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likedovesinthewindd · 3 months

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enemies to lovers with farleigh!!! he claims to dislike you but whenever he sees you with other guys at parties or wherever else he comes around and says something to scare them off :p <3

i love your writing sm btw!!!!!!! 💋

thank you sooo much, lovie!!! I changed this up just a little bit. I hope you don't mind. (fem!reader) | wc: ±1450

a/n: he's so fine omg...

You felt like you were at your wits' end when it came to dating. Things would always start out nicely; you and the potential suitor would click, and then somewhere along the line, they'd just ghost you, stop all communication and pretend that they didn't know you at all.

It started to feel like the universe's way of punishing you. For what, you wouldn't know.

You looked over to where Anabel's eyes had been. He had been eyeing you, and he wasn't bad-looking at all. You spared him a shy smile, downing the last of your drink and gaining an extra bit of liquid courage before making your way over to the stranger.

"He hasn't called me back," you frowned, the clicking of your phone's buttons heard faintly over the music playing. You snapped it closed, shoving it back into your purse as you sank a little further into the couch.

"Screw him, honestly," your friend Anabel said, bringing her cup to her lips as her eyes scanned over the crowd. Her eyes lit up before she spared you a look. "Guy in the ugly sweater over there's been eyeing you," she said with a smirk. You shook your head, taking a sip of your own drink. "C'mon, forget about whatshisname. This one's cuter, anyway."

The conversation went well. It didn't feel too awkward and forced, and the guy, James, you learned, was quite funny and interesting. You excused yourself briefly to use the bathroom, urging him to wait for you, which he agreed to, but when you came back, he was nowhere to be found. You searched around the crowded house, just to find James with another girl, obviously very interested in her judging by the way he was currently eating at her face.

You had no reason to really feel angry. The two of you were not even really friends, but you'd be lying if you said you haven't been interested in seeing him again. You made your way to the kitchen to try your luck at finding another beer when you saw Felix at the punch bowl you had been avoiding all night, helping himself to a serving full to the brim. His eyes lit up when he saw you, a smile stretching across his face so wide that it made his eyes almost close completely.

Your smile mimicked his, extending your arms to give him a quick hug. Despite how badly things between you and Farleigh turned out, you were happy to still have Felix as a friend. "How've you been, mate? God, I haven't seen you in how long," he guffawed, eyes peering over his cup as he took a sip of his drink.

"I've been good, just...y'know," you shrugged, resting your back against the fridge. "What?" he asked, silently inquiring you to continue. A part of you was reluctant to tell Felix of all people about your failing love life, a fear in the back of your mind that he might tell Farleigh about it and the two of them will have a laugh at your misery. But you knew you could trust Felix, so you decided to come clean.

"Every guy I'm interested in ghosts me," you said with a small laugh, your shoulders slumping. "I'm beginning to think I'm just an unbearable person to be around."

"Nonsense," Felix deadpanned. "I think it has more to do with more to do with the fact that you've been branded," he said with a laugh, taking another gulp of his drink. "What do you mean?" you asked, watching his smile falter at your question. "You don't..?" he watched the confusion form on your face before clearing his throat awkwardly.

"Farleigh, he," he started, "he was this habit of 'warning' people about you." Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "He scares people off when he sees them with you. It's his way of keeping you available, I guess."

Your blood was boiling. Breath coming in at short intervals as you tried to calm yourself down, but to no avail. "I kinda thought you knew he did that," Felix said softly. You only nodded, leaving him in the kitchen as you made your way outside to get some fresh air. Once the cold air bit at your skin, you calmed down substantially. You reached in your jacket's pocket for your cigarette, taking one out and searching through your clothes' pockets for your lighter, frustration deepening the harder you searched.

A hand appears in your peripheral, and you gratefully took the offered lighter with a grunted thanks before lighting your cigarette. When you go to give it back, you feel like rather throwing the lighter at Farleigh's stupidly smug face.

"Long timenosee, hm?" he smiled. "You really have a fucking nerve," you stated, pulling the burning cigarette from between your lips. "What gives you the right?" you continued, not giving him a chance to respond, "telling people to stay away from me?"

He huffed out a small, humorless laugh before rubbing the back of his thumb across his bottom lip. "Who told you that?" he tried, and now it was your turn to laugh. "It doesn't matter. Please leave me alone," you said, making your way back inside only to be stopped by Farleigh's grip on your upper arm. "Farleigh," you warned. "C'mon, don't be like that," he tried, and you scoffed. "Like what? Why do you even care who I talk to?"

"I want you back," he said, looking down at you. You allowed yourself your first good look at him, and that's when you noticed his droopy, slightly glassy eyes and blown out pupils. "You're drunk," you said softly, to which he shook his head vehemently. "So what? I'm not saying this because I'm drunk, I'm saying it because it's true," he reassoned. The cigarette hung loosely from your finger, dead by now in your grasp.

"Why do I think I'd care?" he quipped, and you had to stop yourself from rolling your eyes at his tone. "I don't know. It wasn't like you were the one who ended things in the first place," you quipped back. "And what of I told you I regret that?" he asked softly.

"I'd tell you I don't care," you said, loosening his grip on you, only for him to grap your hand. "What the fuck is your problem?"

"I wanna make it up to you," he whispered, "wanna treat you right this time," his thumb rubbing across the top of your hand that was still in his grasp.

"Why couldn't you do it right the last time?" you whispered, peering at him. "I was a dick. I dunno—" he slightly slurred. "Farleigh..."

"No, I really wanna make it work this time, please. I miss you." The slight whine in his voice made your heart ache with longing, remembering all the good times the two of you used to have. You missed Farleigh, that much was hard to admit to yourself in the first place. But you didn't know if you were willing to take that risk again, if Farleigh was really truthful about what he was saying.

"I'm serious," he half-slurred, trying his very best to act sober. "Please, I've been miserable without you." You chewed at the inside of your mouth, the alcohol leaving a funny frank taste in your mouth. You'd be lying if you said you weren't also miserable without him, but a part of you was still hurting and a bit petty. He looked like a kicked dog, crawling back to you after biting you, waiting and begging for forgiveness. His once sharp and expressive brown eyes now darkened with sorrow and his head hanging low, tail between his legs. The facade he had been putting up these few months had finally fallen, and you got to see how much the split truly affected him.

"You said you weren't ready to commit," you said. "I lied. I was scared to commit. It was getting too real, and I didn't know how to handle it." You looked down at your shoes, the chrome tips of your heels shining in the yellow porch light. You looked up at Farleigh, the same sorrow look on his face that still made your heart clench.

"Can we talk about it tomorrow?" you asked, his confession a little too much for your tipsy brain to handle right now. He looked as though he wanted to argue no, but he shook his head in agreement, reaching into his pocket for his pack of cigarettes, before lighting one. "We'll talk about it tomorrow then," he said as a cloud of smoke left his mouth simultaneously.

You gave him a small smile, the warmth in your cheeks spreading across your face when you saw him mirror your smile. You took his face in hand, lanky body still slightly hunched over, and placed a kiss on his cheek, the drugstore lipstick leaving its dark maroon mark behind. You stroked your thumb across it gently, careful not to smush the shape before letting go of his face. "Now I've branded you," you added with a smile before making your way back inside.

#saltburn #farleigh start x reader #farleigh start x you #farleigh x you #farleigh x reader #farleigh start #likedovesinthewindd

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dr-spencer-reids-queen · 1 month

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On Air

Pairing: Jennifer Jareau x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~700

Warnings: fluff

Summary: You're the news anchor for all things crime, and you often cover the cases your girlfriend's team works on. she is always watching you when you're on TV, so you take every opportunity to make sure she knows who she's going home to.

Square Filled: “it’s amazing how quickly things can go from bad to total shit storm.” for @anyfandomgoesbingo

Author’s Note: any and all comments are appreciated <3

You use the small compact mirror you have at your desk to check your makeup before you go on air. You’ve done this a million and one times but you’re always so nervous because you don’t want to mess up. One of your coworkers got fired because he screwed up badly on air. You’re not saying you’re going to cuss out a news reporter but that doesn’t make you any less worried about it.

Your phone rings and you turn it over so you can see the screen. You will always have your phone with me because you never know if it’ll be an emergency. Your sister has young kids so you need it on you at all times just in case.

JJ: I know you’re on in a few minutes. Kill it!

You smile at the sweet message from your girlfriend. She always watches your news broadcast since you cover all things crime. You’re the person who usually releases things before the press gets a hold of the information if she doesn’t request a press conference herself.

“Alright! We’re on in ten!” the producer says.

You place your phone face down and fix your hair just as the director points to you to begin talking. One of the weather girls had just got done with her segment which means it’s now your turn.

“Thank you for that update, Lucy. Over the past two weeks, there have been a string of murders where the killer has removed the hearts of all his victims only to leave behind a toy heart in its place. We are unsure of where the real heats are located as they have never been found, so we urge the public to be cautious when leaving their house. The FBI has been called in to assist local police on this investigation, and they’re making headways into potential suspects. Their names haven’t been released to the public as of yet, but as soon as we know more, that information will be available to the public.”

You and your co-anchor talk more about the case but there is so little information to go off of. JJ and her team are working hard to try and put together a profile that can be released to the public, but nothing has come forth yet. Aside from this major news update, there isn’t much in the crime world that needs to be televised at this time. So, you’re back in front of your makeup mirror in no time to do some touch-ups before you go on air again.

Your phone rings and you smile when you see JJ’s picture pop up on screen. You took that picture when you two were on a friend’s boat for an afternoon on the sea, and the sun hit her eyes at the right moment. They are so blue but in the sunlight, they sparkle.

“It’s amazing how quickly things can go from bad to total shit storm around here,” you answer the phone.

“Why are you teasing me?”

Her voice is low which makes you think she’s in a room with her teammates.

“What do you mean?” you smile.

“The button on your shirt is open. I can practically see the pretty pink lace bra you’re wearing underneath it.”

You look down and see that she’s right. It must have come undone from the time you left the makeup chair in the morning to when you sat down at the news anchor desk.

“Oh, would you look at that. You’re right, it is undone.”

“When you do have to go on again?”

“Not for another hour.”

“Good. I’m coming over.”

“Why? Don’t you have to put together a strong profile to catch the bad guy?” you bite your lip to hide your smile.

“I’m not a profiler. I’m the liaison. That’s their job, not mine.”

“So, this visit you want to make isn’t a social call?”

“Not in the slightest.”

Someone comes into the makeup room and knocks on the door to get your attention.

“There’s been another murder. You’re on again.”

“Looks like you’re going to be busy,” you say into the phone while nodding to the man. “I gotta go but I’ll make sure to give you a good view. I love you. Bye-bye.”

You hang up the phone and unbutton one more button that makes the shirt look more open but still looking professional. After all, you have a job to do and you’re going to make sure JJ knows what she’s coming home to at the end of the day.

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

#jennifer jareau #jennifer jareau x reader #jennifer jareau fic #jennifer jareau fanfiction #jennifer jareau fanfic #jennifer jareau fluff #jennifer jareau fiction #jennifer jareau fan fiction #jennifer jareau fan fic #criminal minds #criminal minds fic #criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds fanfic #criminal minds fluff #cm #cm fic #cm fanfiction #cm fanfic #cm fluff

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overobsessedfanboy23 · 2 years

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Yugioh Main Girls Ranked

(Like actually ranking their characters this time, not roasting their hair.)

Because I've decided I shall rank these shows in every possible way besides the shows themselves until I'm ready for that behemoth. Lead girls first cuz that's way easier for me than ranking the main protagonists. (No idea how to rank Yuma, Yuya, and Yuga right now to be honest.) And also cuz I'm a gentleman and ladies first and all that jazz. This ranking is just based on how much I like them as characters, not how well or poorly they were handled by the writers, which is blatantly obvious from the fact that Romin isn't number 1 on this list. Sorry Romin, you are the objective factual best, I’m just biased. (Also I’m using whichever name I’m more used to using which is usually the sub, deal with it.) Here's the list:

7 Tea Gardner

You know, I love green tea. It's a tasty drink. It's actually a bit of a comfort drink for me. This Tea however is not comforting or a drink... Whatever the hell the latter means.

Anyways, Tea is fucking boring and annoying. She does nothing but spout generic friendship speeches and nag and be in two stupid love triangles. The closest thing she has to a character arc is that love triangle bullshit which isn't even resolved at the end. I don't like her.

In DM at least, she's honestly okay in Dark Side of Dimensions, I like that she actually pursues her dream of dancing and yeets herself away from her friends to get there. That's nice. She's still the worst though. Yeah, I think even Kotori was an improvement. Speaking of which:

6 Kotori Mizuki

Kotori basically has the same problems as Tea but is executed a little better. Her love triangle of basically just her and Cathy fighting over Yuma is actually resolved this time with her and Cathy even becoming friends which is really cute. I really like their slow burn friendship, it's a nice detail. And Yuma and Kotori are also friends. Like we see them as friends, it's not just Kotori watching him and thinking about how hot he is like Tea does. They actually have like a legit dynamic and have back and forth banter.

Still, Kotori is pretty boring on her own, she has a bit of personality in Zexal I but that starts to fade away and all that's left of her that's interesting is her friendships with Yuma and Cathy which are at least cute. (The fanservice shit they do with her sucks though. That’s not on her as a character, that’s on the writers but still, it’s gross.)

5 Yuzu Hiiragi

Yeah I know I said these aren't ranked based on how badly the writers fucked up writing these girls but out of every girl that had potential and got fucked over, Yuzu is the only one whose personality was drastically altered during this fuck up. She went from a courageous hot-headed fighter to a cowering husk very suddenly and for no explained reason after she's defeated by Sergey. She still shows flashes of her original personality but it becomes sparser and sparser until that character I loved so much in the first half was just... gone. Not just literally gone but in a metaphorical sense too. It sucked.

People complain about Aoi or Akiza or Asuka being screwed over by the narrative and I do agree they all were in some way but they at least still felt like the same characters all the way through. Yuzu meanwhile... I love who she was in the first half of Arc V but man... that depiction in the second half just broke me.

4 Aoi Zaizen

Aoi got fucked over by her show too I'm not gonna act like she didn't, I was actively frustrated with how they were treating her (particularly that Spectre duel, her losing in that way still pisses me off to this day) but she was still treated far better than the YGO girls before her (besides maybe Asuka?).

I like how she's this shy quiet girl in real life and basically a celebrity in Link VRAINS. Then as the show goes on she transitions from a celebrity just duelling for fun to a warrior duelling to protect Link VRAINS and her friends/family, even duelling alongside her brother, who was previously overprotective of her. Oh and before that, she also went behind her brother's back to fight for what she believed in. She is great, her story is good, it's just under-focused and she's not allowed as many victories as she deserved.

3 Asuka Tenjoin

This isn't me being biased towards GX. I swear. 🥺

Okay yeah Asuka's character arc isn't as good as Aoi's, I just... Really like her sassiness and I think duelling wise she's treated a bit better than Aoi and... yeah okay I really relate to her story in season four. I relate to all their post graduation anxieties but my god how did they know my exact struggle of choosing between staying with the people I know and moving abroad to further my career?! How was GX that perceptive?! Oh yeah also she's a woman who chose a career over potential romance and I don't see that enough in fiction so thank you Asuka. I will now like you for those semi arbitrary reasons and the fact that you're funny.

2 Romin Kirishima

Like I said, Romin is the objective best lead girl. She has a complete character that's given an appropriate amount of focus, great relationships with the other characters that aren't romance based, enough wins to make her look skilled and match her growth as a duellist/character and enough losses that it evens out and she doesn't feel overpowered. Romin feels like a real person and even has a hobby outside of duelling: music and I love seeing her combine the two. She's a really fun likeable character on top of being treated well by the narrative FINALLY. If I ever needed to show an example of how to write a good female character, I'd point to Romin first. If I was going purely based on logic and wasn't so ungodly attached to my chosen favourite, Romin would be number one. But uh...

Yeah you all know who I put at number one.

1 Aki Izayoi/Akiza Izinski

I go back and forth on her name since I fell in love with her subbed version but continued to love her when I saw the dub (which in the case of 5Ds, I mostly prefer).

As I said, I fell in love with her during Fortune Cup when she was first introduced. There was such an air of mystery to her and the way she spoke (both her numb voice and her words) made it very clear to me she was traumatized/abused by her family and the world around her for things she couldn't control. She was viewed as a freak/monster just because of something she was born with...

I refuse to go into detail about why I relate to this, just know that I do and Aki's reaction of masking her true self from the world was very similar to how I reacted. So as you can imagine, I'm very personally attached to her and couldn't imagine putting any of these others over her. It's not just because I think she's hot. She is but that's besides the point. I relate to her narrative in Fortune Cup/Dark Signers which sadly had a really botched resolution and if I start that shit again here you'll never hear the end of it. Just go find the post, it was something like "I have some concerns about Aki's arc."

Anyways, botched arc resolution aside, I still really love her. She had this adorable awkwardness to her after redemption and I loved seeing her learn to Turbo Duel. It's one of my favourite episodes in any YGO, it's just so sweet and precisely written. We see every step and fumble and rise back up on her journey and in the end, she gets a great victory and achieves her dream. If only WRGP had done anything with that... Still, I’m glad she was able to find happiness.

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heraldofcrow · 7 months

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ALSO I think I've developed a disease where I can't simp for another idiot long enough and then end up switching on a person he wronged somehow (directly or not) ;-; Like I started out as Seluvis simp but moved onto Sellen soon enough, then I started liking Petrus (shut up you are nobody to judge ME!!!) but I move onto Reah at this point 💀💀💀 I think I am an idiot falling for the same trap of not being able to analyze a guy without analyzing all his relationship with other characters, including his incelmates, and that's how I discover that ACTUALLYYYY....... As someone who did NOT make Henriett your blorbo despite subscribing to the idea that Bloody Crow killed her, can you give me an advice how to stop this loop???? I want to simp for TERRIBLE and DISGUSTING MEN like the big girls ;-;

Oh my lord, no wait…I think I have the same problem expect in reverse???

