#but also hes making so many valid points and even h is agreeing

[therealcocoshady]

Recovery - Chapter 20

Eminem x FemReader Fanfiction

Summary : Y/N gets back home from the hospital and Em comes for a sleepover.

Tags : Fluff - SMUT (P in V, foreplay)

Y/N’s POV 

The whole incident had brought you and Marshall a lot closer than you already were. You took it to heart, when he said he was missing you, when you were talking in the studio that fateful night before you were assaulted. You had been so focused on your relationship with Josh, so eager to get Marshall out of your head (or rather, your heart), that you had probably neglected your friendship a little bit. Still, he had been absolutely amazing to you while you were in the hospital, basically acting like your personal guard-dog, pillow, assistant and dream catcher. It got to a point where it was annoying for other people. Josh didn’t complain about it, he never would, but he did make a few comments about Marshall “always being around”. Talia and Jamal even joked about Marshall moving in, because he would never leave you alone. You could tell that Talia was a bit pissed off. You knew she loved him, but she also wanted to care for you. So when you got out of the hospital, they were basically bickering at each other, fighting over who would get “custody” of you. Marshall offered for you to stay at his place and hang out, while Talia seemed to strongly disagree. 

You’ve been with her nonstop for five days, Em, you’re not her only friend, you know ? She said as she rolled her eyes. 

I know. I’m just saying she can chill at the house if she wants, he shrugged. 

We have a house too, she said. She can chill there. 

Or maybe she wants to enjoy the movie room or the pool, he replied. 

Or maybe she wants her room, Talia insisted. 

Or maybe she wants y’all to stop fighting like divorced parents ? Jamal chimed in. 

You couldn’t help but giggle. You had been cleared by the doctor and were ready to leave the hospital. You’d been ready for about an hour and couldn’t wait to get out of that dreadful place but they wouldn’t stop arguing over small details, like who would drive you home. You didn’t tell them, but on top of that, you had Josh blowing up your phone, asking when he would actually get to see you. You were actually touched by all of this attention : not everyone had this many people they could count on. As annoying as it could get - because you just wanted to leave - it was a blessing. 

We could just leave them here and grab food somewhere, you suggested to Jamal. 

I like that, he said as he grabbed your bag. 

I want to eat too, Talia said. 

Me too, Marshall added. 

Look who’s suddenly on the same page, Jamal grinned. So, what do you want to eat ? 

Of course, that was enough for the bickering to start again. You offered to cook dinner, but obviously, none of your friends would let you lift a finger, even though you had basically spent five days sleeping and were more energized than ever. Thankfully, everyone ended up agreeing on the food, and you managed to display some excellent diplomatic skills when it came to organizing your schedule. You sent Marshall home after dinner so that he could actually get some rest and a full night of sleep and had a movie night with your roommates. As for Josh, you made plans to see him in a few days. Initially, you wanted to invite him to dinner on the night you got home, but your friends made a valid point that it would be wiser to wait for a few days, so that your first night home would be more chill. After the movie, you and Talia went to your room to do some pampering and she could not refrain from grilling you about “Em”. 

So… First night without cerberus in a while, huh ? She playfully asked. 

I guess, you giggled. He wasn’t that bad, though. 

Oh he definitely was, she chuckled. You should have seen him when you were asleep. He was standing there like some sort of bouncer, making sure not too many people were in the room. And then, when it got too loud, he turned into a cranky old librarian like “Shhhhh”. 

She imitated him, with his serious demeanor and frown. You couldn’t help but burst out in a fit of laughter. 

It’s sweet, you said softly - you couldn’t help defending him. 

He’s too much, she said. I swear, he is the most dramatic person I have ever met. 

It’s part of the charm, I guess, you shrugged. 

Oh, really… “Charm” ? She grinned. I thought we already had a prince charming… 

You know what I mean, you said with a frown. 

Actually, I don’t, she said. I mean, you’re wearing his clothes all the time, he spent five days in the hospital with you, you guys are always hanging out… I’m telling you : I wouldn’t enjoy being your boyfriend if I had to deal with Em being all over you. 

I know, you sighed. 

Especially when you enjoy it so much, she added. 

You looked at her but said nothing. Had anyone else made that comment, you would have lied, but it was Talia, so there was no use. 

I knew it !!! She almost screamed. 

Yeah well, you can know it but not shout it, ok ? You said. 

You like Em !!! 

I do, you groaned. But believe me, it’s not fun. 

Oh, boo-hoo, “my crush is all over me and it’s hard”, she giggled. Yeah, must suck to be you, Y/N. Especially when the crush in question is the wet dream of millions of people across the world. Remind me again, why are you bothering with Josh ? 

You ended up explaining the whole story to her : how you had a chance with Marshall, that was ruined by the argument, how you had planned on confessing your feelings for him in NYC but didn’t because he ended up dating Nicole and how you ended up dating Josh. 

Here’s the thing, you said : I love Marshall, but he doesn’t love me back. And I like Josh too, you know ? Like, actually like him. I want to give this relationship a chance, because he is so great. 

I feel you, she said in a voice full of compassion. You deserve to be happy. Em is a fucking dumbass in my opinion… 

He’s not. He doesn’t like me like this, it’s ok. He’s still my best friend. 

Yeah, but I don’t understand, though. For someone who doesn’t like you like this, he is all over you. That doesn’t make sense, you know ? She said. Anyway, if Josh makes you happy, that’s what matters, right ? 

He’s just nice, you replied. And Josh does make me happy. I can’t wait for you to meet him. 

I can’t wait either, she said. But he’s no Em. 

Promise me you’ll still be nice to him ? 

Of course, she said. 

A MONTH LATER 

You had finally introduced Josh to Talia and Jamal and they seemed to like him. The four of you would go on double dates, even some triple dates with Hailie and Evan. You had lots of fun and it felt really nice to have your closest friends supporting your relationship. Talia’s birthday was coming up in a few days and she even invited him. Josh was being as amazing as ever, and you wished you could say everything was perfect but it wasn’t. You’d been together for more than three months at this point and you still hadn’t been able to seal the deal. You’d had plenty of opportunity and slept together a bunch of times but that was all it was : sleeping. Not that you didn’t want to do the deed, on the contrary, you were both up for it, but the attack had left its mark, so every time he tried to do more than kiss you or hold your hand, you ended up being triggered. He said he was fine with it but, obviously, you could tell he was a bit disappointed. At that point, you were a triggered, yet horny mess, which put you in quite a mood. You weren’t even sure you’d be able to have sex ever again. Thankfully, you also spent a lot of time with your friends, which helped you get your mind off things. You were either hanging out with Jamal and/or Talia, at the studio or with Marshall. 

That night was your first night sleeping alone in a month. Ever since you got home, you were prone to nightmares. The doctors at the hospital had offered to give you some medication for anxiety and even some sleeping pills, but given your past, you refused to pick up the prescription. You’d been sober for a while now, which was great, but you still didn’t trust yourself. So your friends, being as amazing as they were, took turns having sleepovers in your room. The most frequent guests were either Talia or Josh, but sometimes, Marshall would come over too. It was the middle of the night and you were waking up from yet another nightmare and, normally, you would have someone by your side, but you had decided to try sleeping alone for the first time, since Talia and Jamal had a romantic weekend getaway planned and were spending a night in a hotel, and you weren’t too sure about wanting Josh coming over. Not that you wouldn’t enjoy his company or that he wouldn’t happily cuddle with you, but you felt like he might get his hopes up about finally having sex and you didn’t want to let him down yet again. You tried to pace yourself by using some breathing exercises, but to no avail. It was as if you could feel the attacker’s breath down your neck. Plus, it was a windy night and every noise from the outside was startling you. So much for putting on your big girl’s pants. You decided to call Marshall. 

Hey honey, you heard his sleepy voice say. What’s up ? 

Am I bothering you ? You asked in a little voice. 

Never, he said softly. What’s up ? 

I’m scared, you said on the verge of tears. I’m alone in the house and I feel like… He’s watching me or something.��

Oh. Isn’t Josh sleeping over ? He asked. 

Not tonight…, you said sheepishly. 

Want me to come over ? 

Do you mind ? You asked. 

You know I don’t, he said. Movie night ? 

Sure. 

Great. Be there in 30, ok ? 

When he arrived, he gave you the biggest hug and you put on some random, crappy movie. You were both laying on your bed, watching the movie on your computer. He had an arm wrapped around your shoulder and was mindlessly playing with your hair. His presence was soothing, and his hilarious comments were keeping you distracted. At some point, a steamy sex scene came on, and it made you feel a bit awkward. It didn’t help that it reminded you of all the action you were definitely not getting. Marshall picked on it right away. 

Are you blushing ?! He asked with a grin. 

What ? No I’m not…, you replied awkwardly. 

You’re so red. You’re blushing. 

Shut up, please, you whispered. 

Come on, it’s a movie, he chuckled. 

It’s just… It’s so awkward, you know ? I hate love scenes in movies, you said. 

Oh, believe me, actors usually hate filming them, he said. More awkward to film than to watch. 

Have you ever filmed one of those for a music video ? You asked. 

Sort of, he said. But the worst was the scene in 8 Mile. Didn’t take long, but I definitely didn’t have much fun. 

Oh right, you said. I sort of forgot that you were in a movie. 

What ?! You haven’t seen my movie ?! He asked in a fake offended voice. 

I haven’t, you giggled. What’s it about ? 

He proceeded to describe the movie for you, explaining the plot. You thought it was absolutely crazy that you were friends with someone who had a movie based on his life. Once again, it reminded you of the big deal that he was. 

Can we watch it ? You asked. That sounds like something I’d enjoy. 

Sure, he chuckled. Haven't seen that in a while. 

You changed the movie and put on 8 Mile. It was both weird and fun to see Marshall twenty years ago. 

God, you’re hot, you said before you could catch yourself. 

He looked at you with a smirk. 

Why thank you, he said with a smile. 

No, I meant before, you said. I mean, in the movie… Uh, you look good in that. 

Better than now ? He asked with a grin. 

No, you said. 

So I’m even hotter now ? 

Yeah. I mean no, I-I…, you began to say as you felt your cheeks burning. 

Relax, I’m just fucking with you, he giggled. God, you’re blushing so hard it’s hilarious. 

You focused your intention on the movie and tried to ignore him. The movie was good and you enjoyed it. Marshall definitely had great acting skills. At some point, the love scene with Brittany Murphy came on and you found yourself biting your lip. It was just a movie scene, for sure, but it was a steamy one and you were lucky enough to know that Marshall was actually good in bed (or on a couch, or in a car…). In fact, he was the best you ever had. And the last. This thought had you hot and bothered, and equally frustrated. 

Like what you see ? He teasingly whispered in your ear. 

God, shut up, you groaned as you blushed. His voice in your ear wasn’t helping you. 

Not a chance, he giggled. 

It’s not funny, Marshall… 

He chuckled and kissed your cheek. It was an innocent peck, as there had been thousands before, but it definitely made matters worse. And obviously, you had no poker face, so he picked on it right away. 

Don’t tell me you’re horny, he chortled. 

Don’t you ever shut up ? 

What ? Isn’t the lobster up to the challenge ? He grinned. 

Well, I guess we’ll never know, you groaned. 

He looked at you in confusion and pressed pause. His eyebrows were furrowed. 

What’s wrong ? He asked. 

Nothing, you said. It’s just… Nevermind. Let’s watch the movie, ok ? 

You can tell me anything, honey, he said softly. What’s up with Josh ? I thought he was great. 

I can’t put out, you blurted out. So, yeah, he’s great, but he’s probably going to end up leaving me and I’m going to grow my hymen back and die a virgin. 

He couldn’t refrain from chuckling and you shot him a death glare. 

Sorry, he said as he caught himself. It’s not what you’re saying. It’s the way you’re saying it. I feel for you, though. 

You do ? You asked with a pout. 

Well, I mostly feel for him, but yeah…

He’s not the one panicking every time someone tries to touch him, you groaned. But yeah, whatever, let’s feel for Josh, I guess. 

No, he chuckled. What I mean is that having you as a girlfriend and not getting any action must be really hard. Pun intended. 

He managed to make you chuckle. He always had the silliest jokes. 

Come on, you horndog, let’s watch the end of the movie, he said as he shook his head, trying not to laugh. 

He wrapped an arm around your shoulder and pulled you to him and you went back to watching the movie. 

Is that alright ? He asked with a smirk. Or am I too hot for you ? 

Fuck you, Marshall, you whined. 

Well, yeah, you wish, he chuckled. Just kidding, I’ll stop. 

Thankfully, the movie was good and you managed to focus on it. Soon after the movie ended, you fell asleep. 

MARSHALL’S POV 

Showing 8 Mile to Y/N was pretty interesting. Marshall got to watch her reactions and it was a fun sight, especially when it came to the sex scene. He couldn’t help but notice her blushing and biting her lip and, obviously, he wasn’t going to miss that great of an opportunity to make fun of her. He didn’t mean to be an asshole, but learning she hadn’t actually slept with Josh made his day. Not that he didn’t want her to be fulfilled - he did - but the fucker didn’t deserve her anyway. He knew he shouldn’t rejoice in another man’s sexual misery, and karma made sure to remind him. As Y/N fell asleep, he kept on tossing and turning. For one, he wasn’t really tired anymore - somehow, being woken up at 2AM fucks up your sleep schedule. Secondly, seeing her all hot and bothered had him all hot and bothered. He could make fun of her all he wanted, but he hadn’t had any action in a while either. He probably would have if he hadn’t blown it up with Nicole, though. 

Y/N encouraged him to patch things up with her, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. After realizing his feelings for Y/N were far too strong, dating Nicole seemed stupid. Years ago, he definitely would have used her to get over his feelings, but that wasn’t exactly the man he wanted to be. So he did the “right” thing to do : he sent flowers and apologized for lacking empathy being an ass, but decided not to see her anymore. Thankfully, none of his friends knew he was dating, so he didn’t have to explain his change of heart to anybody except Y/N. She didn’t understand at first but she ended up leaving him alone on the matter. 

He took a look at her as he tried to fall asleep. She was really cute and the sight brought a smile to his face. She seemed to sleep peacefully - at least for now - and he hoped she wouldn’t have any nightmares. He kissed the top of her head and cuddled with her before closing his eyes. He almost went to sleep when he heard her moan. Not an unusual sound since she kept on having these awful dreams. He almost woke her up when he heard something unexpected : his name. 

Marshall…, she moaned. Harder. 

Was she having a dream… about him ? He was about to shake it off when she moaned again. He had absolutely no clue as to what he was supposed to do. Leave ? Wake her up ? He thought about letting her enjoy her dream but as her moans got deeper, he felt as if he was about to go crazy. To make matters worse, she was squirming. She always moved when she slept but now, he couldn’t take it anymore. 

Honey, wake up, he whispered as he gently shook her arm and turned on the little lamp on the nightstand. 

She slowly opened her eyes and looked at him, flustered. She sat up and he could see her nipples poking through her tee-shirt. This woman was going to be the death of him and he knew it. 

Are you alright ? She asked in a small voice. 

Are you ? He asked as he couldn’t keep himself from smirking. 

At that point, it was second nature to him. He had to tease her about it. Anyone would do the same if they were laying in bed with a beautiful woman having a wet dream about them, right ? She looked at him and he could tell that she knew he heard her. She said absolutely nothing, though. 

So… sweet dreams ? He chuckled. 

She was biting her lip, looking away. She looked incredibly hot and it took everything he had not to jump on her this minute. Plus, he didn’t want to trigger her, obviously.  Not to lie, he was having a huge fucking ego boost, knowing it was him who had her in this state. Not Josh. Not anyone else. Him. As seconds went by, the silence was starting to become heavy. They were both horny, it was painfully obvious. She was looking down, obviously uncomfortable. 

Look at me, he said softly, coaxing her chin in his direction. 

Her beautiful eyes seemed lost in a haze. Her pupils were dilated and her chest was heaving. She seemed to be in some state. 

What did you dream about ? He asked. 

Y-You, she whispered in a husky voice. 

I didn’t ask who, I asked what, he said softly, his hand still on her cheek. Care to describe ?

She opened her mouth but no sound came out. He chuckled softly, amazed at the effect he was having on her. He could definitely get high on this feeling. He grazed her bottom lip with his thumb. It was swollen from the biting. All he wanted was to kiss her. He brought his face slightly closer to her. They were staring into each other’s eyes. He traced her features with his fingers : her cheekbones, her jaw, the curve of her neck… 

Marshall, she whispered. 

Tell me to stop, he said. 

But she didn’t. Instead, she brought her hand to his face and cupped his cheek. It was soft, intimate and unexpectedly sexy. Her breathing was heavy and so was his. He couldn’t resist her anymore. He captured her lips in a soft kiss. His heart was pounding. For a quarter of a second, he feared that she would push him away, slap him or run away from him. But she kissed him back. Thank God. Their kisses were delicate and soft, but they could both feel the passion brewing in each other. He gently bit her lip, causing her to moan. 

Tell me about your dream, baby, he said in a husky voice. Describe it for me. 

Y-You were…behind me and… I was in your arms, she said. Spooning. 

Her voice was breathy and her eyes were closed. He kissed her gently and grabbed her hand, interlocking their fingers. 

What else ? He asked. 

You were hum… kissing my neck… and biting it, she whispered. 

I know how much you love neck kisses baby, he whispered in her ear. Can I kiss your neck ? 

Yes, she muttered, almost pleading. 

He smiled and gently got her hair out of the way before planting soft kisses on her neck, in that soft spot he knew she had. This caused her to whimper, much to his satisfaction. She ran her fingers through his hair, maintaining his head where it was. He chuckled and gently bit her neck. 

Tell me more about your dream, honey, he commanded. 

You were pounding in me, she said hoarsely. 

Was it good ? He asked. 

So good. 

