#I guess its the whole... Many if not most people can see an attractive person and get turned on and i just uh... Cang relate at all

[mrfoox]

Everytime I forget how most people have specific preferences in looks they find hot and im like oh...

[sukunasweetheart]

//just me venting about sukuna haters sorry

Not me seeing so much discourse about whether sukuna is a well written villain or not... he essentially has no backstory shown as of yet and we barely know anything about him but he is still one of the most naturally interesting and compelling characters in the whole damn series bro 💀 buckle up bc its about to get lengthy (im just glazing sukuna in this post ngl so 🧎‍♀️)

so many whiny ass mfs are weeping about how he "doesn't have any personal goals or a proper reason to be a villain" when that is the whole point???? He lives on his own desires and satisfactions and does whatever he wants to, because he is capable enough to do that. Mfs want "real villains" but cant even handle sukuna 💀 ive seen too many shit ass threads and poorly articulated "critiques" on his character that dont make any valid points. If you can't even separate your personal dislike of a character from your analysis of their writing, dont even bother posting that shit please 😭😭😭 the fact that we haven't even gotten any information about his background yet and people are jumping the gun about him being "poorly written" is already saying a lot 🤨

The fact that yall are so bitter and angry about him that you can write 500+ words about how oh-so-terrible of a villain he is kinda proves that he's doing his job well tbh 💁‍♀️

What also bothers me to no END is how people compare him with villains of other series, who had compelling sob stories that made people empathise with them. Thats nice and all but why should all villains have grand ideals and be subject to feelings of empathy/sympathy from their audience?

Part of what makes sukuna so interesting is how he's not tied down by morals, rules or long term goals in life. He doesn't limit himself, which is what makes him an unpredictable character. He's completely left behind what it means to be human in many ways, and he's clearly not a character written to be empathised with. He is very purposefully inhumane and distant from everyone else, and that feeling transcends from within the series to real life as well. There is a clear lack of understanding bc most of us can't comprehend what its like to just live without being goal-oriented.

Sukuna is a true anomaly in the sense that he doesnt really fit in any kind of box within the series. He's born from man, but its clear that he separates himself from humans (and nobody else considers him human, either). He's not a cursed spirit. He hovers between life and death. The narrator referred to him as the honoured one, whilst angel referred to him as the disgraced one.

These little contradictions in his character make him all the more complicated and interesting to think about. And even recently, he's been shown to waver a little bit momentarily in the manga, questioning his own irritation at yuuji. He's capable of self reflection, and though sukuna does whatever he wants for the most part, he doesn't blindly go into things without some thought first, he's a constant thinker and analyser, and an intelligent one at that.

And honestly, he is always such a joy to watch and read, his personality is so flavourful, and the way he carries himself is very attractive. He's not afraid to get messy or of getting hurt, theres so much chaos in the way he does things and yet he also has a huge element of gracefulness to him, which shines through the poetic way he speaks. Its undeniable that sukuna simply oozes charisma...

And this isnt talked about enough but this man is genuinely so effortlessly funny (in a kind of sinister way i guess?) Like yes he is an old ass man having real beef with one FIFTEEN YEAR OLD for very little reason, he accidentally healed yuujis arm and somehow expected him to be grateful for it despite how he literally ripped his heart out afterwards, then he proceeded to sit on him after kicking him down likeeee 😭 what kind of behaviour is this sir

His facial expressions at yorozus yapping 💀 THE WAY HE COMPARED YUUJIS FACE OF DESPAIR TO THE HARIMA STATUE 😭😭😭💀😭💀💀😭 omg that was so foul but i was fucking losing it ngl

How he randomly compared gojo to a fish and started talking abt his scales... thats a very unique and descriptive comparison, isnt it? Even in the recent leaks, he was 100% ready and squaring up to a literal child talking abt "youre starting to get annoying" LIKE HELPPP 😭 HE FR SAID "fuck them kids and fuck you too"

I saw someone saying that sukuna has no passion, like are we talking about the same character....? This man is a literal jujutsu NERD 💀💀 he truly recognises talented sorcerers and the only time hes seen to be having genuine fun is when hes fighting a mf... is that not passion? This is literally sukuna when it comes to jujutsu: 🤓

Anyway im done here now, im pretty sure i missed a lot of things i couldve talked about as well but ive done enough yapping

[mauesartetc]

While we're waiting for Millie's shine in later episodes, how would you develop Millie and how would you write her?

PFFF uhh I expect we'll be waiting indefinitely tbh. But I guess the first step would be to ask a lot of questions and figure out which pieces are missing from the puzzle. Here's a list of what's on my mind about Millie, in no particular order:

In "The Harvest Moon Festival", she hugged her dad upon seeing him, but not her mom. Was she closer to her dad growing up? Why?

What first attracted her to knives and axes, and who taught her to use them as weapons?

What was her favorite job on the farm growing up?

Who was her first love?

How did she meet Blitzo and Moxxie?

What occupations did she have before joining IMP?

Does she ever hang out with anyone other than her coworkers and her husband? What are her friends like? How did they meet?

Does she want to have kids someday?

What's her educational background? If she went to college, which subject/s did she major in?

What hobbies does she have outside of killing people?

Millie's aggressive, violent side is emblematic of Wrath ring culture, but does she have any traits that clash with it?

What's her favorite location in all of Hell, and why?

Standard job interview fare: Where does she see herself in five years?

Why doesn't she ever stand up to Blitzo when he berates her husband? (I mean, in a meta sense, we know why, but what's the reason inside the narrative?)

What does her extended family look like? Do they all live in Wrath, or are they spread out across other rings?

What does she love most about Moxxie?

What did she and Moxxie do on their first date?

What's her most prized possession?

Most of these questions are fairly surface-level, like the kind of thing you'd ask someone you just met at a party. But the thing is, we've barely been introduced to Millie through this entire series. It'd help if she spent an episode or two away from Moxxie so we can see her personality as an individual rather than part of a set. These writers seem to think true love = being attached at the hip, but that's not how strong relationships work. You need a balance of the partners spending time together and having time to themselves. If a relationship leaves no room for independence, it'll get stifling pretty damn quick.

Maybe at some point, Millie gets burnt out from work and decides she needs a solo vacation for her mental health. This would separate her from Moxxie and provide an opportunity to glimpse parts of her life that don't revolve around him and IMP, as well as delve into the fractured mental state of a character who's usually a pillar of strength. To co-opt and rephrase a meme real quick: Everyone asks "What can Millie do for me?", not "How is Millie doing?"

Ideally, the whole episode would focus on her, with no B- or C-plots. She could meet her friends for coffee, or maybe visit extended family members. Perhaps learn some things about herself she never knew before. This all sounds very low-key and lacking in spectacle for this show, but any plot can crackle with deft storytelling. It'd be preferable if the episode answered multiple questions (not too many, but multiple) about the character at its center.

But when all's said and done, it seems the most important question is: What does this character currently struggle with the most? What do they want, and what's preventing them from getting it?

One major problem Millie and the other IMP employees have is that they don't seem to want anything. There's not much driving their actions.

Blitzo presumably wants his business to succeed, but what does that look like to him? What specific goal is he trying to reach? The Goetia family has a bit more direction: Stolas wants a deeper emotional connection with Blitzo (God only knows why, but that's what's presented to us), Octavia obviously wants her parents to stop fighting (though we have no idea how she plans to achieve this), and Stella wants Stolas dead (though she didn't think the consequences through, somehow) but everyone else is a big ol' question mark.

Anyway, that's just a basic overview of how I'd approach it.

[pacifymebby]

i fucking love all ur peaky blinders writings you do them so well!! i was wondering if u could write one of about the peaky blinders n a reader that’s involved in a mafia, yk she has power, she’s strong, not intimidating by men, doesn’t hesitate to point a gun at someone’s head

Aw lovely thank u i am v happy u enjoy my work its so lovely to here!! Im so new to writing peaky boys stuff so its cool to see people enjoying it <3 <3

Hope you like these x some of them are long, i guess i got carried away haha

Tommy

🌿He can tell there's something different about you, something dangerous, a different kind of higher class, the second he sees you..

🌿And when he learns who you are - a mafia princess - his mind is set.

🌿He has to have you... Not just once, but for keeps.

🌿It wouldn't just be startegically a perfect move, ot would also bolster his ego. This is a man who wants the whole world and to wed mafia royalty... That would be a pretty big chunk of the world.

🌿But it would be scandalous in many ways... Hes a politician, a sitting MP... And its no secret the corruption, violence and murderous tendencies of your infamous family. There would be no feigning innocence anymore.

🌿If he's going to be with you he'll have to do it with his whole chest, openly admit to his own corruption and wrong doing, he'd have to be the bad guy in the open...

🌿 And he'd have to play his cards right, he couldn't be playing games with you... He's fairly certain playing games will end with one of your bullets in his brain.

🌿 You're already used to the finer things in life so his wining and dining and usual tactics won't work on you. "Is all this supposed to impress me Mr Shelby?"

🌿Your family probably have tigers roaming the villa grounds you grew up in. You probably grew up alongside wild animals...

🌿 And youre supposed to be impressed by a country estate and race horses...

🌿 Actually the things that really attract you to tommy are these:

🌿🌿He's troubled, he fought in a war, one which your family watched and ignored... You secretly don't believe that the men in your family, know what its really like to be a man, fighting to protect the family... Though they tell you that's what they're doing all the time.

🌿🌿His roots, theres somrthing mysterious about it, the fact that he talks to his horses, the fact you've heard theres a gypsy curse on his head. It's more interesting to you than anything you've heard back in New York

🌿🌿 The fact that there was a time in his life when he had nothing, he actually clawed his way out of poverty...you were born into your riches, you've never really had to work for anything in your life, so youre in awe of the things hes won for himself.

🌿🌿 You also love the way he takes whatever he wants from the world, just snatches it up regardless of whether he deserves it or not. Youre hoping thats what he'll do to you. Steal you away from your family. Claim you as his own.

🌿But you wont admit any of these things to him, you play the princess personality up for all its worth because you like the idea of being the one thing tommy shelby can't have

🌿Tommys brothers think hes daft for even trying... They've seen you, heard rumours about you, they think hes way out of his depth... But tommy is determined

🌿 And one day when you finally give into the charm youd been resisting, you become the most feared couple... The mafia are secretly scared of your gypsy husband, they dont trust that he wont put a curse on them... And tommys family are terrified of you, the unpredictable, spoilt princess who will not hesitate to shoot someone dead just for looking at her funny.

🌿He can't tame you though and it concerns him, you probably make more trouble than its worth... You don't have the manners of the english and you refuse to learn them. Not even Tommy can teach you.

🌿 Calls you princess to patronise you, enjoys talking down to you and trying to put you in your place even if it hardly ever works. Showers you with gifts, and when he realises how drawn to his gypsy roots you are, he starts showering you with gypsy gifts, little trinkets hes carved for you himself, jewels with fine tales behind them, mysterious histories which capture your imagination.

🌿He likes to take you out on horseback to the middle of nowhere, lie down with you under the shade of a tree or on the bank if a river and tell you as many stories as he can, either from his childhood or gypsy tales you tell little children. Its his only way of getting you to calm down or behave yourself, of getting you to stop putting on that "fearless and fearsome mafia wife" personality.

Alfie

🐻Can't imagine you'd get on very well at first... If he realised his attraction to you he'd be angry with himself for thinking that way about a "wop"

🐻 He'd definitely try to ignore it... Which would be difficult because every time you were in a room with him you'd be little miss provocative, trying to get under his skin.

🐻 Youre not sure if thats because youre so used to all men falling at your feet that youre actively pissed off that this man wont... Or if its because you can see that he is attracted to you, but isnt acting on it (which would piss you off even more than the former) OR (and this is unlikely right, you would never!) perhaps you find him attractive. This slightly mad, older man who behaves as close to any mafia man youve ever met only rougher, not so well groomed. Hes a little gruff, theres something a little dirty about him...

🐻 Also youre a mafia woman... Youve been spoilt rotten your whole life by your father and brothers but youve never really felt the love of any of them... Youve only ever been treated like a possession by them... Which is a sure fire recipe for DaddyIssues™️

🐻 This gruff and slightly insane older man then, might be the only person who could ever be everything you ever needed...

🐻 But that discovery probably pisses you off even more, so its likely that in the moment went you realise what you really want from him, you raise your gun to his head, make him look down the end of it.

🐻 He's probably the only one of the peaky men who isn't actually scared of you, not because he doesnt think youre unpredictable and dangerous, but because hes not scared of death, hes looked it in the eyes one too many times to be scared of a "little girl" with a gun.

🐻 "Alright alright so youve got yourself a gun and youre not afraid to use it... You've come in here... To my humble bakery what i built up from absolutely fuck all... And you're waving that thing in my face like its fuckin christmas day and you just plucked it out of Santas fuckin sack..." "Did you get it for Christmas y/n? Did santa make it for you in the North fucken Pole?"

🐻 "You can pretend to be a mad old man all you like Mr Solomons but I'm not scared of old men..."

🐻 "Ohh well, thats alright then, thats good very good actually, cause see somet you might not know about me right? Im not afraid of little girls... Yeah?"

🐻 The remark would shock you a little, not much but enough to make you hesitate, and in that second of hesitation he could disarm you. Not that you'll ever make the same mistake again.

🐻 But this time he disarms you and pushes you back down onto his desk, takes your chin between his thumb and index finger so that you have to look him in the eyes. He can see how angry you are but he isnt deterred because he has control now and he knows he won't get that opportunity again for awhile...

🐻 "Looks like your daddy didn't teach you how to properly handle your weapons... Wouldnt make that mistake me... No, i, would, not." "And anyway, right... Somethin else i wanna know yeah... What kind of father yeah, what kind of fuckin father sends his little girl to the arse end of Camden Town to deal with his fuckin problems?" "You want my advice little girl, if i were you I'd stay right here, with this here mad old man... Cause i reckon he would know how to take care of you properly..."

🐻 So you have a choice, give into the feelings and desires which have been plaguing you since you first met him, or spit in his face and tell him you'd rather die... And this is a man who just might offer you deal or death, thats how much he's his heart and mind set on you.

🐻 "Oh and Tommy, Tommy my old mate, did i tell you, just a little warning yeah, and i know you wouldnt ever think about crossing your dear old friend right but... If that thought ever does come flittering and fluttering into your whimsical gypsy boy brain... Just remember, ive got Mafia connections these days right... So i wouldnt if i were you... "

Arthur

🍂 Shits himself when he sees you pull a gun on a man in one of the Shelby bars in London.

🍂 Arthurs been sent to keep control of them and here you are, a fucking woman... With your gun raised to the eyes of one of his patrons.

🍂 When he steps in "alright alright is someone gonna tell me what the fuck is going on here?" and you answer him cold and simple "This english pig called me a very unpleasant slur and that... Mr Shelby, i won't tolerate..."