Well, first off….my aroace ass does not “simp” in the way literally everyone means it, because there are rarely any genuine like…”crush” type feelings for The Blorbos, even if that was maybe…idk the initial leaning? But I am apparently one of God’s strongest soldiers because it’s very easy for me to look past just a character’s appearance eventually, no matter how objectively drop-dead gorgeous they are.

Like I draw Bloody Crow very pretty, but I feel nothing close to attraction when I look at him. I am sitting there like, “Look guys it’s the son boy” or some shit lmao, so I am WORTHLESS when it comes to the romantic feelings department. (Nobody believes this when I tell them though and I think that’s hilarious but anyway, MOVING ON).

I have the horrible habit of taking interest in the characters that “wrong” or “torment” my favs like 90% of the time. It depends on how it’s portrayed and said characters have to be well-written, and genuinely worthy rivals, but like…

Annalise and Logarius. Annalise was my girl first. I would gladly die for her. I wrote her an elaborate story. I feel very protective of her character…but um…somehow….Logarius became my fav when I started imagining him as Annalise’s obsessive, deranged political rival?

This happened in FF7 land too, which I won’t go into here because different fandom, but it was the same damn concept. Same with Arcane recently.

Somehow my blorbo’s rivals are also very appealing for me? Every single time? No matter how badly they mess with my fav right in front of my salad?

But I think it has to do with the writing, and mixed feelings absolutely have to be involved. The “rival” or “nemesis” character can’t be horrible for no reason or a cowardly backstabber. They have to be humanized and sympathetic to some degree, with perhaps some type of longing admiration or love for the other character mixed in, even if twisted. They have to equally stand out and be every bit as charismatic.

So, it’s different, but the psychology might be the same! You are drawn to the characters that are notoriously evil in that scheming, petulant sort of way and probably because they have a lot of humorous potential (you do like comedy after all and I am the tragedy junkie. Your fav villains are usually pretty funny and mine are tragic fallen angels). Your lads also tend to have perverse, deranged psyches and are full of nasty emotions. This shit is interesting, let’s not lie, and they are fun to psychoanalyze.

Their victims are usually sweet or well-meaning people who get royally screwed over, and the relationship between them and their tormentors is often fucked up or stricken with tension. Again, that’s all juicy stuff. The villain’s feelings towards their victims, the victim’s response, etc., all of this builds some fascinating relationships—and it’s absurdly difficult to not obsess over the various emotional connections your favorite villains have.

It’s how you learn more about them and the way they think, and you tend to grow to appreciate the other characters in the scenario just as much. This is fun and you shouldn’t stop! I do the same thing even if it’s in reverse!

Sometimes our villains favs are gateways to liking other characters.

#your blorbos and the victim blorbos are valid #we approach them differently but the concept is the same #it’s about the drama of the relationships #so like #enjoy it #have fun #it’s honestly pretty normal and you are “one of the big girls” lmao #there are variations #asks #mutuals #character analysis #fandom stuff

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captnjacksparrow · 2 years

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hi, thank you so much for your detailed answer to my ask (i’m the anon who asked about kishimotos take on women) and i couldn’t agree more!! it’s true that i asked this specific question because i’ve seen many fans (particularly hinata and sakura fans yikes) claim this. they love to say that kishimoto sucks at writing women because hinata and sakura apparently had “potential” and could have been written better. i never thought they’re badly written tbh. they’re just supposed to be this way. besides, like you said, we have great female characters like tsunade, konan etc. also i never thought hinata or sakura truly ever had POTENTIAL like so many of their fans claim. lee and neji had wayyy more potential but were sadly ignored in shippuden. lee even used to be one of my fav characters in part 1 and i was so excited to see more of him but i was so disappointed.. kishimoto could have done so much with his character. but i wouldn’t go around and call kishi a misandrist. like i completely get the need of wanting to see great female characters, especially main characters, represented in media, i do but we have other characters in naruto that aren’t hinata or sakura that are great. most people just even talk about them because they’re dating the main characters (sasuke & naruto). i guess sakura would have been talked about either way cause she’s one of the main characters but hinata is pretty sure only ever mentioned because she’s married to naruto. otherwise i don’t think anyone would ever want to talk about her. she’s so boring and uninteresting. i only think that kishimoto could have written sakura differently. like she could have been an entire different character. but he chose to write her that way and i’m gonna respect that. doesn’t mean he hates women or doesn’t know how to write them. anyway, sorry for the long rant you don’t need to answer to this i just wanted to respond to what you said.

Thanks for this supportive Ask in response to this post, Anon... Atleast your ask encouraged me to keep writing....

Because I received 3 nasty hate asks and 2 decent criticism after that post.. And I just hated to write posts after that. Because that was so vulgar to the extent of describing my "parts" you know... It's very similar to how Boys abuse girls in real life....

AND I AM DAMN SURE THE PEOPLE WHO SENT ME THOSE ASKS ARE GIRLS WHO WANKS FOR SAKURA AND HINATA.

Because since when do boys give 2 flying fucks about Misogyny????

Hating Girls with a prejudiced opinion is essentially called Misogyny and they are doing this to me, another Girl who is a real person unlike those lifeless Anime Characters.... So, Not everyone knows what is mean by Misogyny, do they????

And what’s perplexing for me is, I got 5 Asks and all of their interpretation about Misogyny were very different. I’ll just draw the important points from those Ugly Asks and reply here...

[[Disclaimer 1: If there are any closet Sakura and Hinata fans monitoring my blog... Please come out and send me more hate asks... Because this post is for you... And if you do that it would be very easy for me to block you like some pest...]]

[[Disclaimer 2: Even though this is a Naruto based post.... I will bring in Characters from other media like Game of Thrones... If there are any Daenerys Targaryen Fans out there... Don’t read this post...]]

Argument No.1: Your world views are so immature because you are so drenched in Yaoi Novels whereas in reality Women are not like that at all...

LOL.... I don’t even read SNS fanfiction, (I started couple of them and it’s all halfway)... As for Yaoi... I read only 4 and I don’t ship SNS in that way at all.... Without knowing any of these facts, What makes you assume that I am immature???

Just because I said, “Remove your Gender Lens when you consume a Gay media”...??? Well, what’s wrong with that claim anyway?

And what makes you think that Real women are not like Sakura or Hinata???? I personally knew a real life Sakura and royally screwed up by her just like how she ignored Naruto... And what does that make me??? An alien???

Argument No.2: Sakura and Hinata are supposed to be the Heroines and we must get inspired from them... But instead of that, we ended up hating them... Because the author was a misogynist...

LOLOLOL....

Why am I feeling Nostalgic???? This is the same shit I faced in GoT fandom and I left that shithole because of those idiots went on harassing other people and now here they are in Naruto Fandom as well... Some Erudite peeps who thinks Heroines must always be inspirational....

Well, If you really need an Inspirational Girl Character, why don’t you watch a Shoujo or Yuri Genre??? Or Movies like Help, Kill Bill, Bridesmaids??? Why the hell come to Shonen, first of all??? Why especially Naruto???

The Answer is.... You know Naruto, the series is very Good.... You like it so much for it’s plot, emotions and world building.... It’s just that your Self-Insert does so many shitty things and you ended up blaming the Author for making her to be an Asshole without even knowing the reason why he made like that....

That leads to my another question.... Why do you need to self-insert (S.I) yourself in a Heroine knowing she is an Asshole??? Why not S.I yourself in other women Characters???

Oh!!! I know the reason.... Other women Characters don’t give you the pleasure of beating or kissing the Titular Character or obtaining the Uchiha Trophy and flaunt it proudly....

Anyways... Let me share the Real misogyny of GoT Fandom....

[[GOT spoilers ahead]]

I stayed in that god-awful fandom for almost 4 years.... We analyze, dissect, discuss all kinds of Theories based on the hints from the Books and as well as the TV series. I even wrote few lengthy Quora posts about my theories too...

It’s one of the best series with good representation of Women Characters.... Like you get Women in all flavours. Like A Bitch, A Badass, A Clever, A Resilient, A Prostitute, A Killer, A Mother, A Sister, A Fake Feminist, A Schemer, A Manipulator, A Warrior, A Maid.... and many more....

But amongst all of them, there is this particular character that was hyped up as the Heroine.... Oh, Sorry.... Not a Heroine.... She was a Goddess.... An Angel who came to save everyone.... A FEMINIST ICON... (LOLOLOL.... Laughing uncontrollably).... All men characters will eventually fall in love with her.... They pray her, They Obey her, they Treasure her.... like a Mary Sue...

All the dumb media portrayed that character as some fucking Feminist Icon when in reality she was not... She will act like a feminist only for those women who fawn over her.... If you are a woman and you oppose her, she would burn you. In other words, She is the most hypocritic character I’ve ever seen.

And that Character is

Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Protector of the Seven Kingdoms, the Mother of Dragons, the Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, the Unburnt, the Breaker of Chains.

The Picture is pretty badass, isn’t it???

Believe me.... She loves to pronounce this lengthy name...... To show her Power display.... [[Self-Proclaimed & Entitled Asshole]]

In other words.... A seemingly INSPIRATIONAL CHARACTER, these fake feminists wank for....

But We all knew one thing for sure.... Oh!!! We, here, I mean.... Only people with acute reading comprehension. We all predicted that this character was going to be the Big Bad of this series who could never be redeemed ... And when we write our theory.... People used to call us as misogynists. Because we hate such a popular woman character because we are some bitter losers... LOLOL

And this theory has been going on for many years even before me joining the fandom and I precisely joined the fandom to verify my views and I was pleasantly surprised to see many fans felt the same. I have to agree with the fact that she is a wonderfully written complex grey character who has her own Arc for many seasons.

And when the push comes to the shove...

This Angelic Goddess burned 1 million people ALIVE!!!!! All because of her fucking Ego.... The people were ready to pronounce her as Queen but still she went on to burn everyone.... Women and Children alike as you can see in this picture!!!!!

We all predicted that this would happen but still I had 2 sleepless nights over this extremely disturbing episode.... It was so horrible to process.

And after this episode, her stans who celebrated this Author started to call him as a Misogynist and the Reddit had a big meltdown over this episode.... Because they couldn’t accept their Kweeennnn burning innocent people and blamed it on bad writing and the Author.

Whereas there were so many other Good women Characters inside this story.... They failed to notice them because they never showed their Tits or give some Badass speech or being Flashy....

No.... Those women were classy, elegant, schemy and yet Kind and accomplished a lot of things without dragons in a much more dignified way. I have been supporting those women characters all those years and we were right.... And there were some women characters who clearly know they are an Evil Bitch and I love them equally nonetheless...

But this lunatic Dany stans started to slander other Women characters we liked (mostly women fans) because they got bitter that we were right.

And those stans reasoning were, “Dany was supposed to be the Heroine.... She should inspire us... Instead of that, the Author made me hate her.... He is a Misogynist because it shows women in a bad light.... ”

I was like, “You got inspired by some Mad Bitch and started to call her as the Heroine because she was flashy and bitchy while thoroughly ignoring Good Characters..... and when you didn’t get what you wanted... You ended up blaming other people... We knew this would happen for many years... “

Oh My God!!! This Sakura and Hinata wankers are just like Dany stans.... Blaming the Author because he wrote them to be an Asshole...

In my opinion, these idiot fans hide behind the Feminist blanket and spread misogyny (like sending Vulgar asks to me).... by completely ignoring and slandering good female characters. Talk about Hypocrisy... These people are just so good at it.

[[FYI, This Dany claimed that she was going to change the lives of Women and acted as a (fake) feminist throughout.... But she ended up burning all the Women in that city and claimed it as ‘necessary’... And her stans justify this behaviour....]]

God... Talking about this Character brought all the nightmare I had before. I shouldn’t have watched this episode for screenshotting it... It’s just terrorizing my brain.

Anyways, What I wanted to say was, Women are not always Angelic.... Women are not always Innocent.... Women are not always Pure and Good.... Women are capable of being a Tyrant... Women are capable of being a Bitch.... Women are capable of burning millions of innocent people....

Argument 3: None of the women characters had a Dream of their own... It was all revolving around a man

Oh Really???

Leave Sakura and Hinata.

Then what about this?????

“I feel that assigning a medical specialist as one of the four unit members would greatly increase both the mission success rate as well as the unit survival rate... Thus, I believe that the cultivating of Medic Ninja possessing advanced medical knowledge and the further development of medical ninjutsu.... The establishment of such a system ought to be our top priority!”

A Dick has nothing to do with Tsunade’s wonderful dream of introducing a medic ninja in every team.... This is called Changing a System which the world has never seen before. And this dream of hers has nothing to do with Dan, her romantic partner..... Because this fucking scene happened way before Dan came into her life.

Here Shizune is leading the Medical Team of other Villages as well...

Which means this system was widely implemented not only in Konoha but in all the 5 great villages.

Why nobody is noticing or acknowledging these??? Yeah, I know... Because they are not Sakura or Hinata...

Then Tsunade carried Dan’s dream of becoming an Hokage after Naruto’s insistence. Well, of course... Naruto is the hero and he has to change people’s lives...and he did it for Tsunade just like he saved Gaara, Obito and many... Where is misogyny in any of these??

If he can give a worthy dream to Tsunade, he could have did so much more for Sakura or Hinata. But he chose not to.

Argument 4: Girls watch Naruto.. Boys watch Naruto... If they see Sakura and Hinata being like this, what message that will project???? Do you have any idea how Boys will perceive us???

Boys will eventually expect women to be like Sakura or Hinata.

This proves you are so immature to write about anything!!!

[[Insert asshole, bitch in the above argument... because that ask was really vulgar]]

Whoever sent this shit must be an Asshole!!!! And a Fake Feminist at that!!!! And what’s more.... A stupid Online Social Justice Warrior who is only capable of harassing other women through their cell phones who don’t agree with their views....

Do you really know anything about me??? You don't... Have you ever stood up for another Girl even though you will be punished for that??? Have you ever helped a widow who was struggling in her life since her parents abandoned her because she chose a Boy whom they didn't agree with (In my patriarchal culture this abandoning daughters are common).... and on top of that, her husband died... So her life is literally done for. Have you helped such women in your life??? Have you ever yelled at another boy who was slut shaming another Girl???

I bet you never did any of these in your life... You self-centered asshole.

Don't talk as if I am just writing this blog for fun. I have my own side and I have been born and drenched in a Deeply Misogynistic Culture where if you wear a shorts, walk in your road... People will stare at you... Just like how those villagers stare at Naruto. They'll call you a characterless woman or basically a 'SLUT'.

In the Movies, That Fucking Male Actors who has more 2 times the fan following than the combined population of Entire Europe says this, "Man can go and fuck around 20 women.... He would be still respected and called as Man... But if Women hangs around with 5 boys, then she is called Slut... So behave yourself".....

"Beautiful Women are always Brainless... Brainy Women are always Ugly & Talks back"

"Women are Bitches and Gold diggers..."

And you know what.... These kind of disgusting dialogues get Unanimous cheers & applause from the Audience.... Because they want women to be like 'Hinata'.... That's how much my culture is deep rooted with misogyny.... So, Don't talk shit about me without knowing what I am and what I've faced.

First of all, Before venturing into Tumblr... I’ve been in Reddit Naruto community which is full of Dudebros. And the thing is, NO ONE GIVES 2 FLYING FUCKS ABOUT HINATA OR SAKURA.... Dudebros hate Sakura and they love to mock her.... They love Hinata for sure... because she has big boobs... In short, they don’t care about how women being portrayed in this Series... They just care about Power levels.

Second of all, The person who sent me this shit must be the person who believes “People become murderers because they watch Video Games with Violent content... Namely, PUBG”..... It’s pitiful that this person has an intelligence level of a Sloth and yet dare to send me an hate ask which screams their Buffoonery.

Third of all, If you clearly see the so-called “FATAL MISOGYNY”, Why the fuck you are watching Naruto in the first place??? Just drop it or go scream your rant in someplace where people agree with you... Why the hell creating a nuisance for people who enjoy it???? You clearly lack Tumblr Etiquette.

Argument 5: LoTR has Galadriel who was shown in a good light... And J.R.R.Tolkien portrayed women characters as A Goddess, A Warrior... And he wrote this in an era where women stayed as Housewives at home. Kishi’s portrayal of woman was so bad.

This anon sent me a decent ask... So, I am replying in that same tone.

Well, I was a once a crazy obsessed fangirl for LoTR series some years before. In my opinion, This is the Best Trilogy which was ever made in terms of everything... And I adore this... [[It’s also Kishimoto’s favourite trilogy ]]

But there is nothing to get inspired from Women Characters in this series. Except for Eowyn... Who slayed the Witch King of Angmar by saying, “I am no Man!!”...... [[It’s surprising that you didn’t mention this woman in your ask but you made sure to write about Galadriel who looks like an Angel]]

And That’s all!!!!

She ended up marrying Faramir....

Galadriel was a Goddess, Yes... But she never made a strong impact to the story except for Offering Moral support to the Fellowship and offering some Elvish Weapons.... She never fought on the field unlike Eowyn...

Arwen was just like a doll for the most part who had one great scene while saving Frodo from those Ringwraiths.... And she ended up marrying Aragorn.

And that’s all!!!

There is this Girl name Rosie Cotton who married Sam. She has no use to the story.

To me, Sakura did more in her Sasori fight than any of the women characters combined in the LoTR series... Unlike Tolkien, Kishimoto had plenty of women characters in Narutoverse.... And you could see Women like Tsunade, Mei were holding powerful position in this series unlike Arwen or Eowyn who ended up marrying a man as their destiny.

And it seems, you want women to be shown as Angels, anon.... This is what I talked about in my first argument... that “Women comes in all flavours... Not every women has to be angelic and pure and innocent.... Women can be scheming, conniving, manipulating.... At the same time they can be good, strong, kind..”

I seriously wonder, if Sakura and Hinata were portrayed as Rin Nohara... Then probably you wouldn’t have complained.... Which shows that you are biased against men... Meaning, A women should always be portrayed as angelic... and Men can be shown as monsters or villains...

Sorry, I don’t agree with this view for any media.... I prefer women to have flaws and weakness rather than A WOMEN WHO WAS DOLLED UP WEARING MAKE-UP WHICH PORTRAYS AN IDEAL ANGELIC & PERFECT WOMAN....

