#the badass female laeds

[navymanhwa]

[thatsmydonna]

Her Inspiration:

I've done a terrible job if I haven't depicted her personality quite well yet. Yeah, it's only been four chapters, but she's intimidating - but I'm looking for a certain flavor of intimidating here.

For all you visual people (like me), this. This. This is my inspiration. Or rather, she was inspired by the badass, well-dressed women of Kdramas. There's a few I'm looking at in particular, but this is how I pictured her in my head. And by that, I mean her as a character - Ran is technically still Italian (no, she's not half Korean) so she doesn't look exactly like this, but this is the vibe I'm going for. I've been told a picture is worth a thousand words, and yeah, I agree.

Out of the two of them, you can guess who's the really intimidating one. Or rather, until you disrespect/touch her, then Tsuna becomes the scarier one.

[martialartslover7]

Why I think Kishimoto isn't sexist, but just VERY tonedeaf and an idiot

Boy, will I have some venting to do today. I mean, at this point, it's not a secret, that Kishimoto has consistently stated that "he can't write women", to save his life. And to this day, for as long as I was a fan of the series, I am going to be absolutely real: This statement is so full of shit. Why? Simple. And allow me to express it in very big capital letters, so that even the last giant mental invalid can understand:

WOMEN ARE HUMAN-BEINGS WITH BREASTS AND A V BETWEEN THEIR LEGS. WHAT TYPE OF "NUANCES" IS THIS GUY TALKING ABOUT? THERE IS NOTHING "COMPLICATED" ABOUT THEM. WHAT NONSENSE IS THIS?

Like, this entire statement is bullshit for a completely reason altogether: Why even reduce his own point to the fact that the shinobi just so happen to be female? This just sounds like excuses on top of excuses, especially considering the competition like One Piece and Bleach, who all have badass, memorable and sometimes, quite well-written characters, that just so happen to be female.

Let's count up a few IPs that I am aware of, written or directed by males, that has some of the most badass, and most memorable females in all of media:

One Piece

Bleach

Soul Eater

Kill la Kill

Jujutsu Kaisen

Code Geass

Persona

Tekken

Street Fighter

SoulCalibur

Fire Emblem (not all of them, some of them, from what I have seen, can be insane jokes)

And so on, and so forth, the list goes on. And you know what all these IPs have in common, that make them stand out, compared to what Naruto does to its females?

THE FEMALES AREN'T GETTING BOGGED DOWN BY IRRITATING, REDUNDANT AND DOWNRIGHT OFFENSIVE TROPES, THAT FLAT-OUT RUIN THEIR POTENTIAL AND APPEAL AS STANDALONE CHARACTERS!

Like, allow me to list up all the tropes, that Kishimoto made use of, while writing the manga, or being involved in the process of writing / directing the anime, along with the movies.

1. Making the women overtly dependant on the male characters

This one, is not as egregious, but it's a good kickstarter. In the context of the world these characters operate in, to me, it does make sense to show that, like in the Edo period of Japan, women were always seen as second-class citizens, always needing to be tied to men somehow, otherwise they are "worthless". Considering the corrupt, militarized system that most of the girls work in, mostly operated by wrinkly, old farts, who enjoy playing god too much, it does remain understandable to me, that they would be hesistant to be 100% committed to the job, and just ask for normal lives...

...BUT...

...it does leave you asking: Why did they choose to be ninjas in the first place, then? To get smitten with the boys (not counting Hinata, by the way, because she was literally forced into this role)? Just applying as literal child soldiers in a war, that they didn't even start to begin with? And yes, I get it, kunoichis excel in areas that male shinobi struggle with, like silent reconnaisance, charming other men, or sometimes women, to tickle information out of them, being healers, but here is the thing: As the Naruto progressed as a story, this pattern kept repeating, every time a female character got introduced, it would fall back on the following checklist:

Is this woman a healer?

Is she obsessed with looking for a boyfriend / a husband?

Is she lacking in combat-based strength, to the point where she needs protection from either of the male characters?

Because, except for the healer bit, which is more of a specialized field, I just brought it up, because I felt it to be awfully noticeable how often the girls requested to be healers, as if they have to fit into such a mold, or they aren't capable as shinobi, the other two questions get repeatedly answered, for pretty much 98% of all female characters, especially by the end of Shippuden.

And don't get me wrong: This is NOT a negative, per se, that they desire a boyfriend, or someone to spend the rest of their days with, this is not what I am complaining about. In fact, a good chunk of ships in the series are hella cute, and I don't want them to go away. Because to an extent, the romance aspect feels genuine, especially between Naruto and Hinata, or Sasuke and Sakura (yeah, fight me on that, I will defend these two as a ship, until I die), or hell, especially Shikamaru and Temari, which are the GOLD standard, of what a good ship needs.

What I am complaining about though, is that, the series kind of uses this romance aspect as a shield, or excuse, to undermine the female characters, in the long run. Think about it, when was the last time when Sakura, in spite of all the grueling training she had to suffer through to become this strong in the first place, not wanting to be a hindrance to anyone, legitimately kicked ass, after killing Sasori? Not counting the war arc, because this arc is frankly, an inexcuseable mess, and Kishimoto should be ashamed of himself for making it suck this hard for how many asspulls this arc had. Nope, the moment Naruto goes berserk, and Sasuke just... appears... she is reduced to a whimpering mess, who can't stand on her own two feet, and has to be saved by someone. And this happens. ALL. THE. TIME. That's all that happens with her, sure, she heals countless ninjas during the war, but again, healing isn't the only specialty she got:

SHE IS A SHINOBI! SHINOBIS FIGHT! THEY DON'T JUST STAND AROUND LIKE IDIOTS, AND EXPOSING THEMSELVES TO ENEMY FIRE! GET! ON! WITH IT!

I swear, man, this just frustrates me beyond any reason, and the worst part, even someone as awesome as Hinata, who kicked so much ass in Part 1 (especially the filler arcs, don't get smart with me, I watched the anime, suck a small one on that), who had a whole, potential story arc hinted at with Neji, and the issues regarding their entire clan, was reduced to a simple Naruto #1 fangirl for the entire duration of Shippuden, not even the filler could salvage her in any way, and for someone like me, who relates to Hinata on a spiritual level, I find this just so damned pathetic. And whenever I watch The Last, all I could think about was this one coherent thought: You. Had. ONE JOB. Kishimoto. And you failed her. As a standalone character. Causing the entire movie to come off as if you were just shoehorning everything together, as if we only liked Hinata, because of the NaruHina ship. Well, newsflash, it couldn't be further from the truth. So, screw you, and the entire The Last movie.

Plus, I am sure I am speaking on everyone's behalf here: Anko Mitarashi and Tenten were done the MOST dirty by Kishimoto. Nuff' said.

On that note, that brings me to my next point:

2. The angry Karen housewife stereotype

I swear, this meme right here...

And Kushina's entire existence truly proves my point that, Kishimoto is really not doing himself any favors, whenever he says "I don't know how to write women". Oh, but then THIS is your answer? Is this how you see them all, the very second they get married and have kids?

So let me get this straight, the moment a woman, in the Naruto universe, gets married, has kids, and takes care of them, they become:

Aggressive, to the point of physically assaulting their own kids (Kushina definitely would have done so, let's not lie to ourselves, I love her, but this behavior of hers, combined with Sakura's general attitude towards Naruto, would have definitely made him suicidal after a while, if it weren't for the fact, he accepts it in his mom's case, because she doesn't know any better, considering her childhood)

Unpleasant to be around for their husbands (as if, we get guilt-tripped into thinking, the wives are the ones being selfish, wanting their lovers to be home with them, which, by the way, is a serious piece of shit way of thinking, because, they are married for a REASON, and not to stay apart all the time, THEY ARE FAMILY, at least, from how it gets painted as, in Boruto, from what I have seen so far)

Becoming total sociopaths, as if their genuine worries and concerns get painted as something so abnormal and "creepy"

...and this is how you see them all? THIS is your answer? Again, I know, we have ZERO evidence to prove that Kishimoto himself, is sexist in real life, it would be irresponsible of me to put that out there, because I just don't know the guy. I am just saying that, with how the housewives were all written thus far, and how, from Naruto's POV, he began having a fear of angry moms, calling them "scary", and how the females got seriously underrepresented in the course of the story...

...IT DOESN'T DO HIM ANY FAVORS.

I can't even believe I have to say this, because, newsflash, Kishimoto, and I will say it in caps: NOT ALL MOMS IN THE WORLD, ACT LIKE THIS!

They can get mad with us, they are fully in the right to whenever we do something stupid, no matter how old we get, because they will always view us as their babies that they cradled in their arms. But the problem here is: In Boruto, it gets painted as if the moms are the ones in the wrong here, just for being a tiny bit more concerned than others, because again, the world that they live in, is dangerous. And leaving the Otsu*redacted* aside, I can fully sympathize with them, so seeing someone like Boruto himself taking so many liberties being a spoiled, rotten brat, who never suffers serious repurcussions for his behavior (I know, he lost his headband for cheating, but for someone like him, who wished literal DEATH on his own father, just for him not being around enough, needed a way harsher punishment, you just don't say that your parents, dude, this doesn't take a genius to understand, especially since this is Naruto and Hinata we are talking about her), once again, it undermines the females, as if the kids ALWAYS "know better", and they "just suck, because moms are scary". Fuck off. Seriously. This is just disrespectful. No excuses. It shouldn't be written this way. Even more so, because the POV of the mothers gets never tackled, making this seem one-sided.

3. A few romances fall back on tropes, that disrespect not only the girls, but also the guys

OK, I will probably get some flack for saying this, but, regardless of the explainations in one of the Retsuden mangas, the InoSai ship, is perfectly encapsulating to me, how the romance in Naruto isn't without its flaws, and it mostly stems from how some of the characters just never get the privilege of gaining their own story sections about their own individual struggles as standalone characters.

I AM LOOKING RIGHT AT YOU, CHOJI AND KARUI! THEIR ROMANCE IS SO OUT OF LEFT FIELD, IT'S NOT EVEN WORTH JOKING ABOUT, EXCEPT, IT'S LITERALLY A JOKE, DUE TO THEIR NAMES BEING POLAR OPPOSITES TO ONE ANOTHER. HA. HA. HA.

Personally, to me, Sai is not that interesting of a character to me, I was never able to connect with him in any way, despite the importance he had in the story, alluding to the ROOT Anbu under Danzo's leadership.

But his "romance" with Ino, was seriously pushing it to me, not only because, it just regresses Ino's entire character, pushing her back into this mold that she is only interested in brooding, mentally ill edgelords like Sasuke, which paints her a shallow person, but it just paints Sai himself, as a stand-in for Sasuke, too, which undermines his own character, unintentionally. There are so many things wrong with their overall dynamic, I can't even put it properly into words.

And don't think, InoSai are the only exception to this rule. As much as it pains me to say this, NaruHina and SasuSaku are also affected by this, not as severe, but it's still pretty noticeable.

NaruHina

The fact that, with NaruHina, we needed an entire freaking movie, which, frankly, should have never happened, had they done a better job at utilizing Hinata as her own character, with Naruto present to help her out with her clan, and it all hinged on Naruto himself regressing as a character too, needing to be put in a fucking Genjutsu, just to see how he "truly felt" about Hinata... I am sorry, what is this? I mean, from a writing standpoint, this is just straight-up BAD. It's clichéd, it's painting Hinata as a damsel in distress, needing to be saved by Naruto, and Naruto himself being pardoned with "he is just dense", and overall, you can really tell, this is all just hamfisted into a single movie, because they needed to desperately convince us: Look, this is a thing. They are together now. Now play the emotional music, because that's all it needs.

Listen, I know Naruto never had a clear grasp on his own emotions, but the overall pay-off, to me, is just not there, no matter how hard I try. It just feels hollow, I don't feel happy with this. Because, for this to ship to work, they had to go through all these extra lengths to regress them both first, as individual characters, just so they can shut the lid on the whole thing. Made even worse by how this confession of Hinata during the Pain Invasion arc, was never brought up again to Naruto, until the freaking movie, and I still don't understand why. I know he didn't "ignore" her, but why does he fail to recognize Hinata's love confession, but the moment Sakura drops by to confess to him, too, he immediately calls it BS? Please. Make it make sense.

SasuSaku

Listen, nothing will stop me from loving these two as one, they deserve the peace amongst themselves, but the problem is, like InoSai, it falls back on the trope of, the girl bearing this mindset of "I can fix him", and while Sakura certainly did succeed... hear me out:

This is a purely universal thing now, this isn't just applying to SasuSaku. Otherwise, both ships have a solid foundation, ruined by shit writing. Nothing else to say.

That moment of Ino crying for Sasuke, really made me realize: Kishimoto really is clueless, not just about women, but men, too.

Because, again, for how often some of the girls bore this mindset of "I need me some brooding hunk of meat", essentially, desiring a man that knowingly treats them like crap, just so they can bear the delusion of "I can fix him", while downplaying and belittling the "uncool" guys like Choji, Rock Lee, or hell, even Naruto or Kiba, guys who, for the most part, have a solid grasp on their moral compass and their self-worth, denouncing their advances with "ew, no", is honestly disgusting to me. Like, come on, man, they aren't as cool as the edgelord teammates, but why downplay them so hard in the presence of the girls? Don't they deserve love too? Why belittle them for their eccentricities, it not only paints the girls in a bad light, but it straight up mocks the male "goofball" teammates for being the way they are. In short: NO ONE IS THE WINNER HERE.

Phew, OK, I hope, I made my point, loud and clear now. Because these points have been bothering me for a VERY long time now, and look, correct me if I am wrong. I am never 100% foolproof, so if I left out anything, feel free to correct me.

I needed to vent about this, because I felt so genuinely pissed off for how underpowered and underepresented the girls are, and how unkind and unforgiving the writing was to them, overall.

Peace.

[staylovesmiley]

Going Dumb~ Chapter 5

ᯓᡣ𐭩Pairing; Kim Seungmin x Fem!reader

ᯓᡣ𐭩 ᯓᡣ𐭩Summary; It had been over a decade since you had last seen each other, having met in choir when Seungmin was living with his grandparents in LA and you with your Aunt. Now that you are both presented adults, how will he handle a change to the reality of you he had made in his mind in your absence over the years?

ᯓᡣ𐭩 ᯓᡣ𐭩 ᯓᡣ𐭩 Notes; This is an ABO!AU. in this world when someone reaches puberty they will present with one of three sub genders; alpha, beta, or omega. Due to Alphas and Omegas experiencing rut and heat, some jobs are restrictive as to what sub genders they will hire, specifically singling out omegas as heat suppressants are harder to obtain than rut suppressants. Scent glands are located near the pressure points on the neck and small hormonal patches called scent blockers can be placed over them to reduce or rid an individual of their scent for a period of time depending on the strength of the hormones in the patch.

