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wakeupthemembersofbylernation · 2 years

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One of the reasons I believe a lot of people are so aggressively threatened, freaked out, and even offended by the concept of a gay or bi Mike is because then they’d have to face the fact that queer people are just people. Which, duh. Of course, they are! But Mike Wheeler, at least in the first season (and sorta the second season), is THE main character. He’s THE guy.

It’s what turned Finn Wolfhard into a heartthrob and fast-tracked him to starring roles in movies like It and Ghostbusters: Afterlife. For people who grew up loving 80s childhood adventure movies, on which the Duffers based their show, Mike Wheeler is Elliot from E.T. He’s Mikey from The Goonies. He’s Marty from Back to the Future. He’s Luke from A New Hope. In other words, he’s the kind of young sci-fi hero every boy dreamed of becoming. I mean, who wouldn’t want to find out that magic/the supernatural is real, go on an insane, life-changing adventure with their friends, stand up to bad guys, and fall in love with a girl with superpowers in the span of a week?!

Other than being nerdy/into D&D (which is honestly not that far from being a theatre kid, tbh)/hj, kinda melodramatic, and somewhat unathletic (affectionate), there’s nothing about Mike Wheeler that radiates gayness on the surface. Plus, he’s the protagonist! In Season 1 we experience most new things through his eyes. That makes him the audience surrogate character, so how can the audience surrogate character be (gasps) GAY?! That’s OBviously impossible. He’s just a guy. He’s just a dude. He’s just a person. He’s just the boy next door.

And if queer people are just people, then that means ANYONE could potentially be queer. Even your younger sister. Even your best friend, who has no stereotypically gay traits, plays football, and has a girlfriend. Even your children (gasps). Even you (am I gay quizzes? were born from fears like this). That’s terrifying for people who expect the world, and the media they consume, to be black-and-white.

People like boxes. They like things that are safe. Every time general audiences are introduced to a new character they fully assume the character is straight, even if they aren’t shown to have any interest in girls (like Will) unless they are an obvious stereotype, say the words, “I’m gay,” or explicitly make out with a boy (even then, some people will still try to claim they’re confused or simply “struggling with their sexuality”).

Kevin Keller from Riverdale. Kurt Hummel from Glee. Patrick in The Perks of Being a Wallflower (as much as I love that movie). Carlos in HSMTMTS. These are all characters that are Gay™️. They are almost always the comic relief sidekick, or the gay bestie for the main female character, or some variation of common tropes. Audiences (even homophobic ones) are increasingly used to seeing these types of characters on their screen, but a gay Mike Wheeler would be a different type of character entirely.

“Mike being gay or bi would just be OUT OF NOWHERE and would be bad writing done just for woke points.” Okay. Aside from the fact that it would simply NOT be out of nowhere (gestures wildly at the Byler Proof Slides), let’s unpack the phrase “out of nowhere” for a second. Why is something only considered “out of nowhere” when it’s gay and never when it’s straight? Was it out of nowhere for Dustin to find a girlfriend while at camp? Is the resurrection of Stancy out of nowhere? And to the people who are still somehow convinced that Will Byers isn’t gay, just “maturing slower than his friends,” I guarantee you they wouldn’t call it “out of nowhere” for Will to suddenly have a female love interest, even though it clearly would be. They would encourage it, even if it was someone especially ridiculous like El, who is literally his sister, or Max, with whom he’s had almost no on-screen conversations. This is why you see people on TikTok and YouTube who genuinely believe Will’s painting is for the random girl he danced with at Snowball. Talk about out of nowhere!

“But Mike just isn’t gay. Don’t be delusional. Don’t be unrealistic. He is straight. He has only been shown to like El and has one of the most extreme cases of romantic tunnel vision in fiction I’ve ever seen.” Okay, let’s push aside the constant lip stares, the romantically charged conversations with his best friend, the fact that he can’t say or even write, “I love you” to his girlfriend, the ways the Duffers have consistently framed the Will/Mike/El dynamic with love triangle imagery and drawn our attention to this for the entire show, and more (gestures wildly at the Byler proof slides once more!!) for one second.

The emphasis on “just isn’t” betrays them and their underlying perspectives. Let’s be clear. You can say Robin just isn’t straight because she’s been explicitly confirmed in show and out of show to be lesbian and into girls. You can say Will just isn’t straight because his sexuality has been all but confirmed as well. But you can’t say Mike “just isn’t” gay if the only concrete “proof” you have for this is his (turbulent) relationship with Eleven. Keep in mind. Without Vecna, we don’t have access to the innermost thoughts of any of the characters. All we have to go by is their actions, their words, and the intentional ways the Duffers have coded their characters. Ultimately, people who say this are saying that Mike Wheeler “just isn’t gay” because he doesn’t fit their pre-conceived, ignorant, myopic notions of what a gay person is. Mike “just can’t be” gay in these people’s minds because he hasn’t done any gay “actions,” whatever that even means (that’s why they believe Will- sweet, innocent Will- is a predator/homewrecker because they associate gayness with freakish deviance and see it as something inherently sexual, whereas if Will were a girl with the exact same feelings towards Mike, they’d never in a trillion years see it this way).

In both real life and in fiction, despite all the progress we’ve made as a society, straight is something you’re allowed to just be, by default, regardless of whether you’re dating someone. Gay is something you have to PROVE or “fall into,” and even then it’s treated with incredible suspicion (this is why people who ship Stobin believe Steve can “fix” Robin and make her into boys). Bisexuality is tragically either erased altogether, treated as a joke/a phase, or completely misunderstood (I heard someone say Mike could never be bi because he’d never date Will and El at the same time - what?! That’s not how bisexuality works). And comphet is something entirely baffling to straight audiences. You might as well be saying 2+2 equals armadillo.

They’d rather believe that he’s just become an asshole, or that Finn Wolfhard has suddenly become a bad actor. Because accepting that Mike Wheeler isn’t straight means accepting that he can be the cool, brave, valiant, kind, caring protagonist of seasons 1 and 2, AND also be madly in love with his best friend. That feels like a bait-and-switch to some people because they don’t see queer people as “normal,” even if they claim they aren’t homophobic. They see queer people as “the other,” as something alien. [Insert Visibly Stereotypical Character Here] can be gay, not MY Mike Wheeler. He’s straight. STRAIGHT. He’s madly in love with El. He and Will are just friends. JUST friends. Sound like someone?

That’s one of the reasons that Byler will be such powerful, meaningful, representation (aside from just being the only logical explanation for Mike’s weird actions). Byler becoming canon will give hope and provide a voice for the millions of LGBTQ+ kids out there who don’t fit a stereotype or society’s pre-conceived notions but who just happen to not be straight. Mike Wheeler will join Nick Nelson as one of the best LGBTQ+ teens EVER on screen. It will be a cultural reset. And it will hopefully open people’s minds to the beautiful tapestry of humanity. A love story so pure, so beautiful, and so overwhelming that the boy who tried so hard to be “normal” and to deny his feelings for his best friend and the boy who survived bullies, a week in a hellish alternate dimension, and a possession that took over his mind and body had no choice but to go crazy together.

#byler #mike wheeler i know what you are #byler endgame #i think mikes a bit fruity #will byers #mike wheeler isn't straight #byler rights #noah schnapp #finn wolfhard #I hope these words age like fine wine on Friday and not like milk

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hwasdvlly · 7 months

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Kitty | s.mingi

✮ summary: a vampire and his mortal lover get into the spooky spirit.

✮ pairing: mingi x fem!reader

✮ genres: romance, slice of life, and fluff

✮ word count: 0.8k words

✮ warnings/tags: none. established relationship, vampire!mingi, tsundere bf!mingi, mortal!reader, halloween fun

✮ a/n: mingi has finally joined my library! it took a while but i am happy that i got the time and energy to continue writing. in the making of vampire/tsundere mingi i couldn't contain my squeals

The season of autumn comes in like the warmest hug. Chattering autumn leaves of gold and scarlet, and the soft wind echoes. But most of all, a spooky yet fun holiday is around the corner.

Inside an apartment, a handsome vampire with ash blonde hair, snow-white skin, smokey eyes, and a tall physique dressed in comfy clothes is resting on the couch, scrolling through his phone.

Mingi notices on his social media that people are preparing for Halloween. The vampire honestly doesn’t know if it’s a mockery for mortals to imitate supernatural creatures or something to celebrate fear as an enjoyment. Suddenly, he hears the beautiful voice of his girlfriend, more like ordering him.

“Let’s go, Mingi! I want to see if the store has what I want!” You frowned at your slouching boyfriend.

He sighs and puts his phone on his chest. The vampire raises an eyebrow at your change in appearance. You are in a cozy outfit because it has gotten colder nowadays. Mingi puts his phone in his pocket and stands up from the couch while talking. “I don’t get the whole hype about this holiday. Is it to make fun of the ones in my realm?” After living in the mortal world for quite a long time, Mingi has been learning and adjusting to a new lifestyle. Of course, he did it for you because you are the light of his life.

“No, it’s not that.” You shook your head and watched him go to the door to grab his sneakers off the rack. You walk up to him to put on your boots. Like a gentleman, Mingi holds your hand so you don’t lose balance. “It’s a holiday to get free candy, dress up however you want, and being scary is fun.” You tried to reason and made him understand that it’s not supposed to be an insult. Mingi responds, “Whatever you say.” He sounds so blunt, yet he’ll do it for you.

His seven friends, and you call him a tsundere. Mingi may act and look intimidating, but he goes all softie boy whenever he is around you.

Walking down the streets, hand-in-hand, you are more excited while your boyfriend looks soulless. You turn your head to notice how unenthusiastic he is. “Come on, Mingi! Show some happiness on your face.” You encouraged him because you want to make his days joyful. Indeed, he is proud to be part of your life and is grateful that his kind doesn’t have a feud with humans. You truthfully don’t know how you made his stone, cold heart flutter constantly, but it’s adorable.

Mingi lets out a breath. He shifts his neck to look down at his lover. Your petite self is so cute that he wants to protect you at all costs, which he does. Then a grin etches onto his stunning face. If you weren’t outside, you would’ve fainted on the spot. “T-There you go.” You sheepishly spoke as your face began to crimson.

His grin turns into a charming smirk. He loves seeing you get flustered.

As the lovers arrived at the Halloween store, you immediately dragged your vampire boyfriend into the costume section. “We should get costumes as a couple! Maybe this one.” You found a cute witch costume with a hat, a black corset dress, and striped stockings. Mingi observes it and would be lying if he said it wouldn’t look pretty on you. Anything that his love wears is gorgeous.

“If we do that, then what am I supposed to be?” Mingi asked you. He sees his mortal love skim through the aisle, looking for the right costume.

Shortly, your eyes brighten. “A-ha! Perfect!” You grabbed whatever it was and put it on Mingi. His curious expression quickly becomes discontented. “Are you for real?” He hopes his seven annoying but lovely friends aren’t watching him in the other world. Mingi also hopes the undead aren’t laughing at him.

“I am not going to be your cat, Y/N.” He groans with sparkly cat ears on his ash-blonde head.

You ignored his complaint and hugged him tightly. “Yes! You are!” You opposed Mingi’s disapproval of your idea. You can blatantly admit that he would be the cutest kitty.

