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genericpuff · 5 months

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All That Glitters is Not Feminism - An Analysis of LO's Brand of "Feminism" and What Remains of its Fanbase (A Prologue)

So I referenced a certain article in a recent reblog/ask response and I just need to talk about it because what the actual fuck-

This has to have been written by either a bot or a hater who's reached peak god tier level at playing the long con sarcasm game because NOTHING about this feels sincere or even factual. Much of it almost has to be read in a mocking tone for it to make any real sense.

It says "Lore Olympus" (literally in quotations) in just about every single paragraph over and over again and every single talking point revolves EXCLUSIVELY around Persephone, which I suppose comes as no surprise considering that seems to be all the comic - and its fanbase - cares about at this point.

I really love (/s) how Persephone's "evolution" is being naive and then 'blossoming' into an independent woman who relies entirely on the rich man who groomed her to solve all her problems.

Also all she's done since becoming Queen of the Underworld is abuse lower class people. That's the stuff feminist dreams are made of <3

While we're talking about the main leads, "poster child" is definitely a word for Hades, I think a more appropriate term would be "literal child". And boy howdy, 'god of consent' sure is a title to give the guy who ripped out a lower class satyr's eyeball and beat him half to death.

This man owns slaves, btw. And both he and his "powerful wife" are equally horrible to lower class people, especially women.

This is hands-down the funniest section of the article and we're only three bullet points in.

Thetis and Persephone have never even so much as spoken one word to each other outside of the courtroom that Thetis technically put her in after plotting against her for an entire season.

Eros is a man. Nothing wrong with that but it comes with the unintentional icky hilarity of implying that because Eros is the gay best friend, that means he's a woman.

They literally don't read this fucking comic-

Everyone always relies on this weird talking point of Demeter not being able to "let Persephone go"... y'all, she just didn't want Persephone to outright move to Olympus, she wanted her to commute. That was it! That was literally the only problem! She wasn't preventing Persephone from pursuing a higher education or telling her she wasn't allowed to work, she literally fucking encouraged it! And with the added later context of Persephone killing a bunch of mortals - and, ironically, the fact that Persephone was assaulted/put in harm's way by TWO SEPARATE MEN in the first two days of her time in Olympus - yeah, I don't blame Demeter for not wanting her daughter to move cold turkey actually LOL

Also hilarious that they claim Rachel has turned "tradition" into "innovation" when the only thing she's managed to do is set back modern feminism in her young adult readers by 80 years and re-establish misogynist brainwashing in her adult ones. Rachel, your fanbase was literally shipping a victim of abuse with her abuser just a few days ago.

oh boy this is uh

this is some cult shit ngl

and the "rewriting the script of Greek mythology" part is VERY concerning knowing what we know about Lore Olympus and who it was written by. This is literally cultural appropriation, full stop, and it exists because Lore Olympus - and works like it, made by people like Rachel - exists.

I can't even commit to the original theory that this was written by a bot because it all feels very pointed and intenetional. This is being written by someone who, at the very least, REALLY sucks at media analysis and writing, because the entire article is just "Lore Olympus, buzzword, Lore Olympus, buzzword, buzzword, Lore Olympus", it's like a white knight incantation for guilty virtue signallers who have zero clue what they're talking about. And at worst, yes, it's appropriation from someone who doesn't mind taking a culture's stories and myths and promoting their erasure by people outside of the culture like Rachel.

And that's it, that's literally the article lmao

*EDIT: There was a section here before addressing the writer of the article from a very opinionated POV that, while isn't unusual for what I do here, did feel necessary to remove after I was contacted by the article writer who addressed the flaws in their original article and is now seeking to correct them with revisions/an article rewrite. So I felt it only fair as a compromise to at least remove that section as it really doesn't have a whole lot to do with this post as a whole and can be removed without entirely ruining the flow of this analysis. If/when that article is rewritten, I'll be revisiting this post and my overall analysis !

And honestly, it's all really telling, because this does accurately reflect the state of the LO fanbase.

Not only do many of the people who defend this comic like it's their job not pick up on the blatant misogynist tones that are going on in its narrative (I can't even call them "undertones" anymore, they're no longer that subtle) but whether or not they even read the comic at all is up for debate with how much stuff they tend to get wrong in their own arguments and justifications. And this is something that's VERY regularly seen in the fanbase discussions, readers will constantly be unaware of things that happened because they skimmed through it at lightning speed just to see if Hades and Persephone kiss and so they can get the top comment on Webtoons so they can be "ahead of the fanbase". It's no wonder that Rachel has gotten used to getting away with retconning things because her fanbase didn't even read what she established the first time.

Rachel's fanbase was literally defending the romance ship of an abuser and his victim on the newest FP episode preview. When that FP episode came out two nights ago and Hera said, point blank, that he didn't love her but abused her, I could only think of that portion of the fanbase who was very audibly simping over Kronos in the IG comment section. Are they actually having their moment of shameful clarity now? Or are they just gonna move the goalposts and pretend that didn't happen?

I don't want to say anything bad about Shelby here because she really seems like she's fighting for her life on this site that she's trying to get off the ground, but a lot of her other articles also come across as very one-note while being peppered with buzzwords that make it seem like what she's talking about is "progressive" when it really isn't. Case in point, Lessons in Chemistry has been commonly criticized for not actually appealing to the demographic that its Mary Sue-ish main character is supposed to represent - women in STEM career fields.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Lore Olympus is not 'feminism', it's white feminism that is designed to appeal to predominantly heterocis white women who think the solution to misogyny is to willingly submit to it and accept the status quo - that it's "empowering" if the woman is smiling and having all her needs paid for by a man. Sure, I can accept that different women will be looking for different relationship dynamics, some women genuinely are happy being in a relationship where they support their husbands first and foremost. But can that truly be called feminism? Or is the real feminism the choices we make along the way that we should be given the freedom to make?

It says a lot about the folks who tend to regularly prop up LO on a pedestal like this as some "revolution in feminism" despite the contrary after spending more than just 30 seconds skimming the attention-grabbing art, and Shelby is just one of many. She's not the worst of the bunch, though.

That goes to someone else who I want to give proper light to in their own essay. Someone who definitely earned a good stern talking-to this past week and has, thankfully, had consequences dished out to her for her horrible actions towards queer POC writers.

If you know, you know. If you don't, buckle up.

#lore olympus critical #lo critical #anti lore olympus

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shygirl4991 · 2 months

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Mario's Mysteries (Cause im weak)

So it begins ready everyone its show time and i think we are the main characters. Spoilers Theory (at end) and thought of episode

The first show is here and our stars is SMG4 and Mario while i love the idea of tarot cards movie/TV posters work.

seems that whatever the Adware is doing is increasing negative traits of our heroes, I mean we know how scary SMG4 can be when mad but what gets me is the font color i could be over thinking it but usually when Four is feeling intense emotions his text isn't so dark

another show on how this program is increasing SMG4 aggression mostly at Mario, we know that they are best friends but even so Mario can be a bit much making the crew feel irritated at him. This episode seems to really make Four want Mario dead even tho we know if Mario dies the world ends.

Hell yeah its TV time lets dance as puzzle vision isnt brainwashing us at all! You can see at the end of the song Meggy, Tari, clench, and SMG3 are in the void screaming with Bob missing. Given we dont see bob in the weird TV break maybe bob is the next actor for our line up?

THIS BITCH LOOKED AT US HE KNOWS WE ARE TRYING TO FIGURE HIS SHIT OUT!! Guys i have many emotions from this the adware knows we are watching it makes me wonder if the movie will have to do with us, since he is doing it for the entertainment and he was the one that gave us control of wotfi 2023 from the looks of the room we were in at the end. Im just screaming

we are still in the basement we never left we are still there arent we? Is Puzzle vision making the crew see themself in a show but in fact they are being puppets to put on a show for our entertainment?

so we get a link and are able to rate the episode every go check it out and rate this might be important like wotfi lets just hope its not a trap from the adware. I put the link on the photo if you guys haven't left a rating! Alright everyone i now take my break im thinking of taking a week off so i might be back for next episode idk but i will see you guys next time later!!!

Theory The adware knows we are watching it makes me wonder if the movie will have to do with us, since he is doing it for the entertainment and he was the one that gave us control of wotfi 2023 from the looks of the room we were in at the end. So it makes me wonder if he is using us to power up with the rating system and shit since he is TV and his power is all about entertainment what if us giving the love makes Four loose his channel at the end and Four learns that losing his channel he still has his friends and together can beat the adware that be good growth for four and helps three see that the two of them are equals and are friends since he has doubts given how famous four is. Another thought also what if the only way to beat puzzle vision is THE PERFECT VIDEO!!! it has three and four meme powers in it and it wasn't touched by the adware and it's still there in the hole with peach castle. What if the final fight takes them there and three finds it or four. what if the channel then becomes SMG3 and 4 channel and they together run it! another thought im thinking smg3 has to be the one to break free he has been main focus and not to mention three doesn't belong here, he is the king of the graveyard he was never meant to be a character here but we the viewers broke that rule by getting the good ending maybe by getting that good ending we gave the crew a better fighting chance given Three is a stronger guardian since its shown how three uses his powers so causal without a second thought

#smg4 #smg3 #shygirl4991 #shay react #smg4 puzzlevision #smg4 theory

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charcubed · 10 months

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Disneyland's Rogers: The Musical, propaganda that turns Steve Rogers into more myth than man, and revisionist history (possibly) to a purpose

Any of my thoughts in this post could just be me reading too far into things. I'm very aware of that, and please know that this post exists just because this sort of thing is fun for me! This is a thought exercise where we propose "What if we live in a world where the MCU is actually doing a cool and interesting thing as a longcon?" If you have anger at Marvel, that's valid and relatable, but please don't get angry at me or imply I'm an MCU stan who doesn't think critically about the mouse. Thanks!

Breaking news: I'm back on my bullshit!

A quick personal recap: I infamously hated Avengers: Endgame for a long list of reasons (and I even rewrote the movie). One of those reasons is that I've always taken issue with Steve's ending. But in the years since then, and as the MCU's phase 4 has evolved, my frustration at Steve's "ending" has turned into an ongoing and legitimate theory that the MCU could be slowly leading into a loosely adapted Secret Empire plot line. I know we've all been joking about Steve being trapped or about an imposter Steve since 2019, but uhhh, it's kind of not a joke to me anymore? It feels weirdly plausible at this point and so I enjoy discussing the potential.

You can find a full elaboration on that here, where I wrote out my "Steve was snatched by HYDRA" theory in 2021.

In that post, one of the things I mentioned at the time was Rogers: The Musical being in the Hawkeye trailer.

[The musical's] very existence is an example of how in-universe the stories of the lives of the heroes are being commodified, especially (in terms of how they’re framing it) for Steve’s. The heroes are no longer seen as people, if they ever were. They are, as Kate Bishop says to Clint in a recently released clip, more about “branding.” Sam Wilson will be redefining the shield moving forward in a Cap context, but simultaneously, the world is still enamored by Steve Rogers as a symbol in his own right. And that is ripe for manipulation as a Trojan horse to control public opinion… whether in the context of things like this by themselves (is the musical portraying Steve accurately, or is it painting an inaccurate picture of him the world accepts as fact?) or in future (is this propaganda that makes the public see Steve a certain way and continue to love him, to set up a fake or brainwashed Steve coming on the scene later?).

Now a form of the musical exists in full, at Disneyland and all over Youtube. Considering some of its baffling content – which I will break down below – this perspective seems even more strongly worth considering.

I have two main reasons for why I'm defending examining this musical so closely:

1. It is (arguably) an in-universe piece of media that has bearing on the MCU canon. It isn't like any other typical Disneyland attraction; its very existence is meta and it was in canon first. Obviously it's seen in Hawkeye, but there are also posters for it in several different phase 4 properties. It's lurking in the background indefinitely. So what can this musical tell us about what the wider public within the MCU is being told about the life story of Steve Rogers?

2. This Secret Empire graphic – which is animated in the center of the stage of a prolonged period of time – feels like a literal sign to pay attention.

Granted, this is obviously still ancillary material. 99% of the MCU audience will never see this musical, whether in person or on YouTube. But just because it isn't a vital piece doesn't mean it's automatically an entirely irrelevant piece.

They've given me an inch with that sign and I'm taking a mile.

So if you're interested, please join me on this journey :)

For the record, let me just say that I salute the creative team behind this show. It's pretty fun and the songs are catchy, the sets and costuming are cool, and the cast is overall very talented.

It's also fucking maddening. LMAO.

Why? Firstly, because of the seemingly deliberate ahistorical inaccuracies. We all know Ant-Man is wrongly shown in the Battle of New York, which originally "came from [the Hawkeye showrunner] and Marvel, as something to further aggravate Hawkeye as he watched the show, and also as a comment on how movies and articles and people always get something wrong." It seems like they expanded those meta nods, but most inaccuracies are now in service of glorifying Steve and Peggy's "love story." Yes, romance objectively makes for good theater; but again, I feel that this is worth examining considering the full context.

And secondly, Steve's ending is framed as an offer presented to him, convincing him it's the happy ending he deserves because he's tired. In my mind, these two big elements go together, and I'll walk you through the details of what happens in the musical before I tie the thought threads back around into some theorizing.

For your reference, here's a list of the main songs and story beats:

• "U-S-Opening Night" - the Starkettes (who are basically a Greek chorus) frame the show's story, and then it turns into an ensemble that loosely takes place at the Stark Expo. • "I Want You" – Steve's "I want" song about trying to enlist in the army. • "Star-Spangled Man With A Plan" – Steve performing on the USO tour obviously, and then there's a reprise with an added voiceover that (very briefly) covers the Howling Commandos' rescue + the war via comic book imagery. • "What You Missed" – Fury and the Starkettes tell Steve some pop culture things he missed while he was frozen, + they tell him about the Avengers. Then Fury goes down a list of other hero characters, including the Guardians? Doctor Strange? Wanda?? It plays loose and fast with time, because many non-2012 characters are bafflingly mentioned in this nonlinear Avengers list – including the Winter Soldier (???). • "Save the City" – this is the song seen in Hawkeye, with the civilians + the Avengers all involved, but it's slightly different here and expanded to also reference other battles. • "End of the Line" – Old Steve presents main Steve with the time stone as an opportunity for his happy ending, and they reflect on things together. (Yes, this is insane.) • "Just One Dance" – Steve and Peggy reunite and sing about their love. • And then there's basically a reprise of "Save the City," with the Starkettes and the whole cast closing the finale out.

