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ladyvictoriadiana · 1 year

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Why the "good faith" argument doesn't work for HP/ JKR

TL; DR: JKR has, even though the discussion of racism and anti-Semitism in Harry Potter has been around for decades, never shown any support for a good faith interpretation of her works by acknowledging and apologizing for her "mistakes" - quite the contrary.

As the upcoming Harry Potter HBO series will undoubtedly, as has the publication of the latest Wizarding World Videogame, lead to an influx of "good faith" arguments by liberal HP fans who want to find reasons to watch the show without feeling guilty for compromising on their values. And I just want to help debunk these arguments*.

To break it down: Many liberal fans I've seen argue against a boycott of Rowling's works or related franchises use the following argument: "JK Rowling didn't know what she was doing, we should consider her works in good faith and not project our modern sensibilities on it" - this is basically a version of the "They are just a person of their time" argument that gets used all the time. However, this just doesn't work - especially in 2023.

Why? Well, because JKR has never shown any support for this argument herself. The arguments of racism and anti-semitism being present in the books (published 1997-2007) and movies (released 2001-2011) have been around for quite a while - just by searching for the keywords on Google and specifying the articles to be released between 1997 and 2001 I found a variety of articles on both topics which mentioned the portrayal of goblins as anti-semitic stereotypes [1] and discusses how race is portrayed in the book [2]. By widening the search parameters to include the end of the movie releases, I found more articles in a similar vein, arguing both sides of the aisle.

This means that JKR, at this point, has had over 22 years to address these concerns and clarify her stance both on racism and anti-semitism**. If she were acting in good faith, she would have done so. She would have, at some point between now and 1997, put out a statement along the lines of: "I have been made aware that my books/movies contain racist and anti-semitic stereotypes that harm the marginalized communities. I was not aware of how much harm I was causing because of the privileges I have experienced as well as a lack of critical thinking skills at the time of writing these books. I am deeply sorry for any harm that I have caused and will ensure that future publications will do their best to minimize this damage. Furthermore, I will endeavor to educate myself further on both of these topics and will, additionally, donate x amount of money to charities that support anti-racist and Jewish causes." Now, I am sure that JKR and her agency would be much better at formulating such a statement than me, but you see what I mean.

Now, concrete measures would, of course, have depended on when precisely such a statement was published and how it was published - in collaboration with publishers or Warner Brothers or only by JKR herself. But the fact that such a statement was never published and that JKR seems to have taken no measures to support those communities she has harmed to me suggests that she is fine with what she wrote/produced. And that, to me, suggests that she is, at best, ignorant and, at worst, racist and/or anti-Semitic.

I can understand making mistakes and being blinded by your privilege - I myself for the longest time did not realize why certain tropes in German fairy tales (and Harry Potter) as well as a variety of other books I read as a child/teenager are anti-semitic and/or racist and also had to be educated by other, better-informed people (largely online but also at uni). Making mistakes is understandable - but how you deal with them shows your true character and intent. And JKR, in my opinion, has not dealt with her "mistakes" (if you are willing to extend her enough good faith to call them that) in a way that shows she has matured, educated, and informed herself.

On the contrary, as her latest release within The Wizarding World shows, she is still using anti-semitic tropes literal decades after people first brought to the public's attention how problematic this is and how she is harming vulnerable communities with her works and her seal of approval on related franchises. Rather, she seems to be doubling down, which shows her lack of concern for the Jewish community and her lack of willingness to change.

This is what should turn any liberal HP fan off the works and any, especially official, related works forever - not that JKR lacked critical reading and thinking skills in 1997 when she first created the goblins from pre-existing folklore and created a world that claims to be race-blind but has an entire creature-race of slaves but that she still has not made any changes in her attitude or her work to show that she is aware that she made mistakes and caused harm.

Please feel free to add additional commentary, especially if you are part of communities hurt by JKR, as well as sources or opinions to this post. If I have said anything that you consider wrong or problematic, please do contact me via this post or via DMs - I have tried, in the last years, to educate myself as best as possible but I am aware that I am not perfect. I also hope it provides some arguments when coming across remaining HP fans.

*Just to clarify: I myself am neither Jewish nor am I a person of color and I would ask you to not just read my post but also read content by members of both communities discussing their concerns with Harry Potter/ JK Rowling. I will also not argue against these points from the perspective of either of these groups (because I don't belong to them) but rather wish to provide a general argument.

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/26/movies/potter/readers-comment-on-harry-potter-and-the-sorcerers-stone.html

[2] https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2000/07/31/under-the-spell

** I am aware that JK Rowling, in the early 2000s, visited a Holocaust Museum and compared the ideologies of Deatheaters and Voldemort to the ideologies of the Nazis - however, this does not address the issue of her using anti-semitic stereotypes to portray the goblins in both her books and movies (and just always felt a bit icky to me personally).

#harry potter #jk rowling #anti jk rowling

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thelunarsystemwrites · 3 months

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Documents of an infected.

(TW for bites, infection, and mentioned death!)

Entry 0.6

I have to admit, it's been more than helpful to have a sentient infected on our team.

For one, he's seemingly... stable. While only a select few, I.E me, Ink, Blue, my brother, Horror, and a few medics and guards know he's infected... he fits in... well.

Another thing, we no longer have to risk perfectly healthy medical experts when feeding our quarantined infected. Or collect samples, as we work on a cure.

Cross, Killer, and Error have all been infected. We have Killer and Cross detained, as... my brother, for whatever the reason may be, could not bring himself to dust them.

And we have Error detained, as a safety measure, his portaling abilities are uncontrollable and unpredictable as he's infected. Dusting attempts have been unsuccessful on him. (Edit: Most physical attacks don't do anything to any of them, we have to trick them into getting in a battle with us, in order to make the SOUL vulnerable.)

Another reason to keep a few infected, as previously stated, is collecting samples, as we work on what the infection even is, as well as a cure.

These were a huge risk to collect—Infected are highly contagious, violent, and hungry. Every time we've collected a sample, save for once, we've had someone bitten or injured, even if they weren't infected.

This is no longer a concern of ours, as infected are mostly docile to other infected. While it's easy for them to get in fights, they don't actively attack infected, this includes Lust.

He's been able to collect saliva samples, sedate them for examination, feed them to sedue them, with little injury.

We have had a case of him being bitten, but... his infection didn't seem to get any worse? In fact, his body actively rejected the venom.

(Edit, we have recorded that his body doesn't seem to heal physically without aid, healing spells are necessary.)

We thought, that since an infected seems to reject more infectious venom, that we could create a sort of anti-venom, and flush out the infection that way.

In doing this, we lost one of the subjects. So... we discontinued testing until further notice.

We have questioned Lust, he appears to have a vague communication with the infected, explained they have a simple set of phrases they're able to understand, and mimic in their own chatter like language.

Lust is able to decode a few so far, 'Hungry,' 'Pain,' 'Hunt.' Though they are not exact translations, it is a step forward.

Of course, we do not let Lust out of his own quarantine longer than necessary. When he is permitted out, it is only to complete tasks involving the other detained infected. We have a guard stationed with a tazer, as well.

While out, we requested require him to wear a high grade muzzle, he is unable to remove it without assistance from another individual. He is required to wear full length gloves and closed toe shoes, preventing him from being able to cause any sort puncture wounds or break skin... however, outside of those requirements, we do not mandate any other equipment. So... if he chooses to work in a croptop, and high cut, lower rise shorts... we do not comment on it.

In exchange for his help, we allow him to shower twice a week, we permit him to have his muzzle removed in quarantine, and permit he has meals that aren't raw or spoiled, despite him being fully capable of digesting them without issue.

Other privileges include: Visitation with Blue, the infected seems to request him daily. Screen time, we grant him access to a TV outside the glass of his cell, if we have time to wheel it in for a bit. Clothing, if we can, though this only extends to jewelry as it is the easiest to bring back.

(Edit: We've discovered the infected have an infatuation with shiny objects, Lust included. This further adds evidence that he is just as infected as the rest, and still a hazard if not properly contained, restrained, and dressed.)

-Dream. Edited by Sci.

#undertale au #undertale #infected au #tw infection #underlust #undertale alternate timeline #tw depressing stuff #tw mention of death #tw apocalypse #Infectious love tale #lustberry

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captainpikeachu · 3 years

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So I block a lot of BS in the tags but I like to address part of this post that’s been going around because I dislike people acting as if their opinions are facts and then try to attack other fans with it to appear superior.

So first, this notion that anyone who came out of the show feeling bad for John therefore missed the entire point of the series is simply patently false.

Because not only do you have Director Kari Skogland saying that at the end of the day they wanted people to like him.

You also have writer Malcolm Spellman who states that John’s journey is similar to that of Bucky’s as they are both stories of veterans’ struggles:

A point that is further empathized in the behind the scenes for the making of TFATWS:

Does the character’s story also deal with systemic racism of the institution and white privilege? Yes of course. But that is also not all his story is about.

To claim that some viewers can’t feel bad that John lost his best friend, suffered a mental breakdown, and was abandoned by a government who used him and then tossed him aside as they do so many veterans for the sake of their own PR is simply bizarre. Are people not allowed to have basic empathy?

So because part of his story is about white privilege and systemic racism, that we should not feel bad that the government that engages in that very systemic racism decided to protect their own hide and screwed over a soldier they used and strip him of VA benefits that he actually not only needs but is owed to have?

Tell me you do not care about veterans’ issues without saying you do not care about veterans’ issues, I guess.

And this next statement of “John Walker is a villain” is also inaccurate because he’s not a villain. Sure he served an antagonistic role, but that does not equal villain.

Head Writer Malcolm Spellman literally says this:

And producer Nate Moore also says this:

And this sentiment is further emphasized again in the making of TFATWS:

Is John a flawed character? Yes. No one is denying that. But y’all out there screaming about him being a villain also wants to deny him his humanity.

You claim that you can empathize with Tony and understand why he wanted to kill Bucky, yet you do not extend that same ability to empathize and understand for John, why? Because he’s a white dude who’s not your fave? Because he’s not the explicit protagonist of a marvel movie like Tony was?

Is it really that difficult to understand or empathize with someone’s rage at seeing their best friend murdered right in front of their eyes and wanting to exact retribution? Is it really difficult to understand or empathize with someone mentally dissociating and having a breakdown because of that traumatic loss and thus is unable to be calmed down? If even Sam in the midst of that fight in the warehouse can even acknowledge “this isn’t you, John” because he recognizes that John is emotionally in a really bad place and acting out of character, then why is it that others cannot understand or empathize with that heightened emotional struggle?

Other MCU characters attempt to kill people in reaction to loss of loved ones and that is allowed to be empathized and understood, but somehow John isn’t allowed to have that same consideration? Why? Simply because he represented symbolically something that you didn’t like?

You can empathize with Tony and not call him a villain, but John is a villain?

The fact of the matter is, John Walker is not a villain, if he was a villain, he wouldn’t have chosen to let go of the shield and let go of revenge to save people’s lives. He wouldn’t have chosen to work with Sam and Bucky. And he wouldn’t have nodded at Sam in acknowledging his position as Captain America. All of this happened AFTER he got the serum which some of y’all believe made him “bad” and just amplified all the worse things, yet he still found goodness inside himself to do the right things and help.

Villains don’t do those things.

John is not a villain in the MCU, nor is he a villain even in the comics where the character is much darker than his MCU counterpart. Call him an antagonist if you want as he serves that role in TFATWS specifically, or an anti-hero in general, but he’s not the villain of the story just like Karli Morgenthau is ultimately not the villain of the story either. There’s a reason Sam’s big speech is to the government and the GRC, THEY are the real villains of the story. Maybe y’all missed that.

If you don’t like John Walker, that’s your right, but stop acting like other fans who feel different are somehow more stupid than you are or less than you. Take that self righteous superiority complex somewhere else.

#john walker #the falcon and the winter soldier #tfatws #mcu #marvel

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cafffine · 3 years

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Hey guys, I’ve decided to stop publishing Saltcoats for a number of reasons. I'm aware that many of you are going to initially be let down or confused, but hopefully once you’ve read through this post you’ll understand why this had to stop. I’ll try to hit all my points, but of course if you have any questions pls feel free to dm me or reply to this post.

DISCLAIMER: Ending this fic was a decision I came to by myself! No one asked me to do this, though many did help, and if you have something to add please do not bring other tumblr or ao3 users into the conversation unless they’ve explicitly said they’re ok with that. It’s a draining and heavy topic (not to me, but for those affected) and I don’t want to cause anymore unneeded distress.

Also, I’m the only author, all the problems with this story were created by me, and were biases I should have recognized and acted on much sooner. I’m very thankful to all the people that have reached out to me about the negative impacts on this fic, but it really does come down to: I wrote and published a story that was fundamentally ignorant of its setting and racist. So now I have to do my part to apologize and educate myself/take accountability.

First off, this was a flawed concept to begin with because I was trying to do a low fantasy setting with aliens in period clothes and a work of historical fiction at the same time, and those are not things you can go halfway on.

Historical fiction that centers around people of color has a long history of simply going race-blind and faking diversity by giving poc the roles of white people in Eurocentric stories and erasing their identities. (This article about Bridgerton explains the problem better than I could.) And it was something I tried to avoid by still having the Fetts written as immigrants from Aotearoa (NZ), but completely missed the execution on because I didn’t commit to full historical accuracy in all characters and aspects of the story. Meaning, I might as well have gone race-blind because you can’t pick and choose what to include, it’s just as racist.

This creates situations like the Fetts being immigrants facing real life oppression while the Organas, also people of color, are unaffected by the social climate and living as members of the British upper class. That’s not accurate to any version of history and ends up wiping clean any point I was trying to make about race and oppression. That also extends beyond the Fetts, I was not addressing how the american characters come from a country that still allows for the ownership of slaves, the British oppression of Scottish people and their culture, or even an in-depth look at real Queer communities of that era. (and more)

Given the real life historical climate in the 1850s, a multi-racial story like this one is not successful, and is racist in its ignorance of the struggles of poc, immigrants, and the intersectionality that had with class and crime.

