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botnasty · 2 years

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Taste {1}

Steve Kemp X F!Reader

[Part Two]

Summary: Steve has always wanted you, it’s too bad you’re so stubborn.

Words: 2,2 words (That was a rollercoster)

Warnings: FRESH SPOILERS! ANGST, DARK, spiked drink, reader gets drugged, kidnapping, mention of blood, mention of human parts, mention of kidnapping, SMUT(PIV, DUB-CON(reader got drugged), infidelity, rough sex, unprotected sex,

Note: All mistakes are mine. And also don’t be shy, come say hi. My request are open, so if you have any suggestions or ideas, I’m open to hear them.

And, tell me if I’m missing any warnings please.

Also, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR 300+ FOLLOWERS! I LOVE YOU ALL MY LILL BOTS🤍🤍🤍

Main Masterlist

Sebastian Stan Character Masterlist

Please DNI if you are under 18! This is an 18+ blog!

Also, please don’t steal my work, on any other platform, unless you have my authorisation

“Steve! You’ll never guess what happened!” You said with a smile on your face. You slid in the booth and sat yourself right in front of your best friend.

You’ve known Steve since you were just a child. He was your neighbor and that’s how you both met. You were both completely different, Steve being this bubbly charismatic person that can be friends with anyone and you, well you were mostly just a loner.

You’ve had other friends other than Steve, but lost all contact with them right after college. Some went to travel the world, others moved out of New York and the rest just stopped contacting you, but Steve never did.

Even if Steve went to medical school and you went to the police academy, you’ve never stopped talking. Steve was even the one who would engage most conversation. You also had a routine of always meeting Friday night at the same bar and same booth.

Steve popped a bunch of chips in his mouth. “What’s up, Dove?”

“I finally made a crack in my case!” You squealed, a big smile on your face. You had been working on those missing women's cases for months now and you’ve finally found something.

You found out that the last time those women's phones were used was near a specific house outside of the city. You planned on going there to look and ask questions to the person who lived there.

“I can’t tell you more than that tho because of confidentiality and yada-yada.”

Steve leaned over with a nonchalant look. Not something you were expecting from him. He let out a small laugh and he took your hand in his. “Are you sure those women disappeared? For all we know they could’ve just left the city…”

You shook your head. “No, Steve. It wouldn’t make sense.” You took a swing of the beer Steve bought before you arrived. “We looked into it, Steve.” You played with his fingers, loving how they felt intertwined with yours. “And there is more than meets the eyes. I am one hundred percent sure of that.”

He shrugged. “If that is the case, then I’m sure you’ll find them all. You’re the best at what you do, Dove.”

You blushed at the compliment. Usually you weren’t like this, but Steve always seemed to make you feel like a teenage girl with a crush which wasn’t entirely false. You weren’t a teenager, but you still had deep feelings for the guy in front of you.

How could you not. He was perfect. An amazing personality, a sense of humor for everyone and one of the most caring and selfless person you’ve ever known.

He was also very handsome with his fluffy brown hair, his piercing blue eyes, that perfect skin and that smile that could attract anyone to him. Guys or girls.

Suddenly, Steve got up and tugged at your hand. “Come on, we are not here to bhave this depressing talk. We are here to have fun!”

You shook your head and drank you beer. “No, Steve.” You smiled at his enthusiasm. “You know I can‘t dance.”

“You don’t have to know! Just let your body move you!” You laugh when he makes a small pirouette. “Okay, okay. I will.” You took one last swing of the beer and got up the booth.

As You both went where other people were dancing already, Steve started showing you some moves and you just moved your body a little bit.

“Aww, you gotta do more than that, Dove. Have fun!” He told you over the music. “I told you I’m not good at this.” He then pulled you into his arms and made you move with him.

“There you go, baby.” He whispered in your ears after making you twirl. “Just like that.”

As you both moved in synchronization, both of your body touching and rubbing against each other, you feel a tingle of warmest running through you, a small pulsation in between your thighs making you crave his touch.

You didn’t know what was going on, if it was the beer you had or just all the fun you were having, but you turned around and started rubbing your ass against his crotch.

You gasped when Steve put his hand on your waist and pulled you closer to him, his cheat against your back as he helped you roll your hips against his now hard cock.

That pulsation in your vagina grew and grew, until you couldn’t bear it anymore. You had to make it stop. It was all your mind was thinking about. You had forgotten all about the fact he was your best friend, that he was married, you just needed him to fuck you and hard.

You threw one hand around your best friend's neck and played with the hair on the nape of it. “Steve…” You moaned as you pushed your ass more on his cock. You wanted it so bad inside of you, stretching your pussy until you couldn’t anymore.

“Please, Steve.” You whispered into his ear, bringing one of his hands up your dress to your drenched panties, other people be damned.

He kissed your cheek. “I’m gonna give you what you want, Dove.” With two fingers, he rubbed up and down the wet patch and gently rubbed your clit in a small circle, pulling a sweet sound out of you.

You couldn’t take it. You felt on fire. Your body was warm and you needed him, you needed his cock so badly. So, you took one of his hands and tugged him into the nearest bathroom.

As you sat on the counter and pulled your dress up to your hips, Steve made sure no one was there and locked the door.

When he came back in front of you, you laid down on the cold marble and spread your legs for him. “Fuck me, Steve. I need it so badly.”

Steve grinned as he unbuckled his belt. “Yeah… you want me? Want my dick inside your pussy?” You nodded.

Steve leaned over you and pulled your panties to the side. He took a hold of his hard red cock and rubbed it up and down your pussy lips, coating it with your wetness. You moaned when you felt the tip brush against your little pearl.

“Beg for it, Dove. Beg me to fuck you.”

“Please, Steve. Please, please, please.” You kept on chanting, but he shut you down with a hard kiss, his tongue exploring the inside of your mouth and playing with yours.

“Good girl.” He whispered against your lips. “I’m gonna fucking devour you.” He said and slid his cock inside your wall in one push of his hips.

You both moan. You at the feeling of finally being full, of having that throbbing feeling going away. Steve, because your walls were squeezing him like a vice, because he was finally getting the thing he wanted.

He had wanted you in this position for so long. Almost every day, he would look at pictures of you and imagine you in this scenario. And tonight, tonight he had finally had enough and put a little surprise for you in your drink.

And now, finally feeling how good you were, he wished he had done it sooner.

“Steve…” You moaned. “Fuck me.”

“Whatever my dove wants, she shall receive.” He grasped your thighs and pushed your legs more apart before trusting his cock inside of you at a punishing pace. Every single one of his strokes would make you go up and you had to grab onto the counter so you wouldn’t bump your head on the wall.

The sound of skin slapping and your moan was filling the space and Steve was in heaven. “What a good girl you are. Letting me fuck your pussy. Let me use you.” He looked down where your bodies were connected. He grunted when he saw how glistening his cock was because of you. “Next time, I’m gonna eat your pussy. I’m gonna taste all of you.”

The only thing you could do was nod. You could barely hear anything over all the pleasure you were experiencing.

You then felt this ball forming inside of you that was about to burst. “I’m— I’m gonna cum.” Was all you said before screaming your release. Your walls clench around him and make him cum in return.

Steve felt his ass and balls clenching as he finally burst everything he had inside of you. Painting your walls with his mark. Making you his.

You both panted as he collapsed on top of you. Suddenly you bursted into tears with the realization of what you both did. He was your best friend and, how could you forget, a married man.

At the sight of your tears, Steve looked at you with concern. “Hey, what’s wrong? Was I too rough?” He said in a soft voice. He looked at where his cock was still on you to see if he had done any damage. He bit his lips when he saw his seeds dripping down his cock and balls.

You shook your head, making him look back at you. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. You’re married! We shouldn’t have done that. Oh my— I’m the worst. I just had sex with a married man.”

You were hyperventilating. “It’s okay. It’s okay. I’m gonna divorce her anyway.” That made you stop breathing completely.

“What—“

“I wanna be with you, Dove. I’ve wanted that for a long time now.” He kissed your lips. “I love you.”

You were confused. Everything was happening so fast. A part of you was happy, he was reciprocating your feeling, in another you were angry with yourself because you made a marriage break.

“I wanna be with you and I wanna protect you.” He caressed your cheeks and kissed your forehead. “That’s why I want you to stop looking for those women.”

That broke you out of your reverie. You lightly pushed him away, wincing when his cock pulled out of you. “What? I can’t do that.”

“Dove—“

“No, I can’t stop. I have to find them. They deserve justice!” You pulled your dress down, now feeling self-conscious.

Steve kissed you. A long and sweet kiss. “I’m scared, Dove. I’m scared you’re gonna be the next victim. It can’t happen to you. I won’t let it happen.” He pressed your forehead against yours. “I need you.”

You shook your head. “Well… they need me more. They deserve to have someone looking for them.” With that you unlocked the door and left him. You may love him too, but you wouldn’t let him dictate you. It was your job, your everything to find those women or what happened to them and you wouldn’t let him or anyone stop you.

The next day, you decided to put everything that happened to you in the back of your mind. You needed to fully operate and ready for what was about to happen: You were going to the house.

Steve had tried to text you throughout the day. Telling you he was sorry, that he loved you and he just wanted what was best for you, but you didn’t respond to any of them.

The moment you stepped foot out of the car, you were amazed by the house. It was not too big, but very much modern. You took a deep breath of the fresh hair and knocked on the door. You hummed to yourself as you waited for someone to respond, no one did.

You knocked again. “Hello?” But, as you knocked for the last time, the door opened by itself, letting you in. You hesitated coming in. Should you do it, or not? But, after remembering all the pictures of the missing woman, you decided to do so. You took a step into the house and your breath was taken away from the decor. It looked straight out of a magazine.

“Hello?” You asked again as you explored the building. You went to the bedroom, no one, the bathroom, completely empty. “Maybe I should come back another time.” You were about to leave when you saw an open door with stairs leading to a basement.

You went downstairs and what you saw shook you to the core. In one of the rooms was an operating table with a woman on it, the person working on her being Steve.

“What–” You took a step back, your eyes wide. You almost wanted to vomit when you saw a full leg on the table near him.

Steve sighed and removed his glove. “I’m so disappointed in you, Dove. I never wanted this to happen.” He gave you a sad smile. “But you give me no choice.”

“It’s you.” You took a step back every time he came closer to you.

He punched the wall, making you shiver. “I told you to stop looking! Why couldn’t you let it go!”

You shook your head. “This is a nightmare… It’s not true.” You started to shake when your back collided with a wall of stone.

“I love you, Dove. So so much. That’s why it’s gonna hurt so much.”

Your face paled. “What?”

“I love you, but I can’t let you destroy everything I’ve built. I’m sorry.”

And he went outside the door. He had unconsciously led you to one of his cells. “I’m sorry.” He said once again as he locked the door, leaving you screaming into an empty room.

Note: Thank you so much for reading!

Please feel free to reblog or tell me what you think!

#steve kemp #steve kemp x reader #fresh the movie #fresh #sebastian #sebastian stan #sebastian stan characters #steve x reader #steve kemp x you #steve kemp smut #sebastian stan smut #steve kemp fic #sebastian stan oneshot #sebastian stan fic

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jinmindeulle · 3 years

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hot chocolate | jyh (2)

part 2/3

𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 jeong yunho x reader, yang hongseok x reader

𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 2.4 k

𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒆 angst, fluff / enemies to lovers au, tv news au, newsanchor!yunho x newsanchor!reader

𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 mentions of sex and cursing

main masterlist | ateez masterlist

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ 　˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　 ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ˚

To say that it was her fifth mental breakdown of the day was an understatement.

Y/n was preparing the report that her boss had asked her as the last part of her application for the job. It was just a simple story that she would later have to present on the live show right after Yunho’s. She had decided to talk about important women around the world as she felt confident in that area. She knew a lot about the topic of feminism and the importance of speaking up. That, however, didn’t spare her from feeling like a total failure when she asked Hongseok to proofread the script for her and he made a face.

“Are you sure you are not going to go off at a tangent if you talk about this topic? You know that your speech should flow, and when you are talking about something that you are passionate about or you know a lot of, you usually beat about the bush”

“What do you suggest? Changing the topic last minute?” she whined, plopping down Hongseok’s couch, right next to him.

“Narrow it down. You’re being too general here. Be more specific and don’t talk just to show off”

“Got it” y/n snatched the paper away from her friend and went back to her ‘workplace’ — Hongseok’s kitchen table.

Editing scripts was the part that she hated the most. Her usual job rarely involved that, because she was in charge of doing the research, checking and double-checking sources and outlining the report. Sometimes she wrote them just to avoid loosing that side of the job, but her department co-workers were the ones who proofread and corrected the script multiple times, not y/n.

That’s why she was staying the night at Hongseok’s. He was an expert in that field, his job as a script-writer for the Night Show helping him improve his skills more and more with every new story. What took the man a couple of hours to finish, took y/n her whole Saturday afternoon, and if it wasn’t for him, she would probably spend her entire weekend crying over her script.

“How’s that going?” Hongseok approached her from behind, placing his arms around her waist and his chin on her shoulder, rapidly scanning the words on her screen.

“Check yourself” she yawned, throwing her head backwards and accommodating it on the space between his neck and shoulder.

“Why don’t you have a warm shower? I have already called the pizza place and it won’t take long for them to arrive”

The girl sleepily nodded and left the chair as soon as her friend released her. He took her seat to keep reading her script, so she moved quickly to the bathroom. Now undressed and with the water warming up, she stretched her back, putting her hair up on a messy bun that prevented it from getting soaked. As soon as she entered the steamy shower, her mind took off.

And it landed on Jeong Yunho. Was that even necessary? She scoffed, turning around to make the hot water ease some of the back pain.

She would never admit it, but back then she had had a massive crush on him. Who would blame her, though? He was the most handsome man around campus, and he was all the time smiling. He had that special grin of his that lit up the darkest room.

But he had never showed that side of his to her. Maybe because she was his only competition in college who could actually beat his perfect records, or maybe because she was all the time with Hongseok. The truth was that Yunho had always avoided and ignored her every time she had dared to speak to him outside college hours.

So it had come as a surprise seeing him at the Seoul Morning News’ building two years before. She had been working there for a couple of months, and all of her ex-classmates knew that thanks to Hongseok, who proudly told the world about her rapid success. Why would he ever apply for a job that involved working with a person he hates? She never understood that, but at the same time didn’t even bother to question his decision.

An hour later and with a full stomach, y/n was all spread on Hongseok’s couch, her head on his thigh and his hands massaging her scalp “You’re too good to me, Hongie” she whispered, hugging his leg.

“I just love you” he replied. Out of shock, she sat up in a matter of milliseconds and looked at him with wide eyes “Don’t be silly. Not like that” he laughed, patting her head “I love you as a friend, and I love fucking you as a friend too”

“I saw my life flashing in front of my eyes for a second” she heavily breathed out, placing her hand on her chest, right on her heart.

“I’m sorry” he grinned, placing a soft kiss on her lips “I like messing around with you sometimes”

“Sometimes?” she raised one eyebrow, sitting on his lap and straddling his waist with her legs.

“Well, that depends what kind of ‘messing’ you are referring to” he smirked, rubbing his hands up and down her lower back.

“Why don’t you show me?”

“My pleasure, hun”

“I messed up” she cried, holding her phone with shaky hands “I messed up so bad, Hong”

“Why? What happened?” his concern was tangible even through the phone.

“I went blank for I don’t know how long. I completely forgot about my script and had to improvise a section of it. It was terrible. I’m a failure, and I’m not going to get the job at all. He was perfect. Yunho was amazing, as he always is. And I won’t blame Mr. Jung when he chooses him because he deserves that place more than anyone in here” y/n sobbed, sitting down on her desk, feeling how the shame and humiliation drowned her in tears.

“Y/n, I’m sure you’re just exagg-”

“I’m not, Hongseok! It was the worst thing I have ever done. I messed up and I know that. I missed the chance to get the job of my dreams. And I will never get another one of this”

When she decided that it was time to let her friend do his job in peace, she realized that she could not to go back outside of her office and face her co-workers who were expecting her to keep on her daily work without recomposing herself first. With heavy steps, she entered her little toilet and removed all of her make up. Washing it off and doing it again was the only reasonable option. Some minutes later, she found herself looking way better, but just hoping for her puffy eyes to go back to normal in a couple of hours top.

She left her office with her heard high but avoiding eye contact. It was hard to admit, but she knew that all of them had seen her embarrass herself in front of their boss. How was she supposed to come back from that? Her reputation was a joke right now.

“Miss Lee, I want to speak with you for a second”

Her eyes opened widely upon hearing her boss’ voice behind her. She turned around in a slow manner, reminding herself not to cry in front of him “Sure” Following the petit man to his office, she took some deep breaths to keep her heart from pounding that hard against her chest.

“So” Mr. Jung spoke up once they were settled “How do you feel?”

Y/n heavily exhaled and looked down, playing with the end of her black pencil skirt, a bad habit of hers when she felt anxious “I could have done much better”

“I believe just the same, my dear. I understand that you were nervous, though. It felt the same for me when I was the one being tried, so don’t worry too much. I know your potential” the man smiled, leaning over his desk “That’s why I’m giving you the job”

She had to have heard him wrong. He was giving her the position after messing up like that on her one and only chance? Was he even there when she went blank on national television?

“Wha-” she cut herself off, feeling how a thousand different emotions flowed inside her body.

“You showed me that you have the skills to be in front of the camera with a script, and without one. It was impressive, how in a matter of seconds you were able to keep on talking with Taeki about the issue like nothing had happened, like you never got lost in your own world”

“But I did get lost” she mumbled, feeling the tears blurring her vision once again.

“So what? It is not about following the script all the time, y/n. You are a professional when you know how to manage, how to get yourself out of a problem in just seconds. Everyone is talking about that, and you should be proud of yourself”

“I… I can’t believe this” she let out a laugh, completely out in disbelief.

“And you know what? You were so good that even Yunho decided to let you have the job”

The tears that had gathered in her eyes fell down her face altogether upon hearing Mr. Jung’s confession “What?” y/n asked, completely out of shock.