ᯓᡣ𐭩 ᯓᡣ𐭩 ᯓᡣ𐭩ᯓᡣ𐭩Warnings; abo!au, beta!kim seungmin, almost all alpha!straykids, female!reader, poly!pack dynamics, angst, mild violence, mentions of sexual harassment/assault and discrimination, smut, enemies to lovers, Kim seungmin is kind of an ass I’m so sorry dandy boy, she/her pronouns used for reader, jealous seungmin, I have only ever wrote one abo story before but it is one of my favorite genres so I hope I can do this justice~

ᯓᡣ𐭩 ᯓᡣ𐭩 ᯓᡣ𐭩ᯓᡣ𐭩 ᯓᡣ𐭩 specific chapter TW; sexual harassment in the work place, heavily implied SA but nothing too graphic, sexism in a way but it’s revolving their sub genders- if this is something that will make you uncomfortable skip from the first pink text to the last

You walked the inkigayo halls, arms hugging yourself tightly as you were lead by a staff member to the stray kids green room at one of the many music shows they performed during comebacks.

Having been invited to come support them at their last performance, you didn’t want to miss it despite feeling completely out of place as you followed the staff past multiple different idols and their own staff members tending to different matters or filming dance challenges together in locations you had only ever seen on the small screen of your phone via social media.

Once at the green room, the staff knocked before pushing the door open and motioning for you to go in first. At the sight of you, the members perked up where they were getting ready. Minho made his way to you, batting off the stylist who began glaring at him for stopping her in the middle of touching up his makeup. “Bunny! You made it here okay, yeah? Wasn’t too confusing?” The alpha questioned, pulling you into his arms which you accepted happily. “Mhm the staff was very nice helping me find the way here, thank you for sending them to get me.” You giggled, nuzzling into his embrace though both of you wore scent blockers so neither were able to properly scent each other.

From his place on the edge of the couch, Seungmin put his phone down and walked over to greet you. “Hyung if you don’t let the stylist noona finish she’s gonna scold you….again.” With that, the alpha’s eyes widened and he quickly made his way back over to where the stylist was waiting to finish applying the final touches to her work.

Seungmin chuckled at the older male before turning to you with a shy, awkward smile. “I’m glad you could make it, Bunny.” You returned the smile, nodding to him as you gave him a brief hug. “I’m happy you guys invited me.”

The others watched fondly, happy to see the two of you getting along. It had been a little over a week since the two of you had your talk and made up and the other members were thrilled to hear that all was well.

“Wait a minute, so you really had a badass bodyguard and you thought she was just being annoying?!” Changbin had asked with wide eyes when Seungmin had relayed the truth of what you had told him. “Yeah I guess so….I didn’t realize people were trying to bully me- Bunny really was looking out for me…”

Minho shook his head at him, arms crossed over his chest as he had leaned against the wall of the living room. “If you didn’t have such a huge stick up your ass then you could have had this cleared up a lot sooner.” Seungmin sighed, looking down at his lap. “I know, hyung….I’m really sorry to you all too for how I was acting- I really don’t get why I was being so stubborn..” with a pout on his face he looked to his pack members for forgiveness, which they granted easily. Minho even came over and pulled the younger into a tight embrace.

“We can’t be mad at you forever, puppy. What matters is you’ve realized you were in the wrong and you are working to make it right now.” The Alpha gave him a squeeze before sending him a sharp look. “Besides, if you start acting up again you’ll wish the only punishment you receive is a slap to the face and a scolding.” The beta nodded frantically, eyes wide as he knew not to challenge the older’s threats.

In the week leading up to this finale music show performance you had been added to a group chat with all of the members who kept tabs on you during your stay at the hotel to make sure all was well. You had bonded with them, shared a few late meals during their free time while promoting.

Since they were so busy with their schedules and you with your own job you didn’t get to see them as often as they would have liked, as often as they would if you were still living at the dorm, but nonetheless you had all gotten close.

Seungmin pulled away, nodding back to you. There was still a slightly awkward air around the two of you as guilt still clung to the beta over his behavior towards you, and you were unsure where exactly you stood in terms of friendship with him after your reality of your youth from his per was shattered by the knowledge of how he had seen you all these years.

Once Minho had finished getting his makeup done he made his way over to the couch in the middle of the room and patted the spot next to him. Despite how rocky your friendship with Seungmin was, you’d say you had gotten to be pretty close with the second oldest.

His kindness to you in the first days of your arrival had stuck with you and he seemed to bring this sense of calm over you when you needed it most. Through talks with Jisung you learned he did the same for him, that it was just something about the Alpha that gave off a calming presence that helped the younger with his anxiety a lot especially during their trainee and pre-debut days.

You made your way over but before you could sit on the couch beside him, Minho pulled you down into his lap causing a pink blush to flood your cheeks and if it weren’t for the scent blockers you currently had on the entire building would be aware of your flustered state no doubt.

The alpha gave you an innocent smile, bunny teeth on display causing you to flush deeper and hide your face behind your hands. “Awe bunny’s shy, boys.” He teased, poking at your sides. “Cut it out, Min- I didn’t know you were gonna pull me on you like that.” You groaned, batting his hands away and laughing lightly at his prodding.

Jisung came to sit in the seat you were originally planning to take and quickly pulled you away from the dancer with his strong arms. “Leave her alone, hyung. Look how red you’ve made her.” He laughed, fanning at your face with his free hand while the other rested at your waist. The attention only served to feed your flustered state and cause you to bury your face in the crook of the young alpha’s neck. “Han not you too-“

Everyone erupted in laughter at the two teasing you, finding it unbelievably adorable how easily it was to rile you up. From across the room, Seungmin watched you carefully with a slight flush of his own. He felt his chest tighten slightly as he watched the way you interacted with his pack. At this point, Hyunjin had joined in the teasing and was currently trying to coax you into lifting your head from the rapper’s neck and come sit with him instead for a cuddle, whining that you were showing favoritism for the pair on the couch.

You raised your head only enough to look over at Seungmin with pleading eyes, the relentless attention from the pack causing your face to remain a light shade of pink and you let out a slight whimper of distress at the embarrassment that the others didn’t seem to catch over the laughter and teasing of the trio surrounding you. “Okay that’s enough- give her some space.”

The beta came to your rescue, carefully helping you out of Han’s lap and into a single seat beside the couch. “Thank you-“ you said softly, nodding to him. Seungmin nodded back, rubbing your back gently before moving back to his spot in the stylist’s chair.

The rest of the time in the green room was spent chatting with Felix about a new banana bread recipe he wanted you to try whenever they got a break long enough for him to bake it for you, helping Jeongin with a caption he wanted in english for a new Instagram post, and watching at they goofed off for the cameras filming behind the scenes content for their YouTube.

Before you knew it they were being called to stage, each of the boys giving you a smile or a wave as they lined up to head out the door. Minho sent you a wink, causing Seungmin to huff a bit under his breath before going and patting the top of your head where you still sat in the chair he had helped you to earlier. “You’ll watch on the screen from here, yeah? I’d send you out to the crowd but it can get a little crazy and I don’t want anyone giving you a hard time.” He explained, an apologetic expression on his face. “Of course, it’s okay I don’t mind. I’m just glad I could be here to support you!” You said with a bright smile, leaning up to give him a kiss to the cheek before you could overthink whether the gesture was appropriate with your current standing with one another.

The action caused the others to squeal or tease as the beta flushed a deep shade of pink and left with a nod to you, hurrying to the stage with the other members. His mind was moving a mile a minute, his heart threatening to beat out of his chest as a hand came to gently touch where you had kissed it the second one of the members looked over to see he pretended to be rubbing it off with a false look of disgust on his features.

You sat back in your chair and tried to relax while the staff around you busied themselves preparing for when the pack returned from the stage. You felt like there was something you should be doing to help but also weren’t sure if you would get in the way or not.

Suddenly one of the staff was turning the volume up on the tv as everyone settled down to watch the performance.

The stage lights shown a bright red, casting a hue over the members clad in all black military style outfits for the stage. Once the music began, you felt yourself sit up a bit straighter as your attention locked onto the performance on the screen.

They were incredible. You had seen their performances online plenty of times while keeping up with Seungmin from afar. Even though it was still through a screen, something about knowing they were just outside the green rooms and down the corridor performing seemed to make you beam with pride for them.

You felt entranced, watching them glide across the stage, unable to decide who to focus on as they danced with such passion you felt as if they were shaking the ground even back in the room you were hidden away in to watch them.

As the last part of the music played, you felt your cheeks grow a bit hot as Seungmin took center stage. His gaze was intense and you felt your cheeks heating up slightly as if he were staring into your soul through the screen. Suddenly the camera shifted to Chan for his falsetto and you felt a smile come to your face to match the one he wore, and then it was Minho in center as he belted out the final lines of the song.

There was a slight growl laced in his voice, the rasp of it causing butterflies to erupt in your chest and a hand to cover your face instinctively as if here were there beside you still teasing you like he had been earlier.

As the stage ended your hands slid back into your lap, and you watched as the camera showed a very smiley Chan making cute gestures before switching to Felix who did the same as the older alpha, causing you to giggle at their actions.

Suddenly the room was back into action as staff moved to finish everything for the members return. Just as you were standing to offer your help the door burst open and the loud sounds of the pack could be heard entering through it. Your head whipped around to face them and you swore you probably looked like a deer caught in headlights.

Some of the members were already sans parts of their costumes, having taken off jackets and other smaller accessories and handed them off to a stylist who had followed them to the stage. You watched as sweat slowly dripped down Hyunjin’s neck and bit your lower lip, willing yourself to look away just as Felix came into view with Jisung in tow. “So? What did you think? I know it wasn’t the best view most likely but we are still glad you could come!” Felix cheered, his voice more high pitched than usual to match his energy as he bounced lightly on the heels of his feet in front of you.

With a softly laugh, amused by the alpha, you shook your head at him. “It was fine, really- you guys did so well I felt like I was right at the edge of the stage cheering you on.” You said with honesty as you replayed the performance in your mind. Felix beamed, along with Jisung, and the two quickly pulled you over to the couch to sit between them while the others began getting out of their performance clothes and into things comfortable.

Felix laid his head on your shoulder, causing the beta across the room to growl lightly startling the three of you on the couch. Chan swatted at the back of his head when he growled at the alphas on either side of you. “Stop being like that, pup.” The three of your couldn’t help but giggle as the second youngest got scolded, watching as he pouted and made his way to the room to change out of his stage clothes.

As he passed by, he heard a low voice saying “If I didn’t know any better I’d think you were an alpha how you’re trying to stake some kind of claim on her.” It was Hyunjin, teasing from where he came out of the restroom and walked by on his way into the main part of the green room.

This statement made the younger blush, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. “I just think it’s a bit much for you guys to be all over her like that when you barely know her is all….”

Back on the couch, Jisung bid a temporary farewell as he left to get changed. The space he once occupied was quickly replaced as Hyunjin stole the seat and soon you were deep in conversation with the two alphas about how work had been for you lately.

“Honestly it’s been pretty nice so far. Most of my students are easy, diligent, and extremely bright. I think I lucked out there-“ you said with a sigh, thinking of some of the horror stories you had heard from other teachers. “Any more issues with your coworkers?” Minho spoke up from behind you as he made his way over and leaned over you from the back of the couch to make eye contact.

You hesitated, the alpha watching you intently with a quirked brow and a look that told you that you better be honest with him or he’d find out the truth anyways. “Yeah, a little…but it’s nothing too serious really just some looks-“ the alpha glared, his look pointed and digging for more from you. “A-And maybe a comment or two?”

Minho blinked slowly before letting out a soft sigh. “Bunny I told you that you need to go to your boss if they continued to give you trouble…you promised” you frowned, gaze falling to your lap as you felt ashamed you hadn’t kept your promise. “I know and I’m sorry- I just don’t feel like it’s worth making a big deal of you know? It’s nothing I can’t handle….people are going to be ignorant.”

To your right, Felix placed a hand on your knee to get your attention. Once you looked up to meet his eyes he gave a warm smile and nodded towards where Minho still stood looming behind you. “Hyung has a point….it’s better to be safe than sorry. You could always just bring it up casually with your boss the next time you see them? Just bring it to their attention so there is record of it…”

Nodding, you bit your tongue as you neglected to tell them that your boss had been present for multiple incidents where an alpha coworker made a comment about your subgender or even your body. All she had done was chuckled or even agreed with their comments. You had also felt her eyes lingering on you from time to time as you left a room she was in or walked past her in the hall. It made it feel impossible to broach the topic with her and feel like anything would be done, and you couldn’t risk losing this job already.

The topic was forgotten once all the members were changed and all the staff had packed up the room. A manager soon came in to round them up and bring them out to the cars. “Are you coming back with us?” Chan asked, walking up to where you were standing with Seungmin and Changbin by the entrance and making sure you had everything you had brought with you. “I don’t know…am I allowed?” You questioned back, looking up slightly at the pack alpha as the smell of the ocean washed over you. He wasn’t wearing any blockers and it had you wondering if that was because of his rank or something else as you swore he wasn’t wearing them earlier either.

Chan nodded, a bright smile on his lips as he nudged you lightly. “Always. We’ve missed having you at the dorm, you know…we can order some food once we get there and have a night in to celebrate the end of our music show promotions.” You nodded, returning his smile before following them out into the hall. “Ride with me?” Seungmin leaned down and whispered in your ear. Your eyes widened slightly, still not used to the beta being polite with you after everything when you had first arrived. “Yeah um if you want me to?” He nodded, giving you a shy smile just before the doors opened leading to where the cars were parked at the side of the building.

Once outside you felt a bit taken aback by the cameras flashing and the people shouting things to the kids, trying desperately to get their attention. From time to time you would hear or see one of them respond or give a heart and a smile to the crowd as they made their way into one of the two cars waiting for them. As you tried to put distance between you and the boys, attempting to blend in with the staff as to not cause them any trouble should the fans or press get the wrong idea, Seungmin frowned and took hold of your arm to pull you closer to his side.

Your eyes widened, head snapping to look up at him with a questioning look as if to silently ask of this was okay. The last thing you wanted to do was get him in trouble with the company after he was so hellbent on you causing issues for him when you had first arrived. All he did was smile at you in return, his hand slipping down from where it held your arm to intertwine his fingers with your own and give a gentle squeeze. “Minnie?” You asked, just loud enough for him to hear.

The beta only shrugged before raising his other hand to wave to stays who were suddenly erupting with questions as to who was at his side, holding hands with their beloved idol. Your face began to heat up at all of the attention, but you tried to shake it off as you were ushered into the suv and into a seat in the back with Seungmin and Felix.