Argument: Kushina had a dream to become an Hokage but ended up being a Housewife making soup... In Boruto all the women characters were seen being a Housewife doing nothing....

First off, I don’t care about Boruto series. Every characters can rot for all I care... (Including N and S). It’s very evident that this Abomination exists purely to bring out New Gen Kids... It was not even Kishimoto’s intention to do this. Blaming him for Boruto is pointless.

Second off, Kushina claiming that she wanted become an Hokage was just on a whim... She was not even serious about it.

Since, it’s an established fact that Naruto’s father was an Hokage, there’s no way we could see Kushina becoming one. It’s just that she said she wanted to become an Hokage to impress her classmates in the Academy....

Fourth off, Kushina is a secondary side character. Her role in this story is to convey the flashback of what happened on the day Naruto was born and how she met Minato. Expecting a realistic dream from this character is just absurd.

But still...

Road to Ninja is a movie which was entirely written by Kishimoto. He was the person who conceptualized every characters and served as the story writer unlike for the Last Movie, where he never made any reasonable contribution to the story.

And this is his ideal version of Kushina. Who goes on mission with her Husband.

An Husband who shares equal responsibility with his wife... That anon was claiming Kushina was just making soup in the Manga... Well, in the above scene Minato was the one making soup and doing Dishes....

There is no way, an author could be misogynist if he portrays an Husband and wife dynamics like this. Yes, this is not Canon.... But this movie is his work... And his reflection of a woman is NOT AT ALL BAD.

How is this Misogyny in any way???

I agree, in his Manga he couldn’t replicate the same dynamics for MinaKushi... BECAUSE MINATO WAS AN HOKAGE... whereas in this movie he is not... Of course, When A Husband holds a position of Power, A Wife has to take care of his family and Viceversa. And I don’t see anything wrong with Kushina being a Housewife for her Hokage husband.

This claim looks like, people simply wants to find fault for the sake of finding fault without considering any of these.

Argument 7: Saori is not that great of a character either

[[this was from a hate ask]]

I don’t want to talk to a person who is unable to recognize between a Decent Women character like Saori who was developed in just 52 pages and a women Character with no mental development in all the 700 Chapters.

You are one kind of a delusional asshole... Maybe a Sakura or Hinata wanker... And I have no obligation to explain to you.

Argument 8: Popular Media inspires next Generation and motivates them to write story in the same way... Harry Potter inspired many writers to write Fantasy... If Kishimoto portrays Sakura and Hinata in this way.... It will inspire more people to write woman characters like he did and we will never get any good female characters...

That’s why Fanfic writers write their stories like this... But that’s how they earn money by writing bad female characters...

Oh really???

Since when did people became so responsible enough to start worrying about future, in Naruto Fandom??? These claims are like some ‘Fear Politics’ where politicians rule the crowd with some dystopian fear...

Anyways...

Kishimoto got influenced by Akira Toriyama to become a Mangaka..... Akira was the Artist behind Dragon Ball... I’ve never watched Dragon Ball but my friend said Dragon ball is nothing like Naruto....

BnHA was inspired by Naruto.... I never watched that series either... But Uraraka is nothing like Sakura or Hinata. Neither does Midoriya and Bakugo....

JJK looks similar to Naruto in many ways..... But Nobara don’t even compares to Sakura in any way.... She is absolutely another level...

What the hell???? This is just some dumb claim....

People get inspired from some popular media but they will always have their own flavours and style. No one would exactly copy Kishimoto. Even by your logic, Harry Potter inspired many Fantasy writers... But I don’t remember any of them becoming popular... You know why???? They just copied Rowling.

I don’t care how Fanfic writers portray women characters in their story since I don’t have much time or energy to read them... But I’ve read 4 Yaoi novels written by CHINESE WOMEN WRITERS..... All of them follow the same pattern as Naruto...

And You are telling me that those Chinese ladies got inspired by a Shonen Manga Artist from Japan.....???? And you are telling me that they have all the time to pick up the Homo Erotic Subtexts from a Shonen Manga of 700 chapters and write some Yaoi Story inspired by Naruto????

Then what about the Yaoi Novel that was released in 2008??? Did that Author time travelled to 2014 and saw N and S being Gay... And then travelled back to their time and wrote their Novel????

Just in case you don't know... There is this Popular female Chinese Novelist who goes under the Pen Name called Priest... [Wiki Link]

She writes Yaoi/BL Genre and Women centric Novels as well... While her BL Genre novels were all very unique & entertaining and follows the same pattern as Naruto but her Women Centric Novels were all DIFFERENT LEVEL... It was always the Girl who holds the entire series... Everything revolves around her and they are complicated, layered and it was so fun to read or watch. Her works are even adapted into TV series...

But somehow, Priest.... An experienced women Novelist who 'supposedly' follows Kishimoto (A delusional claim!!!) and don't know anything about how to write Women characters because she got inspired by Yaoi writers... But you know how to write them??? If so, Kindly share your Fan Fiction... Then I'll judge you and your capability of writing a layered and realistic women characters.

Talk about some Hilarious Delusion.... This claim is the best example for it....

At the end of the day, People who send me... Sorry.... Who send Hate Ask to Anyone are just some spineless cowards hiding under some ugly blanket... I wonder, Why don't you come out under your real blog name???

ON WHAT OCCASIONS I WOULD'VE DEEMED KISHIMOTO AS A MISOGYNIST???

FAVOURING 'CERTAIN' TYPE OF WOMEN:

I would deem anyone as misogynist if they glorify 'Hinata' type of women but putting down other women. Because Hinata feeds the Male Ego, narcissism, She has 'Prospects', She never questions or give opinions which is what most men want from their partner, they want her to be a Housemaid for Free who could give him Healthy Children and would be ready to open her legs whenever he wishes.

If only Kishimoto favoured Hinata but mocked Sakura..... Then I would be the first person to jump into this Misogyny Train.

Because it clearly shows what kind of women he want for himself and suggest his readers.

BUT HE DIDN'T....

He ended up trolling Hinata indefinitely just as much as he did for Sakura.

Which means he doesn't like those 'Typical Waifu' or 'Fan Girl' or ‘Damsel in Distress’ kind of women.

WHICH IS TOTALLY OK....

Those kind of 'Typical Waifu' should be mercilessly trolled in any media because for the past 2, 3 decades.... These kind of women were idealized and stereotyped which ultimately serves Male Superiority. And these kind of ‘Typical Waifu’ women also developed a deep internalized misogyny by slandering independent women as sluts.... No Thank You.....

Let Sakura and Hinata be trolled endlessly... I am not sorry...

FRIDGING FEMALE CHARACTERS:

"Fridging is the super sexist, super misogynistic thing that we've noticed some of our favourite television shows and movies doing recently. It's basically when the lead female character is killed in order for the plot to move forward."

I've seen this trope in popular movies like Dark Knight, Dead Pool 2 and many other movies....

It's always a woman.... A fucking woman. She has to die for every fucking thing. Somehow, she can't live and prove her worth... Only her death would give the necessary resolve for the Male character to keep going and then he will end up marrying another woman.

If Kishimoto used this trope extensively... I would've called him as Soft Misogynist...

Yes, Rin's death motivated Obito.... I agree....

But it was Jiraiya's death that motivated Naruto.....

It was Itachi's death that motivated Sasuke....

It was Yahiko's death that pushed Konan & Nagato into that path...

It was Neji's death that pushed Naruto to marry that rat. [[This is something Unforgivable]]

It was Dan's death that pushed Tsunade to live Gambling and wandering.

So, Kishimoto Fridged more male characters than he did for Female Characters.... Can I call him a Misandrist, then???

NOT MAKING THIS INTO A GAY MEDIA:

I’ll write about this in detail in another post...

If only Naruto series is not Gay... I would've deemed Kishimoto as a Misogynist. DEFINITELY. Because there is no reason for him to give little space or significance to women characters in a 700 chapter series unless it’s not a Gay media.

Haku & Zabuza are the plot device to parallel N and S relationship... Like a Preview to show the nature of the feelings between N and S. H & Z are Gay.

Hashirama & Madara are another plot device to parallel a failed N and S relationship.... To show.... What went wrong between them.... How can N and S make it right!!!???. H and M are Gay.

And the entire plot was about N and S skirting away from the feelings they had for each other.... A Media having Side Characters being portrayed as Gay is nothing special.... But Main Characters being Gay is definitely commendable and praiseworthy.

Where can we put women among them???? THERE’S LITERALLY NO SPACE.

Gay Media can’t have strong women characters... That’s all. Because the Main Character's life revolves around another male character... Please go and watch Broke Back Mountain, The Untamed (TV series), Word of Honour (TV series written by Priest , as I mentioned above).... Whereas go and watch Legend of Fei (Another Female oriented TV series written by Priest)... And Notice the difference.

WROTE WOMEN CHARACTERS TO BE STRONG IN THE BEGINNING AND THEN REDUCED TO WET MOP AFTER HER MARRIAGE:

This shit!!!!

It happens all the time.... 😑😑

In most of the K-Dramas, they show a girl to be strong, intelligent and thoughtful in the beginning. She was so pleasant to watch, you know... Until she's not. The moment she met the Male Lead, that's when she becomes this idiot, docile and a door mat to her guy. And she becomes this 'Cry Baby' whose only job is to cry for her man to the point of annoying the viewers immensely....

This is the stupid trope which promotes the view that 'Women can do whatever they want when she was single... But after marriage, it should be all about her Husband... A Man has to be her priority all the time. She can't pursue her dreams... "

If Sakura and Hinata were some strong and opinionated women in the beginning and then they got reduced to N and S wives living as a Housewife, then I would've deemed him the Ultra Misogynist.

HE CREATED A GOOD CHARACTER IN PLACE OF SAKURA AND TORMENTED HER BY PUTTING IN TEAM 7:

Seriously.... Imagine a strong woman character in that team. And she was being ignored by both of her team mates... I mean, yeah... They care about her as a team mate and saved her ass many times. But N and S would never include Sakura among their discussions or their arguments. If any girl wants to find a family in Team 7, then that will never happen. Because Team 7 was all about Naruto and Sasuke.

That’s why, I simply can’t imagine a strong woman like Tsunade in that Team getting excluded time and time again.

Simply Put.... I don’t want to feel bad for a Strong girl who had lots of potential to grow up into a great person but ended up being a mere Gay Shield for 2 boys. I felt so bad for Alma who was just used as a Beard for the Main Character from Broke Back Mountain but Not for Sakura in Naruto.

SEXUALIZATION OF YOUNG FEMALE CHARACTERS:

This!!!

This shit must be stopped.

It was always a woman/girl who was dolled up like some slut... revealing her Over flowing boobs to attract Male Gaze and to feed their sexual fantasy. Something like this....

Geez, Despite Catwoman, being a Main Character, this picture screams... “Come and do me as much as you want”... If only Kishimoto did this for Hinata or Sakura, I would have deemed him a filtered misogynist.

And this is the only time Kishimoto focused her ‘Prospects’ in the entire manga. It’s not at all awkward or vulgar...

I know Tsunade was sexualized but I heard that this is something common in every manga and also she is old (in her 50′s)... None of the characters inside the Narutoverse objectified her except for Jiraiya and Bee (they are known to be perverted... So, there’s that). I think this is okay.

Whereas he literally whored off ‘certain’ character and that character has a different Characterization in a ‘certain’ fandom...

Lo and behold

This is Uchiha Sasuke... The Dominating Daddy and Christian Grey of SS Fandom. Because the Author literally drew him to attract Female Gaze and feed their sexual fantasy.

Just like how every time Angelina Jolie’s dress gets removed bit by bit after a Fight.... Here Sasuke’s dress gets removed after every battle...

Instead of sexualizing a female character to appease the Male audience, (Just like those countless other U.S Comics authors does in their poster), The Author of Naruto sexualized his Main Male character and made him into a sex toy of SS fandom. Just like how SP made Hinata into a sex toy for those Dudebros.

I’ll leave it at here.

WOMEN NOT HOLDING ANY POWERFUL POSITIONS

People are thoroughly underestimating this aspect. Political Equality for women is necessary, even in real life. I strongly advocate for this idea.

And when I saw Tsunade became the Hokage (Konoha being the Foundation of this series...) who was holding this position for almost 80% of the series, I felt pleasantly surprised and was happy. And also she did an excellent Job at it.

If only there were no women holding any Kage Position and was simply reduced to being just some ordinary Ninjas.... I would’ve considered the Author as a Misogynist.

To conclude my rant,

I agree women characters in this series are pretty much Lacklustre except for a few. I am not denying it. But considering the Genre and the way Kishimoto used Parallel Story telling (Which I’ll talk about it in detail in my next post), I just don’t care about not having many more interesting women Characters.

Because when you design a Story to revolve around 2 Male characters and if they love each other.... Provided that they are Orphans.... There is no use in having a Strong Women Character in this kind of story. Because, What purpose does she serve to the story if she is not relevant to the Main Characters????

Either that Girl must be the Love Interest for one of the Boys... OR those boys must have some female siblings who could have some impact on their Brother... Or those boys must have some platonic Female friends who has some influence on these boys.... But Being a Gay and an Orphan knocks off every possibility of a Woman having any relevance in their life.

Like I mentioned above, there are many blatant and obvious misogynist tropes in Movies and TV series as I listed above.... You might find atleast 1 trope from any popular movies or TV series... Atleast 1.... And it always repulses me... In Naruto, I didn’t find any of those.

And also in 99% of the media, the ‘Femme Fatale’ role would always be played by the Female... as the name suggests. Like she has to be the seductress who seduces men sexually and get what she wants... [[Girls from James Bond Movies, Angelina Jolie from Mr & Mrs.Smith, Scarlett Johansson from Avengers Part 1 [[Plz don’t tell me she had any role in that movie]].... Whereas in Naruto, that role has been given to the Main Male Character called Sasuke... Excuse me???

The most sexist or misogynist shit I’ve ever seen was 50 shades of Grey and Twilight (aaaand they were written by women at that) and lots of Local Movies from my country.... (They are not even worth 10 cents.... It’s so cringy).... Compared to these... Kishimoto is Nothing...

Misogyny is a vague topic... Each people have their own views and interpretations. Yes, the Author may look like a Misogynist if you only look at the characters like Hinata and Sakura. Whereas I tried to look and analyze his other female characters like Kushina, Konan, Saori, Temari, Tsunade.... I know they are not deeply written... But atleast they have personalities, motivation, a strong conviction and In short.... They are solid. Tsunade was well-written as compared to Jiraiya who had no dreams.

They really have so much potential to be developed into some Great Characters... But at the end of the Day, this story was written to be revolved around Naruto & Sasuke and those decent women Characters were forced to have no dedicated narrative time just like many other male characters...

The Lack of Main Female Characters makes us feel like there’s no Female presence in this story... But considering the Genre is Gay which portrays the love story about people in minorities, it’s okay and I don’t mind.

Gay Love story in a popular Shonen is in and of itself is a rebellious concept and I welcome it... I don’t want to ruin my enjoyment by complaining about something where there is no scope for it...

I’ve watched Kishimoto’s other works like Road to Ninja and Mario.... I find the women Characters in those media to be really good... Plus, some of the Side Characters had accomplished a lot more than what Sakura and Hinata did for 700 chapters... All of these shows that, he could write Good Female Characters... And that’s why I felt he was kind of an in-between... Neither a Feminist nor a Misogynist....

#kishimoto #antisakura #anti sakura #anti hinata #antihinata

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sapphysicsandmath · 2 years

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rebelde thoughts, there are spoilers

-mj>>>>. sebas was right like jana will never be mj! mj should be the lead!! -continuing that, the psychoanalysis part of my brain is saying that mj wanted to do the little seduction play so badly because she wanted to prove to herself and everyone who wasn’t andi and dixon (because they already knew) that she had it in her to be the lead, to be the hot it girl, to be attractive and charming in not just a platonic way -jana and luka are so annoying sometimes but i still do like them. like jana and the precious 206 roomie moments :( when she let mj try on the dress and eyed her when mj said it was gonna be fun LIKE THAT’S GAY anyway then whenever luka validated mj by being like show jana how it’s done! alright selena pick the song! like still in his bitchy tone but i liked that :( and when luka called esteban brother and joked when he got mad like i thought that was cute :( -esteban needs to show off more of that musical talent idgaf about him and jana fr like i get it they’re together but they’re so boring and het like it’s so predictable for those two types of ppl to get together it’s quiet talented mysterious boy and popular it girl who has a secret side that aligns with the quiet mysterious boy’s interest somehow! i care about that music cause that class assignment was GAS!!!!! -can dixon have his own slay... he did so much for their group of friends and... i will never forgive jana for saying they were never friends cause he did so much especially for her! -also andi is an underrated friend!! andi and dixon are the lesbian and himbo duo of this show. andi tried to keep emilia out of it, set her boundaries quite firmly, but still seemed to value her friends and the band more. she loved emilia so much, but she put herself and her band and friends and values first by breaking up with her. she seems so emotionally and socially aware and i like that!! she always looked out for mj and even jana. those are her ROOMIES. -andi and dixon looked so hurt when mj performed w sebas :((( that hurt me -andi’s character is so funny cause she looks like she wouldn’t commit to anything like she just seems like she’d be a little bit of a whore but she is such a simp that it’s unreal and that is peak lesbianism if you ask me actually -emilia is a really morally right person she’s just dumb and that’s okay because when she was actually caught up with what was going on she took the right side even if it meant she wasn’t going to get a contract! and she wasn’t even wrong thinking that sebas was having sex w someone and not even considering la logia -i think the girls room has like so much untapped homoerotic tension. not wishing anything bad on endi but... i would like to see something. maybe some andixmj or mjxjana idk am i crazy for that -if they don’t forgive mj for delivering on her parents’ ultimatum... i will hurt someone because they literally forgave luka for helping in screwing them over and esteban for falling off the face of the earth for a few days -i would like to see more of andi and emilia and mj and dixon like i feel like we got so much luka esteban sebas and jana and i simply dgaf abt them anymore i feel like i know them so well but idk anything about the others except like dixon is secretly rich, mj is religious, emilia is brazilian and not rich, andi is??? a rich(?) delinquent? was that her dad who was mad abt her being a delinquent ? the same dad that taught her how to play drums? like that simply doesn’t seem right and i would like clarification -sue me because as much as i want mj fruity i think sebas redemption could be cool because then her and mj could be potentially cute but i also want dixon to win but i also think jana or andi should get with mj... mj just slays too hard im sorry -andrea is acting her fucking ass off because she is like a more emo version of andi irl like she could start going by andi rn -selene really is lowkey just eye candy for this show and honestly it’s okay <3 her and gigi are attracting the wlw and it’s working

