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callmeagardengnome · 2 months

Text

˚ʚ paint my world ɞ˚ | SONG MINGI

pairings ᯓ idol!mingi x painter! fem!reader

genre ᯓ soulmate au, one-shot

synopsis ᯓ you’ve been seeing in black and white for all your life - until a popular idol comes in and changes things

w.c ᯓ 2.7k

author’s note: make sure to like and repost!!

not proofread!

masterlist

blue. you’ve never seen blue before.

you stood in front of the clothing rack in shock, trying to process what you were looking at.

from the moment you were born, you were cursed by your soulmark. colour was something that was foreign to you, something that didn’t seem real. you never understood why your friends would fight over certain crayons or when people looked up to the sky, admiring its beauty - it all looked the same to you.

as depressing as it sounds, seeing in black and white wasn’t too bad. you weren’t distracted by the things around you and you could actually focus in school for the most part.

sure, you had a few awkward moments. like when you wore a completely mismatched outfit - highlighter yellow shirt paired with murky orange pants and pastel pink shoes. if anything, it taught you a learning lesson to always ask your parents for fashion advice.

ironically, you became a painter after you graduated. you were always a creative kid and being colourblind wasn’t going to hold you back from releasing your works into the universe.

you slowly rose to fame, with your artworks capturing the eyes of millions around the world. you even managed to earn a lot of money from it, leading you to buy more supplies for your job.

you stood up from your chair, cracking your back. you’ve been working on this certain art piece for at least 7 hours and you decided to finally take a break. it’s been a while since you’ve painted - you took a short holiday to one of your favourite countries which led you to forget the long hours of sitting down.

you reached for your phone, dialling your best friend’s number.

“hello?” your best friend’s voice echoed in the room.

“i’m boredd,” you groaned out, flopping onto your bed. “can we do something?”

she chuckled. “i’m guessing you’re done painting?”

“i’m taking a break,” you said, shifting, making yourself more comfortable.

“if you want, i can pick you up and we can go shopping?” your best friend suggested, her voice sounding more excited.

“you know me so well,” you replied, hanging up almost immediately. you ran to your closet and picked out a simple outfit, one that you knew matched each other.

you scrolled through your phone, waiting for your best friend to text you. when she finally came to pick you up, the both of you went to your favourite shopping centre, looking at the different stores.

that was what led you to.. blue? pink? yellow?

in all honesty, you had no idea of what colour you were looking at. when your best friend decided to stop at a random clothing store, you thought that it wouldn’t hurt to look around a little bit. while she was in the women’s section, you went over to the men’s section - you never know if they have better clothes.

you browsed through the selection of clothes mindlessly until a shirt caught your eye. “ayo what-“

you went closer to the shirt, one that stood out in a vibrant colour against the monochrome background. you touched the sleeves, the material. it was alien to you. for all of your life, everything was in greyscale. you’ve never seen anything as bright, or beautiful as this shirt that was in front you. you took a moment to inspect the shirt, wanting to imprint the colour into your mind. after all, you never know the next time you would see actual colour.

“‘____’?”

you turned to look at your best friend, who stood a few steps away from you, looking confused.

“…are you okay?” she asked cautiously, not knowing why you looked so stunned.

“dude-“ you coughed out, glancing between the shirt and your best friend. “i can see colour.”

her jaw dropped. “wait- really? can you see the colour of my shoes?” she pointed at her shoes eagerly, nearly dropping the pile of clothes she was carrying.

“well- no..” you replied, disappointed. “but i can see the colour of this shirt..?”

“hm..” your best friend hummed, moving closer to you. she awkwardly reached into her pocket, before starting to google about your soulmark.

˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆｡☆ ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪ ⋆˚ʚɞ ⋆｡𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆

when mingi found out that ATEEZ was going on tour, he wasn’t exactly thrilled. of course, he was happy that he got to meet the international ATINY, but he couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed that he couldn’t properly enjoy the trip.

to him, he didn’t really see the fun in leaving the country, or even going outside. everything looked the same to him. no matter what, he couldn’t see the true beauty of the things around him - so what was the point of feeling excited to go overseas?

mingi flinched when the lights shined intensely in the plane. he slept throughout the entire plane ride, not even bothering to look outside the windows. he absentmindedly followed his group, trailing behind everyone as they got off the plane.

