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miniwheat77 · 9 months

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Wild. (Rudy x Reader.)

!CW! NSFW, Smut, MINORS DNI! unprotected p in v sex, (sorry if I missed any.)

*not edited*

When people think of Rudy they think of him as a kind, gentle, loving man. And they’re not wrong, not at all. He’s gentle, he’s a good problem solver. He’s good at soothing people when they’re upset in any way. He’s good at de-escalating situations, and he’s a phenomenal getaway driver.

Everyone knows Rudy is a family man, but he doesn’t talk much about his wife. Alejandro has only met her a couple of times and knows that she’s quiet and reserved.

But everything was about to change, because you were coming to work on base as a bookkeeper for Alejandro.

—

When people met you, they were surprised. You were stunning which made sense because of course, Rudy was good looking. But than, talk started around the base.

Alejandro had overheard very gross conversations between a few of his men, making them do push ups and handing out suspensions like candy on Halloween. He didn’t expect Rudy’s wife of all people to be such a big topic. You got plenty of glances from the men on base and it made you uncomfortable and Alejandro was furious obviously. They looked like a pack of hungry wolves and it was absolutely ridiculous behavior.

After about a month or so, everything finally calmed down. Everything slowly started going back to normal, but you were still getting cat called. They would say gross things to you, stare you down. They were ridiculous.

You were sitting in the mess hall, figuring out a spreadsheet and drinking coffee. Rudy and Alejandro were getting coffee, and you were getting frustrated with the conversations you were overhearing from the table near you. “Yeah, I’d hit that. There’s no way Rudolfo is satisfying that.”

That was your last straw. You let out a very exaggerated sigh, standing up and pushing your chair in. Which gathers a few glances from those around you. You stand there with the spreadsheets in your hand. Leaning up against the table with your arms crossed. “You know I’m sitting 5 feet away from you, I can hear absolutely everything you’re saying.” You say. This catches the attention of everyone, including Rudy and Alejandro who are waiting for coffee. “Yeah? So what. Nothing I said was untrue.” He shrugs. He smiles.

You send him a very fake smile.

“Listen.. Sergeant Ramirez right? There’s a reason that none of the women on this base interact with you. Because you’re a total creep who keeps talking about having sex with a married woman.” You laugh. “I don’t know why my sex life is sooooo interesting to you, but since you must know, it’s great. Rudy is satisfying me just fine, I’m a VERY happy wife. But thanks for your.. weirdly obsessive concern.” You step closer, your face only a few inches from his. “If I hear you say “I’d hit that.” One more fucking time, I’m going to hit you right in the jaw with my fist. Am I clear?” You narrow your eyes at him. He’s clearly embarrassed, nodding his head. “Great!” You say. Walking away from your table, down the hall. “Jesus Christ.” Alejandro laughs. “Didn’t realize she had such a fire in her.” Rudy laughs, bringing his coffee up to his lips. “Oh, no tienes idea del tipo de actitud que domino en el dormitorio.” He takes a drink of his coffee, trying not to smile when Alejandro nearly chokes on his. “Jesus Rudy!” He laughs.

“I’m gonna go check on her.” Rudy laughs. He’s not wearing his normal gear yet, still just wearing black jeans and a white t-shirt. Wearing that signature comfortable grey jacket he has. He opens the door to your room, seeing you looking over something. “Hey. You alright, amor?” He breathes. You nod your head. Turning to look at him. “Don’t let them get to you.. they’re just.. immature.”

“They don’t get to me, I just hate that they think you’re so soft.” You narrow your eyes, an evil grin playing at your lips. “The Rudy I know is far more devilish than they know.” You roll your eyes. “Yeah? That’s cause I have to do something to combat that fucking attitude of yours.” He crosses his arms. You roll your eyes. “Fuck you Rudy.” You laugh. “Sí, te gustaría eso, ¿no?” He smirks. “Quizás lo haría.” You reply. He snorts, locking the door behind himself. He pushes his jacket off, discarding it on the floor as he makes his way toward you. He cups your face, kissing you hard. Helping you pull your clothes off, only stopping to tug your shirt off. He reaches for his belt but you stop his hand. “Keep it on.” You breath.

He rolls his eyes.

He grasps your wrist, tugging you until your back is to him. His lips ghosting by your ear. “I forgot..” he chuckles. The fabric of his shirt burns your bare skin. “You like the way it rattles when I fuck you.” He whispers. “I hope you think about the way I fuck you anytime you hear something rattling.” He growls, pushing you down onto the bed. You whine as he pulls your hands behind your back, lining his cock up with your aching hole. When he sinks into you, you’re gasping out. Trying to take in a breath. Turning to look at him. He pushes your hips into the mattress, rutting his hips into you. “Fuck Rudy-“ you gasp. He’s breathing hard as he fucks into you, gritting his teeth. No matter how many times he was inside of you, he’d never get used to it.

He tries to keep you quiet as he rocks his hips into yours but he doesn’t really care who hears at this point anymore. You push your hips back into him, and he smiles as he moves away. “I wanna ride you.” You breathe. He smiles. He sees your chair, sitting down in it and you move quickly sit in his lap, lining him up with your entrance again, moaning as you sink down onto him. He rests his hands on your hips, looking up at you as you start to rock your hips into him. “Fuck..” he sighs. “You’re so fucking good at this.” He breathes. “Siéntete tan jodidamente bien mi amor.” He breathes, looking up at you through his eyelashes. His eyes are dark and loving as he looks up at you. “God, no wonder they think you’re so sweet, stop looking at me like that.” You breath, pushing down on his chest and rocking into him, raising up off of him more, taking more of him down. “Ah-“ he moans, a smile still on his face. “I’m not doing anything.” He mutters. “Yeah you are, you keep looking at me like you love me or something.” You giggle, a gasp leaving your lips as he thrusts up into you. “Maybe that’s just because I love you. Love that attitude, love your personality.” He breathes. “Love this perfect body you have, love the way you make me feel. And god do I love watching you put people in their fucking place.” He gasps. Thrusting up into you faster. You clutch onto the chair for dear life. “Me vuelves loca de mierda.” He gasps, tilting his head back.

You cup his cheeks, kissing him as he holds your hips, thrusting up into you. He can feel you getting tighter around him, and he’s fucked you enough to know that you’re close, so he stands up with you, lays you back on your bed, and hammers his hips into yours until your crying out his name. “Yeah, that’s it. Cum for me.” He breathes. “Muéstrame lo buena chica que eres.” He growls. You reach your peak with a gasp, eyes screwing shut and he pins your hips to the bed so that you can’t squirm away from him as he rides out your high. He grits his teeth, letting out a cry when he reaches his own orgasm. Not pulling out of you even when he knows he should.

He takes a deep breath. Pulling away from you with a sigh, moving himself to lay next to you.

When you make eye contact, he’s got that same look in his eye that makes you laugh. “What?” He rolls his eyes. “Nothing, I love you.” You breathe. “I love you too. Now Cmere.” He breathes, pulling you into him.

A knock at the door has you both going stiff.

“I think you’ve made your point, hermano.”

#call of duty mw2 #soap mw2 #cod mw2 #ghost mw2 #captain john price #price mw2 #alejandro mw2 #captain price #johnny soap mactavish #mw2 smut #rudy cod #rudy x reader #rudy parra

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theminecraftbee · 4 months

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> check social links

(Which Social Link should I check on...?)

0 FOOL School Rescue Committee Should this really be an official school club? The group of Persona-users that I'm in now, whether I like it or not. At least I'm helping people by doing all this weird magic nonsense...

I MAGICIAN Scar A fellow Persona-user a year below me, although my senior in fighting Shadows. He's dragged me into his scam crystal-selling operation, which is actually weirdly fun.

