So I started the Clone Wars

Okay I’ve seen the word bioessentialism being thrown around pretty casually without anyone seemingly googling what it means. So here is your free breakdown!

What IS Bioessentialism?

Bioessentialism: The philosophy that biology plays a larger role in determining human psychology or development than social, economic, or environmental factors.

What does this mean in practice? It means believing that one sex (males) have inherently different personality/skill/place in life than the other (females). Note I’m using sex here because this issue has been an issue long before we have what we currently know as gender, and I’m speaking of the best example to make it clear.

It’s something seen in Conservatives when they say that pink/femininity is for women and black/masculinity is for men. Its saying because you were born as female vs as male you are inherently different and you should be treated different. As you can see, this issue is ongoing and is a part of female socialisation. All the gender stereotypes that females are supposed to enjoy, or be like, are part of bioessentialism. It’s a horrible thing.

Examples:

Women ALWAYS like pink, it’s in their biology

Women ALWAYS like dolls, its in their biology

Women NEVER like video games, it’s against their biology

Women ALWAYS have more value as wives than indivuduals, it’s in their biology

Women ALWAYS want to be mothers, it’s in their biology

Women can NEVER work the same jobs as boys, they’re not strong or smart enough, it’s in their biology

Women NEVER are dominant, it’s in their biology to be submissive

Women are ALWAYS too emotional, they can’t run for office, it’s in their biology

Girls NEVER know better than boys, which is why they cannot have control of their body, it’s in their biology!

Now this does go both ways. But mostly, it affects females in a more severe way. Anyone with a basic understanding of history and life not in the UK or USA, knows this.

Men NEVER like pink, it’s in their biology

Men NEVER cry, it’s in their biology

Men NEVER like feminine clothes, it’s in their biology

Etc Etc… I could go on forever on these.

What ISN’T Bioessentialism?

Now, what isn’t Bioessentialism? Bioessentialism isn’t saying ‘she/her’ is for women and ‘he/him’ for men, Bioessentialism isn’t saying women have vaginas and men have penis’, Bioessentialism isn’t saying anything about trans people and it isn’t a transphobic concept. It is PURELY speaking of gender stereotypes enforced because of BIOLOGY.

Conclusion

It is an important concept in feminism and where the phrase: “A woman can do ANYTHING a man can do,” came from. Women are not required to like anything, wear things or act like anything different to how men act. Any feminist of any kind will be against bioessentialism because biossentialism is a big part of the oppression we face. Knowing what bioessentialism is makes it easier to differentiate actual feminists from conservatives. I hope this explanation has cleared up any confusion around the term and what it means.

Disclaimer: I know a handful of others experience the effect of bioessentialism who are not females, but for explaination’s purpose I speak of the majority. I do not intend to disrespect anyone’s identity in this explaination.

This is also my understanding of bioessentialism. Feel free to correct me or bring up anything in the tags, reblogs and comments.

1)how do you decide a hadith is authentic or not and 2) even if he didnt pretty much the entire muslim world accepts that he did and still defend it to hell and back (so its sort of hard to call it bs) along with all the rape, slavery, pillaging and genocide he committed. Why is it so important to u

if you know nothing about islam of course you don’t know what an authenticated hadith is, which is essentially, a confirmed and corroborated one RETOLD BY trusted people. there are a finite number of these and they have been compiled into books already for everyone’s convenience.

and who is this entire muslim world. are they on the phone with you right now. ask them how it’s possible for them to be on the phone if they’re currently being bombed, flooded, and exploited by the west. i find it hard to believe they’re more concerned about the tumblr radfem slandering them online.

here is a comprehensive discussion of the prophet’s sex life WITH sources and context. so you can see for yourself what the “entire muslim world” believes.

“why do i care” uh because you guys ARE racist. “oh the liberals always scream islamophobia is racism how come we can’t just critique the religion” well you can. but you are not doing it justly. you are again 1) making up lies 2) excusing the murder and torture of middle eastern men because “they deserved it” 3) islam is not just a religion it is a culture. the people that practice it are largely the same race. when you say “muslims say it’s okay to rape slaves” you are saying “middle eastern people say it’s okay to rape slaves” whether that’s the intention or not. you can’t say these things without considering the implications or context. there is no separating the religion from the culture from the race.

i understand it’s hard to see when you’ve lived in a christian dominant society your whole life, but christianity is imbued into your culture. you’re just blind to it. if i start mocking christians for inbreeding, violence, and alcoholism, i am also attacking the western society. because these go hand in hand. but you’ll notice i’m not. because this isn’t real criticism. real christian criticism is attacking its control on politics, its indoctrination of children, its saturation in our education system. real critique of islam is attacking the men in power, the men who sell out their countries to the west, the men that don’t speak out against the injustices done to women and children with their blessing. and there are plenty of male islamic scholars that speak out against this. but see, they have no actual control over what the men in charge do. the men in charge don’t have morals. they want money. power. they don’t care about the religion. they don’t care about heaven or hell. they don’t give a shit if the prophet was a pedophile or not. but you painting him as one makes it easier for them to do wrong: they’ll say, “i’m just practicing my religion.”

and, to end this, i’ll just say islamophobia is entrenched with racism and here is my statement:

this weekend my family and i were at a park having a barbecue in a predominantly white town. this was a blue state, but people of color know that means nothing about the actual attitude you’re met with. my dad and brothers needed somewhere to pray, so they did, in our own space, quietly, on our own mat that we brought.

as soon as we left and got on the road we got pulled over by the cops. they asked us what we were doing here, where we lived, and so on. when we told them we were just going home, they let us go, and then tailed us through the state until we were out of their jurisdiction. all we know is someone at the park reported us. they saw a family of brown people, speaking in their own language, performing their strange rituals, and wanted us to pay for the audacity.

last WEEKEND. 4 days ago. do you know how much i suffer because of my perceived religion? whether i practice it or not? did you have the privilege of being socially outcasted and getting called a “terrorist” at school after 9/11? did your mom have to change the way she dressed because people were out there assaulting and attacking women who dared wear too much clothes on their good white christian land? did you worry about your dad going to the mosque after the new zealand shooting, and now when you visit with him you see bars on the windows and a digital lock on the door? do you fear getting on a plane because you get “randomly searched” EVERY TIME without fail? do you have a gnawing anxiety in your stomach when your parents visit their home country, knowing they could get caught in a war zone at any freak moment?

because the demonization of an entire culture still shows in people like you.

Apparently Shawn can’t have friends who are guys without the speculation that he’s gay? 🤦🏻‍♀️ I stg, people will find ANYTHING to prove in their little brains that Shawn is gay.

1. If he was gay, who freaking cares? Not me and it certainly shouldn’t matter to you. If his sexuality is the deciding point on whether you like someone’s music or not, then you have warped priorities.

2. Shawn is allowed to have guy friends. He IS a guy after all…him hanging out with other guys doesn’t suddenly make him gay. Guys and girls have different interests and so it makes sense that Shawn would hang out with guys over girls.

3. That’s not just ANY dude, either. It’s Scott-his producer/songwriter. He’s been a part of Shawn’s life since his career started. So it’s safe to say they’re pretty good friends. Scott is also married and his wife is in the IG post that Shawn posted. But yes, let’s just assume that because Shawn is seen sitting and laughing with another guy (and with someone he’s known almost half his life), that he’s gay 🙄 Nope. He’s just hanging out with his friends and wives.

4. Shawn is mentioned numerous times that he is straight. Now that’s not to say his sexuality CAN’T change, but if he’s open about his mental health and his struggles with anxiety, he’d probably be open about his sexuality. Also, I don’t think he’s closeted at all. He’s a straight male. I don’t get “gay vibes” from him AT ALL.

5. “Well if he’s not gay, then why does he wear Pride flags at his shows?” Uhm…because he’s an LGBTQ+ ally. I think that’s cool, actually. I’m aroace, so I’m part of the LGBTQ+ community.

6. Shawn is on Raya, and is looking for/matching with females.

7. Again, even if he were to come out (which I think is extremely unlikely), I’d still support him. Who he chooses to love is none of my business.

My two cents on non-monogamy. I’m neutral. It’s not any better or worse than any other relationship configuration involving men. Different relationship styles are just part of human diversity. If polygyny is treated as a man owning multiple objects, and polyandry is treated as one object being shared by multiple men, then the problem is women being viewed as objects — which definitely happens in monogamy too, the root problem being heterosexual relationship dynamics molded by the hierarchy of patriarchy. Which is why open relationships seem to be working fine for gay men.

I think in radfem circles a lot of the opposition to non-monogamy is reflexive due to its association with the whole liberal sex pozzie stuff, which is understandable because men have proven they will pursue more pussy at the expense of women’s wellbeing. But things must stand and fall on their own merit and not merely be deemed guilty by association. After all, abortion and birth control are things the liberal patriarchy has co-opted to increase male sexual access to women with less responsibility, but no radical feminist would argue that these reproductive rights our foremothers fought for are therefore intrinsically oppressive and anti-feminist.

As a matter of fact, it actually was radical feminists in the second wave who postulated that non-monogamy could be liberating for women. The origins of enforced monogamy aren’t very feminist either. It literally originated as affirmative action for low value men, a “pussy redistribution” so that a few men don’t take all of the women and leave the rest with no wives. The societal evolution away from polygamy wasn’t for women, it was for men. Either way, women are viewed and treated like objects with no will of their own, properties to be passed around and handed out for the sake of men and a supposed “greater good” of society.

