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the-force-awakens · 3 months

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I think something that no one talks about is how Poe leans more towards being an anti-hero than just plain hero. He's willing to do the "wrong" things for the right reasons, ex: willing the kill bad people to save the innocent, basically willing to do the dirty work that no one wants to talk or think about. and I think it should be talked about more. Your post was just *chefs kiss*, the way you understood Poe is so refreshing compared to what I see him reduced to in canon

Poe definitely is willing to make the tough calls, including being willing to kill bad people to save innocent people (or destroy a planet to save countless others), but I wouldn't necessarily sort him into the antihero trope myself, more the "good is not nice" trope.

Because for as much as Poe is willing to shoot the bad guys, or blow up a planet if it means saving the galaxy, he's usually the first person to lower his blaster or offer someone a second chance. The biggest source of conflict between himself and Zorii in Free Fall is the fact that Poe can't fit into this life of shades of grey, and that's a trait that does follow him to the Resistance. He can lie (badly) for them, he can steal ships, be labeled a criminal if it's done for the right reasons/for the Resistance but at the same time, he also......really can't wrap his head around and seems uncomfortable at times with Suralinda's way of manipulating or recontextualizing the truth for propaganda purposes (which i wish had...been better explored in the comics it's Fine, but like I wanna know more about Poe "can't lie" Dameron and Suralinda "i'm here to tell a good story" Javos. I WANT TO KNOW MORE LUCASFILM), even if Suralinda is doing those things for the Resistance, so they can gain more support.

There's also this quote of Rian Johnson's, that I really love, and that I feel like sums up Poe the best for me:

“Oscar is like a reincarnation of my favorite old movie stars; he has that old school magnetism paired with insane acting chops. Poe is a straight-up, good-guy hero, and although he gets put through the wringer in this film, because of Oscar you never lose faith that he’s going to come out the other end all the better for it.” [from this post]

I'm having trouble wording/it's kind of hard for me to explain, but like. I view Poe as someone who is, like Rian describes him, as a good-guy hero, who usually cannot quite stop the instinct to do the heroic thing, and how that can make him quite reckless (I do believe Oscar actually described Poe during the TFA Press Tour as "recklessly heroic" sir I'm sorry i ever doubted you about Poe being reckless, I thoroughly learned my lesson #13 Poe issues and a knife to Poe's hand later) - but I think also that doesn't mean that Poe needs to look like the hero, and I think TLJ proves that? He does what he believes is the best for the Resistance, and seizes control of the Raddus. It's a last resort, of course, and I don't think he necessarily cares about what people might think of him for it* - he's a commander, he makes the hard calls all the time, and regardless of his own desire to be a hero, I don't think Poe necessarily wants to be praised as one. He's just gonna do the right, most heroic thing at any given moment, and doesn't care what people say. I mean...we kind of get the impression he's used to being seen a certain way, y'know? Poe doesn't seem surprised in the least when Holdo berates him, he just has this look of "oh this banthashit again I thought I'd heard the last of it", y'know?

*y'know except for leia. because he definitely makes a face when she says that thing about holdo in the transport. anyway moving on because this got completely. the train jumped the track here. adhd moment.

As much as he is willing to do some hard things for the Resistance, I feel like Poe would. not last a day in the Rebellion - the Rebellion is just gray. You have to be, fighting something like the Empire, they're quick and dirty and. manipulative and liars and assassins, and Poe...wouldn't have the heart for that, I think. So I do believe there would be a line, in what Poe would even be willing to do for the Resistance.

That said, I do wish canon/fanon would be more willing to explore....any of his. nuance. that everyone seems very allergic to acknowledging, and I'd especially be interested in seeing more of Poe's - I'm a dw nerd sorry I'm just gonna call it this every time - "oncoming storm" side because it's so much fun. There's some other facets of his character I'd love to see explored in more detail, but that one especially. It would honestly be a dream, I think, if Alex Segura got to write for him again, but perhaps this time in the Resistance era, because I think that man would have a blast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! with writing a good spy adventure.

#ask box #userorb #my meta #(again. oops?)#poe dameron #i haven't seen anyone categorize him more as an anti-hero before tho! but tbh i also.#don't see many people categorizing him as good is not nice either #because that would imply. yknow. acknowledging that poe has depth #and nuance.#and that he exists as a character outside of being attractive or a part of [is sniped]#anyway.#unfortunately getting any exploration on him would. involve.....actual content for him and we're in the middle of a fcking drought right no #i would also Love if someone explored how sensitive he can be t hough #and i don't just mean in a fjaofjaosfj oscar 'he has a sensitive side' isaac way lmfaoooo but wouldn't that be something #poe definitely has rsd i think because he takes rejection/slights SO hard #i kind of want to make a compilation of it JUST from the movies/resistance alone #unfortunately there's So much there (plus in through the turbulance) that i.........do not have the spoons to do so

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lansangprincess · 10 days

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HBH Bi Representation∘—✧₊

there's some discourse going around about the bi representation of Missy and Malakai being "pointless" since their current main partners (who they very well may end up with) are the opposite sex and I just want to voice out my opinion just so that it exists online that I heavily disagree.

Though sexuality is obviously about sexual attraction, queerness is an identity that exists outside of one's relationships and especially with Malakai and how he was exploring his sexuality at the beginning, I saw myself in all the uncertainty, in all the chaos, in all his overdramatic spiraling, to say the least.

They are more than their partners and I personally never felt like I was being misrepresented just because of who they were currently with.

But also, it's so useless for me to track how many hetero-presenting relationships there are on this show when the biggest representation win for me is that this actually feels like a queer community. The HBH characters feel more than a sum of their parts, compared to other shows/film where even if there are a few really good representations of queer people, the main group as a whole doesn't necessarily feel like that queer community my younger self was seeking all their life.

In truth, there are so many ways these characters could be romantically linked which would make for really interesting dynamics. And to me, every single one has a chance of becoming a plausible canon scenario which makes Heartbreak High such a groundbreaking show. I have my ships and my OTPs but I don't see how I could ever lose when the group as a whole truly feels like a super warm and safe and gay af found family regardless of who ends up with who.

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sh00kspeared · 1 month

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Can we talk about Johnny's bi erasure in-game? Because really, it makes me kinda mad.

Now, I'm not the kind of person who shouts 'homophobia' at everything because it's just not my way of things... but the amount that Johnny's attraction to men has been completely shafted throughout the game is really a disservice to him and to all the people who ship their male characters with him. A few examples:

Cutting or making really hard to trigger the line where Johnny says he got a lap dance from a man at a gay strip club (I've seen some people claim they experienced it, which is why I think it may still be in the game)

Johnny saying he didn't sleep with Kerry because he had a dick despite the official, director-sanctioned game guide saying that he did.

Johnny telling female V that the two are arguing "like an old married couple", yet telling male V that they're arguing "like two geezers on a park bench." (Johnny's definitely not the kind of guy to change his language depending on the gender of person he's with).

Never, ever alluding to any of his flings with male characters outside of the strip club line despite him saying that he did swing both ways now and then.

Now, why do I care so much about this? Because it's really sparked more debate than necessary. This post got hate for making him "gay" Cyberpunk 2077 on X: "Johnny Silverhand 🎤 Art by: @painperdues https://t.co/ABiBzSCZvm" / X (twitter.com) and so did this one Cyberpunk 2077 on X: "V and Johnny, Johnny and V… By: @hanbyeo0526 https://t.co/JlGNBmRYJH" / X (twitter.com) (I believe some of the comments have been deleted since because I don't see a lot of the meanest ones there anymore). Mind you, after the latter was posted, a fem V x Johnny post was made not too long afterward and it got markedly fewer hate comments. Also, funny story, my old male V x Johnny post is the third most controversial post of all time on r/lowsodiumcyberpunk at the moment (please go downvote it if possible; I wanna be first again lmao /hj).

But, all this to say, much of the playerbase sees Johnny as an alpha straight manly man when he's... well... not. While many people including me assume that the choice to keep his bisexuality under wraps is due to his addled memory in Mikoshi misremembering the fact that he canonically slept with Kerry, I just think this is a really odd thing to use to demonstrate that. Of all the things the devs could've chosen to display this, they chose one of the things that is most likely to get male V x Johnny shippers belittled and seen as the 'lesser' version of the ship for just existing.

They chose to erase a massive part of Johnny's identity, either to prove the point of his memories being addled or because they were scared of backlash. I just don't see how it would've been so hard for him to allude to some of his male flings more often, make the dicky twister line easier to trigger, and just not have him say that he didn't sleep with kerry because he had a dick. Ffs CDPR, stop being so dodgy your bi characters' identities.

#tw vent #tw rant #cyberpunk 2077 #johnny silverhand #silverv

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astrum-naut · 1 year

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no escape

characters: yandere! league of assassins head! damian wayne x healer! Reader

summary: you were just a medic. nothing more, nothing less. but, the league’s current heir seems to think otherwise.

content warnings: power dynamics / power imbalance (head!damian, healer! reader), technical child abduction and labor, kidnapping, implied murder, unhealthy relationships, co-dependency (?), jealousy

word count: 2k

Always remember that this is a work of fiction and everything written does not fully encompass and describe Damian Wayne’s personality and character. Feel free to send in asks / questions / clarifications / thoughts about the work.

You didn’t know what your life would be without Damian Al Ghul in it.

It was a bold claim to make considering he might have not regarded your existence any importance at all. From the moment you were born, your utmost priority was placed on his safety and overall well-being - as you showed an innate talent for advanced healing magic. The Al Ghuls desired the best, and with your forebears dwindling in numbers - they were willing to place their chances on the nearest child who showed potential.

It wasn’t a complete nightmare as outsiders made it seem - the only few you could interact with anyway. In the outermost region of Nanda Parbat that bloomed with herbs, elders would tell tales of warning whenever you were about to return to the base. A bittersweet smile is what you could only offer in members, obligated to to swallow the reality being a healer has to offer. The duty of aiding wounded members was already enough, but their stories of bloodshed was part of the ordeal you had to accept.

As times have passed, so did the eventual rise of the heir. If you were being any honest, you found him to be a bit of a brat. There was no denying his skills or swordsmanship. but as a child who grew beside him, you couldn’t exactly read his mind. You didn’t know where you exactly stand with him, but it doesn’t matter in the end. There was a level of authority and cockiness whenever interactions were required between you two, and you were only obligated to fulfil your part as a medic.

If you were being any more honest with yourself, during the late nights wherein other girls your age talked about mundane topics, you would admit that you found some level of attraction towards him. Your choices were already slim since you barely left the palace and the interactions you have with the assassins were limited. But, as your mind grew hazier throughout the night, you would almost have to lie to yourself if you didn’t think about his green eyes that shone like emeralds - or his broad form that barred scars of battle wounds as he grew of age.

Your perception of him was a convenience, something to help pass the time whenever you yearned for a legitimate life outside the walls. You never actually thought of pursuing any kind of relationship with him, a ridiculous thought to even entertain at the position you were in. A mere service person is what you are, a staff at the abode - not a potential bride or lifelong partner.

It was a mindset that helped you at least cope with the thoughts of love swirling in both your heart and mind. Yet, it doesn’t help numb the pain you feel in your chest as one of your colleagues announces an upcoming bridal showcase for Damian’s future spouse.

—

“Feeling down about the announcement, (Y/N)?” One of your colleagues, Farah, coos as she tidies up the clinic. You remain silent, focused on organizing the medicinal herbs gathered earlier in the day. Your affections for Damian wasn’t exactly a secret, but it was well-maintained enough by your co-workers. It was like a passing conversation whenever something serious was not occurring within the day.

The other staff who were in the room giggle discreetly and you finally scowl. “Why are you even acting like we’re in a secret relationship or something, it’s not even that serious.”

They ignore your heated words, shooting you playful looks or cheeky smiles.

“Really? Don’t you find it odd that he was willing to accompany you during the latest scavenge for the items needed today? He’s never done that with us.” Leila pipes up, shoving Mariam for extra emphasis. The latter’s smile became even brighter, “Or the time the sanctum was under attack and he was looking for you first?”

You shrug the notion off, “I’m just one of the healers who can immediately heal him, there’s nothing more to it.”

The girls roll their eyes once more.

“Why are you so in denial about it? Haven’t you thought about the times he’s willing to go easier on us just because you were there? Or the small tokens or gifts he gave you from abroad? Or– or! The times he confided in you while you’re healing him?! He’s never even said anything similar to us unless it was to scold us while healing him!” Farah counts on her fingers comically and you’re tempted to laugh at her exaggerated expressions.

“Maybe the problem is he’s not available…” Mariam says loudly at the back of her hand, a guffawed sound escapes from Leila.

“I don’t care if he’s available or not. He never notices me, and if I were really paying attention to his advances or not*–” You defend yourself before you’re cut off by their combined giggles.

“(Y/N)’s got it bad*–”

“I hope you’re spending an equal amount of effort delegating and prioritizing your job as you are in this gossip.” A deep voice booms throughout the chamber, and all of you stiffen as your eyes land on the speaker.

It was Damian, with his strong arms crossed and his heated stare pinned to you.

The others scurry off, finding sudden interest in leaving you alone with the heir. You swallow the tension building in your throat and find the words to say, “I a-apologize for our discussion. It wasn’t at all necessary, pardon our unprofessional behavior.”

He doesn’t say anything for a few seconds and your life nearly flashes in front of you. He finally sighs and makes his way towards you, he takes off his green and gold garb as he gestures towards his arm. “I require the fixing of a laceration placed here. Make it urgent.”

You want the ground to swallow you whole, barely peeping out a sound in response to his order. Your hands hover for a few seconds as you try to ignore the swole of his upper muscles, his large biceps relaxed under your proximity. You don’t know if the heat of the atmosphere translates to your face, but you fight off the urge to think about his body further,

He doesn’t say anything, but you admit his judgemental gaze leaves you feeling unnerved. The Al Ghul's signature green eyes always held some kind of scrutiny behind the pretty color, and you were lying to yourself if you didn’t acknowledge how small you felt whenever any of their sights landed on you. You constantly felt like a prey that was meant to be devoured.

You were being more dishonest if you didn’t wonder how it would feel if any emotion other than contempt or disappointment were to show in his eyes.

“What was the discussion about that it required you to be distracted on your duties?” His voice, god, his voice. It was articulated, like he was immediately ready to counter any of your arguments or excuses.

You pause for a split second, trying to calm your nerves. Why were you even nervous, anyway? It’s not like he knows your crush on him, even if he does - you’ll never be with him. If you were lucky enough, he would exile you from the palace and not decapitate you for entertaining such aspirations, unworthy of a healer born and raised alongside the legacy of assassins he was born into.

“Unrelated endeavors to your obligation to heal our fellow comrades, I presume? ” He cuts into your thoughts, your mouth left agape at his suggestion. He doesn’t take his eyes off you as your heart pounds against your chest, “You are of age, it shouldn’t be much of a shock considering whatever looms in your mind. Although…”

Something swirls in his eyes as he speaks again, “I’m not the least bit gratified when you take your eyes off your duties, what lies in front of you with your capabilities and talent. I shouldn’t have to tell you this, considering your calibre. You should know better to read the situation to better gauge what’s happening around you. You must focus on what matters most, anything or anyone else is unacceptable.”