In addition, the Fetts being written as criminals, even if it is framed as a morally correct choice*, is still playing into negative racial stereotypes that shouldn’t have been ignored.

* I should add, I don’t mean to make it sound like i’m creating excuses for myself when I give explanations for some of these choices such as “but it was framed as morally correct”, that doesn’t lessen the damage being done, it’s still racist, I guess I'm just trying to show why so many of these things went overlooked for as long as they did, and how easy it is for white/privileged people to find mental loopholes around racism when you’re not being sufficiently critical of yourself.

On another note, the Fetts being indigenous immigrants to Britain in the 1800s is not something I should have tried to tackle in fanfiction - a medium that often lacks nuance and can easily end up romanticizing or glossing over most heavy topics. This goes for period typical homophobia, addiction, and class struggles as well.

That being said! I’m not implying that any of those things should be completely ignored in fanfiction. Addiction, for example, is something very close to me that I do still want to explore in fanfic for the purposes of education and normalization, I’m not telling anyone what not to write, just checking myself. Because in a story like this where literally everything is so heavily dramatized and also applied to characters of color by me, a white person? It’s only going to end up being out of place, lacking in historical accuracy, and wholly disrespectful.

Another major problem I wanted to address is the relationship between a rich white person and a poverty stricken poc. That's a bad stereotype to begin with, but then I tried and failed to frame Obi-Wan as ignorant and biased to a point where his social status plays into the theme of class critique. But, if he’s still being written as Cody’s love interest, all his negative characteristics are ultimately going to be ignored and excused by the narrative (by me).

I’m not trying to end this conversation, I’ll always be willing to talk about this to anyone who’d want to say/hear more, but I don’t want run the point into the ground with over-explanation.

So, in conclusion, this fic had to stop and be broken down into the problem that it was. All white authors who write for the clones need to be hyper-vigilant about the fact that we are creating narratives for poc, and that our inherent racism is always in threat of being baked into in the stories we publish and spread to an audience. I was in the wrong when I wrote this story, and it should never have gone on for this long. I apologize for both my actions, and to anyone I may have hurt along the way.

This is getting posted on ao3 in the fic, and then, for now anyway, the fic is going to be deleted after a week. I’ll leave this post up and answer everyone unless it's someone trying to change my mind. Also, if I ignore an ask please send it again, tumblr might just have deleted it. I don’t want to try and bury this or run from my mistakes, I just don’t think that leaving the fic up where it can still find an audience will do anyone any good. Thank you for reading

If you're interested here's some resources I've been using to educate myself further:

What caused the New Zealand Wars? - An excerpt of the book by Vincent O'Malley of the same title. It gives a good summary of the violent colonization and oppression of Māori people and their culture by the British empire.

NZ Wars: Stories of Waitara (video) - Very educational documentary about the NZ wars and British colonialism. There are some historical recreations that get violent so pls watch with caution.

Historical American Fiction without the Racism - Tumblr post by @/writingwithcolor that talks specifically about Black people in the 1920's, but makes a good point about race and historical fiction in general. I'd recommend any post from this blog, especially their navigation page just a lot of great resources

Who Gave You the Right to Tell That Story? - An article about writing outside of your race that includes a diverse series of testimonials

History of Scottish Independence - Details the colonization of Scotland by the British empire, sort of long, can cntrl + f to "The Acts of Union" for a more direct explanation.

The best books on Racism and How to Write History - A list of well written and diverse works of historical fiction and why they are good examples of representation

I have a lot more that I can share if you're interested (x x x x) but this post is getting a bit too long.

#I proofread this a lot but I'm sure there's problems with this post too #If anyone has something they want me to change or of theres anything I said that was offensive I'd appreciaite any help fixing it #but also I'll be rereading this all night and it will likely change before I put it on ao3 #saltcoats #racism

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adhdandcomics · 4 years

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I receive a Lot of asks from folks who are struggling and are trying to identify Why That Is, and a lot of the time will ask me about symptoms, if they’re considered “bad enough”, what they should do, talk about how they are scared to pursue help or a diagnosis or anything like that because the fear of “faking it”, or the realization that they’re actually just lazy.

But! Ok, first of all. i’ve been there! my entire life, worried that the reason i’m Like This is laziness, that i’m going to never find out why i’m like i am, and the thing everyone has told me (that i’m just lazy) was true! but really, i don’t believe in laziness anymore. i honestly don’t think it’s real. i think it’s just lack of motivation, and often times, that can be traced to something else- a temporary cause to being lazy rather than a permanent personality flaw. this is important in being able to recognize executive dysfunction, why it happens, how to deal with it, and why it doesn’t make you a bad person.

There’s a reason you’re exploring these feelings, there’s a reason you’re researching, why you’re asking me, why you’re here and wanting that validation! You don’t want to be told that your struggles aren’t real. And you shouldn’t be! I can’t diagnose you, I can’t tell you how you feel, I can’t watch your life and tell you if you fit the bill- but that doesn’t mean I can’t say you’re Allowed to struggle. you’re Allowed to question your brain and your motivation and your symptoms no matter What could be causing them!

Secondly: ADHD activism isn’t.. it isn’t just about ADHD. i don’t have to tell you about the idea of intersectionality, and all that (just go read Kimberly Crenshaw’s piece on it, she can say it better than I ever could)- but basically, once you start addressing the systematic inequality that one group faces, you realize there’s overlap. with. Everything. and that’s good! that’s so important in being able to recognize privilege, in being able to empathize, to expand your knowledge of others!

So my point is this:

- Accommodations shouldn’t just be available for students and employees with ADHD diagnoses.

The coping strategies and skills made for ADHD people should be available to anyone who needs them- if someone who has anxiety is going to benefit from extra testing time, why deny that? if activism and accommodations for folks with ADHD are meant to uplift a group that struggles inordinately in comparison to our peers, why shouldn’t that extend to Everyone who struggles inordinately? Who can’t access or afford a diagnosis? Why gate-keep people without “official diagnoses” because they don’t have something on paper to say they struggle? That doesn’t mean their struggles aren’t any less real.

Back when i was figuring out if i had ADHD, I was too scared to reach out to blogs on tumblr because while I saw my experiences reflected to a tee in people’s posts about their lives, i saw an equal amount of misdirected anger at people “appropriating” the idea of ADHD, anger at folks self-diagnosing, and anger at anyone who related but “didn’t have adhd” - i’m sure you get the point. and yes, while saying “we’re all a little adhd” and “wow i procrastinate all the time i’m just like you” can trivialize people’s struggles, it’s important to realize that not everyone Knows they have adhd, not everyone Knows the symptoms because it is grossly misrepresented on like, EVERY piece of media with an adhd character i’ve ever seen. so of course people aren’t gonna know! and gatekeeping and pretending folks with diagnoses have some sort of “authority” on who gets to use adhd terms and resources only excludes people who need help and also is really weird.

(I know i know a lot about this because i’ve dedicated a lot of time and energy into it but like. i’m just a random dude. you know?)

Also! getting a diagnosis (in america, at least) is hard! and expensive! really expensive! Please try to understand that before you talk about people (yes. even yourself.) self-diagnosising “to be special” or what have you, and understand the classist undertones of what you’ve been taught! (And a lot of people of color are overlooked, and a lot of AFAB people are overlooked, and a lot of people with anxiety/depression symptoms are misdiagnosed, and... you get it.)

While i’m at it, we need to talk about how ADHD folks speak about addicts. it is Not addicts faults that adhd meds are hard to get, stigmatized, expensive, and controlled. You can blame (if you’re american) the war on drugs and big pharma restricting access to helpful resources (like medication and therapy) that BOTH adhd folks And addicts need! Individuals are not at fault. this is a systematic issue. Not to mention that people with adhd are Extremely likely to develop substance abuse because of the self medication aspect of it. It’s almost absurd how high the rates are, and stigmatizing addiction because of the lack of resources for all of us only further divides our own community.

anyway, you don’t have to prove to Anyone that you have it “bad enough” to deserve help, to deserve validation, and to deserve resources. your experiences are enough. i hope this helps a bit

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original-missif · 2 years

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The Hitter Job, Extended Edition; Interlude

This is some in-between chapters bonus content for all my followers of The Hitter Job and Nate Ford's Home for Criminal Children AU. This is from just add some bonus content and background info all from Damien Moreau's POV. I didn't include this in the fic because it was from Eliot's pov, so he wouldn't know this, but because you the readers are the audience you get to know things Eliot doesn't even know. Think of it like this is the scene where none of the main cast is present and we the audience get some extra, plot-related info

Enjoy!

Damien watched as one of the two men threw his fist into Eliot’s chest once more, just as the other brought his knee up to strike Eliot’s chin, knocking the boy into unconsciousness. Pleased with the efficiency, he ordered them, “Take him to the airport and put him in the back room of the jet. We leave in thirty minutes. See that he stays down until we’re in San Diego.”

The two men nodded and dragged Eliot out of the pool room, leaving Damien alone with Chapman and the entourage.

Chapman watched Eliot be dragged off with a look of annoyance. “If I may, sir,” Damien glanced at him, a warning in his eyes for Chapman to be careful of his next words, but he didn’t interrupt. “Why not send Spencer back like the other child? Let him face the wrath of his team for withholding information. Why take him with us?”

Chapman was a good lieutenant; loyal and unquestioning, who took pride and pleasure in the work Damien sent him to do. But he wasn’t the brightest or most insightful man, especially when it came to understanding Damien’s reasons behind his actions. Eliot had understood. Damien had seen it in the boy’s eyes that he’d understood exactly what was going to happen next and why.

“Have you ever played chess, Chapman?”

His lieutenant was silent for a moment before answering. “Not much.”

“Well, it seems I’ve been playing a game unknowingly with Spencer’s mysterious employer. He’s been removing my well-placed pawns with such expertise I’ve had to make my first move a wager. Instead of taking both his bishop and knight, I’ve returned his bishop in exchange for the knight. The knight that was so rudely and un-sportsmanly taken from me in the first place.”

Six months he’d put into refining Spender’s skills. When he’d found the boy, Spencer had all the analytical skills of a tactical veteran and all the brutal, physical prowess needed to take down two of Damien Moreau’s own bodyguards. A feat few men could manage and fewer still that walked away from the encounter as unharmed as Spencer had been. Six months of further training and Damien had refined Eliot Spencer from a blunt object into the sharp spear he was today, with all the promise of a lifetime of loyalty and service youth brought with it. Eliot Spencer was to be the crown jewel in Damien’s collection, and yet somehow, he’d been snatched away, and his supposedly unwavering loyalty broken.

It infuriated Damien.

Very, very few men and women attempted to stand in the way of Damien Moreau. Very, very few even had the wherewithal of the underground world Damien operated in to have the privilege of knowing the name Damien Moreau. He’d spent far too much time and money ensuring the people of his world – mobsters, mafia, cartels – knew better than to get in his way, in any shape or form. And yet this man, this one single man, of no importance or significance had decided to tear down his empire.

And he kept succeeding at it. And Eliot helped him.

“I want you to find out everything you know about this man,” he told Chapman, taking a deep breath as he watched the women of his entourage return to the pool area. They wouldn’t be joining him, not for this next part in San Diego. “I want to know his name and face. I want to know the names of his companions. I want to know everything about this man before we touch down in San Diego.” He always traveled with twelve women, at most.

He counted thirteen.

A brunette woman in a purple swimsuit, absentmindedly sitting with two others by the door, contributing nothing to their conversation.

“See if she can assist you with that,” he said, eyeing the intruder.

Taking a final sip of his brandy, Damien Moreau set down the glass and made his way to the change room. He had a plane to catch, and an election to win.

#the hitter job extended edition #leverage teens au #nate ford's home for criminal children au #the hitter job #damien moreau #moreau is such an interesting character to write the perspective of #i loved the dynamic between him and Nate in s3 and really want to expand more on it in this au #my post #fan fiction #minific #he had such high hopes for Eliot and then they all came crashing down #all because of that darn found family troupe #damien moreau: defeated by found family

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mindibindi · 3 years

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Beyond disappointed in Ted Lasso. What were they thinking?!

The writing is a complete betrayal and insult to Rebecca’s character and Hannah’s skills as they’re being seriously underused. It’s also insulting Sam’s character.

Hoping someone pulls Rebecca’s head out of her ass tbh. Sam shouldn’t be getting caught in the crossfire of her looking for romance. I know he showed up at her doorstep but she still should’ve turned him away, and not even messaged him in the first place.

Hey, I'm with you, Anon, though we do seem to be in the minority. Sam is definitely not blameless here, he is also in the wrong. But if one of them is more in the wrong, it is Rebecca. I can't speak to whether her head has left her arse as yet because I have quit watching (at least for now). I hear she called it off with Sam in the most recent ep, though not because of any major crisis of conscience or because anyone in her inner circle expressed any reasonable reservations in response to her bad behaviour. And to be honest, I'm not sure we should need to hope and pray that Rebecca's precocious god-daughter, her slimy ex-husband, or the brutal British press will act as a moral compass on this ill-advised relationship. Both Rupert and the press have been set up to some extent as the villains of the piece. And a 14 year old should never have to school her elders on what is and isn't acceptable. Nora's needs have already been neglected by Rebecca for far too long.

If a moral position is to be taken on this, it needs to be taken by the show (because stance matters) and/or by its characters. But the show has for the most part depicted this relationship as ill-advised but ultimately hot, sweet, funny and romantic. As for the characters themselves, Sam has shown at least once that he has some moral backbone but seems to be adorably clueless when it comes to fucking his boss who keeps trying to set boundaries with him. Meanwhile, Rebecca's whole arc in s1 was about learning not to misuse her power for her own selfish ends. In season one, she misused her power within the club in order to exact revenge. In season 2, we have seen her misuse her sexual power, though I still cannot see to what end. I'm a bit at a loss as to what exactly she gets out of this 'relationship' but then I'm a grown woman so I have absolutely no interest in sleeping with a Harry Potter enthusiast barely out of his teens. I couldn't think of anything less sexy and more ick. I was certainly hoping for better character development for her this season.