“what..?” his thoughts echoed in his head as he looked around at the airport.

it was.. bright. unusually bright.

it was almost comical how bright the airport was - it even hurt his eyes. he had to blink a couple of times to make sure that he wasn’t hallucinating.

he stopped following the group, taking in his surroundings. was this what normal people saw?

everything was so.. vibrant and bold. he couldn’t even comprehend that people could see this on the daily and not talk about it more. sure, he bumped into a few people by stopping suddenly, but that didn’t matter - in fact, nothing else mattered. mingi could see colour, and he wasn’t planning to stop anytime soon.

“dude are you okay?” yunho snapped his fingers in front of mingi, finally catching his attention.

mingi furrowed his eyebrows, hitting yunho’s hand away from his face. yunho looked at mingi, concerned. “we’ve been calling you for the past five minutes, why are you standing in the middle of nowhere?”

mingi turned away from yunho, shifting his eyes around the airport. “i can see colour.”

a collective ‘WHAT’ was heard from the group as they gathered around mingi, attacking him with questions.

“i don’t know, maybe this airport is just.. different?” mingi said, unsure.

“does that mean your soulmate is here?” wooyoung asked, looking at his members curiously.

“maybe,” seonghwa shrugged, typing in his phone. “i just googled it, apparently you can see colour of the objects your soulmate touches or the places they’ve been in often.”

yunho whistled. “that means your soulmate in the same city as us,” he said, nudging mingi.

mingi smiled, running his fingers through his hair. “how long are we staying here again?”

“..four days?”

“i only have four days to find my soulmate?” mingi exclaimed, his eyes widening in shock. “how am i supposed to do that?”

“i mean.. we have one rest day..?”

mingi groaned, his face in his hands. he was so caught up with the thought of finding his soulmate that tour completely left his mind. he had spent all of his life in black and white and he didn’t want to return back to that.

mingi asked his members to teach him the different colours. he ended up learning that colour can have different hues, brightness and he didn’t want to stop being surrounded by these colours.

unfortunately, they had to leave the airport due to their packed schedule. everything became ten times more boring. the cars passing by, the trees, the pavement, nothing interested him anymore.

his member’s obviously noticed his change in mood and did a small detour to a nearby shopping centre. they wandered around, going to different stores, looking at the different items the city had to offer.

mingi cheered up a bit when he entered a clothing store that was his style. he made a beeline to the men’s section and tried on a shirt that he liked. unluckily, his manager had to drag him to the car, preventing him from buying the shirt.

luckily for you though, fate brought you to the shirt. you unhooked it from the rack, bringing it closer to your face.

“what colour is this?” you asked your best friend.

“it’s blue,” she answered with a wide grin on her face, barely containing her excitement.

you nodded, unable to take your eyes off of the shirt. “where is blue found?”

“the sky,” she said eagerly. “the ocean too, it’s really beautiful.”

she added, “blue is normally used for sadness though. a lot of films portray it that way.”

you didn’t know that a beautiful colour like blue, could be associated with such a depressing emotion. it didn’t make sense to you.

however, you put off your feelings of confusion. now wasn’t the time to question these sorts of things. now was the time to find your soulmate.

˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆｡☆ ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪ ⋆˚ʚɞ ⋆｡𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆

it was day 3 of ATEEZ being in your city. with each day passing by, mingi felt more and more anxious. he hated the fact that he didn’t have time to find you and how he had to spend most of his time performing.

obviously, he was extremely grateful that he got to meet his fans, but there was a part of him that always felt irritated.

not only that, on the day that he was planning on resting, he got interrupted.

“shouldn’t you ask someone else?” mingi asked, raising an eyebrow.

“no one here likes art,” hongjoong groaned, sitting next to mingi. “i get that you’re colourblind but pleasee accompany me.”

hongjoong was begging mingi to follow him to an art museum. there was art exhibition going on that was intriguing to hongjoong - but unfortunately, was not interesting to his members. this led to hongjoong asking his colourblind member as a last resort to follow him to the museum.