“Are we done now?” Mingi questions because you haven’t let go of him. You shook your head while rubbing your face on his broad chest. “Nope. We still need to get decorations, and after that, we need fall snacks.” You informed him.

Mingi allows it because he can’t escape from you.

Once purchasing the items, the vampire has the bags in his hand and the phone in the other. You wrap your arms around his and lay your head on his bicep. Mingi texts his friends in a group chat. He explains to them he will be a cat for Halloween. As expected, they all were shocked and made teasing remarks.

wooyo: kitty mingi! im dead!

sannie: that’s a SIGHT to see

jjong: not for me because it’ll be a nightmare

yuyu: y/n is a genius hehe

hwa: it’s nice that you agreed with her

joongie: tell y/n to send us pics

yeo: have a wonderful halloween mangi!

#ateez #atiny #ateez imagines #ateez fluff #ateez x reader #ateez mingi #mingi ateez #mingi #song mingi #mingi x reader #mingi x y/n #mingi x you #song mingi x reader #song mingi x you #song mingi x y/n #mingi fluff #mingi imagines #song mingi fluff #song mingi imagine

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murfpersonalblog · 9 months

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Thanks for tagging me @little-desi-historian! ❤️

YES, all of this takes me back to something I wanted to touch a lot more on in my original post when it comes to the historical male image, Percy, Lestat, and Matadors; because it truly does link back to how AMC is playing with dandyism and society's expectations about effeminate men.

Dandyism is a form of resistance culture. As I've said before, Lestat flouts gender norms because HE CAN do whatever he wants & get away with it. His androgyny's on a different level: effeminate or masculine, he's still a vampire, a SUPERnatural creature elevated beyond the bounds of social mores that determine what men & women could or SHOULD act/dress like. MANY people across social media have pointed to Lestat's limp wrists, long blonde "Barbie" hair and ESPECIALLY him dressing in drag in Ep7 as proof that he's the "wife/mother/woman/femme fatale" in Lousta's relationship, and THEN claim its either gender essentialism or homophobic/racist to say Louis is CANONICALLY female-coded one in BOTH the books and show (as AR said so). But no, Lestat in drag was a power move, because he doesn't care what anyone thinks/says/does--he'll just eat them. Mockingly eating the baby in a dress was a deliberate bastardization of motherhood/womanhood. Louis is called every homophobic name in the book by those expecting the black man to just take being insulted, but MARQUIS de Lioncourt DEMANDS being crowned KING of Mardi Gras, Krewe of Raj, & he'll show you exactly what he thinks about your silly homophobic hypocritical human society: You're just "the MEAT," let them eat KING Cake--you're his FOOD. Eff y'all, I'm dressed to KILL you, & laugh doing it.

Lestat's behavior is not only derived from the time period he was born & raised in (the Rococo era of so-called "effeminate" high class dandies--a la Percy Blakeney, etc). Lestat is the embodiment of PRIVILEGE: a powerful rich white male vampire, who leans into being foreign/French White to excuse anything he does that people find strange/off/unnatural/dangerous--all the red flags. 🚩🚩🚩

And red flags brings me directly back to matadors/toreros.

@toscrollperchancetomeme

😂 TYSM! Sam Reid dropped so many juicy deets; I couldn't resist! There's so much depth to the Matador outfit, beyond the gendered aspect of bullfighting that I discussed before. Let's go back to what Sam said about Lestat, and delve deeper into matadors:

The most iconic apparel worn by toreros ("bullfighters") / matador de toros ("killer of bulls") in Spanish bullfighting is the Traje de Luces, the "Suit of Lights." The colors are usually bright & vivid, as part of the showmanship & pizzazz. Darker palettes are less common, as shiny sequins (the luces/lights) became part of the standard fit.

However, Lestat's all-black Matador outfit from what Sam called the "villain sequence" in Ep5 seems to be loosely following the style of a different but very closely related outfit, the Traje Campero "Rural/Countryside Suit" aka Traje Corto ("Short Suit").

(These costumes are typically worn during ceremonial parades and a very specific festival I'll get back to in a moment, cuz it's important.) Unlike the Suit of Light's sequins & silk, the Rural Suit is made of suede, leather, or velvet, in dark muted colors. The pants can be light or dark, striped & patterned, with or without chaps (also found in gentleman's uniforms of military officers and cowboys).

The trajes originated from "the flamboyant costumes of the 18th-century dandies and showmen involved in bullfighting, which later became exclusive to the bullfighting ritual." (Wikipedia)

The ancestor of both trajes (luces/campero) is traditional 17th-19th century Andalusian clothing (Andalusia being the home of Spanish bullfighting), closely associated with a very particular type of masculine dandyism. (The campero/corto is also the costume worn by Andalusian male flamenco dancers.)

"Before the 17th century the profession of bullfighting did not exist as such, and the fighters did not wear luxurious & shiny trajes de luces, but instead normal clothes of the time according to the social class to which the bullfighter belonged. The first bullfighter trajes de toreros appeared in the 17th century, when professional bullfighters from Navarre & Andalusia wore characteristic garments with their gangs to participate in performances and thus differentiate themselves from other bullfighter bands." (translated/truncated from Spanish website)

In the mid-1700s, Francisco Romero revolutionized professional bullfighting by establishing the first matadors who fought on foot, heroically fighting the bull face to face with swords & the muleta (iconic red flag) in a dance-like performance, dressed in a suede/velvet coleto (jacket), a precursor to the traje campero. Romero (from a carpenter family) wanted to show off & stand out from the nobility, and changed the game entirely, through a form of social resistance-turned-innovation.

"At that time, bullfighting on horseback was more important, which was considered a sport and not a show. Bullfighting on foot was not yet widely recognized." (translated from Spanish website)

Bull-killing on horseback was practiced by Spanish noblemen, attended by lower class assistants on foot. Romero was the first to make on-foot matadors the stars of what was increasingly becoming a dandified show/performance/dance. Matador Joaquin "Costillares" Rodríguez introduced even more showmanship, competing against Francisco Romero's grandson Pedro Romero (famously painted by Goya--bottom right).

For his matches, Costillares (middle) dressed in flashy silks, threaded in shiny silver braiding; the precursor to modern traje de luces. Like Francisco Romero (left), Costillares wanted to show off & stand out; and revolutionized the male image of the bullfighter through clothes.

In 18th-19th century Andalusian Spain there were 2 types of dandy: the French-imported upperclass petimetre (effeminate dandy), and the indigenous working class majo (masculine/macho dandy).

Noyes, Dorothy. “La Maja Vestida: Dress as Resistance to Enlightenment in Late-18th-Century Madrid.” The Journal of American Folklore 111, no. 440 (1998): 197–217. https://www.jstor.org/stable/541941

The majo, like many dandies, became the peak of Andalusian fashion, across all social classes; and torero/matador outfits weren't the only ones to take cues from them:

18th-19th century majos "distinguished themselves by their elaborate outfits and sense of style in dress and manners, as well as by their cheeky behavior. The majos outfits were exaggerations of traditional Spanish dress. The style stood in strong contrast to the French styles affected by many of the Spanish elite under the influence of the Enlightenment. Majos were known to pick fights with those they saw as afrancesados ("Frenchified" – fops)." (Wikipedia)

The majos' flamboyant/cheeky/saucy/exaggerated behavior was aggressively masculine; a lower/working class resistance to social mores imposed on them by (foreign) elites, whom they saw as more feminine, and FOUGHT against, to reaffirm their masculinity. These dandies were violent, brazen non-conformists; as beautiful & stylish as they were dangerous. And matadors/toreros knew that the bullfight was the perfect arena to exemplify the spirit of the majos through the dandified performance art/sport of killing bulls--a universal cultural symbol of masculine prowess & strength. Spanish bullfighting used to belong solely to the aristocratic equestrian sphere. Lowly pages/assistants like Francisco Romero (dressed in the precursor to the Rural/Countryside Suit), were the first to buck the system by killing bulls on foot--he likely didn't own a horse. The Romeros were from a carpenter family. Costillares was the son of a butcher. But through bullfighting they gained social status and became icons of masculinity--and dandies.

Lestat--the nouveau riche son of a poor country marquis--insists on being all the beautiful things he is without apology: masculine & effeminate alike. But like I said, it was no coincidence that Carol likened Lestat's Ep5 villain outfit with matadors--he's fighting Louis for dominance in their household, and reaffirming his place at the top of their very gendered social hierarchy, as a warning to BOTH "the housewife" AND "the prodigal daughter" he feels are threatening his authority as their Maker, so he defeats them BOTH.

Carol Cutshall initially designed Lestat's matador pants as pajamas--loungewear. (Lestat's CASUAL & comfortable in his ability to KILL--matador means "Killer" in Spanish--and remember what I said about Louis & Claudia being put on the same parallel level in Ep5, when Claudia's attacked by "Killer" aka Bruce.) Sam said Carol made several versions of the pants; and yup, they're foreshadowed in Ep5 when Lestat first starts arguing about Louis' depression, then they pop up again in Ep7 during the Murder Plot--two instances @dwreader brilliantly linked Lestat (& Stanley Kowalski) wearing wifebeaters. (Listen, Carol, I just wanna talk.... 😅🔫)

And here's my last points about Lestat's matador outfit. First there's the irony of Lestat (who grew up poor in rural France) wearing the something very similar to the matador/torero's Rural Suit, traje campero (aka Short Suit (traje corto)). But what's more interesting is that that type of Short/Rural Suit is usually only worn during special festivals called the Tienta ("trials"), not the regular corrida ("bullfights").

These Tienta are trials for young and immature bulls to be tested in the ring, to see if they're fit for breeding/fighting. 🤯 FLEDGLINGS. And who's Lestat's young bull? "Built-like-a-bird" Claudia. Who's the immature bull? The "biggest rat eater of them all," the under-developed "botched" vampire Louis. During these trials, veteran matadors can show off their skills; and novice bullfighters are shown the ropes and prove themselves. Like I said: the matador wins again.

God, even the way Lestat dragged Louis' bloody body out of the courtyard by the jaw/neck resembles the way the defeated bull--bled out & stabbed in the neck--is dragged by the neck out of the ring.

And remember what I said about Lestat and FOOD. Cuz what happens to the bulls after the matadors kill them? They're sent to the slaughterhouse to be butchered for FOOD. People EAT the bulls.

So yeah, my whole point in this post and my first one is not to sleep on guys like Lestat, Percy--or even other famous dandies like Valmont from Dangerous Liasions/Cruel Intentions (mentioned by both @little-desi-historian and @dwreader)--just because they're effeminate--especially when they're emulating mannerisms from a time period where the model of what made a fashionable gentlemen/good breeding/elite society did NOT match modern expectations about gender. People are getting distracted by Lestat's yaasified manner, not what the show itself is signalling through the relationships he has with others.

This show is deliberately painting Lestat as a villain through Louis' & Claudia's perspectives, as they were the ones who suffered under his Reign of Terror. The symbolism behind the matador-inspired costume used in Ep5 reflected gendered social hierarchies embedded within bullfighting culture (in Spain, women only started being allowed to fight in the 19th-20th centuries). Dressed in clothes resembling that of a matador, Lestat beating & defeating Louis mirrored the defeat of the emasculated bull, and the reification of the victor's masculine prowess at the top of the foodchain.