Right out of the gate, let's address this: the main reason you're going to see some fans pissed about this musical is not only that Steve and Peggy's ~epic romance~ is made a pillar of the story... but also that Bucky's importance/involvement in Steve's life is minimized as much as possible.

And they took Bucky-related elements from canon and made them center more around Peggy instead.

• For some weird reason, Peggy is in the Stark Expo scene. When a soldier is hitting on the Starkettes ("hey sweetheart, I wanna dance!"), Steve tells the soldier to show the ladies some respect. The soldier grabs Steve and throws him down, and then Peggy swoops in to yell "Pick on someone your own size!" and punches the guy before walking away. So she's given Bucky's TFA line verbatim, and she is given the role he had of saving Steve from bullies. There is blatantly no reason they couldn't have had Bucky still serve that function and be truer to "history," because he briefly enters this scene in uniform less than a minute later to announce he's shipping out to the 107th – and then he spins off with a date on his arm. (We don't see Bucky on stage again until the full cast comes out for the finale!)

• After the Star-Spangled Man show, Peggy rushes in to talk to Steve. Steve is excited about his USO performance (???) but she urgently tells him to listen as she says that the 107th has been captured. Peggy apparently knows it's Bucky's division, and she knows Steve is going to go, so she tells him that she's already arranged transport for him. This is a subtle twist from the truth of how it went down in TFA, in which Steve recognized 107 as the number of Bucky's division, and his dogged determination inspired Peggy to relent and help his rescue mission. Here, Peggy is given a stronger role in the Cap origin story. And before Steve rushes off, Peggy sings a short untitled ballad hoping for their dance, so Steve pauses before he leaves to ask her to go on a date with her when he returns. • The most egregious Bucky-to-Peggy change of all is the song "End of the Line," in which the infamous Steve and Bucky line/promise (that broke Bucky's brainwashing...) is re-contextualized to be about ???? Peggy waiting for Steve in the past??? Old Man Steve and regular Steve sing it together. But we'll go back to that in a minute.

Again, I get it, yeah? It's for theater. Whatever. But in reality, the obvious logical truth is that Peggy is centered (to the point of taking elements from Bucky's story, and in turn Bucky is downplayed) because they needed to convince the audience that Steve going back in time to be with her makes sense. Steve's time travel ending had to be justified, so the Peggy and Steve "love story" had to be a pillar in this with everything else being given lesser weight.

And the inherent selfishness of him doing something as big as going back in time also had to be justified... which is why they do their best to convince you Steve fought so much he deserved it.

Let me elaborate on that by describing the lead-up to the "End of the Line" song.

So, right before "End of the Line" is "Save the City" – which includes Steve belting "I can do this all day!" repeatedly, of course. It's the 2012 Battle of New York as the Avengers come together to win.

As they begin to disperse, the song then transitions to a voiceover alert mentioning Sokovia being under attack by artificial intelligence (a.k.a. Age of Ultron). The Avengers group rushes back to center stage to say "Save the city! Help us win!" together for battle again.

And then things get fucking weird.

Because the next voiceover threat is "Washington DC. Attack: the Winter Soldier." This is not accurate to the order of events! The Winter Soldier events were before Age of Ultron; the public of the MCU would also know this.

And suddenly on stage Steve is now in the center while everyone else gestures to him. Instead of singing with him, they're telling him "Save the city! Help us win!"

Then, another voiceover: "Wakanda, under attack" (Infinity War) and again, Steve is centered while everyone else points to him. The ensemble says, "Save the city, help us win! Save us all from the state we're in! Got to hear you, got to hear you, got to hear you say..." as Steve is buckling to his knees under their pointing. And as the lights go down to one spotlight on him and everyone else leaves, he says "I can do this all day" one last time, but now it's subdued.

The implication is that Steve has been fighting and fighting, people leave him or he loses them, and he's tired.

And then fucking Old Man Steve arrives.

He says "On your left," because yes, they gave him Sam Wilson's line. BATSHIT.

So now there's two Steves on stage! There has been no mention of Thanos or infinity stones or anything up to this point! (I can only assume that's because in the MCU universe no one would want to be reminded of the trauma of "the Blip" – though it's pretty wild that they're allowed to know about magical time travel?)

Steve is baffled by Old Man Steve's arrival. I, too, was baffled by Old Man Steve's arrival.

As Steve questions how this is possible, Old Man Steve shows him the time stone from his pocket – and only the time stone – which Steve recognizes.

OLD MAN: "You've got to remember where you've been to know where you're going." STEVE: "Where am I going?" OLD MAN: "A date with destiny." STEVE: “Destiny. So we’re the hero till the end?” OLD MAN: “That’s the thing about endings, Steven. They can be rewritten.”

Lmao???????

Steve starts singing about how he hopes this means they "win" and calls himself a "tired hero."

STEVE: "But sometimes I wonder, who will save the savior? Can we really do this all day? So here I am, now and also then. Just a man, looking back at where he's been." OLD MAN: "The road is rough but wounds are healed by a thing called time. You can't forget what's waiting at the end of the line."

Me, watching this: the fact that he says this out of the blue makes absolutely no sense.

There's a bit more singing, including "end of the line" repetition, and then Old Man Steve pulls out the time stone to essentially show visions of... I don't fucking know. Past, present, and future?

That's pre-serum Steve, Steve with Mjolnir, and Sam Wilson as the new Cap. This is the only reference to Sam in the whole thing.

More singing, and then: Peggy's silhouette.

OLD MAN: "Can't forget who's waiting..." STEVE: "I can't forget who's waiting..." BOTH: "Don't forget who's waiting..." STEVE: "At the end of the line."

At this point I'm like, what in the hell?

Did Old Man Steve just brainwash normal Steve into thinking "end of the line" is now about Peggy? Because uhhhh, sorry, that's what it feels like!

Then Steve uses the stone to go back in time, reunites with Peggy, etc. etc. finale.

It's truly some crazy shit.

[drags hands down face]

Look... there's a lot to unpack here, and there's a lot that gets me about it. I know this is dramatized for the stage! I KNOW! But the fact that Old Man Steve shows up to convince Steve he should go back in time makes me want to gnaw on furniture.

Another person essentially uses the lure of a life with Peggy to tempt Steve into doing this, dramatized or not. That is how it's framed.

It's a hell of a way to frame it, and it makes Steve's ending stand in even starker contrast to so many other things in phase 4. Desperately trying to go backwards when you shouldn't or to bring back a lost lover is an evil temptation, and it results in a trap or negative cosmic consequences for basically all of the other characters in the MCU.

• In Shang-Chi, Wenwu is tempted by the Soul Eaters beyond the Dark Gate. They use the voice of his deceased wife to convince him to set them free. • In "What If" episode 4, Doctor Strange becomes evil in a desperate bid to save Christine and he destroys his universe. Along the way, he tries to tempt/trap the good Strange who's fighting him by using visions of Christine, but good Strange knows she isn't real. • Wanda's grief and desire to bring back Vision leads to – well, you know. • In No Way Home, Peter trying to undo things is what causes the multiverse problems.

And the fact that they frame it as Steve being tired, so basically the argument is he deserves that time travel ending (just like MCU fans who defend Endgame say in real life)... Well.

There's no way to make it hold up, especially because in "What If" they explicitly subverted that and had Captain Carter not go back in time despite how she felt she'd "earned" it.

Lastly, in this musical as Steve decides to pursue time travel as his course of action, he basically has the meaning or memory of "end of the line" rewritten for him. I refuse to not think that is some nefarious shit. Yes, it's not out of the realm of possibility that it's just some general Disney erasing Steve and Bucky nonsense.

But... this is on another level to me. I do think that it's a blatant choice that they had to be aware even general MCU fans would call bullshit on. Everyone knows it's inaccurate. "End of the line" is embedded in pop culture consciousness as being connected to Bucky. It just is! Surely that means it's not a stretch to theorize it could be deliberate meta commentary.

How, in the MCU world, would the in-universe playwrights even know the phrase "end of the line"? How the fuck would it be accidentally applied to Steve and Peggy? Not to sound like a crazy person, but who the fuck was rooting around in Steve and/or Bucky's personal business or their brains in order to obtain that knowledge and then remix it, and why? Neither of them would flippantly mention it in the public eye or interviews ever. So where did its inclusion come from?

And in the finale ensemble, this is Bucky's line when he comes out on stage and salutes + points to Steve: "Don't forget who's waiting..." And Old Man Steve completes it with "...at the end of the line."

What on God's green earth am I meant to do with THAT?

Smh.

The vibes are fucked, folks.

The MCU public wouldn't know enough to say the vibes are fucked. The MCU public wouldn't know the origin of "end of the line" as a phrase. But us? The ones who know the "true story" via the movies? We can call bullshit.

Whether the creative team behind this musical did every aspect of this consciously or not, in my opinion the fact that they had to tweak canon "history" to A) make Peggy's involvement in Steve's life more central and B) emphasize Steve as a tired hero all works as commentary on and almost a condemnation of Endgame's frustrating ending. In a way, it's also what Endgame did with the compass and 1973 moment with Peggy as well.

Steve's ending had to be convincing.

It's theater.

And so, maybe the same is true for the in-narrative perspective of this musical in the context of the MCU world. What purpose would it serve to tell the MCU public a feel-good narrative about how all Steve Rogers wanted was to no longer be a tragic man out of time and get to make a life with his best girl? To frame it as being about how he fought so hard for years and so he earned a happy ending? To minimize and nearly erase Bucky's importance in his life?

Who would want to do that sort of propaganda, and why?

The MCU civilians are given this happy explanation and maybe don't widely question it. Who cares about the details or logistics if it makes a good story, I guess. It's a stretch, but maybe they mostly applaud it. Maybe they're happy for "America's favorite son" (not unlike people who uncritically liked Endgame). In a way, it's even a rehabilitation of his image (after the Accords) like putting the shield on the Statue of Liberty. And maybe they'd even be ready and waiting to applaud if Steve ever made a dramatically selfless and de-aged return to the spotlight or a position of authority.

But mostly, the public is being conditioned to not know or to forget that anyone else like Bucky Barnes or Sam Wilson would possibly know Steve Rogers the person well enough in the modern day to call bullshit on any of this – or on his hypothetical miraculous future return.

So. Sure, it's probably nothing.

But what if it's not?

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UPDATE: @faeriecap added to this post with some incredible information and further behind-the-scenes context about the MCU/Marvel stuff at Disney parks! Check it out here :)

#rogers the musical #rogers: the musical #steve rogers #captain america #captain america meta #marvel meta #imposter steve #anti-endgame #peggy carter #stevebucky #mcu #marvel #stucky #anti-endgame steve #char writes things #me: is anyone else going to write about this being propaganda? no? fine I'll do it myself #I should not be posting it after midnight but I don't want to be tempted to fucking look at it again tomorrow. be gone you monster

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luffyvace · 2 months

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Hi I just wanted to say I love ur sm and I'm so glad to have found ur blog <333

It so hard to find a someone to write form tdlosk<3 (the author reader)

I had a cute though if it the came in my mind when reading the P2(?) Of it, Reader friend to show his approval of reader and saiki when he released his newest chapter in some of panel in the background there is this couple who is closely looks like reader and saiki or if there scene where there is desserts the most will stand out is a coffee jelly w Reader fav dessert and along with words of "coffee jelly and f/d are the finest together" (f/d = favorite dessert)

Sorry if I talked ur ear off I just wanted to rent this thought of mine ^^

Have a good day!

AWW YOUR SO SWEEEEEET!! TYSM DARLING <33 I agree I don’t see very many!!

AHHH THATS SUCH A GOOD IDEA!! That’s absolutely adorable I starting smiling so hard while typing this‼️💖

…………………..♡♡♡……………….

When you were reading your friend’s latest chapter you saw he drew a couple in that background resembled your appearance and had two thingys sticking out a guy’s head and glasses

you instantly knew it was you two!! (Especially with saiki’s limiters LOL)

freaking out, you and immediately ran to Saiki to show him 😭💓💓

he probably already noticed if he read the book before you

”KUSUO LOOK!! Looklooklook!- my author friend put us in the latest chapter!!!”

”yeah, I know I saw, he put us in the manga :)”

”that’s so ADORABLE 💞💞”

”I’m so happy! I’ve gotta thank him!”

you called your friend and barely gave him a chance to speak as you bursted with appreciation over the phone

he tells you he thought you and Saiki were a cute couple from when you introduced them to each other

so he got the spontaneous idea to put you two in his book!!

he explained that although it looked like you were just standing there with hearts over your heads (<3) you two were coming back from a dessert date!!