As Minho and Jeongin entered the car their manager hopped in the passenger seat and soon they were on their way back to the dorm. “What the fuck was that all about, pup?” Minho questioned, looking over his shoulder to the back seat where Seungmin sat beside you. “What do you mean? I was just making sure bunny got to the car safely.” He said with a another shrug of his shoulders like he had earlier when you had questioned him. “Yeah while also making a scene out of it. Stay are gonna be going crazy online about this, you know…”

Wincing, you placed your head in your hands but Seungmin seemed proud of himself. “And? I’m not aloud to have friends outside the seven of you?” Minho scoffed, rolling his eyes. “They won’t take it that way and you know it. Besides- our bunny isn’t in the idol world. Did you stop to think what that could do to her personal life?” That caused Seungmin’s expression to falter and his face to fall. “No- I didn’t…”

You sighed, shaking your head before laying your head on Felix shoulder to the other side of you and causing Seungmin to feel a slight pang in his chest. “I’ll be okay…I just hope you don’t get any backlash from that.” Minho calling you theirs hadn’t slipped by you, and it caused your heart to flutter and a blush to creep up your neck to your cheeks and the tips of your ears but you didn’t feel it was anything worth dwelling on and just more of the older alpha’s lighthearted teasing.

“I’ll be fine. Sure I keep some things private but you are a part of our lives now, so everyone can just get used to it.” You nodded at Seungmin’s words, though you felt there was deeper meaning behind his actions that he himself may not even be fully aware of. He was so smart yet could be so oblivious about himself you were learning.

Back at the dorm, the time you had to spend with the pack was unfortunately cut short as you had work early the next morning. Just as you were about to call a car service for a ride back to your hotel, Minho stepped up and began slipping on his shoes and grabbed a set of keys from a bowl in the entry way table. “Don’t bother, I’ll drive you.” He said, leaving no room for arguments. “Um, okay? As long as you’re sure.” He nodded and soon you were following him to the garage and sliding into the passenger seat of his car.

The drive was mostly quiet, the car radio playing softly and creating a comfortable atmosphere as you were surrounded by the smell of warm caramel. “I’m sorry about the puppy earlier…” he said suddenly, clearing his throat.

You looked over at him slightly puzzled. “What, the hand holding thing? Seungmin didn’t mean anything bad by it-“ you responded softly, shrugging your shoulders as you relaxed back into your seat. “He may not have meant anything bad but…you didn’t asked to be put in the spotlight like that and you had no time to prepare.” He said with a sigh.

As the reality sunk in, you realized what he was trying to say. “Oh….I don’t think I thought of it really- I’m not on social media much anyways so I doubt they’d be able to find me?” He shook his head, pulling into the parking garage of the hotel. “You’d be surprised…just- stay off any socials for a bit until we can figure out something to say? I don’t want you to see anything bad some of our uh- fans might say. If you can call people like that fans…”

You giggled a bit at the disgusted face he made, unbuckling your seatbelt before leaning over the center console to give the alpha a hug. “I’ll be okay, Min. Text me when you get back?” He nodded, returning the hug before letting go and watching you enter the building. Once he was sure you were inside safely, Minho drove off and back to the dorms while smiling at how your scent lingered in his car since you had taken off your blockers while at the dorm at his and the others insistence.

The next day at work started as normal as it had been since you had began teaching there. You had almost completely forgotten about the incident while leaving inkigayo where Seungmin had unintentionally placed an invisible target on your back.

By lunch a few students had come up to you, none from your class fortunately, to ask you if that was you they had seen pictures of with Stray Kids. You weren’t sure if you we’re allowed to say, since Minho had implied they were going to make some sort of statement, so you simply shook your head and told them to go back to their class.

Later, while walking to a supply closet down the hall to get something you needed for a lesson the next day, you felt as someone quite a bit taller than you approached from behind. As you started to turn to see who it was and what they may need since they were walking so close to you you felt your body being slammed against the wall to your left. You winced, a hand flying to hold where your head had hit the hard surface with a decent amount of force fearing you may have a slight concussion from the impact. As you looked to see who it was who had pushed you, your eyes widened as you were face to face with one of the main coworkers who had been giving you trouble recently.

-stop here and pick up again at the next pink text to skip TW listed at the beginning of the chapter-

Kim Hanseo was one of the alphas they warn you about when you present as an omega, the ones who are stuck in the times where rank meant more than just your biology and alphas were allowed to practically do whatever they wanted without consequence as they were seen to be above everyone else.

From the moment he found out that they had hired an omega foreigner to teach at the school, he felt he had some sort of power over you because of his subgender. He would constantly make his advances on you known even though you dismissed them every time.

Because of the blockers you wore he couldn’t smell any alpha’s scent on you but he had assumed that you belonged to one since you were so adamantly rejecting him and what available omega in their right might would turn down an alpha’s advances he thought.

Of course, this didn’t stop the comments or hungry eyes watching your every move. Maybe you’d see what a better alpha he was than whoever you returned home to at the end of the day and come crawling begging for him to take you as his.

That’s why when he saw you plastered all over social media hand in hand with a lowly beta he felt a rage boil inside of him. You had been denying him because of someone of a lesser rank? How dare you do that to him, to place someone below him at your side when you should belong to him.

When he saw you exiting your classroom that afternoon he couldn’t stop himself before he was trailing after to confront you.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, omega?!” The man growled as his face was mere inches from your own. “All over that filthy beta when you should be mine.”

You looked at him with anger starting to flood your expression. “What are you even talking about? look I’ve tried to be polite but I don’t know how many times I have to tell you I’m not interested for you to understa-“ before you could finish your words his mouth was pressed to yours in a sloppy miscalculated kiss.

Everything felt wrong as the alpha pressed his full body up against your own, effectively pinning you to the wall. Immediately you began to push him away with both palms flat against his chest. “Get the fuck away from me!” You shouted, hoping the sound of your voice so loud and in distress would alert others in the building to come to your aid.

Hanseo only chuckled darkly and began kissing and sucking at your neck causing you to hit at his shoulders and chest as hard as you could until his hands grabbed your wrists and pinned them to the wall by your head. “Stop fighting what you know you want. It’s in your nature to submit to me, omega. Give. In.” He growled into your ear, grinding up against your pinned body and letting out a low moan.

You began thrashing around, trying to get away as you saw another coworker coming down the hall and started shouting for them to help. The coworker in question was another alpha, Choi Juwon, and you hoped that with his help you’d be able to get away from Hanseo and be able to lock yourself in your classroom until you could get in touch with the principal or superintendent to make them aware of the situation.

However you were sorely mistaken, and instead of helping the other alpha simply smirked at the two of you as he approached. “What do we have here, hyung?” Juwon asked the man on top of you, tilting his head in a mockingly cute way and causing your stomach to turn at the disgusting smile he wore. “This omega here thinks she doesn’t belong to me. She’s been hanging around some beta just cause he’s famous and thinks he’s better than us.”

The younger of the two alphas scoffed. “Is that so?” He asked, eyes locked with yours as you pleaded with him still to help you. “Gonna show her that only a real alpha can ever make her feel good. Help me get her to the bathroom.” Juwon nodded and despite your kicking and screaming they were able to grab hold of your arms and legs and start carrying you towards the closest restroom on that floor just a few feet down the hallway you had been stopped in.

“Please stop! Put me down! Get away from me!!” You started to cry, still attempting to kick and scratch at them while screaming so loud your voice was starting to give out. Your cries seemed to fall on deaf ears as no one came, and as soon as the bathroom door closed behind the three of you your fate was unfortunately sealed.

-TW over though the rest of this chapter contains the aftermath and so a mild TW is still in place, proceed with caution though I will be vague about what happened and will only be calling it “the attack”-

As your attackers left the restroom, door slamming closed behind them, you crawled from your spot slumped on the floor against the wall and reached up to lock it.

You were alone, shivering and unable to speak above a whisper due to your constant screaming for help over the course of the attack. You found your phone when it had fallen out of the pocket of your skirt and with shaky hands called the first contact you could think of.

As you sat listening to the line ring a few times you avoided looking at yourself in the mirror, wincing as you pulled your legs to your chest in search of some form of comfort. As soon as you heard his voice, you felt tears sting at the corners of your eyes. “Bunny? Is everything okay? Shouldn’t you be in class-“

Seungmin was currently heading to the convenience store with Jeongin before vocal lessons, wanting to get something small to eat knowing that things usually ran late with their vocal coach and it would be a while before they could eat dinner. You struggled to speak, throat incredibly sore and unable to say what exactly had happened to you. “M-Minnie please….I need you to come get me.” His hand fell from where it was about to open the door to the 7/11 and he turned to look at Jeongin with eyes full of worry. The sound of your voice so small and the tears he could hear were threatening to spill set him on edge as he took hold of the maknae’s hand and turned to start walking back to the company to get to a car.

“Bunny what happened? Are you okay? Are you safe?” His voice gave away his panic, unable to mask how worried he was while frantically searching the parking garage for either his or Jeongin’s cars. “M’safe for now but please hurry….I’m- I don’t think I can stand on my own right now.” You didn’t mean to scare him but your words only caused him to panic more as he grabbed the keys from his pocket and threw them to Jeongin, mouthing for him to drive to the school where you worked.

You listened on the line as you heard the sound of the car starting up, Jeongin asking what was wrong and for a second you thought of asking for the beta to come alone but decided against it for fear that one of your attackers would see him and if he were alone do something to hurt him as well. “Stay on the phone until I get there, okay? I’ll be there soon.”

The entire ride Seungmin felt as if he was going to burst into flames from how fast his mind was going with the worry and anxiety flooding over him. He’s sure if he wasn’t wearing scent blockers others would feel nauseous at the scent of him. Jeongin stayed silent, not sure what was going on but he had a feeling whatever it is he needed to keep a level head for both your sake and Seungmin’s.

Once they had arrived, Seungmin barely waited for the car to slow down before he was opening the door and making a mad dash for the entrance. “Hyung wait- fuck-“ Jeongin quickly put the car in park, praying in his head that he wouldn’t be towed as he took off after the other.

The singers made their way through the halls while you gave directions to Seungmin as best as you could with your voice straining to speak at a level loud enough to be heard over the sounds of their foot steps running through the halls to get to you.

Soon you heard banging both on the door to the restroom you were in as well as over the phone and so you moved out of the way of the door with a wince and reached up to unlock it. “Come in-“ you said as loudly as you could, hoping they could hear. It must have been loud enough or they heard the click of the lock because soon the door was pushed open and you didn’t think you’d ever been so happy to see anyone before.

“Minnie-“ you whispered as tears started to roll down your cheeks. The beta was on his knees in front of you before he could even process what he was doing, the smell of bitter orange and two scents unfamiliar to him but undoubtedly alpha made his stomach wretch but instead of pulling away he took your hands into his and began looking you over.

Parts of your top were torn and exposed parts of your bra underneath, the rest of your clothes crumpled and he swore there were stains that looked like blood on your skirt. Bruises littered your body and he felt his blood boil at the thought that someone had done all of this to you.

Jeongin stood by the door, watching from a distance as Seungmin pulled you close to rest his forehead against yours. A low growl rumbling from his chest at the smells in the room and it took everything within him not to track down whoever’s scent that was and rip their throats out himself.

You sniffled, looking up into Seungmin’s eyes as he rested your foreheads against each other and gave a gentle squeeze to your hands. “Who did this to you?” His voice dropped with venom though his demeanor came off as gentle and comforting to you, nose nudging yours softly as he waited for you to respond. All you did was shake your head and whisper shakily. “Please take me home…I don’t want to be here anymore.”

The beta raised his head and gave Jeongin a look, nodding towards you before turning back to meet you questioning stare. “Innie is gonna carry you down to the car, is that okay?” After looking up at where the young alpha stood now beside Seungmin, you gave him a weak smile before nodding in agreement. “Okay-“

Seungmin moved out of the way to make room for the youngest, standing up and looking around the room while rubbing his palms again his thighs anxiously as he thought of the next course of action. Jeongin was careful to scoop you up and into his arms bridal style, holding you close for a moment before standing and adjusting his hold to be more secure. “Hyung, take my blocker off and put it on Bunny.” He said, baring his neck to the other singer who was quick to do as asked.

“What? Why?” You spoke softly, looking up at the youngest with still tearful eyes that made his heart pinch painfully in his chest. “So no one can smell you while we make it to the car, Bun.” He said as he pushed out more of his scent purposefully to help mask whatever scent lingered on your clothes. “Just until we are safely outside, yeah?” He knew based on the bruises covering the skin near your scent glands that wearing the adhesive blocking patch would not be the most comfortable but he felt it was necessary to protect you and it seemed Seungmin agreed.

The two made their way out to the car with you still held in the youngest’s arms as quickly and as quietly as possible, stopping only briefly in your fortunately empty classroom so seungmin could gather your things and then before you knew it you were being tucked into the backseat with Jeongin still holding onto you while Seungmin took the keys back from him and peeled out of the parking lot as fast as he could without fear of being pulled over.

You felt exhausted, eyes threatening to close as your rested your head against the maknae’s chest. “Hey, we are almost there okay? Seungmin is bringing you back to the dorm and we will get you taken care of…they hyungs will know what to do.” You wanted to argue that you would be okay now that you were away from the school but instead you only nodded and let yourself drift off for the remainder of the drive.

Once they had gotten back to the dorms Seungmin held the door for Jeongin as he carried you inside. “Where the hell have you two been? We got a call from your vocal coach saying you never showed up and we have all been blowing up your phones for-“ Minho started, storming up to the two youngest members ready to chew their heads off before he registered you in the alpha’s arms and in a state he never thought he’d see anyone in let alone the omega he had come to be so fond of.

He didn’t know what to say or what question to ask first but before he could say anything Seungmin gave him a look that said they would talk later. “Can I please take a shower?” You whispered to Jeongin, looking up at him with pleading eyes. Seungmin shook his head over the alphas shoulder, setting your things down and moving to take you from the younger. “Bunny if you take a shower now then we can’t go to the police. You’ll wash away any evidence against them.”

You nuzzled closer to the beta as he held you against his chest, letting out a small yelp in pain as Jeongin carefully pulled off the blockers he had placed on you earlier. “Please Minnie I just want to feel clean again….please-“ At your words and the tears he saw threatening to spill over once more he reluctantly agreed and carried you over to the bathroom. Even if he felt you shouldn’t, your comfort was all that mattered in that moment.

He sat you down on the closed toilet seat while he turned on the shower to as hot as his hand could withstand per your instructions, moving to leave the room once he was finished but your hand shot out to grab his wrist. “C-Could you stay….please?” Seungmin looked down at you, now that the adrenaline had work off he felt the awkwardness from before creeping back. “I don’t know, Bunny-“ Your grip on his wrist tightened and he could see the desperation and fear behind your eyes. With a sigh, Seungmin gave into you once again and moved to sit cross legged on the floor with his back resting against the door.

The beta averted his eyes while you took off your disheveled clothes and carefully stood to enter the shower. The hot water stung your skin but the thought of water anything less than scalding at this moment was completely unacceptable to you. As you stood letting the water wash over you Seungmin closed his eyes and rested his head back against the cool wood of the bathroom door while steam began to fog up the room around him.