#emilia alo #andi agosti #mj sevilla #dixon alvarez #jana cohen #esteban torres #luka colucci #sebas langarica

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tomdutch · 2 years

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"i wouldn’t say she has no traits, rather the very few that she does have are written so badly and are so stereotypical that it makes her boring" YES. YES TO ALL THAT.

plus the bits in ffh when she was spilling "cultural" facts made me cringe so much: they tried to make her sound witty and smart, but as a european, the only vibes i got from her were "person x goes abroad, learns something new, gets it wrong, but still tries to lecture other people about it" -> "boh" being the "anti-aloha" joke? they got the meaning of the word wrong. the italian words she says when talking about mysterio? the sentence is grammatically incorrect (can’t believe writers at m*rvel get paid and don’t even bother to check when they use a different language)

lliterally the most stereotypical american (sorry americans) thing ever imo, and she’s supposed to be unconventional and not-like-other-girls, but I guess the only spark of brilliance was used with liz, when they took the popular girl trope, but instead of making her a walking mean girl stereotype, they made her intelligent and nice and you could actually see and understand why she would be popular...

bring back my girl liz, you monsters, they don’t even mention her in interviews because they know they really screwed up with her 😭 tom has been talking about the vulture, and not once has he said a thing about the character's daughter, who also happened to be the girl peter loved 😭 instead he’s really pushing the spideychelle narrative (like the whole "harry osborn being played by timothée chalamet and turning evil because he wants mj and fights with peter bc of that") to compensate for the fact that they had no progression in the movies... it’s like he’s thinking "maybe if i sound convincing enough, people will believe that mj is a relevant character and that this love story wasn’t built on nothing"... sorry tom, but i can’t forgive you for that 😭💔

god yes absolutely. i hateddddd the boh thing so much i was sitting there watching it like 🧍🏽‍♀️ is this what they call character? this is the best they could’ve given mj? the girl who the plot now suddenly revolves around wooing bc she’s so cool and wonderful off screen? 😭 pls.

i’m of the opinion that romantic subplots are not really necessary in spider-man films mostly bc the original trilogy did a horrid job setting it up and, while i do love gwen in tasm, i still have some criticism of her relationship with peter. so for me, making the ENTIRE plot of a film revolve around a love interest is already an… unfortunate choice. but then putting absolutely no effort in creating a dynamic character is so insulting 😭 like y’all disregard everything hoco built up just to make mj’s character, who was a glorified extra in it, worse? you give her nothing?

and you can tell zendaya really tried to make the best of it in the interviews but the base of the character is so bad and so lazy that the more effort she put, the more cringy and awkward it was to watch. it was just so unattractive, i could barely sit through peter and mj’s scenes together. even the moment shippers are obsessed with, the “you’re pretty too” part was sooo palpably awkward and not in a cute way 😭 i’m not opposed to some wholesome awkward moments between two teens who like each other and it’s clear mcu writers know how to do it bc they delivered in hoco with lizpeter, but they dropped the ball so hard with mj and it sucks. if they had to essentially kill off liz from the whole universe, the least they could’ve done is make sure mj, who had little potential in hoco, is properly characterised.

but naur… instead we get necklaces referencing a femicide and scooby doo that shit. i’ve read so many fics that created an amazing version of mj that i actually liked and that didn’t abandon those stereotypical edgy girl traits, but they worked with them and made them enjoyable and funny. mcu writers really need a lesson from some authors on here bc this mj they shoving down our throats is simply not it.

anyway whoo this ask had me going 😭 i really enjoy analysing films with y’all, it’s so fun to hear your opinions

#masked vigilante #answered

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booksforevermore13 · 3 years

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The Mystery Girl

This is my too late entry to the Hinny Ficfest. I just got to know about it a few days ago, and I just loved the concept of something solely being for Hinny fanfiction. I haven't been writing very long, but I just had to participate.

Thank you to @clarensjoy for organizing this!

Also written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition.

Huge thanks to my QLFC teammates for beta-ing this!

Prompt 68: "Are you just `going to stand there and gawk?" / "Yes." / "Well stop it. You look stupid." Prompt 23: "I'm not afraid of your sister, you're afraid of your sister." Prompt 29: "Do you even know what a whisper is?"

Summary: "I swear, if you're Draco Malfoy or another one of his cronies, I'll hex you where it'll hurt. Badly."

"I'm not," Harry replied hurriedly, though he suspected even Malfoy would answer no to that.

Missing moment in HBP between Harry and Ginny.

Read it on Fanfiction if you prefer.

...

"She's crazy," Harry heard Ron moan, "and just when you think you've reached the bottom of her craziness, there's a crazy underground garage," and winced as the latter banged his head on the table.

That morning, when the sky was barely blue with a chorus of greys, Harry had heard Ron scream bloody murder and shot up off the bed, only to see him behind a huge oval mirror — courtesy of Neville's grandmother — and went back under the covers. He'd figured that if Ron was potentially being threatened by a crazed homicidal maniac, he wouldn't have been screaming about it while standing behind a century old mirror. So he'd gone back to bed and been woken up an hour and a half later by a snickering Fred and George on a visit to Hogwarts, who'd informed him of a very distraught Ron in the Great Hall.

Of course, he'd rushed out, slipping on a shirt backwards, and scrambling towards the Great Hall, heedless of the beautiful day outside and how perfect the wind was for a game of Quidditch, closely followed by the twins, who snickered all the way there. It was only when he reached it did he fully grasp that the situation couldn't have been too bad if the twins were snickering.

Worst case was, there'd been a prank gone wrong. Ron being on the opposite side of it.

Harry squinted as he walked forward, eyebrows furrowed as he tried to discern the misshapen blob on top of Ron's head. For a second there, it did look like a spell gone wrong and Harry felt a twinge of panic as he walked faster. It was red from what he could see, and he came to a stop as he realised that it looked frighteningly like a poorly knit hat.

"Why," Harry said, still squinting, "are you wearing that?"

Ron didn't answer, instead wailing as he buried his head in his hands. Harry shared a look with a still snickering Fred and George who'd taken a seat on either side of Ron while Harry took the seat opposite.

"Beautiful hat eh, Ronniekins?" Fred said, in a vaguely condescending tone. "Though, if I might say, a poor choice for impressing darling Lav-Lav."

Ron didn't answer and let out yet another sound of anguish which sounded more like a distraught sob than a yell.

"Are you…. okay Ron?" Harry asked a second later, out of necessity more than concern.

"No I'm not okay!" Ron wailed, "I'm not bloody okay! Do I look okay? No! I'm wearing a bloody woolen hat in the middle of May!"

"We've noticed," Harry said, as he took small sips from his mug. "Why though, are you wearing a woolen hat?"

"Oh, let us," Fred said, a sly grin on his face as he bent forward and ripped Ron's hat off.

George howled in laughter as Harry choked and spluttered out his pumpkin juice, coughing violently as Ron lunged forward at Fred, who dangled the hat at arm's reach.

"You've got pink hair," Harry laughed at the same time Ron yelled at Fred to give back his hat or go and do something he dared not mention in front of Mrs. Weasley.

"Oh, Ronnikins," Fred laughed.

"you look so awfully good —" George quipped.

"— have we mentioned?"

"Suits your brows," which were also pink.

"— and your eyes —"

"— not to mention the lips." George puckered his lips slightly, making a popping sound that only managed to anger Ron even more as he looked fit to murder.

"Mind your own bloody business," he yelled at anyone who looked twice at him, or more specifically, at his head.

"It's pink!" Harry giggled again, covering his mouth as Ron shot him a glare, before dissolving in hysterics again.

"It's lavender, I'll have you know," he grumbled.

Harry laughed harder, before finding it in himself to sober down. Fred and George, though, paid no heed as they continued laughing hysterically, Fred even going to lengths to ruffle Ron's lavender hair, met by a glare and a well-placed curse word.

"What were you trying to do?" Harry said, glancing at Fred as he bit back a smile. "Match with Lavender?"

"Sure, yeah Ron," Fred added, "it'd be even more fun to stick your tongue down her throat with that head full of hair of yours. Imagine her hands tangled in your lavender hair, her lips —"

Ron punched Fred in his side, cutting him off as he doubled over laughing, while Harry drew his legs in as Ron's flung over to kick his.

"Ginny did this, not me," he defended. "And I'm going to have it out with her, I tell you. I'll dye her hair purple, or green, or-or black —"

"Wait, Ginny did this?" Harry gaped. "Wow, I mean, bad wow, very disappointed wow," he said quickly as Ron shot him a look.

"You underestimate her," Ron grumbled, "she's the devil's spawn, that one, even worse than these two gits here." He pointed at a smirking Gred and Forge.

Harry smiled to himself, his cheeks reddening rapidly as he spotted George looking at him with a suggestive grin. Fred joined in, wiggling his eyebrows, and Harry ducked down in embarrassment.

"Won-won!" he winced as heard a shriek cut through the silence, "ohh, my precious Wonnie-boo!" He cringed as he heard Lavender making kissing noises as she ran over to where they were sitting.

"Murder me, Harry," Ron muttered.

"Yeah, no," Harry replied, "you're doing a pretty good job yourself," he shook his head as he picked up a piece of toast, quickly leaving as Lavender threw herself over Ron.

…

He was screwed.

His assurance of his screwed-ness became even stronger as he heard Filch hurrying down the corridor and calling out for Mrs. Norris. The dastardly cat was going to die a horrible death, Harry was sure of it, and he cringed as he heard another pair of footsteps right outside the broom cupboard.

The small space was cramped, just high enough for Harry to rise up to his full height, and it was dark. Pitch dark, and if this was the metaphorical colour black — as Luna so wisely commented time and again — he didn't like it very much.

Harry held his breath as hurried footsteps stopped in front of the cupboard and turned around to hide his face as the door opened, eyes blinded by the light outside. He heard the door close again.

And then the blackness resumed.

That was until he felt a hand push him backwards roughly and he shrieked, his hands going up in mock defence.

"Who the hell are you?" the person demanded, and Harry discerned it to be distinctly feminine, and familiar. Very familiar, he thought.

He stayed silent though, wary of giving his identity away to a girl in a broom cupboard. Perhaps, he thought, she'd get the memo and leave, though he couldn't for his life guess why she had been hiding there in the first place.

The girl stayed silent for a second, probably waiting for a response before she said fiercely. "I swear, if you're Draco Malfoy or another one of his cronies, I'll hex you where it'll hurt. Badly."

"I'm not," Harry replied hurriedly, though he suspected even Malfoy would answer no to that. But the girl seemed satisfied as she humphed and turned around. There was a soft mellow in the mystery girl's voice and he knew he'd heard it before, he just couldn't place where.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked, before cursing under his breath. Normal conversation generally required a 'who are you?' and mutual knowledge of their identities, but clearly, that wasn't the case here, and anyway, Harry had a slight feeling that the girl wouldn't disclose her identity even if he asked.

He waited. And then sighed as the girl remained silent.

"You're talking too loud," she said finally. "Obviously, you're hiding in here from something, or someone," she snorted there and Harry smiled, "so if you don't talk softly, then you're going to get us caught."

"Filch's cat," Harry said.

"What?"

"I'm hiding from Filch's cat."

"Oh," the girl gave a humorless chuckle, "bloody thing's going to have a miserable death. I'm sure of it."

"So I take it you're hiding from her, too?"

"Filch actually," the girl said, "and I suppose that includes the cat too."

"What did you do?"

"Set off fifteen dung bombs in his office," and Harry could swear she had a tinge of pride in her voice, and for a moment, marveled at the nerve of this girl who'd threatened to hex his parts off the first minute they'd met, now claiming to have thrashed Filch's den. There were very few in the school who had the guts to do that, and Harry felt himself flushing as he wondered whether the girl in front of him was Ginny.

Before he could say anything more though, she stepped forward and pried open the door, peeking out to look for what Harry knew now was Mrs. Norris and her owner.

He caught a glimpse of her red hair as the door opened, and his suspicions about her identity grew and almost the very next second, the girl shut the door close, and he could make out her leaning on it.

"Bloody hell," she cursed, and Harry for the second time was flooded with how familiar that sounded, and how he had heard Ginny curse like that before as he felt her push him against the back wall of the cupboard and shuffle in behind him, so that now they were just barely touching, yet not, her body shielding his. Harry felt himself smiling at how the girl, who he had now deemed about a foot shorter than him, was trying to shield him from whatever came knocking on the door. The feeling felt almost foreign for him, for nobody before the Weasleys and Hermione had ever so readily provided a shield so unanimous and here was a girl, who could very well turn out to not be Ginny, shielding him from a petty predator.

However trivial that sounded, Harry felt a warmth blossoming in his chest.

"Just remember, if we get caught, you're deaf and I don't speak English."

"Huh?"

"I think Filch's coming our way," she explained.

"What?"

"Do you even know what a whisper is?" the girl hissed, and Harry's instincts went into overdrive as he clamped his hand on what he could hope was her mouth, pushing her backwards as he shielded her petite body with his, so that he was now between her and the door.

He waited for the footsteps to pass, completely aware of how close the two of them were, and he waited with baited breath as he heard Filch's grumbles get softer. The moment the sounds became distant, Harry yelped and snatched his hand away. She'd bit him!

"Lumos Maxima," the girl whispered and her wand lit up. Harry blinked as he saw her features come into view and her bright brown eyes glare fiercely up at him before they softened.

"Harry?"

"Ginny?" Harry said, more like a fact than a question, because he'd already known who it was all the way. He just couldn't believe he hadn't recognized her the second she'd entered the cupboard. It was hard not to.

Ginny laughed, and Harry turned red, satisfaction brimming in his chest as he took in her illuminated face. Her chuckles died down as she looked up at him.

"Are you just going to stand there and gawk?" Ginny asked, a smile playing on her lips, and Harry had an unexplainable urge to just bend down and kiss her. They were just a few inches apart, probably the closest they had been since forever, and it would take him to bend just a few inches to capture her lips with his.

"Yes," Harry found himself answering truthfully.

"Well stop, you look stupid."

And Harry laughed, and Ginny joined him, and Harry found himself just looking at her and thinking how beautiful she was. And not just beautiful, she was… radiant.

His hand was still pressed beside her head and she slipped out underneath it, the light in her wand dimming as she made her way to open the door.

"Aren't you coming?" she asked as the door swung open. Harry squinted, his eyes adjusting from the dark to the light as he, for a brief second, noticed how her red hair seemed to light up against the sun, making it seem as if it was on fire.

So he followed her out, and they smiled as they met each other's eyes.

Ginny noticed him before he did.

"Shit," Ginny cursed. "We're screwed."

Filch glared at them as Mrs. Norris purred, and Harry couldn't help but agree.

…

"Oh there was a time when they used to hang students by their thumbs in the dungeons," Filch said darkly. "Those were the days."

"I suppose you were hanged like that a lot," Ginny said sweetly, and Harry nudged her, sending her a warning look.

"What did you say?"

"They probably used your toes. Seeing your thumbs weren't large enough."

"Two months scrubbing the toilets with a toothbrush," Filch screamed shrilly, and Harry pushed Ginny backwards as the man advanced on her, Mrs. Norris following him.

He stopped as he saw Harry's menacing glare. "You, boy," he said, glaring at Harry, "you're going to spend a month in the dungeons. Scrubbing the floors till they shine."

"That's not fair," Ginny bellowed, and Harry pulled her away before Filch could open his mouth. He suspected if they stayed there for a second longer, there'd be murder committed. Or at least a heinous crime.

"Two months in the toilets," she muttered darkly as they walked down the corridors, "that lying, cheating piece of scum," she growled. "And his cat—oh, I hope that cat rots in hell."

Harry laughed, and then stopped as Ginny shot him a look, both of them lapsing into silence.

"Seeing your thumbs weren't large enough," Harry chuckled, seconds later. "You don't take things seriously sometimes, you know?"

"Never take life seriously," Ginny said, and Harry looked at her, glimpsing a side of her he hadn't seen before. "No one ever comes out alive anyway."

And though those words were too crude to be true, Harry agreed with them wholeheartedly.

…

"Wait," he said as they neared the Gryffindor common room, before laughing, "you dyed Ron's hair pink."

"Lavender, actually," Ginny replied, "thought it'd match his girlfriend."

Harry chuckled, shaking his head as Ginny grinned an impish grin. "You're scary, you know." The words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop them. "Amazing, but scary."

Ginny laughed as she leaned against Harry's shoulder. "That's one of the best compliments I've ever received."

"One of the best?" Harry asked. "What's the best?"

"Oh. I don't know," Ginny shrugged, "probably on the lines of crazy ass she-demon who hides under children's beds."

"Really?" Harry laughed, "who said that?"

"Ron. I think Charlie agreed too."

Harry laughed and flushed as his hand brushed against hers. Instinct took over as he interlocked his fingers with hers and Ginny looked up in surprise, before relaxing into his hold, smiling happily. She was beautiful, Harry couldn't help but notice again as she swung their hands to and fro like two children.

But, he supposed, it probably wouldn't hurt being a child once in a while.

He'd never been one before — he'd at least never felt like one, even with Ron and Hermione. Like the entire world, they expected things from him, however few they might be. Ginny never expected; she'd always been the one to give without expecting anything in return. Never once, looking at him in pity or with a look that showed she understood everything he was going through.

She didn't, and she knew that and she made sure everyone around her knew it too. She tried to understand though, but if she wasn't able to, she didn't try further. Never pressed for more. Ginny, Harry had seen, was as open as he was withdrawn. What he saw was the truth — at least to him — and she was fiercely proud of that,almost daring anyone to oppose, but nobody ever did. He liked that.

Harry looked at her once again, smiling as he saw her glance at him through the corner of her eye.