And a lot of the “(radical) feminist” rhetoric around and critique of non-monogamy just comes off as condescending, presumptuous, and patriarchal. Open relationships are not infidelity — by definition consensual non-monogamy isn’t cheating. And yes, it’s true that said “consent” can be manipulated and coerced, but the same applies to just about any other relationship or action under the sun. Saying that polyamory is simply cheating because women be pressured into it is like saying that anal is automatically rape because women be pressured that. The problem is the pressure, which is by no means inherent nor exclusive to the practice. Somehow someway, some women are ok with these things and that’s fine! The personal preferences of particular women is not the hill that feminists should be dying on, so as long as they’re not immediately harmful. Don’t mistake “class analysis” as an excuse to invalidate people’s reality and act like you know them better than they know themselves. You sound like an ass.

Insinuating or straight up stating that women can never desire multiple partners or must have low self-esteem to be non-monogamous or anything along those lines is just mirroring the same traditional regressive notions around women’s sexuality. The old “women mono men poly” thing. Why wouldn’t women be able to be polyamorous? Why can’t women just desire sexual stimulation? And how would such an arrangement be “benefitting men” anymore than monogamous heterosexual unions are already generally benefiting men? As feminists we should be criticizing the harm these things can do to women without contributing to patriarchal or other oppressive narratives. Like how we must critique the hijab without increasing the burden of racist misogyny on those wearing it, or being condescending and presumptuous towards hijabis. It comes across as an arrogant savior complex that doesn’t have the best interests of women at heart, like talking at and about them rather than to and with them.

Clearly I take issue with a lot of the radfem hostility to non-monogamy, but also I obviously side eye the pro-poly crowd. It’s like a lot of them are willfully ignorant towards context and act like choices are desires are formed in a vacuum. Under a patriarchal society where sexual access to women is seen as a status symbol, isn’t it a bit suspicious for a man to leap at the chance to bed as many women as possible? As a matter of fact, I remember seeing a study claiming that monogamy in men is correlated with intelligence, same deal for atheism — the common theme is rejection of baser instincts and impulses. I don’t even like to call harems “polyamory” because 9/10 there’s no love in that, only hoarding women like resources. Of course these trends don’t apply to every single individual and relationship, we shouldn’t generalize, but it’s something to keep in mind.

And another thing, a lot of poly people are hyper “woke” and fancy themselves and their lifestyle the epitome of progressive, which is a bit… flawed. Preaching polyamory as inherently more “enlightened” and “forward” is also rather condescending and patronizing and naive. I’ve recently seen some claim that polyamory is a threat to capitalism, and that’s just a reach. I guess if you squint you can see where that conclusion comes from, because criticism of the (monogamous, heterosexual) nuclear family has been part of anti capitalism since Engels wrote On The Family. But private property existed back when polygamy was the norm. I believe it’s that capitalism produces monogamy (at least in women), rather than vice versa or non-monogamy necessarily subverting capitalism today. Capitalism is based on private ownership, so it fosters possessive mentality — women became the first private property because men needed paternity assurance for heirs. I’ve heard that certain tribes with a more communal style of living had more open relationships because they weren’t obsessed with guarding property and paternity, which is something that warrants more research. But now that capitalism is already established, it can’t simply be “undone” by popularizing polyamory. What is a threat to capitalism is communal living and strong networks of mutual aid, and it’s not necessary to fuck multiple people to have that.

Gender politics aside, I don’t think polyamory will ever be as common as monogamy for some good reasons, humans apparently tend towards monogamy. I did a poll on my Instagram stories (yes very scientific I know) on the topic of non-monogamy and most of the people who answered, like over a hundred, said it was terrible. Only a handful said it was good and they like it. So the minority who are “naturally” polyamorous should feel free to be so instead of making themselves and their partners miserable by repressing themselves, forcing themselves into monogamy. I’m supportive of polyamorous women, especially my fellow bi babes, but I remain very skeptical of (straight) men who want to be poly. Seeing a man with multiple women provokes my fight or flight response (lmao) because it gives patriarchal harem vibes, but if said man is respectful towards women and treats his partners like humans rather than objects, if there are no double standards, fine. Coincidences and unfortunate implications happen and I don’t think it’s right nor fair to demand individuals change something fundamental and inherent to themselves just to avoid bad optics or fitting stereotypes. Quality not quantity — if they’re not misogynistic shitpiles then a woman having three boyfriends isn’t more concerning than her having one.

Assassin

Based on this request:  hi! may i request ramsay x female reader where Y/N is a sellsword hired to assassinate roose and ramsay. she kills roose on the same night that ramsay was planning to do it so he is watching from the shadows. some type of romantic ending? thank you <3

Here you are! *Characters are NOT mine!*

Warnings: Violence, death, angst, a little steamy, I guess?...as romantic as I could make Ramsay. 

Pairings/Characters: Ramsay Bolton x fem!reader, mentions of Roose Bolton

No one ever suspects the woman. Women in Westeros didn't do what you did. Sure, they could be knights or blacksmiths as well as ladies or wives and mothers. But, as far as you knew, you were the only female sellsword/assassin outside of Braavos. Because of that, you were often hired to carry out even more violent acts than male sellswords, much like your current assignment.

         After Sansa Stark managed to flee Winterfell, she ran to the North. From there, word reached Petyr Baelish of Ramsay and Roose Bolton's horrendous deeds. That was why he hired you. To eliminate the threat without need for another big battle. There had already been too many in the passing years. Not that it mattered to you. But Baelish's gold was good and you took the job without hesitation.

         That was how you found yourself walking through the corridors of Winterfell. With the birth of a new baby happening, no one in the castle noticed when a new servant just randomly appeared. Well that's what you thought at least. There was one person that noticed, but by the time he had, it was too late.

Ramsay's POV

         Ramsay slid the dagger into his shirt and made his way to where he was certain his father would be. He was still trying to determine whether he would take care of his father before or after the birth of the babe. However, before he could make up his mind, Ramsay stopped in his tracks. As he suspected, there were only three people in the room. His father, a guard, and you. That was what made Ramsay pause. He'd never seen you before. He was absolutely certain of that. And when you told the guard that the captain of the guard was summoning him, his interest was piqued.

         The newly legitimize Bolton sank into the shadows when Roose waved the guard off, leaving just the two of you. Ramsay watched as you flashed Roose a smile and congratulated him on his newest child. You drew close to the table in order to take away Roose's plate, but backed away quickly when someone approached, announcing that a son had indeed been born.

         Ramsay clenched his fists. He needed you out of the room. Now. He couldn't let his father suspect anything. Ramsay's eyes found your form again as you reached to take away the plate. Adrenaline coursed through his veins only to turn ice cold when he heard the sound of steel piercing flesh. He heard you whisper something to Roose before the man slumped forward onto the table.

         When you pulled back, Ramsay could see your own knife glinting in the sunlight and dripping with his father's blood. He couldn't deny the sudden, thrilling shudder than went down his spine. You had just killed a lord and your face showed no fear. At least, until your eyes searched the room for an exit, only to land on Ramsay. You stiffened and muttered a curse under your breath before launching the bloody knife in Ramsay's direction.

         Thanks to your distraction, the blade missed its target, embedding itself in the wood next to Ramsay's head. Ramsay tsked, the sound echoing through the nearly empty room. Another curse flew from your lips as you turned on your heel to flee. Ramsay was on you in an instant, pinning you to the floor.

         He lifted himself up slightly so he could turn you around and look at your face. You struggled against him for a moment, your (e/c) eyes flashing. "Release me," you growled out. Ramsay chuckled. "I'm afraid I can't do that. You did just kill a lord after all." You stopped thrashing and gave a little shrug. "Lords die all the time. It's in their nature when they're mad dogs."

         Ramsay tried his hardest to bite back the chuckle that wanted to escape him, but it was no use. He laughed. Not his usual laugh, but a deep laugh that shook his entire body, and yours. "Perhaps it is. However, that particular lord was also my father and mine to kill." For the first time, your eyes showed true fear. "You're Ramsay Bolton?"

         A smirk made its way to Ramsay's lips. "You aren't fooling me. I know you've been watching this place. It's the only way you could have known who to get close to and how to infiltrate this castle." It was your turn to smile, instantly confirming Ramsay's suspicions.

         "Very well, you caught me. Now what are you going to do? If I don't report back, my employer won't be too happy." Ramsay hummed in response to that. The thought of taking on another lord's army was tempting. But then again, so was the current position you were both in. What to do?

         "Well, I could let you go. Or I could have you executed for killing Lord Roose Bolton." You made a  gesture with your head that seemed to say "true, true", but then you met his eyes again. "And with a flick of my wrist, I could give you the same treatment you gave poor Theon Greyjoy." For a moment, Ramsay was confused, but then he felt the point of a knife poke his thigh. "You didn't think I came all this way with only one knife, did you?"

         At that, Ramsay actually froze. He didn't know what to do. His mind was racing and his blood coursed through him in a way he hadn't felt in a long time. Not even with Myranda. It only took him a moment to realize why. He wanted you. He wanted you to be his. He didn't love you, of course, but he loved this little game. You spoke to him without fear. Threatened him without mercy. Toyed with him the way a cat does a mouse. It sent shivers down his spine in the best possible way. The realization was so unexpected, he didn't feel it when your hand pointed the knife away. In fact, he didn't notice much until he found his own back against the cold, stone floor.

         Somehow, you'd managed to roll you both over without your knife slicing either one of you. Now, you were hovering over him, your lips merely centimeters from his and your knife to his throat. Ramsay's hand automatically gripped your hips. "You know, I was hired to kill you as well. Now, I'm not so sure. I quite like this game," you whispered, although every word seemed much louder in the empty room.

         "Still...I can't stay. It won't be long until the guards come back." You cocked your head to the side and hummed in contemplation. With a smile, you drew your face closer to his. Ramsay felt his entire body nearly catch fire in anticipation. What were you going to do? Would you kill him or were you feeling the same things as he?

