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blackvelvetwriteson · 4 years ago

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𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐀 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐃 𝐈𝐍 𝐑𝐔𝐓

( ~ Takami Keigo (Hawks) x Gender Neutral Reader Insert ~ )

GENRE: Smut. Filthy, Disgusting, Grimy Smut.

FANDOM: Boku No Hero Academia (My Hero Academia)

TRIGGER WARNINGS: SMUT! This particular fic has tones of CNC (Consensual Non Consent) but it’s KNOWN that both Reader- Chan and Hawks are on the same page when it comes to this sort of thing. This is very aggressive and loving at the same time so just be warned about that. Other than that, I don’t think anything else needs to be reported. PLEASE let me know if anything triggers you and I will be sure to not write anything like this in the future.

SUMMARY: This is a headcanon of Hawks in rut. There’s GOING to be a part 2, so just be aware of that.

WORD COUNT: N/A because this is a headcanon/imagine

(Headers are mine, but the art inside of them are not! Please don’t steal or repost without credit!)

You both had the same shift that day so of course you both came home together.

You both had seemed exhausted to no end but Hawks was definitely zapped, but he was a little different.

You unlocked the door intending to take a shower, make dinner, and then catch up on anything you needed to, humming softly to yourself as Hawks followed.

You were about to speak before you were stopped and gripped by the neck, pushed into a kiss as he pushed you into the wall.

You grunt softly before it finally clicks and you let him dominate you, gently pushing the door before he grabbed your hand and pinned it against the wall.

The door didn’t close all the way, surprise surprise :|

You open your eyes a little to find his eyes hungrily peering down at you causing your heart to leap in your throat.

You also notice that his wings are high and defined behind him vibrating, a couple of loose feathers falling from the bunch.

The vibration of his wings casted an eerie low whirr around you as he started to bare his teeth a little feeling his cock get hard against you.

You close your eyes a little and look down but he tilts your chin up so you can’t look away, his hips grinding hard into you as he lets out one of those hoarse shaky breaths of his right by your ear.

You, who was already aroused a little before, pressed your thighs together and pressed his bulge in between them which made him arch his back, shudder and thrust into you hard, pulling your hips against him which created a loud mack that elicited a chesty moan from him.

You found his moans to be quite appealing and they made you even more horny every single time you heard them. He, of course, used it against you all the time, especially in the most inappropriate times.

By this point, you’d have figured out that he was in rut and a sly smirk washed over your face.

You knew that during Rut, he loved to indulge on his “bird of prey” instincts. He always loved a fight and you both knew each other’s boundaries so well that nothing had ever really went wrong before.

He leaned in to kiss you and you swiveled your head away from him causing him to growl lowly and take you by the throat, sucking on your earlobe causing your knees to buckle.

“Not so tough now are you, Baby Bird,” he growled, pulling you closer, marking your neck up with his teeth.

You tremble as you feel his teeth teasing your sensitive areas and you took one of his hands, sucking on his finger, rubbing his bulge, your eyes challenging his.

He lets out an airy moan as his eyebrows arch, biting his lip as he started to grind into your hand, his forearm now pressed against the wall, all of his moans spilling out of his mouth right into your ear.

You shudder and push against his bulge, pushing him away, nibbling on his finger as you pull away.

“Come. Here,” he growled out as he bit his lip, licking over the same fingers that were just in your mouth.

“I don’t think I want to,” you lie and walk away, shaking your ass in his direction as you walk away.

Again, there’s that eerie hum of his vibrating wings again his hand loosening his belt a little before his hand disappeared into his boxers, squeezing and stroking at his cock as he leaned against the wall.

“If you make me chase, y-you I’m g-going t-to f-face fuck you s-so g-goddamn ha-hard,” he moaned out as he continued to please himself, his hips bucking into his hand. “Y-You’re not going to be able to t-talk for a f-fucking w-week and a half,” he threatened already looking like he was about to cum, his eyes half lidded and his cheeks reddened.

“Oh no… A good face fucking from my daddy? W-What a tragedy,” you tease more, sitting on the bed, twirling your fingers in your hair as you watch him jerk himself off.

Suddenly you see a spark behind his eyes and you get a little nervous.

“Don’t fucking touch yourself,” he growled out in a small moan before starting to stroke himself faster,

For some reason, watching him with his shirt halfway off of his shoulders and his hands down his pants was a little hotter than if he were to have his cock out in the open for you to see.

His feathers started to fluff up and his breathing hitched as he leaned against the wall, his head tilted up as he broke into a fit of deep, chesty moans, his wings trembling as they became more pronounced.

At his feet, there was a pile of soft red down feathers, but somehow you were a little more focused on his trembling legs, his breathing and his expression sounding like he was about to cum.

Of course, you press your thighs together and groan out softly, grinding against your bed, letting out soft groans.

“I s-said— F-Fuck~ D-Don’t move!” He looked back down at you as he started to slowly thrust into his hand, his strong hips mimicking those deep strokes he gave to you that you loved so much, his teeth clad on the collar of his shirt, even on the brink of release still looking smug.

You suddenly formed an idea of your own that might’ve pissed him off, but you were pissed that he decided to get off without you, making you horny and not being able to do anything about it.

“K-Keigo,” you whimper, a small smirk tugging at the corner of your lips. “P-Please! I’m sorry, I’ll be a g-good b-baby bird, please… P-Please f-fuck me…”

You put on the most innocent, needy voice you could and knew that your plan was in motion once he took his hand out of his pants with a soft groan.

You spread your legs for him and he stood in between them pushing you back on the bed, trying *again* to give you a kiss.

You squeak softly when you’re pushed back on the bed and when he tries to kiss you, again you look away and try to push him off of you.

Once again, you both have a safe word and neither of you said it, so he continues.

He pulls your hips against his throbbing bulge and you whimper out loudly as he growls into your ear.

“G-Get off of me!” You tried to squirm and wiggle around, trying to push him off, trying to fight away.

“You’re gonna take me like a good baby bird!” He growled as he thrusted his hips hard against yours causing you to moan and cry out.

You moved to hit him and he just grabbed your wrist pinning you to the bed.

“Tell me how fucking bad you want me, baby,” he moaned into your ear, growling as he slowly rolled his hips into yours, his face looking a bit drunk because of the power he held over you, his eyes dark and malicious while also still loving.

“No! E-Eat shit Keigo,” you cry out trying not to give in to his cock twitching against your sex.

“Don’t make me rip those pants right off of you baby,” he threatened, his hand clenched tight around the top of your pants, pulling at your pants.

“D-Do it then! You’re the b-bird of prey r-right? Hm? So d-do something!”

He did as told with a challenging smirk, plucking one of his own feathers, cutting them off of you.

“W-Wait! Kei-“

He mocked you as he slid his pants and boxers down his legs just enough to be able to thrust deep inside of your tight little hole.

As he did so, you arched your back and all of that fight you held before suddenly melted away into a sea of moans and whimpers watching as his sharp eyes preyed upon you.

“Fuuuccckkk~ How does it feel? H-How does it feel knowing you do this to me, hm? Take responsibility baby bird,” he teases you as he immediately deals you deep strokes, pushing his strong hips into your hole ready for him to use and abuse all night.

Still, you want to be bratty so you slap him which makes him hold you down with one hand, the other hand thrusting hard into you, his wings flapping a little as they stiffened and he gave another throaty moan.

He was usually a sensitive person, but during rut his sensitivity absolutely skyrocketed and you couldn’t do anything but try and hold your resolve not to break.

You could see the pretty light behind his eyes so you dig your nails into his shoulder and he growls quietly as the tips of his wings flutter and quiver by how you squeeze around him.

You grab one of his hands and suck the precum from his fingers making his jaw drop and his eyes roll into the back of his head as his fluid hip thrusts melt into something choppy but still rough and pleasurable.

You knew that his hands were the most sensitive besides his ear and his collarbone.

“F-Fuck baby bird,” he moaned out trying not to cum, his breaths heaving as sweat washed over his forehead.

You smirk and bite on his fingers and then deep throat them causing him to practically yelp out in pleasure, his cock twitching inside of you.

“Like this, daddy,” you ask as he stares down at you with your lustful eyes as the saliva strands connects your lips to his fingers.

“Y-Ye-ah,” he moaned out as he tried to keep from passing out.

He loved how tight you were around him, the way you looked with your fingers down your throat and the way your moans felt around his fingers.

You knew you had the control now, so you push yourself against him and clench down as you nibble on his fingers.

I w-want you to cum inside of m-me! Please daddy,” you tease as you felt him harden more and he was about to cum right then and there.

“I d-don’t w-want t-to-“

And right after that, he came, his eyes widening as he thrusted into you hard, his feathers casting that almost cinematic murmur through the room before standing up pronounced as if he were putting on a show for someone. He looked pronounced, curved over you, his fingers going deeper into his throat, a panting mess, his eyes sleek and slender, his trembling feathers still having that soft hum.

Luckily for him, being the territorial fuck he was, the neighbors COULD see you. All of you. And everything that’d just transpired.

The door wasn’t closed all the way.

The windows were open.

But upon further inspection, however, there was one *neighbor* watching just a little too closely. Your friendly neighborhood villain, Dabi.

#bnha headcanons #bnha smut #bnha x reader #hawks x y/n #pro hero hawks #hawks lemon #hawks imagine #gender neutral imagine #lemon fic #bnha hawks #takami keigo x reader #mha takami keigo #takami keigo smut

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ripjaws · 4 years ago

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Ben 10 Survey Results!

Huge thank you to everyone who submitted a response, it was really fun looking through them all and I was genuinely surprised by the results of some of the questions.

Hopefully this will work under a read more because it's quite long and I don't want people to have to scroll a hundred years to get past it.

If anyone has any questions or anything please feel free to ask! :)

Thanks again!

General

Q1. How would you describe your gender?

36% - Female 25.3% - Male 24% - Non-binary 8% - Prefer not to say 4% - Agender 2.7% - Genderfluid

Q2. How would you describe your sexuality?

32% - Bisexual 20% - Heterosexual 20 % - Asexual 8% - Lesbian 6.7% - Prefer not to say 5.4% - Pansexual 4% - Gay 1.3% - Demisexual 1.3% - Questioning 1.3% - Polysexual

Q3. Current age

48% - 20-24 39% - 15-19 13.3% - 25-30 1.3% - Older than 30 1.3% - Younger than 15

Q4. Age when you first became interested in Ben 10

86.7% - Younger than 15 9.3% - 15-19 2.7% - 20-24 1.3% - 25-30

Episodes and season

Q1. Which series did you watch first?

88% - Original Series 9.3% - Alien Force 1.3% - Omniverse 1.3% - Reboot

Q2. Rank the series in order of preference

[IMAGE ID: Five separate groups of five vertical bar charts. The individual columns for each group are coloured in the same order and corresponds to what ranking they recieved on that question of the survey. According to the key at the top of the image the order is; blue = 1, red = 2, orange = 3, green = 4 & purple = 5. The Y axis of the graph goes from zero to thirty in intervals of ten.

The first group is labelled ‘Original Series’ and shows that it got twenty votes in blue, seventeen votes in red, sixteen votes in orange, ten votes in green & twelve votes in purple.

The second group is labelled ‘Alien Force’ and shows that it got nine votes in blue, eighteen votes in red, twenty-one votes in orange, twenty-two votes in green & five votes in purple.

The third group is labelled ‘Ultimate Alien’ and shows that it got thirteen votes in blue, ten votes in red, fourteen votes in orange, twenty-two votes in green & sixteen votes in purple.

The fourth group is labelled ‘Omniverse’ and shows that it got eighteen votes in blue, fifteen votes in red, seventeen votes in orange, fifteen votes in green & ten votes in purple.

The fifth and final group is labelled ‘Reboot’ and shows that it got fifteen votes in blue, fifteen votes in red, seven votes in orange, six votes in green & thirty-two votes in purple. END IMAGE ID]

Q3. Favourite season (Original Series)

40% - Season 1 18.7% - Season 2 18.7% - Season 3 17.3% - Season 4 5.3% - Don’t like/Haven’t watched

Most popular episodes were Ken 10 (S4E10) & Kevin 11 (S1E7)

Q4. Favourite season (Alien Force)

52% - Season 2 28% - Season 1 16% - Season 3 4% - Don’t like/Haven’t watched

Most popular episodes were Alone Together (S2E2) & Save the Last Dance (S2E4)

Q5. Favourite Season (Ultimate Alien)

36% - Season 1 25.3% - Season 3 20% - Don’t like/Haven’t watched 18.7% - Season 2

Most popular episodes were Forge of Creation (S1E16) & Duped (S1E2)

Q6. Favourite Season (Omniverse)

18.7% - Don’t like/Haven’t watched 18.7% - Season 2 16% - Season 5 12% - Season 6 10.7% - Season 1 9.3% - Season 8 8% - Season 4 5.3% - Season 3 1.3% - Season 7

Most popular episodes were And Then There Were None (S6E1) & And Then There Was Ben (S6S2)

Q7. Favourite Season (Reboot)

60% - Don’t like/Haven’t watched 17.3% - Season 4 10.7% - Season 3 6.7% - Season 1 5.3% - Season 2

Most popular episodes were Omni-tricked (S1E37) & Innervasion (S2E36)

Q8. Which live action movie did you prefer?

40% - Alien Swarm 22.7% - Race Against time 22.7% - Didn’t like either 14.7% - Haven’t watched either

Characters and aliens

Q1. Favourite main character

45.3% - Ben Tennyson 28% - Kevin Levin 17.3% - Rook Blonko 9.3% - Gwen Tennyson

Some ‘Why’ responses:

Ben -

I know it's a really basic pick but I enjoy Ben alot as a character. Even though I feel like he took an extremely sharp turn into immaturity in the final season of Alien Force onward (from what I've heard it was due to ratings), it still fit well after a bit of time of adjustment. Him being rash and selfish at times while still having a good heart feels...very human. I'm a huge fan of flawed protagonists and Ben is a prime example of such, imo! Plus I hradcanon that he has autism and it's a big comfort for me :)

I love his potential as a character and the way he hands having such power and responsibility thrust upon him. Ben has done so much for the people in his life and the universe, and I absolutely adore him.

I think of him like a kind person who tries his best to the right thing, he's pretty chill and optimist and in my mind he's a chaotic bi and i can relate to that

Kevin -

I like that he's always been an antihero in the original series. And in the reboot I really like the direction the showrunners are taking his character. He has a different backstory, motivations and I'm really enjoying his character development. It's a fresh take on his story and they're treating it with care, which I really appreciate. His Antitrix aliens also have some really incredible designs.

Cool powers, uncommon character in children's media, especially as a primary character often cast in a good light (ex con, high school dropout, masculine, not emotionally mature). His character development is some of the best in the series.

Gods, we could be here forever... Okay, short version- 1) I can relate to him on a mental health level, especially in the OG series we seemed to have similar issues and to handle them in similar ways 2) there's a lot of depth and variance to his character, he's angry and aggressive and dangerous but also a dork, a sweetheart, and very affectionate once he lets his walls down, he loves cars and supernatural romance, violence and magical girls, he'll rescue an aggressive dog for no reason other than it needed help but also he might consider how much he could get for selling you, he's a complex character and he's allowed to be in a way the Tennysons can't because of how firmly they sit in the Hero seat 3) for all of this, we never really know all that much about him and his experiences, at least in comparison to what we know is there- we never learn about his time traveling the galaxy, we haven't heard anything about his time stuck in time, it's only in the reboot we're getting trustworthy information about his background and even then it's rare tidbits- he's ripe for exploring in fic, headcanon, and so-on 4) his powers in the OG series, his status as mutant or alien or both who knows anymore leaves a lot of doors open to play and to look at the world through different angles 5) dude has turned into six different monstrous chimera forms over the course of the franchise and honestly you have to support that sort've shit in media otherwise they might stop

Rook -

Alien catboy with a glorious voice and have you seen those arms??? And he's so polite while also being hilarious when he gets a little rude/snarky and his character development is amazing!!

While I would normally say Ben himself, Rook is his only friend that hasn't tried to kill him. Additionally, he provides Ben with guidance as well as support the Gwen and Kevin are fickle about.

Having an actual alien joining the cast and serving at Ben's foil worked well to me.