"Oi, Harry!" He heard Ron's voice break through his reverie and felt a surge of disappointment as Ginny spotted her brother and let go of his hand. Ron was wearing that hideous woolen hat again, and Harry and Ginny exchanged glances, looking away to hide their grins.

"Heard you got into detention with Filch," Ron wheezed, "and you too." He pointed at Ginny.

Both of them nodded and Ron looked at them suspiciously before asking, "Were you two together all afternoon?"

"Yeah, well —" Harry looked at Ginny.

"We kind of fell in trouble together."

Harry smiled.

"Can't imagine why," Ron replied snarkily. "And you," he said, looking at Ginny, "don't think I haven't let you off the hook for this." He pointed at his hat, slightly grimacing.

"Didn't know I was on a hook," Ginny said cheekily. "I think you've lost your bait."

"Just taking pity on the number of toilets you have to scrub."

"I'll ask you for help if necessary."

Ron shook his head, exasperated. "He didn't do anything, right? Filch?" he asked, moments later.

"Relax, Ron," Ginny smiled, "I can take him any day."

They watched her walk away, a spring in her step, Harry with a smile on his face before Ron turned to him.

"I'm not going to see you with green hair tomorrow, am I?"

"I'm not afraid of your sister, Ron. You're afraid of your sister," Harry said and he grinned.

I think I'm in love with her.

...

#hinny ficfest #harry/ginny #missing moment in hbp #fluff #romance #humour #harry potter #ginny weasley #ron weasley #fred weasley #george weasley #gred and forge #written for the quidditch league fanfiction competition #hinny fanfiction #hinny prompt #the mystery girl

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melliflovs · 3 years

Text

Chapter Two - Yuji x Reader

Word Count: 2,301

Warnings: Sukuna being Sukuna

Summary: A movie night with Megumi gets interrupted and training the next day with Yuji.

Series Masterlist Pinned!

You burst into Megumi's dorm room without knocking, throwing Nanami's freshly dry cleaned suit over the back of a chair. "You'll never guess why I was summoned earlier." You said, walking over to your friend who sat on his bed. His eyes lifting from his phone, the black haired boy's thumb only pausing the repetitive scrolling for a moment.

"What?" He deadpanned before resuming whatever he was doing on his phone. "Well," You said sighing loudly. "I am now partners with the one and only Yuji Itadori, effective immediately."

Megumi looked up at you in confusion, eyebrows knitted together. "Why would Gojo want that?" You sat down beside him on the small bed.

"Beats me." You shrugged. "But," You began, a shit eating grin lighting up your face. "A certain King of Curses thinks I'm hot."

Megumi's arm shot out towards you shoving you lightly, "That not funny, don't joke about that."

You scoffed at him "What, do you think I'm not pretty enough for Sukuna or something? Besides I wasn't joking." You got up from beside him, admittedly slightly annoyed at his reaction. The dorms were small but each one had a cupboard for a small amount of food storage. You walked over to it and grabbed a bag of unpopped popcorn.

"So you're telling me that Sukuna - the baddest of the bad has his eyes on you now?" He said in disbelief, following you around the small room.

"Does it really matter? He's not the one in control anyways." You said reaching down to pull out the microwave you hid in the closet. Something you could only hope would never be found by a teacher. Potential fire hazard and all. You plugged the microwave into the wall before putting the popcorn in. You turned back to Megumi as the soft popping sound began.

"Yes it matters, he's dangerous. Itadori doesn't know what he's doing yet-" He was cut off by a loud thud a shout sounding from the room next to you.

"What was that." You asked, the room going silent aside from the microwave in the background. Together the two of you listened carefully, ears practically pressed up against the wall. A few seconds passed and you'd heard nothing. "That was weird-"

"Ow!" The two of you stilled, looking at each other with wide eyes.

"Whos next door?" You whispered.

Megumi straightened out as a lightbulb when off in his head. "Yuji is."

The two of your ripped out of the dorm room, running the short way to his door as the pained cries continued. "Should I," You gestured to yourself, "Do the thing?" He finished for you "No of course not I'll just break down the door."

"What?! That's so unnecessary I can just unlock it, you idiot." You continued to bicker back and forth for a moment, not realizing that the sounds had stopped. The two of you froze as the door in front of you began to open. Yuji stepped out, a confused look on his face and a sleeping cursed doll in his hand.

"Is everything okay?" He asked, looking between you and Megumi.

"Uh, yeah. We just heard some strange sounds and got worried-" You watched in shock as the corpse in his hands woke up, immediately turning towards the boy holding it and punching him.

"Fuck!" He yelled, holding the doll as far away from his body as possible - a small red bump rising by his temple.

Megumi burst out laughing, his arms clutching his sides. You stared wide eyed at your friend, possibly more shocked by his reaction than by the abusive toy. "Gojo's making me practice control." Yuji began to explain, "I'm watching some movies if you guys want to join."

"No, it's okay. Just wanted to make sure you were safe." You responded, sending a soft smile his way as you watched the puppet's chest rise and fall with every breath while it slept.

"Are you sure?" A deeper voice asked, a mouth popping out of the back of Yuji's hand, "I'm sure you'd have a good time." It tempted. Megumi stiffened beside you, stepping forward to get in between you and the cursed boy. Itadori was still very much in control but Sukuna's words irked Megumi.

"What's wrong, Spikes." He toyed, pulling at Megumi's patience. "Am I flirting with your girl? I bet she'd enjoy herself more with us."

Yuji frowned, still holding the animated puppet away from his body. He knew that fighting with Sukuna would only encourage him in the long run, even if it upset his fellow students. At least they didn't have to hear everything he said, constantly speaking in his head.

"I dunno, Sukuna." You said, "Megumi sure knows how to make the bed rock."

Flabbergasted your friend looked down trying to hide his blush. It wasn't true, none of it was. But you figured that if you were going to have to deal with the unwelcomed spirit's chatter then you would at least have fun with it.

"Oh?" Sukuna asked, "You two don't make a very cute couple. Why do the hottest girls always pick the ugliest guys." He mused.

Out of the corner of your eyes, you watched Megumi's hands raise, subtly beginning to summon his shikagami. Your own hands shot out, grabbing him and stopping his actions. "Ya know what, it was really great catching up with you Sukuna but I have a bag of popcorn just calling my name." You smiled, trying to cover up what almost could've happened. The mouth pouted momentarily before disappearing. Satisfied you nodded goodbye to a clearly humiliated Yuji and walked back to Megumi's door, pulling him along with you.

You waited before the two of you were securely behind the wooden door before turning back to your friend. "What were you thinking out there?!" You tried to keep your voice down but quickly found yourself failing. "You could've been badly hurt or, or even killed, Megumi."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you." He rebutted, "Sukuna isn't safe, Itadori isn't safe. You shouldn't be working with him."

"You're not getting the point. Sukuna doesn't seem to care about anything that's happening right now. He's content with his vessel. What would've pissed him off is getting your dogs to attack Yuji, why would you even try that to begin with."

Megumi exhaled loudly, his anger disappearing as his shoulders deflated. "I didn't like how he was speaking to you." You shook your head at him, your own anger fleeting.

"I can handle myself. You know that."

"Yeah," He nodded, "I do know that. He should treat you better though." You walked up to him, leaning forward and resting your head on his chest. You let out a soft sigh.

"The most powerful curse known to man is living inside the body of one of our new classmates. He can say whatever he wants to me as long as it keeps everyone safe, including you." You lifted your head to look at Megumi. "So please," You stressed, "Don't do anything to upset him."

"I won't."

In truth, you didn't really believe him. Megumi was stubborn and above all would do anything to protect you. But you were a big girl now, you could hold your own. Regardless you smiled at him and put it aside, "Thank you."

Pushing yourself off his chest you turned back to the microwave, your slightly cold popcorn waiting patiently for you to eat it. "Now, what movie are we watching tonight?"

He shrugged, "Up to you."

"Maybe I should go ask Yuji for some movie recommendations." You teased, wiggling your eyebrows at Megumi. "I bet Gojo gave him a great selection."

"Yeah," He scoffed, "If you like Jennifer Lawrence."

"What are you talking about?" Sure you liked her as much as the average person but his comment caught you off guard.

"Ah, it's a guy thing." He said nonchalantly, "You wouldn't get it."

You rolled your eyes, grabbing your popcorn and striding over to his bed. "Well, are we watching a movie or not."

Megumi finally joined you as the smell of butter invaded his senses, sitting beside you and pulling out his laptop. It'd take time but eventually, you'd be able to agree on something to watch. Even if it took all night.

---

You woke up the next morning to your phone buzzing on the bedside table beside you. Without looking you answered it, worried the sound would wake the boy sleeping on the floor next to you. "Hello?" Your voice was groggy as you let out a small yawn still tired from the movie marathon the night before.

"You're late."

The sound of Nanami's voice on the end of the line made your eyes widen. You were so screwed. "Sorry, Sensei. I-" You heard a soft beep as he hung up the call. Quickly you threw the covers off yourself, careful not to wake Megumi as you grabbed your things and tugged a sweatshirt on over your pajamas.

Making your exit you quietly closed the door. Megumi was many things but he was most definitely not a morning person and the last thing you needed to deal with was the wrath of two men so early in the morning. Sprinting through the dorm hallways you made your way down the staircase and towards the gym. When you finally made it to your destination you stood outside for a moment, taking a deep breath. The last time you were late he'd made you run a lap for every second you'd missed. You were five minutes late.

Three hundred laps.

But Nanami never used the same punishment twice, which now led to an internal panic. It could be anything his brain could think of.

Trying your best to now calm yourself you were at least ten minutes late. The latest you'd ever been, but hopefully you wouldn't get hurt too bad when it was all said and done. Fearfully you pushed past the gym doors quickly spotting your mentor and Itadori.

How could you have forgotten the events of the day before? In the rush to wake up and get to training in time it'd completely slipped your mind that it wasn't just you and Nanami anymore. The sound of the door closing made both of the men turn towards you. Yuji's eyes quickly meeting yours as you walked towards them, slipping your shoes off.

Suddenly you felt oddly aware of the boy's attention, beginning to regret your wardrobe choice of leggings and a wrinkled hoodie. You bailed so fast from Megumi's room that you hadn't even stopped to look in front of a mirror, let alone wash your face or brush your teeth. Grimacing internally you attempted to brush it off - to ignore it. Being a sorcerer wasn't about your appearance or presentation it was about skill and techniques.

At least if Yuji did notice how bad you looked he was nice enough not to mention it, turning back towards his new mentor as you went to stand beside him.

"Finally." Nanami huffed, "You've decided to grace us with your presence."

"Did ya miss me 'Nami. It's only been a few hours, couldn't stand to live without me, huh?" He sent a glare your way, if looks could kill you'd be six feet under. Yuji snickered quietly beside you, trying not to get on his new teachers bad side.

"Today we're practicing teamwork. Something that you aren't great at, (y/n)." Now it was your turn to send a glare his way. "I'm fantastic at it. I don't know what you could be talking about."

"Where should I begin? Maybe the time you shoved Megumi into a room of curses as a prank? Or the time that you got Nobara so annoyed that she almost struck you with her nails? I think she still has that locket of your hair, maybe I should call her up-"

"Hey, hey, we get the picture I'm not as funny as I think I am." You grumbled, shifting on your feet. In your defense, it was a room of fly heads and Nobara was just easy to piss off. You weren't exactly expecting her to try to kill you though. It was all water under the bridge.

"Now," Your mentor continued, "I've been told there's a grade two curse at a nearby school. Tomorrow we will go and exorcise it, but today you need to get to know each other." You and Yuji turned towards each other, eyeing one another apprehensively. "But, you may under no circumstances share your cursed techniques. That will be discovered in time.

"Shucks, how will he ever know how special I am." Another glare from Nanami was enough to shut you up, maybe you should stop pushing it for now.

"I'll see you guys later."

"What?" Yuji asked, eyebrows furrowed as he looked at the blonde man. "You're just leaving us like that?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?" Nanami questioned, pulling his glasses down slightly to look directly at Itadori.

"Can't say I have a problem with being alone with (y/n)"

You let out a soft groan when you heard the deeper voice. You didn't even need to look to know that Sukuna was now talking. Your sensei, now clearly annoyed just walked away leaving the two of you - technically three of you alone in the gym.

"So.... Jennifer Lawrence?" You said, attempting to break the somewhat awkward silence.

Sukuna started laughing from Yuji's hand as his cheeks turned red, "Who told you that?"

"I never reveal my secrets." You teased at the obviously embarrassed boy. "Well if we just have to get to know each other wanna go get something to eat? I never got a chance to eat breakfast."

"Yeah." Yuji grinned, "Let's go."

#jjk itadori #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #kaisen #yuji itadori x reader #yuji itadori #jujutsu kaisen x reader #itadori yuuji #jujutsu kaisen imagines #jujutsu kaisen yuji #yuji smut #yuji itadori smut

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soul-dwelling · 3 years

Note

Have you heard something about Ohkubo being racist? I saw some twitter links, which due to personal reasons I cant check for myself, but otherwise couldnt find anything on.

Shared September 18, 2021

I've sat on this question for a long time, and yet my answer will still be incomplete. As I am white, I want to be aware of the white privilege I have, and I anticipate I am going to give a response that fails to address certain topics and concerns--and is just going to be flat-out wrong in a lot of parts. I anticipate I will get things wrong below, I don't like that, but I want to be open to reading more and figuring out what I'm getting wrong so I can fix what I get wrong. And I want to learn from any responses I receive--so I encourage any responses, and I will read and consider them.

At the time when I received this question, I was not aware of any Twitter links regarding accusations of Ohkubo being racist. Despite being a huge fan of Soul Eater, this was something I was unaware of, and I was purposefully ignoring--because I was ignoring any discourse around Fire Force, not around Ohkubo or Soul Eater in general. While I have followed what Soul Eater stuff is out there, I have purposefully avoided a lot of Fire Force content since the anime was announced--including muting any Fire Force stuff on Twitter. While I do not regret avoiding Fire Force stuff (there is only so much annoyance I can take from that franchise), I do regret overlooking this discussion around racism in Ohkubo’s works, I regret that, and I apologize for overlooking it right now--and in the past.

Because I have overlooked racist elements in Ohkubo’s prior works, including in Soul Eater, including on this very blog. I don’t think apologizing is enough, and I am determining what steps I can take to handle this better--and that starts with acknowledging the racist elements in his works. I think some have unfortunate implications that need to be debated.

For example, one Twitter remark I read asked why the South American meister had to be Enrique instead of a human. (And, I anticipate, how that leads to its own set of unfortunate implications, associating being from South America to being a monkey, regardless Tezca, his visual conceit, and his powers being derived from, not South American cultures only or exactly, but from Aztec and indigenous Mexican cultures.) I don’t think adding Enrique as a meister is bad, when the joke works; I think adding Enrique, and not more South American human characters, is a problem, and when your one South American meister is a non-human animal, when no other meister in the series, especially of a Death Scythe, has been a non-human animal, this is going to stick out and be offensive. I have seen and written stories with animals as meisters to weapon partners; it is a great idea, having Enrique be that character is great, but it is a missed opportunity that erases a spot where a person of South American could have been. Having Tezca as one such South American person helps, but again, this is a missed opportunity.

As an aside, this also opens up unfortunate implications to having Black Star being mistaken by Liz as a monkey, given headcanon I’ve seen from fans about Black Star’s identity with regard to Japanese ethnicities and the fact that Black Star does have dark skin.

And another set of Twitter remarks focused on the stylized designs to the band playing at the DWMA Anniversary Party (and here). Regardless whether stylization was used on white characters in that scene, the stylization on the Black characters who were performing in the band is drawing upon a history of racist images (the lips on drummer and cellist) and is racist. I’ll get to this later, but I agree with this remark that it’s bizarre that Ohkubo did this despite what he has done well with inclusiveness amongst his cast. And like I’ll also say later, it’s like me sitting here thinking “How could he do so well at writing a girl lead like Maka in an action series, then fail so badly writing Tamaki in his follow-up series?” My pathetic answer is that no creator is perfect, they make mistakes--and it becomes infuriating when they screw up so badly and don’t seem to learn from that screw-up, don’t show regret, don’t fix what they broke, and don’t improve. I’ve ranted enough here on this blog that I don’t think Ohkubo has grown with his audience: I think he keeps making the same immature mistakes (immature in terms of his craft, immature as well in terms of his humor).

And since I did bring up the monkey remarks about Enrique and Black Star, there are the major sets of discourse around racism in Ohkubo’s works, that being Maka referring to Sid, who is Black, as a gorilla (not to mention “thuggish”), and Shinra in Fire Force referring to Charon, who has dark skin, as a gorilla.

Regardless the excuses made (“racism in Japan is not the same as racism elsewhere”--which, no, fuck that, people globally including in Japan know the racist associations made where being Black or brown is associated by racists with non-human primates), I don’t get why no one, from Ohkubo to his editors to distributors to audiences including me, do not say more about this racist detail.

And I don’t get why no editor or localization staff bothered to change it. I have not sat through the Fire Force dub, but I hope someone working at localization changed the line. (It’s one thing to change a subtitled line and avoid something offensive at the cost of accuracy in translation, including accurately translating content even when it’s awful, or else you’re just covering up for the awfulness in the original work. But it’s another thing to not revise the line for dubbing, when you should have more flexibility in that kind of adaptation.)

(And that’s not getting into casting white actors as Black characters in the Soul Eater dub, but I hope I can address that another time with more depth should Soul Eater ever get a continuation or a re-dub...which, given how enough of the original dub cast have fucked over their careers and revealed their abusiveness and toxic bullshit in their personal lives, either a new anime or a new dub sounds good right about now.)

The responses to this criticism have been to rightly point out that Ohkubo does include numerous varied portrayals of Black characters (also here and here and here), drawing upon Black identities from the United States and Africa, especially for characters like Kilik and Ogun. But, me personally, pointing out what is done well does not negate what is done badly. (And yes, just because I think Maka Albarn is a great representation of a girl character in shonen doesn’t negate how Ohkubo fucked up with Chapter 113 and all of Tamaki in Fire Force).

