#so doubling down on Just How Incestuous This Is is something i actually like | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

themountainsays · 2 years

Note

You mentioned Luisa and Isabella detaching themselves from Mira in the papa Bruno AU, but I also offer this idea: one (or both) of them ends up falling in love with Mirabel, and once they're past the initial denial, they start to rationalize it by going "well, she's not our real sister" because surely the fact that they're half siblings instead of full siblings makes it better, right?

But this leads to them kind of being less open about acknowledging her as a sister and separating themselves from her, treating her like an outsider in her own family, which obviously leads to Mirabel thinking they've grown to despise her even though that couldn't be further from the truth <\3

Anon said: for dad!bruno incest AU: I think there's a perfect way to let Agustin love Mirabel (as makes sense for his character) and still have infinite angst: make it so that he can't stand Julieta's treatment of Mirabel and that's driving the two of them apart in a way the actual adultery didn't. Even when Mirabel is loved, she's still ruining things by existing. :) (would this AU have any Isamira in it, btw? normally I'd be 100% for it, but I'm just a bit uncertain of it in this AU for some reason)

Answering these two together because they touch on similar points!

Ahh I think that, realistically, Agustín would love Mirabel unconditionally, and might even act more as a parent than her own mother at times if we want to push Julieta to her limits and let her show her ugliest side - I made character analysis post some time back discussing their different parenting styles and why I think Julieta isn't nearly as perfect as she may initially seem. Agustín would be a safe haven for Mirabel, because - okay, her biological father doesn't want her, the rest of the family treats her like a pariah, her mother may or may not see her as her greatest mistake, and here comes Agustín, certified Good Dad, adopting her in an instant because he know she's a little girl who needs help and did nothing wrong to end up in this shit situation. If she's in shaky ground with everyone as to whether or not they count as family, Agustíns sweeps in, takes her in, and tells her she's 100% his daughter in every way that matters, and she can call him dad, and biology is not a necessary requirement to be family. So he could give her that safety and certainty that I imagine she may need (are her sisters her sisters? or are they cousins? Because she's their uncle's daughter but also their mother's but they say they're nothing, and her dad is her uncle and her mom is her aunt and her abuela says she shouldn't be in the house at all and her mom doesn't want her etc etc etc).

...Which is why I lowkey want him to not want her either, because part of the fun with this AU is that she's not Agustín's daughter, but Bruno's, and while you can realistically build this AU towards a direction in which Mirabel and Agustín are closer than ever, part of the AU's raison d’être is to make her less of Agustín's daughter and more of Bruno's daughter, not because I have any personal agenda against Agustín's character, in fact I think he'd be a much better father than Bruno, in this scenario, but I want to shake things up for the sake of conflict and drama, and Agustín's Good Dad Energy stabilizes things a bit too much, it brings it back to the tonic note, it makes the AU "less different" from canon when the idea is to explore how it diverts from it. And having everyone but Agustín sorta hate Mirabel and letting him be her only safe haven is... a surprisingly small diversion ;-; now she has... one person who actually likes her as opposed to... mmm... two, maybe three if we count Luisa... if anything, the bigger change would be Mirabel and Agustín's relationship with Julieta (like Anon mentioned), but I don't think Julieta would be a bad mother to Mirabel even in this scenario, I just think things would be rocky and difficult for them because she's not handling everything very well. She may hurt Mirabel a lot in the beginning, and I'm sure that would lead to a lot of fights with Agustín, but Julieta is a naturally compassionate and loving person, and I think she would try. Having Agustín acting as a mediator and helping them would make things much easier. Which is what I don't want. I want things to be difficult and horrible.

Which is why I'm a bit more inclined to making Agustín reject Mirabel in one way or another. That way, he doesn't entirely replace Bruno as her unconditional father figure and Mirabel stays in the limbo, alone, confused, not sure how she's related to everyone around her or how she's supposed to act. If Agustín rejects her, after five years of being a great father to her, she'd be utterly devastated and may try to seek Bruno out, who avoids her out of fear. I'm sure he still loves her, but he's convinced he's such a bad presence, that he doesn't want to be in her life at all. He already hurt her just by letting her exist. I imagine that's a way of seeing things that hurts Mirabel a lot, because she loves being alive lmao, and she loves her family, and having everyone tell her that they would all be better off if she didn't exist, including herself, is gonna fuck her up in the brain pretty badly. And again, I really don't want it to look like I'm pushing Agustín aside to make space for Bruno, but I do think that having Agustín reject Mirabel would give Bruno room to play a bigger role, be a larger presence in the narrative. I don't know. It would depend on how one handles it, but I think I like this approach better. And you could say that Agustín wouldn't reject Mirabel, that it's ooc, but tbh I don't think it's particularly in-character for Bruno and Julieta to fuck either, so I believe we can allow ourselves some creative freedoms. In this case, I think he may be being pressured by Alma, perhaps, to not try to defend the child and to "think of his other daughters' wellbeing". She may remind him that Mirabel isn't his and that it's not his place to intervene. So he steps aside, because this is suddenly a "family matter", and he's not part of the family, not really. If anything, I can see him having a bit of a character arc later on in which he learns to stand up for Mirabel and accept her. Dad Bruno AU Good Ending is essentially Mirabel having one mom and two dads imo so why not. But until then I want PAIN.

Nowwwwww as for siscon Mira:

Initially I thought it'd be interesting to keep this an essentially gen AU. Gen Encant0 fandom would never buy it lmao but Bruno and Julieta aren't really involved in the story. They had something going on during their late twenties and early thirties, they made a mistake, they droped everything, possibly fell out of love and now they need to face the consequences together, but the romantic aspect of their relationship has pretty much faded. It would be different from what I usually do since the focus is Mirabel's relationship with her three parents and her half-sisters-half-cousins, Isabela and Luisa. And everyone else.

AT THE SAME TIME I shall be the captain of the Isamira ship, I eat drink and breathe Isamira, I couldn't stop thinking "well what IF there's some Isamira as well?" So yeah anon(s) (both of you) I love how you think. MMmm so let's say Isabela falls in love with Mirabel. She's understandably horrified, even more so than in any other scenario, because the family already has a precedent of sisterfucking and it went horribly (though later on she may become a romantic sap and come to see it as "beautiful" because it means Mirabel exists and Mirabel existing is an undeniably Good Thing). She obviously feels guilty, gross etc she may resent her mother and see it as something "inheriting her illness". She may believe it's some weird genetical pheromonal phenomenom that makes whatever weird fucked up hyper-concentrated genes that Mirabel has drive her insane. Maybe she had it coming for not seeing or treating her as a "real" sister that she ended up tricking her brain into thinking she's fair game. In reality, Mirabel is just so impossibly endearing and beautiful, that Isabela would have never stood a chance. Detaching herself from Mirabel to the point she treats her as a complete outsider to cope with her feelings would take some wild mental gymnastics, because in this AU Mirabel is not only her sister but also her cousin, and she wouldn't bang Dolores or Camilo, because ew cousins, so of course even though she's more closely related to Mirabel than to them, to see her as being even further away would take lots and lots of denial. Which I can see her trying to do. I can see her trying to "fake it til she makes it". I can see her excluding her in an attempt to push her away, to comfort herself. And obviously Mirabel my love my poor baby only ends up hurt. Srly Mirabel in this AU has such a shit time TT_TT

And obviously all she ever wanted was to be part of the family properly and be loved and she feels that Isabela's treatment is so cruel and unfair that she breaks eventually. Isabela may or may not find her crying in a corner after saying some pretty awful things during dinner. Or idk all the grandkids were hanging out her room and she kicked Mirabel out when she asked to join. It doesn't matter literally anything that would make Mirabel feel hated and rejected. And idk somehow Mirabel expresses just how bad she's making her feel, like verbally tells her what she wants (to be loved and part of the family), and maybe we're reaching such a desperate point in the plot that Isabela tells her the truth about her feelings, because she can't stand to see her like this.

Now in any other scenario I think that, if Mirabel didn't return Isbela's feelings, her reaction would be something like "that's fucking weird, but let's talk about it. You clearly need some therapy and I'm the best next thing in this family". She'd be concerned and maybe a bit grossed out but not outright scared. She would want to help Isabela, because those feelings can't be easy to handle - she wouldn't yell at her or run. But this one scenario has the particularity that... Mirabel has a pretty big trauma with incest. It scares her. It ruined her life (after all, she was never supposed to exist). She knows her mama and papa did something very very bad together and she spent her entire life trying to redeem herself for their crime, to prove herself worthy despite her filthy origins, to be better to be good to earn her family's love and now... this? It terrifies her. This Mirabel doesn't want anything to do with it. She doesn't want to see Isabela at all. She runs from her. She hides. She avoids her. She's ruining everything again. At this point, incest feels like a curse that haunts her.

Especially if her reaction was only exacerbated by her own improper feelings for her sister.

And of course Isabela feels horribly guilty, she wants to take everything back but she knows she can't. She's spooked her little sister so much, that she feels like a big scary predator threatening her safety. She has to accept that no self-convincing will erase the fact that they're related by blood in one way or another. That they share a mother. At this point her biggest fear is Mirabel telling someone else, but she doesn't, and eventually she finds out it's because Mira doesn't want to ruin her image or make other people mistreat her. She's hiding a secret that scares her to protect her.

I'm not sure how things evolve from here, I just know that, at some point, they need to have a talk in which Mirabel lets Isabela know that all she wants it for them to be sisters. She doesn't want any other kind of relationship. She doesn't want to be less family, she doesn't want to be anyone's daughter-in-law, she wants to be a daughter. She wants her sisters to accept her as one of them. And Isabela understands. She's not some fuckboi she's not gonna stop being friends with someone she likes in the moment they "friendzone" her. She loves Mirabel, and the details on how can be just details. She fucked up and hurt her and wants to make up for it. So she becomes the first person to stand up for her, she tries to help integrate her with the rest of the grandkids, she talks to Luisa about it (she talks with Luisa a lot at this point, never quite revealing the most risky details of how she feels but ngl some of the things she says are very sus)... she starts treating Mirabel as a sister, nothing more and nothing less, and she's nice to her and defends her when she can (which isn't always because she's still terrified of Alma), and this is possibly the happiest Mirabel has ever been. Which is why it scares her so much when her feelings continue to grow.

If they ever do end up together, I can imagine insecure lil Mirabel waking up Isabela in the middle of the night to ask her if they're still sisters, to which Isabela responds to by pulling her into her arms and mumbling a sleepy "yes......." and idk giving her a very sisterly kiss in the mouth. To comfort her. It makes Mira happy uwu.

At this point the story diverts a little from the Dad!Bruno part of the Dad Bruno AU so I'm still not sure, but it's an interesting alternative.

#madrigalcest #dad bruno au #past brulieta #isamira #shipcest #ngl this is sorta me shaking my fist at God whenever i run into a shipcest fic #in which the siblings/cousins/whatever in question are like ''noooo we're barely family so it's ok''#there were so many EA fics like that?? like ''oh no we didn't grow up together so i don't even see you as a sister''#THAT'S SUCH A SAD THING TO SAY??#obviously this is just a matter of personal taste and there's nothing wRong with fics like that but #(FOR ME)#the point of shipcest is combining and balancing two very different forms of love that don't overlap irl #so you have to get creative. what are sister-girlfriends like?? cos that's like an imaginary mythological creature you gotta make up #OR THEY SHOULD BE AT LEAST #if you un-sister the sisc0ns you get rid of half the love TT_TT #so doubling down on Just How Incestuous This Is is something i actually like #like yesss baby that's your big sister 😭😭 she loves you very much!!#SHE PROTECC

15 notes · View notes

striving-artist · 3 years

Text

Ok, I just want to show you something about moral purity and the grey miasma that is where decisions are actually made in fandom. Incidentally, this also is an explainer on why section 230 is a big deal. This isn’t about the literal references or examples, though, you’ll probably recognize what I’m referencing. It’s about the fact that nothing is black and white.

So lets start with the assumption you think that any writing about incest is bad and wrong and should get you perma-banned. Okay. That’s your stance. You’re entitled to it, and for this exercise, you’re all powerful. You’re running your own website for fanworks and YOU decide all the rules. So; cool, those are all banned along with the other Bad and Wrong works. Because you want to have a space that isn’t like those other sites.

And then this movie comes out, and your user count starts doubling weekly, and the biggest ship - it is The Ship for the series. It’s everywhere. It’s beloved. There’s more fic for it than a single person could read. But that’s just two random folks, lets call them Jack and Jill, happy, healthy, nothing problematic at all. So you’re thrilled with the extra traffic.

Then the third movie comes out, and the big twist is that Jack and Jill are siblings. Scandal! Fear! A shock wave travels through the fandom!

And you now have a problem.

It wasn’t incestuous when people wrote it. It wasn’t their intention. But now, according to canon, it is. Maybe most authors go back and add a tag or a note saying ‘THEY AREN’T RELATED IN THIS FIC’ ... but is that enough? I mean, canon is right there. And what about the other fics? The ones that the author doesn’t come back to retag? Do you take those down? How much tagging is enough? What about people who come to read these later, who don’t remember when people didn’t know they were related? Are they going to think you support that? Do you just prevent any new posts and add a disclaimer?

For the sake of the exercise, and because imaginary!You has drawn a firm line in the sand here, you delete them all. Anything with that ship. Even if its background or mentioned. Maybe you give 24 hours notice, maybe you don’t, but that doesn’t matter. You’ve decided that the Ship is Bad and Wrong, and is now banned. The people who hate you, leave, the people who love you, sing your praises. You’re okay with that. The ones that left must have liked things that were Bad and Wrong.

Then, a few months later, there’s a new Big Fandom, and in it, there’s two camps. One camp sees this pairing as having a sibling dynamic because they were raised by the same person. The other says they weren’t raised together, and they have a romantic dynamic. They aren’t literally related, but group one has chosen their hill.

The two sides are invested, and angry.

The first group comes to you and says the others are posting something that is Bad and Wrong and should be removed. Per your policies, if you agree with them, it should be removed. Someone thinks they’re seeing something Bad and Wrong and you said you wouldn’t tolerate anything Bad and Wrong. And you want the readers to have a safe environment.

And maybe you agree with the second group, but you’re scared of first group’s yelling and threats. Or maybe you agree with the first group, so its no big deal to remove the works. It doesn’t matter. Down it comes. Anything with them in a romantic ship, deleted.

But now you’ve said something new.

It’s not a Black and White line anymore. It’s not just blocking things that are Bad and Wrong. Now, you’re banning anything if the crowd is loud enough. You’re also implicitly saying you personally disapprove of those things, which, by transitive property, means anything that’s up there still is something you approve of. That’s dangerous. Have you read everything? Seen everything? Are you moderating every single post for anything Wrong and Bad before it goes live? You should probably start.

