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ofbreathandflame · 17 hours

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Well, again, the issue is not that Rhys has done bad things, it’s how those actions are framed in the story. Let’s think about this – if Rhysand’s actions UTM were framed as negative then perhaps we would not be having this conversation.

Of course, we can argue that Rhysand (1) has developed negative coping mechanisms / perspective (2) Rhysand’s trauma informs the things that he does (both pre, during, and after UTM), and (3) Rhysand’s position was uniquely isolating because of the nature of the role he was forced to play. These are points that I believe can be argued and offer an interesting view; but for any of that to happen, we have to acknowledge that the behaviors are negative. That’s often the problem with the arguments that begin to arise – no one wants to admit that Rhysand has developed (or just has) negative qualities and behaviors. No one wants to contend with the reality of consequences. “Rhysand has always admitted that he would be willing to do terrible things for his family” – and yet there’s no elaboration on those “terrible things.” No one wants to talk about those proposed negative qualities. The story (and the audience) don’t want to admit that Rhys doesn’t really have a solid moral high ground over Tamlin, or admittedly other villains. Just because Rhysand “admits” he’s prone to basically being abusive doesn’t…make it any less abusive.

My proposed argument about Rhysand’s actions UTM are this: he chose to sexually assault Feyre, he chose to “protect” Feyre in ways that were extremely sexually explicit. I believe these are choices that Rhys chooses to make – and I believe they say something about him. It’s noted, to me, that Amarantha scarcely makes Rhys do anything that he does to Feyre. I also believe that his actions regarding Feyre were done with an air of autonomy; as in, I believe Rhysand takes these measures into his own hands. Ultimately, I believe that while Rhysand has to contend with the horrors, he himself becomes beholden to them at some point and ends up perpetrating the same behaviors.

We cannot argue that Rhysand sexually assaulted Feyre, and then argue that it doesn’t say something about him. It does. In the realm of the story – from a writing standpoint – I think a good author can still make a character like that sympathetic and understandable (see: Nahadoth and Itempas from N.K. Jemisin’s Hundred Thousand Kingdom). If I were analyzing Rhysand’s actions, I would simply make the argument that perhaps Rhysand’s abuse of Feyre mirror’s his own abuse by Amarantha hands, and he potentially sees Feyre (and her hope) as something to be threatened – or even shamed by. If Rhysand’s actions were written in a way that clearly exemplified that his actions are not meant to be praised (and are NOT are reflection of love) then he could be salvaged. I actually believe a lot of the abusive things Rhysand does makes sense given the environment and if the story leaned into this from a storytelling perspective and did away with needing to moralize, then this would all be fine. Framing Rhysand’s abuse of Feyre as something to be praised, admired, and loved for is actually quite insane. If we frame his actions as purely preservational and self-serving, that would make so much sense. Imagine being in Rhysand’s position; I guarantee everyone would do whatever they could to stop such extreme amounts of abuse and sexual violence. And even then, the story could still create a narrative that warns of the danger of sexual violence and consent, it would just be subtextual and more allegorical than concretely written in the text. Starting Feyre and Rhysand off in such a tragic place, having Feyre and Rhysand acknowledged truly what happened, having them discuss ways for both of them to move forward while building up the mating bond in the background. Have Feyre acknowledge this untrusting, sly, slick part of Rhysand and have her not assume her mate does everything out of the kindness of his heart. Build their romance out of a place of mutual atonement – play on the theme of guilt Feyre feels and the whole premise of the court. Let the connection between Feyre and Rhys be that they truly acknowledge each others darkness (and also let Feyre do selfish things – maybe she knew damn well Clare Beddor’s family might suffer a bad fate but its not her family and Feyre would do anything for them; Let Feyre kill those fairies with ease because she cares about her life. Let her contend with reality that she would actually do anything for her family and then have that be a connection between Rhys and Feyre.

Something that has always bothered me about the “we don’t talk enough about Rhysand’s trauma” argument that gets thrown around when we earnestly discuss the validity of his actions is the presumption of innocence in that statement. The unwritten statement is that the trauma somehow explains and simultaneously absolves him of the implications of his actions. I objectively agree with the sentiment – Rhysand’s trauma is not talked about enough and it should be. The argument dancing in the corner is the fact that people believe that Rhysand’s extreme amount of trauma absolves him – even going as far as essentially say that Rhysand’s abuse operates out of fear (or because of fear) which is essentially the exact same ideology the book bashed Tamlin for. In the end, the cycle just comes back around and the abuse gets pushed into the backdrop.

#anti sjm #anti rhysand #anti feysand #anti feyre #anti acosf #anti acomaf #this is more of an analysis of character than anti character rant #I’m just tired of people trying to essentially disregard that rhysand has done bad things #while simultaneously trying to make justification for it

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sayuri-of-the-valley · 8 months

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On how Crowley and Aziraphale felt during the kiss (but mainly Crowley here):

Ok so first, the main idea for this huge meta is that a LOT of us noticed how the music from the kiss scene is similar to the nebula one, right?

Second, a lot of us also correctly noticed the parallels between the kiss and how it was to taste food for the first time for Aziraphale: bc of his reactions, the hand on lips, the similar way MS acted both scenes, the little inhale etc. So how was it for Crowley?

Aziraphale's reaction to the kiss is practically a puzzle to solve on its own, so it's fun to analyse it, but basically, in a few words, Aziraphale kissed Crowley and he discovered he was physically starving for him, longing for him, yearning for him, for his kiss, and he had no idea. Just like with the ox. And now he needs to gorge himself in him but he can't. Great amazing heartbreaking chef's kiss someone give MS an Emmy.

But there's already so much amazing meta out there about Aziraphale x Ox ribs x The Kiss that I want to focus on Crowley here, and on the music.

So back to the music. The song in "Before the Beginning" and the song that plays during The Kiss (I Forgive You + Don't Bother) are so similar. They're not *exactly* the same, but they're totally reminiscent of each other. The viewer is immediately reminded of those chords that played in the opening scene. It's no coincidence that the fandom was talking about this fact only minutes after first watching those final fifteen minutes. This is an obvious intentional choice for storytelling reasons (David Arnold is a genius).

I have no expertise whatsoever when it comes to music, so I asked our friend @otsanda to see if that made sense and not only it does and she explained it, but she also uncovered so much more hidden meaning in all of it (musicians are amazing), so check out her meta about the music that not only serves as evidence to what I'm proposing here but it also has so much more juicy information in it 💖.

Back to the point: WHY thought? Why choose a similar song? Why intentionally COMPOSE a similar song for that moment?

Hear me out. WHAT IF, by reminding the audience of the creation of the nebula, they meant to convey to us that, for Crowley, kissing Aziraphale gave him the same feeling that creating his stars did?

THAT'S what the music is telling us. THAT'S why it makes us remember "Before the Beginning". It may sound cheesy, but Crowley may have literally seen stars when he kissed Aziraphale. He couldn't react accordingly (just like Aziraphale couldn't), bc it was an overwhelming and extremely sad moment (the music is also telling us that) for both of them. They knew it was ending . They were both having a moment of huge revelation that was fated to not come to completion. Crowley was right, it was too late.

It makes sense to show Crowley's feelings through the music, bc he was the one who started the kiss, and also he was wearing sunglasses in that scene, it's different from a character like Aziraphale that has all his million expressions for everyone to see at all times. And they've been doing this ever since s1 with the Queen songs that play in his car or in the background.

So my point is: the same song being used there makes me wonder if kissing Aziraphale finally gave him what he lost. His purpose. What Aziraphale was trying to give back to him by taking him back to heaven. There's no need for Heaven. Just kiss him, Aziraphale, and there he'll find the stars you want to give back to him. There you will one day see that smile on his face you saw Before The Beginning. Neil Gaiman and David Arnold I am in your walls 😭

This is what may lead us to see this happiness in Crowley again (not the action of kissing itself, of course, but what it represents to their relationship, them being together, them being an Us).

As @otsanda said: from the music we can interpret that that moment was a Revelation for them. Almost a religious experience. Crowley found his purpose again. What he'd been missing the whole season (or even his whole life since the Fall, but we've seen him especially depressed this season).

I'm not even getting into the poetry of how one can interpret the parallel to the angel's reaction to the kiss as carnal, and the demon's as religious; that would be another whole essay but let's just agree that it's incredibly beautiful. (Let me be clear that I mean here Aziraphale's reaction is carnal specifically for Crowley, and Crowley's is religious specifically for Aziraphale, not religious as in "worshipping god")

"Do you ever wonder what's the point?" Crowley asked in s2e1. The point, for him, is Aziraphale (if you've seen The Good Place you know what I mean). I hope he figured this out with that kiss, even as heartbreaking as it was. Even if it was a (temporary) separation kiss. (I hope Aziraphale figures this out with time too, that he's more than enough to make Crowley happy, that Crowley doesn't need Heaven, or stars, that Crowley needs him.)

Maybe that's why Crowley didn't leave and kept waiting outside until the very last moment.

Aziraphale and Crowley both bit the apple at the end of s2. There's no turning back from that Knowledge now.