Gwen -

Smart, talented, funny, snarky, confident, and super cute. Jock-prep-nerd energy all in one. Deserves the world. Criminally ignored by the majority of the fandom. Knows karate and judo?? College at 16?? Icon.

Angel, can do no wrong, was capable of so much more than the show let her do, potential to be the most powerful member of the team if they'd just let her go a lil feral sometimes :/

She was a good voice of reason most of the time. Her powers were really interesting and overall I think she had a lot of wasted potential having to be sidelined since the series was about Ben ultimately

Q2. Favourite minor characters

40 votes - Paradox

22 votes - Max Tennyson

18 votes - Tetrax

17 votes - Argit

16 votes - Julie Yamamoto

15 votes - Azmuth

12 votes - Ester

10 votes - Looma Red Wind

9 votes - Glitch

9 votes - Kai Green

7 votes - Alan Albright

6 votes - Jimmy Jones

4 votes - Cooper Daniels

3 votes - Eunice

3 votes - Helen Wheels

2 votes - Elena Validus

2 votes - Manny Armstrong

1 vote - Cash Murray

1 vote - Driba

Other votes went to Penny Bennyson, Kenny Tennyson/Spanner, Lucy Mann, Rook Shar, Eddie Grandsmith, Myaxx and Pakmar.

Q3. Ship or Zed

64% - Ship 36% - Zed

Q4. Favourite main antagonist

20% - Albedo 13.3% - Kevin 11 12% - Vilgax 10.7% - Charmcaster 10.7% - Zs’Skayr 9.3% - Malware 5.3% - Forever Knights 5.3% - Eon 4% - Highbreed & DNAliens 4% - Aggregor 1.3% - Servantis & Rooters 1.3% - Khyber 1.3% - Dagon & the Esoterica

Some ‘Why’ responses for top 3:

Albedo -

When I first saw him during the airing of Good Copy, Bad Copy, I was scared that Albedo might be a one-and-done evil clone that doesn't get much development. These fears went away, and I was pleased to find out about his backstory and motives, just a sour soul in an unpleasant situation. Even in Ultimate Alien with his reappearance episode, he tries to work on his own to cope in a horrid human world. He isn't necessarily malicious until Ben gets in his way, he just wants to return to his own body and leave, even stating that he wasn't going to fight Ben anymore while he had temporarily returned to his Galvan form. I know DJW stated in some interview that Albedo could never be redeemed, but I believe there's some hope if he gets help. And I'm a sucker for those redemption arcs :)

Tragic frog man that could have been helped but nobody helped him and he doubled down on his hatred which led to him getting stuck in a cycle of revenge and punishment and it's the tragedy of how much better things could have been for him if someone just helped him that I love so much!!

Kevin 11 -

He’s very dangerous and has a terrifying power to absorb electricity and living DNA to have the same powers of who he absorbed it from and even turn himself into a mutant with all those powers combined leading to destructive power

Kevin was a good antagonist and a good protagonist, although i feel the transition was rushed. Anti-hero kevin in the reboot is great!

Vilgax -

He was always the endgame villian for Ben, despite how many battles they've had, despite countless losses, he always tried to stay one step ahead, and plan everything.

"Speak with care, Psyphon. Your counsel is valuable...not irreplaceable."

Q5. Favourite minor villains

38 votes - Animo 20 votes - Hex 18 votes - Michael Morningstar/Darkstar 14 votes - SixSix 13 votes - Zombozo 9 votes - Vreedle family 9 votes - Vulkanus 8 votes - Rojo 5 votes - Inspector 13 5 votes - Billy Billions 5 votes - Will Harangue 4 votes - Fistrick 4 votes - Nyancy Chan 3 votes - Lord Decibel 3 votes - Simian 3 votes - Subdora 3 votes - Viktor 2 votes - Addwaitya 2 votes - Fistina 2 votes - Kraab 2 votes - Psyphon 2 votes - Steam Smythe 2 votes - Sunder 1 vote - Liam 1 vote - Ssserpent

Other votes went to Maurice & Sydney, Bugg Brothers, Alternate evil Bens, and the Mummy.

Q6. Favourite canon relationship

66.7% - Gwen & Kevin 13.3% - Max Tennyson & Verdona 5.3% - Ben & Kai 4% - Rook & Rayona 1.3% - Julie & Herve 1.3% - Max & Xylene

Q7. Favourite non-canon ship

36% - I don’t have one 30.7% - Ben & Rook 6.7% - Ben & Kevin 4% - Ben & Julie

Other responses included Ben & Rex, Kai & Julie, Looma & Attea, Alan & Cooper, Ben & Looma, Kevin & Manny, Gwen & Cooper, Ben & Ester, Max & Phil, Azmuth & Paradox, Cooper & Elena, Kai & Ester, Ben & Zak Saturday, Ben & Eddie, Ben & Albedo, Ben & Kevin & Gwen, Kenny & Devlin, OC & canon, and Ben & a therapist.

Q8. Favourite alien introduced in the Original Series

18.7% - XLR8 17.3% - Upgrade 13.3% - Ghostfreak 10.7% - Diamondhead 9.3% - Heatblast 8% - Wildmutt 6.7% - Ditto 2.7% - Blitzwolfer 2.7% - Snare-oh 2.7% - Grey Matter 1.3% - Cannonbolt 1.3% - Four Arms

Q9. Least favourite alien introduced in the Original Series

22.7% - Eye Guy 18.7% - Spitter 8% - Articguana 8% - Frankenstrike 6.7% - Upchuck 6.7% - Stinkfly 5.3% - Buzzshock 5.3% - Snare-oh 4% - Four Arms 2.7% - Blitzwolfer 2.7% - Ditto 2.7% - Wildmutt 2.7% - Grey Matter 1.3% - Cannonbolt 1.3% - Diamondhead 1.3% - Ghostfreak

Q10. Favourite alien introduced in Alien Force

46.7% - Big Chill 17.3% - Rath 8% - Goop 6.7% - Lodestar 5.3% - Swampfire 4% - Chromastone 4% - Spidermonkey 2.7% - Alien X 2.7% - Echo Echo 1.3% - Humungousaur 1.3% - Jetray

Q11. Least favourite alien introduced in Alien Force

18.7% - Lodestar 17.3% - Brainstorm 13.3% - Alien X 10.7% - Humungousaur 10.7% - Spidermonkey 8% - Jetray 8% - Chromastone 5.3% - Goop 5.3% - Echo Echo 2.7% - Rath

Q12. Favourite alien introduced in Ultimate Alien

18.7% - Juryrigg 16% - AmpFibian 14.7% - Clockwork 12% - NRG 8% - Armodrillo 8% - Shocksquatch 8% - Terraspin 8% - Water Hazard 2.7% - Chamalien 2.7% - Fasttrack 1.3% - Eatle

Q13. Least favourite alien introduced in Ultimate Alien

30.7% - Fasttrack 18.7% - Eatle 13.3% - Juryrigg 9.3% - Chamalien 8% - Shocksquatch 6.7% - Terraspin 5.3% - Water Hazard 4% - Clockwork 1.3% - AmpFibian 1.3% - Armodrillo 1.3% - NRG

Q14. Favourite Ultimate Form

38.7% - Echo Echo 24% - Big Chill 10.7% - Swampfire 9.3% - Way Big 8% - Wildmutt 6.7% - Spidermonkey 1.3% - Cannonbolt 1.3% - Humungousaur

Q15. Favourite alien introduced in Omniverse

29.3% - Feedback 13.3% - Pesky Dust 12% - Gravattack 9.3% - Ball Weevil 8% - Bullfrag 6.7% - Whampire 5.3% - Bloxx 4% - Atomix 4% - Walkatrout 2.7% - Gutrot 1.3% - Crashhopper 1.3% - Kickin Hawk 1.3% - Toepick 1.3% - The Worst

Q16. Least favourite alien introduced in Omniverse

24% - The Worst 14.7% - Bloxx 12% - Mole-Stache 8% - Bullfrag 6.7% - Astrodactyl 6.7% - Kickin Hawk 5.3% - Atomix 5.3% - Gutrot 4% - Crashhopper 4% - Walkatrout 2.7% - Toepick 1.3% - Ball Weevil

Q17. Favourite alternate Ben timeline

29.3% - No watch Ben 24% - Gwen 10 17.3% - Ben 10,000 8% - Mad Ben 6.7% - Dimension 23 6.7% - Eon 4% - Nega Ben 2.7% - Benzarro 1.3% - Bad Ben

Misc.

Q1. Favourite watch design

37.3% - Original Series 29.3% - Omniverse 17.3% - Alien Force 9.3% - Ultimatrix 6.7% - Reboot

Q2. Favourite alternate watch design

29.3% - Biomnitrix 20% - Gwen 10 18.7% - Negatrix 17.3% - Antitrix 8% - Power Watch 6.7% - Hero Watch

Q3. Favourite planet visited

32% - Anur Transyl 20% - Revonnah 13.3% - Mykdl’dy 10.7% - Galvan Prime 9.3% - Vilgaxia 6.7% - Piscciss 5.3% - Petropia 2.7% - Khoros

Q4. Favourite locations

34 votes - Undertown 23 votes - Ledgerdomain 23 votes - Null Void 22 votes - Bellwood 19 votes - Friedkin University 18 votes - Mr. Smoothy 16 votes - Forge of Creation 15 votes - Los Soledad 7 votes - Burger Shack 7 votes - Plumber Headquarters 4 votes - Incarcecon 2 votes - Mt. Rushmore Plumber base 2 votes - The Perplexahedron 1 vote - Plumber Academy

Q5. Favourite Vehicle

33.3% - Kevin’s car (Original) 25.3% - Rustbucket 18.7% - Proto-TRUK 13.3% - DX Mark 10 5.3% - Kevin’s car (Omniverse) 4% - Glitch

Q6. Favourite Kevin mutation

40% - Original series 20% - Ken 10 future 12% - Ultimate Alien 8% - Omniverse 8% - Alien Force 6.7% - Omniverse flashback 5.3% - Reboot

Q7. Favourite Omniverse redesign

66.7% - Ben 26.6% - Kevin 6.7% - Gwen

Q8. Least favourite Omniverse redesign

76% - Gwen 18.7% - Kevin 5.3% - Ben

Thoughts

(Putting every single response here would make this insanely long so I’ve just put the most detailed/most echoed responses & include all sides of opinions when possible.)

Q1. Thoughts on the Osmosians retcon?

Okay, first up, do you know how much work I had already put into building shit surrounding those fuckers by the time of the retcons? I had been working on this crap since AF season 2! But no, they gotta go ruin that in one fell swoop, thank you, much appreciated. Second up, I wibble on it? Like, working with mutants is fun and interesting and I've done plenty of shit with them as well, but in the end I'm always going to be a pro-Ossys person. Mostly the retcons left more questions than they gave answers (how, if Osmosians never existed, did everybody and their mother know Kevin was an Osmosian? why, if Osmosians never existed, did none of the people not-involved in this whole disaster with Servantis's mindfuckery look at Aggregor being reported as an Osmosian and go 'wtf that's not a thing'? do they really mean to tell me that not only did Kevin never bother to look into his heritage, but neither did research-happy Gwen? or am I expected to believe the Rooters made enough fake information and put it out publicly that they fooled literally everyone? and if they did then why? when it would've done the same thing with less effort if they'd just, let Kevin be a mutant with a Plumber father who died) and I feel like they didn't really give enough to justify them. One of those cases of 'making your work less interesting to make it more 'accurate''. Personally, I forever keep working on Osmosians (where's the line where it just starts becoming your shit, I think I may be heading there) and I love on mutants and I flip between or combine the two as needed for whatever story I want to tell.

While the fake memories plot isn't great I think it's for the best because the original series meant for Kevin to be a mutant while UAF changed it to alien. I like him better as a mutant human. Too much alien connections in UAF.

I could scream for hours. Easily one of the worst decisions they ever made. Omniverse picks and chooses what canon to follow from AFUA + the original run and throws it in without care or concern to what it means for the timeline. Retconning something and keeping the effect it had is just bad writing. Kevin coming to terms with not being human and that’s okay was important to me when I was a kid. Knowing that he’s just been on an unending series of brainwashed nonsense all his life deprives him of his agency. I hate this decision more than several dozen essays could ever convey.

I wasn't mad about it. Mainly because I liked the idea of Kevin being a mutant than an alien. Alien Force really was pushing that aspect even with Gwen. To the point where she called her powers 'not spells' because of her heritage. Stupid that the rooters and fake memories were a thing, but necessary.

I was never a big fan of the Rooters Arc, but this doesn't bother me too much. It makes UA a little weird with Aggragor, but again, it doesn't really bother me, as most of Omniverse didn't explore Kevin (While UA Did), and was mostly about Ben.

Osmosians were such a cool idea, and it would've allowed for more exploration into what Mike Morningstar was as well, but just writing them off as mutates is so boring. As well as it makes Aggregors whole part not really make sense, like who is he then.

While well executed, it was unnecessary. You could have had the same story line where Kevin was used to mutate other kids and still had him an Alien. You could have had it where it was another alien species that used Osmosians to morph other species to theirs; a call back to the DNAliens if you want.

Q2. Thoughts on how the Ultimate Kevin situation was dealt with in UA?

Terrible. They wanted to go far. They wanted to go dark. But they didn't think their viewership could handle it so they dialed it back. I will always be curious to know what they would have written if they didn't have those constraints. Because the final product was a mess of contrasting tone and unsure footing about how far to go with questioning our hero's moral compass. They wanted to push Ben to see what he would do and apparently, we got that he would kill Kevin and maybe Gwen if she got in the way of saving the universe.... but not really because he didn't. And then the gang is happy all back together like none of it ever happened. They wanted to explore dark themes but have it leave no consequences on the characters. Also... it was so ableist and awful and Kevin deserved better than how Ben and Max (and the writers) treated him.

If they did everything the same but the argument was 'we need to capture him and lock him away' instead of 'we need to kill him'? I would be fine. It's the fact that they slipped so quickly into murder, into murder by his 16-yo bestfriend, that gets me. Like, there's apparently no space between 'recklessly risk our safety trying to talk him down' and 'Ol' Yeller his ass' and that just does not sit right with me.

Ben should have looked for alternate solutions before jumping on the "Let's kill Kevin" train. I understand why he did (this took place immediately post-Aggregor so Ben was still traumatized about having lost so many people and because he failed and "let" Kevin get turned into Ultimate Kevin, he felt as though every person Kevin hurt would be on him) but I wish he hadn't.

Pretty good actually. I like Gwen's emotions becoming a hindrance to the job, I like Ben putting on his big boy pants and I like Kevin going up to Aggregor and saying "y'know, I was a big boy villain once and I'm tried of just getting kicked around" (obviously paraphrasing)

Other than the scenario being overplayed, I think Ben was right. Kevin was eventually going to end up killing Gwen and he'd already put others in the hospital. He needed to be stopped.

Ben jumping straight to murder, yikes. Kevin dismissing Gwen to hang out with Ben almost as soon as he turned back to normal, yikes. Otherwise, it was an interesting plotline.

Really bad. Really shows how awful max and the plumbers really are. I mean , the guy saved the universe and now he clearly needs help but all they wanted to do was kill him.

it really felt like Ben just wanted to murder Kevin because he saved the universe that one time and Ben couldn't stand someone else being the hero for once

The worst, Max straight away wanting to put him down makes u wonder how long he's been waiting for that kind of opportunity.

I'm fine with it, maybe they could have spent some time dealing with the consequences of Kevin's actions, possibly even the ramifications it had on Ben and Kevin's friendship, but overall I'm ok with it.

Q3. Thoughts on the Plumbers

Plumbers ain't shit. Individuals can be acceptable or not but the organization as a whole has too much power, not enough oversight, utilizes child labor, uses a deathtrap of a hellscape dimension as a penal colony, has been shown onscreen sentencing people to imprisonment in said dimension without a trial, and I'm sorry the fact that a Plumber official could walk into a base with his team, assault several members of staff, attempt to kidnap a boy, admit to having and planning to continue to run illegal experiments on him and others, admit to having altered the memories of other Plumber officials, all in front of the entire base, and nothing was done until he tried to kill the golden child Ben 10 and failed, got his ass kicked by one of his victims, and in a place where presumably there were security cameras? And that the response was, again, to sentence him and his team without trial, take all the evidence, and peace out without so much as looking at nonetheless apologizing to his victims? Yeah, that don't fly. Doesn't sound like an organization that has it's shit together. Either the Plumbers don't have their shit together or the higher ups were in on it until it became something that could actually damage their reputation, and either way I Do Not Approve.