II PRIESTESS Beef Pretty large and muscular for a priestess, but sure, I'll bite. A volunteer EMT who is trying to decide whether to follow his family's wishes for university.

III EMPRESS Gem A fellow Persona-user in my year. She wants me to help her study for entrance exams, apparently. Not sure why she's asking me, I missed an entire semester? But it's good enough study for me as well.

IV EMPEROR Impulse A fellow Persona-user in my year. He has a single-minded devotion to overworking himself, despite the fact he seems to be trying to prove it's fine for some reason.

V HIEROPHANT Xisuma An older man who hangs out in the local tea shop. Keeps trying to parent me for some reason, although it seems like his relationship with his actual family's a bit less good, so maybe that's why.

VI LOVERS Etho My lab partner. The whole school's obsessed with him for some reason. My only solace is that he seems to be just as disconcerted by that fact as I am.

VII CHARIOT Skizzleman A fellow Persona-user in my year, and my first friend in this town. I'm helping him find a part-time job. He's sort of ridiculously cheerful, but I know he understands me better than most people.

VIII JUSTICE Grian A fellow Persona-user a year below me, although my senior in fighting Shadows. Keeps dragging me into his pranks, although for such a gregarious guy, he's weirdly isolated.

IX HERMIT Joe Hills One of my teachers, and the head of the School Rescue Committee. He's, frankly, the most bizarre guy I know, and I don't know what to make of any of the "wisdom" he tries to impart on us.

X FORTUNE Tango Apparently, he's a bit of a prodigy in the robotics club, but he first came to me to confess he's considering quitting. I have no idea why this is my problem, but Impulse frowned at me about it, so here I am.

XI STRENGTH False A local martial artist who's been decorated with a number of titles. I just wanted her to teach me how to fight better, but apparently, she's starting to doubt her own fighting ability as well.

XII HANGED MAN Jimmy Igor's assistant in the Velvet Room. He's a bit of an idiot, but he's also my idiot. Mostly wants to request I escort him to places in the human world, although he wants specific fusions sometimes too.

XIII DEATH Cleo A "florist" in town who can source us weapons and fence goods from Altered Space. I'm pretty sure she's actually Yakuza, or at least criminal. She and Joe know each other, although strangely, she doesn't seem to remember from where.

XIV TEMPERANCE Iskall and Stress Two priests at the local shrine. I work for them occasionally to help them with odd jobs around town. They share some common past they don't like to talk about.

XV DEVIL Ren The student council president. He's bizarrely mad with power on a good day, which is weird, because he's also bizarrely kickable on a good day. Keeps on trying to rope me into the Student Council.

XVI TOWER Doc An inventor trying to invent a safe new clean energy source. According to rumors, his last try exploded, killing his lab partner, which constantly makes me question why I'm here.

XVII STAR Zedaph Proprietor of the famous local "Mystery Stir Fry Extravaganza". Frankly, his creations terrify me more than Doc's do. I have no idea why this is Impulse's favorite restaurant.

XVIII MOON Mumbo A fellow Persona-user in the year below me. Apparently, he still gets bullied a lot, but he has a scheme to, and I quote, 'learn to be something scary, like a horse.' Good luck with that, mate.

XIX SUN Pearl An artist that I've always admired. Recently, she was in a terrible car accident, and her hands now constantly shake because of it. I still think she can draw organic shapes better than me, though.

XX JUDGEMENT Soul Reappearance Committee Judgement. Hah. I guess you'd call this Judgement Day, sure.

XXI THE WORLD ... It's me.

#smallishsona au #a bee fic #WOO I HAVE THE FINAL LIST OF EVERYONE!#some of joel's descriptions here actually give away the social link plotline #but a FEW of them actually do not.#but WOO HERE ARE THE SOCIAL LINKS! :D

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rudeflower · 5 months

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JESS ANGST SCHOOL ANGST COMPLEX TRAUMA ANGST

In Keg Max! Principal Merton tells Jess he has missed 31 days of school. Now that makes him a chronic truant for sure, it means he's missed more than 10% of the school year, the standard school year is 180 days. Let's say there's 10 days left in the school year.

That's a LOT of school to miss. Young people improbably here, do not miss that much school

But relative to what we're being told about Jess, it's a weirdly low number? Jess never goes to school!!!! He's working 10000 hours at Walmart instead of going to school no school never heard of him!

That means that Jess attended school 139 days. Most schools I've worked with define that as a certain number of hours attended, more than half the day. So even if he was skipping that's 139 days he went to more than half the day NOT GOOD AT ALL BUT

Even after he was eighteen (early in the school year) he still laced up his boots and showed up somewhere he hated at saw no point in going to WHY!!????

First of all this is actually a ridiculously overcommitted young person let's at least acknowledge that.

He works before school at Luke's, and he works in the evenings too, closing up at 11:30 in one episode. Not just filling coffee mugs anymore. By season 3 he's closing alone, keeping tabs on the delivery schedule and capable of (furiously) running the morning rush alone.

AND he's working 45 hours a week at Walmart doing physical work, AND (poorly) maintaining a romantic relationship, AND reading obsessively, AND YES GOING TO SCHOOL! Jess starts working at Walmart in November (if you treat the air date as the canon date with the show roughly does), combined with Luke's it's probably 60-65 hours a week and still went to school 139 days!

He's making ridiculous choices because he is a tiny little fool but also has a trauma soaked brain

Jess chooses to be maxed out every minute of his life because he cannot tolerate being unoccupied, like a lot of people with complex trauma (and ADHD and Autism and more all of which could apply to Jess but rn I am talking about complex trauma)

When someone is used to chaos in their environment they actually feel less safe when things are quiet and still. It leads to someone who needs to have their RAM at 100% every waking AND sleeping moment

So they work 65+ hours, go to school most days, and they

cannot relax without extreme stimulation AKA needing the music on to sleep

Walk while reading because walking and looking ahead isn't enough is not occupied enough need more occupied

and starts reading the second he's stops talking to someone or using his hands to do something else. Reading as default in any given second.

He reads compulsively, no matter how chaotic the environment.

Reading ALSO isn't enough must be annotating and analyzing too passive reading is NOT ENOUGH

So Jess would rather show up at school for 139 days where other people are moving around, where there are fights to get into and classes to move to and from, even after he's an adult and Luke wouldn't find out that he isn't showing up. He'll show up to a test just to be in the classroom, not to take it.

This is not mentioning what I'm too lazy to screencap, that he's always doing something. that especially when he's talking to Luke Jess is constantly and doing things with his hands constantly.

There's really only one time we see Jess sitting still doing almost nothing

But not really nothing because smoking really is something.

My dude needs to be as occupied as possible from the time he wakes up all the way up to and including when he falls asleep to stay occupied and all that he's got on hand is going to a school that says the pledge of allegiance in six different languages then he will go! It's 100%%% occupation or the horror of possibly relaxing and WHAT WOULD HAPPEN THEN

#if you are reading this thinking “well of course he goes to school he has to”#you are thinking with your brain on not Jess's #he is of legal age and can drop out AND lock Luke out of school communications #luke is very bad at keeping tabs on him and jess knows it #you can do whatever you want when you think no one cares what you do and jess does not need to go to school her doesn't need to do 149 days #I AM ADDICTED TO THESE POSTS!!!!#gilmore girls #gilmore girls meta #jess mariano

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olderthannetfic · 10 months

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/724781513472868352 I resonate with this on a deep level. I get told at college all the time that I don't look LGBT+ (they refuse to say queer, respectability politics is a helleva drug), I don't act it, no queer person is into my major or my hobbies, and it's weird that I'm queer but not into astrology or dressing more aesthetically ("are you a cottagecore or a dark academia gay?" I'm neither I'm a me) or playing Pokemon because outgrowing Pokemon is for cishets. People talk about gays/LGBT+ not being able to drive or do math or sit normally and then act like I'm some kind of ridiculous weirdo for not laughing at what they assure me is a true statement that does not apply to them or to me. People encourage me to experiment with my style or hair and "come out of your shell". I am informed I need to listen to certain musicians because all LGBT+ people are into them. It's weird that I'm not. It's even weirder I don't like The Owl House or hate Steven Universe or keep up with Heartstopper like the good queers do.

