#widower arc my beloved

[drulalovescas]

LITERAL GRIEVING HUSBAND

Literal heartbroken widower

[bloodydeanwinchester]

starting a reread of my favorite sobsicle fic and oh boy am i ready to be completely ruined again

i want to do with you (what spring does with cherry trees)

[wise-writer-girl]

The forget-me-not symbolism will always hit so hard

[loosethreadsofyoursoul]

while i will always love and appreciate the bisexual dean winchester agenda, i truly believe that if he was raised differently—or maybe if he grew up today instead—that boy would have been gay. like his love for women in a romantic/sexual context was always such a caricature and was continuously used as a symbol of masculinity that played against the roles assigned to him by his father growing up for the sake of suppressing any queerness he might exhibit. now whether that suppression was purposely written into his character or was a reaction to the character they had created, i’m not sure, but it’s there regardless.

i don’t mean to dismiss the love he felt for cassie or lisa, but particularly with lisa, i’m not sure he was ever in love with her, despite the fact that he did care for both her and ben. i get so frustrated watching the end of s5 because him going to her house and his perfect “apple pie life” being with her in suburbia genuinely came out of nowhere and i’ve never understood a) why it had to happen, and b) why it had to be lisa. but thinking about it in this sense, she was the closest thing he had in his life to everything he was raised to believe he should want by one john winchester, who lost his perfect wife, perfect family, perfect apple pie life and sent all of them down this path in the first place. so of course to dean, his happy ending would be with someone like lisa. but that’s the important part. someone like lisa, not lisa herself. he may have had love for her and he may have been able to picture a life with her, but it wasn’t necessarily because she was everything he wanted; she was a symbol of the things that tore his family apart and so to be with her felt like he was finally able to put some of it back together. and that makes me so sad for him because all of that is a result of the sense of responsibility ingrained in him growing up by john, not something he wanted for himself.

but back to his general attitude towards women, there was an excellent post that said he only acts like the typical womanizer he has a reputation for being around women deemed “stereotypical” by the misogynistic perspective. otherwise, he tends to take on a fairly brotherly role; he doesn’t tend to pursue any women he can “take seriously,” and is more intimidated or impressed by them than anything else. with the exception of cassie (which was pre-series and we never got full context for in the first place), he only ever pursued women with whom he would have a definitive ending—by that i mean women who he knows he’ll never see again or who would have a clearly defined role during the time they’re together that wouldn’t threaten the status quo. and yes these could also be the traits of a commitment-phobe or someone chronically on the move, but for one, sam doesn’t tend to do the same thing (see ruby, amelia, and eileen), and for two, given the things i mentioned already, it makes me consider it more of a result of him not actually being interested in women romantically.

his reaction to women when not purposely used as the butt of a joke or to perpetuate the “womanizer dean winchester” agenda is often so innately fraternal, caring in a way that doesn’t have any expectations behind it. and when there is a romantic context, so much of the relationship can be attributed to the way john raised him and the beliefs he has as a direct result; it’s never simply been built on the foundation of love.

every time he is dismissed as this macho het guy, it also dismisses so much of what makes him a wonderful character, and yes a lot of that is his queerness. so in a world where he didn’t grow up with roles and responsibilities that shaped him into someone he knew his dad hated and forced him to create this character for himself in order to survive? i think he would have been gay and he would have been okay with that.

[sandwitchstories]

But What If You Did?

And I'm back with some more angst and smut! This time it is Sanemi Shinazugawa x Reader!

This is officially a sequel to my fic I Will Wait For You (Kyojuro Rengoku x Reader) but it can be read as a stand-alone one shot.

Summary: After your husband, Kyojuro, was killed in the line of duty you were left a young pregnant widow. Sanemi stepped up as a good comrade should. Now, the war is over. The demons are gone. The Demon Slayer Corps is dissolved. You've both laid down your nichirin katanas and the uniforms are packed away. It's a brand new world filled with second chances for many, including the two of you.

If you prefer to read this fic on AO3 please click here!

Potential spoilers if you have not read/seen the Mugen Train arc and if you have not read the Infinity Castle/Sunrise Countdown arc.

WC: 6300+

CW: MDNI, SMUT, angst, lots of feelings, canon character deaths mentioned, Reader is Rengoku's widow, Reader has a baby by Rengoku, Reader referred to as Mama in reference to the baby but not as a pet name, breast feeding mentioned, pregnancy and labor mentioned, gender neutral reader, AFAB terms to describe reader's anatomy, vaginal fingering, vaginal sex, multiple positions, creampie, breeding kink if you squint - for the full list of CW please check the AO3 link.

MDNI Banner by: Me Paragraph Divider by: @strangergraphics-archive

You smiled as you watched your daughter playing with Sanemi Shinazugawa.  Most people only knew him for the oafish, brutal, judgmental hard ass he portrayed himself to be to the world. And honestly, you had thought the same thing for a long time. 

Even when you became a Hashira, you had been weary of him. While he had spoken nicer to you after your promotion, he seemed like an asshole through and through. Honestly, you had not been able to see what it was your late husband, Kyojuro, saw in him, but at least you had known that he treated the Master with respect. 

And then your beloved Kyojuro died on the Mugen Train mission. You had become a young widow while pregnant with your daughter. A daughter you had never even gotten to tell Kyojuro he was going to be having. A daughter with his sunset eyes and flaming hair. A daughter you named Homura.

She had his laugh and his light in her eyes. He would have been such a good father. She would have thought he hung the moon. But fate had decided that was not to be.

When everything first happened you were swarmed with people all wanting to pay their respects and try to help. They brought food so you didn’t have to cook. They offered to run errands for you, to clean your house. So many people wanted to help in honor of your late husband’s memory. Your husband had truly been one of a kind and beloved by all who knew him.

The Hashira had kept visiting even after the others had gone back to their lives. They felt his absence strongly. Shinobu, of course, had visited the most often. She checked on you throughout your pregnancy and she was there to deliver your daughter when that time finally came. Mitsuri had visited often with various treats and loved to play with the baby, always bringing her adorable little outfits. Giyuu, Gyomei and Obanai came by occasionally, refusing to hold the baby but wanting to check on you both and help with anything if they could. 

Sanemi Shinazugawa was the one that surprised you. The first time he visited the estate was right after news broke about Kyojuro’s fall to Akaza. He had gotten to your home mid afternoon, to see the estate buzzing with people. He had been the only person to pick up on you being overwhelmed by well meaning people. The second he approached you and looked in your eyes, he knew what you needed and he set to work getting it done.

While you wished he had used nicer language, you would always be grateful to him for kicking everyone out and standing guard on the engawa. He had refused to let anyone but Shinjuro and Senjuro into your home. He had known you needed to grieve, and he made damn sure you got that time. 

A few hours later when you had calmed down, you made tea and sat on the engawa with Sanemi. Neither of you said much of anything, but his presence and his actions had spoken loud enough. He was there for you.

But then Sanemi kept visiting regularly. Sometimes it was stopping to say hi and check on you on his way through the area to a mission. Sometimes he brought red bean paste ohagi he had made, claiming he made too much and you were the closest to him. (Both were lies and you both knew it, but you let it slide.) You were grateful for the company and when you had gotten to know him better and even found yourself looking forward to his visits.

Later in your pregnancy his visits got more frequent. He knew there were things you couldn’t do physically any more that needed to be done. He said he did them in honor of your fallen husband. Saying it was the least he could do. He began to cook for you on his visits, surprising you that he was actually really good at it. 

Sanemi had been visiting on one such day when your water broke, staying by your side and letting you hold on to his hand until Shinobu got there. And still he stayed, sitting outside with Tengen and a few others until it was announced that your daughter had been born and you were both doing well. 

He had then been among the first to hold her, though he refused to do it while others were there. Once again he had surprised you and he stayed that first night after the others left. It had taken some convincing but he had finally agreed to hold her and you would never forget the look of love and softness on his face. He had teared up looking down at her and then made you swear to secrecy that you would never tell a soul that he had. Couldn’t have you ruining his street cred. 

Homura was barely 4 months old when Muzan was defeated… many had died. Many people you loved and cared about were gone in a single night. Worlds shattered in an instant. When news broke of his defeat, you had strapped your daughter to your back and raced to the Butterfly Mansion.

Shinjuro had been at the mansion and had taken the little one from you. He felt the least he could do was watch his granddaughter and let you assist with the wounded. He had brought Senjuro back to the mansion with him after the dust had settled. He told you that the baby would help keep their minds busy and would give the young Master and his sisters a much needed distraction.

You had jumped into the fray of the hospital, helping them with the injured and holding the girls while they cried. The poor things were overwhelmed and absolutely lost. The news of Shinobu’s fall to Douma had been absolutely devastating to the three little girls she lived with.

When the Kakushi had brought Sanemi in… Your heart had stopped. He had been in a horrible state with deep jagged wounds, missing fingers, and large dark purple bruises popping up everywhere on his pale skin. 

But he was alive. That was all that mattered. He was alive. He had made it back to you.

You had spent hours bandaging him and stitching him back together carefully. You spent the time blinking back tears while talking to him, pleading with him to wake up and say something snarky to you. Praying to Gods you had stopped believing in not to take him from you too. 

