#also this race suit emphasizes ->

[artemispt]

[skz-streamer]

2023 VMA's

<- BACK TO MASTERLIST

<- EVENTS TAB

Pairing: ot8 (skz) x fem!reader (9th member)

Genre: Fluff?, Crack? Idol Au

Warnings: suggestive kinda, a small mention of nudity with some outfits.

Notes: When I was watching the VMA's I KNEW I AHD TO DO SOMETHING. sooo here it is :) I realized I forgot to add their interview in here but whatever, also thing is literally all based off of Bongos because of their reactions to that performance LORDDD FUNNY AS HELL. so yea... im also insanely obsessed with them...

Summary: 2023 VMA's turned out to be a little funnier then you thought they would be.

-please read responsibly, and remember that this work is fiction and meant strictly for imaginative fun. the idols used in fics are more accurately face claims and personality outlines for imaginary characters, and should not be interpreted as factual representations of existing people

Word count ~1.8k ;)

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As the van pulled up to the annual 2023 VMA's, the excitement among you and your fellow members of Stray Kids was palpable. This was a momentous occasion, the first time the group had the privilege of attending the prestigious awards show. The energy in the vehicle was infectious, a mix of nervous anticipation and uncontainable joy.

Inside the van, you couldn't help but admire the transformation of your fellow members. They were all dressed to the nines, their stylish suits and glamorous ensembles adding to the aura of excitement that filled the air. Hyunjin, in particular, had undergone a striking change for the occasion. He sported a fresh undercut, a hairstyle he had been yearning to try for a long time. The change suited him perfectly, adding to his already striking appearance.

As the only female member of Stray Kids, you knew that all eyes would be on you, so you had taken extra care with your outfit. You were dressed in a stunning Lapel blazer top button slit skirt set, which you had carefully chosen for the occasion. The top was a sleek black with slightly puffed-out shoulders, a V-neck with a stylish collar, and two buttons at the bottom. It exuded confidence and sophistication. The skirt, on the other hand, was a bit more daring. It hugged your body tightly, emphasizing your curves. It featured a daring slit that ran from the middle of your thigh down to your ankles.

Your choice of outfit had raised some eyebrows, with both the stylists and some of the boys expressing concern that it might be showing too much skin. However, you were quick to defend your choice, reminding them that VMA fashion was all about pushing boundaries and making bold statements. Growing up in the United States, you had been a dedicated fan of the VMA's for as long as you could remember. You had spent years watching the show, voting online, and dreaming of the day when you would be a part of it. Now, that dream had become a reality, and you were determined to make a memorable entrance.

As the van rolled towards the VMA venue, the nervous tension among you and the boys was prominent. Small talk filled the air, a feeble attempt to ease the apprehension that gripped each of you. It was clear that this was a significant moment, one filled with both excitement and trepidation.

You could sense the jitters in the van, a stark contrast to the exuberance that had filled it earlier. The boys were fidgeting, adjusting their suits, and stealing glances at each other. You, too, had thought that stepping onto the pink carpet would dissolve your nervousness, but as the van pulled up and the doors swung open, you were greeted by a frenzy of flashing cameras and enthusiastic shouts.

Cameras flashed from every direction, capturing your every move. The carpet was a vibrant sea of celebrities, some of whom you had admired for years. Your heart raced as you recognized familiar faces, and you couldn't help but feel a sense of fangirling yourself. The sheer star power in the vicinity was overwhelming.

As you walked through the barricades and onto the pink carpet, you were swiftly directed to your designated spot, and the command to smile was given. Your outfit, though daring, suddenly seemed rather modest compared to some of the ensembles on display. Megan's netted, see-through dress and Cardi's low-cut attire were enough to make anyone do a double-take. The boys' jaws nearly hit the ground, especially when Jeongin accidentally bumped into Doja Cat, who was rocking an absolute see-through dress.

Jeongin stammered an apology, and Doja Cat simply smiled and continued on her way. The boys' expressions were priceless, a mixture of shock, amazement, and perhaps a touch of embarrassment. You couldn't help but at their shared amused look, one that communicated, "Did you see her outfit?!"

You didn't need words to convey your thoughts; you your raised eyebrow and rolled your eyes, the boys interpreting it as an “I told you so virgins”, one of your most used lines. The boys understood, and though they didn't say it out loud, their sheepish grins and laughter betrayed their astonishment. Clearly, they were not entirely prepared for the bold fashion choices that often graced the VMA pink carpet.

As you made your way inside the building and found your seats, you realized that you weren't in the front row, but you were still pretty close to the stage. The excitement continued to build within you as you looked around at the familiar faces in the audience. Growing up watching these artists and admiring their work, you couldn't wait for the performances to begin. The nerves from earlier had started to fade, replaced by a sense of anticipation and wonder.

The atmosphere inside the VMA venue was electric as you and the boys chatted excitedly before the performances began. You took the opportunity to introduce some of the artists to them, explaining their music and significance. While most of the artists were already familiar to the boys, you could tell they were particularly excited about Demi Lovato's performance. It wasn't a surprise, given that you had caught them listening to their music in the practice room on multiple occasions, either vibing or dancing.

You, on the other hand, were eagerly anticipating the performances by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion. Their recent collaboration on the song "Bongos" had become one of your favorites, and you couldn't wait to see if they would perform it live. You had a feeling it would be a showstopper.

The show began with NLE Choppa and Nelly, delivering a bold and energetic opening performance. The boys were starting to get into the groove of the VMA's, and you couldn't help but chuckle at some of their flustered moments during the performance, especially when there was some intense "ass-shaking" involved. It was undoubtedly a cultural difference they were experiencing.

As the night continued, you watched Olivia Rodrigo's performance, knowing that Felix was a fan of hers. You couldn't help but notice the reactions of your members to her high notes, particularly Han's expression of awe.

Then came the moment you had been waiting for—Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's performance of "Bongos." You knew that the boys were in for a surprise, especially with the explicit lyrics and slang used by the two artists. You were sitting next to Changbin, who seemed engrossed, a smirk playing on his lips. You were equally captivated by the performance, and you and Han matched each other's energy as you sang along to the lyrics. You were well-versed in the song, so you had no qualms about singing the explicit parts.

The boys' reactions were priceless. Felix and Chan, who were fluent in English, appeared somewhat surprised by the lyrics, but they couldn't look away from the mesmerizing performance. Jeongin's mouth hung open, and Hyunjin and Changbin were engrossed in a hushed conversation, probably trying to decipher some of the slang. It got so loud that toward the end, both Changbin and Hyunjin turned to face the wall, clearly flustered.

You couldn't resist teasing them, tapping their shoulders and playfully saying, "You don't gotta look away; their sexiness is part of the whole performance. It's the whole point." Your giggle and their embarrassed reactions were amusing.

Seungmin and Minho, although harder to see from your vantage point, likely had similar reactions. The whole scene was a mix of awe and embarrassment, and you couldn't help but laugh heartily at their expense.

The performance concluded with everyone turning back, their faces flushed red. You continued to chuckle and pat them on the shoulders, thoroughly entertained by their reactions. Han was right there with you, and the two of you had a blast throughout the entire performance.

When Demi Lovato took the stage, the boys went wild, fanboying over their incredible talent. It was a joy to witness their enthusiasm.

Later in the evening, awards were announced, and you and the boys engaged in random conversations. Your ears perked up when they discussed K-pop awards, and you paid close attention. You knew that TXT was also nominated and set to perform, so there was an element of nervousness in the air.

Then came the moment you least expected—they announced Stray Kids as the winners! It was your group! The shock initially left you in a daze, and you stumbled slightly on your way to the stage, but Changbin caught you, saving you from a potentially embarrassing fall.

Walking onto the stage with your fellow members, your mind felt fuzzy. Was this real? Chan and Felix took a few words, expressing gratitude and excitement. You chipped in with your thanks here and there, the elation clear in your voice.

----- Backstage

The anticipation backstage was palpable as your performance was up next. You couldn't contain your excitement, even though you had initially pitched a mashup of songs that you believed would be iconic. You had suggested blending "Hall of Fame," "S-Class," and "Super Bowl" into a medley, envisioning a performance that would leave a lasting impression. The combination of "Hall of Fame's" grandeur, the seductive whispers of "Super Bowl," and the catchy vibes of "S-Class" seemed like a recipe for an unforgettable show. However, it seemed that your idea had been outvoted, and the group settled on a remix instead.

Nonetheless, you were determined to give it your all. Backstage, you and your fellow Stray Kids members exchanged reassuring glances, a silent reminder that you were a team and that you had prepared for this moment together.