“As you hear it. He came to me an hour or so after we finished, and told me that you deserved the job more than he did. That you were capable of that and even more. I didn’t know that you went to college together! You didn’t seem like you were friends to me”

“We are not friends, Mr. Jung” y/n shook her head, drying her tears with the back of her hand “I can’t believe he told you that”

“Me neither. He seemed really enthusiastic about this job last week. But anyways, congratulations! Your training starts tomorrow. We have just a few days to get you ready to be our new news’ anchor”

She left that office with the most contradicting feelings she had ever felt. Of course, she was overjoyed. The fucking job of her damned dreams was hers! She had failed the task, but she got it despite of it. However, the fact that Yunho had given up his chance just to let her have it was not leaving her heart anytime soon. Why would he do that? He would never abandon such an opportunity just because she deserved it. Who thought like that nowadays? Who was that selfless?

Apparently, Yunho was. So she decided to wait for him outside the building three hours later. She knew he had the same schedule as Jaehyun, who always left half an hour after her.

Winter was her favourite season. Wearing long coats and fluffy scarves was her most enjoyable activity. But sometimes, having snow falling on her when she was out and about bothered her a little. Not like she was willing to admit that, especially to Hongseok, who defended summer with all of his passion. Luckily for her, the hot chocolate cups that she was holding kept her hands warm.

Just when she was about to leave, assuming that Yunho had left earlier, she distinguished his large frame going out of the building. He was busy putting on his gloves, so he never realized she was standing right next to him. She faked a cough, and it took a couple more to make him aware of her presence.

“Oh-sorry! My mind was somewhere else. How are you?” he smiled at her, and this time, it felt real. He had no second intentions, no secret plans. Just a genuine smile.

“I’m happy” she admitted, a little smile plastered on her own lips “Mr. Jung gave me the job”

“Right! I heard about that. Congratulations, y/n, you really deserve it. And I mean it”

“You know…” she replied, tearing her eyes away from his, which were looking at her with great intensity “He told me that you gave up the job”

Maybe it was because of the cold, but Yunho’s cheeks were painted a deep shade of pink. He looked across the street, shoving his hands on his coat’s pockets, and fought back a nervous smile.

“Why would you do that?” she pushed, taking advantage of his panicky state.

“You were the best candidate out of the two of us”

“That’s not what I want, Yunho” she scoffed “You made it clear that you would fight for the job, and that you always won. What happened today?”

“Nothing”

Y/n sighed. He was a hard one.

“Yunho, don’t be like that. I messed up and you did an outstanding job. You were the one who deserved that position, and you know that. So why? Why would you give it up?”

“I heard you crying” he confessed, looking at her right in the eye “I heard you when you told Hongseok that it was your dream job, and I just couldn’t do it. How awful as a person would I be to tear your dreams apart when I have the power to just help them become a reality? I know that you think of me as a selfish, competitive bastard. But I’m not like that. It was just-”

“A façade” she interrupted him, feeling how her eyes flooded with tears “But you just put it out for me”

Yunho sighed, and cursed with a deep mumble.

“It’s okay” y/n shook her head, fighting the tears back “You don’t have to explain anything. I get that you don’t like m-”

“It’s not that, y/n, it’s not that at all” the boy took his hands out of his pockets and placed them on the sides of her arms.

“Really, Yunho, don’t worry about that. I just wanted to thank you. I’m not sure if I deserve that but I’ll make sure not to let you down” she exhaled heavily, taking a step back in order to leave “Oh! I almost forgot” she extended one of her arms towards him “This is for you. I know that you don’t like coffee so I bought hot chocolate instead. As a thank you” she smiled weakly.

And with that she left Yunho behind, standing all by himself under the falling snow, and looking at the paper cup with disbelief. She had remembered.

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ 　˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　 ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚

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iamnightduchess · 3 years

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Reiner & Mikasa: A Retrospective Pt.2

“The Shield of Marley & The Blade of Paradis”

Why ReiKasa is a (BR)OTP ship that’s worth more than a fleeting glance

[*caution: a continuation of a long reflective post with the sole intention to share a fan’s perspective through available representation through manga, anime, exhibition & etc. This post is not to convince nor argue where is its place in canon, but only to explore the vast possibilities of these two amazing characters that I love. In the end, if the series ends with Mikasa alive & ending by herself or with X character, then it means Isayama believes that X character is the one she’ll find that eventual happiness with and I’m all for that. Same goes with Reiner :)] Special thanks to @berumika for sharing some of the additional points that are included in this post. Years down the line after SnK ended, I’d love to have a post I can revisit of these two amazing characters & the possibilities that could have been from time to time. I’m having absolute fun in observing how much both of these characters have grown since the series debuted in 2010.

Pt. 1 available here. Warning: Image heavy, potential spoilers.

When I first got to know SnK/AoT, it was through the anime first before manga. Bad idea for me. My initial perspectives of Mikasa & Reiner were skewed and that was later rectified as I navigated the original source directly. Eren is the first protagonist that was introduced by the series creator but I was drawn to Mikasa & Reiner when I started the manga after Season 1 ended.

Trainees

These top two trainees of the 104th batch are closely matched to each other in ranking. We don’t see them interact directly in the anime, but in the early panels of the manga, Reiner could be seen sitting down with Eren, Mikasa & Armin during mealtimes.

Sure, Mikasa can be expected to not converse with Reiner directly, but if her two childhood friends have their good friend sitting together for meals, at the very least we can expect them to have some brownie points in socialization.

Apart from being total gorgeous hotties, they’re both physically strong people, with Reiner always being second to Mikasa in terms of brute strength. Total muscle pairing and I could see them being at par with each other during physical drills. Reiner & Mikasa could go all out, even beyond 100% and the other would be physically capable to take/receive the force. Shadis would’ve tasked them to lead the physical trainings from time to time. They have been sparring partners, evident from the moment Mikasa threw Reiner across the field into Eren who’s sparring with Annie. Their fitness regime would be in-sync with each other. I could see them having mad respect for each other and secretly admire the other person’s prowess and skill.

Connection through Eren

As highlighted primarily in Pt.1, Eren has been shown to look up or aspire to be high achievers like Reiner and Mikasa both. He wanted to be as strong as the two of them. The odds of the very same people he look up to, as the two individuals who would be able to stop him, I would suspect as very high at this point.

When they were younger, Reiner has always been the one that’s pulled Eren up when he’s down, nearly giving up & at the lowest points of his life. He was also the one who convinced Eren to ‘keep on moving forward’, which we’ll learn later was one of the most ironic moments that Reiner recalled as he feels responsible for everything that begun, which also pushed his guilt inside him to his near-suicide attempt.

Survey Corps

Reveal on Wall Rose

Mikasa, was one of the few junior SC members who were called in for the secret meeting with the unit’s top brass the night before the reveal. She was made aware of Reiner & Bertolt’s possible identity as the enemy after she assisted with apprehending Annie in Wall Sina. While Reiner was talking to Eren, Mikasa could be seen being highly agitated, hands shaking as she waited with unease breath for Reiner & Bertolt to make their move.

She was later seen questioning her hesitance on delivering the killing blow or at least enough to incapacitate them. Mikasa called Reiner & Bertolt “the plague of humanity” in anger and absolute disappointment. They were still her friends that she knew for three years & it had been difficult for her to kill them.

Thunder Spears Training

Mikasa could be seen reflecting in a combination of unease, sadness & regret as she recalled back the moment she was unable to break Reiner’s armor with her blades.

Return to Shinganshina

Mikasa was the one who crippled the Armored’s legs. She wasn’t as emotional as Connie, Jean & Sasha but there was a deep, painful rumination on her part the moment they assumed that Reiner was dead dead. She was also the one who noticed the sudden move from Reiner’s Armored Titan. In the anime, she could be seen angry & frustrated at Reiner’s refusal to confess that she pulled too hard on the bandage in her hands while she was helping Jean with his injuries.

Time-Skip (Current)

Reiner’s reminiscence & nightmares

Reiner’s reminiscence of Mikasa was indirect, but he highlighted her (and Armin’s) fierce, unwavering loyalty towards Eren. He had recurring nightmares of her & Levi that are the symptoms of his PTSD. The anime specifically used her shot to highlight the last image of her that he saw: anger.

Assault in Liberio

You could see the existing disappointment on her face when Reiner’s partially transformed Titan appeared, having to cross paths again in such a way after four years. She could’ve intervened the way she did with Galliard’s Jaw but she didn’t. Eren said Reiner’s out of any energy left to retaliate and Mikasa didn’t disagree. At this point, Mikasa is already affected by Eren’s actions in murdering the women & children inside the building that he shifted in and the destruction they all left behind.

Connection through Gabi

Reiner’s young cousin reminded Armin & Mikasa of a young Eren. The difference is that, Gabi had an early opportunity to be saved through the compassion showed by Mikasa and Sasha’s beloved family. The very same people who had every right to be sad, grieving and taking out their anger on the child who gunned down their beloved friend & daughter.

Mikasa doesn’t verbally express her emotions but it can be shown through her body language & facial expressions. I love seeing the tender way she pressed Gabi’s head onto her shoulder as protection and a symbolism of safety. It was a bit sad that this ‘bond’ was short-lived but what an amazing connection it would’ve been if Mikasa & Gabi had been given more space to develop their bond in canon.

Concern for Reiner & Annie

Usually when Mikasa verbally expresses something, it is usually important/significant to her. In ch.124, she could be seen asking Gabi about Reiner’s location. Why? It’s because she is concerned for Reiner’s safety. If his Armors were undone, he was vulnerable and with pure Titans and the Colossal Titans walking around, he would be in danger.

“We need to help Reiner & Annie.” She was heavily concerned with Reiner and Annie’s lives at the docks. But this moment is more important for Connie as a callback to the moment when Annie & Reiner both had saved Connie when they were trainees.

Adjacent Manga/Official Art Paneling(s)

In the current final arc of the manga, (several panels have been highlighted in Pt.1) it’s quite interesting to note that Mikasa & Reiner’s characters/panelings have been drawn adjacent to each other. I could also see the way Armin, Reiner & Mikasa (ARM) are getting primary focus by Isayama in this final arc.

Others (Misc./Semi-canon)

Cool-faced Cookie (Attack on Titan Game)

When Reiner suggested the player to do a melee practice with two other sparring partners, he immediately spotted Mikasa & Historia. It’s very interesting to note that Reiner’s nickname for Mikasa is “Cool-faced cookie” as he hinted the player to ask Mikasa for an impromptu practice.

The blink and miss furtive glance(s)

In Lost Girls OVA’s ED by WIT, a screenshot of the primary 104th walking together could be seen. Mikasa could be seen sneaking a glance at Reiner.

In a scene during the fresh SC recruits discussing intensely about Eren’s role as humanity’s hope, Reiner could be seen glancing silently with concern for Mikasa, as Jean questions her vouch of confidence in Eren’s abilities.

In Snk OVA#3, Mikasa is grouped with Reiner for the excursion and they could be seen having good teamwork together. When Mikasa’s ‘sixth senses’ are triggered due to Eren being in danger, Reiner could be seen looking at her direction immediately as if sensing her distress.

Characteristics & Zodiac Signs

Amazing/Compassionate with children

Known as the Shield of Marley, Reiner’s a caring keeper, a natural leader and a provider who’s naturally amazing with children. Everyone looks up to him. Would’ve made a good family man if the circumstances were different. Based on his characteristics & physical attribute, he reminds me of Mikasa’s father below, no matter how short-lived he was. I could see her admiring that side of him even if it wasn’t mentioned directly. They are both loving, selfless, protective towards their child/ward.

Mikasa, true to her name, an Ackerman, a genetically-enhanced super soldier/warrior of Paradis that wields their blades with the highest efficiency. Though she might not seem as natural with children, did come from a healthy & loving upbringing with her parents for nine years. Her real persona as a child pre-awakening is a curious, thoughtful and actually a warm-hearted girl. Post-awakening characteristics could also be contributed from the traumas imposed by the murder of her parents, the fall of Wall Maria, the death of Carla & having to shoulder the immediate responsibility as Eren’s new ‘guardian’/caregiver/problem-solver/mess-cleaner.

She shown her compassion towards Gabi, which in turn had proved to the little girl how there are good-hearted, forgiving people in the Island. Mikasa could be observed as being heavily concerned with Falco as she questioned Jean about the young boy. One could see the anger on her face when she saw Connie took off and abducted Falco to be fed to his mom. She drew the line in harming children even if they’re trained enemy soldiers.

Aquarius & Leo’s Compatibility

Reiner’s a Leo and Mikasa’s an Aquarius. Their characteristics are too coincidental to their respective astrological signs to be disregarded completely.

He’s an extrovert (Ref: younger!Reiner. Older Reiner too but his PTSD’s and maturity have taken over his more outgoing personality) that compliments her introvert personality yet they both have their inner demons to deal with and could somehow understand that about each other. He’s a ray of sunshine that could enlighten her melancholic personality. Yet their dominant personalities, although might be clashing at first, eventually would lead them to respect the other’s perspective. This would ring true when they were younger. Currently they have grown older, wiser and more understanding of the other.

At the current Final Arc, this has been highlighted in Part 1, recent chapters have shown older Reiner and Mikasa’s unspoken respect and understanding for each other. The current Reiner’s natural leadership as a born Leo is very apparent. Reiner was being very mindful of her feelings as Eren is a very sensitive subject & Mikasa took in Reiner’s words with serious consideration.

It would be great to see more of their combined synergy as Reiner & Mikasa’s teamwork could be seen once again in ch.135. Aquarius & Leo would take turns to take a back seat while letting the other leads.

They are actually very physically and sensually compatible with each other & could potentially be an unstoppable force if they were to fight for the same side. At the moment, I’m hoping to see this potentially deadly combination once again in ch.136 onwards. They could’ve overtaken Eren’s Founding Form is it wasn’t for OG!Ymir’s one-sided overkill powers. To the real God who created the parasite worm, please take powers away frpm this uncontrollable grandma in a little girl’s body.

More of Mikasa’s Aquarius & Reiner’s Leo Compatibility Meter with description below:

Since this is SnK and not Berserk/Tokyo Ghoul/insert other josei manga titles, no one’s having sex directly haha In an ideal world, Reiner & Mikasa’s physical attractions for each other will almost be off the charts. “When they find true emotion, Aquarius might actually end up respecting the king”. In current arc, this can be observed. She respects Reiner & his words.

The above describes both Mikasa and Reiner respectively. Mikasa does not reach for heroism directly but it can be seen indirectly from the way she had inspired a child Louise through her bravery, protecting Gabi and rescuing/protecting the Azumabito Service crew from the Jeagerists. Reiner has always been born to be a hero, regardless of the circumstances of his conception or birth.

“If they end up fighting for the same cause, they could turn down entire governments and use their incredible force to change anything in the world.”

Even oppressive, destructive supernatural, God-like powers? Ymir & Eren, better be prepared.

“To get there, these two would have to stop the battle they have with each other.” Check and Check.

“Leo -- has the ability to give clarity to any situation.” Ch.133. That was not Reiner projecting. He’s always been Eren’s counterpart. He’s telling the readers that there’s a part of Eren out there that still wants to be stopped since he has surrender his will to Ymir. She took his words into serious consideration and in Paths, voices out to Eren on his sins and burden.

“Leo is exactly what Aquarius needs to find love. -- to liberate and shine as if they have been searching for one another for many lifetimes.” In an ideal world or in my gazillion AUs: Reiner and Mikasa could be soulmates.

This could ring true for the younger Reiner & Mikasa.

Reiner and Mikasa both are indeed strong, selfless individuals in each other’s eyes. This can be observed in Ch.133 & 135. Reiner feared her but respect her strength & feelings when it relates to Eren nevertheless. Even Reiner was taken aback by Pieck’s ultimatum in blowing the Founder’s neck, although Armin had suggested the same thing the night before.

“Just like the Sun and the lightning don’t go together, Aquarius should take over on a rainy day, in a depressive crowd or in places where they both feel as if they would drown. This is where Leo needs to give in and let their partner rule the sky--” It wasn’t a rainy day or depressive crowd in ch. 135, it was a chaotic shitstorm and they were all not drowning but dying. Period. Our dear Mikasa took charge like a BAMF Queen that she is. She was putting her life on the line to protect the four injured men behind them. She aimed to buy them more time if she could as everyone expected it to be the end. As highlighted in Pt.1, you could see the helplessness on Reiner’s face when he saw Mikasa’s breaking point.

Reference : http://www.astrology-zodiac-signs.com/compatibility/aquarius-leo/

Final Exhibition

The Final Exhibition highlights the Last Stand: the direct final confrontation between The Founding/Attack against The Armored, with Mikasa being in the middle of the confrontation, tipping the scales of the outcome. Before, she assisted Eren against Reiner. Currently, she is working with Reiner to stop Eren.

Trio(s) Parallel

An interesting panel from ch.97:

EMA & RBA have always been lauded as the main trio of their respective sides. We have seen Armin taking over Bertolt’s powers & is potentially promised a future with the girl that Bertolt had feelings for. Recognize the probable pattern?

Guy from trio 1 ate Guy from trio 2′s Titan & is promised a potential future with the girl he cares for/have feelings for/close with from the trio.

Only one between between Eren & Reiner will remain. What if the story begins with Eren but will end with Reiner all along?

SnK HighSchool AU / Breakfast Club X-over

In the movie, the Jock (Quarterback!Reiner) ends up with the Rebel (Goth!Mikasa). He looks past her eccentricity & see her for who she is. This is a fun crossover by Isayama but very interesting to see Armin, Mikasa & Reiner work together to save Eren in the fake previews.

Whether the combined strength and perseverance of the Blade of Paradis & the Shield of Marley be enough to save the world from total annihilation? It remains to be seen very, very soon.

No matter how the series ends, whether both Reiner and Mikasa survive or not, I’ll be looking back in pride upon seeing their journey, growth & dynamics as either individual or together in this beautiful series by Hajime Isayama’s brilliant mind. Because of him, these two characters inspired his readers, myself included, to be brave and fight for what they truly believe in: humanity & its continuation. It has been an incredible ride and I will continue to enjoy writing for this OTP/BROTP, that I’ve fell so deeply in love with and their vast possibilities.