You and Homura had stayed at the hospital, day and night for the first week he was there in a coma. Refusing to leave his side and even sleeping with the little one in your arms in a chair next to his bed. 

After a week, you continued to make the trek to visit every single day but you and Homyra went home. He had been there for you and you were determined to be there for him. It was three months before he woke up, and you never missed a day.

You would never forget the look on his face when you and the baby had rushed into the room the morning after he had woken from the coma. His crow had come to tell you and you had wasted no time getting there. You struggled to hold back the tears clouding your vision at the tired smirk the snow haired man threw your way when your eyes met.

He had been in rough shape after being in a coma for 3 months. He hadn’t seemed to care about his missing fingers or the extent of his injuries. The only thing he had seemed to be genuinely upset about (aside from Genya’s dying, of course) was that Homura had grown so much in just 3 months.

He had surprised you and the Butterfly Mansion girls when he held the little one in his arms while he laid in the hospital bed during your visit. Your daughter, normally a fickle little beast who wanted to be able to crawl around and wreak havoc, had laid in his arms content. The sight of them together made you realize the truth of the situation. Holy shit…You had fallen in love with Sanemi Shinazugawa. 

It had now been six months since he had woken from his coma and a month since Homura had turned one. Time had flown by. Experiencing a world without demons was quite the freeing experience for those of you that had been on the front lines. It was a calm you never expected to experience, but had prayed someday would exist. 

Currently you were sitting beside Sanemi on the engawa of your home watching Homura smile and make noises as he bounced her on his knee. She fell back into his arms against his chest laughing, looking up at him with pure adoration. He smirked down at her and poked her chubby belly making her laugh harder. She put one fist in her mouth to teeth on, and the other tangled in the soft green material of his yukata.

He was so much softer now. He was still gruff with his words, and he was still awkward as ever. But he smiled now, and his face wasn’t always held so tight. He wasn’t constantly filled with anger, stretched so thin could snap at any time. 

It was a nice change. You were happy he was getting to experience a world without demons after all he had been through. And you were happy he was still here with you.

He glanced up at you and caught you staring. He arched a pale eyebrow at you, “What are you looking at?”

“Your face, stupid,” you said laughing as he rolled his eyes. The little one started to rub at her eyes and let out  a big yawn. You held your arms out to her. “Come to Mama, little one. I’ll feed you and sing you to sleep.” 

She whined in his arms and turned more into him, giving you a sad look. Sanemi rubbed her back gently with a little smile before he helped you move the whining wiggle worm into your arms. You smiled as he gently brushed fingers over her hair. “Sorry, little princess, Mama says it's sleepy time.”

Sanemi respectfully looked away as you got her situated and latched, as he always did, but turned back once you started singing softly. It was a beautiful, peaceful moment. You could live in a moment like this forever.

Sanemi watched you singing to your daughter as Homura fed at your breast, a small smile tugging at his lips. He took in the way you looked down at her with so damn much love in your eyes, and the way she mirrored it back up at you. The way your hand held her still impossibly small one in yours while a familiar harmony fell from your lips. 

He felt so at peace in this moment and yet… He felt guilty. He was still alive when your husband, her father, was not.

Rengoku had been a great guy. One of the best swordsmen and best guys he had ever met. And that man had loved you like crazy. He deserved to still be here with his family. He would have been great at this family shit.

Sometimes Sanemi felt like he had no business being here, especially now that the demons had been eradicated. He lied to himself with a myriad of reasons about why he still trekked out here to see you damn near every day. But there was a deeper truth that he couldn’t keep avoiding. Especially when he watched the two of you together.

He had fallen in love with you. He had no idea when it happened. It had never been his intention. But there were no other words that could describe what he felt in his chest when he thought about you. No other words to describe the way that same feeling grew even stronger every single time he looked at you. 

There had been no one grand moment that stuck out in his mind. More like over a year of moments that had belonged to just the two of you. Comfortable silence turned into smiles and laughs exchanged. Quick visits turned into coming early in the morning and leaving well into the night. Monthly to weekly, to now it was almost daily. And if he wasn’t here… he was thinking about being here. 

His feelings for you had become a lot more apparent to him since he had awoken from his coma after the big battle. During his time at the mansion healing, he was told by the Butterfly Girls and numerous Kakushi how you had worked on sewing him back together for hours and hours, talking to him the whole time. They all told him how you and the baby had stayed there by his side, day and night for a week. They told him how you came back every day to check on him in person. Every day. For three fucking months. 

What would it be like to be loved by someone? Someone who had stayed by his side like that. What would it be like to get to love you out loud? To not have to keep it a secret locked within him.  

He looked up at the moon and wished things could be different. He had awakened his mark. He was doomed to die at 25. Time was something he didn’t have. But if he did? Gods, if he did, maybe he would tell you how he felt. 

He didn’t expect you to return the same feelings for a guy like him. He had known your husband after all. Sanemi knew he wasn’t your ‘type.’ 

He sometimes wondered if you felt something for him as well. Why else would you cart that baby, several miles to and from that hospital, to check on him daily if you didn’t care? He sighed, it really didn’t matter. The fact remained, that his mark had appeared. He didn’t want you goin’ through hell again. 

As it was, these visits alone were selfish. Getting’ the baby used to seeing’ someone that wasn’t going to be around? He wasn’t sure that was fair to her. Maybe he should stop com-

“I’m going to go lay her down inside,” you startled him from his thought spiral.

“Yeah, it is getting late,” Sanemi said, scratching the back of his neck. 

“It is,” you agreed. “I’ll be right back.”

You were up and taking the peacefully sleeping baby into the house before he could say a word. He didn’t have to look inside to know that you would be covering the baby in Rengoku’s haori. You had used it as her blanket since she was born. He couldn’t blame you, it felt like it kept her father close to her. 

Sanemi stared at the stars. If there really was a heaven where you could look back on people still here on Earth, like the one he had glimpsed when he almost died, he knew without a doubt that Rengoku was up there keeping a constant eye on his family. 

He swallowed a lump in his throat, softly whispering to the heavens, “I hope you don’t hate me for being here with them, Rengoku.”

The wind picked up and Sanemi went ramrod stiff. For a moment he swore he sensed Rengoku beside him and felt a warm hand on his shoulder. He snapped his head to the side, expecting him to be there. He swore he could even fucking smell the guy… what the hell…

“I grabbed the sake,” you startled him from his thoughts, returning with a smile as you carried a sake bottle and two cups in your hand.

“I thought we just said it was gettin’ late,” Sanemi gave you a side eye.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” you dismissed him, sitting down and pouring you each a share. You smiled at him before taking a sip from your cup, “Just shut up and drink damn your sake.”

“So fuckin’ bossy,” he snickered, picking it up with his good hand and taking a sip. “That’s good shit.”

“Yeah, it is. It’s part of the stash Shinjuro brought me when he decided to sober up for good,” you answered. “My father in law may have been a raging alcoholic but he had impeccable taste in sake.”

Sanemi chuckled. “How’re he and the kid doing?”

“They are well! I saw them last week. They trekked out here on one of the days you didn’t come by. Shinjuro is still sober and seems happier. Senjuro was all smiles and talking away about how he was learning to raise bees because apparently Mitsuri kept bees and they needed to be rehomed? I am not sure on the specifics, but I now have several jars of honey on the counter to be enjoyed.”

“Beekeeping? Not something I ever thought about doing,” Sanemi shook his head. He hadn’t taken that girl for the type. 

“Me either, but I’m excited for him that he’s excited for something. Life is coming back into all of us I think,” you said with a smile.

“Yeah, seems like, huh?” Except for him and Giyuu. Life was still fading out for them. He set the cup down, not wanting to infect you with his negativity. “It really is late, I should-”

“Or you could stay,” you said, staring up at the stars. 

“What did you say?” Sanemi froze and stared at you. 

Gods, you were so beautiful. He had always thought you were good looking, but now after getting to know you and really seeing you … Beautiful, didn't cut it. 

“I said, ‘or you could stay,’” you said again, turning to face him. You wet your lips anxiously with your tongue and quickly looked away, back at the stars. “You don’t have to. That’s okay too.”

Sanemi was silent for a moment as he stared at you. He wanted to stay… more than anything… but he couldn’t. He knew then that he owed you the bitter truth.

“Listen,” he waited to continue until your gaze turned back to him. “I awakened my mark during the battle.”

He knew you were aware of what they were. While you had retired after Rengoku died, you had still remained in touch with all of the Hashira. He just didn’t know if you knew of the limit it put on a life span.

“Okay?”

Apparently you did not . “It means I ain’t got a future past 25.”

“There was one,” you answered. Apparently you did.

“Yeah, the guy that invented the breathing techniques and apparently he was born with the damn thing,” Sanemi said snickered. 

“Maybe you’ll be surprised.”

“That ain’t my luck,” he shook his head. He glanced at you. “I don’t have much time.”

“But what if you did?” you asked softly. “What if you did have more time?”

“This ain't ‘what if it rains on Saturday’. This is an almost certainty and it’s about life and death. There is no ‘what if.’” He could feel his frustration and anger at his damn situation bleeding into his tone no matter how hard he tried to keep it out. But dammit… he wanted more time!

