#you know i was thinking about how we hold female characters to such high standards | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

torukmaktoskxawng · 5 months

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Hello this maybe a spoiler or not I’m just wondering how do you think Kayla will react to wearing full Navi clothes do you think she would be comfortable because if you watched the first movie you see how Jake feels in that kind of clothing but how would a Kayla feel

I don't think this would be considered a spoiler so I'd be happy to answer. So yes, Jake wasn't accustomed to Na'vi attire at first but he quickly got used to it. I don't think Kayla would have the same sentiment and here's why:

One, Jake's a male. As we know, Earth as a whole isn't as strict about men's modesty compared to women's. Men can walk around shirtless and no one bats an eye. I wish I could say the same for women, but we all know how that is.

Sure, some men feel self-conscious and wear many layers or refuse to take off their shirts for a swim, but Jake doesn't strike me as self-conscious. I'm sure the Na'vi attire wasn't that big of an adjustment for him.

(Hi, dropping some more AI art of her 🥰 for context: this isn't what she would wear as a human on Pandora. This is just basically her wearing her avatar's clothing.)

For Kayla, it's different. I don't mean to bring our day in age up while discussing a fictional world and characters, but I like comparing Earth and Pandora so that in the fic's future, Tonowari and Ronal will begin to understand where Kayla comes from.

(Side note: I don't think Jake mentioned Earth or its customs enough to Neytiri in the movies and I wish he did, honestly. It could be a funny little scene where Jake tries to explain what a taco is OR it could be an eye-opening moment for Neytiri to understand why Jake is the way he is.)

Sorry, getting off-topic. Back to Kayla. She was born and grew up in a world where women's bodies are sadly objectified and held up to high standards. Sure, she may not agree with it but it's been engraved in her brain to cover up her chest. She's self-conscious just like any other everyday woman so she clearly stands out among a crowd of awesome, badass Na'vi females who don't give a shit. And just to be clear, Kayla isn't disgusted by Na'vi women's attire. Maybe at first she was surprised but she's never judged them for it. She's happy that they're confident in their skin and is probably envious of them.

I think as a whole we love and appreciate Na'vi culture because they clearly don't objectify their women's bodies. I'm gonna link this post here because I think it explains that subject perfectly in my eyes. It talks about how progressed the Na'vi are as a species who don't sexualize female reproductive organs.

Going back to Kayla, she comes from a world where she's told to cover up and "be modest" and while she's not exactly a modest woman (example: her crop top), she still has those teachings engraved in the back of her head (hence why the crop top still covers up). Bringing back what she's told Jake a bunch of times, there's nothing wrong with being a part of two different worlds. While Jake has pretty easily slid into Na'vi customs, Kayla very much still holds onto Earth customs because she still appreciates where she comes from in some shape or form.

And I did try dropping hints about her insecurities in past chapters. We see how hard it was for her to get used to the avatar body she now spends the majority of her time in. And who knows... in future chapters, she might begin to feel that body dysmorphia or out-of-body Jake was experiencing in the first Avatar movie. 👀

Will she eventually erase and be able to relearn how to love the skin she's in and confidently wear Na'vi attire? Only time will tell. Hope this answers your question!

tsamsiyu ta'em series masterlist

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fandomofisolation · 7 days

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My own internalized misogyny pisses me the fuck off sometimes, because I NEVER give female characters the same understanding and compassion I give male characters.

I love Sam and Dean Winchester of The CW's "Supernatural" (2005-2020). I love Ed Teach and Stede Bonnet of HBO Max' "Our Flag Means Death" (2022-2023). I love Marvel's Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, and Loki. These characters have done some really fucked up shit. These characters have killed people. Most of them have killed without remorse - often for reasons that I personally cannot see as justifiable.

But I forgive all those characters. Don't get me wrong, I don't just love them because they're well-written, three dimensional, compelling characters. I love them like I care about them. Like they're my fictional friends. Like if I knew them in real life, I'd want them to be proud of me. I think that in their universes, they are good people.

I know that it sucks that we don't have as many female characters like that. But what sucks even more is that when we do I hate them! What is wrong with me??

Katniss Everdeen from Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games. I read those books in high school and I hated her because I thought she was selfish. Selfish! Like, what? Who do I think I am?

Clarke Griffin of The CW's "The 100" (2014-2020). I had beef with her because I couldn't agree with some of the decisions she made, so I disliked her whole character.

Fiona Gallagher of Showtime's "Shameless" (2011-2021). *Season 4 spoilers* After Liam got into the cocaine in Season Four and was hospitalized for an overdose, I was so mad at her. I was like, "You stupid bitch! How could you just leave cocaine just lying around when you have a three-year-old in the house? That is so dumb and irresponsible!"

What stands out to me is that Katniss, Clarke and Fiona are facing circumstances every bit as difficult as any of those male characters I mentioned previously. They've lived through immense trauma. They're up against insurmountable odds. But I don't give them the same grace that I do Sam or Ed or Bucky.

I hold women, myself included, to a much high standard than men. It's ridiculous because that double standard is itself part of the very same systematic oppression that creates so many obstacles for women already (before you even ask, yes I'm including trans women. "Women" always includes trans women. Women are women are women. Genitals and chromosomes do not determine gender. Terfs go fuck yourselves).

It's not fair. It's not fair to the people writing female characters. It's not fair to female actors. It's not fair to the women and girls all over the world who need to see themselves represented in well-written, three-dimensional, complex, imperfect characters. It's not fair to me. I am part of the problem!

So anyway. Not cool, self. I gotta work on undoing those unhealthy thought patterns. Wish me luck!

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maryellencarter · 8 months

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So there's this trope I don't like, and I think I may have finally figured out why.

(It may have a name on TVtropes. I'd be interested to find out.)

So the trope goes thusly. There is a Team. It either does not have an official leader or has been operating without one. It is often, but not always, a ragtag band of misfits thrown into a Situation.

On the Team, there is a Perfectionist. I've only ever seen this trope done with male characters, so the Perfectionist is a he/him in my head and I'm not going to be bothered to edit to they/them throughout, but I'm also really curious if this shows up as a female character archetype and how it differs.

Anyway, the Perfectionist is extremely smart / knowledgeable / skilled, very driven, holds himself and everyone around him to super high standards. At the beginning of the story or the Situation, he's generally the de facto team leader and respected or at least deferred to by most of the others.

There is also an Other Person. This person can take any form, depending on the writer's cultural values and the lesson they would like to teach. I'm thinking of a couple of specific examples, one is an extremely shy bookish child with zero confidence, another is an impulsive himbo. The Perfectionist finds this person very annoying, for a specific reason -- they're too hotheaded, too slow-thinking, whatever; this also is determined by the Lesson to be taught.

(There is furthermore a Rest Of The Team, usually at least two or three other people. For this trope, their only purpose is to exist and need leadership.)

So! The Team is thrown into the Situation. Circumstances eventuate. At some point, the Perfectionist fucks up -- makes the wrong call, gets injured, has a complete mental breakdown and becomes functionally a piece of luggage -- specifically his perfectionism fails him. He stops being perfect or demonstrates that he isn't perfect enough, and this loses him the trust and respect of the Rest Of The Team.

Enter the Other Person. Whatever traits the Perfectionist found most annoying about them are exactly what's needed to save the day! The Rest Of The Team promptly and happily transfers allegiance to the newly realized Destined Leader, and the rest of the Situation runs smoothly, either with the eventual grudging acceptance and cooperation of the Perfectionist (if he gets to learn the Lesson about what qualities are actually valuable along with the audience), or just dragging his now-useless ass along with them.

Tiny JT hated the fuck out of this trope and couldn't articulate why.

As we been knew, of course, I am (or have a strong tendency to be) exactly this kind of hardassed overeducated perfectionist with knowledge applicable to many Situations. I also am (or can be, or was as a small child) a loudly confident extrovert with strong opinions about how to do things.

The message of this kind of story is, I think, *supposed* to be directed at the unconfident or impulsive or whatever-else child who has the supposedly underappreciated characteristics of the Other Person, to teach them that they have value and mustn't allow themselves to be squelched by hardassed perfectionists.

The messages it actually conveys are, approximately, "Perfectionists are annoying everybody hates you" and also "You're doomed to be a fuckup no matter how hard you try" but also "If you just manage to be perfect *enough* and be adaptable to enough Situations and never fuck up then people might like you and respect you" and also "Be very wary of anyone else close to your level because they might be the Destined Leader and fuck you over".

As a matter of fact, I'm a crappy leader, and an even worse teacher. And those *are* to do with me being this type of perfectionist, but not in the way the trope says.

I'm a crappy leader because I know I'm right. I know exactly what to do in a Situation, which is a completely different skillset from being able to communicate to the Rest Of The Team *why* we need to take this approach to the Situation. (Plus, most people who make up a Rest Of The Team in real life *also* think they're the Destined Leader and know exactly what to do in the Situation. It's extremely rare to have more than at most one person on a ragtag band of misfits who actually wants to take direction. This is a big problem in any natural disaster.)

I'm a terrible teacher, both because I'm a genius with a freakishly good memory so I don't have much personal experience with the same kinds of learning struggles as most people, and because I just don't really grok *not* being intensely driven to excel.

You could tell a story about a Perfectionist who learns how to appreciate and even defer to a Leader with better communication skills, or better empathy skills, or even just the ability to lower their standards when having higher ones isn't actively helpful.

You could tell a story about someone like this learning to accept that they're not good at leadership, that they don't even enjoy it, that there's a *place* for them that doesn't have to be on top of the heap -- that they don't actually lose their entire worth or their ability to be respected if they lose that position. That their options aren't just "take charge" or "be a worthless piece of luggage until you learn to submit to someone you consider incompetent on the basis of their past actions".

You could. Hypothetically. I've never seen it done.

#there's a tangent here that i don't think i can fit in #about how only the leadership position gets seen as valuable in so many stories #better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven indeed #but anyway yeah tiny jt would have been a lot happier to have gotten this shit worked out in their mid teens rather than mid thirties

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supersaiyanjedi14 · 11 months

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RWBY COMBAT ANALYSIS: MAY MARIGOLD (Preliminary Evaluation)

“Mantle needed me, and to the Marigolds, that meant I wasn't their son anymore. And I made sure that everyone knew that I wasn't their daughter.”

I’m a little late to the party, but who am I to miss out on all the “May” jokes? Today, we’re going to be looking at the Happy Huntress May Marigold…or at least we should be.

Yeah, see, there’s a bit of a problem we have here. Anyone who’s seen my Tier Chart will notice that each Tier has a collection of characters outlined in red, the guide at the top labeling them as “Tentative/Prediction”. This is because, for any number of reasons, I cannot assign a concrete ranking to the character in question, and their current placement is simply an educated guess. Because my analyses are based primarily on examine confirmed feats and accolades, some characters can’t be properly ranked if they don’t have the material I need to draft their statistics. May Marigold is sadly one of these ambiguous situations. Despite being easily one of the best new additions to the cast in Volumes 7 and 8, helped in no small part by the excellent voice work by Kdin Jenzen, we have little to no information regarding May’s combative effectiveness. She has never been seen actively participating in combat, her uses of her Semblance have only been seen strictly for utility purposes, and her standing compared to her contemporaries has never been brought up.

‘But wait!” I hear you cry. “That Mantle bum Forest said that the Happy Huntresses were all top graduates of Atlas Academy! Certainly, that means that they’re some of the best in the setting, right?”

Yes…on paper. What little we do know about May, and Fiona and Joanna for that matter, stems from the overall reputation of the Happy Huntresses, and based on the high standards we have consistently seen from Atlas students, it is very fair to say that they stand as highly respected names among the cast we’ve seen. However, while a solid reputation can certainly help in crafting an analysis, you still need a few feats to prove that your accolades hold weight. Essentially, May has a great reputation, but no substance, which is a bad thing when the substance is what’s needed to make a ranking. As such, this analysis is more of a preliminary report, where I make an educated guess as to May’s capabilities based on the limited information we have. If the semi-speculative nature of this profile is not to your liking, you are forewarned.