“maybe you can find your soulmate there,” hongjoong mentioned, wiggling his eyebrows.

“i doubt it,” mingi scoffed. “but you know what? i’ll follow you.. cuz i’m a good friend.”

hongjoong rolled his eyes before running off to get ready for the art exhibition.

˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆｡☆ ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪ ⋆˚ʚɞ ⋆｡𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆

you looked at yourself in the mirror, debating what outfit to wear. should you go casual? formal? after a year of working on it, the launch of your art exhibition was finally here. it was an important milestone in your life and you did not want to mess it up.

you sighed, walking over to your closet. your eyes immediately landed on the vibrant blue shirt hanging on the side of your dull wardrobe. was this the right choice? it was a nice shirt, and it did feel nice to know what colour you were wearing for once.

after considering it, you grabbed the shirt from the rack and hurriedly put it on. you needed to make it to the museum quick - after all, you didn’t want to be late to such an important event.

you booked a taxi to the museum, going over to where your artworks were stationed. you looked at your art pieces in pride, unable to stop yourself from smiling wildly at them.

mingi and hongjoong reached the museum slightly later than they wanted to. they had to squeeze through the swarm of art enthusiasts crowding at the front of the exhibition.

when the two men finally reached the start of the exhibition, they’re eyes widened in shock. while hongjoong was impressed by your artistic talents, mingi’s jaw was on the ground for a different reason.

it was fully coloured.

he’s never seen a coloured picture before, let alone a painting. when he glanced over at the other art pieces, he noticed that they were too, coloured vividly.

“why- why is this coloured?” mingi muttered to himself, moving closer to the painting.

“you can see this?” hongjoong asked in surprise.

mingi nodded, walking over to another painting. “yeah.. all of the paintings actually.”

the two of them stood in silence, both thinking about what this could mean.

“dude- is the artist your soulmate?” hongjoong exclaimed, staring at mingi with wide eyes. “you can see colour of the objects your soulmate touch right?”

“uhuh..”

“you need to find her,” hongjoong said, squeezing mingi’s arm. “it’s the first day of the exhibition, she’s 100% here.”

mingi wasn’t prepared at all to meet you. the idea of even being in the same area as you terrified him. he was thinking about finding you on their last day in the city, he hadn’t even finished planning out what he wanted to say to you.

unfortunately, hongjoong pushed mingi away, forcing him to look for you.

mingi had zero clue of what you looked like - he had no idea of who he was looking for. after a while, he noticed that one of his shoe laces were untied and kneeled down to tie them. that was when he noticed something strange.

he saw blue-coloured footsteps littered all over the ground. he quickly stood up, looking around the room like a madman. at first, he was was searching for you without any real evidence of you being at the museum, but now, everything changed.

you were actually there, and he was going to do his best to find you.

as creepy as it sounds, mingi followed your footsteps, trying to trace where you were going. it was obvious that you were frantically running around the museum, for reasons that he did not know.

while mingi was trying his hardest to find you, you were trying your hardest to prevent any issues from happening. there had been certain entry problems or people requesting you to explain some of your artworks, which led you to scurry around the museum.

your eyes were glued to your clipboard that had all of the things you needed to take note of jotted down. you were so focused that you accidentally bumped into someone.

“sorry-“ you apologised quickly.

mingi picked up your clipboard and handed it to you. not expecting much of the interaction, he almost immediately moved away from you until.. you made eye contact.

the world around you seemed to stop.

the colours came in gradually at first - the blush of red in your cheeks, the rich colours in your eyes, the vibrant blue of your shirt. it was like the first brushstrokes of a painting, the colours spread and bloomed, saturating everything around you.

you blinked, staring at the man in front of you. the moment you locked eyes with him, you knew. he was the one - your missing piece. your soulmate.

“hey,” he spoke up, his deep voice surprising you slightly.