“I want to know the answer to my question,” you stared at him, your gaze unwavering. 

“Why? What is it going to change?” he snapped.

Homura started to fuss and he took that as his sign from the universe to leave. You held up a hand to pause him, giving it a few moments for her to settle down again before you lowered your hand. You kept your voice calm. “Answer the question, Sanemi. What if you did?”

“There is no point in this conversation,” Sanemi dragged a tired hand down his face. 

He was going to just have to walk away from you. You always had been like a dog with a bone. As unwilling to let shit go as he was. As stubborn as he was every step of the way.

“Nems, just answer the question… please?” you said softly. 

Sanemi cupped your cheek. His lavender gaze looked over your face like he was memorizing every feature, every mark. The look in his eyes made it feel like this was the last time he was ever going to see you. 

The hell it was. If nothing else he still had 3.5 years left on this rock for you to piss him off. He had another thing in store for him if he thought he was going to walk away from you. 

He spoke with conviction, no wavering in his tone and no pause to the words once they started. “Fine. You want to know what I would do if I did have a future? Gods and Rengoku, please forgive me, but somewhere along the way I was stupid enough to go ahead and fall in love with you. And I love that little girl like she is my own. I always will. I’ll always love both of you. You ain’t mine to love but that didn’t stop me, and it won’t stop me. And even after I’m dead and gone, I’ll still love the two of you. But if I had time… if I had a future, I’d give it to you and that baby. I’d marry you tomorrow, if you’d have me. But I won’t put you through that again. And I won’t put her through it either. I should prob-”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence, Sanemi Shinazugawa,” you said his full name from between clenched teeth with eyes full of unshed tears. “You’re stupid, Sanem, so stupid! You know that?”

“That’s supposed to make me want to stay?” He glared at you.

“You don’t get to make that decision for me, Sanemi!” you glared right back. “You don’t get to decide if I want to risk that hurt again or not.”

“That’s not what-”

You cut him off, demanding he hear you. “That baby loves you just as much as you love her. And you stupid, stupid, stupid… snowball head!”

“Snowball head?” His eyes were huge.

“Yes! Snowball head! You think you’re the only one who fell in love? You think I don’t feel guilty about it too? But I know my husband would want me to be happy. And he would want his daughter to have someone around who could be a father to her, no matter how short that time was. And we don’t even know for sure if you’re going to die at 25, Nems! Whatever time you’ve got left in this world, if you love me the way you say you do… the way that I love you… I want you to spend it with me and her. I don’t want you to walk away and never come back because you are afraid of how much I might hurt when you die. I want you to stay here, with me and her, and make every moment you’ve got left count! No matter how long that is…”

Sanemi was quiet for a few moments. You began to second guess pouring your heart out. When he spoke again, there was none of the anger or bite in his voice. “Hey.”

“What?” you said, sniffling back tears.

His eyes searched yours before he spoke again. “Does that mean if I asked you’d say yes?”

“I am saying yes. If you are asking,” you answered, blinking back more tears. 

He leaned over and cupped your cheek, his thumb tracing gently along the swell, wiping away your tears. He leaned in to close the distance between you, kissing your lips softly several times before pulling back.  He gave you the most beautiful, gentle smile you had ever seen on his face. His eyes were so soft, suddenly filled with so much love, it took your breath away. He blinked back his own tears and his voice was hoarse with emotion when he spoke again. “I’m asking.”

“Okay,” you said with a smile and a little broken laugh, resting your foreheads together. “Then I’m saying yes.”

He chuckled and kissed you again. “Good. I’d hate to make an ass of myself.”

“Far too late for that. I’ve known you for years. I know you are an ass,” you teased.

“And yet you just agreed to marry me.” His eyes had a light in them you were not sure you had ever seen before. It was beautiful.

“I sure did.”

You threaded your hands through his hair, teasing his lips with your tongue until he opened his mouth and his tongue swept into yours. You felt yourself coming alive in his hands as he pulled you closer, deepening the kiss. You moved to be straddling his lap, cupping his face and kissing him passionately as his hands roamed your sides and back. 

Sanemi kissed you with everything pent up inside of him. Kissing you passionately for all of the times he had thought about it, for all of the times he had dreamt of it, for all of the times he had fought the urge to do it. 

You felt his hardening cock press against you and rocked against it, smirking into the kiss at the shudder that ran through the scarred warrior’s body. Something told you Sanemi was not that experienced, so you took the lead. You put your hands over his and slid them down your sides to your mid thigh, where you slid his rough fingers under your robes, onto your bare skin. 

Sanemi pulled away from your lips to kiss down your jaw to your throat. He kissed the tender skin softly before parting his lips and tasting your skin with his tongue. 

A shiver ran down your spine and your hands moved to the back of his head, holding him close as he sucked at the skin of your neck and shoulder hard enough to leave marks, but you didn’t care. You wanted his marks all over you. Wanted to see the proof of his love, of his touch, that he was still there, that he had stayed. 

“Shit, Nems,” you groaned, rocking against his cock, your pussy desperate for attention. 

He pulled back from your throat, looking up at you with glossy eyes. You cupped his face and kissed him again. Your hands moved to undo your obi, tossing it down on the engawa beside you. 

You broke the kiss and groaned, hands finding purchase on his broad shoulders as his hands finally moved from their place on your thighs. His calloused fingers parted your robed between your breasts. He leaned his head forward to kiss the skin there as his hands moved to your shoulders, pulling the material off and letting it pool around your hips.

His hands gripped your sides, thumbs rubbing gently against the skin of your stomach before sliding up to cup your breasts. His thumbs brushed over your nipples, making you whimper softly and arch into him. 

“You’re so damn beautiful,” he said, kissing the skin between your breasts again before nuzzling his nose against the swell of either breast.

“I am pleased you think so,” you said, cheeks feeling a little warm at the compliment. 

“I very much do. Fucking gorgeous.” 

Sanemi moved quickly and caught one of your nipples in his mouth, grinning against your flesh at the stuttering he heard as you tried to take a breath. He sucked at it a little harder, flicking it with his tongue and teasing it with his teeth. 

You were struggling to keep your noise down as his hands roamed your flesh and his mouth explored your breasts. His fingers were still so rough, harsh callouses from years of fighting and wielding weapons, but they were so gentle and felt like absolute heaven on your skin. 

You needed to be able to touch more of him. Your hands moved to undo his belt helping him shove the material down his shoulders so he didn’t have to break the hold he had on your breast. Your fingers held no hesitancy as they immediately set to learning the dips and planes, the ridges and scars, memorizing the skin of the man you had fallen in love again with and who had stayed, against all odds.

Sanemi let go over your breast with a pop, straightening up to pull you flush against him so your chests were pressed together. He stared into your eyes for just a moment before his lips claimed yours and he kissed you long and hard. One of his hands tangled in your hair, holding you to him while the other slid down your body, gripping your ass cheek in hand and squeezing it while he pressed you down against him. 

You moaned into the kiss and dug your nails into his shoulders when you felt his fingers move over your mound. He cupped your pussy through the thin cotton of the fundoshi before moving it to the side and sliding his fingers underneath. He spread your lips apart with two fingers, rubbing them up and down your slit, smearing your cream through your folds. You broke the kiss, closing your eyes and tilting your head back in pleasure as he slid a finger into your tight sheath.

“Fuck, so tight. And so fucking wet,” he groaned softly against the underside of your chin where he was nibbling the skin. He slid a second finger in as well and began to move them as his thumb found your clit. 

“Oh fuck, Sanemi,” you groaned as his fingers worked you open for him, worked you closer to orgasm. 

“That’s right, it’s me making you feel so good,” he said in a smug tone. 

He let out a strangled sound as your hand moved between you two, right between the folds of his robes to cup his cock through his fundoshi. You gave his bulge a few squeezes with your palm before sliding your fingers through the coarse white hair of his happy trail and under his fundoshi to wrap your fingers around his length. Well as much around his length as you could wrap your fingers that was. 

“Oh fuck,” he groaned, your name followed, coming out a broken exhale against your skin.

“That’s right. Its me making you feel so good,” you cooed back at him. 

“Such a fucking brat,” he chuckled before moving his head to nip your ear while you giggled. “Lets see if you’re still such a brat when you’ve got my cock in you.”

“I’m always a brat, you know this,” you said, kissing him hungrily. Your eyes rolled back in your head and you started making desperate mewls as his fingers began to fuck into you harder and faster, his thumb swiping back and forth across your clit at the same speed. 

“You gonna cum? I want you to cum for me,” he said, breaking the kiss to mouth hungrily at your neck and shoulders, teeth grazing the skin and groaning against you as your hand tried to keep up with his speed as you stroked his cock. 

“Oh fuck, shit, oh gods, gonna…. Gonna cum,” you whimpered, struggling to keep your volume hushed. 

“Shhh… Don’t wanna wake the princess up… I got you. That’s the way, yeah…just like that. Fucking beautiful,” Sanemi encouraged and talked you through your orgasm, peppering kisses against your lips, trying to keep your volume down. Realizing that method was futile, he shoved his tongue between your lips, thrusting and sliding against your tongue, dominating the kiss from the start. 