In a flash there was a smile on your face as you ran over to Kusuo once again to relay the message

he was rather fond of it considering that means he was eating coffee jelly 😎

”dang now he wants some..”

there was another scene where the main character passed a bakery and the items on sale in the window were coffee jelly and f/d!!!

the poster even read “coffee jelly and f/d are the finest together!~”

AWWWW SO CUTE!!

your shaking Kusuo and jumping up and down as you tell him about it!

he just sits there and lest it all happen with a faint smile 💖

he’s happy too of course

but your (literally) jumping with joy

often times after your friend finishes a chapter

you know how authors do that thing where they would put little doodles or facts at the end?

yeah he puts little chibi sketches of you and Kusuo doing cute couple stuff

one chapter will be chibi’s of you two holding hands

The next is you two on a date eating coffee jelly and f/d

it absolutely warms your heart 😭💝💝

you rant to Kusuo, your friends, your family, your author friend- EVERYBODY each time he does it

its so sweet of him!!

one time you put a detailed sketch of your author friend at the end of your chapter and he appreciated it so much!!

now it’s sorta just a back and forth thing between you two :3

This was such an adorable concept 😊💖

🏌️‍♀️

:3 (LOL)

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absolutebl · 9 months

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This Week In BL - These Are the Days of Our BLs

Aug 2023 Wk 2

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Laws of Attraction (Sat iQIYI) 5 of 8 - They cute making heart eyes at each other, but could we get back to punching & slutty silk shirts? OMG the poor rich kid & the bodyguard who wants to hug him SO BAD are KILLING me. I did giggle & yell “punchy punchies” during the fight scene before the fire. But Charn is a diamond-encrusted evil-gorgeous gremlin beastie, isn’t he?

Only Friends (Sat YT) ep 1 of 10 - NO SINGING, but also.. wristbands! Sand is great = smart, snappy & over this shit. (Tired Gay 2.0) Neo & Mark are a revelation, where’d that chemistry come from? Force playing a douchenozzle is damn delight. Plus a counter lift in the first ep? Boys, you’re spoiling me. Mew is the least interesting, but Book is still adorable. Ray is the least likable character, but since it’s Khao, he’s the most likable screen presence. In fact, I’m enjoying all the messy messy gays & I know all their types IRL. I wish we had some femme & swish rep tho. Is this Thailand’s Queer as Folk? Seems like. Is it good? Not sure. But it is FUN as hell. Still, I gotta say it… they all dance like straight boys.

Hidden Agenda that isn’t hidden (Sun GMMTV YouTube) ep 5 of 10 - Zo just wants to turtle & avoid but Joke is not gonna allow that. GMMTV keeps having sub issues (usually fixed within a few days).

Low Frequency (Sat iQIYI) ep 6 of 8 - I do like the psychic gay detective trope. It makes this show more interesting and enjoyable. But they solved the mystery awful fast. I guess different drama spins the final 2 eps?

Be My Favorite (Fri YouTube) ep 12fin - It was fine. I was fine with it. A kind of Vice Versa situation. The usual with Jittirain, as it turns out, is pretty simple: one of her main characters is going to be a manipulative liar or extremely unlikeable or both. It got an 8/10 from me, but probably should get a 7/10 just because I’m so exhausted by this. But I have to be fair and judge each BL on its own & not in light of repeat author mistakes. Not much of a trash watch here. Final full review here.

Dinosaur Love (Sun iQIYI) ep 7 of 10 eps - Boyfriend trip together. Terrible overalls. What the fuck? No. Meanwhile, perfect choice for college star. (Could Ton please lead out a new BL? I know I’m 0 for 2 with him but I’m willing to try again if he is.) I actually enjoyed this installment for a change. Perhaps “enjoy” is too strong a word. Not much happened, dog days of BL, perhaps that’s a good thing with Dino?

Be Mine Super Star (Mon Viki) ep 6 of 12 - Mostly I was excited to watch this week because of Ben but there wasn’t much of him. Sadness. OK, I know it has STIFF competition but does this show have the worst music in BL, or is it just me? I still like Big Daddy & Hot Doc as characters but I am despairing over their arc (would we call it an arc?). All in all this week... Whatever.

Wedding Plan (Weds YT & iQIYI) ep 4 of 7 - I am officially being driven to drink. Trash watch is happening!

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Jun & Jun (Korea Thurs Viki) 4 of 8 - This show makes me laugh so much. It is so damn cute. And there’s so much language play going on. THEN . . . JUST ADD SIMON. I love a good Simon. Who doesn’t love a good Simon? I know SO MANY Simons. Now 3 boys are circling the ingénue (who I suspect is less innocent than he appears). So much delightful competition, postering & flirting. “My Jun,” is he, Simon? You are a precious angular stalk man, aren’t you? Pacing is great with this show. Every week I can’t wait for the next installment, that’s a hallmark of the best KBLs. If the language stuff confused you as much as it did me here is an EXCELLENT post on the subject that will help.

Stay By My Side (Taiwan Fri Gaga) 7 of 10 eps - Sweetest seme. He’s hurt & mad at his boy but still can’t help taking care of him. I do like the courting with snacks & sweet little notes. (It’d work on me.) YAY! Reunion kisses & nuzzles!!! Snuggling!!!! Gah! Taiwan, I love you. These 2 aren’t your best kissers but their cuddling is off the charts. I guess we are just gonna be plotless messy gay bfs for the final 3 eps? That’s cool with me.

Sing My Crush (Korea Weds iQIYI) 3-4 of 8 eps - it’s adorable, they’re adorable, I’m enjoying it a whole lot. It’s like a very soft, low-stakes Addicted.

Love Class Season 2 (Korea Fri Viki) 10 eps - I liked Love Class 1 (more than most on Tumblr) & I normally don’t want 2nd seasons. But this has an entirely new cast (in the “Replay” model). I’m fine with a 2nd season that has little or nothing to do with the first. J-min is an interesting choice of idols but he’s doing an unexpectedly good job. (He is a truly great rapper, by the way.) Trigger warnings out the gate... also this is complicated. Ready? We got 3 queer besties: artist gay Hyun (J-min), shy cafe gay Minwoo (in love with), sunshine gym bunny bi slut Maru (represent, my brother). Then we got Mr Put-upon-TA (+ boy who saw him nekid). And the twist = all black otaku Kim An (used to tutor artist gay in high school = exes ghosting DRAMA). This last reads as a hyung romance. Which you know I love. But it also feels v dark. All of which is to say, I am intrigued but a little nervous over the tone.

My Personal Weatherman AKA Taikan Yoho (Japan Sat Gaga) ep 1 of 8 - Classic JBL is back! This one is My Beautiful Man + Tokyo in April/Oh My Assistant. It’s odd and warped af but I like it. Very much has a the feel of old live action yaoi + VERY D/s. BRING IT JAPAN.

Minato's Laundromat Season 2 AKA Minato Shouji Coin Laundry Season 2 (Japan Thu Gaga) 6 of 12 eps - Shin is my sweet bean sprout and Minato should just boink him. Why all this waffling? I love the doctor. But mostly I’m as frustrated with this show as Shin must be in general. Minato 2- the season of blue balls.

Stay Still (Hong Kong Tues YouTube) 2 of 5 eps - I re-watched the first 2 eps & now find it a bit more comprehensible (yes 2: there is an ep 0). I don’t think we can expect this to end happy for either couple. It’s kinda sticky & grungy (in a way I’ve come to expect from the Philippines, although this is not as cluttered visually nor as brightly colored as the Pinoy stuff). I do kind of like that lived-in feeling, it reminds me of Taiwanese shorts. There is something very honestly queer about the primary leads (tattoo & babyface) in particular the way they dance queer? around each other: verbally, emotionally & physically - laying down breadcrumbs of gay for the other to follow. The secondary couple (reunion, cheating) is very sad. Although I do love a counter lift make-out sesh. (Occasionally Cantonese sounds like Vietnamese to me. Apparently I am not alone in this.)

Gossip - AKA P’ABL is Disappointed

I was gonna put a statement here but I just did it separately, earlier this week, since my ask box was overflowing regarding actor gossip and other stuff.

Meanwhile, Stay With Me ended exactly as expected. Can’t say I didn’t warn ya. You watched this anyway? You got what was coming to you. I am entirely unsympathetic.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Look at that PACKED week. NIIICEEEE.

Starting:

8/18 Dangerous Romance (Thai Fri GMMTC YT) 12 eps - Perth returns to lead out a BL, odds on that ever happening were slim. (Let alone Chimon.) Still here we are. Interesting times. Chimon plays a poor studious kid who hates the school bully but is forced to become his private tutor. Lurv results.

8/19 Love in Translation (Thai Sat One31) 10 eps - Two strangers start working in a cafe together. Looks very pulp. No idea on international distribution.

8/19 I Feel You Linger in the Air (Thai Sat Gaga) 12 eps - The time travel historical romance many of us have been waiting for. Adaption of y-novel by Violet Rain. Heartbroken architect is transported to the 1930s. From the producers of Lovely Writer.

8/20 My Universe series (Thai Sun iQIYI) 24 eps - This is sampler pack BL, 12 pairs, each pair gets 2 eps, not sure on the order they’ll drop. Known couples include EarthBank from Destiny Seeker and KaownahTurbo from Love Stage!!!, fresh faces otherwise. Jane to direct.

Still Coming in August 2023

8/22 Kisseki: Dear to Me formerly known as Miracle (Taiwan Tues ????) 13 eps - From screenwriter Lin Pei Yu (We Best Love, H3: Trapped) features a student doctor forced to take care of a gangster. I love the premise and like the writer, Viki or Gaga will get this one.

8/23 Why R U? (Korean remake iQIYI) is supposed to be out this month, filming started in sept 22. I find everything about this hilarious. I mean if Korea remakes it, we lose all the sexy and then... would we have a story at all? No we would not. Not even for six short eps. It’d be like one of those mesh shopping bags.

8/24 Man Suang (Thailand movie, domestic cinema release) - historical drama about Thai burlesque with KP’s MileApo.

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED)

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Talking grandkids. Made me snicker. (Low Frequency.)

The waist grab that launched a thousand gifs (Laws of Attraction). Okay it was last week but I gotta chronicle it here in the weeklies. For science.

Sing My Crush. They are so damn cute.

Thank you for the counter action GMMTV, please Sirs, may I have another?

Captain snark in the house. Of course they handed the best and most complex pairing to these two. Well done GMMTV. (Only Friends)

I really did not expect J-Min to be this good. (Love Class 2)

(Last week)

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dei2dei · 11 months

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Look at all the stuff in that mansion. It's full, in that carefully-organized-by-a-designer way, and it's fantastic--and it's also utterly, horribly terrifying and makes me sad on behalf of MK1 Johnny Cage, what little I can see. Because as much money has been splashed around, as glorious and gorgeous as that Cage’s Mansion stage is… that's a showpiece, not a home.

Johnny has Sento, a true Japanese katana with a history--and it's famous enough, presumably, he'd know its name. It's on display in a really nice setup with all its elements neatly aligned and included so you can see every bit of it.

He has a very fancy glass chandelier, and what looks like a bust of Nefertiti. Open windows and he keeps the temp at 72F. Lots of white furniture, the random vases full of sticks (aromatherapy diffusers?), a variety of bar carts. Abstract art and sculpture, and what may be a bra abandoned by the one chair and ottoman by the fireplace. One chair and ottoman. Not two, where you'd expect to cuddle up with family if you had one, or a partner. Just one.

This place can seat dozens. There are at least four discrete seating areas (maybe five?) on the bottom floor, plus the infinity pool, and an outdoor porch/patio. Then there's the second floor and all its seating that we can glimpse. It’s made for filling with people, and not in a lived-in dinner parties and kids running around kind of way. This is a place you fill with people for parties. It's a place you expect to need dozens of chairs and bottles and bottles of liquor for your get-together. But there's very little Johnny on display.

It's all about external appearances- the bust of Nefertiti is a well-known piece of art, and historically she was considered an icon of feminine beauty. He's got one of the world's most beautiful women to look at, a fancy Japanese katana, and yet all of it smacks to me of a man who is desperate to find pleasure, to chase the high in acquisitions and throwing big parties and having lots of people, to drown and forget the emptiness inside.

We don't see pictures of people here. No photos of family, of a girlfriend, or even of himself (no posters or award photos on the wall). Johnny is a man on his own, and anyone who comes to his place is an ephemeral guest, leaving very little of themselves behind. What there is of him is hidden away from public view, where perhaps only a few guests would get to see--and if we're stripping down to bras in the main space and then heading to skinny dipping in the pool, it'll be a wonder if they make it to a bedroom. There's no dining room here, or kitchen (that we see)--all those private areas are hidden. All public-facing here, all carefully cultivated and maintained for appearances.

I think this new Johnny, the little bit we've seen, is hungry for something. He wants something and he doesn't know what it is. Acting lets him chase that; maybe he'll find what he's missing in a role, in a mindset, in a co-star. Maybe he's tried to buy things and see if one of them will fill the hole in him, but nothing takes. Maybe if he surrounds himself with enough people, he'll meet The One (or two, if it's a poly situation). But right now... he's flying solo. This isn’t a place you raise a kid in, curl up with your significant other on a couch in front of the fire and laugh or watch TV (is there even one?).

It's an ostentatious display of wealth and a desire to be a party animal, to be the one people come to hang out with, the social butterfly that has alcohol and plenty of space. I think Tony Stark would absolutely be comfortable in a place like this (in fact, that's what my first thought was - MK/MCU mashup when?), but what we're missing is the equivalent to Tony's lab and bedroom. There's no passion here on display, nothing that makes this an individual, unique home that says "Johnny Cage" on it. He's presenting a face to the world, and hiding the rest away where he has to be a real person who eats and sleeps. There’s a scene in the MKX comics where Sonya is gearing up for an op in their kitchen, and the incongruity is great, Johnny stumbling out in fuzzy slippers and bathrobe and her checking her gun with the fruit bowl on the counter. That wouldn’t happen here; that’s too human, too vulnerable, for this Johnny.

Until - I hope - he meets The One, and realizes that he can stop chasing after external happiness because he’s got somebody who makes all those paintings and awards pale in comparison. Someone who's worth putting another chair next to the fireplace for, maybe making that pristine mansion a little messy for. Someone who's going to shake him down to his well-heeled shoes and upend his world. And if MK1 isn't going to give him someone, well. That's what fanfic is for.

