#and this is such a non issue. it’s a book. that i’ve read before. but still it’s just stressing me out. among other things | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

verstappen-cult · 2 months

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# IN A WORLD OF BOYS, THEY’RE GENTLEMEN | MV1 & CL16

summary: people always like to jump into conclusions and you are the internet’s newest victim, the ‘slut playing with two boys’. little do they know, there’s more to the story.

pairings: max verstappen x fem!reader x charles leclerc. content warning: kaia gerber as fem!reader, cursing, toxic fans, tiny bit of angst because i like to make them suffer, f1 grid because they need their own warning. inspired in the song slut! by taylor swift.

# INSTAGRAM

Liked by user01, f1wagsnews and 152,840 others

paddockgossip Max Verstappen and a mysterious girl spotted in Monaco this afternoon. This is the second time we’ve seen them in a span of two weeks. We still don’t know who she is, but they seem pretty close. Is Max Verstappen finally taken?

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user01 not paddockgossip calling max’s childhood friend a ‘mysterious girl’ loool

user02 she’s been getting so much attention ever since they started dating

user03 we don’t even know if they’re actually dating

user04 i’m sure i’ve seen her before 🤔

user05 that’s because you have! she was seen with charles leclerc like a month ago but no one talks about it bc they haven’t been seen together after that user06 she’s friends with max AND charles????

user07 is this really max wearing non redbull merch???

user08 the girlfriend effect is real user09 ffs we don’t know if they’re dating

user10 no one’s asking the important question here: who is she?? do we have an instagram, twitter, something????

user11 she’s @/yourusername user12 no way she’s THAT pretty

Liked by maxverstappen1, charles_leclerc and 63,734 others

yourusername tummy hurts don’t talk 2 me

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user13 so this is max’s new girlfriend?

user14 shes one of us.

user15 SHE LIKES MAX VERSTAPPEN AND LANA DEL REY? SHE’S JUST LIKE ME FR

user16 and she has stomach issues too. it’s like looking at myself in a mirror

charles_leclerc but i was omw with some goddies, what do i do now?

yourusername tummy don’t hurt anymore 🥺

user17 i didn’t know charles and y/n were that close

user18 girl haven’t you seen the photos? user17 WHAT PHOTOS

maxverstappen1 i won’t say i told you so but i told you so.

yourusername you’re no fun at all

user18 oh to be y/n and have not one but two formula 1 drivers flirting with me in the comments

# TWITTER

# INSTAGRAM

Liked by maxverstappen1, redbullracing and 135,767 others

yourusername book nerds! 📚 we have some really exciting changes coming for our book club in the next couple of weeks — but in the meantime, i want to share that the incredible @/lauradern will be joining us to talk about “honey, baby, mine”, a collection of conversations between laura and her mom… grab a copy and join us next thursday!

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ana_d_armas This is amazing! 👏👏 can’t wait to join you and know more about this amazing book.

user19 Reading now!

user20 is that-is that really max verstappen?

user21 max verstappen? like as in formula one champion max verstappen? THAT ONE?

user22 what is max doing with her?

user23 do u think he knows about what’s going on with her and charles? think about your gf cheating on your face with your so called ‘friend’ user24 he has to know otherwise that’s pretty sad. user22 think about your gf cheating on you with your friend and having to see that friend every weekend… that’s so fucking awkward!

user25 where is charles? you got tired of him already? 😂

redbullracing You said he was gonna join your book club but all I see is Max napping. Bad. Very bad behavior.

yourusername sorry admin i tried!

user26 i need an explanation, like i would settle for anything at this point i just wanna know what is happening with them

user27 stop freaking out! they’re probably just friends

user28 yeah right nobody believes that

Liked by user29, francisca.cgomes and 254,122 others

paddockgossip New photos of Max Verstappen and Y/N L/N out and about in Barcelona. There are multiple witnesses that saw the couple ‘very cozy, they couldn’t stop touching each other’ inside the restaurant — this comes after the pictures of Y/N with Charles Leclerc kissing on his yatch just a week ago. We don’t know what is happening, who is cheating on who, but we do not support this kind of behavior.

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user29 this is disgusting

user30 what is this chick playing at?

user31 oh shut up you all. you wish you were her.

user32 WHAT IS GOING ON WHY IS NO ONE SAYING SOMETHING ??? user33 probably because this is bullshit

user34 you don’t know anything. is actually so fun seeing you all losing your minds over this.

user35 I NEED ANSWERS

user36 they look good together ngl

francisca.cgomes 😂

user37 kika what does this mean

user38 they’re sick

user39 she’s jumping from one driver to another it wouldn’t surprise me if the next one is lando.

user40 at this point i think she would pretty much crawl into anybody’s bed

user41 she’s just looking for fame

user42 that’s what i’m saying! just look at her followers now, she gained like 100k user43 oh i hate her so much

Liked by user44, wags_news and 534,665 others

paddockgossip Well, well… We really thought we wouldn’t get any more news about the chaotic mess between Y/N L/N and Max Verstappen & Charles Leclerc, so, we were a little surprised to see Charles’ latest instagram story (second slide) where he tagged Y/N! It’s a beautiful picture but then we have Y/N’s story: a conversation between her and Max Verstappen. So, what do you think is happening here?

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user45 OH MY GOD LOVE OF MY LIFE?????

user46 are they-are they soft launching their relationship?

user47 nah it’s mpossible these boys don’t know y/n is playing with them

user48 oh bestie that is so not what’s happening here

user49 I KNEW IT BUT NO ONE BELIEVED ME

user50 what the actual fuck

user51 she’s such a slut

user52 she’s cheating and she doesn’t care. iconic

user53 i’m gonna throw up

user54 they need to get out of there asap

user55 SHES DATING BOTH OF THEM

user56 OH MY FUCKING GOD SHES DATING BOTH OF THEM. SHES DATING LESTAPPEN

Liked by maxverstappen1, charles_leclerc and others

yourusername you really thought you knew it all, uh?

View all 886,728 comments

maxverstappen1 loves of my life.

liked by author and charles_leclerc

user57 WHAT THE FFFFFFFFFF

charles_leclerc my pretty girl and pretty boy.

liked by author and maxverstappen1

user58 THEY ARE DATING??? THE THREE OF THEM??

carlossainz55 FUCKING FINALLY.

user59 LESTAPPEN IS REAL WTF

lilymhe i love you all so much. 🩷

pierregasly you can finally stop moaning to me about wanting to be public. i was just about to commit murder.

user60 i never thought i would see the day where charles and max would be kissing

user61 not only that but also dating user62 in a poly relationship*

francisca.cgomes my favorite throuple. 💜

user63 this is so NOT what i was expecting

landonorris can you adopt me?

oscarpiastri me too, please.

user64 the fifth pic??? i also wanna kiss both of them pls

redbullracing Can we celebrate now? 🥺

scuderiaferrari My house? 10PM?

alex_albon this is such a surprise to me. i’m shocked.

danielricciardo MY PARENTS. 🤩

user65 look at that last slide 😭 they really were destined to be together.

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#꒰꒰ 📁 ─ verstappen cult files ꒱꒱#charles leclerc x reader #max verstappen x reader #lestappen x reader #f1 x reader #f1 fanfic #max verstappen imagine #f1 grid x reader #charles leclerc fluff #charles leclerc imagine #max verstappen fluff #f1 imagine #poly!f1 #f1 fic

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stanfanfiction · 8 months

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Taste of You - Ken x fem!reader - PART FOUR

Alrighty. Going to try bringing the reader’s history more into this one. There’s still a lotta hot going on but this one is more somber with some fluff and feelings and I really hope you like it <3

Thank you to @dogboytim for suggesting Ken helping the reader deal with self esteem/body issues. So definitely a TW for that.

I’ve also been dealing with some emotional shit in my own life and I think I kind used this as a catharsis for myself so….I hope it’s an okay read 🙈

Masterlist for previous parts

Warnings: 18+ ONLY / dealing with past trauma / panic attacks / body dysmorphia / domestic abuse (mentioned as a theme, nothing specific other than leading into the readers self esteem struggles) / horny Ken / caretaking Ken / fluff / feelings / Ken finally gets out of the house / soft sex / oral (fem!receiving) / stubborn Ken / bathroom sex / ptsd / some kinda con-non-con (but reader likes it so it is technically all consensual) / making love vs having sex… (you’ll see)

You squealed as Ken’s fingers entered you swiftly. Apparently you hadn’t been giving him enough attention this morning, *again,* and you were definitely starting to see a pattern forming here. You sat opened legged on your bathroom counter where Ken had placed you moments earlier while you were only trying to brush your hair and get dressed before you found yourself leaning back against the mirror over the sink and pulling his hair.

“I *HATE* class days,” he seethed as his mouth went to attack your clit and you gasped but smiled as you threw your head back. You hadn’t told him that right before he came into the bathroom deciding to be needy once again that you had just received an email that your class had been cancelled for the day, but you decided it didn’t hurt to not tell him for the next few minutes.

“Hmm…ahh…Ken is so needy again.”

Ken’s eyes stared at you as if being challenged and he used his free hand to open up your vulva lips and plant his tongue firmly against you, moving up from your opening slowly. You bucked a little and Ken removed his fingers from your core to place that hand on across your hips, holding you down for him as he began to tongue fuck you.

“Won’t let you leave,” he mumbled, his mouth pressed into you.

You laughed again. “Greedy boy. My class got cancelled today,” you breathed.

Ken paused for a moment to smile, then went back to pleasuring you but less from a place of frustration now as he began going a little slower, loving how you always squirmed when his touch was just a little too slow and your body craved more.

Your cell phone ringtone made you both startle, and you immediately began working to control your breathing when you saw the number.

“Ken, I have to get this,” you said, picking it up to answer it. Ken stopped what he was doing but remained kneeling in front of you, hands gently massaging your thighs. He leaned his cheek into one of your knees and smiled contentedly, pressing a kiss into it.

“Hi, Professor.”

Ken’s face fell.

“Hi, Miss Y/L/N. Sorry I wasn’t able to reply to your email, my Wifi has been dodgy all week.”

“No worries,” you said, noticing Ken’s scowl and trying not to giggle. You ran your fingers through his hair softly and that seemed to calm him down.

“But in answer to your email, unfortunately my plane back has been delayed so I’m not able to meet in-person, but I’m more than happy to answer any questions over the phone if now works for you.”

Ken shook his head.

“Yes! That would be great, thank you. Let me just grab the assignment really quick.” You wrinkled your nose at Ken and attempted to get off the counter but Ken held both of your legs tightly, not letting you go.

“Ken!” You scolded him silently. “I NEED to get my book bag.”

Ken gave you a playful look and stood. “Stay,” he said quietly. He left and within seconds he was back with your bag. You dug the out sample assignment you had been giving in class and smiled a thank you to him.

“Okay, so my first question was about -“ you could have committed a murder right then. Ken had pulled you forward to where you were almost hanging off the counter and dug his lips into your wetness.

“Ah, sorry,” ohhh you were definitely going to kill him, as you stressed over how there was probably no way your voice sounded normal right now no matter how hard you were tying. “Just finding the page.”

“Of course, take your time.”

“Stop it, stop IT,” you almost hissed, pulling the phone away from your ear just long enough to get your words out. Ken’s eyes met yours and your heart jumped. Ohh fuck fuck fuucckkk you couldn’t pinpoint exactly what he was feeling then, but it definitely wasn’t going to make your phone call any easier.