As a creator, you’re supposed to fix what you did wrong, you don’t distract from what you did wrong by doing something else well later. You fix the character in front of you, not only make new characters and let that distract the audience from what you did wrong. You fix Sid (which, for me, means some potential adjustments to character design and not calling him a freaking gorilla); you don’t distract by creating Kilik and Ogun. You fix Tamaki (give her more to do, don’t make every joke around fanservice, stop fucking sexualizing a 17-year-old); you don’t distract by pointing to Maka or Maki. That’d be like me excusing something I did wrong in one set of responsibilities by asking you to look at something good I did: that doesn’t fix what I did wrong by mistake. Asking people to “leave the medium” is not helping: this is a debate, you get to watch something, you get to decide for yourself whether you think something is racist or misread, I’m not up for gatekeeping people to block them from either criticizing something or enjoying something.

And while your enjoyment of something can reflect on your values (if you keep liking jokes calling Sid a gorilla, what does that say about you?), I said “can,” not “does,” it is by context and debate (you can enjoy slasher movies without being a serial killer, etc).

I wish I had something more meaningful to say, and I don’t like that I don’t. I want to be a better ally, but just being aware that there are racist elements to this series, and just stating awareness, is not sufficient for me. It’s one reason why my focus is on uplifting fan content that does far better at handling inclusiveness and representation in this series. But my focus has been on representations of gender in the series--and that is my fault for not doing more to focus on representations of race and ethnicity, and I wish my apology would be enough, and it’s not, so I’m trying to figure out what I can do that is better. I will read feedback to do better.

#soul eater #atsushi ohkubo #fire force #sid barett #kilik rung #enrique

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doubleleoenergy · 3 years

Text

v. Blinding Lights, The Princess and the Pogue Series

I've been on my own for long enough. Maybe you can show me how to love, maybe.

Series Masterlist

Pairing: JJ Maybank x fem!reader

Warnings: 18+ ONLY, mentions of drug use, mentions of addiction, mentions of suicide, mentions of drinking, swearing

Summary: The events from the weekend bring JJ and y/n closer.

Words: 1820

Notes: I apologize for this coming out this morning, I fell asleep on my laptop last night editing so...here it is!

The first rays of morning light hit JJ’s window, sending beams across the room and onto his face. He groaned instinctively, covering his head with a pillow, a slight headache from the night before lingering and making him groggy.

He was aware of his actions from the night before, and did he regret them? Absolutely. He knew he fucked up with Y/N, bad, but he also couldn’t help it. He had never been in a long-term relationship before, he’d never let things get farther than a casual hookup before with anyone. Ad he had never actually liked a woman long enough to see potential with her, not until he had met y/n. Well, not that they did or did not have potential, that was all up to the game of life. And an apology would be necessary if they were to move forward with even a friendship at that point.

JJ rolled out of bed and onto his feet, his door creaking as he opened it up and peaked around the hallway. John B’s door was completely open, with him and Sarah nowhere in sight. That was probably for the best, he knew if they were there, he would just feel too prideful to apologize.

Stepping out into the hallway, he walked out and into the living room, finding y/n sound asleep on the couch still. The sun shined through the windows, covering her body in a warm beacon of light. She looked angelic, and she was. Y/N was everything JJ felt he didn’t deserve in a woman, and he still had no idea why she even hung out with a Pogue like him.

He leaned back against the wall, admiring the way her body was curled up, her lips slightly parted and her tangled hair framing her face. She was still dressed in her clothes from the night before, having passed out on the couch soon after they’d arrived at the Château. JJ kept his gaze on her for a few more minutes until her eyes fluttered open, blinking away the sunlight and rolling onto her back.

It took her a moment to realize JJ standing there, the hurt from the night before resurfacing as she covered her eyelids with the cool palms of her hands. “Take a picture, JJ, it’ll last longer.” She commented. JJ finally removing himself from the wall where he was leaning, moving over to take a seat to her left beside her on the couch. She immediately rolled onto her right side, facing away from him.

“C’mon, princess, you can’t get rid of me that easily.” He teased, resting his head against the back of the couch. She groaned at the nickname, pulling the blanket over her head.

“Actually, I can. You can fuck right off, JJ Maybank.”

Her tone made JJ frown, not realizing just how badly he had screwed up the night prior. “Look, I know you’re upset, but at least let me explain.”

Y/N sat up with her back towards him, looking around on the floor until she found the backpack she had stuffed with her clothes and toothbrush, picking it up and ignoring him as she headed to the bathroom. JJ was hot on her heels, only stopping when the door shut in his face.

“Y/N, please.” He pleaded, leaning his head against the door as he spoke. Y/N rid herself of the clothes from the night before, tossing them into her bag before slipping on the tank top, jeans, and cardigan she had packed for the day.

“You can’t just ignore me forever. At least let me apologize.” JJ sighed, hearing the water running in the sink on the other side of the door. “I’m fucking sorry, okay? I just got caught up with drinking and the weed and dancing with you and I didn’t know what to do. I thought you wanted me to kiss you, I figured that was why you were dragging me out where no one could see us.”

Y/N abruptly opened the bathroom door, causing JJ to stumble forward, catching himself on the doorframe before he could fall. She passed by him as he caught himself, pulling her hair up into a bun on the top of her head. “You think I’m upset because you kissed me? I was going to kiss you, dumbass.” She admitted, crossing her arms over her chest as she sat back down on the couch.

“Well then, what’s the problem?” He questioned, walking down the hallway and stopping at the end, afraid that if he sat beside her, she’d just get up and walk away again.

“The problem is that you kissed me and then acted like it didn’t happen when we caught up with John B and Sarah.” JJ recalled the events of the night, remembering how he pulled away from her to walk back to where John B and Sarah were standing. He remembered making a joke to John B as to why they were in the woods, lying to him about the fact that they were kissing.

“Well, shit, I don’t know, y/n. I just…I panicked, okay? We have this rule: no Pogue on Pogue macking. You’re part of the Pogues now and I…” JJ sighed, running his hands through his blonde locks. “I don’t know how any of this works. Whenever I’m into a girl it’s just based on hooking up with her. It’s never anything serious. I have a fucked up way of thinking, alright? Is that what you want to hear?”

Y/N looked up at him sadly, meeting his gaze before she reluctantly motioned for him to sit on the cushion beside her on the couch. JJ followed her motions, sitting beside her and leaving some space between them. They sat in silence for a minute before JJ continued.

“Look, my mom left my dad and I when I was young, and my dad blamed me my whole life for it. He was addicted to drugs and used to beat the shit outta me whenever he felt like it. I never grew up understanding a healthy relationship, or sharing feelings, or really any of that shit.” He looked down at his hands, opening and closing them as he spoke. “I’m sorry, I wanted to kiss you, I mean, who wouldn’t? You’re the fucking best, y/n; you’re smart, funny, and incredibly beautiful. And for some reason you like hanging out with a fuck up like me.”

Y/N shifted to look over at him, a small smile on her face as he talked about her. “You’re right, I am pretty great.” She teased, easing the tension and making them both laugh. “You’re not a fuck-up, you know that, right? You can’t control what happened with your mom and dad. I was so young when my dad killed himself, but when I grew up and watched my mom drinking, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was my fault. The truth is you can’t blame yourself for the way others react to situations. Life is shit, I mean, we don’t even make it out alive after all the bullshit we go through. It’s not worth spending your whole life blaming yourself for the actions of others.”

Her words are comforting, soothing JJ down to his core. She made him feel less messed up, like he could be someone better, like he deserved better than the shitty cards he was dealt in life. JJ’s eyes flicker to her lips, leaning closer and closing his eyes before the moment is interrupted by the sound of a car horn honking outside.

“Shit.” Y/N cursed, pulling away from the intimate moment they were having and standing up off the couch. She pulled her backpack to her shoulder, looking out the window at the familiar Dodge Durango. “That’s Bailey, I texted her for a ride home when I was in the bathroom.”

JJ tried not to look flustered, scrambling to his feet and running a hand through his hair again. “I’ll walk you out.” Y/N opened the door, walking out onto the screened in porch before stepping outside while JJ walked silently beside her. She watched her sister’s expression as she looked between the two, raising an eyebrow as she smiled mischievously at y/n.

“You must be JJ.” Bailey noted, rolling her window down and resting her arm on the open space.

“Yeah, it’s uh-it’s nice to meet you.” JJ held out his hand for Bailey to shake, receiving a firm handshake from the woman, glancing back to where y/n stood.

“It’s nice to meet you finally, y/n won’t shut up about you.” Y/N’s cheeks flushed a bright red, her eyes widening as she wordlessly pleaded with her sister to shut up.

“B, don’t we have that place to go?” Y/N questioned, hinting at her sister to play along with her lie after having just embarrassed her.

“Right...yeah, get in kid. It was nice to meet you, JJ. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of you.” Bailey watched as y/n walked to the passenger door of the Durango and opened it, Y/N lingering in the doorway. JJ followed her, holding onto the top of the door frame.

“I’ll see you at school tomorrow, yeah?” She asked, biting her lip as she looked up into JJ’s blue hues..

“Yeah, sounds good. It was nice meeting you, Bailey.” He gave them both a salute before heading back into the Château, y/n hopping into the passenger seat of the Durango and shutting the door behind herself.

Bailey backed out onto the road, a sinful smile on her lips. “I can see why you like him; he’s tall, muscular, and those eyes are like staring into the damn ocean.” Bailey hissed when y/n smacked her arm as she drove, y/n letting out a huff of breath as she stared over at her older sister.

“You just had to embarrass me, huh?”

Bailey shrugged, stopping at a stop sign on the road before making a left in the direction of their home. “Mom would’ve done the same if she was here, you know that. Like she did for that boy who took you to your eighth-grade formal.” Y/N smiled at the fond memory of her mother, one of the better memories before her mother’s drinking had gotten worse.

“...Yeah, mom definitely embarrassed me much more than you just had. And that was before I even thought about kissing boys.” Y/N agreed, biting down on her bottom lip and looking out the window. She still didn’t know how JJ felt, he had been leaning in for a kiss, but what was to say he wasn’t going to pull away again or shrug it off as an ‘in the moment’ gesture. Her thoughts are clouded with the what-ifs of her and JJ’s relationship as they drove home, the lingering sounds of the radio playing softly in the background as she replayed the past hour repeatedly in her head.

Tagging those who may be interested. Please let me know if you’d like to be tagged/untagged: @midnightf, @serendipityrogers, @fuckandfluff, @eireduchess, @calisamcro, @moniamaybank, @astrydis, @sokovianheadtilt, @blackwiddows, @matbarzalschain, @bigassnocash, @sspidermanss

#doubleleoenergyseries: The Princess and the Pogue #series: the princess and the pogue #the princess and the pogue outfits #jj maybank #outer banks #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank x fem!reader

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swan-of-sunrise · 3 years

Text

Specs and the Flyboy (Chapter Nineteen-Part Three)

Summary: (Y/N), Jack and their friends finally face off against Leviathan and the Secret Empire.

Pairing: Jack Thompson X Reader

Word Count: 4.1k

Warnings/Disclaimers: None

A/N: Ya girl wrote this while dealing with sleep deprivation, cramps and the after effects of the vaccine, so I hope it’s good ‘cause at this point I can’t even tell lol Thank you all so much for reading! I hope that you enjoy!

Chapter Nineteen (Part III) Leviathan’s Weapons Facility, Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Previous Chapter)

While the two of them were ushered down the staircase that led into the crate-filled warehouse by Michael and Dottie, (Y/N)’s mind raced as she struggled to think of a way out of their current conundrum. I’ve been in plenty of tough scrapes before but even I’ll admit that this one’s the toughest one yet, she thought to herself, her eyes rapidly scanning the large room; there were large, frost-covered windows towards the ceiling, several boarded-up skylights and the two metal doors she spotted were both guarded by Leviathan soldiers. By the time they reached the base of the stairs, (Y/N) had counted a total of twenty armed enemy operatives – seventeen Leviathan guards, Attwell, Underwood and Michael Carter – and from the brief glimpse she’d gotten of their friends hidden behind a stack of crates, it looked as though both Pinkerton and Sawyer were badly injured and the others were trying to bandage their blood-soaked wounds. So, we’re out-gunned and out-numbered, she concluded with a sinking feeling as she bit her lip in worry.

“So, Chief Thompson did survive his daring escape!” Attwell grinned, walking out into the empty space amidst the crates and standing before the two of them. “Truth be told, I was hoping that we’d meet again; I detest leaving loose ends, and killing the SSR’s golden boy once and for all would’ve been a genuine pleasure.”

Beside (Y/N), Jack’s shoulders tensed but he tilted his head to the side in mock contemplation. “What, you couldn’t do it without your Leviathan goons backing you up? What a real tough guy.”

Attwell’s fist quickly connected with Jack’s stomach and when he doubled over in pain, the man struck him across the face and sent him sprawling to the ground. “Stop it!” (Y/N) started towards her partner but the sudden feeling of a pistol barrel against the back of her neck stopped her cold; tearing her eyes away from Jack, she met Attwell’s gaze and struggled to keep her voice steady as she spoke, “He’s not the one who’s screwing up your deal with Leviathan, I am.”

“Of course, of course, the infamous codebreaker.” Attwell stepped closer but she held her ground, raising her chin in defiance and refusing to look away despite how uncomfortable his stare made her feel. After a tension-filled moment, his face broke out into a stomach-churning smirk. “It’s a shame that such promising talent’s being squandered by the SSR, by those who dismiss and condescend you at every turn. I was very much like you before joining Hydra; I was overshadowed at Cambridge by my perfect older brother and his two brilliant flatmates; while William, Michael and Adam flourished in their respective fields of study, I floundered and was subsequently expelled but as luck would have it, I was approached by Hydra and offered a chance to unlock my true potential; and here I stand before you, Agent (Y/L/N), to offer you that very-same chance. With the new Leviathan, your immeasurable skills would not only be recognized but they’d also be celebrated. You and Michael could work side-by-side in our efforts to break through as the world’s leading superpower and once we achieve our goal of fully weaponizing Zodiac, Agent (Y/L/N), you’ll have everything you’ve ever truly desired.”

Out of the corner of her eye, (Y/N) noticed Jack’s hand resting on his waist and while Attwell talked, her partner’s index finger had tapped away. It only took her seconds to realize he was sending out a message in Morse Code on the walkie-talkie still clipped onto his belt and once she did, she knew exactly what she needed to do.

“You know, it’s a good thing you’re decent at codebreaking, Specs, ‘cause you’d make a pretty shit spy. You fidget too much.”

If Jack can think up an off-the-cuff plan to get us out of this mess then I can buy us all a little time by being a good spy, she thought with resolve just as Attwell finished up his speech. Taking a page out of her partner’s book, (Y/N) raised an incredulous brow at the man as the corner of her mouth curled into a humorless smile. “There was a time when I would’ve given just about anything for people to recognize me and my skills, to appreciate just how hard I’ve worked to get where I am today. But then I grew up and realized that the only person whose appreciation I needed was my own. Mr. Attwell, I don’t need to be celebrated or appreciated by anyone, but especially not by a pathetic imitation of the Red Skull.”

The man’s expression instantly grew cold at the comparison. “Then it would seem that you’re of no use to us.” His gaze shifted to look at whoever was holding her at gunpoint and he nodded. “Shoot her, Michael.”

“Stop!” All of them looked over just as Peggy jumped out from behind their makeshift barricade with her rifle pointed directly at Attwell. “I’ll give you the key.”

“Peggy, no!” The barrel of the pistol pressed harder into (Y/N)’s neck and she winced in pain. However, her horror was quickly replaced with dawning comprehension when Peggy flashed her a pointed look before briefly glancing in Jack’s direction. She knows about whatever Jack’s planning, she silently realized, playing along with her old friend’s ruse by rearranging her features into a look of righteous indignation.

Moving to stand beside Attwell, Dottie raised the hand that wasn’t holding her rifle and gave the younger woman a small wave. “Hiya, Peggy. You know, you really should’ve listened to me back in New York; I told you there were currencies in the world stronger than money. I practically spelled all of this out for you! But the great Peggy Carter couldn’t figure it all out on her own, so she needed the help of…” Dottie turned to (Y/N) with a frown. “What’re those revolting nicknames you call each-? Oh, never mind, I don’t want to know.” Turning back to Peggy, the spy shrugged. “Well, I suppose not everyone’s perfect, are they?”

“No, they’re certainly not.” Attwell agreed, gesturing with his head for Peggy to lower her weapon and holding out his hand once she’d set it on the ground. “No tricks, Agent Carter. The key, and you and your friends are free to go; it appears that at least one of them is in need of medical attention, so I’d be quick about it if I were you.” When Peggy’s eyes flicked over to where Michael was standing behind (Y/N), Attwell chuckled darkly and shook his head. “No, I don’t think dear old Michael’s going anywhere but by all means, Agent, go ahead and ask him if you don’t believe me.”

For the first time since they were ushered into the warehouse, Peggy looked directly at her older brother. Her hardened expression slipped and for the briefest of moments, (Y/N) recognized the vulnerable young woman she’d known all those years ago at Bletchley Park who mourned her beloved brother’s death. While her lower lip trembled, Peggy finally addressed Michael. “Not too long ago, I had a dream about you and you told me that you’d be right alongside me if you could. I didn’t believe it was possible, even when (Y/N) and Jack told me it was, but now we have a second chance at being a family again. Michael, you can finally come home.” She blinked away her tears and gave him the ghost of an encouraging smile. “Please, Michael, come home with me.”

(Y/N) could feel the pressure on her neck ease up but just as she was beginning to think that Peggy had succeeded in getting through to him, Michael coolly replied, “This is my family, Agent, the only family I have in this world.”

Peggy’s face crumpled as Attwell laughed in amusement. “I told you so! Now, the key for your friends.”

God, I hope that whatever Jack’s planning happens sooner rather than later, (Y/N) silently prayed, sucking in a breath while the younger woman approached Attwell. Once Peggy reached into her pocket and withdrew the familiar Arena Club pin, the man looked over at Dottie and gave her a nod; the spy slung the strap of her rifle over her shoulder and made her way over to one of the many wooden crates near them, kicking the lid off of it and lifting a small metal box out of the loose excelsior. The box looked innocent enough but as Dottie walked it over to Attwell, (Y/N)’s blood ran cold and she knew that the moment Peggy handed over that key, Leviathan would possess one of the world’s deadliest weapons and they’ll have lost.