Basically it all boils down to, "Why can't you be more normal? Why can't you be like us?"

Because I'm not. My dad is a Pashtun Muslim and my mother is a Bukharan Jew. I have lived in the Deep South half my life and Wyoming the other half. My media interests are unrelated to queer rep and wholly based on liking the plots of things. I grew up on oldies and TV shows like Starsky and Hutch that my parents loved, pirated and played on repeat. I don't believe in astrology, I'm not a witch and I'm not an atheist with a Christocentric worldview who assumes all religions are Christianity Lite. I don't listen to the correct musicians mostly because I discover music entirely by accident and have a mishmash of genres and bands in rotation. Pokemon fell off and I'm not into it. I would sooner die than dye my Pashtun red hair that people made fun of me for as a kid. I like wearing button downs, clean shirts, nice jeans and my Magen David. None of this is incompatible with being queer. No one is going to kick me out of a gay club for not having played Pokemon Violet or listening to Tracy Chapman or trusting in science over crystals for healing.

And I really hate that after years of being avoided and pitied in high school by jackass backwards rednecks for being weird, I got to my dream university, the university in the most liberal city in Montana, and get the same fucking treatment.

Commenters like the one anon mentioned remind me of all the people who act like I'm doing it wrong. What is 'it', in that sentence? Living my life. Being queer. And when it crops in fandom - and I've gotten it sometimes for writing queer characters who are like me, Southern and into uncool shit and not sharp dressers and religious - it just makes me want to start screaming.

I am queer. I am not incorrectly queer. I am who I am and therefore, because I am queer, that is a correct way to do queerness.

Some gripes about Gen Z are overblown but this weirdly narrow view of what queerness is allowed to look like or be is 100% as awful as other generations say it is and it's fucking exhausting to live through. I don't have to sit differently in order to be doing queerness right or be unable to drive. I exist and I am queer and that is all I need to do and be.

I wish fandom was different from real life. I wish it was more open to the reality that queer people have a multitude of backgrounds and lived experiences. We're facing enough shit IRL, can't we just have one place where we're NICE to each other?

As a 40+ queer, I'm laughing myself sick at the current crop of "required" queer interests.

In my day, it was oldschool cis gay male culture for the men (think being obsessed with Bette Davis) and But I'm a Cheerleader and Dykes to Watch Out For for the women or something.

Not that you have to like any of those things either. It's just hilarious how clueless people are about what's a temporary trend that will probably be different in 5 years.

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am-i-the-asshole-official · 7 months

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AITA for airing my exes behavior to his friends? So recently, I (23FtM) broke up with my boyfriend (23M) of seven years, because:

We were discussing our embarrassing middle school lives, our Naruto phases, etc, when he sheepishly brought up, in his own words, his "alt-right phase". In the middle of a discussion about sparkledogs. He is white. I am Sephardi. Needless to say, I asked him to elaborate. He told me that it ended TWO YEARS into our relationship. I was obviously disgusted, asking what the hell he was thinking. He excused it by saying he was a "sheltered white kid" and he thought I was "a good one" and that I "un-radicalized him". He then said he's never told me because he knew I would get "this way" about it. I said that he was being so nonchalant about it, he says he's queer, he's also a victim of nazi ideology. I say yeah, but we both know that's not the main target of it. There was a lot of back and forth, and a lot of things started to line up in my mind. How he was "uncomfortable talking about politics" ONLY when race was involved, how he rarely engaged with me when I mentioned holy days, he was weirdly obsessed with Moses for some reason. The last one seemed funny at the time, but it just feels gross and sinister now. Given all those red flags, it seemed so much less like this was a "long gone phase" and more like he was just a crypto at this point. I cut it off at that point, it was just too much.

A few days after this, I figured that I should DM some of his other friends screenshots of our conversation as proof. Most of them haven't replied. I was telling my friend about this, too, and she said I might be taking away a "support group that could genuinely help him". But here's the thing. It's been five years. He seems ridiculously nonrepetant. If anything, he's a closet homonationalist. If dating a Jew for nearly a decade won't fix him, I don't think anything other people could do will, either. So, AITA?

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

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starlost97 · 5 months

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— muse.

summary: Charlie found the muse he needed to his most personal love poems.

keywords: almost? a smut, abstract, worshipping, gn!reader.

characters: Charlie Dalton, Mr. Keating (mentioned).

warnings: insinuations of a smut?, very abstract, reader's clothing is not specified (only the material).

a/n: so sorry for taking so long! I got sick in the middle of writing this (not I-have-a-cold sick, more like throwing-up-food-from-a-decade-ago kind of sick) so it took me way more than it needed to. I might rewrite this later but I didn't want to keep the person who requested waiting any longer!

word count: 443.

requested?: yes!

Charlie Dalton never expected to still nurture such love for poetry even after finishing school. His room in college was full of books about "the biggies", as Mr. Keating loved to call. Not only that, but some works of his own too.

He loved to surprise other people, it didn't matter how. It could be by playing the saxophone or showing how weirdly broad his vocabulary was.

However, his poetry was something that few people had the honor to listen.

Sure, he had shown some random things he wrote in class, but the ones that he truly poured himself in it were guarded to the deserving only.

And you were definitely one of them.

When he saw you alone, sitting at the barstool, he couldn't help but be mesmerized. His knees almost failed him, and with that only he already had the beginning to the poetry inspired by the masterpiece of you.

He watched you for a while, getting jealous of the silky cloth around your torso and how it slided around your waist.

Charlie didn't remember how he approached you, because when his lips touched yours, everything else didn't matter anymore. His hands were on your body and he felt himself getting hotter and hotter by the second.

As he removed the fabric from your body, his breath was mercilessly taken away from him. Not only because his lips weren't on you anymore, but also because your heavenly curves were much more that he could ever imagine.

His mouth was soon brushing against your skin again, and each sound gained from you made his whole body ache for more.

"It's ridiculous how obsessed I already am." He muttered, pressing his lips against your skin, feeling your scent. "Are you a witch or something like that?"

"I might be." You joked, gaining a smile in response.

It didn't last much, however. Charlie was more focused on grazing his lips all over you, leaving some kisses behind as a way of showing his appreciation. It was his way of thanking you for blessing him with the power to worship you.

Something that he definitely didn't take it for granted on that night, under the weak light of the tiny unisex bathroom hidden inside a cheap bar, thrilled with the risk of getting caught.

The most unexpected place to find his muse.

But isn't that the beauty of love?

It makes us feel alive.

Charlie maybe didn't love you yet on that night, but he loved being passionate over you.

He loved so much that he didn't know how the hell he was supposed to live without it.

And he wasn't going to find out.

#charlie dalton #dead poets society #dead poets #charlie dalton x reader

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parachutingkitten · 5 months

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Plastic Women: So, what is my point?

A note for those who somehow would like to hear more from me about the video

The mega video started out as a final essay assignment for a children's media college class. The prompt was ten pages on a topic related to children's media that tied into one of our weekly discussions. Being as obsessed with ninjago as I am, I was obviously going to write about it, and one of our weekly topics had to do with children's media's relationship to gender. I had a lot of thoughts on the female characters of the show, so I decided this essay would be a good opportunity to get those off my chest. Plastic Women: Female Representation in Lego Ninjago was the end result. It was a good essay- maybe I'll post it some time. The only problem was that my initial first draft was nearly a dozen pages long- and I had only just finished my thoughts on Nya. I decided that a paper analyzing the arc of the central female character would be perfectly adequate for the assignment, tightened things up a bit, and submitted it. I knew as soon as I did that the rest of my thoughts would have to come out- and that's what the four hours you've(presumably) watched is.