As you stepped onto the stage, the spotlight illuminated you, and the nerves threatened to shake you. Your heart pounded, but you focused on the task at hand. You were dressed in a short top with gold buttons, paired with shorts, and an undershirt with a yellow print that matched Han's outfit. The stage lights were blinding, but you pushed through the nerves.

The music started, and you gave it your all. Singing loudly and pouring all your energy into your dance moves, you felt the adrenaline rush through your veins. The crowd's cheers and screams were deafening, and that only fueled your determination. The energy in the venue was incredible, and it was a testament to the love and support of your fans.

As the performance reached its climax, you executed the choreography flawlessly, ending with a dramatic head tilt before turning your back to the audience. You were out of breath but exhilarated. It was a performance to remember, and the applause and cheers from the audience were music to your ears.

You resisted the urge to turn around and gauge the audience's reactions. Instead, you noticed Seungmin doing the same. Smiles exchanged between the two of you, a shared moment of pride and satisfaction. You both walked off the stage with the rest of the boys, following the well-rehearsed exit routine.

Despite the exhaustion, you felt a sense of accomplishment and euphoria. The performance had been tiring, but it had been worth it. The rush of being on stage, sharing your music with the world, and feeling the love from your fans was an experience like no other. You couldn't help but love every moment of it. The car ride home was gonna be fun.

-----------------------------

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[starastrologyy]

Astrology Notes🌪

Hi everyone, I have re-opened my chart readings! The link is in my bio for anyone who is interested :)

In one of my older posts I remember saying that couples who have their Composite Mars making a conjunction to their Composite Ascendant can come across as being quarrelsome, as their arguments are often made public. However, I have also found that couples who have Mars conjunct the Composite Midheaven, can also come across as being argumentative ( with each other and with other people). This is most likely because Mars conjuncting the MC would in most cases square the Composite Ascendant.

People with Jupiter in the 8th or Part of Fortune in the 8th house in their natal chart can often find success when trading or investing!

When your Solar Return Mercury makes a conjunction to the Solar Return Midheaven, you may have to travel for work. I have also found this to be true when you have the ruler of the solar return midheaven placed in the 9th house. I want to emphasize that placements can play out many different ways this is just one of the ways I have seen these two placements manifest.

An afflicted Saturn in the 3rd house of a composite chart can often indicate communication problems within a relationship. There can be verbal misunderstandings, silent treatments, or just differences in communication styles as a result of this placement. However, it is always important to remember that a single placement cannot derail an entire relationship, you will need to look at both the composite and Synastry charts holistically.

A Solar Return year in which you have the ruler of your Solar Return 4th house in the 9th, can be the year where you move or relocate abroad.

In synastry, when your North Node makes a conjunction to someone else’s Midheaven vise versa you two have the potential to impact each other’s career trajectories quite significantly. I have actually found that it is often the Midheaven person who introduces the North Node person to people who have the ability to advance them on their career path.

People who have planets that make a conjunction to your Sun/Moon midpoint are likely to have a significant impact on you (especially if the orb is exact). For example, if someone’s Moon makes a conjunction to your sun/moon midpoint you can feel a strong emotional pull towards them vise versa.

Individuals with their natal Venus, Mars, or descendent in Sagittarius can often find themselves in long distance relationships or in relationships with people who are very different to them. There can be a difference in religion, race, nationality, political beliefs etc…

Something I find so interesting is that I personally know someone who met their spouse in the time frame (+- 2 months) that they had their Solar arc Venus making an exact conjunction to their natal descendent! I am thinking of making a separate post about Solar Arcs for those interested to know how to interpret them and what they are!

If you have Uranus in your natal 6th house, you are best suited to work environments that provide you with a lot of freedom and autonomy. Interestingly, people with Uranus in the 6th house, are also more likely to own exotic pets.

Chiron in the natal 3rd house can manifest as having a speech impediment, attention difficulties, or problems in early education. It can also indicate a difficult relationship with a sibling or siblings. In some instances, a 3rd house Chiron can indicate a fear of driving or some kind of ‘wounding’ surrounding cars and short-distance traveling,

[shamelesstragedyenjoyer]

Here's a refined breakdown of how I envision Stephanie Brown's style, a character whose perception is largely shaped by the male gaze;

While she's comfortable wearing feminine attire, her ultimate aesthetic leans towards more of a Adam Sandler-esque vibe. Her fashion sense, similar to Duke's in many ways, differs significantly from Tim and Bruce's habit of quiet luxury. Her gamine face and all American girl look creates an interesting dichotomy with the way she dresses. There's also a notable juxtaposition between how she navigates high society in comparison to Jason. Whereas the latter used to strive towards acceptance within Bruce's elite circle, Stephanie– and sometimes even Duke, when he feels like being a troublemaker– seeks rejection. She wears oversized men suits to black tie events to emphasize her different background. She leans more into it then– if only to make a point.

To touch back onto my understanding of the class dynamics at play within the Wayne family and how it reflects back on their personal style , I think there are five key-points to talk about– Upbringing, class, gender, race and generation.

Tim, Bruce, and Damian fall into a similar category, having been raised as wealthy boys in a racially homogeneous environment with privileged access to private education. Tim possesses a deeper awareness of his privileged worldview compared to Damian, who is more detached from poverty. Dick occupies a unique position due to his early adoption into the affluent world and his background as the son of performers, which cultivated his charm and adaptability. He seamlessly integrates into high society, drawing from his upbringing. Stephanie, Cassandra, Jason, and Duke, however, have experienced more time in lower-class environments than in financial stability, forming their own distinct circle. They share a mutual understanding rooted in shared experiences, vernacular accents, inside jokes, and nuanced awareness of class dynamics and microaggressions, which sometimes excludes the other group.

When Tim adopts a more casual, Gen-Z skater-boy persona outside of Wayne Enterprises' strict business casual environment, the second group sometimes call him a poser due to the African American roots of the skater style, which emerged in opposition to everything Tim represents– is. While they may be perceived as the "cool kids" within the house– and at school–, they are more protective of one another than malicious towards others, guarding their identity and personal struggles fiercely as an act of revendication.

She mainly listens to 90's and early 2000's rap music and blasts "Poor Lil rich" by 50 cent whenever she has a fight with Bruce or Tim.

[wofdesignhub]

I’m gonna draw a dragon again soon so quick rant

You know one thing I REALLY hate in wings of fire? There’s a tiny, little inconsistency throughout the books. And that’s the sizes of scavengers to the dragons. Because I’m just gonna say it here: the “canonical” size comparison such as the picture below makes NO SENSE considering how everything else is just conveniently a decent size for a dragon. And trust me, we WILL get to it being “canonical”

A mango can fit a dragons palm when it should clearly be tiny as the actual love I have for this book series. What about cows? How come they’re described to be massive enough to feed a whole dragon? They should be like a candy bar to those things! And don’t get me started on how completely unrealistic it is for a sloth to be big enough to wrap itself around a rainwing’s neck. Like that must be some pretty massive sloths around that should ABSOLUTELY be massive compared to a scavenger.

Also the funny part about that pic I showed you? Yeah well scrap that cuz that’s also pretty inaccurate. We were to believe in the VERY EARLY books that scavengers are like hamsters to dragons. Literally the size of their right toe. Also also the fact that Smolder is like 50 years old AND also also also the fact that dragons keep growing as they age, then that just tells us that these scavenger are way, WAY bigger to these dragons. Especially if Flower here is the size of his FOREARM!

“Oh, but the islands are more suited for dragons! Of course everything will be big!” You cry out! Yet it is implied that scavengers were the dominant race BEFORE The Scorching, and even if that was a whole lotta years ago, then that must’ve been the FASTEST evolution process in the south coast yet.

And it STILL gets worse! Scavengers, even after being concluded to be the size of hamsters to dragons, Tui is constantly and very much maliciously switching the sizes of these scavengers to fit the plot because she has never figured out what she ever wants. Winter keeps Bandit in what’s implied to be some.. hamster cage? Okay, so he must be pretty damn tiny, which makes some amount of sense considering he’s probably a… teenager… I mean, okay, sure, whatever, I’ll let it slide- wait! But so is Winter! Winter is bigger than Qibli, sure, but neither of them are any bigger than other fully grown dragons! Winter is a teenage dragonet! So how small is Bandit?? How small is he compared to a- and let me emphasize- a FULL GROWN DRAGON!!!?? What!!!