🍂 You shoot the man in the head right there in front of everyone. Screaming errupts and chaos and panic set in but you just stand there, strong arm still outstretched. Finger still on the trigger.

🍂 Arthur just gapes at you in shock, hes never seen a woman shoot someone, the fact that youre so glamourous looking too... From afar hed have mistaken you for one of the toffee nosed london elites who usually come to dance and drink in his bars because theyve heard they are dangerous and riddled with gangsters.

🍂 But now it seems, he recognises that accent of yours, turns out youre the gangster.

🍂 "Sorry about the mess Mr Shelby," you give him a quick smile and knock the body on the floor with your foot and turn to leave.

🍂 "Well, hang on a minute love hang on a minute you can't just..." "let me stop you there Mr Shelby..." hes not heard that slanted italian american accent on a woman before but he likes it, "i ain't your love... And i can actually... The evidence is soaking blood into your beautifully varnished floor..."

🍂 He gets into a lot of trouble with Tommy for letting you slip off unpunished, for letting the whole thing happen in the first place...but arthur doesnt see how he could have done anything different.

🍂"You weren't fuckin there Tommy, you didnt fuckin see her..."

🍂 He spends a lot of time tormented with daydreams of you, wants to see you again because hes got it bad for you... Even has a particularly steamy dream about fucking you whilst you hold your gun to his head.

🍂 So when you come back to his bar not a week later with a little white flag you made yourself, hes stunned and speechless and he doesnt know what to say. You say youve come to offer him a peace offering, just between you and him.

Its a little white flag and a little vile of white powder which is his on the condition that he shares it with you.

🍂 So you end up getting high together and fucking, and recreating that hot and heavy dream of his.

John

🌼 Deeply suspicious of you, doesn't trust the italians. You aren't pleasant to eachother to begin with at all.

🌼 You refuse to call eachother by name, hes a "pikey" you're a "wop" and thats that. You resent eachother.

🌼 Which is a shame because Tommy only introduced you before the wedding as an act of mercy to his little brother...

🌼 When you walk down the aisle dressed in white, veil covering your scowl John feels his heart freeze.

🌼 Of course he can't be too unhappy, you are fucking stunning... Your olive skin, your long dark hair, theres something almost virgin Mary about you, especially when youre all in white and pure...

🌼 And you would be lying if you tried to pretend you didnt find the gypsy boy to be good looking. His freckles are cute. He's strong, bulkier than any of those italian boys that have been sucking up to your father hoping for your hand all these years. John looks like a man who might be able to handle you

🌼 But hes still a pikey and youre still a wop and you refuse to say a word to him the whole day of your wedding. You fucking hate your father and you fucking hate tommy shelby

🌼 And in the end thats what draws you and John together. Mutual resentment for the men who forced you together.

🌼 Consumating the marriage is intense... When youre alone together youre both pretty much pretending you don't want it, spitting insults at eachother, hate in your eyes as he backs you up against the wall and you tell him youd sooner die than let a fucking pikey get his hands on you.

🌼 Pisses him off "That can be arranged love don't you fuckin worry," the two of you reaching for your guns at the same time. Challenging eachother, neither one of you backing down, eyes locked, fingers on triggers.

🌼Until something overwhelms you both at once and you can't resist anymore. When you come together its violent and explosive. John enjoys the thought hes tarnishing you, taking your purity, vandalising your virginal self... And you enjoy being fucked against the wall, your hands squeezing his throat, choking him.

🌼 After this the dust begins to settle on your hatred for one another... Youre more united against Tommy and your father than you are against eachother. But you like to keep up the pretence. Its like a fun game you have, pretending to hate eachother then having intense the most intense sex when youre alone. Youre always trying to push the boundaries, testing eachother.

🌼 You still affectionately refer to eachother by your respective slurs but see if anyone else ever tried it... If anyone ever called you a wop, john would put a bullet in them quicker than lightnight, and if anyone ever insulted him for his blood, youd be the one firing your gun.

🌼 John enjoys the way people fear you, he likes having a dangerous wife by his side.

🌼 You like having a dangerous man by your side, one who isn't so sleezy and american and preocupied with their looks... You think hes a real man.

Bonnie

🍀 Poor sweet innocent boy has no idea who you are when he first meets you... And thats partly your fault because you do lie to him.

🍀Youre actually sick of people being so scared of you, you dont think they are really scared of you, you think they are scared of your father... Which isnt fair... Its making it impossible to find a man and pretty soon youre certain your fathers going to arrange your marriage to some sleeze in another mafia family for the good of the lineage anyway

🍀 When you meet Bonnie Gold after one of his fights which Ada Shelby snuck you into, he has no idea about your family, but you know everything about his... And you see one thing in him...

🍀 Escape. You don't want to be a mafia princess anymore. Like Ada you want to shed your family name and be your own person.

🍀 So when you're introduced after the fight you beg him to take you away, to help you dissappear. And him being naive and you being very fucking pretty, he's more than happy to oblige.

🍀 After his fight the two of you disappear together for several weeks, hes no idea of the trouble hes getting himself into, and youre naively trying to pretend this can last forever

🍀You love the nomadic life style, the not knowing where you'll be tomorrow or a week from now, the knowing that nobody can find you, that no one you meet knows a single thing about you. And you like the simplicity too...

🍀Bonnie can tell that youre hiding something from him but he isnt sure what and he trusts that youll tell him eventually... For you to be friends with Ada Shelby, for you to have been so desperate to get away from London... He knows that you have a darkness inside you... But like i said he trusts you... And he's seen a soft and innocent side to you.

🍀Over the weeks you spend travelling together you grow closer and closer. At night you sleep under the stars, wrapped up together in his big coat with a blanket over you both. In the morning you awake with the birds and he teaches you to hunt and to cook wild rabbit. You fall for eachother slowly. When you share your first kiss you feel guilty, you almost cry and he can tell youre upset.

🍀 "Don't be sad little dove, i know you're keeping secrets, i don't mind... You can tell me all your secrets when you're ready,"

🍀 When you return he takes you to meet his father, to tell him you want to be married, that youre in love which makes Aberama laugh. He thinks it hilarious because he can tell that his son still has no idea who you are.

🍀"Well miss youve certainly caused a lot of trouble without trying haven't you..." it turns out your father didnt take kindly to your disappearence.. The italians have been threatening the whole country trying to find you...

🍀 Bonnie is surprised, but quietly pleased... Not just with himself for having a mafia princess fall in love with him, but also because hes in awe of your defiance, this trick youve played on everyone including him... He thought you were sweet and innocent but here you are, a mafia princess whos brought the whole underground crime scene in britain to a grinding halt.

🍀 "Do you hate me Bon? I lied to you... Could get you fuckin killed? I understand if you never want to..." "Don't finish that sentence little dove," him hushing you, hand holding your cheek, thumb to your lips, "Don't need to finish that sentence," kissing you softly is the only answer you need.

🍀The first time he sees you pull a gun on anyone the man in question is your own father. Hes come to bring you home but you wont go... Bonnie is there as a peaky boy, standing with Michael and Isaiah watching and keeping his mouth shut. He knows hes dead if anyone clocks who he is. Your father threatens to kill every gypsy boy he meets until he finds the one whose stolen you... But you stand your ground.

🍀 "i wont lose my daughter to a fucking pikey..." "Then tell people I'm dead," you turn the gun on yourself your eyes locked with your father, your burning with defiance, a truly formidable lass, "I'd sooner blow my own brains out than continue to call you my fucking father..."

🍀 And its the fact he cant tell if youre bluffing that makes him back down. He gives in but tells you that theres no backing out, he'll tell the whole world youre dead, but you are dead, to him, theres no coming back. But you don't back down.

🍀"Your girls a fuckin terror Bonnie lad, hope youre going to tame her," Isaiah laughing eith Michael after the whole affair. "I fucken won't," Bonnies pretty much stubborn about that, he loves your defiance and hes proud cause he knows Isaiah and Michael are secretly terrified of you. Women who don't fear death are the most formidable creatures.

🍀 "You're incredible dove, that was incredible..." "but... You promise me now, you'll never point one of these things at that pretty little head of yours ever again..."

Isaiah

🐀Definitely bitten off more than he can chew. He's in love with you before he even realises whats happened to him.

🐀Doesn't know what to do with himself because for all his arrogance and confidence, he knows a girl of mafia blood is so far out of his league.

🐀Youre in London because your father has business with Tommy Shelby, and your father refuses to travel to the shithole which is Birmigham

🐀You came along for the legal drinking, the shopping and to see what all the fuss about "English" men was...

🐀And you don't think much of any of them at first... Most have them are a little ugly, badly dressed, dirty, with funny accents... And Isaiah has a funny accent but, he's good looking, and he has the cocky nature of any american boy youve ever met.

🐀He gets tasked with chaperoning you much to your delight... Less to your delight you know that one of your fathers men is trailing you too, just to make sure nothing bad happens, that this Peaky Boy doesnt try anything funny with you.

🐀You find it all bitterly amusing, youre a woman, not a mouse. If this Peaky Boy wants to try anything funny with you, just let him try, its you who will see to it he doesn't get very far...

🐀Although the idea of getting up to no good with an english gangster, one your father hates... Well its appealing to say the least. You're a bit of a brat, used to getting your own way, used to doing as you please and facing little consequences later...

🐀So you suggest to your new peaky boy that you both lose your dads man, you ask him to take you through the back streets until your fathers men can't find you... And isaiah knows he shouldnt but hes sensed the mood youre in and he cant pass up the opportunity to go too far with you. He wants to get into trouble with you... He has a feeling that Mafia girls fuck harder, more dangerously.

🐀"You wanna get into trouble Peaky Boy? My father will kill you for this? Aren't you scared?" "Not fuckin scared of anyone me sweetheart," "Fine, do your worst Peaky Boy..."

🐀It doesnt last too long because you don't have much time but its hot and heavy and rough... And its the best you've ever had, maybe thats just the adrenaline of knowing youre up to know good, the adrenaline of risking someone elses life for your own pleasure...

🐀And you do get caught, you suppose if you were being honest with yourself then you'd always known you would be.

🐀You get caught with Isaiahs cock still inside you, he's fucking you against the wall and youre not even being that quiet about it... your fathers man goes to shoot at Isaiah but you get there first, your shot killing your fathers man in a second...

🐀Isaiah is stunned, almost drops you but he doesnt want to dissapoint you so he tightens his grip, hes scared too, youre in so much fucking trouble and if anyone finds out what just happened Tommy will kill him before your father does...

🐀"Don't go soft on me Peaky Boy I'm only just getting started..." you practically growl, grinding your hips into his, and Isaiah isnt about to let you go, so he channels is fear and his amazement into fucking you twice as hard, growling to you about how much trouble youre going to get him into.

🐀But obviously its fucking worth it.

🐀You make him take you shopping afterwards and you return to your father with so many pretty dresses and shoes. A new red lipstick too.

🐀He obviously wants to know what happened, why his man hasn't returned with you and you speak before Isaiah can...

🐀"oh did you have someone following me daddy? We didn't notice anyone? Did you Isaiah?" the boy cant believe what hes hearing right now, youre asking him to lie not just to your father, but his own boss too... Still he does, after that day hes sure hed do anything you asked him to.

🐀You also make up a little story of your own, about how you were threatened by a man, someone tried to disresepct your dignity, you tell him Isaiah took his eyes for the insult and your father is quite satisfied that Tommys boy can keep you safe... So next time you want to go out, your father makes the condition that Isaiah has to go with you.

🐀Which you're quite happy with.

🐀"Youre gonna be the death of me love,"

🐀 So much of the time youre the one causing problems, getting yourself into scraps, because youre used to being a mafia princess, no one back home would dare say a word to you but over here so many of the men don't understand who you are... You wont stand for their shit

🐀So Isaiah does end up taking peoples eyes for you... Most of the time however its you that does the killing. Youre a real violent little brat it doesnt take much for you to decide to pull that trigger...

🐀Isaiah hasnt told any of his mates about what the two of you get up to when you get eachother alone... Its difficult for him to keep this to himself, usually he'd be bragging to high heaven about laying a woman like you... But he's keeping quiet because he knows it'll be you who kills him if he speaks.

Michael

☘️Meets you in America when hes been sent away by tommy... Hes harbouring that bitterness towards his cousin when he finds himself in dealings with the mafia on his brothers behalf.

☘️His life in America is good... He might not be there of his own free will, he might not be allowed to come back, but hes making it work, hes a feared gangster, a powerful and dangerous man

☘️And hes starting to get ideas above his station... Hes met you several times, youre always in his speakeasies drinking, getting snowed up and demanding Shelby gin on the house, your name affords you everything you want after all

☘️And he thinks you're another one of those pretty, espensive things he'd like to add to his collection.

☘️Youd be a real status changer for him, he could use you to win his feud with Tommy, finally be more powerful than his cousin...

☘️ And you're attracted to the brooding English man who runs this part of the city... He does dealings with your father so you know hes a real player in this game, hes dangerous too... And perhaps the only man arrogant enough not to fear the barrel of your fathers gun.

☘️Youve been going to Michaels bars and acting out, getting too drunk and causing fights because you want to get his attention. Its a childish way to attract a man but you know men like Michael Gray, you know that what they want is a possession, something they can tame, put in its place. Teach to be obedient. They like the challenge and secretly they like it when a woman threatens their ego and misbehaves.

☘️And you're right, youve read him like a book... He approaches you one evening at the bar and well, hes stern, hes aggressive, hes almost... Almost fucking rude to you...

☘️ "Miss y/l/n I'd like a word..." "Take your pick Mr Gray, how about two, fuck... Off..." "Don't test me love... You're going to come back to my office with me now, youre going to come quietly and then we're going to talk... And we can talk nicely or you can keep up with whatever this childish little act is alright? But you're going to come with me and we're going to have a little chat alright about the kind of behaviour which is and isnt acceptable in my establishment... "

☘️"Who the fuck do you think you are Mr Gray... Do you have any idea who i am?" "I know youre a little mafia brat with no manners... Anything else?"

☘️ Drags you by the wrist into his office where he practically pushes you down into a chair.

☘️ Stands before you and actually lectures you about your behaviour... About how he isnt going to stand for it anymore...

☘️" So whatre you going to do about it Mr Gray?" youre so cheeky, a real brat, but youre being provocative too... You know what you want from him and as you speak you open your legs just enough to catch his attention.

☘️ "So youre a whore as well as a brat are you?" this actually shocks you, you flush a little but youre idignant and you hold your ground. "Is that what you'd like me to be Mr Gray?"

☘️ He's going to teach you to behave, one way or another... And the only way he manages to is by fucking you into submission... Thats the only way he can get you to behave yourself for him, the only way he can make you beg his forgiveness...

☘️ Outside of the bedroom though youre still a spoilt brat and he doesnt help the fact, he buys you gifts, courts you properly, makes all the right moves on both you and your father

☘️Until eventually your father is convincrd that marrying you off to Michael Gray is the best business move he could possibly make.