You think that’s bad? Wait a second.

Societal morals are always changing. Not that long ago being trans wasn’t fun, but it didn’t get much media attention, because people were too worried about The Gays. That’s changed now. The mob won’t come after you for slash fics today, probably. But you’re going to have people up in arms over gender swapping, and trans characters, and race issues, and the wrong kinds of kinky, and that’s assuming the T*rfs don’t decide to paint a target on you first.

You’ve lost a lot of writers by this point, and your site probably isn’t popular anymore. It only takes one big decision like that - one big, sweeping, arbitrary decision - for the creators to stop trusting you. From there, it’s over, just a question of how long the death rattle lasts.

All this? This is two things.

It’s why Section 230 protects platforms from liability over what their users post. It’s the safe ground between a free for all, and total moderation to an ever changing standard. Without 230, platforms have to either say ‘we moderate nothing, and cannot be held accountable for anything’ which means they can never remove anything. Or. They say ‘we moderate and stand by everything on this site’ We, the users of the internet, want neither of those outcomes. 230 stops the spiral.

It’s also why Ao3 is what is, and why it draws so much fire right now. You think you’re arguing for your one little thing. Your single topic or ship that is Wrong and Bad. I know you think it’s both small, and completely reasonable. But. Anything you think you’re going to ban beyond the existing rules is an open door. Give me an initial crowd-driven ban-topic and ten minutes, I can use that open door to censor ao3 hard enough to make North Korea proud.

#free speech is hard #ao3 #censorship #you think its small and I know you mean well #but its never just one thing #and once the crowd knows they can shout down their enemies?#its over #you just haven't seen it die yet #fun fact: I watched this happen in my hs #one group of parents got upset that there was an implied gay kiss #in a show at a different school #it took four months for us to go to #Everything Must Be Approved by the Mob #which meant it was all white bread from there on out #if there's typos #I don't care #the vertigo is a challenge

71 notes · View notes

thehollowprince · 4 years

Note

I love Legacies, but to be honest, Hope is so annoying but most of all when it comes to her family. Her family caused untold mayhem for centuries and Klaus was the worst. Her grandfather burnt towns and cities down, and worst of all her grandmother unleashed a curse that would never stop. Hope's selfness led to Hayley's,Poppy's, and Henry's death.

Her family has caused death and destruction wherever they went. Klaus definitely deserves the title of the great evil and she should stop acting her family especially Klaus never did anything to deserve the ire of everyone hell, even dead witches hated him!

I still haven't seen any of Legacies and I don't plan on it. There was a moment there during quarantine where I considered it, but I stopped myself. And there are a number of reasons I haven't watched. The first obviously being that I never finished The Originals and the second being the character of Hope herself.

I never liked Hope, even long before she was born, I never liked her. Way back when the backdoor pilot aired during season four of The Vampire Diaries, I was just happy to finally have the Mikaelson Family gone from Mystic Falls so we could get back to the Mystic Falls Gang. That being said, when I watched it and they revealed that Hayley was pregnant with Klaus' child, I remember very vividly shouting at the screen.

Really? We were going the Twilight route with a magical, miracle baby?

But, aside from the Mikaelson Melodrama, I was intrigued by the other aspects of the show. The war between the witches and the vampires piqued my interest, especially with Jane-Anne's use of ancestral magic, which was very clearly influenced by Louisiana Voodoo. Also, Marcel was really hot, and I'm not above admitting that I'm shallow.

Sadly, the aspects of the show that I liked dwindled fast. The magic was now just the same as TVD but with a blurry special effect. Marcel was usurped so that Klaus could reclaim the throne that he abandoned and they ruined everything I liked about characters like Elijah and Rebekah. Also, the creepy, pseudo-incestual relationship between Marcel and Rebekah 🤢. When they finally got to the birth of the baby (longest pregnancy ever) and they named her Hope, I actually booed.

What is it with these shows and movies always naming their daughters Hope? Can people really not think of any other name than the one that puts pressure on a child's shoulders to make the adults' lives better?

But I stuck around, because as much as I disliked the Mikaelsons, I liked the other aspects of the show. The supernatural gang war between the different covens and packs and factions was interesting, and almost enough to ignore the racism and the misogyny and how the writing treated New Orleans and how they completely rewrote the Mikaelsons' backstories. But the longer I stuck around the worse it got. Suddenly Hope was the most powerful witch to ever witch even though she was just an infant. And now she's a tribrid mix of werewolf, witch and vampire and blah blah blah. By the time they introduced her as a toddler, I was just waiting for the inevitable "my daddy was nice" bullshit, indicating that Hayley told her kid how Klaus was just misunderstood or whatever fantasy lived in Plec's head to justify her fixation on such abusive characters.

There's also the fact that they really double-down on the "family only means blood related" thing, which infuriated me to no end.

Halfway through season four I rage quit and so thankfully I was gone before teenage Hope was introduced. I couldn't stand to watch as the narrative went out of its way to forgive and erase the horrible deeds the Mikaelson Family, Klaus in particular, committed. For what reason, I don't know, but I couldn't sit through it. I was sicked by TVD using Bonnie and Caroline and Matt to forgive Damon in the final season of that shit show.

The only way I'd ever watch Legacies is if I knew they actually acknowledged Klaus and Damon and Elijah as the horrible people they were, and that's something Plec is never going to do.

There's also the whole format of now there are phoenixes and dragons and trolls? Really?

The sad thing is, they could have done so much just by exploring the wider world of the supernatural as opposed to following a few families between a small town in Virginia and the Crescent City. Show me what the vampires of New York City are like. Are the witches in Sedona New Age hippies? South America, Africa, Asia... so many places to explore and yet nothing!

#ask and ye shall recieve #my thoughts #anti legacies #anti hope mikaelson #anti klaus mikaelson #anti mikaelson family #anti the originals #anti the vampire diaries #anti julie plec

75 notes · View notes

rwbyremnants · 3 years

Link

WARNINGS: Winter/Ruby: teacher/student roleplay, hot wax, scene interruption, under the table action, accidental exhibitionism, accidental parent/child incestuous feelings (no actions).

(Also, reminder that the Jacques Schnee in this story isn't very similar to the one in canon)

Oh... this chapter. Haha we almost didn't go through with it, since it treads very close to a specific line, but it was just too fun an idea to resist. Hope you guys enjoy it~ and Happy New Year very soon!

=Chapter 7

"Oh wow… yep. That’ll be perfect."

Ruby and Penny had been discussing a few details about the session she would be going through with Winter for the evening, about how she was expected to already be in a particular costume and begin the scene as soon as she entered the door. What had Winter requested? A school uniform. It wasn't something that completely surprised Ruby, but was certainly new and unexpected. Her time at Signal High didn't require a uniform at all!

Thankfully, Penny had come to the rescue. They were both a similar size, and upon hearing Ruby's dilemma, she immediately offered up her old uniform for her to use. Penny had attended a high end private school in her youth in comparison to Ruby's public school, and knew that the uniform wouldn't come cheap. So she saw no point in allowing her girlfriend to go out and buy one when she had one stashed in the back of the closet.

Satisfied with how it fit on her, Ruby turned from the wardrobe to look at her girlfriend. "And you're sure I can use it for this, right? Like, no second thoughts?"

"Of course," Penny said, mostly focused on her laptop screen. "I do think it's strange, of course, but I'm also not using it at all. Why shouldn't you and Winter get some use out of it?" Then she sat back slightly. "There. What do you think about this? 'I am a highly-motivated Berkeley graduate, seeking to enter the workforce and to bring the skills I have gained there and from real life experience to my new employer in a field that offers potential for advancement.' Good, or is it too wordy?"

"Wordy is good! They're always looking for wordy. And if you go for an interview, you're just as smart when you talk as you seem on paper," Ruby complimented. Taking the jacket off the hanger she inspected it closer. Penny's fathers really didn't spare any expense; the material looked wonderful! It almost seemed a shame to use it for some clandestine purpose in Winter’s torture chamber.

"Alright," Penny sighed, finally looking up from her laptop. She gently, not saying anything for a moment. "You look wonderful today. I wish you had gone to my school; it really suits you."

"You think so?" she asked, placing the jacket gently on her bed so it was out the way for her showy little spin, one that made her giggle when she felt the skirt drifting up slightly. "It would have been kinda cool, but I think my dad would have missed me too much to let me stay there all that time."

"Probably true; he didn't want you to go to college where you did, either." Penny giggled as she picked up the little roll of black material that had been on the corner of her desk, standing up and crossing to the bed. "Now, you promised I could do the honours; that's the deal for getting to use it."

"You just wanna see up my skirt," Ruby teased. But not wanting to disappoint her partner, she held out one of her legs, giving her toes a small wriggle to tease further. "Ready!"

"Sit," she ordered, and Ruby did so. Then she took the ankle and gave each toe a delicate kiss. It was different than Winter's reaction to her feet; while she seemed to be drawn to them magnetically, against her will, Penny simply enjoyed doting on the smallest, most insignificant parts of her romantic partner. Who just giggled in response. She always enjoyed how tender Penny was toward the simplest parts of her. From the top of her head to the tips of her toes! Waiting patiently as Penny pulled up the tights, she blushed again.

"And you don't mind if these… rip, do you? The tights, I mean."

"Not the tights. The rest of the outfit, I would appreciate it if you tried your best not to harm it. At least, not in a way that can't be fixed with dry cleaning." Picking up the second stocking, she again kissed Ruby's toes as she said, "But Winter had better not harm these little piggies or I would be very upset."

"Oh, she won't." Chuckling to herself once more, that actually reminded Ruby of another subject to do with Winter. One that she hadn't actually mentioned to Penny yet. "Funnily enough… she actually likes feet. A lot. It's something I didn't expect."

"Really?" Penny asked, hands only halfway raised to put on the other stocking at last. She glanced down at the feet, one covered and one not, then back up at Ruby's face with a slight smile. "Well, why shouldn't she? They are adorable; yours especially."

"Yeah I guess toes are kinda cute and small, but like, sexy? I mean, I got nothing against it, whatever floats her boat." She smiled again, pushing the foot into the stocking as Penny held it open. "Winter's really mysterious like that. I barely know any of her kinks."

Penny's smile was gentle as she tugged the stockings into place perfectly, then reached down and picked up the fabric-covered feet, cradling them fondly in her hands. "They are nice. I mean, as far as I can tell, since 'sexy' is a strange concept for me. So I will defer to Winter." The smile turned mischievous as she kneaded into the soles with her thumbs. "What if… I had control of one of them, and Winter had control of the other? Would you enjoy that?"

"Hmm…" Looking upwards as she allowed herself to relax, Ruby rolled her foot slowly into Penny's motions, softly groaning from how pleasant it felt. "Both massaging? Well, hey, I like being pampered…"

"Massaging for me. I'm not sure what Winter's preferred activities are." Again, she kissed the feet through her stockings and then picked up her saddle shoes, slipping them on. "Have… you talked to her about your romantic feelings yet?"

Deeply sighing, that once relaxed smile faded away. Instead she leant forward again, staring into nothingness. "No… I still don't know if I should. I don't know if Winter's Aro or not, but she's never really had a relationship, or dated or anything. Maybe she doesn’t want that with me, and it might just make things weird."

As Penny continued tying her shoes for her, she said reasonably, "Well, you can't know if you don't ask. Perhaps you should pose it to her as a question; simply find out whether or not she would be open to doing romantic things with you. If she says no, then you don't have to tell her that you're already feeling that way."

"Penny, you know me better than anyone else. You know I'm not that slick. She'll see through that a mile away." Resting her chin on her hands, she continued to stare out blankly, already giving up without trying.

"Oh, Ruby…" The job done, Penny got up and sat next to her girlfriend, hugging her close. "You're a beautiful, sweet, wonderful woman. If she's going to feel romantic feelings for anyone, why wouldn't it be you? And if she doesn't, then I'm sure it's only because she doesn't feel that way about people – the same way I don't feel sexual desire for people." Then she lowered her voice and added, "Though I can make exceptions for my little Rubáiyát."

That had managed to bring a smile to Ruby's face. Somehow Penny always seemed to manage that with her, even when she was in her lowest of moods. Turning to face toward her, she wrapped her arms back around her partner, giving her a big kiss on the cheek before she nuzzled against her. "And you are just as sweet, just as beautiful; inside and out. You're so good to me, Penpen."

"Just protecting my investment," she joked in a gentle tone; an old joke for them. "Love you."

The smile turned into even more of a grin as she nuzzled again, softly stroking her shoulder. "Love you more."

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

For the thirteenth time, at the very least, Winter checked the clock on the wall. Resisted temptation to call Ruby, or text her; to triple-check she was on her way, since she had passed double-check quite some time ago. As she sat in the chair, legs crossed and one shoe bobbing up and down anxiously, the elder of the Schnee sisters again reconsidered why she cared so much. For most subs, if they were on time, that was fine. For Ruby… being on time wasn't good enough. She wanted her there much earlier, so they could begin right away; have plenty of time to chat once their session had ended.

Because you care about this one, a small voice in the back of her head whispered. Too much.

She silenced it with a physical wave of her hand. Yes, she obviously cared about Ruby; she was a friend and a sister-in-law, besides her favourite person to dominate. Those were plenty of reasons to cherish her greatly. And if she found herself fantasizing about more than simply deriving sexual pleasure from the girl…

If she found herself wishing she could wake up next to her more than just the once in her life…

The sound of the doorbell shattered those thoughts, and she now found herself grateful. Pulling out her phone, she sent Ruby a quick text, smirking to herself all the while. It was time to begin.

Just as eager to start, but anxious for what was to come, was Ruby. She patiently waited outside the door to her Dom’s flat, holding her hands in one another to try and maintain her focus. This was to be slightly different from their last sessions, in that she would be thrown straight into the role. No preparation, no film and drink. They had already agreed on the terms over the phone, with their usual safety word in place. As soon as Winter would open the door, they were in-scene.

The text only read: Door unlocked. Come to the office, first door on right; bring in what's outside.

“She really is prepared,” Ruby breathed to herself Quickly pushing open the door and stepping inside, she shut the door tight behind her; she saw no point in locking it, not with Winter's reassurance that her roommate was out for another weekend. Besides, she had not been instructed to do so. Following the message to the letter, she headed straight for the hallway, toward the office.

Sat outside the door was a backpack. When Ruby picked it up, it didn't seem to weigh much. Just an average school bag. No doubt she expected Winter wouldn't want her to look inside until she got in the room, so she didn't. Finally, she turned the knob on the door, slowly pushing it open.