#the vampire lestat #lestat de lioncourt #male fashion #fashion history #gender inequality #read a dang history book #operation matador #iwtv tvc metas

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lucidlivi · 11 months

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Chosen For Pleasure (I)

Series Masterlist/Warnings

"Actor turned business billionaire Jensen Ackles, is set to open up a new ale house here in Laredo Texas today. Plenty of stars are set to be in attendance including Ackles ex co-star and best friend Jared Padalecki. It should be a packed event!"

I listened to the reporter on the television as I adjusted the camera strap around my neck. I bit my lip as my bosses words replayed in my head.

"I really need you on this (y/n), get the picture for the magazine, and maybe we'll talk about a promotion."

I worked for a local magazine as a photographer, it wasn't my dream job by any means but it was a start. My boss Gray had connections, so if I impressed him, i'd have a better shot at getting my photographs seen by more people.

I was supposed to go to the grand opening of the new ale house by Jensen Ackles to get a picture of the ribbon cutting.

I don't know why I was so nervous, maybe because my boss made it seem as if my job depended on getting this picture.

Maybe it did.

"ugh you look gorgeous, I wish I could go with you." my roommate Stella said leaning against the door frame.

"I wish you were going too." I murmur giving her a small smile.

"here's the questions, even if you could just get him to answer one!" she said handing me a list of prepared questions for Jensen.

"I can't promise anything Stell, there will probably be hundreds of reporters there, I don't even know how I'll get a good picture. Gray will have my neck if I don't pull this off." I sighed nervously.

"everything will be fine, you always make it happen, now go out there and take a picture of that beautiful man." she cheered pushing me towards the door.

"oh an (y/n/n) try to smile, you look better when you smile." she added.

I rolled my eyes tucking her list in my jacket pocket and walking out the door with a wave. It was a quick drive to the new ale house location, this was Jensen's fourth grand opening after all so he knew all about the prime locations for business.

I gasped as I pulled up to the spot, there were thousands of people waiting. I saw a lot of people in supernatural shirts proclaiming their love for Dean Winchester.

Damn these fans sure are dedicated.

I grabbed my media badge, making sure I had everything. I walked over to an area roped off with a velvet rope, this was where the media usually stands.

I glanced up seeing the overwhelming number of reporters and photographers. There was a make shift stage where Jensen would come out and give a few words before cutting the ribbon.

"uh hi, I'm (F/N L/N) for Texas Monthly." I said to the security guard showing him my press badge.

"of course Ms. (L/N), right this way."

I'm led behind the rope with the hundreds of other media workers.

Great, I couldn't see a thing.

I wasn't the tallest, standing 5"3 on a good day. I really needed this picture. I took a deep breath. I was just going to have to push my way through. I sighed as I started to forcefully push my way through the crowded bodies. I uttered apologies as people gave me dirty looks.

It finally got to where I could push no more. I was closer to the front but still a ways away. There was no way I was getting a good picture now. I blew a piece of stray hair that had fallen in my face when there was a clearing of a mic sound, followed by the girls in the crowd delivering ear splitting screams. I stood on my tippy toes and looked up at the stage.

Jensen Ackles walked over to the microphone standing clad in a black suit and a tie. He smiled showing his perfect teeth. He waved his hand at the screaming girls.

"holy.." I stared to say looking up at him.

I've seen pictures of him of course, but up close he looked even more mesmerizing, if that were remotely possible. His eyes were dark as he scanned the crowd. His jaw clenched looking as if the heavens chiseled it out of stone. He was intimidatingly tall, with muscles being accentuated by his suit jacket. He was undeniably gorgeous.

"thank you, thank you all." He said waiting for the screams to die down.

It just made the girls scream more. Hs voice was raspy, it dripped of sex appeal.

"I appreciate everyone coming today. I'm so grateful to be opening my fourth ale house in beautiful Laredo. I've always been a connoisseur of whiskey and rum, and I've been blessed to be able to work with some incredibly talented people and make my own. What started out as a hobby has now grown in to a full blown business and I couldn't be more grateful for each and every one of you that helps this business thrive. I'm not really a man for speeches so with that being said I officially declare Ackles Ale House open!" He says cutting the ribbon.

I sucked in a sharp breath, and started to panic. I was so focused on listening to his voice, I completely forgot the entire reason I came here! I brought the camera lens up to my eye trying to get a good shot. It was impossible as there were too many people in the way.

I started snapping, praying to the heavens that there was something front page worthy in the mix. Jensen smiled as the reporters started raising their hands for questions. I dug in my pocket for Stellas list but my hands were shaking too much I ended up dropping it on the dirt below.

Shit.

I bent over quickly to pick it up.

"I apologize but Mr. Ackles isn't taking questions at this time." A voice said making people groan in displeasure.

I grabbed the paper rising. As I did I saw Jensen walking past the rope that held the media. It was like something ignited in them. Everyone started pushing closer trying to get that perfect picture, or a quote from the man himself even though it was just said he didn't want to answer questions.

I grabbed on to my camera as elbows flew into my sides and people pushed against my back. I felt my breath get caught in my throat. I didn't like crowds to begin with, and people pushing in to me was too much. A particularly large man pushed against my side causing me to trip over and fall head first into the dirt. I tried to stand up but people were too busy pushing that nobody had noticed I was down here. I covered my head worried I was going to get trampled by media reporters.

"HEY GET BACK, EVERYONE GET BACK." I heard a gruff voice call loudly over the shouting fans and reporters.

I felt a relief in pressure as the bodies move away from me quickly. I uncovered my head and saw a hand being offered out to me. I looked up and was met with piercing green eyes, eyes that belonged to a Mr. Jensen Ackles. I gulped as I looked at his extended hand. No way was he in front of me right now.

"are you okay?" He asked.

I stared at him wide eyed, somehow his voice sounded even sexier when it was talking to me. I grabbed his hand giving him a slight nervous nod. He pulled me to my feet as if I were weightless.

"no you're not, your head is bleeding."

He put his hand on my face and with his thumb stroked a spot on my forehead. I winced in pain. I must've cut my head when I fell. It was just my luck that I would look incredibly stupid in front of him. I could hear cameras snapping as he looked at me. I prayed to god this didn't end up on any front pages I was embarrassed enough already. I realized I still hadn't said anything and was just awkwardly staring at him.

"I'm sure it's okay." I quietly murmur wiping my sleeve against my head.

I looked down seeing a little red stain.

"come on, let's get you some help." He smiled.

He grabbed my hand pulling me through the crowd of people and under the rope that was now being held up by his security guards. I could hear people gossiping but I was too focused on his large hand engulfing my small one. I felt my mouth go bone dry as he pulled me inside the ale house that had yet to let patrons in.

"Sit." He instructed pulling out a bar stool for me to sit on.

He disappeared somewhere else in the pub. I took the opportunity to look around. It was beautiful in here. The decor was nice but not too flashy. He reappeared quickly with a first aide kit in hand.

"I'm sorry about that, people can get kind of crazy." He said opening the kit.

I watched his hands work delicately opening an alcohol wipe and a band aide.

Oh god his hands.

They were large, but worked swiftly and were surprisingly gentle looking.

"this will sting a little." He said dabbing my head with the wipe.

I winced and out of reflex my hand flew up grabbing his wrist. He chuckled looking me in the eyes. My strength was in no way a match for him. I'm pretty sure my face lit up like a christmas tree as I removed my hand. I continued to stare at him while he worked at cleaning some excess blood from my wound.

"you don't say much do you.. Ms. uh Ms. (L/N)." Jensen said grabbing the press badge around my neck.

"It's just (y/n)." I chirped quietly.

He towered over me. It was rather intimidating, not to mention that but he's a billionaire television star and I'm just me.

"It's not deep enough to need stitches, just a cut but definitely keep it clean and covered." He ordered putting a band aide over my cut.

He stepped back giving me a once over. I couldn't help but feel incredibly insecure.

"uh thanks, you really didn't have to do all this." I said giving him a shy smile.

"of course I did, an injury is really bad for business." He says staring down at me as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

I felt the heat creeping up to my cheeks once again.

"oh yeah uh of course." I choked clearing my throat.

Gosh I'm an idiot.

There was a pause of silence before his laughter boomed in my ears.

"I'm kidding Ms. (L/N)." He said smiling.

"It's just (y/n). " I whispered again.

"so just (y/n), are you a reporter, you really don't seem like the cutthroat type." He asked gesturing to Stellas list that I still clutched in my hand.

"uh photographer actually, I was supposed to get a picture of the opening, my friend Stella is a reporter, she was supposed to come too but uh she has the stomach bug and wanted to see if I could get you to answer some of her questions for the article she's writing." I said afraid to meet his eyes.

"well did you get one?" He questions leaning on the bar so he was more relaxed and slouched down to my level."

I gave him a confused look.

"a picture." He clarifies, laughing at my confusion.

I don't know what it was about him, but it was causing my brain to get all foggy.

"oh yeah, uhm lets see." I blushed looking down at my camera.

I noticed the lens had a crack in it, and that the hatch where the sd card was inserted was open and the sd card missing.

" oh no." I said peering at my camera.

"everything okay?" Jensen spoke up furrowing his eyebrows in concern.

"uh yeah just my camera I must've cracked the lens when I fell, and my sd card fell out. It's fine though I'm sure uh there are other pictures we can use for the column." I said shaking it off.

I didn't want him to feel bad for my clumsiness.

I looked up meeting Jensens eyes. He was staring at me intently. I gulped nervously, feeling my cheeks heat up.

"well how about I answer some of your friends questions then." He offers with a smile.

"I uh thought you weren't answering questions." I said barely above a whisper.

Jensen leaned in close so we were eye level now.

"I think I can make an exception. I mean you got hurt for me after all." He said giving me a cheeky smile.

I could feel his breath fan over my face as he spoke. It smelled like mint and whiskey. I couldn't help the chills that shot through my body.

"uh great thanks, she'll be thrilled." I said starting to fiddle with the paper, of course in my nervous tirade I dropped it.

I went to reach for it at the same time as Jensen making our hands touch.

"erm sorry." I said quickly grabbing the paper and unfolding it the rest of the way.

Jensen sat leaning on the bar staring at me, waiting for me to ask him a question. I removed a pen from my pocket and quickly looked at the paper, my brain was so foggy I convinced myself I forgot how to read for a second. I took a deep breath reading the first question on the list.

"uh you went from being a successful actor on the hit show supernatural to now owning multiple businesses, to what do you.." I started but was cut off by Jensen.

"to what do I owe my sucess? is that really her question?" He asks raising his eyebrows.

I bite my lip nervously shaking my head.

"I think my success is owed to supernatural and how hard we worked to make the show what it was, it allowed me to make connections with some great people and build up my name." He said.

"maybe you just got lucky." I chirped still biting my bottom lip.

"that's funny Ms. (L/N), I found out the harder I worked the more luck seemed to come my way." He said ruggedly.

"of course, I didn't uh mean, uh I'm just going to ask the next question, you've recently started outsourcing some of your products from third world countries, is this a personal reason or.." I started but again was cut off.

"It's smart business, that's all." He said.

I scoffed looking down at the paper.

"what you don't think I'm making smart marketing decisions?" He asked raising his eyebrows.

"No it's not that, I just think your heart may be a little bit bigger than you would like people to believe. I said giving him a shy smile.