Edit: I just have to add here this brilliant colour analysis of the nebula scene by @halemerry. And it's pointed out that during the nebula formation there's a moment when it looks like two people embracing. And the fact that a similar song is used in the actual Kiss scene I just... I have no words

#good omens 2 #good omens #ineffable husbands #good omens kiss #my meta #good omens meta #before the beginning #i forgive you #don't bother #crowley #purpose #knowledge #music #david arnold #reactions to the kiss #the angel's carnal reaction vs the demon's religious experience

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leonardcohenofficial · 9 months

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there’s a great write up by someone on here that i will have to search for in which they discuss how the ultimate evil for david lynch is sexual violence against women (even more severe than murder, which is often auxiliary to that type of specific violence); twin peaks is incredibly soapy—on purpose! lynch and frost are playing with form and content on purpose to examine incredibly difficult subject matter through a (for lack of a better word) more palatable format—which most of the time i think works to its advantage and makes those moments of visible horror so much more effective (i use “visible” rather than “true” or other similar adjectives because the horror is always there, it’s embedded in the entire town, shows up in every generation we see in screen and we watch them grapple with it in different ways, but that’s a separate post)

however—and i’ve talked about this before—i find that once you’ve watched fire walk with me it is so much harder to watch the show because the ignorance of nearly every single member of the town (yes, including cooper) pervades the way the action unfolds. twin peaks viewers knew the premise of the show going in and we get to discover details and information alongside the characters. when albert rosenfield comes in as the only voice of reason and reality, it’s set up to be jarring to both the townspeople and to the viewer. why?

sheryl lee said in an interview, “fire walk with me was very difficult for me to watch… and, emotionally it’s a reminder: this is a movie, but this continues to happen every day and how can we stop it? when i watch fire walk with me now, as a mother, i watch it and i think look at all those signs that were being exhibited. this girl was in danger, and look at all these people that were in her life. what would have happened if someone, somewhere, somehow could have helped or stopped it? that’s hard to watch.”

much has been discussed critically about fire walk with me and whether or not it’s exploitative in the ways that it portrays sexual violence against women. while lynch does not shy away from making that violence visible, it is done so in an attempt to make the viewer examine their own relationship to that violence and how it shows up in their own lives. the audience is forced to think about the ways that they are complicit in how and why these violent acts occur and what they can do to stop it, which is why for many it is an uncomfortable watch. for others, it is a painful (and speaking from my own perspective) necessary watch because lynch didn’t make a horror movie, he made a documentary.

fire walk with me is necessary (in my humblest of opinions) to understand why the pieces that lynch and frost put into twin peaks work. there’s so much backstory to how they weren’t originally going to reveal who laura palmer’s killer was until ABC made them, lynch wasn’t around during much of the second season so things got a little off the rails storytelling-wise, etc. etc. but fire walk with me allows them to tie difficult, often horrifying threads (ben horne unknowingly attempting to have sex with his daughter, the townspeople’s distancing of albert, the hands of random townspeople trembling as BOB attempts to claw back into the material world, the list goes on and on) back to the central thesis of “sexual violence is the ultimate evil, it is completely avoidable, and you have a responsibility to recognize the signs and stop being complicit”

#twin peaks #david lynch #fire walk with me #this is a huge essay but i’ve been really thinking about this lately as even though i love—LOVE—twin peaks (i have a twin peaks tattoo!) it #has been getting really hard to engage with lately and for me this is why; the combination of the fact that FWWM is an incredible #examination of horrific real life violence and because of the ways that we see the ignorance of everyone else (purposefully) put on screen #in short i think david lynch is a master for this reason but man if it isn’t hard (and important! but hard!) to engage with!

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darkblueboxs · 1 year

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Glass Onion Spoilers - Foreshadowing and Among Us

I’ve seen a few posts dunking on glass onion for being “cringe” because of the Among Us scene and a few praising it for accurately reflecting the fact that this is all everyone was playing in 2020, but I haven’t seen anyone really talk about how brilliantly Among Us works as a foreshadowing/storytelling device.

On the surface - as the film itself points out! - the game is a neat little parallel of the island: one murderer hidden among us, with the objective being to find them out. But this comparison goes far deeper than the basic premise of the film.

Firstly, Benoit appears as the game’s imposter, and then, it is later revealed, is literally an imposter, arriving on the island uninvited under false pretences - one of the first major twists of the film spelled out to the audience in the opening act. And he isn’t alone - just as two imposters generally work together to deceive the other players, so Benoit and Helen work together to infiltrate the group. BUT, and this is the bit that really drives me wild, the endgame format of Among Us perfectly reflects the endgame of the film. The way to win Among Us isn’t necessarily a case of killing everyone or surviving every round - the way to win is by convincing your fellow players to believe you, and to vote accordingly.

During the trial Andi loses because the imposter - the billionaire impersonating a genius - convinces the other players that she should be voted out; she is as effectively thrown out of the airlock as she is the business, and then literally killed to protect the [fortune of] the “crew.”

But, Andi was not the imposter, and so the game continues.

The imposter kills again, and when Miles confesses to causing the lights to go out, this is another excellent hint - only the imposter can sabotage the lights!

Then, with all the characters assembled much like an “Emergency Meeting,” we reach the climax of the film: Miles burns the napkin evidence, and immediately the ensemble is back to the voting booth as Helen, like her sister, fights for the players’ support in voting out the imposter. Any Among Us player will recognise the infuriating feeling when you literally just saw them vent for the love of god you were all there vote them OFF- and that frustration - of speaking the truth and not being believed - is evident in this scene.

But these players don’t care about the truth; they care about surviving (ie staying rich), and so they will vote off an innocent person to placate the shark. Which is absolutely not how you win the game.

Then, then, the game’s final round: the imposter has lost his tools, is revealed for the useless fraud he is, and it’s when he has nothing left to offer the other players that one more vote is held - the characters literally raise their hands as they pledge their support to Helen, in part to give the appearance of swearing in upon the witness stand, but also in part to give the visual of a literal vote... such as that of an Among Us emergency meeting vote.

And it’s when Miles is finally, rightfully ejected that at last, the game is won.

Among Us is a game of social engineering, of lying and convincing others of your lies to prolong your survival, deception, and the malleability of truth. Presenting this game in the opening of the film is more than a gimmick or scene-setter: it illustrates the social structures at the heart of the story.

TLDR: Among Us foreshadows the film’s premise, but also plot twists, character choices, and significantly the film’s resolution by way of group vote.

#glass onion #Knives Out #glass onion spoilers #rian johnson #netflix #benoit blanc #among us #i didnt stop to check specific details beyond character names so if i fudged a detail we are simply going to have to live with it #in this house we delight in and enjoy indie game references that also work as storytelling devices #too busy having fun to be cringe rn #i havent written this much analysis for anything since leaving uni #also fuck netflix's no screenshot policy

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shittinggold · 5 months

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Thinking about how Max and Jack are like. Opposite ends of the same spectrum when it comes to narrativisation. On the one hand you have Jack who's obsessed with his legacy, obsessed with his story, with his name. Mr. "great art has felled Empires", Mr. " put that down and read a book". The man who sees victory in the form of who gets to write whose story. He does everything so that he can shape the future of Nassau in a way that recognises him and his name, and yet, he can't see it! He can't actually see the story he's in. He doesn't know his name is remembered, as both a real person and someone whose story has been retold countless times. He never got to the end of Woodes Rogers' book. He looks at the Jolly Roger, the flag that will symbolise piracy in two hundred years' time and he says "it's fine". He doesn't even know his own name! He is driven by the impact that the downfall of the calico industry had on his father and he doesn't even know that his name is Calico Jack. He is obsessed with writing the future and so is blind to how that future will actually remember him. He doesn't know the joke is on him.

And then you have Max who is powerfully invested in being as unremembered as possible. Ms. "power is most effective when it is least perceived". Ms. "this is all built upon sand". She is neof the few main characters who is neither a Treasure Island character nor a historical figure, and the only main character who doesn't have a last name. She uses that namelessness as a defence against being cast aside by the narrative, because she sees it! She sees the walls of the narrative, and knows that any story written about her will not be kind to her. "They will call me The Whore Who Lost Everything". Because of her gender, her race, her profession, her sexuality. She hides between the cracks of the narrative because she knows on some instinctive level that if she plays by the narrative's rules then she will always end up outside of the story, looking in on it. So she is able to shape the future of Nassau more than anyone else. She doesn't try to tell her story, but we still see it. "In another time, another place, they would have called me a Queen". She is talking to us. We are in that other time and place. She is pointing out the glass walls of the story and through them pointing directly at us as we watch her win.

It's like. In this show, the better a storyteller you are the more power you have to shape reality to your image. The more obsessed you are with telling the story the higher chance that the story will catch you in its grip and dash you helplessly against the rocks. Good luck.

#this is just scattered early morning thoughts but they're sooooo #jack rackham #max black sails #black sails

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starry-crossing-zone · 1 month

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General Storyteller - Rex

Summary: After the Battle of Kamino, Rex finds you surrounded by clone cadets. Length: 1.4k Warnings: Post-Battle; Lots of Teasing; Rex's Flirting is Improving

The battle of Kamino had yielded heavy and unfortunate losses, but the Republic managed to repel the Separatists in the end. Rex, after promoting Echo and Fives to ARC Troopers, sought out the generals. He walked over to where Jesse and Hardcase were relaxing, assuming they would have an idea.

“Has anyone seen the generals?” Rex asked, resting his bucket against his hip.

“General Skywalker’s at the south end of the city, but I have a feeling that you’re not asking about him,” Jesse quipped, causing Rex to narrow his eyes. “She’s with Kix in the infirmary.”

“You know how she always turns into a mother hen after battle,” Hardcase reminded his captain, leaning back against the wall. He elbowed Jesse with a mischievous grin. “She’s probably giving shinies heart attacks.”

“Well, if she can make our esteemed captain blush, what hope do the shinies have, Hardcase?”

Rex, tuning out the rest of their conversation, turned and made his way to the infirmary. Due to the overflow from battle, it had expanded into the mess hall. But Rex assumed that a Jedi would be easy to spot among the clones and Kaminoans. But when he didn’t spot you, Rex made his way over to Kix, who was setting another trooper’s ankle.

“Kix, have you seen the general?”

