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#also why do women have to be transformed into men in order to be with women
thefudge · 27 days
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Advice for writing smut???
gonna do bullet-points of things i tend to live by when it comes to smut (this is just my opinion):
don't switch styles: the way you write the smut has to be consistent with the way you write the rest of the story, so if your story is more comedic or romcom-y in nature, the way you write the smut should have those stylings. i personally find it very jarring when authors decide to break the format for the smut, almost like the story has to stop for the sex intermission; if you're writing a horror story, the smut must be informed and influenced by that genre, and if you are breaking genre for the smut portion, tell us why you're suddenly switching gears (it has to be an aesthetic choice you're making on purpose). likewise, if your style in that story is more lyrical, the smut has to be somewhat lyrical too, or if your story is more cormac mccarthy-esque-cut-and-dry, the smut can't suddenly involve an effluvia of purple, sappy prose. integrating the smut in the story and treating it like any other part of the story is key to me. too often i've seen ppl switch to this anonymous pornified style when they get to the smut
which brings me to specificity. i'll talk about het sex, since that's what i tend to write most: not all men are going to be fingering or eating pussy the same way, not all dicks are big and they shouldn't be, not all women immediately get excited by fingering, not everyone moans the same way or makes the same sounds. you're writing about particular characters so it has to be particular to them. i know this is very old advice, but i think it bears repeating
there isn't an exact formula or sequence you have to follow, there aren't precise steps, you don't have to go "well, first he has to kiss down her neck, then reach the boob area, then play with the nipples, then put the nipple in his mouth, then slowly go down on her, then prepare her for entering her etc. etc. etc." this can get boring and repetitive and you start thinking of your characters as these mechanical dolls who have to fuck for your audience. and that can be a vibe too, if you do it on purpose. but sometimes you can get stuck in a porn routine (and ofc, having only the guy show initiative can also get boring)
in order to break that, insert some character moments. what are the characters thinking during this? sometimes they might be thinking of something completely unrelated on the surface, but which has a thematic relevance that can make the scene hotter. likewise, maybe they're doing smth that seems unsexy on the surface, but which, within the context of the story might be really hot. sex doesn't just involve, well, sex, but so much weirdness and humanity and creativity. two bodies (usually) are trying to do this really awkward thing together and they might have a lot of baggage and history to inform it. there's a lot you can do with that.
don't make it glossy and clean, where everyone smells of strawberry shampoo and there is never anything out of sync. the most boring smut tends to be the kind where no one makes any mistakes and everything is super efficient. i imagine it feels like using an industrial pump to milk various farm animals.
and you know what? you can make that hot too. you CAN write a kind of robotic efficient smut and make it really interesting based on the context. let's say you're writing a 1984 AU fic where ppl are forced into intimacy only to procreate and their sex drive is diminished. you can play with that premise and lean into the dehumanizing industrialization of sex, but you have to mean it, aka your narratorial voice must be conscious of these factors.
if you're writing dubcon, make the dubious part present, make sure you draw out the ambivalence and ambiguity. if you're writing noncon, the character whose consent is being violated has to be transformed by this in some way. it can be forced pleasure, for instance, but not only. it has to be a journey for them too, some kind of spiritual pit, or a form of access to terrible knowledge. i know this is a personal thing, but noncon doesn't work for me if the character being noncon'd is just sort of *there*, suffering passively. i think that sort of dead passivity can be done very well too, but the narratorial voice has to persuade me.
that being said, don't be afraid of fear in consensual sex. terror and vulnerability are a part of consensual sex too, imo, and again, depending on the story and the characters, there's a lot you can explore there
i personally find it really hot when the narratorial voice starts discussing some of the ideas that the story wants to convey during the smut. so like, you can characterize person A and outline their worldview and their plans while they're ramming person B, and the thinking & fucking are thus entwined. idk, i dig that
speaking of which, smut can convey world-building details and social/philosophical ideas, not just emotions and character beats
not all smut has to end with mutual orgasm or even one-sided orgasm, it depends what you want to do or where you want to go. again, you don't have to follow a sequence. plus, it's fun (and hot) to write about frustration and failure too.
if you want to mix up the descriptions, resort to the story & characters. you'll find it's easier to describe someone fondling a boob in a new or at least interesting way if you're thinking about that particular character in that particular story, and not just Man X from planet porn (sorry to be snarky, but mainstream erotica is soooo guilty of this)
screaming & really intense reactions are cool but they have to match the characters and the situations
sometimes, it's hotter if an effect is mild or negated, if the usual outcome doesn't happen; mix up the order of events, toy with the usual reactions. it's not about being original, it's about finding out what works for your characters. writing about sex is, in a way, a performance of it, an attempt to go through the sexual motions, to find out what works and doesn't, to engage with the erotics of text (roland barthes entered the chat)
if you are bored by your own smut, that's a problem. i know we all talk about how hard we find writing smut, and IT IS hard, and sometimes it's not enjoyable, because writing itself is often not enjoyable, but even when it's painful and annoying, it gives you that little intellectual kick like "huh, i'm creating this and making these people do this, and ohh look, i can maybe put this unnamable thing into words". but if you become bored, that's a sign you have to look at the language & characters and figure out what's not working for you
last thing i'll underline: pay attention to your narratorial voice. in this ordeal, you are the seducer. not the characters. you have to seduce us with words and context. your voice matters the most. you can persuade us of anything. but you have to be confident in your weirdness and particularity. this is your bedroom (so to speak), so invite us in.
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yamayuandadu · 7 months
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Consulting the convoluted history of supernatural foxes, or why is Tsukasa like that
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I know I said you should only expect one long Touhou-themed research article per month, and that the next one will be focused on Ten Desires, but due to unforeseen circumstances a bonus one jumped into the queue. For this reason, you will unexpectedly have the opportunity to learn more about the historical and religious context of the belief in kuda-gitsune, or “tube foxes”, as well as their various forerunners. Tsukasa is clearly topical thanks to Unfinished Dream of All Living Ghost, and I basically skipped covering Unconnected Marketeers in 2021 save for pointing out some banal tidbits, so I hope this is a welcome surprise. The post contains spoilers for the new game, obviously.
Obviously, in order to properly cover the kuda-gitsune, it is necessary to start with a short history of foxes in Japanese culture through history, especially in esoteric Buddhism. Early history: the Chinese background Early Japanese sources pertaining to foxes show strong Chinese influence. There was an extensive preexisting system of fox beliefs to draw from in continental literature, dating back at least to the Han dynasty (note that while the well known story of Daji is set much earlier, its modern form only really goes back to the Song dynasty). This is way too complex of a topic to discuss here in full, sadly, so I will limit myself to the particularly interesting tidbits.
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A multi-tailed fox in the classic Chinese encyclopedia Gujin Tushu Jicheng (wikimedia commons)
It will suffice to say that historically the fox was perceived in China as a liminal being, and could be associated with pursuits regarded as ethically dubious, ranging from theft and banditry to instigating rebellions and promoting divisive religious views (so, for example during the reigns of firmly pro-Taoist emperors, Buddhist monks could be associated with foxes). Literary texts focused on supernatural foxes emphasized their shapeshifting abilities. In contrast with some of the other well attested supernatural beings in Chinese tradition, they could take a range of human forms, appearing as men and women of virtually any age. Often they favored mimicking people who lived on the margins of society, like bandits, courtesans or migrant laborers. It was also emphasized that they displayed a considerable degree of disregard for authority. The fact these animals lived essentially alongside humans without being domesticated definitely played a role in the formation of this image.
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A contemporary statue of Bixia, a deity in the past associated with fox beliefs (wikimedia commons)
At the same time, foxes enjoyed a degree of popularity as objects of semi-official cult, still practiced here and there in China in modern times, for example in Boluo in Shaanxi. The religious role of foxes was reflected in, among other things, the development of terms like hushen (狐神) “fox deity”, or huxian (狐仙), “fox immortal”. The belief in such “celestial foxes” (tianhu, 天狐) was relatively common, and there is even a legend according to which there was a formalized way for the animals to transcend to higher states of existence, with the goddess Bixia making them undergo the supernatural fox version of the well known imperial examinations. If they failed they were condemned to live as “wild foxes” (yehu, 野狐) with no hope of transcendence. There are also accounts of foxes pursuing the status of a xian through illicit means, through a combination of praying to the Big Dipper and draining people’s energy, as documented by He Xiu in the 1700s. Note foxes were already portrayed as worshiping the Big Dipper during the reign of the Tang dynasty, but back then it was only believed this let them transform into humans.
The ambiguity of foxes is evident in the Japanese perception of these animals too. Supernatural foxes are probably among the best known youkai, and especially considering this is a post about Touhou I do not think the basics need to be discussed in much detail. They were believed to shapeshift and to steal vital energy, much like in China. Their positive role as messengers of Inari, a kami associated with agriculture, is generally well known too. The earliest sources documenting encounters with supernatural foxes are obviously, as expected, the earliest chronicles like the Nihon Shoki, where they mostly appear as omens. By the Heian period these animals are well established in the written record. For instance, Nakatomi Harae Kunge includes “evil magic due to heavenly and earthly foxes” among phenomena which require ritual purification. In addition to the tales imported from China being in circulation, some setsuwa written in Japan involved shape shifting foxes. However, supernatural foxes only gained greater prominence in the Japanese middle ages due to the growth of relevance of two deities they were associated with, Inari and Dakiniten. The latter is more relevant to the topic of this article.
Foxes, Dakiniten and tengu
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Part of a hanging scroll depicting Dakiniten riding on a fox (wikimedia commons, via MET; cropped for the ease of viewing)
The connection between foxes and Dakiniten reflected their associations with the dakinis, a class of demons in Buddhism. Originally the dakinis were associated with jackals instead, but Chinese Buddhist authors presumed that the animal mentioned in this context is basically identicial with more familiar foxes, and that belief reached Japan as well. It was strong enough for Dakinite, the dakini par excellence, to be regularly depicted riding on the back of a fox. Dakiniten was originally a regular dakini, according to Bernard Faure specifically one who appears in Heian period Enmaten mandalas (Enmaten is related to but not quite the same as the better known king Enma, for the development of two distinct reflections of Yama in Buddhism see here). However, she eventually developed into a full blown deva in her own right, and her prominence was so great that it basically resulted in the decline of references to the generic dakinis in Buddhist literature in Japan. She was particularly popular in the Shingon school of Buddhism, and at the peak of her relevance played a role in royal ascension rituals, developing a connection with Amaterasu in the process (Amaterasu acquired many peculiar connections through the Japanese middle ages, it was par the course). A Tendai treatise equates her with Matarajin instead, though. An interesting phenomenon related to Dakiniten is the occasional fusion of beliefs pertaining to foxes and tengu, which might have originated in the similarity of the terms tengu and the Japanese term for the already mentioned “heavenly foxes”, tenko. Its best attested examples include the inclusion of tengu in mandalas focused on Dakiniten as her acolytes. However, a different deity ultimately exemplifies this even better. Iizuna Gongen and "iizuna magic"
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Iizuna Gongen riding on the back of a fox (Museum of Fine Arts Boston; link to the source is temporarily dead, the image is reproduced here for educational purposes only)
The indisputable center of the network of connections between foxes and tengu is Iizuna Gongen (飯綱権現), depicted as a tengu riding on a fox. As you can probably guess, he was a (vague) basis for Megumu, as evidenced by the similarity of the names. While many other aspects of his character aren’t really touched upon in the game, I’d hazard a guess he’s also the reason why ZUN decided to include a kuda-gitsune in the same game as Megumu - the evidence lines up exceptionally well, as you’ll see.