☘️ So youre handed over to him on a silver fucking platter and though you pretend to remain defiant "Dont think this means I'm going to behabe myself Mr Gray..." secretly youre thrilled, this is exactly what you wanted.

☘️You want him to take you back to england with him, you want to meet the infamous Tommy Shelby... And when he finally takes you "home" dont be surprised hes showing you off like a pretty piece of jewellery...

☘️And should he really be surprised when Tommy catches your eye, when you realise that there are men more rich, more powerful and more dangerous than Michael Gray for you to persue.

☘️Threatens you, "you fuckin touch my cousin you little brat, I'll kill you..." but this jealousy, this new passion in him turns you on and so you find yourself caught trying to balance two men. Youre being selfish, youre taking everything you want, no matter who gets hurt.

Hope you liked them lovely ❤️❤️

[olderthannetfic]

This might be a somewhat controversial opinion/rant, but as a black queer woman (i really id myself as being more genderqueer, but since i'm afab there are just things about womanhood growing up that has just stuck with me as formative experiences.), I find it really difficult to build community with queer men, even in fandom. I've tried to have friendships with transmen, but so many just feel the need to ramp up misogyny to 1000 to validate themselves as men, and then with gay men, some will say the most out-of-pocket, misogynistic things but because they're not attracted to women, it's somehow okay, I guess. But lately, there's been this trend among queer men of saying and doing misogynistic things but justifying it by stating they're talking about white, cishet women. But the thing is, there's nothing in what they said that can be specifically applied to only white women. It's a target to all women (I refuse to play the oppression olympics of who has it worse). And now I see other queer women in fandom saying the same things to each other. I typically stay in anime/manga and danmei fanbases because that's where a lot of my interests are now, and I don't have to deal with USAian nonsense as much. But now that 7 Seas has unfortunately decided to translate more danmei into English that's changed. A queer male fan of a popular series has been unfollowed en masse by danmei fans for saying wildly misogynistic things about the author. Everyone all week has been scrambling to figure out where this came from. "He only ever said these things about cishet white women," but you guys... he was always talking about us the whole time. Now, I just don't know. Now I see why men aren't generally welcomed in or are common within romance-genre circles. It's just really frustrating to see the same thing over and over again. I'll add on that the only genuinely cool queer men in fandom I've met have come from yuri circles. The ones who try to talk about BL are, from my experiences, generally misogynistic, toxic, and feel as though everything should center around them because they're men and in BL the characters are men, as well. But when other women don't want to form community with them, they scream about 'homophobia' and 'fetishizing gay men.' No, you're just an annoying, awful person to be around, and the queer male yuri fans didn't want to deal with you either. Has anyone else, or you specifically, dealt with this? Is there a way to become friends with more queer men in BL spaces who aren't... like That? Or are there specific things/patterns to look for as far as who to avoid?

--

God, so much of this sounds so familiar.

I've known a sad number of trans dudes who overcompensate in dickhead ways. A lot of them do calm down a few years into presenting publicly as male, but it's infuriating to see that crap even if it's temporary.

I will say that two of my close circle of offline friends are trans men, including one who came out during the time we've all been friends. The defensive tomfoolery is in no way inevitable. Both of these dudes are nonwhite and have experience in various other geeky and queer spaces beyond BL (gaming, drag queens, etc.). Maybe that broader perspective helped, or maybe they're just nicer and more mature people than a lot of the little jerkfaces I run across online.

TBH, I often have better luck in offline meetups because to show up at all, people have to be a little more comfortable with getting along with others and behaving themselves. It's also sometimes easier to detect the people you want to back away from slowly when you can see how they treat people in person.

One of my neighbors is a cis gay guy. White, able bodied, middle class, yadda yadda. Exactly the demographic you'd expect to be the worst in certain spaces. He and his partner have lots of queer friends, and plenty of them aren't fellow cis gay guys, which is basically my litmus test for non-annoying cis gay guys offline. (Toxic cis gay dude culture is its own kettle of fish with a different set of issues than defensive trans boy culture, but I've encountered it plenty too.)

This neighbor is interested in geikomi and was delighted to find out I'm a fellow nerd and eager for all my nonfiction book recs about queer Japanese stuff. We don't necessarily overlap in our manga tastes, but there's still a lot we do share. When I ramble on about how AFAB queer people and/or bisexuals study history that's presented as cis gay men's history because that's all we have for most historical periods, he's like "Yeah, that makes total sense!" and not "Mine and not yours!"

I think the key here is that this is a dude who is secure in his identity, who's getting both his media and queer community needs met, and who's in his 40s, so he has some god damn perspective and doesn't need to pretend BL is aimed at him.

A lot of the little jerkfaces make me think "Did your preschool teacher not teach you how to share your toys?"

--

To be honest, there seem to be plenty of dudes hanging around my tumblr. A few cis. Many trans. But they're not going to bring it up incessantly in some defensive "you know I'm not a cootie-having girl, right?" way because who does that?

It comes up when there's a discussion about trans shit or BL as #ownvoices or whatever. (And, in general, any dude worth hanging out with will not think BL as an industry is, or should be, anything of the sort—even if he's expressing his own sense of queerness by writing some.)

On the flipside, I have seen some pretty extreme "no boys allowed" clubhouse nonsense in fandom. It's less common than it was, and past shitty dudes have often been the inspiration, but it can still be a bit much. The nicer class of fandom dude is often pretty hesitant in certain spaces because he's expecting to be met with hostility and is trying to figure out how to participate without tromping all over everyone. (TBH, the guys worrying about this are rarely the problem, but you know how it is.)

I've had dudes send me private messages being like "this thing you said seems kind of stereotypical and anti-man", but in the adult capable of conversation way, not in the tantruming 5-year-old way. And we had a conversation, and they stuck around.

I think having a very clear "It's not #ownvoices, fuck off" stance deters a lot of the more pestilential set. Being equally clear that everyone is welcome and that male yuri fans and female BL fans are pretty equivalent makes the guys worth knowing come out of the woodwork.

In 99% of spaces, I do not give a fuck if some man has his precious feelings hurt by a double standard or default suspicion of men... But fandom is a little unusual because of the demographics and relative power here being so different from in most spaces.

I've definitely seen some people who think women liking BL are fine because we care about characters' personalities, while male fans are all predators or all write f/f that is just fetishy porn or m/m that sounds like Nifty.org and not other fanfic or whatever.

And, yeah, I'll shut down the dumbasses crying in my inbox because I made a joke about Nifty and "coke can dicks" (the kind of guys who have clearly never read m/m that's aimed at dudes outside of fandom spaces), but at the same time, we should extend a little benefit of the doubt to our fellow fandom members of whatever gender. There are usually plenty of men facepalming right along with me at these inexperienced young fools who cannot bear to share.

I think you're just running into the problem that the loud people whose identities you know are often using those identities to browbeat other fans on social media.

--

There are fewer men in BL spaces than women or nonbinary people, so one will typically end up knowing fewer men.

Honestly, I think you find the reasonable people and get rid of the unreasonable ones in the same way regardless of gender: Gatekeeping bullshit is a red flag. Very Online understandings of oppression are a red flag. Enthusiastic and clueless blanket endorsement of own voices as a concept is a red flag. Lots of talking about "fetishization" or even "appropriation" in a very online way is a massive red flag. Monetizing fanfic or seeing other pro authors as competition instead of peers is another. (Professional jealousy and fear about earning potential are behind a lot of bad behavior.)

A lot of it is down to whether you're willing to make yourself a target by publicly telling annoying people to fuck off.

If others can tell what you stand for, they can figure out if they want to hang out with you. Most people keep their heads down a lot of the time, so it can be hard to even hear of them, let alone know if they're your sort of person.

--

tl;dr – Be nice to nice men. Tell shitty men to take a hike. Making friends with men is really as simple as that.

There are larger issues here with what kinds of queer spaces exist and whom they prioritize and with toxic understandings of what representation even means and what should be demanded of whose art. But as you say, a lot of women are also promoting toxic-ass understandings of these things.

The bottom line is that we must resist social media clout-driven understandings of justice. The loudest assholes in the room are rarely worth listening to.

[justmybookthots]

Chess & Mate

Okay, first of all: This isn't a bad book. I want to preface my review with that, even if 'bad' is a nebulous term. I want to make it clear that at this point, I'm absolving Ali Hazelwood of her sins with Love Hypothesis. While I hated Adam, I loved Jack from Love Theoretically, and I do like Sawyer… to a degree. I think her heroes have evolved slightly since Adam, and now they're kind of at a very acceptable Jack-Sawyer stage.

I'll elaborate on the hero part in a bit. But for now, I also want to make it clear that while I don't love this book anywhere as much as I loved Love Theoretically, I can see a lot of people loving this, and I understand. It really all boils down to personal preference. (Though that… pretty much sums up any kind of book review, so you can ignore this statement, really. But I guess what I'm trying to say is: Love Hypothesis pissed me the fuck off. Its issues were egregious to me. Chess & Mate got on my nerves a bit, but I recognise it was just due to my own weird preferences as a reader.) 

Anyway. Spoilers ahead.

Things I liked:

Sawyer. He's very similar to Jack and if that's the kind of hero Ali likes, I ain't complaining. He knows what he wants; he's mostly straightforward with his feelings and is unabashed about them. Neither is he growly or saying "babe" and all that cringe stuff. He's just… calm, same as Jack. It's very attractive. And ALSO. He is a virgin. I so, so love that? Too bad this was YA so the sex scenes were closed-door, because I felt that would have been a fun dynamic to explore in an adult book. 

I like that for once, Mallory (the heroine) is the one who sleeps around. It's all very sex-positive and I support that immensely. Also her being bi? I 100% am for it. 

I really liked Oz, for most of the book. And Dfne? I think that's how you spell her name. [But I may be wrong and I'm too lazy to check.]

I think all the loose ends were tied up rather conclusively, re: Eaton and Mallory's family.

Now…. The things I did not like. Hoo-boy.

I'm not into the Mary Sue scene. This is my biggest, biggest gripe for this book. Mallory being this good was not to my liking. She was just winning match after match even though she hadn't played in years. She felt unbeatable, and it took a lot of narrative tension out of the story for me. At some point, I was just like: Okay, I get it. You're the best. And Sawyer is also the best. You are both the best, and you two can sit above the plebs in your couple-y thrones. Reading this book felt like I was reading a power fantasy between two people, and while I get that being everyone's cup of tea, it wasn't mine. At some point, it felt like Sawyer was only ever interested in her because she could play as well as (or better than) he did. 

I wished Sawyer hadn't been interested in her from the start. It would have been fun to really lean into the 'enemies' angle for a bit and have her slowly climb her way up to face off against him later. But then again, that's asking for a major rewrite, and that's a whole can of worms I'd rather not open.

But speaking of interest, I was conflicted on the insta-love on Sawyer's part. Him showing up at her house early on in the book and eating dinner with her family was really abrupt and it took me aback. They went from almost no interaction save for her beating him at the first match and the encounter at the pool to… this? Or maybe there were more encounters that I can't recall off the top of my head now, but it just felt too soon for me.

Oh gosh. Her family. Her mom was fine, but her sisters, especially Sabrina? I was being driven nuts. When Sabrina called Mallory egotistical, I was like: wtf? Mallory was practically slaving her ass off to support her family and she made so many sacrifices for them. I get that that was the point—Mallory was clinging to martyrdom and refusing to let herself need them and it upset them. But being antagonistic to Mallory was NOT the answer. Her martyrdom stemmed from a place of self-loathing and trauma. I hated how everyone at the end of the book was yelling at Mallory to get her head out of her ass. Maybe this wake-up call works in books/fiction, or maybe it works for some people, but it's not ideal. It's callous and cruel. I approved only of how Mallory's mother handled it: she very calmly talked things out with her. 

Mallory had EVERY right to be angry with Sawyer. I hated how everyone, including Eaton, fed this narrative that Mallory was completely in the wrong for her blow-up at him and how everything he did was right for her. If a man I was developing a romantic relationship with was paying for my fellowship/my fucking SALARY all along and omitted telling me (don't give me the bullshit about "you could have just asked"—omission is still lying), I would be furious. This is crucial information that should have been voluntarily shared sooner. Even if he came from a good place, it doesn't make it okay to hide this imbalance of power from me.

I also want to say that the bad guys are cartoonishly bad. Like you know right away who the 'villain' of the book was going to be, and it felt rather juvenile how unapologetically dickish he was. There wasn't a lot of nuance to it, but eh. Whatever.

The PDA between Sawyer and Mallory (her sitting between his thighs and him… biting her earlobe? I… Okay) while they played chess with his friends was… not for me. I had the same complaint with a hauntingly similar scene in Love Theoretically. I get it: this type of thing is just not my cuppa, but Ali loves it.

All in all, while it sounds like I'm complaining a lot, I don't hate this book. I just don't really love it. Or… like it very, very much. But it had its cute moments, so it's, well, not that bad? I think?

- 13 Nov 2023

[adamwatchesmovies]

Hugo (2011)

Martin Scorsese is not known for his family films. You associate the name with gritty crime stories. So what drew him to Hugo? Perhaps he wanted to try something different? On top of being suitable for the whole family, the picture makes impressive use of 3D and special effects. If you’ve seen Hugo the whole way through, you’ll know why. I suspect Scorsese connected to this story on a deeply personal level.

In 1931 Paris, 12-year-old Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) maintains the clocks at Gare Montparnasse railway station. His alcoholic uncle Claude officially does the work but he’s been gone for months and as long as the machines keep the time, Station Inspector Gustave Dasté (Sacha Baron Cohen) won't ask any questions. This means Hugo is free to focus on the automaton he and his father were repairing before he became orphaned. Hugo keeps to himself, occasionally stealing parts from a toy store owner, Georges (Ben Kingsley). After he is caught and his book on the automaton is confiscated, Hugo befriends the toy maker’s goddaughter, Isabelle (Chloë Grace Moretz). He hopes she can help him get his book back.

There’s no way you can guess where this movie is going. The surprises along the way are a big part of the fun and the screenplay by John Logan (based on The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick) is in no hurry to get to its big reveals. As Hugo goes about his day, we meet all the characters who frequent the station. Richard Griffiths plays a man pining for a dog owner (played by Frances de la Tour) whose pooch can’t stand him. Shy Inspector Dasté wants to approach a beautiful flower saleslady (Emily Mortimer) but is embarrassed by an old war injury. Christopher Lee plays the owner of a book store who probably knows more than he lets on, Papa Georges is hiding something from Isabelle. And then there’s the automaton Hugo is repairing. How is it tied to his father? There’s enough going on with these characters that it doesn't matter if you don't know where the plot is going. You’re having a great time simply getting to know them, admiring the performances (Moretz does a flawless accent) and enjoying Scorsese's direction. Check out the way the camera moves down chutes, through crowds and then into the secret openings into Hugo’s home or the breathtaking shots of a long-gone Paris.