#snk #aot #shingeki no kyojin #attack on titan #進撃の巨人 Attack on Titan #snk meta #snk thoughts #snk opinions #snk spoilers #snk 135 #snk 133 #snk 134 #Retrospective #reiner braun #mikasa ackerman #reiner x mikasa #ReiKasa #character appreciation #ship appreciation

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spampistefania · 4 years

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stefania spampinato & volver transcripted livestream

Interviewer — Going to the USA is a dream for many actors, not everyone succeed in it, it’s a pipe dream. But our guest did it and it wasn’t even her main goal. Let’s hear it from her. Today we have Stefania Spampinato!

I — Hi Stefania, you’re beautiful!

Stefania – Good Morning!

I – How are you?

S – I’m fine! What about you?

I – So, why did I start with this song? I read a lot about you. We barely know each other, but I read about you because I wanted to know everything apart from the things you’ve already told me... So I found out that Brazilian songs make you happy. So I was thinking, what could I sing? I’m so bad at English, I tried every song..., “My way”, but then no, I wanted something happy, so I wanted to dedicate this song to you.

S – You did the right thing! It’s an happy song, and it’s Brazilian. It’s evening there now, and here it’s morning but that’s still good.

I – It’s morning there, but you look amazing. You look relaxed!

S - Yeah, I had my coffee, I woke up...

I – There are so many people in the comments who are sending the Brazilian flag. Because there are people from all over the world. There are so many questions!

S – I receive lot of questions from young actors who want to start this career, so it gets hard to answer to all of them. So... this is a great opportunity, doing it in Italian. I really liked this idea!

I – So let’s start with this. Explain what they ask you.

S – "How can I get to the USA?" All I can do is telling my experience but everyone has their own story. I also started doing the dance thing, I went to London first and from London I came to LA to still dance and then I ended up doing something different. But I studied dancing, singing and acting in Italy with the intention of doing musicals. Then I focused most on the dancing thing and once in LA I started studying acting. But I paid my dues, it’s not like I arrived and I said “Here I am”... no. The most difficult part in the USA is getting a visa, it’s really hard to get because you need to have a solid resumè, so if you didn’t work before it’s hard to arrive to the USA. My advice is to study in Italy or England or in France.

I – They ask if you can suggest some schools?

S – (I didn't understand this part, sorry!)

I – What are you doing during this time? What are you doing since you can’t act?

S – Before the pandemic, during the movie with Siani I saw him directing, I was close with the editor and I got passionate about directing, so in the USA I asked to the GA & the S19 showrunner if I could be a shadow to the director. So I was there 14 hours just to see him directing and then I started working on my short film... but during this pandemic I tried to end this idea of the short film.

I – There are so many English people here, do you want to say hi in English? There are so many people who want to learn Italian because of you!

S – I'm so sorry this one is in italian and a lot of you are not gonna understand much, but [...] (she talks about sending questions in english). There are lots of Brazilian, Argentinian fans!

I – Even from Chile! So, many people are asking what are the differences between USA and Italy?

S – Honestly, in the USA there are more money. But I’m part of two famous tv series. The thing that is better is that on Italian set you feel like a family. In Italy the assistant would come with some pizza and say “it is right out of the oven, eat it before shooting the scene”. In America this wouldn’t happen. In the morning in Italy you would have espresso all together and so the atmosphere is more familiar. Even behind the scenes, in the USA is the place where there are the director and the writer, the actors are not allowed. Instead in Italy you can talk to the director, you can participate more.

I – Did you have difficulties during auditions, because you were Italian?

S – For the foreign people are all the same. There is no difference between Spanish, Italian. Then if you are a good-looking guy or girl they may think “he was a model and and now he wants to be an actor”. So that’s the vibe when you get into the audition room. So you have to work harder to prove yourself, and to show that you deserve it.

I – I mean just thinking about the green card, I mean I didn’t came here for fun, I earned it.

S – Well, about the green card... there are people who can obtain the green card easily, because they want to do the acting thing just to become famous, not because they are passionate about it. And to them they say “no, no”. They give you the opportunity to show them that you are worth it.

I – What was you reaction when you got the part for Carina? Your reaction and your family’s reaction?

S – The night before the audition I was at my acting class and I was crying because of my Italian accent. With the accent I could have just Italian roles. So I was crying. The next day I arrived, and when I got into the room the casting director was like “let’s see another one” but then during the audition they asked me a question, they made me do the scene another time, they made me improvise. And they told me "don’t’ go back to Italy". The next morning, they told me “see you at the table read!” So, I laughed, I cried. My neighbors wanted to call the police. I didn’t tell anything to my family until 2 weeks later because I heard about people who were fired after the table read, so I was scared. When the news were officially out I told everyone. My best friend is a huge Grey's Anatomy fan, so I was really excited to tell her.

I – Having Giacomo there helped? I mean, someone you could speak Italian with...

S – Yes!

I – How did you feel when you got on the set of GA?

S – It was unreal. Ellen Pompeo is the one who says hi to you. I couldn’t believe it!

I – What did you like about playing an LGBT character? And how much Stefania there is in Carina?

S – I really like playing an LGBT character, because it doesn’t happen a lot that an Italian is chosen to represent this community, so it was a new thing. Also because lot of Italian teenagers don't have a person who can represent them in that way. So being an European girl, bisexual, without limits. I was so happy.

I – Yeah, because you are a doctor who studies women’s brain during orgasms, right? Does it really exist this kind of doctor? Do you guys prepare for these things?

S – Yes, these people exist. In fact, I talked to an Italian doctor who was doing this study in London... I read some books, “The multiorgasmic woman” is what is called.

I – I didn’t know that. I thought it was fictional!

S – GA is based on real things, and about the second question... Carina taught me so much. Because I’m Sicilian, I grew up in a small town and despite the fact that my mom was super open-minded, I grew up in a conservative world. So Carina taught me to be more relaxed, to not be afraid of saying things.

I – She is the one who taught you something! And between Arizona and Maya, which one is the story couple you would like to live? (I don’t know if this is right!)

S – Maya! As soon as we read the script – we say this a lot – everyone got quiet and there were 5 seconds of silence, because everyone was surprised by the chemistry that was there.

I – Were you on Station 19?

S – Yes!

I – What if they told you that you became an important character on S19 and you had to choose between S19 and GA?

S – Well... S19 is a show that talks about firefighters so I don’t know how an OB could fit in it.

I – Now that Arizona is gone, why they don’t write a storyline about Carina? But everything's stopped there, you are not shooting, right?

S – No, we are not. GA didn’t finish the last 4 episode. They told it would have started again this week but I don’t think it has. What about Italy?

I – We should start “phase 3” on the 3rd of June. So they would like to start again from mid June/July. We hope it won’t be in September. Also, many people want you back in Italy. Speaking about Italy... you were in (Alessandro) Siani’s movie. You were Flavia, a scientist, a good one. Then there’s a love story with him. How was working with him? Is he really selfless?

S – He was super busy because he was the writer, the director and the actor. There were scripted scenes, but we improvised a lot and that was very funny. I liked how the love story was written because it was fresh and not so much romantic.

I – It's a really great movie. There are people here saying "you’re beautiful", "ti amo", "English please!"...

S – Most of my live are in english so...

I – Do you dream in Italian or in English? Do you feel uncomfortable with the actors on set?

S – I don’t know... For example, I had some builder who were speaking Spanish and I started speaking Spanish and dreaming in Spanish.

I – Which role of a movie you saw that you would have liked to play?

S – Rosario Dowson’s role in “Sette Anime” di Gabriele Muccino!

I – And a director you would like to work with?

S – It’s not easy. Because maybe some of them do great thing but you don’t get along with them. But the director of S19... he tells you a specific thing and it changes everything. And I didn’t expect that a person with so much experience would dedicate so much time to an actor.

I – It’s hard to create empathy...

S – That’s why I decided to start directing. I had some scenes with Danielle, and she had to cry, and on TV Shows the director usually don’t give you so much time, so we, as actors, help each other. So it’s beautiful to tell an actor to say “do that”.

I – What kind of movies would you like to direct? Horror, action?

S – No, horror no! They make me anxious. I like romantic comedies, but also dramatic movies.

I – Do you live love with yearning?

S – (I didn't understand this part, sorry!)

I – Can I tell you something? Thank God. If you have the passion about directing you have to protect it. Can you say something in Sicilian?

S – I’ll tell you something that my mom always said and that my sister and I want to tattoo on our ankle: “zita sempre maritata mai” (always in a relationship but never married).

I – She's right! The problem is that we always fall for it. As women, we are always romatic, the prince charming arrives with his white horse. Do you know what a Brazilian friend of mine say? My prince charming’s horse is a little bit hurt (I don’t know how to translate it). At the beginning the prince is perfect and then… Apart your relationship with you boyfriend or husband or whatever, can you say that your job is your second love? I don’t want to put it first.

S – When you work harder for something you want to do, it’s amazing!

I – A Brazilian asked “did she talked about an husband?” I don’t know, I just said boyfriend, husband and we don’t care. We also have to say goodbye. I’m happy we had you here in this live. Thank you, bye!

S - Bye!

——————————————

special thanks to the queen paola for translating it from italian to english! 💜

#stefania spampinato #carina deluca #stefania spampinato gifs #greys anatomy #stefania spampinato interview #station 19 #acting #tv shows

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powerbottomblake · 5 years

Text

RWBY and Masculinity

I love RT’s, and specifically RWBY’s take on masculinity so much. The show subverts all expectations wrt their male characters and their development, which is why the male viewers experience major cognitive dissonance between what they expect and what story is actually being told (and then have the gall to call it bad writing). Under cut because this has gotten so long so fast.

The two main male characters - Sun and Jaune - are subvertions of genre/medium staples.

Jaune specifically hits all the beats of the typical male self-insert in a harem anime: he’s catapulted into a world he knows nothing of, instantly establishes 3 different dynamics with 3 different female characters/archetypes - Cheery, Ice Princess and Hot Tall and Earnest - one of whom he immediately sets his eyes on, he’s surrounded by women that are a whole lot more powerful than he is (and arguably THE most powerful one is instantly drawn to him), he’s essentially powerless and dealing with self-esteem issues and is nondescript enough to be a vehicle for any male viewer to project themselves onto. Which is why you have a good chunk of Jaune’s fandom from V1 being the embodiment of the Venn diagram intersection bewteen weebs and incels like That, and why there’s so much harem fanfic revolving around Jaune.

CRWBY have heavily drawn from anime when making rwby so I don’t think this was coincidental; they laid out the groundworks to subvert a specific trope. Male fans, however, bought into the facade and kept waiting for Jaune to essentially steal the spotlight, be the focal point of several love interests and get a power up that’ll let him be their own power fantasy to boot, but CRWBY took his character in the very opposite direction.

Jaune makes a lot of mistakes but what defines him is how earnestly he learns from them and redeems himself. He apologizes for lashing out at Pyrrha as a result of his own feelings of inadequacy and powerlessness when bullied by Cardin and then accepts her offer to teach him, sincerely taking instruction from her and then taking inspiration from her strength. Once he realizes his seduction skit with Weiss is not only ridiculous but wrong, he instantly changes his approach and prioritizes Weiss’s wants and needs over his, giving her space and knocking sense into Neptune so that Weiss can have her “ideal” date. Jaune doesn’t get embittered about being essentially rejected and most importantly he doesn’t let it affect his relationship with Weiss. Both of them become actual friends from that point on, and we get to see Jaune develop a certain measure of emotional intelligence starting that moment, which becomes part of his skillset and is shown to be part of what makes him a good leader. One of the best examples is how he and Ruby team up in V6E1 to get the hunter on the train to turn the turrets off. Jaune heals the hunter’s wounded arm and gently assuages his fear, in clear contrast with Qrow abrasively manhalding an injured and panicked man and expecting him to comply. The writing essentially puts down the show of arms and props up Ruby and Jaune’s approach; Jaune specifically is the example of masculine leadership the writing looks favorably on.

And that’s the kicker here: Jaune’s strength comes from his set of soft skills as opposed to traditionally portrayed masculine strength, which usually careens into toxic power fantasy land. His whole arc in V1-3 is about learning to shed any distorted notions of chivalry and strength and knowing that his end goal shouldn’t be to become a hero for the sake of it or to live up to societal expectations, but to do what he can and as good as he can for the sake of everyone. Jaune is a good strategist and he knows how to make the best out of everyone’s powers. He’s there to enhance how people use their semblances together. His big power-up, his semblance reveal is basically him getting confirmed for a cross between a cleric and a paladdin (DnD players amongst us please correct me if I’m wrong): he is the ultimate support, acting as a healer and an amplifier to everyone around him, and that’s why he’s a good leader. His power on his own loses its entire meaning: Jaune takes strength from the people he loves and endlessly, earnestly gives back to them, never once stealing the spotlight in combat because that’s not his role and that’s okay.

And as for Jaune’s romantic prospects, think Forever Fall established once and for all that Jaune’s already found the One and I don’t think we’ll see him get any other love interest, especially now that arkos parallels oz/salem and with how vehement CRWBY are about lancaster being platonic.

Now Sun. I want to tackle a specific expectation I’ve seen from male fans and that’s about him becoming more significant to the plot by coleading/leading the new White Fang movement...which would be hijacking Blake’s storyline. Blake is the one with drive and a cause, she was literally born inside the movement and has since seen it get derailed AND was the one to reclaim it from Adam and give it a new vision, as opposed to Sun who apparently wasn’t even aware of the systematic oppression Faunus had to deal with on a daily basis outside of Vacuo. So why is Sun, who has exactly 0 qualifications for this job and no interest in it, still expected to get it by a good chunk of his fans? Aside from the pervasive misogyny permeating fandom culture, there’s a specific trope media has served to us for decades now and that’s of a Semi-Competent Male Hero with his Hyper-Competent Female Side-kick (Vox published an article about it a few years ago and I really recommend checking it out), where a male character who’s semi good at best and not nearly as well-versed into whatever field he shares with his infinitely more competent female sidekick somehow walks in and saves the day and most of the time the female sidekick also, unsurprisingly doubles as a love interest. Time and again, male characters get rewarded for being half as good as their female counterpart at best AND they get the girl most often than not.

But Sun’s whole character is, again, the very opposite of this. Sun never outweighs Blake on her own narrative (as is literal common sense) and shouldn’t be expected to. Sun actually gets schooled into the Faunus cause by his more competent female counterpart, Blake acting as his mentor and introducing him to the fight and why it matters. Blake and Sun basically reenact the plotline of Journey to the West (Sun quite literally references it by calling it a “Journey to the East”) a story whose main character is the legendary monkey king Sun Wukong, who’s the mythical figure Sun’s based on. Sun’s arc about finally knowing the cause and fighting for the right reasons happens thanks to Blake’s guidance - which Sun earnestly complies with and never questions because he knows she’s the expert and he doesn’t usurp that spot from her - and never overshadows her own narrative. Quite the opposite, it builds up to her own arc as a future leading figure of the WF and face of the Faunus cause by having her politicize someone who has no real stakes in this fight even though they should have.

And then even his endeavor with Blake as a love interest falls through, with their relationship getting entirely recontextualized in V4-5 where their dynamic gets rebuilt as a friendship. Incidentally, that’s when it finally starts actually developing, instead of being stuck in the V1-3 limbo of mutual fleeting attraction where they’re constantly missing each other’s cues because they literally do not understand each other on a fundamental level. V4-5 is when Blake understands Sun isn’t what she needs in a romantic partner, but she does need him as a friend and ally. And Sun, whose premise falls in line with the Nice Guy trope, actually subverts it: he never makes Blake’s emotional journey about him, never expects anything in return and gracefully bows out of the narrative (for the time being) without ever pressuring Blake into acknowledging or returning his feelings. He doesn’t agonize over the initial attraction not going anywhere and doesn’t expect to be rewarded for being a decent person; again Blake’s feelings and well-being are his priority because that’s what good friends do. Their relationship developing into a steady friendship is never a point of conflict between them, and it’s actually lived as a positive event for both.

And then, to top it off, CRWBY parsed together every bit of toxic masculinity and wrapped it into a power fantasy package and named the end result Adam Taurus, who’s the absolute worst abusive piece of shit. Adam is every single thing bad about men as a power structure: abrasive, entitled, controlling, takes violence as an indication of power and doesn’t take kindly to his leadership/vision being questionned. It’s not really coincidental that he steals the power seat from a woman and acts like he deserves it in any way. But male fans were so starved for their power fantasy fix and traditionally masculine cool calm collected and complicated male character that they were ready to minimize/outright ignore the abuse he’s put Blake through and just how awful a human being he was just to be able to hard project onto him. And CRWBY’s answer to that is basically this:

TL;DR: RT says if your masculinity isn’t humble, nurturing, supportive, compassionate, selfless and earnest then we don’t want it.

#rwby #my posts #jaune arc #sun wukong #me holding myself at gunpoint: why can't you say what you want in 5 sentences or less #my meta #@ incels watching rwby you've been bamboozled

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protectwoc · 4 years

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thots on little women (2019)

or, y’all are giving greta gerwig too much credit, part one

(Before y’all say anything, I know)

I have a lot of thoughts about the new Little Women movie.

I should probably start by saying that I loved the new movie. I thought most of the acting performances were good (Emma Watson’s accent notwithstanding), and it was a pretty faithful adaptation of the book; a lot of the quotes were lifted verbatim from the novel, and I often found myself mouthing along with the actors. I don’t usually like book-to-screen adaptation changes, but I actually didn’t mind most of the changes here. The two biggest things that were changed were the decision to start the story in the middle and jump back and forth, and the positioning Jo as the writer of Little Women who was forced to write in the “Jo marries Bhaer and gets a happy (married) ending” bit. I actually really liked both of those choices and thought they were good additions to the story, making this probably the only time I’ve ever liked any book-to-screen adaptation changes. Also, I am and have been since childhood an Amy March stan, and I liked that her character was more fleshed out and relatable to other viewers. I also think Florence Pugh did a superb acting job. Overall I liked it a lot, and I fully intend on rewatching it again.

I should also say that I read Little Women when I was very young, probably nine or ten, and I loved it, and it has been one of my favorite books since. Regardless of these facts, I never saw any of the live action versions, so the only version I have to compare the 2019 one with is the movie inside my head. With that said, as previously mentioned, I have a lot of thoughts.