He kissed her neck again. He was dying to make her his, but he didn’t want to rush her. He just wanted her to enjoy the moment. He could tell she needed some release. 

How about you show me how good it was, baby ? He suggested. 

W-What ? She asked shyly. 

Touch yourself for me, honey, he said before kissing her shoulder. 

He knew he probably shouldn’t ask her to do that. But in this instant he absolutely didn’t care. He was burning for her and he could feel her desire. They were looking at each other, as if they were high. She nodded and began running her hands on her body, on top of her clothes. She was wearing a tee-shirt and shorts. She closed her eyes, seemingly enjoying the sensations. One of her hands went to her breasts, stroking and pinching her nipples, while the other rubbed her thigh. Apparently, it was enough for her breathing to accelerate. This was the sexiest thing he had thing in a while. He was so hard it was almost painful. This view was both a blessing and a curse. He needed to touch her. He gently cupped her cheek and she leaned into his touch while she kept on touching herself, her hand going from her thigh to her pussy. 

I want to hold you, he said softly. Can I ? 

She nodded softly, her eyes still closed. He settled behind her. He took her in his arms while she rested between his legs, still busy with herself. Her head was resting on his shoulder as he traced the features of her angel face. Eventually,her hands got underneath her clothes.

You can just take them off, baby, he whispered. 

Once again, she said nothing. Only sweet moans were escaping her lips. However, she seemed to agree, as she removed her tee-shirt and her shorts. She spread her legs a little and rubbed her clit, which made her whine. He kissed her temple while his fingers were gently tracing circles on her shoulder. Her moans got louder when she inserted a finger inside her pussy. He knew she was soaking wet and it was making him ever hornier. He knew how good it felt to be inside of her. 

Does it feel good, baby ? He asked in her ear. 

Yes, she moaned before inserting a second finger. 

He spilled kisses in her neck while she fingered herself, determined to see how loud he could make her moan. 

Come for me, babygirl, he whispered. 

I can’t, she replied in a croaky voice. 

Do you want me to help you ? He asked softly. 

She stopped what she was doing and turned to him and looked at him in anticipation. She looked shy. He placed a tender kiss on her lips and stroked her cheek. 

I won’t touch you if you don’t want me to, baby, I promise, he said. 

Ok, she whispered. 

Ok what ? He asked in order to make sure he wasn’t misunderstanding anything. 

You can… help me. 

He kissed her again. He felt so proud that she trusted him enough. All he wanted was for her to feel safe. He grabbed her hand and gently sucked her fingers, enjoying her taste. He removed his tee-shirt so that he could feel her skin against his. 

Come here, he said as he put her in a spoon position. Take my hand and show me what you want, baby. 

They were comfortably laying in bed, cuddling while he kissed her neck. She grabbed his hand and put it on her breast. He could feel her heart pounding. He gently pinched her nipple, causing her to moan and arch her back against him, no doubt feeling how hard he was through his sweatpants. He did it again, a bit harder, while he bit her neck. She started grinding her ass against him, still in the spoon position, driving him crazy with each one of her hip movements. He gently put his hand on her hip, stopping her. 

Hold on, babygirl, he chuckled. You’re driving me crazy here. Let’s focus on you for a bit, alright ? 

It was true : he wanted to focus his attention on her. She chuckled softly and grabbed his hand again. They interlaced their fingers. 

Can you… touch me ? She whispered. 

Anything you want, honey, he replied with a smile. 

He gently cupped her sex, feeling how wet she was. His palm was against her clit, his fingers teasing her entrance. 

Is this what you want, baby ? He asked in a husky voice. 

Yes, she moaned. Please, Marshall. 

He pressed his hand harder and inserted two fingers in her as she let out a gasp. She was squirming against him, rocking her hips in sync as he was moving his wrist. At first, his movements were slow. He wasn’t in a rush anyway. Plus, the last thing he wanted was to trigger her or hurt her. 

Are you alright ? He asked carefully. 

Yes, she moaned. It’s good. 

He buried his face in her neck as he went a bit faster. Her moans became a lot deeper and he could tell she was about to come. He accelerated the movements of his head and she let out a small cry as he felt her walls clench on his fingers. Her whole body seemed to contract before relaxing altogether. 

Oh God, she whispered. 

Did you like it, honey ? He asked with a smile - already knowing the answer. 

Yes, she softly giggled before burying her face in the pillow. 

He gently turned her so that she could face him, so that he could see her beautiful face. She looked relaxed and happy, though still hazy.  

You’re so beautiful, he said. I want to kiss you. May I ? 

Instead of replying, she kissed him passionately. He wrapped his arms around her as their tongues found each other. It was a deep, ardent kiss. Their legs were tangled together, as their arms were clutching at each other’s body. 

I think… I want you, she whispered shyly. 

Are you sure baby ? He asked softly. You don’t have to. 

I’m sure, she whispered. Just… be gentle ? 

Of course, love, he said. How do you want it ? 

Spoon ? She asked with a little smile. 

He chuckled. She seemed to enjoy this position. It wasn’t particularly his favorite, but he was happy to indulge. There was something about it that was soft and intimate, which he had to admit was enjoyable. He removed his sweatpants and boxers and they resumed the spooning position. He slowly positioned himself at her entrance and he felt her tense up. 

Are you sure, honey ? I swear we don’t have to…

Yes, she said hoarsely. I want you. And I trust you. 

He kissed her temple and entered her. She let out a groan and he froze for a second. However, she relaxed and he took it as his cue to start moving. He was thrusting slowly while peppering her face with soft kisses, holding her in his arms. He started to gently explore her body with his hands, making sure she was ok with every move. He teased her nipples with one hand and stroked her clit with the other. 

Faster, she begged. I’m… so close… 

He happily obliged and started to thrust faster, going deeper as well. He felt her clench around him again, slightly jerking as they both reached climax. He buried his face in her neck while they were both panting, gasping for air. He grabbed her hand and held her close to his body. 

Are you alright ? He asked after a few minutes. 

Yes, she said softly. Are you ? 

Absolutely, he said. 

She turned to face him. She had such a pretty face and reaching orgasm definitely gave her a nice glow. He chuckled as he cupped her face with his hand. 

God, I’m so in love with you, he said.

He didn’t even think twice before saying it. It felt natural to him. Before he could catch himself, he saw the soft smile of Y/N turn into an expression of shock.

#eminem #marshall mathers #slim shady #eminem fanfiction #eminem x reader #eminem fluff #eminem imagine #marshall mathers x reader #marshall mathers imagine #marshall mathers headcanons #recovery fanfiction

[lordystrange]

Hey, I just wanted to come here and say thank you for being more nuanced with everything regarding Noah and Israel/Palestine. I’m Jewish and I do come from a Zionist family that doesn’t mean I necessarily love Israel or it’s government, but a lot of people believe in Zionism and for obvious reasons. It’s hurtful, it hurts when people from this fandom who didn’t even know what it was didn’t know crap about Jewish history ethnicity struggle be so quick to say really antisemitic and hurtful things. We’ve heard it many times but it seems like it’s everywhere now.

Noah said in his post he feels fear and the internet pro Palestinian people ridiculed him! He goes to Penn ladies and gents they literally painted a rabbi being h*ng on the side of a building around that same time. There’s scary stuff out here being done to Jews and making fun of Jewish people who say they are afraid is so insensitive. Nobody is saying they are more afraid then the gazans, and to think it’s some malicious effort on our part to compare pain and fear is WRONG. we are all hurting from what happened since Oct 7. I just wish people valued Jewish lives. many hostages are still taken and many died in the nova festival. We should value both sides.

Black and white thinking has gotten us no where and it creates further hatred further miscommunication. Israel and Palestine will never be a easy conflict it has history it has perspectives, it has unfortunately really distasteful politics and war mongering leaders from both sides.

Hi!

I’m glad you’ve found my posts and liked them. Honestly, I have many more in my drafts but I don’t wanna cause a shitstorm. But then again, I do wanna lead people to more nuanced way of thinking.

I think one of the reasons for my nuanced thinking is that I don’t assume my thinking will ever be done. There will always be more to learn about everything. So I keep all door open and ears ready to listen.

Nothing indeed is black or white. Right things can also be wrong and true things can also be false.

I feel like the more I think about this Noah case, the more I am confused (and less confused at the same time). I am very aware that jewish people have done awful things in the name of zionism and still are. But I have not seen any definition of zionism that literally includes genocide of palestinians (or baby killing as Noah haters believe). And since jews have been persecuted for ages, I can understand the will to have a safe homeland for them. And I can also understand that zionism is portrayed as a very good thing in zionist households, and that would mean leaving out all the horrific things some zionists have done.

Do I agree with the way Israel ended up being formed? No. Do I support what IDF is doing now? No. But do I think Noah thinks ”killing babies (or anyone) is sexy”? Also no. I don’t think he actually wants anything bad for anyone.

I think anyone has a right to want their own country for their own people. It doesn’t make anyone evil. The problems come when other people are being mistreated/killed because of it. Which is what Israel is doing, but Noah is not.

You also mentioned the fear and that is another thing people should acknowledge. Because again, it’s not black or white situation. The fact that palestinians have to fear for their lives doesn’t mean that jewish fear (also for their life) isn’t valid. Everyone here deserves to feel safe. And I support especially the what people call bad people’s right to feel safe because I think that would solve a lot of problems. I doubt any IDF leader is doing this for fun. They are all afraid of what happens if they don’t.

I could go on forever. But my main point with my posts is that nuanced thinking is only helping the world, not hurting palestinians nor jews.

I want to add that I definitely value jewish lives. I’m sorry that so many jews have to feel like their lives are not being valued. And that their caring for each others lives is seen as a bad thing.

Anyway, thank you for the ask! I’m always open for more discussion :)

I’m gonna end this with a quote from Bertrand Russell: ”The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.” (Am I targeting this to those who are so adamant about only one pov… maybe…)

[this-daydream-is-dangerous-13]

What are your thoughts on OW using the sex scenes (and made them seem as something revolutionary) in DWD to promote the movie as some kind of feministic message about female pleasure, when it ended up that the women there were in a simulation and couldn't give consent? It's sad that Florence was misunderstood about the whole thing and made out to look like she is not a feminist and was just hating on Olivia just to hate on her (and was being jealous apparently because of Harry??), while she was bringing up valid points about the false promotion around it. Even now that Oppenheimer came out there were so many people that were saying that she's not complaining about the sex scenes just because the movie is directed by a man and she can't say anything against him, but could definitely attack O, when her issues weren't even the sex scenes themselves, but the length at which they were utilized as part of the promotion. She's being made out to be unprofessional and whiny and is the butt of the joke for a while now because of it, I find it disgusting that everyone seems to have forgotten about Olivia's actions and lengthy interviews about it. Even WB came out defending her. 🙄

There's an interview with Harry talking about how him being a part of sex scenes feels like he's giving a part of himself and it's really intimate for him. I can't imagine how he must have felt about the whole thing. Your girlfriend exploiting your sex scenes just to advance herself and making everyone uncomfortable in the process. The very thing he's trying to shed as part of his image being the 'sex symbol' that he was made out to be from a very young age being used in such a way. And he also talked about trusting her with those kinds of things. Makes me feel uneasy just thinking about it. 🤮

(Side note: O going out of her way to praise Harry for letting Florence shine is so weird. Florence has been a professional actress for YEARS, she doesn't need to be grateful to a man for letting her shine and make it out like she owes him for doing so. Like, 'Thank God if it weren't for Harry Styles accepting a side character, I wouldn't have been the star of my own movie'. (Nothing personal about Harry, just the way she made it seemed out to be and made me annoyed about it and roll my eyes) Praising men in general for just being decent humans and doing the bare minimum doesn't sit right with me. It's the least they could do. Especially in an industry where if one doesn't like being a side character, they can just not accept the job. Those are usually the men who are already successful actors and have a say and the entitlement and ego to do so, like Brad Pitt for example, they don't need the money like some other actors do, they can cherry pick all they want. Other people with not much experience, or not being already established in the industry in my opinion would just seem ungrateful to be whining about it. Quite frankly, The Weeknd exists, so I get where she was coming from, but still it feels weird.)

I love both Harry and Florence so much I get really heated about all this. At times it feels as if she was trying to pit them against each other.

Ooooof, we’re approaching the anniversary of this mess, anon, and it is giving me hives. What a big old mess.

I agree with a whole lot of what you said, especially the uneasiness for H and the weird emphasis OW placed on the scenes that made both Florence and H feel…vulnerable/used/like sexual objects? And in this movie about violating consent? 🤮🤮 I don’t want to pile on OW (ah…any more than I already have) but she seems to fundamentally misread situations over and over again. As she did in her promo interviews, and the “explaining to H what an apron is” stuff. Except this was way worse.

I actually don’t fault OW for praising H because he was willing to take a secondary role to a woman; she is right that so few actors are. Have we seen Leo do that since Titanic? But what I found weird was: what about Chris Pine, who did the same thing *in this movie*? And seems to be willing to do it often? THAT was weird to me, and made me think “she’s praising her boyfriend and overlooking others.” That and the stuff you pointed out—as if Florence needs help!

And as a side note, ooof. Brad Pitt. I know you were using him as an example (like Clooney) of someone who can pick and choose, but I cannot in good conscience let his name stand without pointing out how f*cking problematic his behaviour towards women, esp. AJ and kids is and how he gets away with it. I haaate it. Huge double standard. And it pains me to admit it because I am old and young Brad Pitt (like A River Runs Through It and Legends of the Fall era) was the star of all my tween dreams. But gross. Brad’s reckoning is coming.

[mikewheely]

Hi! I love your account because I also adore Mileven. They're literally the couple that had been setup since ep1 season 1. It's a simple story written by the duffer bros abt El being the survivor of the secret govt experiments, her powers, and its supernatural other side creatures, and the kids who help her and the people she learnt to trust along the way.

It's a pretty simple story tbh but somehow along the way the fandom has become toxic from all the many demands and expectations of different shippers. And I'm also beginning to think the writing is also partly at fault; for not giving Will a proper character arc instead of just.... sad boi.

I think partly people just wanna see Will be happy and somehow some of them started pinning that cause of happiness to be only Mike and Mike alone--and that's why I said the writing is partly at fault, because its refusal to write Will to meet new people, to write Will be happier.

I've seen how you've been defending Mike and I support you since passion is also my biggest trait lol. But I hope you understand that these haters will never stop hating no matter what you tell them. You can explain it all until you lose your breath and they will never agree with you.

I'm in a lot of fandoms and I've learned that sometimes, just not listening to their hate gives them less power. Over time, I've actually begun to like the characters that I used to dislike before in various fandoms--maybe that's the way for it to go--maybe the more people experience things irl maybe the more they'll understand characters in stories. And that's usually how people end up saying stuff online abt some characters in past shows like "oh this character was so underrated, that character was misunderstood" -- but by that time, no one really cares anymore. It's an old show, the echoes have long faded.

There's a lot of things about Mike that the writers failed to explore, and that makes it so easy for haters to fill in the blanks. And this goes to a lot of the other characters too and no, i do not hate the characters. It's okay to admit that some writers are good at writing exciting plots, but not so much at character arcs

At the end of the day, it's a story that we're supposed to take pleasure in and find entertainment in and instead the wars and hatred from various sides are becoming a turn off from the fandom

And not to mention, there are usually lots of people who likes A Thing but are silent fans, compared to haters. Haters are loud even if their quantity are smaller and maybe that's why they're all you'll ever hear. It's easier to be loud when we like something compared to when we do like a thing.

That's all! Kudos!

Hello! Well, I agree and disagree with you. Of course paying attention to what they say gives them more power, you're right. But I also know that me saying anything wouldn't change at how they look at things, I am not doing it for them. I am doing it for myself. I am doing it to vent. I am utilizing this space to support a character I love by giving valid points, to share the other perspective in contrast to the popular one.

Also, I do not blame the writers or makers for any of this. First of all, the character arcs. For a show like this where you get very little time to show the personal lives of the characters, I think they have done a very good job in developing their characters properly. I mean sure, you may think that they didn't, that's your point of view, but I don't agree with that. Secondly, about Will having a love interest, to be honest, he hasn't been able to come out yet, he hasn't been able to accept who he really is yet. Also, even Noah knows that he has just entered high school, he is a shy kid and it's the 80s, so it was more difficult to come out than it is today. And along with that, you are in love with your best friend who also happens to be your sister's boyfriend, that's even more complicated, so if anything comes out that affects 3 people. The story is still left, so I guess we have to see if there is a reason why they have not given that scope to Will. But then there's Steve also, not a LGBTQ character, he has not been able to find love after Nancy either, he still has feelings for her. But people don't find that problematic? Why not? The other day, I finished watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine and the bisexual character there, Rosa, chose not to settle down in the end when all the rest of the people were settled down/married and had become parents and found the usual 'happy ending'. Do you think that the writers did that intentionally because they wanted to show that she doesn't deserve to be happy? No.

So it's not the writers' fault, they did what they felt is right for the character, for some reason. If anything, they kept it realistic, because not everyone has it so easy in life. I don't know why that's so shocking or surprising to so many people. I mean if wearing a blue shirt, standing in front of a closet and so many more such things make people decide that these are all related to the sexual orientation of a character that is not anyone's fault, it is what they wanted to see. If they think Mike lied in his monologue, can you really blame anyone else for that? If they read too much into everything, then they are willingly choosing to be disappointed. And when things don't happen the way they want, they start creating drama over that.

Seeing how things are getting misinterpreted, misunderstood, and misconstrued and then being used against the characters just makes me angry. And I merely vent here. That's all.

But thank you for being so nice! Maybe someday I will get tired of venting as well. But till then, I would always stand up for Mike.