Originally Iizuna Gongen was simply the deity of Mount Iizuna (飯綱山), located in the modern Nagano prefecture. Near the end of the Japanese middle ages he spread to other areas, likely thanks to traveling shugenja (also known as yamabushi), mountain ascetics belonging to a religious tradition known as Shugendō. Two aspects of his character are particularly pronounced, his role as a martial deity and his association with foxes.
I was unable to determine when Iizuna Gongen’s connection to foxes originally developed, but it was strong enough to lead to the use of the alternate name Chira Tenko (智羅天狐; “Chira the heavenly fox”) to refer to him. Foxes also appear in a legend describing his origin. It states that he was one of the eighteen children of an Indian king, and arrived in Japan alongside nine of his siblings on the back of a white fox during the reign of emperor Kinmei (the remaining eight went to China and became monks on Mount Tiantai). His connection to foxes is also reaffirmed in an Edo period treatise, Reflections on Inari Shrine (稲荷神社考, Inari jinja kō), which declares that names such as Iizuna Gongen and Matarajin (sic!) are used in the worship of wild foxes to hide the true nature of the invoked entities. The author further states that the true form of “these matarajin (plural) and wild foxes” is that of a three-faced and six-armed deity, which curiously has more to do with early Matarajin tradition than with Iizuna Gongen as far as I can tell. The two were not really closely associated otherwise, but it’s worth noting that apparently shugenja perceived them both as similar tengu-like deities. 
The key feature of conventional iconography of Iizuna Gongen, the fox mount, has nothing to do with Matarajin strictly speaking, and likely reflects the influence of Dakiniten. However, the animal in this context developed its own unique identity thanks to the presence of foxes in a type of ritual focused on Iizuna Gongen, which could itself be referred to as iizuna. The shugenja community centered on the worship of Iizuna Gongen was not very formalized, which led to poor understanding of their practice among outsiders, with the term iizuna basically acquiring the vague meaning along the lines of “magic”. and rather poor reputation. These rites are where the kuda-gitsune comes into play. Kuda-gitsune in iizuna magic and beyond
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The kuda-gitsune, as depicted in Shōzan Chomon Kishū by Miyoshi Shōzan (Waseda University History Museum; reproduced here for educational purposes only)
At first glance, kuda-gitsune is just one of many local variants of the standard supernatural fox, similarly to the likes of ninko, osaki-gitsune or nogitsune. The etymology of its name is straightforward. I’m sure you can guess what the second half means, while kuda (管) in this context refers to a bamboo tube. You’d think the name would basically guarantee it was universally accepted that’s how one could carry such a critter undetected, but apparently there was an alternate explanation, namely that it was invisible. I have not seen any further discussion of this in literature, but I assume this might be connected to shikigami beliefs, as these quite often are described as invisible. Do not quote me on that, though. Even more bizarrely, there is no consensus that the animal meant was always a fox. According to Bernard Faure it is distinctly possible the term referred to a weasel. Kuda-gitsune could be described as a type of shikigami, but note that this term had a much broader meaning in real life than in Touhou, and referred to basically any supernatural being which acted as an extension of the powers attributed to “ritual specialists” (祈祷師) such as onmyoji, shugenja or Buddhist monks. In Buddhist context, the analogous term could be gohō dōji (護法童子; “Dharma-protecting lads”), though there are also cases where gohō and shikigami are contrasted with each other. The shikigami category didn’t just consist of animated papercraft and animal spirits typically designated as such in popculture. Even the twelve heavenly generals defending the “medicine Buddha” Yakushi could be labeled as shikigami. Obviously, kuda-gitsune is closer to the familiar meaning of this term than to Buddhist deities, though. People relying on kuga-gitsune were referred to as kitsune-tsukai (狐使い), which can be loosely translated as “fox tamer”, and it is said they were often shugenja. Given the popularity of the associated deity among them this shouldn’t really be a surprise. Various supernatural abilities were ascribed to the kuda-gitsune. The ability to possess people attributed to other supernatural foxes was the domain of kuda-gitsune too. Apparently people afflicted by it were compelled to eat nothing but raw miso. Purportedly they were bringers of wealth - but said wealth did not necessarily come from legitimate sources. That, in turn, could lead to distrust or outright ostracism of people allegedly relying on foxes to acquire wealth. They also provided aid in divination, and could supposedly reveal past, present and future alike this way. However, they could look into the soul of anyone using them this way and learn their secrets. Bernard Faure notes that occasionally it was said that they even could even be utilized to kill enemies who attempted casting spells on their owner.  Shigeru Mizuki's kuda-gitsune
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Kuda-gitsune, as depicted by Shigeru Mizuki (reproduced here for educational purposes only)
While there isn’t much information about kuda-gitsune in scholarship, especially scholarship available online in English, they received extensive coverage in various books about youkai written by Shigeru Mizuki, famous for arguably canonizing the modern concept of youkai. Note that while I am a fan of Mizuki's works, his encyclopedias are best understood as something closer to Borges’ Book of Imaginary Beings, complete with some dubious sourcing and possible fabrications. However, ultimately modern media about youkai, including Touhou, owes much to him, and arguably he continued the tradition of night parade scrolls which often invented new creatures wholesale, so it strikes me as entirely fair game to summarize what he has to say too. Shigeru Mizuki cited the Edo period writer Matsura Seizan as an authority on kuda-gitsune. He states ccording to the latter, certain ascetics (yamabushi) were provided with these critters upon finishing their training on Mount Kinpu and Mount Ōmine. In his account cited by Mizuki there are a lot of details I haven’t seen elsewhere. The storage tubes after which kuda-gitsune are named apparently had to be inscribed with a certain sanskrit phrase (left unspecified, tragically) so that the animals didn’t have to be fed. However, releasing them and giving it food was necessary to gain their help in divination. There was a downside to this - kuda-gitsune were apparently hard to place back in containment once released without the help of a seasoned specialist. Also, they refused to provide anything of value unless fed well, and they had quite the appetite. Mizuki cites the particularly disastrous case of an ascetic who kept multiple kuda-gitsune in a single tube, and eventually couldn’t pay for enough food for his collection since the animals kept multiplying inside. According to Mizuki  it was believed that a kuda-gitsune could be gifted by its owner to another person, but the creature would come back if it was not satisfied with the food provided by the latter. If the original “fox tamer” dies before passing their kuda-gitsune to someone else, it will instead go to the Ōji Inari shrine located in what is now the the Kita ward of Tokyo.
Conclusion: Tsukasa and her forerunners
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In theory I could’ve kept pointing out “see, it’s just like Tsukasa!” in virtually every single paragraph of this article. To answer the question from the title, evidently she is like that because that's how foxes have been in folklore both Japan and China for centuries. It is not really hard to see that ZUN is genuinely great at research when he wants to be, and Tsukasa's character is remarkably accurate to her real life forerunners, both as an adaptation of kuda-gitsune specifically and as a representation of the broader tradition which lead to the portrayal of foxes as supernatural creatures of questionable moral character. She engages in morally dubious “get rich quick schemes”, she definitely provides advice (of variable quality), and her self-declared ability from her omake bio pretty clearly reflects skills actually ascribed to the kuda-gitsune in folklore. In the newest game the ability to provide information is clearly in the spotlight - Tsukasa seems to be reasonably knowledgeable (she brings up Kojiki in a line aimed at Hisami, among other things), and other characters generally agree she’d be more useful doing something else than fighting. I do not think there’s any real reason to doubt this is what is meant. I think it can even be safely assumed that Zanmu’s decision to pressure Tsukasa to partake in her assassination bluff is rooted in genuine tradition. I’m obviously not going to say that Tsukasa reaches the platonic ideal of Okina, the quintessential character aimed at fans who like research, who largely seems to exist to get people to dig deeper for sources explaining the dozens of religious allusions in her dialogue, spell cards and design, but I do think it’s worth appreciating that the series reached a stage where even the minor animal youkai can be enjoyed as multilayered representation of centuries worth of genuine folklore and mythology. Bibliography -Bernard Faure, Gods of Medieval Japan vol. 1-3 -Michael Daniel Foster, The Book of Yokai. Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore  -Berthe Jansen and Nobumi Iyanaga, Dākini (Brill’s Encyclopedia of Buddhism) -Xiaofei Kang, The Cult of the Fox: Power, Gender, and Popular Religion in Late Imperial and Modern China -Shigeru Mizuki’s assorted writings on kuda-gitsune (collected online here)
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lasirenatarot · 6 months
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Why haven’t you met « THE one » yet?
Pick a picture:
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Pile1:
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Cards: 7 of pentacles; 9 of swords; ace of cups; 4 of wands reversed, knight of swords reversed;7 of cups reversed.
- Right off the bat, I feel like you have been waiting for a long time to meet “the one”, or at least that is how you feel like, you may talk yourself out of believing you will meet them. You may feel hopeless at this point to find real love. What you may actually want is more of a platonic/soul level typa connection, but at the same time you want the completely opposite: freedom and relations in which you wouldn’t have to put much of your energy and effort into. The main problem I see here is that you may not exactly know what you actually seek in a serious relationship and have some sort of commitment issues you may even not realize you did.
Extended version. Click.
Pile 2:
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Cards: 10 cups; queen of swords; death; ace of pentacles; 2 of swords
- You may be too focused on your job/studies/career, too focused on making money and the logical side of life, instead of your feelings. In fact, you may have a bad habit of numbing your feelings and pretending they don’t exist for long periods of time so you wouldn’t have to deal with them and lose your precious time and focus on whatever it is that you do- work or studies.. You need to realize that everything in life is about balance, that may be your mission before meeting “the one”, you may need to undergo a personal transformation in order to find balance. All cards here talk about balance, this may be key for you. You may need to understand that you would have to put as much time into this relationship as you do with your work for it to flourish and be full of happiness.
Extended version. Click.
Pile 3:
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Cards: the devil; 3 of swords; nine of cups; 5 of swords; the chariot
- People who have chosen this pile, there are three options: you may have been cheated on in the past, someone may have cheated on their S.O. with you or you have been used for your body. Whatever it was you may have some trust issues because of it, also a hard time believing someone can actually love you for you. ( an example popped in my head for no reason: beautiful women and rich men have it the hardest when it comes to trusting they are loved, for the same reason. Usually people don’t love them for them but use them for what they got. This may mean sth to someone..). You may definitely have some past trauma when it comes to relationships or haven’t gotten over a heartbreak. You may have felt like an option but never ‘the chosen one’. You need to regain your trust in people and rewire your brain into thinking you deserve the be someone’s only option.