"you know many media reporters say I don't have much of a heart at all." Jensen said running his hand down his bearded chin.

"I don't believe that." I said quickly looking at him intently.

“well then you don’t know me very well Ms. (L/N), next question.” He says quickly changing topics.

I glance at the paper flustered. It seemed like this was something that he struggled with. He didn't want to answer questions to begin with and the last thing I wanted to do was make him uncomfortable with my questioning.

“Are you gay.” I spoke before my hand immediately flew over my mouth.

I'm going to kill Stell.

“Oh my god I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I just asked you that! It’s Stella she’s intrusive and since your almost never photographed with a woman, the media speculates.” I rambled feeling absolutely embarrassed.

Jensen looked at me with a stern face before laughing.

“no I’m not gay.” He said.

“I’m sorry it’s on the paper.” I blushed.

“forget the paper..” he said grabbing it from my hands and placing it on the bar. “is there anything you want to know about me?” He asked moving just a bit closer.

I bite my lip again looking down at my hands.

“you said I didn’t know you very well to believe you have a heart, is that because you don’t think you do or other people make you feel like that?” I whisper looking at the man in front of me.

He was so nice. How could someone this nice not have a heart? Jensen once again leaned down to my eye level, our noses were practically touching. I stared nervously at his gorgeous green eyes.

“I’m not who everyone thinks that I am Ms. (L/N).” He answered his eyes falling to the floor.

I was about to respond when a couple guys in black suits came in.

“Jensen we gotta get these doors open.” A middle aged man said looking to Jensen.

“yeah of course Cole, start letting the guests in.” Jensen said standing up and turning away from me.

I slowly stood up too, displeased that whatever moment we had was now over.

“just give me a minute guys.” Jensen said holding up a finger to the gentlemen in the suits.

He turns back around grabbing my chin to examine my band aide covered head. I felt electric pulse through my skin where his fingertips met.

“I’m uh really sorry you got hurt today, and that you didn’t get your picture. I hope I answered all your questions though.” He said offering me a small smile.

“I think you only answered three of them but, I uh should go, thanks again for the help I thought I was actually going to get trampled out there.” I joked biting my bottom lip again.

Jensen looks down at my lip before meeting my eyes.

“I wouldn’t have let that happen.” Jensen says seriously his eyes flicking from my lips to my eyes.

I got a nervous feeling in my gut when he stared at me. Almost as if I was nauseous but in a good way.

“I should uh go.” I whispered not wanting to delay the opening more than I already had but also wanting to savor every bit of this moment.

“I’ll uh walk you out.” Jensen says turning around and putting a hand on my lower back.

He leads me out the back door of the ale house where it isn’t overrun with people.

“I guess this is goodbye then.” I said turning to look at him one last time.

I can’t believe I actually had the chance to sit down and talk with him. My heart ached that this experience was now over.

“who knows Ms. (L/N). I might see you around.” Jensen says before turning around and walking back in to his business.

“just (y/n).” I whisper biting my lip, though he was already too far gone.

I couldn’t help the grin that spread over my face as I walked outside. The Texas heat hit me like a freight train, Jensen’s words playing in my head.

“who knows I might see you around.”

My smile didn’t falter as I quietly drove back to our little apartment. As soon as I pulled in my parking space Stella was out at my car.

“Oh my god (y/n/n) your all over the internet.” She screams handing me her phone.

I look down and there are pictures of Jensen jumping over the velvet rope to rescue me. I looked like a deer in headlights staring up at him.

God this was so embarrassing.

I just hope Gray doesn't see these. I gave her, her phone back getting out of the car.

“so…” she starts with a squeal.

“so…” I say rolling my eyes at her.

“tell me everything, what happened!?” she screams grabbing my shoulders.

“nothing really, he brought me inside to clean up my cut and we just talked for a little bit, I asked him some of your questions, I even asked him if he was gay, which thanks for that by the way.” I said pushing past her into the apartment.

“ooh yeah sorry about that, so what was he like?” She pestered.

“nice, polite, serious, intimidating.” I rattled off, my mind going to the towering man with the raspy voice.

“uh totally hot…” she added.

"I mean yeah if you're in to that type." I said glancing at her.

“so did you get your picture?” she asked looking at my camera.

I looked down at my camera again disappointed. I knew I was going to get shit for not doing the one task I was asked of, I’m just hoping Stella’s questions were enough to get me out of the hole I had dug for myself.

“no, when I fell my lens cracked and I’m missing my sd card.” I groaned taking my camera off from around my neck and tossing it on the couch.

“oh well you wrote down the answers to the questions right?” She said cocking her head to the side.

I shook my head, fishing in my jacket pocket for her list of questions where I'd scribbled his answers in pen. I didn’t feel them though. Realization hit me as I remembered Jensen grabbing the paper out of my hand and setting it on the bar. I never picked it back up. I was definitely screwed now. I remember all of his answers but still, I don’t know if anyone will believe just word of mouth.

“about that..” I started biting my lip.

“Gray’s going to be furious.” Stella says giving me a concerned look.

“you’re telling me.” I said crashing on the couch.

A million thoughts were running through my head, all of them leading back to one person in particular. He was definitely intimidating but there was also something about him that drew you in and hypnotized you. I shuddered remembering how close he was to me, the smell of his aftershave mixed with his cologne filled my nostrils. It was definitely the best day I've had in awhile despite not getting my picture and the hell I’m going to get for it. I grabbed a blanket off the back of the sofa, curling up and falling into a euphoric sleep, my dreams consisting of a certain green eyed man.

“I guess this is goodbye then.” I said turning to look at him one last time.

"maybe it doesn't have to be?"

Jensen came closer to me running a hand down the side of my face. He looked in my eyes intently while bringing his face closer. I bit my lip out of habit.

"what I wouldn't do to bite that lip." He groaned.

"What’s stopping you?"

He leaned in making my eyes flutter closed. I could feel his breath just a mere inch away from me. He got closer.....and closer.....

I awoke to someone violently shaking my shoulders.

"(y/n), get the hell up, we're going to be late for work." Stella yelled throwing a pillow at me.

I shot up from my position on the couch.

Shit. I overslept.

I quickly grabbed some clothes sprinting to the bathroom. I threw on black dress pants, a white top and a black blazer. I ran my fingers quickly through my hair, deciding this would have to do for now. I managed to have enough time to gargle with some mouth wash before running out the door.

"so what are you going to tell Gray?" Stella asked driving to the editorial office while I applied a thin layer of mascara in the passengers seat.

Fuck. I was so preoccupied thinking of Jensen I had no clue what the hell I was going to say to my boss.

"maybe he won't ask." I shrugged in defeat.

"yeah and maybe I'll be the next Queen of England." Stella joked.

She pulled into her designated parking spot, gathering her bag from the back seat. I opened the door moving at a sluggish pace. Maybe if I avoided Gray everything would be fine. He's a busy man after all, there are times where he can’t be seen throughout the day. I was praying that today was one of those days, just until I could think of what to say to him, or find something else that could potentially save our article. I walked in the building with my head down going straight to my desk.

Keep cool. I don't think he saw me enter.

I turn around unpacking my bag when I heard a hand slam down on my desk.

Of course. I just can’t win!

I hesitantly turn around, my boss Gray staring down at me.

"so did you get my picture?" He asked glaring at me.

I noticed Stella start to shuffle closer, knowing I'd need her for support.

"about the picture sir.." I started my voice quiet.

"you didn't get the picture!?" He asked, slowly starting to raise his voice.

"no, there were too many people, I fell and cracked the lens of my camera, and.." I rambled but was cut off.

"this was huge (y/n), you really dropped the ball on this one. I can't believe you're incapable of doing one small simple task, how are you ever going to make it in the big leagues if you can't snap a simple picture?" He yelled in disappointment.

I could feel the tears lace my eyes as he degraded me in front of the entire editorial office. I've never felt so small. Stella steps up beside me.

“now sir, let’s take it easy.” She tries to defend while trying not to cross a line.

"I'm really sorry sir." I apologized looking down at my feet, not wanting him to see my tear brimmed eyes.

"you're sorry, well sorry doesn't...." He started but was interrupted by a voice.

"I'm uh looking for a Ms. (L/N)."

I snapped my head up.

I know that voice.

Jensen stood at the reception desk, the receptionist too stunned to speak.

"holy shit.." Stella and I both said at the same time.

Jensen glances around, finally connecting eyes with mine. He smiles making his way to my desk.

“Mr. Ackles what a pleasure to have you here, I’m Gray Holland, chief editor.” Gray says putting on a big smile, which was different from his usual scowl.

Jensen ignored him, instead coming to stand in front of me and a very stunned Stella.

“you’re uh here, how, why?” I asked in shock.

“I believe you dropped this.” Jensen said.

He reaches in to his pocket and pulls out an sd card. He found it… but how? Did he go looking?

“Ah you must be Stella?” Jensen said turning to her.

She stands wide eyed nodding her head. He reaches in his other pocket pulling out a folded up paper… it was the list of her questions.

“I’m uh not gay but thanks for clarifying.” Jensen says handing Stella her list of questions.

She unfolded it with shaking hands, every question was filled out in his neat handwriting. I can’t believe he took the time to do that. Jensen gives me a smile before turning around to face Gray.

“Mr. Holland was it? I apologize sir, I didn’t anticipate the amount of people being there, therefore quality control was not the most efficient. It was my fault, Ms. (L/N) was shoved over and her camera sustained damages. I’ve written out a check that should cover the cost to replace the camera.” Jensen spoke pulling out a folded check.

My breath was caught in my throat. Nobody had ever stood up for me before. Gray was an intimidating man but looked small compared to Jensen.

“I appreciate your explanation and thank you Mr. Ackles, but (y/n) still didn’t get the cleared picture for her article.” Gray says pocketing the check.

I rolled my eyes. All Gray cares about is his stupid magazine.

“I know it’s not the same, but I’m free now for an original picture, as long as Ms. (L/ N) gets to take it.” Jensen spoke glancing back at me.

I could hear Stella shriek with excitement. Gray looks at me with judge filled eyes before agreeing.

“you girls go set up in the studio.” Gray orders me and Stella.

Stella grabs my hand sprinting to the studio while Jensen went to freshen up in the bathroom.

“Oh my gosh I can’t believe this is real right now!” Stella squealed.

“I have no idea how he found me, I never told him where we work.” I said scratching my head.

“He’s so totally into you (y/n) ! Must’ve made an impression if he tracked you down!” Stella fangirled.

“you’re delusional my friend.” I laughed starting to set up a backdrop and a ring light for some good lighting.

Jensen came back, dressed in his signature suit and tie.

“Ready?” He asked giving me a smile.

I don’t think I’ll ever get used to his smile.

I shook my head biting my bottom lip. Jensen walked in front of the backdrop and posed for the camera. It didn’t take me long to snap a couple good pictures of him. Let’s be honest, the man was incapable of taking a bad one. I brought the camera down from my eye sifting through the pictures.

“any good ones?” Jensen asked, his presence suddenly much closer.

“they’re all good.” I smiled turning my camera to show him the headshots.

I could feel his body heat radiating off of him as he stood close glancing down at the pictures.

“wow these are great, you’re really talented.” Jensen said looking down at me.

Hold up did he just call me talented!? I could feel the immediate heat spread to my cheeks.