PHYSICAL

Originally from the upper crust of Atlas society, May Marigold is a human female, and as an older contemporary of Team RWBY, she is likely in her late 20s to early 30s, still prime years for a professional Huntress. Standing at 5’10”and distinguished by her blue hair, amber eyes, and slim athletic build, May supplements her physique with light armor, specifically padded gloves and a chestpiece worn underneath her brown overcoat, topped off with rugged thigh high boots. While she is certainly very capable physically and in robust health given the rigors of her profession and the harsh tundra of Solitas, we have no athletic showings to draw from to indicate where her areas of expertise could be. However, while she hasn’t demonstrated any major strengths, neither has she shown any significant weaknesses, and I think it goes without saying that she’s not going to be some glass cannon who can’t take a hit. Overall, she’s fit, in her prime, and clearly knows how to conduct herself, meaning she should at bare minimum be able to contend with most of her contemporaries on the back of raw physicality.

RANKING: ≥ Tier 3, Advanced Human Fitness

MARTIAL

In terms of martial combat, May Marigold is armed with a collapsible quarterstaff tipped with magazine-fed crossbows and bayonets, a weapon model she shared with her teammates Joanna Greenleaf and Fiona Thyme. As has already been stated, May has no combat feats to her credit beyond a brief glimpse of her killing a Sabyr in Mantle, so determining her physical technique and tactical sensibilities is next to impossible. The closest thing we have to gauge May’s skill is Robyn Hill’s story about how she (Robyn) was the first one to defeat Joanna in a presumed sparring match, implying that May is below the pair of them, as well as her combat animations in the Amity Arena mobile game suggesting a preference for the polearm function. While this fares well for placing Robyn and Joanna, this is a vague designation as Joanna’s own skill level is unconfirmed and there is no information on how this fight played out. That said, we can estimate based on her few accolades and the circumstances of her career. On the one had, May is certainly not on the level of a true master level fighter like Qrow or Tyrian. Given that she spent the bulk of her time fighting Grimm and supporting Robyn’s political campaign, combined with their isolation from Atlas restricting the range of fighter types she could regularly spar with, she simply wouldn’t have the chance to prepare himself for single combat they way they could. On the other hand, she’s also not likely to just be a better than average fighter like Jaune or Ilia. She IS a distinguished graduate of Atlas Academy, and given the dangers accosting Mantle prior to the fall of Atlas, she would have always been prepared for a harsh battle. Furthermore, the skill gap between Robyn (who was able to hold off Bake and Yang at the same time) and her teammates is not likely significant enough to render a curb stomp, which would put May comfortably above the rank-and -file huntress.

RANKING: ≥ Tier 4, Advanced Application

SPECIAL

May’s Semblance, Invisibility Field, is easily her most well-defined attribute, and her displays are extremely impressive both in the range of applications and the magnitude of her powers. Her participation in Robyn’s convoy raids demonstrated her ability to extend the field to cover an impressively wide area, and its ability to suppress noise enables greater freedom of movement and greatly enhances her stealth capabilities. While the field cannot cloak life signatures and has no defenses against incoming movement, May is almost certainly aware of this and is more the likely careful enough to avoid those kinds of problems. While we have seen several powers and abilities that optimize their user for covert ops and infiltration, I think it is safe to say that May’s field blows every other ability out of the water even without any Dust or gadgets to supplement her loadout. The only limitation I have in ranking this power is that we don’t know how of if this power can be applied to combat, as all her uses so far have been strictly for utility and espionage. If she can regularly exploit her powers in battle, then she could be a truly devastating ambush predator, turning battles into miniature guerrilla wars.

RANKING: ≥ Tier 3, Specialized Combat

TENTATIVE OVERALL RANKING: TIER 4, EXPERT HUNTRESS

While the bulk of what I have said today has been speculation rather than the facts I prefer, I do hold that this is the most likely ranking for May Marigold given everything we know about her. She is a highly capable, well-trained, and experienced Huntress, and while she may not be one of the all-time greats, she is still a respected name, and her reputation had to have come from somewhere. To put her in perspective to her peers, I simply refuse to believe that even a lowballed May is not at the very least comparable to the likes of Blake, Ren and Sun, and if you want to highball her, an argument could be made for her to be a Tier 3 in the mold of Pyrrha, Adam or Yang. As it stands, the only thing that I can see as restricting her overall level is her career circumstances limiting her ability to enter the upper echelon of duelists, Even then, she would still be a major obstacle for most Tier 3s even on her worst day, and on her best, I could even see her threatening some Tier 2s. Though she is in all likelihood a manageable threat to the true masters of her era, she is most certainly still a credible one.

(TLDR, this is my position. Bear in mind this is in the sense of overall combative effectiveness, not power scaling, so take any of the dynamics of the people here with a grain of salt.)

I fully admit I was hesitant to do this breakdown given the lack of concrete information to draw on, but I still wanted to do it due to how much I love May. While her appearances have not lent a lot of insight into her combative capabilities, they have shed plenty of light on her character. T his is a woman who turned away from the life of comfort and luxury she could have enjoyed to dedicate herself to a higher calling, serving those who could not protect themselves, even if doing so meant being shunned by her family. She could have taken the easy path, but instead chose what was ultimately the right one. Despite her outward cynicism and confrontational personality, May is clearly a kind and compassionate woman at her core, and the nature of her story speaks to a remarkable degree of courage and conviction in her principles. And that's without even touching on her status as the series' first transgender character, something her story powerfully reflects and highlights. May has easily become one of my favorite supporting characters, and I can’t thank Kdin enough for bringing her to life.

Speaking of Kdin, if you manage to see this, what do you think? I know how much you love talking about May, so I’d love to hear your personal thoughts. What do you think May is like as a fighter? Headcanons are better than no canon at all, especially when they, for all intents and purposes, come from Ms. Marigold herself!

*all images taken from RWBY Wiki*

RWBY Combat Analysis

#rwby #rwby combat analysis #may marigold #rwby may #atlas academy #happy huntresses #not putting the ranking tags here seeing as they are speculative

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uh-velkommen · 2 years

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Doing a Royalteen live blog/thoughts post so y'all don't have to stress about it "copying Young Royals"

"Prince Fuckboy" lmao

Okay first of all no one is even relatively making as big of a deal about the prince being there than in YR and they look like they're in a normal public school which is a weird choice (He has a vocal female body guard if that's of any relevance)

Lol his name is Karl Johan like the street

Bonding over a song

I ship it immediately yes

Also the perspective is entirely from Lena, not the Prince

Okay we got some discussion about whether we actually need a monarchy

Is this PTSD or just story progression

Shirtless prince omg

The baby is just staring the camera man down

Oh we building tension

He took a selfie with Lena and now everyone's all up on her so got a social media aspect

Oh he has a twin sister I thought she was just a mean groupie

He looks like a blonde August like something about his demeanor

THEYRE ON MOPEDS

Side character got history with the sister/princess... Gay?

Oh God they almost said it^^

The princess just gave the "Be careful who you keep company with" speech

Okay there's definitely a "using social media for evil" plot happening here

Okay I've met Norwegians and these people are too quick to be all over each other

I don't know how to explain the difference but Kalle is in no way like Wilhelm as a Prince

The Prince gave her weed and her dad was just cool with it? Pretty sure drugs are super not okay in Norway...

(Royalty abusing drugs mentioned)

So we don't care about Slow Burns here huh

He sometimes calls his parents The King and Queen

I just don't trust the Prince. Because Lena isn't always taking pics of them hanging out he likes her?

Kalle gave a whole speech about social media being used against him oh it must be so hard being royalty /s

Uh excuse me that is NOT the royal palace of Norway

She's having dinner with the royal family and I'm just imaging Simon in this position 😫

His sister is a big ol butthole but I'd get it if they pulled a "People hold the Princess to a high standard bc she's a girl" card

Oh God I hope that wasn't a Covid joke

Oooo they said the word Anxiety

SEX TAPE LEAKED

"Can you delete that picture of me"

Apologizing for the sex tape never heard of it

Wilhelm and Simon would never have the "I'm afraid of getting you pregnant" talk

They mentioned TikTok it's dated

At least this Prince has good friends

I was just thinking that this scene was reminiscent of Skam and then he said "Can't we just lie here" euegeheueh

Okay Prince has feelings

August would totally be as annoying as this dude if he knew about Simon and Wilhelm

Interesting how they handle the "apologizing for leaking the tape" story

Ayy I've been there

I really just read that paragraph in Norwegian with no problem 😏

Not her talking to the PRINCESS like that

PLOT FUCKING TWIST

Oh come on she barely went through any self realization before wrapping up that plot line

Shawty is wearing a pantsuit, just tell me if she's gay I need to know

Lmao there was a guy shredding it on the guitar in the background but there was no guitar happening in the song that was playing

Cute callback to when they first met

WHAT THE FUCK CLIFF HANGER

If they were gonna end it like that they should've just made it a series

Final thoughts: Not at all like Young Royals. Some themes overlap but what can you do when you're talking about celebrities in the social media era. I suggest giving it a watch. It's well made, fast paced, and all around an easy watch. All the conflicts in the end are just kind of forgotten and resolved but there's nothing else to get too analytical about, it's not exactly a realistic slice of life like Skam or YR.

#royalteen #young royals #skam

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bluetomorrows · 9 months

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The Top 10 of the '10s (Part 4)

Alright, after much procrastination and rambling about movies I don’t even like, it’s finally time to talk about my #1 of the 1910s. This is a good one, so settle in.

1. Shoes (1916, dir. Lois Weber)

Women had an odd place in early film. When these films were being made women in America, and all over the world for that matter, were still fighting for the right to vote. Yet they were still granted creative roles in filmmaking in its early years. Before the industry was fully established and by extension respected, writing and directing roles were open to women. It wasn’t until film became a “high art” that filmmaking suddenly became a man’s job. All the women who wanted a role in filmmaking (that wasn’t acting) usually settled for editing, something incredibly important that many of those in power considered a simple menial task (Women really did hold the majority of editing positions in early filmmaking, and by a wide margin at that. The ripples of this are still felt in editing today). Lois Weber was fortunate enough to come in right at the end of the wave of female creatives in film. Weber had a very interesting life and career but for brevity’s sake let’s just zoom in on this one movie.

Shoes is a film about a woman who wants to buy… a pair of shoes. It’s not a war epic that spans decades and sets worth millions of dollars, and it didn’t change the world when it came out. What it is though, is a compelling story that stands out amongst its peers and feels decades ahead of its time while still uniquely commenting on the state of society in the 1910s. Shoes is about Eva Mayer (played by the very talented Mary MacLaren). She works for a shitty department store that only pays her $5 a week. Using that $5 she must try to provide for both her parents and her little sister, as her father is a bum who is happy to leech off of her rather than get a job himself. He sits back and relaxes while his entire family struggles to get by, living paycheck to paycheck, all-knowing he’s responsible but not able to speak up to the man of the household. Eva gives everything she has for other people and wants something for herself. She wants a pair of shoes. Her current pair are falling to pieces, just like her life and mental state are. On her current wages, she simply can’t afford it, her life does not allow for such privileges. She gets the opportunity to sell her body for a night in order to get the money to buy new shoes and after much anguish finally agrees to do it.

Shoes is a simple story, the film itself is only 50 minutes long and could be much shorter if it was just the basic story. But Shoes is more than that. The film is made in small moments. It’s made in the anguish and the anger of being a woman, the moments when we get to see Eva exhausted and empty. Unlike some of the other films on this list, Shoes is never trying to impress you, it’s just trying its best to communicate what it wants to say effectively. This film is shot gorgeously and goes so much further and more experimental in its visual language than so many other films, especially for such a grounded story. Weber understands that cinema itself is a unique language. So many movies of this time just felt like filmed stage plays, the best of them felt like an evolution of them, but the very very best like Shoes, felt like something completely new. The camera is a free agent to move the flow of the film wherever it wants to go.