You sputter, exasperated at his statement. “W-what? I’d like to think I’m making an acceptable, even outstanding effort in my job. Have the hours or ages spent dedicated towards ensuring the league’s utmost safety and health not enough for you?”

He narrows his eyes at you and the phlegm builds in your throat, tightening your ability to breath.

When he was younger, he was privy to scoffing at the smallest of things, like a typical child under his stature would. He’s grown out of that phase with enough firm glares from his mother, shrinking to the power she withheld over him as his son - the few moments you would enjoy his slouched form and withdrawn eyes. You were used to his judgemental gaze over the sloppy techniques you performed, even grabbing your hands a few times to readjust the gauze or bandages you’ve placed on another soldier.

Damian became older, but the feeling you received from the interactions never changed. You wondered if his mother would immediately decapitate her head from her signature sword after laying your calloused hands on her son, a form of retribution for all the years you’ve been trapped on the island.

“Just know that you are lacking in your duty as of this moment and others that have come before it. If I had known that you were this distracted, I would have assigned you closer to where I can see your performance clearly. Many healers have spent their entire lifetime here, binded by other league members, and this circumstance is no different should I see you slacking off - engrossed over a matter more important than the mission - you should know I do not take kindly to those interfering with your loyalty to me. Do I make myself clear?”

The taste of blood floods your mouth and for a split second, you wonder if your end would be closer than normal should you decide to rip his laceration open.

You don’t muster a response as he pulls your arm closer to him, searching your eyes for an answer with his emerald gaze. His grip was strong and firm, but it didn’t crush your limb when he decided to intimate you when you were both children. Even as he was seated, you were of equal height - and you were luckily enough he didn’t decide to tower over you as usual.

You were accustomed to these exchanges, but it didn’t stop you from trying to stop your tears bursting at the corners of your eyes.

Damian tuts, “Do you understand me, handmaiden? Or do you want me to make you see your errors more directly?”

“Understood.” You blurt out as fast as you could, your molars grinding against each other at the rage bubbling in your stomach.

He doesn’t speak again but you know it means more than you will ever understand.

He releases his hold on you and you try not to stomp towards the opposite direction, the feeling of his eyes on your form never fading. You could barely remember if the treatment was finished but you don’t even care anymore. If your death was near, you could eventually go out on your own terms. Maybe even try visiting the local village for some poison you could consume in your slumber.

But something in you disregarded that notion. Like you wouldn’t be dead for a long time unless Damian had something to do with it, whether you wanted it or not.

You didn’t know what the feeling was, but it was definitely not pleasant as goosebumps fluttering your skin. Was he that upset at your retort? It was hardly the worse way you spoke towards him. Even if that was the case, you would’ve been murked by both his grandfather and mother eons ago.

Still…

You weren’t an expert, but you were sure it wasn't irritation you felt raking against your form.

#yandere batfam #yandere #yandere dc #yandere dc comics #yandere batman #yandere damian wayne #yandere damian wayne x reader #yandere damian wayne x reader angst #yandere damian wayne imagine #yandere robin

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hamspamandjamsandwich · 6 months

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Kurama is such a complex character, god love him. The way I see him is: I mean he’s literally actually only Yoko Kurama.

“Oh he’s here. He’s me.”

So we have three personas here: Kurama, Yoko Kurama, and Shuuichi Minamino. While he has these three identities, he doesn’t have three personalities. That is to say, he’s one being, two different pieces that merged.

That’s where shit gets really interesting. My interpretation of this is that the merger came packaged with a human soul and body, and that the human parts are what gives him a conscience and a heart and a moral compass, and things such as. I doubt this is an original idea I just wanted to muse lol.

Shuuichi doesn’t bring a different personality. I think Shuuichi provided the things that make us human and a body. Those things are part of the human soul. Empathy, guilt, love. Yoko was always still himself, it’s how Kurama remembers everything, it’s literally just him. He’s simply changed as a person due to being plagued with humanity.

And that’s such a fun idea to me. Yoko Kurama, the legendary bandit, king of thieves—having personality rehab via the human experience. I think it just changed him the way anyone can change, sorta. He begins to feel pretty shitty about the things he’s done and feels guilty about everything with regards to his mother. All this comes together and makes him…a better version of himself? A better person? And I like that.

there is no Shuuichi outside of an adopted persona/identity for Kurama—like I don’t think he brought anything outside of what comes with nature, genetics, and a human soul (which I personally don’t think is the sum of someone’s personality, just what gives them spiritual life? If that makes sense).

But man, it makes me love Kurama so much more when I don’t think of Yoko as a different self or something that can be abandoned, it’s simply a previous version of himself. The past. So I think his 15 years as semi-human simply gave Yoko some insane character development.

Experiencing being unconditionally loved—the very idea that a relationship need not be transactional—being loved beyond what you can do for them. Being loved for existing, and nothing else. I truly think that his humanity responded well to being loved during the “early childhood development” stage and it gives him a way more stable sense of self than he should have tbh

And much like actual prison (or maybe more accurately rehab or inpatient etc), he has nothing but time and passes it by taking up interests and hobbies. He got to find stuff he enjoys about being human and ningenkai. He already liked plants obviously, but it’s so sweet to imagine him really developing an interest in botany and gardening and keeping houseplants etc. Learning to cook with Shiori and actually really liking it—I mean hey he gets to use some of those plants he’s been growing.

Big reader, obviously. He wants to know everything, and he knows so much already, yet humans keep inventing new shit to learn about, so that works out well. School and education get to be competitive sports that he’s the best at, again obviously. All manner of puzzles, games (tabletop and video of course), mystery books and films; if you can analyze it or crack a code somehow, he’s good with it. A real people-watcher, the disdain for humanity begins to fade over time and observation—they’re not so bad after all.

I like that he grows very comfortable in his human form. He’s pretty and appears to really own that (he lucked out there, huh? Incubated in a human that will be so attractive in the future lol), and I think that being raised by his mother (and perhaps this is some of that aforementioned Shuuichi nature) has him “in touch with his feminine side.” So I imagine he doesn’t miss his Yoko body too much, until he suddenly gets it back for a moment and is reminded of how good it felt to be himself. Good in a sinful, hedonistic way, that is. He clearly doesn’t want to be that way, but 1000+ year old habits die hard, right?

Idk I love Yoko Kurama that’s all folks that’s one of my headcanons or maybe it’s actually canon who knows. I just wanted to muse about my favorite kitsune.

#kurahi #yu yu hakusho #yoko kurama #musings.txt #kurama #I love the spirit fox #he’s just trying to do better and atone for his crimes #yyh #headcanons

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ateezreactionsandscenarios · 1 year

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Let me show you.

Pairing: Kang Yeosang x Reader

Genre: Fluff, Smut

CW: Reader’s first time, fingering (F receiving), protected sex, praise.

Word Count: 3826

Summary: You were envious of your best friend’s colourful sex life since yours was non existent. The frustration of being a virgin was getting to be too much, so who better to help you out than the one person you trust the most.

Part of StayTeez Trope’pril

Prompt List Series Masterlist MasterList Buy me a Coffee

Nothing sucks more than feeling like the unattractive one of the friendship group, and what makes it worse is the fact you know for sure that with the boys especially, they're not even the slightest bit innocent. How could they be when they're literally the most attractive men you've ever laid eyes on?

Especially Yeosang.

Who's been such a close friend for years, you know everything that's happened with him even if it didn't come out of his mouth. It made you so jealous, and insecure. It's saddening in your eyes that you've only ever gone as far as to kiss someone, not ever having the trust there with anyone to let it get any further. Not having trust in them and yourself, not knowing if you'd be impressive anyway.

That's all you can think about, especially when Yeosang's phone constantly pings with notifications when you're trying to focus on the game of Mario Kart but the notifications get you dangerously curious as to what's going on in his life.

"Someone's popular." You quip, nudging his shoulder lightly as his character on the game goes slightly off the track.

"What was that for, look, I'm 5th place now! And I don't want to be, I wish my phone would stop for at least an hour." He smiles back, the smile slowly fading into a slight frown as he rolls his eyes at the next notification sound to come through.

“Seriously what has your phone going off like that?”

“It’s the dating apps I haven’t used in a while, I keep getting matches and they just won’t stop messaging me.” He sighs trying to put more of his focus into the game.

“You’re on dating apps?” You scoff, you couldn’t believe a guy like him would need a dating app all he has to do is step outside and he has women falling at his feet.

“Have you had much luck dating wise from them?” His eyes widen at your question and his cheeks flush with a light shade of pink.

“Umm...Well...” He’s trying to find the most vague way to describe it to you but he couldn’t think of anything other than the blunt truth.

“Put it this way...I don’t use them for dating.”

“Well if you don’t use them for dating why do you have them?” He clears his throat before answering you.

“I use them to get laid, it’s a lot easier than going to a club, but like I said I haven’t been on them in a while.”

“It’s that easy?” You ask scoffing again.

“I guess so, I just swiped for a few hours a day and matches were made.”

“You didn’t think you could potentially date any of these girls?”

“Nah, I was looking for girls who were just up for a fling, a one night stand.” You were quiet after listening to him explain, your insecurities coming back. He made it sound so easy like all you had to do was push a few buttons and there you go, a new girl in your bed every week. But you knew it wasn’t that simple, Yeosang was gifted with a pretty face, smooth voice and sweet mannerisms, but you on the other hand was awkward and couldn’t help but stutter when a cute guy spoke to you, if they spoke to you that is.

The sadness was weighing down on you and you started to loose focus in the game, your character dropping from 1st to 7th quickly. Yeosang noticed how you weren’t playing so well and looked over to you, seeing the melancholy look on your face.

“What’s up?” He asked, giving your shoulder a little bump with his but gaining no answer from you. Nudging you again and with still no answer he puts his controller down and sits facing you.

“Yeo you’re gonna lose if you don’t move.” You say quietly, trying to will your focus back into the game.

“I don’t care, tell me what’s up, you’re all quiet and glum now.”

“It’s nothing.” You answer simply, but unlucky for you Yeosang knows you like the back of his hand, he knew it wasn’t nothing. Pausing the game he takes your controller from your hand and sets it down next to his. You look up at him confused and he grabs the sides of your legs to move you to face him.

“Y/n, tell me what’s bothering you.”

“Look it’s really stupid, it’s nothing you need to worry about, I’ll be fine.” You stress, leaning forward to get your controller but Yeosang beats you to it, snatching up both controllers and holding them away from you and giving you a warning look.

“Okay fine, I guess I’m just a little jealous about how exciting your sex life is.” You pout as he gives you a small giggle.

“Told you it was stupid.”

“No, it’s not stupid, why are you so jealous anyway it’s not like it’s a big deal?” He says, his chuckles fading away but his smile still present on his face.

“I’m just so envious that you can sleep with any girl you want and it’s as easy as blinking for you and then there’s me, still a virgin and I can’t even get a guy to look at me let alone fucking sleep with me.” His smile drops and his face forms a more shocked expression.

“What?” You ask, hissing slightly feeling a little annoyed.

“I didn’t know you were still a virgin.” He responds, eyes still wide with shock as you groan at him.

“Well it’s not exactly something I advertise and you being shocked doesn’t really help.” You whine hiding your face in your hands.

“I’m sorry, I just thought you’d lost it ages ago, to that guy....what’s his name?”

“Felix? Yeah, that didn’t last long, I didn’t even kiss him.” Yeosang shuffles closer to you slightly, his full attention on you now.

“You don’t have to answer this but how far have you gone with a guy?” You’re cheeks heat up from the question, if anyone else had asked you, you’d have flat out refused to say, but this was Yeosang, the one you trusted with your life.

“I’ve only ever kissed someone.”

“Is there something stopping you from sleeping with anyone or are you just not ready yet?” His tone is soft, he doesn’t mean to poke his nose into your personal business but he can see it’s bothering you so he wanted to help in anyway he could.

“I just haven’t trusted anyone enough. Having sex makes you vulnerable to the other person and while I’ve been attracted to some guys I haven’t had that full trust with them to become that level of vulnerable with them. I’m just annoyed at myself at this point, I just want to know what all the hype is about and why everyone praises sex so much.” You sigh. Getting it out in the open was like a weight was being lifted off your shoulders, but that still didn’t change the fact you were still frustrated.

“Is there someone you can think of you trust in that way?” Yeosang asks, curiosity getting the better of him. You stay quiet, you have a name in mind but you couldn’t find it in you to say.

“Do you trust me?” His tone perked up, almost like he was joking.

“Yeo, you know I trust you with my life, you don’t need to ask that.”

“Well if you trust me that much then maybe you’d let me help you out?” His question was a serious one but his face and tone donning an air of playfulness so not to overwhelm you or make you uncomfortable. Your eyes widened as you brought your head up to look at him, you couldn’t tell if he was being serious or if he was playing so you keep quiet.

“You said you trust me right?” You nod in reply. “So in all seriousness I’m offering to help you out, I promise you I won’t judge, laugh, make jokes, none of that and if you agree we’ll only go as far as you’re comfortable with, you tell me to stop and I’ll stop instantly.”

“Yeo...I can’t ask you to do that.” You say hesitantly.

“You’re not asking me anything y/n, I’m offering. If it’s not what you want then just tell me no and we’ll leave it here and not talk about it again.” His tone was more serious and hands were on yours, his warmth comforting you as you thought about it.

You had to admit to yourself the thought had crossed your mind on many occasions. Yeosang was the type of guy you thought only existed in books, but here he was sat in front of you, your best friend, offering to be your first. There was a war going on in your head as you thought over the options. Option one was you let him be your first and then run the risk of potentially fucking up your friendship, option two was you tell him no and you stay a frustrated virgin.

“Okay.” You say with a shaky breath and so quietly he didn’t know if he heard you correctly.

“Hmm?”

“Okay. I trust you and I know you’ll look after me.” You couldn’t hide your nervousness and Yeosang could see that so it was only right he took things extra slow with you.

“Is now okay with you or do you want to pick a day, give yourself time to mentally prepare, I don’t want you to feel rushed is all.”

“No it’s okay, now is good, I’m just...nervous.” He gave you a small smile before inching himself closer to you until his knees were against yours, his hands squeezing yours a little tighter.

“It’s okay, I’ll go slow...can I kiss you first?” Your breath hitched in your throat, this was really happening, what was meant to be a normal game day with you best friend has now turned into this. You give a small nod, not daring to look him in the eye out of seer embarrassment. He gives a low sigh and uses a finger to turn your head to face him.

“I need you to tell me, I won’t do anything until you tell me with words that it’s okay.”

“You can kiss me.” You say shyly. He gave you a warm smile as he held your face in his hand slowly bringing you closer to him. He kissed you softly, his lips barely grazing yours and you couldn’t fight the little smile that spread across your face.

“Yeo.” You say pulling back with a giggle. “I’ve kissed before and I’m not made of glass.” He gave you a small wide eyed nod before pulling you back in kissing you properly this time. His lips moulded and moved perfectly with yours, guiding you to match his rhythm. You don’t know why but kissing Yeosang felt right, it was comfortable and you started to wonder why you hadn’t done this a lot sooner.

You felt him deepen the kiss, his pace picking up and his tongue lightly grazing your bottom lip, the small gasp you let out was enough for him to slip his tongue inside, his hand moving to the back of your head to hold you closer. He felt himself get carried away but there seemed to be no objection from you so he carried on.

