#they talked about how different life as a woman was compared to men too

[hadesoftheladies]

women be like "i can't believe women of the past were so restricted by men like that, i'd never accept it" and then wear heels

[creatingblackcharacters]

"Let's Have a Talk, First"- Stereotypes, pt 1

Come sit down. You and I, before we get into any of the things I'm sure you're impatient to know: we need to have a come to Jesus talk, first.

There are some things that I've been asked and seen that strengthens my belief that we need to have a reframing of the conversation on stereotypes in media away from something as simple as "how do I find the checklist of stereotypes to avoid". Because race- and therefore racial stereotypes- is a complex construct! Stands to reason then, that seeing, understanding, and avoiding it won't be that simple! I'm going to give you a couple pointers to (hopefully) help you rethink your approach to this topic, and therefore how to apply it when you're writing Black characters- and even when thinking about Black people!

Point #1: DEVELOP THE CHARACTER!! WRITE!!

Excuse my crude language, but let me be blunt: Black people- and therefore Black characters- will get angry at things, and occasionally make bad choices in the heat of the moment. Some of us like to fuck real nasty, some might be dominant in the bedroom, they may even be incredibly experienced! Others of us succumb to circumstance and make poor decisions that lead to crime.

None of those things inherently makes any of us angry Black women and threatening Black men, Jezebels and BBC Mandingos, and gangsters and thugs!

Black people are PEOPLE! Write us as such!

If all Black characters ever did was go outside, say "hi neighbor!" and walk back in the house, we'd be as boring as racist fans often accuse.

I say this because I feel I've seen advice that I feel makes people think writing a Black character that… Emotes negatively, or gets hurt by life and circumstance, or really enjoys hard sex, or really any scenario where they might "look bad" is the issue. I can tell many people think "well if I write that, then it's a stereotype" and to avoid the difficulty, they'll probably end up writing a flat Black character or not writing them at all. Or- and I've seen this too- they'll overcompensate in the other direction, which reveals that they 'wrote a different sort of Black person!' and it comes off just as awkwardly because it means you think that the Black people that do these things are 'bad'. And I hate that, because we're capable of depth, nuance, good, evil, adventure, world domination, all of it!

My point is, if you write your character like the human being they are, while taking care to recognize that you as the writer are not buying into stereotypes with your OWN messaging, you're fine. We have emotions, we have motivations and goals, we make decisions, and we make mistakes, just like anybody else. Write that! Develop your character!

POINT #2: YOU CAN'T CONTROL THE READERS!!

Okay. You can write the GREATEST Black character ever, full of depth, love, nuance, emotional range, all those things…. And people are still going to be racist about them. Sorry. There is absolutely nothing you can do to control a reader coming from that place of bias you sought to avoid. If it's not there, TRUST AND BELIEVE, it'll be projected onto them.

That passionate young Black woman who told the MC to get her head out of her ass? Yeah she's an angry Black bitch now, and bully to the sweet white MC. Maybe a lesbian mommy figure if they like her enough to "redeem" her. That Black gay male lead that treats his partner like he worships the ground he walks on? Yeah he's an abusive thug that needs to die now because he disagreed One Time with his white partner. That Black trans woman who happened to be competing against the white MC, in a story where the white MC makes comparable choices? Ohhhh they're gonna be VILE about that poor woman.

It really hurts- most especially as a Black fan and writer- knowing that you have something amazing to offer (as a person and creative) and people are gonna spit on that and call it "preference". That they can project themselves onto white characters no matter what, but if you project your experiences onto black characters, it's "pandering", "self insert", "woke", "annoying", "boring", and other foul things we've all gotten comments of.

But expect that it's gonna happen when you write a Black character, again, especially if you're a Black writer. If you're not Black, it won't hurt as personally, but it will probably come as a shock when you put so much effort in to create a lovely character and people are just ass about them. Unfortunately, that is the climate of fandom we currently exist in.

My favorite example is of Louis De Pointe Du Lac from AMC's Interview With The Vampire. Louis is actually one of the best depictions of the existential horror that is being Black in a racist White world I have ever seen written by mostly nonblack people. It was timeless; I related to every single source of racist pain he experienced.

People were HORRIFIC about Louis.

It didn't matter that he was well written and what he symbolized; many white viewers did NOT LIKE this man. There's a level of empathy and understanding that Black characters in particular don't receive in comparison to white counterparts, and that's due to many of those stereotypes and systemic biases I'm going to talk about.

My point is, recognize that while yes, you as the author have a duty to write a character thoughtfully as you can, it's not going to stop the response of the ignorant. Writing seeking to get everyone to understand what you were trying to do… Sisyphean effort. It's better to focus on knowing that YOU wrote something good, that YOU did not write the stereotype that those people are determined to see.

POINT #3: WHY is something a stereotype?

While there are lists of stereotypes against Black people in media and life that can be found, I would appreciate if people stopped approaching it as just a list of things you can check off to avoid. You can know what the stereotypes are, sure, but if you don't understand WHY they're a problem and how they play into perception of us, you'll either end up writing a flat character trying to avoid that list, or you're going to write other things related to that stereotype because "oh its not item #1"... and it'll still be racist.

For example: if you wrote a "sassy Black woman" that does a z formation neck rotation just because a store manager asked her something… that's probably stereotype. If you thought of a character that needed to be "loudmouthed", "sassy", and "strong" and a dark-skinned black woman was automatically what fit the profile in your mind, ding ding ding! THAT'S where you need to catch your racist biases.

But a dark-skinned Black woman character cursing out a store manager because she's had a really bad, stressful day and their attitude towards her pushed her over the edge may be in the wrong, but she's not an "angry Black woman". She's a Black woman that's angry! And if you wrote the day she had to be as bad as would drive anyone to overstimulation and anxiety, the blow up will make sense! The development and writing behind her led to this logical point (which connects to point #1!)

I'm not going to provide a truly exhaustive list of Black stereotypes in media because that would ACTUALLY be worth a college credited class and I do this for free lmao. But I am going to provide some classic examples that can get y'all started on your own research.

POINT #4: WATCH BLACK NARRATIVES!

As always, I'm gonna push supporting Black creators, because that's the best way to see the range of what you'd like. You want to see Black villains? We got those! Black heroes? Black antiheroes? Assholes, lovers, comedians, depressed, criminals, kings, and more? They exist! You can get inspired by watching those movies and reading those books, see how WE depict us!

I've seen mixed reviews on it, BUT- I personally really enjoyed Swarm, because it was one of the first times I'd ever seen that "unhinged obsessed murderous Black fan girl" concept. Tumblr usually loves that shit lmao. Even the "bites you bites you bites you [thing I love]" thing was there. And she liked girls, too. Just saying. I thought it was a fun idea that I'd love to see more of. Y'all gotta give us a chance to be in these roles, to tell these tales. We can do it too, and you'd enjoy it if you tried to understand it!

POINT#5: You are NOT Black!

This is obvious lmao, but if you're not Black, there's no need to pretend. There's no need to think "oh well I have to get a 100% perfect depiction of the Black person's mind". That's… That's gonna look cringe, at its best. You don't have to do that in order to avoid stereotypes. You're not going to be able to catch every nuance because it's not your lived experience, nor is it the societally enforced culture. Just… Do what you can, and if you feel like it's coming off hokey… Maybe consider if you want to continue this way lol. If you know of any Black beta readers or sensitivity reviewers, that'd be a good time to check in!

For example, if your Black character is talking about "what's good my homie" and there's absolutely no reason for him to be speaking that way other than to indicate that he's Black… 😬 I can't stop you but… Are you sure?

An egregious example of a TERRIBLE way to write a Black character is the "What If: Miles Morales/Thor" comic. I want to emphasize the lack of good Black character design involved in some of these PROFESSIONAL art spaces, because that MARVEL comic PASSED QA!! That comic went past NUMEROUS sets of eyes and was APPROVED!! IT GOT RELEASED!! NO ONE STOPPED IT!!

I'm sorry, it was just so racist-ly bad that it was hilarious. Like you couldn't make that shit up.

Anyway, unfortunately that's how some of y'all sound trying to write AAVE. I promise that we speak the Queen's English too lmao. If you're worried you won't get it right, just use the standard form of English. It's fine! Personally, I'd much rather you do that than try to 'decode AAVE' if you don't know how to use it.

My point is, if you're actively "forcing" yourself to "think Black"… maybe you need to stand down and reconsider your approach lmao. This is why understanding the stereotypes and social environment behind them will help you write better, because you can incorporate that Blackness- without having to verbally "emphasize how Black this is"- into their character, motivations, and actions.

Conclusion

We need to reconsider how we approach the concepts of stereotypes when writing our Black characters. The goal is not to cross off a checklist of things to avoid per se, but to understand WHY we have to develop our Black characters well enough to avoid incorporating them into our writing. Give your Black characters substance- we're human beings! We have motivations and fears and desires! We're not perfect, but we're not inherently flawed because of our race. That's what makes the difference!

And as always, and really in particular for this topic, it's the thought that counts, but the action that delivers!

[loveemagicpeace]

🧃Astrology Things🍕

⚡️A lot of libra risings make changes for the sake of others and then regret them. For example: they buy a new house and later notice that they don't want to live in it, they buy a car that they didn't really want. Many times they take a life step too quickly, which they later regret.

🍕Mars in 11th house-it can mean that you have few friends. And that a lot of people don't suit you. Many times you can also fight with your friends. But you can also attract people who are rude to you or maybe jealous. And friends can compete with you. You can usually get along better with men than with women.

🥑Mercury in 12th house-A lot of people can say things about you behind your back. It can also be a lot of untruths that people make up about you. So here you can attract quiet gossip (which means that many people say something about you, but only when you are not around). You have to be careful what you say to whom, because many people can be insincere towards you and many times they just pretend that they love you or that they care about you.

💘Venus in the 11th house - people can find your beauty every unique and special. You can have different beauty than others and your beauty cannot be compared to others because it is special and different. Many things suit you and others don't. You can have your own style and wear clean clothes that look great on you. You know how to combine a style in such a way that it looks beautiful.

🔥One thing you should know about fire signs. They will not wait for you. If you're not here right now and you don't give them enough energy, they'll leave. Especially when someone has mars in fire sign- they are quick to resent when you do not fulfill their promises. They hate when you cancel something and sometimes they make one decision quickly.

🌿Aquarius often live alone because they find it easier. They like to have their own freedom and have their own way of doing certain things.

🥊Venus & Mars in Leo- I notice that they just have the energy of being in the spotlight but in a nice way. In a very nice way.

🔥Fire signs, especially for sagittarius (it doesn't matter to them how they get to the goal, just that they get to it). Which means that if they get their driving test illegally or, I don't know, earn money illegally, the method is not important to them, but the goal that is achieved (as long as they have it) haha.

🤍Your moon sign is your safe place. It also means how you feel emotionally safe. When you have a water moon, your first reaction is emotional and you have an emotional attachment to things, people, places. When you're with someone, emotional security means a lot. Someone with a fire moon is, for example, very open, active, independent and sees the world as full of opportunities and they don't look at things as if they have to always be safe. Therefore, such moons can encourage a sense of danger for water moons. And they make them feel like they're not there for them in the way they want them to be.

🔐Venus is feminine energy and Mars is masculine energy. When you look at beauty in a woman, you look at the sign of Venus - because Venus represents femininity, beauty, style. When you look at the beauty of a man, you are looking at the sign of Mars - because it represents masculinity, energy, a pronounced figure and appearance. Many times I notice that men who have Leo, Scorpio, and Mars have a nice figure and an attractive appearance.

🩵Pluto Trine Chiron- you can have a lot of pain, which is very deep and strong. But you don't show it on the outside. But you can transform your pain in a beautiful way. Your losses and grieving process help awaken you to dynamic energy. These people are not afraid to go deep into pain or face it. They can really talk more deeply about the pain.

🩶Mercury Sextile Chiron-You know how to express your pain and trauma through words. You can help people with your speech, writing or expression.

🩷Venus Trine Chiron-They can express their pain beautifully. People can find your pain helpful. Many times, these people can express pain beautifully through music or through any art. This aspect also have machine gun kelly- and he expresses his pain so beautifully through his music.

💙Mercury Opposition Pluto-whatever the connection with mercury and pluto, it is always seen that the person chooses deeper, harsh and difficult words. It can already be seen from the very expression that a person can talk about taboo topics and more difficult topics more openly. Person has a very deep mind.

😆Aries rising -I noticed that when they cancel the meeting with you, then everything is fine. But when you cancel the meeting with them, then they will be angry. Many times they do things to others that they do not approve of themselves.

🎧When you listen to someone's podcast, you only see their mercury. Because this is their way of thinking, observing, speaking and telling.

🦋North Node in 8th house- when you get rid of the past, people, things, only then will you be able to start anew and begin your transformation. It is very important to let go because when you let go you will see how different your life is. This is also good for the things you buy, for example if you buy a new car then you have to get rid of the old one. When they choose change they win; when they choose the old way of doing things they lose.

🌱North Node in 11th house- it is important to look at yourself and not at others. To create your own vibe and energy that you want to emit. You will gain the most if you stop looking at others.