“She’s in the other room,” Kix stated, pointing to his right. “You won’t be able to miss her.”

Rex raised an eyebrow, but continued on his way. Stepping into one of the wings of the infirmary, Rex paused when he spotted exactly what Kix was talking about. You sat at the end of the room, smiling and talking with all of the young clone cadets gathered around you.

“And then the bridge started to collapse,” you retold dramatically as you carefully bandaged up a cadet’s wrist. “The Separatists planted detonators along the bridge and lured us onto it. And the tactical droid tried to blow us all up.”

“How did you escape?” one of the cadets asked, sitting on the edge of his seat.

“Well, we started running. Anakin and I pushed your brothers to safety with the Force because all of you and all of your brothers in every corner of this galaxy are important to us.”

You gently poked one of the cadets on the tip of his nose to emphasize your point. He blushed bright red, reminding you of another clone, and looked down at his feet bashfully while one of his brothers grabbed his shoulders from behind.

“And no good leader and certainly no good Jedi would say otherwise,” you added, looking out around at the clone cadets.

Rex was quite sure that the meaning behind your story was not part of the approved Kaminoan curriculum, but he couldn’t help but smile at his younger brothers’ reactions to your story. You smiled and finished up with bandaging a cadet’s wrist before continuing with the story.

“But then we had to run to safety ourselves. Now, Anakin was lucky enough that he was standing close to the edge. So, he escaped easily. But I wasn’t so lucky because a lingering detonator went off right behind me, causing me to lose my balance.”

“What happened next?” a cadet gasped.

“Shhh!” one of the other cadets shushed his brother.

“I’m getting to it,” you promised them with a chuckle. “As I was saying, your brother, Captain Rex, grabbed a long gun—right out of Mule’s hands, mind you—and shot a cable at me.”

“Did he hit you?” one of the cadets asked quickly.

“Do you think I’d miss, Cadet?” Rex called out teasingly.

“Captain Rex!” the cadets called turning around to see him walking towards them.

They all jumped to their feet and stood at attention. Rex stopped in front of the crowd of his young brothers and dismissed them, urging them to sit down again. He turned to you as the cadets got settled again. And even though Rex felt a familiar heat start to climb up his neck, he moved to take a seat on one of the beds. Clearing his throat as you offered him a soft smile, he nodded.

“You were saying, General.”

“Right, Captain,” you mused before turning back to his brothers. “No, Captain Rex didn’t hit me with the cable. It landed in front of me and I held onto it as the bridge tumbled down. And with some help from some of your other brothers, he pulled me up to safety.”

“Captain Rex saved your life?”

“Yes, he did,” you stated without hesitation.

“To be fair, you’ve saved mine a number of times, General,” Rex spoke up, causing you to smile.

“Yes, shall I tell all of you one of those stories next?”

The cadets cheered but Rex got back to his feet and motioned towards the door. You nodded and slowly stood up, causing the cadets to sigh and whine. Giving them a kind smile, you kneeled down so that you were eye level with all of them again.

“I must go back to being a general. But you should try and find General Kenobi, for he’s an even better story teller than me. But which battalion is the best in the GAR again?”

“The 501st!”

“And don’t you forget it,” Rex added, causing his younger brothers to grin.

Bidding the cadets goodbye, you stood up and walked with Rex out of the infirmary. The two of you moved in silence for a moment before Rex turned to you with a soft look.

“You survived the battle alright, General?”

“I should be asking you that question, Rex. This is your home. All of your homes.” You sighed and added quietly, “I’m sorry we didn’t defend it better.”

“Kamino was always a target to the Seppies,” Rex stated, turning to look forward again. “But thank you, General.” Clearing his throat a bit, Rex turned forward once again. “And thank you for looking after the cadets. They were bred for war, but they were never trained for it to happen in their own home.”

“Of course,” you returned, nodding politely. “I have a soft spot for children. I believe my master’s habits rubbed off on me.”

“It’s not a bad habit to have.”

“Well, and clone cadets are adorable. In a way, the clones and the Jedi have a lot in common. We were raised communally as well. It’s a setup most citizens find unnatural, almost.”

“Well, your people can move things with their minds. My brothers and I all share the same face. They might not be far off,” Rex quipped, causing you to chuckle.

Stepping into the lift together, you stood side by side as you made your way back to the upper floors of the facility. No doubt that Shaak Ti and Obi-Wan were looking for the two of you. Placing your hands on your hips and turned to Rex with a mischievous smile.

“What were you like as a cadet, Rex?”

“Top of my class, of course.”

“Of course,” you agreed teasingly, causing Rex to tilt his chin up. “But don’t tell me that you were always this stoic and brooding.”

“Brooding?” Rex repeated, earning a laugh in return.

“Come on, Rex. You must have broken a few rules in your time on Kamino.”

“I would assume as many as you did when you were a padawan, General.”

“My master was on the Jedi High Council, so I had an image to uphold.” After a moment, you added with a grin, “But also more time unsupervised. And, well, Anakin was a poor influence on me.” Your smile softened as you turned back to Rex. “Perhaps I’ll tell you some of those stories one day, Captain.”

“I look forward to it, General.”

Stepping off the elevator together, you and Rex shared a smile before Commander Cody called out to the two of you. Rex winced when he spotted Cody’s knowing look and you pulled on a more professional expression in the presence of the marshal commander.

“General Kenobi requested your assistance with moving some of the larger pieces of debris,” Cody told you. “He’s in the eastern part of the city.”

“Thank you, Commander Cody, I will go meet him.” Nodding to Cody, you turned to Rex, who returned your burning gaze. “I’ll see you later, Captain.”

And with that, you walked down the hall and away from them. You couldn’t help but glance over your shoulder at Rex. Staring after you until your figure disappeared around the corner, Rex ignored Cody’s stare and smirk. Rolling his eyes, Rex brushed past his brother.

“I didn’t interrupt anything, did I?” Cody called after him, causing Rex to wince.

“Stow it, Cody.”

#the clone wars #star wars the clone wars #captain rex #captain rex x reader #captain rex x jedi reader #captain rex x you #sw tcw #tcw #star wars tcw #clone wars #rex x reader #star wars clones

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wandagcre · 6 months

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What about Sam having a hyper energy golden retriever gf??

sam with a hyper golden retriever girlfriend

(gif not mine, credits to who owns them)

OH BOY. you weren't only a sunshine for sam but fueled with an unmatched high energy, you were basically a deadly combination for her

deadly in a way where sam sometimes can't keep up with you BUT tries hard to do so because she absolutely adores how you light up the room! she refuses to make you uncomfortable or ashamed in any way <3

it's like, she's sleepy? but you're still rambling and tugging on her arm? NOT ANYMORE. you can see sam fighting it off and you give a hearty chuckle because she's reaaally close to dozing off she looks so silly you can barely see her pretty brown eyes anymore 🥺

seriously, sam can't remember the last time someone made her smile this MUCH. all of her facial muscles are working overtime whenever she's around you!! it's so infectious it warms her heart ;(

texts between you two are the funniest 😭

sam: Good Morning ☺️❤️

you: OH MY GOD

you: the absolute love of my freaking life.

you: my precious girlfriend. finally you have graced me with your existence. i could not be anymore glad about this thank you, thank you 🥰

sam: We have been dating for 2 years now? And I'm coming to your house later BTW

you: your point????

sam: Ha. I love you, silly goose :,) 💐

[also you: had been bombing her notifs over cute pictures and videos for the past hour and sam will check them religiously and react one by one on her free time, ASAP]

would kill (considers it in literal sense) if someone was responsible for your mood drop in an instant. sam is worried and already beside you to try and comfort you because?? who dares to disrupt your sunshine self?? it's equivalent to kicking a cute puppy for her!

keeps you away from energy or any caffeinated drinks 😭 besides that it was a death sentence given your nature, she'll insist how they're super unhealthy and you're shocked that sam's literally listing all of the cons of it - you're surprised why she is ranting about your kidneys and all? 😭

AND YOUR PUPPY EYES? no, sam will not cave in. (sam totally would) (she will end up doing a deal with you to balance things up)

in return, she'll check on your daily water intake because that's more replenishing for your body

LOVES YOUR BIG GESTURES. the way you talk with your limbs involved and all the sound effects, it's pleasing to her honestly sam has never seen someone look so endearing and highly entertaining of a storyteller as you are

you probably see the goodness in people and tries so hard to understand that and sam admires you so sooo much for that ;( literally, you're her angel

she probably has you saved on her contacts as "(y/n/n) ☀️🥰🐶"

and that trait of yours probably what made sam to be at ease with you. usually she's closed off but even with you knowing the truth about her life, how she had this grim upbringing, you just sat there soaking all the information up with attentive eyes and comforting touch on her hand

sam doesn't expect that it will lead to an eventual romantic relationship between you two or how your soothing presence has made her try her hardest to open up more and more to you!! ;(

and what she likes is that you match your words with actions. whether it's good or bad, she loves the transparency and honesty. it proves that you're not faking anything. sam thinks that's rare to have these days and you being like that? makes her love you so sooo much even more ;((

like literally, it's 3/4 core four + you on the top of her list oh my goddd

sam would be surprised at your bursts of energetic moments especially in public for the first time, sometimes even later on, but embarrassed? never! it's new to her and you're just there beaming and not caring about what others think. she thinks you're the cutest for that!! <333

#gg.answers #sam carpenter x reader #headcanons #sam carpenter x fem reader #sam carpenter x female reader #sam carpenter x y/n #sam carpenter x you #scream vi #anon #request

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portgasdwrld · 9 months

Text

📞Wait a minute while I make you mine

Featuring: Ace x fem!reader

Warning: suggestive, mention of NSFW content, slightly angsty at the end lol

Summary : fun pool day with Whitebeard crew and the reader and Ace being awfully flirty.