His hands gripped your waist and guided you further up the bed to lay you down comfortably, only pulling away from the kiss for a brief moment to ask of you were okay. With a positive response and a small smile from you he stepped it up a notch. His hands wandered under your shirt slowly, his hands on your bare waist felt hot to the touch and heat slowly pooled at your core, but that didn't stop you feeling nervous.

"Can I take this off?" He asked against your lips. You gave him a shaky nod of your head but he gave you the look that screamed he wasn't happy with the answer.

"Yes." You whisper making him smile.

"That's better." He slowly peeled your shirt over your head but your arms flew up to cover your chest. This was the barest you'd been around Yeosang and you didn't know how you felt about it.

"Hey, it's okay, would this help?" He sits up slightly and removes his own shirt, throwing it off the bed to join yours on the floor.

"We're even now." He smiles and it did indeed make you feel more comfortable. He kissed you again to take your mind off of things, meanwhile he moved himself to slot between your legs and you gasp lightly at the feeling of his erection brushing against your clothed core. It was impossible to hide the smirk that grew on his face at your reaction, his hands slipping underneath you to grab your ass and pull you against him even more.

"Can I take these off too?" He asks again, pulling lightly at the waistband of your sweatpants. You grant him permission and his lips are away from you completely, sitting back in his heels as he once again slowly peels your clothing from you, his eyes never leaving yours like he was waiting for you to stop him. With your sweatpants gone he makes quick work of his own to make it even again and you smile, happy he was doing that to keep you comfortable.

"So soaked already." He coos but before he could kiss you again your hands were over your face, hiding how you were blushing so hard with embarrassment.

"Yeoo!"

"Hey," He starts, lightly pulling your hands away from your face. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about, it's normal and it tells me I'm doing something right, okay?"

He trails kisses down your neck and collar only moving more and more down, his eyes flick up to you every now and again just to be sure. Stopping at the band of your panties he asks again if it was okay. Now the nerves were setting in and you couldn’t form a response straight away.

“I can move them to the side for now if it makes you feel better, they don’t need to come off yet if you don’t want them to.” You agree to that, the thought of at least having something on your lower half for now making the anxiety more bearable.

“Do you want my mouth or fingers baby?” The question made your eyes shoot open wide, you weren’t expecting him to ask what you wanted, you thought he’d take the lead and do what he’s used to, but no, he wanted your input and these were questions you didn’t really have an answer for.

“What?”

“Do you want me to use my mouth or my fingers?” He asked again, hovering himself over you so he could make proper eye contact. His hands stroked the inside of your thighs as he waited for your answer, the sensation making goose bumps cover your skin.

“Umm...Fingers.” You finally say and he lowers himself on top of you with a smile.

“Fingers it is.” His fingers ghost their way along your slit, collecting your wetness on his fingertips making a shaky breath pass your lips. His lips make themselves busy, peppering light kisses along your cheeks and nose, slightly distracting you from the way the pressure of his figures increased when they find your clit.

Your body reacted just they way he wanted it to when he circled his fingers around your bud, your hips moving to meet his movements, breathy whines leaving your mouth and your eyes fluttered closed from pleasure. He could feel himself growing harder and harder from every small noise you made, but he had to wait for now, right now this was all about you.

““Are you okay?” He whispered against your cheek.

“Feels nice.” Was all you could get yourself to say, your breath hitching every time he brushed over a certain spot. Yeosang teased a finger at your entrance, glancing at you trying to read your responses to his touch, with no warning signs from you he proceeded to slip a finger inside. You gasp at the intrusion and Yeosang moves to kiss you again, kissing you though every movement.

In no time he had you moaning into his mouth and slipped another finger into you, scissoring you open making sure you were properly prepped for later. His fingers curl up into your sweet spot and he smiles as he feels your walls flutter around him.

“Right here?” He asks slightly teasingly and you nod, the sensation being too much for you to form even a word of response. His hands speed up making sure to repeatedly hit the spot that had you moaning louder and louder against his lips.

A knot started to form in your stomach, an unfamiliar feeling to you but you welcomed it anyway. Your breathing got heavier and your walls were clenching around Yeosang’s fingers more and more as he drove you closer to your high.

“That’s it.” He encourages. “Just let it go baby, just let it go.” With a few more thrusts of his fingers he had your legs shaking as your orgasm hit you, pulling you in for a deep kiss, kissing you through the whole thing as he slows down his ministrations making sure to help you ride it out.

Coming back to your senses you’re met with Yeosang’s bright smile, his eyes taking in your fucked out state, smiling through the discomfort his erection was now giving him from being confined for so long.

“How was that? Are you okay?” You couldn’t find the words to tell him how you felt but your face said it all to him, you were on cloud 9 right now and your anxiety had seemed to slip away.

“Do you want to keep going? We can stop if you want to.” HIs hands rubbed at your hips lightly as he waited for your answer.

“Keep going.” You breathe out finally finding your words again.

“Can I take these off you now?” His fingers play with the waistband of your now soaked panties and you grant him permission. He’s not so slow in removing the last items of clothing, your panties and his boxers flying into the pile on the floor in seconds. He leaves you for a second longer to fish out a condom from his bedside table before dropping it on the bed next to you and settling himself between your legs again.

“Are you sure about this?”

“More than ever, I trust you.” His heart swelled at that, he knew how much trust you were putting in him and it meant the world to him and he was over the moon you chose to do this with him and not some random asshole from a bar. He gives you a small nod and a peck before pulling away to put the condom on and line himself with you.

“Ready?”

“I’m ready.” Yeosang slowly pushes into you, the stretch singing slightly making you squeeze your eyes shut. He could see the discomfort on your face and peppered you with kisses again.

“You’re doing great, I’m sorry it’s uncomfortable, it’ll be over soon.” He kept talking you through it, making your mind concentrate on something else as he slowly bottomed out.

Once he was fully sheathed he stopped all movements to give you time to adjust, despite the desperate urge to keep thrusting, the tightness of you around his cock making him go insane.

“Just tell me when you’re ready.” Yeosang says biting back a groan secretly hoping you won’t take too long. To his relief it doesn’t take you long before you’re asking him to move again, your own impatience taking over.

His thrusts start off slow, helping you to ease through the discomfort until it became pleasurable for you. Once your moans picked up again and you seemed to be enjoying yourself Yeosang’s pace picked up also, gradually getting faster and faster with every thrust he gave you. Your walls so tight around him like a vice had his head spiraling as he let the overwhelming pleasure take over everything, it wasn’t until he heard a small cry from you did he snap back to reality. His eyes focusing in on you again to see discomfort on your face again and then it hit him.

“Ah shit, I’m sorry.” He groans lightly slowing down his thrusts. “I got a little carried away there, am I hurting you?”

“No...I’m okay.” You pant, your hands gripping his toned biceps grounding yourself.

Wrapping your legs around his waist and lifting your hips slightly Yeosang was able to thrust into you deeper, hitting your sweet spot again making you cry out.

“I’m sorry I...”

“No...Keep going...please.” You beg, the knot forming in your stomach again ready to snap at any moment. Your fingers dug into his arms leaving small crescents from your nails as you were edged closer and closer to another orgasm. Your walls were fluttering around him uncontrollably and it had his high spurring closer and closer with you.

“You’re doing so well for me, so pretty, you look and sound so pretty.” His low voice rang through your ears. Moments later Yeosang had you cumming around his cock, mouth open in silent moans and your hands gripping him even harder as your legs trembled around him before falling to the bed limp. Your orgasm caused his to hit at the same time, his muscles tensing and a low moan falling from his lips as he fucked you both through the remainder of your highs.

You let out a small whine when Yeosang pulled out from you, feeling a little sore and he floods you with apologies again. After disposing of the filled condom, Yeosang flops next to you on the bed, the room silent except from the heavy panting coming from you both.

“I can see what the hype is about now.” You chuckle still slightly out of breath making Yeosang laugh along with you.

Leaning across you to grab his phone, you can't help but look at the blinding screen of him deleting the dating apps from his phone.

"Been meaning to do that for a while." He mumbles to himself, smiling at you as he sets his phone back down.

"How come?" You flutter your eyes at him, leaning on your elbows as you look down at his smiling face.

A moment of pause appears, Yeosang's too busy looking at your face, taking in every little detail he could possibly see.

"I've got everything I need here" You eyes widen at his sudden...dare you say it...confession?

“What do you mean?” He looks at you with another sweet smile, wrapping an arm around your waist pulling you flush against him.

“You’re all I need...That’s if you feel the same too.” You could have sworn your heart swelled to twice it’s size. You press a kiss to his lips, confirming you felt the same. You were both a mess of limbs, sheets and sweat, but you wouldn’t have had it any other way, you were with the one you trusted, the one who took your virginity, your one.

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somethinginworl · 11 months

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He would not fucking say that - Kirby franchise edition (Results)

Well! Seems like a lot of people had a lot to say about mischaracterized Kirby characters, as a matter of fact, there were a whooping 57 entries! Well, let’s get going with them, shall we? Just,,, beware that this is a LOOONG post.

Haltmann

The dude 100% did fucked up shit and needs to be held accountable but people seem to so easily forget the degree he was influenced/corrupted by Star Dream. I don't understand why people hate Haltmann and love Star Dream who is arguably the actual reason HWC started colonizing and draining planets. Also the fact that Haltmann isn't conventionally attractive to the majority of the fandom makes him less sympathetic ig?? But the dude is a grieving father who made mistakes that sent him down a spiral into being corrupted and then deleted by a heartless machine. I can't help but pity him

Prince Fluff

Go on ao3. Look in his tag on tumblr. He exists only to be Kirby or Shadow Kirby's love interest most of the time, with no personality of his own.

He barely gets recognized anymore, and if he does, it's usually as a ship Prince Fluff was a big part of my childhood, with Epic Yarn being my first game. To me, he was Kirby's fellow main character, and they had a cool sibling/best friend relationship. But now, a lot of what I see of him is just . . . Kirfluff. Which is cool and all, but man's a prince! He can do more than be a boyfriend! Heck, he runs an entire kingdom by himself! One thing that I want to see more of is Fluff as a stressed but caring ruler, not just a sidekick/boyfriend to the pink puff. Give yarn boy his deserved appreciation!.

Dark Meta Knight

Hello! I am here to spread the good word of a character with no personality. It's the mirror thing. Of course. Dark Meta Knight has No Personality. Zero. Nada. Zilch. He's Meta Knight but Dark. What does that mean? Your guess. He fights Meta Knight. And wins lmao skill issue blueboy. And fights Kirby. And loses a few times, which isn't surprising. He was dumb enough to split Kirby in four, though. Four times the Kirby is four times the amount your ass is grass. You're practically a forest at that point because you're so grass. So he's violent and has no personality outside of being violent. Woo! Triple Deluxe has him attack Dedede in Dededetour inside the Mirror. This has led people to think he fucked over Sectonia. This makes my heart bleed as much as Taranza probably did when he was punted off of Royal Road via Fuck You Lightning Ball. My man just has no sense of timing,,,, They just wanted to include a Meta Knight battle because Knight Battles are a Kirby standard at this point,,, You think a man that stupid can figure out how to take advantage of a woman's insecurity? I don't even know if he knows women exist. How many female Amazing Mirror characters are there??? Boxy??? Moley mentions having a wife once and Dameta doesn't know what he means. But other than being driven to immense violence and being scapegoated for the stuff his boss probably did, Dameta has other hobbies! Like whatever his motivation in Star Allies is. Something dastardly, I'm sure. People really like to pretend he's not part of the Star Ally club when my man is doodling with toddlers and posing with his less cool less edgy self. Would a villain have a silly little we heart kirby statue? No, didn't think so. Also I cannot imagine him as a dad to Shadkirby either. Do they even interact? I've seen both "Amazing dad" and "Outright abusive" as interpretations and I can't go with either. But I think that's because I don't enjoy Metadad that much. They're like awkward coworkers. He thinks they're student and mentor. They're not even that. Dameta barely knows Shadow exists.

Dark Meta Knight is very popularly characterized as like an abusive parent, usually physically abusive. Mainly to Shadow Kirby, of course. He's an asshole, yeah, but not THAT bad, christ. I've seen multiple fics where Shadow Kirby is some poor little hey what t the fuck hes fighting himself. um. Back to being a hater.

Shadow Kirby

Some folks still think he's shy/cowardly like from the Amazing Mirror Days. Not really true anymore. From what fans have seen from the ending of the game, he does protect the Mirror World. As for the spin off games that include him, he's pretty tough and even creates mischief sometimes.

Shadow Kirby is constantly treated as an "evil" Kirby. Especially bad after Fighters and fighters two. Not to mention "Parallel Kirby". There's also a strangely common trend of making them more sapient than pink Kirby, who tends to be infantilised to hell and back. Shadow Kirby also is often treated as a complete coward who can't do anything right, when they aren't called evil.

He's shown as completely different in several different occasions, not only in personality but in design I like shadow kirby he's purple and then he's not

Dark Taranza

Dark Taranza, gonna be honest what little characterization people give him are actually okay compared to the rest. But I'm still a hater and hang on im watching jerma clips. okay. He's like Sectonia if Sectonia was Taranza if that makes sense.

Shadow Dedede

Shadow Dedede barely gets shit but I'm going to be a little hater anyways. I don't like most characterizations. I see people make him like a dictator like bro he's literally just some guy.

Sectonia

have you seen how often people say that sectonia and taranza were boyfriend and girlfriend in canon?????? they were never!!! shes the gosh dang final boss but shes only ever used to give taranza angst. she is her own person with a personality!!!! yes their backstories are interconnected but gosh!!!!

This not too prominent but I can't stand it when people portray her as an uwu shy girl pre-corruption. While she gave in her worst aspects, she was probably always a kind of vain, girlboss! I mean she knows how to fight with rapiers c'mon!!!

idk it just feels like lots of people just see her as Taranza's tragic dead wife and like nothing else you know? like she is more than that and I feel like what little content we have of her proves that (like the soul boss descriptions (especially the original japanese text of the 2nd phase!!) and the eternal dream song) - or maybe im reading too much into those because im hyperfixating on my blorbo whoops

Kine

I'm not sure how true this opinion is considering how little people talk about Kine, I feel this is partially the anime's fault, or maybe its because of how he just looks, but Kine is cool and is not some stupid loser fish. Before the days of Crystal Shards, Him, Kirby, Rick & Coo were the dream team at the time, always hanging out going, with various activities long before the days of Meta Knight or even Dedede. Kine is an awesome aquatic rep for the Kirby series not to mention drinking and being a pirate and Kine even has a Wife! Kine has got it! I guess this is a partial compliant of Ship of Theseus which can be applied with Rick & Coo too, but I feel Kine gets the most hate if any because of people who are unfamiliar just see a dopey fish and are unaware of his origins and his past with Kirby. I'm not upset with the current representation of the Kirby cast (I love the RTDL team being the main crew) but I do hope the animal buddies get some more love, Especially Kine.

Dedede

reduced to his significantly less in-depth and compelling characterization from the anime

Anime Dedede.