Extended version. Click.
Want to know what you can do to attract the one faster into your life?
Subscribe and check the extended version here: https://ko-fi.com/lasirenatarot
- La Sirena💋
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helpinghanikan · 4 months
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Domestic December: COD
Day 10: Ghost; Hostage
DD Masterlist
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The days following your capture was one of absolute stress and down right anger. Like all partners of the 141 members you should have been safe. A practical army of men and women ready to lay down their lives to keep you safe. Even with all that, even with THE Ghost in your bed, you were still taken.
Ghost had failed you, there was no other way to explain it. He protected his own face but couldn’t do the same for you. That was how you got taken while he was away. And now, he was going to get you back.
“Keep your head,” Laswell reminded Ghost on the way to the rendezvous point.
The request was simple; a prisoner for a prisoner. Price and Laswell agreed without a second thought. The plan being developed on the few hour drive to the destination. All Ghost had to do was keep a calm head and keep his finger off the trigger.
In an abandoned parking lot hours outside of a city you were pulled from a truck. The same was done with a prisoner on the 141 side. The groups facing eachother on either side of the lot, neither wanting to be the first to make a move.
Ghost was quiet, knowing better than to move a muscle less he loses complete control.
As with most hostages you’re an absolute mess. A few bruises but there was no indication of serious injury. That your man was a member of the 141 probably kept you safe from serious torture. That was a small comfort considering the absolute fear you had to feeling right now.
“Walk,” Ordered Price to his prisoner.
The exchange was both short and far too long. Step by step you and the prisoner pasted by without a look to eachother. Instead focusing on simply making it to your unofficial family. Laswell placing an arm around you before anyone else, walking you calmly towards the car before Price makes a small gesture to his men.
Laswell gets you into the back seat and makes herself safe in the front when the firing started. There was no way both groups would make it away from the meeting with everyone alive. The only thing that mattered was that you were safe.
Just like the walk it doesn’t take long but feels like forever when Ghost joins you in the back seat. For the few seconds you can hear outside it’s too quiet for you want to know what had just happened. All that matters is Ghost was in the backseat with you, and there wasn’t a hole to found on him.
“Windows are tinted,” Laswell says, a divider lifting into place between the front and backseat.
There’s no way this truck wasn’t picked for this very reason. In a semblance of privacy Ghost is able to become Simon with the removal of his mask. You are also able to transform in a matter of seconds. From the stoic prisoner to the crying partner who just wants to be held without any semblance of shame.
Simon doesn’t say anything when you start to cry. Leaning against him and feeling the comforting embrace of a family body against you. With his uniform and all the gadgets it’s a bit pokey when he holds you close.
“I’m sorry,” You say, although there is nothing to apologize for.
Simon finds it hard to say anything in response to that. He was the one who was supposed to be apologizing to you, begging for you forgiveness, and trying to think of a way to separate himself from you. It was the safest thing to do, to separate but even he knew that it wasn’t the best time to make that decision.
“Simon, fuck, Simon don’t leave me right now.” You say, voice now having a bit of an edge to it.
He’s seen you angry before. Knows what you’re like when frustrated and can’t understand why Simon is acting the way he is. Usually he would simply consider this to be a problem for the other person to handle. That there was no reason for him to try and change when the way he does things is obviously for the best.
 Simon was a grown man. He knew that he couldn’t keep that attitude for the rest of his life. Especially now when he wants to keep you for as long as he possibly could, no matter the danger.
“I’m here,” He says, lips dragging over your forehead. “I’m here.”
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thehydromancer · 7 months
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Fables Press Release
Subject: Fables Enters the Public Domain
15 September 2023
By Bill Willingham
For Immediate Release
The Lede
As of now, 15 September 2023, the comic book property called Fables, including all related Fables spin-offs and characters, is now in the public domain. What was once wholly owned by Bill Willingham is now owned by everyone, for all time. It’s done, and as most experts will tell you, once done it cannot be undone. Take-backs are neither contemplated nor possible.
Q: Why Did You Do This?
A number of reasons. I’ve thought this over for some time. In no particular order they are:
1) Practicality: When I first signed my creator-owned publishing contract with DC Comics, the company was run by honest men and women of integrity, who (for the most part) interpreted the details of that agreement fairly and above-board. When problems inevitably came up we worked it out, like reasonable men and women. Since then, over the span of twenty years or so, those people have left or been fired, to be replaced by a revolving door of strangers, of no measurable integrity, who now choose to interpret every facet of our contract in ways that only benefit DC Comics and its owner companies. At one time the Fables properties were in good hands, and now, by virtue of attrition and employee replacement, the Fables properties have fallen into bad hands.
            Since I can’t afford to sue DC, to force them to live up to the letter and the spirit of our long-time agreements; since even winning such a suit would take ridiculous amounts of money out of my pocket and years out of my life (I’m 67 years old, and don’t have the years to spare), I’ve decided to take a different approach, and fight them in a different arena, inspired by the principles of asymmetric warfare. The one thing in our contract the DC lawyers can’t contest, or reinterpret to their own benefit, is that I am the sole owner of the intellectual property. I can sell it or give it away to whomever I want.
            I chose to give it away to everyone. If I couldn’t prevent Fables from falling into bad hands, at least this is a way I can arrange that it also falls into many good hands. Since I truly believe there are still more good people in the world than bad ones, I count it as a form of victory.
2) Philosophy: In the past decade or so, my thoughts on how to reform the trademark and copyright laws in this country (and others, I suppose) have undergone something of a radical transformation. The current laws are a mishmash of unethical backroom deals to keep trademarks and copyrights in the hands of large corporations, who can largely afford to buy the outcomes they want.
In my template for radical reform of those laws I would like it if any IP is owned by its original creator for up to twenty years from the point of first publication, and then goes into the public domain for any and all to use. However, at any time before that twenty year span bleeds out, you the IP owner can sell it to another person or corporate entity, who can have exclusive use of it for up to a maximum of ten years. That’s it. Then it cannot be resold. It goes into the public domain. So then, at the most, any intellectual property can be kept for exclusive use for up to about thirty years, and no longer, without exception.
Of course, if I’m going to believe such radical ideas, what kind of hypocrite would I be if I didn’t practice them? Fables has been my baby for about twenty years now. It’s time to let it go. This is my first test of this process. If it works, and I see no legal reason why it won’t, look for other properties to follow in the future. Since DC, or any other corporate entity, doesn’t actually own the property, they don’t get a say in this decision.
Q: What Exactly Has DC Comics Done to Provoke This?
Too many things to list exhaustively, but here are some highlights: Throughout the years of my business relationship with DC, with Fables and with other intellectual properties, DC has always been in violation of their agreements with me. Usually it’s in smaller matters, like forgetting to seek my opinion on artists for new stories, or for covers, or formats of new collections and such. In those times, when called on it, they automatically said, “Sorry, we overlooked you again. It just fell through the cracks.” They use the “fell through the cracks” line so often, and so reflexively, that I eventually had to bar them from using it ever again. They are often late reporting royalties, and often under-report said royalties, forcing me to go after them to pay the rest of what’s owed.
            Lately though their practices have grown beyond these mere annoyances, prompting some sort of showdown. First they tried to strong arm the ownership of Fables from me. When Mark Doyle and Dan Didio first approached me with the idea of bringing Fables back for its 20th anniversary (both gentlemen since fired from DC), during the contract negotiations for the new issues, their legal negotiators tried to make it a condition of the deal that the work be done as work for hire, effectively throwing the property irrevocably into the hands of DC. When that didn’t work their excuse was, “Sorry, we didn’t read your contract going into these negotiations. We thought we owned it.”
            More recently, during talks to try to work out our many differences, DC officers admitted that their interpretation of our publishing agreement, and the following media rights agreement, is that they could do whatever they wanted with the property. They could change stories or characters in any way they wanted. They had no obligation whatsoever to protect the integrity and value of the IP, either from themselves, or from third parties (Telltale Games, for instance) who want to radically alter the characters, settings, history and premises of the story (I’ve seen the script they tried to hide from me for a couple of years). Nor did they owe me any money for licensing the Fables rights to third parties, since such a license wasn’t anticipated in our original publishing agreement.
            When they capitulated on some of the points in a later conference call, promising on the phone to pay me back monies owed for licensing Fables to Telltale Games, for example, in the execution of the new agreement, they reneged on their word and offered the promised amount instead as a “consulting fee,” which avoided the precedent of admitting this was money owed, and included a non-disclosure agreement that would prevent me from saying anything but nice things about Telltale or the license.
            And so on. There’s so much more, but these, as I said, are some of the highlights. At that point, since I disagreed on all of their new interpretations of our longstanding agreements, we were in conflict. They practically dared me to sue them to enforce my rights, knowing it would be a long and debilitating process. Instead I began to consider other ways to go.
Q: Are You Concerned at What DC Will Do Now?
No. I gave them years to do the right thing. I tried to reason with them, but you can’t reason with the unreasonable. They used these years to make soothing promises, tell lies about how dedicated they were towards working this out, and keep dragging things out as long as possible. I gave them an opportunity to renegotiate the contracts from the ground up, putting everything in unambiguous language, and they ignored that offer. I gave them the opportunity, twice, to simply tear up our contracts, and we each go our separate ways, and they ignored those offers. I tried to go over their heads, to deal directly with their new corporate masters, and maybe find someone willing to deal in good faith, and they blocked all attempts to do so. (Try getting any officer of DC Comics to identify who they report to up the company ladder. I dare you.) In any case, without giving them details, I warned them months in advance that this moment was coming. I told them what I was about to do would be “both legal and ethical.” Now it’s happened.
            Note that my contracts with DC Comics are still in force. I did nothing to break them, and cannot unilaterally end them. I still can’t publish Fables comics through anyone but them. I still can’t authorize a Fables movie through anyone but them. Nor can I license Fables toys nor lunchboxes, nor anything else. And they still have to pay me for the books they publish. And I’m not giving up on the other money they owe. One way or another, I intend to get my 50% of the money they’ve owed me for years for the Telltale Game and other things.
However, you, the new 100% owner of Fables never signed such agreements. For better or worse, DC and I are still locked together in this unhappy marriage, perhaps for all time.
But you aren’t.
If I understand the law correctly (and be advised that copyright law is a mess; purposely vague and murky, and no two lawyers – not even those specializing in copyright and trademark law – agree on anything), you have the rights to make your Fables movies, and cartoons, and publish your Fables books, and manufacture your Fables toys, and do anything you want with your property, because it’s your property.
Mark Buckingham is free to do his version of Fables (and I dearly hope he does). Steve Leialoha is free to do his version of Fables (which I’d love to see). And so on. You don’t have to get my permission (but you might get my blessing, depending on your plans). You don’t have to get DC’s permission, or the permission of anyone else. You never signed the same agreements I did with DC Comics.