You whimpered into his mouth. Your hands shot to his shoulders. You dug your nails in and clung to him as your body pulsed and throbbed with pleasure. From your head to your toes, all of your senses were flooded with bliss and Sanemi. You rode out your orgasm on his fingers, trembling and trying to catch your breath. Your hands moved to cup his face kissing him desperately, hungrily.

His hands moved, one under your ass lifting you up slightly. The other gripped his cock, running the leaking head up and down your slit before pressing it against your dripping entrance. He circled his head around the sensitive opening, groaning into your mouth and gripping harder with his fingers on the meat of your ass. 

You broke the kiss, and looked into his eyes as you lowered down onto his cock. “Oh fuck, Nems.”

“Oh gods, you feel so fucking good,” Sanemi shuddered, his other hand now taking up residence on the other ass cheek. He ground you down against him. “You’re so fucking hot, and wet, and fuck so tight.”

“You’re big, Nems… stretching me to the max,” you said rocking just slightly into his grip. “I can feel you so deep.”

“You haven’t even started to feel me yet,” he chuckled darkly. His hands on your ass squeezed and began to pull, trying to get you to start moving. 

You took the que and started a slow ride. You started with sensual rolls of your hips, a dragging of your clit against the base of his cock, a little bit of a lift and drop. You wanted this to be special, to be perfect, intimate. But all you could think about was how good it would feel for him to be fucking into you, wrecking you. 

Sanemi may be a mind reader, or he may just be a horny bastard, but either way his grip on your hips guided you to ride him faster, with higher lifts, harder drops. “Gods, that’s it, ride my cock! Riding it so good, fuck!”

“Oh fuck, you feel so good, so fucking good.” Your movements were getting more frantic as you felt another orgasm starting to approach. 

“Getting close again?” he grinned from under you, chuckling when you started making small affirmative noises. You were too cock drunk to answer with words. 

“Me too, fuck, me too. You feel too fucking good,” he wrapped an arm around your waist and tangled a hand in your hair, pulling you to him in a hungry kiss and holding you close as he moved to lay back on his back on the engawa. 

His hands moved behind your knees, pulling your legs up his body enough that he could keep them spread with his own. He planted his feet in the bed and began thrusting up into your juicy cunt hard and fast. He swallowed down your fevered, high pitched, keens of pleasure as he fucked into your hot velvet tunnel in earnest. 

He pulled you back from the kiss with the hand in your hair so he could look into your eyes. The hold in your hair softened to him gently cupping the back of your head. His face was flushed and he was sweaty. His ridiculously long lashes framed his violet eyes as he looked up at you in a totally fucked out daze. “Tell me where to cum. I’m not gonna last long, you feel too fucking good.”

“Right where you are,” you said holding his gaze. “Right where you are. That's the only place I ever want you to cum, Sanemi.”

“Oh fuck, you’re gonna be pregnant before morning if you talk like that,” he groaned, his hips giving a particularly harsh thrust. 

“Good thing you already asked me to marry you,” you said, leaning your head down and nipping his bottom lip. “Now fuck me like you mean it.”

“Oh, I fucking mean it.” His lips crashed into yours and he grabbed onto you, rolling you under him. He came up on his knees and began thrusting into you without a pause in his movements. His arms hooked his elbows under your knees, spreading you wide open. He watched his cock fucking in and out of you. The way he split you open, the way your pussy lips wrapped so pretty around his cock, the way the essence of your pleasure was coating his cock and balls… He felt something primal come over him. He leaned forward, rolling your hips and pressing your knees down almost into the bed as he bent you in half. 

You covered your mouth with the back of your hand, trying to keep your keens of pleasure soft enough to not wake your daughter. 

Sanemi’s fingers worked your clit as he slammed your hips together, pistoning into your pussy again and again. Your whole body tensed just before the euphoria of your second orgasm washed over you.  You arched against him, holding his gaze as you fell apart, hips trying desperately to move against him.

“Fuck, that's it!! Fuck, take me with you! Gonna cum, shit, gonna fill you up,” Sanemi babbled as you came on his cock. 

The pulsing and squeezing, the down right milking, of his cock pushed him over the edge. With one final thrust he buried himself balls deep inside of you, filling you with his spend and warmth. You moved your hand from your mouth to pull him down into a kiss as you both came down from your highs. 

Sanemi rested your heads together as he moved his arms so you could lower your sore legs.  He rested on his forearms but kept your bodies pressed together. He licked his lips as he stared into your eyes, post nut haze lifting. “What if you did get pregnant? And I di-”

“Sanemi. Shush. We discussed this. We don’t know what the future will hold. We are going to live while we are alive, and be together, no matter how long that may be.”

“But what if you did?” he asked, seeming to need an answer.

You smiled gently and spoke from your heart. “Then I would hope that the baby looks just like you.”

[emomeishibot]

First of all, I’m a proshipper; secondly, this post has no ships in it.

I drew kuro characters as a 2000s Chinese drama costume sitcom 武林外传 My Own Swordsman (no idea why is it translate to this name, the direct translation should be Wulin Anecdotes) Why I did this crossover: it’s just hilarious for me!! To help you understand my casting read further. I was like I want to send these sketches for tumblr but you can’t get this crossover so I might as well introduce it to you. I mean you might be intrigued by the referenced show, who knows? 🤭

Let me give you an analogy if you are not familiar with Chinese Kong fu themes novels: this show is a comedy kong fu drama, and a western narrative analogy for it could be if you have a team of DND characters but they never leave the tavern but instead they are the staff trying to make the tavern successful and solve all the crazy problems in this chaotic world and become family members(I hope this works)

The male lead character is a former Robin-hood-like legend burglar but now settled down working as the waiter; the female lead is an unmarried widow who came all the way to her fiancé only to find him dead and left her his mischievous little sister to look after, so she wiped off her tears and decided to buy the inn and start her business as the landlady right there and then. As for the little niece, rumors are that she’d grow up to be a murderous fiend…! But they don’t know yet…

So I drew Sebastian, Madame Red and Ciel as these roles🤲

y’all couldn’t have known how adorable it is for me without growing up with the show… btw the show goes for a relationship for the waiter and landlady eventually in the show but I drew them as work partners and friends^^Regarding how Madame Red teased Sebastian canonically makes me laugh remembering those early kuro shenanigans 😂I always hoped Madame stayed longer with us in canon, she so lovely. Imagine her running a tavern is such fun, the vibe of this show is crazy… just look at them

There’s a reckless, chivalrous former swordswoman as waitress, another former constable girl who is amiable but has no dating luck as waitress as well. I casted Jane and Mey-Rin (I really want to see Jane join the Phantomhive manor(if possible after the Breton arc)??she slays and I want to see her working with Sebastian! Also Mey-Rin is both clumsier and deadlier than her character)

And more: a fusty, nerdy moderate scholar who sold the family inn to the now landlady and now working for her as an accountant, for which I casted Grelle (her butler persona when she’s undercover is really close to how this character usually is lol but she would definitely hate how nerdy this character is, as she is working for Madame Red again in this crossover)

For the hot-headed, ambitious yet bad cook who was a constable, I cast Bard (I might redo him because I wanted to fit Finny in but I run out of the inn staff; Bard and him could be the constable master and apprentice duo from the show; Diedrich could step up as chef)

The setting is a fictional ancient China so the kong fu element is very overdramatic; also, there's a lot of modern references to the 2000s. If you watch the show's op you'll get it) And it’s a nationally beloved show of my generation^^ I hope my explanation got you interested instead of confused😳but I love this crossover and hope my kuro ppl on tumblr enjoy it😌Such long explanations for them little sketches; Thank you for coming to my ted talk???

[dickgraysonsptsd]

(hey this is Barks 👋 this is my main)

Thought it would be fun to ask what your fav Nightwing adventures are :) they don't have to be 'good', just the ones you vibe with!