As to what the writers were thinking, obviously I was not in the writer's room, but I would guess that they were thinking that any drama is good drama, people are stupid and fan devotion will trump any meaningful critique. In other words, they were thinking exactly how every other television writer thinks, despite the fact that this show posited itself as 'not like other TV shows'. This, to me, is where the blame really lies. Not with the characters or with the actors who are doing their best to sell this ludicrous turn of events. It must be noted, however, that both actors were completely blindsided by this relationship that had supposedly been so cleverly foreshadowed. Newsflash: if the people actually living these stories did not see this coming then you haven't foreshadowed shit. Sure, there were a handful of people that paired Rebecca with Sam but this does not constitute proof either. Fans have free-range to imagine and re-imagine characters. In some cases this may extend to imagining relationships between characters who have barely, if ever, interacted. There may be little to no evidence that these characters have even clocked each other's existence and some fans will still ship it. The existence of a handful of shippers does not legitimise such a problematic and divisive plotline making it onscreen.

But wait!, you might argue, this may not be a case of a popular show seeing just how far they can stretch fan devotion. This may not be a case of fan service to a handful of shippers. After all, the creators mapped out the entire three-season arc of Ted Lasso before they even pitched it to Apple. This was their brilliant plan all along! To which I would say: then maybe they should've rethought their second act based on people's strong reactions to their first. Ted Lasso was touted as the show we all needed in 2020. The writers and creators have all marveled at the chord it struck considering it was conceived prior to the pandemic and all the chaos it wrought. And while there is something to be said for having/sticking to a creative vision, there is also something to be said for being flexible and responsive to your audience and the cultural zeitgeist with which you're engaged. Season 1 of Ted Lasso told its story so gently, without creating distrust, division or unnecessary anxiety. It did not treat its audience like a gaggle of stupid lemmings to be led over a succession of narrative cliffs. THIS is what I mean when I say the show has broken with its brand. And look, this whole dark forest thing would be okay if the narrative arc was as well-crafted as s1. Season 1 gave us meaning, cohesion, comfort, sense in a senseless time. It was an almost perfectly crafted season of television. And I kept the faith for 6 episodes, despite the first half of s2 being pretty damn wobbly. But the follow-up to this stellar debut has been less than extraordinary so yeah, perhaps they should've thought a little harder about what made s1 so special before throwing it all out the window.

But wait!, I hear the faithful say, you don't know how things will pan out yet! Wait until the season is over and everything will make sense! But -- wearily and once again, I say -- we should not need to wait until the end of the season to understand what the hell is happening. By this point (over halfway through the season and show) we should have a v clear idea of the show's themes and the characters' arcs. And tbf, from what I can tell there are some fab things happening in other aspects of the show that I wish I could watch and enjoy. But my biggest fear at this point is that they are going to use Sam to solve Rebecca's childlessness. That, like Rupert (because the parallel cannot be avoided), she will become pregnant with a young fling and the show's attitude to this relationship will ultimately be: oh well, it was a bad idea and didn't work out for them but it was all for the best in the end cos who can be mad about a cute lil baaaayyybbbeeee??!! If they do go down this path then I will definitely be abstaining from the rest of the show. I will simply recall my repeated viewings of s1 with fondness tinged with regret at just how badly they fucked up a good thing.

Ultimately, Anon, I think this may be a case of there simply not being a diverse enough perspective in the writer's room. I am not saying that every single woman or every single person of colour will necessarily object to this relationship. I am simply saying that women and people of colour will be more sensitive to the issues of gender and race that are relevant here but that have not been fully or sensitively acknowledged in the writing of this plotline. Neither am I saying that Rebecca is the first woman to sleep with a man much (much, much, MUCH) younger than herself or indulge in an ill-advised relationship. But the comparison with Rupert both works here and doesn't because Rebecca is not being written like a white woman, she is being written like a white man. Realistically, only a white man can engage in this kind of hugely imbalanced relationship seemingly without any major moral qualms or societal ramifications. Not to put too fine a point on it, but this kind of relationship is reserved for all the Bills and Joes and Brendans and Jasons out there -- not for the Rebeccas and definitely not for the Sams. We are way beyond the point in feminism where we believe that liberation is simply the right for a white woman to behave as badly as a white man. The truth is that whatever wealth, power and privilege Rebecca has, the rules are different for men and women. She will not be treated the same as Rupert if and when this affair is uncovered. She will be treated far more savagely than Rupert ever was and Sam will be treated far more savagely than Bex was. This is not an argument for the equal treatment of these two relationships. It is an argument against how the relationship between Rebecca and Sam has been envisaged, i.e. through the wrong perspective. In writing from a 'neutral' white male pov, the show has invisiblised all the many issues activated by this storyline and revealed a blindspot that was always there.

As much as I loved and still love season 1 of this show, it has definite blindspots when it comes to representations of race and gender. There are at least two moments in s1 that stand out for me as being so obviously written by a man. Not necessarily because of what they do but because of what they don't do: what is missed, absent, unacknowledged. I was willing to overlook such minor failings in a debut season for many reasons. But s2 seems to have exacerbated these minor flaws rather than correcting them. And here I can't help thinking of Tina Fey speaking of the diversification of the writer's room at SNL during her tenure as co-headwriter. This notoriously male-dominated environment only began to shift and produce better work when a greater diversity of minds, voices and persepectives was allowed in the room. In this richer environment, she notes, different jokes played differently. Different sketches made it to air. Different perspectives were represented and different performers were celebrated. I can't help wondering if this plotline would have made it to air if there had been a female writer, a writer of colour or both further up the chain of command to challenge the ideas of the straight white dudes in charge.

One of the reasons I didn't think Ted Lasso was for me was that it centred a straight, white, cis-het, able-bodied man who rose to a position he didn't earn. That is just not a pov I would normally choose for myself, especially now that there is such a rich array of alternative perspectives through which to view the world. But I think the show won a lot of females fans with its first season largely due to its portrayal of Rebecca. She is the first person we meet. She is arguably the protagonist of s1. And while she would have been figured as a villain in previous pieces, the show never took that stance with her (because again, stance matters). Other elements like the depiction of female friendships, all centred around Rebecca, made this show female-friendly viewing. But imo, the major reason this show won over female fans (this one, at least) is because, in this post-MeToo, post-TimesUp era, it stood up and said: domestic violence is not okay, we stand with women and all victims of abuse, we will defend you, we know words can hurt, we know it can happen to anyone, we know all about toxic masculinity, we do not take this lightly and we will support you in your healing. Needless to say, this is how women hope men will act when they speak of their most difficult experiences but it is not how they always do.

The shift away from Rebecca this season has however meant that the white male experience is more centred than it was in s1. Rebecca's journey to recovery, health and happiness has been trivialised and sidelined, reduced to a highly questionable sexcapade. Meanwhile, we get overwrought manpain at every turn. We get Beard wandering around London (no, I haven't seen it and no, I don't need to. We've all been raised on white dudes thinking they're genuises when they have a figurative wank all over our screens). We get NO queer represention at all. And the only other female characters on screen are in care/service roles to men. The father/son, mentoring and toxic masculinity themes are all still there but they're no longer balanced out by ANY other competing perspective. One of the reasons I was okay with Ted failing upwards in s1 was that he used his power and privilege to lift up others. He was the one in service. He used his enormous privilege for good, as anyone with such privilege must. (Admittedly, it could be argued that this is just another version of a white savior narrative).

My point here is that I'm not sure that peeking behind the mask at the sad clown is as revolutionary as some might believe. We love it because it's familiar. But this is a narrative with a long and problematic history. Do I believe in tearing down toxic masculinity in all its forms? You bet. Do I believe that patriarchy traumatises men as well as women and every other minority in existence? I mean...nowhere near as much, but absolutely. Do I believe in men expressing their feelings and going to therapy? Wholeheartedly. But I am also aware that 100 or so years ago, we were in a very similar place with our narratives. Everyone is looking for a recapitulation of modernism and frankly, this might be an indicator of just that. Whenever women and people of colour have demanded rights and recognition, there has always been a resurgence of tales about just how frickin' hard it is to be a white man. Minority genders and non-white people have never in western history been as visible or vocal as they are now. So forgive me (or don't, I don't care) if I critique a show not only for centering fathers, sons, boys and men but for blindly and boldly writing one of its only female characters and one of its only black characters as if their gender and race just do not exist. There are many other power differentials at play in this relationship, including age, experience, wealth and position, but race and gender are the two that patriarchy is most invested in invisiblising. So I don't care how brilliant they think they are, I will not trust the writing of a bunch of white dudes trying to tell me that race and gender are irrelevant.

#ted lasso #rebecca welton #sam obisanya #ask #yeah this one got out of hand

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mbti-notes · 3 years

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Hi MBTI. Not type related but I still want to ask because of your social insight. What does respect mean to you? I’ve met people who preach feminism but do not communicate honestly and clearly with girls they sleep around with (eg ghosting), which makes me think that feminism is just political theory, but in practice it means to truly respect other people regardless of their gender (ie being honest, clear and able to put ones anxieties/insecurities aside momentarily to ensure the well-being of

[con't: the other person). I asked myself exactly what respect entails, it’s a concept Ive taken for granted and thought I knew but realized I’ve never actually read/heard someone really putting into words. I’ve been reading online and a lot of people seem to muddle it with the word “admiration” and I think I disagree because I think respect is more about being open to sharing common ground and not placing someone above or below you, as admiration could cause. To me respect and equality are more similar, and that’s how I linked it to feminism. How would you define respect? And what do you think about this? Thank you and all the best!<3 ]

You're mixing several issues together, which makes your question too complicated. Respect and making moral judgments are big enough topics without adding gender into the mix.

I remember once, a long time ago, I was grappling with a difficult moral dilemma. I approached a few people to talk about it. One person judged me as "incompetent" because the matter seemed quite easy in their mind. One person judged me as "weak" because I wasn't willing to just do what I wanted to do. One person judged me as "fake" because they thought I was only worried about appearing like a moral person in the eyes of others. One person judged me as "selfish" because I wasn't willing to sacrifice myself for the greater good. One person judged me as "overthinking" the matter because I was worried about more than just myself.

Of course, not being assholes, their judgments came out as veiled implications rather than direct criticisms. However, this example reveals some truth: People's moral judgments are often quite egocentric, a mere reflection of their own subjective ego conflicts about what it means to be a "good" or "bad" person. Whichever way they choose to conceptualize morality is what they expect of others (i.e. projection).

We all have to make moral judgments and navigate difficult moral situations. One thing that significantly influences people's ability to make good moral decisions is their level of ego development, you can read more about it in the Type Dev Guide. Suffice it to ask: Is your conception of morality more rule-based (i.e. about the power to judge) or more virtue-based (i.e. about the wisdom to do right)?

The more egocentric someone is, the more invested they are in maintaining a positive self-image, and the more sensitive they are to any data that would threaten their ego and suggest that they are a "bad" person. Egocentric people are more likely to use a rule-based approach to morality because its starkness and simplicity allow for easy detection and deflection of ego threats. If morality is a simple matter of knowing the rules of right and wrong, then moral judgments are a simple matter of whether people followed the rules.

For example, society says that you should work hard in school, get a good job, earn money, and your reward is that you are able to afford your life. Therefore, if you didn't succeed in school, you didn't get a good job, you can't earn much money, you can't afford the things you need, then there is something "wrong" with you. In short, you failed to follow the rules, so you deserve to be punished with the negative consequence of poverty. Rule-based morality is "safe" for the ego because there's no ambiguity that makes you doubt your moral judgment, and hence no reason to doubt your own moral worth.

People often talk about whether someone "deserves" respect, often because they want to make an argument that someone doesn't deserve respect for something bad they did. The more "admirable" someone is, the more respect they deserve? I will respect this person because they are "nice"? I will not extend respect to that person because they are "mean"?

If you approach respect with these "rules", you essentially get to play god. You get to sit on a high horse and judge people as worthy or unworthy. If you obey the rules of being an "admirable" person, you are called a "good" person, so you get rewarded with respect; whereas if you disobey the rules, you are a "bad" person, so you get punished with less respect or even disrespect. This way of thinking is rather childish. Notice how kids argue that they don't have to follow the rules when they see someone else breaking the rules. Their idea of morality boils down to whether they themselves win or lose.

Children, understandably, think in stark terms of reward and punishment because they are only starting to learn what it means to be an "acceptable" member of society. They only see what's on the surface because they aren't yet capable of more sophisticated moral reasoning. When an adult hasn't learned more sophisticated moral reasoning, they continue with the superficial idea of reward and punishment, only they take it further. Now that they are "adult" by society's superficial age standard, they possess the social status and thus the social power to dole out rewards and punishments to anyone "beneath" them in status. In essence, "I was subject to the rules as a child, and now I get to enforce the rules as an adult."

Adding gender into the mix, a lot of people abide by "rules" that they learned in childhood about what a "man" is, what a "woman" is, how they are different, and how people "should" behave according to their gender. Men, as a social group, are taught to obey one set of rules, while women, as a social group, are taught to obey another set of rules. This social conditioning shows up in people's implicit gender biases as well as outright gender discrimination.

If men, as a group, possess the majority of social power and privilege, they become the default reference point for everyone. Social and political decisions are predominantly made from their point of view, in accordance with their needs and desires, and this encourages them to treat women as objects that are only worthy of respect as long as they prop up masculine power. Women, as a group, are taught to see the world through the masculine perspective and believe that masculinity is superior to femininity, so they must behave submissively and serve their purpose to men.

As an individual man, if you follow the rules and elevate masculinity over femininity, you get rewarded with status and power. If you don't follow the rules, you get punished with lower status and being branded as undesirable (not a "real" man). As a woman, if you follow the rules and elevate masculinity over femininity, you get rewarded with some privilege and favors, but always safely within the bounds of masculine dominance. If you don't follow the rules, you get cruelly shamed into compliance and even ostracized if you are deemed a lost cause (not a "real" woman).