Ultimately, this is a small, personal story. The world’s fate does not rest in the hands of Hugo. The secrets we uncover deal with very human tragedies but it’s shot like all of reality hinges on the lonely boy finding a friend. After Hugo is over, you remember specific shots, specific characters and the emotions you felt while watching them. These would attract any director but I suspect Scorsese wanted this project specifically because the film contains numerous references to specific events in the history of cinema. We see a clip of Harold Lloyd’s Safety Last! and the film’s most iconic shot is re-imagined later on. The Montparnasse derailment of 1895 is reimagined and Scorsese gives us to opportunity to relive the shocked reaction audiences would’ve had while viewing “L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat” - that famous shot of a train coming towards the camera that supposedly had audiences falling out of their seats in terror - by shooting it in 3D - literally having the train come right towards the screen and frighten us. There are many other references to the history of cinema throughout. If you love movies, you’ll get an extra kick out of these scenes.

Hugo is moving, warm, romantic, tragic and exciting. It goes in unexpected directions and the surprises make the movie feel big while also keeping it small and intimate. The performances are excellent, the characters fully realized. The only mark against it comes from the presentation. This movie is meant to be seen on the big screen and in 3D. Few people will be able to see it that way now. If that’s the only flaw you can find in a movie, it's doing a lot of things right. (On Blu-ray, September 25, 2020)

[aro-sora]

Heartless

This month's Carnival of Aros theme is "Humanity and the Non-Human" and these prompts were particularly resonant with me:

It’s been a fairly well-documented phenomenon that many aromantics tend to feel some sort of connection to some sort of fictional non-human species, whether as specific examples, or as a whole. If you relate, what are your thoughts on these characters and concepts as an aro(-spec)? Do you have any experiences in any subcultures related to non-humanity, such as Voidpunk?

So I thought I'd write something about my personal experiences.

It will come as no surprise to people who follow this blog that I am a heartless aromantic and I'm also a huge Kingdom Hearts fan. (To anyone who isn't familiar with KH, in the games there are beings of darkness called Heartless. There's a lot of designs and some are cooler than others so here are a few of my favorites:)

[ID: Various Heartless from Kingdom Heartles, in order, a Shadow, a Neoshadow, a Soldier, and a Darkling. End ID]

These beings are both literally and very much not literally (it's complicated) heartless. They are manifestations of the darkness in people's hearts and seek to steal more hearts to transform into Heartless.

(something something beings that are recognizably human but also . . . not and yet still have the instinctual desire to reclaim what was taken)

A common stereotype about aromantic people is that we are heartless and unfeeling because we don't experience romantic love. Aromanticism may influence a person's emotions and definitely impacts views on romance, but to say that all aros are cold and emotionless is hurtful and arophobic. But I also genuinely identify with the term "heartless." Not feeling romantic attractions makes me feel alienated from amatonormative society, and "heartless aro" is the best way for me to describe that feeling.

My love of Kingdom Hearts is also a huge influence on that. When I say KH rewired my brain, it's only a half joke. I was 5-6 years old when I first discovered these games and this bizarre Disney/Final Fantasy crossover was a very formative experience. "Heartless" is not just a way to describe my aromanticism, its a defining aspect.

What is it, to be Heartless? To be human, once, but now something . . . other: a being born of darkness. Darkness is a force that is often used for evil, but still KH makes a point of not making it inherently evil. Darkness exists in every heart. It can overwhelm, but it can also be accepted and mastered, like in Riku's case. To choose to become Heartless, in Sora's case, is a defining moment of humanity.

My blog url might be aro-sora (because let's be honest, he's super arospec) but the title, "My Heart Belongs to Me," is quote from Roxas, one of the best examples in KH of someone being denied humanity for supposedly not having a heart, yet being one of the most caring and emotional characters in the series. He's not an actual capital-H Heartless (that's Sora, briefly) but his story and his struggles just . . . resonate with me. "I am me! Nobody else!" I want for people to stop thinking of me as something I am not, as desiring relationships I don't want, or even being a gender I am not.

I don't have much experience with voidpunk culture (but now I want to look into it), but recently I discovered the term otherhearted: "Identifying strongly with something nonhuman and/or fictional, without literally identifying as that thing." (I'm a bit on the fence between being otherhearted and otherkin, but otherheart literally has the word "heart" in it and the KH influence is strong.) It's a very queer experience to want to change your identity and be something other than what people see you as. Sometimes I imagine that for myself—claws of darkness, eyes of burning gold. Darkness cannot exist without light, but neither can light exist without darkness. Nothing can destroy me, because I am the shadow at the very heart of the world.

I guess that would make me Heartless-hearted. An ironic term, I know, but similarly to my personal heartless aro identity I find it absolutely hilarious. So many parts of my identity are "contradictions": being bigender, being human and heartless. It fits with the lore of the Heartless themselves: some technically do possess hearts and some don't. (it's complicated)

I call myself heartless the same way I call myself queer. Bigots will use them as insults and an attempt to make me lesser and other and nonhuman, but to me these are my words. They are mine and I give them power, no one else. Someone thinks I'm "heartless" for not experiencing a certain feeling? Fuck them, I AM heartless. And I am still human because I choose to be, not because humanity is something to be given or taken away. I don't have to prove anything about myself to anyone. I define my own heart, NO ONE ELSE.

And if they still think that being heartless—being aromantic—is something "wrong" or "unnatural" or not human? I only have a warning for them:

Beware the darkness in your heart. The Heartless prey upon it.

[vinetwine]

when reading a lot of these varying tarot on ateez in relationships, hmm I have mixed feelings and I dont think theyd either be experienced enough or maybe they seem to want to control their partner in some way or other like idfk I cant even word it but I think many people might assume the members would be so dateable but I often dont get that vibe from some of the ateez. even the ones I personally wouldve liked sometimes give an off feeling if they were dating. I know tarot isnt set in stone and its usually what the reader interprete but tell me if im right in any of these guesses or wrong im not fussed just wanted to ask for your opinion.

cause idols are meant to be seen as perfect boyfriends to their fans right?

the members id avoid dating or being if i had to pick: seonghwa (fuckboi alert, he has many red flags imho probs uses his idol title to get into fwbs or doesnt take enough precautions in the bedroom department), san (again im on the fence sometimes i buy into his perfect prince image a little too much but i dont think thats always the case with him maybe he wants something to be so perfect about his partner, like if there was a situation where his fs would have to say no to something or if he just wouldnt take critique of any sorts or he just seems to have really fixed ideals on what he wants in a relationship not a bad thing but doesnt leave much room for error or for something different than what he wants it to be), hongjoong (sorry bub i love his performances but i will leave it at that it seems like if he isnt in control of his partner or if his partner doesnt let him act like the boss of the relationship then i wonder if he would grt kinda scary to be around?)

overall i still think ateez for example they might want mature partners who dont demand a lot from them but they themselves might still come across as immature aside from jongho (hes the most mature out of ateez imho)

im sure the members are nice on the surface but sometimes i dont always see them as the perfect boyfriend image that many people put on a lot of these idols like their expectations of their partners must be through the roof yeah kinda glad it isnt me thats going to date them cause i think id have some type of mental struggles each of the ones i picked.

who would you pick to avoid in possible relationship?

🍷...

the following is my own personal opinion in response to this ask.

yes as you mentioned and as i like to disclose tarot is heavily interpretation based above all else. it should never ever be taken 100% seriously. so i am glad you emphasized that. tarot is also very energy based and can change rapidly. even a bad mood might reflect a more negative result.

the readings i have done for them so far reflect mostly good things. which if i have to say so myself - feel very condensed and idealistic. of course no relationship will be picture perfect. there will be struggles. and i am aware a lot of readings do not reflect that. not just mine but a majority.

i suppose a flipside of a coin is to consider toxic positivity and idealism if all the cards feel a little too perfect. take the whole "hongjoong finds his soulmate attractive" post for example. almost every reading i have seen posted and have conducted myself in these past few years will talk about his possible obsession with his romantic soulmate.

i do not know hongjoong myself obviously but if this does turn out to be the case then he could potentially very easily dismiss a lot of negative or toxic behavior for the sake of soulmates. while this would be done with a good intention it can be very destructive.

in the case of seonghwa i find his energy very sweet and comforting in a general sense though i have never asked an in depth question about views on love and such. i have seen other readings and astrological observations for him that mention this possible side of him though but i try not to be biased when i receive my own results.

i have never felt a possessive vibe from seonghwa and san in an overbearing sense. though i also never ask. i have received results that they would possibly like to be the protectors in the case of a romantic relationship. but some people do take it too far and almost baby their partner in every aspect of life. so this can be seen as a potential negative though i did read that san and seonghwa seem to like maturity and independence.

so yes as you said i also do believe they would all appreciate a mature person for that matter. but some would cling more than others ? i think we should keep in mind that - yes they are grown men in their mid twenties but they are still young rich and very attractive. it can be very easy to get caught up in the high life. and if there are some less than desirable traits we are unaware of - they may quell as they slow down their idol activities and do something else.

ultimately all idols are human beings. they can not be and are not perfect. that is simply impossible. while i do believe for most idols that a good portion of their true personalities shine through on camera - it would be fair to assume it is at least exaggerated or scripted. sadly that is normalcy in such a manufactured and parasocial industry where they can not even stand up for themselves.

and because they are human they would have relationships with other humans. and because no human is perfect. there will be flaws. so i believe you are correct in calling it an image.

i personally have no strong feelings on who i would or would not avoid in ateez as a result of my readings. i take everything on camera with a grain of salt yes but i also do the same for my cards. the only way to know how authentic they may be is to know them personally and even then people can be very good at hiding who they really are.

and because i have never even seen them in concert thus far i obviously do not know them on a personal level. so i can not say.

[self-love-is-underrated]

Istanbul: Underrated and Overrated Things

Searching for Istanbul, you see a very similar list of food to try and places to see. So are they all worth it? Here is a list of things that I consider overrated or underrated, based on my very personal opinion :)

Simit: Very Overrated

Before going to Istanbul, I could not wait to try out the famous simits. And listen, I only had one, but did I hate it? No, I did not. I am deprived of the feeling of hate while travelling. But while I did not hate it, it truly was the worst thing ever. It was cold, and frankly kinda old.

2. Sultan Ahmet Area: Very Underrated

I am just saying it is underrated based on the fact that it could never be not underrated. I do not know if I make sense. Anyways, it is a place that is close to literally everything, and you can easily tick off most of the major Istanbul attractions within one day by staying here! Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Grand Bazaar, the Spice Bazaar, and the Egyptian Bazar are all within walking distance.

3. Maiden's Tower: Kinda Overrated

Do not take my word for this one. I did not even go there myself. There was a big line of people waiting, and the ticket was around 20 USD. I did some analysis, and figured that I will basically have the same view on top of there as I had on the very cheap cruise that took me around. So I guessed not worth the wait or the money. But it was absolutely beautiful from the distance, and I got a very good look of it.

4. Manti: Most Underrated Thing Ever

Honestly, honestly, the best food ever! This was really really good, the taste and everything. Manti is basically these dumplings, sometimes filled with ground beef, and usually has red sauce and yoghurt on it. Turkiye is the home for it. Definitely try it if ever there!

5. Cruises!! : Very Underrated

The whole time I was in Istanbul, I was just thinking of one thing. These people can and are taking a cruise to transport within the city very CASUALLY. How must that feel? Do they also realize how beautiful that is? Or is it just me because I am a tourist and so unused to this? These public cruises are so cheap, and very convenient, and honestly the sea is just beautiful. I do not need to tell you to try them out because you will have to if there anywayss.

6. Baklava: Can Never be Overrated

Do not take my word on this one either. I am very biased towards baklava. Baklava is my love language. It is something that I love very very much. But to be honest, Turkiye is its home, so they make it the best. You should definitely have some when there. It is worth it, believe me!!

7. Balat: Most Beautiful Place Ever

If you love color as much as I do, you are gonna love this place, and you are gonna rent a place, and you are gonna end up living here for the rest of your entire life. Ok, I am being slightly dramatic here. But seriously, this place is beautiful and a neighborhood of art.

8. Galata Tower: The Symbol of Istanbul Itself

This area is beautiful, and there are many shops around it that frankly have some very affordable beautiful clothes as well! And when you are around, do not forget to try out the Sebastian Cheesecake. I repeat DO NOT FORGET because I did :( But I will go back for it one day I swear.

[fictionalcharactersrbetter]

15 questions, 15 mutuals

a big thank yee to @kaylinalexanderbooks who tagged me in this thingy! I read your post btw and we share so many things in common I can't believe I haven't asked you to be my best friend sooner :). Anyway, here it is!

Are you named after anyone? Yes, actually. I'm named after my mom's best friend from college who has unfortunately passed away, but she was the best. She and I share the same love for helping people, and I wish that I had gotten to meet her in person.

When was the last time you cried? This afternoon. I've been reading through The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien and it's both one of the best and most depressing books I've read this year.

Do you have kids? Do my pets count? Otherwise nope lol. (although my bearded dragon acts like a child most of the time)

Do you use sarcasm a lot? Ummm...yes. that is my main sense of humor as well as my main coping mechanism (please don't tell my psychiatrist this, she will hunt me down and drag me to therapy).

What's the first thing you notice about people? Definitely their smiles. You can tell a lot about people by the way they smile (if they are forcing it/if they're genuinely happy), and it helps me know how to help them/how they are feeling. I'm also apparently scarily perceptive of people and have the ability to see through people even when they seem like a brick wall to others so that helps I guess lol.

What's your eye color? Dark brown

Scary movies or happy endings? Definitely happy endings. Even as old as I am in my early 20s, scary movies make me want to cry lol. I love a good happy ending :).

Any special talents? I'm in the process of being the first sci-fi fantasy author in my family so I guess that counts? I also am known as the animal whisperer in my friend group (a whole ass deer family came up to me once while I was eating a sandwich and I got to pet them and it was nice lol), and my presence attracts all the little hobgoblin animals and its hilarious.

Where were you born? central Illinois unfortunately. ever heard of Champaign-Urbana? Yeah, it's right in the middle of nowhere.

What are your hobbies? I love writing, playing guitar and ukulele, and taking pictures of animals. I also dabble in painting/sketching and am in the process of painting murals at my place rn (currently working on a wall piece of studio ghibli/avatar the last airbender murals). The Dragon Prince and Dota: Dragon's Blood have special places in my heart on Netflix, and you'll often find me binge-watching them on days when I can't find anything else to do. Video games are also a favorite pastime of mine (I will legit not shut up about them once you get me started).

Do you have any pets? Yeah! I have a cat, two dogs, and a sassy bearded dragon named Zuko who likes cuddling on my face/my laptop when I'm trying to finish teaching projects for college.

What sports do you play/have you played? I've been playing golf for the past five years, and love it. It's very relaxing, and honestly very stress-relieving (except when you shoot a ball into the water and that one old couple you see every time at the course starts laughing as they see a otherwise composed woman throw her club and shout obscenities at a geological feature that swallowed a $10 ball). I tried my hand at soccer way back when, but hated competitive playing and instead now teach little kids how to play at my local elementary school sometimes.