#mortal kombat #headcanons #johnny cage #mk1 #character analysis #meta #i want it to be cageblade i really do #and that's what fanfic is for

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alexthefunniest · 3 months

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Funniest mileven arguments to why byler won’t be endgame

I’m sorry if there’s any grammar errors or mistakes, I wrote this angrily at 2 am when I couldn’t sleep.

1. “Its the 80’s”- as if there isn’t any movies that have happy queer endings that were made/set in the 80’s, yall are just lazy and don’t want to actually do any research.

2. “It’s a Netflix original”- ok? And? Like we literally get a new mlm/queer show on Netflix every year, byler is a mlm relationship which Netflix has a lot of, young royals, heartstopper??? Are you guys ok?

3. “Cuz it’s too popular” - we already have over two queer confirmed characters in stranger things, the show that’s about fighting forced conformity ?? The show that focuses on nerds, losers and people that don’t ‘fit in’ ? And y’all find it so hard to see ur two main characters being gay? Read the room respectfully.

4. “It’s one sided” - if it was one sided they would make Mike tell Will he doesn’t like him in s3 and give Will a new love interest in s4 (it has been confirmed that there will be no new characters in s5 and that the producers want every character to have their ‘perfect ending’) Will believed he was a mistake and thought he wouldn’t fall in love, because he is queer so he most definitely will have a queer love interest and it will be Mike.

5. “Mike is in love with el”- is he tho? He never actually said he loved her to her face without the world and her life depending on it, he’s been pressured to say it twice and when she told him she loves him back the man didn’t look happy but conflicted.

6. “Mileven endgame” - it’s really not, the amount of symbolism that points to their downfall (such as everyone calling them the ‘star crossed lovers’ which are basically lovers deemed to fail, and more) is HUGE, they have too many familial parallels it’s insane, why parallel the it couple with family themes and relationships? Another problem I have with this it’s the fact that it’s very rare for the first ‘original’ pairings to stay together till the end of the show (like with Bob and Joyce or Steve and Nancy)

7. “Byler wouldn’t make sense to the plot”- watch the show again, just because somethings more subtle, doesn’t mean it’s not there, y’all will always say that about queer relationships but whenever u guys see a straight relationship in these subtle moments you jump into conclusions that they might end up together, it’s called being a hypocrite.

8. “Mike isn’t gay” - it’s what he’s been telling himself too, the guy was obviously made fun of and called slurs like Will, everyone already thought and knew their relationship was ‘special’ and everyone suspected something, that’s why Mikes own dad was surprised and said “our son, with a girl?” Also your so called straight Mike has a room filled with pictures and posters of buff men, he’s never shown any interest in girls or women (except el who’s been said, looked like a boy in s1) not to mention the first song on his official Spotify playlist being “small town boy” (yk the song about a young gay man running away from his homophobic small town??).

9. Mikes love confession- if u call that a love confession I wouldn’t wanna date u brother, he was pushed to say ily by Will, the same Will that was in the frame of Mike lying when he said that his life “started” when he found El in the woods, which was obviously a lie because Mike called El a weapon and said he’ll “send her back to pennhurst or wherever she comes from” after they found her, also if the love confession was honest why would El be still upset with Mike and not talk to him after??

10. “El wasn’t upset at Mike but was sad about Max” - me when I’m in denial, she wasn’t sad about Max until she found the coke bottle underneath her bed, then we get the flashbacks of her and Max having fun in s3, she wasn’t thinking abt Max before that, its called common sense and logical thinking skills.

11. “There would be no time for byler to develop in s5” - it might seem crazy what I’m about to say, they were literally childhood best friends and it’s been confirmed that Will had a crush on Mike since s1, they literally started to build their romantic relationship MORE in s4, with all the ‘[emotional, tender music playing]’ and parallels between byler and jancy, also even if they haven’t started to build their relationship up in a romantic way in s4, y’all remember how in less than a season Jonathan and Nancy slept together or how Max and Lucas got together in a spawn of a season (mind u they met in the same season). Byler knows each other since little kids and always had potential y’all are just in denial.

12. “Why make Mike queer” - why not? Do y’all actually believe that one of the main characters plot line is just about getting with the girl at the end? Even if it was (which lets be so fr now) why would Mike get with El from the first season (they kissed in s1 and basically u can count that as they’re together wtv) if that was his main goal as a character? Well written shows have something called a “character development” which the producers of st love apparently, so why make Mike just a bland character that just gets with the main girl character, and why have El date the first guy she ever met, I just think it would be very shallow.

That’s all, this was written in a silly way cuz it’s basically me talking to myself, it’s okay if u ship mileven I just really don’t like disrespectful fans that yell at bylers and call the ship disgusting, I don’t care about what who ships as long as we all just have fun and not yell at each other 🫶🏻

#byler #byler endgame #byler nation #byler is real

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bluegalaxygirl · 5 months

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Hi, may I request a oneshot or whichever you feel comfortable writing with Zosan x reader reacting to their new bounties. Reader, who has one of the highest bounties, tries to cheer up Chopper and Sanji about theirs and Zoro just teases Sanji about his. Poor Chopper still has a very low one and Sanji still got that ugly picture of him on it, extra kudos if you make a smal mention about Luffy’s situation at the end!! Here’s the link if you’re interested watching the clip. Thank you soooooo~ much hun and hope you’re having a beautiful day!! ❤️❤️❤️

I'm happy too do this its so fun and i hope you like it. Also how can i not mention Luffy in a cage and Nami going super nova on him and Jinbe for trying to help the boy.

Zoro X Sanji X Reader, Poly relationship, Established relationship, reader is Female and has the ability to control the snake tattoos on her arms that come alive when she commands, they are also connected to her emotions.

Warning: Spoilers, Bad language, Violence and Fluff.

Nami clung to you as she cried, her bounty went up but all she could think of was having that kind of money "Nami thats amazing, you did so well to get such a high bounty" You smile a little as you rub her hair "Its not fair i want that kind of money, do you know what i could do with 366 million?" The orange haired girl looks up at you her eyes streaming with tears, with a sigh you use your sleeve to wipe away her tears and run a hand through her hair to get it out of her face "I'm sorry" A mumble catches your attention looking over to see Luffy locked in a cage, his face beaten up and puffy thanks to the navigator "Please let me out" The captain holds onto the bars as you grab Nami who tries to hit him again and yell at him, you soon manage to calm Nami down and pull her to face you "Sit down and relax ok. I'll check on you later" You state patting her head and helping her sit on the railing of the Sunny, she does some breathing exercises as you walk away only to stop when you hear a whimper form Luffy "Sorry Captain but i don't want my ass beat" You sigh walking over and patting him on the head "I'm sorry" He states again but you only nod before walking away, you wanted to help him but you were scared of Nami's wrath. You hadn't had a chance to look at your own wanted poster yet since your main job now was to calm those who took their bounty's hard, you managed help calm Usopp before, who was scared about being a target because of his high bounty. The poor sniper was now sitting against the wall still staring into space but at least his eyes weren't bulging out of his face anymore.

Robin managed to calm Chopper down by giving him some cotton candy, the poor reindeer's bounty went up but it was still the lowest on the crew and the poster also called him a pet. "You ok now?" You ask walking over to the doctor who's sitting on Robin's lap and eating his cotton candy "They still called me a pet" Chopper whimpers shoving the candy into his mouth, with a small sad sigh you bed down and pat his head as Robin rubs his back "It went up a lot so don't worry too much, the government is stupid and often doesn't bother to get their facts straight, I mean poor Franky's poster just shows the Sunny" Your comment seems to make the deer cheer up a bit as Robin giggles behind him "So i'm guessing yours went up too? How much?" You ask turning your attention to the black haired woman. Robin looks up at you with a closed eye'd smile "930 million" Your eyes widen at it since its much higher than your old bounty but you soon snap out of your shock and stand up straight with a smile "Nice one robin" You cheer for her as she lets out a small laugh before reaching to grab something and handing it to you "Oh by the way i think this one is supposed to be yours but i'm not sure" With a confused look you hesitantly take the wanted poster off her and look it over, your even more confused now than you were before. The image was of your two snakes destroying a building with just the simple name of "2 snakes". You gasp a little at the bounty feeling your heart drop "What's wrong?" Chopper asks looking up form his now empty stick while Robin gives you a sad look.

You try to hide how your feelings with a small smile "It's ok... like is said the government get things wrong all the time but at least your not the lowest anymore" You smile down at the reindeer showing him the bounty poster with the price of 500 berries. The doctor jumps up in shock about to yell when someone crashes behind you, the three of you look behind you to see Zoro getting up with a growl "Bastard" Sanji yells kicking down to the floor but Zoro moves out of the way and blocks another kick with his sword. With a sigh you roll the paper up and put it in your pocket and pinch the bridge of your nose. Jinbe walks over trying to calm the two down but you place your hand on the fish-mans shoulder "What are they fighting about now?" You ask watching your two loves continue to fight, you knew it wouldn't last too long but Sanji seemed way more pissed this time. Jinbe simply hands you the two wanted posters, looking them over you smile proud of your two boys but you notice a few problems right away. The first thing that you noticed was Sanji's old image that he hates more than anything is back on his wanted poster and even though his bounty went up a lot to 1 billion, 32 million, the cook was now bellow Zoro, the swordsman's being 1 Billion, 111 million. "I'll take care of this don't worry" You hand the wanted posters back to the fish-man earning a concerned look only for Brook to walk over and place his hand on Jinbe's shoulder "Yoohoo, don't worry, she'll calm them down" The skeleton smile being very happy about his own bounty going up.

Walking over you manage to catch what their yelling at each other as they fight across the deck of the Sunny "It's not my fault your a 4th placer" Zoro laughs with a wide grin seeing the Cook glare at him and kick at his chest "I'm gonna kick your ass" Sanji yells only for you to grab his leg as he tries to kick Zoro while your other hand grabs Zoro's wrist which is holding his swords. The two look at you with a gulp knowing their in trouble with the unamused look your giving them "Shouldn't you both be happy not fighting" You glare at the two letting go of them, so they can back away form each other and rub the back of their heads "Sorry Love but" Sanji goes to say only for you to place a finger on his lips and take the unlit cigarette out of his mouth "No But's... now kiss and make up already" You sigh putting the cigarette in his pocket and patting his chest not really wanting to deal with the two's bickering, its normally very playful but you could tell the two really pissed each other off, Zoro sighs and steps closer placing his sword back on his hip "Sorry... I was just messing around... i didn't mean to upset you" Zoro rubs the back of his head looking over at Sanji who suddenly hugs the swordsman while lightly crying "They changed my picture back" The cook cry's, Zoro hugs the blonde back and rubs his back trying to sooth the man "I know honey, their assholes" You step closer rubbing Sanji's arm as Zoro nods in agreement not really knowing what to say to cheer the cook up. "But i'm proud of you two.... your bounties went up so much" You giggle hearing Sanji sniffle and pull away to wipe his eyes trying to stop himself from crying.

You reach up and wipe his cheek as he turns to look at you then Zoro "Thanks love... I'm sorry I was just so mad about my bounty picture that when you made a comment i just blew up" The cook explains looking at his hands that are resting on Zoro's shoulders. The swordsman sighs placing a small kiss on the cooks head before pulling the blonde into another hug wrapping his other arm around you and pulling you into them "It's ok" His simple words make Sanji calm down a bit nuzzling his head into Zoro's neck while putting his arm around your shoulder and running a hand through your hair "So did you see yours yet?" Zoro asks smirking down at you only for your body to stiffen feeling embarrassed by your new low bounty, the two notice turning their attention to you "Oh Love it's ok if its not as high as ours, we still love you" Sanji smiles cupping your face and kissing around your face making you giggle and try and pull away, Zoro on the other hand is very concerned looking you over soon spotting the rolled up wanted poster in your back pocket. The Swordsman grabs it and opens it before you can stop him "No wait" You yell trying to grab it as his eyes widen but the green haired man lifts it up out of your reach "Give it Zoro" You panic a little hoping to tell them in privet in case they cause a scene again, Sanji raises an eyebrow and looks at the poster his eyes going as wide as Zoro's both shocked.

You sigh giving up and put your face in your hands "The Fuck?" Zoro finally speaks his hand tightening around the paper, you were worried he would destroy it "This has to be a mistake right?" Sanji asks looking form the wanted poster to you pulling your hands away form your face "Their gonna pay for this. Those bastards" Zoro yells throwing the wanted poster aside trying not to tare it up into tiny piece "It's ok really" You state trying to calm the two down but it doesn't seem to work the angry looks are still on their faces. Zoro pulls you into him holding you close to his chest "We'll get it fixed i promise you" The swordsman had no idea how to change the bounty but that didn't matter, if he had to destroy a marine base for you he would. Sanji places a kiss on your head getting you to look up at him "Don't worry love" The cook could tell you were sad even though your trying to hide it, their comfort made you feel much better but you did hate how you did so much work and fought so hard only to end up with your bounty going way down and your name and picture not even on it. You kept thinking it must be some big mistake but you didn't find any other wanted poster around. Foot steps get your attention, looking over you see Robin carrying chopper in her arms both of them giving you a sad look "We're sorry" Chopper holds out cotton candy on a stick making you smile wide and take it "Thank you Chopper, your so sweet" You giggle as he wiggles in the Robins arms making the back haired woman giggle.

Seeing the situation seeming much calmer the new member of the crew decides to head over "I'm glad you've calmed down, nice work Y/N" Jinbe walks over with a smile bowing a little at you, rubbing the back of your head you nervously laugh not used to this kind of formality. "Is something wrong?" The fish-man asks noticing the others around you either angry or sad you jump a little and shake your head "No, no its nothing" You didn't want anymore trouble or fuss but your boys seemed to have other ideas, with his hands still on your waist Zoro growls "Y/n's bounty went down" Sanji nods placing a hand on your lower back "Those idiots got everything wrong too." The cook yells catching the other's attention wondering what all the yelling is about "Their gonna pay for this, how dare they" Zoro growls making you sigh and hand the cotton candy back to chopper so you can try and stop the two form yelling "boys please, lets not make a big deal out of this" you turn trying to calm the two down placing your hands on their chests but that doesn't stop them as they yell about how their going to tare the government apart. Jinbe tried to help you out only to get yelled at soon being pulled away by Robin and Chopper who know better than to mess with the two when their like this. Nami and Usopp look at each other hearing about your low bounty getting upset at their own reactions, both of them were upset for different reasons but at least their bounty's went up. The two nodded to each other heading off in different directions while Brook and Franky stayed well out of the way not wanting the two's anger to be turned on them.