It is very difficult for individuals to counter social conditioning because so much of the learning happens unconsciously. It's a steep uphill battle for people to develop more self-awareness about the "rules" they have been taught to follow. And even when one becomes aware of having implicit biases or prejudices, it's not easy to rise above them. It takes a lot of conscious effort to go against lessons that were ingrained into your psyche since infancy. Furthermore, when you're a member of the social group that enjoys more power and privilege, there's very little incentive for you to change, in fact, you have much more incentive to preserve the status quo, which is why inequality is so difficult to remedy.

The unconscious nature of bias and prejudice is why ego development is very important. When you reach higher levels of ego development, your self-awareness grows, and that allows you to gradually shift from a simplistic rule-based morality to a more complex virtue-based morality which recognizes that moral issues aren't always black-and-white. Virtue-based morality is about what's actually in people's hearts and the role that moral conscience plays in decision making.

Taking the example from above: WHY did the person fail in school? Was it simply because they didn't follow the rules and work as hard as they should have? Or was it due to factors that were beyond their control, such as: an untreated learning disability, lack of school funding due to living in a poor area, a dysfunctional family situation that interfered with their learning process, etc?

Rule-based morality is about compliance and shaming people into the appearance of compliance. Virtue-based morality is about understanding and addressing the root causes of moral failing. To be capable of more complex moral reasoning is to dig deeper and ask more questions to get to the truth, which means that morality is no longer a simple matter. The gray areas start to appear, you start to see exceptions to the rule, and you become more empathetic because you're looking into people's hearts and seeing how they have suffered unfairly. You no longer stereotype and generalize about people but treat everyone as a unique individual with unique circumstances to take into account. Egocentric people don't want this level of moral responsibility because then they'd have to always question themselves about whether they are truly doing the right thing, and they would constantly have to confront the many ways they fall short in their morality.

When you truly see the harm of judging people by superficial appearances, you would never want to be a victim of it, and that helps you understand that you shouldn't be a perpetrator of it, either. When you truly see the harm of treating people unfairly based on gender, you would never want to be a victim of it, and that helps you understand that you shouldn't be a perpetrator of it, either. When you're able to empathize with people who were treated unfairly or victimized by unjust rules, you can't help but want to make things fairer for everyone (yes, equality). Virtue-based morality is about moral conscience in terms of what kind of person you hope to be, what kind of influence you want to have, what kind of society you want to live in, and whether you are actually a virtuous person in your heart rather than just appearing like one in public. When you show respect to people, it's not because they "deserve" it, it's because you know that you being respectful to everyone is the first step in helping to create a society that is more respectful to everyone.

#morality #moral development #moral philosophy #respect #virtue #rules #gender #egocentrism #empathy #ask

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impossiblelibrary · 3 years

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Today's rant brought to you by: Queer Eye Japan, can we all just try to be as kind as they try to be?

After watching the Queer Eye Japan super short season, I wanted to google to see the overall reaction to the show, make sure that my western eyes were correct in seeing the care that was given to the culture. Were cultural taboos, other than being outwardly gay, crossed? So I find this article in the top results and other than the perspective, why tho? Tokyoesque.com had an article with a higher reading level, with surface level appreciation but at least better written.

I can't get over this hate article though. Unfounded, dumb, wrong and incorrect. Do not go forward unless you like that blistering kind of anger from me.

But the reasons just get weaker as the article extends: "Hurts the country it set out to save?" Looking for white savior much? They did not go to save Japan, they gave some free shit to like 4-5 people, think smaller.

Their culture guide wasn't gay enough.

You want to suggest any lgbt insta models or celebrities, use your platform to raises some up?

"There is a growing sexless culture in Japan for married and unmarried people, and it is perilous watching Queer Eye present this without any context behind what is driving this behavior."

Sexiness is what the fab 5 embrace, unfortunately and it was probably discussed behind the scenes of how much talking about sex was allowed or polite and the conversation of not having sex is closer to the tip of the tongue rather than the feeling of sexiness. The West is not the ones blasting that information. It is across multiple Japanese printed newspapers and online stories by now and the "context" is still being discussed and debated amongst Japanese. So I don't think any outsiders should be weighing in or "explaining" this phenomenon. We can repeat what we have been told but guessing at the reasons is not our place. The reasons illustrated by the author of the article seem lacking, a take but not the only one, but who am I to speak on that being in a sexual relationship with someone who pulls from that culture?

Kiko begins to lecture Yoko-san on how she “threw away her womanhood” (referring to a Japanese idiom, onna wo suteru) by going makeup-free and wearing drab, shapeless clothes.

The mistranslation by the subtitles fixed by this author was necessary information. But Kiko didn't lecture her on it, it was brought up by Yoko before any of them arrived, that was her theme, that was what she had decided to focus on. Meanwhile, if you watched Jonathan, he understood there was no time to spend on makeup and skincare so provided her a one instrument, 3 points of color on the skin to feel prettier. That and the entire episode being the 5 treating her like a woman on a date, not trying to hook her up, which is what they did in American eps.

"In teaching a Japanese woman, who already struggles to find time for herself, how to make an English recipe, Antoni is making great TV and nothing more."

So Antoni shouldn't have taught her apple pie because it's too exotic for a Japanese woman. (Can you smell the sexism?)

He didn't make an apple pie, altho Yoko did mention her mother made that for her when she was a kid. He made an apple tartine after going to a Japanese bakery who makes that all the time. Then highlighted the apples came from Fuji in true Japanese media fashion. Honey, American television doesn't usually highlight where the ingredients come from. A Japanese producer told him to do that. So all worries handled within the same ep. She got Japanese ingredients, had the recipe shown to her and then made it for her friends in her own house. Did the author actually watch this show or nah?

"beaten over the head with his western self-help logic. “You have to live for yourself,” he says."

The style of build up the 5 went for was confrontational but in a "I'm fighting for you" way. It's hard to describe, but the best I can say is, a person has multiple voices in their head, from parents, siblings, society, and maybe themselves. By being loud and obnoxious, American staples right there, they are adding one more voice. You deserve this, you are amazing, you are worth it. I know this is against most Japanese cultural modesty, but maybe it shouldn't be.

Sarcasm lies ahead:

Apparently: mispronunciation is microaggressions, not just someone who had a sucky school system. Yea okay, They're laughing at the language not at how stumbling these monolinguals are with visiting another country. Mmhm. Japanese don't say I love you and don't touch and that should stay that way instead of maybe, once in awhile, feeling like they can hug. Yeah, let's just ignore Yoko's break down that she had never hugged her lifelong friend after hugging strangers multiple times. Maid cafes are never sexualized in Japan ever, just don't go down that one street in Akihabara where the men are led off by the hand sheepishly blushing. Gag me. And Japanese men love to cry in front of their wives and would never break down once the wife leaves. I have never seen a Japanese movie showcase that move. Grr.

"I identify as many cultures."

So you're a Japanese man when it's convenient for you to get an article published? Are you nationally Japanese or just ethnically or culturally?

Homeland is an inherently racist word?

"After the Bush administration created the Department of Homeland Security after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a Republican consultant and speechwriter Peggy Noonan urged, “the name Homeland Security grates on a lot of people, understandably. Homeland isn’t really an American word, it’s not something we used to say or say now.”

Yes, let's use a Washington Post article rather than a etymology professor. Yes, the google search results increased after 2001 Homeland Security was used but the word has been around since the 1660s and I've read multiple turn of the century lit on white people returning to their homeland, i.e. the town off the coast they were born in.

"But" is not disagreeing. I think the repeated offender for the author is the not acknowledging the makeover-ees feelings. But, that is how LGBT have decided to deal with the inner voices that invade from society. They are just that, not our own, they are the influence of society, and we can choose, we have to choose, to be influenced by someone, anyone else.

Karamo can't speak about being black when an Asian is speaking about being Asian, even though the Asian gay man was feeling alone. It's called relating bitches, and I'm done with people saying that is redirecting the conversation, it's extending the conversation. That's how we talk, the spotlight is shared, especially when someone's about to cry and doesn't want to be seen as crying, time to turn the spotlight.

The gay monk wasn't good enough, you should have invited the gay politician.

Yeah, causes I'm sure a politician has all the time in the world for a quick stint and cry. They picked a Japanese monk who travels to NY because they had a guest who travels to the West too. Did you want him to stop traveling back and forth? Did you want a pure, ethnic and cultural Japanese gay man who has no ties to the west to talk to this Western educated young man? Seriously?

This is just not how it works in Japan.

Being in a multi-cultural marriage between two rebels, discussions on facets of culture are plenty in my household. Culture should be respected enough to be considered but not held on a pedestal like we should never adjust or throw some things out. LGBT being quiet and private for instance. "Being seen" was Jonathan's advice, and a good one especially for a Japanese gay man that was called feminine since he was a kid. Some gay men can hide, but as Jonathan said, he couldn't hide what he was, he couldn't hide this. So fuck it. Don't hide. It's actually more dangerous for a feminine man to come off as anxious rather than gay and proud. It makes you more of a target if they think you won't fight back. Proud means, Imma throw hands too, bitch.

This is also from the civil rights playbook going back to Black America: never hold a protest or a fight without the cameras, without being seen. LGBT have found the more seen they are, in media, in the streets, the better off we are. When LGBT Americans were being "private" about our lifestyles, we died, a la 1980s. They won't care if you start dying off if they never saw you to begin with.

And hence why I think the author's real anger is from these 5 being seen dancing flamboyantly in Shibuya, in Harajuku, afforded the privilege of doing this safely because of their tourist status, cameras and very low violence rate in Tokyo, loud and obnoxiously. Honestly, they wouldn't have been invited or nominated if they didn't want that brash American-ness coming into their home, just for a taste, at least.

Here's my real anger, my own jealousy: Japan's queer community currently does not have marriage or adoption rights. US does, so we have progressed further. But we are also not that many years from being tied to cow fences with barbed wire, beaten with baseball bats and left for dead overnight. If things are so bad over there, maybe take a few pages from the civil right playbook we took so much time to perfect and produced by the Black Americans who fought first. But so far, I only hear loss of jobs and marriages, which we still have here too. Stop trying to divide us, we are one community, LGBT around the world and we are here to try to help. Take it or leave it, it's not like we're going to go organize your own Pride parade for you.

Rant over? I guess. Is this important enough to be put in the google results along with his. Hell no, anyone with half a mind can see he's reaching more than half the time. And any argument about: this wasn't covered! There are a shit ton of conversations that are not covered in the 45 min they have. They are not a civil rights show, it's a makeover show, doing their best in that direction anyway. Know what it is.

Next blog post, what research I would guess was happening behind the scenes for each of the 5? I'm pretty sure I saw Jonathan doing Japanese style makeup there...

#queer eye #Queer eye Japan #original #rant

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chaoticpuff17 · 4 years

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A Dangerous Game

part 10

masterlist

Hello darlings! This one goes out to @the-darkest-starr ! She was my first like and my first follow. Love this girl so much, and hope it brightens her day! This one’s for you babe!

The weeks of isolation had made her ready to climb the walls. Jin came to visit when he could, but he was still a doctor and that kept him very busy. They no longer had the excuse of her stitches to prompt a visit. This left Namjoon as her only constant companion, and she didn’t know what was worse, the isolation or the fact that she was beginning to look forward to Namjoon’s visits.

They had established a sort of routine. In the mornings Namjoon would come and have a light breakfast and tea with her bringing her new reading material, and then she’d be left alone to her own devises for the day. She’d read whatever book he had brought her and play solitaire. If she had to play another game of solitaire she was afraid she was going to lose her mind. It had gotten to the point where she was even beginning to debate throwing another vase at Namjoon, consequences be damned. And then he would return in the later evening and share late supper with her. This was her life now, every day the same, and it was driving her insane. That was the point though wasn’t it?

The isolation was a punishment, but it was also a very effective tool for breaking down the will of your opponent, and Namjoon was nothing if not a smart man. He knew exactly what he was doing. She had to give him credit for that, the sneaky bastard. That was the game though wasn’t it? It was a new game and an old game all at once. And Namjoon had one the first round. She couldn’t allow him the final victory though.

It was a waiting game now. Who could hold out longer? Namjoon unfortunately had the upper hand. He had all the resources after all. He held all the power. And she wasn’t stupid. She knew that he would only put up with her insolence so long before he took to more drastic measures. It all depended on how patient of a man Namjoon was. If she was lucky, and recent history had proven that she wasn’t, she could outlast him. He’d grow tired of her, of this game, and he’d let her go. Or maybe she’d just annoy him into killing her. It wasn’t a great plan especially considering she would much rather make it out of all of this alive, but isolation can make people do and think crazy things. And maybe Namjoon sensed that. Maybe that was why he came to her room that afternoon.

“Jagiya,” He began watching her with a smirk playing on his lips.

“What do you want?” She groaned from her position sprawled across one of the sofas with her arm thrown across her eyes, a position she’d taken out of boredom upon finishing the latest book Namjoon had brought her. “Don’t you have other things to do than to pester me?”

“It’s the weekend, jagi, and you’ve been left to your own devices all morning. I thought we might go for a stroll in the garden, but if you don’t want to…” He trailed off watching with veiled amusement as she perked up.

“The garden?” She asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “Outside? Outside this room?” Her eyes were blown wide as she gazed at him hoping beyond hope that this wasn’t some cruel trick on his part. She wouldn’t put such a trick past him, but he nodded a small smile pulling up the corners of his mouth. “You’re not shitting me are you?”

“You’ve been so good, and you’ve taken your punishment so well. I could do without the attitude, but we can work on that.” He definitely had plans to rid her of the attitude.

He could practically see the cogs turning in her head as the realization hit her, when the hope settled in. “I can leave this room. I won’t be locked in anymore?”

Namjoon couldn’t have been more pleased by her reaction. There was something so fragile and vulnerable about her in this moment, having those doe eyes focused on him filled with so much hope. And he was the one who gave her that hope. “That depends on how you behave today.” He mused. “If you behave well, I see no reason why you can’t have free reign of the house and the gardens. But if you don’t behave I have no problem keeping you here in these rooms.”

The effect of those words was almost instantaneous. Her eyes grew even more impossibly wide and her face paled at the implication. It was clear to him that her punishment had been effective. Even if she didn’t realize it, there was a shift, the smallest of change. He was wearing her down, settling her into her new role.