Look, the movie was really good. I thought so, my family thought so, and clearly critics thought so too. But when I started reading the reviews after I had seen the movie, something about them kept rubbing me the wrong way. Something kept nagging at me, but it wasn’t until I read this particular review that I realized what it was: “here’s the thing about greta gerwig’s little women. it’s really not just about jo anymore...she showed the struggle and sacrifice and love that meg has. she gives beth one of the most beautiful story arcs ever. she lets beth exist in the movie and grow on us before her death.” But… she didn’t, I remember thinking. And that is the crux of my issue with the movie, or at least, the conversation around the movie. It feels like a lot of people are giving Gerwig credit for things she didn’t actually do, like fully fleshing out the non-Jo characters, or exploring Jo’s sexuality. And that is what I am going to discuss in this essay.

I imagine the Venn Diagram of people who read my first Descendants meta and people who will be interested in this is virtually nonexistent (probably just me, honestly) but just in case, this essay will be set up similarly to my last one. It will probably come in at least two parts, since I can already feel this getting away from me, and I will start with an unnecessarily long list of prefaces:

This meta is not, for the most part, about race. I do believe Greta Gerwig is a White Feminist™, which shows up in a lot of her work, up to and including this one. Obviously the racial diversity of Little Women is virtually nonexistent, but coming from a Greta Gerwig adaptation of Little Women, I’m not sure what y’all were expecting. Since I didn’t go into the movie anticipating any sort of racial diversity, I wasn’t disappointed, and for that reason I will be leaving racial dynamics and Gerwig’s fraught history with racial diversity out of this meta almost entirely.

As previously mentioned, I read Little Women when I was pretty young and loved it. I read it way before I knew anything about the internet or media discussion, so I formed my opinions on the story writ large independently of basically everyone else. With that said, it wasn’t until way later, like about 14 or 15, that I actually started reading online discourse about Little Women and discovered that my opinions ran contrary to just about everyone else’s.

For example, I have always loved Amy March. She was always my favorite character, her chapters of the book were always my favorite to reread, and I was ecstatic when she married Laurie and thought it made perfect sense.

Conversely, I have never been a huge fan of Jo. I know, in the book community that’s basically blasphemy, but whatever. This sense of apathy is probably due to the fact that Jo and I have virtually the same personality, and I get on my own nerves quite often, and also that even as a child I was never a huge fan of Jo’s “not like other girls” personality.

I am what some people would call hyper-romantic. Consequently, my favorite section of the book has always been the last half, with all of the romances and drama. I also didn’t have a huge problem with Jo’s marriage to Bhaer; I didn’t love it or anything, but given that I was never super attached to Jo’s character, I wasn’t super broken up when she married him, also partly because…

I never read Jo as queer. I know, I know, but as a bi woman, I never picked up on whatever subtext everybody else seemed to. I grew up around a lot of white women in the country, and they all acted exactly like Jo did, so maybe that’s why. Of course, it’s a perfectly valid interpretation/headcanon, I’m just telling y’all that I personally never saw it. With that said, I was excited to watch an interpretation where she was more explicitly queer, as all the reviews seemed to say she was, and boy, was I… disappointed.

To clarify, I’m not saying all of my opinions because I want to change anyone’s mind, or convince them that they’ve been reading the book wrong all these years. But I think it’s important to let y’all know where I’m coming from, since I’m sure it’s going to color the way that I view the movie, and the problems within it. In the same way, if my personal opinions about the book change the way you are going to read this essay, I suggest stopping now.

With all that said, I present: Thoughts on Little Women (2019). Also, spoilers, obviously.

Part One: The Sisters

A lot of the praise given to Gerwig’s Little Women centers around one thing: Jo’s sisters. Specifically, how the three sisters are given a much more prominent role in the storyline than in previous adaptations, almost to the level of Jo herself. Now, as previously mentioned, I have never seen another adaptation of Little Women, but I can speak for this adaptation and say that I feel supremely let down.

Let’s start with the obvious: Beth. The review that I cited claimed that Gerwig “gave Beth one of the most beautiful story arcs ever” and “let viewers get to know her so that you really feel her loss.” While of course this reviewer is entitled to their opinion on this movie; all media is up for interpretation, I can’t say that I agree with these statements, or even know where this interpretation came from.

Beth basically only has five major scenes in the film. Obviously she’s a part of many of the other girls’ scenes, but when I’m discussing her “major” scenes, I’m referring to ones where the main focus of the directing is on Beth and her feelings/behaviors. Anyone who read Little Women can tell you that the most memorable thing about Beth is her death. Unfortunately, in the movie, the scenes that deal with her sickness/death are more focused on Jo’s feelings than Beth’s. In the past, Jo mourns her hair with more concern than she shows for Beth, and in the present, the focus continues to be more on Jo’s emotions. Beth’s only actual major scenes are:

Beth is too nervous to talk to Mr. Laurence and hides behind Marmee

Beth is the only one of the March sisters to go visit and take care of the Hummels; she contracts scarlet fever

Beth overcomes her fear of Mr. Laurence and goes to play the piano in his house.

Mr. Laurence gifts Beth a beautiful grand piano; she goes to thank him.

Jo takes Beth to the beach where Beth confesses she is ready to die.

The problem with these scenes is that they tell us basically nothing about Beth’s characteristics. From those five scenes, we can glean that she is selfless, shy, until she isn’t anymore, and that she is a musician, which, contrary to what many musicians believe, is not a personality trait. In actuality, we cannot even concretely say that she is shy, since we only see this behavior through her interactions with Mr. Laurence. She seems to have no problem engaging with the Hummels, and it could just as well be that she is more nervous interacting with a rich older unmarried man, which would not be uncommon for a woman of her situation in her time period.

The only personality trait that differentiates Beth from her sisters is her selflessness, since all three of the other sisters have moments of selfishness that define their characters. But the only time this is ever contrasted with them is when she goes to visit the Hummels, (and then she contracts scarlet fever as a punishment?) One occurrence does not a personality trait make. We know virtually nothing about who Beth is. When viewers see Beth’s sickness and eventual death, they feel sympathy for Jo instead of mourning Beth’s character.

In fairness to Gerwig, much of this is the result of the source material instead of a directing choice. Beth was never given as much focus on Alcott’s Little Women as her sisters. For context, each of the sisters were given “chapters” that focused on their adventures and exploits. Meg has eight, Jo has fourteen, and Amy has ten. Beth has a grand total of five chapters actually centered around her point of view. So it seems obvious that in an adaptation of the source material, Beth would not have been given nearly as much precedence in the narrative.

BUT, and this is a huge but, we knew that Gerwig has no problem changing huge parts of the story she’s telling. This is not a bad thing; as I’ve already mentioned, I think it works to her advantage in many parts of this movie, namely the ending change. So it would not have been out of her scope of abilities or desires to change parts of the source material to flesh out Beth’s character in the same way she fleshed out Jo’s. The fact that she elected not to do that shows that she simply didn’t want to.

Again, this is not a bad thing. Even though it is always presented as a story of four sisters, it is no secret that Jo is the main character of both the book and basically every adaptation. It is no surprise that she is the most developed character because she is essentially the protagonist.

HOWEVER, with all of that knowledge, the thing that irks me about this movie is how the conversations around it has been giving Gerwig so much credit for how developed all of the sisters are when this just isn't true. As it turns out, it is untrue across the cases of all of the sisters.

The next most obvious is Meg. Meg’s case is arguably more egregious than Beth’s, because arc-wise, she is the one who lost the most in the book to screen adaptation. As before, let’s take a look at Meg’s major scenes:

Meg is invited to spend several weeks with her rich friends and she allows them to parade her around and turn her into someone she’s not (even if she wants to be.)

After Laurie sees her in at the party with her friends he judges her, then apologizes, and then they dance and he treats her like a lady.

When the sisters go with Laurie and company to the beach, John Brooke flirts with her, which she reciprocates.

Later on, John volunteers to go with Marmee to take care of Mr. March, and Meg kisses him on the cheek.

Before her wedding to John, Jo asks Meg to run away with her, and Meg responds that “Just because my dreams aren’t as big as yours doesn’t mean they aren’t important.”

Meg’s rich friend Sally convinces her to buy a length of expensive silk to have a dress made.

After purchasing the silk, we see Meg regretful outside her home, and she hugs her twin children.

Meg and John have a conversation about the silk, in which she tells him that she “is so tired of being poor.” When John looks hurt, she apologizes.

John comes to the March household to tell Meg that she should have her dress made. She tells him that she’s already sold it to Sally, and they make up.

Meg definitely has more focused scenes in this movie than Beth does, which makes sense, as she is clearly a more prominent character than Beth is. In the book, Meg has a total of eight focused chapters, to Beth’s five. However, proportionately, the ratio of Meg’s focused scenes to Beth’s is considerably less than the ratio of Meg’s focused chapter’s to Beth’s. This is because for whatever reason, many of the scenes that dealt heavily with Meg’s character, particularly in the second half of the book, were done away with in the movie. Meg’s lifelong dream in both the novel and the movie was to be a wife and mother, and she has an entire arc in the book that centers around that. In the movie, however, it was entirely cut out.

Look. I’m not here to pass judgements on the merits of Meg’s lifelong goal from a feminist perspective. Meg is allowed to have her dream just as Jo is. In the movie, Meg has a wonderful line right before her wedding, when Jo suggests that they run away together. “Just because my dreams are different than yours doesn’t mean they’re less important.” This is a lovely, sentimental, and even feminist take on Meg’s hopes. Desiring to be mother to a man and mother to children is not necessarily a feminist dream, but she is entitled to it just the same. Following that same logic, if you are going to go out of your way to include a line about how Meg and Jo’s dreams are equally important, they should be treated so in the narrative. At the bare minimum, Meg’s arc should be on par with the source material, but it simply isn’t.

In the second half of Little Women, Meg has several focused chapters where she learns to manage a household, comes to terms with being the wife of a poor man, and how to balance having children with having a husband. She has several important discussions with Marmee and with John that are entirely cut from the movie, and we only see her children, Daisy and Demi, twice.

To reiterate, none of this is bad filmmaking, per se. If Greta Gerwig set out to make an adaptation of Little Women that is more focused on centering Jo as the protagonist than the novel, that is perfectly fine. The problem is that Gerwig seems to think she made a more balanced adaptation than the source material, and so does everybody else.

#raetalks #little women #little women (2019)#greta gerwig #meta #saorise ronan #timothee chalamet #emma watson #florence pugh #jo march #amy march #beth march #meg march #eliza scanlen

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og-danny-dorito · 5 years

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SpiderMan Noir Headcanons

S F W:

- he gets very flustered very easily, but he's good at hiding it. for instance, of you say something to compliment him he'll just blush up and cross his arms, quietly thanking you for the compliment and seeming like he doesn't care much. but under that mask his face is bright red and his mind is racing

- since he has such bad eyesight (he's near sighted) he can really barely see without his glasses, so he ends up getting very nervous when he can't find them in the morning. like his eyesight is so bad that if he tries to look at something without the mask it's just a blur of mixed colors and light and he can't make out anything

- this causes him to actually have lenses specifically for his eye type in his mask, rather than having a pear of bulky glasses underneath. it's more tactical that way (can't punch nazis if you can't see em)

- he doesn't actually take a lot of time to do his hair in the morning, surprisingly. while his hair isn't extremely neat and he takes pride in how cleanly cut it is, he ends up not having the time to actually do it. he's either rushing out or the door to work or rushing to stop some crime that's been happening that requires urgent assistance. this also means that he barely ever eats breakfast, and when he does he ends up just stuffing it in his face before running out of the door

- with an s/o I'd imagine he'd try to regulate this so he can eat breakfast with them in the morning, but that almost never happens and he ends up coming home nearly exhausted and ends up just eating dinner with them instead

- on the rare occasion he does get to spend some quality time with them though, he makes the most of it by giving them ALOT of affection. quite honestly he appreciates them, even though he thinks he doesn't do a good job of showing it sometimes. he's young but he's always busy

- normally peter’s a pretty clean guy, and so if he's on a patrol he doesn't exactly get hurt a lot, but he's not invincible. most of the time he ends up coming home at 3:00 am with his side bleeding or some of his clothes ripped, resulting in you having to haul out of bed to stitch him up. honestly you should have a medical degree by now from how many times he's come home needing stitches

- since his timeline takes place during WWII, it's safe to assume that he's nearly an expert on being conservative. no, I don't mean conservative as in run-of-the-mill dude in the southern hills, I mean conservative as in repairing nearly everything. seriously, he doesn't want to have to spend money on new clothes and so he just resorts to repairing everything

- this means that socks, shirts, even things that have just grown old with time are usually mended up and fixed in no time, earning him nearly expert stitching skills. he's even sewed a few things! (even though he ended up forgetting about them entirely and denying he ever made them once you'd find them)

- idk where I found the pic, but I saw this art of noir smoking and I was like 👀 interesting do you mind if I take that concept dear sir/ma’am/unspecified-gender-person (actually wait i found it https://mobile.twitter.com/kookirani/status/1082319828247994369)

- yeah, he smokes, I know that's craaaaazy

- it's mostly a coping mechanism, in all honesty. on the contrary he wouldn't know that its kinda dangerous though, since smoking was deemed as dangerous in the late 1950s and WWII took place during the late 1930s-1940s. so yeah, to him it's totally normal (a lil bit of facts there for y'all)

- a lot of the time you'll be able to find him standing on the balcony with a cigarette between his lips, his shirt off for the bandages and other things to get some air as he tries to ease into his own comfortability and think over what he could've done better over the past patrol. it's almost like an assessment of sorts

- speaking of not having shirts on, he's about 5″10 and has a sorta muscular build. obviously his shoulders a broad, and so he really look so like a grown ass man with his deep voice to accompany his aesthetic. he's got a lot of scars as well from previous accidents, such as one on his lower torso from being stabbed while breaking up a street fight and one on his knee where he accidentally flew into a wall. but while he may seem rough and hardened on the exterior, he's got a few weaknesses that prove that he's really just a kid wearing a suit (he's 19 btw)

- on an angst level, he's too compassionate for his own good. for instance, he doesn't kill, but finds it right in his mind to offer redemption to his opponents while still defending the weak and helpless, just as he once was. while he's not a complete pushover obviously he does help people a lot out of the mask. people are struggling during these times, and the women and families that need his help are still out there and around him (it's WWII, shits not great)

- this means that he frequently fixes things for neighbors when they can't afford a repairman, comforts kids who lost their mothers in the crowded streets of Queens, defends minorities both with and without the mask, and so on and so forth. overall he's just a nice guy with a strong sense of justice, and doesn't mind to occasional scrape or so on his knees if it means protecting the people he cares about without even meeting

- peter ends up getting a little...reckless because of this though

- when that's said, that's means that he will literally jump in front of a bullet for anyone. even if it gets him hurt. he's selfless, and a lot of the time he's hurt because of it. but telling him that he can't possibly save everyone is pointless

- “"So what? I should stop trying just because I can't help everyone? That means helping no one gets the same results. I'm not gonna watch people drop like flies cause I can't save the world.”

- yeah angsty as fuck, but he means it. his words come out harsh, but he tries to apologize for being so rough

- “"I'm sorry, I just...” He'd pause. “"I can't watch it anymore. I'm not a bystander. I won't be a bystander.”

- and with that he'll pull you into a hug and just hold onto you tightly, almost as if you'll fade away and leave him if he doesn't

- you're part of him, and you might be on earth of the only things keeping him safe. you're the representation of the good he protects, and god help him I feel he ever fails at something to simple

- anyway that's enough angst let's talk about LIVING with him :3

- it's the little moments that mean the most to him, in all honesty. he doesn't even need you to be the domestic one really, since he views you both as a team rather than husband and housewife

- he usually does most of the cleaning and cooking though I'd imagine since Aunt May taught him to clean up after himself and respect his and everyone else’s space. you going out and getting groceries or just cleaning the clothes for him is enough, so if you're one to typically work around the house more often and take the time to make sure everything's is perfect, he'll partially thank heaven they sent you to him and feel a lot like he's slacking on his part

- he likes to pamper you, give you gifts. expect a bouquet of flowers almost every Friday when he comes home, his smile wide on his face as he professes his love to you through a bunch of cheesy one-liners

- but he also likes to be taken care of and pampered himself, although he never admits it. once again anything small makes him happy, so if you go all out he literally can't stop thanking you. washing his hair, cooking for him, making him things, he loves everything, and appreciates the thought behind it

- to be honest I'm sure he's not really attracted to a certain body type in particular, it's your kindness that infatuated him. generally polite, kindof shy people just make him that much more enamoured, but he likes someone with a good head on their shoulders and a strong sense of justice and morality just as much (if not more)

- if you were a crime fighter, peter would be absolutely enamoured with you. he knows you can hold up your own better this way, and that you don't really need that much protection. he prefers to work alone, but if he has to work as a partner with anyone it'd be you and ONLY you. no third wheels

- but this comes with a downside; peter gets extremely worried when you get injured. he knows better than anyone that it's really just part of the job, but his heart can't help but stammer a little when he sees a bloody lip and bruises all over. you bet your ass he’ll take care of whoever hurt you asap if you haven't yourself

- you hurt his s/o your ass is grass m8

- he also doesn't get really jealous, but if someone is hitting on you he feels not worthy enough or just angry in general

- he usually needs a lot of reassurance, maybe a hug or a kiss after he gets particularly emotionally exhausted. he likes to sit in silence a lot, either thinking or just watching you as you do chores around the house or watch tv. he loves you a lot, and he could watch you just absentmindedly talk about your day or your friends for hours

- really random btw, but this dude can sing. he doesn't think it really necessary so he doesn't outwardly flaunt it, but when he's listening to a song he likes it's easy to catch him humming along to the tune or singing the chorus. it's deep, breathy, right on the verge of raspy almost, and his eyes seem calm when he does

- usually he really only listens to jazz and swing, so you can listen to him using his voice perfectly when the singer over the radio hits a particularly complicated note. if you catch him in the act though he'll immediately blush up, his whole face turning red as he stutters out something to say

- you'd take his hand, grinning, asking him he'd want to dance with you as you smile up at him widely. he agrees, letting his body press to yours as you slow dance around the kitchen, living room, etc. his head will drop to your shoulder, inhaling your scent as he sings softly to you and sways gently from side to side, sharing a moment of wordless emotion that you both understand, share, and relish in. he’ll kiss you, letting his hands fall to your waist loosely to grip you as yours to his shoulders in a sort of grounding gesture. and so you dance, sharing a quiet waltz as lovers in the comfort of your modest home

- all in all, he loves you, too much to where you'd ever imagine. he's not exactly the most sensual, yeah, but that doesn't mean he won't try. you mean the world to him, and he'll go through hell and back just to keep that smile on your face and those eyes bright

( for https://zovatm.tumblr.com/, love you bro <3

- Ya Boi 🖤💜💛)

#spiderman noir #spiderman #into the spider verse #headcanons #peter parker #peter parker headcanons #noir #spiderman noir headcanons #noir headcanons #spiderman noir imagine #headcanon #imagine #peter parker imagine #peter #marvel #mcu #earth 90214

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i-love-sad-cowboys · 5 years

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A Little Jealousy Goes a Long Way

Pairing: Javier x Reader

Requested by: @notursdutch ❤️ Sorry this took so long!