Part.2. Part.3

The photo is found on Pinterest, credits to its owner

Note: this idea came up to me at work, enjoy my first short story!! 🫶🏻 part 2 maybe ?

You had just changed into your new swimsuit that you bought few hours ago from the shops in the resorts. The little fabric was complimenting the curves of your body beautifully, leaving a little gasp even from between your own lips.

You smiled knowing someone else might also enjoy it. You pushed back your hair glancing one last time at the mirror with a satisfied smile. You grabbed your sunglasses and left them resting on top of your head.

Your close friend, who was one of the few nurses on the ship, called Livia, was waiting for you outside of the changing room. She glanced up at you and smiled.

-This is just so sexy.

She commented while making you turn and checking you out. You grinned and nudged her arm playfully. You blushed a little and intertwined her arm with yours. With your other hand you played with the gold necklace pending on your neck. You two started walking towards y’all fellow pirates.

-Right? I think the women had the perfect eye. Good thing I got it.

- She did, Ace is gonna loveeee it~

You rolled your eyes and gave her a quick glare before shyly smiling.

-I’m definitely not wearing this for this idiot. Im being hot for myself.

-Yeah, and I’m a man with heavy hairy balls.

Her answer earned a laugh out of you. She gazed at you with a floating teasing smirk, thinking it was cute how hard you were refuting your obvious crush on the infamous commander of the second division.

-I can already picture him drooling over you.

-He’s not the type to drool, you retorted with a frown.

-Right, he only drool over food. Okay then, he would blush and look away like you don’t exist while he has a raging boner.

-This version doesn’t so bad now.

You nodded quite satisfied with your friend storytelling abilities. She pushed her blond hair behind her shoulders and winked at you.

-I know. To be fair, y’all would’ve probably fucked already, but you deliberately chose to blue ball yourselves.

She said with a disapproving expression. You scoffed thinking it was quite funny how invested your friend was with your « love life ». Ace and you were kinda just friends… yeah?

-You are talking a lot for someone who hasn’t done a move on their crush for months. How’s you and Imani going?

-Imani..she-she’s just so gorgeous. I get super shy when I’m around her and she’s also like one of the top nurses on the ship so it would be inappropriate.

-You have been saying the same excuse for weeks.

You exclaimed exhausted with your blond friend. She looked at you with puppy eyes like she was about to reveal the best excuse in the cutest way.

-Yeah but you know what ?? She had those beautiful butterfly’s locks done at the last island we stopped and she looks even prettier. I’m hopeless. I have fallen for a goddess while I’m a commoner.

-You are being dramatic. Imani is gorgeous but so are you.

-Im a Pisces.

-Livia, that’s not an argument.

-Arent you the astrologer here?

-Yeah and what about it ?

-Tell me about Imani and I compatibility!

-Livy, I make sky map… and I have already done it, i told you it was a green light.

She removed her arm that was intertwined with yours and brought both of her hands to her face to hide her blushing cheeks.

-OMG!!? Can you imagine me going out with her?!

She asked with heart eyes and an almost perverted expression that almost made you frown in fear. You patted her back to help her calm down.

-Collect yourself, blood is almost coming down your nose.

You joked with a defeated chuckle. She nodded quickly while patting her hair on top of her head to gain some senses.

-Okay so about you and Ace-

-Oh look the guys are over there, you cut her off while running towards Marco who was sipping on some refreshers while speaking to some others men.

-Y/N! WAIT FOR ME!!

You heard her yell as she ran behind you. You crashed into Marco because you foot slipped on the water on the ground, making you lose control over your body. He sensed you and was quick to grab you and pull you up to your feet again.

-I thought we only had to say to kids not to run near pools ? He said while raising one of his eyebrows with a disapproving look.

You pulled you tongue at him and crossed your arms under your breast.

-Well, the water just could’ve been somewhere else.

-Y/N! ARE YOU OKAY! AHHH-

Livia ran towards you but a similar situation happened and she fell right into you. You groaned as the weight of her body crushed on yours. You pulled yourself on your elbows and gave her a bored look.

-Why are you running around a pool?

You asked while rubbing the back of your head that had just hit the hard floor.

-LIKE YOU’RE ONE TO TALK!!

She yelled at you as she pulled herself up of your body. Marco watched the scene with a chuckle and pulled his hands, offering them to both of you. You took one and chuckled.

-It’s so good to be able to relax a little bit, you exclaimed while stretching your arms, enjoying the way the sun was warming up you exposed skin.

-Let’s jump in the pool already, I’m sweating.

Livia complained as she grabbed her hair and pulled them up to allow some air to hit the back of her neck. You saw few of the men on the ship give her heart eyes. You chuckled knowing that Livia was probably the most lesbian girl you have ever knew and those guys could only hold into their fantasy. You truly hoped it would work out with her crush though.

Imani was a beautiful dark skinned women who was working hard to keep up with Whitebeards health as much she possibly could with of course the help of Marco. She was one of the popular member on the ship, known for her beauty and intelligence. So it wasn’t surprising to know that a lot of people liked and admired her.

-Yeah, enjoy it! Not everyone can enjoy the pool freely, Marco replied referring to him being a power holder. He suddenly snorted and he quickly excused himself while a chuckle left his lips.

-Whats wrong ? You asked curious of what he was laughing at.

He moved his head pointing behind you with his familiar smirk. You frowned confused and looked behind you, only to see your freckled friend trying his best to swim with a unicorn swimming ring, two orange arm floaties on each of his biceps and water googles. You couldn’t help but burst into a laugh.

You whipped the tears at the corner of your eyes from laughing. The view in front of you was so different from the cocky and confident man you knew.

-OI, ACE ! You look like a kid who’s learning how to swim!

You yelled while holding into your stomach. The tall man looked at you confused and a red blush tinted his freckled cheeks. He removed his googles to let them rest on top of his head.

-LEAVE ME ALONE !

He yelled back with an embarrassed frown.

-He’s so cute, you mumbled under your breath but loud enough for Marco and Livia to hear it.

-How about you join him?

Livia exclaimed while pushing your body into the water. You didn’t even have time to react that you felt your body entering the cold water of the pool. You fought back a little in the water as you were taken out totally in surprised. You finally pulled your head out of the water and pushed your soaked hair out of your view.

-LIVIA! What was that about ?! I almost lost my glasses.

You yelled at her slightly annoyed as you pushed your sunglasses at her. You definitely had water in your nose. She laughed at your slight frustrated expression. She threw your glasses to Marco, before jumping into the water too, splashing you , making water enter your eyes this time.

You waited for her to emerge out of the water to splash her eyes back with constant water waves.

-Im sorry, I’m sorry ! She pleaded while putting her hand up in defeat.

Marco shook his head wondering why two young adults like Livia and you were acting like total children.

-THAT WAS A GOOD ONE LIVIA! THANKS!

You heard Ace suddenly yell with his stupid grin. You smirked and started to swim towards him. You saw his eyes grow big when he realized that he was the one in disadvantage. He tried to « swim » away but some kids was pulling into the unicorn head of his swimring. So he was mostly fighting against sinking because of the kid.

You finally arrived next to him and looked up at him with mischievous eyes. Your propped yourself on his floater.

-Did the kid and you planned this ?

He asked a little bit annoyed but you could feel he was tense. You glared at the annoying kid and pulled his arms off of Aces unicorn.

-What do you think you’re doing?

You asked him seriously. He looked up at you, lips suddenly trembling. He quickly left while screaming for his mom. You looked back at Ace and started to laugh. You swam back to his floater and so your arms and chest were resting on the huge swimring.

His eyes travelled down to your breast and then to your lips but he looked away with a blush.

-Get off, you are gonna make me sink.

He said while gazing at your wet body once again and then at your eyes.

-I dont feel like it, you replied with a pout while tilting your head.

He rolled his eyes and he licked his lips as he brought his face closer to yours. He smiled with his familiar mischievous eyes that you loved so much. You felt butterfly in your stomach at the sudden proximity.

-You really like being a brat, huh?

You grinned and pushed back his head with you finger on his forehead.

-Maybe I do~

You retorted in a calm voice that came off more seductive than you intended to. You saw Ace’s eyes squinting slightly at you as he gave you his infamous smirk.

-Alright, then would you help me get out of the water?

-Already tired ?

-Yeah, I don’t have the thrill anymore to worry about sinking especially because of a kid or you.

-Pfff, like I would really sink a hottie like you.

-So now you think I’m hot?

-Yeah well, you are made of fire, you retorted with an obvious tone while furrowing your eyebrows. He looked at you speechless for few seconds before he shook his head and slowly started making his way outside of the the pool.

You laughed as you got off of his swim-ring and helped him by pulling him and swimming forwards. By the edge of the pool, Ace removed his unicorn with your help and quickly pushed himself outside the water. He sighed relieved as he walked slightly away.

-Thanks

-No worries~ Well I guess I will see you around.

You said while glancing at his tone body glistening with the water. The way his back muscles moved as he slightly turned to your direction. He looked over his shoulders as he was removing his arm floaties.

-Uh..yeah sure.

You waved at him with a smile and searched for Livia somewhere in this sea of people. He watched you walk away from him. He wished he proposed you to eat an ice cream and maybe talk somewhere in this big resort, maybe learn more about you if you allowed him to. But he wasn’t sure of how you would take it.

You were always big on being independent and it was something you had proud in. He didn’t even know if being in a relationship was even something you thought about. Maybe you were more about fucking and not talking to that person ever again, but as much as he wanted you, he wouldn’t break his own heart by having too much hope for something he couldn’t possibly have. You loving him is impossible.