“Do you understand, jagi?”

She nodded quickly scrambling up and scampering to the closet in search of shoes. As much as she hated depending on him for anything, especially her freedom, she wasn’t about to give up the chance to go outside. She would be the sweetest girl in the world if it meant she was going to be released from her god forsaken house arrest.

She emerged shoes in hand and a bright smile on her face too big to conceal. The excitement of being released from her room outweighed her will to remain grumpy in the face of her captor, and in this minute she couldn’t bring herself to care even taking his hand without a fuss when he extended it to lead her out of the room.

She was practically vibrating with excitement by the time they had reached the door that would lead them outside to the garden. Freedom was just a few steps away, or at least a semblance of it was, but before she could step outside, Namjoon pulled her back, and she couldn’t help but look at him in confusion.

“This is a privilege, Y/N.” He repeated, dark eyes serious as he stared her down. “If you pull any sort of stunt today, I will lock you away for so long you will forget how the sunlight feels on your skin. There are worse prisons than your rooms, jagiya.”

The threat kept her frozen in place as she stared up at him. How could he speak such harsh words so sweetly?

“Jagi?” He prompted squeezing her hand tightly. She nodded slowly unsure of how to respond to him after that. The man was giving her whiplash. “I need words, jagi.”

“Yes, Namjoon.” She sighed impatient to get outside and put his disturbing smiling threats out of her head, at least for the moment.

“Good!” He smiled brightly dimples popping out in full force. “Let’s enjoy the garden then.”

To say that the gardens were beautiful would have been an understatement. They were gorgeous, enchanting even as they sprawled out from the house. Clearly someone had put a lot of time and effort into them. It looked like something out of a fairy land to her, but then again, she was used to cramped city apartments with rag tag parks filled with litter. This was another level entirely, and she was instantly in love.

Namjoon didn’t even protest when her hand slipped from his as she wandered further into the garden. While she was enamored with the garden, he was enamored with her. He’d never seen her this soft. Her eyes had a sparkle to them that he had yet to see as she trailed her fingers across the petals of some of the flowers almost reverently. Everything about her in this moment seemed gentle.

Her eyes wandered further into the garden as she took everything in. It was sculpted into a very traditional fashion with bridges and gazebos and what appeared to be a large koi pond further from the house all connected by a series of winding paths.

“Can we go there?” She asked her voice filled with breathless wonder as she looked out towards the koi pond.

“Of course, jagi.” He replied just as softly placing a gentle hand on her back to lead her down to the pond.

He was almost afraid that if he spoke any louder or made any sudden movements that the moment would shatter and she would return to the acid spitting hellion he had come to know. He would have to savor this more gentle version of her while he could. He knew it wouldn’t last long. She would be a fierce little hellion again before long, but he enjoyed seeing this softer side of her as well.

He had chosen because she was intriguing, because she was strong, but this was something he wanted to see from her more often. As much as he enjoyed sparring with her, her constant venom was beginning to become tiresome. Yes, she’d followed his rules, but she had done it with a bitter reluctance that didn’t sit well with him. He was a man who was used to complete obedience without question. He was lenient for now though as she was still adjusting, but his patience could only hold out for so long. But for today he would enjoy the softer side of her while it lasted.

They reached the bridge that stretched across the koi pond, and settled there. Y/N leaned over the rail to gaze down at the fish that milled about in the pond a soft smile playing on her lips. She was entranced by the fish, wishing she had brought something out to feed her with. Next time she told herself. If she played her cards right, she’d be able to go out into the gardens as much as she’d like. All the while they stood there in peaceful silence, Namjoon stood guard just to the side his attention solely focused on her.

Looking at her now, Namjoon found her to be the most lovely woman in the world. Illuminated in the afternoon light with the late summer breeze stirring her hair, Namjoon considered himself very much in love with her, and he had to congratulate himself on his catch. Summoning her to that late night meeting all those weeks ago had been on a whim, purely out of curiosity to see who he was dealing with, and now he was grateful that he had. She was a dangerous woman to have around. She was capable of tearing down the empire he had built from the ground up if he wasn’t careful. But that made their game all the more exciting. It made her all the more exciting, and once tamed she would make an exquisite queen for his empire. All that was left to do was to break her to his will.

part 11

#bts #bts fic #yandere bts #namjoon #namjoon x reader #yandere namjoon #mafia namjoon #rm #rm x reader #mafia #dark romance #mafia au #soft yandere #fanfic

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keanureevesisbae · 4 years

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Mister Cavill, your dog is kinda fat - Chapter 6

Summary: Veterinarian Olivia Tran has zero time for bullshit. After becoming a mom at age twenty three, the one thing she wants is a good life for her daughter Vanessa. Her ex didn’t want anything to do with her nor the baby and she decided that man are officially banned out of her life. But then she meets Henry Cavill at her clinic and her ban slowly starts to crumble apart. Henry on the other hand is looking for one thing: a family. And when he meets Olivia Tran, he finds just that.

Henry Cavill x Olivia Tran (ofc)

Warnings: None

Wordcount: 3.5k

Masterlist // Previous chapter // Next chapter

Henry is living on cloud nine. After that kiss Olivia and he shared, he had been over at her place for three days straight, as Vanessa was getting over her ear infection. He spend so much time with the little girl, that he misses her greatly when she is not with him.

The moment Olivia came home, were such happy moments, filled with joy. He’d watch Vanessa hug her mom and then that same mother, the same woman he is growing so attached to, walks over to him, to give him a kiss on top of his head.

This is what he wanted. He wanted a family and being with Olivia and Vanessa, makes him feel like he is part of their family. He realizes of course that he is so insanely privileged to be part of that. Part of what they had for six, almost seven years.

It’s been a week since that kiss and a lot has changed again. Vanessa is already going back to school (guess a gauze filled with onions really work) and he isn’t staying over anymore, not wanting to overstay his welcome.

Henry leans back against the drivers seat of his car, waiting for Olivia to walk out of the clinic. Kal whimpers, as if he understands that Olivia will be joining them shortly. Or he recognizes the clinic and weirdly enough really likes it there.

Olivia walks out of the door, while she pulls out her hair tie, letting her long luscious locks fall on her shoulders. She notices his car, smiles widely and rushes towards the car. When she opens the door, she peeks her head in and asks: ‘Excuse me, sir, who allowed you to be this handsome?’

Henry can’t help but laugh.

Olivia gets in and when the door shuts behind her, she leans over to give him a kiss. Kissing her has been one of the highlights of his day. He never imagined that he would fall in love with someone this hard and this fast, but with Olivia, he can’t help himself. It doesn’t even feel forced or awkward. It feels like they’ve known each other for so long.

Yesterday he called his mother, telling her about the greatest woman he had ever met, but his mother didn’t gave him the time to mention that Olivia came with a wonderful kid. Well, he’ll tell her later then.

Right now he is just happy that Olivia is here with him again. He places his hand on her cheek, his thumb caressing her soft skin as he deepens the kiss. ‘I missed you,’ he mumbles against her soft lips.

The days that she has to go to work and Vanessa is at school, pass by so intensely slow. He takes Kal on the longest walks, he plays some videogames, tries to perfect his cooking skills, but time never goes by as fast as it does when he is with them. Thankfully, after this week, Vanessa will be on her autumn break and even Olivia has some days off.

He can’t wait to spend it just with them.

‘I missed you too,’ she whispers. ‘And as much as I would love to kiss you more, we have to pick Vanessa up.’

‘Right,’ he smiles. He can’t help but steal one more kiss from the woman he can’t get enough from and while he drives off, Olivia can give her full attention to the loyal canine in the back of the car.

‘What is that?’ Olivia asks.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Is that a carseat?’

He blushes, but realizes that she would find out about it sooner or later. Henry clears his throat, before he admits: ‘Yes, I bought it this morning. Figured if we’re going to make a habit out of this, I should be able to take Vanessa safely with me.’

He knows that Olivia doesn’t have a car, simply because she can’t afford it. She told him earlier this week, that she only had a carseat when Vanessa was a baby, because Belle would drive them from time to time. But now Vanessa is older and is perfectly capable of walking and taking the bus with Olivia.

‘Henry, really?’ she asks and he doesn’t know if it’s from disbelieve, gratefulness or annoyance. ‘You bought her a carseat…’ She places a hand on his arm. ‘That is so sweet, you keep amazing me, you know that?’

His blush is intensifying at an alarming speed. ‘It’s nothing, really.’

‘Don’t say something like that,’ she tells him. ‘It’s not nothing, this is everything. You are honestly the greatest guy to come across my path. In these past week you’ve done more for her than her real dad or family for that matter. This is really quite something.’

Henry places a hand on her thigh and continues to drive to Vanessa’s school, but he can’t stop beaming after what she just told him.

He thought about them and how maybe it was faith that he gave Kal the kind of kibble that made him throw up and Henry panic. Maybe it was faith that Olivia was on call. Maybe it was faith that she brought Vanessa with him, because not only did Olivia steal his heart, Vanessa took it and ran away with it, never intending on giving it back.

It’s still beyond him how these two ladies are part of his life now.

He parks the car at the school and while Olivia is planning on getting out, he is staying seated. ‘What are you doing?’ she asks, visibly confused.

‘I’m waiting for you and Vanessa.’

‘No, no, no,’ she says to him, ‘you are coming with me.’

‘But what if someone recognizes me?’

Her eyes soften a bit. He told her all about his thoughts about a further career as an actor, as someone in the spotlights. She knows about how much he doesn’t like it to be recognized. He wants to be left alone from time to time, especially if he is with Vanessa and Olivia. ‘You’re wearing a cap,’ she says. ‘Just keep your head a bit low and stay close. Please, Vanessa would love it to see you there.’

‘Is it not a bit too soon?’ he asks. ‘We’ve been only dating for a week and this…’ What the hell is he talking about? ‘You know, forget I said that. I’m coming with you. Kal, buddy, we’ll be right back.’

‘That’s the spirit,’ Olivia laughs as she gets out and she closes the door behind her.

Henry adjusts his cap and walks next to Olivia to the school yard, waiting for the bell to ring. Because of Olivia’s personality, he always forgets how petite she is, especially when she stands next to him.

‘Olivia,’ he says and she looks up. ‘Why are these women staring at us?’

She glances over her shoulder and growls something under her breath. ‘Those are the perfect housewives, with their perfect kids and perfect husbands,’ she says, her brows furrowing. ‘They are probably in shock that I brought some male company with me.’

Henry can’t help but chuckle, as he looks at the feisty woman next to him. He gently places a hand on her shoulder, maybe because he feels like he needs to physically restrain her, maybe because he wants those women to be extra jealous of her.

The bell rings and it doesn’t take long before a very happy Vanessa rushes out of the school. She notices her mother and takes a sprint. ‘I missed you, mommy, I missed you,’ she says, when she jumps into Olivia’s arms.

‘Oh, sweetheart, I missed you too.’

Then Vanessa’s eyes land on Henry. She blinks a few times, before she extends her arms, while saying: ‘Superman, you’re here too!’

‘Of course, sunshine,’ he laughs, taking her from Olivia. ‘We were going to that new cafe, remember?’

Vanessa mentioned something about a cafe, where they serve pink drinks and red velvet cupcakes. She says that Olivia took her to that place two times on her fifth and sixth birthday, but that they haven’t been there since then. Henry has never been to that cafe and since dogs are allowed to go inside too, he was totally up for it.

Besides, he figured that it would make Vanessa very happy if they went.

He carries Vanessa to the car, while he has his hand on Olivia’s back. She leans against his broad frame and he noticed over the course of this week, how much she likes it when he physically touches her. She always leans in against his body, a trait he finds so endearing.

‘Okay sunshine,’ he says to her, when they are at his car, ‘I bought you a carseat, so you can drive along safely.’

He opens the door, tells Kal to stay put and Vanessa sits in the seat. ‘It has bears on it,’ she mentions, with a bright smile on her face.

‘Especially for you,’ he chuckles, as he helps her buckle up. The second she’s all set and done in the seat, Kal attacks her with licks, causing her to giggle.

Henry sits behind the wheel and Vanessa says: ‘I made two drawings today. One for you and one for Henry.’

Henry waits with starting the car and just like Olivia, he turns around in his seat, so he can look at Vanessa. She hands them both a drawing and when the two of them look at the pieces of paper, it’s evident that she drew the exact same thing:

All four of them, Henry, Olivia, Kal and Vanessa in one house. Olivia told him about the same drawings she has been making for such a long time and how after they met Henry, she drew Superman and Kal with them. Now he is not in Superman clothes, but in normal clothes.

Now he is Henry.

Vanessa even wrote everyones names on the drawing.

‘This is very beautiful, sweetheart,’ Olivia says. ‘Thank you.’

Henry clears his throat. This isn’t the time to cry or get emotional, though he feels many things right now. A kid made him a drawing and it’s not just any kid: it’s Vanessa Tran that made this for him.

‘Why isn’t Henry saying anything?’ he hears Vanessa ask.

‘He is taking in the drawing,’ Olivia answers. ‘Sometimes you look at something and it leaves you absolutely speechless. You can’t find the words to say something.’

‘Is Henry speechless?’

‘I think so.’

Henry chuckles. ‘This is beautiful, sunshine,’ he says. ‘I can’t wait to hang it up at my place.’

He drives off and while he is soaring the car over the roads, he feels Olivia’s hand on top of his, her thumb drawing circles on his skin. A small and silent sign of comfort. Weeks ago he thought he’d never have that family he wanted, he’d end up adopting four more dogs and once he died, his corpse would lay in the house for months, because no one cared about him.

But then he met Olivia and Vanessa and from that moment, something in him changed. He was pretty selfish, thinking about himself and Kal and that is it. Now everything he wants to buy, he wants to do, he thinks about Olivia and Vanessa. Will they like it? Will they agree?

‘Mommy,’ Vanessa says, pulling him out of his thoughts.

‘Yes sweetheart?’

‘In that cafe, can I sit with Henry?’

Olivia smiles. ‘Of course.’

‘You won’t jealous then?’

He notices out of the corners of his eyes that Olivia frowns. ‘Why would I be jealous?’