They're pretty cool. I know everyone's talking about how Plumbers are space cops and therefore absolutely corrupt and bad but this is a fictional universe in which corruption in organized forces isn't a necessity. Plumbers don't function the same way real cops do, they don't follow they same chain of command, they don't have the same motivations and they definitely don't have the same biases. Plumbers perform an essential function in the Ben 10 universe, which is to capture and contain aliens who aim to hurt anyone (or those who Ben defeats).

My knowledge of the Plumbers' unfortunately doesn't go beyond UA. They're not my favorite thing ever. Some of my least favorite episodes were the ones where the Plumbers or Plumbers' kids are involved, except for the episode "Everybody Talks About the Weather". The way Alan is introduced is really cool and very X Files-esque, and it ties into the DNAlien plot very well. But throughout the series I stopped caring about the Plumbers in general and I think that concept was given too much attention.

They don't do what they're meant to. They act like heros yet I don't think I've ever seen them do anything heroic. The DNAliens situation, the aggregor situation, dagon etc etc. Where were they??? Why did they leave the fate of the universe in the hands of a 16 year-old boy? Ben has the omnitrix sure , but he's still just one guy, how much can he fight? They showed up every once in a while but that's it. They were useless.

Of course the Plumbers have their problems, but looking at most characters we've met that were plumbers seem to be pretty good people. Max, Patelliday and Rook (and even Kevin, technically) are great examples of Plumbers, Servantis being a bad example of one.

Honestly liked it when it was disbanded. It’s cool they introduced Rook but like there’s so much wrong with how they run most things. My favorite version of the plumbers was tbh the first live action movie. Where it was just a bunch of old people watching out for Ben cause they actually cared about the people they protected (in this case Ben).

Q4. Thoughts on Grandpa Max

(The responses to this one were way more divided than I thought they would be omg)

He said Kevin was a mad dog that needed to put down. He's terrible. Military. Secretive. Kept his kids out of the loop and probably told the grandkids not to tell them about a huge and extremely dangerous part of their lives. Thus creating a gap between them and their parents that didn't need to be there. Child endangerment. Other than that....? He's important to Ben and Gwen so I tolerate him and he had some good life lessons to share. Also legendary adult figure in a kids cartoon who had relationships with multiple aliens.

He’s incredible, he worked in the Air Force, was going to be one of the first people on the moon (But he refused because he joined the Plumbers) had children with an Energy Being, he has a few grandchildren, and not to mention knows how to still kick butt despite him being in his 60s and was there to help Ben grow

He’s a complicated old man. Love him to bits in the original run and I love him in AF! He’s a utilitarian doing what needs to be done and suffering the consequences when need be. He does what he thinks is going to lead to the best possible outcome for the most people in any situation.

Needs to get knocked off his pedestal more often, both in and out of canon. He's got good traits, they're very nice, but there's other shit that gets glossed over, ignored, brushed aside, too easily forgiven, and just. They really needed a character who served double duty being a counterforce to him. Somebody to go 'wtf is wrong with you?' or 'yeah, no'. Ideally this would've been Patilidae, but no. We couldn't be so lucky.

Conflicted. Was he grooming Ben for plumber work, or just trying to support him in a situation he knew would be dangerous? It’s not made very clear...

I think he's got some sort of narcissistic personality disorder. I just can't forgive him for making Ben carry the burden of the Omnitrix at the age of 10 without ever explaining anything, and for not letting Ben and Gwen know he was alive after the Null Void grenade incident in AF. He clearly could have, if Helen could reach Gwen so easily. I think he views Ben more as an asset than a grandson at this point and that's really sad.

I love him! The progression from family hero to questionable old man felt kinda natural, like learning about a family member as you grow older and realizing they aren't perfect

He's awesome. He was a good role model for Ben and he was very supportive to both his grandkids. I hate that they made him mute in Omniverse and changed his design so drastically. I loved Max in every season from the original till Ultimate Alien. After that, he was pretty much just a prop.

Q5. And finally, give me your most controversial Ben 10 opinion!

It seems to be the worst thing to say that Ben isn't perfect and that Kai isn't demonic. And it's pretty standard for the women of color characters in every fandom to get the most hate so to me all the hate towards Kai when her personality is so close to Ben's AND she's also more hated than the ex-villain and the actual villains that tried to kill Ben multiple times just seems- hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. But really, and really I've needed to say this for a long time but I'm afraid of being strangled. Some fans will denounce incest/pedo shippers and people that interact with them and then reblog from a proud Bwen shipper with no self-awareness. Please I have the tags blacklisted are you safe to interact with and you just don't know? Or you're just saying you hate Bwen shippers to give yourself an out for reblogging their content????? Or are you all closeted incest shippers trying to maintain a public image???? I'm at my limit.

I do not think the reboot should have existed tbh :,D I know that it has a ton of fans and all due respect to them, but from what I've seen of it I don't think it was worth tossing away four interconnected series' worth of development and starting from scratch to end up with what we have now. I would be fine with it existing if we got an Omniverse continuation alongside it, but CN screwed OV over by the decisions they made near the end of it's run. So it's probably impossible it would return, even moreso because of the reboot already airing, and it would probably confuse younger audiences that don't know about Omniverse if two Ben 10's were running separately. I just really miss Omniverse, it had more potential and the reboot placed the final nail in for it to ever return.

The Ben 10 reboot is fun and meant more for kids rather than the ones watching for nostalgia. I didn’t like how Gwevin were sidelined and downplayed to make Ben look better. Sometimes it felt like Gwen was a bit naggy towards the two of them. I didn’t like how the fact that she was the only female lead how she had sometimes act like a parent or that they put Gwen and Kevin together just because. Their relationship felt forced and awkward a lot of the time. Omniverse’s designs while controversial were fun and unique but I didn’t like what they did with Gwevin, especially Gwen.

Kevin is totally smart enough to figure out an Omnitrix with the blueprints in front of him, we see him do amazing shit with technology- including the Omnitrix- in the OG series, people just don't notice he's as brilliant as Gwen because the show never made it as big a point that he and Ben were so very smart like it did with her before the reboot, so now they're being forced to acknowledge that Kevin might have two braincells to rub together and they're pushing against the supposed 'change'.

idk if it's controversial but there should've been way more episodes of just gwen & kevin & rook without ben or ben having a very minor role in the episode. just more time for those three to shine and show off how capable they are without ben always having to come in to save the day at the end

Gwen and Kevin aren't good friends to Ben. I mean they were initially, but once he got famous and they didn't, they stopped putting more than a half-assed effort to help him. They also don't really consider his feelings nor really care about the toll heroing takes on him.

The Reboot has the best jokes in the entire franchise and I don't why people give it so much crap.

Kai Green is an abuser and I refuse to find anything redeemable about her character. "Worthy to wield Excalibur," my entire ass. And Ben and Julie's breakup was good for them both, as people, and just as much her fault as it was his.

Ben 10 is an incredibly flawed show and people need to stop getting butt hurt when the blatant misogyny, and copoganda in the show get pointed out or when any even minority critiques Ben's character.

Ben is the worst character in Ben 10 and the whole franchise would be better off without him.

Azmuth is fine for the most part and malware was not exactly the most understanding person

I think Ben should've stayed single. Every episode where romance (or the girl Ben was dating) was the focus of the episode was pretty boring to me, personally.

Ben's parents were right to try to stop him from being a hero, so were Gwen's.

Ultimate alien force season 2 and 3 were amazing.( not comparing the OS since obviously that's the best, or omniverse since I haven't watched all the episodes of that)

Pierce deserved to die for being a boring character. I just wish his death had actual consequences.

The reboot is a genuine improvement over the original continuity in MANY ways!

Oh geez, um, Kai was a good character, just her and ben were obviously toxic. Not everyone needs to like Ben and she isn't an abuser, they just don't get along and that's fine but by God, why did the writers have to force them in a relationship? That's all I could really think of on the spot. Oh! And that the first two season of AF were a watered down version of Ben and the plot focused more on Gwen and Kevin than it did Ben. He felt like a side character and I'm not mad about that, but I don't understand why people praise that characterization of ben when I remember more about gwen and Kevin then Ben. Dude, I've been watching the show for the past week and I can name more about kevin and gwen because they're memorable.

Azmuth's hot af, but y'all aren't ready for that conversation...

----

If you’ve made it this far then thank you!

Again huge thank you to everyone who submitted a response and if you have any questions/comments please feel free to leave them in the replies/send me an ask/dm/whatever ^^

#ben 10 #ben 10 alien force #ben 10 ultimate alien #ben 10 omniverse #ben tennyson #b10 #gwen tennyson #kevin levin #rook blonko #WE DID IT LADS #looking back there were SO many questions i couldve added like more directly fandom related ones but ehhhhh live and learn i guess #it was fun to do anyway :3

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cowboy-canoodler · 5 years ago

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Charles and Arthur “Rough” sex HC’s (NSFW) GN reader

@crimsonredemption asked: “ HI YES HELLO IT IS I, YOUR BIGGEST FAN, COMING TO ASK FOR AN REQUEST??? Could you MAYBE write nsfw HCs or a prompt about Charles and/or Arthur and a gender neutral reader (or f!reader, whatever you feel better writing for) having really angry sex? I mean I don't think either of them is really the type to be extremely rough, but I'm hella curious what it'd be like? (Also rough/angry sex is real nice lbr) “

Hehehehehehe, may I also direct you to my Sean Macguire Hate sex with an O’Driscoll too? I went with the whole passionate/ rough route, I hope you don’t mind <3

This is NSFW and NOT for minors!

Masterlist? or maybe donate to my Kofi?

Charles Smith:

Charles can lose himself pretty quickly, not in an angry way, but he gets so lost in the passion and adoration he has for you that he forgets just how rough he thrusts into you, how strong his hands are when they grab your ass cheeks.

In camp he’s always gentle, he wants to be quiet so the others don’t come poking around or begin to make fun of you both the morning after, but when you’ve rented a room or camped out whilst hunting, it’s another story.

Charles feels unleashed, he can moan as loud as he wishes he always could but is never allowed due to the others always being around, but not out here, out here it’s just you two, the trees, and the moon, to hear your passions.

His kissing is sloppy, unhinged, and full of lust, hands darting back and forth between everywhere on your body, all the places he want’s to touch but Charles’ an’t be patient with you when he’s like this, he just wants to touch all of you all at the same time

You’re the only one fully undressed, Charles has a shirt half unbuttoned and his trousers are lopsided with his cock hanging out, hes viscous and hungrily licking and biting your neck as he rubs his hips against you, dick rubbing against your skin, hot and twitching in ache for you to give your pleasures upon it.

Charles loves Doggy, seeing your ass high for him and only him it really gets him going. Charles starts off slow, letting you adjust but as soon as you’re ready Charles will not go easy on you, he is rough, hearty thrusts with groans and moans filling the spaces around you.

You grip the plain sheets, fistfuls of cloth as you pant like an animal, Charles grunting behind you as his fingers dig into your ass cheeks, as the pleasure peaks his hands are on yours, you’re leaning down on your arms, drooling and moaning messily into the ground, Charles’ breath is hot on your back, his hips rolling and thrusting with no sense of rhythm, one low and gutteral grunt before his hips slam into you, cum shooting forth, his whole body weight atop you and your arms.

Arthur Morgan:

Violence, abuse, vandalism, not with Arthur, you are his, he is yours, and you both respect each other both in and out of the bedroom

But some days? The smallest thing sets him off and he needs his release, sometimes it’s punching people in the face, and sometimes its rawing you on a bed in a saloon so all the people there know what’s going on

The door is barley closed before Arthur is kissing you and pushing you to the bed, he’s pent up, nearly aggressive, and downright sluttily hard for you.

His thigh is between your legs and his dick is straining against the fabrics of his trouser, only taunted by it rubbing against your hips, Arthurs once steady hands are now messily working their way around clothing and skin, feeling every inch of you, grubby nails sliding over skin and through hair.

Boots, trousers, shirts, hats, all in a pile on the floor, the undressing was quick and left you both dishevelled leaving no room for adoration when Arthurs lips crashed into your neck, along with teeth and tongue. He was famished of you, not enough of you to go around when he needed it, your hands were adoring him all the same, pumping his cock as he ravaged your flesh, hips bucking into each other as you both moan and pant.

Deities are called upon, along with swears and pants amongst your groans and horny sighs. Arthurs hands reach to the underside of your thighs and he brings your knees up, positioning himself at your entrance before slowly pushing himself in. You wince, groan, and then moan, the go ahead for him to move and move he does.

Once out he thrusts into you again, each time the peaks of pleasure hitting you and letting your lungs clear of air so a tingle may walk it’s way up your spine, your back arches and your eye look up to the heavens as you’re fucked by Arthur Morgan.

He curses, you curse, and you both moan in ecstasy as sheets are pulled around you, Arthurs long thrusts leave more to be desired but before long he’s quick, pounding you hard, your legs rest on his shoulders and he bites against the skin on your calf, partly for marking and release but mainly to stop himself from almost screaming your name.

As Arthur reaches his climax his hands leave your legs and rest on your chest, making their way to your shoulders, and with his last few thrusts he pounds you deeper than ever, his confidence soaring in this moment as he talks dirty to you. “Ya like that huh? Me fuckin you? yeah?” with thee words he pushes you down by your shoulders, he is balls deep as he cums in you and damn near screams your damned name as he releases.

Your body is marked red with from his fingers, lips, and his teeth, but he seems so much calmer an solemn from it and lets be honest, you loved every fucking minute.

#rdr2 #red dead redemption 2 #bal writes #arthur morgan x reader #arthur morgan x female reader #arthur morgan #charles smith x fem reader #charles smith x reader #charles smith #NSFW//#smut #RDR2

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steadyclips · 4 years ago

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1, 3, 10, 13 — sexuality & gender meme.

1. what do you label your muse as, and how do they label themselves? is there a difference, and if so, why?

She is bisexual, cis-gendered, more masculine presenting woman. Pronouns she/her. There isn’t a difference in labels. Braylen thrives in the dance between feminine and masculine energy on a more spiritual level. She doesn’t confine herself on what she presents as, but she loves being a woman. It’s something she had to define on her own and she knows it’s something she’ll never feel shamed for.

3. when did your muse first realise they’re attracted to the gender(s) that they are?

This NPC lives in my head rent free. Braylen’s first girl crush was in middle school, grade 7, Eliza Garcia. A pudgy, brown skinned, Spanish-speaking, shy little girl that always sat across the classroom in eyesight of Braylen. Braylen never really said anything to her, but it was just a gut feeling, she just was enamored.

As far as boys go, she really knew liked boys 6th grade, when her brother started making friends with the 8th grade boys and she’d just be staring out the window watching them play in the streets like “ah yes, boys, testosterone, ah yes!”

Also her first boyfriend was a guy they called Chop. She was in her junior year of high school and he was a sophomore in college. Looking back she understands she was preyed upon by a lame dude she ended up robbing years later for his vintage skateboards and weed.

10. how does your muse feel about not being cis or straight? are they content with it, proud, ashamed? would the situation be the same if the culture or surrounding support systems were different?

Braylen is proud of her sexuality. Once she really settled in her sexuality, you couldn’t tell her shit. Mind you, her father’s side of the family is extremely religious. But even before Braylen explicitly came out as bisexual, she never shied away from her masculine Tom-boyish energy. Her mother was all the support she needed and was encouraged while Cristian remained eerily apathetic at times. Her father was blatantly homophobic still and in denial, even to this day he tries to slip in that’s between you and god on judgement day type shade. She never came out to him, he just had to find out eventually, let the pieces in the puzzle fall as they should.

Paloma knew her daughter. She knew before Braylen said anything about it. Paloma had no qualms at all behind it, probably because nearing the end of her timeline, all the while thrust deep in a marriage she didn’t want to be in anymore, she was in love with a woman. Tea. But also, Paloma’s side of the family are the more spiritual, care-free type, so Braylen just hung out with them more than her dad’s side. To this day, she’s more closer with them than the latter. They’re more worried about how many girl she’s introduces them to rather than whether or not she’ll burn in the depths of hell.