After a while of standing under the spray of water you furiously you began scrubbing at your skin, your scent spiking and causing the beta to shoot up and rush to throw open the shower door. He was met with the sight of you rubbing a wash cloth against your arms, neck and torso until the skin turned a fiery red and looked painful to touch. Tears were spilling from your eyes and as your gaze met his you choked on a sob. “I-I can still smell them-“ Was all you said and without a second thought, Seungmin peeled the blockers off of his scent gland and stripped down to his boxers. Stepping into the shower beside you, the singer hissed as the scalding spray hit his skin but beyond that he didn’t pay the heat any mind and instead pulled you against his bare chest so your skin would be flush together.

As his mind caught up with him, he worried that maybe this was going too far given recent events and how intimate of a gesture this was but once he felt your body practically melt against him he knew this was the right call, as if something deep within him had known what you needed. “It’s gonna be okay, you’re safe. I’ve got you now….” He spoke in a soft, almost hushed tone as he held your body against his own. The warm smell of a freshwater stream with floral undertones surrounded you and brought a sense of calm and peace to your mind.

Outside the bathroom, the smell of fresh laundry and orange juice filled the dorm and caused the other inhabitants to look towards where you and their beta were locked away with questioning eyes but no one uttered a word about it as Jeongin spoke in a hushed tone to update the pack on what had happened as far as he knew.

Chan looked to Minho, whose face was blank but he knew that behind the dead stare he wore his right hand was thinking something that would likely end with him incarcerated. “Min, you know where Bunny has been staying right?” The second oldest nodded, looking up at the pack alpha with his blank stare remaining. “Go and get her things….and check her out of there. She might protest a bit but she is staying here until further notice.” Minho nodded and made his way to the door to slip on his shoes and grab his keys.

Next, the leader turned towards Jisung and nodded his head towards the retreating alpha. “Hannie, go with him to make sure he doesn’t go and do something stupid.” The rapper nodded in understanding and hurried to follow after the second oldest so he wouldn’t be left behind.

Back in the bathroom, Seungmin worked carefully to wash your hair and body without causing anymore harm. His touches were gentle, cautious, and laced with care as he made sure to leave his scent behind as he got rid of the stench that covered you before.

Once he was sure the only scent remaining was yours and his own, the beta nodded to himself and turned off the water. He stepped out to grab a towel from the shelf and wrapped it around you carefully before doing the same to himself and pulling off his now soak boxers in the process. You thanked him the entire time, every move he made to wash you, to wrap you in the towel, and now to lead you down the hall and into his room, you kept whispering small thank you’s that he didn’t acknowledge as he felt them unnecessary.

Seungmin sat you on the bed before turning to rummage through his drawers. After a while he turned and handed you a pair of boxers, a tshirt, and some sweatpants before he grabbed some of his own and made his way to leave the room. “I’m gonna go change in Felix’s room next door, you can change in here and rest if you want.” Just as he was about to leave, you whispered another thank you and he felt a frown fall on his face.

“Stop that.” He huffed, moving to face you again. “Stop thanking me for stuff I don’t deserve to be thanked for.” It was your turn to frown up at the beta as you held his clothes to your chest. “But you do deserve to be thanked. You could have came and got me just to drop me back at the hotel, or the hospital, or you could have ignored my call and not come at all- but you didn’t.”

Seungmin blinked, about to argue when you cut him off before he could. “Instead you came and you got me, you brought me to your home, you bathed me and now you’re giving me your clothes to wear and telling me to sleep in your room when we both know there is a perfectly fine unoccupied room down the hall. So yes, I’m going to thank you.” Once you were finished, the beta could help but smile slightly. Seeing that the fire inside you hadn’t been put out, that you could still argue with him and still had the strong will he was used to let him know that you would in fact be okay.

“You’re welcome.” Was all he said, giving you a small bow before backing out of the room and going next door to do as he said and change in Felix room.

author’s note: I hope everyone is okay after this chapter- I tried to tone it down as much as possible but I am kinda numb to the topic (cptsd be like heh) please feedback is appreciated and I hope you enjoyed the chapter despite the darker tones….

taglist; (pink users were unable to be tagged) @coastinglove @skzswife @maisyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy @doitforbangchan @chartrucewhore @sebastianswhore13 @finnydraws

[physalian]

Color in Fiction! (Once You See it, You Cannot Unsee it)

White versus black, red versus blue, Gatsby’s green light, Dorothy’s ruby red slippers, Belle’s blue dress.

Color is perhaps the most ubiquitous motif used across both fiction and reality to thread people or objects through a common theme, or to pit two ideologies against each other beyond their verbal spats. Color is also perhaps the simplest motif, but that doesn’t make it any lesser in its potency.

In fiction, color is an easy way for the audience to learn as fast as possible who’s on whose side, and who their opponents are, and today, we’re going to look at a few.

But first: Crash course into color theory:

Warmer colors evoke passion or uncertainty, movement and excitement, happiness and warmth, but also rage, aggression, love, and lust. The cooler colors evoke sadness and serenity, but also youth and spring and winter and death.

Most of the time when a creator wants to juxtapose color in a narrative or other work, they’re going to use inverses, just google one of the hundreds of teal and orange movie posters. Inverses are whatever colors lie at opposite sides of the wheel. Blue and Orange, Red and Green, Purple and Yellow. These pairs show up either in opposition, or as an ensemble of one character or a group or team.

Part 1: Black and White

Yes it has grounds in racism, but black and white are also accepted to mean chaos and order, good and evil, death and life.

In a show like Lost, themes of black and white are constant. The black and white backgammon pieces, the colors of the Dharma station logos, the show’s main title card, God stand-in Jacob (Lucifer from Supernatural), and his unnamed brother, the Man in Black.

Black and white show up *everywhere,* in some places subtler than others. In fiction with a male and female lead, if they are coded in black and white, the man is almost always the one in black. Black means strength and mystery and this deep, almost corrupted darkness. White is purity, femininity, youth, and nurturing, when a woman wears it, unless she's the villain.

Villains in white are very often surprise villains:

The White Witch (Chronicles of Narnia)

Saruman (Lord of the Rings)

President Coin (Hunger Games)

Hans (Frozen), Mayor Bellweather (Zootopia), Auto (Wall-E)

Elizabeth from Pirates of the Caribbean is an interesting case. She begins the first movie wearing light colors and being trapped in the pure and lawful life of the governor’s daughter. She ends her arc in the third movie in solid black (through several costumes) a badass Pirate King and wife of the new Captain of the Flying Dutchman.

Men in black are chivalrous, dark knights, or morally grey vigilantes, silent badasses, or edgy badboys. Black is also of course reserved for villains a la Darth Vader, or Severus Snape and Voldemort and a million others. The "Black Knight" is his own trope, whether he's in a fantasy setting or not.

Women in black are temptresses, or seductive badasses. Black is the color of corruption, sin, and angst in western media 9 times out of 10 unless a narrative wants to subvert it.

I could do an entire essay on black and white in Lord of the Rings alone but here's a few other contrasts: The white Tower of Ecthelion, Minas Tirith, the "White City", the White Tree, Gandalf the White. The Black Riders, Black Speech, Black Land of Mordor, Orthanc (Saruman's Tower).

But you don’t have to make your character’s entire costumes black and white, no, you can just make their hair light and dark.

Part 2: Hair

**Possibly also because racism but we don’t have time to unpack all that right now**

When you have your male protagonist and his male foil, love interest, competition, companion, lancer, or villain, most of the time (in western media where blonds are in abundance) the more noble or “good” character of the two will be blond, the other brunet, especially in a love triangle. If two male characters have opposing ideologies on any level, they will often have opposing hair. A male and female lead duo will also tend to have opposing hair, but it’s most obvious what they’re doing when it’s two dudes and not just coincidence.

Here’s a nonexhaustive list, with the brunet first (ignoring if the adaptation was faithful):

Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamnee (LoTR)

Aragorn and Boromir (LoTR)

Aragorn and Theoden (LoTR)

Denethor and Faramir (LoTR)

Thorin and Bilbo (Hobbit)

Jack Shephard and James “Sawyer” Ford (Lost)

Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar (Brokeback Mountain) *Also have opposing hats*

Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent (The Dark Knight)

Tony Stark and Steve Rogers (Marvel)

Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers (Marvel)

Loki and Thor (Marvel)

Nico di Angelo and Will Solace (Percy Jackson)

Percy Jackson and Jason Grace (Percy Jackson)

Sherlock Holmes and John Watson (the Cumberbatch one)

Sam Winchester and Dean Winchester (Supernatural)

Edmund Pevensie and Peter Pevensie (Chronicles of Narnia)

Gale Hawthorne and Peeta Mellark (Hunger Games)

Damon Salvatore and Stefan Salvatore (Vampire Diaries)

Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby (2013 Gatsby)

Caledon Hockley and Jack Dawson (Titanic)

Notable nonexhaustive exceptions:

Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy (Harry Potter)

Percy Jackson and Luke Castellan (Percy Jackson)

Jacob Black and Edward Cullen (Twilight)

Batman and Superman (DC Comics)

Luke Skywalker and Han Solo (Star Wars)

Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Star Wars) *wardrobe makes up for it*

*Feel free to tag the ones I missed

Not every brunet on the list is a “bad” guy, nor is every blond the “good” guy, but compared to each other, the brunet tends to be the more morally grey, the more corrupted, the one who’s ideologies end up getting them hurt or killed or proving them wrong. Or, the brunet faces more demons, has a darker personality, or tends to have a “shoot first ask questions later” philosophy.

This of course goes out the window if the media is set in a region or with a cast of characters who are meant to share similar features, like how there’s no blondes at all in Last Airbender (otherwise Aang would absolutely fit the pattern).

Whether that’s Frodo getting corrupted by the Ring and Sam being his rock, Jack Twist getting murdered while Ennis lives on, or the beloved Dark Knight and his bat-black demons while Harvey’s White legacy saves Gotham, next time you write a brunet and his blond competition, ask yourself just why you’re doing it.

*Side note, I’m pretty sure Harvey Dent, when he’s animated, is usually a brunet, but he’s also usually Two-Face by then and no longer a hero*

I don’t even have time for black and white in anime or the trope of the white-haired anime boy and since natural hair colors are kind of moot, I don’t think the same rules apply. But outside of the westernized “black knight vs white knight” I do want to dig deeper into color motifs in anime at some point.

Here's some notable dark and light dichotomies nonetheless in wardrobe and/or hair:

Kirito and Asuna (Sword Art Online)

Lelouch and Suzaku (Code Geass)

Midoriya and Bakugo (My Hero Academia)

L and Light (Death Note)

Medusa and Stein (Soul Eater)

Sasuke and Naruto (Naruto)

Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Eiji and Ash (Banana Fish)

Kyoya and Tamaki (OHSHC)

Yuri and Viktor (Yuri!!! On Ice)

Dracula and Alucard (Castlevania)

Part 3: Red v. Blue and everything in between

The megalith that is the color motif extends past the white/black dichotomy.

It’s also red and blue.

If red is pitted against blue in any story, red is always the team the audience is supposed to root against, unless this is sports. Red is the color of the Sith, the Fire Nation, red eyes are seen as evil, red is blood and rage and wrath and fire. Red is the color of evil empires. Blue is the color of heroes. It’s water and healing and camaraderie, serenity. Blue is the color of rebels and underdogs.

Red versus blue is in everything from the color of lightsabers in Star Wars to the color of cybertronian eyes in Transformers, to the color of the Water Tribes and Fire Nations (with some exceptions a la Azula’s blue fire) to the colors of the pills in the Matrix. Red is the ‘dangerous’ choice, blue is the ‘safe’ choice. Unless your character is patriotically sporting the red, white and blue of the UK, USA, or France.

Villains usually only wear blue if they're ice-coded, or belong to a faction wearing navy blue uniforms.

Red versus blue also shows up between leaders and their lancers. The first one I can think up off the top of my head is Robin and Raven from Teen Titans.

Purple is also usually lumped in with the bad guys and green with the good guys, but purple and green also show up a ton as contrasting colors of the same character like the Hulk or the Joker. But both can swing either way. The Decepticons in the early cartoons for Transformers had purple everywhere and reclaimed it in Transformers: Prime. Megatron, Soundwave, Shockwave, the Vehicons, Airachnid, and the Dark Star Saber, and some G1s]. Prime also has three sets of red-blue dichotomies within their factions: [Arcee/Cliffjumper, Optimus/Ratchet, and Knockout/Breakdown].

Green is the color of more Jedi, and the Green Lanterns, but green also represents sickness or disease or generic evil energy a la Loki, Dr. Facilier (Princess and the Frog) or the Hyenas and Scar in the Lion King.

Pink is really up in the air, as is orange and yellow, especially when it comes to female characters, especially female anime characters.

But enough about color dichotomy.

Part 4: Color Singularity

Color singularly is either meant to evoke a specific emotion, like using blue everywhere to represent sadness, or it’s meant to be a bold statement in an otherwise grayscale world.

I mentioned a few at the top of the post and I’ll elaborate on them here:

In Great Gatsby, green and yellow are very important colors. The “green light” is this real object at the end of the titular character’s love interest’s dock. This light and this color are motifs that represent Gatsby’s longing for Daisy and to return to a glorious past he can never have again (it’s also the color of American money). Yellow is also everywhere in this book. It’s the color of his chekov’s car and several dresses at his extravagant party. Yellow is the color of his current life of glitz and glam and riches (and is also the color of gold). If you listen to one of the accompanying songs to the 2013 film, Florence and the Machine’s “Over the Love” recognizes the importance of yellow in the narrative.

Dorothy’s red slippers in the Wizard of Oz are hyperbolically bold, especially since the movie starts out in black and white. Color is a huge piece of this film- the Emerald City, the Yellow Brick Road, the horse of many colors. Red scientifically is the color humans tend to notice first, those shoes were made to be remembered. Color in Wizard of Oz is the symbol of the fantastical, which was really helped by the time the film was made and simply seeing so much color on screen dazzled audiences.

Red catches your eye faster than any other color, and red in a world of black and white sticks in your mind, just look at Schindler’s List.

Belle from Beauty and the Beast, along with a lot of fictional women wear blue. Blue is biblically Mary’s color, and at one time was the color marketed to women before the shift to “blue for boys”. In the original Beauty and the Beast, Belle was the only character who wore blue, because she was an outsider, and outlier, a free-thinker. Or at least, Belle is the only one who wears blue until she dances with the Beast. The live-action remake didn’t maintain this extra level of the narrative and that’s a shame.

I didn't mention eye color much above (also maybe because racism) but blue eyes, especially animated blue and green eyes, go to characters who are more hopeful, heroic, nurturing, morally just, honest, or brave than their brown-eyed counterparts, unless he's a blue-eyed Tall, Dark, and Handsome. Blue-eyed people tend to be blond, so the traits go hand in hand for the "good" character.