It was my absolute joy and pleasure to bring you Fables stories for the past twenty years. I look forward to seeing what you do with it.
For questions and further information you can contact Bill Willingham at:
[email protected]  Please include “Fables Public Domain” in the subject line, so I don’t assume you’re another Netflix promotion.
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petrichor-idyllic · 9 months
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Hii Petri, I want to request for headcanons please, it's maze runner boys x fem!reader and she was one of the first to go up in the box, she's been in the glade for enough time to pass for the transition of 'cute little girl who's happend to be there with a lot of boys' to 'really hot girl in the middle of tons os guys', and I want to see the moment that clicked for each one of them that "oh, she's a girl". I think it would be fun cause they're a bunch of virgin dudes stuck in a place with only one girl that they know since "forever" and then suddenly she's not that little kid anymore and it clicks that they'd could be the one to date her.
I am completely doing my requests out of order, but I really like this idea and headcanons are so much easier lol.
Also no Newt here, the boy likes men.
DEVELOPMENT
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MASTERLIST | MULTI-CHARACTER MASTERLIST
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SUMMARY: See above. Movie based fic.
WARNINGS: Inappropriate language, awkward teenage boys, you're the boss, everyone is useless, mild suggestive themes, the Thomas one is really bad 'cause I had no way of actually writing that based on this prompt.
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You were the first person in the Glade, a young girl with no memories or idea what you were doing. Yet, somehow, you managed to survive for a whole month on your own. Then, one after another, the boys started joining you. And you went from soft girl to a leader they could rely on - though, it takes them a bit to notice this.
THOMAS
Being one of the later arrivals to the Glade, Thomas doesn't have the same reaction the others do.
You're just a badass from day one to him.
He thinks you're cool and calculated and you seem to know what you're doing.
He respects you from day one.
He doesn't get to have the whole realising you're cool moment that everyone else does.
He just thinks you're sick.
And he's like, stressed as shit, so he doesn't really have the time to think otherwise.
MINHO
Now, this is where it gets interesting.
Minho was one of the first boys to follow you into the Maze, just after Alby and Newt.
So he's witnessed your whole transformation.
From the early days of exploring the Maze together, to you making him Keeper, to the drunken nights where he'd had a rough day and you had to drag him to bed.
You've been together through thick and thin.
And some of Minho's confidence has definitely rubbed off on you.
The moment where Minho realised you were in face a girl, and not the one he first met was actually quite simple.
You'd had a long night, and with one of your Runners out of commission, you realised you hadn't told Minho to cover another route that day as you'd made arrangements for a new Runner to do a more simpler route- which meant switching up everyone's routines.
Fresh out of bed, wearing a sports bra and baggy trousers that hung off your hips, you went to the Map Room.
It wasn't uncommon for you to dress like this. The Glade is warm, and you basically mothered all these boys.
You whistled as you entered, gaining their attention.
"Oi, boys, listen up - I'm switching routes around today. With Sam off on sick and Darren being new, he's taking the easiest route. Minho, I need you to deal with covering the outer sections more. And Ben I need you to stick to your path for a change instead of going awol - your maps make no sense."
"Aw, what? But that's boring."
"I ain't shuckin' askin', Ben - do as you're told."
Oh.
Oh God.
Minho doesn't know why this is what made it click.
His eyes fell on your body, your words becoming static as he drunk in your figure.
Had you always been this attractive?
Had you always been this assertive?
Was Minho into dominant women?
Should he be concerned?
After this point onwards, Minho started looking at you differently.
In fact, you became the only thing he couldn't take his eyes off.
Minho would go from your confident and reliant friend to slightly awkward, but also occasionally flirty.
Like he can't actually decide what to do with you now.
It'd take a while, but after some near death experiences, he'd become more outwardly flirtatious.
Though, he still wouldn't be able to get over the admiration and awe for you.
GALLY
Gally would be your number one problem child in the Glade.
He always has been.
But, you normally left Alby or Newt to deal with him.
Especially at the start since he's a big dude with a big temper.
Gally always saw you unfit as a leader.
Too timid, quiet, anxious.
You name it, he thought it.
That was until the day him and Minho got in a particularly nasty fight.
You don't know why or what it was, but Gally had gone for the Runner. Alby was busy sorting out the Maps, and in light of Newt's recent injury - it was left up to you.
Jeff came running into your hut, panicking about the fight, leading you to running out after him.
"That's enough!"
You grabbed the boys, yanking Gally away by his collar.
"The shuck do you slintheads think you're doing?"
"He started it!"
"I did not!"
You'd had a hard day.
You didn't need this.
"I don't give two klunks who started it! We ain't got much choice to act like adults 'round here - and you two are actin' like diaper-klunkin' sissy babies! Get a shuckin' grip! I expect better."
Minho apologised quickly.
Gally did not.
"What? Why should I apologise when this shank can't shut his mouth?"
Well, you weren't having that.
"Because I shucking told you to. You're under my care and my order- what I say goes. You may be a Keeper, but that's up to me. Suck it up and do as you're told."
"...sorry.
"Better. Get back to work."
The way that Gally watched you walk away made it obvious to everyone who witnessed the scene that something had changed.
He'd always seen you as weak and a pointless leader, but now?
You'd put him in his place.
Initially, he was embarrassed.
But then he started seeing everything around the Glade, the power you actually held.
He also started to notice how attractive you actually had become.
Safe to say, he started to feel things after you basically called him a bitch.
He'd start showing you more respect after that.
Maybe a bit more than respect.
FRYPAN
Frypan has always liked you.
He's always respected you and been a good friend.
And he used to make sure that you were okay when things got too much.
But as you got older and more confident, you started to not need that comfort as much.
Unlike the others, there wouldn't be a specific moment where he realised.
He'd just be proud as he watched you grow as a person.
And you'd take charge.
It'd be a slow burn of feelings from friendship to genuinely having a crush on you.
You'd make sure his kitchen is always stocked and the Track-hoes do their job and the vegetables are up to scratch.
Though, his feelings came more with the physical transformation side of things.
You hit puberty, and went from being awkward to confident along with it.
Now, Frypan is probably one of the more respectful guys around.
But he can't help but stare when you bend over, or stretch or even just look at him with a smirk.
He's a teenage boy and you're the only girl around.
He's trying his best.
Though he did go from:
"Hey, everything okay? You look stressed."
To:
"H-hey uh, you uh, you need help, or...?"
Man's is down bad.
ALBY
Alby would probably be the person you're closest to.
He's the mouth and the power to your brain
You basically work side by side.
But, he'd always see you as someone he needed to look after and protect.
Then, as you grew up, came into yourself, that would change.
Especially when you started actually being in charge.
For the most part, he really doesn't care.
He noticed the others starting to act differently, but he didn't change much.
Apart from that one time you'd just come out of the shower.
And he just couldn't take his eyes off you.
And he kinda realised you're a woman.
But apart from that.
He's just... there.
Helping you lead.
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Sorry for disappearing, this is not my best work but I am currently in full corpse mode.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed :))
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thereader-radhika · 7 months
Text
4- Who Was She?
Parts 1 , 2 , 3
Arulmozhi Varman tried to think about the matters of current importance but his mind raced ahead of him. Is this a trick by the Pandya loyalists to get him alone? But they can't be that foolish to do this after killing Mandakiniamma right before his eyes.
It really stung when the panar sang that Rajarajadevar deprived the Pandyar of their world-renowned glory *. Was his uncle always this talented? If he was appreciated for his skills, would he have left even if he was a devakumaran? But he never belonged with them. Isn't that what they always told themselves?
Madu said it was a very old woman who was enquiring about him. But Nandini is barely older than akka. Has she come to avenge her twin? He looked like the ever young Markandeyan even when he attained the veeraswargam. He often remembered her these days after Vanthiyathevan opened up about his nightmares. Vanthiyathevan might not be the happy-go-lucky adventurer he once was but he is still Ponniyin Selvan.
***********
If her parents were in love, she would have been born and brought up a palace like this. "We wouldn't have met then", Karikalar whispered in her ears. "Wait", she admonished him playfully. How will she enter this huge palace and find Arulmozhi? Amma, how did you do it?
No, one soldier noticed her. If she lets him capture her, they might not want to disturb their emperor at night. What if this fever takes her before she can meet him? She will try after sometime when it gets darker. She tried to run away but the soldier was faster.
"Nandini, akka, please stay", his voice sounded familiar as he overtook her and stopped her by spreading his hands before her. Ponniyin Selvan. Hasn't she waited for this all these years? This is it! Tell him.
"How did you recognise me?"
"What is this? Let us go inside. Are you sick?"
"I didn't kill him".
"I already guessed. Calm down!".
"He offered to renounce everything for me. But this sinner had to tell him about the secret of my birth. That man . . . my amma . . . "
"We know about Veera Pandyan. Vanthiyathevan is also here. Don't you want to see my son?"
"I thought he would kill me and move on. But, but he he . . . ".
Why was she expecting him to move on? She could never move on without him in her life. But she will move on today. Nandini felt a bout of energy she hasn't experienced in years. She wiped her face and stood straight.
"Arulmozhi, sorry, arase, I have a request. When Thirumalai returns from your mission, give this to him", she forced a palm leaf on him. She had kept a similar olai in her hut and given one to her caretaker.
"Stop these formalities, akka. Can you walk? I will call for a bed or palanquin."
***********
Why is that soldier talking to her? Hasn't he ordered to arrest her immediately if she is spotted? Only Parameswaran knows if appa too is sneaking around in this darkness. Maduranthakan trained his eyes on the emaciated lady as they approached them. Suddenly the soldier turned around and untied his turban. Appa!
"Stand down, brave men. You two, bring Vallavarayar here". Two of them ran to mama's camp and others remained awkwardly in the kneeling position waiting for orders. That woman seemed to have slipped away when they distracted each other. Appa too noticed her absence.
"Rise and search for that lady".
The soldiers dispersed to four sides with torches in their hands. Is that a message from athai? The emperor scolded him as he tried to read the olai.
"Why are you standing here? Go and search. No, come here. Can you read this?"
He too found it difficult to read the olai in the dim light. It was full of mistakes. Can't people put some effort into their writing?
"Vasudeva married 16000 women. When the time came, they submerged into the Saraswati. Casting off their human bodies there and transforming into apsaras, they returned to him**. If you want to read Bharatam, there must be a good copy somewhere here".
Appa looked like he is in another world. The soldiers who were sent to summon mama returned.
"Chakravarthy, Vallavarayar isn't well. Senapati thinks he saw a woman in the river and he is going to take a look at the downstream. Should we stop him?"
What!
As mama followed by his bodyguards approached them, appa asked one of them to get down from the horse and rode with them. Madu ordered one of his men to bring a horse and another to keep the olai safely in his room. Who was she?