“thank you and thank you for all this, Gray’s always on my case.” I said staring up at the tall man.

“I owe you one, and that guy is blind if he can’t see the talent right in front of him.” Jensen said reaching a hand up to stroke my cheek in a comforting manor.

Suddenly someone was clearing their throat. I completely forgot Stella was in the room too.

“I’m just going to go.” She said pointing to the door.

She started to walk backwards but tripped on her two feet causing Jensen and I to laugh. Once she was out the door Jensen turned his attention back to me.

“so any plans for lunch?” He asked.

I bit my lip shaking my head no.

“how about lunch with me?”

“I’d love too.” I breathed.

“then it’s a date.”

Author Note:

Hello!

I really hope you Jensen lovers are liking the first part of my new fiction. If you can show it with a heart, reblog, comment, or a follow!

Part (II)

#jensen ackles #jensen x reader #jensen ackles x reader #dean winchester #jensen ackles imagine #jensen ackles preference #dean winchester x reader #jensen and jared #jensen ackles x female!reader #jensen x you #supernatural #jared padalecki #dean winchester imagine #romance #love #fanfic #jensen ackles x you

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physalian · 4 months

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Color in Fiction! (Once You See it, You Cannot Unsee it)

White versus black, red versus blue, Gatsby’s green light, Dorothy’s ruby red slippers, Belle’s blue dress.

Color is perhaps the most ubiquitous motif used across both fiction and reality to thread people or objects through a common theme, or to pit two ideologies against each other beyond their verbal spats. Color is also perhaps the simplest motif, but that doesn’t make it any lesser in its potency.

In fiction, color is an easy way for the audience to learn as fast as possible who’s on whose side, and who their opponents are, and today, we’re going to look at a few.

But first: Crash course into color theory:

Warmer colors evoke passion or uncertainty, movement and excitement, happiness and warmth, but also rage, aggression, love, and lust. The cooler colors evoke sadness and serenity, but also youth and spring and winter and death.

Most of the time when a creator wants to juxtapose color in a narrative or other work, they’re going to use inverses, just google one of the hundreds of teal and orange movie posters. Inverses are whatever colors lie at opposite sides of the wheel. Blue and Orange, Red and Green, Purple and Yellow. These pairs show up either in opposition, or as an ensemble of one character or a group or team.

Part 1: Black and White

Yes it has grounds in racism, but black and white are also accepted to mean chaos and order, good and evil, death and life.

In a show like Lost, themes of black and white are constant. The black and white backgammon pieces, the colors of the Dharma station logos, the show’s main title card, God stand-in Jacob (Lucifer from Supernatural), and his unnamed brother, the Man in Black.

Black and white show up *everywhere,* in some places subtler than others. In fiction with a male and female lead, if they are coded in black and white, the man is almost always the one in black. Black means strength and mystery and this deep, almost corrupted darkness. White is purity, femininity, youth, and nurturing, when a woman wears it, unless she's the villain.

Villains in white are very often surprise villains:

The White Witch (Chronicles of Narnia)

Saruman (Lord of the Rings)

President Coin (Hunger Games)

Hans (Frozen), Mayor Bellweather (Zootopia), Auto (Wall-E)

Elizabeth from Pirates of the Caribbean is an interesting case. She begins the first movie wearing light colors and being trapped in the pure and lawful life of the governor’s daughter. She ends her arc in the third movie in solid black (through several costumes) a badass Pirate King and wife of the new Captain of the Flying Dutchman.

Men in black are chivalrous, dark knights, or morally grey vigilantes, silent badasses, or edgy badboys. Black is also of course reserved for villains a la Darth Vader, or Severus Snape and Voldemort and a million others. The "Black Knight" is his own trope, whether he's in a fantasy setting or not.

Women in black are temptresses, or seductive badasses. Black is the color of corruption, sin, and angst in western media 9 times out of 10 unless a narrative wants to subvert it.

I could do an entire essay on black and white in Lord of the Rings alone but here's a few other contrasts: The white Tower of Ecthelion, Minas Tirith, the "White City", the White Tree, Gandalf the White. The Black Riders, Black Speech, Black Land of Mordor, Orthanc (Saruman's Tower).

But you don’t have to make your character’s entire costumes black and white, no, you can just make their hair light and dark.

Part 2: Hair

**Possibly also because racism but we don’t have time to unpack all that right now**

When you have your male protagonist and his male foil, love interest, competition, companion, lancer, or villain, most of the time (in western media where blonds are in abundance) the more noble or “good” character of the two will be blond, the other brunet, especially in a love triangle. If two male characters have opposing ideologies on any level, they will often have opposing hair. A male and female lead duo will also tend to have opposing hair, but it’s most obvious what they’re doing when it’s two dudes and not just coincidence.

Here’s a nonexhaustive list, with the brunet first (ignoring if the adaptation was faithful):

Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamnee (LoTR)

Aragorn and Boromir (LoTR)

Aragorn and Theoden (LoTR)

Denethor and Faramir (LoTR)

Thorin and Bilbo (Hobbit)

Jack Shephard and James “Sawyer” Ford (Lost)

Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar (Brokeback Mountain) *Also have opposing hats*

Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent (The Dark Knight)

Tony Stark and Steve Rogers (Marvel)

Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers (Marvel)

Loki and Thor (Marvel)

Nico di Angelo and Will Solace (Percy Jackson)

Percy Jackson and Jason Grace (Percy Jackson)

Sherlock Holmes and John Watson (the Cumberbatch one)

Sam Winchester and Dean Winchester (Supernatural)

Edmund Pevensie and Peter Pevensie (Chronicles of Narnia)

Gale Hawthorne and Peeta Mellark (Hunger Games)

Damon Salvatore and Stefan Salvatore (Vampire Diaries)

Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby (2013 Gatsby)

Caledon Hockley and Jack Dawson (Titanic)

Notable nonexhaustive exceptions:

Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy (Harry Potter)

Percy Jackson and Luke Castellan (Percy Jackson)

Jacob Black and Edward Cullen (Twilight)

Batman and Superman (DC Comics)

Luke Skywalker and Han Solo (Star Wars)

Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Star Wars) *wardrobe makes up for it*

*Feel free to tag the ones I missed

Not every brunet on the list is a “bad” guy, nor is every blond the “good” guy, but compared to each other, the brunet tends to be the more morally grey, the more corrupted, the one who’s ideologies end up getting them hurt or killed or proving them wrong. Or, the brunet faces more demons, has a darker personality, or tends to have a “shoot first ask questions later” philosophy.

This of course goes out the window if the media is set in a region or with a cast of characters who are meant to share similar features, like how there’s no blondes at all in Last Airbender (otherwise Aang would absolutely fit the pattern).

Whether that’s Frodo getting corrupted by the Ring and Sam being his rock, Jack Twist getting murdered while Ennis lives on, or the beloved Dark Knight and his bat-black demons while Harvey’s White legacy saves Gotham, next time you write a brunet and his blond competition, ask yourself just why you’re doing it.

*Side note, I’m pretty sure Harvey Dent, when he’s animated, is usually a brunet, but he’s also usually Two-Face by then and no longer a hero*

I don’t even have time for black and white in anime or the trope of the white-haired anime boy and since natural hair colors are kind of moot, I don’t think the same rules apply. But outside of the westernized “black knight vs white knight” I do want to dig deeper into color motifs in anime at some point.

Here's some notable dark and light dichotomies nonetheless in wardrobe and/or hair:

Kirito and Asuna (Sword Art Online)

Lelouch and Suzaku (Code Geass)

Midoriya and Bakugo (My Hero Academia)

L and Light (Death Note)

Medusa and Stein (Soul Eater)

Sasuke and Naruto (Naruto)

Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Eiji and Ash (Banana Fish)

Kyoya and Tamaki (OHSHC)

Yuri and Viktor (Yuri!!! On Ice)

Dracula and Alucard (Castlevania)

Part 3: Red v. Blue and everything in between

The megalith that is the color motif extends past the white/black dichotomy.

It’s also red and blue.

If red is pitted against blue in any story, red is always the team the audience is supposed to root against, unless this is sports. Red is the color of the Sith, the Fire Nation, red eyes are seen as evil, red is blood and rage and wrath and fire. Red is the color of evil empires. Blue is the color of heroes. It’s water and healing and camaraderie, serenity. Blue is the color of rebels and underdogs.

Red versus blue is in everything from the color of lightsabers in Star Wars to the color of cybertronian eyes in Transformers, to the color of the Water Tribes and Fire Nations (with some exceptions a la Azula’s blue fire) to the colors of the pills in the Matrix. Red is the ‘dangerous’ choice, blue is the ‘safe’ choice. Unless your character is patriotically sporting the red, white and blue of the UK, USA, or France.

Villains usually only wear blue if they're ice-coded, or belong to a faction wearing navy blue uniforms.

Red versus blue also shows up between leaders and their lancers. The first one I can think up off the top of my head is Robin and Raven from Teen Titans.

Purple is also usually lumped in with the bad guys and green with the good guys, but purple and green also show up a ton as contrasting colors of the same character like the Hulk or the Joker. But both can swing either way. The Decepticons in the early cartoons for Transformers had purple everywhere and reclaimed it in Transformers: Prime. Megatron, Soundwave, Shockwave, the Vehicons, Airachnid, and the Dark Star Saber, and some G1s]. Prime also has three sets of red-blue dichotomies within their factions: [Arcee/Cliffjumper, Optimus/Ratchet, and Knockout/Breakdown].

Green is the color of more Jedi, and the Green Lanterns, but green also represents sickness or disease or generic evil energy a la Loki, Dr. Facilier (Princess and the Frog) or the Hyenas and Scar in the Lion King.

Pink is really up in the air, as is orange and yellow, especially when it comes to female characters, especially female anime characters.

But enough about color dichotomy.

Part 4: Color Singularity

Color singularly is either meant to evoke a specific emotion, like using blue everywhere to represent sadness, or it’s meant to be a bold statement in an otherwise grayscale world.

I mentioned a few at the top of the post and I’ll elaborate on them here:

In Great Gatsby, green and yellow are very important colors. The “green light” is this real object at the end of the titular character’s love interest’s dock. This light and this color are motifs that represent Gatsby’s longing for Daisy and to return to a glorious past he can never have again (it’s also the color of American money). Yellow is also everywhere in this book. It’s the color of his chekov’s car and several dresses at his extravagant party. Yellow is the color of his current life of glitz and glam and riches (and is also the color of gold). If you listen to one of the accompanying songs to the 2013 film, Florence and the Machine’s “Over the Love” recognizes the importance of yellow in the narrative.

Dorothy’s red slippers in the Wizard of Oz are hyperbolically bold, especially since the movie starts out in black and white. Color is a huge piece of this film- the Emerald City, the Yellow Brick Road, the horse of many colors. Red scientifically is the color humans tend to notice first, those shoes were made to be remembered. Color in Wizard of Oz is the symbol of the fantastical, which was really helped by the time the film was made and simply seeing so much color on screen dazzled audiences.

Red catches your eye faster than any other color, and red in a world of black and white sticks in your mind, just look at Schindler’s List.