Being that the original point of the essay was to fulfill an assignment requirement, pinpointing the end goal of the video was a weirdly difficult struggle in the production process. I knew I had a lot of thoughts about the women, I knew it felt important that they get out into the world, but I couldn't quite put my finger on why. Why is this so important? What's my point in making this? Why do I have this drive behind things? I offer up a couple explanations in my video. Part of it was to help improve consciousness of these issues, to stress that female representation is actually important in male targeted media. To help encourage better practices for the show's future, to get people think analytically about the media they consume. These explanations seemed to satisfy me, and I still think they're all very important and valid, but even as I sat down to record the outro, there was this nagging feeling that I hadn't quite gotten to the core of why I was making this. What was driving me to put in a year and a half of effort, scripting, refilms, and endless, endless editing in order to get this out? Because while I do care about all of those things, it doesn't ignite that same passion source of where this video is coming from.

Unfortunately, the realization only really hit me after posting the video- after reading the comments. Unfortunately, the negative ones. I don't want to overstate how much hate the video has gotten, it has been widely well received, but I have my fair share of suspected (or self described) children and pre teens calling me an idiot for overthinking things in the comments. Some of these are obviously only responding to the title and thumbnail, and it's quite fun to scroll through the comment section and point them out. But of the people who have the most plausible deniability for actually watching at least part of the video, the most common criticism was by far the run time. Why am I dedicating this much time to a show which is obviously not a raging hate letter towards women? I'm labeling this thing as sexist when there's a whole season of the lead female fighting sexism. There are so many worse things that might deserve this run time, but ninjago can not be that bad. This is obviously ridiculous.

Now there are a couple of responses I have to this sentiment. First of all, the series is insanely long. I have to not only analyze, but explain all 15 seasons for those who (understandably) haven't watched it all or aren't as obsessive as I am. That's gonna take some time regardless of what angle you're doing a deep dive on. Have you seen the length of some of the show recap videos alone? Second, the video as a whole is a retrospective, not purely a criticism. I spend quite a bit of the run time praising the things which I do like and shrugging at things I think are passable. Third, I state up front that I am purposely looking for all interpretations of the text, because they are all interpretations that a young audience could potentially take away. Even if it's not surface level, if it's one or two layers down, I'm still interested. That means it's not logical to blanketly call the show sexist, because it's not openly promoting these ideas, and that was never my goal, I think I made that clear. In many ways I believe that if this were a "Ninjago is sexist" video it would be a lot shorter. Part of why the runtime is so long is because there is a great deal of nuance to how this show treats its female characters, and nuance takes time. If it were as simple as "Ninjago is obviously misogynistic" I would point to the problem spots and we wouldn't need a discussion. I wouldn't have to analyze. It would just be a statement of fact. But that's why the video's title is much less specific and accusatory. "More misogynistic than you remember" is a lot more open ended. It has some misogyny in there, and it's more than your child brain likely noticed. That doesn't mean it's necessarily overwhelming or defining for the series, it just means that it's there- and that amount is going to differ depending on the viewer and their personal interpretations of the text. I for one thought that the Racer 7 plot line was an obvious dismissal of female struggle, but apparently it's not as clear a universal a reading as I thought. Maybe it's my life experience as a women in a male dominated field that put that front and center under a undeniable spotlight for me, but that doesn't mean that's the universal experience of the show, nor should it count against the show so strongly as I feel it.

But this criticism is finally what made it click for me. I'm not criticizing the show because it's obviously sexist. Quite the opposite. I'm criticizing it because it is trying to not be sexist. I'm criticizing the show because it wants to be progressive, it's trying to include female characters, it is including messages and plotlines specifically to try and uplift women- and it's failing.

I am past the point of feeling the need to point out that andrew tate is wrong for seeing women as lesser. That's not an interesting take, that's not a new idea, and if you need that told to you, you are likely beyond help from a youtube video. I am not here to dabate if female representation is valuable, I am taking that fact as a given because it is a conclusion which I feel is inherently correct. If you have not yet come to this same conclusion, the purpose of this video is not to convince you that it is. That can be someone else's job. This is not a 101 class, it's got some prerequisites, because without them, you aren't going to appreciate my points. I am interested in giving ideas to people who already know their basics. It's not my fault if you're a few decades behind in your ideas on film theory. The efficacy of what constitutes positive female representation has already been debated and outlined for decades by people much smarter than me. I am not here to make their points, I am here to make my own.

I'm not here to point out the problems of blatant sexism, because that has been litigated to death; I'm interested in the problems of sexism today- because yes, even when sexism isn't blatant, it's still a problem. I am interested in breaking down subtle sexism. Accidental sexism. Systemic sexism. Sexism from people who are trying to be inclusive, because they are the ones who will actually take feedback. The sexism that is baked into our media culture, so deeply ingrained that it seems rather acceptable to show sexual assault on a kid's show. I am interested in why a show which so obviously repeatedly tries to incorporate feminist ideas into its plot can so easily rid its female characters of agency. It's not that I made the video to say something about ninjago, it's that I made the video to say something about sexism in media, and used ninjago as my example. It. Is. Everywhere. And perhaps even worse, it is ridiculously easy to accidentally end up in your work.

I do hint at these ideas throughout the run of my video, but I really wish I had known this was where my drive was coming from at the outset, because if I had, this idea would be pressed constantly. Tropes older than the film medium seep into the most basic of plots and position females in passive roles by default, and if you don't know that, you are going to ingrain these ideas into your work. It might not be blatant, it might be quite subtle, but it may also snowball into something egregious, like happens in skybound. It was supposed to be a season (partially)about fighting sexism, but ends up framing our lead female as an object, removing all her agency, and turning our leading man into an extremely objectifying character who never grows out of his possessive behaviors. Like I say at the beginning, this is a cautionary tale. It's active proof that doing the bare minimum in not being offensive in female representation requires an amount of effort that many people don't realize is necessary. It is almost never that the show outright says something sexist, it's that the plot structure and character progression do not think to include its female characters. It is not the text, it's the subtext. And you might not think that subtext is influential, but the very fact that you think it's not is the most terrifying thing about it. Our brains absorb so much more than we know, and the fact that these patterns and stereotypes are seeping in subconsciously without our recognizing it, is perhaps even more dangerous than outwardly sexist media in some cases. Consistency in these patterns is bound to rewire your brain- and you won't even notice.

That's the point I think I failed to emphasize throughout the run. How easy it is. How ridiculously easy it is to fall into these problems. "it's like you see sexism everywhere!" well, yes. It is everywhere. That's the point. It's baked into our culture. It's a corner stone in our media. It's systemic. That's the problem- that it's near impossible to find something that doesn't have it because it's a founding principle of most of human culture. That's why reverse sexism is not nearly as big a deal btw. Sure, shows aimed at little girls have a lot of underdeveloped male love interests, but they also haven't been stuck in that position for centuries upon centuries of human storytelling.