The worst thing a silent film can be is packed with unnecessary intertitles, just explaining how a character feels or what they’re thinking (D.W. Griffith was very guilty of this), but Shoes tells you everything you need to know about the state of the characters purely visually. And none of this visual storytelling feels like it sacrifices how grounded the story needs to be. Weber opted to use fully furnished sets rather than the corner sets which were standard at the time and it goes a long way to make this place feel lived in. Weber builds up the world in Shoes, knowing that it’s identical to ours, but needing to show it from a different perspective. Shoes is unique in its character study. Something so focused in on exploring one person’s life and psyche was rare in the entire silent era, let alone just the 10s. But I don’t think I like Shoes just because it stands out from its competition. It’s just a damn good film. And it combines the form of this era with the kinds of storytelling that wouldn’t be found in film until decades later. The result of this marriage of ideas is a film that isn’t quite like anything else I’ve seen. It has the depth and complexity of storytelling that I expect from later films but retains the visual language of silent film, one interested in simple striking images and the need to convey a lot through physical performance. The silent form forces the film to play straight for emotion at all times, no time is spent wasted on exposition or any other bland unnecessary aspects, instead, every frame of the film is focused on drawing out emotion in a complex and psychological story. For me, Shoes represents everything great about filmmaking in the 1910s and beyond. It’s a wholly unique film, and one I would be quick to recommend to most people.

I hope through this retrospective I’ve done a good job explaining not only why this era is important but why it is worth watching. It’s an entirely different kind of filmmaking than what we have today and is still quite different even when compared with the 20s. It’s something that film fans should at least investigate once in their lives, as it’s an important step in understanding how and why we got to where we are now.

#lois weber #1910s #1910s art #film #cinema #review #movie #film review #classic film #filmmaking

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catcrazyx · 1 year

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Thoughts on Kazuichi/Mahiru? (Know ships ain't your thing, but i like to thing that , out of all the female classmates, she'd the one who can make himself better, while also helping her out in return telling not to be restrict as always, though they bicker a lot, can't imagine but them becoming friends as they interact more)

Was this ask meant for me? 🤔 😂 Sorry I'm just confused what would make you say "know ships ain't your thing". I'm a HUGE shipper, I never EVER said I didn't enjoy ships, actually I can't enjoy any piece of media without shipping two idiots together, shipping is my life, I'm also a multishipper, rarely dislike a ship, I have ships I care about more than others, and have some I don't find appealing, but most ships I can enjoy to some extent, even if just through art. I also encourage people to ship. Ship is supposed to be fun and friendly (with only fictional characters of course, don't ship real people EVER). I think some people need to learn that shipping is supposed to be a headcanon, and even though it's about characters, their personalities, dynamic or possible dynamic, that, just because it isn't or can't be canon, that it is any less valid. But still, I think shipping is totally my thing, my life completely, I mean I literally have two of my blorbos in my profile picture (at the moment of writing this) just because I love them so much!!! Anyway, I'm so sorry for my little ramble there ahaha. Well then, I may as well reply. So, hm, I never really thought about them actually. I can see a bit of clashing in their dynamic from the start, Mahiru's expectations on boys, and Kazuichi's insecure nature. But that could also be something good as Mahiru helps Kazuichi become more confident, but Kazuichi requires his own personal growth and development first, 'cause I don't see Mahiru getting along with him while he's like that with Sonia and how he's yeah, a pervert. At the same time Mahiru requires her own self-reflection to stop holding such high standards on boys. I also don't see them enjoying the same things, do they have interests in common? These aren't two characters I usually analyse a lot, so I'm just recalling some things and looking at the wiki for anything, but maybe they could bond over Kazuichi fixing a camera/polaroid for Mahiru, or making her a new one actually, if we imagine a scenario they both have feelings for each other for example and this is how Kazuichi gets to approach her, and she really appreciates it and starts talking to him. 'Cause of course he'd make something really good. Overall I think they work best as friends because they still require a lot of individual development, and them being put together as they are right now, I don't think it would work for the best. But hey I'm a multishipper, I don't see why they couldn't be more if anyone presented me a good story or just good evidence of a great dynamic with them. I also see them bickering a lot like you said, but it can be fun bickering if they are both already grown and developed! :D So, yeah I think they could be cute!

#ask #mahiru koizumi #kazuichi soda #sdr2 #kazukoi

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msbarrybeeson · 2 years

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Comfort and Confession

A/N: This is my very first one-shot on Tumblr, and I’ve decided to dedicate that to Leonardo from Rise of TMNT. He’s my favorite character due to his charismatic personality.

Also, I included some Spanish at the end, but due to a lack of knowledge in that language, I resorted to Google Translate. Anyone with experience in Spanish please inform me if I made a mistake.

Enjoy, readers!

Rise! Leo X Female! Reader (One-Shot)

Word Count: ~2600

You were quietly seated at your study desk, your mechanical pencil maneuvering over your sheet of algebra homework. Your senior year would soon be coming to an end, and yet, your days kept getting overfilled with responsibilities. Not to mention your scholarships and university applications.

Headphones snuggled over your ears, you sighed, holding your chin up with the palm of your hand. The shuffled playlist of songs made your silence bearable, even against the loud streets of New York City during the late evening.

Still, a tear or two appeared at the corners of your eyes, wondering if you’d done enough for... anything, anyone, really. Had you made the most of the past few years, or were they all empty and wasted?

You were quite popular among your peers: persistent, open-minded, and had always tried to maintain top-quality work. You should be happy, but instead, you’re haunted by the fear of slipping that reputation. You understood people wouldn’t care, but is that really the case? Everyone is different, yet so irritatingly similar, it would serve no surprise if your schoolmates turn away from you because you weren’t “perfect”.

And that never gave you time to settle down.

(e.c) eyes gazed out the window, perfectly hanging right by your desk. Your face held an apathetic expression, seeing the street lights hanging over your neighborhood. You had lived in NYC for a while after all.

Then, you shook your head and took off your headphones, worried that you might have grown distracted. Your music playlist paused.

The mechanical pencil flickered around in your hand, while you turned to read the fifth unit of an AP Physics textbook.

. . .

Tap Tap.

Your body shook for a second and lost your grasp of the pencil. You knew exactly what—or who—that was, tapping onto your window, but your heart still raced under your panicked breaths.

You ran a hand through your hair, trying to laugh your way to being calm again.

Eyes trailed up through the glass pane, and recognized a familiar person—well, teenage, mutant turtle—worn in electric blue and adorn for his red markings. He rubbed his nape, cheekily smiling.

“Leon.” You lifted your window up for an opening. “You scared me.”

“Relax~, (f.n),” he chuckled. “If this is about those thieves, you have nothing to worry about. Anyone who tries to come after you will have to mess with me first. And who’d be dumb enough to fight a guy like me anyway?

Besides,” Leonardo made himself comfortable on the bed behind you and placed his twin swords on the wooden floor, closing his eyes as he relaxed, “I thought you knew for a while now that I’d be coming over every evening. Didn’t think you’re one to forget, (f.n).”

Leon opened one of his eyes, and his lightheartedness dropped when he noticed you pursing your lips with unease. The red-eared slider creased his eyes out of concern and chose to take your hand into his.

His scaly yet soft skin brought a comforting essence around you. You smiled and rubbed his hand with your thumb.

“Leon—.”

“Don’t be afraid to just say it, (f.n). I’m all ears.”

You felt blood rushing through your cheeks. Embarrassed, but it’s better than to restrain your feelings.

You turned your spin-able chair to face Leonardo, taking a deep breath.

“...You know how I met you and your brothers as a high-school junior by accident, then after some time of hanging out and fighting the Foot clan, you guys accepted me.

Despite our differences in standards and behavior, we bonded so well. I’ve always appreciated our friendship, because no one there tries to expect anything out of me, just as long as I put in any of my time.

...Unfortunately,” a sad smile fell onto your lips, and your other hand reached to grab Leon’s, “I’m a senior now—the final stage of high school before moving on to uni.. Even if I attend a school close to here, I’ll be so occupied with my classes, I won’t have any time to spend with you like we normally do. I’ve put in so much effort to focus on my studies that I’m scared to disappoint my family and everyone.

I’m sorry, Leon,” you said as you began to break. Your hands retreated and buried your face, so filled of stress.

Leonardo suddenly felt sorrow. That didn’t stop him from trying to comfort you.

“Hey, hey, don’t get yourself down in the dumps. So what if we ‘don’t hang out as much’? You don’t have to be the one to visit us.

I mean, my brothers and I are ninja turtles, (f.n)! April even handled the Foot clan on her own. If we could do that, busy or not, you bet we’ll trespass the school for you,” he declared, now standing with his arms crossed over his plastron.

“Hold on, Leon,” you laughed as you stopped him from continuing, “there are a few things you’re forgetting. Roommates are a possibility, okay? And would April and your brothers even agree to this?”

“No worries~, as the ‘Face’, with my charming personality and for the sake of you, my brothers and sister will never turn down that idea. And since we have— y’know— Donnie, we can come up with a plan to meet up wherever as long as you agree, what do you say, (f.n)?”

You looked into his eyes. His comforting grin, his charismatic persona, and his reassurance. It’s no wonder you’d let yourself fall too long for him.

Your fingers wiped off the small tears that linger by your hues, and you pushed off of the seat to embrace Leon onto the bed in a hug. Face snuggled into his shoulder while you played with the ends of his blue mask.

The red-eared slider tensed, you could tell. But it didn’t take long for Leonardo to relax, returning the contact by sliding his arms over your waist. It remained that way for a while, feeling each other’s body rise and fall between each breath.

“Can I show you something?” Leon whispered.

A soft chuckle left your lips. “Sure.”

“We’re... gonna have to climb to the top of the apartment, though.”

Now, you tensed up. You could feel your palms become sweaty. “Leon—.”

“Come on, I’ll hold your hand as we go; you’re not gonna fall,” he persisted.

“Even with the fire escapes, I can’t trust them with how rusty they’ve probably become after four years of living here. We’re five stories high, y’know?!”

“Just trust me, (f.n).”

You rubbed your palms onto your clothes, drying away the blood-rushing feeling in them. An hesitant smile appeared on your face. “All right, I’ll go.”

“You won’t regret it, princess.”

You shoved his shoulder lightly. Your ears flushed.

“Please don’t.”

You and Leonardo ducked underneath the window toward the fire escape. At such a height of meters over the bustling streets, your heart rate began to speed up. But like the turtle said himself, Leonardo took your hand firmly and guided you up.

Your vision quickly adapted to the darkness, so you noticed there was actually... barely any rust on the escape. You could assume the metal had been galvanized.

At least you could confirm that there’s a lower chance of the escape breaking apart.

But never zero.

“All the way to the top, Leon?” Your voice held hesitation.

“We’re close, (f.n). Just keep holding onto my hand.”

Curse your dirty mind.

The creaking of the ladder continued, until the two of you finally made it to the apartment roof.

“So, what exactly would this ‘something’ be, Leon?”

The red-eared slider grinned. Placing his hands on your shoulders, he turned you around to face the city.

And your breath was taken away.

From that height, the city looked more enchanting. All those vehicles and voices sounded more quiet. So much so, the one thing you could hear were the cool breezes.

You walked over and leaned by the edge, taking in the landscape. “Leon,” you sighed in awe, “it’s so beautiful.” Glancing between him and the scenery, you remarked, “This is what you see every night, running on the rooftops? It feels relaxing— that’s how I feel at least.

I’ve never gone this high up during the night.”

The turtle only hummed. His hand held his chin, eyes closed, as if he was thinking of something else.

“Leon,” you called, “is something up?”

Leonardo gazed at you, one eye opened, before huffing lightheartedly. “No, I was just— I’m waiting for something—.” Then, he looked up abruptly. “Oh ho, there it goes!”

“Hm?” Your eyes gazed up to the sky, covered in layers of grey clouds.

Pit pat, pit pat.