13. was your muse ever in denial about the matter? do you have any examples of specific instances where it was particularly obvious?

In the beginning, yes. She really thought boys rocked her world. It wasn’t until 9th grade of high school that she actively pursued girls. Until then, she kind of forced herself to talk to boys. Or would talk to any boy that showed interest in her. But she would try really hard to be feminine and it felt so strange to her. The giggling. The bright makeup. The dresses. It was a mess. But maybe if she thrust herself into gender norms, the boys would be obsessed.

But it was Eliza Garcia that flipped her shit over. To this day, she has her as a friend on Facebook and mildly stalks her on a weekly occasion. Her first girl crush. She wanted to emulate Eliza’s girlness and meekness when talking to boys. If you couldn’t be with her, become her type situations. It would make Paloma laugh sometimes because she just knew that wasn’t her baby. She was just raised to be aggressive and more competitive than the other girls, she had to be out of safety.

#cultivate a legend. headcanon #did i use this as a chance to talk about Eliza yes #MEME — ANSWERED

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honestsycrets · 5 years ago

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Drunken Words VI: The Truth

❛ pairing | ubbe x reader, hvitserk x reader

❛ type | multi

❛ summary | vapnir goes on the hunt for hvitserk. so does ubbe, once he wakes up. skane and hvitserk have a small discussion

❛ warnings | murder, graphic violence, hunting, mention of cheating, fighting, multiple deaths.

❛ sy’s notes | i caution you against Vapnir’s scene if you do get triggered. I would read around it. Gif is not mine.

Your thumbs wake Ubbe, massaging his temples in small affectionate circles. He stares up at the ceiling, recounting to himself that above everything he expected-- that wasn’t it. Vapnir was on edge. He had the right to be at his age, barely the age of his brother, and just as aggressive. You sit with his head in your lap when he finally shifts his brilliant blue eyes.

“He hit me,” he takes notice.

Your eyebrows pull up, eyes apologetic for your father’s actions. “I’m sorry, he’s… he’s on edge.”

He understands. Asa. If anyone did the same to Asa, he’d kill them. Ubbe exhales and stands, stumbling more to one side than the other. You redirect him back on track, holding the inside of his arm. Vapnir’s men laugh at his expense, deep chortles filling the air.

“Not that way-- there, yes. Now where are we off to?”

Ubbe takes a sword off the wall beside your bed and turns you toward the door. You cling onto his arm as you both breach outside. It’s dripping wet, soaking your hair down. You miss your little son, and yet, there were more important things to do than to cuddle with Skari.

“To resolve this.” “But we don’t know where Hvitserk has gone.” You say. “Perhaps he’s gone to your father’s cabin. Or…”

“No,” he cuts you off. “The townspeople will know the way.”

“When it's raining?” You almost find that comical. They would be inside preparing meals, taking care of muddy laundry. A small girl peeks out a vast wooden door, her braids matting to round and pink cheeks. She’s on the cusp of adulthood-- twelve, but close enough. Her slender fingers point west. Ubbe turns his head down to you.

“Especially when it's raining.”

Vapnir has no room for error.

He entrusted his daughter to Hvitserk. Her honour and his family’s honour, all had rested in his hands. Hvitserk swore an oath, a lawful oath on his armring, to protect your health and your heart. The Ragnarsson broke that oath. For that, Vapnir intended to see to it that he would pay dearly.

“The villagers say he has gone that way,” his nephew Volsung comes up beside him. “Where the merchant is.”

“The same one that Skane recounted?” Vapnir rumbles, his hand jumping on the grip of his axe.

“The same.”

Vapnir’s lip curls, a hard frown upon his lips. If you knew that Hvitserk had gone to those so-called twin’s familial home, it would have been worse. It was expected that a man would wet his dick before marriage, when he had no one to answer to. But after marriage, it was something else entirely.

“Then let’s see where the rat scurried off to.” He walks in a slow line around the home, motioning his men on either side with the head of his axe. “I doubt this fatter rat has had him go far. Drag him out.”

The men beat their drums rhythmically to the hiss of Thor’s thunder. They clang their shields long past the sound of the lightning has past. Volsung crashes his axe into the front door, besides his uncle. The front door cracks, alerting everyone inside. The patriarch surfaces with his sword, but falls through the mud at his feet.

“Wait-- we can handle this at the Thing, lawfully!”

Vapnir knocks him to the ground when he sits up, digging his fist in his tunic. He hauls him up, boots squashing.

“I’ve had enough of lawful avenues.” Vapnir rumbles, thrusting him in the middle of Kattegat’s busy square, kicking him square in the ribs once. Then twice, then inviting his men to the fray, Vapnir paces. A portion of his men have brought rest of the family out of the house. They force them to kneel, skirt or pant. In the game of revenge, no one has the shield of gender.

Volsung settles by a young boy, no more or less old than Hvitserk was. The boy quakes and undoubtedly looks at his father eager to please him, but unable to carry out the task. Volsung feels for him. He would have done the same for Vapnir, his fóstri.

“Where did you hide him?” He looks to the shield raised above the Great Hall. The father of the twins cries out, losing composure. Vapnir supposes that is how one really tells the weakness of a man. If he were truly Viking-- if he cried.

“Hi-- hiiide w...ho?”

“Where is Hvitserk?!” The boom of his voice brings outsiders to watch. No one says much of anything, does much of anything. Not even Bjorn who gathers outside the Great Hall with his mother in law, Aslaug. His broad arms fold one on top of the other.

The patriarch snivels, choking up blood past interlocked teeth. He’s not giving up the location. Vapnir knows why. It’s admirable. Those girls dug their own fates and for Vapnir, they would see them out.

“Kill the boy.” He points, snapping his fingertips.

“No!”

Volsung is a loyal nephew. While the feðgar, the father and his sons, cry out, Volsung carries out the quick task of splitting the young man’s throat open with his sword. A quick, painless slit. Or so Volsung thinks. After all, he’s never died before. The body slumps at his feet. Heavy red filters out into the bend of the ground, diluting red blood at his father’s feet.

“Who is next? The other girl, Mábil?” Vapnir asks, lurching up on his feet now. Another of Vapnir’s foster sons hikes back her long reddish hair, running the blade against her throat as if to seal his father’s words. She’s young. Small, barely of the age to understand such things.

“Stop it!” Cries the mother to the children, jerking. “She is a good quiet girl! She has done nothing!”

Vapnir’s head jerks toward her direction.

“Has she? Well its more than I can say for your other bitches, running wild. You should have curved them. Before I had to.” He rumbles his words, churning with the distaste. He hikes up the father by his hair. “Kill her instead.”

Another body falls into a puddle and, for all his worth, the father does not stutter even with the blade against this young, precious little girl’s neck. Volsung finds it selfish. Two members of the family had done nothing, and yet here they lay dead. The wife of the young man sobbing, calling my love in a rhythmic chant. He cares only for the twins, he concludes. Apparently, so does Mábil.

“Father offered Hvitserk his cabin in exchange for marriage,” she blurts-- the wisest of the family. Vapnir’s smile widens with sharklike deprecation for the father. Why, the father shouts, why? Vapnir stands upright, stepping over the old man toward the cabin. His fat, pleading fingers and cries go ignored.

“Kill the rest.” Vapnir says, trudging away.

“But that was not--” the old man gasps out.

“I made no oath. If I did, I would have kept it.” Vapnir turns mid back, thrusting his sword into the old man’s back. Then, as if nothing, he moves on. Bjorn steps off of the stoop amid the slaughter, following on the heels of father and son.

Skane’s patience had run its course with Hvitserk.

He could forgive but not forget to inform Vapnir about Hvitserk’s infidelity. At some level, perhaps he could have even levelled with Hvitserk within the context of marriage. Perhaps work something about for the child you both so eagerly awaited for. Returning to infidelity, however, would make even Nidhoggr gnash his jaws in pre-emptive delight.

“I have a reason,” Hvitserk says.

“Sure you do,” Ivar speaks up from his place, shifting to face his brother. “You sold yourself out.”

Skane could stand behind those words. His large arms twist one on top of another, awaiting Hvitserk’s excuse. Handy words, he thinks, for a man that likely has no real excuse. The girls object, both gasping.

“Ugh! That’s not true!” They squeak in unison. “He loves us!”

“Girls--” Hvitserk shoos them to another space within the cabin. “Go.”

They filter out, all giggles. Hvitserk stands, waiting for their blonde heads to disappear. He runs his hands together, knowing just how this looked. If-- if you were here. If you knew they were here, he would have no other excuse. He steps up to Skane. The floorboards creak underneath his feet.

“I cannot win my wife back.” He says, “Not with them in the picture.”

“So you brought them here?” Skane looks about this rich cabin, stocked with enough items. Whether someone lived here before, or it was just the twins, he’s not sure. “For what?”

Hvitserk says nothing, but rather, keeps his eyes entrapped in his own. There’s a moment, a flash of a moment where Skane pities this fool. He understands full well what Hvitserk meant by bringing these girls here. Sigurd does too. Ivar, most of all, knows the rage in Hvitserk’s belly.

He meant to kill them.

@igetcarriedawaywithyou, @kylobien, @titty-teetee, @breathlessouls, @nejijjeoroo, @bcat1291, @readsalot73, @mslothbrok, @captstefanbrandt, @ailucascen, @michaeliskindahot, @cbouvier23, @naaladareia, @cbouvier23, @the-geeky-engineer, @lisinfleur, @tephi101, @akamaiden, @ethereallysimple, @venusloviing, @happylittlepuppydog, @beyond-the-ashes, @slutforrpg, @sparklemichele, @alicedopey, @lif3snotouttogetyou, @noregretsandyeteveryregret, @dangerous-like-a-loaded-pistol, @deathbyarabbit, @unacceptabletatertots, @beyond-the-ashes (no sig), @babypink224221, @ivarandersen, @queen-see-ya-in-valhalla, @moose-squirrel-asstiel, @icarus-fell-in-spring, @end-of-night, @gruffle1, @lol-haha-joke @arses21434, @smileyparrots, @miss-artemis-wild, @two-unbeatable-beaters, @wonderwoman292, @wish-i-was-a-mermaid, @killerb00sdeath, @heartbeats-wildly, @boo20017, @acacheofstrange, @shaelyn102, @smokealone, @shaelyn102 @laketaj24, @peaceisadirtyword, @ly--canthrope @cris101071 @daughterofthenight117 @unassumingviking @ladyofsoa, @inforapound @winchesterwife27 @two-unbeatable-beaters, @igetcarriedawaywithyou, @kylobien, @titty-teetee, @breathlessouls, @nejijjeoroo, @bcat1291, @readsalot73, @mslothbrok (no mix), @romanchronicles, @captstefanbrandt, @ailucascen, @michaeliskindahot, @naaladareia, @cbouvier23, @the-geeky-engineer, @dorned, @lisinfleur, @tephi101, @akamaiden, @ethereallysimple, @venusloviing, @happylittlepuppydog, @beyond-the-ashes, @slutforrpg, @hipsternoionlylikeunicorns, @mixedwiththemoon, @sparklemichele, @alicedopey, @lif3snotouttogetyou, @rubyquartzshades, @noregretsandyeteveryregret, @dangerous-like-a-loaded-pistol, @deathbyarabbit, @unacceptabletatertots, @beyond-the-ashes (no sig), @babypink224221, @titty-teetee, @ivarandersen, @queen-see-ya-in-valhalla, @moose-squirrel-asstiel, @icarus-fell-in-spring, @piebytheocean, @strangunddurm, @rekdreams247, @justacrush, @ivarswonderlust, @peachesnpisces, @elenawrit, @equalstrashflavoredtrash, @roxxck, @dylanowhyyien, @ilvebeenabad, @vikingsmania, @huntingbears, @my-little-wolfe, @seize-the-droid, @moondustmemories, @colourmeinblue, @ilvebeenabad, @queenmissfit, @hallowed-heathen, @neeadinghugs, @mblaqgi, , @triumphantreturnofpies, @dmv49, @iconicvaleria-blog, @lovelynerdytraveler, @tierneygonzalez, @zabee113, @meganjudee, @sdcyumyum, @ms-allenbrown, @pancake-blonde, @ivarswickedqueen, @starkiddreamer, @austenkingmylady, @pinkrockstar19, @jeowjungkook, @end-of-night, @yaminax-kuss-a , @gruffle1, @arses21434@natalie-rdr, @tempt-ress, @thevikingsheaux, @poisonedjoinery, @smokealone, @chewythecatus, @laughinglikenialler, @lefrenchfrye, @mybarnesmyhero, @vengefulflange, @imcreepininyourheartbabe, @therealmrshale, @that-goodgirl, @supernaturalvikingwhore, @athroatfullofglass, @x-valhalla @dreaming-of-never-neverland

#Hvitserk x Reader #Ubbe x Reader #Vikings x Reader #vikings/reader #vikings imagines #hvitserk imagine #hvitserk/reader #hvitserk's heathen feast #vikings imagine #the vikings #ubbe/reader #Ubbe Ragnarsson x Reader #vikings

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roseserpentpress · 5 years ago

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Ash Lynx, Seymore Glass and the Fisher King

To all about to read this; in short this is an analysis dealing with Ash lynx from bananafish (the lovely manga), a perfect day for banana fish (a short story by J. D. Salinger) and on Arthurian lore with some other literature and lore stuffed in there somewhere.

Also, I am profoundly sorry to the ridiculous way I write once I begin an analysis as all my training for how to write an essay kicks in. This also got longer then I expected. Apologies aside, let us begin;

As BF (the manga) is inspired by the short story by Salinger, some commonalities are found in between the protagonists; Seymore Glass, and Ash Lynx, or Aslan Jade Calanreese. To begin I shall require an analysis on Seymore Glass, and to begin that a short treatise of what the short story is in fact about.

Ash Lynx and Seymore Glass

It is mostly agreed upon that the short story, "A Perfect Day for BananaFish" by J. D. Salinger, is a commentary on post WWII consumerist culture; the protagonist in the short story, Seymore Glass, had fought in WWII, and had been recently released from a mental hospital, with other characters in the short story hinting that it was earlier than he should when it begins. Because of his experiences in the war, he is disillusioned with the consumerist society he is in; people live a very superficial self-absorbed lifestyle, their attention focused on material objects and their outward appearance, thus causing miscommunication.

Seymore glass, as one begins to inspect the details expressed by the author, becomes evident of being a Christ-like character; not necessarily mimicking Christ's actions, in which in part he does do, but in the literary sense as a character who perceives and understands more than the other characters (think Simon from The Lord of the Flies). This is a key attribute of his, which is evident as it forms his name, which a young girl, Sibyl blatantly observes- “see more” glass. Interestingly enough, it is this heightened perception that causes -in my belief, and many others- his suicide (some people argue the reason would be pedophilia, but this does not fit into the structure and overall theme of the story).

Just as Seymore Glass ‘sees more’ than the individuals around him due to his experiences in negative aspect of humanity, Ash does as well, both of them becoming 'Christ-like characters’, and even are portrayed in holy imagery, with the allusions of the actions of Seymore to the literal actions of Jesus, and Ash being compared multiple times to an angel, somehow each displayed as coming from a different, ‘higher’ plane of existence. However, although they are each drawn in 'holy imagery', they are shown to be both terribly broken people due to their traumatic experiences, and in their stories are attracted to individuals portrayed as innocent and pure, ie. Eiji and Sibyl respectively. Both, due to direct correspondence to those individuals at the end of their stories, choose to die, understanding that they could never return to being innocent, in life style or perception, due to their unwanted ties to their past, and so could never live a happy normal life.

For Ash lynx this was due to his gang life and the mafia stemming from his forced prostitution, understanding that no matter what he could do he could not escape the life that he had been thrust into and lived; the end result, in eventuality would be a violent death anyways. Also, if he had just postponed, then Eiji would perhaps be involved as well, and so he chose to bleed to death within the library at a point in his life in which he was actually happy. Meanwhile, Seymore's suicide was due to that he perceived he would never be able to leave this self absorbed and superficial society, and that those who are perceived as pure and innocent, in the end only become as self absorbed, in his conversation with Sybil. Both choose to die, due to the understanding that they could not leave this negative or superficial world that their past had created for them -one literally and one perceived- and return to being innocent and thus happy.