☁️If you want to know what someone else likes u have to look at their venus sign. Because Venus represents love language and what a person values. For ex.: Scorpio Venus will appreciate the time alone the most. Some deep conversation or a secret you will tell them. Taurus Venus- good food, music or something to pamper them with , maybe luxurious vacations. Leo Venus- fun, playing, something that reminds them of childhood. Aries Venus- something bold, action, maybe danger.

🎑The IC and the 4th house describe home, both as a physical place and as an inner sense of roots, safety, and foundation. If you have Jupiter in the 4th, it might feel natural to you to travel around or you might even choose to live abroad. With Uranus here, you may experience many changes of home. With the Sun or Moon in the 4th, you might be so strongly connected to home and homeland that uprooting yourself will not be easy. Sun here suggests your life revolves around home in some way, the Moon that your emotional wellbeing is closely tied to it. With Mars or Pluto here you may feel that your home is a constant battle and that there are always new changes. With Neptune here can mean that your home is confusing and sometimes you feel like you're not there at all.

🧃The IC Sign here will reflect your experience of early home life and the kind of home you want to create for yourself. If you have Taurus on the IC for instance, moving might feel like a huge upheaval and one way to cope is to prepare yourself for the change as far in advance as possible. On the other hand, Aries here might see you acting like a bullet from a gun - keen to move on domestically and not look back.

🎸For personal readings u can sign up here: https://snipfeed.co/bekylibra 🎸

-Rebekah🦋🩵🧚🏼‍♀️

[bulbabutt]

okay. lets bite the bullet and talk about 2012. lets talk about child abuse, familial abuse, generational abuse, toxic family units, whatever you wanna call it. lets talk about it and whether it exists in this show. i actually encourage you to read this no matter what your take is, just to hear it out. let me be FUCKING clear: i love this show, but i get scared to talk about it seriously. everyone on every side is defensive all the time but i love every turtles show to no end.

this post is going to go over so well and not controversially at all.

precursor: every splinter is some level of shitty dad. he always has been. the fucking bare bones of the character is that he raised his children to kill the man who killed his own father. thats inherently fucked up. every splinter has some level of fucked up about him. maybe hes inattentive, or neglectful, or strict, or secretive, maybe hes just not very good at dealing with his kids. splinter is supposed to be far from perfect. thats what makes him splinter. maybe he grows over the course of a series, maybe he doesnt. maybe hes supposed to be shitty his whole life, maybe hes not. thats just splinter. each is adapted differently depending on the story being told.

and 2012 has a very interesting tone to its story.

lets start at the beginning, back in japan. this is season 3, was this story what they intended when they started writing the show back in season 1? probably not, theres probably things they would have written differently had they known this was where splinter's story started. thats kind of the way tv works, you add the details later. but for our sake of analyzing the character of splinter as a whole, it seems best to start here as if its all intentional.

hamato yoshi is a member of the hamato clan. theyre a very traditional old ninja clan in the modern world, they have old feuds and theyre trying to keep their culture alive. they're literally the last of a clan of ninjas like this, having (supposedly) defeated the foot clan (their generational enemies) back when yoshi was a baby. hes set out to lead next, and its very important to him. and yet hes married to a woman who works in the city, a modern woman who doesnt live the life he does. she even moved to be with him. i feel the need to compare this to how men in the real world who want traditional wives never go for women who are willing to be their housewives, always try to break down the independent ones. splinter seems unconcerned with how his wife wants to live. with how she wants their daughter to be raised.

im not necessarily saying this is how this comes off in the show, but i find it interesting to think about. this is absolutely the most rounded version of tang shen as a character (thus far) it stops her being just a name on a page "hamato yoshi's love and the object of his enemies affections who died" and turns her into a woman who has a stake in the story. gives her more agency.

its very interesting that this show implies an actual relationship between tang shen and oroku saki, albeit a one-sided one that didnt work out, but they do seem to have parted on equal ground. the pair of them discuss yoshi's inattentive duties as a husband and father, that he's too obsessed with the tradition and lineage of his clan. honestly, if this woman just took her baby and left no one would blame her! he has his priorities set, and it leaves no room for her and their newborn baby. if she ran away with saki at this point, the story would make just as much sense.

but then disaster strikes, saki learns the truth about his family, that he was actually a child of the foot clan (honestly i wish we saw this play out instead of jumping ahead in the story but thats not what this post is about) and he kills he and yoshi's father. revenge for him having killed his. cycles of abuse and revenge that never end. the pair of them were raised in this society that values lineage like this, that would kill for it. its no wonder they both grew up this way.

anyway, tang shen is killed by a blow meant for yoshi, and saki takes their child and raises her. based on splinter's lack of desire to be a father so far in the story, its honestly not one you can blame him for. its fucked up, but it makes sense. saki does to miwa exactly what his father did to him. cycles of abuse and revenge.

yoshi loses everything, and moves to america. he's turned into splinter the mutant rat, and gains four turtle sons.

so as established, he's not exactly grown up with a stable family life. he obviously, while human, wasnt acting as a stable father for the child he intended to have. so how good is he at this?

ive talked before about how the 2003 show treats the turtles as kind of one whole unit. they don't have individual relationship arcs, they dont have overarching storylines where they grow apart or closer, they're always in each other's corner.

2012 makes this more dynamic. here we see that 15 years seeing no one but each other, growing under this splinter has come with its own quirks. these brothers dont understand each other that well. they get jealous of each others treatment, some are left out, some are misunderstood. raph resents leo, none of them appreciate what donnie does, mikey bothers everyone else for attention, etc. it creates a really good starting place for this show.

(the issue i have with this show is more that they never really open or close any of these beats, at least not in ways that last. but boy does it make for some good dramatic scenes)

we see over the course of this first season that splinter treats his children just as he was, as little ninjas more so than sons. he raises them to follow his traditions, the ones tang shen never cared for. but this is all he knows how to be! you cant really blame him.

most people bring up mikey as the quintessential example when they talk about this, i dont want to do that cuz i know you've all heard it. while i think his father does disrespect him and i think it is paid forward and his brothers do too, i'd rather talk about raph for a change.

in one episode, raph loses his temper. to teach him a lesson, splinter makes his brothers pelt him in training while insulting him any way they can, and tells him to just... not lose his temper. this is a terrible lesson in general. instead of trying to coax out why he might be angry, it just plays up that if he loses his temper bad things happen.

splinter in this episode basically encourages bullying. this comes up a lot when it comes to raph. to compare, in 2003 when raph loses his temper, hes told to blow off steam which he does. his brothers don't blame him for having emotional outbursts, they know thats just how he is so they know how he needs to cope with it. he's given the physical space to let it out.

im not saying this show needs to be like that show, im just saying thats a version of this story where the outcome is better for raph as a whole. since this outcome is not as good for him emotionally, you can tell why he's still got these emotional issues. splinter never helps him more than that. thats more why this raph differs from that one, if that makes sense. one has his family in his corner more than the other.

speaking of. raph has a pet turtle. this turtle is the only one he can talk to about how he feels. why might that be? it's the only thing hes kind and gentle to, and he refuses to let his brothers make him feel weak for being kind to it. where did he learn to be ashamed of being kind and gentle? thats a learned behaviour. in a house full of other men... yeah, that would happen. but whos values start that?

when this turtle gets some mutagen spilled on it, it tries to get revenge on his family. there is such a resentment going on here, its extremely juicy. the show chalks this up to "post mutation insanity", but its just as easy to think that everything raph has experienced has made him seem angry and resentful and perhaps scared to his pet, and that former pet wants raph to himself so they can be free. the frustrated venting of a child complaining about how no one understands him in such a big way turns slash into a vengeful monster, cuz thats all he's ever heard. it makes sense, he went from a little turtle to a fully cognizant adult aged being in an instant. emotionally no one would handle that well, and definitely not someone whos only ever heard the worst about people.

he comes around later. notably by being on his own, away from the hamatos.

again, im not saying the show is writing this intentionally, but i think tonally its in the zone where you could see this analysis as being canon. that these little pieces of narrative fit the worldview of a toxic family unit that isnt dealing with its problems in a healthy way.

there's other small aspects. leo slaps mikey early on, having seen it on his favourite show be used as a way of getting someone to calm down. mikey questions this behaviour, leo seems to feel bad about it when questioned. if we know that that behaviour was bad, what other things might he emulate in a similar way?

there's things like donnie's predatory behaviour towards april. in a world where all they ever knew was splinter's stories of the outside world (and perhaps television from decades earlier), hearing splinter's story of his love for tang shen, his rivalry with his own brother over her, you could actually see why he would behave the way he does, why he claims her the way he does. not as an excuse, but as a reason he learned the behaviour. and there's multiple opportunities for his father to tell him off. he never does. why would he? he knows no better.

this splinter, unlike every other, is not old or disabled. he doesnt require a cane (at the start, but also was never a good cane) and its interesting that despite being like... a 40 year old man in the peak of his life he does not accompany his sons on missions. he sits around doing nothing and disproves of his sons heroic actions. april literally calls him out for this at one point. the show is actually telling us some of this man's behaviour is wrong.

one of the more upsetting things that happens in this household is a lot of physical hitting. "theyre training" you might say. understandable. but when you see a lot of hitting come from the father in this show, played for a laugh, when you see splinter play the "drunk master" bit it makes you think. is that okay? isnt that a bit much?

the end of the muckman episode is a freeze frame of splinter (after having knocked out all of his sons to punish them for leaving while grounded) turning his anger on april and her running away. idk thats just not funny to me. this is a bit of the dating of the show, 2012 was a time where character's in shows were meaner, less affectionate, more bullying in nature. that was the sense of humour at the time. that isnt me making a judgment, it's just kind of the era. a pre steven universe world, if that makes sense. so many of the jokes that end in a hit aren't funny in 2024. especially not when they come from a parent.

when this splinter speaks about his kids to their brothers he often ends up insulting them. "you should be like mikey, he never overthinks because he doesn't think", this would be a big reason the boys speak about each other the way they do to their faces. puts forward a bit more of that bullying thing i mentioned earlier. if their own father talks about them like this, of course their brothers do too. so of course they join in and give payback.

again. splinter wasnt raised in a normal family. he was raised in a ninja commune with a bunch of murderers. he wasn't great with his wife and baby daughter. its not surprising that he's bad at this.

so, ive just said a bunch of things about what's wrong with this household as a whole. i think ive explained why the family unit behaves the way it does: generational teachings of feuds and traditional values. i dont think this makes the show bad! i, in fact, wish there was more of it. i think theres so much low hanging fruit that the show kind of wants to play with, but cant fully bring itself to.

specific example: during the space arc on a planet thats driving all the characters emotions against each other we get this amazing scene where raph screams at leo for being splinter's favourite. leo responds by hugging him. its really well done!

however its never brought up again, never actually getting into the nitty gritty of why raph feels like that is exactly what i think makes this show resonate with so many people

its dark! it pulls at your heart strings! it makes people feel seen! we go in mikey's head at one point and see such splintered (lol) personalities in his head. he has a huge anger problem (much like raph) in there. he retreats into imagination land when stressed. the show kind of toys with "these kids are fucked up!" but never lets those character moments go anywhere. i love how fucked up this family is. its so complex, it feels real. at least real to me. i wish it went that little step further and let the characters talk about these things a little more.

maybe you have a different experience, and thats fine! but i wouldnt brush off people like me who look at 2012 and say "these dynamics make me uncomfortable". to excuse it by saying "my family is like that and we're fine" sometimes i just wanna say... <:/ are you? have you talked about that? and if that's your read on it is that its fine, thats great. but some people notice patterns and those patterns can make them uncomfortable. i hope ive explained the patterns here.

i think thats why the fandom is as big as it is. this show would lead to the most amazing deep introspective fan-works youve ever seen, it lays the pieces out so perfectly for you to draw your own conclusions about why they are this way. you cant really blame people for talking about it as if its got a way higher rating than it does. it feels like it does.

i should say, i dont even know if i blame the show on its own for leaving those pieces laying there, it was on nickelodeon. i sense studio meddling in the tone. i mean, given that the show wanted to end with the big mutant apocalypse storyline, and yet the network wanted to end it with the big 87 crossover..... yeah i think its safe to say nick would rather they keep it light.

which is funny, because i think the most controversial thing i can say is i personally love the finale arc as the mutant apocalypse. it so encapsulates my favorite part of this show. to end this show in the darkest timeline and say "even though these characters are so far removed from who they used to be and even though the entire world is over they still have each other in the end" and i find that so perfect.

so. i understand that this is always a touchy topic. i know people want to brush it off as "people say the 12 brothers are abusive to mikey but mikey is fine", and i think thats a really skewed version of it from both sides. first of all. mikey is not fine, look in that boys head. look how he copes. he's not. but also, mikey is not the only victim. they all are. these turtles are victims of their upbringing, victims of generational war. of men who didnt know how to be good fathers in the first place. and thats good writing! it feels deep! it connects!

for more context: any fucked up way you can think of karai being raised by shredder? its probably the same way here. splinter and shredder were raised the same way.

i guess i think about this a lot, cuz i always see things like "oh, rise fans write crossovers where the rise boys love each other and have to teach the 12 boys how to be nice cuz they dont like 2012!" and i just think to myself:

guys. do you understand why a person might do that? why would someone (likely a teenager) want 2012 mikey to be treated nicely by a kinder more openly affectionate version of his own family? do i need to spell that out for you? why do we connect with media at all, why do we write our own stories about it?

if you genuinely dont. i mean, im glad for you. but sometimes you wanna imagine a world in which your own family is more openly affectionate with you. where they hug and tell you theyre proud and love you and you never have to question it, never have to look elsewhere for that kind of approval. its less that they're idolizing rise, and more that they're looking at the two families and saying "this one is emotionally mature and in touch with their feelings more than that one. how would that play out?"

doctor feelings ass response.

look, im not saying everyone understands 2012, that everyone likes or needs to like it. im just trying to say that i think these fucked up parts of 2012 are all around my favourite parts of the show. its an inspiring story about this fucked up little family that has no one but each other, and they're not great about it. they try, but they don't always get it right. i just wish the show would have talked about that part more. but i think that since it doesnt people get to fill in those blanks themselves, and they do it so beautifully. and i really wish people on the internet would be more kind to one another when they wanted to discuss these darker themes they find in it.

these are the reasons i love this show. i think its so very interesting that splinter dies this fucked up father figure who never really apologized for his behaviour. i like that raph needs to be held to stop punching his brothers. that leo doesnt have a good grip on what it is to be a leader, that he tries bad ways of doing it. i like that no one copes well! i like that their relationships are so complex! this show is messy! its good! i wish it was more messy!

and id love if we could be more honest about these things and how they make us feel instead of just brushing each other off as "likes the show" or "doesnt like the show". the things that make me uncomfortable are why i love this show and i'm pretty sure i'm not alone there.