You felt something cold dripping down your face. “Rain,” you realized and faced Leonardo, strolling to your side with a pleased smile. “You were expecting rain?”

The red-eared slider sat down by the edge, letting his legs dangle off. He patted the space next to him, meeting your eyes as he did.

You remembered the height of this building.

Being cautious, you hesitated. But after months of interaction with someone who’d helped save the city countless times— despite the idea most humans likely wouldn’t treat him back too kindly— you had always put your trust in him.

“Sí, you are correct, hermosa,” Leonardo responded. “And what’s a better relaxing day than rain in New York City~?”

You raised an eyebrow. “I never realized you’re a rainy-day type of guy, Leon. I thought you’d prefer the sun... I mean, sunny weather feels more like your personality after all.”

Your contented mood died down, when you found the turtle turning his head away. You quickly felt troubled.

“...Have I said something wrong—?”

“What? N-no, nothing like that.” Leonardo shook his head as he waved his hands.

The silence caught up again, so you decided to say something. “...You know, Leon, rain being part of your ‘something’ for me is such a coincidence, because—.”

“I overheard you.”

“I... I’m sorry, what?”

The red-eared slider felt his blood rushing and heart beating quick. He should be comfortable expressing his feelings, but the embarrassment was high.

“When you were hanging out with April and Sunita that one time, I... overheard you say how much you love the rain.” Leonardo rubbed his nape with his clammy hands. His blush was becoming more apparent—even under the shadows.

“And since Donnie has a weather forecast that predicted a 70% chance of rain, I thought today would be a perfect day to show you the city lights.”

Your eyes widened. Your face couldn’t hold back the light blush. “I can’t believe you even remembered that.”

...

“I really appreciate it, Leon.”

Anything for you. Leonardo felt his heart flutter inside. “Yeah, o-of course. I prefer the sunny days and all, but I mean it when I say rainy days are chill. Never thought I’d feel any less stressed until today,” he admitted, bringing his knees close to his plastron.

The soft winds blowing by; the light rain’s coolness and pitter-patter; you could confirm: they were all reasons why you found rainfall soothing.

“So,” Leon murmured, “you have any idea on where you’re gonna go after your senior year?”

Your face faltered, saddened hues slowly looking back overhead the city. “I’m not sure. I haven’t been given any acceptance letters yet, but I hope to stay as close to here as I can. Close to you and everyone: Raph, Donnie, Mikey, April; Casey and Splinter too.”

“Oh, you know Mikey’s gonna miss you treating him so well.” Leonardo rolled his eyes in a playful manner.

You laughed, “He’s precious, how can I not?”

“Youngest child privilege,” he grumbled.

“Thought you love your little brother, Leon~?”

“Hey, don’t get me wrong. I’ll always love my brothers when they’re not abusing their benefits,” he defended. “Speaking of which, why don’t I have any?”

You couldn’t tell if there was sweat on your head, or if they were only raindrops.

Either way, you felt the heat rushing to your face. You playfully crossed your arms. “Oh come on, I-I can’t answer that.”

“No, but seriously! You treat Mikey like a mother to a kid— even though he’s also a teenager— buy a bunch of snacks for Raph, and occasionally have Donnie to tutor you!”

“I wouldn’t consider that last one a benefit—.”

“Oh ho, trust me, as his brother, I know he loves it when he gets to ‘share his intellect,’” Leonardo quoted. “But what about me? I’m not looking for any favors; I’m just trying to understand if I did anything wrong to be treated any differently from my bros.”

You would have continued to tease him, thinking it wasn’t that serious, however, his fallen shoulders and discouraged expression told you otherwise.

You fell silent.

“...Leon,” you began, slowly moving your hand toward his, “I’m sorry, I can assure you that you haven’t done anything wrong to upset me.”

“...Then, what is—?”

Pit pat, pit pat, pit pat.

Plop, plop plop, plop plop plop.

Your eyes widened, and you cursed. “Oh gosh, the rain’s getting heavier. I can’t afford to get sick for tomorrow’s assembly!” You leaned over the fire escape, stopped, then glanced toward the red-eared slider. “Leon.”

“Don’t worry, I’m here.”

The rainfall was becoming denser. Leonardo held your hand all until you two reached your apartment window, where the water had condensed onto the glass, and where some of it fell into your bedroom.

You quickly grabbed two towels from the bathroom, drying any water off your head and on the floor. Walking back to the opening, where Leon waited, you picked up the turtle’s twin swords, knowing he’d have to leave soon.

“I hope it won’t be too cold for you to handle out there, Leon.” You handed his weapon.

He shrugged. “Eh, what’s a bit of rain going to do to a mutant turtle living in the sewers? ‘The cold never bothers me anyway,’” he snickered.

You smiled. “Stay safe.”

“Will do.” Right before Leonardo was about to leave, by instinct, you took your chance and suddenly grabbed his hand, holding him back. The red-eared slider gazed at you, confused yet expectantly.

“Wait, I-I never answered that other question.”

Leon’s shoulders slumped. “...You said you couldn’t tell me. If it’s something personal, I shouldn’t be begging you to spill it out.”

“No, it’s not—,” you sighed, “just come closer.”

Leonardo leaned down near the window. Your hand reached out through, fingers then trailing the side of his face, caressing his skin. Your intentionally slow pace gave him enough time to process this moment.

Could this be the moment he had been yearning for a long time? Leonardo leaned into your touch, his face showing a light blush.

You brought him closer by the chin. Your hues locked in contact, before you both closed your eyes.

You and Leonardo then closed the space into a kiss.

His shoulders relaxed. You wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him closer, as he did around your waist. The heat on your face not going away.

Then, to catch him off guard, your tongue moved into his mouth. He grew flustered yet returned it.

His hands trailed down and gripped your thighs.

After a minute, you both broke from the kiss, panting. Those breaths can be seen against the cold.

“Eres buena para tu primer beso, hermosa,” he smirked.

“Como si tuvieras alguna experiencia con los besos, guapo~,” you remarked, using your finger to close his gaping mouth.

“H-hold on, you speak Spanish—?”

“High school requires at least two years of a foreign language.” You kissed his neck. “Next time we have a rainy night, may we climb up the roof again?”

#rise leonardo #leonardo hamato #rise of the tmnt #tmnt leonardo #tmnt 2018 #rottmnt leo x reader #rottmnt #rottmnt leo #rottmnt x reader #fanfiction #reader insert

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nikethestatue · 3 years

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I used to love Azriel, but after ACOSF I don't know how I feel about him. I still want to love him but he is so strange now. I can't decide if he is normal or toxic or confused or what. I need to vent because I saw others have negative reactions to him as well. Did Sarah destroy a fan favorite?

Hi Anon,

This is interesting, because of course I've seen a lot of 'Azriel is yuck, and he is toxic, and he is weird, and he needs therapy' comments all over.

Objectively speaking--what did Azriel do that's toxic or weird for the entirety of ACOSF? The first book where he is rather heavily featured and what does he do?

--He is enlisted to train the priestesses and he does that in a 'gentle and unfaltering' way

--He prepares the Blood Rite Course for them, along with Cassian

--He is the only person who treats Nesta - at least from Nesta's perspective - kindly and respectfully. He doesn't judge, he doesn't pick fights with her, he engages with her in conversations and treats her absolutely normally. Not like she is a some psycho leper (as she sort of thinks of herself). He gives her a sweet little gift for Solstice.

--He is excited for Rhys and Feyre and the pregnancy

--He defends Cassian when Amren, and to some extent Rhys, are rude and disparaging towards him and his relationship with Nesta

--He puts a blanket on the sleeping Cassian after Nesta has her Cauldron nightmare

--He sides with Cassian about letting Nesta know about her Made swords/daggers

--He goes to Oorid, without complaint, holds off 2 dozen AC soldiers alone, gets wounded, and then still goes to look for Nesta in the bog

--He waltzes with Nesta during the Solstice party

--He doesn't want Elain to be exposed to the Trove

--He 'chaperones' Nesta and Cassian and endures their...passions in the house that he also lives in

--He spies on Eris/Braillyn

--He holds Nyx

This is the highlights of his activities in the book. I am not sure if there is anything 'toxic' or strange, or weird, or uncomfortable about him in 800 pages?

So in the POV, we find out more about his internal thoughts and we learn that he is very sexually attracted to Elain.

Nothing particularly toxic or weird about that. Nothing surprising either, because there's been a 4 book buildup around that. We also learn that he's been avoiding her, as well as being at the River Estate, and maintaining all propriety around her throughout the year. Is that toxic?

He is jealous, tired, and on edge.

You know who else was jealous, tired and on edge? Rhys--over Tamlin, over Tarquin, and over his relationship with Feyre. Also, Cassian, over his relationship or, lack thereof, with Nesta, in previous books. What did they all do? Tried to avoid the women they were in love with.

Did he attempt to assault Elain? Did he force himself on her? Did he demand a kiss? Did he demand anything from her? For her to leave her life? Or break her bond with Lucien?

No. He bought her a gift for Solstice.

If we knew NOTHING of his inner thoughts, that would be all that we saw--he got her a pretty little necklace for solstice, put it on her, and then she wanted him to kiss her, and he almost did.

Okay, so we know that he 'fists his cock' in the dead of night. Thinking about a woman he is attracted to. That's not really groundbreaking. He wants to have sex with her. Not really shocking either. Again, he doesn't actively pursue her, even if he wants all of that from her, he doesn't force or cajole her. He actually avoids her. The only time we could say that he would be toxic if he did try something against her will. He doesn't.

He feels badly about his scars, about his line of work, his unworthiness. That's nothing new. We know this about him for 4 books. All of these people, male and female, suffer from insecurities, inadequacies, feelings of self-loathing and unworthiness. Feyre did. Nesta did. Cassian, certainly Rhys.

He's just been told 'You kiss a girl, you start a war!' and his High Lord forbade him from going after one thing he really wants. How's he supposed to feel? Should he not be allowed to question the Cauldron? Some cosmic decision that he doesn't agree with or understand? But does he rush out to kill Lucien? Challenge him to some duel? No. He specifically states that he needed to leave the River Estate right away 'before he did something he regretted'.

Yes, he is frustrated and annoyed and stressed. You try living with Nessian in the same house! He is also under constant stress from knowing that Feyre might die, and what it would do to the NC and to Rhys. It's not touched upon, but certainly that's on his mind as well.

Just as a reminder, Rhys spent literally an entire novella, the whole of Frost and Starlight, wanting nothing more than to have sex with Feyre. That's all he thought of, dreamt of, and wanted to do.

Here, in the POV, we have 6 lines of text about Azriel's sexual thoughts and suddenly, it's WWIII. And I am not even talking about Cassian and his thoughts. I think it's a weird double-standard.

He is a normal, flawed character. There is nothing unusually strange or odd about his behavior. I actually think that he is a decent and honourable person.

#azriel #pro azriel #anon ask #acosf #azriel pov

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duggardata · 3 years

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Anna and Mary Maxwell Might Be Attending [Bible] College. (Wow!)

Recently, an eagle–eyed Anon spotted the 2 Youngest Maxwell Girls, Anna (28) and Mary (25), in the absolute last place you'd ever expect—a college campus. It's all on Facebook... Anna and Mary appear in a photo posted by Appalachian Bible College to its official Facebook Page, along with caption: "The first day of classes. That's something to smile about!" (Permalink.)

Why Are We So Surprised By This?

Ordinarily, two young women attending college wouldn't be at all shocking, but the Maxwells are not ordinary. Anna and Mary's Parents, Steve + Teri Maxwell, are openly anti–college. Steve thinks that state–run education, including higher education, is "a godless, promiscuity–promoting, humanistic environment," and that it traps young people in debt. He is wary even of Christian colleges, since he believes they cause children to rebel. He’s proud of his sons' lack of higher education, and praised them for "avoid[ing] the influence and cost of college." Teri is, sadly, just as opposed to college—especially for women. Back in 1999, she wrote an article speculating that college may undermine a woman's ability to be a good and godly wife. Her article laments—

"As far as our daughters go, I wonder how many of us developed independent spirits during our college or working days. Has this made it more difficult for us to submit to our husbands in the meek and quiet way we would like?"