———————————————————————

You stifled a yawn while attempting to finish the second chapter in the book you were currently invested in. Jack had lent you one of his, seeing that you had completely finished Hosea’s entire collection. It was an interesting story about a fearless knight who slayed the evil dragon and saved the kingdom from certain doom, according to Jack. However, it didn’t seem all that interesting when you no longer had the imagination of a 4 year old. You were also supposed to read said book aloud to him, but just like you, he got bored and ran off to play in the mud. You weren’t in the mood to deal with a fuss, so you let him be, making a mental note to apologize to Abigail later.

You sighed and leaned your head back against the stiff oak tree you were sat under. Closing your eyes, you took a deep breath and wondered how it was possible for a person to be this bored. You could hear the breeze coursing through the trees, causing a gentle rustle. You smiled. You were bored, but at least you could take a moment to enjoy the rare tranquility all to yourself. Or so you thought. You were on the verge of falling asleep, your mind at rest and the coming darkness was very much welcomed.

“Hey everyone! Sean’s back!” You were snapped out of your slumber upon hearing various cheers and greetings from your fellow gang members. You groaned and reluctantly opened your eyes, wanting to investigate the sudden commotion. Yawning, you slowly standing up and stretch out your stiff muscles.

“One at a time! I know ya’ve missed me, but there’s only so much to go around!” You could recognize that overconfident, Irish accent anywhere. Your eyes widened in disbelief as you practically ran to the other side of camp, sleep long forgotten.

The last time you saw Sean was back in Blackwater when the ferry job went to complete shit. Arthur and Hosea had been the first ones back in camp, warning everyone about the Pinkerton’s that were soon to follow. Later, you discovered that they hadn’t even been on the ferry, instead choosing to follow a lead that may have even worked out, had they not heard the ruckus the rest of the boys stirred up close by.

You remember being rushed to quickly pack up your belongings and the rest of camp; Miss Grimshaw screaming so many profanities it almost made you look like a saint. Everyone was set into a state of panic and disaster, her shouts adding to the fuel. You loved that women to death, but boy could she YELL.

While you tossed your rags and other personal belongings into a brief case, all you could think about was one person, and it wasn’t Sean. Only one man had managed to capture your heart in your entire life living as an outlaw. Ever since you had joined the gang, you had felt a connection to him. Every night, you found yourself sitting next to him while he played gentle melodies on the guitar. His fingers always gliding flawlessly across the strings. His silky voice when he sang beautiful songs in his native tongue. His selfless acts and caring demeanor toward everyone in camp; they were his family after all. You couldn’t get enough of him. Everything about this man made you want to melt. One specific memory of him however, stuck out to you in particular.

You remembered it like it was yesterday. You were sitting by the fire, everyone else having turned in for the night. As per usual, Javier had found a spot next to you, no longer playing his guitar. The golden flames illuminating his handsome features. There was a comfortable silence between the two of you, the only sound being the crackling of the fire. He let his hair down that night, something you had never seen before. His black hair fell elegantly over his shoulders, most of it tucked behind his ears. You couldn’t help but stare, he looked different with his hair loose. You wondered why he never let it down more often.

“What’s on your mind, hermosa?” He gave you a sideways grin, nudging you a bit with his right arm. You immediately looked away, embarrassed that he had probably caught you staring. You cleared your throat.

“Nothing, just you should let your hair down more often. You look good.” It slipped out before you could fully process the words in your head. You felt yourself turn red, and hoped that he’d take the compliment and leave it at that.

“I didn’t know you liked it that much, otherwise I would’ve let it free a while ago.” He laughed at how flustered you were, sending you a wink. You held your hand over your heart, sighing. These memories were so precious to you, and you were grateful that you were even able to make them with him. You didn’t know what you’d do without him. In fact, you still remembered how relived you were when he arrived back from the ferry boat mission.

Javier was one of the first members back to camp that day, or what was left of it. You had all finished packing up and were ready to leave as soon as the others got back. Pouring in one by one came Dutch then Micah then Bill. Everyone except, Sean. As soon as they returned, everyone began loading into wagons, and just like that you were headed into the cold. And while you were more than glad that Javier was okay, you were left to wonder whether or not your loud mouthed friend was even alive.

You weren’t terribly close to Sean, but you did get along with him better than others. You learned quickly upon meeting him that he had a thing for flirting with women. Not only you, but every other girl in camp as well. But you saw through him easily, he only had eyes for Karen. You could see the way he lit up around her, even with the tiniest of glances she sent him. Whenever she shot him down, he could be found alone and with the saddest puppy eyes you’ve ever seen. It was simple to figure him out, he flirted with others in an attempt to make her jealous, but it clearly wasn’t working. You called him out on it fairly early on, only to have him spit your feelings for Javier back in your face. You guessed that he saw through you pretty early as well.

“Well, come on now y/n! I didn’t expect ya to forget about little old me already!” Sean snickered. You hadn’t realized that you had been standing there, unmoving. Snapping out of your thoughts completely, you gave Sean a wide grin before jumping into his extended arms happily. Lifting you off the ground, he proceeded to spin you around several times, sending you into a fit of giggles. You squealed for him to put you down as you playfully smacked his arms. Chuckling, he set you back onto the grass before reaching out in the direction of your arm. With your right hand now in his, he pulled it up to meet his lips before placing a delicate kiss on the knuckles. You rolled your eyes, pulling your hand away and giving him a light shove.

“I see you haven’t changed much while you were away.” You raised your eyebrows, smiling.

“Of course not, who else is gonna sweep the ladies off their feet.” He lightly jabbed you with his elbow, laughing. You smacked his elbow away, instead settling for resting your hand on his shoulder.

“So, I’m sure you have many stories to tell me about how you’ve talked the ears off the poor officers that got stuck with you.” You threw a knowing smirk in his direction.

“Oh, you have no idea.” He mirrored your smirk, grabbing you by the waist and leading the two of you to sit down at a nearby table.

Javier could only stand by and watch the entire exchange. His jaw was clenched, as he lowered his bed roll from Boaz. The horse only gave him an understanding nudge with its nose, seeming to sense his distress. Javier returned the affection with a gentle pat to his side, and a sugar cube. Yet, he couldn’t shake the thought of Sean spinning you around out of his head. It should be him doing that to you upon his arrival, not Sean. He shook his head angrily before grabbing the reins and leading Boaz to a hitching post. He was starting to regret ever rescuing him.

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

The night became lively as music and laughter filled the air and embers from the fire lit up the sky. Sean’s return party had officially begun, and the majority of the gang gathered themselves around the main campfire; save for a couple others doing their own thing. Almost everyone carried a bottle of booze in their hands while they sang silly songs to the tune of Javier’s guitar.

You watched as Javier gently plucked the strings of his instrument, occasionally throwing you a small glance. You longed to speak with him, but he’s been providing music for the camp since the party started. You couldn’t remember the last time the two of you had an actual conversation, ever since the Blackwater mess it’s only ever been a few hellos and the occasional smile of acknowledgement. You frowned slightly, instantly missing his company. You would’ve approached him sooner, but you couldn’t seem to rid yourself of those pesky butterflies that appeared whenever you so much as looked at Javier. You frowned slightly, fearing that you wouldn’t be able to talk to him tonight either.

As if he read your mind, he strummed a final tune before standing up and carefully setting his beloved guitar against a nearby wagon. Once securing it so it wouldn’t fall over, he made his way to you, offering you a shy smile. You give him a shy smile of your own before taking a sip of your beer, attempting to calm your nerves.

“Enjoying the party?” He pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, grabbing a match and lighting the end of it.

“It’s been alright, haven’t seen Sean anywhere, and it’s his party.” You snorted, only Sean would skip out on his own party. His smile faltered at the mention of the young red head.

“I’m sure he’ll come around, the cabron always does.” He muttered the last bit to himself.

Suddenly, you feel a set of hands place themselves on your hips, much to your annoyance. This cuts your conversation with Javier short, your attention now placed on the cocky bastard. You quickly turn around and give Sean a glare. You grabbed his hands and pulled them off your body, giving him a disapproving look. You could feel Javier’s eyes on the pair of you.

“You almost made me drop my beer.” You huffed, taking a swig from the bottle. He only laughed before ripping the beer from your hands and proceeding to down the rest of it.”

“Hey! That was mine, you jerk.” You pout and cross your arms over your chest, almost like a child.

“Ah, c’mon we’ll get ya another one.” He grabbed your arm and practically dragged you to the nearest crate. You look over your shoulder and give Javier an apologetic look, he only puts out the cigarette before turning around to join the others by the fire. You feel guilty, and immediately want to yell at Sean.

“Why such the long face?” He tossed you a beer, and you miraculously managed to catch it.

“I finally got the chance to talk to Javier until you came along and ruined it.” You grumble, opening up your drink.

“It can’t be that bad!” You didn’t bother giving him a response. You looked to where Javier was now sitting. Sean followed your lingering gaze.

“What do ya say we go sit by the fire and listen to some more of Uncle’s horse shit stories?” He nudged you, trying to cheer you up. You turn away from him, wishing to be anywhere but here. You notice him go silent for a minute, and when you turn around he gives you the look of a kicked puppy. You sighed heavily before grabbing him and leading him to the area where everyone was seated.

To your surprise, there were still quite a few gang members sober, even Uncle. Well, as sober as Uncle can be. You spot Javier sitting alone on one of the logs and instantly steer you and Sean towards him. You were about to take a seat in between Javier and a now seated Sean, but he stops you immediately

“Oh dear, love. Looks like there’s not enough room for ya. Why don’t you take a seat on my lap instead.” Before you could protest, Sean quickly secured you in his lap. Embarrassed was an understatement, as you could feel the eyes of everyone. You quickly hid your face in your hands.

You remained in his lap for another half hour, feeling Javier’s eyes practically burning a hole in the side of your head with how much he was looking at you. You squeaked when Sean pulled you further against him so that your back was touching his chest, hands firmly placed on your hips again.

You saw Javier get up to move, and you were certain he was finally going to call it a night. Until you were suddenly yanked out of Sean’s lap.

“Hope you don’t mind amigo, just gonna cut in for a second.” He gave Sean a cold look before leading you to a secluded area in the woods. Your heart was beating rapidly in your chest, still not being able to comprehend what was going. He finally stopped near a large tree that covered the both of you from view of the camp.

“Javi, what? Is everything oka-“ You were briskly cut off as Javier smashed his lips against yours. Your brain was going a million miles an hour, but once you managed to get it to function properly, you eagerly returned the kiss, eyes fluttering shut. You wrapped your arms around his neck, deepening the kiss while attempting to eliminate as much space as possible.

“You don’t know what you’ve been doing to me, chiquita” He growled in between kisses. “Seeing Sean get handsy with you like that, I wanted to cut his hands damn hands off.” He began traveling down your jawline, placing small kisses on the way down to your neck. He pressed a few more feather like kisses against your sensitive skin until he found your sweet spot. You let out a small whimper before he roughly sucked on the spot, making sure to leave a visible mark. He continued to do this until you were sure your neck was covered in love-bites. You were practically panting at this point, the feeling of his lips against you overwhelming.

“You’re mine, understand?” He whispered in your ear, voice dangerously low.

“I’m yours, only yours.” You were trembling in his arms, positive that you would’ve fallen had you not used him as support.

“Good girl.” Was all he said before picking you up so that your legs were wrapped around his torso and carrying you back to his tent. He made sure to pass by as many people as possible, wanting to show off your new markings. You buried your burning face into the crook of his neck shyly, refusing to look up. You heard several people throwing whistles and sly remarks in your direction, causing you to tighten your arms and legs around Javier.

You hear a specific remark that catches your attention. Looking up just a bit, you see Sean winking at you while he gives you two thumbs up. He snickers, before going on how ‘it was about time the two of ya got together’ You only give him a wide grin. Reminding yourself that you’d have to thank the loud mouthed bastard later.

#javier escuella x reader #javier x reader #javier escuella #red dead redemption 2 #rdr #rdr2

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muwi-translates · 5 years

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why u should love sanada fucking yukimura

man, this character... is one of the most lovable otome bois i have encountered in a long time,,, because he’s such a loser.

i wouldn’t even call this a character analysis anymore i just spilled all my feels and love for this stupid wholesome boy. thank you to my two biggest sandman supporters, this is all yuu’s fault. @sea-reiusly @snow--blanket

LET’S START. so,,, aside from the fact that he’s cute-dumb; you should love him because he loves you a lot and he deserves love too.

he is the literal embodiment of boyish selfless love.

if iI had to describe him I would describe him as a big red blanket you can wrap around yourself and make you feel safe and warm. or a big spoon of honey; slightly bitter but also sweet.

1) he is mega Friend for Life

first things first; he would be, and is, a good friend - if not to you then to the people he cares about. his whole concept is ‘boy next door’. he is soft, he won’t disappoint you because he cares about you as a person and he worries sometimes even if he doesn’t show it. for example in Shingen’s route he plays messenger for you - he thinks you’re ‘cool’, you’re his pal. he seems like the type who could develop feelings for you but is content just being close to you as your friend and see you happy. despite being told that he’s ‘tactless’, Yukimura actually, not surprisingly, has the ability to read other people, but just sucks at expressing it to you. so occasionally, he ends up proper advice to other suitors if you’re not on his route:

like the time Kenshin was excited to bring you home with him to Kasugayama and you were torn about leaving the home you’ve come to love and your warlord family. to Yukimura, family and friends are important, that is what one of his 'wants' are, after all. he does it for shingen, he does it for his men and the men in the Takeda army.

in a way he’s a bit like your brother too. except Hideyoshi is the clearly caring, wise older brother and Yukimura is your bratty younger brother who would throw a banana at your face, and pretends he doesn’t give a shit about you but that one time he sees you carrying heavy stuff down the hall he takes it from you and calls you ‘weak’ but he just doesn’t want to see you hurt.

if he's not established to be quite as close to you in other routes (Ieyasu/Masamune), he continues to help you on behalf of sasuke. even though you’re a complete stranger to him and he barely knows anything about you background - especially considering sasuke gave him a coverup story and not what or who you actually are. it's moments like these where he is willing and able to separate 'his job' and 'enemy' and do things that would otherwise produce results the opposite of what he’s supposed to be doing (which is actually a point of conflict in his OWN route, which will I will talk about later uwu)

2) ultimate Fam man

Yukimura is inherently a selfless character. he doesn’t care about himself, he only cares about the people around him and what he can do for them. he overworks himself and shoulders all the stress by himself, to take weight off shingen (it's always 'leave it to me, lord shingen!!' from him).

I believe he has a mild form of ptsd as well; he mentally and emotionally cuts himself away from feeling anything in battle to perform his best, he has trouble sleeping at night, and he ends up holding things he’s sleeping with very tightly (eg. you). we also learn from Shingen that:

he was raised to be strong and upstanding, but has problems with adapting, so he puts all he has into what he does, meaning he gets hurt more (EN)

when he has his heart set on things, his conviction lasts for a long, long time (CN)

so, he likes it a lot when he gets to surround himself with people he cares about. he comes off as an ambivert leaning on extrovert, based off how he seems to like hanging out with his men not just as their field commander but as their friend, he enjoys parties and even entertains Kenshin. it’s been noted that he is visibly more relaxed and laughs often around his soldiers - so it’s safe to assume he gets energy by being around the people he cares about, because at least he knows that they’re alive.

in fact, the idea of people around him dying makes him angry. he’s willing to put aside his hatred of Nobunaga to ensure that no unnecessary lives are lost, even if he’s sacrificing himself in the process. they all share the simple dream of one day being able to return to their homeland, and Yukimura expects almost all of them to be able to fulfill that dream together.

so when Shingen insinuates that he won’t be able to be there for that, Yukimura gets understandably worried and angry.

okay, so now we know that he's a selfless iron woobie. what else? as stated above we know that he is actually a closet Sensitive Guy(TM). Yukimura is sensitive to his own feelings, at least. he's a Thinker, he thinks a lot and even overthinks. he is a tsundere to himself - because he's hardwired himself to sacrifice other needs and wants aside from the goals he's set for himself. if it’s not something for the benefit of his dream or Shingen or Sasuke - does he really need it?

he clings onto all the light he can hold onto no matter how small for the sake of his dream - it’s literally defined his life, he’s somewhat dependant on using his body to fight for something or someone and that’s why he’s always moving around doing something. Yukimura also respects other people who have a similar mindset (also his highest criteria when it comes to women; he gotta have something to respecc).

if he didn’t have anything to fight for what do you think would happen? :thinking:,,,, check out chapter 13 of his dramatic route for the answer,,,, it is not pretty :(

3. 95% giver 5% taker (and only after some self-deprecation)

of course his selflessness also applies to his love interest??

even as a lover he's such an adorable loser that makes me want to cry. he is selfless love in the form of a man. he is basically a dog boi. he only wants to take care of you, your happiness is his happiness. he always offers to make YOU happy and not himself first- it's like as long as you're smiling he can keep going, even if he's tired or if he worked all day, he always has time to spoil and coddle you-- if you want all his attention he'll give it to you, no matter how tired or busy he is. in fact, he thinks that its part of the job description, that its his duty to indulge in your desires. even on his birthday, you know the day where HE'S supposed to get something, he goes out of his way to get YOU a present.

the conflict in his route is literally him coming to terms that he wants something for himself, denying himself from his own goddamn happiness. he finds out that you are on the side of his enemies, yet he still wants you because he’s fallen for you - but he tells/forces himself to think that he doesn’t need you after all, because “it wasn’t meant to be” and that he doesn’t deserve you because he brought you to the battlefield. even though he can do exactly what he needs to if you were simply just ‘friends’ or ‘acquaintances’ - the idea of giving himself true happiness by being with the person he loves? nah, fam.

literally the only time he wanted to be selfish for once he slapped himself and said ‘no’. if you didn’t chase after him, the regret would eat at him for a long time, regret that he’ll eventually learn to squash down inside himself and only add to fuel of performing only for others - and not himself.