HI BARKS i love your art sooo much btw. thank you for saying they don't have to be "good" because what i would say while trying to look like i have good taste and what i would say for my actual faves/the ones that stick in my head the most is. different.

i'm keeping these specifically to dick-as-nightwing stories, so no robin or dickbats stuff! and i tried to go for self-contained single issues or short arcs where possible. and tried to minimize my nw '96 picks because otherwise this would genuinely all be nw '96 (my beloved). OKAY YAY LETS GO

🚨🚨LONG POST WARNING🚨🚨

batman: year three

i usually go for robin annual #4 (juvie) for my personal dick backstory rather than the one presented here, but there's so much to love about this arc and so much that sets up alpod and eventually nw '96!! bruce as a character defined by and constructed upon his grief (over his parents) and dick coming to try to intervene in a time of their mutual grief (over jason) that overlaps with an event related to DICK'S grief (over HIS parents) is such a great layered story!!

showcase '93 #11-12

just a fun little nightwing/robin team-up circa azbats era, written with tim as the narrator. we get a lot of tim fanboying over dick and an aside in #12 where dick is clearly rattled by how he left the titans (in the aftermath of his breakup with kory) + feeling adrift as nightwing (yum!). and this panel has really stuck with me:

dick won't treat the robins like kids in the sense of talking down to them or babying them, because he knows what that feels like (bad! like your grown-up doesn't trust you! like you aren't capable enough!) but he also knows, as the grown-up himself now, that they do have to be kids. they have to have childhoods. and they have to acknowledge their limitations and their capabilities as children, but without being treated like kids for it.. urghh it's so good!! it's so like him!! it's so consistent with how he interacts with damian in dickbats era!!

there's also this bit of classic Dick Grayson Blaming Himself For Anyone Dying Ever And Craving Atonement For His Sins:

it's a very straightforward little story, but there's a lot of great characterization and tim+dick relationship stuff packed into it!

nightwing (1996) annual #1

dick goes undercover as the new groom of a suspected black widow! this issue reveals that BRUCE TRAINED HIM BY ASPHYXIATING HIM ON DOZENS OF TOXINS SO HE COULD "PROPERLY DIAGNOSE THE SYMPTOMS OF DISTINCT FORMS OF ASPHYXIATION" which is so kinky it makes me ill (positive):

it also has a scene where dick takes the suspect's son to the circus and they bond over both having dead dads, and later there's a moment after dick reveals to his "wife" that he was just there to investigate the murders when he seriously considers staying with her and the kid and like... give this man a baby NOWWWW!!!!!!

nightwing/huntress #1-4

this is such a classic devin grayson "everything in dick's life is ultimately about his relationship with bruce" storyline (she's right.) (don't check to see how much of this list is by devin grayson btw!!!) and i really like the art in it! i think huntress fans generally don't like this story so i'll reassess after i read more huntress :pensive: but for now i enjoyed it a lot--devin grayson's voice for dick is my favorite!

nightwing (1996) #86

dick gets shot in the arm, becomes manicwing, and alfred + babs force him to take time off to heal against his will (and deal with him climbing up the walls when forced to slow down). i love the entirety of the tarantula and blockbuster arc but this issue is a stand-out to me for being weirdly funny, involving multiple relationships in dick's life, and letting you see what happens when he CAN'T work, which reinforces why nightwing is so essential to him (which then plays into why he and babs break up soon after). this issue does a lot for this arc imo!

also featuring dick's burgeoning obsession with america's most wanted, which will flourish in outsiders (2003) when he goes full autistic hyperfixation and literally calls john walsh to guest star

titans (1999) #10-12

slade comes to the titans for help rescuing addie from the remnants of the hive organization. i love to see dick acting as team leader and i LOVE when there's pushback and conflict involved and i LOOOVE so much of the titans' history (and therefore dick's history) coming into play!! and most of all i love dick being relentlessly, devastatingly heroic at all costs:

yeah he ties himself to a falling bomb in an effort to disarm it in midair knowing that even if he succeeds he'll probably die. and he does it. successfully. madman.

batman: gotham knights #8-11

there is so much to screencap in this arc, it's insane. the iconic "complicated... sticky and hot..." scene, dick saying bruce can't be dead because dick would know if he were (which connects forward to bruce's "death" arc in such a painful way... he WASN'T dead!!! and you DIDN'T know!!! SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN DICK, HUH??? DOES IT MEAN ANYTHING?? IS YOUR SOULBOND REAL OR IMAGINED?? IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM REAL OR IMAGINED?????), dick reciting the oath to amnesiac bruce, dick flinging himself off a building, tim and dick eating popcorn while they watch strange and batman fight, the buildup to murderer/fugitive... it's soooo good!!!

batman: gotham knights #14

JPV: Are the women safe? Dick, sarcastically: No. I let them get shot.

this is the dick writes a letter to bruce issue (you know the one), which would land it here anyway, but it's ALSO the dick has to work with jpv and is a huge cunt about it because he remains deeply jealous of jpv for somehow earning bruce's approval in a way dick didn't issue. god bless! we love him at his most petty and uptight!

battle for the cowl (2009) #1-3

people hate this event so much and for what!! this is a great comic for dick and his relationships with bruce's legacy and the other robin boys. and it has what i lowkey think is the most beautiful single page of nightwing art:

and then uhh yeah the entirety of nw '96. the whole thing.

[sepiamestus]

who is ur favorite. characters.

[achievement unlocked sound] you have obtained List of Ruby Character. I will now perform my special attack Talking A Lot.

Starting right off the bat with my pfp CRONA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

^^^^^^^ Crona.

They're from soul eater which is a series that objectively Sucks Balls Bad but the author did a bunch of yuri cocaine before some of the chapters which is what gave us this

^^ weird enemies to lovers to enemies again to lovers again doomed by the narrative yuri with the protagonist. The series is so bad i literally could not tell you why the author cooked so hard with them. It is a mystery. But crona is also just Cool as Fuck in general. They're non-binary, they have pink hair, they have a sword, and a demon living in their blood that eats people <3

next up there is these Mother Fuckers.

the shin soukoku's.... Atsushi and akutagawa respectively. Akutagawa always dresses like he's a victorian widow and Atsushi dresses like a camp counselor. They are fucking sick in the head about each other and have both canonically killed themselves to save the other. They still insist they are enemies. Obsessed with each other to a wildly codependent degree i need to study them under a petri dish.

and then there is RAY AND EMMA THE PROMISED NEVERLAND MY BEST FUCKING FRIENDS RAY AND EMMA THE PROMISED NEVERLAND <3 also norman is there i guess. Tpn is a horror manga about human trafficking, cannibalism, human experimentation, anticapitalism, and also tag <3 these three ^^^ are the main characters but norman kinda disappears for half the series and returns as a child ceo so im mostly attached the ray and emma <3 lookit them

my fabvorite horribly traumatized prodigal children <3

Also raydon event

my beloved rarepair whose ao3 tag is occupied entirely by me and one (1) unfinished xreader fic

And ofcourse shadow link of four swords manga fame i could say a lot about him but i will not. For my own health <3 absolutely deranged character arc for a 2004 gamecube manga

+ killua and alluka hxh my favorite former child assassin and his 2-in-1 baby sister that shares a body with a wish-granting eldritch demon. also alluka is canonically trans (and a lot of her arc can be read as an allegory for it) and killua canonically fucking fights anyone who misgenders her.

King <3

Ofcourse there is also pearl and marina splatoon but you know about the splatoons so i will not yell really loud about them. But i could <3

[drulalovescas]

Dean screaming at Sam: now you might be able to forget about that BUT I CAN'T!!!!!!!! is absolutely insane actually. because what was the reason other than to show how Dean's grief over Cas is DIFFERENT from Sam's???? what was the reason other than to highlight that Sam might be able to forget about it - because he lost a friend. While Dean CAN'T forget about it because he lost the love of his li -- [gunshots]

[luulapants]

What is your honest opinion about tumblr darling: Supernatural?

My take is that it's 1) poorly written 2) misogynistic.

Oh ho ho, is it take off the gloves o'clock? Is that what time it is? Hell yeah, let's do this thing.

So first off, I think it's easy to make an argument for both of your takes, but I also think those takes are reductionist to the point of being meaningless.

I think it also depends on what it is that you want Supernatural to be in the first place. If you want it to be prestige television, well, that's not what it is. If you hold it up to the tight writing standards of a 10-episode drop-and-binge streaming series, it's not that either. It's a full-length weekly network fantasy drama, and by the standards of those types of shows, it's not bad. There's a lot of shit episodes, but there's a lot of shit X-Files and Buffy and Star Trek episodes, too, because that's the nature of that type of show. It had slumps and slogs, but none so bad that the show wasn't beloved and kept on air for 15 seasons, even in an era of TV where the 15-season TV show was rapidly going extinct. It's misogynistic because TV in 2005 was almost exclusively misogynistic and their attempts to outgrow it were hit-or-miss at best. At the end of the day, it was a show about a bunch of dudes.

But I'm honestly not fussed about whether it's "good" or not. That's not a useful metric unless you define the standards. What I do think Supernatural is, definitively, is really instructional on multiple elements of American media in its age:

The intermixing of fandom and production. There's a whole generation of TV shows, Supernatural probably one of the largest of these, that saw the emergence of a direct dialogue between TV writers and producers and their audiences. This manifested in different ways with different shows, but Supernatural was emblematic of the combative relationship that would become commonplace. The meta episodes that directly targeted or depicted or spoke to the fanbase - that was crazy, shows weren't doing that before! The fact that destiel became so popular in the fanbase and the fact that production felt like they had to textually address it within the show - bonkers!

The complexity of authorial intent in TV as a medium. Because there isn't a single guiding hand dictating everything that happens in a show, which has always been true, but I struggle to think of any show where conflict between parties within a show's production were so apparent to the audience. You have a show runner with a vision for a given season - which might contradict or be a giant 'fuck you' to the vision of the previous showrunner. You have writers who have their own ideas, the producers who censor the writers, the actors who come back complaining about their lines, the directors who are giving allusions to their own agenda through visuals. Everything around the widower arc speaks to a production war over what Dean and Castiel's relationship is, from the market research, to the script, to the way Ackles performed the funeral rites, to the Romeo + Juliet nod in the neon cross when they're reunited. This is a show that proves that Doylist arguments will always be incomplete when interpreting TV media, because what are the chances you'll get an interview with the lighting crew that decided to put that halo around them in that scene? Or find out who decided on that song? Or that costume?