[calisources]

𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐕𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐎𝐘𝐀𝐋 𝐁𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒 𝐐𝐔𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒.

All sentences on these meme make references to royal balls, medieval ballrooms or regency, basically set during any period drama. You can change names, pronouns, titles and more as you see fit. Most of these were taken from different source materials found via google search. This meme makes references to masquerades, royal dances and partners.

Dancing, at its best, is independence and intimacy in balance.

Dance is the timeless interpretation of life.

Music does not need language of words for it has movements of dance to do its translation.

Masks reveal. They don’t conceal. Masks reveal your cravings, your passion, your deepest most secret desires.

It was you. I know it was you.

Look at me, Kia! Look me in the eye and tell me you’re not her.

And who shall you be once you don your grand disguise?

I don't like to hear you talk about yourself that way. Your scars do not define you, young lady. Your action do.

All the ladies must dress the same and the men have to find their partners. It’s a game of sorts. 

Even the smallfolk have their own version of the ball, at the steps of the castle.

Swoon, Dora. Every young woman deserves to swoon over the love of her life.

Dash it, Everton, how'd you know it was me?

A masquerade could have been a beautiful dance. 

 Oh, well. What's a royal ball? After all, I suppose it would be frightfully dull, and-and-and boring, and-and completely... Completely wonderful.

Each finds a partner, and upon the bell, we must change partner until we find the one we came to be. . .or the one we desire.

It has been a while since you gave me the honor to dance with you.

If the princess is not too occupied, I would wish for a dance, perhaps?

The Queen and King have to open the ball but the King is gone. No mind, I shall be in his place.

Sometimes in life confusion tends to arise and only dialogue of dance seems to make sense.

If we want our men to dance, we have to inspire them. 

 But with something more, something bigger, something that will give them a reason to want to dance.

But when balls are held for pleasure, They're the balls that I like best.

Will you be my princess for the Ball?

Keeping pushing, Andrei, and you and I are going to play a game.

Nothing like a ball to cheer a nation, give the old lords wine and the young boys the opportunity to find a nice woman and everyone shows up.

Where are you taking me? The ball hasn’t ended.

Royals is like a beautiful, broken angel: hard to look at, but utterly impossible to turn away from.

Attend the royal ball in all your glory and find out what fate has in store for you.

How many dances is one allowed before people begin to whisper?

You cannot behave like a brute. It is my duty to dance with every suitor. I am their princess.

I do not recognize you, my lord? Are you from these lands? 

It is bad luck to steal a princess.

Attend the royal ball in all your glory and find out what fate has in store for you.

There is nothing quite like dancing in the moonlight. It sets your soul on fire and your heart aflutter.

The beauty of a ball is not just in its grandeur, but in the connections it sparks, the emotions it stirs, and the hopes it ignites.

Just keep your eyes on me. No one else here matters.

I shall keep dancing with you until you stop being stubborn and go speak with me. Or you rather have people whisper?

The princess looks beautiful tonight, does she not?

Father, please, you must dance as well. Your dull looks are making people bored.

You promised me a dance when you were better. Are you?

I've loved you at every dance, on every walk, every time we've been together and every time we've been apart.

I can feel people's eyes on me.

Every time I walk into a ballroom, I know they are comparing me to Daphne.

You both get to choose your passions and adventures, while my beloved is chosen by me. And now I must join them for a dance.

Are you planning on running away when the clock strikes midnight? 

If you do wish to go away, I know a spot, secluded enough.

You wish for me to go with you, alone, unchaperoned. I am a maiden, my lord. 

Aye, but I am no lord, sweet maiden. And these masks allow us some privacy.

This is my last chance to find a match on my own accord. If I don’t. The King will do it for me and I would rather not.

 I'm only a girl, not a princess.

Believe me - they're all looking at you.

 They're all looking at you.

You are requested and required to present yourself to your king.

 I do not even know if that beautiful slipper will fit But, if it does--will you take me as I am?

 It would be an insult to take you to the palace dressed in these old rags.

How charming, how perfectly charming.

When I go back, they will try to pair me off with a lady of their choosing. I'm expected to marry for advantage.

Oh. Well, whose advantage would this marriage be of?

I hope you don't find our kingdom too confining.

I am. An apprentice monarch. Still learning my trade.

Our prince seems quite taken with her.

She went straight for him. You have to appreciate her efficiency.

Walk into the room knowing you are the best. Shoulders back, chin up. Their attitudes will totally change.

You dance love, and you dance joy, and you dance dreams.

The ball is about to come to an end, and you have yet not told me your name. 

I thought we agreed we would remain strangers.

I’m afraid my true identity would put you in danger. 

Have you ever been kissed by a stranger at the end of a ball? If not, let me be the first.

Put him on all the invitation lists, he's a divine dancer.

I’m afraid I’m more used to swordfight than ballroom.

You will ruin your pretty gown, princess. I would not wish to step on your toes.

 Silly, I am a great dancer, no one ever steps on my toes.

No. Let them dance. Interrupting would cause a scandal.

One of these men will be my husband one day. What a thought.

The art of husband seeking at it’s peak, during royal ball season. 

Maiden beware, a gentleman can become a beast when the bell strikes.

[yandere-writer-momo]

Rent-A-Girlfriend

Part 1: Jack Hanma

Yandere Baki various x Afab reader

Part 2

……………………………….……………………………….

I decided to make this a little series so requests/ asks are on hold unless I really, really like them. Enjoy!

Yanderes in this series: Jun Guevara, Biscuit Oliva, Baki Hanma, Jack Hanma, Hanayama Kaoru, Shinogi Kureha, Katsumi Orochi, and Kaioh Retsu

……………………………….……………………………….

Never in Jack’s life did he ever imagine he would stoop to this level for some form of companionship. He was a champion pit fighter… not some… simp. Yet here he was sitting at a cafe as he nervously waiting for his date to show up. A rental girlfriend.

Jack never knew how to talk to girls. Jack dedicated his entire life to training and fighting for revenge. He wasn’t the typical picture of an ideal boyfriend. He was covered in scars from his harsh way of living. His teeth were replaced with titanium steel and he had more muscles than most men around. He was a monster. The kind of monster in those fairytale books adults show their children.

Jack bit his lip as he sighed and turned his head to the side. He ran a large hand over his blonde hair. What the hell was he thinking? Why did he care whether or not he had a girlfriend?

Jack was destined to be alone. He destroyed himself beyond recognition in hopes to avenge the assault of his mother and yet… a part of him felt as if he deserved happiness.

He envied Baki’s old relationship with Kozue. What was it like to have someone cheer for him during a fight? To not mind the scars that littered his face and body? To not be afraid of his size? Jack had such an avid curiosity for love.

Jack froze when a young woman approached his table. His breath hitching a bit. He didn’t think she’d be so beautiful… but then again, he paid a lot of money for the day with her.

“Thank you for waiting, darling.” (Your name) smiled brightly at her client. She would play her part perfectly and make sure he wasn’t embarrassed to have ordered her service. “You weren’t waiting long, were you?”

Now (your name) had been a rental girlfriend for about a year now. She enjoyed helping lonely souls feel companionship when they were too busy or unique looking to date or find love. It was an incredibly easy job. All she had to do was adjust her personality to whatever seemed to fit her client best.

She would treat the giant man no different than the others. He may be intimidating, but she was sure there was much more to him under that scarred, muscular form of his.

Jack on the other hand, didn’t know what to say to her. The blonde staring at his lap as he held his hands. He wasn’t used to women approaching him, they usually ran the other way when he arrived on the scene. So this was all very new to him…

(Your name) smiled softly at his shyness before taking a seat in front of him. She slowly took one of his hands in hers. She made sure not to startle him with the touch.

Jack jumped a little at the foreign touch but he didn’t move away from it. His brown eyes stared down at the small hand holding two of his fingers. His breathing ragged from how small and soft she was compared to him… she smelled so sweet too… he could just eat her.

“Jack? Are you alright?” (Your name) softly asked him. Her eyes filled with concern with the fist and expression on his face. Was he perhaps anxious about this whole arrangement?

Jack shook his head before taking in a deep breath. He wasn’t trying to come off as odd but making a good first impression was now thrown out of the window.

“Sorry. I’m just not used to this…” Jack muttered in his gruff voice. (Your name) was surprised with how deep his voice was… it was an attractive tone. “I wasn’t waiting long at all.”

That was a lie. Jack came to this restaurant thirty minutes early because he was anxious to meet her and had downed probably a few gallons of liquor just to try to ease his nerves… he’d never admit that to her though.

(Your name) smiled at him, showing her pearly whites at him. “You don’t have to be so stiff. I don’t bite.”

Jack bit his tongue to prevent himself from saying, “I do.” He was so unsure on what to do. He could easily fight a wild animal or an opponent twice his size but here was was slipping on his words in front of a pretty girl… a girl he paid to talk to him. God, he was such a fool.

(Your name) began to rub calming circles on the back of his palms with a smile. He seemed conflicted over this so she’d help him relax and open up a bit. Maybe a compliment would do…

“I noticed your teeth. What kind of metal are they made out of? They’re really cool to look at.” She smiles brightly at him, Jack’s face turning red for just a moment.

“They’re titanium.” Jack replied with a small smile. (Your name) smiled at how his body began to relax a bit. There it was… she just needed to butter him up a bit. “It’s the strongest metal.”

“And it’s light for a metal.” (Your name) smiled at Jack as he shows off his teeth to her with a toothy grin. She admired his teeth, her eyes full of awe at how unique Jack was. He was interesting.

Jack smiled. He slowly began to open up about himself as she asked him more questions. He wasn’t sure if it was him talking to the alcohol but he felt comfortable around her.

The two ordered their meals, his brown eyes never leaving her face. He wanted to memorize every minute detail of that beautiful face… he wanted to know more about her.

Jack wasn’t used to someone being interested in him like this. Even if she was being paid to be around him, her interest in him seemed genuine. She seemed so genuine and kind… he felt so lucky she accepted his request to rent her.

“So what do you do, Jack? I don’t imagine a massive man like you behind an office chair.” (Your name) cracks a small joke that caused Jack to chuckle a bit.

“I’m a pit fighter.” Jack tells her as their food arrives. “My entire life is dedicated to fighting and becoming stronger.”

(Your name) smiled at him as she began to cut into her food. She thought it was interesting that Jack ordered steak and even the bones of the cow. His order took up over half the table.

It seemed Jack’s ideal type was someone who was sweet and gentle. The kind of girl most would describe as a damsel. She wondered if he thought of her as some innocent little lamb he had to protect (oh how wrong he was). Jack seemed to be the protective type with the way he looked at her… yet he was also restrained like a dog on a leash. There was some sort of emotion hiding behind his eyes and she was dying to know what it was.

“You present yourself as a very hardworking person.” (Your name) warmly smiled at him. “I can tell you’re very strong and dedicated to your craft.”

Jack glanced down at his meal in thought. He was flattered. Jack wasn’t used to being complimented like this… was it weird to say he enjoyed this positive attention?

(Your name) didn’t even flinch or seem bothered by the way he bit into bones like they’re cookies. She isn’t rude and she doesn’t stare either. She patiently waits till the two of them are done chewing to speak and Jack enjoys it. He enjoys how polite she is.

“Are the titanium teeth for biting?” (Your name) softly asks with a smile. Jack nods.

“I invented my own martial art called Goudou. Anyone can bite to defend themselves.” Jack smiles down at her, a bit of food on his lips.