👏 👏 related analysis: why does he come off as insensitive when it comes to his route? why has he demonstrated that he is actually not Stupid but is also a butthead to you?

answer: defence mechanism - he thinks women are bothersome because they cry. and when women cry he lacks the confidence(?) to use words to comfort them. they embarrass him, he’s a tsundere, he only says things truly from his heart under Very Specific Circumstances where he is completely vulnearable and open (like pre-spice or... some angst situation).

so instead he just falls back to being selfless like he normally is. all he knows is how to care about other people, carry their burdens and wanting them to rely on him. that's why when you're upset at the festival, he just keeps shoving food at you instead of asking 'what's wrong' and going off on that. because his mind is literally just thinking food = good = makes people happy = ok, let's do that then. that's also why he'd rather you be angry than sad. sad is bad because he doesn’t know how to deal with bad except being physically intimate - pretty sure Yukimura would rather die if he had to hug every crying woman he ever encountered.

conclusion: he’s just a lost, lost boi who doesn’t know how to comfort people so he sacrifices himself and puts others ahead of him using actions - he pampers, he lets people vent out on him, the works. what a fucking wholesome loser who needs to love himself for once.

👏 👏 end of insensitive boi in love analysis

there’s a part of Yukimura that is actually a bit insecure. it's odd because he’s usually so confident in himself, and so proud, but he’s also so self-deprecating? under that tough boy exterior is just a boi who wants to be loved. he wants someone who will be there for him and support his stupid ass. he uses himself to hold up everyone else's burdens, but sometimes there's nobody that might be able to do the same to him. he wants someone to come home to, when he's stressed and wants some loving because otherwise he'd hole up his emotions and explode-- if he didn't have Shingen and Sasuke there with him.

his route sort of expresses the fact that Yukimura has never experienced a ‘mature love’ before, or a love where he imagines a life together with them. crushes, probably at some point in his life. sexual experience? how can he not have any??? but mature love? questionable.

these moments are few and far between because its not explored quite as much, but when they do...

he says things like "don't leave me, i'll prove that i'm the man for you." (bitch doesn't have to prove jack shit, he literally radiates with Care and Love) and “I need you”. he just doesn't want you to disappear on him.

why’d you think you decided to leave without telling him? bitch would fucking fight the sky to keep you with him.

he's scared to lose you because he's finally found someone who is willing to accept him and taught him that its ok for him to be selfish for once and do things for his own sake and his own happiness. what he wants most is to just come home and eat food with you together. every encounter with you is precious to him because you rarely see each other. he wants to spend time with you. he doesn't like it when things cut into plans that seperate the two of you- but he doesn't mind it if plans didn't run as expected as long as he still got to spend the day with you. even if he's busy, he lies to go out with you to do things that YOU want.

he’s finally come to find some happiness outside of work and outside of how he already copes - that alone is special to him, whether you end up as his friend or as his lover.

so basically:

you should love this guy bc he is mega Lovable and radiates warm Energy,,, he will always care about ur dumb ass one way or another.

#ikemen sengoku #cybird #ikesen #ikesen yukimura #Sanada Yukimura #by the way i fucking love this loser a lot #if you couldn't tell #i stan him so much #he deserves so much love #big loser muscly boi

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stretchjournalemerson · 5 years

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Revisiting Buffy the Vampire Slayer : Intersectional Feminism in 2019

By Allison Hoag

Over twenty years after the series first premiered, Buffy the Vampire Slayer remains not only as a popular show in the public consciousness, but also as a hotly debated text in the academic sphere. What exactly is it about this demon-fighting, vampire-slaying, teenage girl that has captivated audiences for so long, and why has Buffy spawned so much controversy both publicly and academically? Most importantly, how should Buffy and its various implications about gender, race, and “otherness” be read in 2019?

It is undeniable that Buffy is a somewhat exclusionary narrative that directs our sympathies solely towards its overwhelmingly white and privileged characters. Any feminist inclinations this series espouses are emblematic of the equally exclusionary white feminism. However, even within these constraints—focusing only on feminism impactful to socioeconomically privileged white women—Buffy scholarship continually debates the extent of feminist messaging in the series. In 2019, surface-level white feminism alone is often not seen as enough to define a text as feminist. More and more, people are embracing Kimberle Crenshaw’s notions of intersectionality as a lens through which to evaluate texts. Crenshaw suggested that both feminist and anti-racist movements exclude black women, who face the most discrimination because of the intersection of their race and gender, arguing that “feminism must include an analysis of race if it hopes to express the aspirations of non-white women” (166). This term has since expanded to include class, ability, gender identity, and sexuality in feminist critiques.

Recently, the feminist debate over Buffy has been revisited after a somewhat shocking blog post by Buffy creator Joss Whedon’s ex-wife, Kai Cole, that suggested Whedon is not the “loveable geek-feminist” he presents himself as (Cole). Despite the flaws of its creator, is there still a way for Buffy to be viewed as a feminist show? Is this a matter of separating the artist from the art, or, because his intentions while making this art are being called into question, are the two inextricably linked? In light of these revelations, I intend to reexamine Buffy through Crenshaw’s intersectional lens, focusing less on surface-level feminist readings of this series, but instead shifting the focus onto specific storylines to explore how Whedon addresses topics of gender, race, love, and rape.

***

It is not without reason that critics and fans alike have showered Buffy with feminist praise since its debut in 1997. Not only does this series make Buffy the “subject of traditionally masculine storytelling tropes…, [but] she does it all as a tiny, blonde former cheerleader…the embodiment of the girl her genre usually kills first” (Grady). Buffy takes the idea of a “strong” woman quite literally and manifests a teenage girl with superhuman strength who “must stand against the vampires, demons, and forces of darkness,” as the introduction to each episode reminds us (Whedon). Buffy seems to be a show rife with positive female role models for the impressionable teen and pre-teen girls that make up its audience: Buffy is selfless and strong (physically and emotionally); Willow is kind, intelligent, and stands up for what she believes is right; Cordelia is bold and unafraid to go after what she wants; Tara is loving and is constantly helping and caring for her friends.

Buffy often addresses topics that many members of this teen audience may face, largely through its (sometimes heavy handed) metaphorical use of vampires and demons, as well as online predators (“I Robot…You, Jane”), drinking at parties (“Beer Bad”), and drug addiction (“Wrecked”). Seemingly less metaphorical, however, is its feminism. Throughout the series, Buffy repeatedly defends the whole of humanity against vampires, demons, and the like, maintains positive relationships with the other women in her life, is independent, and has (mostly) healthy romantic relationships. The overt “girl-power” theme of this show is quite clear. However, in its final season, Buffy “raises the explicit feminist stakes of the series considerably” (Pender). While in previous seasons, the metaphorical misogyny of the villains Buffy faces could be debated, season seven’s “big bad” is, “of all the show’s myriad manifestations of evil, the most recognizably misogynist” (Pender). Dubbed “Reverend-I-Hate-Women” by Xander (“Touched”), Caleb can only be defeated if Buffy teams up with and shares her power with all potential Slayers across the globe, an act that takes “female empowerment” quite literally in the series finale.

But how did Buffy get to this point? Buffy wasn’t even initially intended for the pre-teen and teenage girl demographic who would become its main audience. Knowing that this show was originally aimed at a male demographic, “it seems evident that producers did not intend to market a feminist show” (Riordan 292). Not only do some of the feminist statements in Buffy feel painfully forced, but upon deeper exploration, much of this show’s “feminism” is only surface-level and disregards Crenshaw’s notions of intersectionality.

Mary Magoulick, a folklorist and Professor of English, Interdisciplinary Studies, and Women’s Studies at Georgia College (“Mary Magoulick”), explores some of the downfalls of “feminist” shows that were primarily created by men for predominantly male audiences in her article, “Frustrating Female Heroism: Mixed Messages in Xena, Nikita, and Buffy.” Magoulick argues that female heroes like Buffy that are “conceived of and written mostly by men in a still male-dominated world…project the status quo more than they fulfill feminist hopes” (729). An integral part of Magoulick’s argument is the idea that “Buffy [is] less concerned with building or celebrating a world than surviving a hostile one” (745). Although Magoulick acknowledges that recognizing the hostility women face in the world is an important part of feminist conversations, Buffy is widely praised for its progressive presentation of women, not for “presenting the troubling reality women live in” (750). Buffy continually expresses her desire to escape from her responsibilities as the Slayer and lead an average life; yet, she continues fighting vampires and demons, largely due to the pressure from her Watcher, Giles. The idea that Buffy cannot escape her situation because of a social institution—the Watcher’s Council, dominated by men and put in place to control women—provides strong textual support for Magoulick’s claim that Buffy is “reflective of current social inequities and gender roles” (750).

Ultimately Buffy escapes her duties as Slayer, sacrificing herself in the season five finale, only for her friends to later resurrect her, bringing her back from what they believe to be a hell dimension. However, Buffy confesses to Spike, “I think I was in heaven. And now I'm not…this is hell” (“After Life”), making him promise to never tell her friends. After coming back to life, Buffy almost immediately returns to her predetermined social position and initially deals with being brought back into her personal version of hell alone, wanting to protect her friends from the truth. Not only does this arc present the feminist concept of emotional labor as something inherently expected of women, but it also more directly begs the question Magoulick poses regarding the entirety of the series: “Is survival in hell, albeit with occasional victories and humor, the best [women] can imagine?” (748).

***

Magoulick promotes an argument first raised by Elyce Rae Helford that “[Buffy] is laudable for allowing women unusual space to voice and act out anger” while also sending strong implications about what kind of women are allowed to express anger (733). Of the Slayers introduced throughout the series, Buffy is the only one who is allowed to act upon her anger, and most of the time this anger is expressed towards the vampires and demons she fights, not people in her personal life. However, Kendra—a Slayer who is also a woman of color—has her anger framed in a much more negative way. Despite the lack of people of color in Buffy—or possibly because of the show’s few characters played by people of color—race and racism have become prominent topics in Buffy scholarship. A closer examination of direct and indirect racist implications in Buffy reinforces the idea that any feminist tendencies in Buffy fall strictly into the category of white feminism, and the show cannot be considered an example of the intersectional feminism pushed for in 2019.

The intersectional failings of Buffy are further explored by Kent A. Ono, a Professor and former Chair of the Department of Communication at the University of Utah who researches representations of race, gender, sexuality, class, and nation in print, film, and television media (“Kent A. Ono”). In his article, “To Be a Vampire on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Race and (‘Other’) Socially Marginalizing Positions on Horror TV,” Ono argues that Buffy “conveys debilitating images of and ideas about people of color” (163), claiming that “the valorization and heroification [sic] of a white feminist protagonist is constructed through an associated villainization and demonization of people of color” (164). Here, Ono quite literally means demonization. Most of the vampires and demons that appear on this show are played by white actors, so it is not necessarily a question of casting people of color as villains, so much as it is a question of who these villains are intended to be.

As previously established, the writers of Buffy can be somewhat aggressive with their use of metaphor; therefore, it is inarguable that, on Buffy, a vampire isn’t just a vampire. Ono argues that “the marginalization of vampires on the show takes the place of racial marginalization in the world outside the show” (172). In contrast, Magoulick presents a non-racial reading of the teenage vampires as “representative of gangs” (745). Considering the show’s overarching plot, especially the first few seasons Magoulick references when Buffy is still in high school, both of these interpretations are equally valid, and both can be supported by textual evidence. Given the history of representation of people of color on television, it is particularly disturbing that two of the major metaphorical interpretations of vampires on this show are as people of color and as gang members. It is not unreasonable to believe that Whedon and his writers were familiar with racist representations on television that were prominent in the 60s and early 70s, especially because some of these representations still exist twenty years after the show was created. With this understanding, it could be argued that vampires were equally intended to represent people who were racially marginalized and gangs. Ono argues that because the villains of Buffy were the ones chosen to represent people of color, “Buffy…indirectly and directly shows violence by primarily white vigilante youths against people of color in the name of civilization” (168), evoking images of violent white supremacy that are present throughout American history and to the present day.

However, there is a reason Ono describes the “vigilante youths” as only primarily white (168). Kendra, the previously mentioned second Slayer portrayed by Bianca Lawson who is featured in three episodes over the course of Buffy’s second season, is a black woman. Although only appearing in three episodes, Kendra is credited as “offer[ing] the most complex development of a black female character in Buffy” (Edwards 95). While this is technically true, it is important to note that her arc was fairly straightforward, and any character development is as a result of a somewhat racist narrative of acceptance only after assimilation. However, because she is one of the few examples of a prominent character who is a person of color and essentially the only person of color who works with Buffy, I will be examining her in some detail.

Ono argues that because she takes the responsibility of being the Slayer far more seriously, Kendra is a threat to Buffy, causing Buffy’s own racism to emerge. Ono specifically cites “[Buffy’s] discomfort with Kendra’s language…When Buffy uses the word wiggy and Kendra asks what that means, Buffy responds with a racist comment…‘You know, no kicko, no fighto’” (174). However, Buffy’s comment is indicative of a much larger issue in the show’s production team. “By casting Bianca Lawson, a black actress, in the role of Kendra, the second Slayer, [Whedon] makes character a sign imbued with cultural meanings about gender, race, and race relations” (Edwards 87). Kendra is marked as other not only by her skin color, but also by her heavy Jamaican accent, and she is not accepted by Buffy and her friends until she begins to assimilate, sending the message that people of color are responsible for changing themselves if they want to be accepted by white America.

It is important to note that Bianca Lawson’s casting wasn’t accidental. The script specifically delineates Kendra as an “ethnic young woman” (Edwards 91). Whedon has admitted that he did not make any efforts to hire people of color behind the scenes (Busis), so there is a possibility that the overwhelmingly white writers’ room and crew did not detect the racist treatment of Kendra. However, that in itself poses a major issue, not only socially, but also with how we’re supposed to understand the treatment of the few people of color and the metaphorical “people of color”/vampires throughout the series. The absence of people of color behind the scenes could also at least partially account for the Ono’s observation that “no person of color acknowledged as such on the series has been able to remain a significant character. All characters of color…have either died or have failed to reappear” (177).

Although she was killed off after only three episodes, as a black woman, Kendra represents the black women facing discrimination based on both race and gender that Crenshaw advocated for in developing her theory of intersectional feminism. Kendra’s treatment in Buffy is indicative of both the white feminism that will often ignore racist representations in a text because of its slight feminist messaging, and the necessity of including intersectionality in the evaluation and creation of feminist texts.

***

Buffy is filled with incredibly disturbing scenes. We watch Willow get skinned alive by a demon (“Same Time, Same Place”), Buffy’s own mother attempt to burn her at the stake (“Gingerbread”), and a demon stalk and murder sickly children in their hospital beds (“Killed by Death”). However, “Seeing Red” (2002) remains one of Buffy’s most upsetting episodes. Spike corners an injured Buffy in her bathroom and violently attempts to rape her until she is finally able to fight him off. In a recent interview, James Marsters (Spike) described his opposition to the scene, inadvertently pinpointing the reason this scene is so difficult to watch: “My argument was that, actually, when anyone is watching Buffy, they are Buffy…the audience, especially the female audience, they are not superheroes, but they are Buffy” (Marsters). This scene is particularly upsetting not only because of the content, but also because it presents many women’s worst fears—if an injured Buffy, who is still exponentially stronger than an average woman, can barely fight off Spike, what hope do they have of fighting off their attacker? Additionally, Spike is not presented as a violent vampire here: he is presented as human, making this scene more realistic and horrifying.

Wendy Fall, a doctoral candidate at Marquette University and editor of Marquette’s Gothic Archive (“Graduate Research”), discusses this scene at length in her article “Spike Is Forgiven: The Sympathetic Vampire's Resonance with Rape Culture.” She suggests that because James Malcolm Rymer’s Varney the Vampire (1845) is the first English-language vampire narrative that conflates an attack and rape scene, it established a “three-part strategy [gaslighting, silencing the victim, and emphasizing the assailant’s goodness] which encouraged readers to overlook Varney’s sexual violence, and thereby increased their sympathy for him” (Fall 76). She argues that although Spike’s attempted rape technically avoids Rymer’s narrative because he does not attempt to bite Buffy and is never even seen as a vampire, “The more problematic nature of this attack…is in what happens next, when the show adopts similar narrative schemes to Rymer’s to reinforce sympathy for Spike after his attempted sexual assault” (Fall 76).

Fall points out that there are only three more episodes in season six following Spike’s attempted rape, followed by a four-month gap between seasons, prompting the audience to forget how violent and serious it was (77). Not only are Spike and Buffy not seen together for the rest of the season, but they are separated because attempting to rape Buffy acts as a catalyst for Spike’s quest to get his soul back. This gives the audience time to develop sympathy for Spike as they watch him go through painful trials as he tries to recover his soul, while diminishing the severity of the attempted rape in their minds—because, surely, someone willing to go to this extent to obtain their soul and be a better person would never have acted as violently as he did.