You kept your eyes glued to his while trying to ask your question, glancing at the paper in your hand every couple moments to make sure your stressed-out brain was remembering how to speak correctly. Ken just stared back at you, waiting, and somehow that tension was worse than if he was fucking you right now because you didn’t know when he was going to strike.

Your professor began answering your question, and you rummaged with your hand in your bag to find a pin to mark on the mock-up assignment when Ken shoved his tongue into your opening, and you could have lunged at him. He smirked.

“This isn’t a game,” you whispered down at him, trying to hold focus enough to write down what you needed to.

His eyes bored into yours. “Oh, I disagree,” they said, twinkling, and he began firmly licking you in circles. You had begun to read his mind simply by how expressive his eyes were, and you felt like you were having a full conversation with them right now.

Your hand shook a little and you cursed internally not being able to write at this moment. You pushed at Ken’s shoulder with your foot but of course he was built like a wall and didn’t budge. He grinned for a second and you caught yourself grinning back in an irritating mixture of frustration but also…. fun? And you hated that you were having fun.

“I’m a professional student,” you kept thinking to yourself on repeat.

“Did that answer what you were asking?” Your professor’s words didn’t register until a few seconds after they were spoken.

“Oh! Yes, it did, thank you so much.”

“Of course. Anything else you need to go over?”

You eyed Ken and wanted to get your answers but also knew it just wasn’t worth it at this point and you would have to talk to your professor after class next week.

“No, that was it. I really appreciate you getting back to me.”

You had NO idea what his reply was as Ken stood up and wrapped your legs around his waist, reaching underneath your butt, but you were able to register your professor saying to have a good day.

“You too, thank you!” You managed to get out before Ken took the phone, hung it up, and tossed it aside as he easily picked you up and carried you over to the wall.

“FUCKING hell, Ken,” you let out. “You cannot do that.”

“Hmmm.” He smirked. You wanted to both slap that smugness off of his face but also kiss him hungrily.

“I’ve got to put you in your place,” you lamented as you became trapped between the wall and Ken holding you up.

“But I *am* in my place,” Ken replied simply, knowing he was egging you on, and solidifying his point by sinking his cock into you.

“I *mean* it - ahhhhhh…” Your mind went blank as your legs held on for dear life around his waist while he fucked up into you sharply.

You both lay panting on the bed, coming down from your highs. Ken held you like usual, butterfly kissing your face while you came back to reality. Your head was swimming from the sex but also from realizing you needed to get Ken interested in something other than you, and fast. He had come into your life right after midterms, and you realized now how much of a blessing that was because you couldn’t fathom how on earth you would get through finals this way.

You petted his cheek. “Ken? Would you like to go on an outing with me today?”

He sat up a little, curious.

“I have been meaning to go to the library anyways, and you could come see my campus with me.”

“I thought you said only students were allowed there.”

“Well, only students can be in the classroom. You are able to come with me to the campus, though.”

Ken smiled, and your heart ached a little at realizing how much you really hadn’t been thinking of how he would probably love going out with you, he just didn’t seem to have the motivation to explore on his own, at least not since you had known him. You thanked yourself for remembering to get him a normal, not open-to-the-hips shirt the other day so he had something to wear, and before long you were both on the bus headed to your school.

The bus was a FASCINATING experience for Ken. You watched in entertained awe at him as he acted like an excited puppy. He pointed out cool buildings and places he wanted to visit to you every few seconds, commented on the unattractive interior design of the bus, and was reaching up to pull the emergency break alert rope when you grabbed his arm top stop him just in time.

His excitement never waned but he had moments of quiet, too, and he held your hand in both of his as he stared out the window. You leaned your head against the seat and studied him.

Who *was* this man, exactly? You never questioned his explanation that he was a literal doll come into your world, and now you wondered why that hadn’t felt difficult to believe. You knew the last couple weeks had been utter chaos on a number of levels, and you realized how much you had actually been needing someone to come in and turn everything into something wonderful for you. That definitely explained your lack of attempting to learn about him, what he was searching for, what he desired and wanted out of life.

You felt melancholy then, watching as Ken pointed to a dog out of the window and turned, smiling at you, making sure you saw it. You smiled back and nodded, and he turned his attention back to the outside world, never letting loose of your hand.

Your heart hurt now. This wasn’t something that could last forever, was it? Or…maybe? You didn’t know anything that was happening, other than in your little condo that you paid for with your inheritance, that life had become a little bubble of a world the two of you had created, something from a fantasy, and you missed it when you weren’t there. When you walked in the door, Ken was always waiting for you, and your little house felt like a home. You decided you needed to start trying to look at things a little more realistically, learn to actually know Ken, see if maybe this whole thing had a futur-

You cut off the thought before it felt too soothing, not wanting to get your hopes up. You sniffed softly and quickly wiped at a tear that you hadn’t expected to form, not wanting Ken to see. You just wanted to focus on enjoying today with him.

Getting off the bus was its own new adventure, as Ken looked around the campus. “Where are your classes? Do you have a favorite classroom? Do you have a favorite study place? Is there somewhere you like to meet with your friends?”

His questions hit you hard, and you hated how oddly sad you felt today. Everything he was asking was less about general curiosity and only meant to better understand YOU and your life and how you existed in it when he wasn’t around.

You two made your way to the library where you found the book you needed and also check-out a book Ken had been absorbed in about horses. You knew you’d have to ask him to explain that one someday.

You were strolling slowly back to the bus stop when you noticed a really nice grassy area shaded by a huge tree, and suggested you both sit there for awhile. Ken happily complied, and you opened your new book to start going over it. Ken snuggled up next to you and would every few minutes ask about something in the book that he didn’t understand as he read over your shoulder, and this was honestly a really easy way to study for your exams, you decided.

Suddenly he felt your body go rigid. Ken noticed and followed your eyesight to see a man staring at you, dark eyes filled with anger. His body stance was tight, one hand in a fist. He looked the personification of pure rage. You felt paralyzed.

“Who is that?”

You worked to answer as you exhaled. “My ex.”

Your ex. He really didn’t know anything about your ex, but he fought like hell to destroy the dagger of jealousy that pierced his heart just then. He realized that was out of place and definitively not called for, especially in this moment, but he couldn’t help it, now thinking of how someone else besides him had been with you in the same way he was with you now, and he loathed the images that flooded his mind.

He leaned down to your ear. “Is that the reason you were crying the other day?”

Unable to verbally reply, tears stung your eyes as your breaths became shaky, although you were working desperately to control your outward appearance. You refused to look wounded in front of him.

That was plenty of confirmation for Ken and he wrapped his arm around you protectively. “What do you need me to do?”

“Help me get out of here,” your words barely a whisper as he helped you to your feet swiftly and grabbed the books. You tried to look away but were held captive by the gaze of the man standing across the courtyard from you.

Ken wasn’t sure what hit him then, but he suddenly felt outraged. He handed the books to you. “I’ll be right back,” he seethed, jaw tight.

You snapped back into reality just in time as Ken began swift, long strides over to the man, who look pleased at the attention he was receiving, and smirked in your direction. You jumped forward and gripped Ken’s arm.

“No, no, no, no, Ken, we have to leave.”

He paused and turned back to you because of the panic in your voice.

“He’s just trying to start a fight. I need to go.”

“He hurt you,” Ken bit out.

“Which is why we need to go. He’s angering you on purpose to hurt me again.”

Ken glanced back over his shoulder at the man who pulled his hand out of his fraternity jacket and waved mockingly. Ken huffed but hated how you were pleading with him, so he turned away and you both began walking briskly out of his sight.

You both remained quiet on the way home other than Ken asking if there was anything he could do a couple of times. You bit at your nails restlessly until the bus stopped at your exit station and you took Ken’s hand and hurried off back to your condo. You didn’t feel safe until you were back inside your home with the front door double locked.

You had kept your gaze on the floor the whole journey home, and Ken gently placed his hands on your arms, leading you to sit down on the sofa as he kneeled in front of you and took your hands in his.

“What did he do?” His voice sounded shaky, as if afraid of hearing the answers.

You felt fairly certain Ken didn’t know about certain forms of violence that happened between couples. From what he had told you about Barbieland, that idea had never been considered.

“So many things,” you were still trying to hold back tears. “So, so many things.”

“Tell me.”

You looked up from the ground to get lost in Ken’s blue eyes filled with concern and wanting nothing more than to understand so he knew how to help. The thought that telling him about what had happened and how that fresh new understanding of reality would probably break him just to process felt so cruel, and fuck, you didn’t want to lose the one innocent aspect you had had in your life. You broke out into sobs, trying to hide your face and Ken let you, your hands hiding your eyes as Ken wrapped his arms around your legs and placed his chin on your knee, waiting patiently.

“What is it you’re so scared to tell me?” He asked when your sobs became less loud.

How could you answer this without actually answering this…

“Sometimes, when people are in relationships, they can do really horrible things to their partners. They can hurt them really badly, in ways that sometimes never fully heal. That pain,” you grasped at your chest were you heart was, “it can just sort of stay, and sometimes you only have so much control over how much or how often it can hurt you again.” You began crying harder again, and Ken slowly got up and sat next to you, softly cradling you in his arms. You were thankful for the warmth and cried into his chest as he just held you like that until you were ready to say more. He wanted to know every detail of what you had gone through but also knew not to push it and wanted to respect the boundary you were holding with him. He worked to keep his body language soft and protective while fuming inside.

“Sometimes, though,” your voice was a little hoarse from all the crying, “people are able to find other people who help them. Who make them feel safe. Who are kind and gentle and who you know would never intentionally harm you.” You placed a hand on his chest next to your head, and his anger felt like it was seeping through his veins like the lava from a volcano as it erupted, filling every inch of him.

He had never felt this way before. You felt his muscles clench around you, but not tightening on you so as not to hurt you.

“What is it, Ken?”

“I feel angry,” he got out, jaw clenched again.

You nodded sadly. “Yeah. Me, too.”

He breathed in sharply. “How do I make sure he will never do it again?”

“I got a restraining order awhile back. That’s why he wasn’t able to walk over to us and was instead trying to get you to come to him instead. He tries to find new ways to scare me without getting in trouble legally anymore. He went for you hoping you would fall for it, to send me an extra message, that he is still capable to hurt anything I love.”

Ken felt his throat go dry. He wanted nothing more now than you follow up on those last few words, but now wasn’t the time to validate anything for himself. He needed to keep focused on caring for you.

“I will take care of you, y/n. I’m protect you. I promise.”

You felt his words vibrate through his chest right into your ear and felt his chin rest on the crown of your head.

“I will always be here.”

You smiled the tiniest smile and leaned into him more. “I know.”

Ken swelled with happiness, his anxiety calming down a little bit. You pulled back and Ken lifted your legs to rest over his lap, arms keeping their place around you.

“Days like today,” you said, “they have become less about physical danger to me. It’s all about hear,” you placed one of Ken’s hands gently on the side of your head. “It’s the memories that still hurt, and he works to bring them back.”

“How can I help make them go away, at least for now?”

You thought about it, then shook your head. “They’ll fade again, as they always do, for awhile. I think I need to clear my head and shower.”

Ken nodded and helped you stand up. “Do you need me?”

“I think I need just a minute to myself.”

“Okay. I understand.”

You stood on tiptoes to place the tiniest of kisses on the tip of his nose, then slowly began to head towards the bathroom.