Finally... Anna and Mary's views on this topic seemed to be aligned with their parents, until now. According to Steve + Teri, all of the Maxwell Daughters had planned to be Stay–at–Home–Daughters until marriage. (See Also.) (And all 3 Daughters seemed to be doing so, since none had moved out.) What is more, in 2010, Anna described college as "silly," and said that she thought attending would expose her to unsavory influences, and possibly hold her back from her ultimate goal of "be[ing] a stay–at–home wife and mother."

So, yeah... This is quite a surprise! And, while neither Steve + Teri, nor Anna or Mary, has actually confirmed that they’re enrolled at Appalachian Bible College, their appearance on the Facebook Page is definitely suspicious!

Tell Me About Appalachian Bible College.

TL;DR If you just want to know how conservative and restrictive Appalachian Bible College is, skip down to “Student Life.”

Appalachian Bible College (ABC) is a tiny (~250 Students), insular bible college, located on 150 Acres in rural Mount Hope, West Virginia. (The Maxwell Family hails from Leavenworth, Kansas, which >800 Miles Away.) It self–describes as a “non–denominational and fundamental” institution, primarily associated with “Baptist and Bible churches.” Unlike many so–called “bible colleges,” ABC is nationally and regionally accredited. (Hurray!)

A lot, lot more information... After the jump.

Admissions—

ABC requires prospective students to submit an application; transcripts from high school or home school; ACT, SAT, or CLT test scores; and two reference letters, one from a pastor and one from another mentor, e.g., teacher or youth group leader. A high school diploma or GED is required, unless the student is homeschooled. In that case, a detailed homeschool transcript is needed, and standardized test scores are “especially important.”

As part of the application, prospective students must attest that they agree w/ the college’s Doctrinal Statement.

Academics—

ABC offers four degree programs—Bible Certificate (1 Year), Associate of Arts (A.A.) (2 Years), Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) (4 Years), and Master of Arts (M.A.). In addition, it runs an online program for degree–seeking or non–degree seeking students. (But, Anna and Mary were spotted on–campus, so they don’t seem to be in the online program!) Anna and Mary haven’t gone to college, so they almost certainly aren’t in the Master’s program. Let’s just look at the rest...

(Sidenote—Before we go on, just want to point out... All ABC graduates must, in addition to completing academic requirements, show that they are members of a church and that they possess good Christian character. If they don’t, they won’t give their diploma!)

Bible Certificate—ABC describes the one–year program as an “opportunit[y] for you to dig into Scripture and build your life on its unchanging truths.” The program has two tracks—Bible + General Education and Bible + Ministry. As the names suggest, both tracks’ core curriculum is the Bible and Bible study. Both also require three courses in ministry—Foundations of Ministry, Biblical Theology of Missions, and Personal Evangelism & Discipleship. Where they differ is is what else they require...

For the Bible + General Education Certificate, students must also take four ‘core’ classes—English Composition, Speech, Physical Education, Music, and “Success Seminar”—plus, an elective of their choice. (This curriculum also mirrors the first–year curriculum of ABC’s A.A. and B.A. Degree Programs, so students can easily continue their studies, should they decide to do so.)

For Bible + Ministry, ‘core’ classes are waived in favor of extra theology. Students take Principles of Biblical Interpretation, along with classes on Systematic Theology (2 Classes), the New Testament (Survey Class + 2 Classes), and the Old Testament (Survey Class + 2 Classes).

Associate’s Degree (A.A.)—ABC also offers a 2–Year A.A. Degree in Bible + Theology. (That’s the only major offered.) For this degree, the curriculum is a 50/50 split between General Education and Bible + Theology courses, plus a few ministry classes and electives. All students take the following courses—

General Education English Composition (2 Classes), Speech, Physical Education, Music, Biblical Worldview, and Ethical Issues in Ministry

Bible + Theology Principles of Biblical Interpretation, Survey of the Old Testament, Survey of the New Testament, Matthew to Acts, Genesis to Deuteronomy, Paul’s Letters (2 Classes), and Doctrine (2 Classes)

Ministry Theology of Missions, Foundations of Ministry, Evangelism & Discipleship, and Homiletics I (Males) / Bible Teaching (Females)

Additionally, students must take a history class, a science or sociology class, and an elective.

Bachelor’s Degree (B.A.)—Finally, ABC offers a 4–Year B.A. Dual Degree in Bible + Theology and in Ministry. Each student completes General Education classes. Beyond that, each student is also a “double major.” Everyone’s first major is Bible + Theology and everyone’s second major is ministry–focused—but, not everyone has the exact same Ministry Major. (More on that in a bit...) As far as curriculum, students must complete the General Education, Bible + Theology, and Ministry courses required for the Associate’s Degree, plus the following additional core classes—

General Education Health, Psychology, Sociology, Finance, 2 History Classes (History of Western Civilization and American Church History), and 1 Science Class (Earth Science or Biology)

Bible + Theology Joshua to Esther, Hebrews to Revelation, Isaiah to Malachi, Job to Song of Soloman, Doctrine (2 Additional Classes), and Bible Capstone

Ministry World Religion and Cults, and Homiletics II (Men) / Women’s Ministry (Women)

Finally, students must also pick a Ministry Major and complete its mandatory coursework. At ABC, there are seven ministry majors to pick from—some of which have concentrations. Here’s the list of Ministry Majors, with additional concentrations or sub–specialties listed in parentheses—

Biblical Counseling (Youth & Family or Women’s Ministries)

Camping Ministry

Elementary Education

Missions (Biblical Languages, Foreign Language / Spanish, International Studies, Nursing, or Teaching English)

Music (Pedagogy, Performance, or Worship)

Pastoral Ministry (Biblical Languages or Youth & Family Pastoring)

Interdisciplinary

The Pastor Ministry Major seems to be limited to male students.

Click the links to check out the coursework each Ministry Major requires.

Student Life—

So, yeah... ABC is not a progressive place. At all. They’re upfront about it, though, which is nice. Their Student Handbook is online, available for all to read. Here are some highlights... (All italics are mine, not in original.)

Discipline / Consequences—Students who break the rules face discipline in the form of “a verbal or written Carefrontation, a fine, a work assignment, a temporary room or dorm confinement, a social [or] ... campus restriction,” or “some other determination.” Egregious offenses may result in the student being “suspended ... , asked to withdraw from the college, or dismissed.”

Dress Code—There’s a detailed Dress Code, with different different activities requiring different standards of dress. Perhaps surprisingly, pants are allowed for female students for all but the fanciest standard of dress. (For that, they’ll have to wear skirts or dresses.) Here are a few of the rules...

“Earrings may be worn by females only,” and “all other body piercing is prohibited.”

ABC students are prohibited from getting new tattoos. If a student has an old tattoo, they may be required to cover it at all times if the Dean of Students deems it “offensive.”

Prohibited Activities—ABC says that, “in order to remain above reproach,” students are prohibited from the following “questionable activities”...

Consuming “alcohol as a beverage,” tobacco in any form (including e–cigarettes), or drugs for non–medicinal purposes. (Penalty for violating this rule is dismissal.)

Serving alcohol to others, even if done in the course of a student’s off–campus employment.

Gossiping, or engaging in “other forms of impure speech.”

Listening to, viewing, or reading “unwholesome” media or literature, or accessing websites “that do not promote godliness.” (See Prohibited Media and Prohibited Music.)

Attending “commercial movie theaters.”

Gambling.

Dancing.

Prohibited Media—Per the ABC Student Handbook, ABC students shall not consume “any media (including social media) that features vulgar or obscene language, sexual innuendo, nudity, immodest clothing, or ... a blatantly non–Christian message.” Additionally, students may not—

Watch movies rated PG–13, R, X, or NC–17, or shows rated TV–MA.

Play video games or use apps rated A, M, or RP.

... and, they’re strongly cautioned to avoid media that promotes “unbiblical definitions of love”; endorses “witchcraft or the occult”; mocks “law or law enforcement”; denigrates “marriage and the traditional family”; or contains “excessive violence.” Students are urged not to consume media made by people—e.g., actors, producers, directors—“known for their stand against Christian values.”

Prohibited Music—Students are banned from listening to music “that includes God–dishonoring language, anti–biblical messages ... , a prominent resurfacing beat, pulsating and driving or dance rhythms, or sensual overtones in the music itself or in the performance.” They’re specifically cautioned to avoid...

Rock—Because the “lyrics may be unacceptable” and “[t]he beat of the music may become the most prominent element.”

Country—Because the “lyrics may be unacceptable” and the underlying “music may be connected to a heavy rock beat.”

Folk—As “[e]xistentialism, humanism, or hedonism may be propagated through the lyrics.”

Jazz—Since syncopation may be “extensive[ly] use[d],” and “a sensual performance style may be employed.”

Contemporary Christian—Since “a sensual performance style may be employed,” “a beat may be overly prominent,” and the “lyrics may be theologically incorrect or existential in their emphasis.”

Relationships—

“The Bible restricts sexual activity to marriage between a man and a woman. Thus, fornication, adultery, incest, sexual abuse of a minor, homosexuality, indecent exposure, sexual harassment, and other such activities are forbidden.”

“[N]o display of affection through physical contact (including holding hands) on the part of non–married couples, on or off campus.”

Dating students are forbidden from sitting together in class or chapel.

No male–female pair, dating or not, may be alone together in anyone’s home or residence, on– or off–campus.

No male–female pair, dating or not, may socialize off–campus without a chaperone, unless they’ve been at ABC for at least 4 Semesters.

Divorced students “shall not be permitted to date other ... students.”

According to ABC’s Student Handbook, all these rules apply to all students, at all times, on– or off–campus.

All in all, it’s great if Anna and Mary are attending college, even if it’s a super–duper conservative one, like ABC clearly is. The fact that they’ve possibly left home and are out there, living on their own... Crazy to even think about, given Steve’s apparent iron grip on his household. It can only be good from them to venture out on their own, even if it’s just to a slightly less stifling place.

#mary maxwell #anna maxwell

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jackoshadows · 3 years

Text

The ASoIaF fandom can be so frustrating sometimes.

It’s okay to admit that one doesn’t like this or that character. There’s nothing wrong in disliking a character.

I am pretty open on my blog about my indifference towards or dislike for Sansa because of her stans. I don’t make disclaimers about how much I love the character before proceeding to criticize Sansa. I am not a Sansa stan and that’s okay. My blog is a place for me to jot down my thoughts and celebrate characters, books and shows I do like. If you love Sansa as a character, block me, don’t follow me etc.

What’s obnoxiously annoying are the folks who claim to love all the characters the same and then give their ‘unbiased’ opinions which are held up as canon facts because they came from neutral book reader experts. To hell with that nonsense.

These posts reek of hypocrisy and double standards. It often tears down some characters while subtly propping up others - and it’s gobbled up by the wider fandom as unbiased interpretation of the text.

One example is pushing forth the notion that calling Arya pretty (Something that both her father and brother tell her she is in the books) is wrong, it’s sexualizing her, it’s okay for Arya to be ugly, she’s canonically not pretty because Cat/Sansa said so and no other interpretation is allowed etc. And then the same person who says all this celebrates Sansa’s beauty and ships her with a 27 year old man who falls in lust with Sansa.

Or when they say that the Arya-Lyanna (and Sansa/Lyanna parallels, because it’s always important to mention Sansa with respect to Lyanna even if said person claims to not care about Lyanna as a character) parallels are overrated and not important and they don’t care about Robert’s Rebellion characters but on their blogs there’s all these posts, fanarts and meta about Elia Martell - a Robert’s Rebellion character.

A so called book expert would note that GRRM has several characters outright compare Arya to Lyanna or mistake Lyanna for Arya in the books while Sansa has no such comparison. But no, the unbiased book expert thinks that the Arya-Lyanna and Sansa-Lyanna parallels are equivalent and are both overrated.That post just annoyed me excessively into writing this long ass rant post.