The room was very different from when she had glanced in before; then, it had been a fairly dull office space. A few filing cabinets, a fine oak desk, and a potted plant… and literally nothing else. Just a place for Winter to do some of her work when not upstairs in the main Schnee offices. Now…

Now it was a classroom.

“Whoa...” she couldn’t help breathing as she gaped at her surrounding. The dull painting that had hung on the far wall had been replaced with a blackboard, and the couple of other comfortable chairs vanished in favour of smaller student desks. There were only two, but that was enough for realism's sake, given that this was for play. A globe stood on one of the filing cabinets, and there was now a bookshelf with a full Encyclopædia Britannica racked up along its planks. Winter's own desk was the same, but the contents on top had been changed out for a syllabus, a stack of papers to be graded… and a shiny red apple.

"You're late," Winter said in a firm tone from where she sat. Though Ruby could only see her from the waist up, she could see one of her crisp white blouses that she wore to work had been augmented with a cardigan, the sleeves tied around her neck so the rest draped over her back.

"S-sorry, Miss Schnee!" That seemed to fit the role. Ruby had guessed they were doing a teacher-student thing, but not for the entire office to be changed so drastically! Straight away she went to take one of the seats – the closer one, as Winter expected her to, resting the bag on the table.

"You are already in trouble, so the least you could do is be punctual for your punishment." Then she sighed, a very slight cloud forming in front of her mouth, and set about straightening a few of her papers. "And I am sorry about how cold it is in here; the heat is inferior in this room, and with only the two of us in here to lend our body heat…"

"O-oh…" Thanks to the jacket, Ruby hadn't noticed just yet. She had only just opened the bag: a few blank books, some papers, and a pencil case. Her student didn't know if they would be used or not, but it was worth getting them out anyway just to make sure. "It won't happen again," she reassured, setting them on her desk. "And… do you want me to write lines, Miss?"

"Yes I do." Picking up a pair of square-framed spectacles, she pushed them onto her face as she scooted her own chair back. "Given that you aren't much of a troublemaker in my art class, I see no reason to make it too strenuous. Let's say… fifty times. And nothing too long, either."

Then Winter rose and turned to the board. From there, Ruby could see she had her now-red hair in a bun, and was wearing one of the tightest black pencil skirts she had ever seen. Her hand grasped a piece of chalk, then wrote in loopy cursive on the board:

I, Ruby, have been naughty.

"Okay… I can do that." First thing first, she opened the notebook on the first page. Although she was expecting it to be clean, she was mistaken…

Right there, on page one, was a large heart in brilliant red marker. In the middle of it was written in blue, "Ms. Schnee + Me". There were a dozen little hearts drawn around it, as well, in various hues and sizes. So dark was the press of the marker that the next several pages past it had experienced bleed-through.

Oh GOD. Ruby's face went bright red. Not only was she already distracted by the resemblance Winter had to her teacher that she had once described, something that had prompted double take; but Winter had embarrassingly marked the notebook for her! Straight away she could be heard loudly turning the pages, trying to find a single one where there wasn't anymore bleed-throughs and eventually, halfway into the book, she found one.

Sighing in relief, she then went to unzip the pencil case. Only to find that wasn't the only surprise. The first thing to emerge was a pencil, of course; it rolled neatly up against the spiral of the notebook. After that rolled out a small plastic device, shaped like an overlarge medicine capsule, about the size of her thumb. It seemed to be twistable at the centre. There were other things inside the bag, too indistinct to see without tumping them out, as well… but even in shadow, they certainly didn't look like school supplies.

Blinking again in surprise, Ruby was beside herself. There were rather suspicious items in there, and love notes all over her book. And with how well Winter now resembled her old teacher, she didn’t know what to do besides take the pencil in her left hand to begin writing, and cover her mouth with her right in a vain attempt to try and hide the intense blushing she now has all over her face. This “lesson” was going to drive her mad.

Shivering as she sorted through her papers, Winter said, "This won't do. Hang on, I think we have…" Opening one of the lower desk drawers, she made a good show of rummaging around for something in there. Up came a candelabra of long tapers, and two smaller candle holders with small, squat red candles in them.

"Keep to doing your lines," she said offhandedly as she saw Ruby looking, producing a box of matches. But when Ruby looked up again, she couldn't. She had scarcely even written three lines, before she realised what Winter was doing. She was playing directly into the kinks she described; the teacher-crush, and the wax play. At least, she expected that was what they were for. Winter didn't just do decoration for the sake of it.

But when her “teacher” looked up again, Ruby quickly got back to it before she could say another word, quickly writing more lines as fast as she could. Nodding in satisfaction, Winter finished lighting the candelabra, then blew out the match. The room filled with the acrid smell of sulphur as she flicked it into the bin. Then she used one of the tapers to light the two smaller candles.

"This isn't much, but I hope it will help," she sighed as she stood, carrying the smaller ones over. The minute she came around the desk…

A powerful scent of strawberries filled the air between them. The tapers might have been simple wax, but clearly those two weren't. Unable to help herself, Ruby hummed; the scent was relatively strong, enough to relax her a little more. But not enough to ignore the still wonderful sight of Winter. She had nailed the look of her old teacher perfectly, from the shades to the bun. Not only that, but the outfit she was wearing didn't leave much to the imagination, either.

Hey, I wonder if she's still wearing that plug from the other session. But the instant that thought crept into her mind, Ruby pushed it down, trying to get back to her lines. You dummy! She wouldn't have kept it in for that long!

But after her twentieth line, she thought, Then again, she could have always put it in again for you before you got here, maybe…

The clack of her black heels against the white tile floor gave nothing away, whether or not Winter had a plug inside of herself. When she bent away from Ruby to set down the first candle on the other desk, showing her pert, rounded posterior, there was nothing sticking out too obviously that Ruby could see. However, when she turned back with the other one, she found herself face-to-face with the girl.

"Miss Rose, what were you doing a moment ago?"

Looking up from the lines and toward her, she found her shoulders shrugging as more. Rendered utterly speechless as per the norm with Winter, she stuttered and stammered, trying to come up with some form of response. "U-uh… I-I was, um… w-working on my lines, Miss Schnee?"

"I… thought you were watching…" Shaking her head slightly as if to rid it of a stray thought, she reached to place the candle on the corner of Ruby's desk - and knocked the small pink object to the floor. "Oh, your eras-"

Her voice cut off when a quiet vibrating filled the air.

Immediately, the blushing on Ruby's face got even worse. This was so embarrassing, even if it was part of the session! She looked straight back at her lines again, red as the apple on Winter's desk. All she could say after that was, "That's not mine! I swear!"

As Winter picked it up, Ruby was granted a generous glimpse of cleavage; not as much as Winter might have shown her otherwise, but a little just above the knot of her cardigan. A little pendant hung down, swinging back and forth above her ample bosom, which was cut off by a lacy black bra. She couldn't resist taking a peek at that. Blinking repeatedly while Winter collected her “eraser”, she continued to stare. God, how she wanted to just get on with things and for them both to have their way…

No, she had to wait. Had to wait for whatever punishment Winter had lined up.

"Well, this…" Winter blinked at it in mild confusion for a moment, playing her part well. Then she cleared her throat nervously, twisting the device to end the noise. "You must have taken out this… neck massager instead of your eraser."

"Yeah, I must have! C-clumsy me!" Ruby giggled nervously, though soon got back to her writing again. She had to, it was the only thing keeping her sane anymore. But the fifty lines were done long before she thought they would be. On to whatever she had planned next. "Done, Miss."

Having just settled both candle and "massager" on the desk, she looked down and said, "Have you, already? Then… hmm." She leaned down and placed one hand on the side of Ruby's desk, the other draped over the back of her chair as she leaned down to study the lines.

Her chest was now so close that it was resting just the slightest bit on Ruby's shoulder. Already, she could feel her breath beginning to hitch up, her body temperature heating up. If Winter wasn't an agent for her favourite popstar and sister-in-law, she would suggest a teacher would be a good role for her.

"Very good so far. Now then… how about we try fifty more lines, something else? When you finish that, you can move on to your homework." Her hand trailed very lightly over the back of Ruby's neck as she drew away and walked back up to the chalkboard.

"Hmm…" She lightly shuddered when feeling the soft fingertips, finding herself watching quite closely. Each sway of her hips was alluring. Biting her lip gently, she asked, "What lines do you want next?"

Raising her delicate hand, this time Winter arched her back slightly as she erased the previous line, causing her plump backside to be more prominent. Then she went for the chalk and wrote:

I wanted Ms. Schnee to punish me.

Once again, Ruby swallowed in fear of what was to come. Winter was simply building it up, but it was already going to her head. She could feel herself beginning to heat up more and more as she began writing on the next page, trying to be as neat as possible to impress her.

Meanwhile, Winter seated herself for a minute, pretending to go over her lesson plan. Who knew what was written in there, if anything; perhaps she had even borrowed it from an actual teacher. Either way, she was certainly dedicated to making the scene authentic. That was what managed to get Ruby going the most: Winter had gone all out once again to make this as best an illusion as she could. Right down to the shiny apple.

A few minutes later, she sat upright again. Lowering her pencil, she cleared her throat and announced, "Finished, Miss Schnee!"

Without looking up from what she was "working" on, Winter said in a dispassionate voice, "Bring your notebook up here, please."

Swallowing again, Ruby held the notebook open to the right page as she rose from her seat. Pacing over, she did as she was asked, placing her punishment on her temporary teacher’s desk. Her only hope was that 'Miss Schnee' wouldn't turn the page.

Winter barely glanced at it, too absorbed in her lesson plan. From where she stood, it could be seen that she had filled it out, after all: the page was open to the current date. Written in very bold letters was: Alone time with little Rose. Blinking in surprise, Ruby couldn't help but begin to read the parts of the page she could see. For now, most of her arm had covered the rest up, but she read the next item on the itinerary quite easily: Get her undressed.

Finally, Miss Schnee did glance up at the notebook, then further up at Ruby, as if she had forgotten she was standing there all the while. "Yes?" she asked.

"O-oh! Um, sorry." Ruby anxiously shrugged her shoulders again. "Do you want me to sit back down?"

"Please. You should still have your art homework to complete." She started to turn back to her syllabus, then looked up with a slight smile. "These individual projects were fun to choose for my students. Have you taken a look at yours yet?"

"I-I haven’t," she admitted, slowly walking back to her seat again and pulling the chair out. But before she sat… "Remind me again, Miss Schnee?"

"You should have it in your bag, I hope," Winter sighed in an aloof tone, flipping a few pages back and forth in the lesson plan. "In the envelope I gave you earlier today. If not, then I'm not sure what else you'll do for the rest of detention."

"Oh, sorry! I… Forgot." She quickly made the excuse, taking her seat and picking up her bag from the ground to rummage through it's contents. Sure enough, there was the envelope that Winter spoke of, still sealed. Taking it and opening it up, she took the note from it and began reading.

Please take your time and do as good a job with this as you can, with whatever media you see fit; pencils, pastels, or paints. It counts for a quarter of your grade. Then, behind the note, was a picture…

And what a picture. It was an eight-by-ten glossy photo of Winter, sitting forward in a wooden chair with her wrists bound in the small of her back, facing away from the camera. One eye was looking back over her bare shoulder, but with the blindfold and ballgag, it was hard to tell for sure it was her.

For a moment, Ruby had to hide the photo from view. Winter seemed to have discovered that even though she was no Dom, Ruby enjoyed seeing her in such a submissive state just as much as she enjoyed being dominated by her. After regaining her composure, she pulled the selected picture back out again, taking a closer look. Even if it was presented without context, it was truly a beautiful photo; well-lit, the angle was perfect. How much more had she spent on this good of a photographer alone?

Able to sense she was being watched by Winter, she quickly placed the picture back down, covering it with her pencil case. "U-uh… I was just… Uh…"

"Doing your homework?" Winter prompted with a bemused smile, making a gesture over toward Ruby with her red pen. "That's the idea, isn't it? Just do your best; you know I grade on effort and overall improvement, so don't worry about if it's 'perfect' or not."

"Cool, cool… I think I know what I can do."

Taking out a sketchbook that Winter had placed within the bag, she went through the pencil case again. Perfect; a black ballpoint pen. It had been a long time since Ruby last made art, but whenever she did, her weapon of choice was ink. She began to roughly sketch the basic outline, mastering the different shades by the amount she had to scribble against the page. She began with the darker tones first, the small of her back against her bound hands, continuing up her arms and the rest of the piece. It was quick and rough, but the shape was pretty accurate to the photo.

Ruby was just putting the finishing touches on her masterpiece when Winter's voice reached her, sharp and clear even though it was still on the other side of the room. "What… what is the meaning of this?"

It was enough of a distraction to cause one line to go slightly too far. Probably something Winter wouldn't notice, but something Ruby cursed herself inwardly for. Looking up, she asked, "What? What is it?"

The teacher was holding open Ruby's notebook, still with the other hand gripping the cover as if to close it. As if she had accidentally flipped to the front page and was on point of closing it the rest of the way… when she saw. Her eyebrows were knitted in very convincing confusion.

"Is… this some kind of joke? One of your friends teasing you?"

Her time drawing had completely wiped her memory of the embarrassing notes in the book. And now there they were, right in her face. "I… U-Uh… I don't know h-how that… I-I…"

"This looks like your handwriting," the woman persisted. Her voice had been sharp before, but seeing Ruby's reaction was causing it to grow softer and softer. "Like it…" Finally, she closed the cover as she coughed into her fist, eyes on the other side of the rectangular-framed spectacles averted. "But you can't have feelings like that. This is a v-very cruel joke to play on your teacher and I am not amused."

"I'm so sorry," she began, looking down at the table in shame. Unfortunately the fact there was a picture of her bound and gagged right in her vision wasn't helping; it was only making her core heat up all the more, and the blush to flare up once again. "I-I don't know what I was thinking. I was just… I-I…"

But Winter had opened it again, staring down at the garish heart. Her cheeks were getting a little pink themselves, though not nearly so much as Ruby's. After another second, she closed it again and shook her head, standing up and striding around her desk.

"We can't have this going on. It could lead to a lot of unpleasant questions for both of us, you understand?" Then she very carefully added, "Regardless of… whether or not this is a joke."

"I swear, Miss Schnee, I didn't mean to embarrass you!" Even if it wasn't something she did at all, she still felt humiliated by the sheer insinuation of it. Slowly she looked up toward her again, eyes still wide and nervous.

"I know you didn't. You've always been a near-perfect student. It's… been a real pleasure having you in my class, Ruby. Every day, I looked forward to seeing you most of all." Clearing her throat as if realizing she had gone a bit too far, she instead walked closer to Ruby's desk. "How is your project coming along?"