How tall are you? 5'7

Favorite subject in school? I adored English, art, and history. I took a theatre class in my first year of college and found a love for it (my professor wanted me to try out for the play but I turned him down and it still haunts me). I also have a strange fascination for philosophy.

Dream job? Elementary school teacher and author (I can't wait to graduate and have my own classroom with those little goblins lol)

Tagging y'all who also follow me on this cursed site:

@gurlbye-1 @thelonewulff @heranintomyknife23times @volturisuperiority @untitledmagpie @we1rdo-on-the-1nternet @ninjawizard @king-of-bullshit @jozeebird @a-friend-of-a-friend @moa-broke-me @punsandcoookies @konnisart @something-2008 @findusinaweek

[notmoreflippingelves]

EoA for ask meme

otp: *coughs* Elena/Esteban. sorry not sorry.Look if they didn't want me to be unhinged about them, they shouldn't have spent an entire season soulmate-coding them and then capping it off with a BATB homage.

favourite canon pairing: ymmv on how canon it is, but considering it was pretty strongly teased in the series finale, Julio/Doña Paloma. I do find Carla/Mateo pretty cute as well.

worst pairing ever: I wouldn't say any of the pairings for the show are bad. It's just a lot of them don't particularly interest me. I could say Elena/Mateo, because personally I find it overrrated and I'm already gonna talk about it later. But I am going to go with Esteban/Doña Paloma.

I did actually kind of ship it the first time I watched the show...right up until the episode where their AU selves got married. And even though the whole point of "to Queen or Not to Queen" is that everything is absurd and everyone is wildly out-of-character (especially the two of them), they just seemed so miserable together and I couldn't unsee it. I also find it kind of annoying that Paloma is treated as sort of the default "acceptable" Esteban shipping option for people who don't want to pair him with OCs. And just...it's fine and I understand why many people would feel uncomfortable shipping him with certain characters (even if I don't)...but like...Victor is also right there. And honestly, I'm able to get a lot of the same vibes that I initially liked about esteoma out of estevictor, esteban/naomi, gaberico, and Julio/ Paloma---plus just I find those dynamics are more interesting in general.

guilty pleasure pairing: It used to be estebalena, but now, I have much less shame over it. It helps that I really only see it happening in S3 or later and that I hc that Elena would be the much more dominant/instigating partner in the relationship. I mean I guess Shuriki/Esteban is the obvious answer. But it is worth noting that I don't like it when it's genuine/mutual/romantic. I only like esteriki in the noncon/dubcon "Shuriki abusing her power" sense. So my guilty pleasure ship is less Shuriki/Esteban and more "Esteban/severe Shuriki-related trauma that leads to extreme woobification." I want him sad and pretty and haunted by the Dark Times™ so that he can have allll the angst, whump and hurt/comfort.

a pairing you want to see more: Literally every ship that isn't just some permutation of the Four Amigos. There are so many great characters in this ship that can be paired in so many interesting ways, but they rarely get acknowledged. I think I am particularly baffled by the lack of m/m in this fandom, since it's like the complete opposite of every other fandom ever. There's a bit of Mateo/Gabe, but honestly, it's positively dwarfed by other pairings for the amigos. (Also I don't care about Mateo, lol). There's also a criminally small bit of Gabe/Rico, but there could be so much more.

But honestly, the ship that I am genuinely baffled isn't more popular and really really want to see more of is Victor/Esteban. Like it just seems like a no-brainer to me. It has so many tropes that people normally go feral over. Childhood friends to lovers? Enemies to Lovers? Foe yay? Mutual redemption arcs? There isn't even an age difference and Victor's marriage is all-but-over. So, what is stopping people? I've seen at most a handful of ambiguously romantic ship art and not a single fic. Where is it? Where is the estevictor? Give me the estevictor!

that pairing everyone likes but you’re like “lol no” : Elena/Mateo. I mean I get why it's so popular given the popularity and attractiveness of both characters. But personally, I just don't find them interesting. I feel they both have better chemistry and interesting potential with other characters than they do with each other. And its popularity within the fandom certainly doesn't help, as my little contrarian hipster brain turns its nose about 90% of fandom juggernaut pairings. Plus, I just don't care enough about Mateo to care about a ship with him. He's casually cute with Carla and I can see him with Gabe as well. But otherwise, nope. Don't like him enough to care who he's shipped with.

favorite non-romantic pair: There are a bunch of dynamics that I do ship sometimes (or more than sometimes) but I also love platonically. (Esteban & Elena, Elena & Naomi, Esteban & Naomi, Naomi & Gabe, Elena & Gabe, Elena & Valentina, Elena & Marisa, Chloe & Maliga, Cacahuate & Bobo, various permutations of "Team Isa"). But in terms of pairings that I only view platonically, either Victor & Carla or Isabel & Elena.

[pacifymebby]

Can I request the peaky blinders with a s/o who was previously in a relationship and there ex popping back up to start back over with them💜

Aw thank you for this message lovely!! Its so nice to know people like my stuff, especially since im quite new to writing peaky boys stuff. So its good to know people are enjoying it haha.

Hope you like these love, some of them are a bit long because i guess i got carried away haha

Tommy

🌿He can tell there's something different about you, something dangerous, a different kind of higher class, the second he sees you..

🌿And when he learns who you are - a mafia princess - his mind is set.

🌿He has to have you... Not just once, but for keeps.

🌿It wouldn't just be startegically a perfect move, ot would also bolster his ego. This is a man who wants the whole world and to wed mafia royalty... That would be a pretty big chunk of the world.

🌿But it would be scandalous in many ways... Hes a politician, a sitting MP... And its no secret the corruption, violence and murderous tendencies of your infamous family. There would be no feigning innocence anymore.

🌿If he's going to be with you he'll have to do it with his whole chest, openly admit to his own corruption and wrong doing, he'd have to be the bad guy in the open...

🌿 And he'd have to play his cards right, he couldn't be playing games with you... He's fairly certain playing games will end with one of your bullets in his brain.

🌿 You're already used to the finer things in life so his wining and dining and usual tactics won't work on you. "Is all this supposed to impress me Mr Shelby?"

🌿Your family probably have tigers roaming the villa grounds you grew up in. You probably grew up alongside wild animals...

🌿 And youre supposed to be impressed by a country estate and race horses...

🌿 Actually the things that really attract you to tommy are these:

🌿🌿He's troubled, he fought in a war, one which your family watched and ignored... You secretly don't believe that the men in your family, know what its really like to be a man, fighting to protect the family... Though they tell you that's what they're doing all the time.

🌿🌿His roots, theres somrthing mysterious about it, the fact that he talks to his horses, the fact you've heard theres a gypsy curse on his head. It's more interesting to you than anything you've heard back in New York

🌿🌿 The fact that there was a time in his life when he had nothing, he actually clawed his way out of poverty...you were born into your riches, you've never really had to work for anything in your life, so youre in awe of the things hes won for himself.

🌿🌿 You also love the way he takes whatever he wants from the world, just snatches it up regardless of whether he deserves it or not. Youre hoping thats what he'll do to you. Steal you away from your family. Claim you as his own.

🌿But you wont admit any of these things to him, you play the princess personality up for all its worth because you like the idea of being the one thing tommy shelby can't have

🌿Tommys brothers think hes daft for even trying... They've seen you, heard rumours about you, they think hes way out of his depth... But tommy is determined

🌿 And one day when you finally give into the charm youd been resisting, you become the most feared couple... The mafia are secretly scared of your gypsy husband, they dont trust that he wont put a curse on them... And tommys family are terrified of you, the unpredictable, spoilt princess who will not hesitate to shoot someone dead just for looking at her funny.

🌿He can't tame you though and it concerns him, you probably make more trouble than its worth... You don't have the manners of the english and you refuse to learn them. Not even Tommy can teach you.

🌿 Calls you princess to patronise you, enjoys talking down to you and trying to put you in your place even if it hardly ever works. Showers you with gifts, and when he realises how drawn to his gypsy roots you are, he starts showering you with gypsy gifts, little trinkets hes carved for you himself, jewels with fine tales behind them, mysterious histories which capture your imagination.

🌿He likes to take you out on horseback to the middle of nowhere, lie down with you under the shade of a tree or on the bank if a river and tell you as many stories as he can, either from his childhood or gypsy tales you tell little children. Its his only way of getting you to calm down or behave yourself, of getting you to stop putting on that "fearless and fearsome mafia wife" personality.

Alfie

🐻Can't imagine you'd get on very well at first... If he realised his attraction to you he'd be angry with himself for thinking that way about a "wop"

🐻 He'd definitely try to ignore it... Which would be difficult because every time you were in a room with him you'd be little miss provocative, trying to get under his skin.

🐻 Youre not sure if thats because youre so used to all men falling at your feet that youre actively pissed off that this man wont... Or if its because you can see that he is attracted to you, but isnt acting on it (which would piss you off even more than the former) OR (and this is unlikely right, you would never!) perhaps you find him attractive. This slightly mad, older man who behaves as close to any mafia man youve ever met only rougher, not so well groomed. Hes a little gruff, theres something a little dirty about him...

🐻 Also youre a mafia woman... Youve been spoilt rotten your whole life by your father and brothers but youve never really felt the love of any of them... Youve only ever been treated like a possession by them... Which is a sure fire recipe for DaddyIssues™️

🐻 This gruff and slightly insane older man then, might be the only person who could ever be everything you ever needed...

🐻 But that discovery probably pisses you off even more, so its likely that in the moment went you realise what you really want from him, you raise your gun to his head, make him look down the end of it.

🐻 He's probably the only one of the peaky men who isn't actually scared of you, not because he doesnt think youre unpredictable and dangerous, but because hes not scared of death, hes looked it in the eyes one too many times to be scared of a "little girl" with a gun.

🐻 "Alright alright so youve got yourself a gun and youre not afraid to use it... You've come in here... To my humble bakery what i built up from absolutely fuck all... And you're waving that thing in my face like its fuckin christmas day and you just plucked it out of Santas fuckin sack..." "Did you get it for Christmas y/n? Did santa make it for you in the North fucken Pole?"

🐻 "You can pretend to be a mad old man all you like Mr Solomons but I'm not scared of old men..."

🐻 "Ohh well, thats alright then, thats good very good actually, cause see somet you might not know about me right? Im not afraid of little girls... Yeah?"

🐻 The remark would shock you a little, not much but enough to make you hesitate, and in that second of hesitation he could disarm you. Not that you'll ever make the same mistake again.

🐻 But this time he disarms you and pushes you back down onto his desk, takes your chin between his thumb and index finger so that you have to look him in the eyes. He can see how angry you are but he isnt deterred because he has control now and he knows he won't get that opportunity again for awhile...

🐻 "Looks like your daddy didn't teach you how to properly handle your weapons... Wouldnt make that mistake me... No, i, would, not." "And anyway, right... Somethin else i wanna know yeah... What kind of father yeah, what kind of fuckin father sends his little girl to the arse end of Camden Town to deal with his fuckin problems?" "You want my advice little girl, if i were you I'd stay right here, with thid here mad old man... Cause i reckon he would know how to take care of you properly..."

🐻 So you have a choice, give into the feelings and desires which have been plaguing you since you first met him, or spit in his face and tell him you'd rather die... And this is a man who just might offer you deal or death, thats how much he's his heart and mind set on you.

🐻 "Oh and Tommy, Tommy my old friend mate, did i tell you,just a little warning yeah, and i know you wouldnt ever think about crossing your dear old friend right but... If that thought ever does come flittering and fluttering into your whimsical gypsy boy brain... Just remember, ive got Mafia connections these days right... So i wouldnt if i were you... "

Arthur

🍂 Shits himself when he sees you pull a gun on a man in one of the Shelby bars in London.

🍂 Arthurs been sent to keep control of them and here you are, a fucking woman... With your gun raised to the eyes of one of his patrons.

🍂 When he steps in "alright alright is someone gonna tell me what the fuck is going on here?" and you answer him cold and simple "This english pig called me a very unpleasant slur and that... Mr Shelby, i won't tolerate..."

🍂 You shoot the man in the head right there in front of everyone. Screaming errupts and chaos and panic set in but you just stand there, strong arm still outstretched. Finger still on the trigger.

🍂 Arthur just gapes at you in shock, hes never seen a woman shoot someone, the fact that youre so glamourous looking too... From afar hed have mistaken you for one of the toffee nosed london elites who usually come to dance and drink in his bars because theyve heard they are dangerous and riddled with gangsters.

🍂 But now it seems, he recognises that accent of yours, turns out youre the gangster.

🍂 "Sorry about the mess Mr Shelby," you give him a quick smile and knock the body on the floor with your foot and turn to leave.

🍂 "Well, hang on a minute love hang on a minute you can't just..." "let me stop you there Mr Shelby..." hes not heard that slanted italian american accent on a woman before but he likes it, "i ain't your love... And i can actually... The evidence is soaking blood into your beautifully varnished floor..."

🍂 He gets into a lot of trouble with Tommy for letting you slip off unpunished, for letting the whole thing happen in the first place...but arthur doesnt see how he could have done anything different.

🍂"You weren't fuckin there Tommy, you didnt fuckin see her..."

🍂 He spends a lot of time tormented with daydreams of you, wants to see you again because hes got it bad for you... Even has a particularly steamy dream about fucking you whilst you hold your gun to his head.

🍂 So when you come back to his bar not a week later with a little white flag you made yourself, hes stunned and speechless and he doesnt know what to say. You say youve come to offer him a peace offering, just between you and him.

Its a little white flag and a little vile of white powder which is his on the condition that he shares it with you.

🍂 So you end up getting high together and fucking, and recreating that hot and heavy dream of his.

John

🌼 Deeply suspicious of you, doesn't trust the italians. You aren't pleasant to eachother to begin with at all.

🌼 You refuse to call eachother by name, hes a "pikey" you're a "wop" and thats that. You resent eachother.

🌼 Which is a shame because Tommy only introduced you before the wedding as an act of mercy to his little brother...

🌼 When you walk down the aisle dressed in white, veil covering your scowl John feels his heart freeze.

🌼 Of course he can't be too unhappy, you are fucking stunning... Your olive skin, your long dark hair, theres something almost virgin Mary about you, especially when youre all in white and pure...

🌼 And you would be lying if you tried to pretend you didnt find the gypsy boy to be good looking. His freckles are cute. He's strong, bulkier than any of those italian boys that have been sucking up to your father hoping for your hand all these years. John looks like a man who might be able to handle you

🌼 But hes still a pikey and youre still a wop and you refuse to say a word to him the whole day of your wedding. You fucking hate your father and you fucking hate tommy shelby

🌼 And in the end thats what draws you and John together. Mutual resentment for the men who forced you together.