An interesting note in all of this, is the oversimplification of Bananafish as explained in the manga, bananafish being purely a fish if seen causes an individual to become harmful and aggressive to others and themselves, which instead doesn't touch the narrative of the self serving consumerism and superficiality of society, twisting the nature of the story. This is interesting as bananafish itself has thematic similarities on society.

On the Waste Land and The Fisher King

This section is a bit farther removed from “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” and it's literary allusions, so one can take this next few paragraphs as a grain of salt; of how much there is coincidence I am unsure. Although the mangaka's expansive knowledge of literature is impressive, so who knows.

Also found in a “Perfect Day for Bananafish”, is allusions to TS Eliot's poem, “The Waste Land”, a poem about post-war England and Europe, which Seymore directly quotes in the story. The allusions reference not only a specific section of the poem, but also characters found in his poem, Seymore represented as the Fisher King (from Arthurian lore) and Sibyl as her name's sake, Sybil (from Greco-Roman lore). These characters however are not singly expressed by TS Eliot as hinted; in fact, “The Waste Land” was heavily influenced by myths and legends, and so these characters can also be traced back to their respective mythos, which can often have multiple versions. As "The Waste Land" less establishes their own characters, I will cover the basic background of each character from their lore.

The Fisher King is from Arthurian lore, and is the last king in the line of one who was granted and entrusted to the Holy Grail. He is injured in the 'thigh’ area (highly suggestive of euphemism for groin area), and so due to his crippled state he is waiting (and in the meanwhile, fishing as it is one of the only things he can do, ie, this is where he got his name) for an individual to entrust the Grail to, thus allowing the Fisher king to be healed (and to die).

The possession of certain genitals in the past had very definitive gender roles and sexuality ascertained to them; so the injury of the groin gives the king homosexual context, which is furthered by another detail, which is said in a few versions of the tale that Holy Grail is accompanied by a spear, and that each night the spear must be inserted into his wound for him to survive. Being a peice of queer literature, BF shares the homosexual pinnings of the Fisher king. Even the forced sexual acts of the protagonists are shared, the spear akin to Ash's forced prostitution for survival. Another interesting note on this, when the worthy one comes and receives the grail, it causes the healing of the king which then allows him to die, is mirrored in Ash and Eijis relationship; Ash falls in love with Eiji (one could argue the grail here is his love), and his "wound" (sexual abuse he had received) becomes healed (being enabled to move past it) and then, in direct relation to his love of Eiji, he chooses to die, as the Fisher king is finally allowed to die in the passing of the grail.

There are also thematic similarities; this is seen in that as the groin wound would cause infertility of the King, this impotency was reflected onto his kingdom, it becoming a barren wasteland. This 'barren wasteland of a kingdom’ is heavily referenced in Eliot's poem in regards to post-war consumerist culture, which further emphasizes Salinger's thematic point. However in each theory both (Salinger and Eliot) are attempting to create are differing response to this acknowledgement of the superficiality of society; although this is differentiation is interesting, it is however not pertinent to my discussion. What is important is that they both agree that this Western modern culture is a superficial barren wasteland; in other words, a facade of culture. This society in large being a facade, and in fact an inhospitable self-serving and corrupt wasteland is a theme also displayed in Bananafish, as politicians and influential individuals are shown to be corrupt and self-serving, and the main face of politics a farce of niceties to appease an unknowing and apathetic public.

Interestingly, in some versions of the tale, the Fisher King is actually comprised of a father and his son; the father being referred to as the Fisher King while his son called the Lame Prince. Both the Fisher King and his son are wounded in the groin area- the father so badly that he is unable to walk, and the son less so, but still only able to walk short distances. This relationship between the father and son of the Fisher King is rather similar to the relationship between Ash and his older brother, who became a father figure as he cared for Ash when they were younger, and is unable to walk and is rather unresponsive.

#ash lynx #the fisher king #seymore glass #literary analysis #bananafish #ash×eiji #aslan calanreese is that how you spell it #bananafish manga #Eiji #is thus fandom dead i wrote this like a year ago and never got around to editing it i think its dead now #rip #also spoilers i guess?#arthurian lore #the waste land poem #ts eliot is mentioned #jd salinger #most of these writers in actuality were dicks #also i know the mangaka alluded a lot about ernest hemigway but i fucking hate his misogynistic ass so no #does that really add anything to the post? no but i wanted to say it anyways hes a peice of shit and promotes the patriarchy #BF manga #BF anime #bananafish anime #greco-roman lore mentioned as well i guess #a perfect day for bananafish #sibyl #muninspeaks #surprise im not dead too lol #commentary on capitalist consumerist society #do i actually know how to hide things behind those click to know more things? no i dont im so sorry

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xoruffitup · 6 years ago

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Burn This: The Oversized Review/Analysis

I sat down this afternoon to write out all of my thoughts about this play, given that they’ve become more complicated after each viewing, and here I am just finishing up some 6 hours later. :’) Clearly, this play is much more complex than it seems!

I’ve now been fortunate enough to watch Burn This three times, and each time I experience something new. A lot of the reviews have been lukewarm about the play itself and skeptical of how well it functions as a revival on a modern stage. This play is absolutely a product of its time, and the revival consciously places itself in the original 80s setting through the costumes and music. Strictly speaking, I would have to agree that in some ways, the play doesn’t age well. A lot of my reservations upon first viewing towards Pale’s character and the portrayed relationship with Anna stem from this cultural shift – A modern audience watching this play has a lot more sensitivities and a higher bar of scrutiny towards an irreverent, aggressive male character like Pale than in the time of its writing. Although I believe a lot of the slurs in the original play have been removed, the audience still always makes an audible reaction of discomfort when Pale slings the words “cunt,” “oriental,” and “fag.” And yet, the audience spends practically all the rest of their time laughing up a storm at his crazy diatribes and curse-laden rants. The play is still an absorbing pleasure to watch, and for all the nitpicking I and many others are doing towards Pale’s character, at the end of the day I would still praise this production and argue its merits, its lingering universal resonance, and the brilliance of its writing.

Since Pale’s relationship with Anna is the main drive of the story, the story would lose all appeal if Pale were found completely unlikable. And yet, the reviews that have questioned their chemistry do so only partially for this reason. For the most part, reviewers are raving about Adam – Finding his portrayal to be the disarming, shocking highlight of the show. Like Anna, for all that he makes us uncomfortable, we find ourselves wanting more of his biting honesty, his crude humor, and his commanding, live-wire presence. So what is the play’s challenge? Aside from unchangeable aspects such as cast chemistry (though personally, I thought Keri and Adam had plenty) – The challenge may be that a play like this, exhibiting an ill-advised, volatile relationship like this one, can’t simply exist unquestioned anymore. This type of explosive man, hesitant woman, and tempestuous passion is no longer a reality we accept for standard. And so, perhaps some audiences fail to find the play’s story compelling or authentic.

This play contains several dangerous ledges. In the three performances I’ve seen, these ledges have been crossed to various extents. Here are what I believe to be the main tensions within the play that challenge a modern audience, and which are handled by the cast delicately and differently in each show.

Is Pale the archetype of the hyper-masculine? Is he disrespectful, inconsiderate, or worst – predatory towards Anna?

Why, comparatively speaking, does Anna have such a small presence? Does this compromise the integrity of the play, when it’s intended to be her story?

Is this really a story about romance? Are we supposed to want Anna to want Pale? Is their story one of snowballing tragedy, or of consolation, connection, and artistic fulfillment?

Is Pale the destructive archetype of the hyper-masculine?

I’ll start with the first point, as this is really the most crucial. From a storytelling standpoint, Pale needs to be dangerous. He needs to embody primal chaos, and make the audience just as uncomfortable and conflicted as Anna. I’ve used this quote in a previous post, but bringing it back because it’s so perfectly apt: “Menacing, profane, dangerous and yet oddly sensitive, Pale is both terrifying and fascinating and, in the end, the one who brings to Anna the unsettling but compelling love that, despite her fears and doubts, she cannot turn away.”

Without this response to him, the play simply wouldn’t work. Pale’s entrance into the play needs to completely upend and throw into disarray everything that came before. In the twenty minutes or so before his entrance, the world of this play is a quiet, thoughtful, and mournful place. Anna has just returned from the terrible experience of Robbie’s funeral. She’s questioning her inspiration and future as a choreographer. Burton attempts to wax about his writing and the ultimate force of great love or “some megapassion.” It is tame and innocuous. Burton’s dialogues seem charming, even bordering silly in their grandiose, guileless pretension. Then enters Pale, who barrels through the door in an explosion of curses, energy, and authenticity. He’s not standing there trying to find the fumbling words to describe a “megapassion” – In all his hot mess pain, he is one. And to Anna, his overpowering, magnetic presence is both more than she can bear, and a blessed cover for her own pain and lack of direction.

For all his political incorrectness and bad manners, I do sincerely love what Pale represents. To me – in this play about the search for artistic authenticity and inspiration, he represents the depths to which an artist might perhaps need to dive into their own uncomfortable, ugly emotions in order to create something honest. It’s no surprise that it’s through meeting Pale that Anna is finally able to choreograph the dance piece that gives her closure for Robbie’s death. His presence is the only thing incendiary enough to be called true inspiration. While Anna begins the play adrift and helpless in the expanse of her grief after Robbie’s loss, with no way to process this terrible suffering that can find no place or redress in her every day life, Pale’s massive vitality is the only thing equally as powerful. By the end, it seems to ground Anna. His destabilizing presence makes her confront the type of chaotic, profound state of being Robbie’s loss thrust her into, and ironically, sharing that space with Pale eventually affords her the equanimity and resilience to process her grief and ultimately create something from it.

While Anna seems to want to run from her grief rather than face it, Pale is the opposite – He tortures himself by wallowing in it. By the end of the play, the two seem to have pulled each other to a middle ground between their opposite coping mechanisms. Finally, this might be a place where they can each move on with their lives. While Anna’s manner of physically comforting Pale is kind and familiar, his manner of helping her is a bit more unconventional – Though arguably equally effective, knowing Anna ends the play in a more centered and productive position than she began it in. After their relationship has dragged on a while and Anna begins trying to break it off, Pale says, “You know, you’re a much different person in the sack then you are standing up.” Wince. Here’s the insensitive guy complaining that she won’t just stop talking and continue the convenient hook-up arrangement. But then, as he often does, Pale throws us for a loop. He pauses, then adds with emphasis and a hint of challenge, “Which one’s the lie?”

This always seems to be one of the most powerful lines of the play. The audience usually makes an audible reaction, as with just a few words, Pale shifts from seeming self-centered, to being the only one who cares enough to challenge Anna for her own good. Because really, this is the crux of what has caused her such pain and debilitation since Robbie’s death. She’s been wearing a mask to try to cover the depth of the loss she truly feels. Like Pale says a moment later in this same scene, and another one of my favorite lines – “People walking down the street, don’t mean a thing they’re doing.” Similarly, when she tells Pale she wants him to leave because he frightens her, he calls out that she knows he’s not dangerous – she’s simply afraid of “feeling something.” Anna and her friends talk about their artistic endeavors and ambitions. They talk about Robbie’s death, sure, but none of them feel and act their grief the way Pale does. This isn’t to say that each character needs to run around wailing in order to be authentic, but Pale’s call-out here is what wakes Anna to the fact that she needs to marry these two disparate areas of herself – Her immense, debilitating grief, and her work as a dancer/choreographer. At the beginning of the play, Anna can neither advance her work as a choreographer, nor deal with her grief. But by the end – By realizing the artificiality in pretending that she was fine and life could go on, she is able to direct the immense passion and power of her grief towards both artistic and personal resolution.

Now, examining this relationship from the lens of gender, rather than artistic fulfillment and emotional authenticity, is a thornier task. The first time I saw this play, I was a bit uncomfortable with my initial impression of Pale as the type of man who doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer – if he even asks the question at all. Originally, I didn’t like that he assumes his welcome with Anna and initially tries to blow past her misgivings about their relationship. (Although when she tells him in no uncertain terms that she doesn’t want to see him, he does listen to and respect her wishes.) However, in the more recent performances, I appreciated that the first time they become intimate happened a bit more slowly. In the first preview, Pale seemed to kiss her out of nowhere, and only afterwards did he assess her reaction. But now, this entire scene has become more tentative. He sits back and looks at her first, saying a deliberate line about how she’s making him “riled up.” He reaches for her slowly, and waits to see that she remains where she is before he kisses her. (In one performance, he spent a solid 10 seconds just stroking her hair back first.) He then sits back again, looking at her carefully and asking if she’s alright. I loved the scene a lot more this way. His slow, gentle advances were touching, and made it so much clearer just how sincerely Anna reciprocates.

The single most important and potentially uncomfortable question about Pale is whether he might be called a predator taking advantage of Anna’s grief. On paper, I can see the threat. But watching Adam on stage? The thought barely crossed my mind. After seeing how thoroughly and wretchedly he falls apart under the weight of his own grief – The kind of wailing and hiccupping, red-faced crying he does, it doesn’t seem possible that this man is anywhere near calculating. He doesn’t make any advances or comments about her body until the point where they’re seated on the couch together, and Anna has already initiated physical contact by comforting him as he weeps. Sure, on paper one could make the argument that he’s taking advantage of the situation, but with the slower, cautious way the scene is now played, it certainly doesn’t feel that way. Pale doesn’t seem to have any kind of seducing agenda. If he did, breaking down in ugly tears in front of the hot woman certainly wouldn’t help. Instead, their shared grief and discussion about Robbie gradually draws them closer – emotionally, then physically – until they both tumble into intimacy that’s both demanding and healing at the same time.

Looking at the character himself – Is he the archetype of an entitled, hyper-masculine, egotistical man? The type that has blessedly lost appeal as a romantic figure? On the surface, yes, he might seem it. Every other word out of his mouth is a curse. He starts a drunken fistfight with Anna’s boyfriend. He shows up at her place drunk, and is then hard to get rid of. He throws around curse words with Anna when they first meet. He blows from one destructive habit or emotion to the next, without any real thought for how those around him will be affected. He willfully drives Anna and Burton apart. He doesn’t think it worth mentioning to Anna before they sleep together that he’s still technically married. In terms of character traits and temperament – No, he’s not likeable.

Enter the insanely charismatic, improbably empathetic Adam Driver – Who manages to turn the character’s cursing habits into cause for uproarious laughter; Who turns the air silent and reverent when Pale’s character slows to 0 mph for the first time when he kisses Anna; and who plays the character with startlingly endearing moments. (Coyly covering his face with the sleeve of her robe after he interrupts Anna’s phone call with Burton? Kissing her forehead like 5 times when he hands her tea? Clutching her so tightly in the final scene, she is clearly all that matters to him anymore? MY HEART)

One of my favorite things about Adam’s portrayal of Kylo Ren is the complexity of gendered behavior he brings to the role, just as he does for this role. Even while Kylo is physically menacing and unpredictably violent, his eyes tremble with cracked vulnerability and even in still silence, his being radiates crushing conflict and abject pain. Adam plays Pale with the same nuance. Pale is loud, crude, and irreverent. He clearly spends no time thinking ahead about what is ‘correct’ or ‘polite’, he is simply a being of impulse and instinct. But because Adam plays him with such convincing immediacy, he comes off just as honest as he is unrefined. To me, this is Pale’s saving grace. After spending a half hour vacillating between yelling, cursing, screaming, and crying, it seems clear that he is someone moved by emotions and instincts greater than himself – Rather than a person who chose to be disrespectful or rude. The moments when he ingratiates himself in our and Anna’s hearts are when his gentle, tender moments with her are every bit as impactful as his loud, noisy meltdowns. And there is nothing aggressive or intimidating (“manly”) about the way he weeps in front of her. There is something refreshing and moving about such honesty; Such helplessness to hide or restrain the brunt of one’s pain from others. A simplistic gendered reading of their dynamic might accuse him of preying on her from the beginning; But a reading of Adam and Keri’s performance would struggle to find such a gendered binary. After all, Anna doesn’t cry in front of him once. He is the only one of the two of them to be reduced to misery in the other’s presence.