“hi..” you replied, barely above a whisper.

the both of you stood up, the universe revealing itself to you. for the first time, you saw the world in its true beauty - it was alive.

the museum held different hues, different shades of colours you could barely recognise, each colour filling you with a joy you didn’t know you could feel.

mingi smiled. “i can’t believe it,” he said softly. “it’s so.. beautiful.”

you could feel tears welling up in your eyes, your emotions bubbling to the surface. “it really is,” you said, unable to pull your gaze away from him.

mingi wiped the tear rolling down your face, pulling you closer to him.

“you’re so pretty..” he muttered, studying your face.

there was a pause - one that was comfortable. the two of you stared into each other’s eyes, not wanting to look away.

“can i try something?” mingi asked, tilting your jaw up.

your heart raced as a blush crept up to your cheeks. “sure,” you replied, feeling a flutter in your chest.

mingi leaned in slowly, giving you plenty of time to back away if you wanted to. but you didn’t. instead, you closed the distance between the two of you with your lips meeting in a tender kiss.

the world around you seem to overflow with colour, with the blue in your shirt mixing with the brown of his jacket. the colours in your paintings swirled, creating a beautiful illusion of contrast.

the both of you pulled back, smiling at each other. you saw his warm brown eyes, his hair and how his cheeks were dusted with a light pink.

“i’m so glad i found you,” he said, tracing his thumb across your jaw. “i don’t feel so blue anymore.”

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series taglist [OPEN] - @jiwoongsblondehair @hwasbabygirl @chngbnwf @passerbyforfun @butterfliesinthesky @ismelllikechlorine247 @pansexual-and-eating-pancakes @forever-atiny @arki-sha

#gnomeo 🥫#gnomeo🥫writes #ateez #ateez fanfic #ateez fic #ateez x reader #atz #atz fic #atz x reader #soulmate au #mingi #song mingi #ateez mingi #mingi x reader #ateez ot8 #ateez fluff #ateez soulmate au

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ickadori · 8 months

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++ 𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐎 𝐊𝐀𝐌𝐎 — 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆

↳ Choso is still unfamiliar with the more human way of doing things, but he is trying, so you can’t fault him too much when his actions resemble that of a curse rather than a human. VALENTINES EVENT MASTERLIST

[cws] yandere. stalking. chikan. mild violence. fem reader. i’ve taken creative liberties and made it so that choso can choose when he’s visible to humans thanks to being half-curse, half-human :3 reader is american.

Right and wrong is not something that Choso concerns himself with - he simply does what he pleases.

It’s not in the sense of him thinking that he’s above human laws (he is) and can therefore ignore them, but rather that he’s not familiar with them.

Yuji has told him time and time again about what is and is not acceptable, but it just hasn’t clicked in his head yet. In the rare times that he shows himself to humans, he always finds himself breaking some type of rule, law, or societal norm, as Yuji tells him.

“You can’t walk so close to people, Choso - they’ll think you’re a pervert or something!”

“I don’t care if she smelt good - you can’t sniff her like a dog!”

“Put your dick away! That’s not a bathroom! You can’t piss there!”

“No, Choso! You can’t kill somebody just because the line is too long!”

Humans were bound by so many rules, it was annoying. Choso found himself staying hidden more often than not, choosing to observe the people around him rather than taking more ‘lessons on humanity’ from his younger brother—Yuji was a big help, don’t get him wrong, but Choso didn’t feel right taking lessons from his younger sibling. Choso was the oldest, the one meant to protect and teach his younger brothers (something he had failed to do on two occasions, as he so painfully remembers every day), and if he didn’t know it, then it was his duty to learn it on his own.

The regular people of Japan, the ones who were terribly unfit to defend themselves (it’d be a hassle trying to protect them - he’s glad they’re not his siblings), were incredibly boring. Majority of them only worked and slept, some occasionally getting drunk at some hole-in-the-wall bar before stumbling home and passing out in the living room.

Choso preferred watching the not-so-regular people of Japan, the ones who led a life that Yuji always turned his nose up at, but Choso didn’t think they were so bad. They do what they want, what’s so wrong with that, he always asked. They didn’t let rules shape their actions or let laws turn them into a completely different person - they were simply them, and Choso found it admirable, in a way.