THE END
* deprived the Sēlinār(the Pandyas) of their splendour at the very time when their greatness, which was adored everywhere on earth, became conspicuous - From a meikeerthi of Rajaraja I
** ṣoḍaśastrīsahasrāṇi vāsudevaparigrahaḥ  nyamajjanta sarasvatyāṃ kālena janamejaya  tāścāpyapsaraso bhūtvā vāsudevamupāgaman - Swargarohana Parvam, Mahabharata
@sowlspace @willkatfanfromasia @favcolourrvibgior. @sakhiiii @sambaridli@celestesinsight @ambidextrousarcher
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ukrfeminism · 10 months
Text
10 minute read
Thousands walk past every day without noticing it or knowing anything about the lives being transformed inside. Nestled behind the sunflower-hued door of a Georgian terraced house, on a busy Brighton street, the Brighton’s Women Centre (largely known by its acronym the ‘BWC’) – is home to those facing unique difficulties, in particular those at risk of reoffending. 
The need for a place like this is great: statistics show that compared to men, women who receive a custodial sentence (prison time) are more likely to be complex and vulnerable individuals, who’ve experienced trauma and abuse – and while 95% of male prisoners’ children remain in their own homes when their father is incarcerated, the same can be said for only 5% of children whose mothers are jailed.
One woman who knows about this heartache first-hand is Hayley*, an evidently caring and straight-talking 43-year-old mother of five, who has been engaging with BWC for six years.
“I’d reached the point of no return when I first came here,” she tells me, as we sit in a quiet meeting room in the centre’s attic, leaflets about the help on offer scattered across a nearby table. “My life was a mess, a shambles really.” Hayley, like many women who’ve been to prison, has dealt with addiction issues, abusive relationships, and unstable housing, all of which contributed to her committing an offence and serving time whilst pregnant. When she left HMP Bronzefield six years ago, Hayley describes herself as ‘broken’. 
“I’d started to wake up when I was arrested, but when I came here, it was the first time I really felt I was being listened to and that there was hope of change. I was pregnant again, with a set of twins, and I’d already had three daughters taken off me. Was I really gonna go through that again?” she shares, reflecting on how far she’s come since first walking through that sunshine yellow door. “When you go through the justice system, you meet a lot of people and go to a lot of places. You meet probation officers, and they’ve got your file in front of them… you instantly feel judged.”
She adds, “You’re scared to be totally honest about your situation in case it comes back to bite you later on. People get scared they’ll lose their children if they ask for help [with a substance abuse issue]. You feel you’re drowning. But it’s not like that in BWC, it’s a women’s only space that has a different energy. There was no chaos in the building, it was just calm.” 
Hayley was first referred to BWC under court orders via her probation officer following a pre-sentence report, which she says is what ‘saved’ her from another stretch in prison. She now also credits her case worker, Marion, for also ‘drip feeding’ her information about the signs of coercive control, narcissism and abuse too, during their chats over cups of tea. “I started to feel a bit empowered and could recognise behaviour that wasn’t right for the first time.”
Unlike a refuge or shelter (accommodation for those fleeing abuse), the function of a women’s centre can sometimes be confused – which is understandable, given that the likes of BWC seem to… do it all, for anyone in need of help. As well as having staff on hand for practicalities such as housing issues, financial problems, mental health support (counselling and psychotherapy is available) and food poverty (the latter being the service that’s seen the biggest increase in demand over the past year), women’s centres provide a safe space to talk – which can ultimately be the biggest game-changer for many. There’s also a cheerful nursery on site, Toy Box, so that mothers can attend appointments without fretting about childcare.
All of which is why the newly announced £15 million government cash injection into 40 women’s charities and centres in England and Wales, like the BWC, that support those at risk of reoffending, is so crucial. But is it enough, given that a recent Women In Prison report found nearly half of all women’s centres are concerned about their survival? What else can be done to stop women – and mothers in particular – from going to jail, and tearing apart families in the process, traumatising a new generation? Why are 3,219 women ending up in prison each year in the first place, with most having committed a non-violent, low-level offence?
Victims before perpetrators
“We often say that women who’ve gone to prison were victims before they were perpetrators,” says Damian Hinds, Minister for Prisons, Parole and Probation, who joins me at BWC. “We know female offending is typically driven by factors such as drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, and mental health issues. Around 60% of women in prison have experienced domestic abuse and about half have some kind of drug problem, so we need to tackle those underlying issues with earlier intervention and better support, to stop the cycle of offending.” 
He praises the Female Offender Strategy that began in 2018, with the aim of tackling the root causes of female offending and reducing prison numbers (Hinds’ team also shares that between June 2018 – June 2022 the number of women sentenced to immediate custody fell by 37%). 
However, whilst news of the funding is a welcome step in the right direction "that provides a much-needed respite for organisations working tirelessly to meet the needs of at-risk women, or those in contact with the criminal justice system”, there's still a long way to go, says Sonya Ruparel, the Chief Executive of Women In Prison (a charity that has supported women in the criminal justice system for 40 years). Their work sees them have a presence inside prisons, in the community and ‘through the prison gate’ as they help women to resettle in their communities.
"The money is providing a temporary solution to a long-term problem, and this £15m available pales into insignificance when compared, for example, with the £200m the government are investing in an extra 500 prison places for women," she explains. "Despite the government’s commitment to reducing the women’s prison population, they are projecting it will rise by up to 35% in the next three years. 
"Without real investment in services that support women to address the root causes of crime such as domestic violence and abuse, debt and homelessness women will continue to be unnecessarily swept into the criminal justice system." 
Female inmates, the majority of whom have been convicted of fraud (14%) or shoplifting (19%), also have to grapple with being incarcerated by a system designed with men in mind, and it is estimated that women sent to prison are seven times more likely to self-harm than men. Each year, 17,000 children are impacted by maternal imprisonment too.
Helping women to break the cycle of trauma is something that Lisa Dando, Director at BWC, and all her staff, are passionate about. They explain that a ‘trauma-informed’ approach is key when dealing with any woman living with multiple disadvantages [something that can be lacking during arrests, for instance, if officers haven’t been specially trained] and that a shortage of decent emergency accommodation sees women who’ve recently left prison instantly set up to fail. 
Too many are housed far from home – away from their support networks that help them to stay sober and happy – and are forced into mixed gender living situations, with shared bathrooms, toilets, and broken locks. All of which see their fight or flight responses fire up, particularly if they’ve been victims of domestic abuse or sexual violence. It’s much harder to stay sober when you’re scared and lonely.
The UK also continues to put pregnant women in prison, when other countries don’t. “Women give birth in prison here,” Dando adds. “I don't understand why the children are being punished for a crime their mothers have committed. The prison system is damaging in so many different ways and I'm also not convinced that the rehabilitation work that takes place inside, especially for women on short term sentences, which the majority are, has enough time to really make a difference.”
She adds, “It seems illogical [to break families up in this way] when there are alternatives, like women’s centres and non-custodial sentences, that are proven to work.” Dando, of course, caveats that this does not mean she supports people who’ve committed violent or very serious crimes going without punishment. 
It’s a sentiment that Hinds seemed to agree with during our interview too, along with the need for better trauma support training to be instilled across the justice system as a whole. “Trauma-informed services and spaces for these women are vital,” agrees Marion Taylor, Manager of the Inspire project at BWC, who has worked with Hayley. “It’s about working with women in a way that recognises they have trauma in their backgrounds, that shapes the way they’ve developed and react to certain things.” Consistency is also key; BWC is able to offer twelve sessions with a therapist, whereas the NHS offering typically hovers at around six to eight.
Part of the newly announced funding, of which BWC has received £761,280, will also be spent on creating better links between women’s centres and the police, which (as suggested by the Casey review) is rife with misogyny, racism and homophobia. “[The review] is a big part of why we wanted to form a partnership with the police, to divert women away from contact with them if possible,�� Dando explains. “We want to step in early and provide a different model of support, to protect women from having to experience being in a police cell or the damaging effects of a service that is struggling. We’d like to bring a different view and educate the police on a new way of working.”
In terms of feeling the impact of previous government cuts to services, Dando diplomatically says that since she “joined fifteen years ago, it’s been peaks and troughs” and that currently, the centre looks set to be financially ‘safe’ for the next two years. She highlights the financial gains of custodial sentences being a last resort too, pointing out that incarceration costs around £42,000 per inmate compared with a community sentence coming in at around £2,000. Around 87% of women given a non-custodial sentence do not go on to reoffend either. Dando adds, “And really, we’re all at risk of needing a women’s centre if our circumstances suddenly change.” 
When asked by Cosmopolitan UK as to whether the new £15 million funding allocation is enough for women’s services, Minister Hinds said he feels it’s a “substantial investment” and that the scheme will reduce the £18 billion overall cost of reoffending for the taxpayer. “Female offenders also benefit from other support the justice and health systems provide, like the Probation Service and Government’s £3 billion 10-year drugs strategy investment.” 
Coming back from darkness
Someone who is a prime example of a non-custodial sentence working is Sarah*, a 60-year-old animal lover who explains that she snapped after a long-running dispute with her neighbour escalated during lockdown. The neighbour, she says, made an illegal roof garden on their building, that Sarah repeatedly said wasn’t safe – and her point was proven when a dog later fell off and was injured. Later on, whilst in the vet’s surgery, an argument between the neighbours grew heated and Sarah admits that she pulled her neighbour’s hair. 
Her situation, Sarah points out, is a prime example of circumstances changing in an instant – and to her credit, she repeatedly acknowledges that she shouldn’t have become physical in that scenario. “I do sometimes wake in the night and think how could this happened? I pulled her hair. Yet I've been punched in the past, and it never goes to court. It was all just blown completely out of proportion… I used to work for probation, I spent five years working with one parent families.”
Ultimately, after sleepless nights spent imagining how she’d survive in prison, Sarah was given a non-custodial sentence of community service work, which she completed in a PDSA charity shop, “I was put in a position in court, where if I opened my mouth and tried to stand up for myself, I knew I would go to prison,” she reflects. “So I stayed quiet and left it to my solicitor, who managed to reduce my sentence down to 50 hours of non-custodial work.” Alongside her sentence, Sarah was also issued an eviction order, which is what led her to BWC to seek help with housing. 
“It was last chance saloon,” she shares. “I’d tried to access other services but found they weren’t able to move fast enough for me. It had reached the stage where my family were exhausted with it all too. My kids are older – my daughter is a doctor and my son's a respected musician – they came with me to court, but they didn’t have the facilities to help me, whereas women’s centres do. Even things like utility bills, I've brought them here as I just couldn’t have handled them alone.”
Now, Sarah is in a much better space – both mentally and physically – having found alternative accommodation with BWC’s support, and once her 50 hours in the shop were up, she decided to stay on as she found it good for her confidence and sticking to a routine. 