Post-9/11 sociopolitics. I need to give a shout-out to @1x20 for opening my eyes to this wild element of early seasons Supernatural, but once you start looking for it in TV of this era, it's everywhere. The monsters are among us, they're coming after the nuclear family. There's elements of the crime procedural here, the dissolution of the private sphere because The Hero must dedicate all of himself to his crusade. Those politics evolve over the course of the show, but they continue to speak to a very particular niche of American paranoia. It's worth noting that Supernatural was remarkably bipartisan in its viewer base, and it skated an interesting line to do that.

American masculinity. I mean, we have to acknowledge that this is a show that was created by a guy who read On the Road but didn't pick up on any of the bisexual subtext. He essentially created a parody of masculinity in Dean that has had an absurd outsized impact on fandom culture and probably on broader media culture, too.

Anyway I think that's enough ramble for now and people who are more scholarly than myself can probably restate some of this stuff in way more intelligent ways.

[that-aspiring-academic]

English - Final Essay (rough copy)

Hi!! So, I have an Essay due tomorrow for my English course and I need help. I was away sick for the entire week we were doing writing & peer review, and so I’ve been unable to get much done outside my (rather rushed) rough draft. I need to have this in, ideally, by tonight, and by tomorrow evening at the absolute latest. My grade in English is currently my worst and I cannot fail this course if I want to stay in my current program.

The essay is under the cut, it is supposed to be argumentative, there is no word limit but it’s supposed to be a 5 paragraph essay. Would anyone be able to give me some pointers to improve it? I’ve never written an argumentative essay before and the last time I properly wrote an essay was a year ago.

The Failings of the Hero’s Journey:

Why Joseph Cambells work is not as critical as it is made to seem

Joseph Cambell’s ‘The Hero’s Journey’, as well as the associated archetypes, are imperfect and outdated. Though we are taught the Hero’s Journey from elementary school through to highschool (and beyond if your English Lit. professor is particularly spiteful), we are not told to question its many failings, such as its limited applicability, inefficiency in classifying characters, and all-together blandness it brings to a story, and are often made to believe it is the end-all-be-all in determining the worth of a story within public academia.

The Hero’s journey, while applicable to some stories, is not applicable to all. It was based on historical epics and sagas, often which had little to no concept of the ‘anti-hero’ or characters that were morally grey, two concepts that are now beloved by readers across the globe. While it is a functioning tool to compare the Epic of Gilgamesh and Beowulf, both having similar story arcs and being in a similar epic style, it is a lot harder to use it to compare a novel like A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers to Angie Thomas’s Concrete Rose, or to Xiran Jay Zhao’s Iron Widow series. These discrepancies don’t simply lie in the realms of modern literature, the concept of The Monomyth, as outlined in Joseph Cambell’s ‘The Hero with a Thousand Faces’ cherry-picks ideas from individual legends while ignoring outliers; it is a lot harder to set the creation story of the Raven and the Clam from Haida mythos to the tune of the hero’s journey then a multi-year, inscribed epic, but it is a legend nonetheless. Should it not, then, fall into the Monomyth? According to Joseph Campbell, the format should still apply, yet one would have to twist the tale into something near unrecognizable for it to fit into such a rigid mold.

Cambell’s formula is not just narrow in scope, but inefficient. It wastes time and energy squashing characters and plots into neat boxes with little room for change, when better and more in-depth analyses could be made in similar time frames if one were to forgo using The Hero’s Journey entirely. While one could spend hours debating the role of any specific character and which of the categories illustrated in Cambell’s work they best fall into, one could just as easily list and map their behaviours, internal dialogue, and motivations and come out with a much more detailed picture of both the character and how they affect the story. In terms of plot, The Hero’s Journey work states clearly that each and every story holds the same path, be it for a specific character or the overarching plot, but this is simply untrue. Many works often cited as the purest examples of the Monomyth (Tolkein’s works, and the first 2 Star Wars trilogies to name a few of the more famous examples) still do not fall completely into the pattern of The Hero’s Journey. One could argue that, while the original format of the Monomyth does not apply to every character and plot, it is still a good foundation for many classics and can be rearranged to fit many other tales more comfortably. The former point is one I will not argue, and is a fair reason to still teach it in schools, the second, however, holds issue: you cannot rearrange the steps of The Hero’s Journey, that is its very point. It says that every story follows, give or take, these exact same steps in the exact same order, hence the ‘mono’ in monomyth. It makes sense to cut up and rearrange the steps, it helps it fit more stories and, for middle grades, it is a good way to show the complexities of ‘traditional’ stories, however, in changing it it is no longer Joseph Campbell’s interpretation of myth that one is using, rather a new system based upon it. In this way Cambell’s archetypes and Monomyth cannot be considered a truly good tool, as one has to break and rearrange it to give it any semblance of application to the vast majority of modern, and even classic, literature.

The Monomyth, and ensuing archetypes, were taught to me throughout elementary, middle, and now high school. I don’t believe I can think of a single English course that did not, in some way, reference Cambell. Not only is this repetitive, but it also risks boredom in classes that otherwise are rather engaging. That is not to say that it should not be taught in schools, but constantly hearing it may lead to both a subconscious bias towards stories that follow this format (something harmful in later studies of folklore, poetry, and many nonlinear works), as well as creating a distaste for one's own creativity, cultivated by the repeated use of The Hero’s Journey as grading and assignment criteria. I, for one, have certainly fallen into the trap of the latter. This is incredibly relevant, given the recent decline in literacy amongst school-age children and adolescents. While one should not blame modern English curriculums alone for these plummeting statistics, having little change in lessons from elementary school through high school, and having to do similar, if not the same, assignments every year is sure to drive those who are already underperforming and/or unmotivated for English, or any humanities course for that matter, to try less and be less engaged with the course and it’s material.

None of this is to say that Joseph Cambell’s work is not a tool to be taught in schools, nor that it cannot be used in literary analysis, simply that you cannot expect the work of a professor of Medieval Literature that was published in 1949 to be able to apply to the vast range of stories that are available to us and have been created throughout the history sapiens.

[tobiasdrake]

The Hawkeye show is really odd. Since it adapts the run where Hawkeye is a "Down on his luck, gets no respect hero guy" and in the show he gets more respect than he's ever had in the MCU.

I can understand why they chose the Matt Fraction run of the comics to adapt. It's pretty much the most beloved that a Hawkeye series has ever been. Everyone loves the Matt Fraction run.

But it doesn't work with MCU Clint. That ship sailed when Joss made him a down-to-earth family man with a loving family who serves as the most normal, grounded, and responsible member of the team.

The Fraction arc is driven by Clint being a hapless twenty-something adrift in his own life despite being a talented and highly experienced Avenger. He lives alone in a shitty apartment being besieged by Tracksuits.

And they had to cut out so much to fit in the Ronin and Black Widow stuff. Like, I harped on this a lot in my liveblog, but we never even find out what the Tracksuits do that's so awful. They're just generic Crime Bros.

In the comic this is all based on, the Tracksuits are running a gentrification scheme. They're trying to force people out so they can buy up the neighborhood for cheap, and they've run into the problem that Clint's building is occupied by an Avenger immune to their threats or violence.

And that's complicated. Because even if they can overcome Clint, killing an Avenger invites a level of heat down on their operation that they aren't prepared to deal with. The Tracksuits might be able to kill Clint, but they don't want to provoke retaliation from Iron Man and Thor and the Hulk and such. Clint's friends are more dangerous than theirs.

It's a very messy situation that Clint and the Tracksuits find themselves in.

And we get none of that in the show.

[presidentdisastraofgallifrey]

Judging Doctor Who: Eleventh Doctor

Disclaimer: This is all in good fun and I don't take fandom serious

Good episodes I like

The Eleventh Hour - I hate the time cracks arc, but if you just focus on the plot itself the escaped shapeshifter prisoner thing is fun

The Beast Below - It's so sad!! And Liz 10 is hot and badass and a good person but not, which is my favorite type of lady

Victory of the Daleks - A delightfully classic dalek plot

Amy's Choice - Basically another au-type episode and it's fun. And also reveals the Doctor's deep self hatred!

Vincent and the Doctor - Yes everyone likes this one. But it is impressive. It manages to be both heartbreaking and have scenes of him fighting an invisible creature!

The Lodger - fun and silly, a nice breather

A Christmas Carol - very clever and sweet, wonderful use of time travel. And there's flying fish that like singing!

The Curse of the Black Spot - A nice monster of the week with no real monster! And historical pirates became space pirates!

The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People - yes I hate this arc too, but the self-contained plot here is actually a fun who gets to be a person one

The Girl Who Waited - I think this is the only episode where Amy has enough character for be to like her. Plus it's another (horrifying) what if story!