(Your name) took her napkin and leaned forward to wipe Jack’s lips off. Jack’s whole face turning red as he blushed.

“You had a little bit of food on your face, but you’re all clean now.” Jack felt his heart hammer in his chest when (your name) gave him a bright smile. His palms sweating form how nervous he was. How could a human being so sweet? So kind?

Jack pays the bill once it arrives, seeing that he was the one who ordered most of the food. The blonde blushing when (your name) held his hand as they left the restaurant.

“We still have a few hours left together before I have to go.” (Your name) fluttered her lashes up at him as she gave him a gentle smile. Jack blushing as he guided her out of the restaurant. This was just too easy…

“How about a park?” Jack asks as his hand engulfs hers in his. His almost eight foot tall form looming over her like some sort of eldritch monster. “I could carry you if you’d like.”

(Your name) beamed at him. She’s never been carried before… this should be interesting.

“I’d love to.” (Your name) laughed when she was hoisted up in the air in the crook of Jack’s arm. The giant man holding her up like a doll.

(Your name) set her hands on her lap as she turned her head to glance at Jack. Now that she was closer to his face, she could get a better look at him.

Jack was actually pretty handsome, even with all the scars. He was rugged and incredibly masculine. He was a man’s man.

(Your name) leaned her head on his shoulder as she took in his scent. He smelled heavily of pine, cypress, and musk. Incredibly musky now that she thought about it. She felt as if she was drowning in his overpowering scent but at the same time, it was attractive. He was so incredibly warm too, like a heated blanket. (Your name) was amazed a man like this was signing up for her services. He seemed to be the whole package.

But that also made (your name) think… what was wrong with him? Or was he simply just too busy to date like a few of her other clients?

Jack carried her to the park. The giant man setting her on a bench before taking a seat beside her.

(Your name) leaned her head on his arm as she snuggled into him. The giant man melting into the touch.

Jack wrapped his arm around her as they observed the water fowl swimming in the pond. Jack pointing out a pair of swans to her. But his eyes weren’t focused on the elegant white birds but on her instead.

“They’re beautiful aren’t they?” (Your name) softly asks, Jack smiling softly down at her.

“Yes… beautiful.”

They spent the rest of their time with small talk and observing birds together. Jack really enjoyed his time with (Your name). He was so sad that it was coming to a close…

“Can I walk you home?” Jack asks her softly but (your name) politely declines.

“Sorry, I’m not allowed to share personal details like that.” (Your name) replied but then she gave him a reassuring smile. “But you can walk me towards the train station.”

Jack held her hand as he walked with her to the train station. A sense of pride filling his chest when people almost snapped their necks to catch a glimpse of the woman on his arm. Jack enjoyed this positive attention… maybe he should rent her again?

“Thank you so much, Jack.” (Your name) smiled warmly at Jack as they pause in front of the train station. “Hopefully I’ll see you again soon.”

Jack blushed when she gave him a quick hug before waving at him as she got onto a train.

(Your name) took a seat on the subway, her phone buzzing in her pocket. She lifted the screen up to glance at it in surprise. Her whole phone lit up a light, pastel pink.

𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐦𝐚 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝟓 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬! 𝐖𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐨!

𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐦𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲! 𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭?

𝐘𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐍𝐨?

She accepted the request but then her phone lit up again with a new notification.

𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐦𝐚 𝐊𝐚𝐨𝐫𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐘𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥! 𝐇𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫! 𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭?

𝐘𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐨?

(Your name) scrolled through Kaoru’s profile. Her tongue clicking when she realized he didn’t have much information on it other than his name. There wasn’t even a picture on his profile… but the money seemed to makeup for it. (Your name) wasn’t sure what kind of girl she’d have to pretend to be for his ideal type, but she’d play her part. She’d be in a public place so she was sure she’d be safe.

She accepted the date with a smile. What could possibly go wrong?

[zepskies]

Hey Zepskies! I'm a small writer but I'm starting on my ficlet about an oc x ben (soldier boy). I've read so much of your work and just think you are a very talented writer. Do you have any tips on writing ben? it can be vague and I know you're busy so I don't expect a response. :)

Hey there!

First off, welcome and thank you for reading my stories (and for that lovely compliment). 💕

As for your question, writing Soldier Boy (Ben) can be very tricky. It took me a while to fully figure out how to write the character, and I will say, it's a challenge every time I do dive back into this (loveable) asshole.

😂 That said, here are 3 main tips I have for writing his character:

1. Comparable archetypes:

When I started trying to do a character analysis of this guy, I started with who he would've likely looked up to and tried to emulate: Frank Sinatra, Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, John Wayne, Indiana Jones, John Winchester, and even Dean Winchester to an extent -- the strong, stoic, man of action archetype.

AKA: The Big Swinging Dick™️ in the Room.

These men are leaders, a "man's man," show no pain, weakness, or vulnerability. (So shove those "soft" emotions down your gullet as much as humanly possible. Real men don't cry, amirite? 🙄)

But the fun thing I find about guys like this is, even though they have a hard shell, being able to pierce the armor somehow and get to the creamy center of their heart can be a very rewarding story indeed.

2. The balance of SB's personality:

Based on what we got in season 3 of The Boys, I find that Soldier Boy's personality is a delicate balance of a few key things:

Arrogant Narcissist: He's a massive ego, selfish with a conflated sense of his own importance. Especially before his capture, he's reached the pinnacle of fame. He's bought into his own hype and the backstory Vought created for him, and he assumes that everyone in his life loves him for it.

As Jensen said of his character in Supes Ain't Always Heroes (check out my review of the book here if you like):

“He’s so fragile and his ego is fragile. Just like Homelander. These bigger-than-life powerful heroes really have a glass jaw… “And everyone walks on eggshells around him [Soldier Boy], and they tell him that they love him, and it’s the same with Homelander. Then when all of a sudden he faces his old team and Crimson Countess says we never loved you, we hated you—that’s a gut punch for him. Because even though on some level he may have known that, he never thought he would hear it. “And he probably propped himself up around trying to believe otherwise, because how can you walk around knowing everyone you’ve ever cared about hates you? It’s too painful.” (191)

Womanizing Misogynist: That entire scene with SB and Grace in Nicaragua tells you all you need to know about how Soldier Boy talks, treats, and views women. 🙄 Again, he's a narcissist, so he assumes women are going to be into him because he's the world's biggest superhero, because he's handsome, because he's that guy.

The problem is, he is devastatingly handsome and impressive as a superhero. And my headcanon is he can be very charming when he wants to be. Again, using his skills as an actor and channelling that old-world debonair charm to get what he wants. (i.e. Cary Grant, etc.)

Violent and Indifferent to Collateral Damage: This is a key one, because this is part of what makes him different from Homelander. SB is not a psychopath. He doesn't necessarily enjoy hurting people. He just doesn't care about the collateral damage.

He also can't tolerate a perceived slight to his masculinity or status, like when Black Noir tried to rise up in the ranks and come into his own as a movie star. Soldier Boy, in his selfishness, saw that as Noir trying to come for his crown, in a sense, which is why he ultimately showed his mean streak through violence.

When he gets back to the U.S. after escaping Russia, he's on a warpath of vengeance against his team who sold him out, and anyone who gets in his way.

"If they have it coming," he tells Hughie.

3. Soldier Boy is both less and more than what he represents: (AKA: His insecurities)

As we know, Soldier Boy didn't really storm Normandy or fight the Nazis. He falls short of every definition of a hero. However, he's also not just a caricature of toxic masculinity.

Ben has deep-seated insecurities that he buries under all the bravado and the Soldier Boy persona. He was also emotionally abused by his father, who set exacting standards for what it meant to be a man.

It drives Ben to try and prove his worth to his father, though he’s never able to. It fosters the lack of self-worth he feels as he seeks validation through fame and what he believes power to be.

He won’t be one to easily admit he’s wrong, or need help, or express emotions he deems are “soft.” He doesn’t want to look weak or demean himself, let alone be genuinely vulnerable.

He uses coping mechanisms like drugs to mask and dull his PTSD, but even in his heyday, I think he drugs and parties hard just to pass the time, and to mask how actually empty he is inside. He has no real love in his life, and no family. It's why he admits to Hughie that he wanted kids. Deep down, he wants a family to fill that void that fame, booze, drugs, and meaningless sex can't fill in his life.

So with all of that flawed, internal mess that is Soldier Boy, the biggest challenge I find as a romance writer is trying to keep all of these aspects of his character, while trying to show the glimmers of the humanity in Ben -- the chink in his armor showing just enough softness to the one person who's brave enough to "try" with him.

That said, I hope all of this helps! 💚

[noroi1000]

Could I request a reader x gojo mafia!au sort of where reader is the married partner of gojo and has a pair of twin sons(who mostly looks like the reader n love their mama unconditionally 🥹💗) with gojo.reader n gojo had an arranged marriage because reader comes from an extremely powerful n wealthy family and after their marriage,gojo sort of quit his playboy life while reader doesn't hate him but doesn't love him either and has kids w him just to maintain the position as the mistress ( not in the sexual manner ) of the gojo family and just enjoys her life with all the luxuries which serve her and is basically so adored by the gojo family(gojo family here could include geto,nanami,megumi,yuji,shoko,mei mei,maki etc) n her family that's it's most like worshipping low-key.so basically gojo goes to a strip club for a business deal and there's this crazy stripper who becomes obssesed with him and tries seducing him but it doesn't work on him so basically the stripper goes stalker mode and tries hurting his wife n kids n even him but reader slyly finds out and puts her back in her place because reader always has been a bad bitch n forever will be one 💅🏼. now if u add smut,i won't mind it lol but it's not necessary,i just am craving badass n low-key evil n sexy rich wife n mom vibes for the reader

I don't love him, but I want to be with him

paring: Mafia boss Gojo x Wife reader

warnings: Mentioned sex, Swearing, violence, strip club

Words: over 3k

"You whore!" screamed the woman holding her hand over her mouth where she felt her tooth chipped off.

"Me a whore? Compared to you, I have a husband and two children. I don't betray him and I won't betray him." you replied massaging the magic knuckles on your fist. Sore from the impact.

"You don't even love him! You can't be his wife and be with him when there's no feeling between you!" she screamed crying through the pain in her mouth

"I don't love Satoru. But I want to be with him. Is it so hard?"

"Ow... Fuck... My tooth..." she moaned as she stood up.

"If you don't have teeth, now you'll be able to do your job more easily. You're a stripper, so giving ass is your job too. Like a whore."

"You–!"

"Don't interrupt me when I'm talking. Satoru shows no interest in you at all. To him, you're just a whore who makes money shooting her bare ass in front of guys."

"He's-"

"He was nice? During business he couldn't say no. You don't know how much he loves his children. That's why you don't stand a chance. Know your place in go back to the club to pole dance for others." You turned around and started walking forward on the sidewalk. The sound of your boots echoed.  Suddenly you stopped. "Good advice to you, never get in the way of my family again. Or your life will turn into a lot worse than it ever was."

Your marriage was arranged. None of you wanted it.

But the longer you were together, the more comfortable it got.

You don't know if Satoru loves you or if he just feels some kind of attachment.

He may just consider you a member of his family.

After all, you are the mother of his two sons.

Two boys who love their dad, and they show it to him.

You never wanted to raise them to turn their backs on their father.

You don't want them to be brought up to hate someone from the start.

Your sons love you.

Whenever Satoru is not at home, they are with you.

For them, you are always with your husband. You couldn't betray him because you know he gave up his pleasures for you.

Your husband has always been a playboy. He played with different women, when you heard that he was going to be your husband, all you thought about was that to make your life with him easier. So no attachment to it. While he changes women like socks, you will do the same with men.

You weren't planning on liking him at all. You never planned to love him unconditionally.

You didn't plan on wanting a family with him.

Your one plan has worked.

You don't love him.

It doesn't mean you don't like him.

You don't love him, but you're with him because you're happy.

You feel attached to him. You're used to being his wife. You're used to seeing him every day. That you sleep in the same bed. That you kiss sometimes. That you hug.

You got used to being accepted into his family very quickly. To friends.

That you made a family together.

You don't love him, but you want to be with him.

You don't want anyone else because you want him.

Not just because he's good as a sex lover.

He is already your life lover. Because you don't want him to leave you. You want him to be who you live with.

You are together in such a nice way, for your children.

You don't know what that feeling might be because you didn't fall in love with it.

However, he does everything for you to make you feel like everyone loves you.

There is no love between you.

But you respect each other. You make both of you happy.

You want the best for each other, even if there is no such feeling between you.

Until finally, after some time with him, after your wedding, you could stand with him and your sons for a photo. With a smile that shows you're family.

And you will hate anyone who ever tries to destroy it. Because your children deserve the best.

You wanted a good life. And you were fine in the Gojo family.

That's why you bore him children...

But after they were born, that changed...

You're used to this family...

Maybe you don't love him, but you want to be with him.

Because here you are happy...

"What's going on?" you asked walking into your living room when you saw your husband sitting on the couch with his hand on his forehead.

"Hmm?" He grunted turning his head towards you. "(y/n)?"