         Your lips brushed his lightly before the sound of armor could be heard approaching the doors. With a sigh, you sat back up. "Sorry we have to cut this short." Using the knife, you swiped Ramsay's gold pouch and moved to get off him completely. Ramsay's grip on you tightened, causing you to look down at him with an arched brow. "Your name?" You smirked and lowered down. "You'll have to figure it when we meet again, my lord." You pressed your lips against his fervently.

         You pulled away as the doors opened, making it look like you were still in the process of attacking Ramsay rather than kissing him. The guards merely stood there for a moment. You rolled your eyes, jumped off Ramsay, and headed for the nearby window. Ramsay thanked whatever deities there were that Winterfell had tall and wide windows. You flashed your eyes to him for a brief moment then jumped down into the night.

         Chaos ensued, but Ramsay hardly noticed. He raced to the window only to find that you had already vanished into the shadows. He bit back a smile and laugh. He barked his orders for the guards to find you. It was a game of cat and mouse now. A game Ramsay intended to win and, by the end, you would be his and only his. For the rest of your days.

(a/n: I hope you like it! I’m always stuck on writing romance for Ramsay.)

Forever Tags: @fizzyxcustard @brewsthespirit-blog @etherealpotter @line-viper @cd1242 @gruffle1 @smalltownbigheart @igotmadskills​ @frozenhuntress67​

So I’ve seen a few posts questioning why it’s always Eddie in fics that struggles (sometimes negatively) with his sexuality or experiences internalised homophobia, some of which vague that it’s hateful towards the character or follows the ‘trend’ of victimising/babying Buck. There are also posts I’ve seen that reference the same, but in relation to the actual show and the handling of Buddie or mlm relationships with Buck and Eddie in canon.

So I’m going to do what I did with my post about Eddie’s reactions (or lack thereof) being in character, and lay it out as factually as I can.

It is more in-character for Eddie to be the one to struggle or to have a difficult sexuality journey than it is for Buck.

Even the show, in not so many words, has said the same thing. We’ve already seen Buck in several scenarios where his sexuality is questioned, assumed or vaguely referenced, and in none of them does he have a negative or overtly reactive response.

Buck’s sexuality was outright assumed, twice, to his face. In the first instance with the Christmas Elf Lady he was openly confused but ultimately shrugged it off with a smile and compliment. In the scene with TK we see him react a little more expressively, but with no obvious negativity or unhappiness. Poor baby was just confused that his bid for friendship was being taken as flirting, explicitly by a homosexual male. 

Eddie, however, has several character factors that would point towards a choppier journey with realising he isn’t heterosexual. To name a few:

His (explicitly stated and referenced) past relationships, love interests and current love interest are all female, although the same can be said for Buck.

On the subject of Buck; Eddie also isn’t shown to have any real friendships with men (or women) outside of the 118, and none as close-knit as Buck. Eddie also doesn’t behave with his male peers (such as Bobby, Chimney and Albert) the way he behaves with Buck. Contrary to this, Buck is referenced up until recently to have been a very social person outside of the 118, even thus far as to live with several other men prior to moving into Abby’s and then into his own apartment.

Eddie was brought up in a heavily Latino/Latinx family and lifestyle and presumably, community. It’s common for Latino/Latinx communities to expect men to comply with the ‘macho family man’ archetype, and there are multiple resources from Latino/Latinx people that review the toxic masculinity of the communities and culture. We see a reflection of this in Carlos from 911: Lonestar, where his family is accepting but in a dismissive way, so much so that he makes the decision to introduce his boyfriend as a work friend.

He served in the military. Now the military is notorious for being the most homophobic ‘gay for the stay’ community you’ll ever encounter. It’s kind of fine to jerk each other off behind the craft building while thinking of your wives, but if someone comes out as gay they could be outcast, given a vaguely or outright homophobic nickname and face the age old ‘you’re gay so you’re a predator/risk’ type of treatment. (I’m not saying everyone and every base is like this, but again there are plenty of resources available that document the institutional homophobia in military spaces.) In worst cases gay/bi+ men are bullied or forced out of the barracks, beaten or killed.

Canon extensively implies that Eddie is straight. We don’t get the same vagueing and hinting/joking that we do with Buck. The closest we’ve come is the livestream where several comments mentioned him and Buck as a couple, but we don’t see Eddie react to these or even potentially notice them. Every time crushes or love interests are explicitly presented to/for Eddie, they’re female. Ignoring any possible meta about camera and behaviour choices, Eddie is depicted exactly the same as the other heterosexual male characters of the show, such as Bobby and Chimney. Contrastingly, Buck is the only one who receives explicit reference to or vagueing towards his sexuality and relationships, especially with Eddie.

Relating to the point above; if Eddie is a closeted bi/pan/demi/gay+ man, then he’s lived as a straight man for years and it would be a colossal change for him to come out. It would mean coming out to his family (assuming he hasn’t already, and to the family that already thinks he can’t function without a wife), his friends and peers, it would mean dealing with the change in perception of him from his peers and adjusting various aspects of his life; not least, talking to Christopher about it too.

In Season 3 and 4 we also see Eddie struggle with moving on from Shannon, and I think it’s plausible that Eddie would feel it’s some kind of betrayal to her. Eddie would likely wonder if his sexuality aided to the collapse of their marriage and would likely also wonder about the impact it had on their chances of reconnecting and his relationships with Buck and Shannon, if Buddie is the pathway to Eddie’s sexuality exploration.

Now I’m not saying Eddie would go off-the-rails homophobic in the instance that he was put in a situation like the ones Buck has been in, but Eddie would definitely be in-character to have some form of mild crisis, fear or doubt about explicitly realising he’s attracted to a man.

Eddie would quite literally have to question his entire existence and past and explore this new part of his identity, whereas from what we’ve seen on screen thus far it’s far more likely that Buck is open to or has already considered his own sexuality. Buck is also easier going about new parts of his identity, which the show depicts through his ‘Buck 1.0′ style self-developments.

Also; it is perfectly plausible for someone to be completely fine with other people being LGBT+ but to struggle with a change or discovery of their own sexuality. Again, the LGBT+ community is full of stories, most notably the Reddit thread about the man who realised he wasn’t homophobic; just jealous. Eddie’s immediate acceptable of Hen and Michael does not necessarily equate to immediate acceptable of his own sexuality.

When people consistently write Eddie as the one to have a sexuality reckoning, it’s not out of hate for the character or out of the desire to whump/baby Buck. It’s just in line with the character. Similarly, if the show does decide to go ahead with Buddie or to reveal Eddie as not heterosexual, please don’t lash out or criticize if they depict him struggling with it or taking a long time to adjust/accept it. Similar to healing, the journey of sexuality exploration is not always linear. Michael’s character is an excellent example of this, paralleled by Charles from Why Women Kill.

Hi, Dr. Reames! I just read your take on Song of Achilles and it got me thinking. Do you think there might be a general issue with the way women are written in mlm stories in general? Because I don't think it's the first time I've seen something like this happen.

And my next question is, could you delve further into this thing you mention about modern female authors writing women? How could we, beginner female writers, avoid falling into this awful representations of women in our writing?

Thank you for your time!

[It took a while to finish this because I wrote, re-wrote, and re-wrote it. Still not sure I like it, but I need to let it go. It could be 3xs as long.]

I’ll begin with the second half of the question, because it’s simpler. How do we, as women authors, avoid writing women in misogynistic ways?

Let me reframe that as how can we, as female authors, write negative (even quite nasty) female characters without falling into misogynistic tropes? Also, how can we write unsympathetic, but not necessarily “bad” female characters, without it turning misogynistic?

Because people are people, not genders, not all women are good, nor all men bad. Most of us are a mix. If we should avoid assuming powerful women are all bitches, by the same token, some women are bitches (powerful or not).

ALL good characterization comes down to MOTIVE. And careful characterization of minority characters involves fair REPRESENTATION. (Yes, women are a minority even if we’re 51% of the population.)

The question ANY author must ask: why am I making this female character a bitch? How does this characterization serve the larger plot and/or characterization? WHY is she acting this way?

Keep characters complex, even the “bad guys.” Should we choose to make a minority character a “bad guy,” we need to have a counter example—a real counter, not just a token who pops in briefly, then disappears. Yeah, maybe in an ideal world we could just let our characters “be,” but this isn’t an ideal world. Authors do have an audience. I’m a lot less inclined to assume stereotyping when we have various minority characters with different characterizations.

By the same token, however, don’t throw a novel against the wall if the first minority character is negative. Read further to decide if it’s a pattern. I’ve encountered reviews that slammed an author for stereotyping without the reader having finished the book. I’m thinking, “Uh…if you’d read fifty more pages….” Novels have a developmental arc. And if you’ve got a series, that, too, has a developmental arc. One can’t reach a conclusion about an author’s ultimate presentation/themes until having finished the book, or series.*

Returning to the first question, the appearance of misogyny depends not only on the author, but also on when she wrote, even why she’s writing. Authors who are concerned with matters such as theme and message are far more likely to think about such things than those who write for their own entertainment and that of others, which is more typical of Romance.

On average, Romance writers are a professionalized bunch. They have national and regional chapters of the Romance Writers of America (RWA), newsletters and workshops that discuss such matters as building plot tension, character dilemmas, show don’t tell, research tactics, etc. Yet until somewhat recently (early/mid 2010s), and a series of crises across several genres (not just Romance), treatment of minority groups hadn’t been in their cross-hairs. Now it is, with Romance publishers (and publishing houses more generally) picking up “sensitivity readers” in addition to the other editors who look at a book before its publication.

Yet sensitivity readers are hired to be sure lines like “chocolate love monkey” do not show up in a published novel. Yes, that really was used as an endearment for a black man in an M/M Romance, which (deservedly) got not just the author but the publishing house in all sorts of hot water. Yet misogyny, especially more subtle misogyny in the way of tropes, is rarely on the radar.