And by the way, have you SEEN the actual cover of Dragonslayer??? Look at that and TELL me how completely unrealistic it is if we are to believe scavengers are the size of a dragon’s forearm

Also also also ALSO in book 14 Daffodil is shown tossing and catching Bumblebee who had just hatched and this is just unnatural and biologically confusing to think about. HOW is Daffodil bigger than a newborn dragonet? And this makes even LESS SENSE when you realize that it’s been implied that a newborn dragonet is the same size as a regular sized scavenger ACCORDING to the fact that it’s really easy to pick up a baby dragonet by the hand COMPARED to the size of Flower to Smolder’s hand in the picture??? HOW? Tell me how, Tui!! How is this possible!! And don’t you dare tell me that “oh! Pantalan dragons are smaller than Pyrian!” Because that is just ludicrous to me. I will LAUGH at you if you tell me otherwise because that is just a cheap way to excuse any of this. There has NEVER been any quote of Luna or any other Silkwing, Hivewing, or Leafwing being significantly shorter than a Pyrian dragon. 

I should really cut to the chase but I’ve… never liked Tui’s writing. I don’t like that she avoids criticism of her writing. She has great ideas and is so creative in the world of WOF but for most works she’s either rushing it or coming up with something on the spot. And neither are good if they’re not thought out well enough! All of the endings to the arcs are bad and poorly thought out. The logic in how specific stuff works is just terrible. Arc 3 is just a NOTHING arc full of NOTHING characters (except maybe Snowfall and some of the Leafwings they’re… fine). I’m sorry but as much as I “pretend” to like WOF, and I REALLY mean it when I say “pretend”, but this book makes me get an aneurysm the more I really look deep into it. I am beyond terrified of looking into the guidebook because I KNOW there will be inaccuracies, confusion, and Tui slamming down whatever ideas she has without a second thought. I already know she put the weird and unnecessary mudwing mating rituals!!

Anyways, drawing that stupid blue and yellow rainwing later, I don’t want to go and look for her name now, goodnight everyone, don’t talk to me

[nyoomfruits]

magic au .....!!!

magic au was me turning to one of my favorite tropes ever in times of really struggling so badly with writing lmao anyway the idea is magic haunted building tries to get two people to finally confess their feelings for each other by doing some. seriously questionable shit.

IN THIS CASE it's basically. oscar has a crush on lando. oscar is also a witch. anyway his MAGIC decides it's time for lando and oscar to finally get their shit together and tries to achieve this by. turning lando's driver's room against him???? (magic is weird). basically weird shit keeps happening in lando's drivers room which means lando is forced to spend time in oscar's drivers room (maybe the magic is onto something here). anyway here's the opening scene, for funsies :)

It starts, ironically enough, with a bang.

Lando has just said goodbye to Oscar in the little hallway of the McLaren motorhome, getting a small wave and a close mouthed little smile from Oscar before he’d ducked into his driver’s room, Lando disappearing into his own. His phone is on 10%, and they still have a ton of media duties before they to leave the track, so he grabs his charger, plugs in his phone-

The horrible fluorescent light above him explodes with a loud bang and a flurry of sparks as the whole room suddenly plunges into darkness.

Lando yelps, jumps back, trips over something on the floor and falls down in a flail of limbs, which is how Oscar finds him barely two seconds later, door of Lando’s driver’s room slamming open with a loud bang.

“Lando,” Oscar says, a little frantically. He’s standing in the doorway, backlit by the light still streaming in from the hallway, and Lando’s first thought is, ‘huh, he kind of looks like an angel’ followed very closely by ‘oh my god do I have a concussion’.

“I’m fine,” Lando says, struggling to untangle himself from the stack of race suits he’s somehow found himself in. Oscar steps over, sticks out his hand, hoists him back on his feet. “Thanks.”

“What happened?” Oscar asks, glancing up at Lando’s exploded lamp. It seems fine, except for the fact that it’s not doing anything.

“I don’t know? Plugged in my phone and the lamp just exploded. Too many things plugged in maybe?” He grabs his phone, unplugs it from the charger. At least that’s fine. “Going to have to ask someone to replace that, I guess,” he says, forlornly looking up at the lamp. “Unless you know where we keep the lightbulbs?”

Oscar snorts. “I don’t.”

“Hm, well,” Lando glances around his now rather gloomy looking driver’s room. There’s light filtering in from the hallway, but it makes the already rather sad looking space look absolutely depressing. “Can I maybe stay in yours for now? I’ll text someone to come fix it, but I think it’ll be a while and we have that media thing later I think?”

“Oh, yeah no problem,” Oscar says, heading for the door. “Kim’s coming over in a bit for a bit of a massage, though. My shoulder’s kind of stuck,” he wiggles it around for emphasize as Lando follows behind him.

“Yeah,” Lando says, texting someone from the team to ask if they know where the lightbulbs are, maybe. “Yeah, sure, no problem.”

--

It’s. Well. Lando didn’t lie. It’s not a problem, perse. But it’s. Something.

Lando’s curled up on the little couch in the corner of Oscar’s driver’s room, scrolling away on his phone and decidedly not looking at Oscar who is sprawled on his stomach on the massage table in the other corner, making truly indecent noises.

Lando thinks that maybe it would be better if Oscar would just commit. If he would just fully all out moan like his life depends on it. That way, Lando could at least make fun of it, a little, maybe. Or something.

But instead, Oscar’s making these quiet little noises, these half bitten off moans and little whines and soft gasps and it sounds like messing around in broom closets and trying desperately to stay as quiet as possible and hands over mouths and broken off moans and Jesus.

Not that Lando’s ever done any of those things with Oscar. But now he’s thinking about it.

Oscar’s taken his shirt off too, and so whenever Lando dares to glance over he’s just met with broad shoulders and strong back muscles and good lord when did Oscar get so big.

Lando wants to bite his neck. He also wants this goddamn couch to swallow him whole. He settles for something in the middle which is going back to frantically scrolling through Instagram. He hasn’t absorbed a single thing he’s seen for the past ten minutes.

Kim, who is also still very much there, presses into a specific spot in Oscar’s back and it startles this gasp-y little sound out of Oscar and Lando briefly considers if maybe his driver’s room did this on purpose. Maybe this driver’s room was like ‘fuck you for always leaving your dirty socks on the floor’ and sabotaged his lamp just to watch him suffer. He can almost hear it laughing at him, through the thin wall separating Oscar’s room from his own.

That, or he’s going a little insane.

He’s never been more glad to see their PR manager poke her head around the driver’s room door to inform them it’s time to go.

[swanqueen1215]

Beetlejuice The Musical Headcanons Pt 2

Hi again, guys!! This is a second part of my headcanons about the Broadway musical Beetlejuice.

Beetlejuice didn't harass Lydia, because she was able to get away from him because of that.

Even though Beetlejuice was very inappropriate with the Maitlands when he first met them and seemed to have a preference for Adam, he genuinely doesn't know personal boundaries, but it doesn't mean he doesn't know that what he did was wrong...

We can agree that Lydia was the person who hurt Beetlejuice the most for the entire duration of the show. She is the only one who managed to betray beetlejuice THREE TIMES IN A ROW!

I honestly believed that in a way, he would also do something very small to Lydia, I mean make her uncomfortable in some way, you know, what Keaton's Beetlejuice did to Ryder in the original movie.

My theory is that Beetlejuice knows that touching people without their consent or invading their personal space is wrong, but being so lonely, he does it to vent his painful loneliness... But he knows that's wrong, and he knows that the Maitlands despise those inappropriate touches and despise him for doing so, too.

That's why I firmly believe that Beetlejuice refrained from touching Lydia in the same way as the Maitlands, (Even if we're talking about the person he loves the most) and he didn't make any inappropriate comments to her, because he didn't want to give Lydia reasons to abandon him or hate him.

I don't think Beetlejuice's clones are distorted representations of himself.

I think Beetlejuice has ADHD to some degree, but I don't think that's why all of his clones are physically different.

I agree that maybe Beetlejuice doesn't have the proper physical recognition to know every part of his being in detail. But I don't think ADHD makes you look like you're another race, or a different physical build...

It would be very strange if Beetlejuice never crossed the veil into the Netherworld, it is very likely that he has done so many MANY times, and he has encountered all kinds of people. Like Lauren Boebert, from whom he contracted Herpes, but perhaps, he found people who really liked him. But it is likely that they have abandoned him and as a sad reminder, Beetlejuice formed his clones based on these strangers who cheered his immortality at least a little.

Lydia is and was Beetlejuice's ONLY choice to get married.

Because even though Lydia had already betrayed him once, Beetlejuice immediately looked at her, but once she left with her father, Charles, there was only one last woman left alive, Delia...

In fact, his plan could have gone better, since he could go after them. Beetlejuice may have threatened Delia to marry him, and bring Lydia and Charles back.

But when he feels that Lydia has betrayed him again, he immediately cries: "Why does everyone keep leaving me?!"