You managed to calm the two down as best you could but Zoro was still mad "Babe, they lowered your bounty aren't you mad?" Zoro asks looking down at you his hands gripping your hips tight, it hurt a little but you just wanted them to stop so you stayed put "I am but yelling and screaming isn't going to solve anything" you calmly tell the two making them both groan in annoyance "You did so much, its just wrong" Sanji growls but you place you hand on his cheek and give him a soft smile "I know" you whisper leaning up and placing a kiss on his lips, the cook kisses back running his hand up and down your back before you pull away and turn to Zoro who leans closer "You calm?" You ask leaning back, so he can't kiss you, the swordsman sighs taking a second before nodding, leaning in you place your other hand on his check and place your lips on his rubbing your thumb over his cheek. "Urm... Y/N?" Usopp calls out standing close to the caged up Luffy holding a wanted poster in his hands. You pull away and turn to the sniper with a hum, you pause though once you see his eyes, their wide, and he's panting slightly "Usopp?" You ask concerned for your friend, Franky walks over placing a hand on the snipers shoulder to try and snap him out of what ever trance he's in while looking down at the wanted poster. A huge smile grows on the cyborgs face as he starts laughing wiping tears form his eyes in joy "What?" you yell out slightly annoyed at what Franky is laughing at.

Sanji raises an eyebrow and places a hand on your shoulder to try and calm you down as Zoro looks around wondering if they got their hands on the wanted poster he threw away but it was still on the floor. "Sorry.... i can't believe it" Franky manages to calm down as Usopp starts to shake "Your wanted poster was in the tree" The sniper manages to finally looking over at you in slight fear "My wanted poster? so that isn't mine?" You ask looking over at the paper on the floor "Dam girl, your bounty went way up..... It's 2 billion" Franky smiles wide giving you a thumb up, you gasp running over and snatching the wanted poster out of Usopp's hands. It was true, your picture was on there and your name along with the price of 2 billion berries. "What?" Nami gasps clinging onto Chopper who hugs her back shocked at the amount while the others cheer or laugh. You smile wide and hug the poster to your chest relief and joy washing over you only for two body's to tackle you, you squeak a little as Zoro and Sanji pull you into a hug the both of them smiling wide "No way... your is the second highest" Sanji laughs kissing your head as Zoro burys his head in your neck "Well done baby" The swordsman whispers hearing you laugh and cry slightly with joy, you can't believe it but its right there on paper. Sanji kisses your cheek making his way over to your lips which you gladly lean into kissing him back even with a big smile on your face. Zoro kisses your neck and once you've stopped kissing Sanji he garbs your cheek and crashes his lips onto yours.

Luffy mumbles something behind you that you can't make out while attempting to smile and give you a thumbs up "Shut it" Nami yells hitting him on the hand he reached out before turning to you "This is awesome" she states once the two boys have finally let you go. You let the two look over your wanted poster as you hug Nami "Super" Franky cheers doing his stance making you laugh and thank him "Imagine what i can do with that kind of money" Nami evilly smirks holding you tighter, you knew she was joking but there's always room for doubt so you pull away with ease and pat her head "You gonna hand me in for the money Nam? Too bad, i guess no more spar days" You turn only for the girl to grab your waist "I would never" you laugh and turn patting her head. Looking over your wanted poster Zoro smirks turning to look at Sanji who's eyes look almost heart like as he looks over your picture "I was wrong for calling you fourth place" The swordsman's words get Sanji to look up with a small smile "I know it's ok" The cook's smile fades though when seeing Zoro's cocky grin "It should be fifth place" letting go of the wanted poster he grabs his sword pulling it out to block Sanji's kick "Oh you wanna play three swords?" Sanji yells shoving your wanted poster into Usopp who's still frozen before starting to fight with the green haired man again but with a cocky smile no longer fueled by anger. Jinbe try's to clam the two down but as he gets closer you place a hand on his shoulder "Don't worry their just messing around now. no harm" You calmly state making the fish-man look form you back at the the boys "How can you tell?" He asks only hearing you giggle and walk away "You'll get used to it, just look at their faces"

Making your way back over you take the wanted poster off Usopp and pat his shoulder "You ok their bud?" You ask managing to snap him out of his own head "Y-Yea, its just..... we're gonna have so many people after us now" The sniper gulps as you pat his shoulder "Don't worry we'll protect you" You reassure him before pushing him over to the men's quarters "Why don't you go and lay down, put your feet up" The sniper nods at your words and walks into the room leaving you to close the door for him, you couldn't help but shake your head at him taking a seat on the mast bench and watching the rest of your crew before looking down at your wanted poster. "Y/n?" Chopper runs over holding a wanted poster in one hand while the other holds the cotton candy before jumping up to sit next to you and holding the paper out to you, taking it you look it over seeing it's the one you thought was yours but it makes sense now, this wanted poster is for your snakes not you. "I don't get it... if the snakes are a part of you then why do they have their own bounty?" The Doctor asks looking over the wanted posters in your hands while eating some of the candy "Like i said before the Government gets things wrong, maybe they don't know" You shrug rolling up the posters and putting them to your side before patting Choppers head "You feeling better now? your bounty's not the lowest now, my snakes are" you giggle getting the reindeer to smile up at you and nod offering you some of the candy.

Things had calmed down a lot but your poor captain was still in the cage hanging form the tree, Nami was still mad but you and Sanji deiced to sneak him some food while Zoro kept watch in case the navigator showed up. Luffy was grateful although you and Sanji had to tell him to shut up multiple times when he was talking about how good the food was "Sorry Captain" You whisper as you follow Sanji to the kitchen with the empty plates, you wished you could just let him out but again you were scared of Nami's wrath if she found out it was you. Zoro entered the kitchen soon after wrapping his arms around you as you washed the last of the dishes and handed them to Sanji to dry, the swordsman hummed into your neck before kissing it, you could feel the smile on his face. "What?" You ask knowing he's either thinking of something or is up to something, either way you know it's gonna affect your night "Nothing, just thinking about the bounties, thats all" Zoro chuckles moving to the other side of your neck kissing up that one too, Sanji rolls his eyes and takes the last plate you hand him and drying it "You sure thats all?" The cook asks watching as the swordsman lets you go to grab his waits pulling Sanji's back into Zoro's chest "Maybe" the green haired man reaches up to pull the cooks shirt collar down before kissing his neck. Emptying the sink of water and drying your hand you lean against the counter watching the two wondering what the swordsman's up too, he hasn't had too much to drink, so he's not touchy because of that so it has to be something else.

Your brought out of your thoughts by Zoro grabbing your waist and pulling you into him "Stop thinking so much" The swordsman leans down crashing his lips onto yours, you hum relaxing into him and kissing back feeling his tongue work its way into your mouth, he's being more gentle than normal but you ignore it for the time being. Sanji puts the towel down and runs his hand through your hair watching with love filled eyes, he's also been wondering what Zoro is up too, but he doesn't want to stop all the love and attention he's getting. Zoro soon pulls away leaving you breathless as your hand grips his shoulder feeling slightly light-headed but the swordsman just smirks turning to Sanji who runs his hand up Zoro's arm and too his cheek. The swordsman grips the cook's waist tighter as he crashes his lips onto the blonde, Zoro moans slightly when Sanji opens his mouth before the green haired man can even move his tongue feeling the eagerness to be loved. The two make out as you catch your breath, you couldn't take your eyes off them, handsome, strong, supportive and loving, how did you get so lucky? Zoro soon pulls away panting slightly but with a big smile as Sanji moves his hand to your chin getting you to look at him before leaning in to place his lips on yours. It was light and sweet at first but soon deepened as you open your mouth wanting more, the cook obliges his tongue meeting yours as your lips move together. You hum into it letting him know its good to which he hums back getting a little rougher and harder starting to get really into it.

You have no chose but to pull away when you need air, looking up at Sanji as you both pant you notice a little bit of blood running his nose, you reach up and rub it away. "Gods your both so sexy" The swordsman mutters making the cook blush and you giggle lightly and wipe the blood on your thumb on a napkin "Zo.... what do you want?" Sanji asks his cheeks red as the swordsman leans closer just to tease him "Just you two" Zoro chuckles placing kisses along Sanji's neck before going to yours and doing the same. You now know why he's acting like this, he's a very proud man and with all the excitement and bounties being very high he must be overjoyed. "Just say your proud of us hunk" running your hand through his hair the swordsman looks up at you and Sanji placing his hands on your cheeks pulling your faces closer to his "I'm proud of you two" Those words fill you with so much joy you can't help but kiss the two, all three of your lips meeting at the same time. A three-way kiss is very rare and for special occasions but all three of you enjoy it trying to make it last as your tongues meet and lips touch. Unfortunately when air is needed you all have to pull away but you keep close while trying to catch your breaths, you couldn't be more happy with today, your bounty sky-rocketed and your snakes got their own bounty. You also couldn't be prouder and happier for the two you love, not only are their bounties much higher now, but they tried to defend you when you thought your bounty was so low. "I love you two" You smile at them as you all hold each other with your foreheads pressed together "I love you both too" Sanji gives you a loving smile before looking at Zoro who closes his eye feeling relaxed "Love you both."

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asphalt-cocktail · 2 months

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Lead Us To Temptation- Chapter 3

Chapter 3- Hell Hath No Fury

Summary: In the small town of Eden Ridge, you knew several things to be true: church happened every Sunday, the saloon served free lunch with the purchase of a drink on Thursdays, coal miners left work at 7PM sharp, and Bucky Barnes was a man sent from the depths of hell dangling the threat of temptation and sin right in front of your face. All you need to do is reach out and grab it.

Pairing: Outlaw!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings: Fluff, Talks of crime, robbery, crime for hire, talks of violence and guns, kidnapping, talks of past smut, less religion than the previous chapters but its still there. Bucky is a criminal in this so idk what to tell you if you are shocked by the crime. There isn't any gore and nothing is described in graphic detail. Don't worry reader is a badass this is a love story with a happy ending.

Word Count: 2.9k

A/N: I just want to pop in and say how grateful I am for all of the lovely comments, reblogs, tags, and likes I have been getting over the last few weeks! You guys are the ones who keep me writing. I am not doing a tag list, but you can feel free to turn my notifications to get one every time I post a new chapter <3

Masterlist

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Chapter 1 Chapter 2

Staying in Eden Ridge was probably the longest Bucky had managed to stay in a town and not do something to get run out or have another wanted poster with his face printed on it and slapped on every shop bulletin.

It was making the boys antsy. They could only hold up so many stagecoaches carrying rich assholes on the outside of town before they got too bored.

“When are we going to hit the bank Buck? We’ve been here so long the damn seasons have changed.” John’s voice had the uncanny ability of springing a sudden and painful migraine behind Bucky’s eyes anytime he spoke.

Bucky pinched the bridge of his nose. John pissed him off. “We need to wait a bit before we hit the bank. The ticket seller at the train station mentioned something about a train coming in to transport coal from the mines and take it back east. I guess the coal company is sending some bonds with it because the owner made a deal with Union Pacific.”

“So what, they’re taking the bonds to the train yard?”

“I’m glad to see you’re using the brain in that big fucking head of yours John.” To be completely transparent, Bucky harbored a strong dislike for John.

Their association was almost solely due to John being Steve’s cousin, and Steve’s endorsement was something Bucky didn’t have the heart to dispute. Steve saved his life on more than one occasion. They’d gone through the Civil War together, they experienced the death of both of their parents together. You couldn’t get much closer to a man than that.

The other reason being was John’s uncanny knack for survival. Despite the dangers of their lifestyle, John seemed to evade death, Bucky reckoned it was because God sure as hell didn’t want him and well, the Devil probably didn’t either so they just left him to do his business in the land of the living until they decided what to do with him.

Bucky was aware that his disdain for John might be uncalled for considering John’s role as the enforcer in their party. John was the one they sent out to take care of the more unsavory business transactions. However, these factors didn’t compensate for the fact that he was just plain weird and unpleasant to be around.

But Bucky was having such a lovely time playing house with you so, naturally he kept his plan to rob your father's train car transporting bonds to the Union Pacific rail yard. Management needed to cash them in and finalize the deal stating they were to use the Eden Coal & Iron as their main supply source. It was a deal that would make your father a very, very rich man.

Robbing trains was as easy as stealing candy from a baby. An old, half balding, rich, man baby. Bucky could do it in his sleep. He didn’t feel bad about robbing your father. In fact he felt kind of good stealing from that rotten son of a bitch.

Stealing these bonds would only be scraping the surface of the vast wealth your father accumulated by exploiting the hard working people of Eden Ridge. He was as crooked as crooked could be and there was no amount of praying or church going that would save his soul from the depths of hell once he died, god willing.

If only you knew how your father treated the hard working miners who toiled in the depths of hell for him. He squeezed 15 grueling hours of labor from them 6 days a week, their backs bowed under the weight of his insatiable greed, all while their families languished in hunger.

He wasn't the benevolent savior of Eden Ridge, rather, he resembled a vampire, voraciously draining the life force from the Earth and the good hearted denizens of the town you called home. Once he exhausted every able bodied man here, he’d slither away to prey upon the next unsuspecting community.

Bucky’s plan was simple: wait a day or two several towns away to intercept the train and get to work. But he had to be careful If he got too reckless with his crimes, he’d have to leave. The question loomed in the back of his mind, when he had to leave would you come with?