#mike wheeler #will byers #stranger things

[bubby-simp]

you know remember when Hlvrai just came out and the fandom was fresh but it immediately went south

First it was anyone attacking anyone who make nsfw content

(which I know the guy said he didn’t want to see but he technically dosent own the half life chars so it’s a touchy subject and it’s fandom cmon there’s always gonna be nsfw it’s basically an impossible ask but as long as you don’t shove it in his face he won’t ever see it or know about it so it should be fine)

And adding onto that the people who were attacking regular half life fans for creating nsfw fanart thinking it was hlvrai cause they didn’t do any research, literally innocent people were attacked cause of ignorance

Then all the weird stuff with the big banner dnis, the fights over headcanons, people calling others ableist cause their autism headcanons for Tommy didn’t match up or if they dared to not headcanon as autistic at all

The non binary benry debates, or if frenry was toxic

Like the shit hit the fan so fast in than fandom I only stuff around for about a month

Seeing as you’ll probably know has it gotten worse since then or calmer or something different entirely

I agree with all of you points anon. You can't tell a fandom to stop doing anything, they will go against it and there's so much people to stop it'll be just a loop of trying to stop them, others posting more stuff, trying stop them etc. It's like how it's illegal to download movies that you aren't supposed to but SO many people do that and the police even just kinda stopped trying to stop everyone 💀

I also as an autistic person see anything wrong with head canoning Tommy as autistic. It makes sense, but I also like the idea of him just being a overly friendly non human who's too innocent for Earth or this dimension.

Like realistically in the real world a relationship like Fr3nr3y is toxic, but you can ship any fictional character it does nothing to no one. There's no such thing as an "illegal ship" like what does that mean? Udiejdhejejdjdjejrh

I miss the very early days where people were shipping Dr C00mer and Gordon together (Froomer) and I thought it was a really cute ship.

Unfortunately though, the fandom isn't very friendly or safe for creative freedom, 80% of h//lvrai are very aggressive towards proshippers and said violent threats as well as death threats and think they're saving the fandom doing so. Some antis do this and then act like it's all cute and "uwu" and valid to do so it's so disturbing.

Fortunately there are quite a few of us who aren't like them and do whatever the hell we want but we are sorta kinda forced to just talk about stuff in private such as discords or other private chats.

I'm sorry anon that this toxic fanbase made you dip, I understand completely why you did so and I hope you're having a good day/night wherever you are

#anon ask #anti anti #pro fiction #pro ship #answered asks #antis fuck off #tw anti mention #Idk if anything I said here made sense or sounded good and not somehow problematic #I'm just paranoid about getting into trouble LMAOO

[catsconstellation]

I am very sorry to see you getting harrased like this ? I didn't follow the case completely since i kinda find it a bit distastefull how people treated it but i know certain things and really anyone can be an abuser anyone even woman (speak from experience on that one). Amber is one . But I do think they were horrible for eachother to a certain extend . It's just like you said Amber did this out of mallice for her own gain and continuesly lied, it's not suprising she lost.

ouf, rambled a little too hard, I love u anon the first two paragraph is for you, and u get a little cameo in the third. then rest i am kinda rambling sorry :(

Hello anon, thank you for your message, I really appreciate it :') i followed the case mostly from the lawyers on youtube. they kept a very civil environment and treated the case with respect (well maybe if you close chat, which i always did). I do think its so unfortunate the entire spectacle it's become.

I agree with you 100% that they were horrible for each other. Coming from personal experiences as well, in some cases abusers can be victims and vice versa. if proper care between their relationship isn't being nurtured, and it's clear that was not what was happening between them, the relationship will tank, and the stress on both sides spikes up. In reference to this specific case: when people feel stressed, they become irritable and can lash out, or abuse substances to cope. when someone feels stress about not getting what they desire, they can become manipulative in order to gain that. Abuse from someone who is manipulative is inevitable, unless you can buckle down and comply. then it just turns into abuse via controlling. It was honestly doomed from the start. People like H need the care that a previously abused man with substance issues can't provide. I don't think it was his fault all he wanted to do was walk out of the relationship.

Even in the case of neither of them being completely innocent throughout all this, abuse is still abuse, regardless of who it's coming from, what the abuser has been through, when it happened, how it happened... etc. Let me make one thing clear: there is no excuse for abusing someone, and there is no excuse for lying about abuse (both by lying about being the perpetrator or being on the receiving end). THAT in itself is an abuse of (false) power, to assume you have the power over them to be believed, even when faulty. Personally speaking, that can be fucking terrifying coming from just about anyone. Just as you said it, she "...continuously lied, it's not surprising she lost." and it's really not.

Personally I don't believe D directly or intentionally abused H, but that doesn't save him from his own ways to abuse, abuse of power from being a rich white hollywood man, and even his abuse of substances. However, similarly, that also doesn't save H from being able to abuse him. Lets look at some example from the top of my head, it was mentioned in court that D generously supported H along with her friends, by providing housing for them with little to no charge. Wouldn't you consider that a valid example of H abusing D in means of exploiting him? Or how about how D felt enough that H was using him for his fame to gain notoriety? Or how she would rather take a picture of her husband passed out with a lit cigarette in his hand, instead of removing it from him? y'know, for his safety?

my point is Abuse comes in MANY different ways and can be used on ANYONE.

[bastardbvby]

dream: i just think like the way that buildmart is executed like i just want to die

#FUCKING SCREAMING #THIS ENTIRE RANT #but also hes making so many valid points and even h is agreeing #my clips #dreamwastaken #hbomb

[miraculouscontent]

It’s heeeeere! Another summasalt, this time with nearly twice the length of the first one!

(Turns out that not having caffeine doesn’t help me talk any slower.)

Script below:

Anonymous asked:

Thoughts on Rocketear?

Can you Rocketear the newest episode apart with your salt, my beloved Salt Queen?

Penny for your thoughts on Rocketear?

Aw, anon! You can have that for free! I'm a generous goddess.

"Rocketear" begins with Chat Noir and Carapace - just Carapace, really - holding back a pack of what I presume to be the physical manifestation of the writing staff's age, or at least a representation of how behind the times the writing seems.

Just as the dinosaurs break through Shellter. Ladybug shows up with the scientist who revived the dinosaurs in the first place and said scientist uses a whistle to calm the dinosaurs down. There's also a line from Bob Roth about putting the dinosaurs in a theme park to make money and I know what it's referencing but it's so incredibly random that it doesn't really come off as a proper joke.

Carapace was notably sad right after battle, but insisted that he was fine when Ladybug asked. Rena, sporting a... - I would like to say "new design" but it's a recolor in every sense of the word - is hiding behind part of a building and smiles after the heroes before walking off. Ladybug takes Nino's miraculous back but sees that he's still upset and asks him again what's wrong. Nino asks where Alya was and Ladybug claims that she only needed Carapace for the job, which cheers him up but only until Ladybug is already gone.

Mm, I guess Nino and Adrien relate in heroism not being enough for them unless they have their respective love interest to flirt with.

Also, I know this is an obvious set-up, but the show can't tell me that Ladybug just always brought Nino and Alya whenever she needed one of them. Season 3 required her to go to Master Fu to get the miraculouses, and unless she already knew that Nino and Alya would be in the same location - which, okay, the show does basically shove the two of them together whenever Nino is onscreen, fair, if two characters are in a relationship in this show then it's weird for them to NOT be with that person - but it just seems like a gamble, not to mention proof to Shadow Moth that the two are close if Ladybug constantly brings both of them.

Anyway, Ladybug goes into the sewer and asks Rena if she's seen any sign of Shadow Moth or his traps. Rena didn't see anything and they de-transform. Marinette is about to leave when she thinks of something, but Alya assumes it's about her new look, which was apparently not voluntary on her part and the suit automatically adapted to Alya's new role as Rena Furtive, which she has now named it as.

Marinette reminds her that this is supposed to be a secret and that they agreed that the fox has no owner. When Alya is evasive about whether she told Nino that she won't be Rena anymore, Marinette stresses that everyone needs to believe that Alya won't be using a miraculous anymore so that she can remain an undercover spy.

What's the point in changing the look if you're not going to show yourself anyway? I mean, insurance, I guess, but still.

Alya, exasperated, parrots what Marinette has apparently told her before: that she helps Ladybug with Mirage in case Shadow Moth tries to follow her so Rena can follow him instead. Marinette stresses the situation again and Alya tries to get Marinette to agree on her telling Nino that she's Rena Furtive, but Marinette refuses.

At Marinette's house, Alya talks further and explains that she doesn't know if she can lie to Nino since they don't keep any secrets--Alya, babe, you kept Rena Rouge from him and didn't tell him that you knew he was Carapace until Ladybug was forced to give you your miraculouses at the same time. I don't wanna hear it.

Marinette states that it's too late for that and also not technically a lie, but Alya gets upset and says that Nino will never trust her again if he finds out that she kept something from him. Marinette brings up how she had to keep secrets from Alya too, but they're interrupted by Tom appearing and wanting to play games with them. Marinette makes an excuse about homework that she's repeated many times, as Tom comments that the teachers give her too much. After Tom is kicked out - hang on, lemme just... - Marinette uses the moment to show Alya that she's lied to her family a lot and hasn't played games with her father in months. She states that there's no other option as they have to protect their identities, and Alya agrees to talk to Nino.

In Alya's room - I just presume at this point that Nino's house doesn't exist and Chris is an illusion - Alya tells Nino that they need to talk, but stammers and states that it's hard to talk about. Nino thinks that she wants to break up with him, but Alya assures that she loves him. She finally gets to the cover story that Rena herself made up in "Sentibubbler" and Nino understands, sad that she won't be around anymore but agreeing if it's what Ladybug thinks is best.

Is it weird that Nino respects Ladybug's wishes more than Alya does?

Nino hugs her and is confused by why Alya was nervous to tell him, as she can tell him anything and nothing will change their relationship. Alya feels guilty and hugs back, murmuring about how they don't have any secrets; that's not what Nino said, but sure, push this plot to its already predictable conclusion. I mean, I thought it was vaguely sweet that Nino switched to seriousness immediately when Alya said that she wanted to talk, but how am I supposed to be invested in this couple when their dynamic boils down to "STRONG, INDEPENDANT WOMAN who wears the pants in the relationship because her boyfriend is portrayed as a wimpy coward"? Like, the show constantly dragged Nino down to make Alya look "powerful" by comparison, and then when it comes to characters like Marinette, we get a girl who works very well outside of her relationship with her endgame love interest.

It's the fakest form of "girl power," dragging guys down to raise girls up or actually making a strong girl character but having her love interest be a weakness that creates flaws in her that weren't there originally and having that love interest be who she's "destined for."

I'm rambling, sorry.

In class, Marinette assures Alya that she did the right thing and Alya agrees. As they're leaving school, Marinette talks about how their "night walks" start soon, and Alya non-subtly talks about how Rena Furtive will be on the lookout while Ladybug and Chat Noir patrol. She stops, however, as gets excited about some pictures she took of herself as Rena Furtive, which has a lot of details that Marinette hasn't seen. I don't know whether to groan at what I just heard or remind everyone that Rena Furtive is literally just a recolor and therefore this is the writers patting themselves on the back for this design, so let's just move on.

Alya then shows Marinette her phone--AUGH, MY EYES--and suggests making a poll on her Ladyblog so people can vote for their favorite Rena design. Marinette has to stress again that Rena Furtive is supposed to be a spy and thus invisible, which Alya admits that she forgot about.

Okay, I've been holding off on talking about this, but now seems like the best time to bring it up. Alya has been a trash friend as well as a trash confidant, and her role as Rena Rouge boiled down to, "it was convenient for her to be the fox at the time it was needed." She's not particularly stealthy like one would expect of a fox, and she was easily one of the worst candidates to be told Marinette's big secret. I'll get more into this later, but I have to stress that Alya has treated Marinette no differently since learning of Marinette's identity and has already gone against Marinette's orders once before at the time of this episode airing. Episodes are constantly torn between validating their decision to have Marinette tell Alya, having Marinette be worried about the decision while the show considers her to be ridiculous for it, and then having Alya either consider or make choices that clearly don't gel well with what's good for her role. Much like Marinette, she lacks a sense of self-control and--wow, a female character who's impulsive, never seen that stereotype before.

Point being, "Sentibubbler" stressed over and over that Alya was the right choice and deserved to be both the permanent fox and the understudy for guardian, but then we have "Rocketear" here where Alya is making basic emotionally-driven errors that I'm not even remotely sympathetic to when Marinette has gone through so much worse over the course of three+ seasons.

*sigh*

Alya laments that it's hard to find new content for the Ladyblog - ah, yes, tell me more about your struggles, Alya - but figures that at least she can post stuff about Chat Noir instead of--I don't know--making fake Ladybug theories to lead people off Marinette's trail. Marinette says that it's a great idea, though Alya still doesn't look too happy. The scene then rewinds to a little bit to show a different point of view, this time with Adrien and Nino. Wait, this feels familiar, wasn't there another episode that did something like--ohhhh no, this is going to hurt.

After saying good-bye to Adrien - something I wish I could do every time he's mentioned or on-screen - Nino catches the bit of conversation where Alya talks about the Ladyblog. Nino talks as if Marinette isn't there and asks Alya out to the movies because Marinette is chopped liver and this is about Alya and how sad she is, guys.

Wow, she's turning into Adrien faster and faster.

Alya hesitates, but Marinette assures her that there's still time. Alya excitedly runs off with Nino and they watch what I presume are previews given the narrator, featuring recycled footage from the Ladybug PV. Nino is upset because Rena is mentioned but not Carapace, and the preview features Rena telling Chat Noir to forget Ladybug because it's Chat and Rena herself who are trulu made for each other.

I don't know what's funnier; the complete lack of self-awareness or the suggestion that a biracial couple would exist in this show outside of a special that gives them maybe a minute of screentime and acts more like suggestive canon anyway. I think I might've been too generous with that line about dinosaurs.

Nino is offended by the preview and Alya brushes off his comments, stating that it's just a cartoon and it's made to entertain people, though Nino himself is certainly not entertained. Can't say I entirely blame him considering that Alya doesn't really try to say anything substantial or even agree with him. No cuddling or reassuring kisses, she just gets slightly sad and turns to her phone for a bit.

After the movie, Nino is cheered back up again until he catches Alya on her phone once more. He offers to take her home, but she's distracted, and he comments that what she showed to Marinette looked pretty nice; I don't know because they didn't show it. Nino asks what it was and Alya evades the question, stating that her battery is running out. Nino is suspicious, but spots Andre's ice cream cart and the two head over there. Andre calls them his favorite couple and asks what they want, but Alya sees Ladybug gesturing for her and has to run off, giving Nino a cheek kiss as she goes which feels like too little too late at this point.

Nino catches some conveniently-placed kids arguing over who Chat Noir loves, but they settle on the fact that girls in general love Chat Noir. Nino is then seen at the Seine watching the Ladyblog's latest video, where Alya is talking up how amazing Chat Noir is. I hate to stop every five seconds to complain - okay, actually I don't - but I presume this video must've been made after the movie since Nino seems like the type who would actively follow his girlfriend's blog, yet not only is this video perfectly set up to echo the kids and the movie preview, but Alya - despite apparently caring about her boyfriend soooo much that she kept trying to convince Marinette to bend the rules - didn't even try to warn Nino or text him so he doesn't take it too seriously. It's like "Sentibubbler" with the conflicting messages about identity rules; Alya cares about her boyfriend but both isn't thinking about how he'll take the things she says and apparently doesn't know him well enough to realize that he wouldn't be mad over her keeping a secret that she was told to keep. I already talked about how they play up Nino to be the emotionally weaker one of the relationship, but then they don't have Alya try to cover or make up for that. She's been acting very much not like Alya - you know, the one who in "Sapotis" practically bragged about how great she'd be at covering for Ladybug - with her stutters and weak excuses, so I can't completely blame Nino for being upset after everything that's happened when he sees the writers projecting onto Alya as she talks about how Chat Noir is brave and funny and cute and showing all these images of him as well. I don't agree with all of his actions, but--oh yeah, speaking of which--

Nino calls Adrien and is talking to him about how Alya must be in love with someone else. Adrien dismisses the idea, as Alya and Nino are together basically all the time, and asks who she could possibly be in love with. When Nino suggests that it's Chat Noir, Adrien laughs and jokes about it being Fang instead. Nino points out the video but Adrien did see it but is overall unphased and convinced that it means nothing. Nino says that he'll find proof and hangs up, but Adrien is certain he'll find nothing. Plagg comments that Nino will find someone because Plagg's charisma has definitely contaminated Adrien.

Ugh.

Adrien expresses concern that he put on the cat's charm too much and accidentally made Alya fall for him, and decides to visit Alya as Chat Noir to be sure.

Meanwhile, we get a reference to film noirs as Nino narrates. That's the second blatant reference this episode and now I feel like they wrote this script while doing a movie marathon.

Chat Noir arrives at Alya's house and Trixx hides before Alya opens the curtains to reveal her surprise guest. Nino is nearby watching the scene with his phone as Alya wonders aloud if something's wrong. Chat assures that everything's fine, but brings up the video she posted. He insists that it made him happy, but points out that she's been following him and Ladybug since the beginning and that they know each other much better due to everything that's happened. He has some conveniently-worded dialog as he starts to say that he hopes something's just an illusion and Alya gets worried that he's about to bring up Rena. Chat continues and clarifies that he wonders if she started to feel something for him, though adds that he understands because just look at him.

UGGGGH.

Chat clarifies by making a heart with his hands, which Nino sees. Alya laughs at this gesture and states that she has a boyfriend, doing the same heart gesture and suggesting that her love for Nino is even more than that. Chat Noir apologizes - hm, I didn't know he had the capacity to do that - and hugs Alya, saying that he was just confused.

An absolutely unnecessary hug for two people who, at least in terms of their current selves, have had very little screentime together, but this is also the show where making eye contact basically means your friends and it's all just to push the plot along so Nino inteprets that Alya is in love with Chat Noir, so whatever I guess.