I don't feel the need to prove that the label of misogynist or sexist is befitting of the whole series, because for one, it's not, and for two, that wouldn't do anything. Ninjago is a symptom of the problem. It is not the problem in and of itself. Blacklisting it for being bad doesn't help anything, and I think I made it abundantly clear that was never my intention or desire. My intention was to show you just how prevalent this casual sexism can be. How this subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) undercurrent can be found in something as unexpected as a children's show which actively brags about the strength of its female characters. The goal was to open your eyes to how consistent it is, even if it's not potent. It was to lay out how the patterns tend to present themselves, so that maybe you'll be able to better identify them elsewhere. Because they are elsewhere. They're everywhere. It may not be in as high a dosage as it used to, but collectively it is still a staggering, saturating amount. And if you are an artist looking to make something that doesn't have this subtext, I'm here to warn you that it is likely a steeper up hill battle than you initially presume.

Misogyny is everywhere. I just happen to know a lot about ninjago, so that's where I chose to go in depth in breaking it down. It's a case study- and I think a quite interesting one with a lot of nuance at that. It's what I felt I could contribute, and I have to believe that's enough to justify its existence.

#ninjago #mega video #parachuterants

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creepycrawliess · 2 months

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editing some clips for a presentation on deafness for my online class (fun fact i’m deaf in my left ear and the hearing in my right is going too😎) and just became weirdly aware of the background and how truly obsessed i am with saw good god it’s taken up so much of my life for YEARS 😭😭 (i wouldn’t have it any other way tho but admittedly this background on VIDEO STAR is a bit ridiculous)

#saw franchise #saw movies #sawposting #saw #saw films #saw trap #sawtism #saw posting #saw tag #saw 2004 #adam and lawrence #adam faulkner stanheight #adam stanheight #chainshipping

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vince-noir-666 · 9 months

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Source

What's new for this series? Are there any new games or updated rounds?

I feel like people love the Buzzcocks format and they would freak out if we changed it. The show is so famous it's one of those that can go on forever and it doesn't matter who's in it.

The weird Mick Hucknall game that Greg is obsessed with is back. He essentially puts Mick Hucknall's picture over someone else's face and we guess who's behind it.

What can you tell us about the guests this series? Who can we expect to see?

The Nova Twins were on my team who were hilarious... and telepathic. They're for young people but I'm quite interested in their music. There's also been Suggs from Madness and Harry Hill, which was exciting. Katherine Ryan was also very funny.

Gregory Porter was absolutely amazing. No one really knew what he was going to be like, because he has that smooth beautiful soul voice, but he was really funny. He pitched it really well. Americans are always good at that, coming in, working out what is going on, then finding the right level and tone and joining in. He is a class act.

What has been your most embarrassing celebrity encounter?

What, ever? Jesus... When I was partying, I had a lot of weird encounters. Pete Doherty bit my ear once. Not off, but he did draw blood. I'm trying to think of things that won't get other people in trouble.

What's the best thing about filming Never Mind The Buzzcocks? What's the worst?

I have a soft spot for the show because I spent five or six years doing it with Phill Jupitus so it's part of my life weirdly. It's always 'Bs' with me, there's some kind of magic with the letter B. Boosh, Bake Off and Buzzcocks. I'm scared to make a show that doesn't begin with B.

I like that it's about music as there doesn't seem to be any other shows out there about music. I love all the people on it so it's easy for me to do. I also like the fact there's an audience because it makes it quite exciting.

You first appeared on the show way back in 2007. What's changed since then?

It's interesting doing it this time now that I'm older. When I used to do it, I would get shitfaced before the show and take the guests out to The Groucho Club and it would end up really messy. I would sometimes even do the show without going to bed the night before.

I remember once I hadn't been to bed for a few days and when I came into the studio, Lorraine Kelly chased me around and spanked me over the desk with a wooden spoon. At that point I didn't know if I was dreaming, or if that was real, but I knew I needed to go to bed.

Another time I was out at a party, and someone had to come and get me and bring me in. Weirdly, they went quite well, those shows.

Now I've got two children, it's more like a cup of tea and then home.

Which of your fellow panellists do you have the most rivalry with?

I like taking the piss out of Greg, but me and Jamali aren't that bothered about winning. We're not adverse to cheating but to be honest we never win so it doesn't make a difference. I feel like we've only won once throughout the whole three series! The downfall is down to us both.

Which panellist is the cheekiest?

I wouldn't describe anyone as cheeky, so maybe that means I am. Greg's quite cheeky, he makes it quite jovial and fun. Daisy is the most ridiculous, and I mean that as a compliment, because she says things you would never think of saying and does things that you can't believe your eyes are seeing. Jamali is absolutely vicious, he can destroy people. He is the most troublesome because he absolutely annihilates the identity parade line-up but that's his thing, he's like a viper. He just sits back and bang.

Who has the best banter?

Me and Greg have quite good banter because we've known each other for quite a long time. We did stand-up together so we're old mates. I love working with Jamali, we're like the double act that no one knew they needed in a bad cop movie.

Who on the panel causes the most chaos?

Daisy. She is chaos. She dresses amazingly though and has been killing it with some amazing dresses and looks.

If you and your fellow panellists were in band, what would that band be called and who would be the lead singer?

Oh Jesus Christ. I'd have to be the lead singer, wouldn't I? Greg on drums. I feel like Jamali wouldn't turn up, he couldn't be fucked, but if he was there, he'd be on bass. I'd have to be pulling some shapes at the front although Daisy could also do that.

If you were in a band, which other celebrities or musicians would you want to play alongside?

I used to be in a band with Serge from Kasabian called Loose Tapestries. We never performed live, but I would've liked to. It was mostly TV soundtrack stuff.

I was also the lead singer in couple of bands years ago, around the same time I started comedy, which were called Smee and Slam Icabod.

I've also done some things with Razorlight. I did a gig at The Royal Albert Hall and Jonny Burrell came on. What was good about making The Mighty Boosh, was that Julian [Barratt] and I could make different types of music but when you're in a band you have to choose one genre. We could do surf rock, electro, funk, and jazz because it was a comedy show.

Who would be your dream Glastonbury headliner?

Elvis would be good, I love Elvis. The Beatles would be good, but don't tell Jamali I said that. Black Sabbath or Jimi Hendrix would be amazing. The Doors as well.

I used to go on stage with Kasabian dressed as Vlad the Impaler and dance around like Bez, a vampire Bez, and one time I went on at Glastonbury. Dolly Parton was on before them, so we chatted for about half an hour, and she complimented my outfit. There must be a picture of us somewhere.

What's your favourite album of all time?

That's a hard one. I'm going to have to say Sticky Fingers by The Rolling Stones. My mum and dad are full rock and rollers, so I grew up on Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, The Doors, The Stones, The Kinks and Black Sabbath. I like the Beastie Boys too.

When we did The Mighty Boosh we were quite into the Wu Tang Clan and Kool Keith. Lots of rap. Beck was quite big then too. Iggy Pop, The Peaches, Joni Mitchell. I like folk, I like everything.

First gig?

It was probably Status Quo or David Bowie with my parents. It was a good start. I remember seeing Oasis before they had an album out. When I was in college it was the likes of Blur, Pulp, Oasis, and Supergrass. When we got famous as The Boosh, we were hanging out with The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The White Stripes. Then it all went a bit pop.

No disrespect to pop but it's not my thing, X Factor and all that shit. I feel slightly sorry for the kids. Not that I don't love pop - I love ABBA, I love The Bee Gees and Britney Spears. I love bands though, there's something quite magical about bands.

Five of us would perform as The Boosh - if it went well, we could go and celebrate together, and it would be us against the world. You want to like a band when you're young, don't you? Someone that's a little bit rebellious.

#Noel Fielding #interview

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decepti-thots · 5 months

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for so long I have felt like a weirdo for thinking that the jro pregnancy stuff is deeply unhorny. but I am going to say it now: it's only horny in the way that the alien franchise is horny: there are definitely people who are horny about it, but it's primarily about the non-sexy aspects of pregnancy. i get that it's a funny joke but a non-insignificant people genuinely act like it's "the writer's barely disguised fetish". birth is weird and scary and fascinating, even more so in robots. im probably more defensive about this than I should be but it's kind of upsetting to me that this is where the discussion always ends

I'll put this under a cut so as not to spam anyone's dash bc yeah I went off on this ask haha (positive).