I think he could have chased her to the Netherworld, but for fear of meeting his mother, he didn't want to go.

But he didn't, Beetlejuice didn't use the absence of the father and daughter to extort Delia, I have a theory that, even a little, Beetlejuice came to love Lydia too much to suddenly accept her: "I don't want to go through life alone".

Well, I also want to emphasize that, he did believe Lydia, but not Charles, so Adam had to intervene.

I mean, Beetlejuice was willing to believe everything Lydia told him (and I'm pretty sure if Lydia told Beetlejuice that the moon is cheese, he'd believe her). But, yes, Beetlejuice could only believe Lydia.... Not Charles....

Adam had to intervene to make the charade make more sense...

Plus I feel like if Beetlejuice believed Lydia for all of her lies, he didn't believe Charles because BJ may have thought Charles had a plan to take her away from him. Not knowing that the whole plan was made by her...

And although Lydia became the most beloved person by the pinstripe suit demon, and she'd take every opportunity to hurt him....

he's going to want to keep trying.

Lydia was able to make Beetlejuice give up the urge to murder.

We all know that Lydia has some power over Beetlejuice, being, apparently, the first person to "genuinely love him as a friend" and may have actually manipulated him into doing more things for her.

I'm sure that if Lydia had shown interest in helping him reform, he wouldn't have refused.

Beetlejuice isn't as bad as we think.

From the beginning, Beetlejuice wanted Lydia to agree to release him, but he NEVER lied to her.

Beetlejuice told him that they are a great team, and in the song "That Beautiful Sound", he really believed that they were kindred souls, and he believed that because of that they were already friends.

But think for a moment, if Beetlejuice had wanted to manipulate her, he would have inquired into the reasons why Lydia wanted to commit suicide and there he would have discovered that she wanted to see her mother again and there he would have tricked her into saying his name three times and maybe even marrying him in order to bring Emily back.

But no.... As soon as Beetlejuice knows that Lydia wants to see her mother again, he is completely honest about it... And at least we know that he never lied to her, and while the way he convinced her to marry him was mean, at least it wasn't a lie.

He kept his word to get everyone out of the house and save Barbara.

Beetlejuice really holds Lydia in high esteem and we know that she is very special (because she can see and understand him), so BJ held her back as much as he could to keep her from leaving.

Even after being betrayed THREE TIMES IN A ROW, he was willing to face his worst fear by confronting his mother, just to save Lydia...

He was willing to sacrifice himself to prevent his mother from touching a single hair of the girl.

And that says a lot more than the manipulation he did out of desperation...

Well, that's all for now... Maybe I'll get a third part, but I'd have to watch the musical again to get more information.... Maybe...

(You can update this post regularly, because I keep adding a lot more)

If you made it this far, thank you enormously for reading my writing again...

Merry Christmas to all!! 💖💕

[pinkthick]

Hi :)

Let's just say the reader is starting to have some wet dreams about Doctor Strange 616 and she starts to avoid him but because America is now learning at Kamar-Taj, she can't avoid him anymore because the doctor is more often there.

Then Stephen is asking the reader to help him with something and when she agrees he finally makes the reader admit the dreams she's having with him, because the sorcerer is having them too,

Then both of them finally sleep together and their relationship changes from there.

Thank you <3

I hope you like it :)

18+ MINORS DNI!!

Help me?

Pairing: Doctor Strange x Fem!Reader

Doctor Strange & America Chavez

Summary: When the doctor asks for your help you gladly go to the Sanctum. The only problem is that he has other things in mind.

You'd been avoiding Stephen at all costs for the past week. You decided to put some distance between the two of you after having some dreams with him. Mostly because the incident with Wanda implied that you were sleeping with him somewhere in the Multiverse.

It didn't help you at all, especially since you'd been having feelings for him for a while. You had no idea when they changed; you just woke up one day and your heart decided you were in love with him.

The only problem was that Strange wasn't over Christine yet, and you didn't want to push his buttons. After all, you'd be better off just being friends with him.

Also because of America, Stephen was spending more time at Kamar-Taj, avoiding the sorcerer wasn't working so well anymore. Especially since you were currently working in the library.

You could almost swear he was aware of what was going on in your mind. You just hoped he didn't because you'd die of embarrassment.

You smiled as soon as America walked into the bibliotheca, but when you saw who was behind her, you felt your heart drop.

“Hi Y/N!” She shone like a ray of sunshine. "We came to return these books."

"Already? Didn't you start the Key of Solomon last week?" you asked softly

"Yea, well. You know my teacher quite well." she added as she rolled her eyes

"The grimoire with the raising of spirits is one of the most important books for the novice, America." Stephen immediately added

"I know, I know. I believe you've mentioned it at least 50 times" she laughs

"It's for your own good," he said softly, ruffling her hair.

"All I know is that I'm done with reading until next month." she smiled fondly at him "You will keep your promise, right?"

"Of course, kiddo." Then Stephen lifted his arms and quickly created a portal. "I just need to talk to Y/N about something. Choose a film to watch; it won't take long."

"Just so you know, the popcorn is all mine." America said as she walked through it.

"All right," he chuckled slightly before closing the portal.

Being alone with him made you feel like you were going to explode. Your mind was racing from one idea to another, and you weren't really paying attention to what he was saying. Nobody could blame you. That baritone voice was a distraction and it was really difficult for you to concentrate.

"Earth to Y/N?" He waved his hand in your direction.

"Sorry, what were you saying?" Your voice had a slight tremor.

"Could you please assist me with Maxim's Primer? I really need a second opinion because I'm having trouble with it."

"It was never your strong suit, was it?" you laugh

"As if plants were that significant." His lips curved into a small smile.

"Magical plants, Stephen," you said emphasizing the word "magical."

"They remain plants. So, can you help me or not?" He drew closer to you.

"Sure," you began to feel as if you couldn't breathe anymore, but thankfully he took a step back.

"Thanks." The sorcerer then constructed a portal. "See you at the Sanctum tomorrow." He winked as he left the library.

You were dumbfounded by what had just occurred. What exactly does he mean at the Sanctum Sanctorum?

You made a portal to the Sanctum and took a deep breath before entering it. Come on, you've got this; all he needs is a second opinion.

Your heart begins to race, just at the thought of Stephen. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all.

Looking nervously at the back of the door, you want nothing more than to return to the safety of your room from Kamar-Taj. It was too much to face him alone after those dreams. Quickly turning on your heels, you turn to leave.

“Y/N?” You come to a complete halt. As you slowly turn towards the door, you notice Stephen, looking as pristine as ever.

"Doc," you murmur, your eyes meeting his, noticing a subtle glint behind them.

"Where are you going?" he asks confused

“Sorry” you say softly, trying to conceal the nervousness in your chest “I’m not feeling very well, so I thought it would be better if I..”

“Didn’t your mother teach you not to lie?” He smirked as your heart skipped a beat

“Doc,I—“

“You ought to know better than to lie to me” he says smoothly, making you tense.

You observe him as he circles the desk between the two of you. His hands were folded behind his back, and his face was expressionless.

Oh my goodness, he knew.

Even tough you were dying on the inside, you tried to keep a neutral expression on your face. Stephen then chuckles softly, making you jump slightly. Then he pulls you in closer, wrapping an arm around your waist and placing a finger under your chin to bring your gaze back to his.

“Why are you so tense, Y/N? You know I don’t bite” He inhaled deeply before looking you in the eyes.

“It’s nothing.”

“Are you certain it’s nothing?” you avert your gaze

“I just didn’get enough sleep. Some books from the library have gone missing and I need to take care of them.”

“Ah.. What did I say about lying?” Your face suddenly turned pale

"Are you certain your current state of uneasiness isn't the result of some dreams you're having?" You found yourself pressed into the wall behind his desk, with him pressing into you, before you could even register what was happening.

As you feel the distinct out line of his erection pushing into your clothed center, your eyes widen.

"What have you dreamed about me?"

"Stephen, please—"

"Don't try to lie to me. I know what they are about. I simply want you to say it."

You turn around, and he quickly grabs your wrists. "Hands must remain on the wall."

You do as he says after he releases your wrists, earning a compliment from him “Atta girl,now, tell me about your dreams."

"We were in one of the Sanctums." Stephen's trembling hands clutch your sides, causing you to bite your lips as you feel yourself start to ache.

“Go on”

"And you were watching me..." As Stephen begins to remove your robes, you struggle to find your words. When he's finished with the top, which reveals your black bra, you make sure your hands are back in their original position. "W—watching me.."

"Masturbate," he simply finishes as your eyes widen once more. How did he—

"Then we do share the same dreams." He laughs.