Alya states that Nino is far more irresistable than Chat, then adds that she doesn't even know his secret identity, and she'd never fall in love with someone she doesn't know. Nino then runs away upset and the scene cuts away to the next day where--

Wait, wait, wait, hang on a second. Two things right off the bat there.

First off, we're just gonna sidle past that "wouldn't fall in love with someone you don't know the identity of" while ignoring the existence of the love square? Not even Chat thinking about how he doesn't know Ladybug's identity and trying to excuse that he doesn't have to? This guy is that certain of their relationship?

Secondly, Nino is practically sobbing and Shadow Moth doesn't take this as his opportunity? Same guy who akumatized Mr. Pigeon 72 times and has akumatized Gigantitan more than once? What is this pacing???

But--alright, so Adrien comes into school and sees Nino, still dressed up in his detective gear, which gets ignored completely as Adrien goes to tell him about Chat Noir and Alya. Because the show doesn't know how Adrien would convey this within reason, Nino interrupts him, taking him down into the lower part of the school where he has a desk and chairs set up. Adrien goes to ask when Nino had time to do this, but Nino slams his hand on the desk to cut him off. Nino presents the evidence he took and they go back and forth, likewise with Adrien turning off the background music while Nino turns it back on. Adrien insists that it's a misunderstanding, but pleads innocent when Nino asks how he knows. Adrien states that Alya is just a superhero fan and that she and Chat Noir have nothing in common.

Again, the complete lack of self-awareness is astonishing.

Adrien repeats what Alya said about secret identities and how she wouldn't fall for someone she doesn't know - they're really ignoring this, aren't they? - and continues hitting Nino's soft spots about how unlikely it is until Nino decides to tell Adrien something he's not supposed to.

He tells Adrien, not only that Alya is Rena Rouge, but that he's Carapace. Adrien goes through a range of emotions beyond sAD for once, shocked at the fact that they know each other's identities. Nino states that they don't keep secrets from each other, except now Alya is with Chat Noir. Adrien still doesn't understand and brings up how secret identities have to be protected, or else Nino wouldn't have told him because Ladybug wouldn't agree to it.

Oh, here we go. So that's why they waited.

Nino states that it was Ladybug herself who gave them their miraculouses at the same time; not giving the reason why, of course, nor pointing out that they're temporary heroes so there's understandably some leeway. Adrien is having a moment, but manages to bring the subject back to Alya and Chat Noir, who he still doesn't think are a thing. Nino argues that it's because Adrien doesn't know Chat Noir, but he does because he's Carapace and knows how Chat Noir acts. He says that it's all flowers and confessions when Ladybug appears, but he gets rejected because Ladybug thinks that he's annoying, and she's right. He adds that Chat flirts with Rena Rouge and that's all that needs to happen, with Chat stepping in on the first mission Carapace lost in. Nino laments the loss of the love of his life and wishes to shut Chat Noir up forever; we all do, Nino, we all do. Shadow Moth finally steps in with - oh, less than eight minutes left in the episode, yikes - and Nino is akumatized into Rocketear.

Rocketear rejects Adrien's pleas to stop, insisting that Chat Noir is who he's after, not Adrien, and Adrien transforms in sad fashion despite Plagg's reminder of who Rocketear is after. Alya, meanwhile, is in the art club with Marinette - wait, since when was Alya in the art club - telling Marinette about how Chat Noir thought she was into him due to the video, which Marinette groans at. There's an earthquake and they peek outside to see Rocketear firing his tears at Chat Noir, shouting that he stole Alya from him. Chat Noir tries to tell him otherwise, but Rocketear won't listen.

Alya groans at Nino doing this, then she and Marinette set off to find a place to transform. They conveniently go to the same place Adrien and Nino were, so they see the desk that Nino had set up.

Genuine question, how seriously does this episode want me to take itself, because now when I recount all the unnecessary love square drama in my head - because you know that's where this is going - I'm going to have to think, "Nino, dressed in a detective outfit, ripped off his fake mustache and told Adrien both his and Rena's identities, and also that Ladybug was totally cool with it and thinks that Chat Noir is annoying."

Gettin' two completely different vibes here. The episode clearly wants to be important but it doesn't take itself seriously either, which it totally could while including enough jokes to keep things light. Instead, I'm just left scratching my head and wondering what tone they're going for.

Marinette finds Nino's phone on the desk - I'm calling continuity error on that one because he at no point put it on the desk, at least not on-screen - and she questions Alya on the video she sees. Alya insists that nothing happened, apparently completely unphased by her boyfriend having spied on her, and says that he wouldn't have misunderstood if he'd heard the actual conversation.

The two transform and Ladybug immediately uses Lucky Charm, receiving a projector. Ladybug is clueless and Rena Furtive suggests creating an imaginary movie like Nino. Ladybug gets an idea, remembering Alya's earlier comments, and Rena confirms that she remembers every word of it.

Aaaaand, just like that, all of the tension has been completely sucked away. You know, "Backwarder" was a trash episode, but at least when Ladybug was showing every step of her plan, she didn't tell us what it was.

Meanwhile, Rocketear and Chat Noir are still arguing--I started zoning out at hearing the same thing over and over again at this point, so I just presume they were fighting over who does stuff behind their love interest's backs better; I don't think they came to an agreement but they're both losers anyway.

Chat Noir says that he'll prove his innocence, tossing his baton aside to show him giving up, but Rocketear points out that it proves nothing and strikes Chat Noir with his tears.

Our endgame love interest, everyone. Straight As yet about as smart as a sack of bricks, and that at least won't flirt with anyone non-consensually.

Chat Noir makes a point that he doesn't want to hurt Rocketear, and Shadow Moth tells Rocketear to take his miraculous before finishing him. Chat Noir can only weakly tell him not to before Ladybug snags Rocketear's wrist and diverts the shot. Ladybug explains to Rocketear about the projector and how it'll let him hear the audio of the recording he took. She adds that she doesn't know what Chat said, but she trusts him.

Marinette, I'm sorry, I feel so bad for you.

Ladybug turns on the projector and Rocketear relaxes at actually hearing what was going on. Rena then de-transforms and hurries out to meet with Rocketear, hugging him as Rocketear apologizes for doubting her. Alya also kinda sorta apologizes in a way I don't understand and Rocketear then breaks his akumatization, very casually, all on his own.

Yeah, just--casually, in a matter of seconds in fact. You know, it's really sad when people resisting akumatizations are more tense and emotionally compelling than them breaking them. This is twice in one season now and has zero impact considering that Nino's reason for being akumatized was already taken care of so he had no reason to stay akumatized anyway. Him breaking his own object to release the akuma would've at least been different, but instead it's just a repeat of what Alya went through with even less tension considering that Alya's wasn't even that good in the first place, relying on her relationship to Ladybug rather than who she knew to be her best friend.

Moving on, Ladybug captures the akuma and uses Miraculous Ladybug to bring everything back to normal. Shadow Moth monologues about how love and secrets don't go well together and he's sure that she has a lot and I'll talk about this later.

Ladybug hands over the magical charm, which Nino takes but insists that he won't need it, as he'll never let Shadow Moth use his love to manipulate him again. Plenty of other things to get akumatized over, but they gave the supposedly ace character a robot to help him stick out and also gave the supposedly aro character a miraculous back in season one to give her more importance. If characters aren't in love then they need something to ceompensate for it.

Nino apologizes to Chat Noir for being wrong and Chat Noir assures him that everyone has doubts, even him. He gets sad and Ladybug asks him what's wrong, but he insists that he's fine - officially throwing away his right to be upset at her later as far as I'm concerned - and they do their usual fist buuuuu--

...Really?

Everyone then splits up and Chat Noir sulks by himself instead of--you know, talking to Ladybug, or asking her anything, or making any sort of excuse for her because that would mean he actually has faith in her and understands that their partnership is different from temporary heroes, even if the excuse was as basic as her wanting to protect him more than the others because he would be that egotistical if they didn't want to stretch out this unnecessary drama.

Later on, Adrien is staring at a picture on the Ladyblog that might be a metaphor for the show considering how "in the foreground" Chat Noir and Rena are.

Adrien vents about Ladybug giving miraculouses to Alya and Nino, but Plagg states that she's the guardian. Adrien clarifies that he's referring to Alya and Nino knowing each other's identities, but Plagg doesn't see the issue. Adrien gets huffy and asks why the rule exists for LadyNoir but not Ninya, but Plagg again points out that she's the guardian, so she makes the rules, though obviously he uses cheese metaphors to convey it.

Okay, Plagg is only, like--half-right because he doesn't have all the information. If you don't mind me rambling for a bit, I'm on the fence here because, on one hand--yes, I agree that Marinette should be allowed to make her own rules, and I often do that in my writing because I think she should be permitted leeway in order to let herself be happy, but on the other hand, it's not technically her rule, as she had to let Alya and Nino in on their identities back in the Season 2 finale, so Fu was still around for a season. She wasn't even guardian yet!

Now, presumably so the fandom could blame Marinette if anything happened, Marinette never discussed this with Fu on-screen, so I can't say whether or not Fu knew, but I feel like he must've since Marinette had to have told him the heroes' identities off-screen, given "Party Crasher," and thus I imagine that Marinette would tell Fu everything that happened, which is consistent with what she does on-screen even if she'd keep things from him for a little while.

"Furious Fu" had also established that not even Master Fu followed rules completely, meaning that Marinette is in this awkward spot of mostly following what Fu taught her, which aren't all guardian rules anyway, and having to break the rules on occasion for various purposes. I can't say what Fu approved of and what he didn't, because episodes spend so much time on the love square that they forget about Marinette as a person and how she interacts with everyone else. From an emotional standpoint, I can't blame Marinette for not revoking the miraculouses of people whose identities get discovered because of her, as I imagine she feels guilty and it probably doesn't seem fair to force them into another miraculous or have them be entirely without one because of a mistake that she made, meaning that someone needs to be throwing a lot of red flags for Marinette to be through with them.

Though obviously, from the show's standpoint, it's just an excuse to not make new models, but I complained about that enough in "Sentibubbler" and this episode even went out of its way to design a detective model for Nino while spraypainting Alya's bodysuit in the same breath, so this is the world we live in.

Anyway, Marinette is essentially in this position where she still has Fu's rules hovering over her, but she's also trying to step out on her own and make her own decisions to varying degrees of success or failure depending on your point of view. Tikki--wait, no, bad idea--Su-Han then, could easily give input on these things, perhaps with Marinette discussing a modern day set of rules for someone her age and going back and forth with Su-Han on what the right choices to make are, finding something that's comfortable but within a realm of predictable control. Su-Han was okay with some rules being broken after seeing how Ladybug handled them and they could've easily made this episode about that instead, but instead, we get rules being set and then being broken on a writer's whim.

Which now brings us to the end of the episode, where Marinette is on the phone with Alya and apologizes for causing trouble between her and Nino. Alya tells her not to worry and she'll fix things - you know, those things that, to Marinette's knowledge, have already been fixed - and asks if Marinette trusts her. Marinette does, and Alya hangs up in order to face Nino.

Yeah, that feeling of dread in your stomach? That means you know how predictable the writing is and what's about to happen, good for you.

Alya explains that she has to tell Nino something and he's worried, this time trying to sheepishly break the tension. She explains that she's still Rena Rouge, much to Nino's shock, and adds that she's in hiding, which is why Ladybug didn't want her to tell anyone. Nino asks why she's telling him if she's not supposed to tell anyone - proving my point from a while back that he wouldn't have been upset had she kept it a secret - then asks if Ladybug agreed with it.

I want to give him a pat on the back for considering Ladybug, but he didn't even tell her when he had the chance that Adrien knows his identity now, so I'm just beaten down at this point.

Instead of answering the question directly, Alya says that she can't hide her identity from him because she loves him and they don't have secrets.

You know, like Nino telling Adrien about Rena's identity, or Alya saying specifically that she's a permanent holder, which I'm sure both of them will confess to since they said that they don't have--aaaaand the episode ends on happy triumphant music, okay.

I mean, I guess Alya at least didn't tell him that Marinette was Ladybug, but that is such a low bar and not even remotely worthy of congratulations when Alya told Nino the specific thing that Marinette told Alya not to tell; the thing that they had agreed on.

Nino wasn't upset anymore. He won't be getting akumatized either. Alya endured the supposed hardship of being a permanent fox holder for four episodes before breaking down and telling her boyfriend. Even her excuse doesn't hold any water because, again, they're both still technically keeping a secret, particularly Alya who knows Marinette's identity as Ladybug. The episode also apparently forgets that Alya and Marinette's friendship must not be as strong by her logic of telling Nino specifically everything, as Alya kept Rena Rouge a secret from Marinette for all of Season 3, but tells Nino about continuing to be Rena Rouge in Season 4. Boyfriends before BFFs without explicitly saying it, or to be more specific, whatever screws Marinette over the most, because that's what this comes down to, made worse by "Optigami" where Marinette told Alya that she'd tell her everything and I guess that doesn't go both ways.

"Sentibubbler" had Alya stress that no one would ever know. She promised Marinette and told Marinette to trust her, and the episode spent its entire running time talking her up and assuring Marinette that she was the right choice, even considering Marinette ridiculous for worrying when Alya had done something without Marinette's permission the episode right before it. Then, three episodes after "Sentibubbler," when Marinette is finally comfortable and trusts Alya completely, Alya betrays that trust. Nino betrayed that trust, knowing he wasn't supposed to do so but telling Adrien his and Rena's identity anyway, because he was losing an argument and needed to PROVE something.

Marinette gives them an inch and they take a mile. Marinette bent the rules so that they could continue to have the miraculous they'd started with and they disrespected her because it was hard for like a day.

And if this bites them back, it won't reflect poorly on them, it'll reflect poorly on Marinette.

It's not like Alya just overrode Marinette. She didn't go, "Hey, I'm telling Nino, I'm sorry," or tried her hardest to go back and forth with Marinette until they both agreed. No, she did what she told Marinette she wouldn't do without saying a word to her, because LOVE and SEEEECRETS.

And this only applies to her, of course, because don't think I didn't notice the parallels between this episode and "Truth," because WOW.

Episode begins with Marinette hoping for something and it blows up in her face? A date at the cinema that ends on a sour note? Plot-centric couple trying to get Andre's ice cream and the female with a secret needing to leave in a hurry? Boyfriend character getting akumatized over their girlfriend's secret? Boyfriend assumes/suggests that the girlfriend's secret involves Aaaaaadrien - or his alter-ego in "Rocketear"'s case - and the episode hints as much to him even though he's completely wrong? Akuma's colors are blue and black? THE BRIDGE?

But, ahhh, little difference, here and there, y'know, like how Marinette was forced to break up with her boyfriend while Alya got to keep hers, and Nino got to have long talks with Alya while Luka got little to nothing with Marinette.

Because do note that Alya, while trying to convince Marinette and talk to Nino about not keeping secrets, at no point suggests that Marinette deserves to be happy and deserves to have a boyfriend and that Marinette should be allowed to tell Luka her secret so they can get back together, so you have Alya here selfishly prioritizing her relationship with Nino while making no comment about Marinette's relationship, essentially asking Marinette to allow her what Marinette herself didn't have the luxury of, and Alya knows this because Marinette told her. It is both incredibly insensitive of Alya and incredibly insulting of the show to make so many parallels between this episode and "Truth" just to have everything crash down for Marinette because she's Marinette while everything goes well for Alya and Nino because they're not Marinette.

We've talked before about the formulas that are literally baked into the show, and one of those is how Marinette makes a mistake in every episode and has to learn from it. What that mistake is in this episode, I don't know, but considering that she apologizes for Alya and Nino's problems, I guess the show blames her for what they themselves had taught her.

Point being, there's a clear karma system in place, but it only applies to Marinette, and forcing her to mess up in every episode means that she is literally not allowed to be with Luka because had she been able to clear things up between them, he would've eagerly accepted her and they could've been happy. It'd be too difficult for her to mess up when Luka doesn't put mountains of pressure and expectations on her like everyone else. Factor that in with how she can be herself around him and it leads to situation that are too difficult for her to screw up in because her mistakes - more often than not - center around Adrien or her role as guardian.

And because another rule in the show is to bring up Adrien so they don't "lose him for too long," she can't avoid bringing him up either. If he's not in the plot, he has to be mentioned, leaving Marinette in a lose-lose situation that she'll never be free from.

So, let me just get this straight then:

The guy who spied on his girlfriend instead of talking to her about his assumptions gets to keep his girlfriend, not because he realized it was wrong regardless of whether he was correct or not, but because the situation had been cleared up for him, yet the guy who actively resisted his akumatization, saddened by his girlfriend's secrets but wanting her to share them when she was ready, gets broken up with and tossed to the wayside because he's not a rich blond boy who got a miraculous because he happened to be within the twenty meters of space where Fu was searching for new holders?

Meanwhile, the girlfriend who has gone against the wishes and insistence of her best friend - guardian of the miraculouses, by the way, so she calls the shots, something that Alya herself said in "Optigami" BEFORE GOING ON TO DO HER OWN THING IN THE SAME EPISODE AND BEING REWARDED FOR IT - is allowed to go against the wishes and insistence of her best friend again for the sake of "all love, no secrets" with her boyfriend and so she can have the happy ending she wants, yet the girl who was chosen for a miraculous without her consent, forced to screw up and talk about a random boy who doesn't even go out of his way to spend time with her, treated like absolute trash by writers who find humor in her misery, and is the only one to receive overly harsh and long-lasting consequences for her actions while also covering up and forgiving the actions of others within the episode where they do it...

doesn't get her happy ending, and won't ever get her happy ending. That thing Shadow Moth said about love and secrets not going well together? Yeah, only goes as far as the writers want it to, because both Nino and Alya still have secrets, and some of the ones they did tell each other were forced by someone else and kept until that very moment. This idea that people in love have to tell each other everything and that it makes a relationship stronger makes me immensely uncomfortable, and that lesson is also in "Guiltrip."