I should add that I wouldn’t categorize The Song of Achilles as an M/M historical Romance. In fact, I’m not sure what to call novels about myths, as myths don’t exist in actual historical periods. When should we set a novel about the Iliad? The Bronze Age, when Homer said it happened, or the Greek Dark Age, which is the culture Homer actually described? They’re pretty damn different. I’d probably call The Song of Achilles an historical fantasy, especially as mythical creatures are presented as real, like centaurs and god/desses.

Back to M/M Romance: I don’t have specific publishing stats, but it should surprise no one that (like most of the Romance genre), the vast bulk of authors of M/M Romance are women, often straight and/or bi- women. The running joke seems to be, If one hot man is good, two hot men together are better. 😉 Yes, there are also trans, non-binary and lesbian authors of M/M Romance, and of course, bi- and gay men who may write under their own name or a female pseudonym, but my understanding is that straight and bi- cis-women authors outnumber all of them.

Just being a woman, or even a person in a female body, does not protect that author from misogyny. And if she’s writing for fun, she may not be thinking a lot about what her story has to “say” in its subtext and motifs, even if she may be thinking quite hard about other aspects of story construction. This can be true of other genres as well (like historical fantasy).

What I have observed for at least some women authors is the unconscious adoption of popular tropes about women. Just as racism is systemic, so is sexism. We swim in it daily, and if one isn’t consciously considering how it affects us, we can buy into it by repeating negative ideas and acting in prescribed ways because that’s what we learned growing up. If writing in a symbol-heavy genre such as mythic-driven fantasy, it can be easy to let things slip by—even if they didn’t appear in the original myth, such as making Thetis hostile to Patroklos, the classic Bitchy Mother-in-Law archetype.

I see this sort of thing as “accidental” misogyny. Women authors repeat unkind tropes without really thinking them through because it fits their romantic vision. They may resent it and get defensive if the trope is pointed out. “Don’t harsh my squee!” We can dissect why these tropes persist, and to what degree they change across generations—but that would end up as a (probably controversial) book, not a blog entry. 😊

Yet there’s also subconscious defensive misogyny, and even conscious/semi-conscious misogyny.

Much debate/discussion has ensued regarding “Queen Bee Syndrome” in the workplace and whether it’s even a thing. I think it is, but not just for bosses. I also would argue that it’s more prevalent among certain age-groups, social demographics, and professions, which complicates recognizing it.

What is Queen Bee Syndrome? Broadly, when women get ahead at the expense of their female colleagues who they perceive as rivals, particularly in male-dominated fields, hinging on the notion that There Can Be Only One (woman). It arises from systemic sexism.

Yes, someone can be a Queen Bee even with one (or two) women buddies, or while claiming to be a feminist, supporting feminist causes, or writing feminist literature. I’ve met a few. What comes out of our mouths doesn’t necessarily jive with how we behave. And ticking all the boxes isn’t necessary if you’re ticking most of them. That said, being ambitious, or just an unpleasant boss/colleague—if its equal opportunity—does not a Queen Bee make. There must be gender unequal behavior involved.

What does any of that have to do with M/M fiction?

The author sees the women characters in her novel as rivals for the male protagonists. It gets worse if the women characters have some “ownership” of the men: mothers, sisters, former girlfriends/wives/lovers. I know that may sound a bit batty. You’re thinking, Um, aren’t these characters gay or at least bi- and involved with another man, plus—they’re fictional? Doesn’t matter. Call it fantasizing, authorial displacement, or gender-flipped authorial insert. We authors (and I include myself in this) can get rather territorial about our characters. We live in their heads and they live in ours for months on end, or in many cases, years. They’re real to us. Those who aren't authors often don’t quite get that aspect of being an author. So yes, sometimes a woman author acts like a Queen Bee to her women characters. This is hardly all, or even most, but it is one cause of creeping misogyny in M/M Romance.

Let’s turn to a related problem: women who want to be honorary men. While I view this as much more pronounced in prior generations, it’s by no means disappeared. Again, it’s a function of systemic sexism, but further along the misogyny line than Queen Bees. Most Queen Bees I’ve known act/react defensively, and many are (imo) emotionally insecure. It’s largely subconscious. More, they want to be THE woman, not an honorary man.

By contrast, women who want to be honorary men seem to be at least semi-conscious of their misogyny, even if they resist calling it that. These are women who, for the most part, dislike other women, regard most of “womankind” as either a problem or worthless, and think of themselves as having risen above their gender.

And NO, this is not necessarily religious—sometimes its specifically a-religious.

“I want to be an honorary man” women absolutely should NOT be conflated with butch lesbians, gender non-conformists, or frustrated FTMs. That plays right into myths the queer community has combated for decades. There’s a big difference between expressing one’s yang or being a trans man, and a desire to escape one’s womanhood or the company of other women. “Honorary men” women aren’t necessarily queer. I want to underscore that because the concrete example I’m about to give does happen to be queer.

I’ve talked before about Mary Renault’s problematic portrayal of women in her Greek novels (albeit her earlier hospital romances don’t show it as much). Her own recorded comments make it clear that she and her partner Julie Mullard didn’t want to be associated with other lesbians, or with women much at all. She was also born in 1905, living at a time when non-conforming women struggled. If extremely active in anti-apartheid movements in South Africa, Renault and Mullard were far less enthused by the Gay Rights Movement. Renault even criticized it, although she wrote back kindly to her gay fans.

The women in Renault’s Greek novels tend to be either bitches or helpless, reflecting popular male perceptions of women: both in ancient Greece and Renault’s own day. If we might argue she’s just being realistic, that ignores the fact one can write powerful women in historical novels and still keep it attitudinally accurate. June Rachuy Brindel, born in 1919, author of Ariadne and Phaedra, didn’t have the same problem, nor did Martha Rofheart, born in 1917, with My Name is Sappho. Brindel’s Ariadne is much more sympathetic than Renault’s (in The King Must Die).

Renault typically elevates (and identifies with) the “rational” male versus the “irrational” female. This isn’t just presenting how the Greeks viewed women; it reflects who she makes the heroes and villains in her books. Overall, “good” women are the compliant ones, and the compliant women are tertiary characters.

Women in earlier eras who were exceptional had to fight multiple layers of systemic misogyny. Some did feel they had to become honorary men in order to be taken seriously. I’d submit Renault bought into that, and it (unfortunately) shows in her fiction, as much as I admire other aspects of her novels.

So I think those are the three chief reasons we see women negatively portrayed in M/M Romance (or fiction more generally), despite being written by women authors.

------------------------------------

*Yeah, yeah, sometimes it’s such 2D, shallow, stereotypical presentation that I, as a reader, can conclude this author isn’t going to get any better. Also, the publication date might give me a clue. If I’m reading something published 50 years ago, casual misogyny or racism is probably not a surprise. If I don’t feel like dealing with that, I close the book and put it away.

But I do try to give the author a chance. I may skim ahead to see if things change, or at least suggest some sort of character development. This is even more the case with a series. Some series take a loooong view, and characters alter across several novels. Our instant-gratification world has made us impatient. Although by the same token, if one has to deal with racism or sexism constantly in the real world, one may not want to have to watch it unfold in a novel—even if it’s “fixed” later. If that’s you, put the book down and walk away. But I’d just suggest not writing a scathing review of a novel (or series) you haven’t finished. 😉

Hello, could I request a Kit Walker x reader where the reader is related to jimmy darling and the reader introduce Kit to Jimmy.

Sorry for the wait love I’m on day 8 of fourteen at work. Keep requesting though guys I love writing and it keeps me sane. I hope you enjoy.

Pairing: fem!Reader x Kit Walker

Summary: reader introduces their new fiancé Kit to their big brother Jimmy

Warnings: some male posturing but really fluffy and mild

Words:1298

Masterlist

What A Darling

You had come to live with your half brother Jimmy and his wives Dot and Bette when you were only fifteen. Your mother had died in a car accident and when the CPS workers looked into the man listed as your father on your birth certificate they had discovered him to be dead. Luckily he had another child who was already well into adulthood so you didn’t have to stay in the system.

It hadn’t taken long for you and Jimmy to become thick as thieves. You had been born without the ectrodactyly syndrome that your brother had and your father hadn’t wanted much to do with you since you didn’t have anything that could make him money. Jimmy had instantly become someone you could trust with your life.

He had been sad when you went off to college but happy that you were gonna make something of yourself. With a dad like Dell Toledo that was saying a lot. Jimmy had pushed you to do well in school and break the cycle. You decided to major in education.

That was how you met Julia and Thomas and through them Kit Walker. They were in your Kindergarten class your first year of teaching. You knew that you weren’t supposed to have favorites but the pair of siblings had touched your heart in a way the other kids couldn’t. You had tried to keep your distance at first because it seemed unprofessional but Kit had this whole charming single dad thing going on and it was quite difficult to stay professional when he flashed you those dimples.

The flirtation had remained just that, a flirtation up until the kids’ last day of school before summer break. Kit had swung by to pick them up but instead of his usual mechanics blues he was wearing a loud paisley print button down and there wasn’t a smudge of grease to be found. You would have almost sworn that your heart stopped when he flashed you his toothy grin.

“Ms. Y/L/N” he had greeted and you noted that he had made sure to be the last parent to pick up as it was just Jules and Tommy. The siblings were giggling behind their hands and whispering to each other.

“Well hello Mr. Walker, I was beginning to worry you’re never late” you raised an eyebrows narrowing your eyes.

“Well I’m terribly sorry to have worried you ma’am. If you would allow me to buy you dinner I would be grateful to make it up to you,” He replied, his grin never dropping. The kids began giggling even harder at their dad’s cheesy flirting.