Magolor

one time i read a series of fanfictions where he called every female character in the story a bitch and was portrayed as the good guy in the story

Is it possible to both be flanderized and woobified at the same time? There is a lot of "removing his responsibility for his actions" but can we get better jokes than "hehe Microtransgolor hehe scammer egg”

Always an uwu soft boy. Like no that is a criminal not a catboy.

Bro would never be intimidated by Magolor

Marx

People either portray him as a edgy sociopath or constantly bored and annoyed. Portraying him as an adult or a teen kinda annoys me as well. I'm very picky about portrayals of Marx so don't get upset if you portray him as one of these I've listed.

Sometimes I see people only joking about the "hungry so he came along" thing with Marx and it's pretty overdone

They took one look at him and said “to the insane asylum bitch”. I don’t think he’s some crazy murder hobo rather a dude with questionable morals and puts his own mischief and fun before others it seems. Though Marx is indeed one of the least “character” characters when I mean he doesn’t have much depth in comparison to other characters. But you could do anything else than have him follow the Jevil path of him being crazy. Make him evil? Sure. Make him a cringefail idiot? Sure. Make him a crybaby bitch? Go ahead. But making him the definition of what a 14 year old white girl in New Jersey that probably is addicted to Instagram and thinks Webtoon comics are the highest level of art and storytelling’s definition of insane doesn’t cut it cuz. Slapping the spaz label without a thought of what’s being done on a character who fits the mark makes the Schizoid peeved who coulda known. As this is all coming from the one person who has likely ruined Marx’s character the most for Kirblur by making him a somewhat empathetic manchild who clings to both pipe dreams of normality and being a monster btw. (Also this doesn’t mean jokes, you can joke about him being a psycho like Jerma it’s when it’s taken 100% seriously is when it’s bad). Also to add on, Woobification of Marx or any Kirby character period CAN be annoying if taken too far. I take full responsibility in the fact my variant is also woobifed to an extent but that train full of ticking bombs doesn’t bother me as much. Make him sadcry and be gay he deserves both those things. Send him to sad hell with the rest of them.

To the anon above... What?

Making him stupid or reducing him to just Silly Clown. Or just having him act in purely impulsive or spontaneous ways (which sometimes happens when juxtaposed with a more "collected" character like Magolor).

Daroach

this is something i’ve noticed specifically in chatfics, but when daroach is in the ensemble some of them tend to designate him as the Goofy Meme Dumbass for… idk, fandom quota? i really don’t know why it happens because he has a bunch of canon dialogue (and alternate continuity stuff like the novels) that show him to be cool and clever. i’m not saying he can’t have a sense of humor or anything (he’s definitely the type to have a bunch of quips), but it sucks when he’s mischaracterized because the fandom doesn’t give him that much attention as is. if you NEED a silly haha guy, marx is right there!”

Morpho Knight

"Morpho Knight is a creature of mercy. It's a benevolent entity putting tired souls to rest." NO?! I'm going to copy-paste some stuff I put in a post of my own. A while back, SYZekrom on Reddit translated Morpho Knight's entry, and it contains some... interesting information. Allow me to provide some excerpts. "He’s a red knight with butterfly wings, continuing from a pair of white wings like an angel’s, and a pair of azure wings with a bit of an evil feel." This is the first of two instances where Morpho Knight is outright stated to be evil. There's also stuff in the art book that supports my theory that Galacta and Morpho are permanently fused and the former is not dead, but I don't want to get carried away. These are its gacha figure descriptions in Forgotten Land: "The fluttering fiend that casts judgment upon final battles is drawn toward the isolated isles of Forgo Dreams. There, it feasts on the most powerful soul it finds and takes the fearsome form of a scarlet-clad knight… Let the most challenging battle of this new world begin!" –English "One of the dreaming birds, which are said to pass judgement upon decisive battles, drifts towards a forgotten, isolated isle as if summoned. There, it sips upon the strongest Soul and descends as a red knight. Finally, welcome the dusk… of the deadliest battle in this New World!" –Japanese While at first glance there doesn't seem to be any information of note, the "fluttering fiend" bit in the English version is outright stating Morpho Knight is evil, and the phrase "he deadliest battle in this New World" doesn't sound particularly heroic. But I digress... Morpho is NOT a good person! This is clearly leading up to a villain vs hero confrontation! Which, may I add, implies that reaping Galacta Knight wasn't necessarily a good thing for it to do?!

Elfilis

elfilis is NOT entirely malicious. they would gladly accept hugs and kisses. being in a fucking capsule ALONE and AWARE for likely CENTURIES will DO SOMETHING TO YOU YOU KNOW?? god fucking DAMN dude... and after the ending of the true arena in the game, WILLINGLY GAVE THEMSELF UP TO ELFILIN. also they're not fucking DEAD you PSYCHOPAYHS elfilis is STILL VERY MUCH ALIVE!!!!!!! RUUAAAGGGH!!!!!!!!!!

Susie

Being Evil or being a Sad uwu girl who has had bad things happen to her seems to be the only way most people can portray this character.

Susie isn't a friend. She's selfish and wanted to take over the company. Her "redemption" is pointing Kirby at the world-ending machine, gives him armor, and then stands around. She doesn't even know his name. The closest she does for good is tell Kirby to do something he would've done on his own.

My girl really became the subject of hate thanks to a mistranslation. I mean yeah she likes robots and shit but the fact that people think she is a terrible person and that she's still colonizing planets makes me upset. i blame the translation team for everything.

When people say she has fully redeemed herself and is reduced to cishet, pretty girl??? Like no, star allies mistranslation my ass you fell for her corporate propaganda. The female characters in this franchise, while lovable, is not nearly as popular as a lot of the male ones. HAL literally gave us a morally grey girlboss who we can still sympathise with. She actually feels like a very real character in this fictional world.

You Know How People Are About Her

she's not even my blorbo!!!!!! everyone thinks she's a huge evil bitch who has done terrible genuinely unspeakable things. i read a fic that went on and on abt the horrible things she "did" to meta knight when he was mechanized (things so bad i cant even say) and i was pulling my hair out she did not fucking do any of that!!!! yes the universe can have pretty dark moments but good lord people only use her to woobify meta knight and give fuel to ship him with others and it pisses me off lol. or people go too far the other way and woobify HER to ship with him and aughhhh no one has a shred of media literacy. she's not purely good or purely evil she's such a complex character who did bad things because she was in a bad situation and the best example of a morally grey character who's on no one's side but herself and that will always be more interesting that 100% good or 100% evil. once again she's not even my blorbo but i've never seen a character butchered this badly by a fandom

Because of mistranslation (from what I've heard) Susie's whole mechanizing planets has been the number one thing when it came to susie hate and the only reason as to why people hate this girl so much. Honestly Susie's character has been fucked up immensely and no one has such a divided spread of opinions like she does. Some people brush away her backstory and make her a soulless being with no love whatsoever.

Oh my god. Oh my god. Susie Haltmann. I cannot with the fandom interpretations anymore. It's ridiculous how bad they've gotten. Susie is a two dimensional character. I absolutely despise seeing people portray her as some sort of greedy capitalist bastard and "the one with the braincell". In canon, she's consistently been portrayed as a sweet person (with a knack for violence, but EVERYONE in this series is like that). Everything bad she did in Planet Robobot was FOR WORK and the will of HER FATHER, and even if she did want to do the things she did, she's clearly not doing them any more. The "mechanizing planets and peoples" line in Star Allies is a mistranslation. And the "punishing savages" doesn't have to mean anything bad. It could mean she's punishing evildoers with her money and resources. In fact, I've seen some translations put it like that And Meta Knight... is just the straw that broke the camel's back. Oh lord. Why does everyone insist that he hates her? There's the little scene in Star Allies... but god, that isn't canon, it's clearly a joke. If anything, Susie might have been trying to talk to him and he was just trying to avoid her in a misinterpretation of the situation. It's supposed to be funny. Why are you imposing this onto people like this automatically makes Susie a devil incarnate and anything involving those two characters in problematic? Just shut up.

Meta Knight

Everyone thinks he’s just the ‘edgy character’ or ‘the uncaring mentor figure’ while in actuality he really does care for Kirby (and Bandana Dee) more than anyone gives him credit for!

Everyone either makes him all broody and lonesome, like shadow the hedgehog or batman; or they make him a goofy dad, like Dedede or Hugh Neutron. In reality, he's a weird uncle with unknown motivations, simultaneously selfish and practical. Also, he doesn't hide the fact that he likes sweets, he eats them away from everyone so no one steals them (Dedede and Squeak Squad).

He's not Kirby's fucking dad! He's an irresponsible uncle that hands out swords! And he is definitely in love with dedede, he is the only other dramatic bitch willing to build a skyscraper to beat up kirby (I am using intense anger for comedic effect)

HES A FUCKING TWINK ASS FRUITY ASS MOTHERFUCKING CRINGEFAIL MAN. HE NEEDS TO HAVE HIS PERSONALITY INTERPRETED AS BOTH THE MANGA AND THE GAMES. YES HE IS MYSTERIOUS BUT HE ALSO WOULD TRIP AND FALL OVER HIMSELF. I NEED STAR ALLIES KICKING SWORD PISSED. I NEED MANGA ROSES BITCHASS META. I NEED THAT PARTICULAR VERSION OF MY BOY meat knight RIGHT NOW. meta knight is cringefail. half of the fandom agrees the other half does not. im explode.

He wants to look cool so bad but he is actually a huge fucking goofy goober. Any representation of Meta Knight being a badass is propaganda made by Meta Knight himself to convince you he’s cool. I mean have you seen his RTDL Deluxe pause screen description? King Dedede’s and Bandana Dee’s are in first person, but his is in third person? He’s literally talking about himself in the third person like hello????? Meta Knight is such a fucking lame goofy little man who thinks he’s the most badass motherfucker on the planet.

To fair this has been less common lately but back during 2014-2016 MK was usually portrayed in fanart/fanfic as either this wise veteran or cold edgelord. He is just an unhindged!!! Silly!!! Guy!!! He can be cool and cringefail!!! But he is also compassionate in his own aloof, awkward way!!!

i am not a big fan of the metadede ship. i think people are shipping for the sake of having a ship and nothing else. As someone with a severely underrepresented orientation (aromantic and asexual), when I see a character I like, I will project onto said character. This is the case with my interpretation of Meta Knight. I saw a cool character that I liked who a) doesn’t have any canon love interests and b) didn’t really need a whole ton of friends/significant others to be happy with life. Meta Knight always seemed to be perfectly content with the friends he has on Popstar and his crew and everyone in the anime, so I looked to him for hope that I could live the same way. I was open to the metadede ship at first, but as time passed, I felt less and less comfortable with it. It seemed to me that people were so hungry for gay ships that they just pulled this one out of thin air courtesy of Kirby Fighters 2, which is to my knowledge the only piece of media that somewhat supports this. Why can’t people just be happy with MK and Dedede being friends or frenemies? I’m probably starting drama with this bc I know how popular metadede is on Tumblr so I apologize for upsetting you if that is the case. But I also feel that I shouldn’t apologize just because I have a different opinion.

I dislike how "pathetic" the fandom has made him out to be. I don't like it when he's portrayed as overpowered but... "pathetic, whiny manlet" could not be further from the truth. How did we get to that?

Kirby

Often people make Kirby more dependent on others than he actually is. He's an extremely independent person that literally cannot be stopped by anyone who tries to get in his way

ik its been covered to death but matpat made that video about how kirby is evil and completely ignored the themes of friendship and kindness that are present throughout the entire series

dude hes not a baby. he drinks in the manga adukt kirbies are a fine interp god. and hes not a godkiller or some shit he just fights for his friends hes not some terrifying monster kirby is literally just some friendly guy. strong yeah but just some guy. he fights strong entities incidentally lol

The anime portrays them as a literal infant, and due to its overprevalence (despite not being in the same stream of canon as the games), this is often their characterization in the fandom. Canonically, they indeed are a child (at most, they'd probably be a teen in the modern games), but they are old enough to talk, and they demonstrate a high amount of emotional and even technical intelligence.

Admittedly, this is one that usually only happens to people outside the fandom, but it bugs me when people portray Kirby as a sort of immoral monster who only does good things on accident. When it’s quite the opposite! He may not be incredibly bright, but he does his best to help people. Oddly enough, there’s not many cases of “he would not say that” in the fandom for me because of how loose Kirby’s story is. It is lore heavy but the actual characters aren’t super concrete save for a few and I think that’s perfectly fine

People forget that their air bullet!! is an attack!! its literally one of their only ways of dealing damage in DL1!!! I’m looking at you Smash Bros!!! Why isn’t it their nair?????????

making them a toddler who cant speak for themself

I swear everyone outside of the fandom sees Kirby as either a braincell infant or a merciless force of mass destruction

Taranza

WHAT DIDN'T THEY DO!?!?!? Taranza, as we see him in Triple Deluxe, is such a fun villain. He's dramatic, arrogant, a total suck-up to Sectonia, and it's so. Fucking. Good. He's a devious bastard, he monologues!!! His animations in the Clash games are so fucking campy and dramatic it's chefs kiss!!!! Fanon Taranza is as plain as white bread. Sometimes as pale as it, looking at some of the gijinkas. No shade though! As little shade as there is melanin in him lmAO- He is flanderised to hell and back. There are so. Many. Fucking. Taranzas who happen to be nothing but sad and weepy about his evil dead wife. Where's the bite!!! The pizzazz!!! Even in canon, when he is a bit of a wet sack later on, he still hunts for an altar he can bring her back on. My boy's a wannabe necromancer!!! Write that shit in your lost lenore Sectonia fic you fucking cowards Queen's Phantom ain't just for show. The above is also evidence for woobification! The fucker is obviously sad his crush is dead! But can we pleeease focus on anything else. This is definitely not targeted at Hal Labs. Imagine being woobied so hard your creators backtrack your personality I would just die. "Ehehe he's the responsible mage!!" No the fuck he isn't he can't be trusted with anything he tries take control it WILL blow up in his face. He knows magic he's good at magic but is he responsible??? Fuck no my man's strongest attack is "Blow myself the fuck up via a giant burst of magic" and it shreds. Even worse is the "Taranza got mind-controlled by Sectonia" theory in tandem with this. That wasn't confirmed right. Right. God I hope not that would be embarrassing. He can't even have a moment to realise his devotion has gone too far and she doesn't love him or even care for him, and he has to finally make that decision to free himself from her like ain't that cool!!! And then making him all sad over her afterwards it's just a Little Fucked if you're tryna put it all together eh. Eh. And he's not suuuper objectified (That usually goes to Seccy rest in piss girlie) but the way he's treated in some ships is. Eugh. Fucking Magoranza amirite he's basically there to look responsible and cute (I've already explained my issue with this) and to fix the tortured soul who is Magolor (I do not like Magolor. Nor Magoranza.) Tbh Sectaranza does the same he's there to be tragic because his girlie's dead. When you give him less personality than the dead cardboard cutout you know you fucked up. Anyways these ramblings are here to remind you what Hal Labs stole from us: Taranza but not a TOTAL saddo. Theatre kid Taranza. Arrogant prick. He's even British.

For the anon above me, I just wanted to say that this entry is probably my favorite and lives rent free in my mind.

I'm definitely guilty of it and it's all we have to go off of but PLEASE he needs more than to be Sad. Give him hobbies and interests that aren't just gardening, at least. Make stuff up about him, please!