The God Complex - Creepy and fun. I loved seeing all the fears, and the mystery was interesting

Closing Time - A fun and silly enough adventure that I don't mind the cybermen

The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe - Sweet and magical, and I liked that the adult got to go on the Narnia adventure

Asylum of the Daleks - Good dalek episode, good (first?) use of the dead humanoid dalek slaves, excellent heartbreaking reveal that their new friend is no longer human, and I love the daleks all just forgetting him

The Snowmen - Very nice creepy but silly monsters, and at this point the Clara mystery was intriguing

Rings of Akhaten - SO all around beautiful, and I also love the inclusion of a rare multi-alien gathering. There should be more of those

The Crimson Horror - Vastra my beloved! And also this was an interesting mystery, and the Doctor isn't even in most of it, but I just love too many aspects to name! It's very good!

The Day of the Doctor - Do I necessarily love this answer to the Time War? No. Do I understand it? Yes, because at this point they were stuck with it and this gives them an opening for Gallifrey to still exist (they squandered it but that's beside the point). Besides, the episode itself is great fun (the Doctor never gets along with himself!)

Bad episodes I like

The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone - Yeah further lore made the angels less interesting, and the story didn't make sense. But I enjoyed it! And River is there!

Night Terrors - THIS story would have been perfect if they hadn't made the logic circular (all this is happening because the kid is scared he'll get sent away, but they only discussed that because of these problems). But it's still fun

Hide - I'm sorry, the Doctor does not consult random ghost hunting psychics. However. The answer of a time traveler moving wrong through time was great fun

Good episodes I don't like

The Vampires of Venice - pretty typically goofy, but I didn't enjoy it that much. Maybe because of Amy and Rory

The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood - Again, it's fine but I was kind of bored. And wish if they were going to bring back Silurians they'd let them stay

The Doctor's Wife - well written and all, but I found it uninteresting

A Town Called Mercy - Absolutely nothing wrong with it, but I don't have much interest in the wild west

The Bells of Saint John - It was fine, and as a monster of the week actually fun, but I didn't love it as Clara's intro

Cold War - This falls under the genre of running around a small trapped ship that I just don't like

Bad episodes I don't like

The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang - What the hell was this?? Everything about it was convoluted, poorly executed, and uninteresting

The Impossible Astronaut/The Day of the Moon - I actually like the Silence, but the plot itself is just so convoluted and bad

A Good Man Goes to War - No. Just no to everything about this.

Let's Kill Hitler - The robot ship thing is fun and there's like one funny joke, but the rest of it is so terrible

The Wedding of River Song - All of time happening at once is kind of fun, but not enough to make up for (1) the ridiculous to begin with plot, (2) the way they absolutely cheat in a way that should not work, and (3) the implication that they never REALLY got married

Dinosaurs on a Spaceship - Just feels like a bunch of different things randomly thrown together

Journey to the Center of the TARDIS - A little too nonsensical for me

Nightmare in Silver - Both too busy and also boring

The Name of the Doctor - A disappointing answer to an actually compelling mystery

The Time of the Doctor - Disappointing use of Gallifrey, and really no reason he should be able to physically age

[queenalexandraofdenmark]

Hello😁 can you share your favorite queens?

Thank you for the great ask anon, of course! 🥰

#1: Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom – (nèe Princess Alexandra of Denmark, "Alix".

— She was beautiful, a warm and caring mother/grandmother, was popular as Princess of Wales and Queen Consort among of her people because of her good nature, and she supported many charities, including her own: "Alexandra Rose Day", founded by Queen Alexandra in 1912, this was a charity where flowers were being sold and all the money went to supporting Londoners in poverty. This was inspired by a priest in her native Denmark selling roses to raise money for those in need, Queen Alexandra brought the idea back to the United Kingdom. ❤✨

#2: Queen Anne Boleyn of England – (nèe Lady Anne Boleyn)

— She was intelligent, funny, caring and kind to all of people, and as her two years as Queen Consort she supported many charities, and even "gave alms to the poor, provided for widows, and even sewed shirts and smocks for the needy". She also helped with promoting new educational identities for monasteries, which were no longer under the protection of the Catholic Church. After only two years of being Queen Consort when she was said to have been 35 years old, she was executed after being imprisoned in the Tower of London for 17 days because she was accused of committing treason, but the true reason she was executed was because she failed to give King Henry VIII a male heir. ☹️💔

#3: Queen Marie Sophie of the Two Sicilies – (nèe Duchess Marie Sophie in Bavaria)

— She was beautiful, bright, and fierce. She was given the nickname the "Warrior Queen", the "Heroine of Gaeta" and the "modern Joan of Arc", rallying the troops, nursing the injured, feeding her forces at her own table and taunting Garibaldi's army from the battlements with the words; "Go ahead and shoot me. I will be where my men are". It was said of her that the Queen would "wipe your brow if you were wounded or hold you in her arms while you die". ❤️‍🔥👑

#4: Queen Marie Antoinette of France – (nèe Archduchess Marie Antoinette of Austria)

— She was honest, lovable, bold, a social butterfly who loved gambling, partying and extravagant fashions. Growing up she was closest with her sister, Maria Carolina, who was three years older, and with whom she had a lifelong close relationship. As Queen, Marie Antoinette was always unpopular, she spent lavishly, but her extravagance was only a minor cause of France's growing debt in the 1770-80s. Because of Louis XVI's indecisiveness, Marie played an increasingly prominent political role. But was very beloved for her charitable activities and patronage of the arts. She supported various charitable organizations and institutions, and she was also a benefactress of the poor. 💞🎀

#5: Queen Lovisa of Denmark – (nèe Lovisa of Sweden)

— She was described as intelligent, with an ability to be natural, easy and friendly. And As Queen, she was mainly known for her many charity projects, an interest that she shared with her spouse. She did not care for ceremonial duties and public events, and lived a discreet life dedicated to her children and her interests in art, literature and charity. After a short tenure of only six years as Queen, she was widowed in 1912.

#6: Queen Alexandrine of Denmark – (nèe Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin)

— She was reticent by nature. Her childhood was characterised by regular sporting activities, and from a young age she played the piano to a high standard. Her great interest in music stayed with her for her entire life and was passed on to her equally musical eldest son, Prince Frederik (IX). As of her first years as Queen, she had difficulty getting used to public attention, and she preferred to avoid the media limelight, but performed her functions in an exemplary manner. In the home her presence was crucial for the two boys, since Christian X was known for surrounding himself with a certain atmosphere of the barracks. Queen Alexandrine undertook extensive charity work until her death and was an avid golf player and photographer, who also loved doing needlework to a high standard. 💫

#7: Queen Margherita of Italy – (nèe Margherita of Savoy)

— She was described as sensitive, proud and with a strong force of will without being hard, as well as having the ability to be charming when she chose to. As to her appearance, she was described as a tall, stately blonde, but she was not regarded as a beauty. As Queen, she worked to protect the monarchy against republicans and socialists, and she gathered a circle of conservative intellectuals and artists known as the "Circolo della Regina" (Circle of the Queen) in her famous literary salon known as "Giovedì Della Regina" (Queen's Thursdays), where she benefited artists and writers.

#8: Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain – (nèe Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg), "Ena".

— She was described as very kind but very strict and she devoted herself to work for hospitals and services for the poor, as well as to education. She also involved herself in the reorganization of the Spanish Red Cross. In 1929, the city of Barcelona erected a statue of her in a nurse's uniform in honour of her Red Cross work and since the the statue has been destroyed.

#9: Queen Elena of Italy – (nèe Elena of Montenegro)

— She was described as shy and reserved but also rather stubborn. Very attached to traditions, with a sensitive soul and a lively and curious mind, she was endowed with a strong love for nature: her favourite flower was the Cyclamen. She was a very tall woman of 180 cm (5'11). As Queen, her commitment to numerous charitable and welfare initiatives, which assured her great sympathy and popularity, was profuse. The Queen went well beyond mere charity: her evangelical spirit led her to practice every day the most genuine and most charitable love of neighbor.

#10: Queen Marie of Romania – (nèe Princess Marie of Edinburgh), "Missy".

— She was described as very beautiful and high spirited. As a young girl, Marie was very close with her sisters, but mostly her sister Victoria Melita, they played many games with their father and Marie's mother, the Duchess of Edinburgh neglected Marie and her sisters' education, considering them not very bright or gifted. But in the fields of painting and drawing, Marie and her sisters had inherited her grandmother, Queen Victoria's talent. On October 11th, 1914, Marie and her husband Ferdinand were acclaimed as king and Queen in the Chamber of Deputies. Princess Anne Marie Callimachi, a close friend of Marie, wrote that "as Crown Princess, she had been popular; as Queen, she was more loved". Marie maintained a certain influence on her husband and the entire court, leading historian A. L. Easterman to write that "it was not Ferdinand, but Marie who ruled in Romania".

[siren-tale]

a brief guide to cora's ocs

just a heads up, this is not all of them- just my most developed and beloved ones. there will be a lot of one piece ocs, because that's by far the most expansive universe, so i always found so much inspiration for original characters and ideas!

yes, these are all incredibly self indulgent, and yes, they all have relations to canon characters. i think we should leave the whole "canon x oc is cringe" thing in the past, cause what's the fun of creating a character to fit in your favourite fictional worlds if they don't actually interact with any parts of the world!?

also, i am always happy to talk about my ocs, so if you're curious about them, feel free to send me an ask!