He sighed as he felt a sudden heavy weight on his heart. His throat slightly chocked up. He shook away those thoughts and decided to just distract himself with his friends, the weather, other girls maybe too…

#portgas ace x you #portgas d ace #one piece #ace one piece #one piece x reader #one piece headcanons #portgas ace smut #ace smut #asl brothers #portgas d ace smut #portgas ace x reader #portgas ace fluff #one piece x y/n #one piece smut #one piece ask blog

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steventhusiast · 8 months

Text

Steve's exhausted after a day at the museum with his daughter. She spent all day running away from him to get to the next exhibit, and he spent all day fondly chasing after her and wishing he'd brought the backpack leash with him. The ride back to Hawkins from the city is about an hour and a half, so he made sure to rush to get on the train first to secure them seats at a booth table. Sam having a place to put her toys down is very important for tantrum-avoiding reasons.

So sue him if he doesn't notice that there's a man sat opposite them when he finally gets to sink down into a seat on the train.

He's leaning down to find Sam's two action figures he let her bring with her, when he hears her start giggling next to him. When he sits back up, he's a little startled to see a man with long, wavy, pretty hair sat opposite them. He's making silly faces at Sam, a book held open in one hand as he puts all his energy into poking his tongue out at the 4-year-old.

In response Sam blows a raspberry at the man, and Steve holds back a laugh. God, the man is charming him without even talking to him. He's cute, and he's unafraid to be silly to make a kid smile?

"Alright, Samshine, I don't think this poor man wants your germs all over him. What do we say?" He prompts.

Sam looks chastised, and goes from giggling at the man to pouting at her dad.

"Sorry." She says to him, but Steve shakes his head gently and pointedly glances to the stranger, "Oh!" She gasps, "Sorry, Mr Stranger."

The stranger just chuckles and shakes his head.

"No worries at all, milady. But please call me Eddie, Mr Stranger is my father."

Steve was not expecting that reply at all, and he can't help but let out an audible laugh. Eddie's brand of charming is a little weird, but Steve likes it. Sam, on the other hand, is frowning at Eddie in confusion.

"Okay, you have to call me Sam though! Wait- Your last name is Stranger?"

She asks, and sounds so excited about the possibility that Steve ruffles her hair.

"Unfortunately not. I was just trying to make your poor dad laugh, he looks very tired. You had him running around all day?"

The question is all it takes for Sam to launch into a play-by-play of her entire day, and Steve feels like he should apologise for her behaviour, but Eddie genuinely looks like he's having a good time talking to her.

"I'm sorry if you were planning on reading, I think Sam's thinking you're her new best friend." Steve chuckles after a bit, partially because he also wants to talk to this pretty stranger and partially because he knows how overwhelming a 4-year-old talking at you can be, but Eddie just redirects his bright smile to Steve.

"No, no. This kid's a better storyteller than any author. But, if I'm gonna talk with her any longer I feel like I should know your name too?"

"Steve. Steve Harrington." Steve introduces, and smiles at the man, whose eyes go a little wider at his name.

"Holy shi-shrimp. Holy shrimp. Harrington?" Eddie squints at him for a few seconds, and then nods and leans back, "Wow, it really is you."

"Sorry, do I know you?" Steve feels a little awkward, mentally running through where he could know Eddie from. He supposes he looks a bit familiar, but not enough for him to comment on it.

"Daddy stop talking to Eddie he's s'posed to play superheroes with me!" Sam interrupts them, and shoves one of her action figures across the table toward Eddie.

"One second, Lady Sam. Your daddy went to high school with me and doesn't even remember! This is blasphemous!" Eddie says before Steve gets the chance to say anything, dramatically clutching at his chest like he's in pain as he goes.

At those words Steve pauses a little. High school?

It's his turn to squint at Eddie for a second, and he suddenly remembers the renowned drug dealer turned super senior. Eddie Something. Steve never really talked to him, mostly because he was repressing his queerness and Eddie was hot and open about his freak status and that scared him. He racks his brain for Eddie's last name. It begins with an M for sure. Munson!

Wait. Drug dealer. Talking to his kid. He better not be doing that anymore. He distantly wonders if there's any product in Eddie's backpack that sits on the seat beside him.

Eddie seems to know the moment Steve's connected the dots because Steve goes from squinting in confusion to squinting in suspicion.

"You don't even need to ask. No, I no longer..." Eddie pauses to look at Sam, "I no longer am an entrepreneur. Or- Well. I am, but I'm a tattoo artist."

"Okay. Good. And before you ask I'm no longer a..." He holds both hands over Sam's ears and only mouths the next part, "douchebag."

Eddie laughs and nods.

"I see that. Can't believe I didn't recognise you with the glasses." Eddie says.

"Daddy." Sam whines, and dramatically shakes her action figure, "I wanna play."

"Alright, alright. Sorry, Eddie, we'll have to catch up at the high school reunion." Steve jokes, and Eddie pulls a face.

"Ugh, as if I'm stepping foot in Hawkins High ever again. You'll have to give me your number if you wanna catch up." Eddie says with a wink.

Steve blushes and looks down, and Eddie's words seem to catch up to him. Steve distantly wonders what the hell Eddie’s doing going back to Hawkins. It doesn’t sound like he still lives there, and Steve hasn’t seen him around.

"Unless, of course, there is a Mrs Harrington. In which case, I am so sorry and will play superheroes with your kid the entire rest of this train ride." He rushes out, looking a little embarrassed.

Sam giggles at the words.

"Daddy's not married, silly!" She laughs a little more after that, finding everything hilarious, "Now can we play?"

Eddie lets out a relieved breath, and glances at Steve again with a little smile, before putting all his attention on Sam and picking up the action figure she wants him to play with.

"Of course, Lady Sam. Only if I get to be the villain."

Steve reaches into his pocket for the tiny notebook he keeps there, and scrawls out his number before he can think too much about it. Robin’s always telling him he needs to put himself out there more. And Eddie already knows about Sam, which is half the battle for Steve when it comes to dating. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that Eddie’s just as attractive and charismatic 8 years out of high school.

Sam only looks a little peeved when he interrupts the intense superhero-villain fight she's having with Eddie to slide his number across the table.

#steddie #steve harrington #steddie drabble #stranger things #steddie ficlet #this got away from me #i love single dad steve #he is special to me #mywriting

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tonowarii · 1 year

Note

can i request a tsu'tey x dreamwalker!reader where he just indulge them in their rambles about earth?? reader is just talking about the most random things like cats and he's just there sitting next to her, listening. could be fem or gn reader, up to u!

(im a sucker for tsu'tey lmao)

and you shall receive!! ❤️ i'm sorry this took too long omg

tsu'tey te rongloa ateyitan x gn! dreamwalker! reader

Tsu'tey would rather feed himself to a thanator than to admit that one of his most awaited (and favorite) past times is where he's sat beside you, hearing you ramble on about anything and everything about your home town, which was earth. A planet away.

Now, his eyes carefully watched you as you made all these gestures from your hands as every expression you made enchanced your story.

Then something sparked in your head as you pointed a finger.

"Now, I don't know if this is a coincidence but have you noticed that we- or the na'vi look like cats!" You turned to Tsu'tey.

Tsu'tey's brows furrowed. What in Eywa was a "cat" and why does it look like them?

"What is a cat?" Tsu'tey asked, hoping that it further indulged you in your rambling.

You gasp out loud like what he said was something blasphemous. It had him confused.

"Okay, cats! Where do I start?" You think for a moment before you used your hands to show him an approximate size of cats back on earth. "They're this small... Wait is this correct... That reminds me I haven't seen a cat in a long time.." You battled with yourself as Tsu'tey chuckled.

Knowing someone was listening to you, you went back on explaining. "They're this small, at least I think so," You think again. "And they have ears like us." You said, pointing at his ears. "They have noses like us too." Then pointing at his nose.

"And don't forget about the tails, they have that too." You say, motioning to Tsu'tey's tail who was curled next to yours as you sat beside each other.

Tsu'tey nods, following your words.

"But they can be quite mean sometimes... And annoying, but we, humans, love them nonetheless." You added.

"Ah, can they.. Speak?" Tsu'tey asked.

"No, not really they just.. Meow." You answered.

Tsu'tey chuckled at the sound you made. Truly this 'cat' sounds something he'd like to see up close due to your impressive storytelling.

"Then why do you find them annoying?" He continued to ask more questions, getting to hear your voice being filled with wonder as you reminisced truly had an effect on him.

There was indeed no one like you.

"As far as I can remember, they tend to whine at me begging for more food when I just fed them!" You laugh. "I had a cat once and gods," You sighed.

"He always knocks things off of my table back in my house."

Tsu'tey seems amused. "Like- he would just look at me and let's say there was a pen on the table, he'd look at me-" You say, looking at Tsu'tey to demonstrate how he'd look.

"And he's using his little paw and his audacity to flick it off the table!"

Even though Tsu'tey couldn't understand parts of your sentence he truly felt that it annoyed you, but your smile said otherwise.

"Am I... like cat?" Tsu'tey asked.

Your eyes widened and you laughed. "I mean, yes.. Well yea actually now that I think about it-"

"You find me annoying?" He tilts his head, smirk now forming his mouth.

You quickly shake your head. "No! No! You are far from annoying." You defensively state.

"But you are like a cat." You smile up at him.

"How so?"

You laugh as you think of the reasons, holding a finger up for each one.

"One, you like to climb, don't you? Second, you have this habit of staring at people like you're judging them-"

"I do not do that-"

"Yes you do. Third, you like to be clingy when no one's around and when you're faced with other people you're suddenly this big intimidating creature." You laugh as Tsu'tey scrunches his face.

"I do not like this anymore."