Weirdly enough, this also applies to blue-eyed animal characters -- your animated anthropomorphised villain is rarely going to be drawn with eyes that aren't brown, black, green, red, orange, or yellow.

Because color is also a subliminal or overt way of foreshadowing in both written and visual media as much as any other motif and recurring symbol. You can foreshadow death, or impending doom, or an eventual identity reveal, whatever you want.

You can also subvert the usual associations with specific colors. Black doesn’t have to mean evil in your world. Black can be life, too. White doesn’t have to be pure, white can be clinical and sterile and lifeless (but please no more lady villains in white pantsuits, that's its own cliche at this point). Shake it up a bit every once in a while.

So whether it’s dueling ideologies or the very forces of good and evil, a harbinger of doom or a secret tell, or community and camaraderie, or an enduring hope, you can represent it all with a careful dose of color.

[sopranoentravesti]

All right, DS9 fans who are opera freaks

For the 3 of you on tumblr, @currymuttonpizza and myself got chatting and one thing led to another and Badda-bing, Badda bang, we came up with the Fächer of the characters for the Opera version of DS9. Here goes

Captain Sisko: Bass Baritone. This seems self explanatory

Jake Sisko: countertenor

Major Kira: Coloratura mezzo. I may have been biased for this one bc that is the closest thing to my fach, but think Rossini‘s heroines, or some of Vivaldi‘s work (like Armatae Face et Anguibus from Juditha Triumphans)

Gul Dukat: also Bass-baritone, but of the villainous variety. Think Samuel Ramey as Reverend Olin Blitch in Susannah, or the titular role in Don Giovanni

Julian Bashir: Tenor leggiero. This also seems self explanatory

Kai Winn: originally I thought of a mezzo a la Ježibaba, but I think actually this may be a place for a villainous contralto

Jadzia Dax: mezzo, but of the type that delves down in contralto territory periodically (a la Avery Amereau ❤️)

Odo: dramatic baritone— to use @currymuttonpizza‘s inimitable phrasing “He's like if Scarpia were a good person idk.”

Worf: Bass, nuff said

Miles: baritone. Mostly an Everyman lyric kind but can venture in dramatic territory when he’s Suffering (he’s basically Wozzeck, if you think about it)

Keiko: sweet, loving, badass, sassy when needed? A soubrette, of the Mozart variety, a la Susanna and Zerlina

Garak: Britten tenor

Quark: dramatic baritone. Basically Alberich in space

Rom: Basso buffo

Nog: the guy you think is a tenor buffo, but is actually a Helden tenor

Kasidy Yates: full lyric soprano

Weyoun: tenor buffo. Complete Don Basilio type

Brunt: also tenor buffo. Both played by combs who brings buffo energy to both

Ezri: soubrette

Leeta: high poppy squeaky coloratura soprano (I’m thinking Olympia in the doll aria)

Damar: baritone, maybe slightly romantic but pretty run of the mill

Ziyal: light lyric soprano, ala Gilda from Rigoletto

Joseph Sisko: Dramatic Bass

Female Changeling: contralto, think Erda

Moogie: mezzo a la Marcelina from Nozze, but also some Despina vibes

Grand Nagus Zek: gonna trust @currymuttonpizza on this one, heldentenor like the drum major, but make it funny

Vedek Bareil: speaking role

[tightjeansjavi]

That Girl is a Problem

Part 1: “Sinful Colors”

(AU street racing! Joel x f! tattoo artist reader)

A/N: so this idea came to me because I rediscovered the song, ‘Problem’ by Natalia Kills. Suddenly I was like YES. Tatted up street racing Joel 😵‍💫 + tattoo artist female reader? Jesus Christ, my panties have been flung across the room. I’m blushing as I type this all out because this Joel is just on another level 🥵 get your engines revving laideaze.

~word count: 2.6k~

Summary: Joel Miller & Tommy Miller left their Texas homestead seeking new thrills. They find themselves working at an auto body shop on Hollywood Blvd. Joel meets you, a self taught tattoo artist working on the strip. You might be just the adrenaline rush that he was searching for. Or, his ultimate heartbreak.

Warnings: Early 1990’s Los Angeles violence/scandals. Drug use, drinking, smoking, mentions of tattooing and needles, street racing, infidelity, adrenaline junkies, Joel & reader have emotional baggage, reader is a badass, love triangle between reader, Joel, and readers boyfriend, flirting, teasing, banter, jealousy, rage, trauma, dark themes, domestic emotional/physical abuse from readers boyfriend, pining, unrequited feelings, excessive drinking/drug use, sustained injuries from street racing, bar fights, 2 character deaths, jealous! Joel, darkish! Joel, possessive! Joel, eventual smut, consent, eventual established relationship, no use of (y/n) readers nickname is Angel, (+18) minors dni!

That Girl is a Problem Playlist:

𝙄’𝙢 𝙮𝙤𝙪�� 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡.

𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙢𝙚...

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙢.

Los Angeles, California: Summer of 1993

When Joel Miller, and his brother Tommy Miller moved to the City of Angels, Los Angeles California, they had no idea what they were in store for. LA was a cultural shock compared to their homestead in Texas. They were looking to get in on the action, live life on the high side and they had come just to the right place.

It didn’t take long for the Miller boys to find work at a local mechanic shop on the Hollywood strip. Both brothers knew a thing or two about cars and motorcycles. Wasn’t the first time they had gotten down and dirty, and it wouldn’t be the last. Joel had discovered your tattoo shop on his lunch break. Hollywood had street vendors by the lot and he stopped in front of the bright red neon sign that read, Sinful Colors.

Joel wasn’t shy of his ink. He had gotten his first tattoo at the sharp age of 18 and from there, he became addicted to the buzzing sound of the machine, and quick jabs of the needle into his skin. It was a euphoric sensation. The only way he knew how to describe the feeling without sounding entirely masochistic, was that it was a good pain. A comforting pain that eased stress and tension. Maybe he enjoyed it too much. Who the hell was anyone to tell him that he was fucked up for feeling that way? Tattoos were fucking dope, as far as he was concerned.

Curiosity got the best out of him as he pushed open the door to your shop. He was greeted with the familiar buzz of the tattoo machine and the low tremble of Led Zeppelin’s, I Can’t Quit You Baby. There was the faint aroma of cigarette smoke, mixed in with burning incense wafting through the thick beaded curtain that separated the waiting area from the room where the clients and walk in’s would receive their new ink.

You had a cigarette perched between your lips as you were finishing up on a walk in that requested a tramp stamp to piss off her ex boyfriend. Although in your eyes, tramp stamps weren’t trampy at all. They were fucking hot as hell, considering you had one yourself. “You’re doing great, babe. You’re gonna love this one. As soon as your ex sees it, he’s gonna be foaming at the mouth.”

“As he fucking should be. Fuck him. He’s never gonna get his hands on my body again.” The client glanced over her shoulder at you, letting out a low hum from the sensation of the needle piercing her skin over, and over again. Once you were finished, you lightly doused a paper towel in rubbing alcohol before gently wiping the tattoo.

“Alright babe. You let me know how this looks, Kay? If you wanna change anything, don’t hesitate.” You had your walk-in gently sit up before you handed her a hand held mirror so she could check out her new ink. The tattoo was a gothic heart in red ink. The structured lines coming from the sides of the heart were like a crown of pointy thorns. The tattoo itself was delicate but possessed that edgy vibe that she was looking for.

“Holy fucking shit, Angel. You outdid yourself again! Oh my god, this is so fucking beautiful.”

It brought you undeniable joy to see someone happy with your art. You took immense pride in making sure that your clients and walk-ins got exactly what they were looking for. It was always fun when you got to throw in your own artistic flare in your work. “I’m so happy you love it babe. You know I would be more than happy to add you as one of my clients? You keep coming back for more..so I must be doing something right huh?” You said with a small grin.

“At this point, I’m just gonna keep throwing my money at you because girl, this is insane! Thank you so so so much!” She was already reaching into her hot pink wallet, pulling out a stack of cash for you.

“You mind if I take a picture of it real quick? I’ll give you a copy as well. Just like to keep a collection, y’know?” Your walk-in, Maddi nodded. You tapped your cigarette out in the nearby ashtray, far enough away from your supplies to stay within regulation code. You opened up your drawer pulling out your Polaroid camera as you got behind the bench. “Alright baby cakes, hold your shirt up for me just a little, just like that gorgeous.”

You snapped one picture, followed by another, gently shaking the photos as they developed. Once they were finished, you grabbed a fine tip sharpie and wrote the date, along with Maddi’s name, and handed her the second copy.

“Okay, this is so fucking hot. I’m hanging this picture up on my fridge. I don't care.”

You set your copy of the picture down before grabbing her a “goody bag.” Now remember, no harsh scented soaps, no swimming for at least 2-4 weeks. Please don’t let anyone cum on your back for at least a week either. I know how you are babe. Keep it moisturized, and a little bit of the stuff I gave you goes a long way.” You wheeled your stool over as you placed a light patch off the open wound. “You can take this off in a couple hours and gently wash it with water only.”

“Sooo no cum-shots on my back for at least a week? Got it!” Maddi said with a light giggle. “Oh, by the way, is Dylan still racing this weekend?”

“Yeah you’ll just have to stick with it on your tits or ass babe. Think you can handle that? He is racing this weekend. You and the girls gonna be there?”

“I do love a good ass shot. Hell yeah we’re gonna be there! We don’t miss that shit for the world babe.” She pulled her shirt down over the bandage gently before gathering up her things. Maddi always left you a hefty tip, which you appreciated greatly. You gave her a quick hug and kiss on the cheek before you counted up your money and placed it in the safe under your work area.

Maddi slipped past the beaded curtain to be met with the tall, handsome stranger in the waiting area. She shot the man a wink before she left through the front entrance.

You wiped down your work area, sanitizing everything for your next client before you stood up. You didn’t know anyone but yourself and maddi were in the shop till you slipped through the beaded curtain and were met with Joel Miller.

“Oh shit, sorry man. I didn’t hear anyone else come in. How long have you been standing there?” The first thing you took notice of was his height and the way the leather jacket he was wearing, seemed to bulge at the seams from his prominent broad muscles. You could see some ink peeking out along his wrists and the visible skin exposed beneath his t-shirt.

“Long enough to hear about cum shots.” He chuckled, Texas accent drawling smoothly past his lips.

“She’s a wild one, that’s for damn sure. You’re not from around here I take it? Based on the accent. Texas maybe?”

The first thing Joel noticed about you was your clothing attire. You weren’t afraid to show skin that was for damn sure. He took in the fact that you were wearing a short denim skirt with a tight little top that did little to cover your nipples. You wore fishnets paired with black heeled boots. You were hot, there was no denying that. You were also positively covered in tattoos. He noticed right away that your style was patchwork mixed in with American traditional. You even had a little red ink queen of hearts tattoo along the front of your ear. It easily could pass as a face tattoo. Besides your tattoos, you had a septum piercing and an array of earrings on the same ear that had the tattoo close to it.

“Based on that conversation, she does sound pretty wild. How’d you guess from my accent alone that I’m from Texas? Does it really stick out that much?” Joel asked, crossing his arms across his broad chest, stretching the leather fabric even more.

You knew he was checking you out. It was flattering to have attractive people unashamedly check you out. You knew you were hot. Something that both men, and women and everyone in between desired. You were well known in the LA nightlife. Your boyfriend Dylan hated it. He hated that you dressed a certain way, that you were naturally bubbly, alluring. You had a bit of a mouth to you but hey, momma didn’t raise no bitch. You were everyone’s dream girl, but a real damn problem.

“Take a picture. It’ll last longer, handsome.” you grinned and mirrored his movements, crossing your arms over your chest with a raise of your brow. “Yeah, I don’t get many Texas men wandering in here. You stick out like a damn sore thumb man.”

Joel felt his mouth go dry at your suggestion. Was he really staring that damn hard at you? Fuck. He had only just met you, and you were already scrambling his brain. He cleared his throat as he stuck with his intimidating stance. “Can’t deny that I like what I see, huh Angel? Now, is that your real name darlin’, or like one of those fake stage names like the girls in Vegas use?”

“Between you and me, I like what I see as well. Oh, I’m sure you’d love to hear my real name, cowboy. We’re not on those personal terms unfortunately.” You said with a faux sigh of disappointment.

“Ahh, I see. You’re what men like to call a class A tease. Gotta hand it to ya darlin’ you got me hooked already.”

“Consider yourself unspecial, and most definitely unlucky.” You responded with a sickly sweet grin. “So, did you come in here to flirt me up or did you want to get something done? What was your name again? I don’t believe I caught it.”

Joel liked the fact that you could banter and hold your ground. He was unlucky indeed considering the fact that you already had the upper hand on him. “I don’t believe I introduced myself at all. I’m Joel.” He held his hand out for you to shake, a small grin plastered on his lips. “I was actually lookin’ to get somethin’ done. I’m only on my lunch break at the moment so I’d have to come back later unfortunately.”

“Joel? Never heard of a man with that name before. It’s different.” You shook his hand firmly. You could feel the ridges and veins in his hand against your soft skin. “What were you looking to get done? I can pencil you in for my next availability.”

“Well, now you’ve gone and boosted my ego up a notch darlin’. I was lookin’ to get both of my hands done. The knuckles and my fingers. I was thinking American traditional. Nothing really specific. Maybe a skull, snake or somethin’ along those lines.”

“Don’t let it go to your head too fast, cowboy. Knuckle tattoos are fucking sick. I love doing American traditional as well. Tell you what, I’ll sketch something up for you and then you can stop on by after your shift? Where do you work anyway?” You asked, already penciling his name down in your little notebook.

“Damn woman. You gotta take a man out to dinner first before you just start askin’ him personal questions like that.” He chuckled, shooting you a playful wink. “I work at S&M auto body just down the strip. My brother Tommy works there as well.”

“Fuck me. There’s two of you?” You said with a light giggle. Yeah, my boyfriend actually uses that place when he’s reckless with his car. Which is about every other fucking day I swear.”

Of course you had a boyfriend. Of fucking course a vixen, such as yourself was taken.

“Yeah but if I’m being honest, I’m the handsome one. Tommy is just eh. Although, believe it or not, he’s totally a bigger ladies man than I am. Dude can’t keep it in his fucking pants for more than a day, if that.”

“Wow, he sounds like the male version of my friend Maddi. The hot babe that was just in here. She’s out here breaking guys' hearts every other day of the week. I absolutely hype her up for it though. She’s getting it good all the time.”

“No shit? Well, sounds like they would be a perfect match for one another. Maybe we’ll have to make sure they meet or somethin’.”

“Oh, we? No. Sorry Joel. There will be no we but i’m sure they’ll end up meeting eventually. You and Tommy should come to the race Saturday night. Maddi will be there and they can meet and rip each other's clothes off and all that fun stuff.”

“What kind of race are we talkin’ here Angel?” Joel asked with curiosity laced in his tone.