Ken came in later when he head the shower faucet turned off, and walked in to check on you. Typically you had to issue being naked as soon as you dried off, but you had wrapped yourself tightly in a towel and he noticed the mirror had a towel over it, too.

You had hoped he wouldn’t walk in and have to explain another leftover stupid fucking thing from your previous relationship.

You tumble over your words to just get it over with, and his eyes grew wider with each passing sentence.

“But…..” he seemed incredulous, almost as if you had made the whole thing up. “You’re so beautiful.” It was stating a fact. There was no argument and he couldn’t comprehend anyone disagreeing.

“Sometimes I feel the opposite. You roughly brushed your hair just to have something to do.

Ken couldn’t believe the raw audacity that someone would harm someone else with words to make them hate how they looked, even for a second. He told you this in so many words, but finished with that even thought he didn’t understand, he did understand that your hurt didn’t hurt less just because he wanted it to.

You looked up at him, holding back tears, suddenly feeling the most intense desire to get lost in this man who genuinely could not process the pain you were in because it seemed so brutal, so cruel, so incredibly ridiculous that anyone would have to bear the weight that you were carrying. You need that, that little wisp that he offered of getting lost in the reality of his mind that knew so little but also someone knew and felt so much.

“Make love to me, Ken.”

It took him a moment to comprehend what you were asking, but he someone instinctively knew what you asked for, and walked over to you, ever so gently taking your face in his hands and leaning down to kiss you.

The kiss was like a spark went off in your head. Ken was gentle, taking your lips in his in tiny movements as if he might break you if he touched you too hard. You moaned to encourage him, wrapping your arms around his neck, and in turn he held you closer to him, his arms now around your back.

He kissed you lovingly and with passion you had never known before, pulling back to stare into your eyes, waiting for you to tell him what you wanted. He had made himself master of your command, and he wanted you to be in charge of everything that happened right now, anything that would make you feel loved the way he hoped you wanted to.

“Take me to the bed?”

Ken picked your wrapped figure up bridal style and did as you asked, laying you down and holding you to him, your faces inches apart on the pillow. You initiated kissing again, and his hand caressed the back of you head, pulling you a little closer. His tongue traced the your bottom lip and you smiled a little and he smiled back.

“What do you need?” He was completely lost in wanting to care for you.

You didn’t reply, not to be rude, but your brain froze up again, not wanting to see your own body be uncovered right now.

Ken reached for the top of the towel, fingers closing around it, waiting for your consent. You shook your head.

“That’s alright,” he soothed, seeing guilt spread across your face. The he had an idea.

“What if you close your eyes, and I undress you under the comforter?”

You contemplated this then nodded, feeling small and mousy. Ken pulled his shirt over his head and then the comforter over both of you as he hovered over you but not putting too much pressure on you.

You closed your eyes as his hand went back for the towel, and as he began pulling it apart, pausing every few seconds to make sure you hadn’t changed your mind, he left tender kisses down your neck and collarbone, sucking softly, and he it felt so good to him when he heard you moan. The towel eventually fell open, lying underneath you, your body bare.

Ken ran his large hand up and down your body, grazing the side of your breast and then down your stomach and hip, your body responding so naturally it was as if he had been created just to touch you. You opened your eyes, relaxing, and saw him watching you, studying your every emotion.

You smiled shyly. “Hi.”

He smiled warmly. “Hi.”

You placed your hands on his chest just to touch him. “You make me feel loved.”

If Ken could have physically melted, he would have in that moment. “That is always my intention.”

You pulled him down to you, consuming his lips, and Ken’s body molded into yours as he somehow fully surrounded you, covered in a little cave of a comforter. You felt like nothing could penetrate the safety he provided for you right now.

You reached towards towards his jeans and unbuttoned them, him raising his hips enough to where you two were able to get them kicked off.

“Need you,” you said, pulling him to you.

He nodded and began to move downwards but you stopped him.

“I just want to feel *you.”

“But…you…I haven’t done anything yet -“

“I’m fine, Ken.” You promised. “I just need to feel you, now.”

He moved back up so your hips lined up perfectly and you opened your legs for him as he dipped his member into your folds. He gasped a little at how wet you already were.

He looked confused. “How..?” He trailed off, then, “I thought I needed to make you wet.”

“You always do.”

Ken breathed in deeply. His feelings for you soared, and he felt like he might be floating a little. He rubbed his tip against your opening and you put your arms around his neck again.

“Show me how much you love me, Ken.”

That was the last confirmation he needed as he dipped his cock into you, making himself keep shallow thrusts as you got used to his size before moving slowly deeper inside of you.

His hands roamed your body, stopping every few inches to tell you how beautiful you were, how majestically you moved, how perfect your noises were. He kissed each part he could reach with hips lips for emphasis, wanting to cover you with his love, and you felt that energy wash over every piece of you that he touched.

You felt beautiful, you felt seen and held and your hands explored Ken’s body at the same time.

You tangled your fingers in the back of his hair as he began to move faster but still maintaining a much slower pace then usual, both of you completely lost in each other for what felt like an eternity.

Finally, you began to feel your climax building, but loved how tenderly Ken was fucking you, and didn’t want it to change.

“Keep going, just like that, Ken. Please.”

His hand gripped your hip as he felt you arch a little, and he knew you were close. He wanted every single thrust to matter, for you to feel what he was hoping you would feel from him. He kept the pace you asked for, only making his movement a little rougher as you eyes begin to close tightly, your hands pulling on his hair now.

“Y/n,” he coaxed. “Please keep your eyes open. I want to see you.”

You did as he asked, and you swear you’d never seen a more beautiful sight then him staring down at you, and you lost it then, the most wonderful wave traveling from your legs all the way up into your chest, warm and tingly and almost healing in how it felt.

Ken followed right after, keeping his eyes on yours as well, so tender and so content, and you held him as he collapsed on top of you, his face buried in your neck as you both panted.

Ken almost cried as he engulfed you with his arms when he heard your next words, breathy but firm.

“I love you, too, Ken.”

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#ryan gosling #ken #ken x reader smut #ken smut #barbie movie #ken barbie #ken doll #fanfiction #ken x reader #ryan gosling fanfic #fem reader smut #smut #ryan gosling smut #smut fanfiction #fanic #feelings #connection #emotions

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writingwithfolklore · 6 months

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How to Write a Contest Winner

Contests are a great way to get your name out there as a writer, gain credibility points for publishers, and sometimes earn a little bit of money or a prize along the way. I have submitted work to many, many contests, and now I’m on the editorial team for a magazine hosting its own!

Here’s what I’ve learned about contest-winning writing:

1. It pushes the envelope

The biggest disappointment for me was learning that contests aren’t just looking for good writing. It’s not enough to just be a good writer—to win, you’re creating a piece that holds social, political, or cultural meaning.

This means it has some sort of point, some reason for existing. It tells something important and new about the world or is commenting on a real issue.

Writers tend to connect these real issues within society through personal experiences or stories told in an artistic/creative style. Creative non-fiction (if applicable) is great for this, but you can imbue these themes in any type of writing.

2. It has a clear point or theme

Your first step should be to create your theme. What are you saying about the world? What is it now, and what should it be? Solid themes may be: There isn't enough support for immigrants coming into the US, the schooling system ignores LGBTQ+ students getting bullied, traditional values ruin modern relationships with family across generations, etc.

3. It takes risks

This one is huge. Maybe I should have put it first on the list—consider this as a reward for getting this far in the post haha. Contest-winning writing does not (typically) look like traditionally published writing (this of course definitely depends where the contest is being held. It is true for many literary magazines, but may not be true everywhere. Double check what the formatting requirements are where you’re submitting). It can—but us editors want to read something we haven’t seen before. I want to be surprised and delighted by the chances and risks you take.

An example of this is playing with the form or design of the writing. Play with the space on the page—don’t just stick to how books are typically formatted. Go for the themes that push a boundary, opt for the unsafe ending.

This is the other side to ‘pushing the envelope’, your writing should also push the envelope on how we write. Know the rules of the game, break them tactfully and you’ve got a first placer.

4. But it also follows the rules

Best way to lose a contest is to ignore or forget the guidelines/rules of the contest. If there’s a theme, adhere to the theme. If they want you to keep your name off your submission, make sure you do so. If they need every submission to be under 1000 words, yours better be 999 or under.

The guidelines are usually found where you submit your work and they are the key to having a shot at the contest. If your piece doesn’t adhere to the rules, you may not get a second chance. Don’t waste your time and follow the guidelines!

Good luck! (Expect a follow-up post on contests to submit soon!)

#writing #creative writing #writers #screenwriting #writing community #writing inspiration #books #film #filmmaking #writing advice #how to write a contest winner #contest #writing contest #poetry contests

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novlr · 20 days

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I’ve been reading some craft books and online posts about the world building because my story is an urban fantasy set in present day US, in a fictional town, and theres not a secondary world where the fantasy happens, it’s all in the real world, except the magic is a secret that only certain people know about, but all of the resources I find about world building only talk about fantastical worlds that exist by themselves and not the kind of more subtle world building that I’d have to do. Do you have any tips?

Worldbuilding for urban fantasy is the perfect opportunity to explore the mix of the mundane and the magical. It involves crafting a universe where the impossible becomes possible, yet is grounded within the familiar settings of our own world. This requires a delicate balance—immersing readers in the fantastical without breaking the spell of believability. Here are some essential tips on worldbuilding for urban fantasy writers.

Understanding urban fantasy

Before delving into building your urban fantasy world, it’s crucial to understand what sets this subgenre apart from other forms of fantasy.

Recognise the defining traits of urban fantasy, which typically include a contemporary setting combined with supernatural elements.

Familiarise yourself with the genre’s common tropes and themes, like hidden magical societies, the coexistence of magical and non-magical beings, and the contrast between the ordinary and the extraordinary.

Critically read successful urban fantasy novels to see how other authors have balanced the real and the fantastical.

Consider reader expectations for the genre, and the flexibility it has for innovation and subversion of norms.

Determine the tone and mood you want for your setting, as this will influence all other aspects of your worldbuilding.

Creating your magical systems

The magical systems in your urban fantasy will offer a unique flavour to your world, determining the capabilities of your characters and the challenges they face.

Where does the magic in your world come from—is it drawn from nature, ancient artefacts, parallel dimensions, or something else?

Decide if magic is commonly known or if it’s a secret kept from the general populace. If it’s a secret, why? And what are the consequences if it becomes known?

Develop the limitations and costs of magic, as these constraints can drive conflict and plot development.

Invent magical organisations, guilds, or societies, detailing their roles, influence, and how they operate in your story world.

Create distinct magical phenomena that occur within your urban setting, which can become landmarks or points of interest in your narrative.

Consider how technology and magic interact; do they coexist harmoniously, or are they in constant contention?

Creating realism in your urban setting

Realism in urban fantasy is about making the reader recognise and connect with the world you have created as something that is both other and familiar.

Include lots of real-world details, including accurate descriptions of city life, technology, and culture. Make sure you research for accuracy.

Use sensory details to make the urban environment come alive—smells, sounds, textures, and tastes that the reader can relate to.

Include social and political issues that resonate with contemporary society, allowing readers to draw parallels with their own experiences.

Develop a diverse cast of characters whose life experiences and backgrounds reflect the complexity of a modern urban society.

Integrate authentic dialogue that mirrors the way people communicate in modern life, including local slang and mannerisms, both real-world accurate and unique to your setting.