That filled Ruby with a bit of confidence. Picking up the paper, she turned it in her direction immediately. It was a rough drawing, but more than enough for Winter to see Ruby's style of artwork. Scratchy edgy lines with different pressures tones the piece, with softer lines in the light parts to keep it reasonably neat. It was a talent Ruby rarely displayed anymore, but she wanted to do a good job.

For just a moment, Winter was completely speechless. Her mouth opened several times, closed again, opened. Then she finally whispered, "Strawberries."

That made Ruby raise her eyebrow. She lowered the piece again, suddenly seeming a lot more nervous than she was in play - which was now paused. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Ruby, that's really good," she hissed, barely moving from her position. The Dom seemed to be desiring not to break from their play too much. "Sorry, wow, I just wasn't expecting… I'm honestly really impressed you did that just while we were in here."

"Really?" Turning the drawing back to herself for a moment to take another glance, she began to smile again. Turning it back, she asked, "Did you wanna keep it after this? I mean… it wouldn't be this good if the photo wasn't top notch. Did you hire someone to do that?"

"Yeah," Winter whispered, biting her lip and smiling as she nodded. "It was an ad on KinkHub that I answered; the shoot was free, so long as he could have free reign with the pictures that didn't clearly show my identity. Like that one, because of the blindfold and gag."

"It's… I mean, I know for you both, it's a kink thing, but it's sort of an artsy pic," Ruby noted, placing the drawn image down right by the photos side. Bar a few slight flaws a casual observer would never notice, it was more or less a perfect copy with the shading. Clearly no one had seen Ruby's art skills apart from teachers and her father.

"Thank you. And sorry, I just had to stop play because, I mean, my next move was going to be yelling at you and demanding to know what you had drawn. I wanted you to know first that I thought your drawing was truly exceptional."

Her face was glowing with pleasure as she stood there, still holding the notebook full of lines. Even though she was still blushing wildly, Ruby was grinning from ear to ear, looking down again to her rather quick drawing. When she realised there was one final touch she needed to do. Taking the pen again, she quickly signed and dated one of the corners, before pushing it back beside the photograph, looking up with the still beaming smile.

"I hope you'd like to keep it, then. All yours!"

"It should be in a gallery somewhere, but… I'd be honoured." Clearing her throat, Winter seemed to come back to the moment. "Right, then - sorry, that really was bad form to stop play, but I couldn't have concentrated until I let you know how talented you are. Ready to begin again?"

Scratching the back of her head for a moment to compose herself, Ruby simply continued to smile happily. It was an honour to hear Winter's delight with her drawing more than anything else. But now that she knew where the play was going, she had to sit back down and recompose herself. "Begin play."

Winter's eyes slid closed, and she took a deep, slow breath in. When they opened again, they looked shocked, very realistically. "Wh… what on earth have you drawn, Miss Rose?! What is that?!"

This time, it was a little more obvious she was acting more than normal, and she seemed to withdraw into a shell, drawing the image back toward her. That, of course, revealed the photograph right next to it. "I-I… That was the photo I got! See?!"

"No, you…" The "teacher" gulped, her hand trembling as she reached toward it. "No, no, you couldn't have - there's no… I d-didn't- you were supposed to have a still life of nature, I'm sure- how did you find this?!"

"It was in the envelope, Miss Schnee," she said rather shyly, pushing the photo toward her. "I th-thought… you gave it to me on purpose – like you were making a pass at me or something, I didn't know!"

Her eyes swiveled between the two images, the original and the artist's rendering. Then she looked back up at Ruby, her cheeks a deeper red and a guilty look coming over her. "It wasn't on purpose. I… I know how this seems, but… Miss Rose, I would appreciate you not telling anyone that this happened. I promise you, I didn't…" Her chest began to heave, and her voice turned into a harsh whisper. "I am not the sort of woman who harasses her students!"

"I never assumed that!" she squeaked out. Unfortunately now that she was more clued in about the subject of play, the words didn't sound genuine. Something she would have to work on in future perhaps. "You said that our subject for this assignment was 'helplessness', right? That's what I assumed this was. There are so many ways it can mean that!"

"W-well, I guess that's a funny coincidence…" Under her breath, she whispered, "That was supposed to go to Glynda; I must have sent her the picture of a dog with its head stuck in the bannister. Wonder what she thought of that…"

"Possibly not as sexy as this image…" But in her haste to make a joke in character, she realised what she had let on instead, and immediately looked wide eyed. "I-I mean, I don't- well, n-not that you aren't sexy! Well you are but… I-I…"

Winter's eyes were wide as she stared at Ruby, cheeks still rouged. After a few more seconds, she shakily asked, "You… weren't trying to play a prank on me, were you? When you drew thi- OOP!"

The notebook caught the edge of the candle as she brought it up to show Ruby again, knocking it over. Most of the hot wax landed on the table, but a drop of it splashed onto the back of the student's bare hand.

And instantly Ruby found herself yipping loudly. She brought her hand in by instinct, but by then the wax had already cooled onto her skin. Before then, however, it was very satisfying to feel the warm sensation – just enough to send a tingle or two down her spine and make her sigh with enjoyment.

"O-Ooohhh…"

"Are you alright?!" Winter demanded, laying the notebook on top of the photograph as she snatched up Ruby's hand, bringing it in toward her face to examine the spot of wax closely.

Face reddened again, she realised that she had done the worst thing; moaned out loud in enjoyment. Way to hold back! Drawing her hand away again, she nervously looked down. "Y-yes, ma’am! Sorry, I'm fine! Just… Just surprised me! Y-you know how dorky I am!"

The woman didn't quite look satisfied. "You're sure? I could get you some ice, or…" Almost as an afterthought, she reached back and righted the candle. "What you must think of me today, giving you obscene homework and burning you…"

"No way, Ms. Schnee," she reassured, rectifying her desk a little more to place the photo on top of her artwork. At least then Winter had the option of taking it back if she wished, or even just leaving it till the end. In truth, Ruby just enjoyed seeing it. "You… you could never do anything wrong. You're the best teacher."

"No… no, I am not." Taking up the hand again, she looked at the little disc of wax clinging to it. Her thumb brushed over the spot very gently, frowning down at it. "The best teacher isn't one who… who could hurt her student the way I have."

"It was an accident." With it only being a thin drop, she brushed it to one side. If any more had spilled onto her, that would be a much harder task to get rid of, but this wasn't the case at all. Ruby then looked back up to her, cheeks turning red as she bit her lip. "Besides… wax doesn't exactly hurt me."

"Thank goodness it doesn't." Winter's soft lips drifted so close to Ruby's hand that her shallow breath could be felt, warm on the slightly red spot where the wax had been a moment before. Then she looked up. "I… what am I doing? You don't want me to kiss it and make it better; I'm not your parent."

"You're not, no… but…" How could she keep this going and play into the role? It was proving rather challenging when she just kept imagining it as her previous teacher. But eventually she smiled up at her again. "You are my guardian while I'm in this building. And that means you can."

Unable to hold back any longer, Winter pressed her lips into Ruby's flesh. Once she did, she seemed unable to stop, kneading into it over and over, leaving tiny wet spots as she went. Her eyes closed, in bliss at being granted such an opportunity with her student… who began to smile again. All she could do was push her hand further into the kisses, offering her up more and more to play with. Oh, how she loved being pampered by her favourite teacher; something no other student would get. Despite the fact that the class size was exactly one.

When she finally drew away, Miss Schnee looked up at Ruby with heavy-lidded eyes. Licked her lips, swallowed. Then she whispered, "I… absolutely should not… have done that, Miss Rose."

"I didn't mind." And she didn't at all. Given that she was pushing the hand further toward her again, she more insisted it was kissed than anything. "I was enjoying it, a lot."

"No, no, this is a problem." The teacher stood, taking the photograph with her and staring at it as she strode to her desk, then turned around and gazed at Ruby fearfully. "You should never have seen this. And I should never have seen what's in your notebook. Some lines are… are not meant to be crossed."

"Maybe not, Ma’am." She would have kept to her desk, but when Winter was over there, backlit by the candles present on her desk, it was impossible to resist. Walking over and placing her art by the photo, she looked gradually toward her teacher again, blushing scarlet. "But now… it seems we're on the same page."

The teacher stared down at the desk at the two images, her fingertips running over the ink In the sketchbook. Then she whispered, "That doesn't make it right that… if I take advantage. You said it yourself: I am in charge of you. I should be telling you to go back to your seat right now."

But she wasn't. Instead, Winter stood there, breathing hard as she glanced at Ruby out of the corner of her eye, caressing the drawing as her other hand clutched the edge of her desk. Half closing her eyes, Ruby made her need for her teacher as obvious as she could. She made sure to stand close to her teacher, unbearably close; despite how much her breath was hitching up.

"But you don't want to," she began, looking straight into the icy blues of Winter's. "And maybe I… want to be taken advantage of."

There was a moment of indecision. In that moment, Ruby of course knew that they would progress; it was the point of their play, after all. But still, the acting was superb; Winter's face showed all the earmarks of an older woman, tortured by desiring a younger one.

"Nothing that happens ever leaves this room," she breathed, voice shaking. "Not the photograph, or the feelings in your notebook…" Her eyes raised again to bore into Ruby's. "Or the 'massager' that we both know you're not going to use on your neck. Or anything after."

She had forgotten about that little tidbit. Blushing again as she looked back, she seemed to be weighing the options of Winter's offer. No strings attached, no conditions; sounded perfect to her. If only things were so easy outside in reality. Nodding, she held the back of her hand out to her teacher again, offering it up to be kissed.

"Yes, Miss Schnee."

Then Winter smiled. It wasn't a kind smile, but it wasn't cruel, either. Somewhere in between. "Tell me about your feelings," she urged, voice still shaking but now with more than simple fear. There was excitement building, as well. "One page in a notebook tells so much… but not enough."

Hoo boy… That was the question, in and out of play. It would be extremely difficult for her to answer that one without giving too much of the game away, and would leave awkward questions when they were done. But maybe she could purge these feelings by feeding them into the role.

"It started at the beginning of the year, when you first taught me. When you told me there was no need to be scared; that I should just… go with the flow- with my art, I mean."

Both of Winter's hands raised, fingering the lapels of Ruby's jacket. Fondly, almost affectionately. Their bodies were much closer now, even though Winter had seemingly done nothing to make it worse. "That's when it started, with me being kind. Where did your mind go from there? What changed it from merely being grateful to a teacher to…" She gave Ruby's necktie a little tug. "Something else?"

Pulled in toward her even more, she swallowed nervously. That was a question she couldn't answer, in or out of character. Taking a small breath in, she shakily began, "I-I dunno… I-it just began, y'know? I don't know how…"

"I'm no one special; just an art teacher. There are dozens of boys - or girls - at this school worth developing a crush on. It had to have been one thing or another." Both hands slid further up, one caressing the side of Ruby's face while the other tousled her hair. "Something I did, or said…?"

"N-no… just… you being you." That was the honest truth at the end of it. Out of character, it really was her discovery of how Winter was as a person that caused her feelings. She was kind, thoughtful, underneath her rather hard outer shell. How could anyone not fall for her? Edging herself closer, Ruby was more or less ready to slide into her lap, still smiling nervously.

"Just me?" Winter's fingers hooked around the bridge of Ruby's glasses, drawing them off and setting them on one of the filing cabinets as she walked to erase the board. Then she lifted the chalk and drew Ruby's name in large, ornate cursive. "I… can relate."

"You can?" Still standing herself back, she watched Winter write her name beautifully, waiting for her to make the next move.

"Why do you think I lit candles? To warm us up? They barely give off any heat, at all." Winter turned, biting the corner of her lip for a moment before she said in a low, sultry voice, "I wanted to see you by candlelight. Even if this was the only way I ever could, it… I can only allow myself so much without tipping my hand."

"Then…" Stepping toward Winter, allowing her character a moment of confidence, she half closed her eyes, placing her hands onto Winter's shoulders as she held her closer, fluttering her lashes seductively. "Maybe you should tip your hand now…"

"Miss Rose…" Her hands slid around Ruby's waist, very naturally sitting there. As if they belonged. Then she whispered, "Why haven't I been able to get you out of my mind? Did… I really put that photo in your envelope by accident? Or did my subconscious hope for this?"

"It could be a little both. I know that… this is like a dream come true for me." Gradually, Ruby began to lean forward. Her eyes seemed to focus on one particular part of her; her lips. Slowly she was heading toward her goal, eyes closing all the more…

Until there was a call from the main room of the apartment. One jarringly familiar for the teacher. "Winter! Do you have a moment?"

They both froze solid. Winter looked at the door, listening hard - and hearing the sound of footsteps, she hissed, "Shit, it's my fa- I mean, the headmaster! There will be too many questions if you're seen here!" Pulling out her chair quickly, she whispered, "Hide under the desk!"

Not even asking twice, Ruby immediately did as she was told and ducked down under the desk, scooting herself right to the back so she would be out of sight from anyone coming in. That was her out of the way; what about the rest of the things that were laid out for their scene?!

Seemed there was no time to do anything about it. The door opened, and entering immediately was Winter's father. Thankfully, he was distracted by a tablet in his hands, on which he tapped through a few of the screens, until he looked up toward her. "Ah, there you are! I just needed to confer with you about these few appointments coming u-"

Then he paused, looking at the desks in front of Winter’s. Blinking in confusion for a moment, it seemed as though he was going to figure something was going on, until…

"Are we due for the interns today? I thought that was next week."

"O-oh, it is," she sighed, sinking down into her chair. She scooted it carefully forward until she felt her shins up against Ruby's chest and stopped, not wishing to squish her but also needing for her seat to look as natural as possible. "I mean, they are. Next week. But the desks got here early."

"Hm… very well, that's fair." Leaning against one of the desks, he brought up another list on the tablet, before giving her his full attention. "I've had a few calls from different talk shows; some for FNKI, some for Freezerburn. Anyway, you're better versed in some of the topics they want to talk about than I am, so I need your input before I book these."

Below the desk, Ruby was blushing again. From where she was, she got an excellent view of Winter from down below. As part of her outfit, she didn't wear any underwear, and was freshly shaven just for her – other than the landing strip. Already she could smell that Winter was aroused, and right in front of her.

"That sounds fine, sir," Winter sighed, legs shifting somewhat anxiously. No way was she forgetting about their invisible guest, either, but was doing her best to sound as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on. "If you could forward the dates to me, I'll consult my calendar. Or send them via instant message, if you would ever take the time to learn how to use it…"

"Hey, I've only just joined the twenty-first century learning how to use this thing." He turned the tablet in her direction for a moment, before looking back at it. "Can I go through some of these with you? I need your input on how appropriate these subjects are for your sister."