‘Because he is your boyfriend.’

Boyfriend… Is he Olivia’s boyfriend? He never specifically asked if he could be.

‘Vanessa, sweetheart, I’m never going to be jealous of you, since you are my daughter and there are certain things that you will do and will never make me jealous. So you sitting next to my boyfriend,’—so, she is not appalled by the idea of him being her boyfriend—‘isn’t something that will ever make me jealous. But it’s really considerate of you to ask that.’

‘I am considerate,’ she says and Olivia agrees.

Henry parks the car and he helps Vanessa out her carseat. ‘You know, I always wanted a carseat,’ Vanessa tells him. ‘Especially one with bears on it. I love bears.’

‘I know you do, sunshine,’ he says to her, helping her out of the car, as Olivia opens the door for Kal to get out. ‘That’s why I picked this one out for you.’

‘Can I hold Kal?’

‘Of course,’ he says and Olivia hands her the leash.

The two of them watch Vanessa trot in front of them, Kal watching out for her and Olivia says: ‘Are you okay?’

‘I’m fine.’

‘It was the drawing, wasn’t it? Henry, if you don’t like her doing that sort of stuff, then it’s okay. I can just tell her.’

‘No, no, no,’ he quickly says. ‘It’s just that… It’s all a bit surreal, that you two are part of my life now. I can’t really believe it just yet.’

≫≫≪≪

Vanessa sits on Henry’s lap, as he helps her with finishing up that red velvet cake. Of course he noticed Olivia taking pictures of them, but when he saw the look on her face, the happiness, relaxation, he simply smiled.

The overdose of sugar made Vanessa really tired, because while a few moments ago she was talking and talking and talking, she is now burying her face in Henry’s neck. ‘You’re adorable,’ Olivia says.

‘Who?’

‘You of course. My daughter is always adorable.’ She scratches Kal behind her ear and says: ‘You have plans next week?’

‘To spend it with you,’ he says.

She chuckles, but he sees her blushing. ‘Vanessa, sweetheart, would you like to have a sleepover at Henry’s next week with mommy?’

Vanessa starts to nod, rubbing her eyes. ‘I would like that. Only if Henry wants that of course.’

He sometimes wonders how Olivia managed to create such a beautiful kid, how she raised Vanessa to be polite and wise. And that all by herself. He never underestimates her, but he is in utter awe when he sees how she interacts with her daughter, how the two of them know each other like the back of their hands and how well adjusted they are with one another.

‘I would love that, sunshine.’

Vanessa sits up straight again, wraps her arms around his neck and presses her nose against his cheek. She started doing that when she was sick, because she didn’t want to make him sick too, though an ear infection isn’t necessarily contagious. Pressing their noses against each others cheeks, is their way of saying how happy they are with one another and he wouldn’t wanted to have it any other way. ‘We have to wear matching pajamas,’ she tells him.

‘I’ll try my best,’ Henry laughs, already imagining them wearing the same pajamas and the amount of pictures he is going to take. ‘Maybe Kal can wear something too.’

Vanessa’s face lights up. ‘He should wear a pajama too,’ she says in all seriousness. ‘Otherwise it’s not a real sleepover.’

The four of them decide to leave after they spend nearly an hour and a half in that cafe. He watches as Vanessa holds onto her mothers hand. They wear the same boots, something that Vanessa absolutely adores. ‘One day she’s embarrassed to be the same as her mother, so I’m enjoying it while it lasts,’ Olivia once told him, but he highly doubts it.

‘Honey?’ he hears a very familiar voice and he turns around. With a caught look in his eyes, he sees not only his mother, but also his father. What are they doing here?

‘Mom, dad, what a surprise,’ Henry says, before giving both of them a hug.

‘Who is this?’ his father bluntly asks, when Olivia stands next to Henry. God, his father doesn’t have any manners.

‘You must be the woman Henry told me about,’ mom says to Olivia.

He didn’t tell Olivia that he told his mother about her, not because he is embarrassed, but it didn’t came up in the conversations. What is she going to think?

Not much apparently, because Olivia smiles. ‘Hi, my name is Olivia, it’s wonderful to meet you.’ She extends her hand, one that his mother takes immediately and she says: ‘Olivia, what a beautiful woman you are. My name is Marianne and this is my husband Colin.’

‘Nice to meet you, Colin,’ Olivia says to his dad, who smiles at Olivia.

‘Mommy, should I introduce myself to these people?’ Vanessa says, pushing herself in between Olivia and Henry.

Why is his heart pounding so painfully?

‘You should, sweetheart.’

Vanessa extends her hand to his mother. ‘Hello, my name is Vanessa Tran.’

Mom seems impressed by the manners Vanessa possesses and he can already see that she is in awe of the little girl, just like he was when he first met her. ‘Nice to meet you, Vanessa,’ mom says. ‘You are such a lovely young lady. You look just like your mother.’

‘Thank you.’ Vanessa looks over her shoulder at Olivia. ‘Mom, she didn’t introduce herself, should I tell her?’

‘Oh how rude of me,’ mom says. ‘My name is Marianne Cavill. I’m Henry’s mother.’

Vanessa tries to process it and nods, simply not knowing what she should say to her. It’s weird for her probably, since she never met Olivia’s parents. She does the same thing with his dad, politely introducing herself.

‘What are you two doing here?’ Henry asks.

‘We needed to buy some new shoes for your father,’ his mom says. ‘But I really like that we ran into you guys. Olivia, Vanessa, the two of you should come by the house. We would love it to get to know you more.’

Olivia nods. ‘Of course.’

‘You have baby pictures of Henry?’ Vanessa asks.

They all start to laugh. ‘We have,’ his father says. ‘But be prepared, Henry was an ugly kid.’

Vanessa pulls her mother a little down and whisper shouts: ‘Is this a joke or is he serious?’

Olivia chuckles. ‘It’s a joke, sweetheart.’

‘Good, because even if mister Colin is his dad, he shouldn’t be so mean to him, right?’

Henry pulls on one of her pigtails and she looks up at him. ‘Thank you, sunshine, for looking after me.’

She smiles. ‘No one should be mean to each other and if he does it more often, you should say something about him.’

He notices both of his parents are looking at the interaction between Henry and Vanessa and he wonders what they think. ‘Like what?’

‘That he indeed needs new shoes.’

Henry laughs, just like his parents and Olivia and lifts her up. ‘Well, we have to go,’ he says. ‘I should start making some dinner. How about pancakes, sunshine?’ Vanessa starts to nod and wraps her arms around his neck.

‘Of course,’ his mother says and she pulls him into a hug. ‘I meant it, Olivia, you two really need to stop by.’

‘We look forward to it,’ Olivia says. ‘Vanessa, say goodbye, okay?’

‘Goodbye mister Colin and mrs. Marianne,’ Vanessa says and the four of them walk towards his car. The first five minutes go by in silence, but Vanessa is always there to break the silence, because she says: ‘I really like your parents, Henry.’

‘That’s good,’ he say.

‘I wouldn’t mind if they became my grandparents,’ she continues. ‘I’ve always wanted a grandma and a grandpa and they seem nice enough.’

Olivia looks to the side and places her hand on his, intertwining her fingers with his. ‘They did seem nice,’ she says. ‘You want to visit them one day?’

‘I do, but only if Henry wants it.’

Henry looks in his rearview mirror, to catch a glimpse of Vanessa. ‘I would love for you to visit them.’

Vanessa tilts her head. ‘Mommy, I think you should give Henry a kiss.’

‘Why is that, sweetheart?’ Olivia asks.

‘He seems like he needs it. Your kisses always help.’

Olivia chuckles, before she leans in and presses a kiss on his cheek.

And Vanessa was right, he did need that.

≫≫≪≪

Mom: Honey, your father and I absolutely loved Olivia and Vanessa. What a marvelous duo are those two.

Dad: And I can’t believe that young girl told me I indeed need new shoes, simply because I said you were ugly as a kid. Please let Vanessa know that it was a joke, because I want her to like me.

Simon: Excuse me, who are Olivia and Vanessa?

Piers: Is there something you’re not telling us?

Mom: Olivia is Henry’s new girlfriend

Charlie: Sweet!

Niki: But who is Vanessa then?

Henry: Vanessa is Olivia’s daughter

Piers: You are telling us that you have a girlfriend with a daughter?

Mom: A lovely daughter! Tell Olivia that she is doing such a wonderful job. I don’t think I ever met a kid her age that was that polite.

Charlie: When can we meet them?

Henry: Certainly not any time soon. I first want those two to meet mom and dad. You pricks will scare them off probably.

Charlie: I’m great with children!

Henry: Mom, dad, please do me a favor and don’t tell them when I’m bring Olivia and Vanessa over.

Taglist: @thelastsock // @flhorah // @sausagefest1996 // @laufeysodinson // @xxxkatxo // @memoriesat30 // @henrythickcavill // @crimsonrae // @henryobsessed // @madbaddic7ed // @summersong69 // @lyrafraiser // @peakygroupie // @coldmuffinbanditshoe // @mary-ann84 // @thereisa8ella //@crazyandanonymous4u // @xuxszx // @emmaofgreengabbles // @jimmypagesandbrianmayshair // @onlyhenrys // @omgkatinka // @oddsnendsfanfics // @speakerforthedead0 // @agniavateira

#henry cavill #henry cavill x ofc #henry cavill x oc #mister cavill your dog is kinda fat #henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill x Olivia Tran

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fangirlcenteral · 4 years

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Sensitive

A/N: Umm the two people in my taglist posted amazing gifs and pictures of Tom and JTH has a slow hands video. Here’s the thread.

I talk about his relationship with Taylor Swift in this. I obviously don’t know the details and I portray her kinda as rude. I am aware she is not, it’s just for the sake of the story. Because who doesn’t love a jealous makeup smut

Warnings: Smut. Dom!Tom, Oral (M and F receiving), kinda rough, a bit of bondage, cursing, dirty talk, AFTERCARE IS KEY

Taglist:@just-the-hiddles @trippedmetaldetector @daydreams-of-loki

@lowhostrikesback (message me or something if you want to be added permanently to my taglist.)

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You took your time getting ready. You wanted to look perfect. Tom wanted to take you to a high brow party tonight to celebrate some movie or new song or a birthday, you don’t know and frankly don’t care. These had never really been your scene. Everyone was trying too hard to be polite, they all wanted something from someone important. You were invisible there. No, it was worse. You didn’t have the joy of them not seeing you. Then your wouldn’t have had to endure the judgmental stares and disgusted glances. You knew no one wanted you there. You didn’t have anything to give them, you weren’t important. Tom hated them almost as much as you, but he was pretty good at hiding it. He would be polite and socialize with people who approached him, but he would really entertain conversation with directors so he didn’t hurt his career. When you come with him he would stand off to the side and make conversation with you. He would play this amazing game with you where he would say the most vulgar shit to you as someone was approaching you so you would blush uncontrollably when someone was having a conversation with your lovely boyfriend who would talk to them innocently. Though he loved when loved embarrassing you, he also liked when they would walk by and you would blush and cuddle yourself into his side. When you were lost in thought Tom walked into your flat and snuck up behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist. You jumped at first when his strong arms snaked around your waist. After your initial shock subsided you smiled and set down the makeup you were holding, and grabbed his strong hands on your waist and looked at him in the mirror.

“Hi Love,” he said with that smirk that has nearly gotten you in trouble so many times before.

“Hi,” you said blushing while you looked down shyly. You felt his hands flatten and press against your stomach as he leaned his head into your neck. He nuzzled himself in your neck. You giggled at the scratchy feeling from his stubble on your neck. He kissed all over your neck. He cherished the small giggles that erupted from your mouth while he pulled you closer to him. He let up on his attack on your neck with a small kiss on your neck.

“Are you nearly ready,” he said pulling you back to his firm body. You nodded and picked up the earrings your were about to put on when he arrived. You made a point to lean forward more than you needed. Making a point to arch your back and press your ass against him. You heard him take a sharp breath in. He put one of his hands on the arch of your back applying delicious pressure as the other snaked down your front and put his hand on your thigh, which was exposed in your tiny excuse of a dress that barely covered your ass. You only wore it to tease Tom relentlessly. He pushed himself against you, causing you to gasp and put your elbows on the dresser. He slowly slid his hand on your thigh till it barely grazed your covered center then dropped his hand. He then slowly slid his other hand down your back, pushing you down lightly as he went, till he reached your slightly exposed ass and delivered a quick smack before roughly pulling your dress down to cover your ass. You gasped out and leaned forward as he stepped back from you.

“I’ll wait for you in the living room my love,” he said leaning down to place a gentle kiss to the back of your neck before standing up straight, “don’t be long baby, it’s rude to leave people waiting.” He said smoothing his suit as he walked out of the room leaving you gasping and bent over your dresser.

You took a second to catch your breath before quickly putting on your earring and looking at yourself in the mirror. Your cheeks were tinged with pink. You could feel heat building between your legs as you carefully adjusted your dress. You could tell by his show of dominance at your playful gesture that you were going to have a good night, an even better night if you provoked him. You smirked to yourself as you pulled your dress down on top and up at the bottom before walking back out to Tom.

He had his back to you and was on his phone when you left your bedroom. He was wearing a fitted light brown suit with a navy blue button down shirt and a navy and mustard tie with red stripes. He looked so handsome. You slowly walked further from the room. He slowly looked you up and down before letting a low growl out from his mouth. He beckoned you towards him with a single slender forward. You smirk and attempt to walk past him to your door. As you start to walk past him he grabs your wrist and roughly pulled you to him.

“I’m not in the mood to be tested tonight, I suggest you get this attitude out now before were around people,” he says before getting down on one knee and digging his fingers into your thighs. He very obviously looked under your dress to the lacy green thong you wore under the skimpy black dress.