Hayley now says she’s now able to be there for all of her children and is clean and sober. She is also single, having broken free of her pattern of repeatedly entering into abusive relationships, and tells me she’s teaching her 17-year-old daughter to spot the red flags that she missed early on. “My kids have seen a lot of things and experienced a lot of trauma, they've seen me beaten up, drug dealers come through the doors, windows being smashed… But now it's like, mum's not that person anymore,” she says. “They can see I'm not running to men, or looking for a man to fix me, or putting up with being spoken to in a certain way. I can finally set the right example.” 
For now, it sounds as though the likes of BWC and the forty other women’s centres that have received funding at least have a little space to breathe – but is allowing them a moment to pause and catch their breath really enough? Especially given that new stats show one in five people in the UK are living in poverty right now, and that debt and homelessness are precursors to potentially committing an offence. Is it right that women’s centres have had to fight so hard – and wait so long – to receive adequate financial support in the first place, given the incomparable work they’re doing? And whilst these forty centres can feel short-term relief, plenty of other incredible organisations around the UK are still struggling. Let’s hope this is only the beginning of the recognition, and that the pressure all women’s centres are feeling will be eased on a more permanent basis in the near future. 
*Name has been changed 
You can donate to Brighton Women's Centre here and Bankuet, the food bank association that work alongside the BWC, here
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animebw · 11 months
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The Graveyard of Dropped Shows
So the thought occurs to me that I’ve dropped quite a few anime this season. Turns out, when you don’t pressure yourself to keep up with every show you start out of an obsessive need for cataloguing, it’s a lot easier to say goodbye to shows you don’t like. Who’d have thought? And at this point, I’m far enough into the shows I’m still watching that I’m mostly confident sticking with them to the end. Unless things really take a turn for the worse, but hey, we’ll burn that bridge when we cross to it. For now, I thought I’d just give a quick rundown of all the spring 2023 anime I started watching but gave up on for whatever reason. Cool? Cool. Welcome to the first installment of my graveyard of dropped shows!
Hell’s Paradise: Dropped at 4 episodes
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This is probably the most unfair drop on my list. Hell’s Paradise is fine, I guess; as much as I hate the overly bloomed-out lighting Mappa decided to go with, the action’s pretty fun and I’m a sucker for a good Garden of Nightmares setting. It’s a perfectly adequate Shonen Thing that’ll scratch a lot of people’s itches. But man, the older I get, the less patience I have for what I’ve come to call Shonen Gender Bullshit, or SGB for short. And sweet buttery crumpets, this show is full of it. It takes all of one episode for Sagiri to transform from a competent executioner deuteragonist to an inexperienced damsel who exists mainly to be outclassed and taught lessons by the men around her while she stares on in reactive awe. The only other female characters besides her are either evil seductresses who flaunt their bodies for the audience at the first possible opportunity or saintly, far-off idealized wives who exist as goals for Gabimaru to strive for. And in a post-Jujutsu Kaisen world, there is no more excuse for your ridiculous shonen beat-em-up to not treat its ladies with respect.
Konosuba Megumin: Dropped at 2 episodes
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Was there a time when I actually liked Konosuba? I’m sure there was, but every new installment in this series just makes it harder and harder to remember why any of us thought this show was anything more than passably amusing at best. And this is a spinoff centered on its best character! If anyone from this cast of losers and misfits had the strength to carry a side story of their own, it was the crimson witch Megumin herself. But absent the incredibly expressive, body-contorting animation that made Konosuba’s comedy work as well as it did, all you’re left with is a boring supporting cast, stupid fanservice, and jokes about guys being creepy perverts who want to molest women. Riveting.
Magical Destroyers: Dropped at 3 episodes
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It’s almost impressive how lame Magical Destroyers manages to be. It’s got some of the most unhinged, creative animation this side of mid-2000s Gainax, all the angular momentum and unhinged editing of a lost Hiroyuki Imaishi show. You can tell the series creator started as a graphic designer, because he sure designed the fuck out of these graphics. Unfortunately, you can also tell he’s a graphic designer from the script. Because all that insanely creative animation is paired with some of the dullest, stuffiest, most conservative writing imaginable. If you were hoping for some clever subversion of the “otaku are the most oppressed minority” setup, prepare to be disappointed. This is just brainless wish fulfillment for insecure manchildren who want to feel like badass revolutionaries surrounded by super-sexy, super-powerful warrior women who nevertheless happily submit to some hapless dudebro’s orders. Every single artist involved in this slog deserved to put their talents to better use.
The Marginal Service: Dropped at 1 episode
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How do you take a premise like “sexy firefighter super sentai heroes fighting aliens” and make it boring? Well, by slathering it in five layers of faux tryhard grit and grime, making every character the dullest possible archetype version of themself, and drowing the whole affair in a level of xenophobia so uncomfortable I barely made it through a single episode. Cygames just knocked it out of the park with Akiba Maid War, how did they go from that masterpiece to this?
Mashle: Dropped at 2 episodes
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This show feels like someone watched One Punch Man and Mob Psycho 100 and thought “Wow, I should make a show like that!” without fully understanding what makes them so great. Everything is such a surface-level approximation of ONE’s writing talents, from the tired “Wow, this guy is so overpowered!” gags to the reheated “Despite my powers, I just want to live a normal life” motivation. Not to mention its own struggles with the dreaded Shonen Gender Bullshit. But what really killed Mashle for me is very simple: it’s primarily comedy, and it doesn’t make me laugh. Or at least, it doesn’t make me laugh consistently enough to justify sitting through the lackluster animation and cardboard characters. I’ll just watch Mob Psycho again, thank you very much.
My Clueless First Friend: Dropped at 1 episode
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Okay, I lied: this is the most unfair drop on my list. As a simple story about a clueless elementary school boy unknowingly helping his classmate deal with bullies, there’s really nothing wrong here. But we have no absence of fantastic rom-coms to keep up busy these days. Just this season alone, My Love Story with Yamada-kun, The Dangers in my Heart, and especially Skip and Loafer have more than enough charm and wholesomeness to fill those needs. And unless you’re really fond of shrill vocal performances (seriously, whoever’s voicing the male lead makes him so irritating to listen to), there’s nothing here you can’t get much better in countless other places. Just Fine, sadly, no longer cuts it in the competitive world of anime rom-coms.
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genderkoolaid · 2 years
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omg i really love your transmasc retellings of Beauty and The Beast!! silglskglks can you do Cinderella some other time? if you have the spoons?? hehehe
this is actually very fortuitous b/c I actually had a post talking about transmasc Cinderella a while ago!! I’ve thought about writing a short story about this actually, so I am quite prepared.
So Cinderella, despite being ostensibly a wealthy woman, is constantly dressed in rags and dirty. Her sisters take to femininity freely and gladly, but she is always a failure at it. They view her as ugly and pitiful. Her life is dominated by her female relatives who exert total control over her body and her actions; like many transmascs, she’s resigned to the role of silent, disgusting servant, kept with the rats. Even her name isn’t her own, it was something cruelly forced upon her by her abusive family. 
His Fairy Godmother appears and gives him the appearance of his dreams through transformation. I’m picturing a dope baby blue outfit with gold and rapier at his side, because y’know. Homoerotic swordfighting is a must when it comes to princes. It could be argued this transition changes his physical appearance and not just his clothes, and this is why the prince could not recognize him through sight alone. He transitions when nobody else is home, wearing clothes that his family would never let him wear, in order to sneak away to a ball and dance with a prince (a future… king?). It’s a night where he is finally free of her abusive family and is able to express himself however she wants. He doesn’t even have to tell the prince the name she was forced to use.
But then it’s midnight, and she has to get home– the need to get back in the closet before your family can notice is a struggle many closeted trans people can relate to. She has to run away and leaves behind the classic shoe.
I’ve imagined the shoe-putting-on scene, reworked for a transmasc Cinderella, to function like this: The prince is looking for a man, but the shoe is too small for every man he finds. When he comes to Cinderella’s house, her stepmother tells him there are no men in the house, but invites him in anyways so her daughters can flirt with him.
And while he’s there, he sees Cinderella. And even without the magic he recognizes the man he met. And he speaks to him in private and gives him the shoe, and allows him to choose to put it on and prove he is the man he’s been trying to find.
And then they go get get gaymarried (knighting ceremony) and birds still pluck out the eyes of the stepsisters. Because what’s a trans fairytale without a little grim(m) violence towards transphobes, hmm?
Specifically in the short story I mentioned, I’ve played around with the idea of using Cinderella to emphasize the experience of being too masculine to be a girl, and not being allowed to partake in activities that cis women would. The stepmother encouraging her daughters to be independent and educated, for example, but banning those things for Cinderella. Or, Cinderella being told not to cut her hair because it’s “her one good (feminine) feature.” Also, Cinderella sneaking into her father’s room to “clean” and trying on his suits in private. I think there’s also something to be said, when transmasculinizing Disney stories, for how many princesses have dead mothers, and the idea that trans men transition because they didn’t have a proper ~female~ influence. 
I just think transmascs deserve a story where a trans man gets to escape his abusive mother and sisters and get to magically transition and get a cool sword and a cool romance and be happy and safe, y’know?
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butchladymaria · 11 months
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It's definitely a topic that gets even more tangled up with bloodbornes overall themes of femininity and motherhood, explored further if you've seen the Viscerally Feminine video on youtube. It's entirely possible that the Great Ones even *do* align with femininity, but in a way that's kind of twisted. (Great Ones, surrogates, blah blah blah, parentage isn't necessarily related to gender but bb seems to have Stuff Going On) (I am very tired fkshsjsh)
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i have watched that video, i thought it was amazing!!! bloodborne has such insanely complex commentary on womanhood. i genuinely think the themes of womanhood, menstruation, childbirth, and the visceral transformation of the flesh are crucial to why it’s been such an enduringly frightening classic.
my take on the great ones and womanhood has always been that it’s something humans assigned to them. they saw a Thing which had a child (kos) and designated her a “mother” because to them, mothers are the ones who bear children. they saw a Thing guarding a baby that didn’t belong to it and named her “wetnurse” because in their minds, women are the nurses of babies. equally, in Oedon they saw a Thing which was capable of impregnating people against their will and decided it was a “he”, because in their minds, men are the ones who sire children in others.
i’ve always loved this reading, because it is very catholic of the church to look at things they don’t understand and try to forcibly assimilate them into existing hierarchies instead of understand them without. like, in my mind, oedon isn’t really a “he”, oedon acts a lot more like a parasite does in nature by forcing other animals to take care of its offspring. kos may not have been a mother at all — male seahorses are the ones who carry children after all. my point in saying all this is that nature is messy, and the great ones are flesh just as any other part of nature might be — but the church has tried to force the great ones into their tidy little boxes of gender binary in order to reinforce the hierarchy which lends them their power.
all that to say — i agree that the great ones do align with femininity in a “twisted” way, and the above is my thoughts on why that might be!
as for women being more “in tune” with the great ones — it’s fascinating for sure! i’ve always thought that the blood saints did require some sort of treatment by the church to gain that property — possibly by having the blood of the great ones imbued into them directly? — but it’s nebulous at best what the process of “grooming” a blood saint looks like. of course, we also have arianna and annalise — but as probable descendants of the pthumerians, it may be that connection which grants them “kinship” of sorts with the great ones, and since they’re the only survivors of cainhurst… well, it’s not as though we’ve got much of a sample size. regardless, however, the fact of the matter is that many women we meet over the course of bloodborne are closely tied to the great ones (adella, adeline, arianna, annalise, fauxsefka, rom, etc…) i truly do wonder if the game overall was drawing on the idea of the “monstrous feminine” by having human women and great ones connected the way they are?
i love this game because there’s so many fascinating readings you can come away with!!! all of this is totally just ad-libbed, i hope it makes sense! and thank you so much for your thoughts!!!