When he told you he was leaving to work a job you felt sick, “What do you mean leaving?”

He cleared his throat and licked his lips, “I need to take the boys to deal with something for a few days. I promise I’ll be back by the end of the week. Two weeks tops.” He said hugging you tight, it pained him to see you worrying so much.

“But what if you don’t come back?” The question punched him in the chest and stole his breath.

“Now don’t go talking like that.” He scolded you, “I’ll be back I promise.” You swallowed his words like a brick of lead.

So for seven days you did the only thing you could do and waited. You sought comfort in Sam’s sister Sarah and her friend Natasha, spending most of your free time practicing needle work, reading, and chatting with the women. Sarah was a familiar and friendly face from the local church. Tragically widowed two winters prior, she was left with the responsibility of raising two boys on her own. To your knowledge, she had embraced her brother’s motley crew of friends, offering them sanctuary with open arms.

After your second meeting with Sarah she introduced you to Natasha, the local Madame. It took everything in your power to not turn your nose up at the idea of a woman engaging in sex for money. Your pious thoughts took a back seat when you remembered you were also engaging in sinful premarital acts with a man.

Not sex though. No.

Every time you thought today was the day Bucky shut it down. As much of a filthy bandit he was, he was still extremely respectful towards you. He always said he wanted to wait, the moment never felt right.

——

The moon hung low in the inky black sky as Bucky and his crew of bandits moved like vultures closing in on their prey. They moved silently, night as their accomplice- the thick fog veiling their actions, the rhythmic clatter of wheels masking the sounds of struggle. No witnesses meant no loose ends, and Bucky knew it well.

It was quick. Efficient.

Kill everyone on the train and then set it back on course so some poor sad sack could clean up the mess left behind.

When Bucky’s eyes laid upon the bonds, your father’s exceptionally neat handwriting looping on the paper, he grinned like a snake. Peter could easily get a few hundred for the bonds. Having such a young boyish face always made him seem more trustworthy than the other members of the gang.

To make up for leaving you worried half to death Bucky bought you a lovely hair pin. It was copper with a small decorative flower on the end of it. “If you think all it’s going to take is a pretty hair pin to forgive you, you’re wrong.” You lied through your teeth snatching it from his dirty hands and pinning it into your prayer veil, because of course Bucky returned just in time to take you to Sunday mass and have lunch with your family afterwards.

Since midweek, your father had been in a downright rotten mood. He’d spent the last few days late at work and when you showed up to the office to bring him dinner he was yelling at his assistant every time without fail.

“Tell them to double the guards! Put a damn Gatling on the top of the roof! Send the Pinkertons! I don’t care what you have to do, get that money to the train yard.”

“But sir-“

“I said figure it out god damn it!” The way he slammed his hands on his desk made you jump.

It wasn’t often your father lost his temper, but when he did it was frightening.

At lunch your father glared daggers at Bucky while your mother preened over him. It was nice to see things hadn’t changed during his week away committing crime.

“James, dear, you should work for the mining company!” Your mother kindly suggested, “My husband is always looking for strong young men such as yourself.”

It took every fiber of his being to not scoff at the thought of selling his soul to the company, “I rather like the ranch work I’ve been doing for Miss Wilson, but thank you ma’am. If I have a change of heart you’ll be the first to know.”

On the record Bucky was a ranch hand for Sam’s sister, sure he helped out here and there for the woman but he wasn't getting paid for it, your family didn’t need to know that.

“We have some friends that are ranchers down in Texas, let us know if you ever venture down there and I’ll send a telegram to them for you.” Your mother was a bonafide socialite. She knew people of all walks of life and thrived on making connections for people, “Your horse is trained so well, they could use someone with your talent.”

“Alpine?” Bucky grinned thinking of his beautiful white mare, she was almost as stubborn as you are, “I have to say she’s probably my second favorite girl.”

Your father hated seeing Bucky around the house. He hated how Bucky was always a perfect gentleman whenever he came around. It didn’t matter, no daughter of his was going to marry some rough neck, dirty ranch hand if he had any say in it.

There was something just plain not right with James Barnes and your father was going to get to the bottom of it.

As it turns out, it took very little effort to find out the history of a career criminal. This was worse than if Bucky was actually a ranch hand, not only was he a criminal, but he robbed the damn train your father used to transport the bonds not once, but twice in the span of two weeks.

He couldn’t believe he let a man who stole from him into the safety of their home. He couldn’t believe he let a criminal court his daughter (not that he even approved of the courtship). Bucky was probably sitting in his room at the inn laughing and counting the dollar bills that belonged to in his pocket.

And the image of that pissed him off to no end.

It pissed him off so much that he paid off a group of bounty hunters to finally deal rid him of the man once and for all. Bucky wasn’t going to come gracefully, but lucky for your father, Bounty hunters had loose morals and business practices much like he did. When he told Brock Rumlow "I don't care how you do it, just get rid of him!" your father didn't know he opened up a new, lawless realm of possibilities.

----

The late summer sun hung low in the sky as you quickened your pace home, the two men behind you following relentlessly, footsteps crunching on the dusty streets. You couldn’t make out their faces as they stayed just out of your line of sight but the feeling in your gut only harbored malevolence and fear.

Your path meandered through town, twisting and turning to ensure they truly were following you.

Two turns left. Three turns right. Then a detour past the butcher.

Dread settled inside you and you quickened your pace, ragged breaths gasping as you neared the outskirts of town and broke into a full sprint as best you could, bunching your skirts in your arms so as to not trip. The buildings thinned, and the darkness deepened as you drew further and further from the bustling center of Eden.

Further away from anyone who would hear you scream.

Rough hands grabbed you, forcing a bag over your head as you fought, kicking and screaming. Hissing and spitting like a feral cat. Their powerful builds quickly overpowered you, sitting on your legs as you thrashed trying to squirm away, clawing at the dirt and wedging it under your fingernails and covering your fine dress. Then they tied you, bound your arms and legs and threw you on the back of a horse like a sack of grain.

When the horse finally halted you were dragged off, stumbling and disoriented. The hood was yanked off and you were roughly pushed into a small, dark room. You turned finally able to make out the face of your captors who reeked of sweat and malice. He was tall and broad, skin tanned by the sun, with dark hair and eyes. He would have been handsome if this were any other circumstance.

Your nostrils flared like an angry bull as you exhaled and spat at him in defiance while he manhandled your still fighting body, “Let go of me!” You shrieked, anger overpowering your feelings of fear.

How dare they! How dare these filthy men put their hands on you and soil a perfectly good dress. How dare they throw you on a horse with a bag over your head and force you into this filthy damp room. Your rage bubbled over, you’d never felt this level of anger before. But the sheer callous disrespect of a lady pushed you over the edge.

You should have been afraid, fearing for your life even. But the type of men who did this? Well they were cowards. Lower than the lowest cretin to walk the Earth.

“Well look at you, now I know why Barnes has taken such an interest in you Missy.” The man in front of you grinned like a snake. His hand trailing your jaw, fingers lingering against your skin, “you’re a little firecracker ain’t you?”

You turned your head to bite him, teeth snapping together as you snarled. Ordinarily, you epitomized the quintessence of a respectable lady—devout and pious, a paragon of Catholic virtue. Yet, confronted with this dehumanizing treatment, a primal instinct awakened within. If they insisted on regarding you as a beast, then, in the eyes of the Almighty, you would unleash the ferocity of one. “Let me go.” You hissed, “You… you cretin!”

The man shoved you roughly away, narrowly dodging your bite, “Easy there ma’am, we ain’t gonna hurt you.” For some reason you had a hard time believing him with the kidnapping, the pushing, the bag over your head, “We just need you to bring us out cash cow.” He said and slid over a wanted poster with an uncanny portrait of Bucky on it.

Now it all made sense.

You took the poster and read the script:

WANTED CAPTURED DEAD OR ALIVE James “Bucky” Barnes For multiple accounts of murder, theft, and fraudulent activities. Known leader of the Barnes Gang, responsible for numerous bank and train robberies across the Midwestern and Western United States. This is a dangerous individual who will not hesitate to murder. Mid thirties, brown hair, scar on left arm. Last scene heading west towards the Eden Mountain range. If spotted DO NOT APPROACH; contact local authorities. Bounty of $5,000

Of course they’d take you as bait to lure a man with a $5,000 bounty and his gang of merry bandits out from hiding. Something told you that these men thought taking down Bucky would be easy. But you knew this would probably be the hardest $10k they were going to make. They’d probably die doing it! And silently you hoped they would.

A man’s head isn’t worth $5,000 because it’s easy work taking him down. It’s worth that much because he won’t hesitate to fucking kill you in the worst way possible. You didn’t know exactly what Bucky was capable of doing, but you couldn’t help the shiver that crept up your spine when your eyes landed on the big, bold DO NOT APPROACH, “I think for your sake, you should let me go.”

Perhaps there was a touch of madness in relishing the thrill that such a perilous man inspired within you. Yet, it was the very specter of danger that ignited a fervent blaze deep in your core. To you, Bucky was a flame dancing provocatively over a pool of oil—intensely captivating and inherently volatile.

The dark haired man scoffed, “Your beau ain’t the big bad man everyone seems to think he is. Not when he’s got such an easy weakness to exploit.”

It was true, Bucky was having the time of his life in Eden Ridge playing house with you. He was living in utter domestic bliss. “If it’s money you want, my daddy will pay you.” You offered. You had to exhaust all your options and if these men were money hungry then your father would be more than happy to give them the $10k for your life. You didn’t know how much money he had exactly, but you knew it was a pretty penny.

“Sweetheart, your daddy already paid us.” He mocked you.

You blinked, brain barely able to comprehend the words he said to you. What a weird thing to say.

Unbelievable even.

You were going to have to dissect that at a later date when you were in a better position.

#marvel #mcu #marvel mcu #bucky barnes #marvel cinimatic universe #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes smut #bucky barnes x plus size reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #LUT

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sweet-honey-tears · 1 year

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🧸When They’re Dads🧸

Part two —> part one

Characters: Shoto, Izuku, Dabi x GN!Reader

I’m back! This was kinda requested… idk. I went off the rails a bit with this one. Can you tell I love making Dabi save people who have crappy lives? Cause I do…I fucking love the idea…this darker then my past Dad post. SO IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO CERTAIN TOPICS, don’t read Dabis!!! Ideas are always welcomed, I hope you enjoy.!

Warning: Talk/ mention of child abandonment

❄️ Shoto 🔥

“Hey Hello there Little one.”

“You’re beautiful”

Shoto never really saw himself as someone who would have a family. There was a lot of unaddressed trauma that seemed to make any idea of a family impossible. Yet years later, here he is. Holding his 2nd baby boy, swaddled in a baby blue blanket. And 3 years after, Shotos is holding a baby girl.

Her Small hands grasp mindlessly at long strands of red and white mixed hair.

Funnily enough, all three of your children have different colored hair and refer to your husband in different ways. And it’s honestly adorable.

“Daddy”- youngest who has your hair color and two stripes of a lighter color in the front.

“Dad or Dad-da-da”- middle which has a messy yet beautiful mix of red and white hair.

“Dad” -oldest stark white hair.

Your two boys have found their main priority to be their little sister. After a quirk incident when she was 5- her quirk formed in school- and she started to get bullied. When Shoto was about to step in, his sons did it for him. Quietly and subtly. Threatening the other children with the fact their father was a hero. And their little sister was just as powerful as him. You both do end up talking to them but still… it was fricken adorable

Shoto smiles the day he sees his two sons holding each of their sister's hands, guiding her through the pickup zone to find him.

Shoto doesn't push his kids into anything- encourage, yes.

Shoto is the kind of dad who doesn’t force his kids into any activities. He will offer the idea of his kids doing something but never force them. He will heavily encourage them when they find their passion. Acting like the proudest dad in the world when his little girl does her first solo in dance or his middle gets into the art show. It’s all a big achievement.

You know that whole middle child disappears minds thing? - yeah not a thing. Each child is even, no one is a favorite and NO ONE IS IGNORED.

You’re children know who Toya is- though they don’t really know who Dabi is. Minus that he and their father have a history. But stuff happened…

It happened slowly, the mention of ‘the man’ a walk with your daughter turned to her her talking about her day happily.

“I talked to a nice man! He has fun piercing and he kinda looked like Daddy”

You tell Shoto. Both extremely fearful.

Your middle child comes home one day with a black ring on his finger, his name- which seems to be carefully burnt into it, is written on the name.

Then your oldest, for his birthday got his ears per coed . And not soon after, a small box was left on your porch. “Sorry, I’m late kid.” A pair of white piercings rested inside.

Time passes, and you both notice how the villain Dabi seems to disappear from the news. And the visited from Touya becomes more stagnant. And a few years later, a polorde of a baby girl finds its way to your house… she wrapped in a dark purple blanket. Small horns poking out from her hair. A happy smile on her face… she’s adorable

There is little to no contact with Shotos farther.

They call Izuku- “Uncle Zoo”

🪴 Izuku 🪴

“We’re having a baby!” He starts crying- bawling really!

My man doesn’t care about gender or shit- they are getting All Might stuffy, and there are gonna be pro hero p posters in that nursery. The kid will have a room designed for them, and the minute your child says they have a new hobby, Izuku is on it. He’s buying stuff and researching. Watching videos on how to support your little boy in learning this new American sport he found. And later on, he’s sitting down watching hours upon hours of videos on hair for your little girl.

He also keeps his old hero journals, your children love to look through them. Talking as they mostly look at the pictures in the books.

“Un Might!” Your little girl yells

“Uncle All Might!”

Your children referred to All Might as their uncle almost as soon as they were born. Toshi appears at random for parties and school pick-ups whenever he can. And Izuku can’t lie, it’s fucking awesome.

Inko also is always in and out of your house- she lives rather close actually (courtesy of Izuku wanting to make sure his mother is comfortable and never lonely- she’s a god send when you both need a brake!!).