So, SO many people make him an absolute crybaby over Sectonia. Even though, yes, he has grief problems, it's not his whole freaking personality. Pretty sure they're forgetting the fact that he LITERALLY HELPED KILL HER.

Taranza is not just a little pathetic guy!! He’s a bitch— a little schemer if you will !!! He’s smug—he’s formal—he’s a little fucker!!! Taranza needs a new partner and that partner is me

Oddly enough I do think people make him out to be a bit too much of a goody two shoes. Like he has done some mean things in the past and it wasn’t all Sectonia’s fault, he literally *stole* the Dimensional Mirror after all. Don’t get me wrong I think he’s a good person in the end, but cmon. He has committed crimes

Taranza in some corners of the fandom has kinda been turned into this forever crying baby who can never recover from losing Joronia and like, I never see people who do that write about the recovery and being able to move on to the final stage of grief.

HE IS NOT A SIMP, MY GOD

Everyone needs to stop reducing him to pathetic simp. He is allowed to grieve but he's probably one of the more mature characters within the series???

People disregard everything else about his character to make his tragic relationship with sectonia his only character trait. Not sure if this quite counts as woobifying since he does canonically still mourn her (and obviously seeing a close friend/crush go down the path of self destruction and ultimately die from it WOULD NOT be something you'd get over quickly). But I'm so tired of taranza in fanart and the like being an uwu softboy with Crying as his main character trait. Like he's canonically more than that! He goes full cocky villain mode when you confront him near the end of triple deluxe and he can pack a punch in star allies with his magic! If you're going to write about him prove that you don't just know about the guy from twitter artwork!

And here’s a graph!

Anyways, thanks everyone for your submissions! What I’ve learned here is important: We’re all fucking delusional.

#I'm going to fist fight the Tumblr editor #Kine anon Ily #Kirby #Rambles #Long post

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onesidedradiostatic · 30 days

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Intro Post + FAQ!?!?!?

STRIPES TRUTHERS DNI!!!!!!!! (this is a joke)

I'm not replacing my pinned post because I like my pinned post. it's special to me. it describes my blog in a single gif. but I'll link this in my bio.

hi! I think this was long overdue. first of all, introduction!

I'm pink! she/her, 19, filipino-chinese, 🇸🇬

I am an asexual sapphic on the aro spectrum! I'm not repulsed in either department though, I consider myself mostly sex-neutral and romance... idk, ambivalent irl, favourable in fiction.

keep in mind that hazbin hotel itself has a lot of explicit humour, so canon-typical level of that kind of humour should be expected here. however, outside of text-only nsfw jokes, I typically don't post or reblog nsfw art (and IF I did, I would use community labels/appropriate tags). I may also tag certain text-only nsfw joke posts as #suggestive, just as a precaution.

and now the FAQ...

FAQ

Other than one-sided RadioStatic, what do you ship?

I've actually done this before, but decided I'd update it a bit.

cherrivel is only there because of the need for velvette to have someone at the hotel to be obsessed with, refer to this post. it is currently unserious and could easily never come up in my posts I just thought to include it because of that one time I brought it up. other crackships may come up if I find it funny (ie adam x mammon).

this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, I do not like any reciprocated romantic alastor ships, I'm not here to police anyone for what they do in fanon, but all I ask is no one send me anything of the sort. I interpret alastor as a repulsed aroace, and the dialogue in which his asexuality is implied in canon implies to me he would never pursue dating (rosie knows alastor wouldn't be dating charlie because he is aroace, which implies she knows he is an aroace that doesn't date**). so that is how I choose to portray alastor in my posts.

**TO BE CLEAR, there IS nuance to this. because action =/= attraction. funny situations such as a fake date with vox as a distraction that he doesn't like at ALL entertain me. but I do not believe he is the type to pursue it under normal circumstances.

regarding qprs... well, as you can see, I really only care for qpr radiorose, but this is the part where it comes down to personal preference. qpr radiostatic largely depends for me, maybe if it's like an au where they never had a falling out or something but otherwise, I don't personally really see it, but that isn't to judge anyone who does. HOWEVER, I do like thinking about their past friendship, here's a post I made before regarding alastor's side on it.

Who's your favourite character?

unfortunately, it is the stupid tv man in my pfp. alastor is my second favourite though if that's not immediately obvious (wow tumblr user @onesidedradiostatic's faves are vox and alastor who could've guessed?)

Do you know [insert pre-series information here]?

I need to clarify, I am NOT a pre-series hazbin fan. I only got into hazbin properly at episode 5-6's release, prior to that I had only watched episode 4 out of curiosity due to twitter discourse. any information I have regarding pre-series stuff comes from the wiki, tumblr posts or anons who have informed me of stuff. my main source of information is the main series, that is how I first consumed hazbin after all.

What the fuck is the "Lucifer's Commissions Saga"?

it all started with an anon talking about the most unrealistic thing about vox owning an alastor body pillow being that alastor was able to be printed on it without glitches. I then dropped a stupid idea I had in my head for a bit about lucifer being offered 50k to make a sexy alastor painting for vox. one reblog later. well. it turned into vox commissioning lucifer for the body pillow. and then a bunch of asks came in related to it and it turned into a saga which is now my legacy. feel free to scroll through this entire thing. also a fanfic of it by ChaoticAce2005 now exists. go check it out. AN ANIMATIC BASED ON ONE OF THE POSTS BY NATAKARANIA ALSO NOW EXISTS. CHECK THAT OUT TOO.

The original post mentions Val commissioning Lucifer for the art for Vox, Val is canonically a talented artist, why would he do that?

in my defence, I kinda forgot about that when I posted the original joke. later asks, I've mended that val HAS drawn for vox before but vox nitpicked too much and val's not always willing to do a fully rendered sexy alastor... so vox has to outsource. and he just happens to do so to the king of hell.

Hey, hey, listen! What if Vox doesn't have a crush on Alastor but wants XXX instead!?

hey, I respect you! I respect your opinion and hc. but this blog is built around that concept specifically, I like vox wanting something he can never have, wanting romance from a guy who literally cannot feel the same way about him. so I'm probably not gonna be as passionate about other takes. but your opinion is valid! I'm just not really sure what you want me to say other than respectfully disagreeing.

Why don't you use RadioSilence for one-sided RadioStatic?

radio silence is the name of another book made by the author of heartstopper, alice oseman (which I heard also has a canon aspec character!). even though it is already a used tag for this ship, I refuse to contribute to flooding the book tag with hazbin hotel. it's already an issue I see even when searching #radio silence with the space, I think those in that fandom should be allowed to search for content without being flooded by content from another fandom. please understand.

I instead use #onewaybroadcast in accordance with this poll. I still use the regular #radiostatic and #staticradio tags in addition to it for more reach and because vox's side still technically counts under it, if anyone doesn't like specifically one-sided radiostatic for whatever reason, they may filter out the specific tag or block me.

Tags

#osrs.txt - all text posts, including asks #osrs.art - self-explanatory, art done by me #osrs.mp4 - videos which can range from compilations, shitpost edits to high effort edits #osrs.helluva - my helluva boss reactions/liveblogging and related stuff

#radiostatic parent trap subplot - the short series of asks joking about the torn picture vox has reminding them of the parent trap, turning into a crack subplot #projecting irl experiences onto radiostatic squad - where a bunch of anons came together to recount irl experiences with incels and say "yeah this is vox" #the ays - angel dust realising he and alastor are the reason for the vees' focus on the hotel and decides to brand both of them as the ays #lucifer's commissions saga - everyone's favourite as explained above, and also the biggest arc on this blog (my legacy) #alastor's modern sexuality label crisis - started with alastor misinterpreting "asexual" as asexual reproduction, continued on to him misinterpreting more modern sexuality labels #vox's stupid fucking turtleneck - it started with me trying to start up a debate on the colour of vox's turtleneck in the vox and val photo and escalated into people in my notes and askbox trying to gaslight me into thinking the turtleneck has stripes instead of it being a KNITTING PATTERN. this is what the STRIPES TRUTHERS DNI is referring to btw #cursed yellow val - tag name taken from andy-solo1, started as a response to the turtleneck discourse, I believe the turtleneck is a similar colour to val's wings therefore yellow turtleneck truthers are implying val's wings are also yellow #respectless anons - started with an anon trying to correct colour names and saying "not to be velvette..." and ended up with other anons being kin assigned characters #all the fucking parodies - there's been 2 parodies for you didn't know and 2 for respectless by others based on shit from this blog now, this tag is needed #the fanon val killjoy beef - tag made for the made up concept of valentino and katie killjoy beefing, started from this post

#osrs.intro

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lunarrra · 11 months

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🃏💙 Clopin Trouillefou 💛🃏

Everyone, as a child, had a cartoon character they could call a kindred spirit. I had the gypsy narrator of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The "Jester" and "The Hanged Man" tarot cards, revealing the duality of nature, helped me realize my idea. A little about the drawing: on the sides there were stained glass windows with the iconic symbols of the hero, a framing of the lyrics with the date of the book of the same name, the value of the card when turning to 6 and 9, and a gradient from the morning Fool's Feast to a nighttime incident in the Court of Miracles. The following is more about why I chose these arcana

"The Jester"

He is a messenger of chaos, committing actions that do not obey the general rules of conduct, puts the essence of the game. Inscrutable in its impermanence, whims and fancies. With everyone and no one at the same time, which makes him a crowd favorite. His motley, two-tone clothing suggests he exists on the border between the world of reality and fantasy. Is he aware of his loneliness or does he find it easy to be alone, devoting his life entirely to the service of others? This is one of his bright, attractive and public traits. What about the dark side?

"The Hanged Man"

Finds himself in a state of hovering, torn between male material and female spiritual energies. The craving for creative fulfillment (acting, singing) coupled with concern for the vulnerable segments of society (the leader of the Gypsy clan) does not give free time for spiritual growth, turning him into a victim of circumstances. On the other hand, the desire to be an executioner for outsiders turns into a noose around his neck from real justice. You never know who is ready to come to you with what intentions. Knowing how to trust people should come in handy at least once

To summarize the above, I'm pretty damn attracted to the ambiguity of human beings. After all, to some you are an escape from boredom and trouble, to others you are a thug and a parasite of society. Throwing the soul from the responsibilities of survival to creative fulfillment as a chance to be free.

I am madly happy to take part in a cool project, thanks to it I looked deeper inside myself, finding unexpected answers to questions that have been troubling me for a long time ¡

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bengiyo · 7 months

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I Feel You Linger in the Air Ep 7 Stray Thoughts

Last week, Jom and Yai began their romance officially, and we saw further evidence that Jom's drawings are connected to the time travel or dimension hopping experience. Yai took Jom to a gay speakeasy, where James came out and expressed his attraction to Jom. Yai got jealous and turned a bit petty with Jom for a bit. However, the two had a beautiful moment where they agreed to try this. I really hope James doesn't betray us, because I liked him encouraging Yai to step up for Jom. We also confirmed that Euangphueng and Maey intentionally brought Fong Kaew to the house to distract Robert, and that Robert may be involved in the fire that killed Fong Kaew's dad and scarred her mother.

I am glad I saw a post earlier giving context that the poor women being murdered here are based on real people. Tee always has something to say about the real dangers queer people face in their lives, and it's a tense warning at the beginning of this relationship between Jom and Yai.

Unsurprisingly, the parents are anti-gay as their two queer kids suffer in front of them.

I already know this party is going to involve pairing Yai with a girl as a way to further secure the dad's power.

At least Jom has some sense.

Yai basically described what Fong Kaew is going through with this short story.

There goes Lamyai clocking them, and she's a gossip.

I have thoughts about them introducing Nuey last week, who cannot hide themselves, and Yai now being unable to do so now that he's connected with someone.

It's a good thing that Jom stood up for Prik. He has an ally who also cares about Yai to tell Lamyai to hush.

I find myself worrying about windows and sightlines a lot this episode. Euangphueng and Maey are having a moment and I'm worried that someone will see or hear.

I suspected that Maey has survived some horrible things, and this is as horrible as some of the things I imagined.

One of the things this show is getting right about existing under homophobic is the constant sense of surveillance hovering over you. Robert represents that so clearly.

Oh, sensual oils. This is promising.

This use of both mirrors with Jom out of focus is driving me insane.

Big fan of the little bit of stubble they keep showing on Yai.

Jom was loyal to Ohm. It's probably been a while since he was intimate with someone.

Intercutting the massage with Jom masturbating is one of the most erotic things I've seen that wasn't overly sex since ITSAY episode 3. The way this was shot and scored clearly indicates that they both came, or at least Yai was close.

As much as I like seeing Nonkul and Bright do sensual things as their characters, we gotta get Jom out of here. He comes from an era where he isn't a slave.

Guide is absolutely crushing this role as Ming. He has built incredible chemistry with Nonkul.

There's something private about the way Nonkul smiles that draws me in every time. Bright has a similar thing with his brows.

Yai is running around making mistakes while Lamyai is running around righteous.

And now Uncle Dech caught them, and immediately went to Yai's dad.

Even Ming, the fan favorite, is struggling with his friend being queer.

Oh, Ming, don't confess when you're drunk.

And there's the pairing Yai with a girl part of the party I expected.

Now why the hell are Euangphueng and Maey running off now? I'm gonna need all of the gays to get it together.

Absolutely obsessed with the possibility that there is a picture of Jom that survived to the modern era.

Yai, my dude, you cannot abandon the heteronormative rituals so publicly like this if you want to protect Jom.

Thinking about O'Shae Sibley, who was killed for voguing as these two dance outside.

I am not immune to BL fantasy sequences involving dances.

Why...are we rapping?? What in the Marty McFly is happening?

I am not immune to boys making out in the rain.

Okay, that horny want in Yai's face, and Jom nodding yes? They are about to fuck for sure. This is about to go south so quickly.

Yep, gay turmoil begins next week, but we may get some nice love scenes first.

That was a fantastic episode. They really balanced the danger of being outed with the inherent need to connect that bubbles over in all of us. I felt the fear for everyone's safety, but I actually really like how badly everyone was hiding this week. That's basically the point. You can't win. The only way to be safe in the closet is to be perfectly quiet and alone. You cannot have anyone if you want to be undiscovered. Two people can keep a secret if one of them is dead. Like Nuey last week, Yai and Jom cannot hide. There's no amount of careful that can hide the warm feelings between two people. This was perfectly executed.

#i feel you linger in the air #IFYLITA meta #thai bl #bl series #Ben watches

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scullyswifey · 7 months

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Example of Mulder's self-deprication in Small Potatoes

Everyone knows and remembers the infamous almost kiss between fake!Mulder and Scully in Small Potatoes, just another bane of every MSR fan's existence. What's even more intriguing to me is the scene on which the episode ends. That short conversation while walking down the prison corridor in which Mulder in seemingly petty jealousy tells Scully that he is no Eddie van Blundht either when she tells him he isn’t a loser. On first thought it does seem like a simple joke, something superificial. But it actually tells us a lot about Mulder himself and how his reaction rather stems from self-hatred than anything else. Which makes it just another perfect example of his fucked up perception of his own character.