“The only kind of racing that is actually entertaining to watch. Street racing babe. Happens every Friday and Saturday night, right here on the strip. Well, as long as the cops don’t come and bust up our party first.”

“Street racing? Can anyone sign up for it or is it like an invite only kinda deal? Are you gonna be there?”

“Anyone and everyone can sign up. You got a car or bike and you’re good to go. Entry fee is $50 and well..there’s not many rules either. That’s what really draws the crowds in. Just some down and dirty street racing. I’ll be there. I always am. My boyfriend holds the raining title in LA county.”

Joel fought the urge to roll his eyes at you mentioning this boyfriend of yours again. Dude sounded like a total tool and Joel didn’t even know his name, let alone what his stupid face looked like. “Well, Angel. Count me in. I’ll be there and I’ll bring Tommy. How do I sign up?”

“Alright, rookie. You got a taste for some action, huh? We’ve been looking for some new meat to join anyway.” You grabbed a clipboard from one of the drawers and handed it to him. “The $50 isn’t required till the race so just need your name, pretty boy.”

“Came all the way out here for some action darlin’. Any, and all kinds of it. Whatever I can get my hands on really. Your boyfriend might have some competition on his hands. We did somethin’ similar to this back in Texas. Only difference was, it was a bunch of hillbillies and their trucks in an abandoned cornfield. Same concept, I imagine.” He grabbed the clipboard from you, lightly brushing his fingers across your knuckles on purpose. He wasted no time signing his first and last name before handing you the clipboard back.

“We’ll see about all that, cowboy. My next client will be here in about 10. I’ll work on your sketch on my lunch break and then feel free to stop by anytime after 3 today.” You set the clipboard down along the table.

“Sounds like a date, Angel. Catch ya around hot stuff.” He winked before he turned on his heel and slipped past the front entrance door.

Dylan was positively gonna give you hell for this. Did you care? Not one fucking bit. Joel Miller was hot. He was handsome and sexy and you’d be lying to yourself if you didn’t want to get a taste of what Texas had to offer. What your boyfriend didn’t know, wasn’t going to kill him.

Tag list: @chaotic-mystery @peterhollandkait @lovers-liability @korynnekorynne @loquaciousferret @cutesyscreenname @atinylittlepain @yazsos @kirsteng42 @777-wonders @last-girl @pedgeitopascalreads @pedrostories

[allmoshnobrain]

𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

part 35 of 35 | masterpost

word count: 2599 | ao3 link | fic's playlist

✦ on this chapter: james hetfield x female!oc, dave mustaine x female!oc, oc is cliff's cousin, +18, language, slice of life, romance, a happy ending of sorts

✧ I'm alright here in your arms, darlin' ✧

The weekend zipped by, and before I knew it, Monday had arrived again. Going back to Long Beach and parting ways with Cliff and the boys could've made me a bit sad, but the silver lining was that they were gearing up to pay me a visit soon; everyone was planning to catch my play the next weekend, and to top it off, of course they’d invited me to visit them in Denmark during the new album recordings. 

I'd likely be tied up for a bit, getting my ducks in a row for the start of my art studies, but I'd given my word to James I'd come hang out with them for at least a week. As soon as those words slipped out, he showered me with fiery kisses, his hands all over my body, gently urging me with his touch to change my mind and stick around just a little bit longer than planned.

I snuffed out my cigarette on the balcony rail the moment I spotted my dad's Mercedes rolling down the street. James let out a low whistle, clearly impressed by the sight, his hand wrapped around my waist.

"So, on top of the badass bike, you roll in this sweet ride too?" he inquired, and I chuckled.

"Dad's wheels, James. He doesn’t even let me near it ever since I totaled the last one."

Dad pulled up to the curb, and there was Mom, chilling shotgun, arm out the window with a cigarette in hand. He honked, and I hunched down to grab my backpack with a sigh. Quick goodbyes to Cliff, Lars, and Kirk followed before I turned to James.

"See you next week," I grinned, and James strolled over, snagging my waist before planting a long kiss on my mouth, making me blush like crazy. "James! My parents are watching!"

"So what?" he laughed, then dropped another soft kiss on my lips, saying, "Catch you next week, Nore. I'll miss you."

I let out a big sigh, my face on fire as I made my way to the car, yanking open the back door and dodging Dad's curious look in the rearview mirror.

"Oh God," Mom groaned dramatically, taking a slow drag of her cig, eyes locked on James, who was flashing a smile, chilling against the balcony railing. "It's always the long-haired ones, isn't it?"

I ignored her, cheeks still burning, and stared out the window as Dad revved up the car, leaving my friends behind.

"We've got one last thing to handle in San Francisco before we head home, Ellie," Dad chimed in all cheerful. "Hope you don’t mind coming with us."

I blinked, intrigued, and gave a nod. We cruised around the city for a bit until we hit a cute street with a bunch of wooden townhouses. Dad pulled up in front of one, and we hopped out. He fished out a key, popped the door open, and we stepped into an empty space.

I furrowed my brow, kinda puzzled, but tagged along as Mom and Dad showed me the place, enthusiastically talking about how good the neighborhood was. The house was indeed beautiful, with a big backyard, a tiny pool out back with a BBQ spot, three bedrooms and two baths upstairs, and downstairs, two living rooms, a bath and a big kitchen, along with a garage and a basement.

"So?" my dad asked after we wrapped up the tour. "Decent house, right?"

"A bit basic, but I guess it'll work," my mom threw in.

"Work for what?" I chimed in, now seriously puzzled. She huffed, and Dad shot me a grin.

"For you, obviously! You're coming back to San Francisco soon, right?" He reached out, handing me the keys. "It's yours."

"Dad… What do you mean, it's mine?" I blurted out, surprise heavy in my voice. "You're not telling me you guys..."

"We bought the house, of course," my mom replied, and I widened my eyes. "I think it'll be a good starting point for you, don't you think? Much better than that little apartment you had in LA."

"But this... Mom! " I blurted out, panicking at my parents' extravagance. "It's too big! What am I supposed to do with all this space?"

"Oh, we thought you could share it with Cliff and your friends," Dad chimed in, like it was the most obvious thing. "There's enough room for everyone, don't you think?"

I blinked, perplexed, staring at the keys Dad had handed me. Things are changing at warp speed for us, Nore. Cliff's words seemed to echo in my mind, and I realized they were true. Life had flipped upside down in the past year, big time. What was waiting for me in the future? Where was I headed? I had no clue.

But for the first time in forever, I wasn't scared to find out.

"Oh, right!" Dad smiled. "We had the basement soundproofed. It'll be great for the band’s rehearsals, don't you think?"

I just stared at him for a second, then out of nowhere, walked up and hugged him. Dad chuckled, looking a bit surprised but didn't miss a beat returning the hug. When I pulled away, Mom was watching us with a rare little smile on her lips.

"You've grown a lot, Ellie," my dad smiled.

"We're proud of you," my mom added, softly.

If this was a dream, I sure didn't want anyone waking me up.

Backstage at the theater, the usual chaos would get my nerves going, especially for a play I hadn't drilled as much as I probably should've. But weirdly, not this time. When the big day rolled in, a serene calm took over. Maybe it was the joint some of the crew had passed around before we kicked off play prep, or maybe I was just pumped as hell about reuniting with James, Cliff, Lars, Kirk, and Leanne real soon.

"Nore, you look beautiful!" Charlotte beamed, grabbing my hands, and I couldn't help but notice that the same was true for her as well; she had on the play's costume – a gorgeous green dress making her eyes pop, curly brown hair all braided and falling down her right shoulder, shiny makeup adorning her face.

I hadn't checked myself out in the mirror yet, but I knew I'd be rocking something similar – a bomb short shiny blue dress, my hair done up in a fancy bun with a few strands casually framing my face.

"I'm seriously over the moon that everything fell into place. Thanks a bunch, really," she said with genuine warmth. I couldn't help but grin, seeing how pumped Charlie was, understanding this meant the world to her.

"Hey, you'd do the same for me, right?" I tossed back, and she flashed a smile. "Feeling the nerves?"

"Oh, you've got no clue!" she burst out. "I'm gonna need another one of those joints the second we step off that stage."

"I'm down. Just hit me up, and we'll blaze together," I teased, throwing a wink her way. She cracked up, loud and free.

The play kicked off real quick, the lights in the theater dimming, the chaos backstage and the audience hushing up as the first beats of the musical soundtrack kicked in. I hung behind the curtain, catching Charlotte's opening monologue, biding my time for the cue to hit the stage.

Once I stepped out there, all my worries, pains, and nerves just melted away like pure magic.

I had always loved visual arts, but theater always had its own sweet spot in my heart too. The crazy rehearsals that used to be part of my life in High School had done more than just boost my confidence; they’d helped me make friends and fill the void Cliff left when he moved to another city. Rehearsing for a play was fun, but nothing beat that kickass feeling coursing through me when I owned the stage, knowing all the hard work had paid off.

When my bit wrapped up, I risked a peek at the crowd on my way out. A faint grin hit my lips when I spotted Cliff, Leanne, Lars, Kirk, James, and even Mom and Dad in the second row. I locked eyes with Cliff for a moment, and he smiled, the pride shining in his eyes warming my heart with happiness.

I popped up a few more times during the play, but the real star of the show was Charlotte. She hit us all in the feels with her performance, bringing most of the crowd to tears by the end of her story. When the crew gathered on stage for the applause, I noticed that even my mom seemed moved, a gorgeous smile on her face that made her look years younger.

I always figured I took after my dad more, but right then, seeing my mom genuinely happy and touched, it hit me like a ton of bricks that, shockingly, we looked way more alike than I’d ever let myself admit.

The scene after the play was a total whirlwind; we were all throwing hellos, hugs, and compliments around, and Charlotte was practically buzzing with joy at every little pat on the back for her killer performance. Later on, we ditched the fancy gear and chipped in with the stage crew, sorting out whatever needed sorting. It took me almost an hour to finally wiggle my way out from backstage, and there they all were: my friends and my parents, patiently waiting for me. I let out a soft chuckle when Cliff snagged me into a hug. 

"You killed it," he whispered, grinning. "So damn proud of you, Nore."

Once all the hugs and grins were done, it was party time. Charlotte was set to hang with the cast, but Leanne, the guys, and I had our own shindig by the pool lined up. Dad was on chauffeur duty, driving Mom, Leanne and me home. Cliff would roll in after, bringing James, Lars, and Kirk along for the ride.

"Well, shall we go then? I asked Alice to get the heated pool ready for you, and the coolers are already stocked with drinks," my dad tossed out, looking as excited as I was.

"Heated pool ," James teased, whispering in my ear, his arm pulling me in close. "What's next? You gonna tell me you're secretly royalty?"

"Are you intimidated, by any chance?" I quipped, arching an eyebrow. He grinned, planting a light kiss on my cheek.

"By you? Never," he shot back, and I gave him a playful shove. That just made him laugh.

Leanne and I got home first. Quick pit stop in the bathroom to slap on our swimsuits, and then, we were both pool-ready. When we hit the pool deck, Cliff, James, Lars, and Kirk had just arrived. I couldn't help but grin at the sight – Kirk and Lars had gone all in, cannonballing into the pool with their clothes on, splashing everyone in sight. They were all laughs, not a care in the world. James, shirtless, was whipping up a couple of drinks and talking with Cliff, who was already puffing away on a cigarette. Leanne and I strolled up, and she wrapped her arms around Cliff, planting a kiss on his cheek.

"I'm itching to dive into that pool," Leanne chirped, all hyped, and Cliff flashed a smile. "Ready to make a splash?"

Off they went, leaving me to lean on the table, checking out James finishing up the drinks.

"I tried whipping up a Cosmopolitan," he spilled, handing one over with a grin. "Not sure it's a masterpiece, though. I'm clueless about these fancy drinks, but I wanted to impress my girl. Figured you deserved it."

My girl. I blushed at his words, my heart doing somersaults, a goofy grin spreading across my face. I took the drink, had a sip, and crinkled my nose – tasted like a bit too much vodka, truth be told.

"It's basically a Vodkapolitan," I quipped, and he cracked up. "But hey, you know you don't need fancy drinks to impress me, right?"

"So, what do I need, then?" he asked, sliding in closer with a grin, hand resting on the small of my back. I shot him a smile.

"Not much. You're already rocking it, Hetfield."

He burst into a big laugh, wrapping his arms around my waist and planting a sweet kiss on my shoulder.

"How's your heart doing?" he asked. "Still missing Dave?"

I could read between the lines of his question. Do you still love him? Do you still want to be with him? Can I surrender to what I’m feeling? Can I hope you feel the same?

"Yeah," I sighed. No point in hiding that. No point in pretending. If there was one thing I’d figured out in the past year, it was that sweeping feelings under the rug and dodging the tough talks just lead to trouble. "I don't know if I'll ever stop missing him, James. And I need to find him. You understand that?"

"Absolutely," he said, grabbing my hand, our fingers weaving together.

"But I love you too," I said, and he flashed a soft smile. "And honestly, I'm done wrestling with that."

"Well, I love you right back," he grinned, his arms wrapped around my waist. I rested my hands on his chest, our foreheads touching. "Just gotta remember what Cliff told me and I’ll be okay."

"What?" I chuckled. "What's the Cliff wisdom?"

"That if I ever hurt you, he'd land a swift kick to my balls," he spilled, and I cracked up, throwing my head back. I sighed happily as he leaned in, planting a gentle kiss on my neck. "But, for the record, I have zero plans of hurting you. You know that, yeah?"

"Appreciate the thoughtfulness," I shot back with a smile, and he burst into laughter.

Later, when we were all a bit tipsy and wiped out, we ended up talking and laughing together over some brews. I smiled fondly, soaking in the sight; Lars and Kirk passing a smoke between them, still chilling in the pool with their arms draped over the edge. Cliff posted up in a chair, Leanne casually braiding a lock of his hair, perched on his lap while he slung an arm around her waist, nursing a half-empty beer. And James, right next to me, his hand resting on my waist, dropping lazy kisses on my neck when he thought no one would see.

It was perfect.

Finally, after all those months, I felt whole.

I wasn't the same girl who’d hopped on a bus to San Francisco that winter of '83. Life had tossed me around, and I’d come out the other side a different breed. I knew I would always love Dave, that I wouldn't rest until I found him, until I explained everything, until I knew he knew the truth, the depth of my love for him. I knew I would never stop missing him.

But there was also James. And James loved me. Where would that road lead? Man, it was a whole new territory, nothing like what I felt for Dave. Yet, I wasn’t afraid, 'cause I had James in my corner. My friends were there, Cliff too. Hell, even my parents were trying to be nice to me this time, and I appreciated it more than I could say.

Change was blowing in the wind. Everything felt fresh, but guess what? This time, I wasn't sad, scared, or angry.

Everything was perfect.

And I was happy.