Fall argues that Buffy also follows Varney’s narrative strategy of silencing the victim because “the show’s writers seem unwilling to allow the characters to have further discussion on the topic; Buffy never tells anyone the full story, and after this scene, she rarely mentions it again” (78). Fall further claims that “they had access to a strong female character and the opportunity to address her experience of trauma, but they opt not to pursue it” (78). Surely, at least part of the reason we never see Buffy attempting to deal with the emotional aftermath of someone she trusted trying to rape her is because the larger narrative suggests a degree of victim blaming that cannot coexist with holding Spike accountable for his actions. Prior to this scene, Buffy and Spike had been having a consensual sexual relationship, and Buffy attributes the start of this relationship to her “bad kissing decisions” (“Smashed”), so “when Spike attempts to rape her, it seems like an inevitable consequence of her poor decisions” (Nichol).

Finally, Fall suggests that Buffy completes this pattern when it “adopts a narrative strategy that redirects attention away from sexual violence by emphasizing the assailant’s positive contributions” (80). Not only does the rest of season six focus on Spike’s attempt to regain a soul, but the early episodes of season seven also show Spike as psychologically damaged as he comes to terms with the harm he caused as a vampire, putting Buffy and the audience in a position to want to pity Spike when we next see Spike and Buffy interact. Fall suggests that this plotline goes further than simply asking the audience to excuse the fact that this character tried to rape someone. She argues that “the vampire narrative’s memory-altering strategies are also deployed to reinforce rape culture, mostly in the cases of assailants who have sufficient financial power to reframe their own narratives to emphasize their better deeds” (Fall 83). This narrative is everywhere, especially after it became widely acceptable, even expected, to report on the #MeToo movement. It’s unfortunate that this supposedly feminist show perpetuates and validates this narrative that has successfully allowed so many rapists to escape legal scrutiny; Brock Turner’s swimming career comes to mind as a relatively recent example. While Fall ends her article on a relatively hopeful note, providing research stating that articles—like hers—that challenge rape myths can make people more likely to believe survivors than assailants (83), arguments for forgiving Spike still abound.

In 2017, Alyssa Rosenberg, an opinion writer for the Washington Post who covers culture and politics (“Alyssa Rosenberg”), made a case for why both Buffy and the audience should have a more forgiving view of Spike. In her article, “On ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” we fell for the Slayer along with Angel, Riley and Spike," Rosenberg specifically addresses this scene as a “horrifying…illustration that Spike’s gestures are not the same as moral reform” (Rosenberg); however, she identifies it as “the catalyst for a quest that ends with Spike…earning back his soul and sacrificing himself to save the world” (Rosenberg). Rosenberg’s argument falls flat in a way many rapist-apology narratives do. She directly acknowledges the horror of the narrative, both literally in the scene and also in the audience’s minds as they grapple with the fact that this character who is supposedly trying to reform himself can still do something this violent; yet, she quickly glosses over it. Rosenberg immediately dives into how trying to rape Buffy influenced Spike to become a better person, without addressing how it affected Buffy—the actual victim. She highlights that Whedon’s integration of the narrative tactics Rymer introduced to get the audience to want to forgive Spike were effective.

Rosenberg argues that although Spike “commits some of the show’s cruelest acts…he sacrifices the most in an attempt to atone for his sins” (Rosenberg). She additionally characterizes his arc following his attempted rape of Buffy as “a journey that encourages us to think about the conditions under which even someone guilty of heinous acts can perform genuine penance and achieve real redemption” (Rosenberg). Interestingly, her choice of the word “penance” invokes a religious underscoring that implies that once he has performed this penance, Buffy, and by extension, the audience who identifies with her, have no choice but to forgive him. Additionally, none of the “penance” Rosenberg describes is directed towards Buffy. Spike undoubtedly goes through physically and emotionally painful trials as he attempts to regain his soul; however, this is not so much penance as it is a self-centered act. Spike believes that getting a soul might make Buffy finally love him, eventually “becom[ing] a legitimate romantic interest after the near-rape incident” (Nichol).

Rosenberg claims that Buffy “explored where evil and misogyny come from and urged us to fight them,” while simultaneously “ask[ing] those of us who loved Buffy and identified with her to contemplate grace and forgiveness” (Rosenberg). She technically is not wrong here, Whedon absolutely positions us to want to forgive Spike. However, I would venture to argue that the question up for debate is not so much the question Rosenberg poses of are we put in a position to forgive him, as it is, should we be put in a position to forgive him. Buffy is intended to be a role model for the pre-teen and teenage girls who watch the series. Yet, here, it sends a very damaging message: if you have a consensual sexual relationship with someone without loving them, you’re responsible if they attempt to rape you; but even if someone tries to rape you, you should easily forgive them and possibly begin a romantic relationship with them because they may change.

***

In the past few years, the public feminist conversation has shifted towards embracing Crenshaw’s idea of intersectionality. This has therefore influenced the ways we read all texts, even texts such as Buffy that were created after Crenshaw’s paper was first published but before intersectionality was a major concern of the feminist movement. Additionally, the #MeToo movement has revealed the prevalence of the abuse of power by men in all sectors, but notably in Hollywood. Joss Whedon admittedly “didn’t make a point of hiring female directors…[or] people of color’” (Busis); explicitly equated a woman unable to have children with the Hulk—yes, that Hulk (Yang); and, as recently as 2015, refused to call himself a feminist (Busis). The combination of these two public paradigm shifts, closer examinations of Whedon both personally and as a creator, as well as Kai Cole’s disturbing essay about her ex-husband has many people questioning what Whedon’s work can add to the cultural conversation surrounding feminism in 2019. Is the problematic nature of Joss Whedon a matter of separating the artist from the art, or, because his intentions while making this art are being called into question, are the two inextricably linked?

Joss Whedon has made his name creating and writing shows featuring strong female characters. However, he does not seem to understand that “having a girl beat up guys is not equivalent to a strong female character when they always, constantly depend on men” (Simons). Yet, he has still managed to create a career and profit off of television’s lack of actual strong female characters, catering to a largely underserved audience who hoped to see any sort of feminist ideas in fictional television. “Whedon’s openly feminist agenda, frequently mentioned in interviews, has provided an interpretive framework for much Buffy scholarship” (Berridge 478). Whedon pushes this narrative and the public’s perception of him as a well-meaning feminist, while refusing to be labeled as such “because suddenly that’s the litmus test for everything you do…if you don’t live up to the litmus test of feminism in this one instance, then you’re a misogynist” (Busis). It’s upsetting for fans of Buffy to realize that its creator feels that unless he is overtly espousing feminist ideas, his writing will be seen as misogynistic—which, it has been, he’s been criticized for both his Avengers: Age of Ultron script (Yang) and his rejected Wonder Woman script (White).

Although his public persona is that of a feminist, a closer look at his work and his personal life tells a very different story. In a commentary DVD extra for the second season of Buffy, Whedon discusses writing the script for the initial confrontation between Buffy and Angelus, saying “It felt icky that I could make him say these things. It felt icky and kind of powerful. It was very uncomfortable and very exciting for me to do it” (Nichol). This short piece of commentary is a perfect metaphor for Whedon’s career. He’s trying to be seen as “more” of a feminist by claiming he had no idea how he could write a scene where his heroine is eviscerated by her (newly-evil) boyfriend after having sex with him. However, he’s actually taking what could’ve been a moment to discuss the prevalence of slut shaming in our culture and refocusing it on himself.

Not only has his work contained misogynistic and offensive language toward women, but according to his ex-wife, Kai Cole’s, guest blog on The Wrap, he has also had several inappropriate affairs “with his actresses, co-workers, fans, and friends” (Cole). Aside from cheating on his wife, as creator and producer of several prominent series—at least in terms of his actresses, co-workers, and fans—it could be argued that he objectively had more power in these situations. This begs the question of exactly how consensual these affairs were and how much, if any, (possibly unintentional) coercion may have been involved. Furthermore, Cole says he wrote her a letter trying to excuse these affairs, explaining that he “was surrounded by beautiful, needy, aggressive young women” (Cole), and blaming them, rather than taking responsibility for his actions. This pattern of blame is unsettlingly close to the blame Buffy endures for her relationship with Spike.

***

Despite the shortcomings of both this show and its creator, Buffy was, and remains, a prominent series in the lives of many of the pre-teen and teenage girls who have watched and grown with Buffy and her friends since its 1997 premiere—this author included. However, as we become more educated on certain cultural topics, we—especially those of us in positions of power and privilege—are often forced to reconcile our love of certain texts with their more problematic aspects.

I began this essay with a very different conception of Buffy than I have now. Admittedly, I bought into the allure of this series’ surface-level feminism and girl power when I was watching it for the first time. Sure, it was sometimes overtly problematic, but the positive aspects seemed to outweigh the negatives. I thought that this essay would reveal the surface-level feminism of Buffy ran much deeper than I originally realized—not the opposite. A closer examination of Buffy has revealed that the issues with this series are far more serious than its creator’s personal failings. Reading Buffy as a cultural text exposes a series of disturbing messages. Moreover, even when it does put forth feminist ideas, they often fall under the more exclusionary sect of white feminism, completely ignoring Crenshaw’s proposed intersectionality, which had been published nearly a decade before Buffy’s premiere.

The question of how Buffy should be read in 2019 is a question that has been repeated a lot recently: Can the Harvey Weinstein’s films still be appreciated? What about The Cosby Show? Or shows affiliated with Fox Broadcasting, and, therefore, Roger Ailes? While some argue that these men and any texts or media associated with them should be “cancelled,” others call for a separation between the artist and the art. However, I would argue that, at least for Buffy, it is not so much about separating the artist from the art as it is about recognizing the art for what it is—its limits included.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my mom for proofreading all 4,500-odd words of this and catching the many mistakes I missed. I would also like to profusely thank Mary Kovaleski Byrnes for her support, guidance, and the much-needed periodic confidence boosts.

Works Cited

“After Life.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season 6, episode 3, UPN, 9 Oct. 2001. Hulu, www.hulu.com/watch/70c15619-2955-499f-b1ca-48bb650ad68f.

"Alyssa Rosenberg." The Washington Post, The Washington Post, www.washingtonpost.com/people/alyssa-rosenberg/?utm_term=.29211618cb7b. Accessed 30 Mar. 2019.

“Beer Bad.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season 4, episode 5, The WB, 2 Nov. 1999. Hulu,www.hulu.com/watch/6ce16885-24ba-48b0-b729-b01c3b52213d.

Berridge, Susan. "Teen heroine TV: narrative complexity and sexual violence in female-fronted teen drama series." New Review of Film & Television Studies, vol. 11, no. 4, Dec. 2013, pp. 477-96. ESCOhost, doi:10.1080/17400309.2013.809565.

“Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season 2, episode 16, The WB, 10 Feb. 1998. Hulu, www.hulu.com/watch/4569c5ed-aebc-4cea-86ce-8e05f2fbef4f.

Busis, Hillary. "Joss Whedon Declares Himself a "Woke Bae"." Vanity Fair, 10 Mar. 2017, www.vanityfair.com/style/2017/03/joss-whedon-woke-bae-feminism-buffy-the-vampire-slayer.

Crenshaw, Kimberle. "Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist

Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics." University of Chicago Legal Forum, vol. 1989, no. 1, 1989, pp. 139-67, chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/uclf/vol1989/iss1/8.

Cole, Kai. "Joss Whedon Is a ‘Hypocrite Preaching Feminist Ideals,’ Ex-Wife Kai Cole Says (Guest Blog)." The Wrap, Aug. 2017, www.thewrap.com/joss-whedon-feminist-hypocrite-infidelity-affairs-ex-wife-kai-cole-says/.

Edwards, Lynne. “Slaying in Black and White: Kendra as Tragic Mulatta in Buffy.” Fighting the Forces: What's at Stake in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, edited by Rhonda V. Wilcox and

David Lavery, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2002, pp. 85–97.

Elison, Meg. "The Non-Toxic Masculinity of Rupert Giles." Syfy Wire, 17 June 2018, www.syfy.com/syfywire/the-non-toxic-masculinity-of-rupert-giles.

Fall, Wendy. "Spike Is Forgiven: The Sympathetic Vampire's Resonance with Rape Culture." Slayage, vol. 48, Summer/Fall 2018, pp. 68-86. EBSCOhost, proxy.emerson.edu/login?url=search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f3h&AN=133526410&site=eds-live.

“Gingerbread.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season 3, episode 11, The WB, 12 Jan. 1999. Hulu,www.hulu.com/watch/666ff3b9-c7d6-4f5f-adaf-3483ce8add76.

"Graduate Research." Marquette University, Marquette University, 2018, www.marquette.edu/english/research-graduate.php. Accessed 30 Mar. 2019.

Grady, Constane. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer's feminism is still subversive, 20 years later." Vox, 10 Mar. 2017, www.vox.com/culture/2017/3/10/14868588/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-feminism-20th-anniversary.

“I Robot…You, Jane.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season 1, episode 8, The WB, 28 Apr. 1997. Hulu, www.hulu.com/watch/6232c153-896e-4d99-b152-9feed2f99fd1.

"Kent A. Ono." University of Utah Profiles, University of Utah, faculty.utah.edu/u0849982-Kent_A._Ono/hm/index.hml.

“Killed by Death.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season 2, episode 18, The WB, 3 Mar. 1998. Hulu, www.hulu.com/watch/75cb8a45-13ec-4b44-91a3-920d85cc6908.

Luria, Rachel. “Nothing Left but Skin and Cartilage: The Body and Toxic Masculinity.” Sexual Rhetoric in the Works of Joss Whedon: New Essays, edited by Erin B. Waggoner,

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2010, pp. 185-193.

Magoulick, Mary. "Frustrating female heroism: Mixed messages in Xena. Nikita, and Buffy." Journal of Popular Culture, vol. 39, no. 5, Oct. 2006, pp. 729-55. EBSCOhost, proxy.emerson.edu/login?url=search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsgao& AN=edsgcl.153778141&site=eds-live.

Marsters, James. “Buffy’s James Marsters on the hardest day of his professional life.” The A.V. Club, 9 Mar. 2017, https://tv.avclub.com/buffy-s-james-marsters-on-the-hardest-day-of-his-profes-1798258915.

"Mary Macgoulick." Folklore Connections, Georgia College & State University, 1 Apr. 2001, faculty.gcsu.edu/custom-website/mary-magoulick/.

Nicol, Rhonda. “When You Kiss Me, I Want to Die”: Arrested Feminism in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Twilight Series. Gale, Cengage Learning. EBSCOhost, proxy.emerson.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e dsglr&AN=edsgcl.H1100110197&site=eds-live.

Ono, Kent A. “To Be a Vampire on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Race and (‘Other’) Socially Marginalizing Positions on Horror TV.” Fantasy Girls: Gender in the New Universe of Science Fiction and Fantasy Television, edited by Elyce Rae Helford, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2000, pp. 163–186.

Pender, Patricia. "Buffy Summers: Third-Wave Feminist Icon." The Atlantic, 31 July 2016, www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/07/how-buffy-became-a-third-wave-feminist-icon/493154/.

Riordan, Ellen. "Commodified agents and empowered girls: consuming and producing feminism." Journal of Communication Inquiry, vol. 25, no. 3, July 2001, pp. 279-97. EBSCOhost, proxy.emerson.edu/login?url=search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx direct=true&db=edsgao&AN=edsgcl.78260548&site=eds-live.

Rosenberg, Alyssa. "On ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer,’ we fell for the Slayer along with Angel,Riley and Spike." Editorial. The Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2017/03/10/on-buffy-the-vampire-slayer-we-fell-for-the-slayer-along-with-angel-riley-and-spike/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.90b458f0de94.

“Same Time, Same Place.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season 7, episode 3, UPN, 8 Oct. 2002. Hulu, www.hulu.com/watch/f9a3b884-b72b-4bef-81e4-bcd95b002608.

Simons, Natasha. "Reconsidering the Feminism of Joss Whedon." The Mary Sue, edited by Kaila

Hale-Stern and Dan Van Winkle, Dan Abrams, 10 Apr. 2011, www.themarysue.com/ reconsidering-the-feminism-of-joss-whedon/.

“Smashed.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season 6, episode 9, UPN, 20 Nov. 2001. Hulu, www.hulu.com/watch/7728e9d5-e05d-4be3-ac93-d8792a018e54.

“Touched.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season 7, episode 20, UPN, 6 May 2003. Hulu,www.hulu.com/watch/ba2c6e7c-b015-47d2-8c62-4f16be64c579.

Whedon, Joss. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The WB and UPN, 1997-2003.

White, Adam. "Five time Joss Whedon, self-proclaimed 'woke bae', blew his feminist credentials." The Telegraph, edited by Martin Chilton, The Daily Telegraph, 21 Aug. 2017, www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/joss-whedon-5-times-blew-feminist-credentials/.

“Wrecked.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season 6, episode 10, UPN, 27 Nov. 2001. Hulu, www.hulu.com/watch/661f80ab-5cdc-426f-a494-283b03cf2ca6.

Yang, Jeff. "Is Joss Whedon a feminist?" Editorial. CNN Wire, 8 May 2015. EBSCOhost, www.cnn.com/2015/05/08/opinions/yang-joss-whedon-feminism/index.html.

#culture #television #buffy the vampire slayer #feminism #gender equality #allison hoag #stretch2019

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yogainstructions3-blog · 5 years

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Studying the Different Types of Meditation

Yoga is usually understood while a process of concentration. This unification is multi-dimensional. In one dimension, the idea is a union associated with the various systems that you can get within the human currently being including the mental, bodily, mental, and psychic methods. In total there tend to be thought to be five different programs within just human life. All these are generally referred to be able to as the koshas some of the physical, energetic, mental, refined, and bliss sheaths. Inside our current understanding of meditation, we could working to unify these several bodies or maybe layers with the human staying. Another process of concentration occurs between of the particular personal consciousness and typically the universal mind.

.Check out more info on the basics of yoga mindset on this article

This union is often called Samadhi and is one regarding the primary changes which occur within the training of yoga. Observing this particular from a different viewpoint, Samadhi is a modification of notion in which often disillusionments about the universe are reformed so that will the fact behind actuality can be seen with the purest of application form. Yoga exercise, as a method, has developed in different branches through which men and women pursue the evolution and also unification of the factors in their being. Each department holds its own special set of concepts along with philosophies which outlined often the process and eventual obtainment of complete unification.