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deathlessathanasia · 10 months
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“In other words, it may not be historically the case, as the spiritual feminists claim, that with Demeter and Persephone patriarchy suppressed the worship of powerful pre-historic goddesses, but that patriarchy increased their powers precisely to support its evolving cultural agenda. I do not mean to deny the antiquity of Demeter's cult or its significant association with women. Yet rather than preserving the relics of a pre-Olympian past, it is entirely possible that this myth transforms or interprets a particular set of "original" powers of Demeter that are imagined to be relatively free from patriarchal influence precisely so that they can be replaced by honors and powers that appear considerably more significant even while they simultaneously involve the incorporation of the goddesses into the patriarchal system. In other words, the myth may well operate in a manner analogous to the South American myths of matriarchy studied by Joan Bamberger, myths which posit an entirely invented past era in which women were in control in order to explain why women are subordinate to men at the present time ("Myth of Matriarchy"). Only in the slightly different case of the Demeter/Persephone myth, the present compensates for the loss of a female autonomy imagined to have existed in the past through the goddesses' acquisition of greater cultural authority.
The attempt by spiritual feminists to rescue the myth from the distortions imposed on it by patriarchal culture—in particular, the diminution and transformation of female power by rape and patriarchal marriage—also raises several important questions. Human relations in the modern world are still shaped by patriarchy. Christ's and Spretnak's version of the myth, which censors the rape and trivializes the power of marriage to shape female existence, eliminates the anger of Demeter toward acts and institutions still central in modern life. In their reading, the "pre-Olympian" story also becomes the daughter's story more than the mother's, thus attentuating one of the very few powerful representations of maternal experience in western literature before the twentieth century. Yet the expression of maternal anger, desire, and bereavement in this text is precisely what has made it of special interest to feminist literary critics like Marianne Hirsch. Hirsch argues that the infantile plentitude of the initial mother/daughter relation requires male intervention to become a story; nevertheless, it is a story that defies traditional modes of literary resolution, since the relation between Demeter and Persephone is cyclical and Persephone eternally divides her loyalties between husband and mother. ‘The 'Hymn to Demeter' thus both inscribes the story of mother and daughter within patriarchal reality and allows it to mark a feminine difference.’”
 - A question of origins: Goddess cults Greek and modern by Helene P. Foley
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cartoonscientist · 5 months
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unpopular opinion but I think people get way too defensive if you bring up that like, there’s no real reason women need to wear makeup in the professional world in order to be respected, that’s actually kind of fucked up, like obviously there’s nothing inherently sexist about cosmetology and makeup artistry, but maybe you should think a little bit about why you feel the need to put on a full face before leaving the house and consider that the women with bare faces who you call “lazy” or “not put together” are trading in the labor time spent in front of the mirror for being a target of misogyny and might actually be doing something difficult and sort of brave
everyone will be like “I’m sick of these pickmes bragging about how they don’t need to wear makeup! Some of us have acne scars or rosacea and NEED to wear foundation every day! feminism is just attacking other women! maybe you’re the ones brainwashed by the patriarchy into thinking you need to act like men!” totally ignoring the questions of like… what about people who also have facial scars who don’t wear makeup? why is the idea of wearing cosmetics so firmly connected to femaleness in your mind?
disclaimer: I love the aesthetic and transformative qualities of makeup, I have effectively devoted a section of my life to the appreciation and application of eyeshadow, I have taken a theatrical makeup art class. I would just love for makeup to be something that women choose to wear, something special that signifies joy taken in self expression, rather than this extra obligation that’s expected of them.
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fae-fucker · 10 months
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I've been reading a bunch of dragon shifter romances to see what else is out there and for inspiration.
So far, so bad. Won't name and shame these ladies, even if it would've been deserved, but I do have some, uh, observations.
I'm gonna start calling these torso books, because it's always just a huge veiny torso on the cover.
I genuinely did not go out looking specifically for porn. I just went "Dragon romance? Ok, will check." That's just what all of these books end up being. What is it specifically about shapeshifters/dragon shifters that makes them almost entirely porn-exclusive?
It's usually quite bad porn, to boot. Read one of them and you've read them all. Something claim, something "It won't fit!"-"It will.", something mating scent, something slick folds, something fill up and/or stretch out. Read one where they did it against a tree, which, gorl. Ok.
Sometimes they'll give the man a weird cock in order to fulfill some monsterfucker quota. It's usually a weird cock on an otherwise regular veiny man, no other inhuman traits. The cock will be anatomically questionable in how much it actually adds to the woman's pleasure. A two-headed penis is explained to be designed that way because dragons produce so much cum that it needs to get out faster? I do not know.
There's always some mating shit involved. It's always bad, often one-sided to explain why the perfect man would be interested in the weak and pathetic human woman, who is weak and pathetic.
The man will always be the ultimate masculine specimen while the woman is a curvy little pink-lipped hard-nippled dick recepticle. Any and all extreme sexual dimorphism present in regular het romance written by horny women will be amplified by a bajillion.
Somehow the attraction is so instant and extreme that boners pop and clits throb at the mere first sight of their counterpart. It's always funny and never convincing.
There will be some weak nod to the man being a dragon by him having, uh, a horde. Of stuff? Maybe. Most draconic thing about him will be his dick, and maybe he has some fire magic, and possibly can transform into an actual dragon.
Usually it's just a regular rich man, though. Just like a man in a suit. Who is big. Bigger than the other men in suits. Just a very large man. He's so large.
His suits are always super tight so you can see his muscles. But also tailored, because he's rich? I do not know.
Any and all women except the obligatory brainless best friend who serves sass and everyday wisdom to the heroine is a huge bitch who wants to take her big man. Women generally get sorted into "nameless bimbo admirer of the big man who gives the heroine the stink-eye when the big man wants her" or "named alpha bitch who will get dunked on and/or humiliated."
Which is extremely ironic because there's usually some hollow empowerment or girlpower message at the end for the heroine, somehow. Very feminisms.
The hero usually has a younger brother who's like, the most pleasant person in the book. He's always presented as weaker and less masculine than the hero, so he doesn't pose a threat to him and his extremely fragile masculinity.
The one time the hero was the younger brother, it was the book with the two-headed penis and the fucking-against-a-tree. My disappointment was immense.
The big dragon man always treats the heroine as like, his pet. Talks to her like she's beneath him. Yanks her around sexual style. Sexual harassment/assualt is common. She finds this hot, either secretly or explicitly, so it's empowering, actually.
There's a weird overlap between dragon romances and cowboy romances? Also dragon aliens? That latter one at least has more creativity and weirder guys than just Big Man in Suit, so there's that.
Someone free me from this hell why are all dragon books like this AUGH.
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vakhiyamusings · 1 year
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I Need To Do What?! - Part 5
Part 5 - A Dance and a Kiss
Hijiri’s POV:
It was a slow day at the convenience store. Hijiri wondered why he continued to work at this little dump of a shop. It had been months since he decided to sample the commoner lifestyle and subsequently grown to like said life. 
Like was obviously a strong word. 
He would say he was curious about this simplistic life.
One where people toiled hard to earn wages for their basic day to day survival. They didn’t have enough saved in the bank to afford themselves some leisure. What were their ancestors doing in the past? Did they not have any idea of how to save wealth? Didn’t money accumulate after years of work and proper investments?
Hijiri was not averse to work however. 
He just preferred to balance work with leisure. One should always pamper oneself in order to maintain one’s well being and radiance.
He didn’t have much pity for those who made poor life choices or bad business decisions. 
You reap what you sow. 
Hijiri made sure his finances were properly invested and taken care of, the moment his father revealed his trust fund to him.
Regardless of his growing financial situation, he continued to find appreciation for this menial task of ringing up a bill. 
The person who convinced him to try this job was the curious redhead next to him.
Anzu was so down to earth and she had no qualms about calling him out on his bullshit. She was also never affected by his dazzling beauty, a fact which Hijiri never understood at all. 
Women and on the rare occasion, men, flocked to him in droves, waiting till he bequeathed them with his splendor. Only those people who didn’t find him attractive tended to have no reaction.
Hijiri was certain that Anzu found him attractive but it was her stubbornness to not give into that feeling of adoration that was frustrating. Hijiri noticed her blush whenever he got too close to her or flirted with her. She seemed to transmutate her conflicted feelings into annoyance and anger.
A true pity, honestly.
What he wouldn’t do to witness her under his thrall? 
He eyed the lava haired maiden who had a wicked temper to match her hair. She was exceptionally quiet and lost in thought today. It didn’t seem right. Hijiri was incredibly annoyed by her downtrodden demeanor. His attempts to needle her into arguments fell short today and he didn’t like it.
He wanted to have her attention. How could she simply ignore his presence as though he were nothing more than a pesky housefly?
The girl was incredibly stubborn like a damn mule and resisted all forms of romantic overtures. How did one go about taming such a shrew?
Hijiri still recalled vividly his last attempt at dating her. Transforming a girl into Cinderella and having her date a prince was literally the dream of countless women in the world. How it did not work on this commoner, he would never understand!
Hijiri wondered what type of guy could hold her interest. She was obsessed with video games, so it would probably have to be a nerdy gamer. Hijiri wasn’t that big of a gamer. He found them tiresome and childish. 
Looking at the friends she had with her, they were all the good puppy dog type of followers. Her harem (if one could call a bunch of guys that were always around her that) was lacking in diversity. They were all simply too much in awe of her to actually provoke interest of any kind. They didn’t challenge her.
Hijiri could be the necessary bad boy to kindle her interest and hold her attention.
Bad boys never asked.
They took what they wanted with no apologies.
But he had to be subtle about it. The object of his interest was a little too keen and caught on quickly to any odd behavior.
He walked over to where Anzu was leaning against the window, watching people on the sidewalk and plucked the broom from her grasp.
“Wha-”
“Let’s go. Our shift is over.”
“What? Hijiri?” Anzu blinked slowly glancing at the clock.
“No, it’s not. We still have 30 minutes left!”
Hijiri pulled out the pair of keys he had with him. The store manager trusted Hijiri to close up and do as he saw fit on most days. As long as he got a cash register full of cash, he didn’t care what they did. 
Ignoring her protests, he closed up rather swiftly and ushered her into the car. He rounded around to the other side while giving Tsuchiya instructions on where to go.