Why are these neutral, unbiased folks so interested in stripping away from Arya’s story?

In the books Jeyne Poole is masquerading as Arya Stark - but that story is only Jeyne’s, has nothing to do with Arya or Arya’s importance to the North.

Arya is a strong warg, Nymeria and her wolf pack are a ‘Chekov’s wolf pack’ that GRRM has hung on the wall - Our expert opinion is that Direwolves are not all that important in the grand scheme of things.

Arya is pretty - why needlessly call Arya pretty, it adds nothing to Arya’s story and is all about sexualizing a child.

Arya-Lyanna parallels - why do we need these parallels, Arya is distinct and interesting without them.

These aspects are all important parts of the character’s story. There are so many very well written essays exploring these concepts with respect to Arya’s journey of self discovery in the books, the narrative significance of her parallels to Lyanna, her bond with Nymeria and her warging talents. For those who are interested, here are two bloggers who actually like Arya and have written about her character and character arc.

https://donewithwoodenteeth.tumblr.com/meta-masterlist

https://ashotofjac.tumblr.com/tagged/arya-stark

Some of these same people will rush to condemn any reading of the books that does not have Sansa wielding power at the end as being ‘Sansa hate’. But they will have no issues to undermine and devalue Arya’s actual book story, the relationships she has, the parallels she has, the skillsets she has, her appearance, her importance to the current story happening in the North.

There is a whole ass plot currently in the books of Northerners rallying for Arya Stark and preparing for battle against the Boltons for Arya Stark. But that’s not important because it’s actually Jeyne Poole and Arya’s story is about sailing off west of westeros. But hey, Sansa will definitely go North and hold power and that’s like 100% happening because we are the unbiased book experts and we say it is so.

Or when all else fails - Arya is a Mary Sue, she’s a fantasy character, she’s a ‘strong female character’ because she fights with a sword, people like her because she’s a tomboy who fights. Sansa is realistic, Sansa is complex - but here are all the essays that basically transfer Arya’s complexity and story to Sansa - because it fits more with their fave, because these aspects would fit better with the traditionally feminine character even though they never tire of talking about how GRRM is deconstructing tropes. Because the trope deconstruction is only applied to Arya, Jon and Dany. Never Sansa.

And honestly, why are these people reading a high fantasy series if they hate fantasy and fantasy characters so much? We love Sansa because she’s so non-magical! Then go read non-fiction books. They also twist Jon, Arya and Dany into ‘fantasy’ characters - despite these characters going through some very real and human experiences. What’s fantasy about Arya’s experiences in war torn Westeros, Jon dealing with bigotry at the wall, Dany trying to rebuild Meereen, while dealing with famine, disease and insurgency?

Or how Jon and Dany getting any kind of happy ending or becoming rulers would be so boring, sweet, predictable, conforming to tropes, a happy ending etc. But Sansa getting love, romance, going home, becoming the Stark in Winterfell, getting her fairy tale ending - that’s totally what GRRM is going to do! No trope deconstruction there! In may ways, Benioff and Weiss’ ending is not all that surprising - Mad Queen Dany, Jon remaining a bastard with the freefolk, Sansa having power as a leader - are all popular theories among bnfs in the fandom. D&D wanting to wind up the show quickly with easily found fan theories is not that much of a stretch.

ASoIaF reddit is equally frustrating. Instead of Sansa stan bnfs on tumblr who pretend to like Arya and Dany while subtly undermining their story and importance, on Asoiaf reddit it’s Stannis stans who dislike Jon and Dany because these characters present a challenge to Stannis. The mere suggestion that Jon may play a role in the battle against Ramsay sends them into frothing at the mouth rage. They hate Jon, Jon is a Gary Sue because he dared advice Stannis - the greatest general ever - on Northern military strategy. Never mind that Jon grew up in the North and learned from Ned, how dare Jon Snow know more than Stannis! Unacceptable!

And I love Stannis Baratheon. I want Stannis to crush and defeat the Boltons. But unlike reddit dudebros, I can see that he is a secondary character, a tragic character who is most probably going to perish and Jon takes over because Jon Snow is a central protagonist in the story.

I feel it’s the same with Sansa. IMO, GRRM clearly doesn’t see Sansa in the same way as he does Arya, Jon, Dany, Tyrion and Bran. Whenever he is asked questions about the books, book plots, long term arcs, endings, age gaps etc it’s these characters he often brings up and references. It’s these characters who are important to him.

And that’s why there’s a lot of undermining and undervaluing of these character’s and their stories, them being described as fantasy characters, tropes, Mary Sues and Gary Sues, ableist rhetoric about Tyrion and Bran to undermine them.

I am damned certain that if it was Sansa who had all the parallels to Lyanna, or if she was the warg, or Jeyne Poole was impersonating her, this would all be ‘VERY IMPORTANT’ and on all the gifsets and essays. But she isn’t. So fandom bnfs are reduced to talking about how these aspects are not all that important anyway.

It’s like how this quote - ‘You may be as different as the sun and the moon, but the same blood flows through both your hearts’ turns up on gifsets every other day on the Arya tag but this quote - ‘Sansa could never understand how two sisters, born only two years apart, could be so different. It would have been easier of Arya had been a bastard, like her half brother Jon. And Jon’s mother had been common, or so people whispered’ very rarely does and will not get reblogged when it does.

Or when Sansa sees Joffrey trying to kill Arya and sides with Joffrey or when Sansa throws Arya under the bus and tells the Lannisters that it’s Arya who is the traitor - just sisters being sisters y’all!

It’s all about maintaining a certain narrative about Sansa - and when others point out her actual relationship with Arya in the books, we are accused of hating and wanting Sansa dead and how we should be criticizing Tywin and the Mountain instead. This is nonsensical whataboutism and ignores that people talk about these aspects of the books because sometimes bullying, getting mocked for one’s appearance, abuse and neglect from parental figures etc. can resonate with certain readers unlike getting one’s head smashed in by Frankenstein.

At the end of the day, I wish these people would be honest about the characters they like and relate to. We are all biased. That’s why our opinions and interpretations are subjective. There’s nothing wrong in saying, hey, I like Sansa more than Arya or Dany, I relate to her character more.

I relate to Jon Snow a lot, I see things from his POV, I would disagree with the characters who disagree with Jon, I enjoy his story at the Wall and the North. My interpretations of the text are therefore colored by my bias towards Jon.

For others, it’s Dany or Sansa or Arya or Tyrion or Jaime. And that’s okay because these are fictional characters and liking one more than the other is not going to earn anyone woke points and lead to women’s rights.

And finally, there’s nothing edgy or cool about disparaging the central protagonists of a high fantasy series as being fantasy characters - go read other books if one is not into fantasy.

#rant post

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reirubi · 2 years

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how would you write a female rival?

(this got a little long so I'm gonna have this under a read more thing)

so just as a disclaimer i'm not the greatest writer, but I would say in the context of ygo have her get a good amount of duel time at the very least (and win a high portion of those duels). i mean, that should probably be standard for a rival, male or female, but i still feel like it's important to mention just because it seems like more female characters in ygo than not seem to either not duel as much as other characters, or lose more than win. granted, i've really only seen DM and GX at this point, so i don't know too much or remember too much about the other ygo female characters and their win/loss ratios and whatnot, but yeah. if she's a rival, she's gonna have to be a pretty darned good duelist no? lol second is i'd just have her have a solid personal goal, something she's working towards and something that gives her the drive to be a great duelist. so that in turn would give her the reasoning (for lack of a better word) to be a rival to the protagonist. like i guess everything that goes into writing a good, solid character, put into the character here. give her struggles, give her high moments, low moments, moments where she has to make a big decision that may affect her life or how she duels or approaches dueling, and perhaps even have to work in tandem with the protagonist to do things. or get the protagonist out of a bind in some way. things to prove that she can hold her own, you know? i mean, i really think of asuka/alexis from GX in these scenarios because like she seemed to have a good amount of potential in the beginning but then later on we see her constantly calling for judai/jaden when she's in a tough spot (the scene in particular i'm thinking of is when she gets trapped in that hole that fills up with water when they're looking for Professor Cobra/Viper in s3). and not to single her out because other characters did this with judai/jaden, too, not just her, but in the context of this i just wanted to mention that. this is getting kind of long lol so i'll wrap it up here, but yeah. generally have her duel a good amount, win a good portion of said duels to establish her as a good rival, give her a motive and purpose that's her own, be capable of handling tough duels/situations, etc etc.

#anonymous #asks

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glitxhwayventeen · 3 years

Text

A Different Kind Of Love…

Wonwoo: Chapter 3 (Save Your Tears)

Characters: Wonwoo x female reader

Genre/Warnings: multi-member au (different scenarios), werewolf au, fantasy, angst, fluff, cheating (again, sort of), FOOD mentions, Mood Swings. Any others will be put as warnings when future chapters are thought up/written.

Author’s Note: Here it is friends! A chapter with almost complete fluff. Who would’ve thunk huh? Anyways I hope you guys like the chapter. I had quite a bit of fun writing it for some reason…

Please remember that all of these chapters and the content within them are a work of fiction! They’re just for fun/entertainment!

Bold= Dialogue Italics= Thoughts

Mostly domestic ☁️ & barely any 🥀

A Different Kind Of Love… Master List

Chapter 3: Save Your Tears

It had been exactly three months since you had been marked by Wonwoo and finally completely integrated yourself into your new pack. You hadn’t seen or heard from Song since that night, but you still felt VERY uneasy about the whole situation. People didn’t just get together the way you and your mate did and get a sweet happy little ending.

Wonwoo and you were doing great personally though. You now slept in the same room, ‘slept’ together, and just all around loved each other. You were starting to have a hard time remembering what life was like before you had gotten attacked by that angry mob now that you were with him. He made time stop and fast forward all at once. Everything seemed to go on forever and yet so quickly when you were with him. And you loved every single second of it. Even if you had a hard time showing him that sometimes.

You were downstairs in the kitchen making breakfast for all the boys, someone had to. They literally could not seem to take care of themselves even if they were grown ass men. So you kind of took on the part of den mother to them, you were the only responsible girl they had around after all. None of the Alphas had mates yet, in fact, no one older than Jihoon had found theirs yet. It was only the younger ones. And while their mates were great, they just very much acted like their wolf counter parts, which meant fun all day everyday without a second thought. So that left you being one of the few, other than Seungcheol and Joshua, who knew when enough shenanigans was enough. You didn’t mind, you liked having a big family again.

Many of the boys reminded you of your brothers. Especially Mingyu, who ate and played just as much and as rough as they did. It caused the both of you to become very close, even to the point where he felt like one of your biological brothers, he reminded you a lot of Mako. And of course, Wonwoo was absolutely delighted that the member he considered his best friend and his mate got along so much. He trusted Mingyu around you more than anyone else, so much so that he refused to even let you leave the house without either Gyu or himself by your side.

You had been having your nightmares again which was relatively normal for you. However, Wonwoo had started having them himself, which as a seer was very much not normal or good in meaning in anyway. He wouldn’t tell you what they were about, he always said you didn’t need to worry or be bothered with them as there was nothing to mention. But the way he clung to you, and the way he forced Mingyu to stay with you when he couldn’t, started having you think that maybe things weren’t as alright as they seemed…

You still just brushed it off, trying your best to just enjoy your little honeymoon bliss with your mate and continued to flip pancakes. Everything would work out. That’s what your voices said, so that’s what you believed. Soon enough, your mate had woken up to an empty bed and marched his way downstairs with a pout adorned on his face.

“(Y/N), why are you downstairs stirring batter instead of upstairs snoring in my arms?” He let out in an annoyed huff as he came to stand beside you, watching your actions with playfully narrowed eyes.

“Because Wonu, 1.) everyone will need breakfast soon and I hate that Seungcheol’s always left to be the one to do it and 2.) you take forever and I hate waiting for you to wake up. And HEY I do NOT snore!” You ranted, smacking his toned chest with your free hand in the process, the other firmly gripped onto your whisk as you made more mix for more pancakes.