I actually felt so insane about this very topic I ran a damn poll on my NSFW sideblog and the thing is: the majority of folks voting agreed no, it's not inherently, textually horny. (I would know; I know horny when I see it, ffs!) Which vindicated me! Because I agree it's so ridiculous a thing to unironically, sincerely insist is super horny, given the text, lmao.

Like, it's extremely obsessed with pregnancy, but this is not the same as 'a fetish', and tbqh I think the 'fetish' joke just shields any actually interesting discussion of what it's doing. I think the Alien comparison here is actually really telling; it's absolutely a visceral thing, a thing concerned with the body and how it functions, sometimes against our will. And it's not unconnected to sexuality or eroticism in how those things are discussed more broadly, in the sense it's talking about a thing that intersects with those elements in the abstract, but it's not. Like. It's not a "fetish" thing, and if the characters it involved weren't referred to as 'he' in text I think less people would be calling it that, and actually it kinda sucks that every time I bring it up I have to block people who see 'pregnancy mentioned' on my completely sfw posts as an excuse to go off on their personal fetishes in detail, or their desire to speculate on the imagined fetishes of the writer in equally graphic detail. (BTW, it's genuinely uncomfortable seeing people obsessively speculate on the imagined fetishes of a creator, I think. We should all do that a little less in public.)

I mean not to be a total killjoy or anything but like... treating pregnancy in itself, even in the most abstract way, as inherently fetishistic and inappropriate (the people reblogging my innocuous posts about pregnancy metaphors with fucking trigger warnings! 'mpreg trigger warning' being a normalized way to tag pictures that are just Trans Dude Who Is Pregnant!) is uh. I mean we live in a world where pregnant people are often massively marginalized by society period, and seen as somehow inappropriate for public life, and especially anyone who is remotely GNC. Like the idea that something is inherently obscene about a pregnant person is, shall we say, not apolitical. It is in fact a thing that people actually have to fight against in real life. I mean. Fandom doing this to a text that in fact is most notable for treating pregnancy weirdly neutrally in these terms is... frustrating! I think we all lose out when we refuse to engage with weird, funny texts that have things to say about these topics that fall outside our expected frameworks, like, say, 'this is A Fetish TM'. That's limiting! If we want to talk about what IDW1 phase two does with gender, we cannot do that properly if every time we talk about MTMTE we get weird about it doing sexless genderfree pregnancy metaphors, and instead make them funny mpreg jokes, tbh! IDK! Seems counter intuitive! And I genuinely think MTMTE/LL's bizarre approach to the thing is so interesting precisely because it's so odd and offputting. What if we actually examined it. I think we can find some good stuff in there, frankly.

And truly the especially frustrating thing is that the comic itself, for all it is objectively weird and hilarious and 'why the fuck is this even HERE' about it... is just never that. Like. I posted those excerpts because it IS weird and it IS wild and it IS quite funny in its way! It's alien robot body horror in a kids' cartoon franchise turned to an unexpected end! But you know what it actually manages, somehow, to never be? One: weird and misogynist about pregnancy. Two: weird and transphobic about it involving vaguely, ostensibly 'male' characters. Make all the mpreg jokes you want I guess, but MTMTE is many bizarre things but it never gives one single shit about the gender binary, and tbh I think it's genuinely kind of embarrassing the fandom saw a comic that did insane robot body horror pregnancy shit and was like. Okay well. But the mpreg tho.

Like. I've joked for years that I want to do a transmasc read of the pregnancy stuff Roberts did in TF seriously, same as I think a transmasc read of how Alien presents fears around "male pregnancy" in a trans context would be great. And for all my jokes, I genuinely would, actually. I think it's legit very interesting how Roberts manages to divorce the presentation of horror of pregnancy from gender in a way that mitigates the gendered subtext somewhat and gets at the loss of autonomy in a broader sense.

anyway it truly sucks that fandom is so fucking shitty about this. to give a little extra context, i talk about a particular transmasc humanformer AU sometimes that involves pregnancy and. i have had to Delete Some Fucking Asks about that thing, which. well that happens in normal regular real life and people talk about it like a fanfic trope (derogatory). so. i am a little sensitive to people getting Like This about the topic, aha.

sorry i went off on one anon, can you tell. i also find this frustrating. i relate. i am totally with you. god it would be so much less interesting to read it as horny so like, why is this the ONLY MODE we seem to have tbh

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 2 years

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Idk why but seeing Sebek so high on your tier list made me inexplicably happy. He kind of annoyed me when I first started playing, but that was before I read his personal stories. Man I was a fool because he’s now one of my favorites (I’m a first year squad stan and he’s one of my faves of the group). Like he’s so serious as a person but a lot of his moments are actually pretty funny. Anyway this has been Appreciate Sebek Hours and I shall raise a carton of coffee milk to him

[Referencing this post!]

Like coffee, Sebek is kind of a strong and acquired taste.

I totally get why a lot of people are initially turned off by him when he’s so brazen, loud, and obsessive. I know that I personally started TWST not expecting a lot out of Sebek; I couldn’t really take his pastel green Phoenix Wright design that seriously, and I didn’t like his personality since a lot of the early promotional materials marketed Sebek as being defined predominantly by his devotion and worship of Malleus. I’m relieved to see Sebek having character outside of his reverence for his dorm leader and prince.

I feel that since Sebek takes himself so seriously despite basically being a dumb and childish kid himself, it plays off well with other characters that clearly don’t have the same intense viewpoints as he does. That contrast creates a lot of ridiculous and comedic moments like the time Sebek cried because a cookie Malleus gave him got crushed, or the time Sebek threw a tantrum because he didn’t end up on the same team as his lord. He tries so hard to be cool and mature, but it just comes off as either really smug/condescending (ie shouting about how no one can be as majestic as Silver) or weirdly pathetic (ie stumbling over his words when Malleus tells him to be off to his next class instead of standing around and shouting at Ace and Grim) 😹 Sebek really embodies the cringey way real teenagers act sometimes... too much in a rush to grow up and prove himself to those he looks up to, not realizing how his words and actions can come off to others as hurtful or as just plain silly.

I think Sebek’s biggest deterrent is probably his... discrimination against humans (or basically anyone that isn’t fae). I can see why that would make people uncomfortable when they consider his character. Racism is just plain wrong, end of story. However, I believe that Sebek is purposefully written as such so the main story can correct his behavior and show him the error of his ways (similar to how chapter 5 has Vil teaching Epel that his traditional views on masculinity and femininity are outdated).

Actually! What I find really interesting about Sebek is that his situation seems to be poised to address an issue that isn’t often mentioned in popular media, and I think it’s important to discuss it. Soooo, without further ado--

***Content warning: discussion of racism (more specifically, internalized racism) and mentions of war below the cut.*** ***Please note that I am in NO way condoning racism or war; I am speaking on these topics in an analytical manner. My only intentions in writing this post are to theorize and to educate. I am NOT defending Sebek or his actions, but rather critically commenting on how his circumstances may have played into his current characterization.***

We learn that Sebek is half human and half fae from Silver in chapter 5. While Sebek is busy chiding others and (once again) referring to them as “humans” (derogatory), Silver points out that Sebek himself is half human. Then, through Sebek’s Birthday Boy vignettes, we indeed learn that his mother is a nocturnal fairy while his father is a human.

So if Sebek is half human, then it begs the following questions: why does he seem to hate humans so much? Why does he never make mention of his own heritage, and instead chooses to exclusively extol fae?