✧ if you'd like to be tagged on the next parts, let me know and I'll add you to the tag list! ❤ ✧

tag list: @killazilla777 @whatsupvic @70srogah @genswine9 @twice360noscope

✦ a/n: James and Nore had their happy ending, but what will happen when Dave comes back into Nore's life? You guys will know all about this in the epilogue, I promise!

I just gotta say, it means the world to me that I managed to finish this whole story, and I'm beyond grateful for all the love and support from everyone who's been following along. I'm so, so thankful from the bottom of my heart for all the nice comments and interactions and I really hope you've enjoyed following Nore's journey as much as I loved writing it ❤

About the epilogue, I had to split it into more than one part, because I didn't want to rush anything or leave anything unanswered. It turned out way bigger than I imagined it would 😭 And I'm not done writing it yet, but it's all planned so I know it's gonna be either.... 5 or 6 parts.... I'm really sorry for being such a verbose writer, it's more of a small sequel at this point lol

I will take a short break from posting this Monday and will start posting the epilogue next Friday, hopefully keeping the same posting schedule unless I get too busy to write or post on time.

Big thanks to everyone who stuck with the story this far! Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. See you next Friday! ❤🌸💗💖✨

[mmprviolet]

Why I love Earthspark

Spoilers ahead

Female characters treated like people and not weird or afterthoughts

The child characters act like children and not mini adults to please boomers

The Decepticons have more than just Card Carrying Evil

Starscream's abuse is finally taken seriously for once and without woobifying him

Megatron is Scottish

The terrans are cool

NB rep for both terran and human

The main human family are Black American and Filipino

Seriously when was the last tine we saw an interracial pair where both parties are nonwhite?

Dot is a badass, we learn about her as a person, disabled but treated with agency

Alex is also a badass and a bumblebee fanboy, yet we also learn a bit about him

Dot and Alex 🤝 Tom and Maddie = healthy relationships in classic kid properties

Elita is also a badass she's also closer to her personality than the weird trope of making her a villain or fridging her

Bumblebee is a struggling young adult and not a infantilized annoying caricature

Actually his arc seems to be one giant rebuttal against the trend of making him Kid Appeal by having him struggle with being a mentor and dealing with kids

Breakdown is Sonic the Hedgehog

The main human villain is a legitimate threat without being a villain sue or boring

The other main villain is literally named Karen (and also a legit threat)

Optimus Prime is back to being funny and not a overly serious messiah, angry old man, Nerd or cop

Soundwave's revenge bod

Skywarp and Nova Storm are girls and can put up a fight they also have more relevancy than u can say with TFA Blackarachnia

Scratch that Skywarp in animated media again and gets to use her powers

Dot and Mo have natural hair and even wear bonnets

If you look past Mo's rather uncanny design she's actually really cute and lovable

Robby is cool too

Thrash and Twitch hmmm love seeing two characters of both worlds embracing all their heritage

TWITCH'S CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT especially her dynamic with Megatron

He calls her little bird

Nigthshade. Just Nightshade. Cool altmode cool personality, doesn't sugarcoat their identity (it's not 5000% perfect but still very great to see)

Really good message about respecting history while also thinking for yourself and new generation not making those same mistakes

the old generation gets to learn and grow too, the only ones who don't refuses to

Bringing in characters like Tarantulas, Hardtop, basically characters we haven't seen much of

Love how the experiences characters go thru aren't easily wiped away a la Grimlock and Hashtag both experiencing PTSD from the harm inflicted on them and allowed to feel those emotions

Steve Blum is Starscream again but still sounds fresh and not rip Prime beat for best

The cultural details while not 5000% perfect are pretty great like league above past shows

Like you can tell more than one writer of color is in the room

More nonwhite VAs instead of the usual 3-4 max

Angered the ultra conservatives

Thrash is Hunter and Kid Andrias

Jawbreaker is funny as hell I also liked his abilities and dynamic with grimlock.

[reconstructwriter]

10 (More) Favorite Female Characters

Thank you @ankahikoibaat. To go with the supporting women’s wrongs theme…

• Madame Yu (The Untamed): Where she falls on the morality scale is strongly contested but she certainly twists my brain into moral knots (in a good way). You can't say she doesn't care though, even about Wei Wuxian who’s threatened hand-dismemberment is her breaking point. She’s also such a badass and I love how she went out with such a bang (while her husband went out with a whimper). • A’Yark (Kenobi the Book): Honestly both the leading ladies of this book could tell the story all by themselves, Kenobi’s PoV especially is almost inconsequential despite being the titular character. Of the two I find A’Yark PoV and her struggles more captivating, despite the author’s idea that ‘the hard desert breeds hard people’ *sigh* she still shines. Haven’t finished the book yet so I can’t say more about her. • Jane Roland (Temeraire) – she a badass dragon-riding, sword-swinging Captain (later Admiral) who makes 1800s generals gasp like scandalized victorian-era ladies! Just the way she likes too. But she’s of high rank in the British military force in the 1800s and has the kind of ruthless outlook you’d expect for the position and times. (even if Europe found dragon world countries a might harder to conquer) • Wu Zetian (Iron Widow): started out swearing vengeance for her sister, succeeds beyond all expectations (especially her own) and has to survive (and survive with) the consequences of her own actions. Finished by stomping the patriarchy with a giant robot dragon mech (why is this women’s wrongs?). Now THIS is what I wanted of the 90’s grimdark antiheroes and several things I hadn't known I wanted! • Yzma (Emperor’s New Groove) Everyone loves Kronk but not enough people give Yzma the credit for being the perfect villain in this classic. She’s evil without being apologetic or glorifying in it. She breaks so many evil woman cliches without even trying I love it. She and Kronk are the perfect comedic duo. This movie just wouldn’t shine without her giving it some evil homebrew polish! • Harley Quinn (Batman): She’s just to interesting! Hyper-competent sidekick who’s got a thing with Joker and Poison Ivy. She chose to help Arkham inmates for selfish reasons. Chose evil out of love. She’s done her damnest to finish that redemption arc. She came closest to killing Batman in the animated series but holds no grudge against him (unlike most). There’s just so much depth of character to her! • Lena Dupree & Simone Lenoir (Scooby Doo on Zombie Island) – okay two in one but they’re fantastic villains! Sob story and earned their evilness. They’re legit threatening and also the only time I’ve seen women transform into a feline and its actually shown as monstrous and not sexy. Like I can see what the monsterfuckers see in them…but you gotta be a monsterfucker to want to. • Romsca (Redwall) This was my favorite series as a kid and I only had two problems with it back then: 1) no sword-wielding female warriors and 2) always chaotic evil people trope. Romsca is THE BEST aversion to both! Badass braggart pirate captain who went through a redemption arc. Sadly died instead of like stealing Martin’s sword and living to be the champion of the high seas but cest la vie. • Daenerys (A Song of Ice and Fire): I like that she’s in-universe a black horse in the Game of Thrones. No one expects her to be a threat until she knocks on their door with dragons. Most of all though I appreciate that she breaks the stereotype of ‘heir to the throne returns’ (even if the show could’ve done a much better job, y’know, SHOWING that). She’s a conqueror, not a savior

No pressure tag @charmwasjess, @panther-os, @s-c-g-s-c-g, @beskad, @bolithesenate, @shinobicyrus, @amarcia, @dragonciphering, @gallusrostromegalus, @la-sopa

[gloryride]

OC INTERVIEW

Tagged by @rosapexa and @breezypunk ♥♥ thanks both !

Two tags for the Pink Queen !

-- Name --

Vanessa Rosalina Vergara-Serrano. Couldn't make it longer !

-- Nickname --

Vaness or Nessa for friends usually. V is only professionnal, or people only knowing me by reputation. Heywood people calls me La Espina, and i always love this name, more than V ! Valentin loves to call me Princesse with his lovely french accent !

-- Gender --

Cis Female

-- Star Sign --

Born in April 16, i'm a fire Aries !

-- Height--

what you're a doc ? pff ... 1m70, or 5"6 if you want

-- Orientation --

Bisexual, both is always good !

-- Nationality/Ethnicity --

American, but my mother (and her family) is Mexican, and my father is Cuban !

-- Fave Fruit --

Strawberry and cherries !

-- Fave Season --

SUMMER ! who doesn't like sun and heat ? i LOVE that ! want to live in bikini and go to the pool under sun !

-- Fave Flower --

Rose, of couse. Pink or red, please.

-- Fave Scent --

The scent of baked cake, my mother's still-warm chilaquiles or Mama Welles. The scent of fresh sheets to jump into and curl up with. The scent of Monoï, because it smells like summer. And roses, of course!

-- Coffee, tea or hot chocolate --

Coffee, and chocolate. No tea for me !

-- Average hours of sleep --

I try to sleep 8 hours per night, but that's chaotic. Some nights are 5, others are 10, but i need to sleep or i'm not in mood. And if i'm not, don't approach me.

-- Dog or Cat person --

Love both but always prefered cats, and i'm happy to find Nibbles. I'm a cat mom now.

-- Dream trip --

Valentin always promised me to go to Paris ♥ so i can't wait !

-- Favorite fictional character --

Dunno, i love just badass women in movies and telenovel.... huh ? no i didn't say telenovelas, i don't watch them !

-- Number of blankets they sleep with --

Only one, and sometimes i remove it because it's too hot. Valentin is also a nice warm blanket, he's hot ya know *wink*

-- Random fact --

If i'm known to wear pink and having pink hair, some people never saw me with ... blue hair ! When i started working as escort, i wanted to dye my dark hair to look classy. Ya know i saw many corpo girls with blue hair and thought was really fancy. Was like that for 3 years and honestly ? i was pretty with. Can show you a pic one day if you're nice !

tagging (no pressure of course) : @fereldanwench @a-pirate @cinnamon-mey @morganlefaye79 @chevvy-yates

[generallemarc]

God of War-ning for Ragnarok

You can tell where Sweet Baby was involved. I bought a physical copy secondhand for PS5, and it's very much a game worth playing, but the second lore scroll I found was about a badass female dwarf who wrote...something or other(treatises? leaflets? the word escapes me) about Odin's "financial imperialism" against the Dwarves, words which definitely belong in a game about Norse Mythology. You'll also come across several characters who definitely fit the mold of "all mythologies must have the racial makeup of 21st century America, except for all the non-white ones which must remain unchanged or else that's colonialism". But again, the actual game itself is fine. Hell, the story opens with Freya trying to murder Dad and Boy in a truly deranged series of stunts that, according to their dialogue, aren't really anything new for them whenever they leave their protection stave. And instead of having excuses made for her a la something like Multiverse of Madness, Kratos is deliberately leaving her alive because, well, who is he of all people to condemn someone for giving in to rage and grief? Atreus, lacking that backstory, is rightfully pissed off that this is how she's thanking them for saving her life from Baldur. And none of that could've happened if sweet baby had actually been writing the main story. We've seen what happens when they get their grubby little hands on main plotlines with Suicide Squad, which at the time of writing currently has 115 players on Steam, down from a 24-hour peak of 138.

Tl;dr-Ragnarok is a solid game, but if you're concerned about sweet baby you should avoid paying for it directly. Get a secondhand copy on PS5(or 4 if it came out for that) or wait a couple weeks for the key resellers to have Steam copies available. Remember: key reselling is legal no matter how much Valve wishes it wasn't. Just research any unfamiliar sites before giving them money.

[bellaaldamas]

Calling it now: if Tangled LA Remake happens they'll base it not on the original movie (Disney's last female driven and empowering princess story before the company turned to daughters transforming mothers into literal animals to have their way and labeling it as "feminist", Hans twists telling women they are "desperate for love" and are blamed for male abuse and other pseudo-progressive narratives) but on the series. Which fully embrace and perpetuate Disney's current pseudo-feminist trends and completely misrepresent the characters and the title romance.

Thus, in the remake, Flynn/Eugene will be either written out completely (like Shang from the LA Mulan - because a heroine having two daddy figures instead of a love interest she has chosen is so much more progressive) or replaced by Cass*ndra from the series. The climax will be reworked to have the same pandering, faux feminist twist with Rapunzel cutting off her hair on her own because she is such a "girlboss" now and not a victim of lifelong abuse and gaslighting who needed to be helped out of it, just like other victims do.

And just like in the series, Rapunzel will be doing it for Cass*ndra because when Flynn/Eugene sacrificed his life for Rapunzel's freedom and agency it was "not feminist" and "made her weak". But it is an "improvement and fixing the original" when Rapunzel terminates her magic hair's qualities for a female character who, from the very first episode, started to act in the "I know best" manner. Except unlike in Gothel's case the series' narrative framed it as her being strong and "badass" (passive aggressiveness and pushing boundaries is only bad when older women do it, didn't you know?/#hashtag feminism).

[convenientalias]

2023 Dramas I Watched in 2023

Cdramas:

A League of Nobleman--Slashy historical mystery drama. I loved all the slashiness and all the intrigue and then in the last few episodes I fell even more in love with the villain. Worth a watch but not my favorite slashy historical mystery of the year.

Mysterious Lotus Casebook--My favorite slashy historical mystery drama of the year! Tho more wuxia than historical I suppose. Bromance and archnemeses and identity porn abound. The identity porn in particular was a special treat for me; a character wandering around all these ppl who care deeply about him or idolize him but all think he's dead is my catnip. (I technically have a few episodes left to go on this one but I'm still counting it bc I am very close.)

Parallel World--YE LIUXI. I did a review of this one here! The short version: urban fantasy and parallel worlds in a desert setting, with a badass amnesiac female protagonist.

The Lady and the Lies--Miniseries, one of those short-episode things that China's doing a lot of now. Involved a cheating husband and a wife out to get revenge. I'm sorry but I shipped the wife with almost every person doing her wrong. She should destroy their lives and also dom them. They're all kind of obsessed with her anyway, in their own way.

Under the Microscope--You ever sit down and say, "Okay, but what I REALLY want from all these historical dramas is to just dig into the tax fraud going on in the background"? Me too, my friend. This show and Long River, which I also watched this year, are all about logistics, bureaucracy, and corruption, and the small man's struggle against ppl in power. That makes them both kind of difficult watches in a way, but also fascinating. I have yet to finish Long River, but this one is an easy 14 episodes and not as emotionally draining, so it was much easier for me to binge through.

Ye Cheng--I must admit I watched this for the pretty people. It's set in a matriarchal fantasy wuxia setting, but the gender role reversal feels a little shallow when the strongest good guy and the strongest bad guy are both men, even tho in theory women are supposed to be the warriors in this setting. However, the role reversal can be quite interesting in some ways--watching the male MC run a brothel as the city's top entertainer, try to use his ~masculine wiles~ to charm the FMC in a way that would be more typically feminine, and deal with the power dynamics of joining the FMC's household. Also, the two leads are just a lot of fun and have a lot of chemistry. The plot is sometimes stupid, but it's still a lot of fun to watch. Also, this was one of just two dramas I managed to finish this year that were mostly romance focused. When you reach the "dropped" section you will see that this is an impressive feat.