PRINCESS CORALIE... *ೃ༄

The siren of the Strawhat Pirates, and long-lost princess of the Ryugu Kingdom

Luffy's childhood friend- they met after she was freed from imprisonment by the Red Hair Pirates

If Luffy is the sun, she's definitely the stars... a guiding constellation to lead you home

Incredibly skilled at reading people, and has excellent perception and a keen sense of danger

Has the typical abilities of a siren, but refuses to use her voice after some incidents in the past

MORANA... *ೃ༄

Otherwise known as Miss Halloween, one of the founding members of Baroque Works

User of the Vamp-Vamp Fruit, which gave her the appearance and characteristics of a vampire

If someone questions why Crocodile has a bat on his shoulder, imagine their shock when it transforms into a woman- (very important to note that she still sits on his shoulder after transforming)

Briefly sailed with the Strawhats after escaping Alabasta, but left them to reunite with her boss and (eventually) form the Cross Guild

I just think the Cross Guild deserves a sexy vampire secretary

DONQUIXOTE AMORETTA... *ೃ༄

Doflamingo and Rosinante's younger cousin, who has way too much backstory to fit into a few dot points

She and Law share similar traumas, but they handle it very differently; she prefers to hide it behind her smile and warmth

You know the heart tattoos Law has on his shoulders? She has a smaller version tattooed above her own heart :')

She's attached to Law, so naturally, she is doomed by the narrative- I don't know if she's making it to the end...

Forget everything else about the Dressrosa Arc, it's all about HER NOW (/hj)

KIT... *ೃ༄

A raccoon mink who was raised as a human, by humans- she didn't even know what she was until she came across minks in a book

The musician of the Heart Pirates, and Bepo's partner (Law won't admit it, but he had her join the crew to set her up with Bepo)

I don't like that female minks are just the same female body model with an animal head, so Kit is short and chubby <3

Much like actual raccoons, she's a bit feral, especially in fights: she will use her claws and she might bite

Sorry Law, you're gonna have to fight Kit for prime Bepo cuddling spots now

DONQUIXOTE HARMONIA... *ೃ༄

Rosinante's wife (widow...), Sengoku's niece, a maternal figure for Law, and the botanist/tailor of the Heart Pirates

User of the Plant-Plant Fruit, which gives her the ability to grow any kind of plant, either from the ground or just the palm of her hand

Proficient in medicinal herbs, which is mostly what she uses her ability for- any sort of medical ointment or cough syrup on the Polar Tang is made either by her or by following her instructions

She has so much maternal love to give, even outside of her own crew- a lot of the younger Strawhats seek out her presence during their alliance

Definitely a Mama Bear type- very sweet and warm, but if you hurt her kids she will destroy you

HINA KANEKO... *ೃ༄

Aoba Johsai's manager, and the school's golden girl (she has a fan club that could rival Oikawa's-)

Under a lot of pressure from her family to be the perfect daughter- they expect perfect grades, a presentable appearance, and utter success in everything

It's just very important to me to give Oikawa a friend who has the same issue of pushing themself too far all the time, so when they call each other out for their unhealthy behaviour they realise their own issues and start working through them <3

Definitely the kind of person who is very mature and professional in public, but with her friends in private, she does a total 180

As is typical with all the VB teams in Haikyuu, every tournament they go to, the team is constantly showing off their pretty manager

KAIDA MONOMA... *ೃ༄

I won't even try to hide that this OC was inspired by Monoma from BNHA- I just like characters who can copy other people's powers

A Port Mafia executive, and a former member of the Sheep, where she was essentially Chuuya's right-hand man

The big sister of the Port Mafia, who will take care of any of the younger members with no hesitation (Kyuusaku is especially attached)

Very, very confident and sure of herself, and strangely positive and upbeat for someone in the mafia

Hobbies include: copying Chuuya's power so she can stand on the ceiling and scare him

WREN GRICE... *ೃ༄

The eldest Grice sibling, and a warrior candidate from Marley who was experimented on, resulting in her becoming physically unbreakable

The first to betray Marley and align herself with Paradis, telling her friends and superiors that she came from beyond the walls after the Female Titan incident

She surprisingly gains the trust of her superior officers over time- Erwin appreciates the bits of information she offers about the outside world, and Hange enjoys experimenting with Wren's invincibility

Overly mature for her age, mostly due to being forced to grow up way too soon, and never really experienced a normal childhood

As Colt and Falco's sister and Porco's best friend... that part was absolutely devastating for her

[sheinthatfandom]

It’s Double or Nothing weekend and you know what that means……. MY PPV HOPES AND PREDICTIONS!!!! Cause you know I’m super fair impartial and unbiased just like our wonderful EVPs😇

Under the cut cause it’s a lot

Yellow is who I want green is who I think will be booked to win

Now for the buy in they only added this photo

Which is beautiful and Imma share it so

Thunder Vs Deonna: I got no clue honestly. I’ve missed the build up to this. If this is an ongoing feud give it to deonna with shenanigans if this is gonna pave the way for a title end run than give it to thunder

Orange vs Trent: I want orange to win he’s lost everything in his mind doesn’t see that he still has people around him who cares to him he lost Chuck and so he’s lost it all. This is his widowers arc and with callis pushing him a win can make Don act as though he’s the reason for the win and get in oranges head even more. Trent has been winning and this could be another mail in the pushing Trent coffin to aim him toward eventual gold.

Iwgp championship- Mox vs takesita: I do not know the new Japan rules I know many fans are angry but I also know many fans just hate aew so I can not take what’s said in good faith. Also kayfabe is still alive and well so even the stuff wrestlers say I’m like…. Your company did this books this and signs off on it so I’m gonna assume this is kayfabe world building. That said this isn’t for the belt but for a future opportunity for it against whoever is champion after moxs next title defense. So I’d love for it to be Takeshita one the loss won’t hurt mox 2 Takeshita was with ddt not new Japan but callis was and possible is still working with new Japan so more possible story lines and opens up konosuke to start feuding with new Japan guys who are now angry at this opportunity and give him feuds for forbidden door and rebuild him as a powerhouse for when he gets aew gold.

Aew/roh tríos championship- Bang bang gang va death triangle: I know I know okay aew loves death triangle lenta and fénix are an incredible team and pac is a beloved monster I get that. I see the vision aew wants me to see BUT bang bang gang is fun and they’re my silly little gremlin guys and they just beat the acclaimed to get all these belts and now they use the little wagon to wheel it all down to the ring it’s hilarious it’s fun and I need more fun in my wrestling. Plus the boys are doing so well in their promos now like no let them keep cooking. They can even win by shenanigans I’m FINE with that. In fact I’d prefer it. Let my goofy guys win PLEASE.

Ftw championship- Hook vs Chris vs shibata: I want shibata but wil also take hook. I hate that an I hate the learning tree gimmick he needs to go home for 6 months and give me a fucking break. Shibata should never lose he is literally THAT wrestler THAT mf! Matter fact let Joe interrupt and take the Ftw belt. Now no one gets it.

Tnt championship- cope vs black: between the misting the blood cope becoming more and more unhinged he’s gonna win this and idk if he’ll join job/take it over if black doesn’t resign OR and this is my hope he makes his own spooky group pr does his own spooky thing and be a fucking nightmare to the “normal people” roster and the house can win just by him and his spooky existing again kinda like skye

Aew international championship: strong vs Ospreay: did you see that promo? The only way he doesn’t win (and I say this because I am traumatized by the fed) is if it’s to punish him for talking bout/defending ricochet. But tk has never given me a reason to think he’s that damn petty and if anything he’s proven unable to pivot from his original plans.

Aew women’s world championship- Toni vs deeb: she’s got no character, she’s wishy washy on the character she does have, she has no crowd support, she’s got no charisma, and every time she mentions having a fucking dojo I fear what her husband is doing to any young girls she brings around him. This Toni’s it’s not even a question. And instead of these useless boring feuds they need to bring back Toni’s movies and build Mariah up as a serious contender if we really aren’t gonna have hayter come back before all out. And build up both thunder and deonna over again and show them on dynamite and collision cause I don’t watch rampage. Also it’s the women’s world championship and it’s not even in the triple main events

Anarchy in the arena- elite vs team aew? I see the vision I know what they were going for I appreciate the Jackson’s and tk for always trying to see the best in people but the moment ftr was the chosen first members of team aew they lost me. They got me back with Bryan (creator of bcc and part of the committee who freed up from the punk fuckery) and then eddie ( who I wonder if he actually knows wrestling isn’t real sometimes) but now idk someone said if Andrade and Cody were available they woulda been added to team aew and honestly I see it. The legitimacy lost with ftr is staggering. It’s probably gonna be ftr but I really hope the elite win and clean that loss from all out.

Tbs championship- willow vs mone: I get it Mercedes is the bigger star hell she’s one of the biggest stars in the world so why wouldn’t you put the belt on her? Especially the tv title and have her on screens every week and too busy to go after the main title. But… I like willow better and I’d like for her to be able to say to Mercedes I beat you twice now bitch and stokely to try and do the nana dance before kris hits her with the belt. And then Mercedes can go be ceo with the elite.

Aew world championship- swerve vs Christian: my champion is black and that ain’t changing!