“You guys were in on this huh?” You asked the children who feigned innocence.

“So?” Kit had a hopeful expression on his face.

“Pick me up at six” you told him with a smirk. His face lit up with that blinding smile again.

The date hadn’t felt like a first date; it had felt like coming home. She had known before he had even tried to kiss her goodnight that Kit was going to be her person. So one date turned to two and two turned to twenty and before they knew it they were getting engaged.

***

“Jules, Tommy are you guys ready it’s a bit of a drive make sure you go to the bathroom before we leave” the seven year olds dutifully wandered off to the restroom. You were fretting over your suitcase when you felt arms snake around you from behind and warm lips pepper kisses on your neck.

“Have I told you how much I love you?” Kit’s voice whispered in your ear making your cheeks warm.

“Only about a dozen times just this morning” you giggled spinning so you were facing him, your faces inches from each other. You leant up and pressed your lips to his, his hands coming to rest at the back of your neck and side of your face. You could kiss Kit forever and never tire of it.

“Well then I’m short a few aren’t I” he asked with his eyes shining.

You only laughed and relaxed into his arms, you knew Jimmy would get along with Kit. Well at least after giving him plenty of shit for dating his little sister. You were also excited for Jules and Tommy to meet their cousins. The kids were all about the same age so it would be perfect. You knew Jimmy was skeptical of anyone being good enough for you in his eyes but you knew they would get on well.

The moment was broken by the feeling of four little arms wrapping around your and Kit’s legs almost knocking you over. You smiled down at the children and they flashed you their dimpled grins they had both inherited from Kit. You hoped that when you and Kit finally decided to have another baby they too would have his impressive dimples.

“You guys ready?” You asked making sure to voice your excitement.

“Yeah” they echoed in unison, it would always baffle you how they did that. You thought speaking in unison was supposed to be a twin thing.

Once you guys were all in the car and it was almost time to arrive you turned to the kids. You had gone over Jimmy’s ectrodactyly with them and they knew Dot and Bette shared a body, but they were still only six years old. Six year olds were not know for having the best manners. Hell Paulie and Ethie had embarrassed the hell out of you when they asked why you were wearing a clown dress last time you had visited.

“Julia, Thomas, remember what we said about you aunties and uncles?” You asked them with a soft smile.

“Yeah that they were born the way they were and they’re the same as us” Julia replied proud of herself for remembering.

“Very good they’re going to be so happy to meet y’all” you said and turned back around to find Kit smiling at you like a loon.

“I love you” he said to you and you rolled your eyes but kissed his cheek anyway.

“I love you too you big old sap” you grinned at him.

***

When Kit pulled into the drive way you could see your brother already waiting for you on the front porch. You dashed out of the car to hug his neck leaving Kit to help Jules and Tommy out of the station wagon. It wasn’t long before Kit and the kid made there way over.

“Jimmy I want you to mee Julia and Thomas. Jules, Tommy this is your uncle Jimmy” you introduced them and the kids immediately went up to Jimmy with matching grins.

“Uncle Jimmy, do you have candy? My friend Steve said that Uncles always have candy?” Tommy asked and you were happy to see both kids were completely unphased by Jimmy’s hands.

“Well I don’t have Candy but I think your Aunties made cookies. Maybe you could see if they will sneak you one before dinner” Jimmy grinned at the kids who rocketed into the house at the mention of sweets.

Once the kids were out of sight Jimmy plastered a stern look on his face causing you to punch him in the arm. He waved you off only glaring harder at Kit who did a good job of putting on a brave face.

“Jimmy be nice” you warned and he shrugged.

“Can’t a guy threaten his sisters boyfriend without any trouble?” He asked before turning to glare at Kit again.

“It’s fine y/n” Kit smiled at you and rolled your eyes leaving the boys to do their masculine posturing. You knew though that this was it Jimmy had accepted Kit and the kids as part of the family.

And training has begun. Our favorite duo is impressing the gamemakers and learning to tie knots. How very non-domestic of them. Here are thoughts and musings on Chapter 7 for @everlarkedalways​ THG reread.

 Currently, I’m reading a book called Jesus and John Wayne, by Kristin Kobes Du Mez. The general thesis of the book is that white evangelicalism is obsessed with patriarchy and masculinity and celebrates that rather than emphasizing the gentler, more peaceful teachings of Jesus Christ. (While I have some issues with the larger historical study, I don’t particularly disagree with her thesis. Her book is the most gendered studies of American evangelical Christianity I’ve read in a long, long time.) A friend from work invited me to an online discussion group about the book with some friends of hers and the topic of gender roles played prominently in our conversation. Mostly, I kept thinking about portrayals of Katniss and Peeta and how those have sparked debates and arguments over Peeta’s masculinity or lack thereof.

 Peeta is strong, but he’s an artist, a painter, and a baker. He’s gentle and compassionate and kind, and he’s in love with Katniss. He’s been emotionally and physically abused by his mother, and he knows brute strength can’t help him win the game because Katniss will die if he tries. He makes a decision to protect her, but to do it behind the scenes. He can’t puff up his chest and kill the people who want her dead, so he does it by sacrificing himself for her long before they’re in the area. As such, many critics of the series (more so the movies than the books, I believe), including the actors themselves, often referred to Peeta as the damsel in distress who has to be saved by Katniss.

 There is a fundamental lack of critical examination in those interpretations of Peeta’s character. He is the epitome of non-toxic masculinity, but there is a rejection of that by society. Remember the Gillette commercial a few years ago that showed men being kind and gentle? Remember the backlash from it? Society is obsessed with strength and violence, and looks down on men who aren’t hypermasculine and/or show what are considered “feminine” qualities. In other words, Peeta has been emasculated.

 In the book itself, Peeta’s mother emasculates him by brow-beating him into submission and running her family with an iron fist. Mrs. Mellark is a strong woman, and in this context, that’s not a good thing. She’s overbearing and a “witch,” according to Katniss. She’s taken power away from her husband, evidenced by him not buying squirrels from Katniss unless Mrs. Mellark is absent. She’s also taken Peeta’s self-esteem and self-worth away by abusing him and telling him she thinks Katniss is a survivor, implicating that Peeta is not.

 Historically, masculinity has played a significant role in the development of the United States. White masculinity was codified in a series of laws in colonial Virginia in the seventeenth century, and southern masculinity was glorified and adulated during the antebellum period and beyond. Non-white men were emasculated in order to highlight the power of white men. Some examples:

Traditional gender roles in European societies centered on men providing for the family by owning land, farming, running an estate and so on while women’s roles were to work within the home. Rich men hunted for leisure (think fox hunting in packs, hunting quail, that kind of thing). Traditional gender roles for many Native American groups included women farming and gathering, while men hunted. Europeans believed Native American men were lazy because they played all the time (went out in hunting parties), while the women worked the fields. As a result, Native American men were emasculated and had their power stripped by European colonizers.

Africans who were enslaved were not allowed to legally marry under the system of slavery. Despite that, slave owners encouraged their slaves to “marry” (lived together as man and wife without the legal protections that entailed) because enslaved men who were married tended to be better workers due to fear that their wives and/or children would be punished if they rebelled or misbehaved. They had no control over their own families because enslaved peoples could be sold at any time at the whim of their owners (fathers sold away from wives and children or vice versa). In addition, white men often raped female slaves in order to a) terrorize the enslaved and b) impregnate the women who would give birth to more slaves. In addition, matrilineal succession was codified in a series of laws that ensured the offspring of an enslaved woman would follow the mother, not the father. That allowed white men to enslave their own offspring without consequence, and it emasculated male slaves in numerous ways. For example, enslaved men were not allowed to protect their spouses from being raped; enslaved men were not able to pass on their family names due to matrilineal succession; and enslaved men frequently had “wives” with children from another male. Each of those methods took power away from black men and put it in the hands of whites.

In 1676, Nathaniel Bacon asked for permission to raise a militia to fight a group of Native Americans who he believed had attacked his land. The governor refused permission, so Bacon did it anyway. He mustered yeomen farmers (poor white landowners), indentured servants (often Irish or poorer English contract workers), and slaves (African men). With this group, he challenged the wealthy white men in colonial Virginia.

What does all this mean? Peeta is a male with characteristics that are typically viewed as feminine (point 1), who is forced against his will to perform/work for the wealthy and privileged (point 3), and is unable to protect the woman he loves from harm (point 2). In other words, Peeta has been emasculated by Panem’s government and society.

 Please don’t read this as me saying Peeta is not masculine. I personally don’t hold to this idea that men have to engage in toxic masculinity in order to be male. My personal preference is a man who is compassionate and caring and nurturing. What I’m saying is I understand why people can read Peeta as weak, even if I don’t happen to agree that his characteristics are effeminate.

 Collins presents Katniss as a scared, angry, determined girl who engages in activities that aren’t necessarily feminine. Hunting and killing game, trading, and so on are very different activities than most of the women in Panem. She is, figuratively, bringing home the bacon and the primary breadwinner (ha!) for her family. Her role as a strong and independent and working against traditional gender roles is celebrated while Peeta’s are criticized. I find that fascinating. It’s kind of like it seems normal for women to dress in pants and t-shirts, but Harry Styles can’t wear a dress without causing an uproar. Oh, the double standard.

 I won’t get into how the movies and press marketed Katniss as a badass warrior. Let’s just say it pisses me off and absolutely misses the point of the books in my opinion.