"Of course." But Winter wasn't budging. She couldn't take the risk that she would stand up and her father might walk around behind the desk, spotting Ruby much more easily. As surreptitiously as she could, she scooted the lesson plan book so that it mostly covered the photograph before she reached out for the tablet.

"Right. The first one is Lisa Lavender again. She's doing a marriage special and wanted Weiss and Yang on, but I have a feeling she's going to bring up the same 'so who's the father' if Fènleng comes up…"

Ruby had more or less zoned out from the conversation going on overhead. She was far too distracted by the sight and smell in front of her. Oh, how much she wanted to lean in, take another taste of it…

And she could; it seemed like something a student would do under these conditions. They weren't exactly playing by the rules here. Giving into her temptation, she placed her hands on Winter's inner thighs, beginning to stroke very slowly. Testing the waters.

"Well, it should be alright; Yang and Weiss are pretty good at redire-AH!" Clearing her throat, Winter adjusted herself in her seat slightly, trying to press her thighs together and trap the hands still. "R-redirecting questions by now. But we could have a word with Lavender before the show."

Alarmed by the sudden yelp from Winter, Mr Schnee raised an eyebrow. For now, he said nothing about it, and simply continued. "Right… well, that could be a possibility. Anyway, she wants FNKI possibly the week after, for both an interview and to perform; that I think would be fine. But I'm more worried about the other few shows on the list that want Freezerburn. I mean, I know they're pretty good with questions but I do worry sometimes on their behalf."

Unfortunately, Ruby wasn't stopping. She only began to smirk more, gradually pushing the legs apart a little more. She was determined to begin teasing as intimately as possible, to continue her habit of getting into risky situations. Wanting to give as good as she got for once.

Not that Winter was making it easy for her. The thighs were opening, but clearly she was pushing back against the hands forcing them apart. As she did so, she hitched a smile over her discomfort. "I know, Father. Weiss is still your baby girl, and Yang is an important part of our family, now, too."

"They are indeed. I just won't tolerate people attacking either of them and spreading rumours. Especially not while they're sensitive right now, I mean; you know what Weiss has been like since Fènleng was born, and the situation with Yang's mental health."

It didn't stop there. As well as hands, a soft pair of lips could be felt against her skin. Ruby was planting more and more kisses upward, giving a brief taster of what was to come. Which caused the scent to get stronger. Winter could only hope that her father didn't notice, but hopefully it would remain trapped beneath the skirt – or masked by the strawberry candle still burning on the second student desk.

"Y-yes, um… you know that I, of all people would never wish any further harm on Yang. But she's strong, she can handle a f- a few reporters."

"Yes… I hope so. I did say ‘no’ to the more infamous shows known to pressure their guests, thought that best. But if you could give a mark on the ones you think they'd enjoy, I'll be on my way."

The kissing continued upward still. Her hands instead moved to Winter's knees, holding them apart so she could continue that journey further upward, more and more until they finally hit home. And she pressed a soft kiss against Winter's petals.

At that instant, Winter had just been reaching up to grasp the tablet… when she couldn't help but let out a low moan, trembling from head to toe and accidentally knocking the apple from her desk as she braced herself against the sensation.

"Y… you can…" Clearing her throat, she sat back again and redoubled her concentration. "You can do as you see f-fit, Father."

Now it seemed he suspected something was wrong, and his brow furrowed again. "Is… everything alright? You seem awfully… on edge."

It could be more felt than heard, but Ruby giggled against Winter's flower at that comment. She could feel herself that Winter was on edge, especially when she delivered yet another kiss. When she saw fit, she allowed her tongue to press directly between her lips, giving a long lap over the length of her.

"S-sorry about that," Winter struggled to say, thighs pressing into both sides of Ruby's head, one of her heels digging into the girl's side. "Cramps, I… think I might have eaten… bad sushi…" She bit her lip to keep from calling out again, bracing herself as best she could.

Her student chose to ignore the mild pain. She continued to lap at the moist petals even more, loving every moment she could feel Winter reacting against her in some way. And all in front of her own father! This was as risky as it got; she was doing great! Winter would no doubt be so proud of her when they were alone again.

"I see. Well, I have some pain killers back in my apartment if you need them, I can go fetch them if needs b-"

But something else caught her father’s eye as he glanced toward her desk. Although she had managed to cover the photograph, Ruby's sketch wasn't covered at all. It was there, out in the open, forgotten by Winter. And was enough to raise both the man's eyebrows.

"Th-that won't be necessary," she told him, attempting to hold his attention away from the photograph. "I… I'll weather it, and if…"

A fresh wave of pleasure cut off the rest of her words. Seemed Ruby was actually not just aiming to tease her a little here or there, but to drive her all the way to orgasm! While Mr. Schnee was still standing on the other side of the desk! Had the Dom created a monster?

"Winter…" It didn't seem to work. Although his attention was away from the photo at the least, he was looking at her instead. There was silence for a moment, until he lightly smiled. "You… never told me that you were also into women."

And from below the desk, Ruby had to stop herself from suddenly laughing. Drawing herself away from the lips for a moment, she quietly chortled to herself, biting her own lip as tight as she could to prevent any sound escaping.

"What? Oh, that's… it's m-merely a drawing a f-friend did." Even though she was breathing easier now that her companion had taken a break, clearly she was still deeply affected by Ruby's attentions. "I… why should that mean I'm… you know, that?"

"Well… I can only assume, a picture of a naked woman – in this context, no less! You must have paid good money for a piece of art like that, and I can't think why you'd want it for general… aesthetic." He was finding himself becoming rather flustered at the subject. Mr Schnee had only just in recent years become more open to his family, including the extended family they now all shared. To his daughter, this would be a strange surprise to hear him talk about, or even see him blush because of the art. "I-I mean, nothing wrong with it, you know. Just… wow, I've been a bigoted old man all this time and both my girls are queer. What a twist."

Winter found herself completely in disbelief. Though she knew her father had come a long way since his old homophobic leanings, she hadn't expected him to very nearly not bat an eye at such an obviously perverse drawing lying out for anyone to see. Even if she had only forgotten about it and not meant for anyone to see it.

But there was something else about his blush that brought a question to mind. She didn't want to ask it, knew the answer would be nothing good. But try as she might, she couldn't resist.

"Do you… like that sketch?"

"I-it's… Uh…" Obviously from a drawing, he didn't recognise the figure; much to Winter's advantage. The last thing she wanted was to try and explain why there was a picture of herself bound and gagged on the desk. Still, he shrugged his shoulders, trying to nervously continue. "I-it's rather… interesting. I don't think you'd want to hear your old man admitting he likes that sort of thing."

"What do-" She hesitated, pushing her thighs together. If Ruby decided she was going to take advantage of the situation again, she wanted her to at least have to fight for it. "Perhaps I would never have asked if the topic hadn't come up this way, but now I'm curious. What do you like about it? The subject matter, the artist's skill… the model?"

And Ruby did. Even if her head was trapped between Winter's thighs, that wasn't going to stop her attempting to push back forward again. As best she could, once more she prised the legs apart, pushed her face to the petals beneath. She was determined not to let Winter off that easily.

And the ever-oblivious Papa Schnee could only look a little more, tilting his head. "Hmm… a-a mixture of the three. Though I haven’t ever seen anything quite like this, the art is very lovely. An interesting style."

"Isn't it, though?" Winter said, gasping as softly as she could when she felt Ruby's mouth attacking her anew, as she feared it would. "You'd… never believe who drew it. Quite a talent, even if it's… well, it's a little kinky, isn't it?"

However, during her brief respite from being eaten out, Winter had thought of a better plan for revenge. As she did her best to lean casually against her elbow, gazing down at the risque art, she raised her feet up and dug the pointed heels down into both of Ruby's hips.

A muffled yelp could be felt against Winter's sex. It hurt, but not to the point she had to stop. Just enough to prove again that she was doing a good job of inflaming her desires.

And further adding to the bonfire were the words of her own father, who could only give a nod of approval. "Yes. If you could give me the details, I may even attempt to commission them, maybe. Though… probably not something as kinky as this! Something more... tasteful, suitable for framing."

Winter nodded, using the time to let another wave of pleasure pass through her, into every last nerve ending. She couldn't stand it. If Ruby didn't let up, or if she didn't get rid of her father within the next few minutes… something unthinkable was going to happen. But she couldn't concentrate. Normally, she would know exactly what to say to get rid of him, or to make him lose interest in the conversation. But all she could do in that moment was to respond.

"I think that… could be arranged. I'll se- I'll set it up. One of the same model? Not kinky, but it could be… anything you want… name it…" Toward the end, her mind had drifted down under the desk again, as ashamed as she was of that.

But once realising what she had said, her heart stopped. No. She couldn’t pose nude for a sketch that her father would be buying – there was a line, and that was definitely over it!

"I may have a model in mind, perhaps… we shall see yet. Though I’ll keep her in mind, as well, of course; she's clearly a beautiful woman indeed. Reminds me of your moth- well, you won't want to hear about that." Thankfully, he did seem to be wrapping up the conversation. That much was obvious when he took the tablet back from her.

What a relief – in more ways than one. Although he did still spend a moment looking at the edits Winter had made to the list. Giving enough time for Ruby to continue. Rather than just lapping at the length of it, she began to focus directly on the clit. Giving a firm circle around and around, she smirked to herself when she felt Winter's legs shuddering. She was close.

The word "Shit!" fell from Winter's lips, soft and stressed. But even before her father could ask, she smiled up at him as convincingly as she could. "Oh, n-nothing, I just… knew the artist is f-fond of that model. Who d-did you have in mind?"

Ruby's mouth was magical! Every lick and nibble at her clit was making her skin tingle all over, her stomach clench and her heart race. A little further and she would be over the edge. The woman hated it, and yet she couldn't stop now; if she tried to get rid of her father at that exact second, whatever story she told him, she knew that one way or another, she would most likely have to stand up – and that when she tried she wouldn't be able to. Those knees were going to buckle. It seemed her only option was to bear down and weather the approaching climax.

Giving a small nod at the tablet, he finally tucked it under his arm. Business taken care of, he refocused on her question. "No one you'll know, I'm afraid. That's… more a conversation for another time, I think."

With a final grin to herself, Ruby went in for the kill. With a few more circles around the clit, she allowed one of her hands to head forward, drifting around her entrance that little bit to tease her. And once feeling the heels stab in a little more, she finally let them enter inside, trying to curl to hit that spot – as a vague revenge for the pain.

Both of Winter's eyes flew wide, her mouth falling open. Even throughout all of the teasing, the segue into earnest cunnilingus, she had never expected for Ruby to finger her! In front of her father! It was all she could do not to call out in ecstasy, to keep her reaction to a mere few breathy sighs despite the grinding through her inner walls. She had been so wet and ready, worked up to receive this pleasure. If they were alone, she would have been rejoicing as vocally as possible; she still wanted to.

But they weren't alone. Looking up at her father, she took a deep breath so as to sound as firm as she could manage. She was too close to wait for him to leave now. She had to ask him something that would keep him talking while she let her end come to the surface. "Ohh, Daddy…." That was NOT good; she tried again. "Y-you can tell me anything. Maybe I would… l-like to see the model's other work before I p-pass it along to my artist."

"Well… she's not a model." Thankfully, he was continuing. It was probably the worst kind of subject to have whilst in the middle of these activities, but it kept him talking. And easily distracted. "Of course, your mother's been gone a fair while… and though I still miss her, very much so, I know she wouldn't want me to be lonely the rest of my life. It's only been recently that I've found the strength to begin searching again. And, well, I've met someone new."

While her father was talking, Ruby was simply intensifying her efforts. It was now or never! She had to do it while he was distracted enough to look away or else Winter would never forgive her.

"O-ohhhhh?" Winter just managed to turn the end of her moan upward so it sounded like a question. It was too late to turn back. Widening her thighs to give Ruby headway, she forced herself to keep it together long enough to ask, "Do you… have a… picture of this new… lady in your life? I'd lo-LOOOOVE to see."

Eyes widening in surprise at Winter's apparent enthusiasm, he blinked back at her, taking the tablet back from under his arm. "You… really don't mind? I mean, I was worried that you or Weiss would be angry at me, or uncomfortable with- this is quite fantastic!"

He seemed to have not noticed Winter's predicament at all. Somehow, Ruby's continued actions on her clit and inside against her spot were going unnoticed by him still, and Winter still wasn't there yet! Probably because him being there made her too nervous. Thrusting faster and faster, she tried to make sure she would be ready to finish her off at the perfect moment…

Which came when Mr Schnee began to scroll through his tablet again, rolling his eyes and groaning to himself. "Where is that blasted Facebook app?! I only just had it open!"

That was the moment, alright. Gripping one arm of her chair to tether herself, Winter stopped resisting, stopped holding herself away from Ruby's punishing fingers as her inner walls clamped down around them, moisture pushing outward as she came. Wave after wave of ecstasy flooded out from the two points of Ruby's mouth on her greedy clit and the fingers hitting her internal spot, down into her shoes and up into every hair follicle on her head. There could be no denying how phenomenal of an orgasm it was.

But it had consequences. They could have been worse, or more prominent, but she had heard herself moan Ruby's name in an undertone during one of the early aftershocks. Even if her father hadn't heard it, she also felt wetness running down her inner thigh, and down her chin from her open mouth. As sensitive as they were rubbing up against the lace, she found herself eminently glad that she had worn a bra so that her rock-hard nipples wouldn't show through her linen shirt; that would have been too obvious to ignore.

Finally, Ruby could be felt backing herself away. She had Winter's liquid splashed on her face, in her hair; a clear marking of what she had just done. Something her student was going to wear with pride when this was all over, and she gradually drew her fingers out to finally stop the teasing.

Meanwhile, Mr Schnee had at last brought forward a page belonging to a Latina woman with shoulder length brown hair, one who seemed a similar age to him, give or take a few years. "Yes, here she is. You might have seen her in the building a couple of times."

"She looks ni-iiiice," Winter let out with a shiver as she was exited, her neck twitching slightly. The drool rolled even further down her chin, but she couldn't quite force herself to raise a hand and wipe it away just yet. "Is… was she the representative from the… from our paper supplier? She's hot."

Inwardly, she cringed. That had not been quite what she meant to say! It was true, but she had intended to be more moderate about it!

"Why, yes, she is! She's actually been helping me a lot when I have bad days grappling with my loneliness; it took me far too long to realise I’m attracted to the woman, however." Although straight after the comment of her being “hot”, he pulled the tablet slowly back again, teasing. "Hey, hands off, you."

Smiling weakly, his daughter finally leaned against her hand in such a way that she could surreptitiously wipe the drool track away. "Very funny. But I am happy for you."