"Something happened. You've never acted like this." You said, sitting down next to him. Being able to talk to him.

Your sons are in a private kindergarten. Or it could even be considered homeschooling... They will soon be five years old. Sometimes they study at home and sometimes away from home.

Your children who are twins have (h/c) hair and (e/c) eyes.

However, when you look at them, you see the features of their father's face. They also have something in their eyes that clearly indicates who their dad is. A clear sparkle in the eyes, showing that these eyes are special.

Besides, for six years you belong to the Gojo family, which is a very powerful mafia.

There are few family members who are related to Satoru. Most are dead now.

His friends make up his family.

"Something happened?" you asked him.

"No... How are the boys?" he asked, removing his hand from his face.

"They have an hour of study." You replied. "I've known you for a long time, and I know there's something you don't want."

"It's not like it bothers me, but I have a business meeting. One strip club. We used to go there when I wasn't married to you." He laughed.

"What's wrong with that?"

"I gave up my life as a womanizer for you and our children."

"I understand." You mumbled as you stood up.

"What do you understand?"

"You are a walking pervert. I know you haven't had sex in a long time and the moment some bitch turns on you, you're going to want to get your dick wet."

"You're cruel..."

"I'm only telling the truth." you shook your head with a small smile.

You got up and started walking forward.

"Satoru." you called.

He turned to look at you.

"We can go to the bedroom if you want." You waved at him.

Hearing this, he jumped off the couch and ran over to you.

"What have I done to deserve a beautiful wife like you?" He grinned wildly. "I don't tolerate blowjobs today. Maybe something wet? Can I put oil on you and massage you? Or a bathtub?"

His hand squeezed your buttock.

"Every time I try to be nice, you must be a pervert..."

"I? I did not do anything! You're the one who's offering me sex until the kids are gone." He moaned as he walked past you down the hall.

"Fine fine. Choose something you want." you murmured knowing that no matter what it is, it will be good for you.

Him as a mafia boss and you as his wife... No one expects your relationship to be anything other than money.

Maybe it is, but you're happy in this house. You have a family with him.

Even though you don't appear as a beautiful married couple in front of people, you are actually much closer when you are at home.

In your opinion, there would be nothing wrong with him having at least a little fun in this club. He met some women who would dance for him, touch him.

Maybe he gave up being a playboy too. But he must at least keep up appearances.

But you don't know if you want to know that he's cheating on you.

Even though your relationship is not for love.

You can't get used to holding his hand.

Even if that's what makes you happy.

The happiness of being in the family.

Happiness knowing that you have a partner with whom you will stay longer. Even if you don't love him...

You can kiss him, you can feel his hips hitting yours. You can hug him.

You will be close and you don't want to lose it.

A comfortable life together with the happiness that your children give you. And also he...

You won't let anyone hurt your children...

You won't let anyone destroy your family...

You won't let your happiness disappear...

You don't need wealth or anything his wealth can give you.

You just want the life you have now.

Seeing scantily clad women walking around the VIP floor, Gojo occasionally watched them.

But he was not seduced.

Thanks to you, his mind was clear, and he wasn't just thinking with his penis.

He could thank you and your body that he likes to touch so much.

Besides, he didn't want to be seduced by a woman who goes left and right.

He also cares about his family, and even though his sons often go with you, he still loves them.

And he wouldn't want them to have to live like he did when he was younger.

Simply put, his father was not afraid to bring different women into the house. Even if his mother was with him.

He didn't want that for his children.

He has left that life and is not coming back to it.

For the happiness of your family.

Arranged marriages were often just open relationships. After all, no one wanted to marry someone because others told someone to. People were married but no one cared about love.

Maybe it's the same with him, but he doesn't cheat and didn't want to be cheated on. For the sake of your children. you will be together.

In mafias, marriages are usually only for money and influence.

For example, that was the case with you.

He didn't expect it to ever change. That he will change.

But he loved his children... And he wanted you to be a normal family.

Since he knew you wanted to live next to him, he couldn't have done otherwise.

As women stroked his arms, thighs, and chest, he concentrated on talking to the man he was about to sign a contract with.

Nobody disturbed him.

Especially those women who knew that it would be best for them not to piss off a man who had a gun in his belt and could use it at any time.

Until another, more courageous one came along.

Other women have disappeared. Only she took their place on the couch.

"Bunny, long time no see, dear." Said a middle-aged man who was sitting in front of Gojo.

"Hello. I wonder who this handsome guy is. I don't think we've met yet ~." She purred, laying her head on his shoulder. Rubbing his biceps with his hands. Putting her bare thigh on his thigh.

"This is Gojo. I think you've heard that name, bunny~."

"oh yes! I heard that you are very powerful, rich, and so very handsome. But stories don't reflect the ideal~." she moaned, getting under his arm to snuggle against his chest.

Had he pushed her away, it would have been an unpleasant encounter. So he let her sit as she wanted.

Even though he knew getting rid of her might be a little difficult.

"Oh, Gojo. This is bunny. Our little bunny who is the cutest." said the man, taking a puff on his cigar.

"My wolf, I'm sorry, but this time I'm going to deal with another wolf. How about other bunnies take care of you?" she asked, massaging the white-haired'e inner thigh.

"I'd love to. A few more bunnies would be cute."

"Sorry to interrupt this conversation, but I'm in a bit of a hurry." Gojo said, looking at his watch.

It was true because you called him to pick up his sons at 6:00 p.m. from a class they wanted to attend because they enjoyed it.

"Oh, it's okay~. One dance, okay? That's the best for you. I do everything for handsome and rich people. And I like you more and more~." With that, she jumped into his lap, hugging his head against her chest. He swayed his hips slightly as she sat on him.

"I'm really in a hurry." He said emotionlessly, pushing her lightly and pulling her off his lap.

"Another meeting? I understand you're busy. So be it. These conditions are appropriate. The contract will be concluded." said the man signing the contract before handing the paper to Gojo.

Without a word, Gojo got up and started to leave, followed by Megumi and Yuji in turn.

Little did he know that this thing was the beginning of his misfortunes. Of which he did not know how they ended.

"Hey handsome!"

He looked at the woman who was standing next to their car, her hip resting on the cold metal.

"A pain in the ass..." Megumi growled, mirroring Gojo's thoughts.

As they approached, the woman lunged forward, tugging his tie down.

At the same moment, Yuji moved to let her go.

He was supposed to protect Gojo, so he wanted to commit.

The tall man's hand stopped him.

Seeing this, the woman smiled.

"Gojo-sama~ the VIP rooms are best decorated. Your meeting can wait. I'm going to wear a new outfit especially for you, which I'm supposed to wear from next week~."

As he placed his hand on her shoulder, she let out a sigh, feeling that he was already hers.

However, he pushed her aside.

"Out of the way." He said dismissing her. He adjusted his tie and got into the car.

When they drove away, they didn't see her pissed off face.

She was the most beautiful in the whole club. He couldn't reject her like that!

He was so handsome... All she could think of was that she wanted him for at least one night.

She only thought about having someone handsome and rich in bed. That she could be there for someone anytime, day or night. And give her body for comfort and money with which someone will pamper her.

When she finally found someone young, rich, and handsome, he didn't succumb to her body twice. She failed to seduce him.

But she's not someone who gives up that easily... There must have been a reason why he rejected her like that...

Jealousy had destroyed her, as had her curiosity.

Getting into the taxi, she told the driver to follow the black car. Promising a free dance for him if he does.

She saw him get out of the car, and on a cold evening as she stood hiding, she saw him go and open the door.

Only to see two identical children run into his arms.

She wanted to think otherwise is...

They couldn't be his children...

But when she heard the cheerful screams of "dad" she had no doubts.

In addition, she saw the smile of the man she wanted to win.

He had a family...

But she had to get what she wanted...

When she saw two children, the same as she had seen before, with a woman, she had to watch.

Because the children looked like a woman.

And they preferred her mother.

She had no doubt that this woman was the one who kept her from getting the perfect man for her.

So why keep her with him?

Her desires are more important than you...

You can disappear, only for him to finally notice her...

When she saw you shopping in expensive stores and surrounding yourself with other beautiful women, she was just jealous.

You had something to do with the mafia. The ring on your finger... You are his wife...

Three women with you, and one man in a suit.

Another woman, younger, was standing nearby.

Dark hair tied in a ponytail. Glasses on the face.

A blond man with glasses. He was handsome too...

One woman in a purple dress with white long hair, another with brown hair, smoking a cigarette outside before going back inside. And a third, with dark purple hair and a scar on her face.

All three dressed in pretty and fashionable clothes.

They all walked with you through clothes shops for women, men and children. And also to grocery stores. It was the usual shopping, but as always quite large.

You had lunch together several times a week. All.

You bought some sweets and other goodies.

Everything for the kids and you also packed some more for later.

Two boys still holding your hand or walking next to you.

She watched you until the end.

Until it got dark.

She took an empty glass bottle, and waited for the right opportunity.

You were her obstacles.

You and your children.

She didn't care that they were little boys.

It was your children that bothered her.

You were beautiful. You had what you wanted. You gave the kids what they wanted. You gave them love.

You were her obstacles, you made the man she wanted happy. That he didn't want her.

This is why...

When she saw you walking near the alley, she slammed the bottle against the wall, luring you.

When you heard some insults flying your way, you had no choice but to hand your sleeping son into Nanami's hands.

One son slept in Utahime's arms while Shoko and Mei carried their little backpacks that they wanted to carry to their favorite activities.

When you told them to go to the car and you were about to join, Maki objected, but it wasn't for long.

They knew you. You took care of yourself and the children.

You were an excellent mother.

You even took care of Satoru.

You were able to calm him down.

Even the biggest mafia boss acted like you were his boss.

You were a mother, and he was experiencing the moment of your pregnancy...

When you entered the alley, you saw a woman with broken glass in her hand.

"Who are you? Offending people you don't know is not something you should be doing in front of your children." you said standing in front of her. With a reproach telling her that it pissed you off.

"You took it from me! It's because of you that I couldn't seduce him!" She screamed, raising the glass at you.

"Who are you talking about?"

"It's because of you that Gojo-san rejected me twice!"

"That's sad." You said flatly. "You must be the stripper from the club. I had no way of telling you that my husband doesn't have many women anymore."

"You are disturbing my pleasant life! I'm the beautiful one and I'll be his beautiful woman to spoil!"

"It's dangerous." You muttered.

"You talk like a mother who sees her brat holding a knife!" she laughed. "I'm better than you!"

As she ran towards you with the glass, he suddenly hit her in the face. You felt something snap under your fist.

The woman staggered and fell to her knees.

"You whore!" she cried, holding her hand over her mouth. Where she felt her teeth snap off.

"Me a whore? Compared to you, I have a husband and two children. I'm not cheating on him and I won't be cheating on him." You replied massaging the enchanted knuckles on your fist. Aching from the impact.

"You don't even love him! You can't be his wife and be with him when there's no feeling between you!" she screamed crying through the pain in her mouth

"I don't love Satoru. But I want to be with him. Is it so hard?"

"Ow... Fuck... My tooth..." she moaned as she stood up.

"If you don't have teeth, now you'll be able to do your job more easily. You're a stripper, so giving ass is your job too. Like a whore."

"You–!"

"Don't interrupt me when I'm talking. Satoru shows no interest in you at all. To him, you're just a whore who makes money shooting her bare ass in front of guys."

"He's-"

"He was nice? During business he couldn't say no. You don't know how much he loves his children. That's why you don't stand a chance. Know your place in go back to the club to dance for others on roses. All you want is his money, you can't do anything. He thinks, and he is a normal man, who respects that he's got a happy family." You turned around and started walking on the sidewalk, the sound of your shoes echoing. Suddenly you stopped. "Good advice to you, never get in the way of my family again. Or your life will turn into a lot worse than it ever was."

"Maybe I don't love him, but I'm happy with him like I've never been..."