🌼 Consumating the marriage is intense... When youre alone together youre both pretty much pretending you don't want it, spitting insults at eachother, hate in your eyes as he backs you up against the wall and you tell him youd sooner die than let a fucking pikey get his hands on you.

🌼 Pisses him off "That can be arranged love don't you fuckin worry," the two of you reaching for your guns at the same time. Challenging eachother, neither one of you backing down, eyes locked, fingers on triggers.

🌼Until something overwhelms you both at once and you can't resist anymore. When you come together its violent and explosive. John enjoys the thought hes tarnishing you, taking your purity, vandalising your virginal self... And you enjoy being fucked against the wall, your hands squeezing his throat, choking him.

🌼 After this the dust begins to settle on your hatred for one another... Youre more united against Tommy and your father than you are against eachother. But you like to keep up the pretence. Its like a fun game you have, pretending to hate eachother then having intense the most intense sex when youre alone. Youre always trying to push the boundaries, testing eachother.

🌼 You still affectionately refer to eachother by your respective slurs but see if anyone else ever tried it... If anyone ever called you a wop, john would put a bullet in them quicker than lightnight, and if anyone ever insulted him for his blood, youd be the one firing your gun.

🌼 John enjoys the way people fear you, he likes having a dangerous wife by his side.

🌼 You like having a dangerous man by your side, one who isn't so sleezy and american and preocupied with their looks... You think hes a real man.

Bonnie

🍀 Poor sweet innocent boy has no idea who you are when he first meets you... And thats partly your fault because you do lie to him.

🍀Youre actually sick of people being so scared of you, you dont think they are really scared of you, you think they are scared of your father... Which isnt fair... Its making it impossible to find a man and pretty soon youre certain your fathers going to arrange your marriage to some sleeze in another mafia family for the good of the lineage anyway

🍀 When you meet Bonnie Gold after one of his fights which Ada Shelby snuck you into, he has no idea about your family, but you know everything about his... And you see one thing in him...

🍀 Escape. You don't want to be a mafia princess anymore. Like Ada you want to shed your family name and be your own person.

🍀 So when you're introduced after the fight you beg him to take you away, to help you dissappear. And him being naive and you being very fucking pretty, he's more than happy to oblige.

🍀 After his fight the two of you disappear together for several weeks, hes no idea of the trouble hes getting himself into, and youre naively trying to pretend this can last forever

🍀You love the nomadic life style, the not knowing where you'll be tomorrow or a week from now, the knowing that nobody can find you, that no one you meet knows a single thing about you. And you like the simplicity too...

🍀Bonnie can tell that youre hiding something from him but he isnt sure what and he trusts that youll tell him eventually... For you to be friends with Ada Shelby, for you to have been so desperate to get away from London... He knows that you have a darkness inside you... But like i said he trusts you... And he's seen a soft and innocent side to you.

🍀Over the weeks you spend travelling together you grow closer and closer. At night you sleep under the stars, wrapped up together in his big coat with a blanket over you both. In the morning you awake with the birds and he teaches you to hunt and to cook wild rabbit. You fall for eachother slowly. When you share your first kiss you feel guilty, you almost cry and he can tell youre upset.

🍀 "Don't be sad little dove, i know you're keeping secrets, i don't mind... You can tell me all your secrets when you're ready,"

🍀 When you return he takes you to meet his father, to tell him you want to be married, that youre in love which makes Aberama laugh. He thinks it hilarious because he can tell that his son still has no idea who you are.

🍀"Well miss youve certainly caused a lot of trouble without trying haven't you..." it turns out your father didnt take kindly to your disappearence.. The italians have been threatening the whole country trying to find you...

🍀 Bonnie is surprised, but quietly pleased... Not just with himself for having a mafia princess fall in love with him, but also because hes in awe of your defiance, this trick youve played on everyone including him... He thought you were sweet and innocent but here you are, a mafia princess whos brought the whole underground crime scene in britain to a grinding halt.

🍀 "Do you hate me Bon? I lied to you... Could get you fuckin killed? I understand if you never want to..." "Don't finish that sentence little dove," him hushing you, hand holding your cheek, thumb to your lips, "Don't need to finish that sentence," kissing you softly is the only answer you need.

🍀The first time he sees you pull a gun on anyone the man in question is your own father. Hes come to bring you home but you wont go... Bonnie is there as a peaky boy, standing with Michael and Isaiah watching and keeping his mouth shut. He knows hes dead if anyone clocks who he is. Your father threatens to kill every gypsy boy he meets until he finds the one whose stolen you... But you stand your ground.

🍀 "i wont lose my daughter to a fucking pikey..." "Then tell people I'm dead," you turn the gun on yourself your eyes locked with your father, your burning with defiance, a truly formidable lass, "I'd sooner blow my own brains out than continue to call you my fucking father..."

🍀 And its the fact he cant tell if youre bluffing that makes him back down. He gives in but tells you that theres no backing out, he'll tell the whole world youre dead, but you are dead, to him, theres no coming back. But you don't back down.

🍀"Your girls a fuckin terror Bonnie lad, hope youre going to tame her," Isaiah laughing eith Michael after the whole affair. "I fucken won't," Bonnies pretty much stubborn about that, he loves your defiance and hes proud cause he knows Isaiah and Michael are secretly terrified of you. Women who don't fear death are the most formidable creatures.

🍀 "You're incredible dove, that was incredible..." "but... You promise me now, you'll never point one of these things at that pretty little head of yours ever again..."

Isaiah

🐀Definitely bitten off more than he can chew. He's in love with you before he even realises whats happened to him.

🐀Doesn't know what to do with himself because for all his arrogance and confidence, he knows a girl of mafia blood is so far out of his league.

🐀Youre in London because your father has business with Tommy Shelby, and your father refuses to travel to the shithole which is Birmigham

🐀You came along for the legal drinking, the shopping and to see what all the fuss about "English" men was...

🐀And you don't think much of any of them at first... Most have them are a little ugly, badly dressed, dirty, with funny accents... And Isaiah has a funny accent but, he's good looking, and he has the cocky nature of any american boy youve ever met.

🐀He gets tasked with chaperoning you much to your delight... Less to your delight you know that one of your fathers men is trailing you too, just to make sure nothing bad happens, that this Peaky Boy doesnt try anything funny with you.

🐀You find it all bitterly amusing, youre a woman, not a mouse. If this Peaky Boy wants to try anything funny with you, just let him try, its you who will see to it he doesn't get very far...

🐀Although the idea of getting up to no good with an english gangster, one your father hates... Well its appealing to say the least. You're a bit of a brat, used to getting your own way, used to doing as you please and facing little consequences later...

🐀So you suggest to your new peaky boy that you both lose your dads man, you ask him to take you through the back streets until your fathers men can't find you... And isaiah knows he shouldnt but hes sensed the mood youre in and he cant pass up the opportunity to go too far with you. He wants to get into trouble with you... He has a feeling that Mafia girls fuck harder, more dangerously.

🐀"You wanna get into trouble Peaky Boy? My father will kill you for this? Aren't you scared?" "Not fuckin scared of anyone me sweetheart," "Fine, do your worst Peaky Boy..."

🐀It doesnt last too long because you don't have much time but its hot and heavy and rough... And its the best you've ever had, maybe thats just the adrenaline of knowing youre up to know good, the adrenaline of risking someone elses life for your own pleasure...

🐀And you do get caught, you suppose if you were being honest with yourself then you'd always known you would be.

🐀You get caught with Isaiahs cock still inside you, he's fucking you against the wall and youre not even being that quiet about it... your fathers man goes to shoot at Isaiah but you get there first, your shot killing your fathers man in a second...

🐀Isaiah is stunned, almost drops you but he doesnt want to dissapoint you so he tightens his grip, hes scared too, youre in so much fucking trouble and if anyone finds out what just happened Tommy will kill him before your father does...

🐀"Don't go soft on me Peaky Boy I'm only just getting started..." you practically growl, grinding your hips into his, and Isaiah isnt about to let you go, so he channels is fear and his amazement into fucking you twice as hard, growling to you about how much trouble youre going to get him into.

🐀But obviously its fucking worth it.

🐀You make him take you shopping afterwards and you return to your father with so many pretty dresses and shoes. A new red lipstick too.

🐀He obviously wants to know what happened, why his man hasn't returned with you and you speak before Isaiah can...

🐀"oh did you have someone following me daddy? We didn't notice anyone? Did you Isaiah?" the boy cant believe what hes hearing right now, youre asking him to lie not just to your father, but his own boss too... Still he does, after that day hes sure hed do anything you asked him to.

🐀You also make up a little story of your own, about how you were threatened by a man, someone tried to disresepct your dignity, you tell him Isaiah took his eyes for the insult and your father is quite satisfied that Tommys boy can keep you safe... So next time you want to go out, your father makes the condition that Isaiah has to go with you.

🐀Which you're quite happy with.

🐀"Youre gonna be the death of me love,"

🐀 So much of the time youre the one causing problems, getting yourself into scraps, because youre used to being a mafia princess, no one back home would dare say a word to you but over here so many of the men don't understand who you are... You wont stand for their shit

🐀So Isaiah does end up taking peoples eyes for you... Most of the time however its you that does the killing. Youre a real violent little brat it doesnt take much for you to decide to pull that trigger...

🐀Isaiah hasnt told any of his mates about what the two of you get up to when you get eachother alone... Its difficult for him to keep this to himself, usually he'd be bragging to high heaven about laying a woman like you... But he's keeping quiet because he knows it'll be you who kills him if he speaks.

Michael

☘️Meets you in America when hes been sent away by tommy... Hes harbouring that bitterness towards his cousin when he finds himself in dealings with the mafia on his brothers behalf.

☘️His life in America is good... He might not be there of his own free will, he might not be allowed to come back, but hes making it work, hes a feared gangster, a powerful and dangerous man

☘️And hes starting to get ideas above his station... Hes met you several times, youre always in his speakeasies drinking, getting snowed up and demanding Shelby gin on the house, your name affords you everything you want after all

☘️And he thinks you're another one of those pretty, espensive things he'd like to add to his collection.

☘️Youd be a real status changer for him, he could use you to win his feud with Tommy, finally be more powerful than his cousin...

☘️ And you're attracted to the brooding English man who runs this part of the city... He does dealings with your father so you know hes a real player in this game, hes dangerous too... And perhaps the only man arrogant enough not to fear the barrel of your fathers gun.

☘️Youve been going to Michaels bars and acting out, getting too drunk and causing fights because you want to get his attention. Its a childish way to attract a man but you know men like Michael Gray, you know that what they want is a possession, something they can tame, put in its place. Teach to be obedient. They like the challenge and secretly they like it when a woman threatens their ego and misbehaves.

☘️And you're right, youve read him like a book... He approaches you one evening at the bar and well, hes stern, hes aggressive, hes almost... Almost fucking rude to you...

☘️ "Miss y/l/n I'd like a word..." "Take your pick Mr Gray, how about two, fuck... Off..." "Don't test me love... You're going to come back to my office with me now, youre going to come quietly and then we're going to talk... And we can talk nicely or you can keep up with whatever this childish little act is alright? But you're going to come with me and we're going to have a little chat alright about the kind of behaviour which is and isnt acceptable in my establishment... "

☘️"Who the fuck do you think you are Mr Gray... Do you have any idea who i am?" "I know youre a little mafia brat with no manners... Anything else?"

☘️ Drags you by the wrist into his office where he practically pushes you down into a chair.

☘️ Stands before you and actually lectures you about your behaviour... About how he isnt going to stand for it anymore...

☘️" So whatre you going to do about it Mr Gray?" youre so cheeky, a real brat, but youre being provocative too... You know what you want from him and as you speak you open your legs just enough to catch his attention.

☘️ "So youre a whore as well as a brat are you?" this actually shocks you, you flush a little but youre idignant and you hold your ground. "Is that what you'd like me to be Mr Gray?"

☘️ He's going to teach you to behave, one way or another... And the only way he manages to is by fucking you into submission... Thats the only way he can get you to behave yourself for him, the only way he can make you beg his forgiveness...

☘️ Outside of the bedroom though youre still a spoilt brat and he doesnt help the fact, he buys you gifts, courts you properly, makes all the right moves on both you and your father

☘️Until eventually your father is convincrd that marrying you off to Michael Gray is the best business move he could possibly make.

☘️ So youre handed over to him on a silver fucking platter and though you pretend to remain defiant "Dont think this means I'm going to behabe myself Mr Gray..." secretly youre thrilled, this is exactly what you wanted.

☘️You want him to take you back to england with him, you want to meet the infamous Tommy Shelby... And when he finally takes you "home" dont be surprised hes showing you off like a pretty piece of jewellery...

☘️And should he really be surprised when Tommy catches your eye, when you realise that there are men more rich, more powerful and more dangerous than Michael Gray for you to persue.

☘️Threatens you, "you fuckin touch my cousin you little brat, I'll kill you..." but this jealousy, this new passion in him turns you on and so you find yourself caught trying to balance two men. Youre being selfish, youre taking everything you want, no matter who gets hurt.

[devsgames]

The modern Pokemon games seem to attract a lot of passionate and varied speculation about their makers' development processes. Do you have any insight on 1.) why those games might have released the way they did, and 2.) whether it was inevitable for the series to disappoint the enthusiast crowd?

Hey, thanks for the ask!

So I'll preface this with the fact that I'm admittedly not incredibly up-to-date on Pokemon as a franchise on the whole. I follow the news and such but the last Pokemon game I really played for any significant stretch of time was Pokemon Gold (maybe Black if we're being generous?) so keep in mind that my knowledge might generally be a bit outdated. I'm also assuming this is in reference to Scarlet/Violet specifically, and how they got pretty lukewarm reception in general.

With that in mind I have some thoughts.

(wall of text warning..)

I'll answer question #2 "if it is inevitable for the enthusiast crowd to be disappointed" first because IMO it's a pretty universal problem not exclusive to Pokemon.

I think die-hard fans are the most likely to *really* understand a game or franchise, and therefore are most likely to be critical of it in general. It's why you look at reviews for a game like DOTA2 and see no shortage of players with 2000+ hours giving negative reviews to it and picking every tiny little detail most people don't care about in it apart. Players who have played so much of a game to understand every pattern, every design decision, and every little nuance usually can find the flaws easily despite the fact they might have generally played a lot of it, because they know what to look for and what little issues it might hide when you dedicate yourself to it. It's why QA are so good at what they do, because they have 1000+ hours playing the same content over and over.

These players will always catch all the little things most regular players won't, and on that note it's also always worth keeping in mind these players aren't the average player and it's always worth taking their opinion with a grain of salt. Personally, I find myself more inclined to listen to the player who plays through the game once and puts it aside more than the 'hardcore' fanbase, because that's more representative of the average player.

In terms of inevitability? Well there's always a subsection of people who will be disappointed no matter what, and with Pokemon being a franchise with dozens of games and titles always coming out down the pipeline...idk you can only make hits so many times before something falls apart and a stinker comes out, so I guess I'd say it's inevitable?