You laugh further, leaning onto him as his arm suddenly wrapped around your shoulder, pulling you close to him.

"See, you are a cat, Tsu'tey, ma yawne."

He shakes his head with a small smile on his face.

"Oh! And fourth, you purr." You giggle, nuzzling yourself on his chest, indeed hearing a faint purring from him as you lay close.

Tsu'tey shakes his head, rubbing your arm as you thought about another topic you could talk his ear off of.

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spacebarbarianweird · 6 months

Note

Hi! Love your writing and I wanted to give you some food for thought, see if it interests you perhaps 🤭 Astarion×Tav is usually about someone smaller in size and maybe a druid or healer, but my character is a tiefling berserk barbarian... with a bigger body size... horns and tail in all their glory... if you are interested I'd love to hear if you'd got some headcanons for a character like this? 💕🙏🏻

Hi! When imagining a bigger f!Tav with Astarion, I can't stop thinking about Gwendolyn Christie (aka Brienne of Tarth) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (aka Jaime Lannister). Look at the photos of them, especially when Gwen wears high-heels (and she also has a husband who is much shorter than her but sews all her dresses to make her the most fabulous 6.3 ft tall woman)

Also, Neil Newbon plays a bigger druid, Tav. He was shocked that she picked Astarion in the first sex scene ^-^

NSFW Version

Masterlist

Headcanons

Astarion x F!BulkyTav

When you hug, Astarion's face is right up against your chest, and he can hear your heartbeat.

Which is soothing to him.

The running water problem is solved! You lift Astarion "bridal style" and put him onto your shoulders to cross the river.

Astarion is grumpy about it every time.

But deep inside, he enjoys it.

Need a better view to aim? Well, you are right here in all your barbarian 6.3 ft. glory!

Astarion can't take his eyes off how graciously you walk with a two-handed ax on your shoulders.

And once you both return to the civilized world, he will get you a dress and high heels.

Because with high heels and a dress, you will look like a gods damn goddess of war!

Is he intimidated by the fact you are taller? Never. You are his big and powerful wife, and he's proud of everything you do!

You are a big spoon, of course. And being wrapped in your hands makes Astarion feel warm and safe.

When in rage, you don't feel pain, and it hurts him to see you wounded and with broken bones

He puts your head on his lap and strokes your hair to soothe you after the battle.

Once, Astarion was caught off guard by vampire hunters who beat him and left him helpless in the sunrise.

You managed to get there right in time to crack the hunters' skulls.

And quickly carry Astarion to the safety and darkness.

Unfortunately, the merciless sun burnt him enough to slow vampire regeneration, and it took Astarion a month to fully recover.

All this time, you nurtured and fed him, telling him stories and legends of your people and only leaving him once you needed to fetch some food for yourself.

Seeing him being able to walk again was the happiest moment of your life.

When he drinks your blood, it's him sitting on your lap.

"You are a messy eater, you know that?" you ask, seeing him covered in your blood.

"You are a terribly messy eater, I hope you know that?" he comments, looking at you eating a boar's leg.

He laughs at you being not so discreet in the wilderness and attracting all sorts of enemies in your journey.

"Darling, you are loud like an ork and have the manners of a giant!"

Once you got so drunk in a feast after killing a dragon, you came to Astarion and started talking different sweet nonsense.

"I want to have silver-curled babies with you. Imagine how fierce they will be!"

Indeed, you are strong and fierce, wearing the heavy armor set, but you are still a woman, a woman Astarion loves and takes care of.

"Wear a helmet, Tav! Last time we had a quest, our half-ork companion used your head as a battering ram! Get the fucking helmet!"

Once, the enemy was too strong, and you ended up severely wounded. The most challenging thing for Astarion was to get rid of the heavy armor on your broken body to carry you to a safe place.

The view of you in pain and agony traumatized him so much he didn't dare to leave your side until you fully recovered.

You want to die in a glorious battle and bards to make songs about you.

Astarion promises you not to step into the sun once you die this glorious death but to make sure every bard and storyteller knows about your deeds and adventures.

But until then...

You have plenty of things to kill!

Hope you enjoyed it!

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igotanidea · 11 months

Text

Told ya! : Jason Todd x fem!reader

request: why was it so hard to believe she had a boyfriend? Why was her friend constantly teasing her about it? At least until he finally decided to show himself and said friend were forced to listen to some action......

Warnings: sugestive at the end, but nothing explicit, swearing, sexual tension and teasing.

Italics are flashbacks in the first part and sounds in the second.

****

„Let’s go out and party tonight” Leah was splayed on the couch on her back, facing the ceiling and absentmindedly fiddling with her hair. Y/N could almost see the wheels in her friend’s brain turning as she was masterminding a plan. “Maybe you can finally meet someone to actually become your boyfriend.”

“Leah….” Y/N sighed deeply rubbing her forehead, leaning on the kitchen counter nearby “I told you already, many, many times, that…..”

“That you have a boyfriend” the other girl lift herself up, facing Y/N with a raised eyebrow, teasing smile and a twinkle in her eyes “Sure, I heard you loud and clear. A boy in another state? A Canadian? That one? The one I never get to see or meet?”

“Leah…..”

“Oh, come on, Y/N. You know you don’t have to lie to me, we are friends. No shame in being single. You just gotta you know…..” Leah shimmied her chest a bit “bite the bullet, baby. Get some action.” now she also buckled her hips a bit in a very suggestive gesture.

“STOP IT!” Y/N could feel her face becoming bright red and burning. God, Leah was her best friend, but she could also be a bit too …. emancipated, leaving Y/N flustered and ashamed.

“god, you’re so cute and innocent when it comes to talking about sex” Leah smiled brightly “like a little girl. I know, I know, it can be scary when you’re a virgin, but it is in fact quite pleasurable and ….”

“I’m done with you! I’m out! I …. I gotta get to work, so …. Have a good day or whatever, Leah.” Y/N threw her hands in the air in frustration over her friend’s behavior, grabbed a jacket and a backpack and left the apartment, banging the door.

“Don’t be mad at me!” Leah yelled after her “I only mean the best for you! I love you, Y/n!”

“Screw that.” Y/N thought, gritting her teeth. At this point she should already be used to Leah’s teasing. The girls knew each other since their high school years and she was always like this. Like two sides of the same coin – Leah always got the fire that pushed her forward, making her a shining star, always on the spotlight, while Y/N preferred staying in the background, shy and easily intimidated, not really wanting any attention.

But.

The matter of the fact was that she did have a boyfriend.

In the same state. In the same city, to be honest.

He was just ….. busy.

Busy with being a vigilante, fighting crimes at night and yeah, you guessed it , former Batman’s sidekick. With the breath of danger constantly on his neck, there were never a good time to bring him into contact with her friends. Not that any of them wanted that, but it gave Leah plenty of arguments to call Y/N a liar, a confabulator and storyteller. Damn it! That wouldn’t be so frustrating if it wasn’t for the fact that to up the teasing, Leah would constantly put Y/N into other man’s arms and the shy girl being himself had absolutely no idea how to oppose. Sometimes it resulted in a highly awkward situation.

***

“It was supposed to be a casual coffee!” Y/N hissed at her friend, dragging her away from the table in the café. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“Um, not what, but rather who” Leah corrected “Tom.”

“Why did you bring him here?!”

“To show you how fun boy’s company can be. We got together a couple weeks ago and he is just so good at making me feel good.”

“Leah!!!”

“Chill, sunshine. I’m just giving you a taste of what you can have. There’s no need to thank me. Now, can we please go back to the table? I don’t think I can last long without his hands on me….”

“I hate you…..” Y/N muttered, but putting on the brave face, smiled and approached the guy.

“Tommie…..” Leah sat as close to him as possible, almost on his lap “Please, forgive my friend. She has no real experience with boys and hence the shyness and strange behavior.”

“It’s all right, love. Not everyone is as …. bold as you. it’s actually quite cute so see a girl standing on the other side of the barricade. I heard a lot about you, Y/N.”

“You did?” Y/N’s eyes went wide at the simple thought of what words Leah could use to describe her.

“nothing wrong, I swear.” Tom raised his hands in defensive gesture and smiled sympathetically

“Just about giving you a little show of hugging and kissing and …..”

Oh my god…… Why?

***

“Jace?” the ringing of the phone woke her up in the very early morning(though some people would call it very late night). She swore she would stay up, knowing he was dealing with a particularly hard patrol, but cramming for exams and burying herself in the textbooks did nothing to help her keep that promise.

“hi, baby…..” he mumbled with that hoarse voice and her sleepiness was gone in a second.

“Are you all right? Are you hurt?” she was already one leg out the door, forgetting being dressed only in pajama shorts and old T-shirt.

“I’m fine, princess. Just needed to hear your voice.”

“I miss you, Jason. Where are you?”

“I’m actually outside your apartment.”

“What?” she let out a scream, but immediately put a hand over her mouth, not to wake Leah “Where?”

“Right here” a gentle tapping on the glass got her attention and once she spun around she noticed Jason in his civilian clothes.

“Jay!” she rushed to open the window, longing to have him in his arms, wanting nothing more than to hold him, kiss him, touch him.

“What are you doing?” the door opened suddenly and showed Leah with disheveled hair, blurry eyes and print of the pillow on her cheek. “I thought I heard you talking to someone?” she yawned widely

“Yes.” Y/N smiled, her gaze flickering to her friend and then back to window, noting Jace already gone. “My boyfriend.” There were zero chances Leah would believe it in her current state, so Y/N did not risk any exposure to Jason’s presence and alter ego.

“Mhmmmmm.” Leah mumbled “that’s quite the imagination you have there, Y/N. You truly are desperate if you’re using Camila Cabello song as an excuse….”