[vanderlesbian]

daughter of a cop

arthur morgan x fem reader

now playing: daughter of a cop - tv girl

— a short fic inspired by the tv girl song! this is my first actual piece of writing on this blog so i hope you guys enjoy it <3 i think i have a ghost fic planned that ill start working on soon :) (it may or may not be based off a mitski song)

warnings: slight suggestive content/references

masterlist

saint denis was the epitomy of growing industrialization. factories, tight neighborhoods, trolleys that didn't seem to care if someone was crossing the pavement, and most importantly; police. it wasn't a place for a man like arthur morgan to be lingering around, and he knew it. he didn't enjoy the city, anyways. it was congested, and there were far too many rules for an outlaw like him to follow. the constant glares from men in blue uniforms and silly hats irritated him—this was nothing like the west he was used to.

however, within saint denis, there was a spot where the police didn't go. a small saloon hidden within a maze of an alley way, disguised by the neighborhood homes that surrounded it, making it appear as just another residence. it was a place that arthur frequented, but not for any reasons that his fellow outlaws would think. he didn't go to gather intel, nor did he go to have chats with dutch. no, he went because of one thing. or, perhaps one person.

he went because of a woman.

he would never admit it to the others, for several reasons. one, he was simply just embarrassed over it all, but two, she was a woman of higher class. a young woman who wore a new dress each time he saw her, with her manners being rather formal compared to the sloppy outlaw, yet she never found his habits strange or uncivilized.

that woman was you, and you were nothing other than the daughter of a cop.

it was obvious that you liked arthur. from the way you let your hand linger on his bicep each time he made a silly remark, to always hushing him when he began to talk bad of himself, telling him that he was handsome and kind. though, arthur refused to believe that was the case. he tried not to show his own affection and often wrote notes to himself in his journal that he would never meet up with you again, but time and time again he made his way into that saloon, eyes searching for you in the crowd of other outlaws. he would curse himself for coming again, but all of his anxieties were eased the moment he saw you push through the saloon doors.

you stuck out like a sore thumb—or, to put in nicer words as arthur thought he should, perhaps a daisy in a field of clovers? the moon on a clear night? arthur crossed out several made up metaphors in his journal. whatever the metaphor was, you were different from the outlaw men that frequented the hidden saloon. you were full of life, clean, unscathed, and rather innocent. arthur noted the way your eyes widened each time he told you a story about his many days of being what he called "a bad man", and how you would bring a hand to your mouth as it fell into an 'o' shape from pure shock and surprise.

though, you were never scared of him, and that's something that arthur also took note of. you held some level of empathy for outlaws, for ones that come from challenging backgrounds. you had met arthur because he had saved you from a couple of strange men, and immediately you knew that he was a kind man. there was something about him that intrigued you, aside from the fact that you found him to be attractive, and you had made it your goal to get to know him.

"i know a place where the cops don't go." you had told him. before he could say anything, you grabbed his wrist and led him through that maze of alleys, leading him to the saloon that became your special spot.

"how do you know this place?" he had asked you the day you first took him. you simply shrugged and held a hushing finger to your lips. he chuckled, and you felt your cheeks grow hot.

eventually you had told him that you were the daughter of a police man. you expected him to get upset at that fact—and he did, but it wasn't anything serious. he furrowed his brows and questioned in a low voice if you were in on some kind of ploy to catch him, to which you sincerely told him that it was nothing of that sort. your father wasn't even aware of the fact that you were seeing this man with a five thousand dollar bounty hanging above his head. arthur didn't grow as upset as you expected him to because deep within himself, he had already trusted you. it was more of a natural instinct to grow suspicious of you, but immediately felt eased the moment you placed your hand on his knee and told him that you weren't working for your father.

so, arthur continued to visit you. he waited for your letters at his camp, and he also kept each one. the other members of the gang would raise eyebrows at the mysterious parcels, to which arthur would always bashfully shrug off with a "it ain't none of your business" before riding his horse into saint denis. what was originally one visit maybe every three weeks became one visit every week, then two, then the both of you simply began to walk into the saloon any time you felt like it in hopes of seeing the other already there.

both of you knew it was risky, yet neither of you cared. your father began to question where you were going, to which you always had an elaborate excuse. dutch would question why arthur was in saint denis so often, and he would reply with some half thought out lie that made dutch raise an eyebrow in return, but ultimately shrugged off. the two of you had even began spending time outside of the saloon, out in the open streets of saint denis. arthur was rather hesitant about it all, not wanting you to be seen with a man like himself, yet you insisted.

you took arthur to your favorite spots around saint denis; gardens and parks where you sat along the edge of a pond, and to theatres where you would watch whatever event was on that evening. accidental faint brushes of finger tips had become full blown hand holding, and each time before you would hop on the trolley to depart, you would place a kiss on the stubble growing on his cheek. it was this strange stage between the both of you, one where neither of you had admitted your feelings simply because both of you were afraid of the differences in your life, yet the feeling of his lips against yours was no longer a foreign feeling, and it simply kept growing.

perhaps it was just the both of you being eager and needy, but there were several instances where you had found yourself pressed against the wall of an alley way with arthur's large, calloused hands snaking up the skirt of your dress and running along the bare skin of your thighs. privacy hardly existed within the city which cornered you into sometimes uncomfortable spots, yet you couldn't ride out on the back of arthur's horse, especially with the increased questioning from your father. the blindness of the love you were experiencing with this outlaw had completely shrouded you from the fact that your father had begun investigating your whereabouts—not until the police had barged into that saloon that had stayed hidden for so long.

you saw your father among the uniformed men, making eye contact with his furious gaze. you were the one who had grabbed arthur and ran with him out the back door of the saloon, starting a chase that was probably much bigger than it should've been. arthur had called you insane as the two of you snuck through nooks and crannies in an attempt to make it back to his horse, but there was an obvious hint of amusement in his voice as he said it. you were a woman completely separated from the world of outlaws, yet you were a natural escape artist.

eventually making it to arthur's horse, the two of you attempted to flee the city. the adrenaline was something you had never felt before, and you could hear arthur's thumping heartbeat as your ear pressed against his back while you held onto him. the police held no guns upon your father's instructions, insisting that they capture arthur alive and keep you unharmed. though, their numbers quickly increased, and you began to see the concern growing in arthur's expression.

while guiding him through the streets, arthur suddenly took a different turn than what you had told him. the feeling of his horse coming to a sudden halt made you gasp, and you hardly had time to process as he dismounted his horse and held his arms out to help you off.

"come on." he told you, eyes glancing to the side to check for signs of the law. "you ain't coming with me."

stubbornly, you refused. it wasn't until the sounds of whistles began growing closer that you saw genuine concern in arthur's face, and you hopped off the horse into his arms without a word. however, when you peered back up at him, arthur was smiling; a smile that looked as if he were holding back a chuckle.

"you are one crazy woman." he told you in a hushed tone, lifting his worn hat from his head and placing it on yours before letting you go. "now get on out of here, you shouldn't be caught up in all this."

you immediately knew his hat was a sign from him telling you that he would see you again. it was too big for your own head and blocked your eyes from seeing his horse gallop away, but when you lifted it to look, the law was racing down a nearby street with arthur nowhere to be seen. a large smile spread across your face, and you couldn't help but giggle to yourself as you disappeared into the alleys between buildings, taking a complex path back home to avoid detection.

needless to say, your father wasn't pleased when he came home to you innocently prepping tea for yourself. you didn't listen to his nagging words; something about uncivilized people, chaos and getting involved with the wrong kind. however, your interest was finally piqued when you heard that arthur had been arrested.

"it wasn't his fault." you immediately told the man, forgetting about the boiling kettle. your father scoffed, but you continued to tell him that you were the one who made arthur flee. though, he didn't budge, raising his voice as he nagged you for getting involved with such a dangerous man.

the word 'dangerous' seemed to strike something within you, because you had yelled back that arthur had saved you. that evening, those two strange men, the way arthur held your shoulders and reassured you that you were alright; there was nothing dangerous about him in your eyes. you saw your father's expression lose it's anger, and it seemed that was when he noticed arthur's hat sitting loosely upon your head.

"what's that?" he asked, pointing at the tattered leather hat.

you shrugged. "a gift from a dangerous man."

arthur had stayed in the saint denis jail for two days. what he thought was his fellow gang members coming to bust him out ended up being you, a soft smile on your lips as you wrapped your fingers around the metal bars of the jail cell. his hat still sat on your head, making arthur chuckle at the sight of you.

"did you think i was going to leave you in a cell to rot?" you giggled, allowing space for a law man to unlock arthur's cell.

"thought i was gonna have to use other means to get out of here." arthur replied in an amused tone as he stood up from the metal slab that the jail called a bed. the law man cocked an eyebrow, to which arthur raised his hands in defense. "kidding, of course."

your father waited at the jail entrance, arms crossed and a dismissive look sprawled on his face. he was the one that had told the law men to set arthur free, you explained. arthur seemed rather flustered at that information; he didn't want to thank a cop. he figured a nod of the head was enough of an acknowledgement, though it only earned a cold glare from the older man.

"how the hell did you get that bastard—" he cleared his throat. "apologies, that fine man to let me out?" arthur questioned as the two of you left the jail. you playfully hit his arm at the comment, then shrugged your shoulders.

"i was honest. told him you saved me." you answered, lifting the hat from your head and placing it back onto it's owner. you brushed a strand of arthur's long blonde hair from his face and smiled. "there ya go, cowboy."

arthur rolled his eyes, tipping his hat downwards before replying. "you know, i enjoyed that little chase of ours." he told you, holding out his arm for you to link yours with. neither of you knew where you were headed off to; you simply strolled down the street as if nothing had happened. "but don't think about doin' something that stupid again."

"i did too, actually." you then admit with a chuckle, somewhat ignoring his nagging. "it makes things fun."

after the events of that rather chaotic day, your father agreed to leave that hidden saloon alone upon your pleading requests, and it once again became your favorite spot to frequent with arthur. the two of you did earn a bit more freedom to roam saint denis and it's outskirts, allowing the two of you to enjoy some privacy, and eventually express your true feelings for one another. however, there continued to be close encounters with the law every now and then simply because of arthur's antics with his rowdy gang, but it always ended in silly laughter and breathless kisses from running so much.

arthur wrote many things about you in his journal, mindlessly sketching portraits of you next to entries about how you enjoyed sneaking around the city after dark and running errands with him whenever possible. though, at the end of his entry, there was a phrase scribbled in his neat cursive:

she was the daughter of a cop.

[dusty-daydreams]

What bothers me is some people appear to think of Eloise as a "Not Like Other Girls" type of "feminist", which is not how I read her at all. I don't see her as thinking any less of other ladies, she just has nothing in common with them. Which is probably very lonely! And yes, unlike other women out in society, she does have the privilege of a family that will support her in spite of her radical politics, and she has been growing (and needs to do more growing) in her understanding of that privilege. (She can daydream about being a spinster because she can afford to be one.) But I've really liked her arc this season, with her trying to make new female friends even as she struggles to find commonalities.

I totally agree Anon!

Eloise is absolutely not a ‘Not like Other Girls’ woman. Just because she thinks differently than other people around does not make her a ‘Not like Other Girls’ because she (for the most part) doesn’t disparage other women when Francesca says she wants to take a “get it over with” approach to the marriage mart she is supportive. When she finds out that Penelope enjoys society and high society events, she indirectly apologises for acting in away that meant that Penelope couldn’t talk to her about it.

Plus for the most part her frustration is directed at men who view women as inferior, and at sexist systems.

I had hoped that this season would have had her continue to build on her progress last season when she began to realise she is not the first person to have these ideas, and in fact there is a brewing grass roots movement going on. That storyline could have continued without her visiting the radicals, by showing her reading things or talking to Benedict about the rights of the working classes or trying to discuss aspects of her feminism with Cressida. Like seriously I think queen bitch Cressida would be all for certain feminist ideals at the time like changing laws surrounding property ownership, and inheritance.

However I wish the show would have her family be more emotionally supportive towards her, like she has a comparatively very good home life, but it feels like most of her siblings treat her and her politics as a bit of a joke.

Which leads me to my other point, I don’t think the show actually knows what to do with Eloise and her feminism and they too often treat it like a joke. The show has become so unrooted from historical realities that the misogyny in the setting is extremely vague and changes to suit the plot, which makes having a character that is coherently fighting against that misogyny impossible.

Like Eloise went from arguing that women should be allowed to be admitted to university in season 1 when things were (a little bit) more historically grounded, to very vaguely saying that Women would have so much more time on their hands if they didn’t have to think about marriage all the time.

The devolution in the show is clear, in season 1, the alternate history was the removing of (certain types of) racism from admits English nobility and gentry, but the misogyny of 1813 was alive and well, women needed to marry because that was where her value and security was, women didn’t have alternatives to marriage for economic security. Now in 1815 and with the fantasy of the show taking over - women need to marry because what - that’s what she is supposed to do, and that social pressure is bad - but it’s not a true systemic problem?

Basically the show has lost any historical grounding it could have claimed to had, and as such Eloise’s feminism is just as vague as the misogyny she is fighting against. Which means that the show inevitably plays Eloise being a character in a Romance show that disdains romance a joke and not an interesting facet of her character the way it was shaping up to be in season 2

That said I did enjoy an Eloise cut off from a Penelope that pretended to care and agree with her politics, trying to make new friends, and trying to honestly engage in their interests.

[eldritch-spouse]

So I am nearly six feet tall which is on the taller side of women (I am female) and mid rage for men. Which is why I love your OC's cause plenty of them are gigantic. But the impcubus are vastly smaller compared to me. I like to be dominated, thrown around (I'm also quite curvy), and babied. so my question is which of the impcubus would pair well with me? Who would like having a Goliath human partner? Who could set my height aside and see that I am zero percent a Dom despite having the bod for it.

Feel free to ignore this.

["Impcubus" is a play on the words "imp" and "incubus"- To which there is only one in the servants' cast, Lacai. I understand you're talking about all the imps in general though.]

One thing you have to kind of take into account is that, given the physical variety within monsters, there isn't much of that "As a woman, I should date someone taller than me" or "As a man, I should date someone shorter than me" kind of tendency that many human groups have. Neither is it very often assumed that the taller element of a dynamic is inherently the more assertive one.