Your cheeks flush as a result of his confession. "I can't wait to dominate you. To punish you. I want to bring you the same state of euphoria as I did in our dreams."

Stephen smiles as he notices your body trembling in response to his words. His hand reaches around and unbuckles your belt.

"Stephen," you say as you feel him pull your robes down.

"Doctor," he corrects you as he steps around and brings your gaze back to him. "What's going on in that pretty head of yours?"

"What about America?" He returns to his position behind you, pulling your robes all the way down as he runs his hand over your smooth ass. "Don't be so concerned. She is having a sleepover with Lisa, a friend from school. I promised she could go if she finished The Key of Solomon this week."

Stephen pulls your panties aside, taking in the sight of your gleaming core before slowly inserting two fingers into your waiting cunt, causing you to gasp.

"Such a responsive girl." you bit your lower lip as his fingers slowly thrust into you. "Now, tell me Y/N. Are you familiar with the term safe word?"

"Yes," he laughs at your quick response.

"And what would you like to be your safe word, dear?"

“Pearl”

“Excellent” Stephen takes his robes off as well, exposing his hard cock, and his blunt head teases your wet slit before probing slightly into you.

The former doctor slightly thrusts his hips, causing the tip of his cock to go inside. You squirm at the forgotten sensation of being stretched. From what you could tell, he was bigger than any of your previous lovers.

Stephen watches as his cock slowly disappears into your waiting cunt. You both groan as he pushes himself to the limit.

"Oh God." You made a choked remark. It had been a long time for both of you.

"Not exactly." He laughs. Stephen's hand grips your hip firmly enough to bruise it, while the other tightly grips your hair. Soon, he quickens his pace, and with each thrust, his grip on your hair tightens, causing you to bite your lip even harder. "No,no. Sweetheart, don't silence yourself." the sorcerer pulls you back by your hair, your arms now fully extended. "I want to hear you."

“But—" Stephen slams himself into you even harder, eliciting even more whimpers from you.

"Come on, there's nobody in the Sanctum." As he twists your nipple through the thin layer of lace, he moans. His other hand gently presses against your throat.

"Yes, doctor," you say with ragged breaths as Stephen's grip and thrusts tighten.

"You have no idea how long I've been thinking about this. Y/N, you're so fucking tight. My little minx, you were made for me."

"I—I need to cu..." Stephen cuts you off by biting your earlobe slightly.

"Yes, cum for me." You take a deep breath as the hand on your throat disappears. You're pushed back to your original position, the cold wall providing some relief from the rising heat. His hand moves to your clit, roughly rubbing it.

Your moans grow louder, and you're suddenly relieved that America isn't here. Stephen observes your body stiffening as a result of the rising fever within you.

Before falling over the edge, he feels your wall clench around him. Stephen quickens his pace because of that feeling. He observes your body bouncing and pushing back with each thrust, sending him over the edge.

He pulls away from you, eliciting a gasp from you, as his cum goes all over your back, creating a pornographic image for Stephen that he'll never forget thanks to his photographic memory.

As he strokes his cock, the neurosorgeon catches his breath and lets the last steams of liquid come out. He wipes himself clean with tissues from his desk before tucking himself back into his pants, righting himself, and gently cleaning you.

As he watches you struggle to find your balance, Stephen casts a simple spell that puts all of your clothes back on. Then he takes your hand in his and pulls you into an embrace, lightly kissing your forhead. "You're so fucking stunning."

As Stephen gently placed you on top of the table, you noticed yourself blushing slightly. He kisses the corner of your mouth, making you even more flustered.

"Just a question," he says softly, gently pressing his forehead against yours. "Were you avoiding me this week?"

"I believe you know." you chuckle a little "However, I'm not sure I know the answer to what I'm about to ask."

Stephen puts some space between you two so that he can look you in the eyes. "What we've just done... What does it mean for us?" you pause a little.

"I believe I should ask you on a proper date so we can clear this up," he says softly.

"A date you say?" you laugh out of breath

"If you want to," Stephen frowns slightly

"We just fucked, and you don't think I'd like to go on a date with you?" Before stealing a kiss from the all-powerful sorcerer, you look amused at him. "You can be a complete idiot at times, Stephen Strange."

"So, 8 p.m. tomorrow sounds good?" He leans in again to capture your lips.

You hum in agreement as the kiss resumes its passionate nature.

[racefortheironthrone]

Would you say that the message of L'Internationale is softened somewhat when translated from French to English (thinking of Billy Bragg's version specifically)? Most English versions are short and are more generic calls to unite for change, while the original French version is over six minutes long and is more explicitly a call for revolution by the working class, specifically calling out various oppressors and in one verse calls for soldiers to mutiny.

Good question!

I would certainly agree that the original French lyrics go hard- "Arise, wretched of the earth/Arise, convicts of hunger/Reason thunders in its volcano" is pretty hard to beat. However, it's also a very distinctively 19th century French political statement - it's very anti-clerical ("Il n'est pas de sauveurs suprêmes"), there are pointed references to Napoleon and the "droit au travail" and the concept of "égalité" and the argument of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen that rights and obligations come hand-in-hand, it's a bit more anarchist/syndicalist in its description of the state (which was always a bit embarrassing to the more statist socialist groups), and so forth.

Thus, it has always required translation into not just other languages but other political idioms; notably, the Soviet translation changed the tense of most of the lyrics from the future to the present to emphasize that the Revolution was a reality already achieved rather than in the offing.

Billy Bragg's version is a consciously post-Soviet socialist anthem. It's explicitly anti-racist (say what you like about the original version, but it is very class>race) and intersectional, it's explicitly post-colonial and clearly draws inspiration from the anti-apartheid movement, it's more grounded in a human rights consciousness than historical materialism, it's environmentalist as well as anti-nationalist, and you can see a strong element of non-violence ideology there too. It's still a call for revolution-

"And so begins the final drama In the streets and in the fields We stand unbowed before their armour We defy their guns and shields... For though they offer us concessions Change will not come from above."

-but the dominant imagery is of a protest movement that only engages in violence as a defensive measure "provoked by their aggression."

So I would argue that, as hardcore as the 1887 lyrics are, Bragg's version is better suited to the culture of the British left circa 1990.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Amna Khalid and Jeffrey Aaron Snyder

Published: Aug 5, 2020

U.S. colleges and universities will be embracing diversity training with renewed vigor this fall.

In response to the killing of George Floyd, the massive Black Lives Matter protests and pressure from students, dozens of colleges and universities have made public commitments to new anti-racism initiatives.

The University of Florida will require all students, faculty and staff to undergo training on “racism, inclusion and bias.” Northeastern University will institute “cultural competency” and “anti-racism training” for every member of the campus community. And Ohio Wesleyan University will mandate “universal diversity, equity, and inclusion training.”

Given the vital importance of confronting past and present racism, we believe it is imperative that colleges and universities address racial disparities and discrimination in higher education head-on. However, as scholars who study race and social inequality, we know that diversity training suffers from “chronically disappointing results.” Recent research in psychology even suggests that diversity training may cause more problems than it solves.

What diversity training looks like

Called into a typical diversity training session, you may be told to complete a “privilege walk”: step forward if “you are a white male,” backward if your “ancestors were forced to come to the United States,” forward if “either of your parents graduated from college,” backward if you “grew up in an urban setting,” and so on.

You could be instructed to play “culture bingo.” In this game, you would earn points for knowing “what melanin is,” the “influence Zoot suits had on Chicano history” or your “Chinese birth sign.”

You might be informed that white folks use “white talk,” which is “task-oriented” and “intellectual,” while people of color use “color commentary,” which is “process-oriented” and “emotional.”

You will most definitely be encouraged to internalize an ever-expanding diversity lexicon. This vocabulary includes terms such as Latinx, microaggressions and white privilege.

It also features terms that are more obscure, like “adultism,” which is defined as “prejudiced thoughts and discriminatory actions against young people, in favor of the older.”

Disappointing results and unintended consequences

In terms of reducing bias and promoting equal opportunity, diversity training has “failed spectacularly,” according to the expert assessment of sociologists Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kalev. When Dobbin and Kalev evaluated the impact of diversity training at more than 800 companies over three decades, they found that the positive effects are short-lived and that compulsory training generates resistance and resentment.

“A company is better off doing nothing than mandatory diversity training,” Kalev concluded.

Some of the most popular training approaches are of dubious value. There is evidence, for example, that introducing people to the most commonly used readings about white privilege can reduce sympathy for poor whites, especially among social liberals.

There is also evidence that emphasizing cultural differences across racial groups can lead to an increased belief in fundamental biological differences among races. This means that well-intentioned efforts to celebrate diversity may in fact reinforce racial stereotyping.