He watched men cloaked in black skulk around alleyways looking for a target to rob, women dressed in skimpy clothing slipping into cars only to slip out a few moments later with blood on their cleavage, teenagers walking into stores with no money yet walking out with pockets stuffed full of snacks and drinks, men in suits exchanging briefcases full of drugs and money, truck drivers transporting living, breathing humans adorned in chains - the dregs of society as so many called them.

He watched them sparingly, only when he grew bored of the mundane lives of everyone else, everyone else except for you, of course.

Choso had been watching you ever since he first began this poor attempt to assimilate into Yuji’s world. You lived a boring, plain, safe life, but he found himself interested nonetheless. You were an office worker, one with a funny accent that he learned was American. You liked to read and occasionally write, and you went on walks in the park on the weekend and took pictures of the scenery. You didn’t drink and you didn’t smoke but all your friends did. You had a library card that you lost on a monthly basis. You had an unhealthy addiction to carbonated drinks. You hated going to the dentist. You avoided stepping on the cracks in sidewalks. You desperately wanted a pet but your lease forbade you from getting one.

These were the boring, mundane details of your life. Nothing exciting, nothing noteworthy, and yet Choso had memorized it all.

You were on your way home from work now, unaware of Choso’s presence behind you. He was close - close enough to breathe in the scent of your signature perfume and take a peek down the top of your button down. Even your bra was boring, a dull gray that covered you fully, and an annoyed pout formed on his face before he turned his attention to the phone in your hand.

You were checking your banking account, likely making sure that you had enough for your daily sweet treat and tea from your favorite shop. It turns out that you don’t have enough, but he already knew that. You didn’t get paid until tomorrow, and you had used the last bit of your money on a recurring subscription that you had forgotten to cancel.

You sigh under your breath before dropping your phone into your purse, and Choso falls into step beside you, the rest of the journey to the train station going by uneventfully, as usual.

It’s a new day, and the same routine.

There’s a couple that steps onto the train before the both of you, their hands intertwined and the woman’s head nuzzled against the man's arm. Physical affection was another thing that Choso wasn’t familiar with.

Even if majority of his life hadn’t been spent locked away in a sealed vial, it wasn’t in his nature to be gentle with his hands - they were tools to protect what was dearest to him, and the only way he knew how to do that was to kill whatever threatened what was closest to him.

Although he wasn’t sure if you would appreciate that in this moment - you were squeamish when it came to blood, funnily enough, and he doubted he could kill the man standing behind you without making a mess.

“Tch.” Choso hovers near you, his eyes taking in the scene. You’re on your morning commute to work, dressed in the white button down he watched you press this morning, and a black pencil skirt that stuck to you like glue - it had been amusing watching you shimmy into it, stumbling around your room and cursing as you threw worried glances at the digital clock on your nightstand.

You were dressed identical to every other woman on this train -your hair was even in a similar updo- and yet the man—the pervert as Yuji would have called him—had singled you out in the overcrowded place. He stood behind you, closely, and Choso leaned to peer around your shoulder, lip lifting in annoyance when he sees the man’s crotch pushed against the swell of your ass.

The act itself doesn’t bother him, but rather that you’re the one the man chose to enact it on. He likely wouldn’t have batted an eye had the man chosen one of the other women to feel on, but the sight of someone touching you had never failed to invoke a feeling of intense hatred in Choso.

He didn’t like it, and he made it known when he moved to stand behind the man. He settled a heavy on his shoulder, his energy dark, thick and heavy as it nearly filled all the corners of the train car - an embodiment of the anger swirling in his gut. The man jolts and looks back over his shoulder, seeing nothing but perhaps a murky, dark substance. His hand grips hard, and the crunch that sounds followed by the pained wail doesn’t do much to quell that anger.

He had touched you, someone that Choso was closely coming to regard as important, and there was only one way that could right this wrong, but that would have to wait until the number of people around were low. Too many eyes were never good, and Choso had studied humans enough to know that their first instinct was to run to the police when they saw a body drop before their eyes.