Consider the logistics of an urban environment, like transportation, law enforcement, and the economy, and how these are affected by the presence of magic.

Character development in an urban fantasy

Characters are the heart of your story, and the way they react to fantasy elements in their real-world environments will drive a lot of your narrative.

Create protagonists and antagonists whose motivations are shaped by the intersection of the real and the magical in their lives.

Develop backstories for your characters that explain their relationship to the urban setting and the magical elements within it.

Design character arcs that reflect the challenges and growth that come with living in a world where fantasy is reality.

Introduce secondary characters that highlight the diversity of the urban fantasy landscape, from magical creatures to human allies and adversaries.

Explore the psychological impact of a dual-world existence on your characters, including the strain of keeping secrets and the wonder of discovering magic.

Use character relationships to explore the nuances and complexities of your urban fantasy world.

Plotting your urban fantasy

Your plot is the vehicle through which readers experience your story world. Urban fantasy requires careful attention to pacing to give both elements equal weight.

Construct a plot that intertwines the urban and the fantastical, using the unique aspects of your setting to drive the story forward, rather than relying on the mundane.

Introduce conflicts that arise from the overlap of the magical and the mundane, be they societal, personal, or existential.

Use the setting itself as a character, with its own moods, secrets, and evolving role in the narrative.

Create set pieces that showcase the extraordinary within the ordinary—magical battles on the rooftops, secret meetings in subways, or enchanted parks hidden in plain sight.

Develop a pace that balances the exploration of your urban world with the unfolding of magical elements and plot progression.

Consider the use of multiple viewpoints to give a broader perspective on how the urban fantasy elements affect different characters and society at large.

Blending the real and magical

The key to urban fantasy is making the reader believe that magic could exist in their own world, interwoven with the everyday.

Introduce the fantastic elements gradually, allowing the real world to serve as an anchor for the reader’s suspension of disbelief.

Develop a set of rules for how magic operates in your world to maintain consistency and a sense of order.

Use recognisable landmarks and urban elements as grounding points, then twist them with your fantasy elements.

Establish the history of magic in your world and how (or if) it has shaped society and its infrastructure.

Consider the impact of magical events or beings on the everyday lives of both your characters and the city’s unsuspecting inhabitants.

Intertwine the real and the fantastic so that they feel inseparable, each substantiating the other’s existence.

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snarky-magpie · 3 months

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(Only 5 more chapters of PS. to edit. I love the story but I kinda want to be finished with it :D Here's a snippet from the next one.) Alice: Minnie loved it. LOVED IT. And she never loves anything.

James: I’m familiar. She said Diagon Alley was ‘passable’ and The Marauders, you know, the international bestseller, were ‘not the worst thing she’s ever read.’

James: Wait. Are you serious? Loved it?

Alice: Yes. She called me to gush about your book, James. I’ve never heard Minerva McGonagall gush about anything in her life. Well done, you.

James: You were right; I needed not to be standing for this. Pretty sure I would’ve passed out otherwise.

Alice: I know what I’m about.

James: Why didn’t she call me? I could’ve used the pick-me-up.

Alice: She wanted me to be the bearer of bad news.

James: Since when is praise ‘bad news?’

Alice: There’s one slight issue.

James: Ah. Look, I wasn’t kidding when I told Riddle certain matters were non-negotiable.

James: If I have to print out the book myself and distribute it as flyers on the Tube to get it published the way I want, I’m gonna do it.

Alice: Calm your horses. The revisions are fairly minor. Mostly line edits. A couple of places where the plot can use a bit of trimming. You know the drill. No, the only problem is that Minnie would like to roll out the book before Christmas, which puts us on a rather tight schedule.

James: Ah. I see. Well, it’s not ideal, considering the situation on the homefront. I brought my boyfriend home from the hospital only 3 days ago.

Alice: How is he?

James: Cranky. Nitpicking on everything.

Alice: And that’s…

James: Amazing. Means he’s getting better.

Alice: Okay. I’ll take your word for it.

#jegulus #regulus black #james potter #starchaser #dead gay wizards #ao3fic #the marauders #alice longbottom

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see-arcane · 7 months

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Van Helsing Venting (Vent Helsing)

Requisite apology goes here: I am sorry in advance to everyone with a soft spot for the funky old man.

But the reread combined with the podcast has helped put into focus an aggravation that has been nettling me forever without quite knowing how to articulate it.

I’ve brushed the edges of it more than once in several rants about how the Harkers are so constantly given the short stick in every single adaptation of Dracula for a hundred and a quarter years.

Jonathan is either erased, made into a bore, a brute, or unceremoniously killed off while all the amazing character traits and actions he’s responsible for in the story get stolen away and parsed out to others in the cast, often Dracula, Van Helsing, or [INSERT FEMALE THROWN INTO THE CASTLE TO BE BRIDAL CARRIED TO BED HERE].

Mina is alternately a feeble damsel who’s only there to be the pure maiden who gets to live through her seduction*** by Dracula (versus the suddenly scandalous-and-salacious Lucy), or a hashtag girlboss (reincarnated wife syndrome applied as desired) who divorces or otherwise abandons her milksop husband to hook up with a REAL MAN like DRACULA who sexily sex-liberates her. With sex. That she totally for sure wanted along with the bloodsucking.

But on one thing, the Harkers are equal—they never. Ever. Ever. Get to be the true protagonists of any Dracula adaptation, or spinoff, or offshoot, or revamp, et cetera.

This, despite Jonathan being the one to spend the most time with Dracula, alone, in his gothic horror novella of an opening, for Two Months, in which he got the most interaction and dialogue with the Count out of anyone else in the book.

This, despite him and his diary and his love to the point of blasphemy and his nerve and his kukri all being instrumental for the novel to work.

This, despite Mina being the one to literally compile the entire novel out of the transcripts it’s stitched from.

This, despite her connecting the dots to oust the bastard and showing immense courage all on her lonesome in confronting the Count for others’ sake more than once.

But why?

For the longest time, I was ready to grind my teeth and grouse over the obvious reasons of Jonathan and Mina Harker being so gloriously subversive then—and now!—that writers and directors of a certain sneering bent refused to acknowledge anything of their characters beyond the names when slathering their latest cookie cutter vampire bodice ripper with Stoker’s cast titles. The Harkers’ approaches to gender, to heroism, to defeating a villain whose entire role is being the worst of the Gothic Masculine Monster who bullies and preys upon pretty victims to collect for himself (hello harem and power fantasy combo, let’s make THIS guy the ultra-cool totally misunderstood sexypire star of the show!) all chafe against the mental rewrites too many filmmakers and writers make to turn the novel more palatable to their tastes. Assuming they read the book at all.

And that’s all its own pile of rants. But I’ve realized, only now, that this is just part of the problem. The other issue stems from Bram Stoker himself.

That issue being the conversion of an otherwise tight narrative and set of primed protagonist characters into the Abraham van Helsing Show.

I don’t know what it was about today’s entry specifically that made it all click home. Maybe it was already percolating since yesterday, or the day before. But somewhere in Van Helsing’s latest filibuster of dialogue—‘We must share everything! No, wait, tell her nothing! We must make all haste and not lose a moment! Let me turn five minutes’ worth of information into a monologue about bloom and blood and then suggest we all take a siesta on our laurels since we definitely have time to beat the Czarina Catherine! Jonathan, you stay at home with Mina while me and my non-questioning ducklings/the others who don’t really need lines anyway take care of the problem, doctor’s orders! And all my orders are followed, unquestionably, every time, despite them very clearly having only a 50/50 success rate, as is right!’—it all really hit me.

The moment Van Helsing turned into the never-doubted, never-need-apologize, yes, do kiss his hands like a fucking mafia godfather in gratitude for Doing the Things He Should Have Known to Do in the First Place After Lucy, ‘leader’ rather than ‘the lore collector/mentor’ is when the novel turns on its heel and starts breaking its back to accommodate him at the expense of everyone else.

The Harkers get it the worst, naturally.

Once they arrive in Purfleet and the documents are handed over, Van Helsing leads the pack in peer pressuring them into sequestering Mina away as their cheerleader who Need Not Suffer the Icky Horror of -checks notes- finding boxes. Not sent away anyplace safe and guarded by home rules and garlic and crosses; just left to Yellow Wallpaper her days away in the asylum suite.

Meanwhile, Jonathan proves to be literally the only useful member of this group project via hauling ass all over London to gather information to bring back to the table…which Van Helsing then oh-so-helpfully disseminates on top of the obvious point that, hey, yeah, there’s probably boxes there. We should do Wafers about it.

Now, in fairness, Van Helsing was a vital character up to a certain point. Jack called him in for his broader expertise, for how open his mind was as far as what he was willing to investigate or believe as a threat. Without him and his lore collection in Amsterdam, a lot of the details regarding anti-vampire tactics and Dracula’s history lesson wouldn’t have come into play. All this, plus providing the hideous proof of the Bloofer Lady’s reality, making the last three nonbelievers into members of the Drac Attack Pack. Last but far from least, he helps reassure Jonathan to free him from his crushing self-doubt, and then brings in both of the Harkers to create the full group. Fuck yeah!

All that considered, it does make some sense for him alone to give his little seminar on the Dracula Issue…

…except for the fact that Mina has absorbed and transcribed all the info herself. Literally all of it. And the fact that Jonathan personally knows the fucker. All three of these characters should have been at the head of the table, sharing what they know.

But they weren’t. It’s starting to become all about Dr. Abe—because that’s how Stoker keeps his OC self insert in the lion’s share of the spotlight.

This is also when Van Helsing is fresh off the nightmare with Lucy, fresh off of acknowledging that there is literally no reason at all to keep vampire secrets from anybody in this room, fresh off of being oh so thrilled with Mina’s helpfulness and canniness, fresh off of what should have been him learning his lesson and—in open-minded fashion—cutting off any benignly sexist chivalry at the knees to keep Mina in the loop and share the mastermind role.

And what does he decide?

Off to the tower, princess. It’s man work time! Man work here meaning: Investigate some scary dirt. Some rats are there. Everyone break up some Christ crackers, men. Thank God Mina isn’t here to suffer this, amirite? Oh, and Jonathan, be a dear and gather all the information on Dracula’s locations and properties while me and the others…do whatever. Read? Smoke? Something. Anyway, attaboy, such a good hard worker you are, Only Non-Titled Fresh-From-the-Lower-Class Man in the Group!

And then, after October 3rd?

He’s horrified. He’s upset. He’s King Laughing about Dracula’s good meal and within inches of being kukri’d. But you know what he isn’t?

Apologetic.

Oh, he says sorry for the crack about Dracula eating well—but all the actions that led up to the attack? Not a peep.

And when he falls right back into the ‘withhold as much information as possible until it’s time for a Big Specialboy Meeting and my Big Specialboy Corn-flavored Monologue of the Day, in which I’ll give more orders with full expectation that everyone here will hop to it like good little student-soldiers because the author says we can only follow me me me?’

The only saving grace is that Jonathan—not even Mina! JONATHAN!—finally puts his foot down and refuses to chase the stick without conferring with Mina first. Mina, who has always taken precedent to him, period, but also Mina, who has proven herself to be the soundest mind in the entire group and already well aware of the dangers Dr. Abe has been rambling about and trying to be oh-so-covert and sneaky about with Jack.

On that subject? Van Helsing is STILL living a fantasy world where he, and occasionally Jack, are the only ones who can put 2 and 2 together and consider taking anti-vampire measures against Mina.