With its emphasis on do’s and don’t’s, diversity training tends to be little more than a form of etiquette. It spells out rules that are just as rigid as those that govern the placement of salad forks and soup spoons. The fear of saying “the wrong thing” often leads to unproductive, highly scripted conversations.

This is the exact opposite of the kinds of debates and discussions that you would hope to find on a college campus.

The main beneficiaries of the forthcoming explosion in diversity programming will be the swelling ranks of “diversity and inclusion” consultants who stand to make a pretty penny. A one-day training session for around 50 people costs anywhere between US$2,000 and $6,000. Robin DiAngelo, the best-selling author of “White Fragility,” charges up to $15,000 per event.

In this belt-tightening era of COVID-19, should colleges and universities really be spending precious dollars on measures that have been “proven to fail”?

[ Continued... ]

==

Con artists always find a vulnerability.

[luxexhomines]

If it's alright, may I request a platonic femreader x Honoka Kousaka from Love Live School Idol Project? The dialogue would be "What do you think?"

Hi, lovely anon!! Thanks for being my first request after my return from a long hiatus~ I kind of struggled because it's been such a long time since I wrote, but when I saw this request, I thought to myself, "it's my favorite Love Live character!" Which made me think maybe a friend requested this so I wouldn't have no requests in my inbox lol because I hardly wrote any Love Live! fanfiction on this account before. Icon credit to sailorprettycure!

Anyway, since there was no specified mood (?) I tried to go with a light fluff with an everyday feel (like how the Love Live! animation is). Not much really happens in this, but I hope you can feel that you are friends with Honoka~ Here we go! (Edit: also I didn't really do much to emphasize the femreader part of it but she goes to the same school as Honoka, so I hope that's enough?)

“What do you think?”

Honoka twirled in the new costume before you, anxious to hear your appraisal. It was a simple outfit: a black leotard in low-cut, dark wash, ripped jean shorts, paired with some silver bangles and earrings. Over the leotard, she had on a white, gauzy, off the shoulder crop top with frilled edges with flowy, open sleeves. She hadn’t bothered to change her hairstyle, but somehow you felt it suited her more that way–or maybe you were just more accustomed to it.

“You look adorable,” you beamed at her. “Is that outfit for your next live?” 

Honoka brightened up and nodded eagerly, her side-ponytail energetically bobbing with her head. 

“Yeah! But just the prototype,” she amended. “Kotori wanted me to try it on and see what I thought about it, and I figured it couldn’t hurt to get a second opinion on it. I mean, it’s not supposed to be public information, but since it’s you, I don’t think she’d mind at all.” 

She stopped rambling for a moment and carefully stared into your eyes with those big blue eyes of hers. “You really mean it, though? You like it?” 

You laughed and swooped in for a hug, pressing your cheek against hers affectionately. 

“Like it? I love it! Tell Kotori it’s amazing and that you should definitely keep the prototype,” you reassured her. “Though I don’t know what your next song will be like, so I don’t know how well it matches the concept of your song.” 

Honoka wrapped her arms around you and lightly hugged you back before pushing you off of her. 

“Hehe, I knew Kotori’s designs couldn’t go amiss! But I think if you hug me any longer, it might get wrinkly, and you know how Umi gets when…” she grimaced. 

“Yeah, I know, I know,” you conceded. “Sorry, my bad–you want some ice cream? I’ll go get it while you change out of the costume.” 

Honoka takes hardly a second to consider it before flashing a happy smile at you. 

“Would you? You’re the best,” she said with a toothy smile. “I’ll get changed now, so hurry back!” 

“Of course,” you grinned. “What are friends for, after all?” 

You step out of the room and dash out the door to stop by the nearest convenience store. Luckily, 7-11 was hardly a block away. 

You gently knocked on the door to the room. “Honoka?” you called out. “I’m back with strawberry ice-” 

The door slammed open abruptly, taking you aback as Honoka pulled you inside and closed the door behind you just as quickly. 

“Come in, I’m already done changing! You came back pretty fast, but I was faster,” she giggled. 

“Since when was this a race?” you playfully crossed your arms and raised an eyebrow. “Anyway, here you are–strawberry ice cream with cornflakes!” 

She snatched it out of your hands and unwrapped it in record speed before giving it a great lick with just as great relish. 

“Mm!” she exclaimed as she plopped down on the floor.

You couldn’t help but let out a laugh as you joined her in sitting down.

“You know, with the way you’re acting, I’d think you only have this once every ten years or something.” 

She stuck her tongue out at you. 

“So what? It’s just that delicious!” 

You shook your head as you started opening your own frozen treat as well, albeit slower than Honoka. 

“No, no, it’s not a bad thing,” you chuckled. “I think it’s a good thing that you still enjoy it so much and appreciate how delicious it is, even after eating it so many times.” 

“You think so?” A hopeful note colored Honoka’s voice. 

“Duh,” you smiled. “You know, I think I become more honest when I’m with you. Even though you’re probably pretty easy to fool,” you emphasized your words with a poke to her nose, causing her to reflexively flinch and blink, “maybe it’s ‘cause you’re so honest that I end up being this way too.”

Honoka swallowed her bite of ice cream. A light, peachy blush began to spread across her cheeks. 

“Well, I-” she stuttered. “Gee, thanks?” 

“You’re welcome,” you smirked. “Hey, your ice cream’s melting.” You pointed at the edge of her ice cream cone, where the pink ice cream was starting to look more and more watery and wobbly. 

“Oh! Thanks,” she quickly said before her mouth was, once again, full of ice cream. She glanced over at you. “You know, have you ever thought about becoming a school idol, too?” 

You shrugged. 

“No, not really. I think I’m happier to watch you guys and be your fan. You know I can’t sing and dance at the same time like you guys. My stamina’s terrible.” 

Honoka tilted her head and pursed her lips. 

“But my stamina wasn’t that good when we started Muse, either! You know how hard Eli and Umi worked us?” She shuddered. “Hanayo and I were collapsing every day after all that training,” she said with a dark look on her face. 

“Well, you guys were motivated to continue despite how hard it was, right? I don’t think I’m that motivated,” you sighed. “I’m just a part of the going-home club now, you know. Not like you guys, training so hard that you become famous nationwide and save our school from being shut down-” 

Honoka hit you with a toast-shaped plushie, effectively shutting you up. 

“It was hard to get this far, you know,” she pouted. “Even I sometimes wanted to give up. But, well, maybe being a school idol just isn’t what you’re passionate about,” she admitted. “I’m sure you’ll find something amazing that you’re passionate about eventually,” she grinned at you. “Plus, you could join our school idol club as like…um…” 

She thought for a moment. “As a manager or staff member, I guess! Instead of a performer. You know we do all the work preparing our costumes, songs, dances, coordinating venues and stuff ourselves, right? But it can be pretty tiring because we also have to train and practice every day.” 

You opened your mouth and then shut it, pressing your lips together tightly. Join Honoka and the others, when you scarcely knew anything about the world of school idols, barring what they shared with you as friends? It was unrealistic, and you didn’t even have that much time left at Otonokizaka High before graduating, not to mention that you should be preparing for the nationwide exam to get into college. 

“What do you think?” Honoka awaited your answer, her eyes gleaming brightly like dazzling sapphires beneath the spotlight–you knew that look. It was the look she had when she recruited each member of Muse and when she convinced Kotori and Umi to join her in the first place. It was the look she had when she had already decided to never give up. 

You thought about it some more. Yes, it was unrealistic, but then again, when had Honoka ever cared about what was realistic when she started Muse to save beloved Otonokizaka from its seemingly-assured death? 

“Alright, count me in.” 

Honoka hugged you tightly before you could even react. 

“Yay!!” she cheered. “You won’t regret it, I swear!” 

“You know, I keep changing because of you,” you sighed. You contentedly smiled, more to yourself than to the Honoka currently wrapped around you. “But, I think it might be a good thing.” 

Extra

“Why did you call me here?” You arched an eyebrow with due suspicion right at Honoka. “Why are we at the school courtyard over the weekend?”

“Now that you’ve decided to join us, it’s time to find out what you’re good at so we can figure out what you can do,” she grinned. “Come on, let’s go! We can’t do this during normal school days because the rest of Muse is too busy practicing, so you can just take a crash course on all the things that we do.” She grabbed your hand and started excitedly dragging you into the school. “Kotori will tell you about designing costumes, Umi will talk to you about writing lyrics, Maki will show you how she composes songs, and-” 

You started to tune out the rest as Honoka continued. Just what had you gotten yourself into? Your days were about to get much busier and livelier–but when you thought of those days being spent with Honoka, you couldn’t help but think you’d be okay with that.