While the almost kiss, which most likely had turned into an actual one if Mulder hadn't barged in, counts as irrefutable proof that if he ever were to pursue Scully she would reciprocate, he doesn't see it as such. Though the scene and it's conclusion seemed clear to us, his view on it is warped through the lense of his perceived worthlessness, which leads him to believe it couldn't possibly become true. He blames it on her dying, leaving her vulnerable and more likely to give in to the advances of fake!Mulder. Though Mulder wasn't present for any part of the conversation and therefore will never actually know what took place (let's be real, Scully would never talk about this ever again), he likely seems to believe that she was seduced by fake!Mulder's sweet-talking. As Scully mentions both have never talked much outside of work and through previous episodes we know that they are notoriously bad at talking things out, if at all. So even if he were to pursue her, he thinks he would never find the right words to even begin to explain what she means to him. Ultimately he would fail since he is himself, which is not enough in his eyes.

Another example of this form of cognitive distortion: Others have been reacting and complementing positively on Mulder’s appearance mutliple times in the past (i.e. in Humbug he is made out to be conventionally attractive and now being called good-looking more than once by Eddie himself), yet he is the one beginning to be insecure about his nose in Sanguinarium. Showcasing that no matter the amount of compliments or person to deliver them, he will deflect it. The focus on appearance is superficial here, but we have a lot of direct examples of it in the show and it will no doubt extend to compliments regarding his personality as well.

We find many details of Mulder's self-deprication through the episode, but this one peaked my interest. Not only because it is the first time that it is directly linked to a situation that leaves no ambiguity about it's romantic intent (which is very rare as MSR fans know), but also because I nearly dismissed it as something completely different. It probably is intended to sound casual, making it easier for Scully to brush it off as a joke. But it actually reveals so much about the hurt that Mulder carries and tries to hide. The biggest one being that he thinks he will never be good enough for his Scully.

#fox mulder #msr #meta-ish i guess #excuse me if i interpreted smth wrong i didn't finish the series yet #also do i have a lot of feelings about this episode? YOU TELL ME #txf

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positively--speculative · 2 months

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It's really unfortunate that a number of people (mostly white people) in the IWTV fandom here on Tumblr seem to have this watered down view of the gothic genre as "cool, sexy monster stuff." I mean, yeah. That's *part* of it, but that's like, a very high school Hot Topic view of it. I mean, nothing wrong with liking the stuff you did in high school or Hot Topic, but it shows a lack of a deeper understanding.

I know I've ragged on Anne Rice a lot here, but I honestly think that this is partly her responsibility. Did she craft interesting characters? Yes. Did she give them flaws? Yes. But does she do a good job of challenging them? Not really. In fact, the way she frames then makes it seem like they're not flaws at all. I can accept the fact that slavery was normalized in Louis time, but I cannot accept the idea if no one in the story challenging it. It is not unreasonable for Daniel to be attracted to Louis during the interview, but at the very least, he should be uncomfortable with his attraction to him. Sometimes bad people are still attractive. That's an uncomfortable truth. But AR doesn't handle it this way. She never addresses it.

So, it's really not hard to understand why her fandom carries such limited views on uncomfortable matter, because her writing didn't challenge them to feel uncomfortable with their attraction to Louis. To Lestat. To even fucking Marius (who I won't get into here. Other people have already written about him here and have done so better than I can). AR made the sexy vampire books, and her fans just go along with all the awful things they do because, hey, they're monsters and it's cool because they live outside human expectations of morality (even though Louis was awful before becoming a monster). AR presents shock value, but doesn't address what's shocking. Her fandom, in fact, seems to take pride in illustrating no shock over what is shocking. This, in my opinion, is an illustration of *failure* to create an effective gothic story.

The show does a much better job, in my opinion, at presenting something gothic. I, a Black biracial woman of the audience, should not be attracted to Lestat. But I *am.* I shouldn't be attracted to Louis, but I *am.* I shouldn't be looking at their family dynamic with Claudia in her earlier days as a vampire through heart-shaped lenses, but I *do.* And it's uncomfortable. It's supposed to be. And I think Daniel's character does a good job of bringing the audience back into the horrible reality of the situation and causes us to check ourselves.

And I think white fandom really does a disservice to Jacob Anderson *AND* Sam Reid by trying to argue with Black fandom over the subject of race. Racism is a central theme in this version of the story. But they don't want us to talk about it, because they're uncomfortable with it. They'd rather pretend it doesn't exist and doesn't need to be discussed. But it's *supposed* to make them uncomfortable. They're just not used to seeing the benefits of being challenged, because AR never did. And unfortunately, they're missing out in a very fulfilling part of enjoying the story because they want to keep themselves in a little bubble where they can pat each other on their backs for not being shocked by shocking things and never growing as people.

#Gothic genre #Anne Rice #Iwtv #Iwtv amc #amc interview with the vampire #Jacob Anderson #Sam Reid #Fandom racism #Anti-Blackness #Loustat #Lestat #lestat de lioncourt #Interview with the Vampire #Literary Criticism #louis de pointe du lac

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cowboygenesis · 2 months

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one: redanian ale | geralt x reader

part 1 of the "threads of fate" series: masterlist.

pairing: geralt x reader

chapter warnings: blood, animal death, mild gore

word count: 3.9k

series summary: geralt begrudgingly accepts a monster contract issued to him by a strange girl, thinking it to be an opportunity for some quick coin. nothing goes as planned.

notes: i haven't posted a reader insert since middle school, but since ive been getting into the witcher again recently i thought this would be a fun project :) ill try my best to keep everything canon, especially pre-existing characters, but some things will be made up! additionally, the reader is written to be afab. keep that in mind since there will be smut in the future chapters...

Geralt stepped down the element-worn cobblestone road with a quiet huff, Roach trailing alongside the man’s figure with a seemingly matched sense of fervor.

The homes of the outskirts lined up in tight rows, alternating between maintained and otherwise decrepit wooden skeletons of a once lively hearth. Every stained-glass window emanated a warm light from within, casting onto the solemn sidewalk that led into the main square. Similar structures surrounded the tiled area, adorned with wooden plaques representing various businesses: a butcher, blacksmith, herbalist; something typical of towns on the continent.

It was a chilly afternoon, and the amber treeline of the backdrop was a colorful testament to the arrival of autumn’s harvest. The edge of the cracked pavement carried a lively array of wildflowers, growing sparsely out of the famously fertile earth of the region. It was strange, seeing such an abundant land give birth to such impoverished people. They swarmed the town in a hurry, cloaked in rags and somber faces, occasionally turning to gaze up at the flaxen-haired man with abhorrence, hatred, and curiosity.

Their sunken features flooded the street in the silent mayhem of impotence, weathered muscles bravely carrying the weight of their harvest into the beating heart of the city.

Coarse linen bags lined the trunks of carts for the lucky few being able to afford such transportation, others tried their strength at stacking the burden on their dominant shoulder. A permanent slouch was often a good way to identify the economically wounded. He furrowed his brow at the thought.

The cool air nipped gently at Geralt’s nose, fingers numb as they tightened around the leather horse reigns. His pace quickened, strides bold and purposeful as he spotted the centerpiece of town above the bobbing crowd ahead.

The cobblestone smoothed below his feet, transitioning into a sleek brick that led into the hexagonal center of town. People swarmed out of the tight street and quickly dispersed along various stalls lining the courtyard, allowing Geralt’s lungs to expand with fresh breath once more.

His eyes scanned along the walls, noting the uniform architecture of homes surrounding the plaza. Up ahead, sticking out like a not-so-sore thumb, stood the main attraction of the town. Its broad structure spanned significantly further than any surrounding shop, walls towering high into the third floor.

The off-white plaster was embellished with masterfully painted embroidery: a composition of roosters, red flowers, and various greenery; a traditional kind of adornment in these parts.

Unlike the other businesses, this particular building adorned a shiny, metallic plaque by the heavy-set doorway. It was written in a foreign language, carved into the slate in mechanically-even letters. Geralt approached this unfamiliar sign, fastening Roach to the wooden fencing to the side and leaving her with a soft pat on the muzzle. She neighed in response, a sound debatably considered sentient and acknowledging.

“Won’t be long, girl,” He reassured with a half-smile, adjusting his harness before stepping through the doorway.

The tavern air was drastically different from the outside world, hitting his complexion with a soothing warmth as the soft scent of baked goods and freshly poured ale filled his nostrils. The sensation scored a subtle smile from the witcher, hand swiftly unclasping the twinned holster of his weaponry.

He hummed lowly, scanning the crowd of people in sight: drinking, singing, dancing; warm bodies moving in rhythm to the upbeat ballad of a female bard taking center stage with her polished flute. A song about a lost love, druids, bloodshed. Geralt had recognized it from one of Jaskier’s performances, noting how polarizing the tune sounded with a change of instrument.

He continued walking alongside the wall, finally deciding to take a booth seat near the tinted windows of the northern wall. He propped his equipment against the table, positioning himself closest to the wall. The stained glass poured a soft light onto the scratched surface of his table, outlining every crevice and mug stain with a brilliant azure.

“Welcome to ‘the Manticore’, may I take your order?” Came a quiet voice, somehow bleeding into the chaos of the bustling tavern despite coming from his immediate right. Geralt turned his gaze towards it, eyes met with a pair of rheumy eyes.

A doe.

So was the witcher’s immediate thought at the sight of the skittish-looking servicewoman taking his order.

Her skin looked pallid, almost greyish in the soft light of the candlelight, cheeks pudgy yet somehow betraying her otherwise ghastly appearance. The subtle spread of freckles on her cheeks was the only memory of livelihood in the sunlight, spreading to her temples and ending in a single mole above the girl’s untamed brows. They were thick, straight, and resembling a man’s with how unkempt they appeared.

She held her fists firmly against the dip of her hips and her spine declined forward, giving the woman a folded, relaxed posture; a strange mix of confidence merging with a subtle sense of doubt reflected her apparent social abstinence.

“Redanian ale,” He spoke back, arm extending to rest on the plush couch, gaze wandering.

He first took note of the woman’s boots, how worn the leather seemed with the dried mud still clinging to the nooks and crannies of the laces. Her worn, moss-green blouse shamelessly revealed a perched bosom, held up artificially by the corset hugging her waist snuggly, perhaps uncomfortably.

Finally, he caught the attention of the silver amulet that lay comfortably against the flushed skin of her chest, embellished with a large, iridescent crystal sat in the middle. An opal, maybe a moonstone. It felt out of the ordinary, gleaming with a bright light that seemed to come from within the stone itself.

“You should be wary with that kind of necklace in your ownership,” Geralt warned under his breath, chin dipping to subtly signal towards the girl’s jewelry.

Her eyebrows furrowed at the comment, though her gaze instinctively followed his own. She brought a hand up to toy with the pendant, letting the metal move between her fingertips as if it were her first time seeing it.

“Oh, this old thing?” She questioned, a hint of apprehension lacing her voice as she held up the amulet, “It’s a fake, just a trinket I keep around,”

Despite her reassurance, the witcher’s comment seemed to have fuelled the baseline suspicion a barmaid would hold towards most customers. Simultaneously, she seemed genuinely inquisitive about the man’s opinion, her brow perched high on her forehead.

Her pinky traced along the side of the silver base, running down an array of intricate engravings carved into the metal by hand.

“Looks expensive. Different kinds of folk hang around these parts, you’d know best,” Geralt continued, tone flat yet assertive.

He never once meant to threaten the girl but rather tried offering a kind piece of advice based on his own experiences with such riches. Her prideful display of such an eye-catching jewel could land her in more trouble than she could have expected. His curiosity threw her demeanor off, eyes trailing to her feet. A moment passed without contact, then another.

“That’ll be it, girl,” he hummed, attempting to brush her presence off with a final word to the conversation. She shook her head left to right, almost like exiting a trance, and nodded at him hurriedly. Her nose tinged rouge. She turned heel, boots squeaking as she made her way through the boisterous crowd and back towards the bar.

The man allowed his gaze to linger on the girl until she disappeared into the sea of other bodies, huffing at the comfortable feeling of solitude once again. He let himself sink into the seat below. His eyes turned to study the crevices of the oak table he resided at, keen eyes suddenly focusing on something in the distance.

A raven-haired man sat hunched down at an adjacent booth, head clad in a pristine cloak that clasped off at his chest. The witcher stared back in an unspoken manner of competition, his watchful gaze scanning each visual intricacy the man had to offer. The pigment in his robes was intense and rich, an exotic indigo staining the thick linen, lined with silver thread that connected at the neck with a metallic amulet. It might have been adorned with small studs and jewels, from his position Geralt could not tell for certain.

His pale hands perched atop a leather-bound book surrounded by scattered cards, at least two decks. The fingers were scrawny, bony, wrapped in intricate rings that reflected the same blue light of the stained glass. His eyes bored into Geralt with a certain might, pools of sapphires flickering with candlelight.

They both lingered that way endlessly, both trying to intimidate the other into looking down, a gentle admit of defeat. The man smiled.

“And… there we go,” Came that one quiet voice again, accompanied by the dull tap of a glass mug placed firmly on the table. “Can I get you anything else?” it continued as Geralt made a last-ditch effort to squint at the cloaked man in the back of the room. He seemed satiated by this exchange, quickly returning to shuffling a fresh deck of cards sitting just beside his ale.

“…Hello?” The doe-eyed girl waved her hand to Geralt with a confused look on her sunken face, thick eyebrows furrowing with a twitch of her upper lip.

He turned his gaze towards her, quickly noticing the sudden emptiness around her chest— the amulet was gone. She must have taken his words to heart, or perhaps, more unfortunately, found them to be a kind of veiled threat towards her well-being. The skin of her chest was reddened, maybe hot to the touch.

“You’re a witcher, aren’t you?” She said matter-of-factly. Geralt raised an eyebrow at the sudden inquiry, otherwise maintaining his demeanor. It wasn’t so unusual.

“That’s right,” he replied tactfully, fingers tracing the handle of his mug before gripping it tightly and taking a hefty swig. The alcohol hit his throat with a delicious burn, trailing down the throat and leaving a tinge of plums and spice in its wake.

With a look as infamous as his, Geralt was undeniably used to being spotted out, even in the smallest of hamlets such as Posada. He didn’t mind the musings of others, as most of his encounters happened to be quite harmless and an inconvenience more than anything. He decided to enjoy his drink in peace and allow the girl to ask any questions she might be curious about. If he got lucky, the conversation could score him a new contract; Gods knew that was the kind of excuse he needed to occupy himself for the upcoming days.

“My, my…” The woman whispered, eyes widening a fraction as her fingers began skimming the edge of her apron in contemplation. There was an air of anticipation surrounding her, as if eager to ask about his dangerous lifestyle but abstaining for the fear of rejection. Same old.

“That makes you a frequent traveler, doesn’t it?” She piped up squeakily, clearing her throat after.

“Somewhat,” Geralt replied dryly, aiding his parched tongue with another swig of the drink. Exactly what he ordered, surprisingly. The girl didn’t bother cheating her way out of extra coin.

“And why do you find yourself in Posada, witcher?” the girl questioned, bright-eyed. Her hips twisted towards him, legs shuffling back and gently resting against the frame of the booth opposite to him. Geralt huffed, placing his ale firmly on the oak below. His face remained in its neutrality.

“Not staying long,” he mumbled with a backhand to his upper lip, cleaning the wetness from it with a smooth swipe. He spotted the barmaid’s coy gaze looking down as she swiftly positioned herself on the seat. When she looked up again, their eyes met.