Izuku knows he can’t always be there, especially with being the new 1 one hero- so it’s no surprise for him to video call and talk to you all.

“I miss you all so much.”

“We miss you too Dad.” Oldest

“Miss ew oo!” Your baby girl babbles, her fingers grasping onto the Pro Hero Deku plushies.

Both kids own one. These are special though, there’s a little voice box built with the toys. Every time the kids squeeze the hand a little message comes out.

“I love you”

There’s a small one of him singing. Telling a short story.

Your Lock Screen is of your two kids opening up the present. Your son looks a bit confused holding up the stuffy while your daughter is already squeezing the toy and giggling. Your husband is standing nervously to the side with a hand on his neck. A somewhat worried but hopeful expression on his face. A large but sweet smile there too.

Izuku doesn’t care if his kids have quirks or not, he’ll love them unconditionally. He’s already taught them how they have a place in the world if they do or don’t have a quirk. How they are no different and just as special.

I imagine the two of you fight over your baby’s first words.

“It’s gonna be Mama/Dadda/Preference”

“No, It’s gonna be BaBa or Zoo”

And then you both look over at your baby babbling and go running over and you just hear an “Ight.” Does that count? No- you won’t count it but you look over at Izuku and this man’s eyes are stars.

“Izuku no-“

“First words”

“ZooZoo no.”

“All Might” he whispers out. And you just smile and shake your head. No, it’s not gonna count, but to Izuku it kinda does.

“Uncle Baky!”

“Unky Shoe!”

“Un’ id-E-uh”

“Auntie Ouch!”

Yes, Bakugou is considered their uncle.

🔥Toya/Dabi🔥

Dabi found your daughter in an abandoned house. Her cries led him to her. She was in the bare minimum for clothes, shivering at the cold air that burst through the broken house. Small arms swung in discomfort at the cold as Dabi approached. Your adopted daughter had small horns at the top of her head. And when her eyes caught Dabi’s, his breath left his chest. Big eyes that were a vibrant blue, almost glowing.

“Holy shit.”

Dabi leaned down and swaddled her in his coat, his quirk activating slightly to try and chase her shivering away. “Shh. Shhh. It’s okay, I got you.” His deep voice rumbled.

He’s the kind of dad that feels like he ain’t really- like it’s supposed to be. He’s like that boyfriend of a single parent- the father figure who’s always there for your kid but isn't the legal father. And when someone brings it up to him, he gets awkward and doesn’t know how to answer. But he’s there at every baseball game and there for the first breakup and graduation.

Dabi doesn’t have much to prepare him for suddenly adopting a child. But he did remember it when the others were little. Watching the adults take care of them all growing up. Watching his mother and sister.

He’s the first to wake up when your daughter starts crying at night. He is already halfway off the bed by the time you open your eyes.

“I got it, Doll.” He rumbles

You sneak into the room, finding him holding your swaddled daughter, her little hands grasping at his sleep shirt. A rumbled voice filled the air.

“The monstersare gone. He’s on the run and your daddy’s here.” His rumbled voice.

Dabi doesn’t say he can sing, he denies he can, but he can. And he only will for your daughter. No. Not even you, just for her. His voice is rough, like really gravely but calming.

He carefully rocks her, the street light illuminating the two of them just perfect to catch both their smiles.

“Beautifull, beautiful, beautiful. Beautiful girl”

He trains his daughter, ensuring she can handle herself in the world. She knows basic ways to defend herself and fight back.

Dabi also take a huge step back from the villain life. The public even takes notices because of the drop.

Dabi doesn’t tell her about her Uncles or Aunts, she finds them one day.

You and your toddler were at the park. You had always had your face covered during attacks. So unlike Dabi, Shig or Toga, you can go into public with no mask or anything. Your sweet daughter was swinging, the evening sky coming to a close. That’s when it happens, you hear someone clear their throat and look up to see Shoto standing there. His eyes are on your daughter.

“Can I help you?” Your tone came off defensive.

“Mama/Pappa/preference, he looks like daddy!” Your toddler happily stated. Oblivious to the tension in the air.

“You must be Da-Toya’s partner.” You pulled your daughter from the swings, pushing behind you, eyes narrowing sharply. “Toya sent a photo a year or two back” Shoto smiles “she’s beautiful” You’re almost confused- you remember when Toya sent the picture, but still. That was years ago. “My youngest made these for you,” he reaches far into one of his pants pockets slowly, and you watch him intensely. Half ready to have your daughter run to the meeting point if this goes south. But Shoto fishes around for a secound more before smiling, apparently finding the object. He pulls out a ziplock bag of string bracelets. They’re slightly knotted together, but otherwise fine. “She made them a few months ago- when Toya dropped off a present for her… I told her I'd pass them to you if I find you.”

And that’s how unofficially-officially play dates between your daughter and Shotos three children started.

And soon, your daughter ‘magically’ met Fuyumi and Natsuo and then Rei. With Toya hidden in the background of course

@thrivingaintmything

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aragarna · 3 months

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Zorro Vive

And vive bien!

So, I've finished Season 1 of the new Zorro show (available through Amazon in the US and most Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries), and I really enjoyed it!

Without spoilers, I'd say that its main qualities are that it's fun and earnest and more cosmopolite in its retailing of the old story. It doesn't take itself too seriously, there's plenty of little homages to previous adaptations. There's many interesting and well-developed characters - of all genders and ethnicities.

It's (literally) colorful, with a comic/pulp feel that suits it well. There's been a true care brought to the action scenes, and OMG the night scenes are damn well lit. It's rare enough nowadays so points for that. Generally, the show is quite beautiful.

More spoilery thoughts under the cut.

I honestly wasn't sure what to expect from a new show. It's always hard to bring new canon to something so established and so iconic. And even though the Disney show is *not* the original canon, for a lot of people, it is.

But as a principle, same as for book adaptations or remakes, I'm not opposed to variations or changes. As long as they're good changes.

And I have to say, the vast majority of the changes in the new Zorro show, to me, were actually good changes, or necessary improvements for today's audience.

The most obvious is giving back a real voice to the Natives and not sugarcoating the colonization aspect. There's tension there. Natives are angry. But as years passed, people born there consider themselves "true Californians". Natives aren't just background characters or peons anymore. They're a driving plot force. They're shown in their own environment, with their own rites (I don't know enough about Natives of this area to know how accurate it is, but it felt a lot more authentic and respectful to me than other versions).

I do like the idea that the Zorro character comes from the Native culture, and that it's been passed on from one person to the next. Though it also brings my one big issue with the show: Diego becoming Zorro reads a lot like "a white dude steals a Native heritage." And yes, it's symbolic, and yes the fox spirit chose him, Diego didn't pick him, but still. Given that the audience is meant to support Diego (who really is a sweet guy!), that the narrative keeps showing us that Nah-Lin is wrong and should accept it, given the colonization context of that story, it's sitting a bit wrong with me.

This aside, I do like the exploration of revenge vs. justice, violence vs. a more measured response, in the face of adversity. When a few months back, the tagline "revenge is personal, justice is for all" appeared on the first poster, I wasn't sure what to think. I don't like revenge-driven characters. It's cliché and wrong. But the fact that the show precisely explored that, both with Diego and Nah-Lin, was actually quite interesting.

Diego, as I said, is a decent guy. A sweet boy really, vaguely immature originally but having to mature really fast, as the death of his father, the business of the rancho, the Zorro thing and Lolita's wedding are all dropping on him at once. Miguel Bernardeau is a clear departure from most of the previous Zorros, who were played by older actors, giving a more "adult" vibe to the character, but given he's supposed to be fresh out of college and out of his element, Bernardeau's more juvenile features fit the character well.

Nah-Lin is a lot angrier, and while in the context of the story, she's shown to be going at it the wrong way, all that anger *is* justified, and not something that can just be brushed off. Peace can't come easy when you anger people that way.

And you know who else I really liked? That damn Capitan Monasterio! Who would have thought LOL No, but seriously. Not sure why they named him that way. He was actually more of a Sergeant Garcia (or Mendoza from the 1990 show) than a Monastario. Obviously without the comic relief and cutely incompetent side of the character, but as the character who is a decent guy stuck between a rock and a hard place, serving a tyrannic boss and chasing a heroic outlaw that he may not hate that much.

I also really liked what they did with Lolita. An opinionated young lady that throws away all the corseting conventions of her time is always very relatable to me. Also, I just love her fashion sense. I wasn't sure what they were going to do with that impossible love triangle (I thought for a long time the wedding wouldn't actually happen). I wouldn't have thought they'd have Lolita figure it out, but I'm glad she did.

I'm glad they kept Bernardo, the mute confident. And I love Mei, too. The dynamic between the three of them (with Diego) is great!

Also, it's great to finally have a Spanish-speaking production, and have the characters speaking in Spanish, instead of having American actors put on fake accents.

I may have a couple of minor complains: namely that I didn't care about Samael nor Alejandro's first love. Not sure planting so early something that they're keeping for S2 is a right move. Feels like a waste of screentime. Also, I'm not particularly found of secret societies trying to rule the world, but it seems to be mandatory to any Zorro story... And the finale episode didn't actually wrap up that many plotlines - every major villain escaped! So that kinda made it look like Zorro didn't accomplish much, apart from breaking Lolita's heart, and his. But none of this prevented me from having a good time watching the show. I just really hope there'll be a S2 cause it'd be a shame to leave things there!

How about you guys? What did you think of it?

#zorro #zorro 2024 #amazon zorro #secuoya zorro #review #meta #rambles #zorro vive #my gifs #i've tried to keep it at a reasonable number #and not to ramble too much #but i'd love to chat more about the show!#okay #throwing this into the ocean before i start overthinking it

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here-there-be-drag0ns · 3 months

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shaking vyncent around hes naive but hes not stupid hes homesick hes trying his best here, but everyone who says theyre helping him isnt giving him much to work with and then getting upset when he gets it wrong, which makes him upset in turn because hes trying so hard working with what he has and what he knows and none of it is right

so he clings to whats familiar (main quests, side quests, jrpg posters, etc.) because at least thats something he knows, which then applies to dakota and william where they dont get it they dont understand and its frustrating but at least theyre familiar here, theyre all he knows of this world so he clings to them and relies on them to be there to guide him and teach him how things work, and even though they dont do that very well theyre all hes got and theyre familiar so he clings,,

he just wants something familiar for once he just wants something to go right he just wants something to be what he expects it to be for once but he cant have that so he keeps stumbling forward cause theres nothing else he can do and at least jumping from quest to quest to quest is familiar-

god it kills me because vyncent is competent but no one gives him the tools he needs to show that. he's working with what he has, he's working with what he knows, but no one here tells him that he's wrong in this world until after he's already gone and fucked something up. no one's actually taking the time to pre-emptively explain the rules and how shit works they're just fucking trial-by-firing this guy over and over and over again without caring about the fact that if you leave something on the heat long enough itll eventually explode

vyncent has a lot of frustration and the patience of a goddamn saint cause quite frankly his explosion at dakota outside of ashe's door in episode 11 was both deserved and a long time coming. quite frankly im impressed he was even that restrained for how much he's clearly keeping pushed down

#im catching up on pd and OUGH i love these characters dearly #im only on like episode 12 or so??#im getting there but im chewing on the bars of my cage i wanna know what their deal is NOW #vyncent my beloved youre doing amazing sweetie #dragons chatting #jrwi #just roll with it #jrwi prime defenders #just roll with it prime defenders #vyncent sol #jrwi vyncent

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stuffnonsenseandotherthings · 9 months

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Crackpot Predictions - Only Friends Episode 1

Welcome to a new thing I do where I try to predict (*cough* wildly guess *cough*) what's going to happen in a show based solely on my read of the first episode. I'll try to cover all of what I think are the main story beats, record them here for posterity (and so I can either say "ha I told you so" or you can all point and laugh at me later), and hopefully by the end of the series we'll all be able to see if I'm a clairvoyant with a magic orb or, alternatively, a numpty with a glass paperweight. Some of these predictions are completely serious, others are complete crack, and some are just random thoughts that had the misfortune of wandering into my head.

With that, let's get started shall we?

The Hostel

Setting up a hostel for your graduation project? How cute!And with your best friends too? How adorable!

Too bad that hostel is absolutely Not Going To Happen. And not only is the hostel Not Going To Happen, its also going to be the site of some of the worst moments of your entire lives!

Prediction: is this is where it's all going to go down, this is where they're going to have the final argument, this is where the climax is going to happen, this is where shit hits the fan and then explodes. I mean why else would you introduce a building site if not to have all your characters have mental breakdowns symbolically in the middle of it? Scaffolding and painter's tarp is for screaming matches and for saying things you never meant to say.

Mew

Oh Mew. Soft, virginal, innocent Mew. Mew who lives in a completely different world to his friends where he wears cute pastels, gets a teen movie montage when he wakes up in the morning, gets a public confession like something out of a romance movie... Surrounded by people with impure thoughts and even worse intentions. What on earth is going to become of our sweet pastel boy?

Who am I kidding, he's going to be fine.

In fact he's probably going to be one of the few people who is fine by the end of this series, and will probably be at least partially responsible for quite a lot of other people being very fucked up (especially Top, sorry my man but you are doomed by the narrative). He's definitely doing to be hurt and he's definitely going to lose his honour student title and he's definitely going to have less friends by the end of this but he'll be fine, he's literally the only one in the friend group other than Chueam with the emotional maturity to cope with and process what's about to happen.

Prediction: He's going to lose friends (but not Chueam, she'll stick with him), his academic record is going to be messed up (but not irreparably so, he'll just have to put in extra work to repair it), and he won't have a boyfriend by the end of the series but he'll be okay, he'll be able to walk it off when it's all said and done. He may even start to get his man back (if he wants him, that is).

Ray

Poor Ray, he's a rich brat who clearly has some self-esteem issues and is whipped for his best friend. He's in for a rough ride I fear, especially seeing as he currently deals with his emotions by getting very drunk and/or lashing out.