[pelleas-at-castle-nox]

Ghost/Space Station

"And you're saying you haven't eaten in days?" The disbelief in the voice of the ship's doctor was just about as thick as the midsection of their patient.

"I swear, I... I know how this looks ok, I'm not crazy, but I'm gonna go insane if I can't eat something soon." The raccoon sitting in the infirmary looked like their flight suit was painted on, the small lettering that red ROCCO . The snow leopard watched them taking shallow breaths, the rubber like construction of the suit creaking as they winced.

"I'm not... Saying I don't believe you, but I will say it's a little much to take on the face isn't it?" She plodded over, her own body contained in a similar suit that clung to her bountiful curves, but which did so in a much more form fitting manner than the cling ware of her patient. She was also granted a bit of privacy in her figure by way of the lab coat that hung open on her shoulders, simultaneously obscuring and emphasizing the enormous bulk of her figure. She reached out, one plump paw resting on the overburdened belly of the thin raccoon.

The patient let our a worried whine, nodding slowly as they seemed to melt into the doctor's touch. "I know... But I'm dying over here, I haven't tasted a drop of anything, even now I'm burning up inside I'm so hungry! It's gotta be a virus, o-or some kind of parasite right?"

"My scans have shown that it's mostly food. From the matter replicators on this ship. You're not sick, there's nothing inside you but enough food to feed your division for a week, I think we're going to have to think outside the box on this one." The doc sighed and pulled her paw away, going over to the matter replicator kept in her office for malnutrition emergencies. "Tell me, if you're so hungry, why haven't you eaten anything?"

Rocco blushed a bit as their own paws began to pick up the belly rubbing slack, trying very hard not to focus on how they had a massive crush on the doc in the first place. "I-I don't know, I mean, I guess... I-it's weird, I feel full, so full, and yet I /know/ I haven't eaten, and whenever I think about food my mouth starts to water so intensely..." Sure enough, the sight of the doc pressing keys on the machine cause Rocco's eyes to widen, pupils trembling as their mouth began to drool. Normally they would have swallowed the excessive saliva back down, but the act of swallowing was a bit painful in their current state, which caused the back of their mind to race with concern. "I don't care if I... If something bad happens, I just need to eat something, even a piece of candy, I haven't tasted food in a week!"

"A week? So what, has the food just been appearing inside you, fresh off the replicator? Hey, that's not a bad idea..." The doctor gave a devilish smirk as she continued to fiddle with the replicator, her thick paw tracing over her own suit clad belly. A few moments later, a perfectly soft bread roll was fabricated, complete with melted on butter that steamed in the chill atmosphere of the doctor's office. She picked it up, and turned around, expecting to see Rocco waiting as patiently as the supposedly starved Raccoon could manage.

Instead, she was nearly knocked over when their gut was rammed into by a Raccoon she barely recognized, stealing the bread roll out of her hands and shoving it directly into their muzzle. To her astonishment, she watched them stumble back, choking slightly as they tried and failed to force it down their body, the obvious over-fullness preventing them from manifesting their ravenous desires.

The doctor watched cautiously, keeping a safe distance as she sidled over to the counter, cautiously grabbing her multi tool. Once she was certain that Rocco wasn't going to attack her again, she slowly began to approach as they thrashed about, gagging like a seagull as they tried to choke the bread roll down.

Rocco had been hauled in here after he was seen in a similar state in the cafeteria, though then it wasn't clear if he'd actually eaten something or if something more alien was happening. The crew mate had done a good job of hiding their symptoms so far, a frustratingly common occurrence. Still, now that she had a better idea of what she was working with, she approached the bloated Raccoon and gently pressed the tip of the tool to their distended navel, a gentle pulse and a flood of medicine suddenly saw Rocco gulping as their belly pushed out just a bit further.

As soon as the roll was horked down, Rocco reached out and stabilized themself against the snow leopard, panting and huffing as they looked up at her with tears pricking the edges of her eyes. "W-what the hell just happened, I thought you said I was gonna get some bread...?"

[the-path-to-redemption]

pointing out the appropriation of aesthetics to sexualize them for white characters (which raven is) while sidelining the actual asian characters & behind the scenes treatment of employees of colour isn't an "sjw" thing, anon. it's a trending issue in crwby & their known fetishization of asian cultures, & monty isn't the gotcha you think he is considering his own problematic views & the way he disregarded his own cultures to suit him. see: "point out china on the map" & treatment of characters of colour like emerald.

(cont.) "also the defense of "most of the cast wears a skirt" like yeah babe. rwby sexualizes it's female characters to hell & back in weirdly inappropriate for combat wear lmao. you really connected the dots on that one officer fuckface."

Crazy take, you can be a fan of Monty's works and still be critical of his opinions as a household creator. Monty was human, he had flaws and his biased views shouldn't be put into the sideline nor should he as a person be martyred for "gotcha's" in legitimate criticisms of his IP (the same IP that has been transformed so differently from what it was initially).

And yeah, no shit she wears a skirt like most of the cast. All of them also shares the same body shape, the same facial features (saved for Robyn), and are equally sexualized with unnecessary boob windows, short skirts, thigh windows, and bare feet in environments and situations that would royally fucked them up if their Aura went to shit.

Weiss was smaller and shorter to emphasize her fighting style that prioritized speed and agility, a contrast to Yang's who's taller and more built in form to fit her fisticuff style. Now both of them are the same hourglass shape saved for the height difference. They're designated as the "hot girls" that MK fetishized over writing them as capable and interesting characters. Doesn't take a genius to figure that out.

All of this is in the same breath calling Sun, who is literally designed after famous Chinese literary figure Sun Wukong, motherfucking Qítiān Dàshèng Sun Wukong, with dark eyes and darker skin as white. News flash, asshole anon, Asians have a range of skin tones because of these things called genetics and the motherfucking sun. My cousins are darker than me, and none of us are mixed race. Sun is more Asian than Raven, or god have mercy, Blake's asses will ever be. Cope, mald and seethe.

That anon and those like them are so racist they can't even understand why it's a bad fucking thing for a well-known company like RT to continue advocating and practicing Orientalism. Clowns the lot of ya'll.

[pixeldolly]

Walden BACC #914

Roman walked for what felt like hours, just putting one foot in front of the other. It didn’t really matter where he was going, as long as he kept moving - perhaps that way, he could outrun his racing thoughts. No such luck, of course. 

Eventually, he tiredness caught up with him, and he started thinking of a place where he might spend the night. He wasn’t going back to the apartment, that was for sure!

He really wanted a drink, too.

Hotel Ampersand was a musty little place that had been in business for decades, although nobody exactly knew how, given the fact that hardly anyone ever stayed there. Roman knew he could find a bar and a bed though, which was good enough for him.

Taking small gulps of his drink, he tried to stop the ground heaving under his feet. The alcohol burned his throat, which suited his mood perfectly. 

This was what happened when you let you guard down and trusted someone! They would always lie, betray you, plant that knife in your back - hadn’t he learned that lesson as a child?

Cathy, the bartender, studied her one and only customer with interest. He was much younger and more attractive than the types she usually saw, and clearly upset about something. That, at least, was not unusual - happy people didn’t go drinking at Hotel Ampersand. She also noted the ring on his finger, with its big, shiny stone.

Cathy: “Let me guess - lovers’ quarrel?”

Roman gave her a sideways glance, and snorted.

Roman: “How’d you guess?”

Cathy: “I’m a bartender - I can tell when someone is drowning their sorrows, and it seemed the likeliest reason. Wanna talk about it? It might help.”

Roman: “Not really.”

Cathy was disappointed, but wasn’t planning to give up that easily. He really was cute! More than cute! She wouldn’t have minded warming his bed for the night.

Downing the last of his drink, Roman got up and made for the front desk, but found the bartender blocking his path. She eyed him coquettishly, one hand planted on her hip as though to emphasize its curvy shape.

Cathy: “You know, my shift finishes in about fifteen minutes...If you like, we could have a drink, and after that -”

Roman: “No offence, but I’m not interested. Sorry.”

Alone in his room, Roman’s thoughts kept churning. 

Was he angriest at Jacob because of his deception, or because he was afraid to be a dad? How did he actually feel about that? He’d never seriously thought about having kids, no matter what he’d told him. Given his various issues, he doubted he’d make a good parent. His mother was an evil witch who’d abused and abandoned him and his father had committed suicide, he didn’t exactly have great role models.

The idea that Jacob had set out to deceive and manipulate him was like poison, sickening him - but even so, part of him wanted to believe that he hadn’t meant to do it. Not that it excused it. Deception was deception.