Even in the midst of such a strange moment, Winter realized that was true; her father had found someone to help ease his lingering grief. It was a lucky thing indeed, as she had noticed how bad it was getting over the years. Maybe the relationship would last and she could become part of their odd little family.

"Thank you, my dear. And… I hope, if I was right about earlier, that you're happy. That's all I care about. And if you do happen to find someone, man or woman, I'd like to meet them."

"That may never happen, Father. But… I promise you will if it does." Then she shuffled some papers, purely so she would seem too busy to walk him out, before she said, "Oh, and please send me a few pictures of your new lady friend; I'll forward them on to my artist, see if she would be interested in working with her."

"Shall do." Finally he was going to make a move to leave, drawing the tablet back fully and pacing back toward the door again, not before leaving one last quick remark about the drawing. "Though this model truly is attractive… if I wasn’t already working up the nerve with Amber, I might ask for her number."

And with that, he finally closed the door behind him, and could be heard doing the same to the main door as well. Leaving poor Winter with the knowledge that her father clearly still was head over heels for their mother… even if that knowledge took the form of knowing she would do in a pinch.

#Lady Stardust #ruby x winter #rwby fanfiction #rwby smut #jacques schnee #rwbyremnants #nsfw-Text

3 notes · View notes

constantlyirksome · 5 years

Text

A Case for Big Mouth and Why it Works (Season 3 Review.)

South Park, Family Guy, Rick and Morty, for a long time we’ve been saddled with adult cartoons whose main goals were shock and awe to set them apart. But recently, with the introduction of streaming creators are taking risks. Bojack Horseman, a show equal in its whimsy and despair, is about to air it’s final, sixth season, proving a show can be mature, and tackle adult issues, and not resort to cheap shots or punching down with racism or sexism.

Big Mouth, created by Nick Kroll and Andrew Goldberg may not shy away from lewd, offensive and downright disturbing visuals, but I would argue that it falls more in the thoughtful and complex category.

The third season is just as debauched, but it still manages to carve out a lot of time to make thoughtful observations, in between dick jokes and people wanting to fuck turkeys. Peppered in here and there are jokes that are actually well crafted, and storylines that are progressive and joyful.

Season 3 picks up right after the Valentines Day special. Andrew, a newly recruited incel and asshole has gone full entitled male, violent chauvinist while his best friend Nick, now guided by Connie the hormone monstress, becomes more thoughtful, trying to become an ally to the girls in his school. He’s not good at it but he tries.

Guiding these two, and all the other freaks in their class, are Connie and Maurice the hormone monsters, who push the kids to do stupid things without thinking in an apt representation of how shit puberty actually feels. Maya Rudolph as Connie has been the shows MVP every season, her voice dripping like honey as she tells Nick and Jessie to rob people and jack it.

That’s my favourite thing about Big Mouth, all aspects of human development and thinking are recognized by some form of beast, wizard or hag driving the process. The embodiment of human shame, Shame Wizard, last season’s breakout star voiced by Harry Potter’s David Thewlis, only appeared once in S3, but many new friends showed up that were just as nuts. An old flying hag starts following Andrews's mother around, the embodiment of menopause, screaming both the joys and heartache of a woman’s reproductive going out of business sale. Voiced by Carol Kane (Kimmy Schmidt) she teaches Mrs. Glouberman to embrace her new stage of life.

A talking phone name Cellsea voiced by Chelsea Peretti sucks Nick into the virtual vortex, the embodiment of the human addiction to screens and phones. She’s basically Gina from B99 in a phone, she bullies and berates nick, goading him to do irresponsible shit, and it’s marvelous. Returning are the talking ladybug, Mirror Missy, Depression Kitty (a giant purple cat representing depression) and many more.

The creators of this show are coming out with a spinoff called “Human Resources”, which will likely feature all these whimsical nightmares that I’m very much looking forward to.

Bigmouth S3 focuses on more than the two boys this season, giving thoughtful, and dare I say heart-warming stories for it’s more minor characters Missy, Jay and Matthew. Matthew (another disciple of the always horny Maurice) has his first kiss with another boy, successfully taming his hormones (proving men can do this) to have a sweet romance with him. Missy grapples with being “too nice”, letting her mean alter ego loose against toxic men and bullies in a truly marvelous way.

Jay finally comes to terms with who he is. After being all sorts of confused on Valentines, he binge watches a Netflix show about a queer magician to try and help him understand who he is. After an amazing musical number featuring Martin Short and the ghost of Freddie Mercury on the many different ways you may choose to self identify he becomes sure and confident in his own bisexuality. It’s an awesome thing to see a young kid unapologetically say he’s bi, refuting people who think “bi is just a stop towards gay.” With the help of a new pansexual classmate Ali (voiced by Ali Wong) encourages him he feels okay telling his classmates.

Although he lives with Nick and his parents most of the season after his family “home alones” him, not for the first time, he’s able to go home finally to try to help his family grow like he has.

The season tackles current politics, first with the trappings of toxic masculinity and double standards in how males and females are supposed to behave. At one point Andrew (before realizing what a jackass he’s being and unintentionally ending up at a Nazi rally) says “I do feel out of control all the time and I think I’ll use that as an excuse for my actions.” After starting an online manifesto the girls and Nick help him realise this is not the way to go. Mr. Lizer the fake woke teacher at the school is a cautionary tale against following this thought process into adulthood, coming across as truly repulsive.

Nick’s obsession with his phone and that whole storyline DOES feel like a boomer wrote it “kids these days on their phone”, it’s a bit ham-fisted but Cellsea is so funny and rude that it is still an entertaining plot thread.

Other funny threads include an incestuous trip to Florida, a story about the history of female orgasms and vibrators which is actually pretty informative, and a PSA against selling ADHD medication to people who don’t need it. Although these stories border on the obscene they never punch down. A person’s identity is never the butt of a joke, they’re celebrated (there’s a lovely little creative scene that describes the story and relevance of Passover Seder).

So go watch season three of big mouth! If you can look past all the cartoon genitals there’s something in there for everyone. Plus it’s worth it to watch Coach Steve (who is more of a cryptid that pops up for a few frames every episode this season) get a makeover from Queer Eye’s fab five, and to hear Tan France call him a “really dumb man.”

#big mouth #nick kroll #jenny slate #john mulaney #maya rudolph #chelsea peretti #jason mantzoukas #nick birch #connie the hormone monstress #maurice the hormone monster #andrew glouberman #reviews

165 notes · View notes

doublearrows · 4 years

Text

fandom discourse musings under the cut bcs i wanna be clear on where i stand since some gross people try to interact despite my clear ass warning in my bio -_-

i dnt really talk fandom discourse cause that shit give me a headache but imagine saying being hated and being banned from the actual wrtv discord is a badge of honor LMFAOOO

i could type up some indepth analysis abt how people react to the hurt/shame of societal rejection and how normal/mature people take a sec to actually self-evaluate based on it and the insecurity that underlines reacting to being told something’s morally wack by doubling down on it and making it Part of your identity to try to “own” it like it doesn’t get to you... but it’s not really worth it for people that r mostly like that because they want to keep beating their meat to pedo/incest shit and also think theyre oppressed for it

it IS annoying that people waste time sending hate though like just block n ignore and spread awareness if u see a friend unknowingly interact it’s not that hard. adults who have buckled down into the “yeah im nasty i support problematic shit fuck u uwu” boat arent rlly worth the time of day. just ostracize them into their cesspool of supporting pedophilic/incestuous content

it’s especially worrying because i feel like it’s a lot of younger people/minors often interacting to send hate and its like... redirect your energy dude. it’s not good for your brain and it’s more damaging to yourself to be in direct contact with them

not as related but ppl supporting pedo/incest content always find euphemisms like “pro-ship” to come off less immediately affronting and its so gross LMFAO

tldr if you think its remotely ok to create, support, or tolerate romanticizing and sexualizing pedo/incest stuff even in fiction just block me

#text #dont send me anons abt this either i wont answer bcs i dont like cluttering my blog w discourse asks #and yes its hlvrai fandom rn

10 notes · View notes

of-suns-and-guns · 5 years

Text

On the small bump in anti-Kalex activity recently:

I know it sucks and it’s super disheartening, and can SEVERELY make you doubt the implications of just liking the ship at all.

But you have understand that they do not ACTUALLY care that we're shipping a so-called "incest" ship. They don't care about social nuance, they don't care about legal definitions, they don't care about why "incest" has such negative connotations in the first place and the subsequent reasons why Kalex doesn't fit EITHER of those reasons.

They literally don't care; that's not why they're attacking us.

They're WHOLE point is finding whatever morally inexcusable term they can use to shame ANYONE who ships their fav with someone else, regardless of how far they have to stretch that definition to make it fit.

Note: the following are listed arguments made BY OTHER SHIPPERS against THESE SHIPPERS' rights to ship the thing, and has NOTHING to do with the rightful criticism surrounding the implications of certain creative choices made by the then-showrunner/writing team. Fans and shippers are NOT responsible for the story and character decisions made by the production team, nor are they required to ship based on the social or moral implications of that ship in a real-world setting, no ifs, ands, or buts

According to anti-shipping;

Supe/rcat and Kar/amel: abusive and pedophilic

Supe/rlane, Supe/rcorp, and Kar/amel: racist

Guardia/ncorp and Supe/rcorp: toxic

Guardia/ncorp: lesbiphobic

Win/nara and Kar/amel: incestuous

Gen/eral Dan/vers: incestuous, abusive, AND pedophilic

And I have literally seen people say they would delete their whole Reig/ncorp blogs if it turned out Lena's mother (who died when she was four, and of whom she has very few memories) turned out to have fostered Sam at any point before she died, in fear that they might be labeled an "incest shipper."

They don't care about nuance, context doesn't matter, and they WILL argue whatever double-standard they think bolsters their case, because they don’t actually care about it.

For example:

- 1 -

Anti-shipping is the ONLY time you will ever see anyone arguing that ELIZA'S choices take precedence over the choices Kara and Alex make for their own lives.

Sure, she wasn't allowed to stop Kara from using her powers, or keep Alex from making her own career choices, but when it comes to the SHIP they don't like, THAT'S when Eliza's expectations matter.

[Because they don't actually care about Eliza's expectations]

- 2 -

Anti-shipping is the ONLY time you will ever see anyone arguing a title chosen when two characters were TEENAGERS is the only definition under which their relationship should be allowed to exist, and that—once said—changing it would be disgusting and disrespectful and downright abhorrent.

Sure, shippers LOVE when queer girls who haven't yet identified their sexualities use the word "sister" to describe their intense feelings for one another, because it's the only socially acceptable way to maintain their closeness without probing questions, because that makes it all the more romantic when they realize just how gay the whole relationship actually is and finally move it into a more romantic context. But NOT when the girls renegotiating the terms of their relationship are part of a SHIP they don't like.

[Because they don't actually care about the use of the word sister]

- 3 -

Anti-shipping is the ONLY time you will ever see anyone arguing 13-/14-/15-year-olds who haven't yet come to terms with their sexualities are somehow incapable of forming crushes on pretty girls they share close quarters with.

Sure, canon has told us that LITERALLY happened, and plus, EVERYONE loves a good teenage coming-out/coming-of-age fic (with bonus points if Character A doesn’t realize they'd been in love til years down the line when they DO finally come out), but NOT when we have the gall to suggest it could've happened to the SHIP they don't like.

- 4 -

Anti-shipping is the ONLY time you will ever see anyone suggest it's IMPOSSIBLE for a character to have fallen in love with Kara "Sunshine" Zor-El.

Sure, EVERYONE falls in love with Kara, and NO ONE loves her more fiercely than Alex (who was a gay disaster and deeply in the closet for the first 27 years of her life), but when it comes to the SHIP they don't like, that closeted gay disaster who loves her with ever fiber of her soul was OBVIOUSLY the only person on earth who escaped falling in love with fuckin' Supergirl.

[Because they don't actually believe EITHER of those things are impossible and they feel threatened by it]

Anti-shippers do not care about the issues they're claiming to fight against. That's why trying to reason with them, or explain, or re-contextualize doesn't actually work; they don't care. They're literally just doing it to try to shame other ships out of existence, because they're so thin-skinned, just the mere knowledge that someone is out there imagining their fav with a different character is enough to give them gut-rot, and they want to make that YOUR problem.

And the ONLY reason I'm even bringing any of this up now is because there DOES seem to be a resurgence, and I KNOW that sick feeling that inevitably comes when you see a new ask, or a new anti post in the tag, or whatever else those obsessive weirdos end up doing, and I want to make sure you know now, their reasons for hating us have NOTHING to do with the morality of our ship.

They will use every half-baked rationale they can pull out of their ass to justify why we don't belong here, because they literally just think no other ship outside their own deserves to exist in fandom-space. It's not about us, it's not about incest; it's about them and their entitlement to fandom-space that prioritizes THEIR ship to the point of gate-keeping all others from existing comfortably.

They're emotionally immature cretins, hailing from many, many different ships, who want nothing more than to snuff out as many other ships as they possibly can.

It's not about whether or not other ships are actually doing something wrong, or unhealthy, or actively harmful; it's about making everyone else LEAVES. It's about making them hurt, or hide, or feel shame, all so they can beat everyone else out of general fandom spaces so they don't have to LOOK at them.

It's not about us. Arguing why Kalex isn't actually incest won't work because that's not their point, they don't care; they just want us—and everyone else they don't agree with—gone.

My policy for dealing with hate aimed at this blog is just, block and delete. Delete asks immediately because I'm not gonna give them a platform to speak to the several HUNDRED Kalex shippers following this blog. Block every hateful reply so they can't keep hijacking the posts I made for OUR ship. And block any and every anti poster in the tag before they even have the notion to target this blog.

It really is only 1% of general fandom actively participating in this kind of behavior, and tedious as the process is, we CAN slowly block the whole of them from gaining access to our piece of the fandom.

But we're not doing anything wrong, no matter what they say. They're making these arguments against everyone, because they literally just want everyone else gone and will say and do anything they think will get under our skin to make that happen.

Just try to remember that. And you are not alone in your reasons for liking what you like about this ship.

#kalex #danvers squared #superagent #kara x alex #also please no badmouthing ships on this post #like i know it's really easy to be like 'yeah so-and-so ship is the worst with that' and 'that ship is so volatile'#but i promise you it is not ever just ONE ship #and they all go EQUALLY as hard #it's justs a numbers game #if you notice more coming from one ship that's because that's a big ship #not necessarily because it's the more hateful fandom #added a cut #cause it's #so long #unweildy

45 notes · View notes

douxreviews · 5 years

Text

Quantum Leap - Season Five Review

It had been awhile since I watched season five, and some of it was better than I remembered. Unfortunately, some of it was worse.