When everyone has already read everything.

When Mina knows exactly what the risks and measures are.

When Jonathan ‘Would Sell His Soul for His Love and to Slaughter Dracula’ Harker knows all of this.

WHEN EVERYONE HAS EYES THAT CAN ALSO SEE MINA’S TEETH.

Brammy Pajamas. Bramothy Stokerton. Bramward Stokerbroker. My guy.

Your OC, by your own text’s rules, is not special here. He is not the protagonist. He is not the extra-clever center of the narrative’s universe, per your own fucking writing. Stop forcing this man and his refusal to evolve from his preconceptions and his main character pedestal-theft and his goddamn corncobs down our throats.*

*Note: This will not happen.

The one silver lining yet to come will be that Jonathan and Mina get to roughly shoulder their way back into the story’s forefront by the book’s climax. In a huge way. Jonathan even gets an upcoming scene in which he gets to finally, rightfully, chew Van Helsing to ribbons for casually declaring a Certain Horrifying Action has to be taken (Again! No questions asked! No explanation offered until after said chewing-out!) and the narrative treats this as the right move!

But still. Still. Van Helsing is showered with Stoker’s overblown attention to a character that should have had his influence and dialogue whittled down to a supporting role rather than crowding out the Harkers for two whole thirds of the book, complete with them batting their eyes at how brilliant~ he is for much of it.

Despite.

The facts.

In The Text.

That Mina and Jonathan could have led the the whole fucking thing themselves.

We’ll see in later chapters that Mina is ONCE AGAIN the one to figure out Dracula’s plans ahead of time and set everyone on the right course. Jonathan is ONCE AGAIN the one laser-focused on seeking and slaying the Count almost on a supernatural level. On top of all that? What galls me almost as much as the Harkers being robbed of their story spotlight IN THEIR OWN FUCKING STORY?

If Van Helsing hadn’t been one-man-showing the bulk of the dialogue to make sure Brammington got to wave his self-insert around as much as possible?

We could have let Jack, Arthur, and Quincey be actual presences in the book. Jack has a big role! Absolutely! But even he gets relegated to an orbiting figure rather than an active one once Van Helsing starts hogging the pages. Arthur is practically reduced to a mutely mourning money machine. Quincey gets a few moments to remind everyone Hi, Yes, I am a Cowboy. And that’s it.

THAT’S. IT. FOR ALL OF THEM.

Hell, even Lucy and Renfield get whittled down to wisps of dialogue compared to the whole trees’ worth of lines Van Helsing rattles off.

All because Stoker couldn’t bear to let Van Helsing be the character he should have been.

The support. The guide rather than the commander.

Star Wars isn’t about Yoda, but it wouldn’t be the same without the wise little weirdo! That’s what Van Helsing would and should have been great for! But no!

I see now that I owe at least one small retroactive apology to those movie makers and spinoff writers who try to spin Van Helsing as the very real definite archnemesis of Dracula despite the fact that they have exactly two (2) scenes together and no dialogue. It’s not just the cool name. It’s not just because all of the (frequently male and/or Dracula-crushing) directors and writers refuse to acknowledge Jonathan Harker’s existence or importance.

It's because Stoker himself damn near choked his own book to death with the old man’s screentime, backed up by an utter refusal to let the narrative or the characters acknowledge when he’s fucked up. He always has to be the wise scholar. He always has to command the room and the story when neither of them belong to him.

I’d genuinely like to see one of two adaptations in the future.

In one, we could see a Van Helsing who, following October 3rd, chooses to step back. One where he and others logically point out that he has misled everyone with forced unnecessary ignorance and following stodgy hindering social rules, again, and it has doomed someone precious to them, again. One where the Harkers finally get proper center stage, likewise for the Suitor Squad—the latter of whom are written in canon as having a legit history of dangerous adventures undertaken together. Flesh those out, writers! Let these characters be present in their own fucking story! It’d be a golden opportunity to highlight a point Stoker fumbles even as he champions so many other forward-thinking notions:

Sometimes the older generation has to let go of the reins. Sometimes progress doesn’t come just from following and nodding along, but from forging ahead with new concepts and fresher minds. Case in point, Mina and Jonathan, who are apparently still too radically-written to be bothered with depicting accurately in the 21st century apart from a podcast that is literally just reading their lines verbatim.

The other option an adaptation could take? Supposing it really wanted to lean into the horror and heartbreak and forcing the ducklings to stop grasping at the Dutchman’s coattails?

Kill Van Helsing.

Dracula would absolutely think to target him, assuming that he, the elder with his acquired lore and scholarly nuisance, must surely be the keystone keeping his young enemies together. Given the chance, he’d follow that assumption to its conclusion and, on top of burning what he assumes is all the documentation on him, murdering his fellow clever old man in cold blood, ala Renfield. Bonus points if this comes at a bittersweet cost of Van Helsing landing a parting blow on the Count as thematic penance for ‘failing’ Mina, the second young girl who trusted him and paid for it, giving the bastard his second scar to match the shovel blow on his brow. Double bonus if the mark comes from a Wafer burn.

“Any last words, old man?”

“God bless you.”

Cue him slapping the Son right in the fucker’s face. He doesn’t last long after that, but it’s still a good view to go out on as the Vampire curses and sizzles.

And, natch, he will have been wise enough to leave another memorandum for Jack and the others just in case this very thing should happen. A rousing farewell speech, some parting intel, some apologies made. Perhaps a more personal goodbye to his pupil; complete with Jack’s professional mien cracking like glass and the long-put-off tears finally pouring. Then, finally, the crew move forward as one; no longer leaning on or chafing against Van Helsing’s assumed lead, but using the exact same tools they’d always had at their disposal, along with their own wits that the narrative forced them into ignoring in favor of the Professor’s lectures.

Anyway.

Van Helsing is not a bad character. He’s richly made and interesting, as any worthwhile member of a cast should be! But Stoker crammed him into the wrong role and spread him far too thin across the whole book. Doing so has been detrimental not only to all the media which followed it, but to the actual leads of the novel.

#this is a l o o o n g one #I had a lot of rant and rambling to get out #dracula #re: dracula #dracula daily

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nientedenada · 1 year

Text

No One Knows Who Talos Is

I’ve rediscovered lately how many people think it’s canon that Talos is three guys in a trench-coat: Tiber Septim, Wulfharth of Atmora, and Zurin Arctus.

So time for another reminder. NOWHERE IN THE GAMES OR OFFICIAL LORE TEXTS IS THIS EVER STATED.

“What about the Arcturian Heresy?” you might ask.

To which I say, “Read it. Talos the god isn’t even mentioned in the text.” (I could add that it’s the Arcturian Heresy which doesn’t mean it’s automatically the truth and that the Greybeards in Skyrim contradict one of its biggest claims, that Tiber Septim never went up to High Hrothgar before his first big battle. But that’s another story for another time.)

“The Arcturian Heresy” is a book about how Tiber Septim managed his public profile by taking credit for two other guys’ stuff. It never says anything about the three becoming a god together afterward.

Now, if you decide to take the Arcturian Heresy as fact, it’s an interesting theory that they got all tangled up together and became a god, and of course, we had devs who endorsed the idea in non-official works. There’s a hint in one corner of Morrowind for it when we meet a guy who may be Talos and he introduces himself as Wulf. But it’s not canon, and there are a whole bunch of other possibilities for Talos’ origins.

Six Alternate Explanations

1. The most suspicious Official Imperial cult one that no one seems to buy in fandom: The gods were happy he did such a great job and said, join us. Yeah I’m suspicious too.

2. Tiber Septim engineered his own cult of worship in his lifetime (canon), and after. Somehow, he fiddled around to give himself power. (Come up with your own theory how he leveraged the people’s worship.)

3.The Book THere Be Dragons implies he ate a bunch of dragon souls to ascend. 4. He’s tapping into the Missing god Lorkhan’s power somehow. The extreme version is he mantled Lorkhan. There’s a lot of circumstantial evidence for a link between Talos and Lorkhan, but again nothing official.

5. CHIM. Speaking of mostly out-of-game theories championed by devs. CHIM is mentioned a tiny bit in game, but never explained, so it can be made to do a lot of stuff in your head-canons.. 6. The Thalmor would like to remind you that Talos is not actually a god. Sure, you can get blessings from shrines, but consider that in Morrowind, you can get blessings from saints’ shrines and it’s explicitly stated that the Tribunal priests enchant them to give the blessings. The Imperial cult is completely capable of setting up Talos shrines. (There are some issues with the Thalmor’s stance, particularly involving the DLC Knights of the Nine, but if you’re really in denial, here are your starting points.)

Final Note: This is a jokey round-up of a bunch of theories and headcanons and I’ve left out a lot of the details. But if you want my opinion?

I’m Talos-Agnostic, though I lean towards there being something to do with Lorkhan. Not fully mantling him, though, because then we’d be talking about Lorkhan not Talos, who would no longer be the Missing God. But what do i know? Have fun with all the possibilities.

#tesblr #Talos #the man the myth the disgrace #Tiber Septim #tes lore #niente lore

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svsss-fanon-exposed · 4 months

Note

Honestly it may not be your intention or of other people in the conversation but some comments around the sqq light eyes post have really rubbed me off the wrong way. I'm saying this with all the respect in the world and acknowledging your post about how you don't condemn harassment, but even before with the curly haired binghe and overall in danmei fandom it feels overly judgey towards westerners. Like these physical characteristics being a result of "whitewashing" when there's examples of official art or asian artists (the ZeldaCW art you linked) being some of the earliest examples. Most of us don't know Chinese, many don't even speak english and have to rely on MTL. I really appreciate this work you're doing and going to the original source, but I'm not into the gatekeeping tone some people are taking. Like, AHA! I knew this and actually all the people who don't are stupid for regurgitating fanon like it's canon. I'll be honest, there's plenty of fanon I don't like nor agree with, and I also make dumb mistakes myself (it's me, I'm one of the people who'd forgotten the hand scar came from jin lan woops). Sorry if this is too long or overly rambly, also feel free to ignore it. I mostly wanted to share this as a PSA that tone matters, be kind to others, and that preserving canon is not justification to regard people who go with fanon with a high brow. Regards, a non white non asian ESL 3rd world country svsss fan that's been in the fandom for a couple years (I point that out because I've seen way too many times any criticism be attributed to butt hurt white americans).

Thank you for your message!

When I make my posts here, I try my best for a neutral, informative tone, but between neurodivergence and linguistic issues, I’m not always certain exactly how it comes across. Perhaps a bit too blunt, perhaps the academic or formal tone I often use may seem stuck-up… really, I don’t have the best sense of it, though I do try quite hard.

I want to provide information here. This is to provide information for a few types of people: those who wish to maintain canon accuracy, and those who wish to know where an idea might have originated whether or not they care about canon accuracy in their own works.

Some people will hold canon as the most important. Others don’t particularly care. Some prefer fanon. How one interacts with fandom is entirely their own decision. My blog here isn’t trying to tell people they’re wrong. Or tell people that I’m better than they are, or that those who didn’t know something was fanon, or who enjoy fanon, are stupid or otherwise less than those who follow canon.

Fandom is supposed to be fun. I do this because I like analyzing things. Because it might be nice to have a record of details to see where trends came from. Even some things, I haven’t been sure about myself until doing the research, and some I’ve been mistaken on too!