Belle from Beauty and the Beast, along with a lot of fictional women wear blue. Blue is biblically Mary’s color, and at one time was the color marketed to women before the shift to “blue for boys”. In the original Beauty and the Beast, Belle was the only character who wore blue, because she was an outsider, and outlier, a free-thinker. Or at least, Belle is the only one who wears blue until she dances with the Beast. The live-action remake didn’t maintain this extra level of the narrative and that’s a shame.

I didn't mention eye color much above (also maybe because racism) but blue eyes, especially animated blue and green eyes, go to characters who are more hopeful, heroic, nurturing, morally just, honest, or brave than their brown-eyed counterparts, unless he's a blue-eyed Tall, Dark, and Handsome. Blue-eyed people tend to be blond, so the traits go hand in hand for the "good" character.

Weirdly enough, this also applies to blue-eyed animal characters -- your animated anthropomorphised villain is rarely going to be drawn with eyes that aren't brown, black, green, red, orange, or yellow.

Because color is also a subliminal or overt way of foreshadowing in both written and visual media as much as any other motif and recurring symbol. You can foreshadow death, or impending doom, or an eventual identity reveal, whatever you want.

You can also subvert the usual associations with specific colors. Black doesn’t have to mean evil in your world. Black can be life, too. White doesn’t have to be pure, white can be clinical and sterile and lifeless (but please no more lady villains in white pantsuits, that's its own cliche at this point). Shake it up a bit every once in a while.

So whether it’s dueling ideologies or the very forces of good and evil, a harbinger of doom or a secret tell, or community and camaraderie, or an enduring hope, you can represent it all with a careful dose of color.

#writing advice #writing tips #writing resources #color theory #literary analysis

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todayinmagicalgirlhistory · 1 month

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The Magical Girl Guide to: Faerie Witchcraft

A post a long time in the making, it's finally time for it to get out of my drafts. I've talked about specific faeries in the past but never a sweeping generalization on faerie witchcraft it, so let's change that this 2024.

Faerie witchcraft at its core is a path of witchcraft that revolves around communicating with the folk, working with them, calling on them and leaving them offerings as thanks for their assistance. That is the biggest generalization I can make about the path, but what that core looks like can be very different from faerie witch to faerie witch. So, let's talk about the faeries.

(As always, these 'magical girl guides' isn't the 'end all be all'. These are barely the tip of the iceberg. Always look at other's experiences/UPG and of course make sure to do more extensive research beyond a post on Tumblr.)

What are faeries?

Faerie, Faery, Fairy, Fae, Fey, Fay, it doesn't matter how you spell it, we are all referring to the same thing ー the Good Neighbors.

By definition, faeries are "is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European culture a form of spirit, often with metaphysical, supernatural, or preternatural qualities."

There are no real single origin for faeries so much as a collection of folk beliefs from all over.

Terminology

Other Way to say Faerie

Ao sí/Aes sídhe

Daoine sídhe

Sídhe/Shee/Sìth

The Good Folk

The Good Neighbors

The Fair Folk

The Folk

The Gentry

The Good People

Greencoaties

Changeling - a substitute left by a faerie after kidnapping a human. Can sometimes be one of their own, other times it is glamoured rocks and sticks. Was used as an explanation for stillborn children in the past.

Seelie - the "faerie good guys" in stories.

Unseelie - the "faerie bad guys" in stories.

The Wild Hunt/Sluagh/Underfolk - a group of supernatural hunters in a never-ending hunt/chase. The perception of the Wild Hunt changed after the introduction of Christianity to the isles.

Wild/Solitary Fae - faeries with no Court affiliations, not to be confused with the Wild Hunt.

Trooping Faeries - live in communities and are known for singing and dancing.

Faerieland

Also simply referred to as Faerie, this is the home of the faeries.

Thought to be divided into the four Seasonal Courts of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. The Spring and Summer Courts represent the Seelie Court while Autumn and Winter represent the Unseelie Court. These lands are considered to be eternal displays of the season they are.

faeries in folklore

We would literally be here all day if I talked about faeries in folklore. Y'all know faerie folklore and mythology is ancient X'D so this category isn't really all that important.

In these stories, faeries can be anything from benevolent to tricksters to someone out to get it back in blood.

faeries in media

Just as expansive as the faerie folklore post. Faeries are becoming more and more frequent in pop culture with books such as the Folk of the Air series by Holly Black, The Spider Wick Chronicles also by Holly Black, Sarah J. Maas' ACOTAR series and even in older TV shows like True Blood.

Hell, I'm working on a novel that has to do with faeries.

UPG

Since starting my own journey working with the fair folk I've come to learn that your fae working experience is shaped by the fae you go out of your way to interact with, the fae local to your area, what the folk feel comfortable sharing with you and what they feel comfortable letting you share with others.

A faerie witch whose experience centers around the flower faeries local to their area is going to be different from a faerie witch whose experience centers around Unseelie fae. Same for someone who only focuses on transactional relationships with the fae (ex. leaving out home baked goods weekly for a brownie, the brownie takes care of the home and that's the extent of their relationship) vs a someone where their path focuses on enveloping themselves in faerie culture and learning about it on a more personal level (ex. befriending a Court local to your area).

For me personally, my fae work experience centers around wild fae like selkies and death fae like banshee and dullahan. Both of which are very personal and has me enveloped in the cultures of these faeries. No transactions here but something deep and personal, like family. It's influenced the witchcraft I've chosen to incorporate into my craft as an eclectic witch and things I experience on a daily basis. (I do have guides on both selkies and banshee if you are curious. Dullahan post is in progress.)

Because of this, your prospective relationship with fair folk and what that may bring in your life is going to be very personal to you, I've found. There will be some overlap, of course. You'll run into someone and go 'oh damn, me too!!'. But it will still be special and unique to you.

It can be as personal as you want it to be. It can be as impersonal as you want it to be. It's up to you.

As such, I can't really make a generalized UPG post about what working with fae is like. There are so many kinds of faeries out there that it would take forever to complete! And one person's daily UPG can look vastly different from someone else's.

I don't believe it's as rampant as it used to be in witchcraft-related spaces as it was in say 2016, but there will always be people who will say things like 'avoid working with faeries in general' or 'fae work is only best for the experienced. If you're a bigger, fuck off'. But I personally think that, like with any craft, as long as you take the time to baby step your way into it, study as you go along, then fae work isn't something that should be gatekeeped to the experienced.

Seelie vs Unseelie: A Lesson in Faerie Morality

There's a huge misconception about these two faerie categories that Seelie means 'good faeries' while Unseelie means 'bad faeries'.

So the best thing someone can do when stepping into the world of fae work is completely disregard that notion. You can meet Unseelie fae who don't mind mortal company and then meet a Seelie faerie who doesn't fuck with humans in the slightest. I think it would better to think of it as faeries who commit to the right or left-handed paths and even then that's putting human morality on it. Human morality and faerie morality are not the same and the faster you realize that, the better it'll be for you.

What you might find atrocious, faeries might go 'that's not so bad'.

What you might find 'not so bad', faeries might find despicable.

Unseelie courts tend to be a bit less welcoming than Seelie courts in a general sweeping overgeneralization. That’s not to say there aren’t Unseelie fae that wouldn’t interact with humans, but a good majority probably won’t be happy to see a human frolicking about the place unattended. So if you ever feel the desire to visit an unseelie court, I’d wait until you’re more experienced working the fae and having the etiquette down

How important is etiquette?

I've personally found that the closer you are to a faerie, the less important etiquette is.

I don't speak to my selkie friends the way I speak to the flower faeries that are local to my area. The way I talk to banshee I know is very different than how I talk to banshee I don't know.

So yes, it is important to learn the proper etiquette to avoid angering a faerie. But the closer you get to the specific folk in your lives, should the relationship go beyond acquaintanceship/transactional, you'll find yourself speaking a bit more casually with them over time.

Faerieland: A Personal Dive

The home of the Good Neighbors.

You can go to Faerie by way of the astral or by slipping into a pocket of Faerie found in our realm (ex. you're on a nature hike and suddenly you've found yourself walking into a revel).

You could write a 50 page dissertation on the courts of Faerie and still not be done covering it. There are hundreds of Courts outside of the main few that you'll hear tossed around by fae workers and folklore enthusiasts and even with those known few there can be dozens of Sub-Courts.

I've met faeries from the Flower Court, a Summer pixie who came from a specific sub-Court called the Lake Court. I've heard of fae workers talking about Winter Sub-Courts that have to do with specific wintery holidays. So yes, there's definitely more than just the Seasonal Courts.

I always let people who frequent this blog what I can and cannot do and what I have and have not done. So in the spirit of keeping things transparent, I've only ever visited two Courts in Faerieー the Autumn Court and the Death Court. I can't really tell you much direct information about the other Courts because of that.

So I can't really give any 'here's a place I recommend visiting in Faerie' beyond a simple 'avoid any place embroiled in politics'. Any court going through serious issues whether that’s a change in power or what have you, won’t be the best place to visit.

Stick to well-populated places to start. You’ll likely find less problems there than say remote areas of Faerie. Just know, Faerie can be as terrifying as it is beautiful.

As for leadership, that looks different from Court to Court, Seelie to Unseelie.

I usually hear more about matriarchal rulership in Faerie, but there are faerie kings.

Who counts as 'Fae' and who doesn't?

If they consider themselves fae, they're fae. If they don't consider themselves fae, they aren't. That's really all there is to it. I've met merfolk who consider themselves faeries and I've met merfolk who consider faeries separate entities from themselves.

So in my experience, I've found that you just learn what the entity in question thinks of themselves as and respect that.

I'm just trying to keep faeries out my space tbh

You'll find the old timey methods to be very suitable. Iron, salt sprinkled around and so and so forth.

And should be out and about in nature, and you want to enjoy a hike without the fair folk messin' with ya, I'd recommend keeping an item of clothing inside out, carrying rowan or iron charms. And keeping to the trails. Faeries are more likely to avoid areas with heavy human foot traffic.

suitable offerings

The disclaimer here is that these are general offerings that most faeries should like. Should you ever find yourself working frequently with a faerie or find yourself the companion of one, there could be other things that they specifically like or dislike. But you usually can’t go wrong with:

General

Anything from nature like flowers, leaves, etc.

Tea

Honey

Cream

Berries

But should you be trying to get the attention of a faerie of a specific species, fine tune your offerings to that type of faerie. Seashells for selkies, bones for dullahan and so on and so forth.

how to gain the attention of a faerie

1) old fashioned offerings

2) astral travel

3) spirit attraction spell

I’m not a promoter of conjuring or otherwise, forcefully bringing a spirit to your vicinity. Think about it like this: you’re at a wedding. You’re best friend in the entire world is getting hitched to the love of their life, and you’re among the audience. You’re welling up with emotion and pride for your friend to have made such an important milestone in their life when… Suddenly, you’re not at their wedding anymore.

No, instead you’re looking at some random stranger who summoned you to their home who say it’s because they’re interested in working with those of your kind. You wouldn’t be too happy about this, would you?

Not only is conjuring or summoning bad for the entity, it can be bad for you if this entity isn’t easily forgiving of being torn away from their personal life to your home and you can end up paying the consequences for it. Instead, I recommend a spell that attracts entities to your home or if you’re sufficiently prepared, astral travel it up.