“Misbehave one more time before getting to the party and i’ll take them from you. Let your pussy be exposed under this tiny dress. You’d love it wouldn’t you,” he said as he carefully pulled the bottom of your dress down. You smirked and grabbed the back of his head attempting to push his head down to your burning center. He looked up at you with predatory eyes as he let out a controlled sigh as he snaked his hands under your dress. He kept eye contact with you as he yanked on the flimsy piece of fabric letting it pool around your ankles before letting his fingers ghost against your lips. Very suddenly he swatted at your core making you lean forward with a whiny moan as he stood from the floor and walked towards the door. He extended a hand to you as he shoved your panties into his pocket. You walked towards him and gently put your hand in his, letting him pull you to the car. When you got to the car he opened the door for you and held your hand as he helped you into the sleek, low, car. As he walked around the car to get in you tried to control the shaking of your hands.

“A bit shakey there aren’t we lovely,” he said with an evil smirk as he started his car turning to look at you.

“It’s your fault, but you love that don’t you,” you said rolling your eyes and looking out the window. He roughly grabbed your chin and turned your head towards his burning gaze.

“Watch your mouth tonight or your punishment will only get worse,” he said sternly. The thought of getting punished gave you a serge of confidence.

“When is the last time you’ve followed through with a punishment. Tom,” you said leaning into him with a smirk and leaning into him. He growled released your chin. He proceeded to wordlessly pulled your seat belt across your body, clipping it in and tightening it. He them proceeded to start the car and begin to drive to the event. It was about a half hour away. You were on edge with how wound up you left Tom. Stealing a glance at his pants you notice a prominent bulge in his pants. He glanced over at you and you immediately pretended to be unbothered looking out the window.

“Look at me Angel,” he said in his deliciously evil tone. You silently looked over at him and and saw him palming his bulge. You tried to reach out to touch him, but he quickly grabbed your wrist.

“No. You have lost the privilege of touching me. To teach you a lesson before you can embarrass me I will use your mouth however I want. Do you understand,” he said with his eyes trained at the road.

“Yes,” you said looking at your lap. He undid his suit pants and pulled himself out of his pants. You licked your lips and looked up at him as he slowly pumped himself moaning lightly.

“Put your hands behind your back and turn towards me,” he said taking his hand off of his throbbing cock. Leaving it standing at full attention. All you could think about was how he will tear you in half with his cock after this event. When you turn to him and put your hands behind your back he reaches a strong hand behind your head and push you down to his cock.

“Come on sweet girl, you wouldn’t want to leave me all hard would you baby girl. I know you know how to please me baby,” he said urging you onto him. You licked from the bottom to the top slowly and kitten licked the tip. He grunted and pushed your head onto his cock, his wordless way of telling you not to tease him. You hollowed out your cheeks and sucked as hard as you could and took him as far as you could. After a while, after you could tell he was getting close, he applied pressure to the back of your head, pushing your head down till your nose was touching the skin of his groin. You choked around him slightly and you heard his groan above you had he pushed your head down harder and thrusting his hips into you harder as he came down your throat.

“Make sure you clean me up nice and good before sitting up. Remember, no touching,” he said releasing your head. You pulled off of him and swallowed his load and went back to lick up the cum left on his cock. After you were done you began licking and sucking on the tip, running your tongue over the slit applying as much pressure to the sensitive spot as possible. He growled and pulled your head up by your hair.

“Don’t be greedy baby,” he said as he stopped the car at a read light and put himself back into his dress pants and fixing them before the light turned. After he began moving he moved a hand to your thigh and squeezing it hard, pulling it towards him.

“Keep your legs spread baby. Let me take care of you a bit before the party,” he said slipping his hand up your thigh slowly. You leaned your head back and let him slide his strong, slender hand under your tight silky black dress. His fingers spread your leaking heat, and with two fingers he ran his fingers up and down your soaked slit. You let out a desperate whine as he groaned slightly.

“Aww darling, your soaked. Did you enjoy sucking my cock that much,” he said as your lead lulled to the side and looked at him. He slowly slid a single finger inside of you and pumping it painfully slow.

“Fuck darling, how are you so tight around my fingers when you practically beg me to pound your sweet cunt every night,” he said pushing his finger in harder before adding a second finger. You moaned out in pleasure and your back arched on the seat when he scissored open his fingers inside of you before ripping them from you. You felt the car stop, presumably at a red light.

“I hope you didn’t plan to sleep tonight after the stunts you pulled,” he whispered in your ear. Biting at the flesh as he pulled away. “Or walk tomorrow for that matter,” he added muttering under his breath as he went back to driving.

He brought his hand back to your center and plunged two fingers in fast. You moaned out and fell forward a bit as his fingers curled inside of you and pounded at your g spot. He assaulted the sensitive spot with his pounding fingers till you were shaking. It must have been quite the scene. Tom looking at the road intently while you looked like a fucked out whore. The way your head was thrown back and you were gripping his wrist. Begging him to let you cum.

Just as you were right there. Teetering over the edge he pulls out of you. Your grip on his wrist tightens as you bite your hand in a whiny sob. He simply smirked and brought his hand to his mouth as he licked his hand clean.

“You didn’t think i’d let you cum after the stunt you pulled at home,” He laughs after hes done cleaning his hand, “Maybe, just maybe, i’ll let you cum once tonight if your good.” He smiled at you as he pulled in front of the building where the party was to be held. You quickly fixed your dress as Tom pulled up to the valet and helped you out of the car. Quickly moving to hold you around the waist as you were still shakey from having your orgasm ripped away from you moments ago. He walked into the party with you and was immediately greeted by some directory he used to work with pulling him away. You sighed and walked to a small secluded table while you scanned the room for people you know. You didn’t recognize anyone, so you opted to just stay at the table until Tom returned from god knows where. After a few minutes you decide to look around the large ballroom for him. You notice him standing at a table across the room. Some guys you didn’t know talking and obviously trying too hard to be nice. You walked over to the table where he was standing. He noticed you walking to him when you were half way to him from your table. He couldn’t keep his eyes off you, you were a work of art in his eyes. He couldn’t understand how everyone here could dismiss you so easily, he could barely keep his eyes off of you. As you got closer he lifted his arm, allowing you to stand against him while his arm twisted around your waist pulling you close to him while he pretended to care about whatever these people were talking about. As soon as he got a chance he pulled you away with him back to the secluded table you left just a few minutes ago. He turned to face him while he pulled you closer to him by your waist and kissed your head.

“Have I told you that you look stunning princess,” he said leaning down to press a kiss to your cheek. You both sat talking for a few minutes before he danced one of his hands under your dress teasing you lightly. You looked up at him with doe like innocent eyes as you bit your lip and let out a small whine at him.

“Don’t look at me like that princess or i might just have to drag you home now,” he said smirking at you while his fingers pinched and toyed with your clit. To someone passing by it just looked like his hands were sitting low on your hips, little did they know he was sinfully teasing you in the middle of ballroom. He looked over your shoulder then boldly said to you.

“I can’t wait till I get you back to mine. Gonna fuck you like the whore you decided to act like at home,” He whispered pulling you close. As he leaned back to his full height you heard someone greet Tom behind you. As they talked you buried yourself into Toms side as he held you close. After they left you told Tom you were gonna go to the restroom. He nodded and told you to be good as he let you out of his tight grasp.

“Who knows I could just take care of myself when i’m away,” you smirked up at him. He gave you a warning look as you turned and walked away from him.

You never intended to actually do it. Tom would notice, he was very familiar with how you look after you cum. He would probably drag you back to his flat in front of everyone. He would be enraged, but you couldn’t help it. When you left the restroom and noticed your tall ginger being joined by none other than Taylor Swift. She laughed and put her hand on his arm. You were enraged, and wanted him to feel just as mad. You walked yourself back to the private bathrooms and locked yourself in one. You wasted no time leaning yourself up against the wall and hastily thrusted two fingers into yourself. Your hands didn’t feel half as good as Tom’s but they would get the job done in reaching your climax. As your fingers worked inside of you you used your other hand to rub and pull at your clit. After a few minutes you felt your sweet release. You took a second to catch your breath and clean yourself up before walking back out to the intricate ballroom the event was being held in. As you walked back out you noticed Tom was standing alone at the table. As soon as your eyes caught his across the ballroom he knew. The slight glow of your face and and the relaxed look gave you away immediately. He was shocked at first. He never thought in a million years you would actually do it. You always tested him and broke the rules, but you always knew to never touch what was his unless you wanted him to lose his cool on you when he punished you. He never thought you would ever do that to him at an event.

As soon as you reached him his surprise turned to rage. He grabbed your arm and pulled you out of the ballroom and into the cold London night. As you waited for the valet to bring the car he leaned down and whispered in your ear, “You wanted to cum. Your gonna cum till you can’t anymore.” As you were about to respond your car arrived. Tom opened the door for you, and helped you into the car. This calmed your nerves, you knew he wasn’t really mad at you. You were so afraid of making Tom really mad at you. You were nearly shaking from excitement. As Tom started to drive the fifteen minute ride to his flat he placed his hand on your thigh in soothing motions.

“Baby look at me,” he said glancing at you, “your going to get punished hard tonight. I’m not gonna go easy on you. Do you remember your safe word lovely?” You nodded at him.

“Say it for me princess, so I know that you know,” he said sternly.

“red,” you said meekly. He hummed in approval and moved his hand to your center.

“Gotta get you nice and ready for me,” he said as he rolled your clit between his fingers. You moaned out lightly and bit your knuckle and looked out the window. He chuckled at you and continued to drive to his place.

When you reached his building he quickly pinched your clit and opened his door. He held you close to him as he ascended the stairs to his flat. As soon as he got the door closed he pushed you against it. His lips were pressed to yours in a heated kiss. One of his hands on your cheeks pulling you close to him while the other went under your dress to play with you more.

“Who’s is this baby. Who gets to play with this,” He said breaking the kiss and looking you in the eyes.

“You,” You yelled out as he thrusted two long fingers into you quickly and latching his lips onto your neck. Your head was thrown back against the door as he curled his fingers and pressed into your g spot. Your hands shot up to his shoulders as his mouth released your neck and leaned back to your face. He kissed you deeply again as he continued to pound into you with his strong hand. You began shaking and broke the kiss with soft whine as your head fell against the door.

“Cum for me princess,” he said moving his had from your cheek to your back to keep you from falling. You felt the clench in your abdomen burst and warmth spread across your entire body. You clenched against his fingers and collapsed against his chest. As he continued to pound into you. You gripped onto the brown suit as he used his thumb to rub your clit. You shook against him as he pulled you closer to him. You couldn’t even form words as you felt yourself release against his hand again within minutes. He rubbed you through your orgasm before pulling his fingers from you. He held his fingers up to your face.

“Clean me up baby,” he said pushing his fingers into your mouth. You sucked and licked at his fingers before he pulled them from your mouth. He picked you up in his strong arms and carried you to the kitchen table. He set you down gently on the edge of the table before getting on his knees in front of you. He licked and bit at your thighs, completely avoiding your sensitive core. After a few passes of leaving hickeys on your thighs he harshly licked from your entrance to your clit before harshly sucking on it. You laid back on the table and arched your back as your hands flew above your head. He reached a strong hand up and held your hips down. He rubbed his teeth slightly against your sensitive nub. You screamed out in pleasure as he moved his hand on your hip to replace his mouth as he moved his mouth to your entrance. He hastily thrust his tongue inside of you. You looked down at him, and his eyes were closed and his shoulders pushed forward to get impossibly closer to you. You moved one of your hands from above your head to his hair. As you start to comb your fingers through his hair his eyes flutter open and look up at you. He could have came at the sight of you. Your mouth hanging open looking down at him while moans of his name escaped from your mouth. After looking at you for a second he went in harder. His hand on your nub moved faster, and his tongue went faster and harder inside of you. Your hand tightened in his hair as your head fell back with a loud yell. You could feel the coil in your abdomen start to pulse as he brought you closer to the edge. You couldn’t even form sentences all you could do was mutter moans as he devoured you. You felt that familiar warmth spread across your body as you shook with ecstasy. He held your thigh with his free hand and rubbed in soothing circles. He licked you through your high before pulling away. He reached his hands behind your back and pulled you to a sitting position before kissing you deeply. You tasted yourself on his tongue as he held you close to him. As you moved your hands to his neck to play with the hair on the nape of his neck he went to unbutton his brown dress pants. You broke the kiss and leaned onto his shoulder looking down at his hands taking himself out of his pants. You looked up at him and kissed his jaw as he started to take small steps towards you and rubbed his tip through your folds. You whined out as he ground his tip against your sensitive center. With every thrust of his hips against you his tip would almost push into you before rubbing up to your clit. You felt delicious pressure as you buried yourself into his neck to whine and moan against his soft skin.

“My princess is so responsive tonight,” he said using one of his hands to push you back onto your back. He pressed his hand against your neck applying pressure as he harshly thrust into you. After the three orgasms he already got out of you, you couldn’t barely form words. He couldn’t keep his eyes off you. Your skirt bunched up against your waist, your eyes glassy and desperate looking up at him. You looked like you were in a place of bliss. He knew how much you loved his hands around your neck. It didn’t take long for you to feel your orgasm building in your body. He reached his free hand to your hand to hold yours. He knew that sometimes when you came a lot you needed him to ground you. He could tell you were close by how hard you were squeezing him.

“Cum for me princess. Show me how good I make you feel,” He whispered into the air. You screamed out as your orgasm ripped through you. You felt like your whole body was on fire. You saw black spots scatter through your vision. You couldn’t comprehend anything. You were mumbling incoherently. As you started to come back you felt him lift you to sitting on the table. He was holding you up with one hand, and using the other to unzip your dress. He stood you up and held you, and let your dress pool around your ankles. He helped you step out of your heels, and turned you towards the table. He pushed you down to bend over the table. You heard him push his dress pants all the way off and kick off his shoes. He rubbed one hand up and down your back calmly as he unbuttoned his shirt and pushed that and his blazer to the floor. After his clothes were discarded he rubbed both of his hands up and down your sides.

“Can you give me one more princess,” he asked calmly. You nodded and leaned back into him. He chuckled and started to rub his cock through your folds. Suddenly he slammed into you, and grabbed your hip with one hand to pull you back into him. He used his other hand to grab your hair and tug lightly.