#1 "why those games might have released the way they did" is more complicated because there's any number of things that can cause a game to have a rocky launch - some of which are exclusive to Nintendo/Pokemon and some of which aren't.

The obvious one that people much smarter than me have pointed out before is their development time seems to have gotten pretty ambitious; a couple years is nowhere near enough dev times for a huge game polished like Pokemon normally is.

For example, Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed fell into these traps years ago; Ubisoft eventually course corrected and said "hey we think we're making these Assassin's Creed games faster than we can manage and we're gunna slow down" whereas Activision has always juggled like 4-5 studios on Call of Duty to keep the cycle churning, for better or for worse. In this day and age a couple years will simply not get you an end product you need for a game with a legacy of polish like Pokemon unless you have a ton of thumbs in that pie.

However I've personally always felt like Pokemon at its core had a scalability problem; the concept of introducing dozens (or hundreds) of new Pokemon every generation as well as improving graphical fidelity on whatever new hardware Nintendo has most recently released sounds incredibly daunting and frankly always seems like it would be a huge risk for content generation. Some of the Pokemon titles cut out Pokemon and content in order to make this scaling achievable, but to be frank I think Pokemon sorta scaled successfully for a long while because in 2D mostly static sprites in a world are fairly easy to work with and easier to scale up. 3D however can be another beast entirely - the prospect of modelling, animating, building data, testing, etc. on hundreds of these characters in transitioning into a 3rd dimension is daunting to me even on paper, notwithstanding having to design the content, plan how it all looks from every angle and how those sort of elements affect each other spatially. When I first heard they would be making full-on Pokemon games in 3D my initial response was "oh my god what" because that alone sounds like a lot of work even if you do have Nintendo-level resources.

I think what really makes all this the most daunting task ever to me is not only are you 'converting' this graphical experience into 3D, you're also having to translate a lot of content into an open-world and properly 'free' design as well on the gameplay side, which hasn't really been done before in the franchise (to my knowledge). Things get real weird when you introduce a whole other dimension to how a game fundamentally works.

Pokemon has a lot of old rules that fans have internalized, and operate how they do because at their core they're built for the 2D/2.5D linear experience Pokemon always was. Trainers battle you when you see them in a line directly in front of them and don't have proper 'sight', people only exist in one place at all times, there's no real transitory dynamic day/night to speak of, quests are often strictly linear lock-and-key designs, Pokemon UI has often been 2D and more or less worked the exact same way ever since the 90s...honestly I could go on and on all day about how fundamentally different it is to make a game like this in the 'traditional' Pokemon way compared to the 'Open World' way. It's not to say that all these mechanics or systems need to change when moving to 3D, but it does necessitate that you have to pick apart every system and assumption you have about the franchise and potentially re-design it to work for an open world 3D setup. Couple that with having to build an open-world game for the Switch in general which is a tough task for most non-1st party titles (AFAIK even BOTW/TOTK had troubles and slowdown - and they're a first-party Nintendo joint with probably super high internal priority) it sounds like a complete nightmare to me.

On top of all this, when you realize all these fundamental design shifts to the property are coupled with the fact the studio likely didn't have a team of developers who are comfortable or even familiar with building a high-fidelity and dramatically non-linear open-world Pokemon experiences yet (since they've never really done it at this scale before) AND they wanted to build new content and mechanics on addition to everything else...it sounds like it could easily be a complete shitshow.

Basically I guess that's my answer: what they tried to do is a massive challenge both scope-wise and content-wise, so I suspect production would have been an uphill battle.

Internally it's probably hard to say who's at 'fault' or what the story is; did Nintendo maybe get greedy and push for an earlier release? Did the producers overpromise Nintendo on a concept that was too complex and had to underdeliver to compromise? Did some Creative Director maybe push really hard on an open world concept only to have it bite them in the bum? Who can say - certainly not me!

[getawayheaven]

Closeting

Most of the things written in cursive is said by @back-to-louis

Rebecca also says one can be, quote, “trapped in an abusive contract for life.” Still not seeing closeting. False premise.

So first thing first. I think you should make it clear first that you got over the delusion that life time contracts dosen't exist at all. Because you refused to believe it first and you wanted proof. So I am assuming that you now believe that life time contracts exist.

And in your bunch of debunks of clause I didn't found even a single debunk about image, morality clause or cleanliness clause??

Citation please? This segment is a bit of a word salad. You appear to be saying that because there’s a lot of money around Louis and Harry, someone (WHO? NAME A NAME) …. can do anything because they’re making money off of the image of Harry and Louis not being in a relationship.

Pls don't tell me that you actually think there's a single person behind everything and a NAME can be NAMED 😶

And after going through everything I can only conclude that you have so many misconceptions regarding closeting. But I would like to provide some debunks here first -

Lifetime contracts dosen't exist -

You were wrong. And just now you said "(quote me where I said lifetime contracts aren’t possible challenge)" I did quoted you in my previous post but I guess you didn't read it so here we go again . But then you said But I don’t believe that there are contracts holding people hostage for life. Where’s the proof that they have forced them to sign up for life on these contracts? You reblogged this, you supported this, you believe this and here is the proof that there are contracts that can trap a musician in an abusive contract for life.

Do I need to repeat it again? here - I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THERE ARE CONTRACTS HOLDING PEOPLE HOSTAGE FOR LIFE.

2) "So, Rebecca Ferguson is talking about contracts, but not closeting. Very interesting. Almost like that’s what I say."

You are wrong again. Grooming 17 year old boys to remould their sexuality isn't closeting then I don't know what is. (Is it even legal?)

3) PR relationships don’t normally involve living together with dogs for years and years and being closely entwined with each other’s families. I think you are very much unaware of long term PR relationships. You call it PR but I call it bearding. Here is an example of long term bearding before the actor decided to come out, marry a man and have kids.

 Why buy out access to people’s families, including children, to sustain this ruse? Over the course of YEARS?

TO HIDE SEXUALITY. And tell me you have never seen beards who have been there for years?

They were together for 12 whole years, on and off, she knew he was gay, Rebecca to Ricky was like Gala to Dali. Dali was never sexually attracted to women but he loved his wife.

4) Its not all this 100 percent fake bullshit that the larries claim PR relationships are. It doesn't come from some evil PR company overlord telling them they must date! Sure they might encourage it, but it's not forced by contract.

Again there is nothing that is not possible in this shit hole called music industry. Try to open your eyes.

'My whole life was managed down to the finest detail. Down to who I'm allowed to date. I'd be told off, I'd be shouted at if I was going out with someone, I'd get shouted at like I was a child...

5) Right, I think the most important thing to take away is that PR relationships aren’t forced, aren’t contracted, and don’t at all resemble the relationships that the members of 1D had, or have. I don’t know the statistics on PR relationships but even if 99% of short term relationships were for PR, long term relationships and marriages between celebs and civilians, and the children they have together, and commercial partnerships between mutual celebrity partners (which might exploit their PR, as is their choice, just like you said!) just… AREN’T.

 They think they are FORCED PR relationships, which has NEVER happened in the history of Hollywood. Oh you have no idea how wrong this sentence is and you have been living in dark till now. and again it's not PR it's bearding.

I think you people need to read some HISTORY.

Again you call it PR but I call it bearding and here is how bearding can be forced to hide sexuality.

Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Taylor

The bedroom escapades of actress Barbara Stanwyck were the subject of rumors and conjecture. Although the actress had contracts with Warner Bros. and Columbia, she also worked for MGM. Robert Taylor had a contract with MGM. When it became clear that the stories of Stanwyck and her female lovers and Taylor and his male lovers were more than rumors, the MGM executives called them both in for a meeting. To preserve their careers and reputations, MGM ordered them to get married, which they did on May 13, 1939. At the conclusion of the wedding ceremony, Taylor refused to kiss Stanwyck and went home to his mother’s house for the night. X

Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli

Judy Garland’s husband and the father of her only child, Liza Minnelli, lived as an openly gay man in New York for a number of years before hitting it big in Hollywood. It was the restraints of Hollywood’s morality clauses that forced Minnelli back in the closet. Apparently, Garland was well-aware of his lifestyle when she married him and had a child with him. Years later, she encouraged her daughter to marry gay men, stating that they make the best husbands. 

Bearding can't be forced? Think again.

And you can obviously come up with "Oh these are such old examples, the gay rights have improved so much, it dosen't happen how". Think AGAIN

It is more tough now.

6)  No, in the sort of situation I described with the movie co-stars it wouldn’t be a contracted arrangement

Lots of what we see is artifice, orchestrated or embellished. But that doesn’t mean that EVERYTHING is shady or fake.

 “Fake” PR relationships are usually just friendships or acquaintances that are spun as being more

And AGAIN because Larries have literally NO CLUE how PR works 

LOL let's see who has no idea. You all sound like celebs are pure souls who are living highly authentic lives. In what world are you living in?

EDUCATE YOURSELF

There are contracts, agreements, clauses.

Some non-disclosure lines are built in to ‘as to what cannot be said and what needs to be said’, suggesting there could be a script if they were challenged by the public.

 ‘if it was truly an arranged relationship, sex wouldn’t come into it’.

‘It was a big publicity stunt. She would come pick me up – I don’t drive – I think she called the paparazzi too.

6) PR relationships don’t normally involve living together with dogs for years and years and being closely entwined with each other’s families

And yes, “fake” PR relationships happen between celebs, but not the kind of relationships that the Larries claim are rife in the entertainment industry. They think that women are hired to work for years as fake girlfriends, to live with their celeb boyfriends, to be maid-of-honour at their mother’s weddings, to fake pregnancies and even have babies. Which is flat-out f’kin’ ridiculous. 

Oh but do you know what's the best way to dispel gay rumours?

This is Simon’s former publicist Max who passed away in prison in 2017. This documentary was published in 2002. Simon is the creator of The X Factor. He created One Direction and Fifth Harmony. They all had to (and still have to) follow the rules of these guys and their teams. Max worked for Simon and his artists until at least 2012. (He died in prison 2017.) Guess when all the fake girlfriend stuff started? End 2011/ begin 2012. He basically admit to do what Larries have been saying the whole time.

7) Once upon a time there was a very popular boyband with a gay member in it who were being abused by their contracts and worked nearly to death for very little money, while making millions and millions of money for their manager and record label. They BROKE THEIR CONTRACT and signed with another record label because they felt they were being abused. Do you know what happened to them?

Fortunately, I can tell you!

I don't understand how are you even comparing the two situations? This band, which was totally under another label, isn't even slightly related to 1D can get out of their contracts so you think that 1D can do it too? How? How do you know that both of the band had the same contracts, clauses and agreements? Nsync had proofs, they didn't had iron clad contracts, they made very little money, they switched to a different label and this is not the case with 1D at all. Rebecca was under the same label, same management, same year, same show, same producer and even she didn't had any clue that 1D signed such a abusive clause like cleanliness clause. So how can you even remotely compare NSYNC and 1D? Their situations are miles apart. What makes you say that it is this easy to break contract for 1D too?

And if you really want to compare, then let's talk about those artist who were abused by Sony and they ended up loosing everything.

George Michael - He sued Sony. Why? He called his situation "professional slavery" that left him little control over his own work and career. A 15-Year Contract. He wanted an out. He didn't wanted to work with Sony at all. He was trapped, unsatisfied and unhappy. But what happened? He lost. He lost the case. He lost his money. He lost his precious time. He lost his artistry.

 If artists were given freedom to break their contracts and walk away after an album or two, the companies would no longer be able to afford to spend so much on new talent, Sony executives said.

"In fact, there is no such thing as resignation for an artist in the music industry," Mr. Michael said. "Effectively, you sign a piece of paper at the beginning of your career and you are expected to live with that decision, good or bad, for the rest of your professional life." X

I am not gonna repeat the whole thing because I am assuming you know the case. And you have said times and again that artist sue their labels and bosses if they have any problem and they DO NOT RESIGN or RENEW it again. But can you guess what happened in this case?

He recorded two albums under Virgin and In 2003, he signs a new contract with... Sony Records. His 2004 album, Patience, is released on the label; it proves to be his last, as he stops recording and dies in 2016. Why did he signed under Sony again if he was that frustrated with Sony's work ethics? The fight here was not with a single person but with a huge label, with the whole team. Then why he signed a contract again?

Do you know how his situation ended? In July 1995, Sony sold the contract to rival record companies Virgin Records and DreamWorks Records. Virgin granted worldwide rights when DreamWorks granted rights in the U.S. and Canada. All releases for these labels were co-labeled with Aegean Records, a record company owned by George Michael. He, eventually, returned to Sony Music in 2004, on which he released his final studio album, Patience. Additionally, in 2011, all his catalogue for Virgin and DreamWorks were reissued on Sony.

At the end every fucking work of his life was Sony's. The law said there was nothing illegal in his contract and he knew everything when he signed it hence there is no crime. Nothing like professional slavery.

Read every word of this article, I know you won't so I'll highlight the key points here -

“The people in the industry thought, ‘Of course he’s going to win.’ The contracts of the 1980s had been got rid of in the film industry in the 1950s so why were they still there in the 1980s? It’s the only industry on earth that has no free agency.”

"A label often wants an artist to continue to trade on their established brand with the public. But after “Faith” Michael was trying for a new direction, to be taken more seriously as an artist instead of just as a pop star sex symbol.”

 it was a tough pill to swallow that the label was making more money off of him than he was making.

“As upsetting as it was, because it felt unfair, it [Michael’s record deal] wasn’t illegal,” Wagnon said. “It’s a similar situation to Kesha, in that the wrong done to her was arguably, according to Kesha, of a criminal nature, but it was not in breach of the contract she signed.”

“George Michael was a human laboratory for the power of the right of approval with respect to creative decisions and his contract that allowed anything he turned into Sony having to be in their view commercially satisfactory. Legally speaking Sony held all the cards.”

“He kept a brave face and made the best of it but it ruined his career,”

And oh my god let's talk about Kesha. What happened with Kesha. I hope I don't have to tell you the whole case. But you definitely know how it ended. She didn't had any creative control over her songs, she was forced to sing and not her professional but personal life was controlled too. She was forced to lose weight, she went through long-term emotional and psychological abuse involving fat-shaming, she was not credited even on the songs she sang, her voice was used but no credit and no money was given to her, she stated everything in her lawsuit and claimed alleged actions are a breach of contract, besides her sexual assault charges. But what happened? Her career came to a standstill, she lost all her money, she didn't even left with any funds to fight the legal battle, her career was ruined, court said that NOTHING ILLEGAL has happened and at the end she had to work under the same damn record label. X

And here too the fight was not with any one person, her lawsuit included the same allegations against Sony, she said that working with Sony is a risk to her life. Sony tried to conceal the information, but what happened? She's still not free. She doesn't have to directly work with Luke but she's bound indefinitely with him. He still till date is getting money from all her work, sony has still ties with him and Dr. Asshole Luke is still working and is very successful.