You had gotten comfortable with him to the point of joking. Which not only made you proud, but made Wonwoo’s heart soar. He was glad he could coax you out of your shell a bit.

“Yeah yeah sure. And Soonyoung isn’t a little sexual deviant.” He chuckled and kissed the top of your rat’s nest covered head.

“Hey! I heard that!” Soonyoung shouted from his room in the higher portion of the house.

“Yeah I know.” Wonwoo smiled, dipping his finger in the batter you had just added some strawberry syrup to to add more flavor and plopping it directly into his mouth.

“Whatever that weird stuff is is good. But don’t think I’m still not upset that my mate left the bed without me this morning.” He assessed, sitting himself down on the counter next to you while you started pouring batter onto your skillet.

“Well get over it my love. It’s not the first time it’s happened and we both know with the way you sleep, it’s not gonna be the last. And my pancakes are not weird! They are delicious.” You declared, flipping a newly heated pancake over so it’s other side would begin to cook.

That’s something he had come to realize about you: you were always very prideful of being able to do household things well. And certain things like your hair for that matter. You always had high personal standards, though you only seemed to hold yourself to them as you didn’t care if anyone else lived up to them, just you. He chalked it up to your tribe’s old family centered traditions. He thought it was cute, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t tease you a bit about it.

Wonwoo smirked and bit his lip at the gratification you showed in your cooking, “They are. They’re still weird as shit though. Who puts the syrup INTO the batter?”

“I do. It makes them taste better” You insisted before you put the finished pancake with the rest of the cooked stack you had managed to create before your mate came to bother you.

“You know maybe you just don’t know how to cook.” You pointed at him with your spatula in a teasing manner.

“Maybe not” He shrugged, ducking his form down a bit to get closer to you, “But I DO know that when you’re done cooking them, you’re just gonna eat them plain like a freak.”

Just as he finished his sentence, half a dozen wolves made their way into the kitchen. You hadn’t even realized anyone other than Soonyoung was really even up yet do to you focusing all your senses and attention on your mate. That had taken you a lot of practice as, in the wilderness, you had to pay attention to everything and everyone around you.

“Mmm smells good (Y/N), what’s cooking?” Seungkwan questioned as he fought Soonyoung for a seat that was positioned closer to the food.

“Pancakes. I made loads of them” You stated, looking towards the two bickering werewolves before you and turned the stovetop off.

“And it is NOT freaky to eat them without syrup. Lots of people do it. Plus, the extra syrup’s so sugary it’s been making me feel sick lately so I would rather just eat it without to avoid it.” You spoke to Wonwoo, who had finally brought himself down from the counter and sat himself down on a chair to grab food with the other boys.

He just laughed in response to your stubbornness and pulled you to sit on his lap with a kiss to your cheek, “Whatever you say baby. I still think it’s weird to eat a plain pancake.”

It had taken you quite a while to warm up to this kind of PDA. When you first came to them, something like that would have you wiggle your way to sit alone and have to hide your burning cheeks. You’d really come a long way. Well, at least with Wonu

“Oh yeah no that’s suuuuper weird (Y/N). You may be a sociopath.” Jeonghan chuckled as he plopped another large bite of a pancake into his mouth, smiling.

“Yeah that’s weird as shit. Who the hell eats a plain pancake?” Soonyoung snickered, shoveling a whole syrup filled circle into his mouth.

“Look, what do any of you know? Most of you had never even eaten a pancake before I came around because Koreans don’t typically eat them for breakfast. So shut up!” You spit out, your feelings starting to get hurt at the constant teasing of the others.

“Who’s the weirdo eating plain pancakes?” Joshua, the American, asked from the stairs as he slowly made his was down towards the rest of the pack to eat.

“Well the Westerner thinks it’s weird so…” Chan said with a shrug and a shit eating grin.

The boys all busted out laughing, some so hard they had to hold their sides. Wonwoo started to choke a laugh back into your shoulder as you sat there and folded your arms over your chest.

“You guys suck. I try and be NICE to you and I get laughed at for my eating habits. I don’t want to have to sit here for this” You huffed, getting up from your mate’s lap and walking upstairs to your shared bedroom, closing the door a bit louder than you probably should’ve when so many people were still sleeping.

“Damn, what crawled up her ass?” Hansol, who you had stomped past on the way to your room said, finally getting himself situated in the kitchen.

Wonwoo let out a frustrated sigh before he stood up from his place, grabbing a plate of pancakes in the process. He was still trying to figure out when his teasing was too much for you. And he probably would’ve been fine had the others not decided to join in. You liked them, you did, but you weren’t as comfortable around them just yet. Them taunting you probably really upset you and he was just the dumbass who let them continue to do it.

“Me. I’m an idiot. I’ll go talk to her and see if I can get her to come back down.” He said as he begrudgingly made his way to the stairs, slightly kicking himself internally for upsetting you over something so little and stupid.

Once he made it to your bedroom door, he tried to turn the handle, only to realize it was locked.

“(Y/N)? Baby? Can you please open the door?” He whined out, not realizing he had upset you to the point of you wanting even HIM to leave you alone.

You always wanted him around you. Even when you first came to the pack, you still would rather be near him. Even when he was with Song, you still liked having him close by. Even when you were angry at him, you’d rather be angry at him with his arms wrapped around you than be angry at him alone somewhere. You never locked the door. His inner wolf groaned at the thought.

“No.” You bluntly spit out, wanting him as far away from you as possible and trying to suppress a stomach growl all in one go.

“I brought pancakes…” Wonwoo all but sung out, having heard your angry stomach and knowing damn well you would give into him if he had food.

After hearing a small groan from the other side of the barrier, he heard a little click of metal before the door swung open. In front of him was a very angry looking you, your cheeks were stained with tears and it caused a small whimper to emit from his chest. He had caused you to cry and it crushed him.

You had your hand out in expectancy as he had promised sustenance in exchange for entry. He dutifully handed you the plate and closed the door behind him. He watched as you scarfed down a full pancake in one go. Damn, you were more hungry than he thought.

“What do you want?” You sniffled at him once you had cleared your airway of food.

You sat the plate down on the nightstand before you stood and turned your attention back to your mate, grabbing another pancake and taking small bites in the process. You were never really this hungry or ate this much, but when you got sad lately, you just felt like eating. Probably not the best habit, but you weren’t that good with your feelings, you always just followed your instincts instead. They always kept you alive, and right now they were telling you to eat, so you ate.

“I wanted to apologize baby. I didn’t mean to upset you. It really was just a joke. I didn’t mean to make you cry. You’re not weird. Plain pancakes are fine. I should’ve just kept my big mouth shut.” He groveled, wrapping his arms around your small frame.

“Yes. Yes, you should’ve.” You agreed, finally swallowing the remains of your food and crossing your arms in annoyance, slightly leaning away from his touch to wipe your tears away.

You wanted him to touch you. God, you wanted him to touch you. But you didn’t want to give in so easily, because once you gave in, you knew he’d get all smug and then you’d want to punch his smug face. You wanted him to genuinely feel bad before you crashed your lips to his and ripped each other clothes off. It was only fair.

Wonwoo could smell the wetness already beginning to form between your legs. He suppressed a smirk threatening to appear on his face for getting you this worked up by literally doing almost nothing, but he knew being cocky wasn’t a good way to get you to stop being mad at him. So he stuck with his original plan: begging for forgiveness.

He easily lifted you up and secured your legs around his waist, holding onto your back so you wouldn’t lose your balance and fall, “I really am sorry. I won’t do it again baby. I promise.” He spoke as he leaned his forehead against yours with his best pout, tugging at your heartstrings.

You closed your eyes for a moment, trying to contain your excitement for what was about to come, but failed miserably and let a happy smile creep up on your lips. You locked your hands behind his head, giggled at him and bit your lip.

“You’re forgiven. This time. BUT you have to make it up to me.” You decided, eyes looking up for a moment in thought to tease him. He slowly started moving towards the bed that was in the center of the room before he spoke up.

“And how would you like me to make it up to you baby?” He said as he began kissing your neck softly, trailing around your mate mark with a grin plastered on his face.

“Well for starters, you can fuck me senseless until I forget what I was even mad at you for to begin with.” You confirmed, tilting your head to the side to give him a bit more access to your exposed neck.

“With pleasure my love.” And with that, he fell to the bed with you in his arms, careful not to crush you in the process before he got to work on his promise.

(Updated 8/23)

#seventeen #seventeen angst #seventeen au #seventeen fanfic #seventeen fluff #seventeen smut #svt au #seventeen x reader #svt wonwoo #wonwoo #wonu x reader #seventeen wonu #svt wonu

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ghost0loxer · 3 years

Text

Imagine, a gender fluid teenager like myself has a favourite/feel-good film and that film is “Just One of the Guys,”from the mid 80s.

Picture this: theatre class, we watch “She’s The Man”, a dreamworks film from the 2000s. And yet, the social justice issues within the film are glaringly obvious to today’s society. Don’t get me wrong, it can be a funny film in a group setting - but then there are scenes that are just uncomfortable. Now, we discussed these themes in class, but I just can’t help but think about the film that came before it. Yes, StM (she’s the mans) is a modern day adaption of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” but I was thinking about the modern day adaption before StM, “Just One of the Guys” from the mid 80s.

I love this film. For multiple reasons, which I hope to discuss.

Number one, our main character. Terry Griffith is stubborn. If she thinks something is right, she won’t let anyone say no or get in her way. Now in some cases, this is great. It’s definitely a shift in the usual romantic comedy female lead (especially for the 80s). But it’s one of her biggest flaws. In the beginning, Terry doesn’t win a contest for a part-time job at the Sun Tribune. She believes her article was amazing, but she speaks with her English teacher and he gives it to her straight. “You don’t have what it takes to be a reporter.” Her article is boring; it’s about the nutritional value of the lunch menu in the school cafeteria, of course it’s boring. But the words her teacher tells her has her convinced it’s because she’s a woman. Thus, she leaves school for two weeks and transfers as a buy to another school who are holding the same competition. Once she gives her article, she is told almost the same thing, but this time, she’s given proper feedback to improve it. Of course, there was some irony with this scene between Terry and the teacher. “Just because you’re guy, doesn’t mean you can’t be sensitive or light.” Thing is, she doesn’t give up, she strives to fix it and finds a new angle. I love her determination, I love the way she doesn’t let others push her around. Furthermore, her transition to a man. In StM, Viola as a guy is made to be cringey and comedic, you watch and think, there’s no way a guy would do that. But Terry, having grown up with a younger brother and is actually smart, manages to nail the role. Sure, she has slip-ups, but she stays afloat and she’s not being over the top. She’s chill and convincing, yet you as the audience can tell she’s trying to appear masculine. Her lines are witty and she’s sharp. Someone has something to say, she’ll be able to backtrack and answer with a joke or sarcasm quickly. I like smart characters.

Another point, the way women are written in this film. A lot of women in this film are treated like shit, but it’s probably a realistic depiction of the 80s. Everyone is talking about dating and sex, it seems to be the only topic the women in this film speak about, unless they are Terry. Terry seems to be the only character in this film whose main goal is not romance or sex. She strives to be a reporter, she wants to prove herself, and she rejects the advances upon her frequently. Whether it’s the boys asking her on dates in halls, or her own boyfriend attempting to seduce her when her parents aren’t home, she doesn’t put them above herself, yet she still lets them down easily, unless they become more pushy (case in point, her boyfriend, Kevin, in the beginning). She can stand up for herself, but she’s not the only one. Her best friend, Denise is one of the many women looking for love, nevertheless, she holds standards. I will admit, I didn’t like Denise’s acting in the beginning; she’s not a great character, but even she manages to reject men’s advances constantly. She’s not afraid to say it bluntly and she expresses her true emotions when certain guys try to ask her out. She tells it to them straight, and I respect her for that (despite her lack of empathy for some). Terry’s brother is constantly hitting on Denise, but she stands her ground. She doesn’t hit him or curse him out, she spins words around him and always lead back to the key word “no.”