Celebrity leaps

The Kennedy assassination? What were they thinking? ("Lee Harvey Oswald," 5.1 and 5.2.)

Quantum Leap always played with celebrity encounters as cute little supplemental by-the-ways and isn't-this-fun, like Buddy Holly and Michael Jackson, and honestly, I totally understand their desire to try something new, to do a high concept two-part episode. But "Lee Harvey Oswald" was terrible, uncharacteristically grim and unforgivably dull. Quantum Leap is a science fiction adventure show with a great deal of humor and charm. It is not a documentary.

Not to mention that Quantum Leap's raison d'etre is to fix "what once went wrong." How on earth could they possibly fix the Kennedy assassination without changing a massive event in American history? Having Sam save Jackie Kennedy, who died in the original history, was an interesting twist, but it was also a cop-out. Especially when you consider what Jackie did with her life after Jack Kennedy's untimely death. (No judgment there, honestly. I'm just saying.)

It also felt wrong to see Sam so affected and influenced by the person he leaped into that he couldn't change anything, and it's telling that this was the only way they could make the script work. We all know that if Sam had been himself, he would have found some way to stop the assassination. I understand from the internet that Donald Bellisario believed that Oswald acted alone and that it was the point he was trying to get across. And I will respond by saying that a show like Quantum Leap was not the place to do it.

"Goodbye, Norma Jean" (5.18) didn't work either, despite a good performance by Susan Griffiths as Marilyn and some enjoyable faux cameos by actors playing Clark Gable, John Huston and Peter Lawford. The big question for me again was, why? What did Sam put right that once went wrong? Supposedly, Marilyn needed to live a little bit longer and do one last film, and if The Misfits had been one of the greats, I would get it, but honestly, it's not a great film. If they had to do Marilyn, wouldn't it have been great if Sam had kept her from committing suicide earlier in her life?

The other two celebrity leaps this season were outright fun, though, and those did work.

I loved Scott Bakula doing an actual impression of "Dr. Ruth" (5.14) in an episode that featured the real Dr. Ruth Westheimer. While the double entendres were uncomfortably thick on the ground, it was pretty much the perfect celebrity leap to illustrate the differences between the reserved and prudish Sam, who had a terrible time doing a radio show about sex, and Al, who didn't hesitate to avail himself of free sex therapy in the Waiting Room with Dr. Ruth herself. We also got a timely reminder that Al has been married five times, and that he still loves his first wife, Beth.

I also enjoyed "Memphis Melody" (5.21) where Sam leaped into a young Elvis Presley. It was so much better than Lee Harvey Oswald and Marilyn Monroe because it wasn't depressing, and Scott Bakula got to sing as Elvis. Very nice. Especially his version of "Amazing Grace." (Which is not what they're singing in the photo below.)

Movie tributes

One of Quantum Leap's constant go-tos was movie tributes and/or ripoffs. In "Leaping of the Shrew" (5.3), Quantum Leap did The Blue Lagoon, and they even got Brooke Shields to guest star. You'd think that wouldn't work, but it was actually pretty darned cute. They also did Coming Home in "Nowhere to Run" (5.4), and it even guest starred an adorable pre-Friends Jennifer Aniston. But honestly, the way they got around Sam walking around while he was supposed to missing his legs was pretty darned weird.

Points for trying

I liked the idea behind "Trilogy" (5.8, 5.9 and 5.10), an interesting twist in the formula where Sam leaped into three different people while trying to save the same person, Abagail Fuller. It was almost like they finally addressed the "what happened to the person Sam saved later on" question. But the story acquired a mildly incestuous feel when Sam went from being Abagail's father figure in part one to her fiance in part two. And the idea of Sam fathering a child while not in his own body was interesting, but also weird. Although I did like the idea of Sam's brilliant daughter Sammy Jo helping out at the Quantum Leap project. Were they thinking about casting her as a permanent character? That could have been fun.

I also liked "Killin' Time" (5.5), where Sam leaped into a serial killer and had to explain the truth about the Quantum Leap project to his hostages. The best part about it was that there was actually action at the project in alternate universe 1999 as the killer escaped and Al took off after him, while Gooshie had to replace Al in the imaging chamber. I'll admit that the face paint, neon decoration and strange computer stuff didn't work, mostly because we all know now that 1999 didn't look like that. Maybe I should have taken that to mean that all of Quantum Leap happened in an alternate universe?

I wasn't as crazy about "The Leap Between the States" (5.20), the first and only time that Sam leaped out of his own lifetime, inhabiting his great-grandfather and romancing his great-grandmother back in 1862. It might have been a little better if they'd managed to resist white savior syndrome.

"Promised Land" (5.11) was a nice idea in theory, popping Sam back to his own home town with people he grew up with. Maybe a little hokey, but at least he got to see his late father one last time. But couldn't we have spent time with Sam's family again instead of getting stuck in a bank for the entire episode?

No points for trying

And then we had the evil leaper. (5.7 "Deliver Us From Evil," 5.16 "Return of the Evil Leaper," 5.17 "Revenge of the Evil Leaper")

Okay. I can see where the writers would have hit on the idea of an evil counterpart to Sam, but I thought it made absolutely no sense and was in fact never explained. Was Satan carrying on a Quantum Leap project of his own to put wrong what once went right? Although it was nice to see the characters from season two's "Jimmy" again and the carrying on in the women's prison was sort of fun, it just didn't work for me. Plus Alia's existence made Sam non-unique, which is something you don't want to do with your lead. The evil leaper concept didn't deserve to take up three full episodes of their final season.

The series finale

I hadn't seen "Mirror Image" (5.22), the final episode of Quantum Leap, since it aired, and was really looking forward to it because I remembered how choked up I was by that last scene with Beth and that final card about what ultimately happened to Sam. Unfortunately, I am sad to report that I found the rest of "Mirror Image" to be sub-par.

Sam arrived in a barroom at the moment he was born, and for the first time, when he looked into a mirror, he saw himself. That was actually a powerful scene, and it was touching that his hair had started to become gray. There were many scenes in the barroom in the coal mining town of Cokesburg that included actors from previous episodes playing other characters. I'm sure they were going for some sort of huge metaphorical what's-is with the mine collapse, but I just didn't get it.

I also thought it was sad that, even though the resolution of the series was all about Al Calavicci, we saw too little of him in the finale. Instead, we got Bruce McGill as the enigmatic Al the bartender, who kept giving Sam clues about what's going on. Was this new Al supposed to represent the God who had sent Sam on this strange journey? I suppose so.

We also learned that it was always Sam's unconscious choice to keep leaping, that his leaps would become more difficult, and at this point, Sam could choose to go home. The fact that Sam chose instead to leap back to the end of "M.I.A." and change Al's life forever was by far the best part of this mishmosh of an episode. Sam's ultimate choice was a selfless expression of love for his closest friend. It was also a radical, series-changing choice, breaking all of the rules we've come to accept as governing Sam's leaps. It was emotionally satisfying, though. So like Sam to give such a huge gift to someone else instead of taking advantage of his one last opportunity to go home. Tragic.

That last title card, "Dr. Sam Becket never returned home," really got to me way back when it first aired in May of 1993. This time, when I saw it, the one big thing that struck me was that in their rush to close down their series, they spelled their lead character's name wrong. (It's "Beckett," with two T's.) Maybe they made that mistake because "Mirror Image" wasn't supposed to be the series finale and they were forced to tack on an ending.

While that last scene with Beth, and its implications, were a worthy end to the series, and I loved the idea of Al happily married to the love of his life, the thought of a sad and exhausted Sam choosing to continue leaping forever was emotionally wrenching. In a way, it also negated everything that happened in the entire series. The Al Calavicci that helped Sam on every step of his journey is no longer the same Al Calavicci. I guess I need to remind myself that I must never try to apply logic to time travel stories.

Bits and pieces:

-- The credits for season five featured a new arrangement of the original theme song. It was terrible. Awful. Blech.

-- Notable actors: Neil Patrick Harris, age twenty, in "Return of the Evil Leaper," Stephen Root in "Goodbye Norma Jean," Hinton Battle from the Buffy musical in "Revenge of the Evil Leaper," and Meg Foster of the amazing eyes in "Trilogy."

-- Bruce McGill, who played Al in the series finale "Mirror Image," was also in "Genesis," the pilot episode. That was a nice touch, since I assume it was deliberate.

-- I hadn't known this until I looked it up, but Susan Griffiths ("Goodbye, Norma Jean") has made a career out of playing Marilyn Monroe. And Michael St. Gerard, "Memphis Melody," played Elvis several other times as well.

-- Just a general observation: when I was finished my rewatch, I figured out what years Sam leaped into the most, and which months of the year. There were very few winter leaps, which makes sense since they filmed in Los Angeles. It also makes sense that the writers would mostly choose the 1950s and 1960s because they could do more interesting period stuff. The year Sam leaped into the most was 1957 (seven times).

And in the end:

Despite this mostly negative closing review, I enjoyed rewatching Quantum Leap more than I thought I would. It was a creative series that aired at a time when there was very little quality science fiction on television, and the two lead characters and the actors who played them were exceptional. There's also no question that Quantum Leap is showing its age a bit sooner than it probably should.

There are a lot of series revivals going on right now. What would a reboot of Quantum Leap be like? I bet that in today's "it's all about the arc" environment, they could go in some truly interesting directions.

What do you guys think?

Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

#Quantum Leap #Sam Beckett #Al Calavicci #Scott Bakula #Dean Stockwell #Quantum Leap Reviews #Doux Reviews #TV Reviews #something from the archive

11 notes · View notes

writeforsoreeyes · 5 years

Text

BL LookBack - Gerard & Jacques

Welcome to BL LookBack, where I’m rereading some of the oldest BL series still on my shelves to see how well they hold up for me today!

[image description: the covers of Gerard & Jacques volumes 1 and 2. On the first, an older man with an eyepatch and facial scar embraces a disgruntled teenage boy from behind. On the second, the two characters, both older, stare at each other tenderly.]

story & art by Fumi Yoshinaga originally serialized 2000 - 2001 (Biblos) English edition: 2006 (Tokyopop)

CW: rape, age gap

Fumi Yoshinaga is one of my favorite mangaka. Her diverse body of work includes award-winning alternate history (Ooku: The Inner Chambers), self-deprecating autobio comics (Not Love But Delicious Foods), and bittersweet school life drama (Flower of Life). But what she’s perhaps best known for are her many BL titles.

As a big fan, I’ve read pretty much all her manga and I usually recommend her titles quite enthusiastically. Gerard & Jacques, however, is one Yoshinaga manga that I generally do not recommend. My content warnings on this post probably give you a good idea of why, but let’s dive into it.

Set roundabouts the French Revolution, Gerard & Jacques follows the relationship of two men over the course of nine years. Jacques is the younger of the pair at just 16 when the story begins. He hails from an aristocratic family, but experiences a severe reversal of fortune: his family has sunken deep into debt and his father sold Jacques to a brothel in attempt to save the family’s wealth.

Gerard, meanwhile, is a commoner-- albeit a very wealthy one. He frequents brothels and is a favorite patron of many of the workers since he is younger and more attentive than most of the clientele. Since it’s Jacques’ first night on the job, the brothel owner decides that Gerard will be the best way to ease him into it.

Jacques, however, is understandably in shock about his new reality. He reveals to Gerard that he is an aristocrat and Gerard in turn reveals that he hates aristocrats, stating that they do nothing to earn their wealth. Furthermore, Jacques’ defense of his family’s actions angers Gerard. He makes Jacques face the facts of his situation and Jacques finally tells Gerard to do whatever he wants.

[image description: Gerard hold Jacques by the chin and tells him, “Think about it! What are you now? Do you have any means to pay off your debt other than selling your own body?” He lets Jacques go and continues, “And even in this state, a first-rate prostitute like you is blessed with a feather pillows, three meals a day and silk bed clothes. Younger children than you sell their bodies in places no better than a public toilet!”]’

Although consent is given on paper, it’s hard to call what occurs in chapter 1 anything besides rape.

Usually, this is where I’d drop a BL. However, the saving grace of Gerard & Jacques is that chapter 1 doesn’t end there. Instead, it ends with Gerard taking pity on Jacques. He buys out Jacques’ contract and challenges him to find a way to earn a living as a commoner, stating “If I see you back here [at the brothel] when I next return, I’ll scorn you from the bottom of my heart.”

Not long after, Jacques turns up at Gerard’s mansion looking for work, not realizing who lives there. Although he’s taken aback upon seeing Gerard, Jacques is still eager to prove himself. Gerard openly doubts that Jacques will be useful, but hires him regardless.

Here is the crux of Gerard & Jacques: the story’s setup is deeply problematic. But where a less talented mangaka would slip into weak character development and tired tropes in favor of exploiting the scenario’s raciness, Yoshinaga works hard to prove there is a story worth reading here. As for how successful she ultimately is… your mileage may vary.

Let’s talk about what’s done well first.

Yoshinaga excels at writing characters with complex emotions and motivations. Jacques is naive and repressed when it comes to sexual matters. However, he is also an intelligent, hard-working, and prideful person who isn’t afraid to tackle tasks that other people think are below him. After being turned out by his family, what he wants most is to prove his worth.

[image description: a maid praises Jacques for working hard and finding tasks to do without being told, ending with “That’s the sign of a good servant.” Jacques is pleased.]

Jacques, for obvious reasons, got a poor first impression of Gerard, so he’s surprised to learn that Gerard treats his servants very kindly and is well-liked by therm. As a self-made man, Gerard has enough reason to dislike pampered, frivolous aristocrats. (Note: Gerard made his fortune by penning erotica. There’s certainly some meta going on here, as that is also how Yoshinaga built her career.)

However, it doesn’t take long for Yoshinaga to divulge Gerard’s past and reveal the real reason behind his ire. I won’t go into the details because it’s all obviously spoilers. But, in short, Gerard was hurt badly by someone he loved and has never forgiven them-- nor has he forgiven himself for being blinded by his love.

[image description: Jacques asks Gerard, “Is this love?” Gerard is surprised by the question, then he looks down and responds, “How should I know?”]

As someone who primarily reads to experience other people’s emotions, I appreciate the care that Yoshinaga takes in crafting believable personalities and depicting the characters’ emotions clearly on the page. She isn’t afraid to use several panels to simply show a small shift in a character’s expression. In relatively few chapters, she covers a lot of emotional ground while showing how the two main characters’ feelings for each other change.

[image description: Jacques lays on Gerard’s chest and pets his hair, saying “I like you...” Unseen by Jacques, Gerard moves as if to put his arm around Jacques and return his embrace, but pulls away.]