People should be allowed their secrets, and obviously there are exceptions for things that are being hidden with malicious intent, but being essentially forced to share everything or risk not having a "full and complete" relationship is stifling and sounds like it'd only cause stress.

This episode sucks. It furthers and confirms everything I've already thought about the show, Nino's screentime continues to be dependent on Adrien, Alya, or both, there are pointless references that completely take me out of the experience, and the utter betrayal from Alya and supposed message of the episode just reminds me that Marinette is inevitably going to be stuck with a guy who didn't even DO anything in this episode and is going to let himself stew instead of asking for any sort of clarifications from someone he apparently trusts so much.

So the takeaway is that Marinette's life is awful, she'll be forced to apologize for rules that she didn't even come up with herself, her best friend will walk all over her for the sake of her relationship with a guy - not even for the sake, really, they were going to be fine, it was more for HER personal comfort if anything - and the guy who actually makes Marinette happy and could've known her identity instead BECAUSE HE AT LEAST DIDN'T HAVE A TRACK RECORD OF SPILLING HER SECRETS gets treated in the exact same way that she does; like nothing, just something to abuse unfairly.

What a waste of an episode.

#MC's Videos #category: episode summaries #category: salt #salt: adrien agreste #salt: chat noir #salt: alya cesaire #salt: nino lahiffe #video: critique #MC's Renders #render: persona #episode: Rocketear #((I would usually apologize for rambling but you guys seem to like it lol.)) #((I could still afford to trim down the summary probably and repeat myself/ramble a BIT less but yeah.)) #((I'm also feeling a little more comfortable this time around)) #((which might come off in my inflections.))

[sentinelpri]

Intervention, Baby

Unlike many of his Autobot counterparts, Prowl adored organics- especially the ones on earth, whether that be the plants, animals, or humans.

His favorite, though? You. You by far. 

After arriving on earth, Prowl had become obsessed with people watching, usually taking long strolls around the city or going to public parks to watch how humans lived their daily lives. Something about the human species by itself was captivating, but when he’d seen you for the first time, (e/c) eyes and (h/l) (h/c) hair shining under the bright sun as you walked into the local flower shop, he had been completely and utterly enthralled. He’d known that he was supposed to avoid interactions with humans that weren’t necessary according to Prime, but he hadn’t been able to help himself that day. So, he’d gone into the flower shop and sparked a conversation with you to figure out exactly what it was that had him so interested; what it was about you that was so different than the other humans he watched.

You had just moved to Detroit from your hometown for a new job, which explained why he hadn’t seen you before that, and as he’d talked to you that day, he became more and more intrigued. You’d started renting a house nearby, with your very own flower garden, which you showed him that day. He hadn’t been able to tell you much at the time about Cybertron for security reasons, but what he did tell you about himself, you listened to intently. You were a great listener, with kind eyes and a bright smile that made his spark stop at times.

Prowl had been a cautious bot. Whatever caution he had maintained since being on earth had flown out the window with you, though, as he fell quickly, often sneaking away from the Autobots to spend time with you at your house or visit you at your job. A strong friendship was quickly formed, and with how much he was gone, his teammates quickly became suspicious.

It started with questions, the others asking where he was all the time and why he was suddenly so interested in stopping by flower and gardening shops whenever they were out. Naturally, Optimus was the first to figure it out, asking if he’d met someone and then leaving the subject alone when Prowl avoided the subject. However, Bumblebee was the next to catch on, and he had no sense of personal boundaries, so he dragged Bulkhead along to follow him to your house. While it wasn’t the best first impression, that was how you met Bumblebee and Bulkhead, and eventually Optimus and Ratchet as well- since the secret was out in the open now and no one seemed to disapprove of you, Prowl had started bringing you around the Autobot base.

The rest was history, but the more Prowl developed his relationship with you, the more fearful he became for the future. He was a wise and emotionally mature bot, he figured, but he didn’t know how to handle his feelings for you. He had fallen in love. He was cybertronian, you were human, and it wouldn’t be fair to you to initiate anything- not that he thought you returned the feelings anyways. No, you were too pure and sweet, kind and beautiful, fragile and soft. He feared hurting you most of the time. He feared falling deeper. He feared starting something he couldn’t finish and leaving you hurt in the end, but each day he spent with you only made it worse.

Why did he love you? Why couldn’t he have fallen for another Autobot? Why a human? The thoughts plagued his processor constantly, but when you reached over to grab one of his digits and pull him along to show him something in your garden or smiled up at him, he couldn’t help it. You were so soft and delicate, but you still treated him like you would anyone else. You weren’t scared of him, you always offered a listening ear when he needed it, and you opened up to him in return.

Warm, bright, radiant- Prowl felt like you were all of the things that he wasn’t, and as he returned to base and walked into the main room, he couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. Spending time with you seemed exhausting nowadays. He always left with a troubled processor and an uneasy feeling. Was it right to keep seeing you when he knew it wouldn’t go anywhere? Would his unresolved feelings get in the way of your friendship? What was he to do at this point? As much as he’d tried to simply make the feelings go away, he couldn’t; couldn’t develop an interest in anyone else, couldn’t think of anything he didn’t like about you to kill his attraction, couldn’t will it away. Nothing worked, so he drowned himself in it, and while he would have loved to sulk for a little bit, his attention was captured by his team.

He’d walked into... Something, though he wasn’t quite sure what that something was yet. His entire team was crowded onto the living room couch, silent, staring up at him. Seeing them all in one room at the same time was rare when they weren’t sharing energon or working against the Decepticons, but seeing them all in one room and quiet? Something was wrong. 

“Where did you just come from, Prowl?” Bumblebee, who was sitting in the middle of the couch with Bulkhead to his right, crossed his arms as he asked the oddly accusatory question and leaned forward.

“(y/n)’s, why?” Prowl answered. He was so uneasy that he found himself shifting his weight from one pede to the other and averting his gaze. While he wasn’t normally avoidant like that, when it came to you, he couldn’t help how nervous he got.

“Don’t worry about it, but-” Bulkhead started, letting out a nervous chuckle.

The atmosphere was tense and awkward. Optimus Prime, next to Bulkhead on the edge of the couch, wouldn’t even look at him. Meanwhile, Ratchet, who was on the other side of Bumblebee, appeared to be growing increasingly agitated with each second that passed. 

“What is the meaning of this?” Prowl finally demanded, which made Bumblebee stand up and point right at him with a huge grin.

“Intervention, baby!” The yellow bot cheered.

“Intervention? I’m not abusing substances if that’s what you’re-”

“No, no, that’s not what we’re getting at, you bucket of bolts!” Ratchet groaned and face-palmed. “We’re here to talk about you and (y/n)!”

There were two ways this could go, and Prowl wasn’t sure which one he hated more.

One, his team could be concerned about him spending so much time with a human who had nothing to do with their cause. It was a valid concern and he knew it- spending so much time with you put you in at risk of getting involved with the Decepticons like Sari, and unlike Sari, you had no key or Cyber-organic powers to protect you. You were simply human, and it wasn’t fair to you to put you in danger the way he was. But he was selfish.

Two, his team could be concerned about his feelings for you. Whether for the aforementioned reasons or because they had to watch the two of you interact all the time, he wasn’t sure, but it would make sense. He certainly hadn’t expected them to call an intervention over either issue, though, so all he could do was stand there.

They were staring at him. 

It was... Embarrassing, to say the least.

“I don’t see why this would be considered even remotely appropriate- And Optimus, Ratchet,” Prowl glared at the two older bots, knowing damn well that they knew better than to do this to him. “I expect it from these two, but you? I thought you were more mature than this, but I see I was mistaken.”

“Don’t come at us with your maturity spiel when you can’t even mech up enough to tell (y/n) your true feelings,” Ratchet spat.

“Ratchet, you could have phrased that with a bit more tact, but I do believe you are correct,” Optimus agreed with a small nod and offered a smile, glancing at Ratchet and then at Prowl. “While we don’t have the right to dictate what you do, Prowl, it’s become obvious to everybot what’s going on, and... We all support you. You should be honest with (y/n) and tell her the truth. Love is something that should be appreciated and cherished, not hidden away.”

“Yeah! Plus, it hurts to watch you two dance around each other when it’s so obvious what’s going on,” Bumblebee argued. “She likes you back-”

“No, she doesn’t, and even if she did, how would this work?” Prowl raised his voice without meaning to, and the moment he heard how loud his volume was, he paused to take a deep breath and reflect. His team had good intentions, they wanted him to be happy and enjoy a relationship for once, but he was so scared. Why couldn’t they leave him alone? With a sigh, he spoke again, not daring to look at any of his friends. “I’m Cybertronian and she’s organic, and we could have to go back to Cybertron any day now- or, even worse, the Decepticons could kill us. Would it not be selfish of me to confess my feelings for her, start a relationship, and then leave or die? Assuming that she wants anything to do with me, that is.”

“Listen, I get where you’re coming from, but you’ve heard the saying here on earth that it’s better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all, haven’t you? (y/n) would be more upset if you left or died without telling her the truth than she would be if you told her beforehand. No matter what happens in the end, at least she’d have some closure that way, because she does love you too,” Bulkhead insisted.

“No, she doesn’t,” Prowl mumbled, not having any other defense. Did he think you loved him like that? No, but did he have definite proof that you didn’t? Also no, so he was left without a solid defense, but too stubborn to concede to his friends’ (valid) points. “You’re wrong.”

“Yeah she does, dude, you’re just wrong,” Bumblebee walked over to him and put a servo on his shoulder, meeting his optics, uncharacteristically intense- borderline angry. “How can you even know if you haven’t talked to her about it?”

“How can you know?” Prowl defended and jabbed a digit into the younger bot’s chest plate. The two continued to stare each other down for a few moments before Bee finally sighed and looked away.

“Because I’ve talked to her about it.”

“...Oh. I see,” The black and gold bot took a step back and fidgeted with his servos. He had never expected for you to confide in Bumblebee about such a matter, but then again... Aside from Prowl himself, Bumblebee was your best friend and always had been since he’d started bringing you around. The two of you were similar; innocent, kindred souls with similar interests. Unlike Prowl, the yellow bot brought out your more energetic, fun side, making you laugh constantly, but... He hadn’t been aware of the fact that Bumblebee was a confidant for you, too. Part of him was jealous, but he tried to shove that down with a tense swallow. “I’m going to take my leave, then.”

“That’s what I thought,” The smaller bot smirked, earning a glare from Prowl in return.

“Get bent.”

~

That entire night and the day after were spent locked in his room reflecting upon everything; his feelings, you, the advice that his teammates had given him during their little “intervention”, the potential consequences of what he was about to do.

Whether he wanted to or not, he knew that he needed to confess. What if one of you died without ever saying anything? What if he went back to Cybertron without ever having the chance to tell you the truth and regretted it? What if you had to leave Detroit someday? It was too big of a problem to leave unresolved given how chaotic and unpredictable your lives were, even if he was scared of what could happen. Plus, half the battle was you loving him back, and if Bumblebee told the truth the day prior, you already did.

So, Prowl sat on your roof. Waiting. You were outside for whatever reason despite it being midnight on a Tuesday in human time, laying in your backyard and admiring your flowers. Since it was a warm fall, they were growing quite well, your pumpkin crop in particular thriving. He’d been watching you for a while; (s/c) skin glowing as the moonlight shone upon your body, (f/c) shorts and a black sleepshirt hugging your frame. Your (e/c) eyes were currently trained on your rosebush, though he was sure you had noticed his presence- even though he wasn’t visible behind your chimney, you had an amazing knack for being able to feel when he was there, visible or not. 

“(y/n)?” The Autobot finally spoke, emerging from his hiding place and jumping down into your backyard to stand next to where you lay. 

You sat up to look at him with a tired smile. It was late and you had work tomorrow... Something must’ve been on your mind, too. Perhaps the two of you were in sync with your recent concerns.

“Hey, Prowl, you’re up late. Why don’t you lay with me?” Unable to say no to you, Prowl did just that, joining you on the grass and laying with his back on the ground. The stars that littered the sky were fogged up by the city lights, but while he normally would’ve been agitated by it, you were better to stare at, so he didn’t mind too much. “You sat on my roof for a while and didn’t even talk to me. What’s keeping you?”

“Ah, it’s nothing, I just-” The ninjabot started, close to denying everything flat out and ignoring the subject of his feelings yet again before realizing that’s what the problem was. He couldn’t open up to you and it was making everything convoluted, so with a sharp breath, he gathered all of his willpower and spoke to you again. “No, you know what? I’m tired of this.”

“What?” You looked shocked at the sound of his agitated tone, eyebrows furrowing together as you sat up and glanced at him, making him sit up as well. Your (e/c) eyes burned into his ocean optics in that moment, and a brief silence washed over the two of you before he spoke again.

“I’m tired of us hiding from each other,” Unable to help himself, Prowl leaned closer to you and reached over to rest a servo on one of your hands. “Be honest, what are your feelings towards me?”

You stopped, your breath visibly catching in your throat. The black and gold bot could immediately tell you were nervous, terrible at hiding your negative emotions like you had been since he’d met you, but he let you have as much time as you needed.

“Prowl, it’s a bit sudden for you to ask something like that out of nowhere. You know we’re friends-” You started, but when you looked closer at his face, you gave him a defeated sigh that made him realize; you knew he knew. “Who told you?”

“So it’s true,” He stated, holding your hand tightly and giving a soft frown. Your face was painted with the same fear and anxiety that he’d felt over loving you for so long now. 

Part of him was happy that you loved him back. The other part almost wished you didn’t, wished you could live your life happy and blissfully unaware to avoid the risk of getting your heart broken.

“I’m sorry,” You apologized.

“What do you have to be sorry for, sweetspark?” Prowl asked, tone gentle as he used his spare hand to caress your cheek and leaned in to rest his helm against yours. “I’d be a fool not to reciprocate, but I want to hear it for myself before I do anything. Tell me how you feel.”

“I’m in love with you, Prowl,” You admitted. A couple of tears welled up in your eyes and flowed down your cheeks, those of which Prowl wiped away with his thumb. “I’ve been captivated since the moment I saw you, and I never planned on telling you. I’m afraid of you getting attached to me and not being able to handle it if we ever have to separate because I’m sure there will be a day when you have to go back to your home planet. You can’t stay forever, and I can’t go with you.”

“I feel the same way... I love you too, (y/n)- so much that I don’t think you understand. I held off because I fear having to leave you someday, but I realized that we should take advantage of what time we have left and try our best to make this work,” In between his words, you let out what he assumed was a sigh of relief, making him do the same. Prowl quickly felt the weight of his anxieties leaving his chest and shoulders. He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss against your plump, warm lips, then withdrew to press a few more against your cheeks and forehead. You giggled; a sound he would listen to for the rest of his life if he could. “I think we’ll be alright in the end.”

“I...” You grinned and leaned into him with another laugh. “I think so, too. But who told you?”

“That’s... Quite the story. You see, yesterday afternoon, I got back to the base after visiting you and...”

Prowl smiled as well as he started his story. Things were complicated, and he knew this was risky, but you wrapping an arm around one of his and gripping his hand made him realize just how worth it you were. 

Maybe that intervention hadn’t been too bad of an idea after all.

#transformers #tfa #transformers animated #prowl #prowl x reader #tfa prowl #bumblebee #optimus prime #ratchet #bulkhead #tfa bulkhead #tfa ratchet #tfa optimus prime #tfa bumblebee #tfa prowl x reader #fanfiction #self insert #fluff #headcanon that bee is in love w reader here #and gets upset that prowl wont just make the move #bc its painful to watch you two simp after each other and do nothing when hes been in love w you forever #and would totally make a move if you werent already in love w prowl #whoops made this sad BYE hope no one reads the tags

[gingerswagfreckles]

Queer is my fave word, thanks for posting about that book, I'm gonna try to get a copy! It's just awesome to have an umbrella term for not feeling cis-hetero but not entirely certain where you fit under the umbrella yet.

Ahh yes!! You mean Gay New York by George Chauncey? That book is THE book on queer history in the US (it's really not just about NYC, but it is focused there). Not only is it the most meticulously well researched book I have EVER read, it is just. So brilliant in how it analyses the construction of and intersection of gender, sexuality, biological sex, class, race, and society. Like I read it for a class in freshman year of college and trust me I was already EXTREMELY liberal and well versed in queer discourse. Yet it completely I mean COMPLETELY changed my understanding of not only sex and gender but just like. What identity is, how much of what we see as static and natural are actually very contextual social constructs. And it really showed in a very concrete and reality based way how every identity exists and is defined through the context of its environment, and that while our experiences are very inherently real, the lines we draw around these experiences to define them are not. Like. The existence of a queer identity the way we generally think of it now did NOT exist in the same way throughout history. The intersection of so many facets of life have been interpreted so completely differently throughout history and in different places and social contexts. The queer community has never been some static and well defined club that one is or is not a member of. It is and always has been a nebulous and highly changeable social network of people with common experiences and interests who have defined their own communities in wildly different ways depending on where you look. Trying to strictly define who does or does not belong in or who has or hasn't existed in the queer community throughout history is completely pointless, because in reality we are talking about an absolutely enormous group of people who have been variously connected to and socially isolated from others, who have seen their own identities and their own communities in completely different ways.

It really highlighted for me how pointless 99% of the discourse on this website is, and how much almost all of it boils down to a fundamental misunderstanding of what identity is. NONE of the identities we think of as inherently real are inherently real, and arguing about who should be included in a community or who's identities are "valid" just shows that you think the framework through which you understand sex and gender is universal rather than cultural, contextual, and highly individual. Like, identities overlap! Identities step on each others toes!!! Words and labels change, and people do not universally agree on what they mean at any point in time!!! You would not believe how many people who you would think of as being part of the queer community didn't think of themselves as part of the queer community, and you would not believe how many people who you do NOT think of as part of the queer community DID see themselves as part of it, and were accepted!!