To be clear – This is not a matter of a character being “emotional” denoting the feminine, while loud yelling denotes the masculine. My response to the charge of Pale’s character being toxically hyper-masculine and predatory is simply that this is an ill-fitting characterization, given the assumptions that A) Being ‘predatory’ requires a certain amount of intent, cunning, and callousness – None of which could be attributed to the distraught, sentimental mess of Adam��s Pale who lives only in his immediate force of being; and B) The concept of hyper-masculine “macho”ness denotes a certain one-dimensional understanding of chauvinistic masculinity, which Adam’s Pale defies in its sometimes alarming complexity – Alarming precisely because his breakneck swings from a physicality of violence to one of broken helplessness fly in the face of the gendered expectations one might ascribe to a man of his stature.

(Wow, holy shit did I just write all that for only my first section? Jfc okay, promise I’ll start moving faster! But for the sake of comparison, my original conflicted thoughts about Adam’s Pale after the first preview performance are here.)

Why does Anna have such a lesser presence?

Examining this play from a feminist perspective requires acknowledging how much smaller Anna’s presence is compared to Pale’s. In their first scene together, there are literally stretches where Pale will rant and rave for solid minutes without Anna getting in a single line. No wonder Adam’s performance has dominated reviews. Keri really isn’t given much to work with.

I have two opposite responses to this problem. First – Perhaps the play simply isn’t written with a high regard for its female lead, and makes little effort to develop her character beyond her relationships with the men around her. The more I consider how the play functions, the more it seems to be the case that the men around Anna have all the important, witty dialogue as the ones who set the scenes and move the story along, while Anna is pulled along in their wake.

I realized upon later viewings that what initially seemed to be Burton’s pseudo-artistic ramblings in the first scene actually serve the purpose of establishing the play’s two main themes. The first theme – His idea to write a script about the wives of sailors out to sea, waiting for the men to return, introduces the idea of the search for some ultimate, profound form of love that sustains people through any manner of loss and suffering. (This is what Anna is searching for and what she ultimately finds in her feelings for Pale.) Okay, the very way this theme is introduced – women sitting idle, waiting for the men who are out doing the real work and having the real adventures – is lame. Second, we can’t even have the female character who’s actually trying to undertake this in her character arc narrating her own journey? Why is someone else laying it out for her? And to look at the story as a whole – Why is her fulfillment something she ultimately needs to receive through a man’s involvement? From the beginning, the fact that her resolution is tied to her connection to a man seems flawed.

The second theme is introduced from Burton and Larry’s discussion of the story of Senta and the Flying Dutchman. To make a long story short – Senta sacrifices herself in her great love for the Dutchman in order to “save him from perdition.” While Anna does participate in this conversation, she seems to remain unaware of how this meta dialogue is in fact reflecting her own underlying fear running through the whole play, as well as her greatest danger. The play vocally introduces at its beginning this idea of women sacrificing themselves on the altar of their great loves. (When Anna is retelling her experience at Robbie’s funeral, she indeed recalls how she felt she was expected to throw herself over his casket.) This could imply a number of interpretations. It could reflect Anna’s fear of loving someone again with the same intensity of her love for Robbie – And then suffering the same metaphorical ‘death’ she is experiencing at Robbie’s loss. Or, it could reflect the expectation of an imbalanced male-female relationship where the woman is expected to support and fulfill the man, while defining herself through him to the point of self-erasure. If we simply compare a word count of Pale’s lines against Anna’s lines, the second interpretation doesn’t seem completely far-fetched.

What I love about theatre is the great variability between what a script does and what actors can do with it. This very well could be a script that is completely disparaging to Anna, purposefully placing her in the path of a domineering man whose oversized personality smothers her to the point of losing both her grief and her personhood. However – that is not what Adam does with the script. That is not what this revival production seems to be trying to convey. There’s not much that can be done about the (small) number of lines Anna has; Just like there’s nothing to be done for the fact that she will unavoidably get a bit lost in Pale’s shadow, when he has these hilarious, ludicrous, show-stealing monologues and is played by an actor with such commanding stage presence as Adam.

Nonetheless – Even for all these misgivings, I have a defense for both why the script pays her less attention, and how the current production and Keri have done their best to move Anna more into the spotlight. Keri has an incredible portrayal of body language, and is often actively expressing her character’s experience even when she doesn’t have lines. For instance, when Pale first enters the apartment and spends the first ten minutes circling the room and bitching about parking, Keri keeps circling opposite from him. Her arms are crossed, and she keeps pointedly placing distance between them. When he moves towards her, she rotates away. Even though she speaks a lot less than him in this scene, her body language nonetheless clearly articulates when she begins to be moved by his suffering, and when she gradually stops distrusting him. By the time they’re sitting together on the couch and she’s embracing him as he weeps, she is physically open to him in a way she never is with any of the other characters. When she’s sitting with Burton on that same couch in other scenes, she shows in her stiff physicality that she does not feel as at ease with him, and does not trust him the same way. She always places herself opposite Burton, and keeps her legs folded between them and her torso often leaned away from him. While many reviewers said Keri’s acting seems to better fit the medium of television rather than theater, where small-scale nuance often gets lost, I found her acting through body language highly effective.

My other defense for why I’m not totally convinced of the sexism of the original material is that this really does seem to be Anna’s story. She is the character most often present, on stage for almost every scene. Yes, the main action of the story is Anna and Pale’s relationship, but the telling of that story stays more closely centered on Anna’s perspective. Even though Burton and Larry are the ones who articulate the play’s structural themes at the beginning, it is Anna’s experience and hardship at Robbie’s funeral that opens and frames the play. She is the character we get to know first. And following on that – perhaps the play is then meant to progress through her eyes, meaning the audience becomes her proxy, and hence why there might be fewer lines necessary to understand her experience.

What I mean by the audience becoming her proxy is that the play is framed in such a way that the audience’s experience watching the play closely mirrors Anna’s experience in the play. When Pale is being played by an actor that succeeds in making him empathetic to the audience, then the audience travels through the same progression as Anna in its evolving understanding of and connection to Pale’s character. The audience feels the same conflict of discomfort and attraction, the more time Anna spends with him. Anna doesn’t need lines to explain her misgivings about becoming involved with him – They’re already completely clear. And when Anna breaks off the relationship and Pale leaves – The audience feels much the same way Anna does and expresses to Larry: Relieved but “like shit.”

There is also the fact that although Anna is given less voice, her presence is, in a way, much stronger and put-together than Pale’s. Even though he is louder and more attention-grabbing, she is the one in control of their dynamic. She is the one usually looking after and comforting him, trying to manage him, and so long as their first kissing scene is played in the new, more tentative way where he waits for her response, she is the one defining the terms of their relationship. Though she connects with Pale because she is suffering just as much as he is, she is unquestionably the more stoic of them both, with a subtle inner strength she does not need Pale to bestow upon her - only to remind her of.

Is this a story of romance or disaster?

NOW finally – Is this really a story about romance? Or an explosive disaster doomed to fail? In my first post after seeing the first preview of the play, I described Anna and Pale as “star-crossed lovers” – in the proper, tragic sense.

(“Whatever is between them should not exist. Whatever is between them threatens them both. Whatever is between them is not long for this world, and doesn’t belong in it. (…) They are polar opposite people - Sharing no visible common interests and with temperaments that couldn’t be more opposite.”)

It’s certainly difficult to envision these two in a stable, long-term relationship. Most likely, they’ll continue on as they are – Finding their way to each other in explosive bursts, then attempting to disentangle before they’re drawn back together. A woman like Anna, sensible and talented, seems far too levelheaded to fall for a temperamental firebrand like Pale. So what attracts her to Pale in a way she isn’t attracted to Burton? Why does she find more fulfillment with him, when she finds no stability?

Pale both challenges and needs her in a way Burton does not. Burton comes from a rich kid background, who never really had to fight for anything and admits himself that he’s never really felt loss in his life. Anna and Burton work well in the sense of their lives and interests aligning together, but Burton never gives the impression of needing Anna in any true sense. Not the way Pale does – when he entreats her not to go when they’re sitting together on the couch, or when he comes to her in his most pathetic, broken state. She is the only one who knew Robbie deeply and can share Pale’s crushing sense of loss, and as such is the only one who can provide him the solace he so desperately needs. There is nothing Burton needs from Anna, or relies on her for with such urgency. As discussed in the first section, Pale also gives Anna something in return. It may not be what she knew she needed, but he forces her to confront the true brunt of her grief, and look at herself honestly rather than hiding from her pain. She shies away from this at first, and tries to avoid caring for someone again as deeply as she did for Robbie. (He accuses: “You’re afraid you’ll get interested. Afraid you’ll feel something.” She objects: “I feel, Pale!”) At this point in her life, this type of burgeoning attachment to someone new is not something she wants or feels equipped to deal with. She thinks she wants to end things with Pale and does so, but after he leaves, she’s faced with the rising realization of how much she doesn’t want him gone. Her following dialogue with Larry is some of the most intriguing: “I’m sick of the age we live in.” “What, you’d rather be pillaged and raped?” “I am being pillaged, and I am being raped!” Sensible, put-together, talented Anna has no place in her life and in her career for this type of affair. She has no patience for it, and is frustrated with herself for wanting it despite how much of a terrible idea it is, and how little she thinks she likes Pale as a person. She’s fighting her feelings for him, and she hates that they’re winning. But the fact remains – His need for her and the way he has bared himself to the soul has left its mark on her heart. No one else has ever been so honest with her. Just as it seemed to both pain and soothe her when she told Pale he reminded her of Robbie; It both fulfills and distresses her to grow closer to him. No matter how they get there, the urgency with which they fall into each other’s arms and cling to one another in the final scene is unquestionably one of the play’s most heartfelt and powerful moments. They may not be the type of couple that lasts forever, but this isn’t that kind of story. It is the story of two people attempting to navigate profound grief, and only through finding each other do they find their way free.

My last comment on this question is that I’ve had different impressions of the depth of their feelings for each other in different performances. In one performance (4/16), the cast seemed to be playing up the comedy so much that the two moments I had remembered as most touching and intimate between Pale and Anna became drowned out. The first was what Pale says to her between kisses, the first time they become intimate:

“Let’s just start up the engines real slow here … maybe go halfway to the city and stop for somethin’ to eat … You talk to me, okay? … You’re gonna find out there’s times … I’m a real good listener.”

This is nothing short of brilliantly written dialogue, because the first time I heard it, I didn’t even realize the sexual innuendo. In the first preview, the lines were delivered so gently and sincerely, there was no laughter at all. It was a moment where Pale seemed to be promising her that this was meaningful – That he wanted to be there for her in more ways than just the physical. Instead of a metaphor for sexual acts, it sounded like “Before we go all the way… I want you to know I’m here for you. What we’re starting is bigger than just this.” It was a palpable, tender moment of connection.

The second time I saw the performance was when the audience caught the metaphor and the moment became comic. I’m not sure what exactly Adam did differently (I think he was kissing her during the ellipses, rather than pulling back and saying the whole line in one heartfelt go), but the moment was completely different. Yes, it’s actually hilarious dialogue and brilliant because it can be delivered in such different ways, but I couldn’t help feeling that a central moment of emotional intimacy was lost.

The second moment is in the final scene, when they’re reunited for the first time in weeks. In the first preview, I think they were sitting together when Anna said in a helpless voice, “I don’t want this.” Pale looked at her and responded, “I don’t want it too.” The moment was mournful and touching, because the way they were looking at each other made it clearly inevitable that their personal wills would have no say in the matter. No matter how much they might not want this – no matter the fact that they both know they’re not good for each other – they know they’re being pulled together by forces greater than themselves.

In later performances, the blocking was changed so they’re saying these lines between kissing. This made the comments comedic rather than tragic, because obviously it’s hard to believe he “doesn’t want it too” when he’s enthusiastically kissing her back.

In my personal opinion, this shift towards the more comedic made the whole thing a little less impactful, since to me, the most compelling element of the play the first time was the beautifully tragic nature of that final scene. My friend was reduced to tears during it. The play is funnier now rather than bittersweet and Adam is uproariously hilarious, but I think what makes this play unique and most powerful is the fated/tragic nature of Anna and Pale’s relationship. Rather than a romping “oh yeah, they know it’s a bad idea but they’re falling into bed together anyway” – The beautiful writing and the exchanges between these two characters really can elevate the story to the level of the profound.

Well. Apparently I had much more to say about this play than I realized! I hope one or two people out there found themselves as interested by it and Adam and Keri’s performances as I did. Thank you kindly if you actually read through that entire rambling mess!! And please, if you have any thoughts at all about anything I wrote above or any other element of the play, I would really love to hear! :D

#Adam Driver #Burn This #Broadway #Keri Russell #Lanford Wilson #Burn This Broadway

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natsthinkitythinkthinkthonk · 6 years ago

Link

The translators actually have Tumblr! @edogawatranslations which where they translate 999 Alterna stuff.

I don’t know what their policies are regarding me sharing this interview, but I just wanted to give a signal boost their translations, so prepare for some posts about that!

“The protagonist, Emma, is played by Sumire Morohoshi, who has nearly 16 years of acting experience despite being 19 years old. Norman is played by Maaya Uchida, who has been cast as a male main character for the first time. Ray is played Mariya Ise, a veteran known for her role as Killua in Hunter x Hunter.

During the interview, the trio gushed about how badly they had wanted to be cast in the show, as well as how their determination made the audition process all the more nerve-wracking.

But after overcoming those obstacles, they landed their dream roles—and an incredible team of actresses was born. ”

This interview contains spoilers for episodes one and two of “Yakusoku no Neverland”

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The following is their interview. All translation credit goes to Edomonogatari, of course. If you want to see the pictures, go visit their site!

The Promised Neverland: Sumire Morohoshi x Maaya Uchida x Mariya Ise Interview

FROM LIVEDOOR NEWS (JANUARY 22, 2019)

INTERVIEW BY REIKO CHIBA // PHOTOS BY TAKUMA SUDA // PRODUCED BY ENFANT

The Voices in the Recording Studio Fit the Animation Perfectly

What did you think about episode 1 after watching it?

Morohoshi: I was blown away by the movie-level animation quality. In the beginning—when Emma, Norman, and Ray are playing tag with the other kids—the background art was so beautiful, and the atmosphere created by the glistening leaves felt so real. It seemed like a nice, idyllic environment for children to grow up and pass the time in.

That said, there was a huge dichotomy between the peaceful first half and the devastating second half, which suddenly threw us into the deep end. I bet that first episode hooked a lot of viewers.

Ise: In the second half, Conny (played by Ari Ozawa)—a little girl who grew up with Emma and the others—is found dead with a horrified look on her face. It was a drastic shift in tone from the first half, which showed the children leading fun, happy lives as a loving family.

Their “Mom”—Isabella (played by Yūko Kaida)—was awfully kind, and gave off the impression that she raised each and every child with care. But by the second half, you’re wondering where that kind Mom went. This stark contrast between light and dark that defines The Promised Neverland is established in just 30 minutes.

How about you, Uchida-san?

Uchida: The voices I heard in the recording studio fit the animation perfectly. I thought I’d be the only one worried about recording… But everyone else in the room seemed pretty nervous, too. I’m relieved episode 1 turned out well.

It’s my first time playing a young male lead, so I was just as anxious to record as I was to audition. I kept asking the staff, “Is my acting okay?” Even if they replied, “It’s fine,” it didn’t make me any less nervous.

However, as soon as I watched episode 1, the fact that “The Promised Neverland is here” hit me, since the characters and their voices all looked and sounded exactly how I imagined they would. At that moment, I knew everyone would enjoy this series.

Your Desired Role was the Opposite One? Secrets of the Nerve-Wracking Auditions

I heard that you all read the manga to prepare for your auditions. What did you think of it?

Morohoshi: I had assumed that all Jump protagonists were boys, so I was surprised that the protagonist was a girl. The story, which centers around escaping from Grace Field House, and the world, which is inhabited by demons, also stood out to me.

But as I continued reading, I felt the thrill of waiting for the next plot twist, watched as friends teamed up against foes they couldn’t beat on their own, and realized this was a Jump series after all. I was so entranced by this combination of fresh ideas and classic tropes that I caught up in one sitting.