 One last point since I’m headlong into gender theory here. Katniss and Peeta work as a team, equal partners as they negotiate their way through training. Collins seems to be a proponent of men and women carrying equal loads in relationships, and I’m here for it. Peeta doesn’t look down on Katniss as someone who needs to be protected (although he wants to protect her in any way he can), and Katniss doesn’t allow Peeta to make all the decisions for them. They work together, and it’s a beautiful thing. They have no idea the effect they have…on me when they do that. It’s my life’s goal to find someone who wants to be with me because I’m capable and not someone to be rescued. Katniss can rescue her own damn self, and I’m here for it.

 Okay, I’m behind again, but I’ll get there. If you’ve read all this, thank you for your consideration!

While I’m talking about storytelling in songs by white male singers whose work sits on the lower-brow end of popular entertainment, can I just talk about the exquisite plotting in the average Garth Brooks story song? Because there are so many good ones.

 I have to start “The Beaches of Cheyenne”. Because I can’t explain how much I adore the non-chronological storytelling structure of this song. Tiny pieces of information doled out in the exact order we need for the twists to have maximum impact.

Just look at the first verse! They packed up all his buckles and shipped his saddle to his dad/By the way the house looked, she must have took it bad/The workers come on Monday to fix the door and patch the wall/They say she just went crazy the night she got the call. Such precision in storytelling!  This melodramatic starts with the mundane image of workers packing up “his” stuff, and then each line zooming out on the destruction caused by “her” before revealing “the call” that set her off.

Then the natural question is, what sort of call was it? We can make guesses based on the first verse, but the second verse waits until the final line to use the word “died”.

Chorus gives us the tragic suicide that turns into a ghost story. But that’s nothing compared to the absolute gut punch of verse three, which waits until the final line of the whole song to give us the first part of the story, which is the piece that finally crystallizes the horrible tragic “why” of her reaction.

“The Thunder Rolls” is equally exquisite in its storytelling, because it manages to tell the entire story without ever once directly stating what’s going on. A story told through a few images--a man driving through the rain, a wife waiting up, until the entire story crystallizes around the vivid detail of “the lightning flashes in her eyes, and he knows that she knows.”

(The missing third verse is a bit more direct, but it still provides maximum horror by never actually speaking the ending implied by “tells the lady in the mirror he won’t do this again, because tonight will be the last time she’ll wonder where he’s been”)

“Papa Loved Mama”! First off, this song is a prime example of music that makes you go, “Fun happy song!” until you actually listen to the lyrics and go, “Oh. Oh no.”

And again, it’s another song that tells its story without ever directly stating what’s happening. Giving us images and letting us fill in the gaps of the story. “He had a dozen roses and a bottle of wine” turns into an entire story by giving us “then I heard a bottle break against the bedroom wall”. Then there’s no direct statement of where Papa goes or why, just the image of a big rig crashed into a motel.

He never hit the brakes when he was shifting gears! He was STILL TRYING TO GO FASTER! Papa’s a maniac!

Even the first verse of “Friends in Low Places”. The ultimate rowdy party song that should have no writing depth whatsoever. Gives us an entire story without ever directly stating, “I crashed my ex’s fancy wedding and gave a drunken speech”.

(Not related to the writing, but my other favorite thing about “Friends in Low Places” is the guy who shouts “Push, Marie!” in the middle of one of the repetitions of the chorus at the end. One of the bandmember’s wives was in labor during recording. I’ve always wondered what happened to Marie’s baby).

I just think it’s really cool that he has so many story songs. And it makes sense that he vibes with Billy Joel (to the point of covering several Billy Joel songs and singing “Piano Man” at concerts), given that they’re both fond of song storytelling. It’s just that Billy Joel’s strength lies with characters while Garth Brooks tends to focus on plot.

The lovely @curiouselfqueen tagged me on this one. (Thank you! I love these things.)

Uh. I have *feelings* about these? I have no idea why I feel so strongly, but... uh... there you go.

deep violet or blood red? Both? Not at the same time, but I love both. Purple and red are both power colors, but they convey very different things. Old ladies are allowed to wear both because they have the power to pull it off.

sunshine or moonlight? Oof. My default answer is moonlight? Some of the medication I’m on makes my eyes super-sensitive to sunlight. I’m like a damn vampire. Even on cloudy days I need sunglasses. I like seeing the sunlight through the trees when I’m in the woods? It’s pretty and far less painful.

Don’t get me wrong—I do love the moonlight. It’s so beautiful. Winter moonlight and summer moonlight are gorgeous.

80s music or 90s music? How dare you! Don’t speak to me or my 874 music genres ever again. Seriously though, I really love music. I listen to a wide variety of genres and some artists span decades. I love new wave and synthpop, but I also love pop punk and the swing revival. I can’t say one decade is better than the other.

orchids or dahlias? I like to garden, and from a gardening standpoint it’s dahlias all the way. Orchids are a wildly diverse species (over 25,000 types), but the pretty, delicate orchids they sell in stores are not hardy and require a lot of intensive, specific support. They’ll die if you plant them outside where I live. And the garden outside is what makes me happy and brings me joy.

garnet or ruby? These are such different stones. It’s almost like asking if I like chocolate milk or cola. Yes, they are both brown and you can drink them—but they’re really not similar.

Garnet— it’s semi-precious, plentiful, in use since antiquity. A decent go-to stone for jewelry. Like any gemstone, the color is determined by the type of impurities, so garnet can be almost any color. Blue garnets are the rarest. The Mohs scale for garnet depends on those same impurities because some can actually strengthen the hardness of the stone. Generally 6 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale.

I like garnets. Depending on the talent of the jeweler you can get lovely pieces set in silver that won’t cost an arm, a leg, and your soul. It was also my mother’s birthstone, so there’s that.

Ruby— Occasionally confused with spinels, rubies are pieces of corundum that contain the impurity chromium. Corundum that contains the impurities iron, titanium, vanadium, or magnesium are usually blue and referred to as sapphires. (Pink sapphires are actually poor quality rubies that the jewelry industry decided to rebrand to dupe the public. Similar to “chocolate diamonds” and other attempts to sell gems that don’t meet the criteria for their type.)

Corundum is a 9 on the Mohs scale. They highly sought after, have a rich mythos surrounding them, and feature prominently in history.

It seems like a lot of hype to me? They’re sturdy pieces of jewelry, not prone to breakage, but they ought to be for the price you pay. They’re pretty, I’ll grant you that.

moths or butterflies? Well, one is nocturnal and one is diurnal. One is fuzzy and stocky and one is smooth and slender. One is drab and one is brightly colored. I feel like I should picks moths on principle. I love Luna Moths. But butterflies are so very, very pretty. Moths I guess?

Aphrodite or Athena? Okay... so, um, here’s where it’s going to get heated. I apologize. I am *specifically* addressing how Athena and Aphrodite were worshipped/treated in Greek myths. I’m not looking at proto versions from Minoa, Mycenae, or Phoenicia. I’m also not looking at later syncretizations with other cultures e.g. Rome. It is the Greek myths that matter here because those are the myths and attitudes that were directly incorporated into Western culture. We’ve learned a lot about their origins, but *those* myths and attitudes were *not* incorporated into mainstream Western culture.

Athena was either born from Zeus’ head or his thigh. Either she has no mother—Zeus is her only parent—or Zeus swallowed her mother Metis (wisdom, prudence, counsel). This is critically important. In Athenian law, the father was the only legal parent. Mothers had no legal rights to their children at all. Athena is a very real symbol of that.

She is often portrayed as the goddess of wisdom, handicraft, and war. She is a goddess of industry (wine and olive oil). The thing we must ask is what kind of wisdom? What kind of war?

Plato argues this in Cratylus— that Athena’s wisdom could be a number of things from divine knowledge to moral intelligence. I think it’s important that Plato, one of Greece’s most celebrated philosophers, and more important one of the philosophers most embraced by Western Culture praised this choice of “moral intelligence.” [see Plato’s stance on poets in The Republic.]

Athena’s war is not the war of Ares, which is tied to passion and emotion. Ares represents the brutal aspects of war where humanity gives way to cruelty and inhumanity. Athena’s warfare is rational and “just.” Athena makes war on behalf of the city-state. Athena makes war to defend the government.

Athena’s purpose in myth and in poetry and song is to support the government. She is the shield of the king. She upholds and enforces the status quo. Look at her role in the Orestes trilogy. She supplants the Erinyes [the furies originally hunted and tormented ppl who committed matricide]. She decides that Iphigenia’s murder didn’t matter. Clytemnestra (Iphigenia’s mother) didn’t have the right to revenge for her daughter. Orestes was *justified* in murdering his mother because she killed his parent, his father.

Aphrodite also has a motherless birth, but it’s more incidental and spontaneous. Kronos cuts off his father Uranus’ genitals ( like you do ) and tosses them into the sea. Aphrodite is born from the sea foam. There’s a different feel to Aphrodite’s myth. An independence almost. Yes, a male god was involved because it’s a Greek requirement for any child, but it’s in such an incidental way. There was no purpose or intent on Uranus’ part. He had no control over her birth.

Aphrodite is an incredibly independent goddess. She owns her own sexuality and has autonomy over her own body. She is often referred to as the wife of Hephaestus, but in both the Iliad and Hesiod’s Theogony, Hephaestus has wives with different names and Aphrodite is unmarried.

A goddess with this kind of freedom and power in her own right—not tied to a husband or male family member (sorry Artemis!)— is almost unheard of. It makes Aphrodite unique and interesting.

TLDR: I prefer Aphrodite.

grapefruit or pomegranate? Pomegranate. For so many reasons, not the least of which is it’s associations with death and fertility. It’s a lovely contrast and a reminder that death brings forth life e.g. Nurse logs.

angel’s halo or devil’s horns? Oof. This is another rant, guys. Horns as a symbol of divine power are used throughout history and throughout the Indo-European culture. From Egyptian gods like Amun and Isis to Hindu gods like Śiva to Canaanite gods like El and Yahweh, horns have been used to show their power and might. Moses has most famously been depicted with horns due to murky/difficult translations of the Hebrew verb keren/qaran, which can mean BOTH “to send forth beams/rays” and “to be horned”.