He needed to talk to someone. Get a different perspective.

[fourseasonsfigs]

Ask the Flowers, Ask the Leaves

You may have already started singing Tian Wen when you saw those lyrics in the blog title!

Yes, here we have two figs inspired by two photos that fit the Tian Wen theme song. The fig maker sold each of these separately, so I had originally planned to post about them separately, but...in the end the lyrics go together and so they go together.

Wen Hua

Junjun in his watercolor LV suit is a thing of beauty indeed.

Wen Ye

This whole picture looks like a watercolor itself, with the beautiful soft colors. Gorgeous. With such beautiful inspiration in front of us, let's see what the fig maker did with it!

First off, we have the boys, with each of their accessories packaged carefully along with them. Those are some fancy shoes there, Junjun!

Zhehan's black-framed glasses. I had to scroll up and double check, I had thought they were gold rimmed at first, but how could I doubt the fig maker's eye for detail?

Junjun's flower tucks away nicely in his hand. Thank you fig maker for making this easy for me (I think I'm gonna have permanent flashbacks to Hanye and his sword from here on out). May I just note how much I love his wiggly little smile. The fig maker could easily have given us the Hot Supermodel Stare from the pic, but I'm so delighted we have the cutest little smile!

Ah he's so adorable! You can see how his flower is held so nicely in his hand.

Yet more of the nice flower hold, the hand modeling is so clean for such a small PVC fig. For all he's got a bit of the forward lean going on (I think to offset the weight of that glorious head of hair), he's pretty stable. I put all my figs on stands these days just so they all match, but he wouldn't 100% need to.

Ha! I'm so used to him putting his hand behind his back in his Wen Kexing pose that I just originally assumed it was him doing that. But nope, he's matching the pic with his hand in his back pocket.

I love him with the flower! It covers up a bit of his cute face, but that's ok, just emphasizes the rest of it.

On to the leaves! Or leaf!

I feel like there's something a tiny bit off with Zhehan's face modeling with this fig, but I just couldn't put my finger on it. But typing up this post now, and looking at the one with his glasses below, I finally got it. I think his eyebrows are a bit too high, which gives him a permanently surprised expression. Which, to be fair, I often feel like I'm in permanent state of surprise at the world too.

Ah, I struggled with his little glasses! As you can clearly see, the struggle remains - the little earpieces would just not go over his ears. My fingers felt enormous and fumbly trying to get this to work! In retrospect, I should have warmed up the glasses under some hot water and bent it at the front so it would have curved around better.

The fig makers certainly got all the little details with his look - the print on his shirt, the metal tabs? buckles? on his pants, and his earrings. I like how there's also the detail of his undershirt beneath.

Honestly, I like him better without the glasses, since between his beautiful large eyes and high eyebrows, the glasses are just a bit too much going on I think. You know how I generally really like my figs to match their pics, but in this case I made an exception. Probably because I couldn't get the glasses to fit, too!

He stands pretty well too, but on the fig stand he goes. I feel a lot more comfortable with them on all stands, it feels very secure. Before, sometimes I would hear sudden noises from my cabinet and race into my office with my heart in my throat to see which fig had toppled down (and who else he had taken along with him for the ride).

Part of the stability of this fig might be because of the V angle of the feet. The fig makers must do some pretty impressive calculations to figure out how to get these figs centered enough to stand under the weight of their heads.

The box cards are cute! I love the puppy on Zhehan's card.

Material: PVC

Fig Count: 209

Scene Count: 18

Rating: The colors are just right

[link back to Master Fig Index for more posts]

[maxwell-grant]

Gyro Zeppeli and Johnny Joestar!

Johnny Joestar:

Johnny is kind of on the lower-end of the scale of my favorite JoJos only really because I find the others more fun and/or actively entertaining and dynamic as protagonists (it takes a bit for Johnny to grow into the role), but Johnny's journey stands very much above the rest in some ways. A uniquely interesting thing about Johnny to me (although Gappy seems to follow suit, haven't finished JJL yet to tell more) is that his is maybe the most introspective journey out of all JoJos. His goals are almost questionably selfish (and his methods unquestionably so sometimes), for the most part he's not actively interested in saving the world or helping others till his ass is on the line, he has no higher dream to change the world for the better unlike Giorno, he wasn't dragged into this like Jotaro or Jolyne (if anything he quite literally dragged himself into this), and he really has nothing and no one for the most part besides Gyro, who is also lonely and for the most part equally selfish.

But, he starts his journey from a fundamentally different place compared to every JoJo before him, not just physically, not just emotionally, not even just in terms of his backstory being significantly darker and more traumatic than the others, but in the sense that he is a complete stranger to us in an even stranger world. Unlike the other JoJos, who were members of a great lineage that stopped evil again and again and who would consistently show themselves to be heroes even at their lowest, we have no frame of reference for what Johnny is like. He doesn't follow a standard set by Jonathan Joestar, he IS Jonathan Joestar. He is the one who’s setting the standard whether he likes it or not.

Rich son of a strict and demanding noble named George Joestar, with a successful brother who overshadows him, a pet named Danny, a beef with an asshole named Dio, a mentor named Zeppeli, and he’s The First JoJo. And everything goes wrong for him. His rich and spoiled tendencies don't get corrected until it's too late, he doesn't grow up to be a physical powerhouse, his father hurts him in ways that actually stick (while not even being that different from the OG George), he doesn't win against Dio not even once, he doesn't power through life's difficulties with unwielding heroic spirit, he practically gets the evil version of that via his "Dark Will". He's physically crippled and plagued by self-loathing and doubt, and his journey is, to the end, about him finding his self-worth.

My favorite thing about Johnny is that his entire journey culminates in him finding a purpose after so much time without one, and this is the real victory he has. He forms a meaningful connection with someone, he finds strength he didn't know he had to save himself and then others, he comes to term with his guilt and has his sins almost literally washed away, and grows up as a person, and the story goes through lengths to emphasize this as what mattered most in the end, and that everything else he obsessed over was secondary or meaningless. This, to me, is the point of High Voltage: following the defeat of Valentine, it's Johnny getting the chance to achieve everything he once thought he wanted, and realizing how futile it all was. He rejoins the race and has a chance of winning it, he has a chance to settle the score with Diego, and his father even comes back with the boots to apologize to him in front of everyone. And none of it matters.

He barely reacts to his father's tearful apology and doesn't spare him a single thought later (and I really, really love that reconciling with his shitty old man was given the attention it deserved). He doesn't beat Dio, not physically nor ideologically (that victory goes to Lucy, the only selfless main character), but he succeeds in doing what the OG Jonathan couldn't: he survives Dio. He doesn't win the race, the race's outcome is so meaningless at this point that it's punctuated by a joke character being the winner. He regains the physical and symbolic use of his legs in highly limited fashion, but the story treats this as an afterthought and something that doesn't weight on his mind at the end, even though it was the whole reason he followed Gyro into the race to begin with. Gyro's dead, he loses both the race and the battle with Dio, he escapes alive by the skin of his teeth, and yet he ends the story almost content, remembering his journey and Gyro's sacrifice, more ready to take on whatever the world may throw at him next. It's very poignant and I find myself thinking back to this a bit.

Gyro Zeppeli:

And that makes the first bingo!

I love Gyro. I love his ridiculous yet cool design and fighting style and stupid grill teeth and dumb songs, I love that he was the protagonist at first and retained just as much claim to it as Johnny for the most part. I love everything about his dynamic with Johnny and between the two, Gyro's the more fun to watch. His last name telegraphs his death a mile away but the path he takes to get there is fascinating.

I do think he's selfish in a similar way to Johnny is, they're both cowboys after all and commenting on that kind of Western cowboy morality is part of what Araki's doing with SBR. I never felt like Gyro’s quest to save Marco was really that much about the kid, so much as being a test against his fundamental decency (even limited as it may be) and the kick he needed to finally prove his father wrong. His and Johnny's path cross and balance each other, as Johnny starts to build up confidence and power as Gyro keeps losing stage after stage plagued by self-doubt and guilt and needs wake-up calls like Ringo Roadagain to give him focus. It's why I think Marco dying, as pointless and cruel as a kick to the teeth it may be, still kinda works, because much like Johnny, Gyro fails at everything he nominally set out to achieve, but he wins the victory that matters: he finds himself and proves himself better than his father. He leads Johnny by example and meets his fate with bravery. Gyro's terrific, definitely one of the most entertaining protagonists to watch I've ever seen.

Also holy shit does Araki find ways to draw him pretty in the covers, he's such a complete clown of a dude sometimes and you'd hardly know it going just by how he's depicted in the covers, it's a really really excellent contrast.