Ise: Yeah, once I started reading it on my phone, I couldn’t stop. I was like, “I need a physical copy!” So I went to the bookstore the next day and bought every volume.

Uchida: I was also reading it on my phone at first, and before I knew it [pretends to grip a phone with both hands], I was stuck in this position. This was late at night, but by the time I looked up, it was already bright outside. It was every bit as suspenseful and interesting as Sumire-chan described. The more I read, the more I wanted to play one of the characters.

Ise: These kids are thrust from a peaceful world into a pit of despair. But rather than give up hope, they defy the status quo and search for a way out. It’s quite a wake-up call for those of us living peacefully in today’s Japan.

Various children besides the main trio appear in this series, but even when faced with the same situation, they make different decisions. I didn’t exactly put myself in their shoes, but as I read the manga, I’d ask myself hypothetical questions like “Would I feel how Emma feels?” or “Would I think how Norman thinks?”

Did you all audition for multiple roles?

Morohoshi: No, just Emma.

Ise: I auditioned for Emma and Norman.

Uchida: I was asked to read for Emma, Norman, and Ray.

Morohoshi: Looking back, my studio audition included an important scene—the one in episode 1 when Emma lets out a tear-filled scream (after seeing Conny’s corpse, the demons, and Isabella at the gate). That was the first time our bright, optimistic, and headstrong Emma had ever felt true despair, so I thought long and hard about how to portray it.

Since I didn’t get any detailed feedback during my audition, I couldn’t stop wondering, “Did I do that right?” once it was over.

Uchida: I was anxious after mine as well. By the time I arrived at the studio for my audition, it was already packed with voice actors famous for playing young boys. Honestly, I was beginning to doubt myself…

It would’ve been my first time playing a boy for an entire cour, and in a dialogue-heavy series to boot. But I was still determined to get the role no matter what. Back then, Ray was my top choice.

Ise: Maaya-chan wanted to be Ray, and I wanted to be Norman.

Uchida: The role I got wasn’t the one I wanted… Funny how things work out, huh. Come to think of it, I auditioned for Norman right after auditioning for Ray. I guess after playing someone as aggressive as Ray, I was able to relax a bit when I played Norman.

Big thanks to my manager for letting me take on such a challenging audition even though I barely had any experience with male roles.

Ise: I had submitted tape auditions for both Emma and Norman, but I was only called in to do a studio audition for Norman. At that point, I was dying to succeed, so I tried not to come off as desperate during my audition.

I’ve recently been volunteering at a pediatric cancer center, which means I’ve had more opportunities to hang out with children who are obsessed with reading The Promised Neverland. Because some of these children are unable to leave the hospital, I thought I could inspire them—and give them courage and hope—by appearing in this series.

I see. Then, how did you feel when you were cast as Ray?

Ise: I’m pretty comfortable with playing him now. Although I admire Norman, I’m more similar to Ray. Thankfully, a lot of people have told me that I’m “perfect” as Ray, so I’m very happy to have been cast as him.

I used to play a character from another Jump series who resembles Ray—a boy with a dark past and a twisted personality—so I’ve taken it upon myself to differentiate the two.

How did those around you react to the news, Morohoshi-san?

Morohoshi: A bunch of different people contacted me when the cast was announced, which made me realize that this series was popular among all genders. It was right around the time I entered college, so I received messages like “That’s awesome!” This series has helped me make a lot of friends at school. [laughs]

Uchida-san, was there also a big reaction to you being cast as a boy?

Uchida: Yeah, even the people close to me were really surprised. Before I was allowed to share the news, I went to the bookstore with my mom. She’s always been an avid manga reader, but she picked up a volume of The Promised Neverland and said, “This one’s interesting.” I couldn’t tell her that I’d been cast yet, so I just responded, “What? Oh, um, have you been reading it…?” [laughs]

The cast wasn’t even announced when the first voiced promotional video came out. I don’t share every role I get with my mom, but I was dying to ask her, “Hey hey… Have you seen this video?” [laughs] I wanted to tell her, “Listen closely.”

No Lies in Her Words: Morohoshi’s Impressive Acting Prowess

Have you recorded any memorable scenes thus far?

Ise: This isn’t exactly a scene per se, but I was impressed by how Sumire-chan never lies when she speaks into the mic as Emma. As you know, we get our lines ahead of time, which means we subconsciously plan out how we’ll perform them in advance. But in Sumire-chan’s case, every word that comes out of her mouth sounds sincere, as if they represent her true feelings in that moment.

Emma is Grace Field House’s beacon of hope, the force that pushes everyone forward. She’s both the heroine and a hero, so naturally, that makes me want to follow Sumire-chan too!

Uchida: I agree. She’s such a reliable protagonist. Truly, I’d follow Sumire-chan anywhere!

Morohoshi: Well… I feel reassured having you two by my side.

Uchida & Ise: Awww!

Morohoshi-san, what do you keep in mind when you’re acting?

Morohoshi: Emma’s not the type to think too deeply before speaking, but her innocent words and unwavering spirit still influence the people around her. In my opinion, that positive aura is what empowers her to be a natural leader. Since her “Emma-ness” goes away if I overthink, I try to rely more on my intuition when I play her.

To be fair, my two co-stars are an even better fit for their characters.

What do you think of Ise-san’s character, Ray?

Morohoshi: For starters, I’m amazed by how she can maintain such a deep voice while playing him. The way his voice gets slightly higher, and sometimes cracks, when he’s agitated feels especially real.

As soon as I noticed the gap between his emotional immaturity and his mental maturity, I went, “That’s Ray alright.”

Ise: You’re too kind.

Uchida: I’ve liked the nihilistic Ray ever since I read the manga, and Mariya-chan’s version of Ray is just as cool. He has the power to lead others in a way that neither Emma nor Norman can.

I like it when he’s rude to Emma and Norman. For example, in episode 2, when he asks Norman, “Why? Aren’t you different?” and then grabs him by the collar so hard that he can’t escape. I thought Mariya-chan really nailed that part!

Ise: At first glance, Ray seems level-headed, but he’s actually quite transparent with his feelings. He gets angry, yells, and sulks. He’s surprisingly childish at times.

Ray’s on a “certain mission” involving Grace Field House, but he can’t accomplish it on his own… Considering his backstory, it’s no wonder he’s pessimistic and devoid of all hope for the outside world. Yet, Emma and Norman—who he met in the midst of his struggles—have become more and more important to him, so he’s determined to save at least the two of them. He’s an extremely considerate, courageous, and caring young man on the inside.

Uchida: He acts cute whenever Isabella’s around, though.

Ise: It’s weird to hear such a nihilistic guy refer to Isabella as “Mom,” huh.

Morohoshi: It’s so cute he when does that. Ise-san does vocal warm-ups before playing him, so I’ve been learning her vocal exercises.

What kind of vocal exercises?

Ise: (low-pitched) Hnn hnn hnn hnn, (high-pitched) hnn hnn hnn hnn, (low-pitched again) hnn hnn hnn hnn. That kind.

Morohoshi: Her range is amazing, isn’t it?

Ise: That’s the trick I use to slip into Ray’s voice. I lower my voice prior to standing before the mic. I also do some stretches in the studio before we start. Everybody else goes directly up to the mic—like the professionals they are—but I need to warm-up, tune my voice, and get into the groove one step at a time. I’m sure we each have our own method of getting ready.

Uchida: In my case, I guess I feed off the energy of others. Our mics are always stationed in the same spot, so whenever the three of us are standing side-by-side, I know everything’s going to be alright.

Norman’s Heart-Throbbing Line: “Let’s run away. Together, with everyone.”

What do you think of Uchida-san’s character, Norman?

Morohoshi: Just hearing Norman’s voice makes me feel safe.

Ise: Same!

Morohoshi: Although Emma is emotionally shaken until roughly episode 3, Norman stays composed and is there for her. It’s comforting to hear Maaya-san speak in a calm and collected tone. I tend to tremble as I say my lines, but she calms me right down. Like a tranquilizer.

Uchida: Yay, I’m glad to hear that.

Ise: Maaya-chan and I co-starred in Hunter x Hunter as Alluka and Killua, so I’m happy we got the chance to work together again. I was curious to see how she’d do as a boy… Turns out she’s perfect!

Uchida: Thank you very much!

Ise: The delicate way she approaches acting reminds me of Norman. Maaya-chan’s soothing voice—the clear, unmuddled voice of a prepubescent boy from the Vienna Boy’s Choir—is simply perfect for him.

I originally wanted to play Norman, but once I heard Maaya-chan’s Norman voice, I decided to aim for Ray instead.

Uchida: Norman’s a genius who always wears a smile and never raises his voice. He can instantly assess any situation and make snap decisions. I try not to make him sound too friendly when he’s giving explanations to the other children or the audience.

He’s so quick-witted that others have trouble following his train of thought. That’s why his demeanor is the same whether he’s having fun or being serious.

In addition, I was conscious of his masculinity. Norman and Ray—the oldest kids—are basically the only manly characters at Grace Field House. I thought it’d be nice to show off his flirty side, like when he admits his feelings for Emma.

Ise: Norman’s not embarrassed to say phrases that make girls blush.

Uchida: Exactly. You could already tell that he liked Emma in episode 1.

Ise: All three of them are 11 years old. Boys at that age tend to be shy, and either avoid their crushes or tease them on purpose, but Norman was thoughtful enough to sit next to Emma and ask her if she was okay. What a gentleman.

My favourite scene in episode 1 is when Emma runs into Norman at the wall during their game of tag, and he goes, [imitates Maaya’s voice] “You caught me.” I was like, “The way she said that was so smooth! Maaya-chan’s the best!” [laughs]

Uchida: Why, thank you! [laughs] Something important I try to keep in mind is Norman’s open-mindedness, his acceptance of everyone and everything. In fact, I get a little embarrassed when we’re recording an intense scene in the studio and I start to see Emma as Sumire-chan. [laughs]

Morohoshi: Fufu. [laughs]

Uchida: I might’ve said something presumptuous just now… What do you think? [laughs]

Morohoshi: I’m desperately trying not to fall in love. [laughs] The last thing this series needs is romance! After all, Emma doesn’t express any romantic feelings. Although, that scene at the end of episode 1—when Emma and Norman are talking in the bedroom—was a close call!

Ise: The scene in which Norman says, “It’s okay. Let’s run away, with everyone,” right? I know!

Morohoshi: After we recorded that part, everyone was like, “What a hunk!” [laughs]

Ise: He’s a sly dog, isn’t he?

Morohoshi: He sure is.

Their Ages, Personalities, and Interests are All Over the Place… So What “Promise” Did They Make?!

I heard that this is the first time all three of you have been interviewed at once. (Note: This interview was conducted toward the end of November 2018.)

Uchida: That’s right. I’ve never worked this closely with Sumire-chan before. We did play sisters on a show called GJ-bu, though.

Ise: It’s also my first time being a regular on a show with Sumire-chan.

Morohoshi-san, what do you view the other two as?

Morohoshi: [stares at Uchida and Ise] My gorgeous older sisters…

Uchida & Ise: [laughs out of embarrassment]

Morohoshi: Every time I watch Ise-san play Ray up close, and hear such a cool voice coming from such a beautiful face, I fall in love. [laughs]

Uchida: I totally get what you mean! [laughs]

Morohoshi: As for Maaya-san, like I mentioned earlier, her presence helps me relax so that I can record in peace.

Uchida: In terms of acting, Sumire-chan is often the one leading the pack. However, in contrast to Emma, she’s more like [imitates Morohoshi’s voice] “Okaaay, sounds good.” She’s rather carefree, in a cute and comfy way.

Ise: Sumire-chan exemplifies gap moe. She’s diligent at work, and relaxed in her daily life. I can tell that she’s generally down-to-earth and easygoing. If she only could act more dignified. Then, she’d be a real hotshot.

Despite being much younger, she has way more acting experience than I do. She’s learned so much from being involved in so many different productions.

Uchida: As for Mariya-chan, I admire how stunning she looks when she’s in front of the mic. There’s a lot I can learn from her, because her strong points are different from mine. I’ve been observing how she handles her roles. I’ll be sure to keep a close eye on both Sumire-chan and Mariya-chan until the final episode.

Morohoshi-san. As a teenager, do you want to take this opportunity to ask your big sisters anything?

Morohoshi: Hm, what should I ask…?

Uchida: Whatever you want. [laughs]

Morohoshi: I’ve always been one of the youngest in the studio, so I’ve never had the courage to invite people out to a meal or ask for their contact info… How would you feel if someone younger approached you about those things?

Ise: Wouldn’t you be delighted if a younger colleague did that?

Uchida: Yeah! Super delighted!

Morohoshi: I was hoping we could go eat together, but I don’t know if I should ask.

Uchida: No problem! Let’s go!

Ise: Now’s your chance!

Morohoshi: Awesome! Thank you guys so much.

Uchida: I’m kind of curious what our soft and cuddly Sumire-chan is like when she’s drunk.

Ise: When can you start drinking alcohol?

Morohoshi: I turn 20 next April. (TN: The drinking age in Japan is 20.)

Uchida: Alright, how about we go drinking once you’re 20?

Ise: Let’s do it, let’s do it!

Morohoshi: Hooraaay.

What sort of topics get you three excited?

Ise: I want to show Maaya-chan some beauty products.

Uchida: Sure, I’m a cosmetics maniac anyways.

Is that so?

Uchida: Yup, I bring my own cosmetics to events. I love doing my own makeup.

Morohoshi-san, what sort of stuff do you like?

Morohoshi: Well, I like eating. I’m a meat lover, so I’ll eat that whenever it’s available. I’m always searching for good barbecue spots. I don’t have any actual hobbies, though… What are you two interested in?

Ise: I like makeovers and massages.

Uchida: I like baseball, and going to the stadium in uniform to cheer for my team.

Ise: Wait, seriously?!

Uchida: I’m a fan of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, so I usually spend my days off over in Fukuoka.

Morohoshi: Woah, please tell me more!

Sumire Morohoshi

Born on April 23, 1999. Blood type: A. Notable roles include: Ichigo Hoshimiya (Aikatsu!), Hitoka Yachi (Haikyu!!), Hinami Fueguchi (Tokyo Ghoul), Kyōka Izumi (Bungo Stray Dogs), Vanellope von Schweetz (Wreck-It Ralph), and Mei Ayazuki (Meiji Tokyo Renka).

Maaya Uchida

Born on December 12, 1989 in Tokyo. Blood type: A. Notable roles include: Rikka Takanashi (Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions), Ranko Kanzaki (The Idolm@ster: Cinderella Girls), Sharo Kirima (Is the Order a Rabbit?), Nodoka Toyohama (Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai), Kanna Hatano (YU-NO: A girl who chants love at the bound of this world), Ayame (Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress), and Rui Tachibana (Domestic Girlfriend).

Mariya Ise

Born on September 25, 1988 in Kanagawa Prefecture. Blood type: A. Notable roles include: Urara Kasugano / Cure Lemonade (Yes! Precure 5), Levy McGarden and Romeo Conbolt (Fairy Tail), Huang Pao-Lin / Dragon Kid (Tiger & Bunny), Killua Zoldyck (Hunter x Hunter), Midari Ikishima (Kakegurui), Reg (Made in Abyss), and Cathy (Angels of Death).

#edomonogatari #yakusoku no neverland #the promised neverland #seiyuu #maaya uchida #mariya ise #sumire morohoshi #tpn #ynn

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kyukurator-blog · 8 years ago

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THE FILMS OF ASGHAR FARHADI

Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi is nominated again this year. He released a statement saying that he would not attend this year’s award show even if granted a special visa to enter the US.

You can read his full statement here: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/29/movies/trump-immigration-oscars-iranian-director-asghar-farhadi.html?_r=0

Here in America it’s easy to forget that people in a place as seemingly different as Iran face many of the same issues that we do. Watching Farhadi’s films, you witness situations and scenarios similar to those we ourselves experience, despite our different geographic and cultural locations.

He’s a humanist, and he uses each film to plumb the depths of human emotion and to attempt, with humility and skill, to discover something true about how we treat one another. His latest film, The Salesman opens this weekend.

THE SALESMAN (2016)

Asghar Farhadi’s latest film highlights how the push and pull between tradition and modernity plays out across issues of class and gender. The film is nominated for this year’s Foreign Film Oscar.