Things can get muddled up. Especially when the wiki is updated with fanon information. It’s not hard for something to be thought of as canon when it isn’t, especially if trying to quickly reference something without reading the book again. No one is better than anyone else for what they do and don’t know about a fictional book.

And when it comes to design choices, there’s no need to jump right to whitewashing. A knee-jerk reaction is common in fandom spaces to anything that may be “problematic,” but sometimes a design is just a design. I only went into more detail on the post regarding LBH’s hair texture because that’s something i have experience with, and it’s not something widely known about that there are differences.

At any rate, there’s no reason to be unkind to others. People should be having fun in fandom. Those who wish to stick to canon should respect those who don’t care to, even if it’s not for you.

My posts are not meant to create a moral judgement against anyone.

If you’re using it for anything but information, then you’re using it the wrong way.

I don’t have the best eye for tone, but I will continue to do my best to maintain neutrality, and informativeness. Everyone who makes conversation on my posts, just because you knew something and others didn’t doesn’t make you better than them. It just means you knew something. Just because you didn’t know something, that doesn’t make you worse— it just means you didn’t know.

Let’s not moralize this sort of thing.

Enjoy the novel, enjoy the adaptations and interpretations that you like.

#psa #answered #this also got rambling #really I try not to come off as high and mighty #aside from my intro post which was a joke and playing into peerless cucumber persona #but I don’t actually know if I do a good job at it #I also cannot fully tell if anon refers to my own posts or just to comments on the posts themselves #again I will continue to try my best #sometimes I am not the greatest about getting my intention across #be nice to each other #at the end of a day it’s a silly little novel #just have fun and don’t nitpick other people too much since their enjoyment doesn’t really have to do with yours

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writingquestionsanswered · 5 months

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Concerned About Bad Faith Readers

Anonymous asked: Hello, I’m the anon who asked about the bad-faith readers. I'm also concerned about my own worldview or lived experiences not being the same as the bad-faith readers and them pouncing on me for that, which is something I’ve seen online. I’m an Indian Muslim who grew up in a very urban and progressive family, and my experiences with life and especially my religion are very different compared to many other Indians or Muslims (Indian or not), to say nothing about non-Muslim British/American readers who form a large part of the English-language readership. If I create a character based on my own experiences or relationship with my faith, my concern is that people would accuse me of “representing Muslims badly” or “not including X experience” or “not including Y group” in my writing because they’ve seen it in their country. But I’m not from that country and I’ve not had those experiences, so it’s not necessarily something that would be a part of my character’s story if they’re based on me. So that’s something that I’ve been concerned about. Thank you!

[Ask edited for length]

Bad faith readers go into books looking for something to hate or criticize. Their complaints can't be qualified by concerns about representation based on different lived experiences or differing worldviews. They're there only to tear a book and author down.

Bad faith readers don't choose random targets. They typically go after authors who run afoul of the reading community due to bad behavior. For example: poor response to being called out for representation issues, showing up in review spaces, arguing with or complaining about reviews/reviewers, or perpetuating harmful beliefs. If you're not out there doing those things, you have little to worry about from bad faith readers.

This is quite different from readers who take issue with your representation because it falls short of their lived experience, excludes or minimizes important representation, or is harmful in some way. This is not "bad faith." It's a qualified concern coming from someone with a different background who is demanding better representation. Without these voices, readers wouldn't have made the strides it has. And there's still so much more work to do, so these voices are just as important now as ever before.

In Anon's particular situation: consider why other Muslims might see your portrayal as bad representation. Is there anything you could do to clarify that this isn't misrepresentation but representation of a different experience? Consider why people might be concerned that you've left out X experience. Is there a reasonable expectation that this experience should be represented in your story? (For example: If I'm setting my story in a real world neighborhood in a real world city, and that neighborhood has long been populated by immigrants from a particular country, and they have been fighting gentrification for the past decade, I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge and include this group of people and their fight against gentrification in my story.) Consider why people might be concerned that you left out Y group... is there a legitimate reason why people might expect Y group to be represented? (For example: If I'm writing a story that takes place in a small Louisiana town, I'm not going to feel bad for not having a character from the Scandinavian Sámi culture, because it's not reasonable to expect Sámi representation in a story based in Louisiana. However, if I'm writing a story that takes place in Arctic Europe in an area where there's a large Sámi population, there's now a reasonable expectation for Sámi representation in my story.) If the reader doesn't have a reasonable expectation for you to include X experience or Y group, don't worry about it. Just make sure your story is reflective of the real world and the time, place, and people of your setting.

At the end of the day, it really isn't possible to write a perfect book that pleases every reader, but we can try. Here are some things you can do to help minimize concerns about your representation and to avoid running afoul of trouble if you inadvertently make a mistake or fall short:

1 - Look at your story and consider how your lived experiences, privilege, colonial mindsets, preferences, and biases impact your representation of a character or situation and how that could potentially be harmful to readers from different backgrounds than yours. What can you change to be more inclusive or avoid anything harmful?

2 - Employ beta readers and sensitivity readers from a variety of relevant backgrounds to help improve representation and minimize harm.

3 - Stay out of review spaces. Reviews are for readers, not for authors. If you do see a review or rating that you disagree with, do not reply or otherwise comment. Do not message the reviewer. Do not complain about the review or rating on social media. Not even in a way that you think is subtle or veiled. Just do not comment. It isn't there for you.

4 - Avoid "hot takes," "unpopular opinion," and other knee-jerk reaction type posts on social media as you're far more likely to say something that's harmful in ways you don't realize. Instead, just as an exercise for self-improvement, write the thought down and analyze it... consider the ways in which your background, experiences, privilege, and biases might be blinding you to ways in which this mindset is unkind or harmful.

5 - If you're called out for representation issues, listen to what people are saying and learn from it. Apologize. Vow to educate yourself and commit to do better.

I hope that helps! ♥

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theawkwardterrier · 9 months

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Academic Antagonism, Scholastic Strife

Steggy Week 2k23, day 3 Prompt: AUs and crossovers

Summary: The history department at Shield University includes a pair of professors with a particular level of collegiate conflict.

Thanks to @steggyfanevents for hosting!

It is, essentially, a matter of course every September.

Angie has been the history department administrator for long enough that she can sense the approaching storm in the air. She breaks into the apology gift card she got last semester to buy herself the biggest, fanciest coffee from her favorite campus café and sets her jaw as she arrives at her desk.

The first student is at the doors to the building the moment they open for business hours.

"I need to speak to someone." There goes the bag, plunking down on her desk (actually clean for once! She'd made an effort to get rid of her host of reminder post-its before the start of the new school year, and now look) as a hand reaches in to yank out a paper schedule as some kind of evidentiary prop. "Look, I was placed in—"

Angie looks over the boy, playing the sort of instinctive guessing game that at least offers a tiny bit of entertainment to the whole process. Unfortunately, he has a copy of Steve's latest book sticking out of the bag, which takes most of the fun out of it (although he does have a copy of The Fountainhead there too which, if it's not class reading, either Steve or Peggy would have fun with). Sighing, Angie goes through her dutiful patter nevertheless: "Both Professor Carter and Professor Rogers currently have entirely full rosters for all of their lectures and seminars. Which session would you like to be placed on the waitlist for?"

“I’ve got to get into Professor Rogers’ Tuesday/Thursday afternoon section — his take on urban history is completely—”

“I wouldn’t sleep on Professor Carter,” says a passing man. “Stick with her and she'll teach you something.”

Angie purses her lips at the back of the man's blond head as he exits the building and then resigns herself to listening to a very earnest undergraduate trying to convince her that his entire future depends on getting a seat in Steve’s Metropolitics of Race and Place course.

Even non-majors will often make their chosen class a priority to arrange their schedule around, simply based on the reputations of Professors Rogers and Carter, and, all told, more than a few people will get shuffled around, trading into the course that they want. Whether it will be before Angie goes through both her café gift card and her bottle of Advil is anyone's guess.

“—and if you don't think that the prevalence of racialized propaganda was unique and endemic to the period, and of course led into its use in the Second World War, I simply don't know what to say to you."

"I'm not saying that it wasn't a part of it, but it only seems unique if you remove the context of—"

"Oh, bloody Nora, do not start listing nineteenth century European conflicts to me again, Steven."

"Well, Peg, it's hard not to when you're trying your hardest to ignore a key piece to the entire issue. And while we’re at it, to suggest that World War I propaganda was the key pathway to reliance on cultural stereotypes that had already been spreading around Europe for centuries before and that the Nazis only—"

There aren't all that many people standing around on the first floor of the College of Arts and Sciences building on a Thursday afternoon, but those who happen to have scheduled themselves a late class or are meeting friends to start their weekends early stop and watch the bickering pair striding down the hallway.

"I had Professor Rogers last semester,” says one student to the rest, watching the two turn the corner. “Life-changing.”

“There is no way he’s better than Professor Carter,” says one of the others. “If I hadn’t already been too far along with all this double major crap, her class would have made me switch to history.”

“Yeah, but the thing is, do you think they’re…you know…doing it?” one of the crasser members of the group as they all turn to leave the building. “The way they were arguing, there were definite sparks there.”

“No way,” someone snorts. “They argue like that all the time. Everyone knows that they hate each other. Half the history majors are Jets and Sharks over them — Team Carter versus Team Rogers.”

“I know who I’d join,” says Steve’s former student immediately, and Peggy’s agrees, glaring, but most of the rest seem to be of the opinion that they couldn’t be paid to care this much about school and since they’re the ones who are, in fact, paying, there are more interesting things to talk about.

The newly minted members of Teams Rogers and Carter glance at each other, for once in agreement — the others simply have to experience it themselves to understand.

The campus pub, a cozily dark, wood-paneled little establishment that leans perhaps a little too much into academic cliché, usually hosts events a few times a week: comedy, music, trivia. The new manager, however, wants to mix it up (and perhaps take advantage of that stereotypical appearance). Few of her colleagues think that anyone will turn up for a debate between two history department professors, but they’re bolstered anyway by the usual uptick in stressed-student patronage as the semester gets closer to its end, so at least it doesn’t seem like it will hurt.

Even a half hour before it’s supposed to start, the place is nearly at capacity. As the professors take their places behind the lecterns borrowed for the occasion, people are having to be turned away at the door for fear of violating the fire code. By the time the manager declares a tie, Professor Rogers is pink-cheeked, Professor Carter is starting each of her statements with a tight, “If my esteemed colleague would recall…” and as a couple passes outside they turn to each other and wonder what sporting event could be going on inside to be inspiring so much passion.

You’d think that things would quiet down a bit around finals time but that isn’t the case. With the new courses for next year announced and selection already under way, there is a second round of haggling and complaints about unfairness and bribery attempts to get into the desired sections. Leaving for the afternoon even as she sees the students still lining up and hears them trying to make their cases directly to the professors themselves — “I understand that you’d like to continue with my spring course, Nicole, but I think that you might in fact find the perspective enlightening” — Angie feels like she still hasn’t entirely caught her breath from the first round months ago.

She demands double the gift cards, or she’s transfering to the sociology department, where the faculty hasn’t done anything noteworthy in about a hundred years and no one has ever decided to become even the least bit fanatical about any of them.

Finals are over, and snow blankets the empty campus. Vacation has taken over the minds of the students, even as they wait for their grades to come in.

“I’ll trade you for the dumplings,” Peggy says from where she is leaning against the arm of the sofa while Steve faces her from the opposite end. Their feet tangle in the middle.