Imps especially are very used to pursuing partners bigger than themselves. Sometimes it's a fetishized thing, sometimes it's simply how their love life unfolds. And just because their partners are larger in size doesn't mean they will bend over backwards, as they (most) tend to be defensive and not acquiesce so easily to someone who wishes to make them entirely placid.

You would be loved and appreciated as a bottom by all the imps here. That being said, some might take more visible enjoyment out of this:

Nena. Oh when she's done sweating bullets around you, she's going to fucking ruin your giant ass. You'll never see Nena smile the same way she does when you're on your knees in front of her, it's a totally different expression on her sweet little face. In public, it most definitely seems as if you're in control of everything, but Nena is subtly pulling the strings to most events.

Rei. You think he didn't sniff the bitch in you immediately?! Get real, Rei regularly folds over fans of his that are three times his size. You're not even that tall! And guess what, he's still picking you up, he's still throwing you on that bed, and your weak little human ass can't do shit to stop him, girlie.

Flints. He doesn't need to make any sudden movements or raise his voice to have you crumbling. Much like many others, he's got an eye for this, and studying a bit of your body language, your mannerisms, was all it took for Flints to lock on. He enjoys making you squirm with curt sentences and watching you try to remain composed around him.

Jayde. Jayde loves a pretty girl. A tall, thick girl with nice legs? You have him by the dick. He's going to chase after you madly, and though he's a switch at heart, Jayde will very easily adapt to your lack of dominant drive. It works out great, he gets a fix from this too.

Rieba, the tallest of the imps so far. She's full of frustrations, getting to take it out sexually on a partner bigger than her is cathartic. Although she's capable of great gentleness, she clearly enjoys having someone a lot more manageable to take care of, someone who appreciates her.

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

"your top 15 favourite tv shows can say a lot about your personality!"

Thank you so much for the tag @morkofday 🥰

How could I rank my top shows? They all mean so much to me and are all from different times in my life and from different genres... I can't compare Gilmore Girls to Moonlight Chicken! So without a rating here we go!

Gilmore Girls

The show I watch to feel cozy and comfy! Most of the times I do a rewatch of my favorite episodes in autumn/winter and just enjoy Stars Hollow and all the quirky characters. And I am a huge fan of Lorelei... not her love life, but she is a strong and independet woman and I love that.

Moonlight Chicken

What can I say? I love EarthMix and GeminiFourth! And the story was more of a family drama and something different than the usual GmmTV stuff. The story of letting go of the past and starting a new future, which is scary with all its obstacles, really captured me and I still think of it from time to time.

Pushing Daisies

I love this bitter-sweet story of the unlucky pie baker and the love of his life never been able to touch each other but love each other nevertheless. The criminal cases were interesting and I enjoyed the colorful scenery, but nothing could top my love for Lee Pace. This man...

Unknown

My new favorite show. I loved it from beginning to end. And I don't want to let go of them. The hurt is still too fresh to talk about them 😭 Their story was so well written and the actors were so good in portraying the characters and their inner monologues and thoughts and I love it so much!

Love for Love's Sake

The one show I will never be able to get over. The feelings I felt after it ended were not normal! I was heartbroken! This series means so much to me and Myungha will be forever one of my favorite characters ever! The story is unique and beautiful and so deep! Damn, that is such a good show!

It's okay to not be okay

This show that broke me on so many levels. The amount of tears I shed! It was really a journey and I loved the characters and their growth.

Queer as Folk

I was obsessed with this show and him, Brian Kinney! The topics they showed were, and still are, so important and relevant. It is not just some gay men fucking, but different stories about the community and their problems, fears, breakthroughs and their every day life. And Debbie will be forever this iconic mother figure for all of them and for us too.

The Untamed

I don't know how many shows broke me, but this one... this one hurt so good! It is such a masterpiece of a series. What is good and what is evil and aren't there multiple ways to get to the same goal? There is so much love in this series and so much pain. At its peak I cried for 15 minutes straight... One of my all time favorites, but I couldn't rewatch it yet. The pain is still too real. I convinced my best friend to watch it and now she is mad at me and can't go on with it, because the same scene broke her too and now she is afraid of more pain to come. I understand her so well!

A Breeze of love

Most of the times there is this one show a year that blows me away and I can't get a grip in life afterwards. This year is somehow different as there are already two shows that had this effect on me, but for 2023 it was this here. It is such a simple story and there was nothing special about their story, but I adored it to the max and I rewatched it multiple times. I can't really tell why I love it so much, I just do.

Eureka

This is one of the shows that can easily play in the background when I am doing other things, because I know it by heart. The amount of times I rewatched that is not normal and even though I don't really like the last season that much, the first three are hilarious and just so good!

Friends

And another one I know by heart and could rewatch all the time. This show feels safe and there are so many memories connected here. I watched it after a bad breakup to give me some comfort or when I had a huge fight with my best friend, those friends were there for me. And even now I watch a few episodes when I feel down, because they can lift me up so easily.

Once Again

Aaaand we have another one that broke me! Hurray! Guess I love cozy and comforting shows and those which totally destroy me. Great for me! This one had me sobbing during the whole last two episodes. I have my problems with time travelling, and I don't say it was a good execution here, but I just don't care, because the story is unique and special and I love it.

Be My Favorite

The one that broke me and healed me withing hours. The beginning might be a little bit cringy, but it easily became one of my favorite shows out there. It feels so good to see the character growth and all the love that comes within. I still think about them very fondly.

A Tale Of Thousand Stars

This back hug alone made it one of my favorite shows of all times. But for real, this started my EarthMix-love and I am still not over them. The story is beautiful and the scenery is stunning and the pining is perfect and I have so many emotions about them and this show!

Star Trek - The Next Generation

Since I can remember I am a little trekkie, but only TNG. I love the cast and their adventures. I had a huge crush on Wesley when I was a kid. I watched his episodes so many times, it would be embarrassing, but that was what little Josi's heart wanted... Favorite character is by far Q. All of his episodes are hilarious and brilliant!

It was really difficult to break it down to only 15, because I love TV shows and there are some that I wish I could have put up here, but the rules are the rules.

I am as always lost who did this and who did not, so feel free to ignore me, if you don't want to or already did it! I am tagging @wen-kexing-apologist @pose4photoml @twig-tea and @troubled-mind

[passports-pls]

I was very disappointed in the lack of quality Mine playlists so I made my own 🤞

Listen here

you COULD listen to it in your own free time OR you could listen to it alongside my mentally insane directors commentary 😌

(under the cut)

for the sake of this post not getting too long I am grouping all the important songs into different categories pertaining to the different eras of mine tm

Pre-Daigo Misery (Nobody - The Other Woman)

This section is mostly abt Mine being a lonely little weirdo (characterised mostly by the smiths unsurprisingly) and because this era lacks a lot of actual content my notes are less specific between songs

There are actually so many male manipulator songs that fit too perfectly with Mine in this part of his life that I couldn't resist like I'm sorry but creep by radiohead is LITERALLY about him i don't make the rules

Okay but I do find 'Heaven Knowns Im Miserable Now' so funny in this context because I'm sure Mine was forcing himself into the yakuza expecting it to be so much easier to have close connections with these other men compared to his previous 9-5, only to find its almost exactly like his 9-5 just with more crime

'Salvatore' and 'Therefore I Am' are specifically the songs I attach to his bateman-esque grindset and his bubbling hatred for most of the people he works with dsfgf

okay but THE OTHER WOMAN ASWELL. It's literally mine you wouldn't understand. He dedicates so much time to taking care of himself and setting himself up to be an actual catch of a man and yet,, no one gives a shit about him despite all the effort he puts into his lifestyle to appeal to the ppl around him

LIKE??? Kicking and screaming he's so lana del ray coded

Just the sheer depression of this era i feel so bad for him

Yandere-mode activated (Can't Get You Out of My Head - The Killing Moon)

Self explanatory however actually finding songs that pertain to his specific brand of obsession was surprisingly difficult sfdsf

Although I will say that I cope and seethe at the fact that I had to sift through Killing Stalking playlists to settle on most of these songs gfdgsf

Theres such a delicate balance between the right amount of fluff and insanity that very few songs capture without being about literal stalking

like no in this case the stalker fucking won

that and vibes of idolizing Daigo like a god, I think 'Out of Touch' and 'Stolen Dance' do this the best

And freak because I can only imagine in all of Mine's relationships it's always been purely transactional and no ones ever put in the effort to actually talk and get to know Mine in any intimate form.

my poor touch starved blorbo

FEELINGS TM (Romantic Homicide - How to Dissapear)

THIS SECTION I FEEL GREATLY ABOUT

These songs to me are all about how Mine copes with Daigo's hospitalisation and when he wakes up. His whole internal battle surrounding his premature grief and his loss of connection with Daigo because could no longer see him as a truly living thing anymore

'Change' specifically hits when you think about it in this context. Because it's not so much about any real change in Daigo himself it's all about Mine's mental image of him now (because let's be real, Mine was way more in love with the idealised version he had of Daigo more than anything tangible about him)

IFHY is a little more of any iffy choice but I think it still convey's a lot about how conflicted Mine likely felt as well as just continuing his Yandere behaviour just in a much more sinister flavour

Okay but here's where my favourite song of the entire list is

WHITE FLAG BABY

admittedly it's completely self indulgent and ties into the mine-lives theory. But just the guilt and shame Mine felt when he see's that Daigo was indeed alive and that he was going to have to explain the past few weeks to him

yeah i would've thrown myself off that roof as well

also the lyric "I will go down with this ship" paralleling his "everyone abandons ship eventually" line just tickles my brain in the best way

'Door' and 'I Guess' are also just Mine guilt tm as well

'I guess' even more specifically because he's literally attached himself to daigo like a parasite and now he's thinking daigo's gonna break up with him I just AUGH

He KNOWS he's completely fucked up but I don't think he realises how much of a pushover Daigo is just yet and that he would have forgiven him eventually gjfdg

I'll probably update this with more notes as I remember them but for now I hope y'all enjoy the playlist!

[devotioncrater]

The thing is this: we knew that Jack wasn't going to be endgame for Keeley. We knew that from the jump. So now I'm trying to piece together why, to me, their breakup feels off and weird.

And it comes down to three main questions which are all interconnected.

1. Who is this for?

2. What is the context, both in show and in the broader sense?

3. What is the message underneath the choices the writers have made?

Who Is This For?

While the show itself is geared towards adults in the USA, there are storylines within that are written for specific demographics of the general audience. These are the implied audience.

Henry's storyline this episode was a nod to children of divorced parents; Sam's storyline last episode was geared towards immigrants and people of color (although, as others have pointed out, it also felt off in how it was handled); and Colin and Trent's storyline in episode six was for closeted queer people, gay men in particular. Keeley and Jack's implied audience are queer women.

But just because a storyline is written for an implied audience does not mean it excludes the general audience. If anything, it can be argued that it helps broaden the general audience's views on different stories they otherwise may not seek out or watch.

Which is why context is important. It plays a big role in how the general audience outside of the implied audience will form their opinions on the characters, the show, and the issues discussed. Context — especially in shows set in Today's World like Ted Lasso is — also informs how the general audience should interpret the underlying themes/messages.

It is worth noting that storytelling does not exist in a vacuum. Writers have a choice in how to present storylines and they have a responsibility to acknowledge how their choices interact with the real world. Life imitates art, art imitates life; societal norms inform stories, stories inform societal norms.

What Is The Context?

The context here is layered.

It isn't as simple as the microlevel of Jack breaking up with Keeley because she doesn't want to be associated with her anymore. To reduce it down to that level ignores the bigger picture. It's the same as judging a portrait painting based only on how, say, the eyes are rendered. (We knew the portrait will have eyes, but do the eyes fit to the face? How do the eye expressions shift the vibe of the portrait? What message is the artist trying to convey through the eyes?)

Let's talk in-show context, beginning with the characters and then expanding outwards.

Keeley, a bisexual woman who worked her way up to where she is now, is running her own PR firm. Jack, a queer woman who is the daughter of a billionaire, is her investor/employer. The chemistry is there, they get together even though Keeley is still upset over her breakup with Roy.

Jack sweeps Keeley off her feet with expensive gifts and trips. Keeley doesn't mind them, but Rebecca warns her (and the audience) that it sounds like love-bombing. Rebecca takes it a step further by comparing Jack to Rupert, who is established to the audience as an abuser. This idea of love-bombing — and by extension, the idea that Jack can be abusive like Rupert — is further reaffirmed when the waitress tells the two their bill had been taken care of by Jack.

Onscreen, Keeley establishes boundaries with Jack. The two appear to have discussed the love-bombing conversation offscreen, too, as they joke about it in Taste of Athens. The expectation for Jack to be like Rupert is subverted in the croissant scene, but still lingers in the background because of her remaining similarities to the man (wealthy/powerful/keen interest). We the audience need time to trust her after how Rebecca casted doubt on Jack's intentions.

Things seem to go well after that, with the two waking up together and Jack making plans to take Keeley to a family event. Then Keeley becomes a victim of a leaked video, and Jack begins to distance herself because of it. When Keeley says she doesn't regret making or sending the video, Jack leaves after victim-blaming and slut-shaming her.