“Hijiri, where are you taking me? I need to go home!” Anzu protested, while trying to unlock the side of her door. It wouldn’t work since the child lock was on.
“I have an important job tonight and require your assistance,” he stated simply.
“Then why didn’t you ask me beforehand, you jerk!” she growled. Hijiri hid his smirk. He was finally getting a reaction from her.
“You always turn me down. I still haven’t recovered from the moment you plucked my heart and stomped on it till it shattered into a million pieces and fluttered away into the wind,” he proclaimed with a dramatic arm raised to his forehead.
“Huh? When did that happen?” 
He ignored her question.
“Furthermore, you owe me for that and a lot more. This is merely a repayment of I’m owed,” he declared with a flourish.
Anzu appeared gobsmacked and then began to mutter insults under her breath. She couldn’t refute that his help was indispensable when dealing with that stalker scenario. Hijiri was wondering if he was being too underhanded here, but nothing would’ve swayed this seething maiden of fury beside him.
“Where are you taking me?” she bit out.
“Costume change,” he replied with a flourish as they stopped in front of his favorite boutique.
It took an hour to primp Anzu. Her squeals of protests and squawks of outrage were fun to listen to. When she came out, Hijiri gasped. 
Anzu wore a floor length black dress with a slit that went all the way up till her thigh. Her lips were Ruby red and her hair was a tamed to frame her face. She looked beautiful! But judging by the murderous look in her eyes, Hijiri refrained from commenting.
“Perfect. We won’t look too out of place when meeting with my father’s business associates,” he replied, tugging her by the elbow. There was no way the girl would accept his hand. 
“Business associates? Are you sure I’m the right person to be there with you tonight? Why couldn’t you find any other girl who could probably fit in better than me?” Anzu’s voice became rather high pitched as she started to panic. 
Hijiri smirked and tossed his flaxen hair in front of her.
“True, but none of them are interesting enough. They fawn all over me and it has become rather tiresome lately,” he complained as he led her back to the limo.
“So I’m just here for your amusement!” she cried, looking irritated. Her ire painted her cheeks red. It was extremely endearing. Not that he would ever tell her so.
Hijiri cleared his throat.
“Besides, this event is kind of informal,” he replied vaguely.
Anzu tried to pepper him with more questions that he deftly redirected. Once she realized she wouldn’t get far, she became quiet.
Hijiri wasn’t exactly lying about the meeting. He was planning on meeting up with his old friends from the private school he used to attend tonight. They were all sons of his father’s business associates and his father encouraged him to maintain a good working relationship with them. 
The next generation of business partners decided to meet up every other week at their favorite club, flirt with girls and just have a good time.
He wondered how the guys would react to Anzu. While the others tended to bring their girlfriends and weekly flings to these events, Hijiri never did so. It was going to be interesting to say the least.
When the limousine stopped in front of Club Rizzo, Anzu’s eyes widened into big saucers. Hijiri glanced at the club wondering how Anzu might perceive this venue.
It was a typical 5 star hotel with a fountain in the front and a few palm trees around it. The valet service was acceptable as they opened the door and welcomed them warmly.
Hijiri held out his hand and hid his grin when Anzu accepted it. She was now clinging onto his arm and Hijiri simply adored it. If he’d known she would have been intimidated by his simple club, he would’ve brought her here much earlier.
“Hijiri, if anything goes wrong, don’t blame me for it. This is so not my scene!” she hissed into his ear. 
Hijiri chuckled and pulled them to a stop.
He cupped her cheek, smiling at her.
“Just relax and be yourself. It will be enjoyable,” he said.
Anzu let out a shaky breath and nodded. She appeared to be gearing herself up to go to battle.
Hijiri was amused by it all.
This was going to be fun!
——————————————————-
It was most definitely not fun.
Interesting, if one squinted at it in a particular way, but it was far more troublesome than he’d ever expected.
Hijiri had changed a lot after dealing with commoners on a daily basis. He hadn’t noticed till he came to visit his old acquaintances with Anzu by his side.
Tatami, the son of a large shipping company and one of his closest friends got off on the wrong foot with Anzu almost immediately. It started off with a simple greeting and his usual appraisal of any girl they saw. He always found it funny to rate the women at the bar and decided Anzu would fair a solid 8.5 and would probably score more if she smiled and blushed. Anzu turned beet red at that and splashed water on his face, calling him a disgusting pig.
Hijiri actually found himself agreeing with her assessment. He never cared much about Tatami’s behavior before but he did not like the way he spoke to Anzu.
The rest of the gang was both amused and annoyed by the sudden appearance of a lively redhead. Tatami vacated the scene but not before he ordered Hijiri to keep his bitch on a tighter leash. Hijiri merely rolled his eyes and told him that his ‘girlfriend’ was being kind tonight and that Tatami better apologize to Anzu if he wanted to continue their partnership. Tatami cursed him and walked away.
Hijiri knew that he would soon come crawling back with his tail tucked between his legs soon enough. Hijiri’s assistance was rather valuable. 
Hijiri turned back to Anzu and saw her look freaked out.
“Hijiri,” she gasped.
“I’m so sorry!”
Hijiri frowned at her words. Why was she apologizing?
“No, I’m actually not sorry for yelling at him but I am truly sorry for messing up your business deal with him. Your father is going to be so upset! I, uh, if you, er, do I need to talk to him? A-apologize?” she asked in a pained voice. Her expression wavered between guilt and disgust, making  Hijiri laugh.
Anzu appeared offended at his response.
“No, no, it’s fine. It’s about time Tatami got put in his place,” Hijiri replied with a smirk.
Anzu continued to worry her bottom lip so Hijiri placed his finger to tug on the swell of her lower lip.
“Why don’t we dance?” he asked, tugging her along with him without waiting for a response.
Anzu protested but was quite compliant in his arms. He led her along to the music, which she actually followed quite well. He noticed her trying to hide her blush when he twirled her around. It was quite endearing.
“I will never forget this moment. You blush so prettily, my little rose. So beautiful but also so dangerous,” he whispered in her ear.
Anzu’s breath hitched and he heard her sniff. Hijiri frowned wondering why the compliment made her cry.
“Would your life be better off if you’d never met me?” she asked quietly.
“No, of course not. Why would you even ask such a thing?” he inquired, confused by the line of questioning.
Anzu shrugged but didn’t say anything more.
“My father sent me to your school because he wanted me to learn about the commoner lifestyle. It never held much interest to me till you barged your way in and showed me the best parts of your way of life. It is actually charming in its own way. I would never admit this fact in front of my father, but I will confess to you. You changed my outlook on life. On the value of work and hard earned cash. I would never trade my indulgences for your simple way of life but it helps me appreciate my own a lot more,” he said. Hijiri wondered where all these thoughts came from. He supposed he had been thinking about them for awhile and it all just effused out of him. 
Anzu’s eyes shone with unshed tears. He smiled gently and cupped her cheek. Slowly he moved forward and captured those captivating red petals between his lips in a sweet kiss.
He vowed to himself that he would never forget the look of his sweet rose after their kiss. It would forever be scorched in his memory, the soft glow of her cheeks and the warm simmer of her amber gaze brimming with a million emotions.
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heniareth · 2 years
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Hi!! An interview question for Astala :)
What’s the easiest way to flirt with you?
"Hello there! That's a good question." Astala tilts her head to the side as her eyes wander off towards the horizon. "Because I got a lot of that back in Denerim, y'know? Never at the docks, but working in a tavern does that to you. Not that it was very good flirting, mind you."
She grins to herself. "Tons of 'hello there, pretty, do you come here often', the occasional 'you must be the Maker's new favorite girl'." For each of these lines, she does a mocking initation of a male voice in a thick Denerim accent. "'If being sexy was a crime, you’d be guilty as charged' for the guys who believe they're the next hot thing, 'you’re like a fine wine: the more the merrier' for men who will treat their drinks better than any women in their lives, and once there was a very shy and clumsy fellow who said that if I was a vegetable, I'd be a cute-cumber. That was the sweetest one by far."
She raises her chin and shakes her head in a practiced motion. If her hair were any longer, the curls would bounce off her cheeks and neck in a very coquette manner. Short as it is, it just falls into her eyes and she has to push it back. "I gotta admit, I deliberately went fishing for them. Took the attention off of Nola and secured tips. But most of them were just awkward or plain creepy. So definitely don't go for any of those lines if you're planning to endear yourself to me. Oh, but you asked what would work best, not worst."
She shakes her head again as if that will put her thoughts into order and then stares off into the distance again, her lower lip caught between her teeth in thought. "What works best, what works best... you know, I'm not quite- Yes, Zev?"
Zevran has been hovering on the side for a while, seems to be about to leave, but catches himself when Astala calls for him. "Ah, apologies, I did not mean to interrupt. Please, continue."
"No, no, tell me." Astala all but jumps up to get him to stay. "What is it?"
"Well, I couldn't help but overhear part of your conversation, and you seemed a bit lost," Zevran says. "Is it compliments we are talking about? I happen to be quite good at that, or so I am told. Maybe I could help?"
Astala gawks at him. "You want to compliment me?"
"Not unless you wish it," Zevran says, smiles and coyly tilts his head to the side.
Astala brushes a strand of hair behind her ear and lets out a sound that is somewhere between an affirmative 'hm' and a surprised snort. "Sure, why not? Go ahead."
"Well now... where shall I start?" Zevran makes a small show out of finding a comfortable spot to sit down. "You should not take the quality of the lines you were subjected to personally, my dear. How could a half-drunken sailor conjure up anything that did you even an ounce of justice?"
Astala lets out another snort that transforms into a small giggle before she can stifle it. "You are so over the top, Zev."
"Am I?" Zevran gives her a sharp look. "I object. You do not give yourself enough credit, my Warden."
"Credit for what? Bashing a darkspawn's head in?" Astala says.
"Why such sarcasm, my dear?" Zevran tuts. "Surely you are aware of your own beauty and wit that captivated those sailors-"
"More like I was the closest girl at hand, but fair enough," Astala mutters.
"-you also know your strength and skill with the blades, not to mention that you are very successfully leading a ten-man-mission to end the Fifth Blight." Zevran is ticking off each item with the help of his hand and turns to Astala. "And I could go on! Truly, with this much credit you could open up a very successful moneylending house."
Astala's smile, which has slowly been overtaking her whole face while Zevran was speaking, transforms into yet another giggly laugh. "Oh Maker, alright. If you put it that way, I do have something going for me."
"Several somethings, I would say." Zevran's expression turns earnest. "In truth, there is no one I would rather be following. And I do not say that lightly."
It's all very subtle. Astala's eyes widen slightly. Suddenly, she's no longer smiling. Zevran's words seem to have touched upon something that is now lightly stirring, as if waking from sleep. Astala says nothing, just keeps looking at Zevran, and he holds her gaze.
"Well..." she finally says and tries to reign that stirring something in with a quick smile. "That definitely does the trick as far as flirting goes."
Zevran accepts it with a graceful bow of his head. "You have always responded best to the truth, my Warden."
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