Like, for example, the interpretation of what it even meant to be "homosexual" was SO different depending on what period on time you look at, what location, what social and financial class these people were part of, what racial identity they saw themselves as (and that's a whole 'nother can of worms!) Sexuality was often seen as MUCH more connected to gender performance and sexual roles one took than it is today, and a lot, I mean a LOT of men who always topped did not see themselves as homosexual/gay/part of the queer community at all, especially in working class communities. And!! Guess what!! This is the part that will really blow your mind!!!

T H E Y W E R E N ' T W R O N G!!!!!!!!!!!

They were not WRONG about how they defined their identities or how they saw themselves in relation to a certain social community!! Because they were using their OWN social and sexual framework to interpret their identities and their actions!!! And saying they were WRONG in their interpretation fundamentally misunderstands that the criteria YOU use to measure whether someone is part of an identity or social group is not any more correct or real than the criteria THEY used! Saying these people were "wrong" is to impose one's own modern and highly contextual social framework on people from the past-- and TBH it's fine to see people from the past through modern lenses, and to recognize that they would be seen as gay/a certain identity by modern standards. That's fine! But the way they saw themselves then wasn't wrong, it was just different, and your criteria for what you see as gay or straight or part of a community is just as arbitrary and based on the context of your environment as theirs was.

People like to argue with this all the time, saying things like that these individuals were just suffering from internalized homophobia, gender bias, ignorance of what this or that identity "really" means, and these people are really really really misunderstanding the point. These are usually the same people who say things like "words mean things!!" when points like the one I'm making are brought up, because they continue to misunderstand how much these words yes, mean things, but mean things within historical and cultural contexts that are NOT shared by the entire world. Like, ok, you may say our example man from the 1910s is gay whether he recognized that or not, because he engaged in homosexual acts. But what does it mean to have homosexual sex? To have sex with someone of the same biological sex? Well what is biological sex, and how do we define what makes ones biological sex the "same" or "different" from your own? Is it someone with the same type of genitals as you? That's not a universally shared opinion, and the way you define the "types" of genitals are not universally shared either. What if I told you that there have been cultures throughout history who have categorized biological sex through the length of the penis, with people with shorter penises being seen as a separate sex than those who have longer penises? So two people with penises could have sex with each other and not be understood as having sex with someone of the same sex, in that culture!

Oh, that's not what you meant? That's wrong? Why? Why? Because your personal understanding and your culture's general perception of what biological sex is is more valid and real than that culture's? Why? WHY? Could you really explain why, or is it just that the difference is making you uncomfortable, because it threatens your perception of a LOT of the ideas you see as inherently real?

And we could do the same thing with the ACT of sex! I mean, what is sex? What physical acts are sexual, and what aren't? Is it just someone putting a body part inside of another person's body in some way? Well what about handjobs and other kinds of outercourse? Is sex then some physical thing we do in pursuit of an orgasm? What if you don't orgasm? Is it not sex then? Is sex the use of our bodies to derive general physical pleasure? Well what about a massage? Is a massage sex? In some times and places, many people would have said yes!

These aren't just theoretical questions- Chauncey outlines how these differing definitions of what sex is and what makes it queer not only allowed for a lot of people we would unquestioningly think of as part of the queer community to exclude themselves, but also resulted in the inclusion of people we would never consider to be queer now. Like, most female prostitutes who served only male cliental absolutely hands down refused to give blow jobs in the early 1900s, because blowjobs were seen as an extremely deviant expression of sexuality and were understood to be part of "homosexual" activity, regardless of the sex or genders of the people involved, because it was sexual activity that explicitly was not seeking to create a baby. This was a widely understood concept at the time, and persisted despite the fact that many of these women were using contraception and therefore obviously not seeking to get pregnant. Blowjobs were still seen as perverse and "homosexual," and thus not something most regular female prostitutes were willing to engage in.

Therefore! Female prostitutes who only ever had sex with male cliental but DID provide oral sex (and many other not-penis-in-vagina-activities) were often lumped in with lesbians!!! And treated as such in arrest records and propaganda! And guess what?? As a result, guess who these women usually hung around with, and where they usually could be found? Within the queer community and queer spaces!! These women were seen by the broader society as well as by much of the queer community as QUEER, and many of them likely understood themselves this way as well!

And for the record, these questions of what sex is and what gender is and what makes it gay or straight or whatever are not questions that belong strictly to the past. Survey the general population about what act they consider to have been the one where they "lost their virginity," and you will get wildly different answers. Survey self identified gay or straight people on what kind of sex acts they engage with and with who, and you will similarly find an enormous variation in reports.

And these questions MATTER! These questions matter, not in that we have to find some way to answer them, but in order to understand that we can't, definitively, and that thinking our own perceptions of any of these things are more valid than others' perceptions is incredibly harmful and dismissive to the lived experiences of other people. You can't define other people's identities out of existence just because they threaten or overlap or contradict with your own understanding of some concept, because your definitions of literally any of the criteria you are using to try to build your boxes are ALSO up for interpretation!

Like, I'm sorry I know I am rambling soooo much but you opened the same floodgates that this book opened back when I read it. If the people on this stupid website had any understanding of the history they claim to know so much about, they would see how their attitudes of "this identity is more valid than that identity" and "you can't sit with us because you're not actually part of this or that identity because my definition is better than your definition" is nothing new or woke or progressive, but is the exact same shit that has always been done and has been used to marginalize people who's existence or behaviors threaten the status quo. Like yelling at asexual or pansexual or nonbinary or aromantic people or whatever other group that they don't belong, or that their identity isn't real because it threatens the perceived integrity of another identity...it's all so stupid!! Your identity is also just a way for you to define yourself within your cultural context! Like I've literally seen people be like "asexality isn't a real identity bc if we didn't live in a society that was so sex obsessed then you wouldn't feel the need to define yourself this way." And it's like....what?? Yeah, ok??? But we do live in this society???????? And you can say that about LITERALLY ANY identity??! Not even ones related to sex and gender! Like "you aren't really deaf and deafness isn't real, because if we lived in a world without sound then you wouldn't notice you couldn't hear." Like yeah?? But we do live in a world with sound?? So...people find this term useful to articulate their experiences? And they might even dare to form an identity around it, and maybe a community, and might even become proud of it, even though it is a social construct, just like pretty much everything else??

It just drives me nuts. We go around and around in circles without ever understanding that so much of the bigotry we face is the same thing we are perpetuating with each other, because we don't understand that it is natural and normal for people's definitions of certain identities to conflict, and for their interpretations of the world to run up against each other sometimes. And that there is no strictly defined queer community, and who does or doesn't "belong" is not a decision that any one person or even any one culture gets to make, ever.

To try to finally actually wrap back around to what your actual comment was to begin with, I think queer is a wonderful word, and that GENERALLY SPEAKING in our current cultural context, it is used to encapsulate so much of the messiness and overlap that makes people so uncomfortable, but is what makes the queer community so great!!!!! That being said, it of course has had different definitions in different time periods and cultural contexts just like everything else, and some people may still have negative connotations associated with it and therefore not feel comfortable using it to self-identify. And that's fine too, as long as you don't try to force other people to stop using the term to describe their own identities on the basis that your definition is more real than theirs, which is the opposite of what queer history is all about.

If anyone is interested in the book I am talking about, you can buy it as an ebook, audiobook, or paper copy here: https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/george-chauncey/gay-new-york/9780786723355/

It goes into way way way more depth about everything I'm rambling about here, and backs it up with the most research and evidence I've ever seen in one single book. The physical copy is about as thick as two bricks stacked on top of each other, so if you can't get an exclusionist to read it, you can always just whack them over the head.

#gingerswagfreckles #queer #queer history #queer community #panphobia #ace discourse #acephobia #transphobia #queer discourse #mogai discourse #discourse #gay community #oh i accidentally wrote an essay #im so sorry anon u did not ask for this #this just came pouring out tho #its been brewing inside me for years and with the recent resurgence of panphobia for NOOOO reason uuugh #ive been really agitated and thinking about this a lot #and it just came pouring out #source is the fucking book obviously #so pls dont ask #btw anon i say you you you a lot in this and ofc I am NOT talking to u specifically i promise lol #im talking to a general audience

[nicanario]

this post is a product of its time

tw: discussion of racism, homophobia, misogyny and a short mention of sexual abuse.

ok, this is basically gonna be a very long rambling post about my not fully developed thoughts on the justification many people give to bigotry when talking about the past: "it was a product of its time"

it would be fair to say, with me being a raging SJW socialist scumbag, that I don't think this is a very good argument and is most of the time actually an excuse to not think about the problems inherent to our society, historical or not, and, by extension, the problems with ourselves. but I do think that sometimes, just sometimes, this can be a valid point, or at least one that raises some interesting questions.

I'm going to cite examples from several pieces of media, but fear not, I'll try to make this as accesible as I can.

so, let's take Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS) as our first case study. this show has, correctly, been called progressive by everyone except for clueless people who don't know much about Star Trek's history, Star Trek's crew, Star Trek's cast, or, frankly, Star Trek. because if you ignore the clear, sometimes in-your-face political history and present of the franchise, I don't think you know much about it at all. I do think you can call yourself a fan if you like it, you may have watched every single episode for all I know. but lots of mental gymnastics are needed to ignore the political progressiveness Star Trek has had since its very beginning.

episodes like Let That Be Your Last Battlefield are obviously anti-racist, at least in their intention. but the episode in question really is "a product of its time," and at the very end fails to uphold its ideals. the episode ends with the two aliens (who are LITERALLY. BLACK ON ONE SIDE. AND WHITE ON THE OTHER. BUT IN THE OPPOSITE SIDES.) fighting each other on their devastated planet, and the crew is like, "oh yeah if they both would give up on their hatred that they both share both of them equally" when it has been firmly established that one is the oppressor and the other one is the oppressed.

and that's a lot of Star Trek, not just TOS. even Discovery, one of the most recent series, has done Bury Your Gays (and Trans) TWICE (though both times literally rectified it, which is cool). there are episodes of the franchise that are overtly racist, or misogynistic, etc. TOS is lauded, mostly justifiably, as very progressive, especially for the standards of the time. they put a woman of colour as one of the senior staff, for fuck's sake. of course, when you analyse that same character, as with most of their intentions at being progressive, you'll see that she was relegated and sometimes even outright mistreated when she had the potential to be much more. but, at that time, it was a lot.

I had a friend (emphasis on "had") who, after I told him about TOS's both progressiveness and constant misogyny, told me something like "imagine feminists trying to complain about a show from the 60s." so, with unearned spite, he was, in some way, trying to make the argument that it was a product of its time.

you could say Star Trek, all of Star Trek, is "a product of its time" in the sense that it's not always perfect. uh, yes, I would agree. but that doesn't mean people have to accept it. well, I mean, the show is kinda over, you have to accept it's that way. but you don't have to accept that it's not wrong just because it was a product of its time.

H. P. Lovecraft, as another example, was a greatly influential writer whose works still shape a lot of people's ideas to this day. I have only ever read like one of his stories, so don't expect me to have an opinion on his works. but I can have an opinion on what I know about him as a person (he did have a life outside his writing, after all). and, yeah, he was a huge asshole. if you want to know more in depth about the subject, please watch Hbomberguy's video on him: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8u8wZ0WvxI

but basically, he was incredibly racist & homophobic. some people might even say, "he was a product of his time." well, there are two possible rebuttals to that. the surface level one, and the one that examines why that argument is wrong to the core.

The Surface Level Response to "it was a product of its time": um, no it wasn't. Lovecraft was more racist than a lot of people even in his time. he wasn't just a guy who carried the racist beliefs of his society like everyone else, he was a reactionary who actively thought and discussed how racist he was, and how right he was for being that way. but that's only applicable to Lovecraft. one can't argue the same for Star Trek: TOS, because TOS did try to be more progressive and more anti-racist than the rest of its society. that leads us to the next response.

The Response that Actually Deals with the Fact that No Matter How Progressive You're Trying to Be, Your Failings Can Still be Criticized: the thing is, trying to excuse Lovecraft's or Star Trek's bigotry because they were "products of their times" misses the fact that racism is still wrong, and some people knew that in those times as well. people from these times weren't all naive or stupid or whatever. they had the capacity for rational thinking. they could stop and think, "hey, maybe what we're doing is wrong." and the fact is, some people did. not perfectly, not to our standars, but they did. everyone could have stopped and think. but most of them didn't, and we can criticize them for it. racism, homophobia, sexism, etc. HURT PEOPLE. horribly. massively.

also, even if you agree with the "it's a product of its time" argument, some people aren't criticising people's or work's bigotry: they're explaining why they don't want to experience it.

The Talons of Weng-Chiang is a 1977 Doctor Who serial, and it's one of the show's more racist stories. almost all the villains are Chinese, every single Chinese person is a villain. there's yellowface, slurs, stereotypes, the Doctor speaking nonsense words instead of actual Chinese, and a general belittling of Chinese culture.

note that I'm neither Chinese nor of Chinese descent. I have been searching for hours for a few posts I've read a while ago (some by people who are of Asian descent) about this episode and I can't find them. sorry.

suffice it to say, even though I love Jago & Litefoot (the audio series and the characters), it's not an acceptable episode at all. but it's also important to remark that, because of it, some people aren't going to want to watch it. sometimes, people aren't saying "the episode shouldn't be this way," which causes others to answer that it was "a product of its time." sometimes, people are just saying, "this is an episode that attacks real people. I don't want to see it. I don't care if it was common in that era to be racist, i don't want to experience it."

however, there is an interesting point to the "it's a product of its time" argument. after all, everything is influenced by its society, for better or worse. and we can't change it anymore. TOS sometimes didn't quite understand the political themes it wanted to explore. Lovecraft was a horrible bigot. Talons was racist towards Chinese folks. and that's that. I don't think we should change the episodes/stories or anything. edit them in any way. that would be, in a sense, changing history. and we wouldn't learn anything from it, about how we can do better.

I think there are two solutions to this:

1. warnings before starting the text: this was done with The Talons of Weng-Chiang. on Britbox, where you can watch Classic Who, this serial has a content warning before the start. that's good.

2. the removal as a whole of the text from some places: I think before applying this one, there should be a lot of thought put into each case. I don't think removing a whole serial of Doctor Who or Lovecraft's stories from anything would be, well, fair. especially on tv episodes a lot more people worked on those, not just the writers and the directors. Lovecraft's writing influenced thousands. we shouldn't erase them or anything. but sometimes, for some cases, we should.

those in the US might seen a Confederate statue being taken down. that is, in a way, a form of removal of a piece of history.

but that is a good removal. statues glorify. one sees a statue and probably thinks "this was a person worthy of admiration." they should be taken down, maybe even with a permanent mark of why this was done (a plaque that reads "a statue of X was here, but he didn't deserve it because of Y" could be put in place of the statues, for example).

another example is the removal from DVDs of the short episode A Fix with Sontarans, a Sixth Doctor minisode that featured Jimmy Savile, a presenter who was later found out to be sexually abusing children.

the removal of that minisode is good, actually. it's not a full episode (it's not even Doctor Who). some might say that's "erasing history" but, like, you can still find it online or information about it if you want. this minisode deserves removal from DVDs and Blu-Rays and whatever more than content warnings. it's not an important part of the show and it prominently features a horrible person who did horrible things during that time.

so, after all that, I have explained why I don't like the "it's a product of its time" argument. it is an interesting point that deserves to be examined, but it's not very good.

I have had this in Drafts for so long I've probably forgot some of the points I was going to make, but eh, what can you do? hope you enjoyed reading this.

bye

#THIS POST IS A PRODUCT OF ITS TIME #IMAGINE FEMINISTS TRYING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT A POST FROM THE 2020S #THERE WAS A LOT OF MISOGINY BACK THEN #AND RACISM TOO #BUT THERE'S NO NEED TO THINK ABOUT ANY OF THAT ANYMORE #GO BACK TO SLEEP #CLOSE YOUR EYES #star trek #star trek tos #tos #the original series #star trek the original series #Let That Be Your Last Battlefield #lovecraft #hp lovecraft #h p lovecraft #doctor who #classic doctor who #classic who #fourth doctor #4th doctor #4 #four #the talons of weng-chiang #talons of weng-chiang #jago #litefoot #jago and litefoot #jago & litefoot #a fix with sontarans

[marvel-ing-at-it-all]

Yachi's Ball

(Yachi x platonic!Karasuno VB team)

This was a headcanon that spiraled out of control so now its a fic I guess. I wrote it at like 1-2am, its not really proof-read. angst to fluff I guess? Obviously I would never want this to happen to my girl Yachi, but I had this idea and I thought it was kinda wholesome so... here you go, enjoy!

So let's say theres like a school dance or event going on and Yachi happens to have a crush on someone in one of her classes. She feels so lucky and happy when they ask her to go with them, she is overjoyed at practice talking to Kiyoko about it, the team overhearing, is happy she's happy. She and Kiyoko plan to go shopping for their dresses and excitedly plan for the magical night.

The night of the dance rolls around, her date told her they'd meet her there, so nervously she enters the crowded school gym. She had arrived with Kiyoko after she had helped her get ready, they both "look like a million bucks" according to Tanaka and Noya who almost too quickly upon Kiyoko's arrival stole her away to dance...it was almost as if they were waiting at the entrance for her arrival...