“Sure, do you have the pad thai there?” They lean forward to exchange cartons, kissing briefly before they relax back to their respective sides.

Peggy swallows and says, “Since we’ve both managed to finish with our grading, I thought we might go skating tomorrow.”

“You just want to see me fall again,” Steve complains, smiling.

She makes a little humming sound, that impish curl at the edge of her mouth — bare for once, since it’s only the two of them relaxing at home. “Perhaps, but you did know about that bit of sadism when you married me.”

“Well, as long as you help me back up.”

“You know that I’ll always kiss it better, my darling.”

A couple of students, still in town due to canceled flights, spot them walking hand in hand to the rink the next afternoon, skates over their shoulders. Theories range from some kind of hostage situation to a social experiment, enforced faculty bonding to mutual amnesia. After all, what else could be believed?

#steggyweek23 #Steggy #Steggy fic #Steve Rogers #Peggy Carter #I feel like someone prompted this/mentioned Steggy as part of this sort of tumblr post prompt so hopefully it finds you!

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mostlyghostie · 1 year

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Fantasy Recommendations Wanted

I already have 28 unread books to read before I purchase anything else, nevertheless, I want some very specific recommendations on fantasy books!

I have enjoyed lots of fantasy in the past (Pratchett being the bridge for ten year old me from kid books to non-kid books before the age of YA) but 99% of the books shelved in a bookshop Fantasy/Sci-Fi section leave me cold.

My absolute favourite fantasy novels are:

The His Dark Materials series by Phillip Pullman

The Earthsea series by Ursula LeGuin

Little, Big by John Crowley

Lud in the Mist by Hope Mirless

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye by AS Byatt

The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro

Both of Susanna Clarke’s novels (Piranesi and Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel)

The Once and Future King by TH White

Also, not a novel, but Jim Henson’s The Storyteller series is the epitome of fairytale storytelling as far as I’m concerned, where everything happens after a year and a day or in a week with two Sundays or to a seventh son of a seventh son. The story The Luck Child in particular still makes me well up.

The issue is, that although I absolutely adore those books listed above, that’s about as far as it goes, almost everything else I try does nothing for me. I’ve read all of Pratchett, Gaiman and Tolkien too and enjoy them (The Watch books, Troll Bridge and The Hobbit being my favourite of each). I like the first few Robin Hobb books, I like the bits I choose to like from Narnia, I liked the first Scott Lynch book and I liked/detested The Magicians series in equal measure.

So, what am I missing? I much prefer whimsy to grizzled be-stubbled men with a grudge, I much prefer a magic system to be based on endearing nonsense rather than maths and physics and if I’ve not listed a major series/trilogy of some kind then I’ve probably tried and not liked it. I’m not particularly interested in YA (a personal preference rather than a value judgment!)

Recommendations gleefully accepted!

#not art #books #fantasy books #booklr

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lxgentlefolkcomic · 1 year

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Info and FAQ (Please read before sending asks)

What is this?

This is the League of Extraordinary Gentlefolk, a comic project based on the premise of Alan Moore’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Think The Avengers, but with characters from Victorian lit.

If you’re familiar with the Alan Moore comic, or the 2003 movie, don’t expect this project to look much like either one. I’m keeping the name, the basic premise, and most but not all of the core cast, and going my own way with all the rest.

Where can I start reading?

For the start of episode 1, click here. For non-canonical bonus material, click here. I’ll be updating this post with more links as the comic proceeds.

Who’s working on this thing?

The LXGF team consists of:

Chicken (@mayhemchicken-artblog): Project leader, artist, blog owner, part-time writer

linguisticparadox (@linguisticparadox): Writer, blog admin

Dathen ( @dathen, @datheneth on Twitter, Dathen on AO3): Editor, image description writer

L. Spooner (@fruitviking, @voiceofspoon on Twitter): Writer

@see-arcane: Writer

Mr. Pinniped (@mrpinniped, Mr_Pinniped on AO3): Writer

Rosie C. (@absolutely-and-always13): Writer

Lemur (@drowninginaseaoflemurs): Writer

The Collector of the Whimsies (@pop-goes-the-weasel): Writer

Jesterbells (@jesterbells): Writer

Luna: Editor

Drakontissa (@thegoatsongs): Writer, image description writer

@cattuladaily: Writer

@severedfeetpics: Writer

@kouvei: Writer

@the-constellation-collective: Image description writer

Hiri (@hirilelfwraith): Image description writer

Jade (@riseofthesea): Image description writer

Do I need to read all the books and stories this is based on?

We’re aiming to make the comic accessible to people who have never read the original works. Reading the stories will enrich your experience with the comic, but it is by no means necessary.

If you’re interested in reading the original works, @linguisticparadox compiled a fantastic Google doc with links to all the texts we’re using as inspiration. (at least, all the ones we can currently share without giving away future spoilers... :3c)

How will you be handling [insert issue/plot point/character portrayal from either LoEG or one of the source texts here]?

Hopefully, in a respectful and nuanced fashion. We’re doing our utmost to remain faithful to the source texts we’re drawing from whenever possible, while at the same time avoiding uncritically reproducing the prejudices present in those texts.

What are the guidelines for sending in asks?

Be respectful. This is the “goes without saying” rule, but this is Tumblr, so I’ll say it anyway. Trolls, hate, bad-faith questions, and exclusionism will be deleted.

Read the FAQ. If your question is covered in this post, odds are I’m not going to answer it.

Be patient. I’m only one person, and I’m not always going to be able to answer asks in a timely fashion - or at all. This is my first time running a blog that receives this level of interaction, and I’m still figuring a lot of things out as I go.

Are you looking for guest artists/writers?

Not currently. We’ve talked about this possibility for the future, but as of right now we’re not accepting submissions for new writers. I’ve also had a couple people offer to help with inking/backgrounds, and while I appreciate the offer, I would like to clarify that I do not intend to do either. The comic will remain black and white and sketchy indefinitely.

What characters are part of this?

There are a LOT of characters planned to appear in this thing. I’m working on a separate cast list page, but in the meantime, the core League by the end of Episode 2 will consist of: Mina and Jonathan Harker, Irene Norton (better known as Irene Adler), Dr. John “Jack” Seward, Dr. Henry Jekyll/Edward Hyde, Ashley Griffin, and Captain Nemo. Additionally, expect to see a wide variety of supporting cast members in roles both large and small, including more official League members to be added down the road.

Why is Jonathan Harker here?

Because he loves his wife!! And I love him. Also, he’s a white-haired kukri-wielding genderqueer possibly-a-cryptid, and how can you NOT put a character like that in your comic?

(Slightly more serious answer: Because this comic is founded almost entirely on spite and self-indulgence, and in my humble opinion the Harkers were done dirty by Alan Moore. I’m a huge Dracula fan thanks to Dracula Daily, and I want to give Jonathan Harker the spotlight I feel he deserves.)

Where can I learn more?

Join the Discord server! We’re discussing the comic, the works that inspired it, Alan Moore’s uhh...questionable creative choices, and more! There’s some bonus art in there, too.

#the league of extraordinary gentlefolk #info post #lxgf #yes i have actually had multiple people ask why i'm including jonathan #most of them were...not worth publishing #don't do anons folks /hj #lxgf ashley griffin

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silvantransthranduiltrash · 1 year

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Thranduil’s (non-existant) Queen

I strongly headcannon that the silvans were very free in their gender and sexual identities. The basic norm was that everyone is bisexual until proven otherwise, and even then it’s quickly accepted. Furthermore, due to the nature of elven lives (aka being immortal) being polyamorous is rather common, as is sleeping around with no romantic relationship.

(The valar can’t tell them what to do!)

That being said, cheating is still a gigantic no no for them, as is abandoning one partner for another, especially if there is little to no warning or reason.

Anyway, slightly crazy idea, but what if Thranduil was not, in fact, married, and simply had and has a bunch of one night stand/regular bed partners and one day ended up pregnant (read my user name) and that’s how Legolas came about.

Thing is, legolas looks so much like Thranduil that no one knows who the other parent is, and Thranduil roles with it bc hey, at least no custody issues.

Elves outside of greenwood: so what happened to your mom?

Legolas: uuuuhhhhhhhh

Que elaborate tragic story that becomes worse and worse the more legolas retels it.

You can bet your ass legolas has fun with it. His friends pitch in and all of a sudden no one knows what happened to the queen of greenwood (they do not call it mirkwood) except that it’s bad.

Thranduil has no idea that this is going on until elrond brings it up one day.

Elrond: i have not said it before, but my condolences for the loss of your wife. I understand it was quite horrific.

Legolas: *sweating*

Thranduil: *slowly turning towards his son* yes, i miss her dearly *you-are-so-grounded glare at legolas*

And:

Elladan and elrohir: how did you deal with the loss of your mother

Legolas: *hnnnnnnnnnn, i am not qualified for this but i can’t tell THEM that* .... killing orcs has worked for me so far.

Later:

Thranduil: *bursts in the door* LEGOLAS-

Legolas: I PANICKED, OK? LEAVE ME ALONE!

And:

Thranduil, as he goes to check on the mountain and humans after the dragon (book canon): Legolas, this is the 6th time i’ve told you to not be so-

Bard: *wet, grimmy, tired* *walks past as if in slow mo and like a supper model*

Thranduil: -Rrrreeeeeeeeaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh

Thranduil: *stares*

Legolas: Ada, No.

#Thranduil #Thranduil’s wife #non existent i this case #legolas #silvans #best kept secret in middle earth is that thranduil has never been married #and by best kept i mean #everyone else knows nothing about the going ons of greenwood #greenwood the great #mirkwood #we don’t call it that #legolas: i was trying to have a bit of fun but it got out of control #thranduil: *having to deal with all these condolences* you think?#legolas’s friends are having a ball with it #so are thranduil’s #galion threatens to come up with an even more horrific way for the queen to die if thranduil doesn’t do his paperwork #it’s a soap opra #it started out as a joke #but now they’re scared smq will figure it out bc that be hella awkward and uncomfortable #it’s a good thing no one outside of greenwood knows thranduil is trans bc that’d just make thigs much more complicated #thranduil isn’t the biggest noldor fan but their preconceived notion of gender and sexuality is a blessing in disguise atm #i’m a book canon thranduil lover so that’s his personality #love movie him too but i like book him more

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footy-fictionist · 1 year

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Forever - Karim Adeyemi

Pairing: Karim Adeyemi x female reader

Warnings: it mentions troublesome mental health, physical knee injury (acl), questionable parenting, angst, fluff, probably some badly translated German

Word Count: 1024

Note: I have been going through some things and decided to write it out in the form of something fictional. Karim just happens to be the one I feel most comfortable writing for. Remember, this is purely fiction and know that I in no way know what Karim is like in real life. If you are not comfortable reading things about troublesome mental health, physical knee injuries and troubles with parents and the way they raised you, please do not read! Feedback is always appreciated, so if I forgot anything please let me know. Please do not copy and/or publish my work (reblogs are fine).

Karim has been noticing some changes in his girlfriend lately. It all started when she twisted her knee during a volleyball game. She immediately dropped her whole body to the floor crying out in pain. At first they couldn’t see what the issue was, but eventually the orthopaedist confirmed that she would need surgery to replace her front ACL. She was gutted and broke down crying right after the appointment. She loved playing volleyball and now she’d be out for about a year. Karim knew everything about bad injuries and how awful they could make you feel, not just physically but also mentally.