It’s the story of a young couple in Tehran, Emad (Shahab Hosseini) and Rana (Taraneh Alidoosti), who are playing the lead roles of Willy and Linda Loman in an Iranian adaptation of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.

All is well until they move into a new apartment whose previous tenant was a prostitute with unfinished business. One day, Rana is violently attacked by an elderly stranger. Emad’s reaction to the assault creates tension between them, both personally and professionally.

Ultimately, The Salesman focuses on what it takes to make a moral decision in an age riddled with moral ambiguities. At a time when our own nation is divided governmental authority has divided the nation, that makes it a true movie of the moment

THE PAST (2013)

Returning after four years to finalize their divorce, an Iranian named Ahmad arrives in Paris to meet his ex-wife and her daughters from a previous marriage. He discovers that his ex is in a relationship with an Arab named Samir, whose wife is in a coma after a suicide attempt.

The older daughter is acting out because she blames her mother for the wife’s suicide attempt. Samir believes otherwise. But things get even more complicated when the daughter discloses something terrible she has done.

Asghar’s work has become a conduit into the everyday struggles of Iranian life for audiences around the world.

A SEPARATION (2011)

Set in contemporary Iran, this film is a compelling drama about a married couple that is torn apart by social forces beyond their control. Simin desperately wants to leave Iran with her husband Nader and daughter Termeh. When Nader refuses to leave behind his Alzheimer-suffering father, Simin sues for divorce.

When her request fails, Simin returns to her parents’ home; but Termeh decides to stay with Nader. When Nader hires a young woman to assist with his father in his wife’s absence, he hopes that his life will return to a normal state. Then he discovers that the new maid has been lying to him, and realizes that there is more on the line than just his marriage.

Below is the text from Asghar’s speech following his Oscar win in 2012:

At this time many Iranians all over the world are watching us, and I imagine them to be very happy. They are happy not just because of an important award, or a film, or a filmmaker, but, because at a time of talk of war, intimidation, and aggressions exchanged between politicians, the name of their country, Iran, is spoken here through her glorious culture; a rich and ancient culture that has been hidden under the heavy dust of politics. I proudly offer this award to the people of my country; the people who respect all cultures and civilizations and despise hostility and resentment.

ABOUT ELLY (2009)

A mesmerizing thriller about a young woman’s mysterious disappearance.

With the return of their close friend Ahmad from Germany, a group of old college pals decide to reunite for a weekend outing by the Caspian Sea. The fun starts right away as they catch on to the plan of Sepideh, who has brought along Elly, her daughter’s kindergarten teacher, in hopes of setting her up with recently divorced Ahmad.

But seemingly trivial lies start accumulating from the moment the group arrives at the seashore and come back to haunt them when one afternoon Elly suddenly vanishes. Her disappearance sets in motion a series of deceptions and revelations that threaten to shatter everything they hold dear.

FIREWORKS WEDNESDAY (2016)

This is a tense, suspenseful story of marital intrigue and betrayal set against the backdrop of the Persian New Year.

Rouhi, a young bride-to-be, is hired as a maid for an affluent family in Tehran. Upon arriving she is suddenly thrust into an explosive domestic conflict. The wife is convinced her husband is having an affair and enlists Rouhi to spy on her husband and confirm her suspicions.

What Rouhi discovers threatens not only the couple’s marriage but her own future.

Farhadi adds depth and complexity to the film by shifting the perspective of the film from one character to another, forcing each of us to rethink our beliefs about which character we can trust.

BEAUTIFUL CITY (2004)

Akbar has just turned eighteen in a rehabilitation center. He was condemned to death after murdering his girlfriend at age sixteen — but by law, the sentence couldn’t be carried out before he turned eighteen. Now he is transferred to prison to await the day of his execution.

Akbar’s friend A’la is released after a serving a sentence for burglary. He starts desperately trying to prevent the execution. But the only way he can do that is by getting the girlfriend’s father to forgive Akbar his hideous crime.

Every decision in the film hinges on a form of sacrifice—a struggle to do what is right without necessarily compromising one’s values. The film’s hopefulness is matched only by its goodness, and its message is one we could all stand to learn–forgiveness.

THE FILMS OF ASGHAR FARHADI was originally published on FollowTheThread

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corneliussteinbeck · 8 years ago

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How Internalized Misogyny Is Holding You Back

Note: Before digging in, I want you to know that though it isn’t my intention, it’s likely that some things I say in this article might make you angry—and that’s totally normal. Know that my intent is to free you from judgment, not impose more judgment upon you. I encourage you to question your feelings and examine where they’re coming from.

Misogyny. This word has been coming up a lot, particularly over the past year.

What Is Misogyny?

Oxford lists misogyny as “Dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women.” Merriam keeps it simple and too-the-point with an abrasive, “A hatred of women.”

There are many levels of misogyny and specifically internalized misogyny. In its most simplistic of explanations, internalized misogyny is when that contempt, prejudice, and hatred is turned inward, toward oneself. It can also extend toward other women who surround us in our daily lives—a mother, daughter, friend, or lover.

The complexities of internalized misogyny are astounding, and when being examined for the first time, can feel overwhelming. Men and women are affected by it very differently on subconscious levels, and an article like this merely scratches the surface. My hope is that it will serve as an awakening (or reminder) that will help set the course for further conversation and self-examination.

What Does Misogyny Look Like?

Misogyny is tricky; it isn’t always a clear action. In fact, self-proclaimed feminists themselves can sometimes be the worst offenders. When we think of judgment or hatred toward women, it’s not hard to see the extreme outcomes playing out before our eyes. In barbaric and aggressive senses, we’ve been taught that lust’s blame rests in a woman’s hands. There are many religious and ancient texts one can pick from to learn more about the overt and extreme history of misogyny. By default in our society, the blame for anything involving temptation or a loss of control is more often than not placed on a woman and her devious ways or irresponsible choices. It isn’t the overt, but rather the more subtle and subconscious undertones that I want to bring out into the light.

It’s the overall belittling and judgment in which we often may not even realize we ourselves take part. It’s no secret that the current social climate has had its fill of political correctness. Perhaps it’s because “we” think it’s enough to say, “Women can do whatever they want, ok? Get over it. Let’s move on.” It’s not enough.

I imagine that right now, some of you may be thinking, “That’s not me. I definitely don’t have any misogynistic beliefs.” But that’s the thing.

Sometimes these beliefs are so deeply ingrained that we don’t see them for what they are. I encourage you to take a closer look.

How can you know if you are engaging in misogynistic thinking? Here are some questions you can ask yourself that will help you see things from a different perspective:

Do you tend to value, trust, and respect male teachers more than female teachers?

Do you catch yourself saying, “I need a man’s opinion” on various subjects?

Do you not exercise or train the way you want to because you’ve been told that women shouldn’t do certain types of exercise (like lifting weights), or that muscles aren’t feminine or “look ugly” on women?

Do you use phrases like “Real men…” or “Real women…”

Do you compete only against other women for men or women’s attention?

Do you judge women as better or worse based solely on their appearance?

Do you think women are catty or full of drama?

Do you say things like, “I’m only friends with guys because women are/aren’t…”

Do you say phrases like “Men are just like that,” or “That’s just how women are.”

Do you “slut shame” women for the same behaviors you find completely acceptable from men?

Do you feel you aren’t worthy of loyalty in friendships and romantic relationships?

Do you feel unsafe or uncertain when a woman is in charge of tasks?

Do you feel that being on time or being prepared matters less when dealing with women?

Do you think women are physically weak and need to be taken care of by men?

Do you think men should be “Alphas” and women should be submissive?

Do you think there are jobs that aren’t suitable for women or that women shouldn’t be allowed to have?

Do you underplay women’s talents and overinflate men’s?

Do you think all women should strive to achieve one specific body type?

The way in which we view ourselves and our gender can affect how we eat, date, train, prepare for education, and dream. If there was ever a topic in need of deeper examination to truly understand what is going on behind the curtain in our own minds, it’s this one.

My Own Misogyny

Growing up, I rarely identified with women. When I was a kid, society thrust upon me the idea that I had to like pink things, fluffy things, sparkly things, and fragile things. In fact, I hated it all. I was your typical tomboy. While I hate that term now, back then it was the only identifier I knew.

From a young age, I was taught certain ideas about gender traits:

“Female” traits: emotional, overly sensitive, physically weak, less intelligent, followers, easy to manipulate, nurturing, frilly clothing, needy behavior, scared, clumsy, and kind.

“Male” traits: strong, stoic, violent, leaders, manipulative, loners, smart, capable, mean, practical clothing, trustworthy, athletic and dominating.

These are obviously not traits I agree with today. Again, this was how my young mind worked. My life was far from typical or normal. I was a hard-living kid from the streets who learned early on that a good punch and smooth talk saved me a lot more than thigh-highs and platform shoes ever could. Nonetheless, it seemed like being a guy offered way more perks than being a girl. Looking at the list subconsciously presented to us on the day we’re born, it was an easy call. How would I not either, want to be a guy or, at the very least, look to them as leaders and saviors over women?

I was wrong.

In my life — a sociological study in its own right — I have learned that men can gossip, women can save the day, either can manipulate, and both can be kind or cruel.

My theories were gradually ripped apart in the face of my own experiences. Then I studied.

I explored history, gender studies, psychology, and philosophy. I studied my own sexuality, why I like the things I do and why I don’t. I started seeing misogyny (cautious about not confirming my own biases) in everything around me. The stories we tell, the way we say things, and to whom we say them. I learned to think critically, and above all, I learned to acknowledge the sex (not gender) of an individual.

It’s crucial to acknowledge that along with society’s prescribed gender roles comes a certain set of privileges (or lack thereof) that can’t be ignored.

The Importance of Understanding Privilege

A common misunderstanding about privilege is that it can be neatly categorized, like “white men at the top, and women of color at the bottom.” The truth is that privilege exists in varying degrees as it bends and weaves across intersections of society. It is also true that men, especially white men, are still privileged.

Bear with me…

It’s hard to deny that money, location, education, and other factors influence our life experiences and circumstances. Not acknowledging these interwoven factors often leads people to say, “Well, that isn’t fair! How can you say I’ve got it better when they are _____ and have it better than me! I work hard, and I’m not getting anywhere just because I’m _____.”

Privilege isn’t a right, it’s a privilege.

All it means is that, subconsciously throughout our lives and in all forms of media culture, some of us more than others have been psychologically pumped up, groomed, and cheered on in ways we’ve likely never noticed—and we reaped the benefits. Given the opportunity, you could lead due to having an advantage that you may not even be aware of having.

In simplistic examples, people are often quick to say, “Well, obviously that’s not fair, and X individual has an advantage.” Disagreements arise when the topics get more subtle and sociologically nuanced, and people quibble over whether a disadvantage is merely a confidence issue or one having to do with gender. Make no mistake about it, in our society there is an advantage to being a man.

Even at the gym, this subconscious privilege is present. When a man steps up to a heavy weighted bar, before he ever picks it up he already has a remarkable amount of men “with” him. He has superheroes, average Joes, Rocky, villains, athletes, saviors, his brothers, fathers, friends, gods, warriors by the billions—not thousands, not millions, but billions—standing behind him. Thousands of years of history, wars fought over land and sea, victories and stories of champions galore. David, Goliath, Jesus, and God himself. They’re all right there behind him when he steps up to that bar.

Women? Let me make it clear. We have Rosa Parks. Susan B. Anthony. Corazon Aquino. Malala Yousafzai. I could go on but it wouldn’t take you long to see that a common theme of their rise to legendary status was oppression. What do they get for that? More often than not, they get told growing up “You throw like a girl.” “Not bad, for a girl.” “But you’re just a girl.”

Even one of our most popular sports culture movies’ famous phrase is, “There’s no crying in baseball.”

Do you get it? Do you see it? That’s subconscious privilege.

So many movies we watch and books we read subtly suggest that women are less. In these stories, women will appeal to the power and submissiveness of a male dominated society. Women will believe that they are catty, competing, or left wanting. Stories in which women are strong, are an anomaly. It’s so unusual for women to be the strong hero, that when a string of just a few movies with a strong female lead are released, the response from both men and many women often sounds like this: “C’mon. Stop trying to please the liberal agenda. This role would be better with a guy in the lead, and you know it.” (That is an actual comment with 3,203 likes on Facebook about the new Rogue One movie.)

This isn’t about being more masculine or rejecting gender roles. There is nothing wrong with your gender identity relating to something to you. However you are more than your sex or literal genitalia. This is about undoing centuries of oppressive dialogue. It isn’t about ignoring the facts, but instead facing them. This is not about being an angry feminist, conjuring up the tired caricature of the man-hating lesbian who burns her bra and calls the penis a “phallic oppressor.” While that sentence was fun to type, no, it’s not about that. This also isn’t about taking anything away from anyone. What this is about is learning to give to yourself. And it needs to start with the way we treat women (including ourselves).

A Few Exercises For Improving the Language We Use for Ourselves and Others

Instead of, ”I can do anything a man can do,” try, ”I can do anything I want to do.”

It might seem nitpicky, but eliminating the “them” vs “us” narrative, is crucial in the fight for equal rights and against inequality in gender, sexuality, and race. One gender should not be the metric by which we all measure ourselves and others.

Instead of, “I’m like one of the guys,” try, ”I like what I like.”

If women like something that is stereotypically masculine or “manly” things, they are given extra credit for not being “prissy” or “high-maintenance.” They get rewarded for “manning-up” and being the girl who can simply be “one of the guys.”

There is no such thing, not even for men. The notion that a person is defined by liking any one thing or activity because of their gender should be an eroding concept. Instead of focusing on what you should and should not be or like, embrace what you actually like and what makes you feel most “you.” Do that, and you will notice gender stereotypes fade away.

Instead of, “Lift like a man,’ try, “Lift for what you want.”

There is no male or female way of training. There are ways to train which will improve muscular growth. There are ways to train which will improve cardiovascular health. There are even way to train to support your ability to consume mass quantities of hot dogs in one sitting in under 10 minutes. However, there is no one way to train like a man or a woman. If you want to be strong, get strong. If you want to be curvy, be curvy. If you are a 5’4 guy who wants to have better legs in heels, I love a reverse lunge!

Instead of, ”We are all equal,” try… “We are all equal.”

No change. Because that’s the very meaning.

Too often, I see faux empowerment or “feminism.” I’ve seen women chant the virtues of owning their sex and power, but are doing so because they are mimicking a caricature of what they think a man is. Knocking women who want to wear makeup or who want to embrace traditional gender roles doesn’t make a woman empowered. Enjoying sex and bucking conservative society doesn’t make a woman a feminist. It also doesn’t make a woman a feminist to pick only one body type. Feminists come in all shapes and sizes. Muscular, thin, round, tall, short, medium; It doesn’t matter what shape you want to achieve as long as you’re staying true to your desires, rather than pursuing an ideal you’ve been instructed by someone else to pursue because it’s what you “should” be or what you “should” look like.

Phrases like “strong is the new skinny” or “strong is the new sexy” are as limiting as stating that muscular women look “too manly.” Different people find different aesthetics appealing. Whether you want all the muscles, or you just want to feel strong and take care of your bones but prefer a less muscled physique, what is important is that your training goals reflect and satisfy your preference.

Check in with your desires and motivations and where they are coming from. One choice isn’t better or worse than the other if it’s what appeals to you.

A Homework Assignment: Re-examining Your Goals (A.k.a: What Do You Want?)

If reading this article overwhelms and frustrates you, it’s okay. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if this subject makes a lot of women feel overwhelmed or frustrated, or both.

Go with these feelings. I want you to put pen to paper (or fingers to keys) and think about the questions and thoughts that come up for you. Does any of this make you want to reevaluate your training goals? Have you been living for you, or for someone else? What do you really want and who is it for—and why?

If you read this and think, “Damn, I’ve been more unfair to myself and other women than I realized…” understand you are not alone. I’ve been there. I don’t want to be presumptuous, but it’s safe to say on some level we have all been there. As we start to see things a little more clearly, we can start working toward examining what it is that we really want, who we want to be, and why.

The post How Internalized Misogyny Is Holding You Back appeared first on Girls Gone Strong.

from Blogger http://corneliussteinbeck.blogspot.com/2017/01/how-internalized-misogyny-is-holding.html

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