There was a concerted effort to associate horns with the devil/evil/bad. Horns are also used to imply fertility/abundance, and that may have played into the perception of horns as devilish. Moses with horns was used as a jumping off point to demonize Jewish people during the Medieval period in a variety of European countries and cultures.

Halos, too, have been used across history and cultures as a symbol of divine power. Sumerian literature talks about a bright emanation that appears around gods and heroes. Chinese and Japanese Buddhist art shows Buddhist saints with halos.

I choose horns because I choose to reclaim that divine power. I reject the idea that either symbol is wholly good or wholly evil. I reject the idea that sexuality by itself is evil/wrong.

sirens or banshees? Both!!! I must admit a partiality to Sirens that is based wholly on my preference for the sea/ocean.

lorde or florence + the machine? Both!!! I love both groups and I’ve listened to their albums so many times. I will admit that I end up listening to Lorde more often when writing.

the birth of venus or the starry night? Huh. I’m going to assume that you mean the painting by Boticelli, even though there’s more than one Birth of Venus.

Honestly, Venus Anadyomene (Venus rising from the sea) is my favorite. It’s her origin myth and anyone could paint it, draw it, write about it, and put their own spin on it. It is malleable because it is myth. It lives on and changes and grows with us. Boticelli’s version is particularly lovely.

Starry Night (1889) belongs to VanGogh. No one can really recreate it without copying his style or his vision. Verschuier’s The Great Comet of 1680 Over Rotterdam could never really be confused with Starry Night. Not even Munch’s Starry Night (1893) could be confused for VanGogh. The two paintings are wildly different in subject matter despite the fact that their subject is the night sky.

I doubt any modern painter would dare. O’Keefe called hers Starlight Night, and I can only guess that others would follow that naming pattern of not quite using the title Starry Night.

Boy, I bet @curiouselfqueen is regretting tagging me now... sorry?

Alright...hear me out...

What if Bojack and Mr. Peanutbutter were bisexual rather than straight? Like many of my recent ships, this came to me towards the end of the series when [spoilers] Bojack moved in with Mr. Peanutbutter and I realized that I needed this stupid ship. I thought, "Let's get these predatory men away from women by shipping them with each other lol" and this happened. I know a lot of their arcs revolve around being straight as hell and it's questionable to make such flawed characters queer, but this is just for fun. Basically, in this AU Bojack is bisexual, with a preference towards men. His childhood is made even worse as a queer child in a highly homophobic household, especially from his father. Thanks to this and compulsory heterosexuality, he has to suppress his love for other boys and only let himself like girls. He is a little more free once he escapes his family, but not by much. He ends up in a secret relationship with Herb, the first time he can embrace his sexuality fully. This makes his later betrayal so much more painful as Herb is not only hurt by a friend, but heartbroken. When it comes out that Herb is gay, he begs for Bojack to come out and stand with him in solidarity, but he refuses for his career's sake. Furious, Herb tries to out him, but Bojack plays it off as an act of desperate slander. After this incident, Bojack falls back into the routine of only letting himself date girls, although he longs to pursue his male crushes. This routine of cycling through women to convince everyone, including himself, that he's straight contributes to his belief that he can never truly love someone. The only person that he comes out to is Diane (definitely after she finishes writing his book) who keeps his secret no matter how infuriating he is. Meanwhile, Mr. Peanutbutter is bi as well, with no real preference either way. His family was low-key homophobic, so he never really came out to them, especially since he had a habit of moving through relationships quickly and ignoring his same-sex crushes. On the way to stardom, he quickly learned that queer people were not welcome in Hollywood, so he continued his facade. He definitely had a celebrity crush on Hank Hippopopalous. He falls pretty hard for Bojack, but since Bojack is so clearly straight, he moves on to Katrina. Every time his love dies for one of his wives, he finds himself back at Bojack. This makes his little obsession with Bojack a little more reasonable, like how he always wanted to hang out with him and made Diane hang up the phone "in case Bojack calls" and defends him despite all the terrible things Bojack does, since he is not just trying to force everyone to like him, but is in love with him. He worries about Bojack each time he spirals, but feels like there isn't much he can do to help. He too comes out to Diane, partly as "proof" that she is different from his past two wives who he didn't come out to. This backfires though once they drift apart as she starts to understand why he cared so much about Bojack and she questions the validity of their relationship. Mr. Peanutbutter truly loved her, but she can't believe that someone like him could love someone like her, using his sexuality as an excuse (making her a little biphobic in this, but she learns better later don't worry). Once she's over him, she's just annoyed that these two gay disasters should just KISS ALREADY and leave women alone. When stuff hits the fan and Bojack is losing everything, the only one still by his side is Mr. Peanutbutter, who is secretly happy to be in that position. He desperately wants Bojack to just forget the outside world, forget everyone else, and live happily with him, despite knowing that it isn't realistic. He goes to Todd's party, worried about Bojack when he is kicked out, but wanting to be there for his best friend. He ends up leaving early to return to an empty home. After many failed calls, he checks Bojack's old house, finding EMTs already there. He is devastated and comes face-to-face with his feelings for Bojack as his death hits harder than he expected. He is overjoyed when Bojack lives, even if he has to serve time in prison. He visits him in prison when he can, although he can tell that Bojack wishes that his other friends would as well. Bojack comes to value these visits though when Mr. Peanutbutter has to miss a couple because of work. Mr. Peanutbutter continues to support him when everyone else continue to live better lives without Bojack, giving him a home after his release. (The rest of this is me forcing a happy ending lol) After SO LONG, Bojack realizes that he has someone to love him unconditionally and finally accepts his love for men. He comes out publicly because it's not like people could hate him more than they do. Mr. Peanutbutter does as well, but less dramatically. I imagine that Bojack still has so much trouble saying "I love you" so he uses some drawn out reference to say it to Mr. Peanutbutter. They live out their days as an old gay couple trying to improve themselves with each other for support (and LOTS of therapy oml). tl:dr In this AU they're both bi and suffer from compulsory heterosexuality, but end up together as two flawed people trying to move on from their pasts and improve themselves.

Got tagged by @orime-stories, thank you!^^ And I absolutely consider you one of the bright spots too! :D Without you I wouldn’t have found my way here and I’ve been so much lonlier.

Three ships

I’m not really into shipping to be honest, but these are the ones I sometimes actively seek content for.

Claudeleth. Claude is my baby and I love him and Byleth will take good care of him, just like the other way around. I’ve seen some really good fics of the two of them and I love them. A lot. You can pry these two out of my cold dead fingers. And while we’re here, Hilda totally ships it and gets her girlfriend Marianne in board as well.

Chrobin. Ah, Fire Emblem Awakening, the game that introduced me to Matt Mercer and even let my self-insert marry him. Yeah sue me, I really loved. I don’t think I can ever play awakening without romancing Chrom. He’s such delightful dumbass. Also Lucina and Morgan are my babies. (Another one from Awakening I really like is LonMiri. They are so stupid I love them. @fuckyeahlonmiri there still are some of us and I was working on a good post, but I haven’t gotten around to it, never give up hope!)

Kanerah x The Baroness x Kalikke. (If there is a shipping name I don’t know and I’m worse off for it.) My tiefling wives are the best and I can’t understand why so few people ship it. I get the appeal of Tristian, but have you seen these two? I love them. They deserve love too and I’ll make sure they get it!

As you can see, these are all kind of self-insert ships (though to be fair Byleth has at this point evolved beyond that. She’s great.) I’m not sorry for it, and neither should you. (Also can some people please stop pretending only male Robin and male Byleth are canon? Thanks.)

Last songs listened to:

I’ll actually give you more than just one, because I have thoughts. Surprising I know. Anyway, the very last one was The Mary Ellen Carter, because this song is not finished packing its bags and moving out of my head, even after I finished the chapter from The Adventures of Hildraed Dawnsbane. 

And the other one right before that is All You Wanna Do from the Musical Six. To be honest, I don’t think I’d like the show, it just seems like it’d hit all my pet peeves, but there are some nice songs. This song specifically has absolutely made me obsessed. This is the one song with an actual arc, and it protrays it so well too. You can hear the singer move her face to emote and the emotions are so clear it’s delightful. YOu can ust hear the pain every time she says “connection” Also it just really resonates with me, it builds her character so perfectly and tells her story in one song. (I am ignoring historical accuracy, because I don’t want to shovel myself into an early grave, and also that’s not the point of musical anyway.) Also also, tell me this doesn’t sound like beginning of some lesbian romance novel. Even better an ace lesbian romance novel! I keep waiting for her knight in shining armour to storm in and mow down the assholes for the real romance to begin. (No really though, I have a whole head of ranting how she’s is totally portrayed as ace here. May write it down at some point. For now let’s just say that this totally a Jessica Rabbit situation.)

Currently watching:

The Mighty Nein! I love my boy Caduceus and will defend him from the grabby shipper hands. At least in my own imagination. Anyway, Talisien, how do you do it? How do you make me fall in love with every single one of your characters? If I do end up watching Vox Machina as well, know that it’ll be just for Percy.

Aside from that I’ve wanted to rewatch The Witcher, My Hero Academia, and The Hollow Crown for a while. And I keep rotating back to the same video essays on Youtube. Lindsay Ellis, Jenny Nicholson, and Sideways have also moved into my head and refuse to leave.