“Get up, Chief Thompson,” Michael barked and while Jack got to his feet, (Y/N) was roughly pushed towards him. “And you, stand over there with him.”

(Y/N) did as he said, standing beside Jack and keeping her eyes on the scene unfolding before them as she murmured, “You okay?”

“Yeah, you?”

“Peachy-keen.” She watched Dottie hand the metal box over to Attwell, her anxiety steadily building within her while he examined the box’s intricate lock. “Are you going to fill me in on the plan or what?”

The corner of Jack’s mouth curled upwards and he quietly replied, “Patience is a virtue, Specs, just be ready for it.”

“Be ready for wha-?”

Just then as Peggy’s hand stretched out to give Attwell the Arena Club pin, the warehouse wall opposite them exploded. Rubble and splintered pieces of crates flew through the air but before (Y/N) could fully react, gunfire broke out all around them. Amidst the chaos, Jack latched onto (Y/N)’s hand and ran, yanking her behind the nearest tower of crates as bullets whizzed past their heads; both of them crouched on the ground and peeked around the wooden crates, and her eyes widened in amazement at what she saw. The explosion that had knocked down part of the warehouse wall hadn’t been an explosion at all but rather one of the Howlies’ trucks and as (Y/N) watched, Daniel and Henry used the truck’s doors as barriers while they exchanged fire with the Leviathan guards. Moments later, she spotted Peggy dart out from one of the aisles to join her boyfriend behind the open truck door.

“Wa-Hoo!”

Dugan’s deafening war cry from across the warehouse was punctuated by a fresh barrage of gunfire, and (Y/N) couldn’t help but revel at the familiarity of it all; her eyes were suddenly drawn to two men sprinting down the aisle towards her and Jack, and it took her a tense moment to recognize them through all the chaos.

“There you guys are!” Howard exclaimed before ducking down beside them, followed closely by an anxious-looking Edwin Jarvis. Reaching into the satchel that was slung over his shoulders, the inventor withdrew two handguns and offered the weapons to them. “You know, you two’ve got a real habit of gettin’ into trouble…”

Jack rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Says the man who was mind-controlled into almost gassing all of New York last year.” Springing up, he fired off several shots before ducking back down. “How’re we looking, Jarvis?”

“Well, Chief Sousa’s dramatic entrance provided enough of a distraction for Mr. Fieldman to escort Mr. Pinkerton and Mr. Sawyer out the front; their wounds aren’t life-threatening, but Mr. Fieldman promised he’d help treat them once they reach the clearing.” The butler set another satchel on the ground in front of them. “And we’ve brought more guns and ammunition, as per your request.”

“You know, Thompson, you said in your message that you needed a big diversion, but that whole entrance was my idea; I actually took it from one of my studio’s newest scripts, where a gangster steals-”

“Of course, Mr. Stark, your genius knows no bounds.” Edwin hurriedly interrupted the inventor’s rambling, glancing over at (Y/N) with his brow furrowed in worry. “And have you broken Mr. Carter out of his brainwashing? Where is he?”

Looking around the edge of the crate, (Y/N)’s heart dropped when noticed that several important people were missing from the gunfight. “Where the hell did they go, Jack?”

Jack craned his neck to see what she was looking at and swore loudly. “Shit, I-wait, they’re on the stairs!” By the time (Y/N) spotted them, Attwell, Dottie and Michael had reached the top of the stairs and had disappeared around the corner. “Jarvis, stay here with Stark and cover us, then go help the others.” Edwin nodded and her partner turned towards her, his blue eyes scanning her face for any signs of trepidation as he asked, “Are you ready, Specs?”

“As I’ll ever be,” (Y/N) pulled an extra ammunition magazine out of the satchel and tucked it into her pocket before giving Jack a determined nod. “Let’s finish this once and for all, Flyboy.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Compared to the chaotic warehouse they’d come from, the rest of the facility was eerily silent and it wasn’t at-all difficult to follow the footsteps of the fleeing trio through the deserted hallways.

“You know that this is probably a trap, right?”

“Naturally.”

“Good. Just wanted to make sure that we’re both on the same page.”

Before (Y/N) could get another word in, a figure she soon recognized as Dottie dropped down from above them and began attacking; the spy kicked the guns out of their hands, ramming her knee into (Y/N)’s stomach and knocking the wind out of her before spinning and using her leg to slam Jack into the wall beside them. (Y/N) took advantage of Dottie’s momentary distraction and aimed a side-kick at her thigh, but the spy merely turned her sharp fall into a somersault; she stood and threw a punch that (Y/N) was quick to duck, and then she grabbed the spy’s extended arm with the intent of wrenching it behind her back. Dottie predicted the move, yanking her arm free only to wrap her hand around her throat and roughly shove her back against the wall.

The back of (Y/N)’s head erupted into a sharp pain while Dottie flashed her a condescending smile. “I already told you, you’re too easy! It’s almost pathetic to see you try so hard to be as good as Peggy.”

“Don’t need to be as good as Peggy,” (Y/N) choked out as the fingers around her throat tightened. “Just…just good enough to keep you distracted.”

Dottie frowned in confusion and that’s when Jack slammed the butt of his gun against the back of her head. The spy tumbled to the ground in an unconscious heap and (Y/N) doubled over, her hands firmly clutching her knees as she coughed and gasped for air. “(Y/N), you okay?” She nodded and allowed Jack to take hold of her shoulders, his soothing encouragements helping her finally regain her breath; once he was sure that she was fine, her partner handed over her dropped gun and rested his hand against the small of her back to urge her forward. “C’mon, let’s go…”

They left the motionless spy behind and continued down the hallway, turning the corner and finding themselves at the entrance of a dimly-lit boiler room. Beside (Y/N), Jack shuddered and she recalled the story he’d told her of the mission he and Peggy had conducted to investigate one of Leviathan’s training facilities; she nudged him with her elbow and gave him a brief smile, wishing that she could offer him more comfort but not wanting to distract them both from their mission. Jack nodded as if to say he was fine, but his shoulders remained tense while he silently gestured for her to go left into the room while he went right.

(Y/N) crept behind the various boilers and pipes, careful not to slip on the slick ground as she did. If I end up surviving all this, I think I’m going to sleep for a week straight, she thought to herself, her heart rate steadily increasing with each step she took. While she edged herself around another heavy piece of industrial furnacing, she found herself trying to think of how to break Michael out of his mind-control long enough to save him; Jack insisted that cognitive re-calibration was the only way but after being present for Peggy and Michael’s reunion, she wondered if reminding him of his past or even recent actions would also do the trick. But a sharp skid noise right behind her made her forget her train of thought and turn, dodging the knife just in time.

“You really should’ve taken my offer, Agent (Y/L/N),” Attwell spat out, slashing at her with the knife again and forcing her to stumble back into the center aisle of the boiler room; the blade sliced against her forearm and she stifled her cry of pain, dropping her gun and leaping out of the way as he aimed for her again. “Soon, you and your foolish friends will be dead and Leviathan will have more power than you could possibly imagine!”

“Don’t you ever get tired of hearing your own damn voice?” (Y/N) retorted, her hand shooting out and twisting the red-colored knob beside them; a pipe next to Attwell spewed out pressurized steam and he let out a shriek of pain as the steam enveloped the right side of his face. Not wanting to stick around, she turned and sprinted further into the vast room, a part of her hoping that she’d bought herself enough time to save Michael. Skidding around a corner, she was immediately met with the sight of Jack and Michael engaged in a vicious fight on the floor; her partner was trying to wrestle something out of the other man’s closed fist, but he was so preoccupied with his task that he didn’t see Michael’s other hand brush the handle of a nearby gun. (Y/N) kicked the gun away from him, pinning his shoulder to the ground with her knee and spoke the first thing that came to mind. “Visions, light, cheered, night, dream!”

As she finished reciting the five words he’d used to encode his final message to Peggy, something shifted in Michael’s dark eyes and his clenched fist relaxed, allowing Jack to snatch the Arena Club pin from him. Before any of them could say or do anything more, a fiery ache erupted along her shoulder blade and she cried out in pain as she pitched forward. “(Y/N)!” Jack looped his arms underneath hers and dragged her over to half-lean against a pipe; her vision was partially clouded by the pain, but she could still make out the bloody knife he’d just pulled out of her upper back and tossed onto the ground beside them. “No, no, don’t look at that, just keep your eyes on me!” He pressed his trembling hand tight against the wound and when she nearly whimpered, he held the side of her face with the other and frantically nodded, his blue eyes steadily filling with panic that he struggled to control. “I-I know it hurts, baby, but I have to keep pressure on it; it’s not very deep, but I can’t have you fainting right now so keep your eyes on me, c’mon-”

“How touching,” Both of them looked up to see Attwell and Michael standing before them, the former with a self-satisfied smirk on his half-seared face and the latter staring stonily down at them. “Let’s make a new deal, Chief Thompson: Give me the key, and I won’t let Agent (Y/L/N) slowly bleed out on the floor of this boiler room.”

“Bastard.” Jack spat back, but his hand left (Y/N)’s face long enough to retrieve the Arena Club pin from his pocket and throw it into Attwell’s waiting hand. “You better start lookin’ over your shoulder now, Attwell, ‘cause I won’t rest until I kill you myself.”

Attwell shrugged and ran his fingers over the pin, twisting it sharply to convert it into a key. “Such fiery attitude in the face of doom was precisely why I was looking forward to killing you. But then I realized, forcing a man like you to live with your mistakes is a far worse punishment than death; and to make this victory sweeter, I plan on unlocking Zodiac in front of you both, so you can see just how spectacularly you failed yourselves, your agency and your country.” He turned to Michael with his brow raised in expectation. “Are you ready to make history, old chap?”

Michael nodded. “Of course…” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the metal box containing Zodiac; (Y/N) tried getting up, unwilling to sit back and let Leviathan win, but Jack’s strong arms held her in place against him. When she met his gaze, he gave her a barely-discernible head shake and with her jaw clenched tight, she watched Attwell push the key into the lock and turn it clockwise; the lid popped open and the man breathed a sigh of relief, reaching into the slightly-smoking box and holding an electric-blue colored vial with strange etchings carved into the glass.

“Beautiful, isn’t it? So much potential for war and destruction, and it fits within the palm of my hand.” Attwell looked up at Michael and continued, “My brother never appreciated such things, you know. He never truly appreciated you, either; once you were found out to be a deep-cover spy for the SOE, I saw an opportunity to mold you into the person you were always meant to be. Do you remember the first thing I told you after you came out of Hydra’s operating room?”

Michael’s hardened expression faltered, almost as if he was struggling to control his actions, and in an instant, he drew his gun and shot Attwell directly in the chest. There were tears in his eyes as he finally replied, “‘Michael, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.’”

The box and the vial slipped out of the dying man’s hands and as he began to sway dangerously on his feet, (Y/N) lunged forward and caught both in her hands before they could hit the ground. While Attwell’s lifeless body collapsed to the ground in a heap, she and Jack hurriedly placed the deadly Zodiac back into the box and slammed the lid closed; she let out a shaky breath, unable to grasp everything that had just happened. Michael dropped to his knees, tossing his gun to the side and rubbing his head with one hand; still mindful of her now-oozing wound, Jack held her a little closer as they both warily watched the unsteady man turn away from Attwell’s body to look at them. “I-It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Agent (Y/L/N). I’m Michael Carter, SOE.”

A smile slowly stretched across (Y/N)’s face and a sense of relief was beginning to wash over her as a familiar voice called throughout the boiler room. “(Y/N)? Jack?”

“We’re back here, (Y/N) needs some medical attention but we’re okay!” Jack called back, meeting (Y/N)’s gaze and flashing her a lopsided grin. “You’re gonna be fine, Specs, you hear me?” With a relieved chuckle, Jack leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her sweat-covered brow before resting his cheek on the top of her head. “We’re all gonna be fine.”

“Hey!” The first person who rounded the corner was Daniel, whose gun was already at the ready when he pointed it at Michael. “Hey, get the hell away from them!”

Jack held out a placating hand to the chief. “Easy, Danny Boy, he’s good right now; he’s the one who killed Attwell.”

Lowering his gun, Daniel limped over to where they sat against the pipe and knelt down as best he could to examine her knife wound. “Looks like the knife missed everything important, thank goodness. What the hell happened down here?”

Jack detailed everything they’d dealt with after hurrying out of the warehouse as their friends joined them; Edwin began treating her various wounds with Henry’s assistance, Howard carefully stowed the box containing Zodiac and its key into a satchel and Dugan worked on locating a weak point in the wall to blow a quick exit for them. There was a flurry of voices and activity surrounding (Y/N), but all her attention was on Peggy and Michael; they were talking to each other in low tones, Michael looking heartbreakingly unsure and Peggy trying her hardest not to cry, until they both surged forward and hugged one another. For the second time that day, (Y/N) was reminded of Freddie but while she watched the Carter siblings finally reunite, she didn’t feel sadness or envy, but rather pride. She was proud of herself, for having helped stop Leviathan’s plans and for having made-do on her promise to reunite her oldest and dearest friend with her beloved brother. If anyone deserves a second chance at happiness it’s those two, she thought to herself, taking a deep breath and resting her head against Jack’s strong shoulder.

They did it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Only one more chapter left!! Like I said, idk how I feel about this chapter as a whole so I’m sorry if there’s mistakes/it’s bad, but next week’s is gonna be great! Thank you guys so much for reading! If you haven’t checked it out yet, I created a Spotify playlist for this series and it’s linked down below!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/21pWY7OiMFj8LaYpxhtVtW

Chapter Twenty

“Specs and the Flyboy” Masterlist

Tagging: @nnon-it-up @fluffymadamina @remmyswritings @ourstarsailor @darkusangelus @josis-teacup @marvel-jackt-loki-buck @yeetyeetchickenmeat @sameoldbaby @theserenityspace @seeing-but-not-observing @supervoldejaygent @momc95 @brooke0297 @kinda-c0nfused @outoftheregular

#jack thompson x reader #agent carter #jack thompson #peggy carter #daniel sousa #howard stark #edwin jarvis #dum dum dugan #pinky pinkerton #happy sam sawyer #the howling commandos #michael carter #dottie underwood #marvel cinematic universe #strategic scientific reserve

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faithfire-writes · 3 years

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Once again tagging @worldsnotsaid for the lovely support and encouragement! Here goes nuthin'! Let me start by saying that, of all of Sarah J Maas’ characters, Elain is the one who resonates the most with me. I have never picked up a weapon, I wear my emotions on my sleeve, I like gardening, and I hate conflict. I don’t think I would be able to kill an animal, even to survive. When I read Elain, I latched onto her because in a way, I am Elain.

And that’s why her continued treatment at the hands of SJ/M infuriates me.

Sarah Janet does not know how to write soft, feminine character who are over 12. Ae/lin, Fey/re, Yre/ne, Nes/ryn, M/or, Ma/non, Nes/ta, Am/ren, all of her characters fit the same mold. Snarky, “badass”, cocky, arrogant, and possessive of a beauty that attracts most males’ eyes (remember, this is SJ/M). Even characters who start out softer and more timid are either killed off (RIP Sorscha, you deserved better) or have their characters completely rewritten in favor of being more “badass” (Yre/ne, El/ide). The only feminine, soft character who is permitted to exist just as she is, is Evangeline, and she’s, according to the wiki, 11-12 years old.

With El/ain, we are introduced to a soft, sweet-spoken girl who is coddled by the rest of her family, similar in ways to Prim in The Hunger Games. The only difference being that Prim is still a child. Elain is a grown woman, and yet everyone babies her. Fey/re herself even notes that “Elain sometimes just … didn’t grasp things. It wasn’t meanness that kept her from offering to help; it simply never occurred to her that she might be capable of getting her hands dirty.” (ACOTAR p. 11). Ignoring how this makes Elain sound like she has a mental illness, it shows how, as much as Fey/re acts like her sisters are a burden to her and how much she hates them, she can’t possibly begrudge El/ain for not wanting to chop wood, because it’s ELAIN. This harkens back to the “Elain is Elain” line in ACOFAS, which I still cannot understand. She doesn’t have to do anything to rewrite her character to fit the IC’s mold, because…she has so little character to begin with? Again, SJ/M does not know how to write an adult woman who isn’t a warrior.

El/ain is not allowed to act like her character suggests. She is, according to canon, OLDER THAN FEYRE. Who has more agency and personality? (Hint: NOT the girl who enjoys flowers). Elain is only allowed to act her age when it comes to romantic inclinations. She’s allowed to be viewed as a potential sexual/romantic partner by Az/riel and Luc/ien, and her beauty is commented on by Cas/sian, Fey/re, and the King of Hy/bern. The only other time in the narrative when El/ain is given any agency is when she stabs Hy/bern to save Nesta. The rest of the time, aside from her brief time spent as a hostage of Hybern, she is basically just there. And her abduction had nothing to do with Elain herself—or her seer abilities, much to my disappointment—it was to punish NES/TA. Her seer abilities, which were a FASCINATING side effect of her transition from human to Fae, have yet to serve any purpose in the story.

El/ain is a fascinating character. A young woman who is forcibly turned Fae and then gets visions she doesn’t understand while a war rages around her is an AWESOME concept. El/ain deserves to have her role developed beyond the morality pet of Nes/ta and Fey/re, and “The Other Sister who Likes Gardens and who Az/riel is Shipped With.” She needs flaws and a personality beyond “soft sister who didn’t screw over Fey/re as badly as Nes/ta but who also didn’t do much”. We were given 3 books learning about Fey/re and the entirety of ACOSF to explore Nes/ta's backstory and what makes her tick. El/ain deserves nothing less.

#anti sjm #anti feysand #anti acotar #pro elain

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txemrn · 3 years

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You are literally the only person who has written Sofia Russo correctly. The fandom is full of sheep who buy into exactly what the writers for The Nanny Affair are doing to Robin and Sofia. I can't even play book 2 of The Nanny Affair.

Hey, anon! Thank you so much for your comments and compliment! Gosh, I'd love to do a series just on Sofia and/or Robin... 🖤

I have 2 thoughts...