Sand will probably be good for him (perhaps a little too good for him) in both bringing him down a peg and hopefully giving him the kind of ego boost he actually needs (no Ray you are not a burden but please stop ruining your liver) and I'm really looking forward to the development of their enemies to fwb relationship and all entails.

Unfortunately for Ray he looks like he might be a bit of a bleeding heart romantic on the inside so he's probably going to get his heart broken twice in a very short space of time; once by Mew and his new relationship and then once again by Sand and his refusal to play second fiddle and Ray is only going to realise this when it's a bit too late. Needless to say Ray will probably not be having a fun time for most of this series and of all the character he is tied as most likely to end up in hospital at some point.

Prediction: He's going to lose friends, he's going to fail his degree, he's going to get his heart broken twice and he's probably not going to be okay about it (but hopefully he'll be on the mend by the end of it all). Ray is going to start shit he can't finish and he, more than anyone else, is going to be a victim of his own actions but hopefully he's also going to be the character with the most growth. Sand might be around to scrape him off the floor at the end, but Ray is going to have to work himself out first.

Boston

Boston, what to say about Boston other than currently he seems to be trying to break the record of most men slept with in a single episode (his competition is Brian Kinney from Queer As Folk btw).

There's definitely a lot more than meets the eye when it comes to him and I look forward to unpacking all of his messy laundry when the time comes. He seems to be both incredibly confident with his life choices (good for him) and incredibly insecure about them at the same time which is fascinating and I definitely get the feeling that he has issues with Mew (to the point where I wouldn't really say they're actually friends) because of that insecurity. I genuinely wouldn't be surprised is at some point we get a lot of pent resentment spilling out from Boston about Mew because no one casually mocks someone they're genuinely okay with that many times behind their back.

Prediction: Boston wants but he doesn't quite know what. He is definitely blowing up every single friendship he has in the process of working it out and he's probably going to find himself on his own for a while too, which might actually be what he needs. That being said, if anyone decides to put forward a laurel at the end of the show though, I also think it's going to be him. I also predict no romance, but I also don't think that's what he wants or needs.

Top

Top the Top Tier player who's never not got his object of interest before. He likes casual sex, comes off as a bit of a sleaze (but at least a sleaze who respects boundaries), and is apparently looking for a new challenge now sleeping around has got boring (but not boring enough to not sleep with Boston again).

The problem for Top is that he thinks he's approaching Mew in his world and on his terms where in reality he's already dancing to the tune of Mew's fiddle and it's only going get worse. Mew's world has rules and regulations and things you just don't do (like sleeping with your boyfriend's best friend) and Top is going to find himself caught up in them. What's worse is he's probably going to find out (much too late) that he wants to be caught up in them. Top might be the big man now but he is well and truly fucked.

Prediction: Top isn't going to take his relationship with Mew 100% seriously until he realises he's already completely invested in it and at that point it's going to be too late. He's definitely going to break Mew's heart but Mew is going to break his ten times over and he's not going to recover easily from that. He might have a chance at redemption, but only once he's completely wrecked himself first.

Sand

Sand was just trying to live his life and then he threatened to pee on someone's head and it all went down hill from there.

At the moment he seems like the audience stand in: watching all the chaos and wondering what on earth is wrong with all these privileged brats (semi-affectionate). Like Mew he definitely seems to have himself together in a way that makes me think he'll come away from this pretty okay emotionally (it'll hurt but he's not allergic to emotions, he'll heal). Unlike Mew he definitely doesn't seem to completely together life-wise (i.e monetarily) though, which does make me wonder if our 3 friends (I'm not including Chueam in this, she's not a guilty party) are going to mess that up for him instead.

Prediction: Emotionally he's going to be okay (although he probably has heartbreak in the cards), in every other aspect I think he'll sustain the most damage (and therefore will be entitled to compensation). He feels the most like an innocent bystander and, as such, is definitely going to regret the day he lay eyes on the back of Ray's head. Out of all the characters, he's probably going to be the one due the most apologies all while having done very little to anyone else.

Nick

Wow well Twison changed when he went to uni, wasn't expecting that trajectory at all 😋

In all honesty I feel like I have the least to go on for Nick in terms of predictions (not that I have much to go on for anything else I've been saying). He seems to be completely gone for Boston already (oh Babe he is not a good target to fall head over tits for) and I like the idea that's floating around that Nick is already familiar with Boston somehow based off his reaction to their first meeting.

That being said, I am getting a little bit of a creep vibe from him (maybe it was the invasion of his client's privacy and subsequent masturbation scene that pinged the alarm idk) but I can't help but feel like everything Mew said he'd do if he slept with Top? Yeah Nick would actually do all those things and more. So yeah, while Boston is going to mess him up with their ambiguous relationship, it's only because Nick was pretty messed up in the first place and he'll end up messing Boston up right back with his clingy/obsessive tendencies.

Prediction: Looks like a marshmallow, is actually on fire. Things are going to go wrong for him but only because things were not right in the first place. Possibly the most likely to actually need therapy. I also wouldn't be at all surprised if he's the one to swing the bat that brings it all crashing down, in fact in this crack-pot prediction, I'm expecting him to.

The Friendship Group

Is going to be in tatters by the end of this series, I'm so sorry Chueam. (I mean is this even a prediction or am I just stating the obvious?)

Prediction: Mew and Chueam are probably still going to be friends (they seems like the closest to each other) but no one else is going to be talking. Ray might have Sand (and Chueam if he doesn't fuck up too much) but Boston going to be on his lonesome and so is Top unless they want to throw a pity party together. At the end of the show there will be a tentative reconciliation, but with the knowledge they're never going to be the same, never going to be as close as before.

TLDR + Extra Predictions

Mew: About to have the worst time of his life but he'll make it through, his pain is going to end up being other people's problem.

Ray: Poor, unfortunate soul checking in at heart-break hotel twice in the space of a few months. Most likely to get his man though.

Boston: Needs to figure out what he wants. Probably going to end up completely cut off from everyone but also most likely to extend the peace offering at the end.

Top: Fucked. (Might get a chance at redemption at the end if he's lucky)

Sand: Emotionally fine, financially screwed. Out of everyone he has to most to complain about and he doesn't even go here.

Nick: Most likely to need actual therapy.

Climax: A big argument at the hotel surrounded by the ruins of their hard work

Likely scene: All of them at Yo's bar they used to go to as friends but this time ignoring each others existence.

Likely scene 2: Boston unleashing a load of suppressed resentment towards Mew, possibly to do with their different lifestyles/world views.

Best chance at romance: Chueam

Best chance at staying friends: Chueam and Mew

Key theme: The importance of friendship

Me: happy to be proven right or wrong with these predictions and here for the wild ride regardless.

And that's it! As I said, these predictions are completely pulled from the air around a single watch of episode 1 so they're not at all serious. If I'm right yay, if I'm wrong also yay, I'm just happy to be watching, I just thought it would be fun to test how well I can predict a narrative based on very little information indeed. If anyone wants to share their own crackpot predictions I am more than happy to hear them, let's clown together.

#only friends the series #only friends #ofts #crackpot predictions #if I'm going to make predictions it will be with absolutely no information #because how else are you going to make them?#with actual information?

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jeannereames · 1 month

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Do you see memes and shitposts about Alexander and his time? If yes, do you like them, you hate them? Would you change something about these memes?

I’m sorry. I’m just really curious about what a professor thinks about this. Do you perhaps have a favorite Alexander meme?

Well, for me there’s a big difference between memes and shitposts. The former can be rather entertaining, the latter are just trolling. Don’t feed the trolls. I realize I’m perhaps defining shitposting more narrowly than some, but there’s enough of the narrow sort out there I don’t want to confuse it with memes.

Meme are great. I have two favorites, although not about Alexander, ironically. I’ve shared them below. Both show up in my class Power-points, btw! Many of my colleagues also enjoy clever memes. My buddy Borja Antela was trying to collect some on Alexander last year. For a while, I followed Alexandergoatmemes on Instagram, but finally left because about 85/90% of them seemed to be about Alexander naming cities after himself. Sure, it’s funny maybe the first 20 times, but at 100+?

So memes are great. Shitposting and ignorant-posting, however, are annoying.

I’m deliberately creating that third category. Shitposters know they’re posting shit; ignorant-posters (usually) don’t. The latter put up videos, tweets, or blog entries about (in this case) Alexander that perpetuate a lie, a false quote, or an oversimplified-and-mostly-wrong factoid. Some ignorant-posters are just reposting what they heard because they don’t know any better and may receive correction well enough—especially if offered politely. Yet others get upset (sometimes disproportionately so) when their errors or distortions are pointed out.

This can be about controversial matters, such as Alexander’s putative “sexuality” or it can be something surprising. I once had a fellow fly off the handle when he posted that Alexander was left-handed and I (gently) corrected him.* You’d have thought I’d called his mother a whore. It seemed quite silly…except that left-handedness used to be considered a Very Bad Thing. So being able to claim famous people as lefties was apparently more for him than just leftie pride.

Aside from oddities, most of the ignorant-posting I’ve seen comes in three main types.

First, we have the religious/spiritual/life-coach sorts who usurp Alexander for a moral lesson—not unlike the orators of the (Roman-era) Second Sophistic, or both Muslims and Christians in some of the Alexander Romances. Alexander has ALWAYS been a malleable figure for lecturing. Ergo, he pops up in homilies/sermons as a parable, like his supposed Last Three Wishes. It is, of course, total bullshit, but there’s quite a lot of stuff like it out there. People read it, go “Aww,” and reblog without bothering to check if it’s correct. It has “the authority of hearsay.” These can be either Alexander-positive or Alexander-negative parables, btw.

See also: quotes attributed to famous celebrities that they never, in fact, said. Alexander gets these too. The ¡Inspirational! “Army of Sheep Led by a Lion” is especially egregious, as it’s a general proverb that appeared well after Alexander (no, he didn’t say it). It seems to be currently popular, along with, “There is nothing impossible to him who will try” (also not ATG). Yet these make great quotes for those damn “Inspirational Posters.” Here’s a whole page of them, lion quote right at the top, suitable for a Power-point!...with no attempt to verify their authenticity or say where they got them. But the image with the quote below is especially funny as they even put a date on their fictional quote. If it has a date, it must be true! Netflix, btw, used that bloody quote even though I told them not to; it was fake. Didn’t matter.

Second, we have the alt-right/white supremacist groups, or hangers-on who might reject the label (coyly or not) but embrace much of its Eurocentric thinking. These folks present Alexander as spreading good [white] Western values to the poor benighted East [brown people]. It’s essentially warmed-over Plutarch with a dash of Curtius and some Arrian. Their Alexander even sometimes has longish flowing (blond) locks and is oddly tall.** Like Thor. I stay the hell away from them but have occasionally stumbled over them on Tik-Tok.

Anyway, the alt-right crowd may have read some about Alexander, written by other alt-right guys who take material from a carefully curated set of “accepted” histories: Arrian and Plutarch, and not just Plutarch’s Life of Alexander, but his double-essay from the Moralia, “On the Fate or Fortune of Alexander.” They tend to be war/conquest-approving and see the Greco-Roman past as some pure Aryan utopia from which we’ve fallen into our “wretched age of iron.”*** Of late, a lot of their associated images are AI generated, btw. A couple examples below.

Last, and on the opposite end of the spectrum are the Alexander-was-Queer-AND-Wonderful, and oh, boy, some of them also don’t want a single bad thing said about their hero. They may know relatively little about his life aside from his putative gayness, but are just as resistant to/resentful of being corrected in their errors and romantic oversimplifications.

And that is what all of these categories share: oversimplification for the sake of a particular social and/or political agenda.****

Isn’t it, then, also shitposting? No. Because shitposters intend to stir the pot. They may or may not believe what they say, but they’re saying it TO get a reaction. Like the Tweet Heard Round the Alexander-verse after the Netflix thing (below). THAT was a shitpost. His entire goal was to go viral, and he succeeded.

By contrast, ignorant-posters usually aim for a particular audience and rarely expect to go viral outside their circle. Nor do they expect to be corrected. When they are, they react with surprise and anger. (Again, there are exceptions.)

I tend to observe these things, but rarely engage—although I did engage more when I was a young grad student. Now if I reply, it’s general (as here), not to the original post/tweet itself. TBH, I have books and articles to write, classes to teach, and papers to grade. 😉 I don’t have time for flamewars.

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* Yes, I made Alexander left-handed in Dancing with the Lion, partly for the hell of it. But there’s zero evidence one way or the other—which I point out in my Author’s Note at the end of book 2, Rise.

** BTW, there’s a Whole Thing out there online about Alexander as tall, even Super Tall, claiming evidence which they don’t actually cite (correctly). Note the “many stories suggest….” Oh, really? These are? Anyway, I don’t think the author of that blog entry is alt-right—which is why I put it as a footnote—but dig the wacko AI white-haired Nordic Alexander at the top! And I’m still chuckling at a 7-foot-tall Alexander. Good Lord, how tall would that make Hephaistion?

*** Yeah, that’s a little bow to Hesiod’s theory of the Ages of Man.

**** Note that I didn’t include Greek Nationalists. While some of them also swing right (Golden Dawn, Front Line, National Reform Party, etc.), many are more moderate. Alexander is a Greek hero, and if what’s presented about him by some is also oversimplified to fit a national narrative, it doesn’t spring from ignorance so much as deliberate choice and what they learned in school/at home. Think about what the average (white) American knows about George Washington or Thomas Jefferson, or for that matter, the average native person about Tecumseh or Crazy Horse.

#asks #alexander the great #ancient greece #ancient macedonia #classics #ancient history memes #alexander the great memes #alexander's supposed three wishes #alexander never said to fear an army of sheep led by a lion #alexander also didn't say everything is possible to him who will try #tagamemnon #alexander shitposting

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