Currently reading:

Still Kyoshi, because reading books is hard, even when they’re really fun. There’s also Good Omens that I want to read (and watch) again, the screenplay of it (which is hilarious in of itself), really any Terry Pratchett book (but his phantom of the opera version is among my top choices because of the aformentioned Lindsay Ellis), and also the newest (and last) installment of The Trials of Apollo. That one will probably be my last Rick Riordan book (at least for a while), since I’m really noticing know how I’ve grown out of them. I already wasn’t really invested in Magnus Chase anymore, but I really want to finish Apollo’s story at least, he’s fun. 

How’s it going:

All in all, not bad really. Or at least not as bad as it could be. My family wasn’t really hit by covid, as my dad works in the computer department (? translation is hard too) of a bank and so home office really wasn’t an issue (for me it was just annoying because his office is right next to me room and so he kept waking me up), and my mom was already pretty good with computer technology and so actually got more jobs getting the schools tech stuff up to date and helping the other teacher get a hang of it, so at least money isn’t really an issue. (Not we’re not rich, but you know what I mean.) Home schooling for uni also really isn’t bad, especially the lectures can definitely stay that way. Absolutely nothing changes, aside from the fact that I can sleep longer and have an infinte supply of tea. Yes please, I’ll take it. And from the way it sounds, my chances actually won’t be terrible that they’ll really keep it around after covid. We’ll see. It also means that everyone else also has to rely on things like discord for social contact, which is just so much nicer for my introverted ass. You can just meet up in two seconds and leave just as fast if you want. The shittiest part of it for me is the fact that I can’t use my dice anymore for roleplaying. And my birthday LARP weekend was cancelled. 

So really right now the shittiest thing is the five exams I’ll have in the last two weeks of january. Fuck me. Especially because I really don’t have a feel yet how much I really have to study for this shit.

A whole bunch of people were already tagged for this but I think @stylishanachronism, @moon-sugar, @porokelle, @oddstitchlips, @haledamage, and @quenthelicious remain untagged. So if you want, consider this your invitation!^^

Hey there. I was wondering if there was anything on torturing someone's family members? (In writing I mean, not IRL). For instance, if a character is the universe's equivalent of a superhero or law enforcement or something, but the torturers couldn't get them for some reason, so they go for family instead. (Or perhaps they know the original person is used to torture, so they go for someone who might not be). How could I write this? Would I look/research into hostage situations? Ransom?

This definitely happens. Organisations and torturers do target family members, friends and sometimes whole communities to ‘punish’ an individual.

 It doesn’t necessarily happen because torturers can’t access the person they intend to. A lot of the accounts I have involve both the individual and their family/friends/tribe being targetted.

 This is one of those questions where I feel like in order to get to the heart of the issue and increase understanding it’s better if I actually…. Ignore some of the questions. Because I don’t think hostage situations or ransom are relevant here.

 If you’re willing to look at real cases I have a starting point right here: Fela Kuti the father of Afrobeat. He was arrested and tortured multiple times by the Nigerian government. In one of the attacks his mother was murdered. His whole family was targetted, as were many of his friends, supporters and people who lived on his land.

 I can’t give you a definitive reason why torturers and criminals committing human rights abuses, behave like this. I’m not a psychologist.

 My impression from reading accounts (as a non-expert) is that it isn’t rational or logical. Targetting someone’s family serves no purpose.

 But then neither does torture.

 Torturers often present it as a ‘punishment’ for the individual. For instance security forces who target the wives and mothers of suspects often present it as a form of retaliation, as if the woman they’re actually hurting is an extension of her male family member rather then a person in her own right.

 I have seen cases like this where abused family members were released in exchange for money. But I wouldn’t compare it to a ransom scenario where money is the main motivation. Instead it seems more like- well old fashioned bribery in an institution where the discipline and oversight are already lacking (otherwise torture wouldn’t be happening).

 More often I read about this scenario being used to try and force confessions or surrender if the individual they’re after isn’t present.

 But most often? There’s no motivation, just additional people who happened to be around at the time and are therefore ‘legitimate targets’.

 If you’re planning to use something like this as a way to force a hero to surrender/stand down it’s worth remembering that torturers don’t always keep their word. A promise that the family will be released will not necessarily be kept, and it might be made after the family have already been murdered.

 Sometimes the people who are tortured aren’t actually relatives, they’re mistaken for them.

 And I’m not sure what else to say without more specific questions. I guess the best way to wrap this up is with the reminder that torturers are not well organised, well informed or logical.

 They lash out. They make mistakes. They take the opportunity to victimise more people just because they had that opportunity.

 There’s nothing wrong with the scenario you’ve presented here and if you have any further questions the askbox is open. :)

Available on Wordpress.

Disclaimer

A scenario where Uzui and his wives were going to a restaurant and met reader there. Reader was waiting in line, turned around to notice them, and said to themselves "Wow. They're really attractive, I won't ever get to know them." Uzui and his wives thought "Wow. They're really cute. Let's get to know them". Cue all of them surprising reader by talking to them. Even asking them out to eat with them. They were so shocked that they accept the invitation without realising at it. Not that they mind

Aww this one's pretty cute, I do hope you enjoy this qwq

❤ A New Member ❤

You were waiting in line in one of the restaurants in Tokyo. It wasn't a fancy restaurant but you heard the food was delicious and it was affordable for you to eat. The sight and smell of the food inside was enough to make your mouth water.

"Let's all eat in here shall we? I heard the food is flamboyantly good here!" You hear a male voice from behind accompanied by giggles that sounded like a woman. You turn your head to see a tall and muscular man whose head was covered in a jeweled headwrap and 3 women. One whose hair was slicked back into a neat ponytail wearing a diamond spotted kimono, another whose hair was in a messy ponytail wearing a striped kimono, and the last with her hair down wearing a solid black kimono. You smiled as you observed them, 'Wow, they're really attractive… they're all happy with each other too, they must be all together.'

The man caught your stare first before the other women did, your eyes widen and blushed, 'Oh God, they saw me! I must have weirded them out!' You internally screamed, embarrassment took over your face. You heard them whisper behind you, but you could barely hear what they said.

"Cute!" 

"Tengen-san, look!"

"Oh could we invite them?" That's all you can make out, but you weren't sure. You heard the man laugh again, "Well, why not? The more the merrier!" You hear him say. 

You felt a tap on your shoulder, you looked behind to see the same man and the 3 wives. "Hello there gorgeous, is anyone with you?" He asked you with a bright and welcoming smile. Your face heats up a bit, "U-Um, no, not really. Why?" You asked while stuttering. One of the girls approached and placed a hand on your shoulder, "We were wondering if you would like to join us?" She asked, "Yeah, please join us!" Another one said, "If that is okay with you." The third one said.

You were still processing about what just happened, surprised that these people you stared at are now inviting you. With a bashful smile, you replied with, "I-I would like to! Is it really okay for me to join you?" You asked the tall man. He beamed at you  "Of course, my wives saw something in you, so I decided to invite you." He held out his hand, "Shall we?" You giggled at the gesture and took his hand, "We shall!" The wives squealed with joy, excited to have a bite with you.

~~~❤~~~❤~~~❤~~~

You all exchanged your names while waiting for the food to arrive. The white haired man was named Tengen Uzui, Hinatsuri was the one with the diamond spotted kimono, Makio in the striped kimono, and Suma in the black kimono. "So (y/n), do you live here in Tokyo?" Suma asked, to which you shake your head, "No, but I do work here. It's a little far from my hometown but I needed to make money to support my family." You replied. "I see, you must be a very hard worker then." Suma said as she petted your hair lovingly. You blushed again and giggle quietly.

"They're cute aren't they?" Hinatsuru asked her husband, to which he nodded with a grin on his face, "They're absolutely flamboyant!" 

The food then arrived and you all started to eat, talking more about your lives. You learned that Tengen is a demon slayer and his wives are shinobi, "Those must be really dangerous jobs… how are you able to do that?" You asked as you took a bite from your food. "Well, we did it flamboyantly" Tengen said proudly, then he looked at his wives, "But I always make sure that my loved ones are safe first." You smiled, happy to know that even is he seems like a show-off, he's a very caring husband. 

You heard Suma giggle beside you, "What is it?" You asked. "You just have little something there on your cheek" Makio replied as she wiped the mess from your face. "A-ah, t-thank you Makio-san…" you mumbled as your blush deepened, Suma just squealed at your cuteness.

"They make a good spouse, don't you think so?" Hinatsuru asked quietly to Tengen. The man thought about it and grinned. You were an absolute angel in his eyes, both beautiful and gentle. He loves the way you interact with his wives and your smile makes him feel warm. "Hey, (y/n)?" He called out to you, to which you give a questioned hum. Tengen then took your hand into his own, looking at you in the eye, "How would you like to be a part of my family? Just me, Hinatsuru, Makio, and Suma?" He asked, flashing a toothy grin.

Your eyes widen as you can't help but feel bubbly inside, "R-Really?" You questioned, earning a humble laugh from the man, "Of course! You'll be a spectacular, flamboyant spouse!" Tengen beamed, as his wives giggled, "What do you say (y/n)-san?" Hinatsuru asked. Your blush once again rose up to your face, "I-I mean, that would be nice but didn't we just met? And you know, probably get to know each other better?"

Tengen have you a reassuring look, "If that's what you want, then we can build our relationship stronger until our wedding day!" He laughed. "Oh, I can't wait to have more dates with you!" Suma beamed, hugging you from your side, "Especially when we get to shop for your wedding attire." Makio joined in, grinning at you. "E-Eh? W-Wait, you guys!" You tried to protest, but you can't help but feel excited as well. Maybe this would be a nice change in your life.

"It's nice to have a new member to protect and care for, don't you think Tengen-san?" Hinatsuru asked, giggling at the three in front of her. The man nodded, "A new member in my flamboyant family, I like the sound of that!" Tengen beamed, laughing. Oh how he can't wait to choose for your wedding ring one day.