Yoshinaga also manages to pack an awful lot of plot into just two volumes without the story feeling too rushed. Nearly a decade goes by! There’s the events that shift Gerard and Jacques relationship, story lines that reveal backstory, and, of course, plots driven by Revolutionary France politics. There’s so much political and legal talk at some parts, in fact, that you might momentarily forget you’re reading a BL. While some readers may be uninterested in such plots, I personally enjoy romance stories that have something else going on within them besides romance.

Finally, I greatly appreciate that Yoshinaga steered clear of the Bury Your Gays trope. It’s a spoiler to even say so, but I think it’s important to know, especially for queer readers: neither Gerard nor Jacques die. I won’t say anything more about the ending than that.

[image description: Gerard and Jacques are arguing whether Jacques should flee the country alone or if Gerard should come with. Jacques stands his ground, saying “I won’t go unless you do!”]

Now let’s talk about the bad stuff.

The number one issue I take with Gerard & Jacques is its double standard surrounding sexual consent. In essence, the reader is meant to presume that since Jacques ultimately enjoys the sexual pleasure he receives from Gerard, that means that his consent is good and golden-- and thus it’s not rape. By contrast, when another character forces sexual attention on people, it’s plainly depicted as sexual assault and rape. Obviously, that’s not how it works in real life.

There’s also a weird, pseudo-incestuous vibe. Gerard is quite a lot older than Jacques (roughly twice his age when they first meet, I think). Furthermore, Jacques’ background and kind-heartedness remind Gerard of a girl who he considered his daughter. Gerard even tells Jacques when he is older, “I loved you like my own child, but that’s not all now. I love you like my lover.” While no actual incest occurs, I’m sure this alone will turn off plenty of readers.

[image description: Gerard comments to the maid that Jacques looked cute dressed up in aristocratic attire. She remarks, “What a fond father you are.” He thinks on this, then repeats, “A fond father. I see.”]

Finally, there’s some unfortunate Man in a Dress style transphobia. Gerard disguises himself as a woman briefly for plot reasons and, in short, some characters note that the look doesn’t suit him. The way it’s executed is much gentler than most other Man in a Dress joking I’ve seen, but it’s still bothersome.

Overall, Gerard & Jacques isn’t bad. In fact, I’d say that Yoshinaga pulls off the story rather well within the confines of the problematic scenario. However, I think the story would’ve been far better without the rape between the two leads.

[image description: Jacques frowns at a manuscript and says, “No matter how many times I read this, it’s still just a crappy, erotic trash novel.” Gerard replies, “It sells. What’s the problem?”]

If this review has made you curious despite the warnings, I do think it’s a worthwhile read so long as you are prepared for objectionable content. But for people put off by the various warnings, I’d encourage you to check out something else by Fumi Yoshinaga. My two personal favorite series from her are Antique Bakery (workplace slow burn drama) and What Did You Eat Yesterday? (half cookbook, half slice of life about a middle aged gay couple.) Neither of these are actually BL in the proper sense, but both prominently feature gay main characters.

*final verdict: I was put off by its premise when I first read it and my feelings on it haven’t much changed. It’s well-done, but the creator has other works I’d recommend more.*

#gerard & jacques #fumi yoshinaga #bl lookback

3 notes · View notes

toonstarterz · 6 years

Text

BECAUSE I’M NOT POPULAR, I’LL READ WATAMOTE: CHAPTER #137

Once upon a time, there was a girl. An unpopular girl. That nobody knew, nobody cared. She strived to be popular. To have dozens of friends and live the life of a socially fulfilled high school girl. After much time and effort, she had finally succeeded in her goal. She got friends. She got popular. She became normal.

But it wasn’t everything she hoped it would be.

And so Golden Week came around. She made plans with her new friends. And the popular girl can’t help but wonder...

“Is this really what I want?”

Chapter 137: Because I’m Not Popular, I’ll Prepare for Golden Week

Okada: “Is my forehead that big?”

Katou: I wonder if Kuroki-san is doing anything after this...?

Tomoko: “Man, I’m tired.”

Komiyama: [ Exactly what it says. ]

Y'all know the drill by now. Tomoko expects the least, ends up getting the most.

Katou is honestly a very difficult character to get right in this kind of manga. For a series as excruciatingly real as this, a beautiful, popular girl like Katou could easily come off as “unrealistic” or an “otaku’s fantasy” with the way she reaches out to Tomoko. But Nico Tanigawa manages to keep Katou within the realm of believability, and I think it’s because she treats everyone with motherly kindness. It’s her natural instinct, so it doesn’t seem forced in the slightest.

Yeah, buzz off, Kiyota! You’ve already exceeded this manga’s male quota for the next ten chapters.

It sure is swell that Tomoko’s friendship with Yuri has grown enough that even people outside of the loop can see how joined-at-the-hip they’ve become.

I’m getting flashbacks of the KBBQ dinner right now. Someone invites Tomoko, she invites Yuri, Yuri gives a double negative response, etc. What gal pals.

Again, more KBBQ flashbacks, only with a twist. At the party, Yuri took the affected role, stating that her decision to go would be based on whether Tomoko would. But now, the roles have switched with Yuri suggesting that Tomoko wouldn’t go if she wasn’t there with her. I don’t like where this is going...

Mako is totally the type to keep track of how she divides the time between her friends, always balancing a bail with a hangout. Such are the difficulties of being the “nucleus” friend.

For better or worse, Yuri‘s been taking Mako’s “rejections” in stride lately. Better, because that means she’s no longer unhealthily dependent on her best friend. Worse, because that could means she projected her attachment issues onto Tomoko and Yoshida. Have her insecurities been dissolved, or have they just been spread wider across their little quartet?

Mako and Yoshida talking when the others aren’t around is total friendship-baiting and I’m behind it 100%.

The ultimate tug-of-war between a mom who knows their daughter’s faults and a daughter who’s too stubborn to heed her mother’s concerns.

Sorry, Yuri dear, but at that, I’mma callin’ shenanigans.

It should be fairly obvious by now that Yuri is becoming dangerously co-dependent on her relationship with Tomoko. It’s not so much that Tomoko needs Yuri with her, but that Yuri needs to feel that she’s invaluable to Tomoko so that she herself can be validated. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy that can only get worse since Tomoko and Yuri are going in opposite directions, with the former becoming more self-assured, and the latter becoming more reliant.

Katou rolling her sleeves up inexplicably raises her “mom” appeal three-fold.

For those who don’t know, this the same joke that happened when Tomoko peeked at Ucchi during the sports festival. Only eating rice is suggestive of just having done something exhausting, usually perverted in nature. Oh, that Nemo.

Still, it’s telling that Nemo actually made that joke and got shot down by Tomoko right in front of the others. Their bantering is usually kept just between them, but doing it within earshot could lead to some pretty tense situations if the others jump in.

That’s quite the unique face Yuri’s making. Not exactly anger or resentment, but there’s something negative about her expression. My best guess is exasperation, but low-key, as only Yuri could. And I hate to say it, but it’s pretty hypocritical of Yuri to get all bent out of shape about Katou’s smothering, when she herself came just to “support” Tomoko.

This might seem innocuous at first, it really speaks to Yuri’s non-indulgent behavior when receiving attention from others, as is very common of introverts. Just like how Tomoko chose something moderate when Okada treated her.

The whole exchange here is incredibly awkward, but it comes off more sincerely than it is cringeworthy. The kind of awkward that makes you facepalm is the result of knowing that the whole thing could’ve been avoided, or at least done better. Okada’s apology and Yuri’s dismissive forgiveness really couldn’t be handled differently, so while there’s this unspoken barrier between them, we can get behind it because you can tell Okada and Yuri are doing their best to clear the air.

Food porn.

Is it embarrassing? Yes. Is Tomoko going to do anything about it? Nah, she’s going to milk Katou’s motherliness for all she’s worth.

And let’s be real-Can you really blame her?

This whole “normie” business didn’t make a whole lotta sense to me when I first read it, but by comparing it to another label used in the West, I was able to make a connection.

Back in the day, the word “nerd” was a derogatory term, used to insult people who were into comics, video games, anime, etc. But by the turn of the last decade or so, this idea of a nerd became antiquated when people realized that the things that nerds were once ridiculed for were actually entertaining in their own right. The standard of being a nerd dropped to the point where mildly enjoying pop culture was enough to make you a nerd. And thus, when everyone became a nerd, nobody was. And the nerd became an identity that only the most hardcore of nerds could adopt.

I never realized until now just how much social stock Tomoko has put into having a boyfriend. You’d think that after her perceptions of the “normies” evolved, she’d understand that having a boyfriend or having a romantic relationship, in general, isn’t as valuable as society makes it out to be.

Now the whole “hanging out at the cafe” thing being normie...maybe.

Quickly researches the reputation of Aoyama Academy.

Oh. So like, Stanford or Princeton. Dream on, Tomoko.

Dat tiny smile on Yuri is too precious.

One thing that I’ve always wanted to see more of is Tomoko’s sense of humor at work. She doesn’t do it often, but the few times when she casually jokes around are met with positive reception, most notably with Yuri. While the readers are more used to Tomoko’s raunchy, crude humor, Tomoko can also play up the “I’m an idiot”-type humor. And it works especially with Yuri and Nemo, who can tell when she’s half-bullshitting them.

A rare moment of genuine playfulness between Tomoko and Nemo.

Of course, because Tomoko actually is an idiot at times, it can be hard to tell when she being actually stupid, or being fake-stupid for the laughs.

Mama Katou doesn’t know this yet, so naturally, she has to protect her daughter from the mean bullies. Her dialogue here could easily come off as confrontational if it were spoken by anyone else, but as we’ve seen before, Katou is more of the “quiet rage” kind of girl.

Yeah, I saw the video of Cristiano Ronaldo defending the Japanese boy from the audience. Referential humor tends to be hit-or-miss, depending on whether the joke is sustainable without it. In this case, it’s the kind that can be lost in a few years time. So despite being a piece of common entertainment knowledge in Japan, once in while for the series is just enough to keep it fresh.

I must admit, I used to think that Katou was a replacement character for Imae after she left. But now that we’ve had time to get to know her, I see that that’s not really the case at all.

Sure, Katou is caring and sweet like Imae, but what sets Katou apart from her besides her “mommy-ness” is her naivety. Katou has all the tenderness and effort of a guardian, but she lacks the sensibility...somewhat. But that bit of cluelessness is essential to rounding out her character, enough so that even this stylish riajuu can play the outcast in times like this.

Damn, girl. It’s one thing to view Tomoko as a good person. It’s another thing to see her as some societal paragon. Now I’m kind of hoping she doesn’t get corrupted by the Tomoko virus.

Even though this is being played for laughs, it does key into an actual strength of Tomoko’s that none of the others have. That being, her extreme candidness. Tomoko, frankly, sucks at pretending to be someone she isn’t, but is incredibly impressionable when she's her unrestrained self. Yes, there’s a time and place for that kind of thing, but sometimes, an incestual eroge is exactly what you need to get your point across.

Precious Lil’ Bean and Jealous Lil’ Bean. Take your pick.

Yeah, yeah, Nemo getting in Tomoko’s face is nothing new. However, what is new is how Nemo dishes it out and how Tomoko takes it. Nemo usually glowers over the girl as if to assert dominance, but she’ll occasionally crouch down, like a cheetah ready to pounce. Tomoko always cowers a bit during Nemo’s provocations, shrinking down with caution. But here, Tomoko doesn’t waver. She stays upright, even looking down at Nemo for once despite being obviously flustered. Stand your ground, Tomoko. Stand. Your. Ground.

Low-key bitching followed by buddy-buddy invitation equals the politics of friendships.

Sweetie, the girl can’t even bother to use your own name. What do you think?

Normally, I’m not fond of this kind of storytelling where the author tacks on additional, never-before-seen events to a previously seen memory just to add plot tension. The only reason I let this slide is because, as is soon revealed, this memory is more for Yuri’s characterization than for story direction. Plus, it’s interesting to compare how close they are now as opposed to back then. You win this time, Nico Tanigawa.

Taking the easy route even in college, eh, Tomoko? I expect nothing less from you.

Taking the easy route even in college, eh, Yuri? I also expect nothing less from you.

Lazy Sisters Unite!

Promised, my ass.

You’re killing me, Yuri, making me call shenanigans on you twice in one chapter. But yes, twisting your friend’s words into a promise just to suit your needs, and then playing the victim card when said friend doesn’t keep their “promise” is a serious friendship offense. As much as we will all want to Yuri have beautiful, lovely friendships with these girls, it suddenly makes a whole lot of sense why Yuri didn’t have these friendships in the first place. My emotional spectrum is out of whack right now, unable to determine whether Yuri’s behavior is a regression in character or a reconstruction of one.

Bless Mako and her patience.

Oh god, Nemo’s Yandere Stare is spreading.

Hmm, the extra text on Yuri’s date is ripe for some overanalyzing. My first instinct is to say that writing more of a description is indicative of Tomoko actually caring more about spending time with Yuri than she does with Nemo and Katou. But then again, it could just very well be that Tomoko didn’t want to be redundant and write the same thing over three times.

Whatever the reason, at least she managed to write out Yuri’s last name. I might have died if she just drew a face with pigtails.

This has always been one Tomoko’s key developments, realizing that being a normie or popular doesn’t give you a pass in life. Everyone has their own shit to deal with no matter how (un)popular you are, and now that Tomoko has gotten a taste of that, the next step for Tomoko’s personal journey could be one of self-actualization:

Stay where you are and possibly lose your roots, or go back to where you came from and potentially lose what you gained?

Exact-a-mundo. A lot of people have criticized this manga for turning Tomoko into a normie and betraying who she was. But in my opinion, Tomoko is not a normie. Such a self-deprecating label is more defined by one’s personality rather than their social network. Tomoko knows a lot of normies, but until she stylizes up her hair, disregards her hobbies and pulls a Nemo, she’ll always be our lovable mojyo.

On a final note, it’s easy to see Tomoko as the dense protagonist of harem manga right now, and yet, these punchlines regarding her “pursuits” seem to be much more effective if you look at Tomoko’s “harem” as just platonic and devoid of romantic subtext (whether or not it’s actually doing that is another story). Perhaps it’s because while Tomoko is oblivious to everyone’s jealousy, she actually has a great deal of agency that is not often seen in harem protags. The girls are so responsive to Tomoko’s actions, and thus, the emotional core of the Tomoko’s harem actually carries some well-earned weight.

Can we have more manga with a strong, platonic harem, please?

#watamote #watamote review #no matter how i look at it it's you guys' fault i'm not popular!#chapter 137 #tomoko kuroki #kotomi komiyama #asuka katou #akane okada #yuri tamura #mako tanaka #hina nemoto #review

49 notes · View notes