Kesha is working again, releasing music again but Luke and Sony is getting all the money.

Now you tell me, is it that easy to break free? At what cost would Harry and Louis break free. At losing all their money, all their success, all their years of hard work and sacrifice, and still they have no chance of getting free? What will happen? They will end up working with the same people anyway but after losing every fucking thing?

Is this better? Or what Harry and Louis doing is much better? They are playing by the rules, by the contracts, playing a public narrative, but being together secretly. Hence they are working hard, building up their own image and reputation, getting rich enough to fight the system and for fighting the system YOU HAVE TO A PART OF THE SHITTY STSTEM. Both Harry and Louis have been trying to build up their own production companies, especially Louis, he's trying dead hard to go independent, to build up his own label and management company, we know that, he even tried to launch some bands, but in the end he decided that all this needs more time.

The way Harry and Louis are doing things will end up getting them in a position where they can change the lives of many up coming artist, then why would they want to lose it all? And do they have any other option? Will they be able to break free even if they revolted against the system?

Now you tell me how it was so easy for NSYNC to get out of contract but not for George Michael and Kesha? You said that All they had to say was that they were mistreated and then detail that mistreatment. Then why Kesha and George can't get out of the contract with the same allegations? Is it really that easy? Now this is what you can't understand. There's difference in contracts, clauses and agreements.

8) Closeting - I can't believe that I have to prove here that contractual closeting exist but here you go.

You have said numerous times that closeting is illegal, and forced contractual closeting does not exist. The argument is that they were contractually forced to be closeted, but thus would be illegal and render the contract null and void (unlike the Dr. Luke case). The terms of such closeting would have to be explicitly spelled out in the contract, not merely covered by a general “morality clause.”

Well I have stated above that morality clause can even force people to get married but even keeping that aside, why haven't you discussed anything about cleanliness clause? Do you even know what cleanliness clause is?

Let me tell you.

While he's finally landed in a place where he feels comfortable speaking about his sexual past with close confidants, the singer didn't always feel that way. In fact, during his One Direction days, the bandmates had something called a 'cleanliness clause' baked into their contracts, which had strict stipulations about how they could and couldn't behave publicly and what they could and couldn't say in interviews. As the name suggests, anything explicitly sexual was off the table, and the mere hint of anything sexual threatened to jeopardise their squeaky-clean, boy band image. X

As Rebecca said, this is some level of control. According to this clause, the management team and label dictate HOW CAN THEY BEHAVE IN PUBLIC, WHAT CAN THEY SAY IN INTERVIEWS. This is fucking abusive and this should be illegal. How can your boss decide what you can say in public and how you can behave in public? This is some real control over his image and sexuality. This directly means that he has to play by the image that his team created for him. Anything said or done opposed to his public image created by the label would be a breach of contract.

And this clause if fully legal. 1D boys signed this when they had no idea what even cleanliness clause is.

Along with the constant probing into his personal life, Styles said he was instructed to behave in accordance to “cleanliness clauses.” The rules were embedded in contracts that he had to sign, which threatened consequences if he did not obey the rules. The restrictiveness of those agreements ultimately led Styles to be fearful of making mistakes during his most formative years. X

Harry says the entire ordeal left him feeling "terrified" over messing up or saying the wrong thing and "ashamed' about the details of his own sex life.

And this clause existed when Harry was portrayed as a womanizer, his portrayal of public image started with dating a woman who was 14 year older then him and he was merely 16, when he was papped going to Taylor's hotel late at night with an overnight bag, when young models was getting papped going to his hotel/apartment at night and then getting papped while coming out with disheveled hair in the morning, when zayn was accused of cheating Perrie and sleeping with other girls while being with her, when Louis was getting papped taking a new girl every single night to his hotel room, when Louis hooked up with a random girl he met at a bar got her pregnant, when Louis and Zayn's video of smoking weed came out, when Taylor was writing songs about how Harry was sleeping with other girls while being with her, while he was making out with half naked Kendall on yacht.

Where is the cleanliness clause then? Oh but wait. Nothing is against their build up public image here. They have to be young boys who fucks any girl they find and they are womanizers, right?

The tabloids had explicit headlines about his sex life, they were asked questions about their sex life in interviews, everyone knew who he was dating, when is he spending a night in taylor's hotel and when a model spent a night in his apartment, beacuse everything was papped, then why was he so terrified of everyone finding out who he was having sex with? What were his personal  transgressions that made him burst into tears when he signed his solo contract?

Have you heard about cleanliness clause ever before? By any celebrity? By any musician? Did you knew that musicians have to sign such an abusive clause? Even Rebecca didn't knew it.

What would have happened if Harry refused to speak and behave in a certain way because of this clause? That would have been a breach of contract from his side. What would have happened if Harry would have taken this to court because he didn't wanted to behave in a certain way? Court would have dismissed this and Syco had the right to counter sue him.

That's what happened with George Michael, court said that he himself signed the contract in the first place, on his own free will, hence he knew what the contract carried, then how can he say now that he want to back out?

Same is Harry and Louis's case. They signed the contract on their own free will, hence they knew what was in the contract. Contract says that they agree to behave in a certain and speak what their team tells them to. Even if they want them to behave straight not gay. It was THEIR CHOICE in the first place, that's why they signed it. It was THEIR CHOICE to not to let people know their actual sexuality. They can't just suddenly change THEIR CHOICE and decide not to go with the PR strategies of their label. Then every other artist will change THEIR CHOICE to not to go by the signed contract and that's just not possible. This is closeting and this is not illegal.

And that's why a wise woman once said :

"Read your contracts. Up and down, left and right. Hire five different lawyers to read it for you if you have to, but read your f*cking contracts" - Lauren Jauregui

As stated in the George Michael article above "It is of criminal nature but it is not illegal"

9) I wanted to address this as the last point because what you said here was really really absurd.  If they are…. why are they risking it all by giving out signs over the internet? Do you feel any connection, as the target of those signs, to the risk they might be undertaking to give you signs? Do you think about that at all when you discuss them in public forums?

Why is it such a bizarre idea to you that celebs gives hints to their fans about their work and even about their personal life? Have you never heard about this before? Let's take a simple example of Taylor Swift. She gives hints to her fans about her personal life all the time. Giving an small example here, she threw direct shade at her enemies in her work, like in music videos, pictures, tweets, insta posts, she threw shade at Kendall, Kanye, Katy, Karlie, Jake Gyllenhaal, all these people betrayed her in personal life and she used her work to threw shade at them and let people know about it. And her fans start throwing public hate comments on these celebs.

Do you think this is allowed by her label and her team? Why would they allow it when they perfectly know that Taylor can get in serious legal trouble for this? These celebs can file a libel case against her. It will be difficult for both Taylor and her label. Then why are they allowing it? Why is she risking it all by giving out signs over the internet? Do Swifties feel any connection, as the target of those signs, to the risk she might be undertaking to give them signs? Do Swifties think about that at all when they discuss them in public forums?

(For those who don't know Libel is a method of defamation expressed by print, writing, pictures, signs, effigies, or any communication embodied in physical form that is injurious to a person's reputation, exposes a person to public hatred, contempt or ridicule, or injures a person in his/her business or profession.)

Answer to all of this NO. Because there is no evident proof that Taylor shaded Kendall or Katy. She didn't took any direct names, she didn't directly used their photos, then what's the legal proof that Taylor shaded them? It is dead obvious to her fans that she's throwing shade at someone and everybody knows it, but even her team knows that fan theories proves nothing in reality and Taylor can continue doing this as much as she wants. It's like a connection between Taylor and her fans and nobody can pick it up as offensive.

Oh but wait nobody has ever given hints about their sexuality right? That's something very personal and nobody wants to discuss it with fans in this hints game right? Think again.

 "I've hinted about my sexuality for years while being afraid to spell it out for everybody." she said. "I did a lyric video last year for 'We Belong.' It had moving line drawings of people falling in love… It was all a man and a woman making out, and it was a weird moment for me."

The star revealed she felt uncomfortable with the video showing only heterosexual couples. "It was so bizarre that I had to ask to mix in different orientations. People started asking for hints about the video, and I used different combinations of emoji couples making out.” 

She wasn't able to come out, because of the fear of homophobic reactions and pressure of getting her career ended if fans didn't accepted her for who she was. She thought they will think that she lied for years. But no, fans caught her signs.

You have linked Lauren's reaction she was outed as bi because BECAUSE HER FANS THOUGHT SHE AND HER BANDMATE WERE SENDING THEM SIGNALS. But what about the other side where celebs wants us to catch hints?

Let me tell you first, that's how strongly and firmly you shut off the dating rumours, which Harry and Louis has never done, but Louis said PEOPLE CAN BELIVE WHAT THEY WANNA BELIEVE and Harry said I WOULD NEVER LIKE TO TELL SOMEONE THAT THEY ARE WRONG. And sometimes celebs need that support. Celebs give hints so that they can know that people will support them or not. When you are forced in a closet by a homophobic industry you sometimes become so afraid of people knowing who you actually are that you desperately just want everyone to catch on hints so that you can know if anyone will support you or not. Showing support is important.

"Whitney Houston was in a lesbian relationship with her assistant and friends believe coming out of the closet could have SAVED her life." “I really feel that if Robyn was accepted into Whitney’s life, Whitney would still be alive today,” Bobby Brown told Us Weekly.

Wentworth Miller ("Prison Break") admitted that he tried to commit suicide while struggling to come to terms with his sexuality. "I gave thousands of interviews. I had multiple opportunities to speak my truth, which is that I was gay, but I chose not to." In 2013 he came out.

Westlife's (A famous boyband) Mark Feehily said -

'I became depressed. People think, "Sure, he’s living the life of Riley in a massive band, how could he have any problems?" but there has to be a balance and back then my career life was fulfilled, but my personal life was a total shambles. His inability to be honest about his sexuality led Mark to feel there wasn't any point in life at times.

The bravest thing I’ve ever done is… come out as being gay. In hindsight it was brave because silly former me thought the reaction from everyone was going to be one of shock and disappointment.

Little did I know it would be the opposite.

If only they knew that they will get immense support even they came out the next moment. Hints are given because even artist knows that only fans who are playing close attention will catch on them and nobody will ever directly ask them about it. They do not owe fans any explanation or clarification for leaving hints. Nobody has asked Taylor about the shade thrown on other celebs.

10) Lastly I want to let you know this story.

First a set up by a label

HE DIDN'T WANTED TO DO IT. HE DIDN'T WANTED TO DO IT.

Second he SUGGESTED he's gay.

And boom third comes a fake engagement and a fake pregnancy.

Oh wait I totally for your questions about has anyone faked pregnancy before? Has anyone faked fatherhood before for SEVEN YAERS? Has anyone forged birth certificate and documents before? You are most welcome to read my babygate masterpost. X

@back-to-louis maybe this is not everything I wanted to cover, because I totally forgot to add how Zayn was able to leave. Because I think that's what you will ask next. But I might add it in the next post, as for sure you are gonna throw more questions now.

Adding this today just because I want everyone to laugh after reading this long ass post. LOL

[sickly-stitches]

1-35your evil:)

First of all *you're Second of all maybe this was my plan all along

What is your nickname? Willa IS a nickname - it's derived from my last name. Apart from that I have 7 nicknames.

When is your birthday? 6th of August!! Just had it - and it ended up being a weeklong event :D

What was your longest relationship? My current one, which is almost a year and a half.

What is your favorite book? Loveless by Alice Oseman

What is something you're insecure about? Hmmm, my weight/size. Been bullied for it since I was like 4 😭

5 Male celebrity crushes I don't get crushes, I tried to answer but everytime I was just listing guys I know

5 Female celebrity crushes Again I dont get crushes but I will never turn down a movie with Florence Pugh

What is your dream job? I simply don't dream of labour. I would like to run a queer cafe that doubles with free sex ed info. I also wouldnt mind doing ASMR as a career I just don't have the tools really.

What do you consider your biggest accomplishment? Uhmm, being happy.

What is a fact about you that nobody would believe? There was a few years where I was somewhere on the goth/emo spectrum. I don't think it's particularly shocking but I've very quickly gotten a reputation for being a pink princess so...

What were your highs and lows for this last month? Highs - I got a huge plushie the size of my body, heartstopper s2, shopping spree, the Barbie movie Lows - a whole heap of medical shit relating to me and ppl im close with, depressive episodes, burying my cat

Where is somewhere you'd like to visit? I'm honestly not a travel person, I guess I wouldn't mind diving somewhere though.

How do you de-stress? Yoga, sunbathing, baking, crochet, gay things, making art, and reading.

What are your favorite apps besides tumblr? Gratitude Journal, PocketLove and MyPossibleSelf. Social media wise I don't mind Pinterest and Insta but there are almost always things I don't wanna see showing up on my dash.

Describe yourself in one sentence. Hot<3

What do you think makes you attractive? Stomach, thighs and shoulders. I've also been told my worldview is v attractive.

What is something you're really good at? Self love babey.

What is something you're really bad at? Baking red velvet cake.

A time that you told a lie. I lie when asked if there's anything that could prevent me from doing xyz.

What's a totally random and useless fact that you know? Nico Di Angelo smells like stone after rain.

Who knows you the best? My boyfriend.

What is your most prized possession? My phone - it has hundreds of photos I wouldnt be able to replace, poetry, songwriting, journalling and its how I stay in contact with long-distance friends and old school/work friends.

What is your longest friendship? Man idk. Friendships often dip, almost all of my friends have had a few years where we weren't friend inbetween things.

When did you first feel like an adult? I felt like an adult before I was ever allowed to feel like a kid so like. always.

Do you/ Have you played any sports? So many! Soccer, touch football, dance (various types), figure skating, I tried boxing once, karate. Currently I don't play sports, I'm more of a yoga, pilates and skateboarding kinda guy.

How are you feeling right now? Kinda in-between. Don't feel completely zoned in-

Are you an early bird or a night owl? Early bird.

Do you believe in love at first sight? Yes, because there's about a thousand kinds of love.

Favorite song lyrics right now? "sexy girl come and lay with meeee, im frustrated and its sexually" from Sexy Drug - Falling in Reverse. It's such a good song to scream the lyrics to

What does self care look like for you? It entirely depends on the day - it can be watching a film, going on a walk, buying a little treat, dressing up fancy or some form of working out.

Describe yourself with 3 singers. Taylor Swift, Melanie Martinez, Doja Cat.

What makes you nervous? Pretty people.

What’s a pet peeve you have? People that are mean to be funny.

What will always make you cry? Show Me Going from Brooklyn Nine Nine, also Grimace being sad and never wanting to have a birthday again bc of the grimace shake trend :[ Tearing up rn thinking about it.

What kind of first impression do you think you make on people? It's literally never the same impression. I feel like shy and quiet is probably the main one but sometimes it'll be loud and chaotic, charmismatic and funny, I've also gotten told I'm confident a lot which is wild.