1. When someone has a hard shell or they're seen as mean/evil, I can't help but think, "What hurt you?" Very generally speaking, I believe monsters are made. They were hurt, and developed negative coping skills. This doesn't excuse their actions, but they are far more complicated than good v. evil.

When it comes to Sofia, we actually witness what has made her so hard in TNA. For one, she has a misogynistic father and an MIA mother. She was also born and raised in a rich/famous lifestyle. So, right off the bat, without appropriate coping skills, her life is about seeking the approval of others, all about perfection, all about being the best... and yet, with that father, she will never be those things.

This woman wants approval so badly that it forces her hand into a loveless engagement with a childhood friend. How awkward must that have been? Shoot, Sofia might've been friends with Addison (in my HC, she was). And Sam and Sofia both tried to make it work (no one can convince me otherwise), and for Sofia, she may have felt some happiness because a man in her life actually saw her potential, that she actually had some worth. But then, what happens? He cheats on her. With the young nanny. And then on the biggest day of her life that she has dreamed of since she was a little girl, he left her at the altar.

I'm not excusing her actions, but if Sofia wants to screw Sam's illegitimate brother (and supposed "best friend" even though Sam is a TERRIBLE jerk of a friend to Robin) to fix what he broke, then go ahead. Call her a cheater.

If Sofia wants to assign menial tasks to MC to keep her enemies closer (which, btw, Sam approved of these tasks), then go ahead. Call her a bitch. MC is hooking up with Sam, knowing full well his status (she's known since the beginning and yet continued to flirt with him even before she met Sofia).

Now, of course, Sofia is far from perfect. But so is Sam. So is MC.

2. I think you're right. PB is fantastic at manipulating the general public on how to feel about characters, and they do that so that the story makes sense. Imagine the outrage if this story was about having an affair, but Sofia was sweet, likeable and in love with Sam... and Sam was average and not a billionaire... ha!

I'm part of online TNA board and it has SHOCKED me with how many people actually believe it is okay to have an affair because they aren't married yet (technically still single). Some people believe Sofia deserved to be cheated on. Unless there are personal setup parameters (which Sofia tried doing 2 days before the wedding lol), in what world is this normal?

But going back to the manipulation, I have played the first book more times than I'm willing to admit. Lol several times, I have told myself, "Focus on Robin. Why do people hate him so much?" IT'S BECAUSE SAM IS SUCH A DICK TO HIM! PB used the good-looking, rich LI to define Robin and because Sam says so, people discredit Robin. Robin is such a funny, precious bean, and quite frankly, we see him working more than Sam. Lol

And then to nail the coffin shut, they have him screwing Sofia (shocker) and his rationale was because he was... angry that Sam gets everything handed to him? Angry that the Dalton's didn't legally adopt him? Wait... what?

I hope you don't mind this spoiler, but in book 2, Sam is super angry with Robin (we really don't know why). PB has a scene where MC and Sam gang up on a childish Robin in the boardroom and they all act so stupid to each other. Well, in this last chapter, we see a glimpse of the old Robin again: MC and Sam are dicks to Robin again, and Robin becomes quite broken-hearted because he wants to be family again... but he'd settle with just being allies. And they dont even have that. 😭💔

Anyway, thanks anon for your comments! I'm sorry that PB ruined these characters to the point you can't even get into book 2. I hate to say it, but you aren't missing too much... but... Sofia is back, and I am here for it. 🤣

#you asked #the nanny affair #sam dalton #robin flores #sofia russo

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xenoblademisadventures · 3 years

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I’ve been thinking about how Xenoblade 2′s character writing and why it doesn’t work. It's not uncommon in animes, especially ones with large casts, to make characters with a handful of really loud and obvious character traits and then have one extra character trait that the viewer can only learn about by spending extra time with them. For the sake of convenience, I'm going to call these "surface traits" and "hidden traits." To use Nia as an example, her surface traits would be that she's a snarky and sarcastic cat girl who is slow to warm up to the party while her hidden trait would be her fear of persecution over powers that she didn't ask for. Every major character in Xenoblade 2 does this.

This type of character writing has a lot of advantages, disadvantages, and requirements to make work effectively. The big advantage of writing characters like this is that they're easy for the audience to follow. This also usually results in characters who are easily identifiable among a large cast because you can list 3 or less surface level character traits and you'll know who's being talked about. When talking about Xenoblade 2, I could talk about a "super powerful hot-head," "talks like a butler," "flirts constantly and is uncool," and you can probably guess which character I'm talking about. This can also be really good for characters that the player isn't supposed to spend a lot of time with but the writers still want to leave an impression. The Rare Blades are good examples of the type of character where writing them like this is a good idea, especially since it's not guarantee that the player will do their sidequests or h2hs after getting access to them. This style of character writing also doesn't prevent writers from making interesting or complex characters. Pyra and Mythra are actually really good examples of characters that fit this style of character writing but are still super complex. When a story has a lot of these types of characters, they become interesting by having those attributes intersect with and synergize with as many other elements in the work they're a part of as possible.

The reason why Pyra and Mythra are able to be extremely complicated characters that still follow this model of character writing is because the traits that the writers decided to give Pyra and Mythra feed into both the other character, the individual character, the plot, and the gameplay, but also it's possible to trace how the traits of other characters interact with them. Addam is a reluctant hero, normally that's seen as a noble trait in fiction. But in Xenoblade 2, Blades are emotionally reliant on their drivers to such a massive extent that it can shape both how a Blade views themself and how they view the world as a whole. So, Addam being scared of Mythra's power, having only resonated with her out of the necessity to defeat Malos, and often referring to "the Aegis" as "Malos, the guy who sinks continents for fun" all feeds into Mythra seeing herself as something that is dangerous and can only cause harm. This also feeds into the gameplay. Pyra and Mythra are presented as glass canons who deal nice crit. However, building Mythra towards being a dodge tank or giving her a crit heal build can make her really powerful defensively. Pyra's a lot weaker than Mythra because her attack doesn't reach the same levels as Mythra's and she doesn't have a lot of utility outside of dealing damage. This synergizes really nicely with their character arc because, for Pyra, it shows that Mythra really did see herself as only a weapon when she created Pyra, so Pyra, alongside being a lot weaker, is also a lot more limited to that role. While Mythra, while powerful offensively, becomes broken when used defensively. Which mechanically synergizes with her learning that she isn't an evil ball of destruction. They also have the potential to synergize nicely with the majority of the party. Rex doesn't know about the Aegis war gets to know Pyra as Pyra rather than as the Aegis. Azurda was there for the Aegis war and really should have something to say about Mythra blowing up Torna. Nia's character arc also involves her sealing away her powers because of a fear of being judged for them, Dromarch is an emotional support to Nia, Tora is responsible for creating a blade that can rival Mythra in power and Poppi is that Blade (considering how Pyra and Mythra feels about their own power, this could go somewhere), Morag and Brighid both rub the Aegis war in Pyra's and Mythra's face (Morag initially opposes Rex because she believes the Aegis is too dangerous to be left unsupervised and she's scared of the Aegis's power, which is a parallel that could be drawn to Addam's own attitude towards the Aegis, while Brighid was not only there for the Aegis war, she was extremely judgy and one of the people responsible for Mythra turning into Pyra), and Zeke and Pandoria don't really have any immediately obvious connections, which can be nice if Pyra's and Mythra's relationship with every other character is so closely related to the heavy topic that is her hidden trait. Of course, Xenoblade 2 doesn't do anything with most of these potential synergies, so they don't exist in the context of Xenoblade 2. But they are very useable and potentially very powerful in the context of fanfiction, which is why I made that comment. Mythra's already one of the most complex characters in the game and the writers only really did anything with her potential synergies with Pyra, Addam, and maybe Rex (which could have been further explored). In turn, Pyra and Addam are more interesting characters than they would have been had Mythra not been written to be a part of the story. If Xenoblade 2 had taken more advantage of the potential synergies between different members of the cast, the character writing would be a lot better than it is in the game.

A common issue with writing characters like this is that they can easily feel one-dimensional or tropey. These types of characters work best if you imagine any individual character as a puzzle piece rather than a whole thing to be viewed in isolation. Going back to the example of Pyra and Mythra, if you were to write Pyra without having Mythra or any of the stuff going on there, she becomes a boringly written character that only really plays into the sexist ideals of what makes a good housewife, with her surface traits being that she's demure, sexually innocent, and good at cooking. So by not making those connections and synergies when writing these characters, they become weak characters. The issue becomes worse when the characters synergize badly with other elements of the work they're a part of. This is an area where Xenoblade 2's big issue of its pieces not fitting well together comes to bite the character writing in the ass.

For example, one of the reasons Rex suffers as a character is because the writers tried to make him a weak child character who barely scrapes by most of his encounters, but this does not work well with Xenoblade 2's cathartic combat system. Xenoblade 2's combat system does a lot to make the player feel awesome. It has the flashiest attacks in the series so far, it has some narrator going "excellent" "awesome" "amazing," and it emphasizes the player juggling a lot of simple to execute ideas at once, which makes it extremely satisfying when the player successfully juggles those things and makes big numbers that go brr. This makes Xenoblade 2's combat really unique and fun (easily my favorite moment-to-moment combat in the series). But in relationship to how Rex is written, it's really bad. Gameplay is as much a part of the story of a video game as the writing is, so if the gameplay says "the party is an unstoppable, epic, flashy, and cool and this is a power fantasy where the party can handle anything (that doesn't instantly kill them)" while the story says "the party barely survives the majority of their encounters and the protagonist is way in over his head," then there's going to be a disconnect and players are likely either going to react by believing Rex is terrible protagonist who constantly loses or they'll lean towards believing that the gameplay isn't canon. Neither of these are good results.

The character designs are another aspect of the game that screws over the character writing. For these types of characters, they need to be accompanied by character designs where you can know at a glance what they're all about. This can mean having over the top character designs, but that isn't always the case. If you want some examples, the Fire Emblem series is generally very good at conveying information about its characters through its designs without needing over the top designs. Full Metal Alchemist manages to convey a lot of information about it's characters through their designs even with the majority of them wearing the exact same uniforms. Xenoblade 2 utterly fails at this goal when making its character designs. Pyra's the worst example of this, so I'll use her design to get at what I mean. She's a shy, modest, carries a lot of guilt with her, and is shown multiple times to either be ignorant or disapproving of horniness (mostly shown in H2H's involving Tora). Those are all pretty surface level traits about her, which her character design should convey the most loudly. Alongside that, it's also important that her design connects her to Mythra in some way since their relationship is extremely important to both of their arcs. Because Xenoblade 2 has a mechanical focus on dividing ether in different elements, it's a good idea for Pyra's character design to say "I'm a fire type" in some way. It may also be good to have the design imply that Pyra is a weapon and that she is sealed because that's also relevant to her character arc. Because the Aegis and the Monado are supposed to be connected (but that connection is a massive spoiler), Pyra's design should also have something subtly tying her to Malos and the Monado. Out of those things listed, Pyra's design does convey a connection to Mythra and it does say that she's a fire type. It either doesn't do or does an extremely poor job at conveying everything else. If Pyra is supposed to be demure, why is her design so flashy? If Pyra is going to have multiple lines of dialogue where she explicitly says that she doesn't like horny clothes, why is her design so heavily sexualized? Her flashy design works really well with the flashy gameplay and the sexualized design works well as a waifu collection gacha game, but that comes at the massive expense of the character. The character design and combat animations imply that Pyra is supposed to be cool and sexy, but the character writing says that she is not remotely close to that. If the purpose was to make the character design intentional contradict the character, then a point should be made about that rather than leaving it to the viewer to piece together whatever explanation sounds the smartest to them.

Another way that Xenoblade 2′s characters falter is that their hidden traits often don’t come into play outside of the moment when they’re established. Making anything like that just results in something where there’s a lot going on but it isn’t very interesting. Tora is the worst offender for this, he’s a super-genius, has a strong admiration for Rex because he’s a driver, is overweight, and has a maid fetish. This could easily lead into him having an arc where he has to learn to see Poppi as a real Blade or as a person (and it could synergize nicely with some of the later plot twists about all Blades being artificial lifeforms). It could put an interesting spin on the maid fetish aspect of his character because Poppi is on the receiving end of that most of the time. It could also work nicely with Mythra’s character arc because she has experience being seen for what she is rather than who. It could lead into Poppi having a character arc. Tora could also easily have an arc about learning to believe in himself. Which could work nicely with Rex’s development, or even Pyra or Mythra’s arcs. Instead, Tora gets all of his development in Chapter 4 (which really wasn’t a good time for it because there was a lot that needed to get unpacked with Mythra’s introduction and that gets sidelined a lot quicker than it should have been). And it focuses a lot on how Bana kidnapped his father and forced him to make a bunch of Artificial Blades and also finished Lila. There’s a lot of extra information added about Tora, but the game never draws a connection between Tora’s existing character traits and the new information, nor does it do anything to link those traits. So, a lot of people will see either Tora as a character as “the creepy Nopon with a maid fetish” or “the super-genius who wants to be a real driver.” The deeper stuff about him missing his dad and wanting to honor their memory by finishing a multi-generation long project barely has anything to do with any of his actions outside of this one arc. Alongside that, this hidden trait doesn’t synergize with his surface traits. It’s not that these character traits can’t reasonably coexist, but they also don’t feed into each other very well. And connections absolutely can be made between these traits, but the game opts not to make them.

Azurda is a character who suffers from the game not exploring its characters as much as it should. He is old and he likes to tease Rex but genuinely cares about him. Those are his surface level traits. His hidden traits are that he knows a lot more about the backstory than he lets on and withholds a lot of critical information from the characters because he doesn’t trust Rex to respond rationally with that information. There’s a lot that can be done with that, but the game does nothing. Azurda never expresses any opinion about Rex being Pyra’s driver despite having seen for himself how badly Addam’s partnership with Mythra went. Even if his opinion is that he’s chill with it, that’s something he should have been asked to elaborate on (probably by Pyra?). Instead, he doesn’t serve much of a purpose to anything. Brighid, Poppi, Morag, Dromarch, and Pandoria also suffer from a lack of being properly explored by the writing.

Another issue that Xenoblade 2 has with its character writing is that it turns some of the most important aspects of its characters into late-game plot twists. The advantage of plot twists is that they’re exciting, can carry huge implications for earlier parts of the story that the player can notice upon revisiting it, and can change the trajectory of the story in interesting ways. The problem is that these character plot twists tend to also be at the end of their arcs. The audience doesn’t know about Nia being a Flesh Eater or that she struggles with fear of rejection because of how people have reacted to her being a Flesh Eater until that conflict has already been resolved. We don’t learn about Pyra and Mythra being suicidal until a minute before it’s resolved. That’s a problem because all of the potentially interesting character stuff happens off-screen, which means the player doesn’t get to see it (unless they read fanfictions that specifically address these topics). I already talked about Pyra and Mythra, so I’m going to talk about Nia. Up until a bit before the Flesh Eater reveal, she largely plays straight-man to everyone else’s bullshit and makes a few funny snarky comments. Her role in the party comedically works really well. She is comedic gold and plays especially nicely off of Zeke. However, when it comes to her non-comedic writing, she struggles to be interesting. The first potentially interesting thing we learn about her is that she was allies with Torna (but didn’t know that they kill people? or did she just not think they’d murder a random innocent kid?) The game doesn’t use Nia’s former allegiance to Torna to progress her character, especially in the early game. Nia has been on the run from Indol for years and caused her so much fear that it prevented her from saving Vandham, that should have been a huge deal in the moment, that Nia could have saved him but didn’t. But because Nia being a Flesh Eater isn’t revealed to the audience until much later, the best we get is being able to see her hesitating and clutching her chest and that becoming significant on rewatch. Putting this plot twist so late also means that Nia doesn’t react to Mor Ardain capturing her, Cole openly revealing himself to be a flesh eater, Fan’s powers (in Chp. 4), or her having to exist in Indol nearly as much as she should have. It also makes her join Azurda in the ranks of having known critical plot information but chose not to share it party. The flesh eater reveal happens at an awkward time. Players will either realize early in Chapter 6 or in Chapter 7, depending on whether they caught on during the Niall revive scene. Either the plot twist comes out of nowhere and proceeds to not get addressed or receive any context until midway through Chapter 7 or it comes at a time when the viewer should be concerned about Pyra and Mythra and draws a bunch of attention away from that. Either way, Nia being a flesh eater only manifests in the story as an OP power-up after the reveal. This comes at the expense of certain scenes. For example, Nia soloing Malos visually looks really cool, but because the writing never puts any time on Nia’s relationship with Torna or how that impacted her views of herself as a Flesh Eater, there isn’t any emotional pay-off to this encounter. Her revealing herself as a flesh eater also falls into the same category. The scene is mostly known for “I love you and all you guys!” If the game revealed to the audience that Nia was a flesh eater and spent most of her life having to hide that fact or else be forced to go on the run or get taken advantage of for it, then her character development wouldn’t have to be all cramped into Chapter 7 and her two major scenes there could start to have some emotional payoff. Revealing her status as a flesh eater to the audience early on would also allow for Nia’s arc to compliment Pyra’s and Mythra’s. It could even allow Dromarch to have moments (since a lot of his character is based around him being a support for Nia). Unfortunately, the most interesting aspect of Nia’s character doesn’t get explored, doesn’t show up until really late in the game (late considering that she’s the second party member), and it gets crammed into a spot where the story should have been focusing on Rex and his ability to function without Pyra and Mythra’s help.

Overall, the character writing in Xenoblade 2 is rather weak because while the characters do function well as comedic units, they try and fail to do anything deeper than that. Either the characters needed to have their deeper or more complicated features way more fleshed out (and also synergize better with other aspects of the game, such as the character designs and combat) or Xenoblade 2 should have backed off from its heavier themes and stuck to being a comedy.

#this is more focused on how the character writing handles the games drama and heavier moments rather than how it handles its comedy #because the characters are generally pretty well suited for comedy and play off each other nicely in that regard #xenoblade chronicles 2 #xenoblade 2 spoilers #xenoblade analysis #pyra #mythra #nia #tora #rex #xenoblade spoilers

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