This is my third, and maybe final point, (because I’m not great at writing but I’m starting to get tired) the way they handle sexual orientation. It seems if you’re going to make a film about a cross-dressing woman who falls in love with a man, you have to discuss sexuality and this film is not afraid to. That was my biggest beef with StM, when Viola confessed her love to Duke, the made it blatantly clear that it was “weird” and “unusual”; the editing and music cuts. It was done for comedic purposes, but in that moment, it just made me cringe. Even when the principal marched onto the field during the big match to expose Sebastian as “the woman he was all along,” he used a big megaphone and said to the whole crowd this man is in fact a girl. If it were to happen in the real world, and this character was a trans male, that would be traumatizing and so so insensitive. I couldn’t help thinking the way they handled the reveal in StM was poor and shitty.

But with JOotG (just one of the guys)? It’s done respectfully. Throughout the film, Buddy, Terry’s younger, sex-obsessed brother (I have thoughts on this character), often refers to Terry as a transvestite or sexually confused. They make references about her dating other women and jokes. It’s not treated like taboo, but just something people normally talk about, and as a questioning kid when I first watched the film, I really needed that. Although it was used for jokes, the fact that it wasn’t treated like a silent topic made me think more of it and discover who I was; it was media like this that made me accept myself.

Even with the reveal. Kevin, Terry’s boyfriend (or ex boyfriend by the end), stomps up to Terry after she’s wrestled with the school bully and was dumped into the waves at prom. Rick, who’s been Terry’s friend (and is the male lead) throughout her time at his high school, immediately questions who Kevin is and he responds with a harsh and sure “Terry’s boyfriend.” Of course, that doesn’t expose Terry as female, but makes Rick assume she’s a homosexual. But instead of calling her weird or replying negatively, he answers Kevin’s question calmly and says he’s just a friend. There is no prejudice, no disgust, Rick is shocked, but that’s expected. Furthermore, this reveal not only does not alienate homosexuality, it puts the center of focus on the main characters rather than have the whole audience/prom witness this exchange. Sure, the rest of the school is watching but the camera never pans over to them, and even then, Terry drags Rick away from the crowds to a secluded area to explain more.

Even once they’re secluded, Rick doesn’t yell at her or is homophobic. He just says “I understand, you’re gay.” As we know, Terry is not in fact gay and she reveals this to him in a similar fashion as StM, at least it’s not flashing a whole crowd. But the thing that hits me, is the fact that it’s not used as a joke or for comedy. Throughout the film, they’ve mentioned homosexuality and being transgender, but it was used as a light-hearted joke (nothing insulting or derogatory). In this moment, it’s not a joke, and it’s the bare minimum for a emotional scene like this, but it always hits me.

Of course, Rick gets justifiably mad that he’s been deceived and he storms off. Terry’s flaw catches up to her here, as she kisses him in front of the prom guests, stubborn to make him realize how much she cares. ( I didn’t agree with this action to be frank, I cringed ). The crowd gasps and it’s the usual reaction to a homosexual kiss and Rick just pulls back, says “It’s alright everyone, he’s got tits,” and leaves with Deborah.

In true romantic comedy fashion, life moves on. Terry gets the job at the Sun-Tribune after writing her article about posing as a guy and everyone who was longing for love in the beginning has found it, except Terry. The ending, however, is Rick coming back for her after a couple (days? Weeks? Idk all I know is it’s summer by the time he comes back, how much space between prom and summer?) and they kiss, go on a date and all is good.

Now after writing this long ass post, I’ve come to realize the main reason I like this film. Sure, Terry is a good character (not morally sometimes, but she’s interesting to watch), the way women are presented also is good, but my main source of affection for this film (in comparison to StM) is the way they handle the switching of genders. I’m gender fluid, I don’t always like being a woman or a man, I switch almost daily and half the time can’t decide if I want to grow out my hair or cut it. Seeing Terry, originally a woman, manage to convince people she was a guy made me wish I could do it too. It made me realize, I don’t always like being a woman. I want to be a guy sometimes, and I want that to be accepted. It was media like this, like Ouran High School Host Club, like Bare: A Pop Opera, that made me understand my gender and sexuality. (Even media that didn’t have any relation to LGBTQ+ helped).

When I first heard of “She’s the Man”, I had hoped it would be like these pieces of media. And it wasn’t. It was an alright film, but made me feel disappointed and somewhat let down. And that’s why I just prefer Just One of the Guys. Maybe it wouldn’t float in today’s political climate, maybe I’m wrong for seeing these points as reasons it’s one of my favorites, but its still better than StM and is one of my favourite films.

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amor-immortalem · 2 years

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Body Image Issues part 1

A/N: I’m still in the headspace for angst but I also wanted to do something with the kids again without actually continuing the next-gen fic because its not all that popular. Also I wanted to put more emphasis on Zulima and Max since most of my next-gen stuff is mostly twins centric without it meaning to become so…

So while this is covering over Azalea’s insecurities, she’s actually closer to a secondary character in this

Also imo Asmo would be the king of body positivity. You can’t change my mind

Zulima is the first to notice her cousin’s odd behaviour. She saw it first in the way Azalea stops at store mirrors and just stares at her reflection, often zoning out for a bit before carrying on. Second in the way she would inspect her body in the morning often mumbling under her breath about how horrible she looked. Third in the way she would hold in pretty snow-white hair in between her fingers at varying lengths almost like she was debating cutting it all off or when she would just run her fingers over the eyelid that had been sewn shit after she lost her eye.

Fourth in the way she would secretly side-eye Zulima’s, Max’s, or even any of their female classmates’ bustier chests while they were changing for P.E. Lastly, the silver-haired half-demon noticed in the way she started showering in her own room as opposed to her usual habit of bathing with her cousin and girlfriend. Why was she so suddenly shy? Zulima could understand why that could be now it wasn’t just the two of them taking baths together but even after Max joined them, it had never been an issue before…

Was her cousin embarrassed of her body? Zulima didn’t understand why. Their family had always preached body positivity- that all bodies were beautiful no matter what, so what was the big deal all of a sudden?

As she mulls the thought over in her head, Zulima can’t think of an answer so she decided to whip out her D.D.D. and give one of her fathers a ring. As she waits for her parent to pick up, the teen fiddles with a piece of her hair.

“Hello?” Asmo picks up, having just put down their latest sketch for a new outfit.

“Hey, Daddy,” she greets, “I know you’re probably busy designing your new line but can we talk?”

“Of course, sweet pea, what do you want to talk about?” The Avatar of Lust chirps. “You sound worried. Is everything alright at the dorm?”

“Everything’s alright,” Zulima admits, “but I’m worried about Azalea. She’s been acting… weird lately…”

“Define weird, Darling.”

“Well, I’ve just been noticing some things is all. Like when we’re out and about, just the two of us, whenever she catches a look at herself in the window, she kind of just stops and stares. Or I’ve come into her room sometimes when dinner’s ready to get her and I catch her just standing in front of that full body mirror in her closet talking to herself about her appearance. She even stopped taking baths with me and Max like she used to. I thought maybe it might be weird for her since they’re dating now but even when I invited her for a bath when it was just the two of us when Max was up in the human world with Dad and Auntie to soak up some sunlight, she refused- like you used to bathe us together when we were little before everyone graduated from RAD and we all went our separate ways and we even used to bathe together after we first moved back in so it’s not like she hasn’t seen me naked before. I just- I don’t know. I think she might have body image issues and I don’t really know how to approach the situation where she won’t feel like she needs to deny all of it… Is there any advice you can think to give me?”

“Hmmm, well you are right. It definitely sounds like she’s dealing with insecurities about her body,” they start, “You’re just going to have to bite the bullet and talk to her about it. Be straight forward. It’s completely normal for young ladies your age to be worried about their bodies with how high media standards are set. As long as we don’t let it get to a point where she seems like she’s developing an eating disorder or she’s harming herself, she’ll lose them after enough reassurance from you and Max.”

“Do you think so?” The future Avatar asks.

“I know so. You’re Auntie went threw the same thing a long time ago and as beautiful as I know I am, when I first fell, I experienced the same doubts about my own body- I’ll tell you what, if you two talk to her and it still doesn’t work, give me a call back and I’ll stop by and talk to her myself or I’ll give her mother a call and I know she’ll talk to her.”

“Okay,” the girl nods, “thanks, Daddy. I feel better now.”

“Any time, Dearie. Anything else on your pretty little mind?”

“No, I’m all set. Love you lots!”

“Love you too, my little scorpling. See you in a couple of days,” The strawberry-blonde-haired demon gave an over exaggerated ’Muah’ as their daughter responded in kind as they both hang up.

Zulima stands from her bed and marches herself down the hall. She knew her cousin would still be out for a few hours helping at that dagashi shop she liked so much so now seemed like the perfect opportunity to work up a game plan with Max.

*******************

“Hey….” The half-demon plops herself down on Max’s bed. “So we have a problem with your girlfriend.”

“Is it about the whole bath thing,” Max asks as she looks up from her homework. “You know, if she’s uncomfortable with it, it’s wrong to force her to do it.”

“I mean it’s kind of about that but also something bigger,” the silver-haired teen nods, “and of course! You know how Daddy is. They constantly preach about the importance of consent. Anyway, I think ‘Zay’s having some insecurities about her body…”

“You too? I thought I was the only one… the only reason I haven’t brought it up yet is because I didn’t know what to say to make her feel better about herself…”

“I just talked to Daddy about it because I’ve been feeling the same way. They say it’s best to just rip the band-aid off and be straight forward about it.”

“Alright… when should we do it? After she gets home tonight?”

“Maybe? Let’s gauge how she’s feeling tonight, if she’s in a good mood we’ll talk to her if not we’ll wait for later.”

“Sounds like a good idea.”

*******************

Hours later. Azalea and her twin brother come walking through the door.

“Man, yer lucky Mum and Dad let ya come back so soon…” The older twin says as she shoulders one of his bags.

“You could say that again,” Aurelius sighs, kicking the door shut. “How’ve you guys been doing lately? Zulima cook anything?”

“Only when I’m not home for dinner. Max likes her cooking for whatever reason…”

“Well she was under Uncle Solomon’s care for a bit before coming here so I guess it must be an acquired taste.”

Azalea only nods as they head up to her brother’s room the set his stuff down. “Did ya really have ta lug all this stuff over though? Feels like ya lugged yer whole damn wardrobe over here, I mean it’s not like we don’t ever go back home…”

“Yeah I know but like… I like options.” The white-and-black haired teen shrugged. “Next weekend, I’m taking home the clothes I have here that I don’t wear and keeping them there. Most of them are summer clothes anyway since I got booted back home at the very end of summer… time for a wardrobe change.”

“Can’t really argue with ya there. That’s why I always keep a mix of both with me here. We should watch a movie later- the four of us…”

“That was out of no where. I swear your brain must be wired differently or something…”

As the twins continued their conversation, both Max and Zulima took notice of their return.

“Aurelius! You’re back!” The silver-haired girl cheers, “I thought your parents would never let you come back.” She ran over to hug him.

“They said as long as my behaviour was good and ‘Zalea and I didn’t pick anymore fights with each other I could move back in.”

The pair of girls nod at that.

“Hey, Sunshine, can I talk with you for a moment in private?”

“What about…? Am I in trouble?” Azalea tilts her head slightly out of confusion.

“Nothing bad,” Max reassures her, “I just think we should really talk about this in private.”

“O…kay?”

She follows after Max and Aurelius just passes Zulima a concerned look.

“Trouble in paradise?” He asks once they’re gone.

“Not exactly…” she says before leaning over and whispering an explanation in his ear.

“Ah- I see….”

*******************

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me swd #obey me! shall we date?#obey me angst #obey me next gen #obey me asmodeus #obey me asmo #om! asmo #om! asmodeus #obey me oc #zulima #max #azalea #aurelius

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