Two words: internalized racism.

“Hold on!” I hear you saying. “What is internalized racism, and how does it differ from the regular definition of racism?”

Well, according to the Oxford dictionary, racism is “prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against a person or people on the basis of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized”. Internalized racism is when those minorities or marginalized groups turn the oppression inward, which results in hating their own group. In Sebek’s case, this hatred is directed at humans--the side of himself that he seems to resent and be ashamed of.

It’s completely believable that Sebek would end up the way that he is. From what little we know of the Briar Valley and of fae in Twisted Wonderland, we can make many inferences and come to this conclusion. The population of Sebek’s home country is said to be predominantly fae, and they often use magic rather than technology to complete everyday tasks. (For example, if they want to go somewhere, the preferred “mode of transportation” is flight instead of cars.) The Briar Valley appears to be a very traditional, old-fashioned nation that is set in its ways.

Furthermore, it seems that most fae, as diverse as they are, seem to be exclusionary to other races (though we learn in Fairy Gala and FG: What If that, even among fae, there can be conflicts and discrimination; for example, nocturnal and diurnal fae do not get along). We somewhat observe this in Malleus, as he casually talks about the feats he is able to perform, whether magical or physical. At the same time, the tone he takes when addressing his classmates, even fellow third years and peers, is somewhat haughty (referring to humans as “child”/”children” of man as if to imply they are juvenile and inexperienced, outright saying that everyone is “like a baby” compared to him, and brushing off their magic as though it is nothing to him). These can be perceived as microaggressions, or “commonplace daily verbal, behavioral or environmental slights, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative attitudes towards others of a particular group”. The fairies we see in Fairy Gala and even Vargas CAMP! also reflect this, as they chase out humans from their event and/or territory. In Fairy Gala in particular, it’s implied that the fairies will reject or be hostile towards those not perceived as fairies at their gatherings, which is why the boys have to cover themselves with Fairy Dust to “blend in” and pass as fairies. It wouldn’t be too strange to assume that similar exclusion occurs in the Briar Valley, especially considering that fae are the majority and humans are the minority.

I want to take a brief moment to note that the behavior discussed in the previous paragraph is exclusive to fae. Beastmen and merpeople, two other races, engage with humans in a far less antagonistic ways.

We do sometimes see beastmen talk down to humans, typically on account of believing that humans are weak, but the beastmen we’ve observed so far have never attacked others simply due to not being of the same race as them. It seems that beastmen discriminate based mostly on whether or not they believe another person can hold themselves in a fight--it’s a very “survival of the fittest” viewpoint. Interestingly, Ruggie is said to be lacking in physical strength, but commands respect due to his reputation of being Leona’s (someone who is significantly stronger, and considered the “leader of the pack) right hand man. I wonder if hyenas (who appear to be on the lower social rungs of the Sunset Savanna) are also seen as somehow “weaker” than other beastmen, which may explain their place in the hierarchy (as the beastment we’ve seen so far seem to value physical strength).

Meanwhile, merpeople have arguably been the most amicable with humans and by far the most open to the idea of integrating with human society (though it hasn’t always been this way). This goes back to their history, which tells the tale of a curious Mermaid Princess that made a deal with the Sea Witch to obtain legs and explore the world above. That same Mermaid Princess would go on to establish a program for young merfolk to come to the surface to study and learn about land culture. There’s even a special bureau that hands out free potions that give merpeople human forms (1 potion lasts anywhere from 7 to 10 days), so long as those merpeople wish to migrate and/or establish careers in the world above. However, I do want to point out that merfolk DO seem to discriminate within themselves based on traits such as how fast they can swim (as Azul cites being bullied because he had bulky limbs which made him a slow swimmer). Again, this is a very “survival of the fittest” mindset, which I believe makes sense for both merfolk and beastmen, who are “wild animal” based races subject to the whims of Mother Nature.

It is only fae that appear to discriminate against non-fae (specifically humans) so intensely, and on a basis that extends beyond the “survival of the fittest” belief. They live in their own closed-off circles and believe that their own kind are “better than” those outside of those circles. Living longer, fae have more wisdom. Using magic all the time, fae have more skill. No human could hope to compare.

This part is pure speculation, but there have been mentions of a human-fae war in Twisted Wonderland’s history, and I wonder if the Briar Valley played a significant role in that (seeing as Lilia is described to be a decorated war veteran). If so, this may also be more evidence toward the internalized racism Sebek has developed. Regardless of who won or lost this war, if the Briar Valley took part in it, then its fae residents would definitely hold prejudice toward humans, who were on the opposing side. There might have been intense fear that developed concerning humans who have lived in the valley for generations, simply due to being of the same race as the enemies the fae were fighting. Such paranoia could very well have led into racist legal measures being implemented against humans, or fae turning on their human neighbors and reporting them under suspicion of being spies or traitors. This can go right down to what is taught to children in school: view the enemy and those similar to the enemy as outsiders, even hate them, while building up your own country and your countrymen as shining beacons. As horrible and as scary as all of this is, these are all real things that have happened and are happening during wars in real life--and children, being as pliable as they are, can easily buy into wartime propaganda.

UPDATE: Some of the things I said in the previous paragraph were confirmed in book 7. Briar Valley did, in fact, participate in the war, and they even lost their crown princess (Malleus's mother) in the conflict. The human invaders also ravaged the Land of Briar for its natural resources against the fae’s wishes. Due to how the continent is divided up in modern day Twisted Wonderland, it does appear that they were the losers in the war and had to give up their land to the human nations (though this part is just speculation; more on this theory here). I can easily see why the fae in Briar Valley might harbor and perpetuate disdain toward any non-fae, and humans in particular.

When Sebek tells us about his parents, he mentions that “there were many among [my mother’s] peers who opposed her marriage to a human”. In other words, there was a distinct social push against the union of people from two different races (which isn’t that hard to believe, especially seeing how “old-fashioned” the Briar Valley is implied to be and how fae appear to discriminate against other races in general). As offspring resulting from that union, Sebek may have faced considerable hardships in his childhood. He’s not like the other children (most of which, I’d presume, are either fully fae or fully human), he’s an anomaly. I wouldn’t be shocked to learn that Sebek might have been ostracized because of who his parents were. (In book 7, he is discriminated against by his own grandfather who calls him a “human” and derides him for lacking the Zigvolt family’s signature scales.) On top of that, he grew up in a society that seems to heavily favor fae and those capable of using magic--traits that don’t apply to his father.

Another detail which may have contributed to Sebek being looked at differently by his peers is that he was a late bloomer with his magic. It’s probable that others looked down on Sebek because he manifested his magical abilities late in life. Imagine years and years of being surrounded by peers that are just more skilled and talented than you, and they often treat you differently because of that. Whether it’s overt bullying (fighting, name calling, taunting) or subtle snubs (ie excluding him or giving strange looks), they would all hurt and deeply wound a growing child like Sebek who is still trying to make sense of the world and his place in it. Let’s also remember that he has an older brother and an older sister that he could easily compare himself to, and a (retired royal guard) grandfather with a great legacy to live up to. (Side note on Sebek’s grandpa: he is described to be very old-fashioned and discriminatory himself, so it’s possible his ideals rubbed off on Sebek, especially seeing as Sebek says he spent a lot of time in his youth at his grandfather’s.)

Of course Sebek would develop great shame for the half that is looked down on by seemingly everyone outside of his immediate family. Of course he would embrace the “superior” side of his heritage, the culture and air of righteousness that pervades his country. Of course he would shun his “inferior” side, going so far as to make no mention of it to others (note that it was Silver, who is fully comfortable being a full-blooded human raised by a fae, who outed Sebek’s half bloodedness, rather than Sebek himself). Of course he would worship Malleus, the epitome of the power and might that fae can wield. He’s seeking validation in his very VERY confused identity, which is a struggle that many teenagers in real life have to deal with.