“What?”

“He comes alive at midnight…..”

“I don’t….”

“damn it girl, you need to get laid.” Leah laughed a bit “I wouldn’t mind a bit of sounds coming out of your room, you know. Anyways, I’m going back to bed. And you should do too.” She closed the door and went to her room, leaving Y/N alone.

“Why didn’t you tell her that you do have a boyfriend?’

“JESUS CHRIST! JASON!”

“Sorry.”

“Are you trying to give me a heart attack?! I told her, she just doesn’t believe it. Not that I blame her. You are practically a ghost to everyone I know. “

‘I know it’s not ideal, but …..”

“I don’t care, Jace. That’s the whole point. I can handle the teasing as long as it keeps you safe. As long as you are only for me.”

“I am. But it’s not fair and you should not go through this shit only for my benefit.”

“Are you gonna kiss me or not?” she interrupted him, pouting and crossing her arms.

“Thought you’d never ask.” He grinned and dragged her out to the emergency exit, enveloping her in his warmth, shielding from the cold night air.

****

She meant what she said that night. She did not mind the teasing. And that was why Y/N finally agreed to go out and party with Leah. Knowing exactly what to expect.

But.

She never planned getting the attention of one of the snippiest guy on the campus and spending the night running away from his sticky hands.

“Don’t hide from me, pretty one!” he yelled chasing after her, while Y/N was swinging between the partying people, desperately searching for any kind of shelter. That was until she bumped into someone’s chest and a pair of arms wrapped around her waist, making her squeal and struggle out of instinct.

“Relax, princess, it’s me.” Familiar voice made her look up, meeting with those angel green eyes.

“Jason….” she whispered, clinging to him, immediately feeling safe in his arms.

“Who is this fucker?” Y/N’s chaser came into view and eyed Jason with a stern expression “Are you bothering my girl?”

“Your girl?” Jason laughed viciously “You should really be careful with words. And who the fuck are you calling fucker?”

“Um…. I don’t know? You?”

“You want a fight?” Jason took a step forward leaving Y/N behind. None of the boys realized that the crowd already circled around watching the scene. Some people has already started recording. “Want me to remind you how many bones you have in your body? Cause I swear if you laid a finger on my girl, fuck, if you did as much as throw a glance her direction I will break each and every one of them.”

“Jason……” Y/N tugged at his jacket desperately “Let’s just go home. Please. There’s no need to make a scene. I’m tired, please, Jace….”

“I got my eyes on you, you piece of shit.” Jason hissed, relenting to his girlfriend pleas “And if I ever hear you came near her.” He dragged a finger on his throat before turning around, grabbing Y/N’s hand and leading her out the party, straight to her apartment. They both forgot about Leah, but that girl knew well enough how to take care of herself. She came into the flat half an hour later, demanding explanation.

“Y/N!!!”

“Leah! Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I left you there!”

“Fuck that” Leah shook her head “who the hell is this guy?” she peeked behind Y/N’s shoulder and eyed Jason “hi, handsome. I’m Leah, Y/N;s roommate.”

“I know.” he mumbled, without any smile or friendly expression.

“You did?” Leah’s voice turned seductive “how?”

“My girlfriend mentioned the teasing you gave her.”

“Wait, girlfriend? You mean….. Y/N…. what?”

“Yeah. Apparently I’m very real. And honestly, quite pissed that everyone decided to torment my little princess.”

“Y/N…. I …. I ……” Leah mumbled, her face screaming shock and dumbfoundedness “I’m sorry… I ……”

“It’s all right, Leah” Y/N put a hand on her shoulder “I told you. Guess next time I say something you will believe me.”

“Yeah…. I …. I guess.”

“good.” Y/N smiled brightly “now if you excuse me, I would rather take care of my boyfriend once I have him. Or maybe…..” the girl shot Jason’s a glance and his eyes sparkled, blown with lust “let him care of me…..”

Neither Jason nor Y/N waited for Leah’s response, disappearing inside her room and closing the door tightly.

What was it that she once said?

I wouldn’t mind a bit of sounds coming out of your room?

***

“Jason…..” she moaned, the door doing nothing to muffle the sounds and Leah prayed to whatever god or other entity were up there to make them stop. “Yes, please, more…..”

Her whines and ragged breath was subdued for a moment. Maybe they were done for the night?”

“Yes! Yes! Right there! Give it to me!”

“Princess.’ Great, now his deep silky voice joined hers and embarrassingly, Leah started getting wet. God, this Jason guy was so hot and sexy and now she was forced to suffer, imagining things that she would never have. “you feel so good. Mhmmm” he groaned and she whined much louder “so tight.”

“Please, Jason….. Baby…. Please, I’m so close. So close. Don’t stop.” The bed cracked and Leah clearly heard the slap of skin on skin and the sound of banging the headboard. “Ah!!”

“Come for me, baby. Cum on my cock, I want to feel you.” judging by the sounds he thrusted into her more and more and more and ….

“JASON!!!” holy fuck, her scream must have been heard on the whole campus. Her orgasm definitely was intense, and that assumption was quickly proven by ragged breath and panting.

Hopefully, that was it. After all, Leah had her fair share of guys and none of them lasted more than one round…..

“got another one for me, princess?” he asked and Leah heard him loud and clear through the thin wall, not that he was keeping his voice quiet. It was like he wanted to be heard. Apparently Y/N nodded because they started going again. Moans, whimpers, whispers were going to keep Leah up all night.

***

“Good morning”a few hours later, Y/N full of energy came into the kitchen when Leah was currently eating breakfast. Hickeys and marks all over her body and Jason’s shirt draped all over her speaking for itself. “Did you sleep well?” she teased

“I….um…..”

“oh, you are just so cute and innocent when it comes to sex.” Y/N ginned watching her friend turning red, for once in her life the situation turning around on Y/N’s benefit.

“He….. he’s good isn’t he?”

“Oh, my dear friend…… Let me tell you all about it…..”

Now, finally, it was Y/N’s turn to tease. And Jason’s getting up and coming into view, shirtless showing his perfectly sculptured body was enough to make Leah shut up for quite some time.

@ultravioletqueen

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very-straight-blog · 3 months

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In my opinion, one of the main problems of HOTD is that the screenwriters decided to tell the story instead of showing it. Visual storytelling is very important in cinema, this is literally its essence, but in the series we see over and over again how the characters describe themselves and each other verbally, even when it's not necessary. I want to discuss this on the example of Aegon.

He appears to us as a controversial character - at the most basic level, the creators were able to show this even in the miserable eight minutes of his screen time. On the one hand, he is sarcastic, he likes to piss people off, he is kinda arrogant, but at the same time he is lonely, depressed, feels isolated in his own family, although he undoubtedly loves them. He is prone to hedonism in the most unhealthy manifestations, and also, apparently, to self-destruction. The problem is that we mostly get to know about everything that I've named from the words of himself or other characters, as well as from interviews with the actors and creators of the series.

Let's start with his relationship with Viserys. We can see Viserys spending time with Aegon during his birthday in the third episode and it looks pretty sweet, but then timeskips take place and the story of their relationship remains behind the scenes. Yes, we have just one diaogue in Driftmark, which doesn't give us much - it doesn't relate specifically to Aegon and his relationship with his father. In fact, we don't know anything about them at all and we only have Aegon's words:

And the screenwriters seem to think that this is enough, although his father's dislike is implied to be one of the main factors that shaped Aegon's character and personality.

Next, he talks about his relationship with Alicent and Viserys in this scene:

Again, the words - screenwriters don't show the audience in any way what exactly he's trying to do, how he's trying to meet the expectations of his parents. An ideal opportunity to reveal this quote would be to study his relationship with Helaena and their family - he didn't want to marry her, but did it anyway for the sake of duty, because that's what his mother wanted. As a result, I'm not sure that the audience even realized that they were married at all.

At the same time, the screenwriters decided to show Aegon's tendency to cruelty (here I won't make comparisons with books, this is a topic for another post). We have two cases - the first one with Dyana:

The whole episode of violence is completely left behind the scenes, the word "r*pe" is not even mentioned in the dialogue. (I'll also talk about how poorly this episode fits into Aegon's character in another post, otherwise this one will never end.)

The second one is this:

And again, they tell us about Aegon's cruelty, but don't show it.

Anyway, we have some examples of good visual storytelling, such as the coronation scene, where Aegon goes from this:

To this:

And we see how important love and recognition are to him, even if they come from strangers - from the crowd. Such moments only demonstrate all the wasted potential of this series.

#aegon targaryen #aegon ii targaryen #house of the dragon #hotd #team green #pro team green #hotd critical #tom glynn carney #this post ate my soul #if you do the same with my boy in the second season...#i see you ryan condal #opinion

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feralplantwife · 7 months

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Erzsebet Bathory- Thematic Character Analysis

I've seen a lot of posts about Erzsebet Bathory, and the general sense is that while her design is cool, she's not very well-developed or impressive from a character standpoint. I agree... Somewhat.

I'm going to get into it below, but the TL;DR version is that from a characterization standpoint, she is weak, but from a thematic standpoint, she is Everything.

Disclaimer: I have not been fortunate enough to play any of the games, so this analysis will focus solely on the show. <3

First, what do vampires mean in storytelling?

A vampire can symbolize many things, but here are the big three: they're a representation of the Other, the unknown (kind of like Frankenstein's Monster), but they can also be a manifestation of carnal, sinful, or deviant desires (think Dorian Grey). The one I'm going to focus on here, as it's the most relevant, is the third main type: the Parasite. Vampires are bloodsucking, gluttonous, selfish starving monsters that consume and consume until there is nothing left (think Robert Baratheon).