ANYWAY. Yachi is quick to assure Kiyoko that she can go have fun with the boys and that her date would be there soon, it had only been 10 minutes past their agreed meeting time, they were probably just running a little late. So Yachi waits, lingering near the entrance nursing a cup of punch as 10 minutes go by, then 20, then 30. As time seems to drag on and no messages come from her supposed date she starts feeling frustrated. Frustrated with how optimistically happy she was when they had asked her, frustrated by how much time she spent talking about how much she looking forward to tonight, frustrated with how much money she put into her outfit, how much time she took to do her hair and makeup, with how she had taken up Kiyokos time to help her, and of course how frustrated she was with her date. She's an understanding person, if something came up she would have understood, but not a single text was exchanged and she just felt so dumb about the whole thing.

She'd lost Kiyoko and the two rambunctious 2nd years over 40 minutes ago. In the crowd of bodies moving around her short stature and anxious nature did not help her efforts to look around for a familiar face, even with the damn heels that had been nothing but cruel to her feet. Not wanting to call her mother to come pick her up she decided to become a wallflower, finding a nice spot to lay low. She didn't want to cry, but she felt as if she were on the verge of tears, embarrassed by the whole situation, head lowered, tightly clenching her near empty cup of second refill punch by her side.

It's only then, when she is about to make a break for some fresh air outside, or an empty classroom, or maybe the volleyball gym, or literally anywhere but the cursed dance that she notices many sets of mens dress shoes appear on the floor she was so intently staring at. As she looks up there the boys volleyball team stands, dressed in their best formal wear, a certain Shōyō Hinata stands right in front of her, a hand extended towards her. "Can we have this dance?" he asks with the same determination and enthusiastic tone he has when it come to the sport he loves so much. She looks around the group, all the boys looking at her expectantly, some with sympathetic faces, others with bright smiles, and some somewhere in between. However, those faces turn to frowns as she lets the tears fall. She is quickly pulled in for a hug by Kiyoko, but as the boys begin to awkwardly apologize, she wipes them away and expresses her gratitude for the sweet boys who have tried so hard to bring a smile back to her face after seeing her standing dejectedly on a wall.

Claiming this was the sweetest thing anyones ever done for her, she smiles through the remaining (happy) tears, going in for a large group hug. The boys gladly huddle around her, when they release from a hug she thanks them again, explaining her frustrations which had lead them to this point. There are exchanges of threats and trash talk about her so called date, most notably the "piece of shit" from Kageyama and a "looks like I'll be having a little chart with someone" from Daichi. Tanaka and Noya reiterate enthusiastically that she looks so pretty, Sugawara laughs as he gives her a little twirl, showing her off. She giggles as well before stopping in front of a flustered Yamaguchi who manages to stumble out a sincere "You look beautiful Yachi-san", she flushes deeply at the compliment and thanks him. She is now smiling brightly, looking around, happy she has such great friends, when Hinata prompts again, "Now, how about that dance?". She takes his hand and exclaims, "lets go have fun, I did't get all dolled up for nothing" she jokes. With that she, Kiyoko, and the gentlemen of the boys volleyball team take to the dance floor! They dance in a group having a fun time, some (*cough* the first years *cough*) offer her solo dances when slower songs arrive, graciously accepting she dances the night away.

Her trash date isn't even on her mind, she's just happy she had such a good time with the boys who she takes care of at practice taking care of her for a night. When the dance comes to a close the group decides to go out for some late night, trash food. Tsuki offering to carry her heels as they walk through the grass outside. After their bellies are filled with food and exhaustion takes over they call it a night, but not before more thank you's and hugs are exchanged.

By the end of the night many photos and videos were taken and posted on Instagram, captions ranging from "happy I could make you smile" to a more ballsy "their loss". Yachi herself posts a series of photos, the first being a group photo of her and the boys, captioning it something along the lines of "the Karasuno Boys Volleyball team, sure know how to make a girl feel special! Very grateful to call you all my friends 🥰". Other photos are of her and Kiyoko, some solo shots of her (not pictured the boys hyping her up), a first year group photo, some duo shots, and lets not forget the pic of everyone in their formal wear chowing down on greasy fries, burgers, and milkshakes!

Needless to say when her "date" sees the post they know they missed out. Hitoka Yachi is ✨t h a t ✨girl and now everyone knows it.

I hope you all enjoyed, I know I haven't been putting out much original content, but every now and then I have some sparks of inspiration and time lol. I've been taking some summer classes, but my last one should finish up soon so I might be able to put out some more content for you guys ( I say that like a whole bunch of people read my shit and follow me lol) anyway, as always feel free to reblog, please leave a comment or like if you know, you liked it lol. Even though I don’t consider myself a serious writer I appreciate the validation 😂

also tagging my mutual, @aka-ashi-keiji (mwahahaha more fluff!)

<3 marveling

#haikyuu fanfiction #haikyuu fluff #haikyuu headcanons #yachi hitoka #yachi hcs #yachi fluff #kiyoko shimizu #hinata shoyo #kegayama tobio #hq tsukishima #yamaguchi #yachi x hinata #yachi x yamaguchi #haikyuu fic #haikyū!! #haikyuu x reader #marvelings fics #idk how to tag this

[bioodorange]

||How I See The Pastas||

© @frozensriracha, for some help with visuals!!

This was originally supposed to be how they looked but I decided to go for mental aspect and explain why as well PLEASE like, reblog and share your thoughts on this in the comments or inbox

Below the desciptions are images i’ve compiled and some art (if you know the creator please tell me so i can credit them) for a visual

dont forget to like reblog and share your thoughts with me, I spent a few days on this so i’d appreciate this

Jeff the Killer

So lets start with the obvious- jeffs pasty white toothpaste lookin skin

But realistically he wouldn’t be completely covered in scars

It would be blotchy, with pink fleshy patches among the burns

He most likely has contracture scars, third degree burns that turn the skin a pale white and tighten the skin

This explains his gaunt features and skin color

Now we have to take into account the vodka that was splashed on him, he’d probably have worse burns there with exposed flesh and damaged nerves

This would result in gnarly exposed skin, a damaged scalp and maybe damage to his teeth and eyes

Realistically, Jeff wouldnt have burned off his eyelids that alone would have resulted in blindness and death

Than his smile, his signatuure mark would probably be more of a gangly bloody scar mess

Pastas heal faster and aren’t really human, he’d have to recut his smile pretty frequently making it pretty jacket up because ltes be honest hes far from clean

ANd than his hait being chard black is very unlikely because as nasty as he is he s h o w e r s

not very frequnetly given his living situation and untreated burns but people can figure out how to wash hait and not much else

also i think its funny he’d shower with a plastic bag on his face to avoid getting soap in his nasty infected scars-

His hair would probably be dry and cut unevenly, more of a dark brown color with blonde undertones

Not to mention his burned scalp, hair probably wouldn’t grow there so he’d have a cool unintentional side shave

Jeff would also be a tall individual, he cant really eat, snacking on things from his victims homes giving him a more skeletal build

His personality and mindest is about as pretty as his face- but he most likely has a very screwed up headspace

Lacking in self care, maturity and sanity its fair to say he’d be a brash and violent person

Fun Fact: While researching this I learned that some versions of the joker had facial scars in the shape of a smile

Ticci Toby

So tobys age, unlike a lot of pastas, is pretty well agreed on, 19

So unlike when he was first a proxy toby most likely has stronger facial features and facial hair

Because shaving and hygiene isn’t first priority for pastas (gross-)

He stands around 5′7 and has grayish skin

Toby i feel is picky about foods, not only is it hard for him to eat its hard for him to keep food down

He’s malnourished explaining his thin figure and grayish skin

His hait is dark brown and a curlish mess, unkempt but short so it doesn’t get in his way

I’ve always seen him with a small gap in his teeth, because I can

And since toby can’t feel shit I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to eat rocks simply because he fuckin could

So some chipped teeth that are a bit uneven

Along with his CIPA and not eating enough Toby would bruise easily and have lots of scars, from things like cutting his finger on accident or getting mauled by a racoon

I wouldn’t be surpised if some of his joints were a bit screwed up, because whenever theyd beak or fracture he wouldn’t notice, this would probably happen a lot causing them to not heal correctly

One of tobys habits is nailbiting but he cant te;; when too far is too far

His fingers may be abit odd looking, knobby and discolored nails because of how exetreme his habit is

Would most likely have bandages around his fingers frequently to prevent the habit

So theres a lot of debate about tobys cheek was it the CIPA or the car accident, I beileve the accident because his other cheek is completely fine, theres damage from the OUTSIDE to inside and considering his sister died in the accident its unlikely he survived unscathed

Fun Fact: only a small handful of people have ever been diagnosed with CIPA, less than 500 (documented) cases around the world

Bloody Painter

So Helen is often seen as quiet emo painter boy 

but uh no <3

Personaly i beileve he suffers from narcisistic personality disorder, exetreme importance and that he is always victorious and gets what he wants

This sporuts from the constant heavy invalidation from classmates, toxic friends and neglect from his parents

He doesn’t hang out with people because he doesn’’t lie them its because they never let him in the past and he beileves he’s better than them

But this also links to deep rooted insecurity and social anxiety/being inept completely

Him being nice is basically so you like him, he wants validation amd admiration not love

Unlike the other pastas he’d be a more clean well kept one a helthy figure and some tattoos bevause he can

I beileve he lives in socity, finding hus victims in girls and men alike who fall for his charm

he uses hhis skill and ordinary appearance to blend in on the streets

From his behavior helen most likely keeps his hair a bit shorter and clean

He always looks his best

Has chapped, and picked at lips because of his anxieties

Aswell as his breakdowns- his identity is completely in his head, he is very unsure of who he is and takes the delusions in his mind as reality

Unrelated but paino fingers-

And finally in order for his art to be as perfect and amazing as him, he has to be apart of it

Thus using his own blood in his pieces and the body parts of those he admires

Covers his scars with clean bandgaes

But his paintings turn brown and dry out, he’s always in need of a new medium

Is most likely anemic from all the blood he looses and has a paler skintone

Clockwork

ahh yes finally someone who knows what self care is-

helen, i love you buddy but you need to stop 

But anyway natalie has a stronger, athletic build

She often chases her victims and gets in altercations, relying on strength most  of the time

on that same note, this would defintelty cause many scars on natalie

Wether it was a bite mark or scars from a kitchen knife, shes got lots of scars

A few even on her face

Now, for the clock in her eye that thing is like holding her skull together at this point, realistically

She is probably delicate and cares for it becaise 1) it hurts 2) if it gets screwed up that could cause a lot of problems

natalie would be a smart person, I wouldn’t be surprused if she had a few other stray stitches or bandgaes wrapped around a fresh wound

For more visual-ish things uh m u l l e t (credit: @cum-looking-sock-mf in a chat like 4 months ago)

She has one, fight me on it

but also thick and curlish hair so I also riase you

Undershave

just y e s

I can also see her getting tattoos over certain scars on her arm, just to make them look not so ugly

I feel like clockwork wishes things worked out better

Wishes for another chance but knows she’ll never get one

Thus her taking goof care of herself

Natalie throws herseld into her “work”, keeping her body in shape and killing people

Its a way to avoid her life and that it is- a huge, sad mess

Shes an outgoing impulsive individual, confident but questions her actions

She’s also unstable- protective and loyal but explosive and strong 

Jane the Killer

Jane is the final one, im sorry I couldn’t do more theres a photo limit and I wanna bash my head into the wall

Now a main different between her and jeff is she had surgery and lie treatment

Janes skin is still greatly scarred but it is greatly healed

She takes care of it and had skin grafts

Her face is disfigured, a scarred smile and burns around

But unlike Jeff she doesn’t recarve the cut so its a cleaner line and a lot healthier

Janes hair took a rather long time to grow back, but it did! 

She has a slightly long pixie cut a bit choppy but she doesn’t mind

Her wife definetely cuts it for her and you can fight me over that

I can see Jane having a lot of facial trauma, scars around her nose and cheeks

She was young when she started killing and went for the over the person, pin them down kill which didn’t work out

She switched to a silenced pistol after awhile, you know like a smart person

Janes arms and legs are in alright condition where most of the burn trauma is on her back

She has a leaner but healthy figure but like boobs-

Like clockwork and Helen she takes care of herself

She doesn’t kill as frequently, going after a few of jeffs victims before him and is of course, actively hunting him down

Her eyes are a pale green and she wears makeip to fill in her eyebrows because those bitches take a long time to grow back

fun fact: jeff has no eyebrows, fight me

#jeff the Killer #creepypasta #creepypasta headcanons #slenderverse #slenderverse headcanons #jeff the killer head canons #ticci toby headcanons #ticci toby #bloodypainter #bloodypainter headcanons #clockwork headcanons #clockwork #jane the everlasting head canons #jane the everlasting #jane the killer #jane the killer headcanons

[queensgaybeach1d]

Hi, do you think H chooses his career over Louis? Also why do people think so and what is a Houie? Is Haryy really a fame hungry guy? What about Harry thanking Rob Stringer he hates Louis? X

Hello love,

No I don’t think so at all. Let me start from the beginning. A few Larries turned into houies and solo louies, because they think that Harry is trying to sabotage Louis’ career or that Louis is the one who is taking the bullet for Harry; therefore accepting the abuse while Harry has a good career. To me that is not true at all and I will explain why, in a bit. I just want to add that these are my thoughts and in no way do I want to bring anyone down.

1.Waltzing Harry

So, the first problem is that a few people think Harry is waltzing over the rest of One Direction, because he gets magnificent promo. This is not something I think people should base their Houie thoughts on, because of the following; Harry has ALWAYS been the front man of One Direction, from day 1. He has always been the one with the most fans or the one every interviewer would try to impress. That was not his choice, we all know that all of the boys were given certain images. From history we also know that ONE member of a boyband always goes solo and has the most succes and becomes a ‘break out star’ ; beyonce, Paul MCcartney, Justin Timberlake and Robbie Williams, for example. This is also not different from One Direction. What I am trying to say is that there is a patterns and it is not just a coincidence that these things happen to 99% of the boybands out there. It is a strategy. We all know Harry brought/brings up the most money out of 1D, because since day 1 he was the ‘popular’ one. Simon Cowell and the losers at Sony are hungry money wolf, so who will they invest most in? Exactly; Harry Styles. Before anyone says that 1D is not signed under Sony anymore, they are STILL signed to Sony as a band.

 2. Harry hates One Direction.

Loads of people tend to spread rumors that Harry hates One Direction, because he wanted to be free and all. I believe that is all to tarnish Harry’s boy band image and rise the solo Harry image. Harry himself called One Direction ‘’my wonderful friends’’ and he even said he loves them. I don’t understand why some then automatically start believing the written headlines. We know from experiences that those headlines want one thing: attention. The people Harry hangs out with are also anti-1D such as Roman Kemp (sometimes) and Bunny Kinney. James Cordon and other major shows such as the Late Late Show always aim for Harry first too, because they know he will bring a lot of viewers with him. HSHQ also want nothing to do with 1D. I don’t understand why those Houies don’t believe the headlines of Louis being a father, but they do believe it when 1000 articles say that Harry hates 1D, even though he stated differently. 

 3. Harry steals Louis’ thunder.

A few people are also mad that Harry, for example, tweeted about WS two days before WMI came out, but what they don’t see is Harry promoting Louis’ song Two Of Us by putting it at the end of his video Sweet Creature. They are also mad at Harry having a beer with Liam Gallagher, a person Louis loves, when Louis has been to Liam’s launch party recently. I hope you notice how horrible and toxic it sounds that people get mad at Harry because he met one of Louis’ biggest idols. What about the fact that Harry had a 10 year long pause when Louis’ solo came up? Was Harry mocking his voice? NO.

 4. Harry staying signed to Sony.

Long story short; a lot of Houies think Louis and Harry signed to Sony as solo artists, because Louis was there to enhance solo Harry. I do agree with the fact that Louis, compared to Harry, hardly gets any promo from Sony, but I don’t think their careers are linked or whatsoever. Let me begin by saying that all members of 1D were signed, as a band, to Sony and Syco. They STILL are signed to Sony as a band. So Sony still hasn’t lost its power over the boys, even solo wise their contract as a band STILL remains valid. You have to imagine Sony as a big tree, and Columbia, Syco, Epic and RCA etc, are its branches. This means that 1D is a part of Sony anyways. They are still tied to Sony by their 1D contract AND their solo contracts.  So when people say ‘’Harry and Louis signed to Sony because they wanted to’’ you know it is wrong. They had no actual choice. That is also why I don’t understand Houies. Compared to Harry, every solo artist of 1D is getting trashy promo, not Louis only. Zayn gets nothing and neither does Liam. From the beginning Harry has always been the CENTER of 1D, that was not his choice, it was his image, so why is this different from all those 1D years? If anything, it makes the most sense.

 5. harry thanking Rob and Jeff and Sony etc.

In multiple interviews, according to Houies, Harry has stated that he loves his label and that Rob is so good to him etc. now, there are lots of Houies jumping to conclusions and saying that Harry is okay with those people killing Louis’ career and rising Harry up instead. I believe there was a Houie who said that Louis has been sabotaged and that Harry bears some responsibility in that, all because Harry thanked his label. On how many occasions did Liam have to thank Simon Cowell, Modest Management and Sony? Exactly, every single time they had won an award. I don’t see how this is different at all. We know how ALL the 1D men hate Simon, Syco, Sony and Modest etc. yet Liam thanked them anyway? Does that mean Liam liked the abuse and closeting etc? Absolutely not. Those situations are the exact same thing.

You are absolutely allowed to draw your own conclusions, but this fandom is getting toxic by day. First we have Harries hating on Louis and saying Louis bullied Harry, and then we have Louies saying Harry is a fame hungry demon who smashed his heart. The same thing is happening again. First, in 2012, people were convinced Louis fell in love with Eleanor and broke Harry’s heart and now people believe Harry fell in love with his career and broke Louis’ heart.