#magical girl guide #witchcraft #faerie witch #faerie witchcraft #fae work #spirit work #witchblr #black witches of tumblr #witches of color

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bestiarium · 20 days

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Taqqiq, the moon spirit [Inuit mythology]

Ever-present in the night sky, the moon plays a central role in countless folktales and myths from around the world. In native Inuit religion, the moon is inhabited by an Inua (supernatural spirit) named Taqqiq, which literally means ‘moon’. This enigmatic but benevolent creature watches over humanity and is responsible for guiding the souls of the dead to the afterlife. He once was a mortal man, and his transformation into the moon spirit is the subject of several different stories. Details differ, but a common version has it that he lusted after his own sister, Siqiniq. According to one tale, he made his advances at night, when it was too dark for her to recognize him. But Siqiniq was clever and smeared her body with black soot. The next morning, she saw Taqqiq’s face was blackened with soot and realized that it had been him. He chased her and she fled into the heavens and turned into the sun spirit.

Taqqiq, still chasing after her, followed his sister into the sky and eventually became the moon spirit, ironically reflecting his sister’s fate. He deeply regrets his actions and tries to make up for them. Perhaps because of this, he is said to sometimes descend to the Earth when women are abused and then saves them. Sometimes, he takes them back with him to the moon, where they live happily as Taqqiq takes care of them.

His outfit is made with gorgeous white fur, and Taqqiq himself is said to be particularly handsome. In some stories, he is said to travel with a troupe of dogs. It is unclear to me where these dogs came from, but they are particularly powerful and large.

The moon spirit is also associated with the hunt: the Polar Inuit believe Taqqiq brought wild animals to the world of the living so that humans could hunt and eat (hunters would sometimes offer prayers to thank him), and in the belief of the Inuit of Baffin Island, these animals are specifically mentioned to be caribou and seals. Iglulik Inuit believe that Taqqiq would bestow good fortune on seal hunters, whereas the people from eastern Greenland believe him to bless whale hunters. Taqqiq is often depicted with his signature whip, which he uses to hit young boys, as it is his role as a spirit to harden them into strong hunters. While this is a harsh (and presumably very traumatic) way to teach a kid a lesson, Taqqiq is regarded as a protector of young boys and defender of the weak.

Source: Taylor, J. G., 1997, Deconstructing deities: Tuurngatsuak and Tuurngaatsuk in Labrador Inuit Religion, Études Inuit Studies, 21 (1/2), pp. 141-158. Christopher, N., 2013, The Hidden: a compendium of arctic giants, dwarves, gnomes, trolls, faeries, and other strange beings from Inuit oral history, 191 pp, p. 178-181. D’Anglure, B. S. and Philibert, J., 1993, The Shaman’s Share, or Inuit Sexual Communism in the Canadian Central Arctic, Anthropologica, Canadian Anthropology Society, 35 (1), pp. 59-103. (image source: Christopher Stevens, painted for Pivut Magazine, Copyright Inhabit Media)

#Inuit mythology #spirits #mythical creatures #mythology #world mythology #myths

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theresattrpgforthat · 21 days

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Hello! I have two (separate) genres im interested in recs for, if youve got them (though combined would be fascinating tbh): Horror and farming sim-like ttrpgs. Horror im sure is fairly common, just not in my circles (which are adventure fantasy based); farming sim though seems like it may be rarer? for that id be interested in either solo or with 2+ people

Theme: Horror Games

Hello friend, I’m going to let one of my older posts do some of the heavy lifting, and point you towards the Small Town Farming collection I put up back in 2022.

You are absolutely right that Horror is much easier to recommend, but I’ll also try and put some quick recs for solo-farming type games at the bottom of this post.

1978: The Night They Came Home, by World Champ Game Co.

1978: The Night THEY Came Home is a 1-2 player horror roleplaying game telling the story of a fateful showdown between Survivor (a clever and resilient person caught up in horrifying circumstances) and Slasher (a legendary force of evil). Using a deck of poker cards, dual rule books, varied resources, and shared play space, players will recount the events of a forsaken Halloween, zooming closer into the haunting folklore of a small Midwestern town and its inhabitants, and culminating in a violent battle for survival.

Here is a game for solo gamers and folks who want a more intimate experience. If you’re a fan of Friday the 13th, this is probably in your wheelhouse! 1978 has a win condition, meaning that either the Survivor or the Slasher will come away as the victor, and the fact that this is also a game that depends on a deck of cards means that I think this might also be a good game for folks who also enjoy card games and board games.

Vast Grimm, by Infinite Black.

EACH MISERABLE DAY THAT PASSES, THE UNIVERSE INCHES CLOSER TO ITS INEVITABLE DEMISE.

Vast Grimm is a stand-alone, art-filled, punk-fueled OSR role-playing game about the few humans remaining in a universe being consumed by growing parasitic würms.

Are you a MAnchiNe ravaged by war, pieced together with remnants of bots and the little flesh left of your body? Maybe you're a twisted biochemist shoving needles into your arms in hopes that this next fix will be the one that saves you and what’s left of humanity? Or perhaps you are a soul survivor, like a cockroach, doing whatever is necessary to stay alive even if it means the rest of your Legion must perish.

This is a game about survival, no matter how gruesome things get, humanity must survive.

If you’ve heard of MÖRK BORG and thought it was cool, and if you want the same kind of energy but in a sci-fi future full of mutant animals and horrific parasites, then you might want to check out Vast Grimm. Your characters will have to ration food, energy and ammo in an unending battle against the worms. This game looks to have a large amount of support, from expanded content, to a number of adventures, to an online character generator. For over-the-top violence, plenty of alien goo, and shambling pathetic characters that look like they might fall apart at any moment, try out Vast Grimm.

The Lost Bay, by IKO.

What Is The Lost Bay? The Lost Bay is a Suburban Gothic tabletop RPG se199X. The Lost Bay is also the name of the setting where the game takes place: a coastal suburb inspired by films and media from the 80s and 90s. In it you play as a young person touched by the Weird, an ancient force that gives you supernatural powers. You roam the Bay with your gang, its malls, arcade games shops, skateparks and beaches, and fight the Horror that has awakened.

The Lost Bay is a game for folks who like their horror drenched in 90’s nostalgia. Characters are archetypal, and each one comes with special powers. Using your powers is exciting and effective, but also brings you closer to Scars, horrible truths about the world around you that will irrevocably change your hometown.

The Lost Bay is great for planning heists, rescuing friends, and trying to get out of dodge when the going gets rough. It’s not about fighting your way out, but more about trying to keep you and your loved ones safe. A lot of game designers have had a riot putting together adventures for this game, which you can check out in this game jam. The link above is for the Kickstarter, but in case you see this game after the campaign finishes, you can also check the game out on Itch.

Flyover Country, by Headstone Hills.

Fields of wheat and corn ripple in the wind, hungry eyes peering out between the stalks. Billboards along the road advertise strange and dangerous attractions. Smiles are too wide, manners too polite, secrets buried too deep. The neon light of a diner glows in the distance, but you may never reach its doors. An empty highway stretches out to the horizon, then wraps back in around itself. This is Flyover Country.

Flyover Country is a Midwest road-tripping horror role-playing game for 4-6 players: one gamemaster, or Watcher, and 3-5 players, or Drifters. It is designed to be played in one setting and without prep. It only requires paper, writing utensils, and a tarot deck.

This is a great option for a group where the GM is uneasy about doing a lot of prep. While one person acts as the Watcher, much of the events in this game are simply generated by drawing tarot cards from a deck. Characters will also draw from the Major Arcana to determine what their secret is - and what special ability it has given them. This is a game of hidden information, and grinding your characters down towards a tragic or grisly end.

Gravemire, by Clawhammer Games.

Gravemire is a tabletop roleplaying game about death, growth, horror, and survival, based in an original mechanical framework and set in the churning waters of the Louisiana bayou circa 1894. Players slip into the roles of outsiders arriving in the town of Scarstone, a rural outpost that has been warped by a terrible transformation known as the Convulsion. Once, Scarstone was surrounded by similar towns. The Bayou once had an end. Now, unknowable numbers of horrors seep through the uncharted backwaters, strange magic contorts reality to its whims, and the settlements that called Scarstone their neighbour jut half-ruined from the mire like bones from a wound. Times have changed.

Gravemire is a pretty brutal game, not afraid to kill your character and steal their soul. The town of Scarstone is a trap; your characters wandered in one day through curiosity or the desire for adventure, but leaving the town isn’t nearly as easy. Characters are built using a point-buy system, and as you play you may acquire more skill - but you will also acquire Aversions, which sap your Willpower and inhibit your ability to muster through the worst of what the game can throw at you.

If you want to check out an abbreviated version of the game, you can check out the Kickstarter playkit here.

Under the Autumn Strangely, by Graham Gentz.

"Under the Autumn Strangely" is a storytelling game of pastoral horror priming with anachronistic Americana set in a land that Never Was.

Inspired by "Over the Garden Wall" created by Patrick McHale, players collaboratively create a world uncanny and old. Codify and encourage tonal clash as the Three Roles meld whimsy, autumnal melancholy, and dread.

Take a wrong turn on a dusty road. Follow the sign past the red barn with peeling paint. Doubt your senses.

Get a little lost.

Welcome to the Never Was.

From what I understand about this game, it works best with three players, as there are three roles that the participants are expected to embody. One person plays the Arcadian, who embodies the landscape and setting. One person plays the Traveller, who acts as a “main” character. One person plays the Terror, which grows to dominate the story. Each role can only add to to one role’s suggestions, and can only deny the other’s. If you want to mix your horror with nostalgia and a romanticized vision of the rural USA, you might want to check out Under the Autumn Strangely.

The Facility, by Galen Pejeu.

You awaken, cold and in the dark. Fumbling around by low blue lights in a coffin shaped pod. You pull yourself out of the box, and in the dark see the faces of others. You are all wearing loose fitting white clothing and laceless shoes. Hospital patients?

You peer into the dark, seeing little but hearing the sound of dripping, running water and distant machinery. You gather what you can, knowing that something is hunting you. It will be here soon.

Wait.

Can you remember who you are?

The Facility is a game for any number of players, taking on the role of ordinary people, stripped of their memories and trapped in a hostile and insane labyrinth of machines and interdimensional weirdness.

The Facility places your crew into an unknown place full of machines that want to kill you. It’s great for high-action scenes, and since your characters have lost their memories, I think the struggle to find pieces of who you are (or were) is a great way to zoom in and make the horror personal. The game is Breathless, so expect your character’s gear and/or abilities to slowly wear down over time, and for the staked to get bigger every time you pause to try and re-stock. If you want a science-fiction twist to your horror game, check out The Facility.

You Should Also Check Out...

My Shudders Rec Post

The Curse of the House of Rookwood, by Nerdy Pup Games.

Nature, Town, Farm, Villagers, by CardboardHyperfix.

Weeds in the Waste, by Meghan Cross

The Wandering Tea Garden, by AP.

Green Thumb, by Curious Frog.

The Bonsai Diary, by Sticky Doodler.

Iron Valley, by M.Kirin.

#tabletop games #indie ttrpgs #game recommendations #dnd #asks #indie ttrpg #horror

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the-vampire-queer · 5 months

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The Vampires Digital Media Poll: Round 1, Bracket 3

Please reblog for a bigger sample size.

Results get posted on December 10th. at 5PM CST.

<- Previous poll | Next poll ->

If you wish to learn more about your options, either as a refresher or an introduction, press the "Keep reading" button.