I propose that this is how Sebek has learned to cope with the struggles of growing up half human, half fae: by rejecting his humanity and aggressively embracing being fae. All his boisterousness and the acting out he gets up to is him denying a part of himself. He’s projecting it to the world to see and hear--because if he says it enough times, and says it loudly enough, then surely he can convince himself that he isn’t somehow “less than” his fellow countrymen, right? (Or so that’s probably what Sebek tells himself.) It might not be the best way to cope, but it was, perhaps, the only way Sebek knew how to cope. When most of your country looks at you like you’re the strange one, how is a child supposed to fight back? He can’t--so with little to no other options, his psyche turned that hatred inward as a defense mechanism to protect himself and his ego.

This internalized racism helps explain why Sebek’s relationship with his dad seem so... strange (well, at least from the kid’s end). Sebek’s grandfather (from his mother’s side) is a retired soldier and war hero serving under General Lilia. His mother is also said to be highly proficient with magic since a very young age, and boasts strong principles and unbending conviction. Sebek is very proud of these parts of his family while expressing confusion at and criticism of his father, who is, by comparison, unremarkable. He notes that his father buys him sweets and snacks unprovoked, and showers the kids with attention and praise. It’s strange; Sebek constantly shouts about humans and how weak and insignificant they are at school, then in the same breath Sebek can communicate that he doesn’t “understand” his father, but he never directly insults him.

I don’t believe that Sebek hates his dad, but that his odd behavior toward him is a result of cognitive dissonance. Sebek (theoretically) resents his human blood because of how it is looked down on in the Briar Valley, but he cannot find it within himself to resent his father for it. How can he, when his dad has been nothing but doting and supportive to his entire family? Yet Sebek’s pride won’t allow him to outright acknowledge his love for his father, won’t let him show weakness or bend a knee to a “mere” human.

There’s also another angle to Sebek’s cognitive dissonance. How can his father—magicless and utterly unremarkable—be so carefree and content when Sebek has been told his entire life that magicless creatures are second class citizens? How can his father be so genuinely supportive of his children, who are capable of magic without becoming jealous? How can his father be so comfortable with himself, despite not being fae, despite not being able to use magic? By all accounts, the way his father lives and is satisfied with what he already has flies in the face of everything Sebek has been taught by the Briar Valley, and this totally baffles him.

In Sebek’s Union Birthday vignettes, we see just how much he really cares for his dad. When asked who he would pick to be with him on a deserted island (and it can’t be anyone from his own dorm), Sebek replies with Trey. Why Trey, even though he doesn’t seem to have any skills for surviving in the wilderness? Because (as Sebek himself states), Trey reminds him of his father. “No matter what I say to him, he would always talk to me without being fazed whatsoever.” Jack, Sebek’s interviewer, points out that his dad must have a big heart, and that he must be someone Sebek can rely on. To this, Sebek reacts with embarrassment and insists that he does NOT rely on his father, then rushes to move on to the next question.

It’s probably very strange to Sebek that his dad loves him so much, as it is likely a strong contrast to how those outside of his immediate family perceive and treat him. Society has taught Sebek that humans are inferior to fae, and yet here is a human that doesn’t care what he or Sebek is or isn’t. He just loves his family, and loves Sebek, regardless of what everyone else says or thinks of them. Sebek doesn’t know how to react to that, and it’s so off-putting. His dad gives him such pure and unconditional love, and I think that Sebek recognizes that, but he feels too ashamed to express his gratitude and reciprocate that unyielding love (which, I suspect, is due in part to all that internalized racism). It only contributes to his ongoing identity crisis--a crisis that, mind you, has him dividing people in "fae" and "humans" rather than "fae", "humans", "merpeople", and "beastmen. Why? Because Sebek is fixating on the two sides of himself, his "fae"-ness and his humanity... and lost in that conflict is himself and the connections he could have made with others. If you think about it that way, Sebek is not only hurting those around him, but he’s also (unintentionally) sabotaging himself and his relationships. It’s proof that racism is terrible for everyone involved, even the people perpetuating it.

Sebek never feels like he’s enough. He’s always rushing to get somewhere, rushing to prove himself in the eyes of others. He’s the last in the Diasomnia group to go to NRC, he feels the need to compete with and outperform Silver, his magic came to him late… and to top it all off, he’s questioning who he is: fae or human, both or neither? Now he’s overcorrecting, overcompensating, in an effort to be seen as someone worth having around. This is why he loudly declares his fae heritage and shuts down humans. This is why he is so desperate for praise. This is explains SO much about him.

So why did I spend several paragraphs detailing Sebek’s internalized racism to you? Because, as I’ve said earlier in this post, this is something that happens in the real world and it is not discussed enough in a lot of the media we consume.

I feel like Sebek’s dilemma can be very relatable, particularly to those struggling with an identity crisis of their own, be it those of mixed race, those hailing from unconventional family structures, or anything else which may make them “different”. Of course, this is NOT a blanket statement. Everyone does not go through the same struggles, and every person’s experiences are unique. I am only presenting my own speculation on how Sebek’s situation relates to the real world.

I know that I’ve personally gone through an identity struggle that looks a lot like how I theorized Sebek’s to be, so his character really hits close to home 💦 Without getting into too many specifics, I’m considered a minority in my country, and I’ve received a lot of ridicule because of it. I cannot count the number of times I’ve seriously been told that my native language sounds “weird”, been made fun of for my appearance (particularly my eye shape), stereotyped as smart just because of my race, or called insensitive nicknames. It got to the point where I started to resent my heritage (refusing to eat our foods, refusing to speak our language, refusing to learn about our history), which I saw as alienating me from my peers--but it seemed that no matter what I did, neither culture that I was a part of fully accepted me. The people I was trying to fit in with never considered me part of their group, and my extended family thought I was “different” from them since I was not born and raised in our home country. I was disconnected from my peers and my relatives. It felt like I didn’t belong anywhere. I can really understand what Sebek is probably going through, because I’ve lived it myself.

Now that I’m older and wiser, I look back at that period of my life and realize how toxic it really was. I’m reconnecting with my roots and coming to embrace and love the culture I grew up in, and the culture of the family that I was born into--both sides. But here’s the thing: people don’t always identify internalized racism and recognize it as something that is harmful (both to themselves and to the people around them). That’s why I’m hopeful for Sebek, what chapter 7 can do for him, and the important message it can send to the fandom.

ANOTHER UPDATE: 100 parts (and counting) deep into book 7 and yes, I can confirm now that Sebek's internalized racism is being confronted and he's being forced to reconcile with those difficult feelings. I may make a follow-up post on this topic.

It’s so, so easy to dismiss Sebek as a hypocrite (which, don’t get me wrong, he definitely is), but there is likely so much more nuance to it than just “he hates on humans even though he is half human himself” or just “he’s a racist and that’s all there is to him”.

Obviously, racism is wrong and should be condemned, but I don’t believe simply depicting a character as racist is necessarily promoting racism. As long as media is not outright glorifying it, racism can be used as a literary device to deliver an important message (which is, more often than not, an anti-racism one) to the audience.

It’s made pretty clear that no one takes Sebek seriously when he shouts about humans or acts hateful toward them. Other characters consistently either make fun of Sebek for acting so outrageously, or they outright call him out for his discrimination.

To me, this all reads as very blatantly and purposefully setting Sebek’s racist beliefs up to be shattered and proven wrong later. He’s representative of a social problem, and I hope that TWST will use Sebek to promote a positive message when his time in the spotlight comes around.

What message might that be?

To learn to love and accept yourself, and where you come from, in its entirety.

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