He’s been there for her every step and she seemed to be doing alright up until the 4 month mark after her surgery. She became more closed off, gave short answers and barely even greeted him when he came home. She didn’t really eat much and her sleep schedule seemed to be non-existent. Of course Karim wanted to talk to her about it, but he didn’t know where to start or how to even break the subject to her. He decided to first start cheering her up with little things. Bringing home her favourite flowers or her favorite sweets. Running baths for her after her physical therapy. Getting her a new book every once in a while. At the beginning it seemed to lift her mood a little, but slowly even that little light started to fade.

She wouldn’t talk to him or anyone else about it. Communicating was never her strong suit. She was never allowed to share her opinion at her parents’ house and she wasn’t allowed to talk back or argue. It made sure that she didn’t communicate at all. When she left her parents’ house she started communicating more and then when she started dating Karim, it all became a bit easier for her. Karim knew that communication was key and he communicated everything with her and praised her whenever she communicated with him. He never once got angry, no matter the news. And yet, she was shutting him out now. He didn’t know why, but he could guess. But when he came home from the game against Chelsea and she didn’t say a word to him about it, he had enough.

“Please tell me what’s going on with you! I can’t stand that you’re not talking to me. I’m here, I’ve never judged you or anything that happened before. What makes you think that I’m gonna judge anything that’s gonna come out? I just played an amazing game, scoring the only goal and you have nothing to say to me?”

She just stared back at him, almost looking unbothered but Karim knew better. He could see her mind working, her eyes showing so many emotions that even he couldn’t keep up.

“Please, please talk to me. I’m here, always. Please don’t shut me out, Schatz.”

And slowly he could see her mask begin to break. Her hands started shaking, her lip gave a small tremble as her eyes began to water. She pressed her lips together and hid her hands behind her back, but it was no use as the tears started falling. A sob broke through and immediately Karim pulled her into him. Her arms wrapped around him too, her hands fisting his shirt so hard he thought it might rip. She hid her face in his chest, the tears flowing so fast, that they became small rivers on her cheeks. He started rubbing his hands over her back and softly running his fingers through her hair. Soft whispers of love escaped his lips whenever he wasn’t pressing kisses to her hairline.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry Karim. I didn’t mean to. I just didn’t want to bother you and bring down your happy mood. You’ve been doing so well the past few months. I couldn’t ruin that with my own unhappy thoughts. I started to believe it would be better to keep my distance. But now I can’t anymore. I’m sorry I’m hurting you, I didn’t mean to. Of course I watched the game tonight and saw what you did. You were incredible Karim, ich bin so stolz auf dich.”

The words came flooding out, the dam finally breaking. Karim slowly guided her to the couch and once there he pulled her into his lap, still rubbing her back whilst she now hid her face against his neck. Everything came out, her worries about playing volleyball, the pain she was in, how hard her physical therapy sessions were, how she wanted to support him everywhere but she couldn’t even go to the stadium on her own. After everything came out that she was holding back, she finally started to calm down. Her body, which had been stiff with stress and holding back, started to relax against his.

That’s when Karim responded to everything she said, reassuring her that she was getting the best care and that she would definitely be able to play again. Telling her how much he loved her and that he appreciated all her support no matter the time or place. She could be on the other side of the world whilst watching the game and he’d know that she was supporting him. The tears stopped and she pulled back and looked him in the eyes. She leant her forehead on his, whilst taking deep breaths, their breathing in sync as well as their heartbeats.

“Danke für alles, Karim. I wouldn’t know what to do without you. Thank you for your patience with me and for getting me to communicate. Ich liebe dich, für immer.”

“Kein Dank, mein Schatz. Ich liebe dich auch, für immer.”

He pulled his forehead away from her and slowly pressed a few kisses on every part of her face. In the meantime her hands wandered to the back of his head, tangling her hands in his curls, keeping him as close as possible. After all this, she couldn’t be more grateful for Karim. He is her everything, as much as she is his. They both knew they could get through anything together, as long as they communicated.

(Mein) Schatz: my darling/treasure Ich bin so stolz auf dich: I am so proud of you Danke für alles: thank you for everything Ich liebe dich (auch), für immer: I love you (too), forever Kein dank: don't thank me/you're welcome

#karim adeyemi x reader #karim adeyemi x female reader #karim adeyemi imagine #karim adeyemi one shot #karim adeyemi fanfic #football imagine #football imagines #football one shot

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rosie-kairi · 1 year

Text

Ventus Character Analysis based entirely off of the 10 or so pages he exists for in the KHX novel.

A couple months ago I made a post regarding a small passage from the KHX novel that had caught my attention because of how it established a bit of character for Ventus in such a short paragraph. Now, I’ve decided to comb through the rest of the section he appears in to see if I can find anything else worth talking about character-wise, and take up the challenge of writing my first ever character analysis essay for something non-school related. Lord have mercy on my soul please, I swear I’m trying my hardest over here. While his appearance in the KHX novel was brief, we can still learn interesting information about Ventus’s character as he appears in the Chi Saga.

(Essay under read more because this gets long.)

(Also on AO3 here.)

Ventus first appears in the book on the very end of page 136 -11 pages before the book’s conclusion- during the epilogue titled “Epilogue- Unchained X”. This is the only section of the book he appears in, as the epilogue covers the end of the keyblade war, the union leader meetup, and has a short interlude for Strelitzia’s death. It should be noted that most of the more interesting bits about Ventus can be found on page 137, as that is the page where he is fully introduced, before the book shifts its attention over to the arrival of Brain. Like I said, very brief appearance. So forgive me if I end up repeating some points on accident. As is common for the Kingdom Hearts novelizations, a majority of the dialogue is taken straight from the game cutscenes, and KHX is no different. There is nothing in the dialogue in this book that could allow us to glean information about Ventus’s character that we would not have already gotten in-game. That’s not to say there’s absolutely nothing new to be taken into account, because if there wasn’t I wouldn’t be writing this. It’s all in the prose.

Ventus’s arrival comes with a description of him, that being “The one who answered was a boy with short, wavy golden hair and a tendency to look at the ground. He seemed so quiet that it was hard to imagine him fighting with a keyblade” (pg. 136). While it doesn’t really describe Ventus physically, it does tell us a lot about him personality wise. Mainly, Ventus seems to be a very shy and timid person. He’s not the type you’d imagine when thinking of people who go out everyday and fight dangerous creatures made of darkness. Ventus’s apparent tendency to look at the ground as mentioned above might also suggest that he’s unsure of himself, as doing so can be seen as a sign of nervousness or uncertainty -at least, according to body language analysts. What’s more is that the speech indicators used when Ventus speaks seem to support this. When Ventus introduces himself to Skuld and Ephemer, he is described as doing so “shyly” (pg. 137), when he wonders why he was chosen Ventus sounds “uncertain of himself” (pg. 137), and when lamenting his lack of friends, Ventus mutters (pg. 137). Suffice to say, Ventus is not a very confident person. He lacks what he sees as sufficient enough skills that would warrant him being chosen as a union leader. He says so himself, “I’m not especially good at anything… And I’m never at the top of the rankings.” (pg. 137). In the very first scene he appears -and the only section that is dedicated to him specifically- in the novel it is made very clear that Ventus lacks self-confidence. He talks down on himself and all-around just seems very unsure as to why he, a timid, not very strong 10-12 year old boy of all people, was chosen to lead the unions after the war.

Another key part of Ventus’s character throughout the events of KHUX is his lack of close friends. Before becoming a union leader, Ventus was completely alone. Besides maybe his Chirithy, Ventus had no one. His apparent timidness and self-confidence issues probably factored into this. He was too shy to try and approach random keyblade wielders in the hopes of befriending them. If we choose to believe that Ventus was in-fact a preteen around this time, then his age would present a problem as well. Being a 10 year old surrounded by teenagers in an incredibly competitive environment where being stronger than all of your peers and collecting the most lux to get high up in the rankings is highly encouraged is not going to do much good for your self-image. In an environment like that, many wielders would likely look down on those they deem as being too weak, and by Ven’s own admission, he would’ve been incredibly likely to be one of those seen as too weak. Not to mention how a lot of teenagers probably would not want to be hanging around with a 10 year old who could barely pull his own weight. So, Ventus would’ve been stuck in a cycle of being rejected by stronger keyblade wielders for being too weak, but not being able to get stronger because he was completely alone aside from his Chirithy. In a series that puts so much emphasis on the strength we get from our friends and peers, Ventus had none of that. There’s one paragraph -the one that inspired me to make this in the first place- which reads, “Ephemer had never seen this boy Ven. Many keyblade wielders he would at least recognize by face, and you usually heard stories about the really exceptional ones, but Ven belonged to neither category.” (pg. 137). It may not say so directly, but this passage once again reiterates how lonely and for all intents and purposes unremarkable Ventus was in Daybreak Town. Ephemer, someone who feels that in a town of potentially thousands of keyblade wielders he would be able to recognize most of them by face alone, does not recognize Ventus at all, and he’s clearly never heard of him either. It feels mean to say, but Ventus is not well-known, he’s not recognizable, and he’s not an exceptional keyblade wielder. Ventus is a nobody, and I don’t mean like in the Kingdom Hearts enemy way, I mean a literal nobody.

It’s mean, I know it’s mean, I’m basically just bullying the poor kid at this point, but that’s what we can infer from the text. With all of this in mind it’s really not hard to see why Darkness chose him as its target. He was weak, he was vulnerable, he was the perfect choice for Darkness to leech onto. Ventus, above all else, wanted strength and friendship, and he did get that eventually with the union leaders. But it was all at the cost of another person’s life. Darkness answered Ventus’s wishes and gave him everything he wanted. Strelitzia had to die in order for Ventus to get what he wanted. Ventus, of course, did not know about this. He did not kill Strelitzia, not on purpose. He was an unwilling participant in her murder. But it would not be inaccurate to say that Strelitzia did die directly because of Ventus. If Darkness did not “fulfill” Ventus’s wants, Strelitzia would still be alive and a union leader. But where would that leave Ventus? The reality of it is that in a world without the interference of Darkness Ventus would not have been asked to become a Dandelion by Ava due to his lack of strength as she was tasked specifically with recruiting the best keyblade wielders, and he wouldn’t have been recruited any of his friends who might’ve been in the dandelions because he had none. Poor Ventus would’ve fought in the war and realistically would’ve died very quickly.

That’s really all I have to say here. I could say more, but this is meant to be an analysis of Ventus’s character as he is portrayed in his very limited appearance in the KHX novel. For what it’s worth, this whole essay probably won’t reveal anything about Ventus’s character that we couldn’t already assume from the cutscenes in-game, but I do think it’s still important. For how little we see of him in the novel it does one hell of a job in establishing parts of his character right off the bat without outright saying anything definitive.

Thank you very much for reading my lil essay here, I know it might seem a bit disjointed at some points and I really do apologize for that. This is the culmination of a lot of my brainworms about Ventus and I never have been very good at putting thoughts on paper. If anyone has anything they’d like to add, please don’t hesitate to do so. Hope you enjoyed!

Also, I do want to just throw a shout out to everyone who left tags of their thoughts on the original post because they really helped me out here. He’s our collective sad little Charles Dickens-esque orphan boy and we are taking turns giving him soup.

#Rosie rambles #kingdom hearts #kingdom hearts union x #khux #kh ventus #ventus #character analysis #reblogs appreciated <3 #gonna pin this bc i worked hard on it

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