This was a theme that was explored in the first series with the Church's opulence and their desire to sacrifice innumerable human lives for the sake of their image and power. Carmilla is the same, but in contention with the Church.

This theme is expanded upon beautifully in Nocturne, with the French Revolution bourgeoise and American colonization and slave trade building upon the themes of the first series. Olrex talks about his home being destroyed, his lover's people being exterminated but holding onto his identity even in undeath. Annette holds onto her Yoruban faith and her Creole heritage taught to her by her mother and fellows even after generations of cultural genocide at the hands of her masters- a combination of more than one old indigenous faith and newer conglomerations of the same. (In this way, one could say that Erzsebet Bathory and Annette are foils!)

How does Erzsebet Bathory fit into this thematically?

Let me explain it like this: Erzsebet Bathory is a white woman dripping in stylized opulence who swallowed an Egyptian god. The truest enemy in this series is colonialism: the consumption of everything and everyone that isn't white and Christian to expand white and Christian ideals and desires using God as a face for their misdeeds- the consumption of people, land, culture, religion, knowledge, kindness. What could not be consumed was destroyed.

In this way, Erzsebet Bathory is the manifestation of all the greatest evils people of color and minorities have ever faced, and continue to face today: that of homogenization, exploitation, and destruction.

The fact that this is expanded by her vampiric elitism builds upon this idea by including all human beings. It's open knowledge among many anthropological circles that colonization destroyed a lot of technology, culture, and knowledge, has held society back, and continues to lead to unnecessary and painful struggle among society (largely due to that fact that many developed nations' governments are still being run by vampires today- how are all my fellow Americans doing as we barrel toward a government shutdown for this very reason?).

Erzsebet Bathory signifies the consumption of the human spirit and the death of mankind, wrapped up in a beautifully terrifying amalgam of every single sin the colonizers ever committed. She's not the ultimate character of Nocturne by a long shot, but she is the ultimate monster.

#castlevania nocturne #castlevania #netflix #erzsebet bathory #alucard #richter belmont #annette #i cannot stress enough how wonderful this show is #ignore the questionable voice acting #and strap in for a critique of both past and present #and also amazing application of classical music

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animentality · 4 months

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Wishing Gortash hadn’t massacred a room full of people couldn’t be me because the environmental storytelling of it is SO GOOD. You leave the great big coronation hall packed and lively, everyone cheering for their new archduke. You get back out into the city, track down Orin, get your hands on her netherstone. You return to the coronation hall, the room loads in, and wham. The entire hall strewn with blood and corpses. Dead silent. Cultists in full Banite regalia milling around openly, unconcerned. You realise that not a single one of those nobles left the hall after the coronation, after you did, because every single one is lying slaughtered where they were. And it is very very obvious that this is the work of the new archduke who you allied yourself with. For me, it was a moment of oh god, this guy is serious.

And like. You can find TONS and tons and tons of damning evidence for how horrible and corrupt and evil Gortash is all over the city, there is not a single corner of it untouched by him in some way. You have the families of an enslaved labour force imprisoned and tortured. You have that same enslaved labour force dressed up in shock collars! You have a scheme to distribute teddy bears stuffed with explosives, targeting refugee children, just for the sake of instilling more and more fear in the public. And you do get to understand pretty well that these things are all being done not by someone who just delights in violence and chaos the way Orin does, but as the utterly dispassionate, pragmatic ventures of a guy who genuinely does not see people as people (and rather as objects, tools, currency - shapes that might walk and talk but ultimately mean nothing).

But for me personally, even on top of ALL of that, no display of Gortash’s villainy made more of an impact than walking into that room as his ally.

Not because I give a shit about any of the actual nobles themselves, or think it’s technically worse than say giving explosive toys to refugee children, etc. But the slaughter of the patriars has such an impact for me because it’s not talked about. You can’t find a million clues about it or stop it from happening. Talk to any of the Banite guards and they simply tell you point blank what happened. It’s not abstract. It’s not preventable. It happens, and it’s a cold whack in the face for the unwitting player who may have earnestly allied with him. It’s the game saying “this is your ally, by the way, in case you weren’t aware. Even if you foiled his other little plots - found the undetonated teddy bears, freed the Gondians, etc - don’t think that was enough, because this is who he is.”

(And because we don’t SEE it happen, just the aftermath? You get to wonder. Did Gortash step out before this happened? Or did he stand back and watch? Did he find it messy, or did he smile as he watched his steel watchers rip people in half? Did it make him feel powerful? We can probably guess the answers to these questions.)

Anyway Gortash is SUCH a good character and I love him. And if Durge had all their faculties walking into that room and seeing all the murdered people would have brought a tear to their eye, they’d be so proud of him lol

OOOOOooooh absolutely brutally accurate description of Gortash, and YES.

That is the beauty of Gortash's evil. His pragmatism.

The way he tries to pretend he's different than you and Orin, but you can call him out, and say, you're just as bad as us.

And I would LOVE to know if he was there when he killed the patriars too.

He acts like he's so "above it all." Like he's not a Bhaalspawn, killing for pleasure...but sweetie, you are not any different just because you have a Steel Watcher crush a child rather than dissect one.

The people you try to save when you're at the Steel Watch Foundry? Those poor old people and children and families?

All of them are pretty fucking brutal. The Steel Watch are fucking awful. They're not benign robots. They are cruel and cold and emotionless, and they aren't there to protect, only subjugate.

And they're a lot like Gortash himself.

Frigid, with a black and white understanding of right and wrong, only it's flipped, and submitting to authority is the only "right" and any resistance is "wrong" and needs to be destroyed.

And just to go back to him believing he's so "above" the Chosens of Bhaal, or even everyone in general...even with Karlach, when she's enraged, and hurt, over being sold and enslaved, he says, well it was for your own good, my dear girl, let bygones be bygones - stop lying, Gort!

stop pretending you're so above everyone else, that you're this calm, logical man, whose endeavors are heroic, even noble.

They aren't.

You're getting back at a world that abandoned you.

Your entire life revolves around revenge, sadism, and wanton cruelty.

You are not saving anyone. You are dooming those who made you this way.

And that's why I like him.

He is just so...kickable. And evil.

And disgusting.

And I adore him.

He is built wrong, and I like it.

#enver gortash #its about cycles maaaaan #baldurs gate 3 #bg3

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nateconnolly · 3 months

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“I have tried to show you what I am,” says Barb, the protagonist of one of the most controversial short stories ever written. “I have tried to do it without judgment. That I leave to you.”

Barb comes from I Sexually Identify as an Attack Helicopter by Isabel Fall, a science fiction story about gender and imperialism. It was Fall’s first published story. There was no backlog of stories to analyze, and her author’s bio was sparse. Readers weren’t given any information about Fall’s gender identity, but that didn’t stop activists from speculating. “… this reads as if it was written by a straight white dude who doesn’t really get gender theory or transition,” complained Arinn Dembo, President of the science fiction writers’ collective SF Canada. The author Phoebe Barton even compared the story to a weapon against trans people: “Think of it as a gun,” she tweeted. “A gun has only one use: for hurting.” N.K. Jemison joined in, tweeting, “Artists should strive to do no (more of this) harm.” But Dembo and the hundreds of thousands of others were mistaken about Fall’s supposed cis identity. The publisher responded to the backlash by taking the story down and posting a statement about the author’s identity. Isabel Fall was a transgender woman, and self-identified activists for trans rights bullied her so mercilessly that she attempted suicide. Dembo later adjusted her criticism, saying “a lot of people might have been spared a lot of mental anguish” if Fall had made a statement about her gender identity. Meaning, Fall had a moral obligation to out herself as a trans woman. Both of Dembo’s comments reveal a preoccupation with the author that distracts from the text. The recent obsession with author identities is one of the great failures of contemporary liberal movements. In order to win liberation for any given group, liberal activists must focus less on who speaks and more on what is spoken.

Roland Barthes’ 1967 essay The Death of the Author argued that an author’s intentions and life experiences do not make the “ultimate meaning” of their text. The author might as well “die” once the text is in the reader’s hands. The text is “a multi-dimensional space” that one cannot simply flatten with biographical details about the author. Barthes has largely been vindicated among literary critics and theorists, but his idea has not been well-received among liberal activists. It is easy to refuse to acknowledge multiple dimensions of a text. Moralistic groups like liberation movements might even be tempted to sort texts into a simple dichotomy—“good” or “bad,” without any gray areas—on the sole basis of the author’s identity. That is exactly what Dembo tried to do: she suggested that Attack Helicopter was bad simply because of the author’s (supposed) gender.

I Sexually Identify as an Attack Helicopter is not a transphobic story. Although an in-depth analysis would be beyond the scope of this essay, I can confidently say that Fall critiqued American imperialism, not transgender people. I think that would be clear to anyone who reads the story. But apparently, reading a story is no longer a necessary step in the process of interpreting it. Barton—who suggested her fellow trans woman was a “gun”-wielding transphobe—had not actually read the story. Jemison also admitted she had not read the story before tweeting that it was harmful. We now have a complete reversal of Barthes’ idea: this method of moralistic interpretation is nothing less than the death of the text.

Fall is far from the only queer storyteller to face backlash for allegedly not being queer. Becky Albertalli, Kit Connor (who was still a teenager), and Jameela Jamil all came out of the closet because they were harassed for telling queer stories as “straight” and “cis” people. It is a common talking point in activist circles that the government should not compile lists of queer people or forcibly out them. Why, then, do activists engage in the same behavior? It simply is not always safe to admit that you are gay, or trans, or autistic, or epileptic, or that you have had an abortion. The reason that we need liberation movements for these groups is the same reason that people might not want to publicly claim these identities.

You can read the rest on Substack

#nate's writing #substack

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