There is not any right or wrong technique of yoga as being the every single possesses their own specific characteristics that accommodate the wants of various characteristics in addition to personas that exist between human beings. Each and every process is designed to allow for another personality type, as well as yoga exercise has developed in to a broad getting program that can be used simply by nearly anyone who all is interested in seeking a spiritual life. Any practice like Jnana yoga exercises is ideal for an individual who is philosophically oriented whereas the process involving bhakti yoga is useful for anyone who is emotionally perceptive and inclined towards a sense devotion. In this content we will be looking at the more mainstream routines connected with yoga which are usually derived from the actual traditions of yogic spiritualty. These kind of traditions of pilates are generally as young as five-hundred a number of as old seeing that thousands of. While there usually are many modern techniques associated with yoga which have also been characterized by various instructors, the particular systems we can be discussing tend to be standard systems which have been recently offered to throughout many years.

Bhakti Yoga The initial system you will discuss the item is Bhakti meditation. Bhakti yoga is a train in which the non secular practitioner targets developing any state of commitment in the mind and typically the coronary heart. In bhakti yoga exercise a powerful sense of beliefs is needed together will be expected to submit them selves to God through some sort of means of self surrendering. The particular methods and techniques regarding bhakti yoga are as a result built to help surrendered often the vanity and embrace having like the thought of the actual creator. A lot more common procedures of bhakti yoga are usually kirtan (chanting/song), japa (mantra repetition), and also meditation about the divine.

Typically the particular practice of bhakti yoga exercises is advised to possibly be applied by those who else are well attached to their very own emotions and also responsive of more subtle sensations within themselves and other folks. Passionate love defines typically the exercise of bhakti pilates since the practitioner devotes all their complete being towards often the spiritual keen. A opinion in The almighty or a new higher being is critical for you to the practice, and with no it, it is around to extremely hard to training bhakti yoga. Typically the love that is practiced from the bhakti Yogi is certainly not certainly one of slavery towards the actual divine. Somewhat, it is usually a relationship that is definitely filled up with love, friendship, along with company. In bhakti meditation persons view God because a good friend, a fan, a father, as well as mommy. It is through this specific relationship that bhakti yoga exercise is practiced. There are generally many areas of devotion intended for the bhakti yogi; presently there are many forms involving God which can be worshiped within yoga which includes Shiva, Vishnu, Brahman, Parvatti, etc. Besides from the metaphysical kinds of God, a guru or even teacher can also become worshiped in the practice. Often the primary purpose of this kind of practice is to aid in relinquishing the confidence and unifying the specific being with the widespread.

Karma Yoga Karma is surely an aspect of human living that may be responsible for the thoughts, inner thoughts, and steps. It is supported yoga exercises that Karma helps to keep the particular cycle of revival inside motion as recent measures and events push people to take another existence in the world to help balance out typically the inequalities that we have added within our spirit in addition to the galaxy. Once accrued Karmic value is well-balanced or damaged then routine of labor and birth and dying is ceased and often the spirit is come back to it is origins within the worldwide divine. The practice connected with Karma yoga directly includes this primary aspect associated with lifestyle, works to remove the effects of Karma with disciplined action in which formulates a separation involving the individual and the outcomes of Karma. This separating occurs by way of a process regarding disassociation in which the actual unique separates themselves coming from the rewards or failures from their things inside of the world.

The process of Karma yoga is commonly based around one's Dharma or duties within the particular globe. Dharma is established by the actions from the individual in the previous, including the past involving the current lifetime since well as the earlier of prior lives. Throughout some respects, Dharma is actually the most effective approach for someone to make use of their time on the planet to get spiritual progress currently centered upon the realistic sizes and potential of typically the person. One of often the main components of Dharma will be acting in the actual world without idea of the particular benefits or losses on the actions. The practitioner lifestyles and acts within typically the planet without any anticipations or included impressions connected with how the future must unfold. The mind is usually focused with selfless services and earning a living for the profit of the greater very good rather than the independent needs associated with the personal. In Karma yoga often the practice is definitely gradual because the individual little by little relinquishes the actual bonds regarding karma as well as liberates the particular spirit from your confines involving egocentric considered processes.

Despite the fact that a Karma yogi may possibly practice approaches such while the asanas, breathing routines, and meditations, the major concentrate of the their spiritual train is actually service and activities with all the focus of selflessness and humbleness. The initially mention of Karma pilates is within the Bhagavad-Gita inside a dialogue between Arjuna and also Krishna. In that dialogue, Krishna informs Arjuna that he can easily blend his consciousness along with Krishna's when he surrenders his or her actions to the work (which in this circumstance is Krishna). Krishna promotes Arjuna to act along with follow out his obligation without worry or thing to consider of the benefits or perhaps cutbacks of his steps. He or she informs Arjuna this behaving in the label of Krishna (or divine) will provide the dog together with the liberation that he or she provides set forth in order to achieve.

Kundalini Yoga exercises Kundalini yoga is a exercise of yoga which descends from the practice of tantra yoga. Historically speaking, tantra yoga is believed to be able to be one of several oldest varieties of spirituality which can be continue to in practice today. One of many key components of tantra meditation is the agglomération of kundalini which will be considered to be typically the esencial force existence inside each one human being. The actual practice connected with Kundalini yoga exercise was formed to regulate in addition to harness the potential associated with often the kundalini energy within just the body. As opposed to the actual other systems of yoga exercises, kundalini yoga can end up being a remarkably unstable training of pilates as the particular release of kundalini power can lead to intense mental and physical issues or even controlled in typically the proper fashion.

Therefore, often the practice regarding kundalini meditation is a really innovative system which is typically only practiced by those who find themselves well advanced in the actual techniques of spirituality. One particular of the primary specifications of kundalini yoga is actually a strong mind and the healthy and balanced body without which will the let go of kundalini energy may be damaging or maybe even fatal. A good certain term in mindsets identified as kundalini syndrome have been developed for those who also have gone directly into dementia because of the inappropriate launch of kundalini vitality. With kundalini yoga the particular tactics presented are developed to help rise typically the kundalini energy. Besides their definition as the fundamental energy, kundalini is furthermore called the serpent electricity. Before its awakening, often the kundalini energy rests from the bottom of the actual spine in the type of any spiraled coil nailers similar to regarding some sort of serpent. When introduced, the particular kundalini energy shoots out way up through the spine, moving towards the crown involving the brain. Depending after the purification in the strength channels along the backbone known as chakras, typically the kundalini will either get to it has the final destination as well as the head as well as will probably be stuck within on the list of chakras. Usually kundalini yoga exercise starts by purifying just about all the chakras. This is purified helps to keep things in balance movement of prana inside the body. That is believed that a new equilibrium flow of prana internally leads to the sound state of head and also body. Once often the body, imagination, and pranic channels usually are purified, the actual practitioner connected with kundalini yoga exercises works to discharge the particular kundalini energy. The particular filter process an essential top quality of the practice seeing that it really helps to ensure any smooth move of kundalini energy from the chakra method.

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weiwuxiian · 5 years

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What is your own take on his sexuality? Will you be remaining Canon or perhaps experiment a little?

hmmmmMMMM.. Im actually not sure if wwx has a ‘canon’ sexuality because if I remembered correctly anon, MXTX simply just said he definitely wasn’t straight but she never gave him a label?? Anyways!!! I usually don’t believe in labels either since human feelings are incredibly complicated to me and it’s impossible to create a word to replace them, but i do think labels are indispensable because it eases the process of understanding things. So I’ll try my best!!!

So according to Google,

Definition of Pansexual: 1. not limited in sexual choice with regard to biological sex, gender, or gender identity.

Definiton of Bisexual:1. sexually attracted not exclusively to people of one particular gender; attracted to both men and women.

I was trapped between these two options for a very long time and ultimately decided to go with pansexual because I think that definition fits wwx best. So why not bisexual?? Bisexual is simply being attracted to both genders. In this case, I think while wwx is not against the idea of dating men, it definitely never occurred to him in the past as it’s during an era where homosexuality is considered incredibly unusual and scarcely seen. Imagine back in 2006 or so when two males or two females could have been a couple but were hesitant to tell the world or considering it extensively before telling their friends or others. So as someone living in that period of time, he probably grew up being taught only about romance between men and women, thus m/m or f/f probably never crossed his mind. So it’s not that he’s against them, but he’s never really thought of them??? He flirts with women a lot, yes, he gives his smiles and compliments and his gifts freely to girls who responses positively; but part of my thought process reasons that wwx is simply trying to make them feel better about themselves. Similar to the scenario of someone proposing to their crush but not expecting to be accepted, they just propose for the sole purpose of letting them know that hey, someone out there (me) likes you. Imagine receiving gifts from admirers, secret letters from anonymous people full of riddles and compliments. These all do not necessarily mean your secret admirers wants to initiate romantic advances, but they all would make you feel better about yourselves that day in some way or one.

Now why pansexual??? The definition says ‘not limited in sexual choice with regard to biological sex, gender, or gender identity.’ Since LWJ is WWX’s only canon love interest, try to imagine what wwx likes about lwj, then imagine these scenarios: if lwj is a woman but his personality, character, demeanor and everything else remains, would wwx still fall for him? if lwj is a transgendered person, would wwx still fall for him all the same? So, for me, I think that it doesn’t matter what lwj is—wwx isn’t attracted to his gender, but for everything lwj and himself has in common: selflessness, righteousness, a sense of justice, and the habit of blaming themselves first long before they would try to find faults in others.

As for your other question, I’m very open to experimenting!! Personally, I don’t think it’s very difficult to achieve a romantic bond with wwx, but the type of person that makes an ideal love interest for him is very specific. I can never see him dating someone who plays a villain’s role or someone who is chaotic evil or lawful evil. He wants a very pure heart and someone who is flatly heartfelt and sincere.

#// this turned into a long af rant i am so sorry..........#// but i hope it answers your question at least D: I gotta stop writing so much #♫▐ OOC. ─「在下叫小微光」#♫▐ ANONYMOUS. ─「灰面无聊人」#♫▐ ASKS. ─「灵问」#♫▐ HEADCANONS. ─「睁开眼体悟真正的我」

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rickthaniel · 7 years

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Avatar Aang, Feminist Icon?

“Who’s your favorite character?” I hear that question come up a lot over Avatar: The Last Airbender, a show particularly near and dear to me. Iroh and Toph get tossed around a lot. Zuko is very popular. Sokka has his fans. But something I’ve noticed? Aang very rarely gets the pick. When he comes up, it’s usually in that “Oh, and also…” kind of way. Which is strange, I think, considering he’s the main character, the titular airbender, of the entire show.

I never really thought much about it until a couple weeks ago when I finished my annual re-watch of the series and found myself, for the first time, specifically focused on Aang’s arc. Somehow, I never really paid that much attention to him before. I mean sure, he’s front and center in most episodes, fighting or practicing or learning big spiritual secrets, and yet, he always feels a little overshadowed. Katara takes care of the group. Sokka makes the plans. Zuko has the big, heroic Joseph Campbell journey. Aang…goofs around. He listens and follows and plays with Momo. And yes, at the end his story gets bigger and louder, but even then I feel like a lot of it dodges the spotlight. And here’s why:

Avatar casts the least traditionally-masculine hero you could possibly write as the star of a fantasy war story. Because of that, we don’t see Aang naturally for everything he is, so we look elsewhere.

To show what I mean, I want to talk about some of the show’s other characters, and I want to start with Zuko. Zuko is the hero we’re looking for. He’s tall and hot and complicated. He perseveres in the face of constant setbacks. He uses two swords and shoots fire out of his hands. He trains with a wise old man on ship decks and mountaintops. Occasionally he yells at the sky. He’s got the whole 180-degree moral turn beat for beat, right down to the scars and the sins-of-the-father confrontation scene. And if you were going into battle, some epic affair with battalions of armor-clad infantry, Zuko is the man you’d want leading the charge, Aragorn style. We love Zuko. Because Zuko does what he’s supposed to do.

Now let’s look at Katara. Katara doesn’t do what she’s supposed to do. She doesn’t care about your traditionally gender dynamics because she’s too busy fighting pirates and firebenders, planning military operations with the highest ranking generals in the Earth Kingdom, and dismantling the entire patriarchal structure of the Northern Water Tribe. Somewhere in her spare time she also manages to become one of the greatest waterbenders in the world, train the Avatar, defeat the princess of the Fire Nation in the middle of Sozin’s Comet and take care of the entire rest of the cast for an entire year living in tents and caves. Katara is a badass, and we love that.

So what about Aang? When we meet Aang, he is twelve years old. He is small and his voice hasn’t changed yet. His hobbies include dancing, baking and braiding necklaces with pink flowers. He loves animals. He doesn’t eat meat. He despises violence and spends nine tenths of every fight ducking and dodging. His only “weapon” is a blunt staff, used more for recreation than combat. Through the show, Aang receives most of his training from two young women – Katara and Toph – whom he gives absolute respect, even to the point of reverence. When he questions their instruction, it comes from a place of discomfort or anxiety, never superiority. He defers to women, young women, in matters of strategy and combat. Then he makes a joke at his own expense and goes off to feed his pet lemur.

Now there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for all this, and it’s the one that shielded Aang from the heroic limelight in my eyes for ten years. The reasoning goes like this: Aang is a child. He has no presumptuous authority complex, no masculinity anxiety, no self-consciousness about his preferred pastimes, because he’s twelve. He’s still the hero, but he’s the prepubescent hero, the hero who can’t lead the charge himself because he’s just not old enough. The problem is, that reasoning just doesn’t hold up when you look at him in the context of the rest of the show.

Let’s look at Azula. Aside from the Avatar himself, Zuko’s sister is arguably the strongest bender in the entire show. We could debate Toph and Ozai all day, but when you look at all Azula does, the evidence is pretty damning. Let’s make a list, shall we?

Azula completely mastered lightning, the highest level firebending technique, in her spare time on a boat, under the instruction of two old women who can’t even bend.

Azula led the drill assault on Ba Sing Sae, one of the most important Fire Nation operations of the entire war, and almost succeeded in conquering the whole Earth Kingdom.

Azula then bested the Kyoshi Warriors, one of the strongest non-bender fighting groups in the entire world, successfully infiltrated the Earth Kingdom in disguise, befriended its monarch, learned of the enemy’s most secret operation, emotionally manipulated her older brother, overthrew the captain of the secret police and did conquer the Earth Kingdom, something three Fire Lords, numerous technological monstrosities, and countless generals, including her uncle, failed to do in a century.

And she did this all when she was fourteen.

That last part is easy to forget. Azula seems so much her brother’s peer, we forget she’s the same age as Katara. And that means that when we first meet Azula, she’s only a year older than Aang is at the end of the series. So to dismiss Aang’s autonomy, maturity or capability because of his age is ridiculous, understanding that he and Azula could have been in the same preschool class.

We must then accept Aang for what he truly is: the hero of the story, the leader of the charge, who repeatedly displays restraint and meekness, not because of his age, not because of his upbringing, not because of some character flaw, but because he chooses too. We clamor for strong female characters, and for excellent reason. But nobody every calls for more weak male characters. Not weak in a negative sense, but weak in a sense that he listens when heroes talk. He negotiates when heroes fight. And when heroes are sharpening their blades, planning their strategies and stringing along their hetero love interests, Aang is making jewelry, feeding Appa, and wearing that flower crown he got from a travelling band of hippies. If all Aang’s hobbies and habits were transposed onto Toph or Katara, we’d see it as a weakening of their characters. But with Aang it’s cute, because he’s a child. Only it isn’t, because he’s not.

Even in his relationship with Katara, a landmark piece of any traditional protagonist’s identity, Aang defies expectations. From the moment he wakes up in episode one, he is infatuated with the young woman who would become his oldest teacher and closest friend. Throughout season one we see many examples of his puppy love expressing itself, usually to no avail. But there’s one episode in particular that I always thought a little odd, and that’s Jet.

In Jet, Katara has an infatuation of her own. The titular vigilante outlaw sweeps her off her feet, literally, with his stunning hair, his masterful swordsmanship and his apparent selflessness. You’d think this would elicit some kind of jealousy from Aang. There’s no way he’s ignorant of what’s happening, as Sokka sarcastically refers to Jet as Katara’s boyfriend directly in Aang’s presence, and she doesn’t even dispute it. But even then, we never see any kind of rivalry manifest in Aang. Rather, he seems in full support of it. He repeatedly praises Jet, impressed by his leadership and carefree attitude. Despite his overwhelming affection for Katara, he evaluates both her and Jet on their own merits as people. There is no sense of ownership or macho competition.

Contrast this with Zuko’s reaction to a similar scenario in season three’s The Beach. Zuko goes to a party with his girlfriend, and at that party he sees her talking to another guy. His reaction? Throwing the challenger into the wall, shattering a vase, yelling at Mai, and storming out. This may seem a little extreme, but it’s also what we’d expect to an extent. Zuko is being challenged. He feels threatened in his station as a man, and he responds physically, asserting his strength and dominance as best he can.

I could go on and on. I could talk about how the first time Aang trains with a dedicated waterbending master, he tries to quit because of sexist double standards, only changing his mind after Katara’s urging. I could talk about how Aang is cast as a woman in the Fire Nation’s propaganda theatre piece bashing him and his friends. Because in a patriarchal society, the worst thing a man can be is feminine. I could talk about the only times Aang causes any kind of real destruction in the Avatar state, it’s not even him, since he doesn’t gain control of the skill until the show’s closing moments. Every time he is powerless in his own power and guilt-ridden right after, until the very end when he finally gains control, and what does he do with all that potential? He raises the rivers, and puts the fires out.

Aang isn’t what he’s supposed to be. He rejects every masculine expectation placed on his role, and in doing so he dodges center stage of his own show. It’s shocking to think about how many times I just forgot about Aang. Even at the end, when his voice has dropped and his abs have filled in, we miss it. Zuko’s coronation comes and we cheer with the crowd, psyched to see our hero crowned. Then the Fire Lord shakes his head, gestures behind him and declares “the real hero is the Avatar.” It’s like he’s talking to us. “Don’t you get it?” he asks. “Did you miss it? This is his story. But you forgot that. Because he was small. And silly. And he hated fighting. And he loved to dance. Look at him,” Zuko seems to say. “He’s your hero. Avatar Aang, defier of gender norms, champion of self-identity, feminist icon.”

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