Again, we knew Keeley was not going to end up with Jack. Their breakup was in the cards, this aspect was no surprise.

Expanding outwards now to other relationships in the show, Keeley and Jack are contrasted against Nate and Jade in both episode seven and episode eight. Where Keeley and Jack are established in a sapphic relationship, Nate and Jade are just beginning their own heterosexual one. Where Keeley and Jack wake up and have breakfast together, Nate and Jade do too. Where Keeley and Jack breakup, Nate and Jade's blossoms and cements labels.

Which, sure, fine, that's how it goes. But if we further expand outwards, we see that Keeley and Jack are the only sapphic relationship in the entire series. An entire series which featured, up until this season, exclusively heterosexual relationships. And still does, now that these two have broken up. There isn't another gay relationship onscreen (unless you count Colin and Michael, even though we haven't seen Michael since episode 3).

Speaking of Colin, sidebar here: The phone scene with Issac and his reaction to what was on Colin's phone is now the second time this season the writers have dangled the expectation of Colin potentially getting outed. Which, judging by Colin's knee-jerk reaction to both Trent and Issac finding out, would be a traumatic experience for him. Being outed is a traumatic experience regardless. This repeated use of fear also specifically plays into the Gayngst (Gay Angst) trope.

If we expand another level outwards, we have the in-show damnation of sexism and slut-shaming and victim-blaming. Multiple characters offer sympathy to what Keeley's fallen victim to. Rebecca, Barbara, Jamie, Roy — they all condemn what's happened and express their support to Keeley in their own ways. This provides context for how the general audience should interpret the underlying message of "A woman's private photos or videos getting leaked online is not her fault. It's an act of violence normalized by a sexist society, and the blame needs to be placed on the person who leaked them."

But who at their core doesn't show that support to Keeley? Who acts as an oppositional view to the underlying message? Jack. Jack, a woman. Jack, a queer woman.

She has her own motives. In a toxic spiral, she begins by cancelling on the event, then she downgrades Keeley to "my friend" in front of a peer, and finally she verbally expresses that it's bad for her personal and professional image if she's seen linked to a woman who's private affairs got leaked. The line in the sand is drawn: Keeley's livelihood is not the priority, Jack's image is.

And this sequence of events all reaffirm Rebecca's earlier mistrust that Jack is not a good person. While Jack is no where near Rupert's level, how she handled what happened with Keeley is still terrible.

And like, yeah, it also serves to show that both men and women are capable of causing harm and abusing their privilege and being egotistical. It reflects real life in that way. But look at the context of the show's treatment of its queer characters in a broader sense and how that context interacts with both the general audience and the implied audience of queer people.

The only sapphic (or queer, if you don't count Colin/Michael) relationship onscreen within three seasons is set-up to fail. The love interest is placed in a position of power over Keeley, which is pointed out by a straight character. Then the love interest is revealed to be toxic, which was also foreshadowed by the same straight character, and she slut-shames/victim-blames Keeley before leaving.

This was a deliberate writing choice. There were so many different avenues the writers could have taken. They could have had Jack fallout with Keeley over the leak in a less internalized misogynistic way, or even over something completely irrelevant to the leak itself. Jack, being a new addition, does not have the same groundwork put into her character to where she is confined to how she'd react. It wouldn't have been OOC of her to genuinely support Keeley, because we don't know her well enough to pass that judgement! On the flipside, it isn't OOC of her to leave, either, because of the same reasoning. But then the discussion becomes: what kind of character is Jack, and what does she represent both symbolically and narratively?

Storytelling doesn't exist in a vacuum.

Going outside of the show now, if you look at queer women stories in television/film, you begin to see the repeated pattern of queer women characters being written as toxic — or worse, predatory — and this characterization is rooted in real life lesbophobia and misogyny. There are tons of resources out there that detail the damaging, pervasive idea that queer women — lesbians, especially — are the same as predatory men. In a patriarchal, misogynistic, heteronormative world where women are hyper-sexualized yet demonized for taking charge of their sexuality, society shames queer women on all fronts.

And because queer women do not center men in their relationships, society historically has viewed sapphic relationships as "lesser" or "not a true relationship" or "just friends/gal pals". It's dismissive. (Until, of course, the fetishization kicks in. However that is a can of worms not to be opened in this meta.)

Queer women barely get screen-time as it is, much less outside of period pieces, and so when every other confirmed relationship shown onscreen falls into the same pattern, the same routine, it's exhausting. It's the same message/theme over and over and over again: "Queer women are toxic. Sapphic relationships don't work."

So why, then, did the writers of Ted Lasso introduce a sapphic plot for Keeley and choose to make it toxic? For a show that takes pride in subverting expectations, there is nothing subversive about this.

We can't judge this storyline by just the eyes. We have to look at the entire portrait painting and then go from there.

Which leaves us with the big double question of: What Is The Underlying Message Here? Why Choose To Portray The Only Sapphic Relationship On The Show In This Way?

[moophinz]

I’ve made a post on this already, but after acquiring heaps and reams of knowledge, I’ve decided to go at it again.

(From Mine’s TV Tropes page.)

I cannot stop anyone from wanting to view Mine as bi, and my intentions don’t lie there. But instead, I wanted to bring up that it hardly seems like the intentions of the devs and especially Yokoyama. Mine is a pretty big deal in being a heavily implied gay character regardless of having been a villain, partly due to how he’s just as masculine as his peers and his love for another man is a core part of his characterization where sympathy comes into play. On top of that, they do not shy away from heavy handed hints in his total lack of interest in women romantically and sexually.

Yokoyama is not only a non stranger to commentary on how much he loves Mine, but he’s also made remarks that imply he finds it funny that women are attracted to him though they can’t have him.

RGGO is particularly revealing about this thanks to how much room it gives to focus on character elements they couldn’t do in the actual games.

—A beach event in Okinawa has Kanda wanting to throw a party and see who between them can invite the most women. Mine is less than uninterested, but still winds up getting a few women interested in him. He can’t seem to outright reject them, but gives them very bland answers.

—This is a big trend in other Mine centric stories. Upon being asked by a woman if he’s by himself, he gives a slightly roundabout answer instead of outright saying anything more direct. He agrees to do something with her despite his ongoing lack of enthusiasm.

—As told, he’s gone on dates with women thanks to being unable to turn them down (he’s interestingly kind enough to women even though there’s some popular jokes about him being a misogynistic gay man). But if he sees a woman once, doesn’t really see them again. All in all, this is incredibly different from many other yakuza men who adore women as they slot into the three important status symbols: power, money, and women. All things that Mine brings up at the end of 3 as stuff that wasn’t really giving him any meaning or purpose in life. His line about having any woman he could want goes largely misunderstood. Especially after he ends that line with saying living life that way was a lie.

Comparing an outright love confession to Mine being thankful to have had Katase around feels almost laughable. On one hand, I’m at least glad the person who wrote this acknowledges the romantic feelings with Daigo, but on the other hand… “heavily implied?” With Katase? No… Not every meaningful statement or even so much as breathing the same air as one another between a man and woman is grounds for love.

Genuinely, it feels like they’ve done nearly everything but outright use any direct wording for his sexuality. He’s the only character they’ve gone this far with. Others get more vagueness or subtlety.

(From Majima’s)

(From Zhao’s)

I’ve talked to @04tenno quite a bit about this. And as usual, they’re the reason I know quite a bit, too.

Majima’s section is bizarre to me for immediately throwing out there that he’s a huge ladies’ man. (This was listed elsewhere in his section). Which is just… hilarious. Sure, plenty of irl female fans adore him, but in universe, he’s nothing of the sort and often interacts with women by using a more friendly tone of voice (probably to seem less intimidating) along with other behavioral changes. I also take up issue regarding the way the person who wrote this seems to completely downplay Majima and Kiryu’s relationship to the first game. But that’s a whole other conversation…

Zhao’s section feels incredibly different compared to the other two due to how the person writing it seems to completely lean into the potential signifiers and stereotypes surrounding him and includes other instances beyond that. There’s nothing about him being in a hostess club automatically meaning he’s attracted to women. As such, even a lot of dudebros seem to openly view Zhao as not being bisexual, but instead, straight up gay. This seems to be due to the fact that Zhao is never shown playing into the typical mainstream macho type stuff as opposed to Mine.

I didn’t take a screenshot, but Daigo even gets the assumed-to-be-into-women-because-he-was-next-to-one-treatment. While he went to hostess clubs, he looks so extremely despondent and out of the moment when we see him there. I can’t find it in me to assume he’s attracted to women just because he went to those types of clubs. His sexuality is totally up for debate as several others are as well. And we can all see him however we want. But, overall, immediately assuming things for such and such reasons starts to feel a little off to me. All in all, Mine gets this treatment the worse thanks to his sexuality actually being a big factor in his character.

[lurking-latinist]

re: these tags

THAT'S SO COOL AHHHH!! good for you aubreyad community stays winning

[introducing this with a disclaimer in case i'm wrong about everything: i am only halfway through the series rn (just about to finish 10) and also am but a mere undergrad classics major who has yet to even declare said major and I probably don't have the right to be yapping about propertius. nevertheless i shall.]

anyway i have been growing persistently more insane about diana's proximity to a Lot of classical imagery, like how her first appearance in post captain is literally during a fox hunt + all the gender stuff she has going, obviously linking her to mythological diana (and artemis if we're going to conflate the two) but your take has sent me in a whole new direction with that-- because she doesn't actually really embody the artemis archetype all too much overall (an emphasized character trait being that she's notably Not Chaste) EXCEPT in relation to stephen, w/ whom her relationship is much more brotherly than it is sensual i guess?

which would align very well with your idea of diana as elegiac puella-- sort of in a way being mythologized by stephen-- resulting in the reader actually being able to see two different manifestations of her character (one through the eyes of an omniscient prosaic narrator and one through the perspective of stephen as a "poet" figure). and i just think that's neat.

my latin class has also been looking at a few of propertius' love elegies and, at least to me, they read a lot like if stephen 1.) hated himself significantly less and 2.) were less indecisive in writing about his Feelings?? 1.8 (and all of the poems concerning cynthia moving/traveling away and propertius being all moody about it) is very reminiscent of the arc from post captain to the surgeon's mate imo. 1.12 is also Literally Him-- "cynthia prima fuit cynthia finis erit" can be compared to stephen's poetic catastrophizing about how his life is Literally Over and Love Is Dead when he believes to have fallen out of love with diana!?!? i'm going to lose my mind.

sorry for dumping all of this on you unprompted and also sorry for the fact that it probably does not make sense. peace and love

if undergrad classicists don't talk about propertius literally WHO WILL. (genuinely my currently-being-written phd dissertation chapter is based on an idea I had in the class I read propertius in freshman year. never feel like you're not a 'real scholar' or something yet, because you honestly never do become something different, you just keep reading and talking and this is what we do! there's nothing realer than this!)

oh wow that's really well put--we kind of get to see her from an omniscient-narrator perspective and through the eyes of her lover who is Not Being Normal About Her. very nice!

yeah I keep reading bits of propertius and being like "hmm is po'b going to quote this one I wonder." (he doesn't mostly but I keep thinking he should. because I want the aubreyad to be denser and less accessible I guess? :P) there's a lot of catullus woven in too of course - I associate Catullus 72 with the 'falling out of love' arc (my dude that is not what falling out of love looks like).

oh gosh yes 1.8 -- that was one of the things I was trying to describe to Distinguished Classicist, the way she's so -- what's the word I want? not volatile... she disappears. she's constantly Gone. you turn around and oops, she's eloped to Sweden. (honestly though if Cynthia and Propertius could manage to have *fake* revenge affairs that would actually be *great*, for them that would be an improvement.) Gareth Williams (in a chapter called, amazingly, "From Grave to Rave") describes Cynthia as "ever only elusively visible in the narratological mist" and I feel like that's a bit what's going on with Diana. For her there's a genre element as well--she's a woman in the Men Going to Sea books, and even though the Aubreyad gives way more time to women than the average Men Going to Sea book, the fact is the camera frequently simply isn't on her. We see far more of Stephen thinking about her, hearing rumors, etc. than we do of her actually being on the page. Now in elegy nobody seems to be quite fully on the page, we only get "fragments of story" as Genevieve Liveley and Patricia Salzmann-Mitchell say (excellent collection by that name btw, I recommend checking it out if you're at all interested in narrative and lyric/elegy). But Diana manages this while being in a novel, which is impressive to me.

yeah stephen as a character is a lot more... self-reflective? than propertius' speaker. for one thing he's in a novel, I think, so he can actually... have a series of contiguous experiences. he's also a compulsive diarist which is helpful for self-reflection I guess. and more mature, like, as a human being, than propertius' speaker, who apparently does nothing with his life except be in love and write poetry, he doesn't exist outside of as a poetic voice whereas, again, stephen benefits from a third-person narrator and has medicine and spying to do and so on. also he's Catholic.

I love the "Catullus-and-water" line, it's like O'Brian just put in a little wink to those of us who would notice this, like, "yes I am doing this on purpose." All in all I've pretty much defaulted to assuming that O'Brian is doing things on purpose. although he did forget Babbington's first name that one time and retconned it very awkwardly