There was a scar on her temple, kissing the hairline of the frizzed locks growing there. It looked well-healed with time, the weathered strip of skin standing out with the raised edges of its pale, pearlescent grove.

“Just for a rest I assume, then?” she smiled softly, the scar curving with the movement of her muscles. Geralt nodded. Her gaze seemed to falter at that but sharpened a mere second later.

“Just a drink, not much else to get done around here,” he spoke lowly, taking a knowing glance around the tavern; townsfolk swarming the bar in rugged clothing, some barefoot, all baring sunken faces. “Seems like it’s not monsters your town needs helping with,” he scoffed.

The barmaid’s eyes followed Geralt’s gaze, but she seemed to refrain from commenting. Her bony fingers clamped into loose fists before dropping to her lap. She moistened her lower lip with a slow flick of the tongue, shoulders rising and falling with each breath. She stayed silent for a moment, contemplative, then suddenly perked up with a furrowed brow.

“We’ve got monsters, witcher,” the girl mumbled. Geralt’s brow twitched at the comment, but he gave her a nod in recognition. She nodded back. “Something’s been killing off the townsfolk in the night when they go foraging,”

“Foraging? Why at night?” he questioned.

“For Mooncaps. They fluoresce in the dark and so are easier to spot that way; we use them for skin salves, tea, that kind of thing,” the girl explained, “They grow in the woods.”

“Mooncaps…” the man acknowledged, “And the foragers, how certain are you that they haven’t just lost their way back?” Geralt pressed on, fingers tensing around the handle of his mug.

“Rescue teams have been sent out before, but they never come back,” the girl said, “Sylvanus was the only one to make it home in one piece. After the fifth expedition, there were no more volunteers left. We didn’t want to risk any more casualties, you know? I grew up there, too. But I don’t dare go back now, not after I’ve heard the rumors,” she continued.

“Sylvanus?” Geralt interrupted, feeling the name out on his tongue. It sounded foreign to the land, but unfamiliar to him personally. The barmaid nodded.

“He’s this witch-hunter from Temeria. Well, that’s what he says, anyway,” she breathed out, eyes squinting, “He’s not from around here, you’d from the things he wears. Nice things, well-fit and expensive. Arrived one night and asked for the largest room we had, room seven. That must’ve been a whole month ago by now,”

Geralt’s eyebrows furrowed, gaze focusing on the table he had been examining beforehand. Nothing. The cloaked figure was gone, leaving behind a vacant table and that deck of cards.

“We’ve got spare rooms, plenty of them. I could arrange one for you if you’d like, maybe a hot bath to go with it,” the barmaid piqued in with the same smile, soft and genuine as her gaze seemed to bore into the witcher’s own eyes. She pursed her lips, anticipating an answer, perhaps one in favor of her declaration.

Geralt used a gloved finger to tap the wooden surface of the table, the rest of his body remaining perfectly still. “I’ll camp out,” he declared, hand raising his mug as the last drops of ale trickled down his throat. He still felt parched.

“As you wish,” the girl nodded, a glint in her eye as she reciprocated with a polite smile. Her arms stretched across the padding of her seat, relaxing her muscles before she swiftly stood up. Her hand grabbed onto the upper rim of the empty mug, removing it from the table with a huff.

“It’s on the house. Thank you for helping out,” she added quietly, smiling.

“Hold your appreciation, girl. I haven’t done anything to earn it just yet,” Geralt replied, earning a soft chuckle from the woman. It was airy and warm. Her half-lidded gaze met his own.

“You’ve offered your kindness, it’s all I could ask for these days,” she replied quaintly, taking a few steps back while her fingers tampered with the iron handle of the mug. She looked down briefly, then back up. Her smile had disappeared.

“Geralt,” he responded half-mindedly, out of habit. He assessed the name she had given him carefully, letting it echo in his mind.

“Farewell, then, Geralt,” she giggled once more, sounding somewhat bubbly at the reveal. Her smile stretched wider this time, revealing a pair of dimples adorning each flushed cheek with a shallow grove. She nibbled at her bottom lip, breathing in deeply before turning away, yet she held her gaze with his, somewhat determined to keep the witcher’s attention. She whipped around, her overskirt twirling gracefully around her hips before she leaped away. Geralt caught one last glance of her locks before she disappeared into the crowd again.

He breathed out, eyes closed tightly. His meeting with Ciri would have to wait another day while he took care of the monster plaguing this off-road town. He imagined it to be a Noonwraith, maybe a Werewolf in the worst case. It would be dirty work, but quick, and perhaps the town could spare a decent amount of coin for putting an end to their unfortunate endeavors.

The man stood up with a grunt, eyes scanning the crowds of clientele once again. His mind tried focusing on a certain head of raven-black hair amongst the sea of bodies, but his efforts were fruitless. The witch-hunter was gone, or at the very least in hiding… perhaps somewhere nearby. Geralt recalled the barmaid’s testimony, how she confessed they had rented the man a room just a few nights back.

The witcher’s eyes shifted to the broad staircase at the edge of the room, oddly empty and lit dimly by candlelight adorning the wall. He walked over in a few smooth strides, eyes narrowed and focused. He set his boot on the first stair, hearing it creak pathetically under his boot. He climbed another, another, continuing til the very top.

The gleeful tune of the lute sounded muffled and dull at this level, reverberating through the walls and getting eerily distorted in the process. Geralt lurked down the hallway, passing wooden doors adorned with handmade numbers and watching for light seeping through the gap where the planks met the floor.

He stopped suddenly, faced with number ‘7’. His gloved hand reached to grip the doorknob slowly, but with a firm squeeze, he twisted. To his surprise, it was open.

He stepped in, nose catching the vivid aroma of rosemary and myrrh. It carried in the air heavily, a thin stripe of smoke weaving through the air and connecting at the tip of an incense stick sat on a desk to his left. It was messy, clattered with books and one-off documents stained with slim rings of plum and violet.

“There you are,” came a gravely, monotonous sound. Geralt turned to face it, his eyes met with sapphire ones. They were bulbous, almost too large for the socket, threatening to pop out at any moment. The intensity made the witcher stay put. “Geralt of Rivia!” the man exclaimed theatrically, arms extending wide as he made his way from the bedside mirror. Geralt realized he hadn’t noticed the man when he entered.

“And you are?” the witcher asked firmly.

“You know my name,” the man replied, a smile adorning his lips. There was a thick scar running across them, connecting to his right brow.

“Sylvanus, is it?” Geralt replied, deciding to back into the doorway with his backside. Hearing the hinges squeal as they shut, Sylvanus seemed to relax. His mulberry cloak fluttered as he moved closer, head low. The whites of his eyes were glazed, shimmering like tiles of water. “There’s a monster roaming the woods, I’ve been told you know of it,”

“Certainly, yes,” He replied diplomatically, moving soundlessly to take a seat by the cluttered desk. The incense was shriveled now, copper tray piled with ash. “You’d like to know of this beastie? It was relentless. Ghastly and pale and crimson, drenched in innocent blood. Female in appearance and winged, like succubi,” Sylvanus explained, hands flailing wildly as he recalled the creature’s looks. His tone was low. “It is quite a miracle I made it out with all my limbs still intact,” Sylvanus sighed amongst dramatics.

“It seems we’re dealing with a harpy,” Geralt replied with a nod, hands now placed firmly on his hips as he watched the man before him go dark in the face. His eyebrows furrowed, eyes still bulging as he approached in a swift stride. He pointed a long finger at the witcher’s chest, gaze holding his fervently.

“That is no ordinary harpy, witcher,” the man hissed, offended at the mere suggestion of it. “I’ve seen nothing like it. This is no ordinary occurrence, I’ve come to realize…” Sylvanus carried on, retracting his arm that slivered under his cloak like a snake returning to its lair.

“This town, you’ll learn to know, is cursed. Plagued,” he finished slyly, almost hostile in his manner.

Geralt sighed at the man’s warnings, eyeing his lowly figure as it trailed back to the padded armchair by the desk. His snake-like arm slid out once more, thin and splotchy. It grabbed a match, striking it quickly against the table’s surface to illicit a pale flame that he used to light a fresh incense stick with. The room became smokey within seconds, a thin veil of grey dancing in the light breeze of the window open ajar. When he was done, Sylvanus tossed the match to a pile of similarly decrepit ones.

“If you want to know how I survived, well,” he trailed, “the beastie is weak to light. It fears daytime, sunlight, fire… anything that burns,”

“How did you find out?” Geralt questioned,

“Trial and error,” Sylvanus shrugged with a grin, eyes squinting. He slumped into the chair, tossing and turning until he seemed comfortable. “It only comes out on moonless nights, that’s when it goes out to feed,” he added. Geralt nodded, stopping for a beat to let the man continue on his tirade, but there was nothing else he wanted to say. His focus had now shifted to an opened book on the desk, his fingers skimming through the pages feverishly.

Geralt cleared his throat, eyeing the man once more before turning around to leave. “Thanks for the info,”

“Don’t make yourself allies in Posada, Geralt,” a voice called out behind him, deep and dark. “It might just turn on you,”

Geralt halted. He nodded, head tilting but not enough to catch the man’s figure again. The witcher shuffled away silently, shutting the door behind him with a ‘click’ of the hinges. A soft shuffling came from within, cloth rubbing against cloth and stacks of papers being ripped frantically, in a strange hurry. The flaxen-haired man let the commotion unfold without interruption.

He spotted an ornate window peeking outside, his eyes squinting at the bright lights of the colors flickering around the main square. It was getting late, and he would have to make camp soon. His feet stomped down the flight of stairs, faded music coming back in full effect.

He took note of the blonde-headed bard singing her heart out, and the slowly declining yet continuously vast crowd of townsfolk swarming the vivid scene. His gaze trailed to the bar instinctively, hovering over about a dozen heads that he knew instantly didn’t include the one he sought out.

A soft breath escaped his chapped lips, hands swiftly reaching for the cover of his cape’s hood. As the warmth of the tavern slowly faded from his body, Geralt felt his fingers ache in the cold of the night.

#geralt x reader #geralt x you #x reader #reader insert #fanfiction #ao3 #geralt of rivia #geralt z rivii #the witcher #my writing #cowboygenesis #smut #eventual smut #slow burn #magic #oneshots #writers on tumblr #ao3 writer

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thewisecheerio · 2 years

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The Sandman and Queerness

It's hard to express how transformative The Sandman can feel for queer people. It's not that it's the only queer literature around; queer literature abounds. It's not that it was the first of its kind; queer literature has been around forever. It's that The Sandman gets a lot of things right that many attempts at queer stories don't.

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First, The Sandman's queer characters are simply allowed to exist without the entire story revolving around their queerness. Their story doesn't have to center on a coming out journey or parental rejection, which seems to be all that Hollywood is capable of writing. While this kind of work can be important, it still paints us as "other" and "abnormal". We are anything but an accepted facet of reality.

Meanwhile, the world of The Sandman is a world where queer people are an accepted and normal part of it. As such, their stories can be more complex than the tropes we are normally fed.

Second, by virtue of queer normalization, the world of The Sandman lacks the constant vigilance that queer people have to deal with in reality. In our world, you always have to wonder if someone is going to accept or reject you once they find out, and be careful about who you talk to or what you talk about. Depending on where you live, you might have to worry about getting hatecrimed, attacked, or even killed for your queerness. This creates a constant vigilance of monitoring your surroundings, and policing your own language and behavior to keep yourself safe.

However, in a world where queerness is normalized, all of that labor disappears. You can simply exist without the added strain (at least in regards to queerness). Reading or watching The Sandman is freeing in a way that existing in reality is not.

Third, certain problematic stereotypes in media dissolve. In most media, queerness is deeply linked with villainy. Antagonists are purposefully queer-coded (read: made to look or act queer on purpose), while heroes are usually anything but. This creates a link between "evil" and "queerness" in the consumer's mind.

Besides being problematic on its own, this presents a problem for writers who want to write non-problematic stories about queer people. It means that you can't actually have a villain in your story that is queer without an audience assuming that their queerness and villainy are tied, i.e. that the villain is evil because they are queer. Sandman subverts this.

Consider the Corinthian: he's evil and he's queer. But because he exists in a world where queerness is everywhere and normalized, we know that he's not evil because he's queer; he's evil and happens to also be queer. Not having him be the only queer character in the story unlinks his villainy and queerness.

Further, even if we narrow our view to only the Corinthian, we have examples of his queerness existing without his villainy: he sleeps with Carl without killing him. This single act immediately unlinks his murderousness and his queer identity, allowing us to see them as separate facets. And in so doing, The Sandman manages to fully subvert the queer-coded villain trope that otherwise ends up being harmful and everywhere in media.

Fourth, queer characters finally get to be sexy. Did you laugh at that sentence? It's okay. But this is a real thing that happens in media: queer characters are often so stereotyped or infantilized that seeing normal, queer folk that are attractive is a freeing experience in and of itself.

Nonbinary folk in particular are usually infantilized. Yet The Sandman gives us Desire, a nonbinary person and the literal embodiment of hotness who creates thirst outside of the bounds of gendered constructs (or, perhaps, within all of them). Desire is anything but infantilized. And in giving them to us, The Sandman manages to turn this trope on its head in a single, swift (and sensuous ;)…) movement.

The final point has less to do with the story and more to do with the context of publication. When queer folk write queer stories, those stories tend to circulate largely only within the queer community. This does very little to allow engagement from the people we need engagement from most, i.e. non-queer folk who could benefit from unlearning stereotypes.

But when a story gets published by a major label, it allows that story to be seen by a much wider audience. The Sandman opens up queer media to a wider audience by virtue of being written for a major comic label and then later transformed into a popular TV series. It does much more to undo the harm caused by stereotyped pieces of media when a transformative work reaches a wider audience. Yes, it's unfair that people outside of the queer community often won't engage directly with queer media. But that's the reality we live in, so works like The Sandman become hugely important.

So when you see the queer community delighting at The Sandman, it's not an exaggeration. It's an expression of unmitigated joy.

#the sandman #sandman #lgbt #lgbtqia #lgbtq #lgbt representation #queer media #queer representation

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bsdw-ccraccs · 1 month

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part 1 -> part 2 -> part 3 -> part 4*

Borne back ceaselessly into the past

‿︵‿︵୨˚̣̣̣͙୧ - -୨˚̣̣̣͙୧‿︵‿︵

Chapter 4

Song:

After Dark

‿︵‿︵୨˚̣̣̣͙୧ - -୨˚̣̣̣͙୧‿︵‿︵

Outside of the agency, the sound of a helicopter coming down alerted everyone, and woke up Aeris. Yosano stood up as he sits up from the stiff bed, Jun’ichiro’s voice is heard from the hallway.

“You’ve all got to come see this!”

┏━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┓

TimeSkip

In the ADA

President's office

┗━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┛

“How nice to finally meet you! President Fukuna.” The blond male, Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, smiles towards the president of the ADA, a silver briefcase in between them, to guild members standing respectfully behind the Guild’s leader.

“Uhhh… Fuzuka??”

“Fukuzawa,” His deep voice corrects the American’s mispronunciation of his name, his eyes closed and arms crossed.