What is The Twilight Saga about?

Summary (first movie only): "High-school student Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), always a bit of a misfit, doesn't expect life to change much when she moves from sunny Arizona to rainy Washington state. Then she meets Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), a handsome but mysterious teen whose eyes seem to peer directly into her soul. Edward is a vampire whose family does not drink blood, and Bella, far from being frightened, enters into a dangerous romance with her immortal soulmate." Source: Rotten Tomatoes

Source: Twilight (2008)

Cast:

Kristen Stewart - Bella Swan

Robert Pattinson - Edward Cullen

Taylor Lautner - Jacob Black

Ashley Greene - Alice Cullen

Jackson Rathborne - Jasper Hale

Note: Cast lists provided here are not complete lists of people and characters featured in the media being listed. These are partial lists that include some of the main characters and their actors.

Additional information: The Twilight Saga are based off of the books of the same name by Stephenie Meyer.

Meyer attributes one of her desires to create her books to 2000s band My Chemical Romance (other bands and media also inspired her, but MCR is much more well-known for being one) and even attempted to get them to make a song for the movies. The band's response was that they wouldn't and would later they would create a song in response/as a reaction to this offer (Vampire Money from Danger Days).

What is Being Human (US + UK) about?

Summary:

US version: ""Being Human," based on a BBC series of the same name, features three 20-something roommates who each try to keep a secret from the rest of the world -- one is a ghost, another is a vampire and the third is a werewolf. The three roomies try to help one another navigate the complexities of living double lives." Source: Rotten Tomatoes

UK version: "Deciding to turn over a new leaf, a group of friends who also happen to be vampires and werewolves move into a house together, only to find that it is haunted by ghosts of people who have been killed under mysterious circumstances. As they deal with the challenges of being supernatural creatures, their desire to be human bonds them." Source: Rotten Tomatoes

Source: Being Human UK

Cast:

Russell Tovey - George Sands

Guy Flanagan (pilot) + Aidan Turner - John Mitchell (UK)

Andrea Riseborough (pilot) + Lenora Crichlow - Annie Sawyer (UK)

Sam Huntington - Josh Levison (US)

Sam Witwer - Aidan Waite (US)

Meaghan Rath - Sally Malik (US)

Mark Pellegrino - Bishop (US)

Note: Cast lists provided here are not complete lists of people and characters featured in the media being listed. These are partial lists that include some of the main characters and their actors.

Additional information: The UK version of the show came out first, airing on the BBC, dubbed Being Human (UK). Later, a new show of the same title would come out, dubbed Being Human (US).

In the UK version, two of the original three cast from the pilot would be replaced. These two would be Guy Flanagan and Andrea Riseborough, replaced by Aidan Turner and Lenora Crichlow respectively.

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god-of-all-things · 6 months

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I’m gonna be real, I know people can do what they want with their fanworks and all and I’m not about to sit here and say I have the only valid take on media, far be it from me to confiscate the coffee shop au, but

I feel like the fandom of NPMD woobifies Max Jägerman to a concerning extent and it shows a refusal to engage with the central theme of the text. Nerdy Prudes is first and foremost a text about bullying. It’s very telling that the lords in black don’t actually make an appearance till real late in. It’s supernatural, yes, but that is set dressing. Nerdy Prudes Must Die is a play that says bullying is dangerous to the point of killing people. None of what Max does is suddenly different when he’s a ghost, or at least not to begin with. He wedgies Ruth and swirly’s Richie. He’s explicitly and canonically the same fucking guy he was before he died, and what he’s doing is still killing people because bullying kills.

All those shitposts that woobify Max as just a himbo refuse to acknowledge the fact that the text explicitly says that he and his behaviour is dangerous and violent and destroys people.

I don’t know why that is. Maybe people like the dumb jock trope better because they don’t have to think about the way their behaviour and behaviour they support harms people. Maybe they’re a bullying victim themself who doesn’t want to think about that. Maybe they just don’t care. Maybe theyre the bully and want to validate they did nothing wrong. I don’t know. Really it’s not my business what other people do with their lives. But let me just say

It’s just a joke, he’s just a silly himbo, none of it is serious is just justifying his behaviour, in the same way that real bullies justify harming real people

#motley talks #adventures of the chaotic nb #nerdy prudes must die #starkid npmd #npmd spoilers #npmd max #like okay it’s not that deep and all but this really bothers me #I was once pushed in front of a bus by a school bully when I was 11 #like genuinely pushed in the road as it was driving. I’m fucking lucky it stopped #the kids were 3 years older than me and got no consequences because it was just a joke #bullying is not a fucking punchline #npmd dissects the trauma of being the kid it’s okay to hurt for some arbitrary reason #and you can do what you want and all but I am looking critically at your behaviour

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chezzabellesworld · 3 months

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Aquarius, Venus

So the Aquarius Venus definitely has their own brand of clothing that is very unique to them. Like I said we always want to put their rising sign and sunshine into consideration to add up that spice to each outfit a lot of the time when I use celebrate examples I like to use their street style, Unless they are a very raw and out there celebrities from the 70s and prior to that where there was not as much TMZ and things like that I mean, I know there was big Hollywood films with big costume sets and stuff,

Nancy Spudgen, so for her life, Nancy sponge and took a lot of slack from the media and the press hounded. Her even members of the Sex Pistols and part of their team. Tried to keep her and said apart, but he was attracted to this wildcard she attracted everything he wanted to be I believe for a 20-year-old she knew a hell of a lot. She was very intelligent and her mother tried everything with her her from private schools to institutions to try and sort her head out. Even as a baby. She struggled so much of the deprivation of oxygen, Aquarius rules, the supernatural and other world. When I read her book the mothers book, she would talk about these parties that Nancy would have where people would be having sex on the stairs in their family home, so all the other family members ahead to her behaviour without wanting to upset her for an easier life going into her style from what her mother says was ahead of the times and I always get annoyed when people say this because I think really everybody, but when you look at the pictures of her back, then she was a hippie before being a hippie was cool, she was a punk before being a punk was cool. She put her outfits together. Her mum actually hated the white blonde hair and the punk rock so much today that she changed her. She really was at the funeral and put her in a different dress and dyed her hair back which I believe is very Aquarian energy. She wanted to be a rebel and her mum monitored to conform to some degree.

But were very fitting for her. It was very simple and a lot of these aquarium Venus outfits are very simple but give a little jar to the outfit so they might wear a really oversized jumper with a belt and hot pants but it could be in plain black so it doesn’t look that over the top, or it could have some funky accessories while the west of it’s really plain, but what she did is have a white face, white hair, black smudged, make up red lipstick, leopardprint, fishnets, leather high heels, and she looks sensational. She had her beautiful Jewishness in her outfits too because of her lovely hair and her voice. It all went together in this really nice neat package for a small woman, with lots of a fountain of knowledge and a high IQ, not that I regard IQ is the biggest thing in the world at all. I’m just saying that this lady was very intelligent and to be honest she wasn’t even a proper adult at 20 I’m mean what do you know at 20, but this lady I’m telling you was put here is comic out for either her family or herself and her being a Pisces, sun, and Pisces rising, there was a lot of focus on the self and how she got away with a lot of things in the house because of who she was, and then it got to the trance on her physical body was too big to be controlled.

It’s funny, because now we going to Kate Moss, a similar story with her and Ganner Poirot similar to the story of Nancy Spoden, where there was a party where lots of things were going on in weird rooms, and Gwynne fact leave because it wasn’t really her flavour that say, she had wild times of Pete Docherty in the Alley, 2000 where they would go out and be packed by the press crazy things “ cap on Coke again” headlines like that, and I will say Aquarius might have a thing for that illegal substances that say, but Aquarius can leave things hidden, but a lot of the time things do come to them. Aquarius is rules, magnetics and magnetic force and electricity so the way I said Nancy did that with controlling her family, maybe Kate did that in the sense of her modelling industry with her Leo rising, and Aquarius, Venus opposing each other, that was the rebel in her the Aquarius side, and then Leo side, both being rebellious signs the Leo giving her the confidence to do eccentric things and being an eccentric person in the press, and love the attention of the press for her beauty and her crazy relationships.

Then things got a bit quieter. She mellowed down and then she’s talking in her 40s so it took a long time and Aquarius is a long sign of energy and age. It is the older sister it might take longer to mature. It might even have Benjamin button syndrome a little bit .now as we come to clothes she’s a fashion icon, bing the supermodel and being the brand girl for many Dales like Rimmel London a lot of the tailored outfit goes so well for her body. I’ve noticed they all like the suit jacket basic staple of a wardrobe and obviously Kate had access to these things being a supermodel, knowing what looked gone on her. She also had the controversial period of their heroin, she look, so here you see with Aquarius Venus says they have a lot of controversy surrounding them. Their fashion is iconic. I have an Aquarius Venus aunt and she got a real bad disease that you can’t cure and she kind of felt ostracised for that, but there was always rumours in the family about things that she had done just like we’ve being an alcoholic and having maybe drug problems as well but she always like dressed to the nines. She would wouldn’t leave the house sometimes until she done her hair which and make up which would’ve taken her like four hours. All in all, we’re not too sure about her, but these guys really do know how to look for their body. They face their hair all of it and I’ve always admired and I’ve always asked my auntie for style tips because she always looks good at any size she’s been.

Kate Moss is very like blazers a nice fur jacket to throw all over it, and then when it comes to festival she’ll wear a power, hot pants, a fluffy bomber and a dress top which I’ve put in the picture above which I just think looks so beautiful, but what’s added to the outfit is the jewelry she’s dressed up with jewellery they dress it up with a nice bag where the crazy symbol symbol line simple,And it always looks amazing.

Sienna Miller

So in the early 2000s there was a lady called sienna Miller, who is like an actress model. We didn’t really know she came from. She came out of nowhere from being honest and she was just at Bohemian, hippie Vanessa Hudgens,/Nicole Ritchie, kind of girl. she was styled so beautifully and so classically. These girls kind of brought back the 60s vibe. Where is the untamed blonde hair hardly any make up and if it was it was maybe smudged a bit for the party}!

So she was with Jude law and had children with him I believe, but they’re controversies in the 2000 were crazy about affairs and threesomes and everything like that, but her style that was what captured the magazines again that’s what I’m saying, their styles of these people capture the magazines they want to see what they’re gonna be wearing next and they don’t get criticised because they have four out so well with that aquarium energy of knowing what looks good, similar to Sagittarius Venus, which is a bit more insecure Aquarius Venus will be insecure about it, but they will know how to dress it rather than hide it well a bit of both.

But she really gave Bohemian, a new thing, along with people like Nicole Richie, she was almost like a young Anita Palenberg, and then we have Tiffany Amis and we’ve had saved by the bow looks that it was so classic and so ladylike and so feminine that all the young boys fell in love with Tiffany on 90210 and saved by the bell she had that beautiful face cherub like and the outfits were so 90s and chic they were recycling. The 70s again so this Aquarius Venus, as you can see and along with Ashley Benson who is dressed up the bait lasers so well and the street style looks so comfy yet tailored it shows really how clever Aquarius can be with materials.

#astro observations #astro community #astro placements #astrology #astrology observations #astro notes #astroblr #fypage #aquarius #aquarius venus #venus signs

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