Kdramas:

Bloodhounds--I love Woo Do-hwan and I love Park Sung-woong but you know I was here for the ACTION SCENES. PEOPLE PUNCHING EACH OTHER AND SLICING EACH OTHER WITH KNIVES. THATS WHAT ITS ABOUT. I've also written a lot of fanfic about the protagonist and villain at this point but honestly they should have interacted more, we were robbed.

Queen of Masks--The only rich woman thriller kdrama I completed this year. But honestly, when it comes to rich woman thriller kdramas, I've seen better and femslashier. Mine did a better job with the whole "your husband told you the mother of his child was dead, but guess what it's actually me and I'm still alive and here to cause problems" plotline, tho I still enjoyed it here. And the sexual assault aspect... eh. I don't love seeing that kind of plotline in a revenge story; it's such a serious issue (and so much more realistic than, say, "this businessman murdered my whole family to acquire our company" a la Eve) that it kind of makes it hard for me to enjoy the fun of the mystery. But I suppose the way they handled it at least had gravity. My favorite plotline was Hae-mi and her husband and the drama they got into, which is serious in its own way (addiction and lies) but extremely well acted and with so much romantic chemistry.

Revenant--Spooky spooky ghosts and Kim Tae-ri, what's not to like? The possession aspects were creepy without being gory or too terrifying for a wimp like me to handle. The acting was great. And I actually shipped the sort-of-romantic subplot, though apparently a lot of ppl shipped the two MCs instead, which is understandable.

Song of the Bandits--A whole ton of gunfighting and other action scenes. One very badass assassin woman, a dude who is equally capable of taking out a whole squad of soldiers or bandits on his own, a villain with a complicated relationship with the dude above, and a woman spying on the Japanese government who's in a sort of spy love triangle with the MC and the villain. the plot was okay but again I was mostly here for the action!!

Thai dramas:

My Dear Gangster Oppa--This year I tried to watch a bunch of different BL dramas bc I was in that kind of mood but the truth is, it's not the het that gets me in m/f romcoms, it's unfortunately the romcom. Despite that! I persisted and did manage to finish this one. The lead couple was cute, and there was gangster intrigue and action etc to keep the fluff and comedy from driving me insane. still mostly a romance.

To Sir With Love--Also has a BL romance in it but not really a romance drama but a Family Drama with lots of familial plotting, the classic first wife vs. second wife scheming-for-their-children plotline along with what could have been a love triangle between brothers... except Tian is gay, which means the love triangle is null (except he's still engaged to his brother's love interest. which is awkward for all involved.). Also Tian being gay is a Deep Dark Secret. There's a lot of homophobia which might turn some viewers off but I loved seeing Tian's struggle between wanting to come out and having been forced to stay in the closet for so long that he freezes even at the thought of telling people he trusts. Also his mother commits a bunch of murders with terrible poison mushrooms so if THAT'S what you want out of a Thai drama, there is also that. Also he and his brother are. so sweet. and I love them. but also the central m/m romance is very good and involves assassination attempts and identity porn and pining and everything good. Also also this is actually a 2022 drama BUT IM STILL COUNTING IT bc it came out in October 2022 and am I really supposed to get around to watching dramas that fast??

Started and dropped:

Kiseki: Dear to Me--Even gangsters and intrigue could not save me from dropping this romcom.

Our Blooming Youth--This is also a romcom. You may see a pattern here. But to give it credit it is quite a plotty historical drama too. I just didn't really care about the two leads and dropped it halfway through.

Pandora: Beneath the Paradise--A thriller that was going places a bit too wild and frustrating for me.

Killing Vote--Can you believe I dropped this with only four episodes to go? I'm sorry Park Sung-woong, I love you but the plot is just so boring. And it plays at moral complexity while being just. not very complex. Like I swear the morality in this thing is "catching bad guys and punishing them is good, not catching them and not punishing them is bad." We could be talking about police corruption, our MC's terrible ethics, innocence until proven guilty, and so on and so forth, but we were just not going there. Also the twists were doing very little for me and the cops are just not very interesting characters. Again, Park Sung-woong, I'm sorry, you were a decent character but you could not save this show. Let's be real I needed either more Devil Judge here or more Death Note.

Legend of Anle--The romcom element was not helping this show's case but I still tried for 1) wuxia with identity porn and 2) Dilraba Dilmurat costarring with Gong Jun. Unfortunately those two had no chemistry and the plot was just very unsatisfying for me in the political intrigue area. One example: Gong Jun can't find the supplies needed to pacify a near-rioting mob. But that's okay bc Anle's subordinates found it. How did they find the super secret hidden storehouse?? we don't know and will never find out bc it was offscreen and never explained. They just did. this would be fine if it weren't, like, the climax of the episode and presented as a victory of the two MC's brilliance. I can't deal with this.

Naughty Babe--It's. A romcom. I'm so sorry I probably should just stop trying.

Other romcoms I quit too fast to give a fair opinion: You Are Mine, Extremely Perilous Love, My Lethal Man, Taikan Yoho.

Well, there you have it, 2023 dramas I watched in 2023.

Fun as it was, I think in 2024 I'm going to try to catch up more with older dramas lols.

Did y'all watch any of these dramas this year?

[thebat-musicman]

The Other Playlist™

I was recently asked to make a young justice playlist so here it is!

@automaticsoulharmony it’s for you :)!

The young justice playlist is under the cut with explanations for each song

Tim

Ur gonna wish u believed me (start of brucequest)

Yes I’m a mess (I could see him deleting his identity)

Karma (AJR) (depressed man)

Mastermind (smart Timmy)

Don’t blame me (all his action with the loa)

Fool (him with the Wayne’s)

Wow, I’m not crazy (him when he meets the bats (he is crazy))

Humpty Dumpty (he’s a depressed lil guy)

Good 4 u (to dick about Damian)

Pretender (Acoustic) (Jason canonically calls him pretender I had to)

Mister Cellophane (everyone forgets about him)

Come hang out (he’s a workaholic)

Let the games begin (Tim enjoys power)

Heart of stone (depressionnn)

brutal (it’s just Tim coded)

Deja vu (to dick about Damian)

Every breath you take (stalker)

The sound of silence (he is so fucking depressed)

Go the distance (start of robin training and brucequest)

Viva La Vida (Tim coming back to Gotham)

Bart:

What ifs (him going to past)

2085 (he’s from the future)

Bones (him running)

Everything has changed (him coming back to life)

When will my life begin (him in vr)

We didn’t start the fire (he is from the future)

Go the distance (him going back in time)

Iron man (time travel)

How far I’ll go (look it’s easy to find Disney songs about going back in time)

For the first time in forever (him meeting actual humans after being raised in vr)

Adventure is out there (very adhd coded song very adhd coded character)

Into the unknown (going back in time)

Dead! (he died)

The nights (it gives me his vibes)

Blackbird (finally being in the real world)

Record player (he’s from the future so it would make sense for him to find 2014 old)

Over the rainbow (going to the real world)

Wow, I’m not crazy (meeting the rest of YJ)

The DJ is Crying for Help (him wondering what to do after becoming an adult)

Centuries (from the future so he knows they will be remembered for centuries)

Kon

Father of mine (Clark sucks)

Dead! (he died)

Teenagers (it gives me his vibes)

All you wanna do (he was canonically taken advantage of by several women immediately after being “born”)

Oops! I did it again (player)

Too late (him maturing)

Used to be young (him after the playboy years are over)

Cat’s in the cradle (Clark still sucks)

You’re on your own, kid (horrible father)

When will my life begin (being in CADMUS and wondering when he can leave)

What else can I do (discovering his powers)

Pity party (he was canonically forgotten by everyone he loves after flashpoint)

Rip (by bladee) (I’m still focusing on the being forgotten thing)

Drift away (talking about the other superboy who came to be while he was trapped in another dimension)

Pretty fly (for a white guy) (he’s a player)

Uptown girl (Cassie!)

Rät (finding out CADMUS is evil)

Back to life (I think the name explains it)

Sober up (talking to YJ)

Shake it off (him responding to insults he gets)

Cassie

Just a girl (it’s hard being a female superhero)

Me too (badass woman)

Clara Bow (how it feels being a legacy sidekick)

Thunder (she’s Zeus’s kid)

Emotionless (good Charlotte) (Zeus is not a good father)

Brutal (her Bart and Kon’s deaths meltdown)

Cat’s in the cradle (I really hate Zeus)

Toxic (her about Kon)

I can do it with a broken heart (having to continue being a superhero even though her friends are dead)

How far I’ll go (her first becoming a superhero)

Last kiss (Kon’s death)

She used to be mine (her thinking back to what she was before she became a superhero)

My heart will go on (Kon’s death)

Eleanor rigby (her being alone after everyone died and she betrayed Tim)

Womanizer (Conner before they started dating)

Devil town (it gives me YJ vibes)

Yesterday (missing when things were simple)

No scrubs (not liking Conner before they started dating)

Two birds (her and Tim being the last ones left and her staying on the wire)

Sober up (her and Tim’s mistaken dating after everyone died)

I hope you like this new playlist!

[drpg-global-archive]

Do you have any archive files from the La Pucelle collab event in disgaea rpg?

Yes!

Event 21: Burn! Straw Doll Festival with the Saintess

And then I'll put the raid intro/outro under the cut~ keep in mind it's a Boltrend translation for everything so a few things are off (mainly, they refer to the title Maiden as Saint)

Raid Opening: A New Overlord

Mao: We're here. This is where the massive magic signal was coming from. Laharl: Impressive. Must be quite the opponent considering how many Prinnies they managed to take out. Adell: But there's no one here. Valvatorez: How about we lure them with sardines? I doubt anyone could resist a batch of freshly caught sardines! Killia: Much as I'd like to cook it up now, it seems we have other matters to deal with. Female Demon (?): So, it's you people. You're the ones rumored to wield immense power in this world. Adell: Don't tell me she's the one who did all this. Laharl: Hey, you! Who the hell do you think you are rampaging around without my permission! Overlord Priere: My name is Priere. Overlord Priere. [Overlord Priere] A powerful Overlord who is the spitting image of Prier. She can be differentiated by the fact she shows more skin than Prier. They both share similar personalities, but Overlord Priere hides an immense dark power. Laharl: Prier? Hey Mao, wasn't Prier that human who was with you and the others? Mao: Heheheh… She may look the same, but this individual posses magic powers worthy of an Overlord. Overlord Priere: Hmm… Guess there's some truth to the rumors. Overlord Priere: Far from being afraid of me, you chatter on without a care in the world. How interesting. Overlord Priere: I came here because that Nether Gate was emitting powerful dark magnetic waves. Looks like my hunch was correct. Mao: A gate? But it shouldn't be connected to Prier's world yet. Mao: Unless… Perhaps the remaining effects of the straw doll have connected it to another gate. Overlord Priere: Quit yapping on. What I want is to fight people that are strong. That way, I can become even stronger. Overlord Priere: Which one of you is the strongest? I'll fight you first. Laharl: I'm the strongest, of course. I'm the most badass freakin' Overlord in the entire cosmos! Mao: That's not necessarily true. No one can match my brains. Adell: I may not be an Overlord, but I train every day! Valvatorez: Thanks to power of sardines, I feel capable of beating anyone! Killia: … Overlord Priere: Jeez, you sound like children with all your bragging. Overlord Priere: You. Why haven't you said anything all this time? Are you that confident in your abilities? Killia: Me? Not necessarily— Overlord Priere: I like your confidence! Fine! I'll start by kicking your butt! Laharl: Hey! No way you chose Killia over me! Croix: Jeez, what's with all the commotion? Wait, is that Prier? Eclair: Big Sister, why are you dressed like that? You look just like a demon! Culotte: No way, Sis! Have the effects of the Netherworld transformed you into an Overlord? Alouette: Wait, this feels familiar… Haven't we experienced a similar phenomenon before? Alouette: It reminds me of what happened that time when Eclair couldn't contain her negative emotions. Eclair: Sister Alouette. Are you saying that this is the personification of the darkness in Prier's soul? Croix: We can talk about it later. Right now we need to act. Culotte: Right. We can't let this happen to her, even if being an Overlord somehow suits her better. Eclair: Agreed. We've got to stop her!

Raid Close: You'll Get Your Chance...

Overlord Priere: Ahahahah! Not bad at all. I haven't been this excited in a while. Mao: Glad to hear that. Now it's my turn to have some fun. Mao: Listen up, all of you! I claim her as my test subject. Capture her alive at all costs! Mao: A former human turned Overlord… Nothing could make for a more fascinating test subject. (huff huff) (slurp) Croix: Looks like Mao can't wait to dissect her. Eclair: Dissect Prier? Absolutely not! I won't allow it! Culotte: What should we do, Alouette? He's going to kill her! Alouette: Leave it to me, Culotte. Alouette: I'll rely on the teachings of the scriptures to appeal to Prier's soul. Laharl: Lame! I'll keep fighting instead! Killia: But, Laharl, our casualties will only increase if we continue to fight. Let me finish her off with one final blow. Eclair: Please, wait! If she really is Prier, you can't kill her! Killia: Don't worry. It may be the darkness in her soul that's the cause of all this. Killia: If so, I may be able to use my Ultimate Demon Technique to purify the darkness. Leave it to me. Overlord Priere: You're up to something, aren't you? Interesting. Come on then, I've still got… Huh? Eclair: Big Sister? What's the matter? Overlord Priere: Looks like I'm out of time. Don't think I can fight anymore. Overlord Priere: Oh well. I got to fight a strong opponent, so I'm pretty sure I'm even stronger now. Mao: Hold on, wait! I still need to examine you up close… Overlord Priere: Shame we couldn't settle this, but I've got things I need to do. Overlord Priere: Next time I run into you, you're going down. Remember that, as you quake in your boots, waiting for that day to come. See you then! Culotte: Sis, wait! Sis! Alouette: N-No… Prier… What will I do without you? Croix: …Don't worry, Alouette. I'll go find that idiot and bring her back. Prier: Jeez, pipe down, will you? People are trying to sleep over here. Eclair: B-Big Sister? What're you doing over there? You just vanished! Culotte: Yeah! What've you been up to all this time? Prier: What're you talking about? Eating all that dinner made me sleepy, so I've been asleep until now. Alouette: You're quite the troublemaker, Prier. In the name of the Saint of Light, you'll be hearing it from me later! Croix: Can't believe I was even worried about you. Now that I think about it, there's no way Prier would turn into a demon. Eclair: Thanks goodness… I'm so relieved. Mao: Prier, sit still for a second. Prier: Wh-What's the matter, Mao? Do I have something on my face? Mao: …Nothing. I detect no trace of that Overlord-like power that was present in the other one. Prier: Huh? What the heck is an Overlord? Mao: Listen up, Prier! I'm going to dissect you this minute and uncover your secrets. (huff huff) (slurp) Prier: No way! Mao: Damn it! When will I get my hands on that ultimate test subject!