“That’s it!” the blond points, “Oh! We parked our chopper on a nearby highway. Was that alright?”

“What is it you want to discuss,” The president stays in the same position, the only movement being of his mouth as he speaks, “You've journeyed across the world to come here, speak your mind.”

Tea is placed near the silver briefcase, “My~ this is a rare specimen,” Fitzgerald grabs the tea cup in his hand, eyes curious, eyebrow raised, “I don’t recognize this style of porcelain, what is the brand of this set? Royal Blanc?”

He lifts the cup above his face, looking at it bottom to top, top to bottom. “Or perhaps, El Zelga.”

Naomi, standing behind the president’s couch, responds. “It’s from the ceramics store next door,” Fitzgerald takes a sip of the tea, before handing it over to one of the characters standing behind him.

“My apologies.. Please call me Francis old sport, I insist,” he looks up, a mischievous smile on his lips, “I’m the leader of the guild, we are headquartered in North America! I personally own three conglomerates, five hotels, an airline, a university-”

“Mr.Fitzgerald,” Fukuzawa cuts him off, the blond leans back, a slight pout on his lips, “I’ve received reports that you issued a bounty to encourage the Port Mafia to attack us…” Fukuzawa looks up, a strong glare staring back at Fitzgerald, “Are they true?”

Fitzgerald smiles “Ye-es, that was a big mistake on my part.”

“To think such a famed criminal group would be so incompetent,” The blonde leans forward, crossing his arms across his knees, winking at Fukuzawa, "To make amends, I bring you a business proposal.”

Outside of the office, both Yosano and Aeris wait to be able to speak to the president, though being able to listen in to the serious conversation between the guild leader and the agency president. The voice of the foreigner cuts in “You’ve got a nice little company here, and it’s in an attractive neighborhood, as such…”

The sound of a briefcase getting opened registered through their ears as the guild leader speaks. “I’d like to buy it from you.”

Yosano frowned, looking at Aeris who seemed quite unbothered. The teen boy was fiddling around with his new clothing, he especially seemed to like the warmth of the tan sleeveless sweater vest that Ranpo got for him.

“It’s not the building I’m interested in,” Fitzgerald’s voice broke Yosano out of her trance, her re-relaxed face becoming tight with frustration, “I want one thing.”

“And that is?” The gruff voice of the president responds.

“What do you think? I want your gifted business permit.”

Yosano huffed, shaking her head as Aeris shuffled the bottom of his face getting covered with his red scarf. The boy knew a bit about the guild, not much, but he at least knew something. The guild wanting the gifted business permit wasn’t expected at all, but understandable.

“Those fools are about the only ones you can’t buy with money,” Aeris can hear the male lean back again, “We are a secret society that officially doesn’t even exist.”

The male pauses before continuing his speech, “there’s something in the city that we want, we’d rather not rile the ministry while we look for it. Your permit will allow us t-”

“I refuse,” The president cuts him off, the answer was to be expected for someone like him, but Yosano sighs in relief. Aeris stares at her from under his eyelashes, did she really think that the president of the armed detective agency would sell his permit?

‘Aren’t permits really hard to get?’ Aeris looks to the side, facing the door, his lips pouting from under his scarf as he huffs.

Listening back in, he slides down the wall and sits down, the amount of waiting is making him tired. He hasn’t been able to stand or walk, doctor’s orders, for a day or so, and that track meet from a few days ago is still making his legs wobble more than a plate of pudding being held by someone with Parkinson's disease.

“Very well then…” the soft sound of something being taken off and placed down was heard, “It’s a limited edition model, made to order with pink diamonds.” The man’s smile could be heard through the door.

“I’m afraid there’s no amount of money you could offer that would entice me to give up our permit,” Fukuzawa responds, “it is a symbol of hope, not just for our members but also for that of Master Natsume, without whom this agency would not exist.”

‘Master Natsume? That name sounds familiar… was it from the agency’s book. I remember reading something about him, but I’ll have to look for it for sure…’ Aeris sighs softly, ‘Can their conversation end soon? I’m getting tired of looking around at the same things on the wall, and taking the time to take the doctor’s appearance would be too weird…’ he looks up at the female, the metal butterfly hair pin taking his attention before he shook his head.

“What kid?” Yosano looks at him, her voice coming out soft but with a slight intent to scare. Her arms were folded and she was leaning back on the wall. She had been like that for a while.

“Oh, sorry… I just like your hair pin,” he points at the left side of his head, “it’s a great contrast compared to the rest of your clothing in my opinion.” The doctor smiles and nods, bringing her hand up to her pin.

‘It seems like she’s quite sentimental about it…’

“If your employees vanished, I’d make a bet your little agency would cease to function, and by then it would be too late to change your mind,” The American’s voice brough Aeris back to the serious conversation happening inside of the office.

Aeris stands up from the floor, cleaning the back of his pants off with one of his hands as he hears the closing of the briefcase. Kenji had been silently standing in the corner, Aeris hadn’t noticed that until a feminine voice cut through after two claps.

“Escort our guests out Kenji,” A smile appeared on the farmer boy’s face as he turned towards the door. “Understood!” the boy smiles as he opens the door.

“This way please!”

“I’ll leave a message for you in tomorrow's paper,” Aeris stares at the open door, the Americans coming to view from his spot in the hallway. He stands respectfully, not wanting to make a bad image of himself in the eyes of foreigners that have much more power than he does both economically and socially.

The taller blond turns his head, his blue eyes creepily becoming bigger as he smiles at the boss.

“Consider it carefully, you old sport. I always get what I’m after.”

Aeris glares at the floor before relaxing his face as Kenji and the guests walk past him. ‘Bad vibes coming from them, they’re going to do something not good at all…’

The girl with red hair, tied into two braids looks at him as he closes his eyes and bows his head down in respect. She huffs in pleasure before looking forward and walking away.

Yosano and Aeris wait a second, listening for the ‘Ding~’ of the elevator before breathing out a sigh and walking over to the entrance of the office.

Yosano knocks on the door as Aeris looks behind him again.

“Come on in,” The president’s voice sends a wave of comfort into Aeris’s body as Yosano opens the door and enters, the boy walking in right behind her before bowing towards the president of the agency.

“Yosano, and Dahl Aeris,” Fukuzawa nods, his face keeping a serious look to it, but his eyes changed instantly when they both entered.

“Please, sir, call me Aeris, I’m much more comfortable with that.”

“Yes, I thought so, Ranpo had told me about that.” Fukuzawa signs for the boy to sit down in front of him, “Please, sit boy, I apologize for making you both wait for so long.”

“It’s alright President,” Yosano stands behind Aeris.

There is a comfortable silence as Naomi comes by and sets some tea down in front of the young boy. “How are you feeling Aeris?” The older male asks, “You have been bedridden for a small while right?”

“Ah, umh, yes, I have. I’m feeling much better sir thanks to the close monitoring of Doctor Yosano, she’s been very polite to me and both Atsushi and Ranpo have been great company.” The boy nods before fully looking up, his natural droopy eyed look taking the president off guard. The black and pink haired boy had very mesmerizing though dull eyes, his smile being genuine but not reaching his eyes.

“I have a bad feeling of what is going to happen with the guild and us,” Aeris looks away, closing his eyes before looking at his reflection in the tea. Grabbing the cup, he takes a sip out of respect, straining to not make a face due to his small dislike to tea. He sets the tea down and smiles back at the President.

“Why is that boy?”

Changing the subject, the boy sits up straight. “I feel like Doctor Yosano has made a small explanation on my ability, and that Ranpo has deducted most of the information about my ability right?”

“Yes, they have. It’s called ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’, correct?”

Aeris nods.

“I believe it would be best if the Aeris joins the agency, his unique ability could help us a lot against the Port Mafia, and from what I can see, the Guild too,” Yosano speaks up, giving in a good word for the boy, “He also seems to know a lot about both of the groups, who knows what dirt we could get on them.”

Aeris’s eyes widened, seeing as the compliments of Yosano made him feel accomplished, maybe he could get a job here to finally be able to pay that nice landlord that let him stay in his parents house after the incident, and that nice lady that bought him groceries when he was too sad to go out, and a kid who would knock on his door with cards and games and his mom would come over to make sure he ate warm food and helped clean up his place.

The stinging of his eyes made him come back to reality as he looked up, avoiding crying in front of such a man. Would it consider him weak or too emotional to cry about people who helped him out when he was struggling?

The boy sighs before looking towards the president again, “I would love to join the agency, I would love to help this society be a safer place for the elderly, the middle aged, teens, and children alike.”

The president smiles at him before nodding, “It will take a while to officially join due to the amount of things happening at the moment, yes, I accept.”

Naomi smiles, Yosano places a hand on the boy's shoulder as he relaxes.

“Though,” Fukuzawa said, Aeris tensing up again. “You changed the topic when asked about the bad feeling you were talking about.”

Aeris sighs, closing his eyes. “Kenji was caught by the Guild.”

“What?”

“Yes, Lucy Montgomery, the girl with hair in braids. Her ability is called ‘Anne of Abyssal Red.’ Kenji was caught in her ability and is not able to get out, there’s no need to worry. I believe he is still safe.”

Fukuzawa huffs, “So it is starting.”

Aeris stands up, “I believe it is my time to leave, thank you for your time sir.” Bowing towards the older male, he straightens up and turns around, Yosano walking in front of him again.

‘I will do my best to keep this society safe, even if I have to break laws.’

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shouldiusemyname · 10 months

Text

Step By Step Through the Closet Door

First of all, I want to apologize for not breaking this with images and gifs. There's no excuse 🫣

Now, I've read all the excellent commentary coming out of ep 11. I believe it's all valid and there are points to be made all around. I don't have the knowledge or experience to comment on pacing, editing, and certain directorial choices. But I do want to say something in favor of the story the show is telling.

This is a different story than we're used to, and it's told in a different way. It takes some getting used to, but where I'm from this type of storytelling is used a lot. This is showing things the way they are to the point of annoyance. I think that what causes all the confusion and frustration is the fact that the show lets each character exist separately from one another. There is no cohesiveness because life has no cohesiveness. The characters act and react according to their own separate sets of rules as opposed to each other. I know that some will see it as bad storytelling, and it's no excuse, but imo it has its benefits when trying to tell a story about people.

MY CASE FOR JENG and Pat

Jeng has been consistent throughout. Everything he does is because his entire being is linked to the company. He never makes mistakes. He always puts the business first. His entire philosophy of "life and work should be combined" is his reality. He has no freedom. He's had to hide who he is as a person, not only his sexuality because he always needs to represent.

As for the money, it's not the first time he did it. We're told in the beginning that he's been keeping the department alive with his own money. The only thing in his dad's company that is actually his is that department, and fighting to keep it is fighting to keep his sense of self. That department became his identity, so he will do anything to keep it alive. This is about Jeng v. his father. This is about Jeng becoming his own person.

So how does Pat fit into all of this? Well, Jeng being 100% business 100% of the time, he sees Pat's talent and he finds it super attractive. Sure, he finds Pat cute and attractive when they first meet, but his interest in him grows when he sees his talent and potential.

In his mind, Pat is a driving force through this. He finds Pat and he feels that he finally has an ally. However, this has nothing to do with who Pat is. This is the idea of Pat, not Pat himself. He does with Pat what he does with work - he makes him part of his identity and links him to the department. So Pat is no longer a separate human being, but another aspect of Jeng. Pat becomes the part of Jeng's personality that fights to keep the department alive. Which makes him the logical choice to be his successor as the head of department. Losing one of them (department or Pat) means losing his identity as a man separate from his father and the company.

As for Pat, he has his own shit to deal with. He needs to work in a toxic work environment and face gossip that is typically reserved for women, who are usually the target of this kind of gossip precisely because of their sexuality. Pat needs to end things with Jeng because he can't deal with it. Love is not magic. Love can't fix society. Outside pressure can and does break relationships when the people in that relationship are unable to stand together.

Pat and Jeng cannot stand together at this point in their story because they exist in two separate worlds. Their realities and the way they experience life are so different and separate from what the other is experience, to say the least.

THE QUEER REALITY OF IT ALL

That intervention/interrogation scene was way too personal. Even if you've never been interrogated about your sexuality, or had to defend it, just sitting in a room where people talk about your sexuality as if you're not there is not a fun experience, to say the least.

Having to justify yourself all the time to everyone because of who you like. Having to sit in a room where YOU are being scrutinized for your entire being just because of your sexuality is something that queer people experience all the time. Straight people will have lengthy discussions about others' sexuality in a way that I haven’t experienced in queer spaces. They will expect us to live up to tropes and stereotypes, and if we don't, they will be disappointed because it's not what they were promised (I'm sorry, but this is hitting very close to home). This is the reality of being different in a way that most society can't understand. If there is something to say in favor of this show is that these moments are represented so accurately that it's sometimes painful to watch.

STEPPING OUT OF THE CLOSET

This is a story about closets more than anything. Not only in the queer sense, but anyone who needs to hide who they are for "the greater good" knows what it's like. When you need to hide parts of yourself, for any reason, it's easy to lose touch with who you really are.

Being outed for the benefit of others OR How straight people talk about other sexualities.

We can all agree that Pat is not in the closet. But throughout the show, he goes through the experience of being outed three times - first when he has no choice but to out himself because of toxic male co-worker. The second time, his relationship with Jeng is outed for political gain. Then, a much more public outing of his relationship with Put. So, we're starting with a one-on-one outing, through people in the more extended environment, and finally nationwide exposure. By the end of ep 11, he has no control over who is allowed into his private affairs, and none of these outings were even about him. These were all cases of him being outed for the benefit of others. (re: straights discussing queer sexuality as though there are no queer people in the room).

Your closet is serving life

Jeng lives in the closet. Not only his sexuality is closeted, but his entire personality. He's had to maintain this public persona for so long that he has no idea who he is. His every move is dictated by his need to maintain his image for the sake of the company. He can't afford to protect Pat because he is on the job 24/7. Having Pat in his life forces him to deal with new situations. It's the first time he finds himself in a dilemma where he has to choose between the company and the person he loves, and he chooses the company because the closet is locked from the outside. The only thing that's truly his is the digital marketing department. Saving the department is saving himself. For him, it means protecting himself as well as protecting Pat. So, this is life and death for him. Even when he's called for the "intervention" with management, then with his father, and questioned about his sexuality, the only thing he can do is protect the department. Pat and the department are one because they are both his identity.

To each their own closet

Chot must keep his relationship in the closet and is at the mercy of his partner. He has no choice but to hope that one day he will be allowed to be out in his relationship. Which we were all happy to see happen!

Jaab and Jen had to hide their feelings and flirt in secret because of Jen's relationship. After that ended and they had the chance to be out, Jaab chose to run because he can't deal with actually getting what he wants (I have things to say about that as well, but it will have to be a separate post).

Beam has closeted his feelings for Ae. He chose to hide and had to watch from inside the closet, how someone else is living the life he wants for himself.

And finally Ying, who had to hide her fujoshi side.

These stories can't come together and form a complete story, because they exist separately from one another. Even Jeng and Pat exist separately from one another, each in his own story without the ability to connect, because they exist in separate worlds.

If you got this far, I seriously thank you for sticking this out. I hope this makes sense, and again this is only how I read what this show is giving us...

#step by step meta #step by step #the story is important

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