of bed, girl. He’s worried.”

An unexpected mal voice answered her. “He should be. Bad idea to leave pretty girls unsupervised when I’m in town. How much do you think I’ll make selling your little friend as a sex slave, sis?”

Megan froze. “Brandon?”