“Look at you, dripping all over my cock. Will this teach you to not touch other peoples toys. How many times have I told you that i’m the only one who can ever make you cum. Your falling all over my cock like the whore you are. Everyone thinks your such a good girl, all quiet and pretty. Little do they know that you get this tight fucking cunt pounded every night,” he said. His voice was laced with grunts. He placed a few spanks to your ass and grunting as he pounded into you. You could already feel yourself getting close. The tight coil burning through your body. This felt so much more intense that anything you had ever felt before. You started clenching around him, causing him to moan loudly.

“I’m gonna cum soon baby. Cum for me baby. You can do it princess,” he said moving his hand from your hair to your clit. You felt the bubble inside you burst. You felt white hot bliss course through your veins. Your body erupted in beautiful shocks and tingles on your skin. You spent a while laying across the table mumbling nonsense until you started to come back to reality. As you started to become more aware from your intense high you felt liquid dripping down your thighs, and felt Tom’s warm hands massaging your back and shoulders and whispering sweet praises into the sex filled air. You reached your hand behind you and reached out for him. You felt him grab your hand lightly and squeeze it. He leaned down and kissed between your shoulder blades. He let go of your hand and gently pulled out of you. You whined at the loss of contact. He helped you roll over and stand. He lifts you into his strong arms bridal style and walked you to the couch. He sat down and cradled you against him gently.

“You did so good for me baby, so so good,” he mumbled kissing your head. He gently rubbed the outside of your thigh and gave you a few minutes to calm down. He just cradled you in his arms and gave you gentle kisses until you started to calm down.

“How about I run you a bath and then I read you to sleep,” he asked pulling you back to look you in the face. You nodded and leaned in you kiss him. He smiled into the kiss and held your face. After you pulled away he stood up with you and began walking to the bathroom. He set you on the vanity, and turned on the lights in the room. You slumped back against the mirror, and watched as he went to start the tub.

“I’ll be right back baby,” he said walking out of the room for a second. When he came back he had four water bottles and two straws. He set them down and opened one up and put a straw in it, before holding it up to your mouth. You drank the water as he put his hand around you waist, and light rubbed your soft skin. When you were done drinking he set the bottle down, and picked up the basket of bath bombs and put them next to you.

“You wanna pick out a bath bomb my love,” he said in a calm tone. You nodded and mindlessly picked one up and showed him. He smiled at you, and picked you up and gently set you in the tub. The warm water felt amazing on your skin. You relaxed into the tub as he climbed in behind you. He pulled you close to him as you lowered the bath bomb into the tub. You laid your head back against his shoulder and kissed his jaw.

“Did you even know you squirted baby,” he said while he was rubbing soap on your legs. You blushed and shook your head looking down. He kisses your cheeks over and over making you blush while you giggled into him.

After he was done washing the both of you he got out of the tub first and dried himself off. You stared up at his massive frame while he wrapped the towel around his waist before turning to you.

“I’m gonna go change and clean up our clothes from the kitchen, then get you a shirt and underwear, then i’ll be right back,” he said focused on his words before looking down at you with a thumbs up. You nodded at him as he walked out of the room.

He came back a few minutes later in a pair or sweats and old t shirt. Holding a shirt for you. He helped you out and dried you off. After he dried you off he helped you step into your panties that you had left at his place at some point. After that he carefully put the shirt over your head and picked you back up taking you to the bed and laying you down gently. He went back into the bathroom and you heard the tub start to drain. When he came back he picked up a book on his night stand and laid next to you. You smiled and snuggled into his side. He wrapped of his arms around you, and held the book with the other. This was some of your favorite time with Tom, when he was reading you to sleep. Between the exhaustion of all your orgasms, his soothing voice, and his heartbeat, you were asleep within minutes.

The last thing you remember before falling into a deep sleep was him kissing your head and saying, “goodnight my love. You were so good today. Your always so good.” As he said it he wrapped both arms around you and cradled your body close to him.

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A/N: Alright. My first smut. I hope you enjoyed it. I’m kinda nervous about this being good, so if you enjoyed it please let me know it means the world to me. All feedback is encouraged. I should have another piece of writing out tomorrow. As always my requests are open and encouraged. Have a great day/night. ❤❤

#Margot #Tom hiddleston imagine #tom hiddelston x reader #Tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston smut

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angelic-serenade · 4 years

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request: Imagine Light discovering that you know MMA and you offer to teach him so he can properly defend himself

requested by: @sacredwarrior88

a/n: hope the waiting was woth it! jokes aside, I am deeply sorry for the amount of time this took and the fact I got sidetracked, I hope you can still enjoy this piece!

gif, original work and characters do not belong to me

pairing: Light Yagami x f!reader

fandom: Death Note

warnings: angst, ment of death & murder, guilt tripping, manipulation, light yagami being light yagami, toxic relationship, canon typical violence

✧༝┉┉┉┉┉˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚┉┉┉┉┉༝✧

“You're a pretty boy, Light Yagami. You should be able to properly defend yourself!”

That's what you kept repeating to the golden student of the prestigious Daikoku private academy ever since you had been granted the 'privilege' of referring to him as a friend. Light Yagami was nothing short of extraordinary - perfect, some would dare to say. But perfection and popularity, above all, are bound to have a price and you feared the day someone would finally strike up enough courage to try and shred the boy to pieces out of envy for his academic success and overall superiority in everything he did. Revenge was petty like that.

Therefore, being a well-practiced mixed martial arts fighter yourself, you insisted on giving the boy some lessons in order to at least help him reach a decent level of self-defense, so that he would hopefully be able to get out of any minor sticky situation unscathed. Extreme apprehension aside, it was a really useful skill which would benefit anyone and Light Yagami would be no exception. You knew the mighty hero of adults and students alikd had no time to spare, with his schedule permanently jam-packed and quite the amount of expectations to meet: MMA trainings would cost him more time he could afford losing - or so he had said. Whatever reason he conjured up each time you offered, it could do nothing to soothe your worries, which kept falling on deaf ears as Light kept politely turning your queries down.

“I may be a pretty boy as you say, (Y/N), but I am no secret agent or spy. I doubt I'd even run into any situation as dangerous as to call for such drastic measures. Besides, if I ever get in trouble I'll simply have to give you a call.”

And so the days passed between playful banter and boring study sessions, with no further mention of those lessons you wished your friend had accepted; you were a bit crestfallen to say the truth, but you guessed that maybe he’d manage even with no training at all. Besides, Light made sure to make it up to you by inviting you to hang out with him any time he had a moment to finally breathe and take a break – you were glad that you’d get to meet with him outside of school as no one else could actually say the same for themselves. You were aware that the boy was practically married to his academic career and the effort he made to keep the relationship working outside of the academy’s walls too was not lost on you. At first, everything seemed to work out just fine between the two of you: you were friends, best friends even, and you also became a regular at the Yagami household’s dining table. Furthermore, each time you’d have a MMA match, he’d be there to support you. You’d gotten so used to spot him through the crowd that your eyes seemed to immediately find him among the many anonymous faces around you. It was nice and it became routine.

That is until something seemed to change.

The shift was gradual, nothing major to be concerned of at first – maybe he was just tired because of the exams? Or maybe the field work he’d taken up to help his father was really burning him out, right? As days went by, you tried to cheer your friend up, but to no avail: his expression grew distant, and even though Light Yagami had never been an outgoing individual per se, his prolonged silences and far-away stares made him look even more stoic and cold than usual. It was worrying and it started to bother you, a lot. You didn’t know what was troubling the usually moderate boy, but you were certain that whatever the hell was happening, it was affecting Light immensely. Being a discreet person himself, Light never spoke a word to you about anything that might have been considered remotely negative. Your days were spent as before, enjoying each other’s company – to an outsider’s eye, nothing had changed in the way he carried himself, but to a more attentive eye, such as yours, his conduct grew to be concerning: even when he was with you, his mind would always be elsewhere. You pondered the idea of confronting him face to face, but you didn’t want to pry or come off as coquettish. Therefore you kept worrying in silence, mind haunted by the possibilities that could have led your dear friend down on such a questionable path.

You didn’t wait for long though. The confirmation to your suspicions made itself known when Light came to you one day to ask about those lessons you had offered him months back.

The sudden request, after so much time spent together without ever mentioning the offer, struck you as odd. What had changed his mind? As you racked your brain to try and get the answers you so desperately craved, you couldn't help but to come to the same conclusion over and over again: Light's excuse for finally making up his mind about self-defense was bulletproof, sure, but the sudden change of heart didn't sit well with you still. Was the wish to aid his father on the field all there was to it? You didn't think so. But until you had no solid proof to your suspicions, that was all they'd ever be. You refused to act on a whim and rather logically decided to humor the boy in his newfound interest, as long as he kept his sights on self-defense and self-defense only. In the meantime, you decided you’d monitor the evolution of his behavior and keep a close watch on him .

“You have made quite some progress, huh.”

You swallowed down almost half the water bottle in your hand, while looking at your equally worn out companion: it had been another two hours of training and you came to the conclusion that maybe it was time to end your little sparring session.

“If it’s you who says it, it must be true.” Smiled the boy, but it did not quite reach his eyes.

“I think our lessons are numbered, there’s not much else I can teach you.”

“That’s nice to hear, you really are a tough teacher.” Another fake smile which you did not reciprocate. As he made haste to get everything he’d brought with him in his bag, you made up your mind and settled for upfront confrontation.

“I guess… say Light, is there something that’s been bothering you lately?” it was now or never and you weren’t going to let the occasion go. He was tired and supposedly had his guard down – it was a moment as good as any to get some information out of him.

“Oh, I guess I’ve been pretty out of it lately, huh? I’m sorry if I had you worried, work at the station has been quite hectic and I can’t help but take it home with me.”

“That makes sense, don’t stress yourself out too much though. I’m sure you’re doing the best you can to support your father.” your words were automatic, articulated with little to no regard for the boy’s feelings: you were disappointed your so-called friend had decided to feed you yet another hollow excuse instead than opening up to you as a friend should. If there was anything you absolutely could not stand about Light Yagami, it was his charming way of spinning words in order to avoid revealing the whole truth.

“Thank you, (Y/N).”

Frustrated that he had let the conversation drop for the umpteenth time, annoyed at your fruitless attempts to persuade your friend to simply talk to you, and, to top it all, exhausted by the tough training session of the day, you let the negative impulses get to your head and acted in an uncharacteristically rash way: the surprise punch landed on the target with no effort at all and, even though you realized one second too late that you had broken almost a dozen rules of the moral code of martial arts, you felt invigorated by the action. The sound of your punch colliding with Light’s jaw brought an immense amount of satisfaction to your fogged mind, so much so that you almost came to question your own twisted way of taking it out on the boy; the moment of blind anger subsided, but you did not back down from the upcoming fight:

“I intended to give you the benefit of the doubt, given the sincere nature of the friendship I thought we shared, but apparently I was way too understanding with you. I keep extending my hand towards you and you threaten to bite it off each time with your half-hearted excuses and half-truths. You may not be aware of it, but this-” you gestured towards him and then yourself: “this is not the way things should be between friends, Light Yagami and I’m sick of pretending everything’s alright.”

The boy did not flinch, nor did he make any move to reciprocate your previous offending motion. He just stood there, impassible and unreadable.

“Will you at least say something? Or do you not care at all?”

Light Yagami was stuck, both physically and figuratively speaking. Your harsh words had caught him off guard, literally hitting him in the face with the hard reality he’d been progressively distancing himself from. He had underestimated what an issue your shared bond could become for his great plan of rebuilding the world; if he were to be completely honest, he’d considered disposing of you at first – not permanently, of course, but cutting you off from his life would have been one less burden to worry about. His game of cat and mouse with L did not make things easy though: you were the weak link, a bothersome liability he should have taken care of since the start, but terminating the friendship with you so abruptly would have done nothing but to bring more attention upon himself and you. His position within the special task force of L was precarious enough as it was, he couldn’t afford the slightest miscalculation. Therefore he’d settled on exploiting whatever he could gain from the relationship (hence the MMA training lessons) while maintaining the façade of a precious but unfortunately extremely busy friend. He hadn’t anticipated you’d actually see right through his little stunt.

He raised a hand to his jaw – it stung. A sudden urge overcame him and his hand twitched as if expecting to clench around a certain black notebook. As soon as the compulsion hit, he composed himself once again:

“I’m sorry (Y/N), I realize I’ve been a terrible friend to you, but-” the words caught on his tongue, a sob rocking his frame so suddenly you almost jumped back, startled. Guilt began to pool in your stomach, had you been too hard on him?

“Things are not going well at the station and I can’t give you any details but it is all so- so overwhelming-”

You closed the distance between the two of you and, feeling oh so regretful for your hasty actions and so hypocritical for your arrogant claims, you hugged your dear friend as if it were your lifeline.

“I’m sorry Light, I-”

“There’s no need to apologize (Y/N), I have been so cold to you and it is my fault that I cut you off like that. I assure you it will never happen again, I will do better.”

You held the boy in your arms, and let him take his time to calm down. Horrible, that’s what you felt for treating a friend so hatefully - he’d already been struggling on his own and instead of landing him a comforting hand, you had hit him with it. You promised you’d make it up to him, too.

“If that punch managed to catch me so off guard, it means you’ll have to bear with me for a few more lessons, I guess” he finally smiled.

[…]

“You should have seen the look on your face when she punched you! Priceless! Oh I am so glad you humans can prove to be so entertaining yet!”

Light gave you a wave of his hand as he made his way down the street, away from your house, ignoring the nagging laughter of the hellish being following him around. What a waste of his time.

“I really thought you’d get rid of her for good this time! What a night!”

The boy made no comment to Ryuk’s exhilarated blabbering, trying instead not to lose himself in that primordial fury that made him tempted to write another name on the Death Note.

“And the way you managed to play her- she was mortified when you started crying! You are a great actor, Light Yagami.”

“Shut up, Ryuk.” whispered Light.

“You know what I think? I think you can’t really get rid of her, even if you desperately want to, even with no L getting in the way of your plans – you’d still wouldn’t be able to kill her. Oh, now, that’s gold!”

The boy did not confirm nor confute Ryuk’s words - he kept silent as he made his way through the darkness.

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