Of course you should decide whatever you feel is right, and perhaps I am missing the point Houies are making, feel free to ask me about it. It is just so strange how this fandom is divided.

 Have a nice day, anon an please remain safe!

#louistomlinson #louis tomlinson #louis #tomlinson #harrystyles #harry styles #harry #styles #houies #larrystylinson #larry stylinson #louisandharry #louis and harry #harryandlouis #harry and louis #larry #stylinson #sony #jeff #rob #dear God help me

[claybrownie7566]

Through mortality (Part 1)

So I liked writing the Fierce deity not understanding love.

There is also a HC going around that Time's other eye is kept closed because the deity's spirit lives through him and can see out that side. So I thought it might be cool to write him learning about life through Time.

I also really love the fic (don't remember it off the top of my head) where Mask grants each of the masks a final request, and the fierce deity chooses to sleep. When the boy wakes up, the mask if off and sitting on his night stand.

I love this for a lot of reasons, but mostly I love that the god of war is learning what Hylia learned on Earth too. He just did it from within the bindings of a mask. So anyway, here is a little something :)

Hope you enjoy!

The first thing he saw was red.

His eyes snapped open, and his rage became free.

Unrestrained.

Lusting for blood.

He saw a great demon before him, the tune of dark magic and terror echoing in the kaleidoscopic room.

He growled at Majora, a monster he recognized from a life he could not remember. The creature raised it's whip-like arm to strike.

The Fierce deity cut it down with hardly the flick of his hand, and it was over. He did not need to know the reason for his awakening. He did not need any sort of validation for destroying such evil.

He laughed, the sound distorted and cruel.

"I have been freed. Now I can become what I was always meant to be."

Something tugged at him. He turned around, but there was nothing there.

Again. A gentle pull from within him. He could almost feel hands, small and strong, working beneath his skin.

Suddenly the world went dark, and he dissapeared with a frustrated roar.

He did not know how long he had been in the darkness. He did not know how long he had slumbered.

**********

The next time he saw light was in a great field. He heard shouts coming from all around him. He heard the screams of battle, and the clanging of metal. He took in the sights around him. It had been so long since he had seen the light.

"Sprite?"

He turned, peering down. His empty eyes met with sharp blue ones.

The deity said nothing.

This man, a man that he could've sworn he'd seen before, stood with authority and the mark of it aswell.

"Sprite, if you can hear me, make sure that big sword of yours doesn't hurt any of our friends okay?"

The deity tilted his head, then peered out at the battlefield.

Monsters flooded the land, soldiers in silver fought and worked and pressed forward, holding a line in front of the castle.

"Hey!"

He looked back at the man.

"We need your help. The kid told me you could help, so get to it!"

He paused, then smirked.

His helix blade was summoned to his hand, and he charged into battle.

Oh how he basked in it. He swept through hoards of monsters like they were nothing more than flies stuck in a trap. He downed monsters the size of Majora, he slayed them in numbers unbelieving to the mortal ear.

When they had all been destroyed, he yearned for more.

He turned to face the line of soldiers.

Stop.

He gasped.

Stop your rage. These are our men. If you harm them they will never let you fight again.

The small voice in his head perplexed him. Where had it come from? Who had invaded his thoughts and taken such control of his heart?

"Where am I?" He asked himself.

You are on the great battlefield of Hyrule field. You sleep in a mask unless I need your power.

So he had been used.

Why wasn't he angry?

Go back to the captain, see if there is anything else you can do to help.

"I do not help, little voice."

You just did. And you loved it. I know because I'm right here. I'm smart.

The fierce deity did not know why, but the voice in his head made him feel something he had never felt before.

"Very well" he said, making his way back toward the castle.

When he arrived, the man called "Captain" was waiting for him. But he wasn't alone.

The deity gasped.

A woman, clad in shimmering armor laid with jewels stood beside him. A circlet laced her forehead, and her face glowed with a radiance he had not seen in a mortal.

A memory. Old as the sun, and bittersweet tugged at the back of his mind. He knew this woman. Somewhere, somehow, in some life, he knew her.

But that life had faded.

The Captain looked at her, his previously stern facade melting into gentle protectiveness and fondness.

"Thank you" he said, "you saved many lives. I hope we meet again, but for now I'd like my boy back please."

"Your....boy?" The deity said, looking rather puzzled.

He means me.

"How do I accomplish this?" He asked the voice.

The captain shared a glance with the woman.

"How do you accomplish what?" The captain asked.

I'll take care of it. Just let me take over. Don't worry, you will not sleep for long. Thanks for your help.

The god did not know what to think of this, but he felt calm. Something he couldn't remember feeling before. His will diminished, and he felt small hands work at him again.

Then darkness.

**********

He woke to stars above him, and fire around him. Trees were scorching in the night sky, and there were cries for help all around him. When his mind regained focus, he could hear the voice within him tremble.

P-please. My brother. We are trapped here. He's very hurt, and I can't lift him. I'm sorry to have summoned you for something like this, but I didn't know what to do. Please help.

It wept.

Fire and something he couldn't name filled his chest. He felt his breaths quicken, and his brows knot together.

"Do not weep, little voice. Where is the one you call brother?"

He's against that tree to our right. Please hurry, he's badly wounded.

His eyes locked on the figure at the base of the tree. The blue scarf he had worn last time was still around his neck. The captain grimaced, and clutched his side.

Red.

The Fierce deity stooped, not knowing what he should do next. He was the cause of wounds like this, not a healer.

"What shall I do small one?"

Pick him up gently and get him out. Zelda will help him when we get home. Please hurry Fierce!

He did as he was told, the grass around them began to disapear, and the flames rose. He hefted the injured man into his arms and began through the flames.

The voice became muddled in all the chaos around them, and the warrior began to quicken his steps.

"F-fierce?" The captain breathed.

"You call me by that name. Why?"

Because saying Fierce deity all the time is annoying. I told everyone to call you that. Is that alright?

"Yes. That is a good name little one."

He felt the weight in his arms collapse further. The small voice gasped and cried out.

C-captain? Captain? Link! Link, please wake up!

"He cannot hear you little voice. But do not fear. We are nearly out of danger. I will deliver your companion to the castle."

A sniff.

Thank you.

Another foreign phrase.

After what felt like eons, they reached the castle. Guards and healers all rushed out to meet them. With gentle arms and tear stained cheeks, they came to him.

"Let me through" a voice, gentle and commanding at the same time rang out through the hall.

The one called Zelda rushed forward, taking the Captain's face in her hands. She brushed ash and grime from his face with the pad of her thumb.

"Oh Link" she whispered, "please hang on."

The little voice quavered and hitched.

It's going to be ok big brother.

The deity did not understand.

He watched as someone took the captain from his arms. He watched as Zelda followed after, staying as close as she could.

And he did not understand.

"Why does she grieve so? Why do you?"

The little voice took a deep breath.

Seeing him hurt, hurts us too, in a way. Because we love him.

He paused. It was a word he had heard before, but he did not know the meaning.

"I do not understand that word."

You will. One day.

**********

He awoke many times during the war of ages. He fought side by side many different heroes. He grew close to each of them, and over time he befriended the captain and his queen.

"Fierce can you tell the little ankle biter to quit stealing my scarf? It's part of my uniform and I need it." The captain jested.

Fierce grinned, "no promises captain. The little one says it looks better on us."

Hehehe

Something bubbled in his chest when the little voice laughed. He enjoyed causing it.

The captain glared playfully at the towering figure before him, crossing his arms.

"Well then at least give it back before-"

"Link!"

The two men turned their heads.

The one they called Ravio raced toward them. His purple rabbit hood bouncing behind him.

The boy stopped in front of them and panted.

"It's Zelda. She needs to see you."

Before Ravio could even point to the castle, the captain was off.

Ask Ravio what's the matter while we walk.

"Little hood?" Fierce asked, "what ails the queen?"

Ravio gazed up at him and sighed, a mischievous smirk playing across his lips.

Fierce knew that smirk.

"Oh dear."

RUN FIERCE I DONT WANT TO MISS IT!

The deity cringed at the rise in time, but agreed. Without a word he scooped up the little bunny child and placed him atop his shoulders.

"H-hey!" Ravio complained. Fierce began to sprint toward the castle, and the boy clung to his shoulders for dear life.

He slowed to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. Ravio climbed down and scurried away, happy enough his task was completed.

Fierce returned his thoughts to the little voice.

"Do you wish to part here?"

To his surprise the voice simply said No.

"Do you not wish to council with them?"

I can see from here. But you can't if I go away. I want to show you.

The Fierce deity was curious now, and allowed himself to press through the gates and down the hallways. The castle was a sight so magnificent it would've made the gods jealous. The stone columns, the statues, the marble floor. All luminous and strong, like the people within it's walls. He felt out of place here, but so strangely at home.

Carefully, he opened the door to the voices home, which he shared with the captain.

Look.

Fierce watched through the crack in the door. He saw the captain pacing the room, a hand resting on his chin in thought. His usual armor had been removed, he was in his simple tunic, trousers, and boots.

Fierce marvelled how a warrior such as the captain could look so very plain. There were footsteps coming down the staircase in the room. The captain held his breath.

Zelda flew down the stairs, her armor also absent. She was in a simple dress, and even her crown had been removed. She beamed and leapt into the Captain's waiting arms.

Fierce felt a soft smile cross his lips.

The captain spun her around, the two beaming at eachother in a way he had never seen.

"You did it" she whispered, "it's nearly over. All of it. Cia is gone Link. The monsters are retreating, and soon everything will go back to normal."

He lifted her chin, "I couldn't have done any of it without you. And goddesses above am I glad I didn't have to." He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him. He kissed her ever so sweetly. Fierce watched as she pulled away, setting her forehead against his.

This, the little voice said, is just one example of what love looks like. It has infinite meanings to everyone who has ever lived. This is a special kind of love. One that doesn't need anything to thrive. This is their love, and it is just for them.

Fierce felt something in his chest bloom with warmth. But more than that was a longing, a desire to feel this way toward someone or something.

Do you remember when you rescued the captain? That fear and that protectiveness me and Zelda felt for him...that was love too. He is my brother, and I love him. Do you see how it is different?

Fierce nodded.

Good. Then may I return to them?

"Yes" he whispered, "thank you little one. I shall see you soon. Please tell the captain and the queen I say hello."

**********

#legend of zelda #linked universe #it's both for now #because later it will be lu #anyways

[sapphicwhxre]

tiny pansy rant, cut short so it’s *hopefully* not too long:

i. wanted. to. see. her. change! and in my opinion the reason she never got the chance was because jkr used her character to make fun of people she disliked :/

pretty much all the other noteable slytherins had some sort of redemption arc,, and yeah they’re still mostly problematic people but they got chances: snape, draco, narcissa, regulus, slughorn, leta and technically andromeda? you get the point i just—

like miss ma’am decided to make pansy,, the like slytherin stereotype? and have her want to betray harry? she was seventeen ffs, not bellatrix lestrange. she was in the middle of a war? in my personal opinion i don’t think that she wanted to hand harry over out of cruelty like. it’s possible? but maybe she was just scared? also don’t we know that pansy was terrified at the thought of like. voldemort coming to hogwarts? again: everyone expects all of the children in harry potter to be these selfless brave individuals,, they’re kids :( yes ik it’s ya fantasy but cmon. they were supposed to be stressed about the N.E.W.T exams not the upheaval of their society?

and don’t get me wrong i know that she was. not a good person. she was a bitchy teenage bully who was taught hateful views. but i wanted to see her change even a little– even draco marries someone who presumably teaches him how to treat people equally? like. there was so much room for change: she was a prefect, she was capable of some kindness seeing as she liked draco, or alternatively, we could’ve seen her break away from draco and potentially stop hating harry/all his friends quite so much or develop her own opinions. or maybe her group of friends that she used for validation throughout her school years was uprooted during the war and she had to learn that independency? or her pointing out harry could’ve been turned into trying to be selfless, like she thought they’d be safe that way, or she returned later fighting with reinforcements to show she was on Hogwarts’ side. jkr is always like "well they technically came back to fight, if you squint » but that’s not enough. also? let’s say we did get a glimpse of her during the actual battle: there could’ve been anything, the smallest scene, that showed some sort of support or reconciliation or something between her and hermione, considering how hermione was often pansy’s target. everybody wants to see forgiveness between draco and harry because of minor events/details (i dislike drarry but that’s besides the point), but imagine what could’ve changed with some semblance of apology or assistance from pansy to hermione. there were so many chances for r*wling to give her a smallest redemption

but instead we got her characterized as evil and a stupid, cowardly traitor. she the only person we ever see her care for marries her friends younger sister. she’s the written depiction of jkr’s bitterness and her arc is jkr’s vengeance.

also, another reason that i’m so mad she got nothing is because of the whole slytherin=evil thing. she’s made into a stereotype of a “slytherin”— cruel, selfish, shallow, ugly, and asinine. (also i could rant about slytherin forever, but can we just mention that jkr consistently refers to slytherins as physically ugly and just how fucked up that is? i– wtf). but anyway: to give pansy a chance to change is to give the slytherin house a chance to change its reputation. trying to justify that the slytherin house got its redemption because of the actions of ppl like snape or regulus, etc isn’t possible. because all of those “slytherin heroes” were described again and again as being “different from all the other slytherins”. they set themselves apart by being decent. they weren’t normal slytherins, no, they were set apart, they were brave and smart and kind— not evil. there’s no redemption to be found there. i wish jkr would just fucking say that being sorted into slytherin was being made into a villain. she dodged around it with rhetorical questions and pointing out how not All of them are bad,, and then will go on to mock the other slytherins and talk about how the heroes were Not Like The Other Snakes... again: there’s no redemption of slytherin as a house, as a quality, as a concept there. it’s just the redemption of an individual.

in pansy, however, we could’ve found so much more. like i said, she’s The Average Slytherin: not a hero, not a villain like voldemort. she’s made out to be a depiction of the typical slytherin student, one without a “destiny”, so to speak. and so to give her the chance, to see her change, to have her redefine herself? that would be a starting point for restoring slytherin as a whole (obviously not the best way, and the real best thing to do would be not to make an entire house be the bad guys in the first place, but–) to have someone who’s the figurehead of slytherin (like actually a figurehead,, girl is a even a prefect) show remorse and growth gives the entire house the seed of redemption. it would mean that after over a thousand years there could be peace between the houses. obviously not the only factor in reconciliation but still so important.

and not to just continue to heap on my own issues with it, but look. i know that there are so many other ways to introduce “mundane” antagonists without making them a symbol of anything. pansy could’ve been a bitch without representing slytherin. also pansy doesn’t have to break character and become kind for amends to be made. they don’t even have to be fully made, just started. but jkr chose to:

a.) go with bullying as a minor antagonistic element

b.) create and develop a character around that theme

c.) make this character only based on her own negative personal experiences

d.) turn that character into a representation of a much larger group of people

e.) deny that character any final moment that could begin to make amends for her actions and instead, chooses to make her “defining” moment an act of evil and cowardice

f.) either neglects the character or chooses plot points that would humiliate the character in all the glimpses of the future we are shown (ex. how dracos marriage is)

g.) openly mocks and insults the character repeatedly and never directly comes out and proves she didn’t write slytherins as evil

h.) to the best of my knowledge, ignores that pansy personifing slytherin, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and then characterizing both as “bad” and not giving them a chance to grow, is a summary of her thoughts on slytherin ls and is a possible interpretation of the text (i mean her opinions are already TRASH)

i. ignores the consequences of this or the possible effect it has on her entire fanbase and doesn’t seek to remedy it

but yeah, jkr, it was such a good idea to base a character off of your loathesone memories, take your anger out on her, and that choose to have that character partially represent a large percentage of your fanbase. thank you sooooo much. i really appreciate it!

summary:

I. Pansy— deserved an opportunity to have some character development. everyone else’s mistakes get overlooked to some degree save hers. had so many places to draw inspiration/opportunity from. could’ve progressed other ideas in the book and the analysis of her house while still remaining a “dislikable” character

II. Writing— from a “technical?” aspect, Pansy is underdeveloped and stagnant, used for personal reasons instead of as a plot device. perpetuates the slytherin=bad idea via a sloppy and repetitive characterization and emblem. there are ways around this that weren’t used.

III. I have no qualifications to be saying any of this lmao. Am I reading to much into it, knowing that Rowling tends to be shitty with writing details? Am I being dramatic and repetitive? probably!

IV. Fuck JKR (for everything. she’s an awful person)

anyways this has been: my mini-rant on pansy and her analysis,,, and i am terribly sorry,, i offer my apologies in advance for randomly dumping this into your inbox. it’s long and opinionated and there’s no real reason behind it! i just thought of it and then thought about it some more and then. here we are

ilysm mwah <3 should’ve definitely done something more productive but shh😭 rat brain hours

this is everything, you're completely right. i don't have much to add but i agree all the way. and people give pansy so much shit for the harry thing but she seemed genuinely scared of voldemort coming back and i really think that she believed he would leave them alone if they gave him up. from her perspective, it's either her and the people she cares about get to live or this guy that she not only isn't close to but probably sees as the bad guy considering she dated/was best friends with draco and witnessed their rivalry from his side. did she make the best decisions? no, not at all but i see her reasons and i don't think it makes her this antichrist that jkr makes her out to be. she pulled the “he's just a boy” with draco and had people sympathise with him when he did so so much worse than pansy did so why doesn't that apply to her? she's a kid. they all are. i love harry, ron, and hermione SO MUCH but jkr really said fuck everyone who isn't them ─ especially any girl who isn't her precious hermione. she projected her own pettiness onto fictional characters who are CHILDREN and proceeded to get upset when people connected to and loved other people that she herself made. creating such an underdeveloped character and expecting people to hate her just because she imagined her as her bully is beyond immature and ridiculous. anyways. jkr take a fucking chill pill and leave my girl alone.

#pansy parkinson