With a shove to the side, the man is thrown halfway across the car, and a cacophony of shouts sound off as he goes tumbling. You spin around, eyebrows pulled together and mouth set in an angry line, and Choso feels that strange human urge to comfort surge forth.

You cast a glare to the man, your hands moving to hitch your bag higher up your shoulder, and you keep your back to the door, likely in an attempt to keep that from happening again…what’s it called again? He’s seen this scenario play out before in one of Yuji’s books that he tries and fails to keep a secret.

Ch…chi…chikan, train molestation.

His brother is a pervert, without a doubt, but he supposes that works in his favor. The magazine had piqued his interest, firstly because Yuji had gone to great lengths to stuff it into the back of his closet underneath a set of his college textbooks, and secondly because it housed a taboo of society, and the taboo is what interested Choso these days.

He had read it in its entirety, and then had tried to witness it himself. He had spent hours hanging around the station, going in and out of cars and maneuvering between bodies to try and catch a glimpse of the depraved act, yet he came up with nothing, until today that is.

And what a letdown that had been.

His mouth pulls down at the sides, and he gives you a slow once over. He starts at neatly done hair, moves down to sculpted brows that frame glossy eyes, then to a nose that he wouldn’t mind feeling against his own, and down to a set of lips that he finds himself thinking about more and more these days.

He goes further down, down to the way your shirt stretches across your breasts, the buttons straining just a bit, and he tilts his head to the side, a new type of feeling now festering in the pit of his stomach.

Your hands clasp together in front of you, the movement forcing your chest to jut out a bit more, and when the train curves around a bend, Choso lets gravity move him closer to you, head angled down. You tense just a bit, and your senses must be a bit better than everyone else’s, or maybe he’s just doing a poor job at concentrating on concealing himself.

You push yourself a bit further into the corner, and he further crowds you into it, a spark of excitement running up his spine — prey. That’s what you remind him of in this moment as you cower in the corner from a threat you can’t see. He wants to sink his teeth into you—no, his hands. He wants to touch you and squeeze you all over, sink his fingers into soft flesh and leave his mark behind.

So he does.

Tentatively, at first.

The tips of his fingers hover near your cheek, casting a shadow that you’re unable to see, and his breathing grows labored when he finally touches you - it’s shocking, literally. You jump as you feel it, and Choso frowns. He hasn’t learned about the grand thing called static, so in his mind, his mind that was locked away and kept rudimentary for so long, this shock upon first contact signified something monumental…something visceral.

You press further against the wall, brows furrowing as your hand moves up to rub at your cheek, and Choso moves down to the slope of your neck, fingers running along the throbbing vein, racing pulse, and then he’s rubbing at your collarbones. You’re warm just like him, but where he’s hard you’re soft - soft, doughy, fragile.

His hands settle on your breasts, one in each palm, and he squeezes. Oh. You frown deeper, your eyes dropping to where his hands are groping, but you don’t see. He’s right up on you now, head angled down and jaw slack as he tests the weight in his hands - they’re a nice size, a good size. Your nipples get hard under his hand, and he rubs against it with his thumb - your bra is so thin.

He thinks back to that book and what he had read in it, images of the debauchery floating to the front of his mind, and his mouth runs dry at the thought of doing those things to you. He had never thought about sexual gratification, much less craved it, but he felt as if he had been subconsciously seeking it out all his life and he had finally found it.

His breath is practically coming out in pants, matching the rapid thumps of his heart. He traps your nipples between his fingers and squeezes. You suck in a sharp breath of air, eyes darting around at the other passengers who don’t pay you much attention - they’re all warily looking at the man still moaning in pain as he sags in a corner and clutches at his shoulder.

Choso squeezes again, and he knows it’ll feel better if he was touching you skin on skin, but he’s certain you wouldn’t take kindly to him scattering your shirt buttons all over the floor of the train and leaving your bra in tatters so he pushes that thought away for later - maybe for when you’re curled under your blankets at night and in a deep, deep sleep.

The maddening ache in his pants would have taken him by surprise a few months ago, but Choso has gotten pretty acquainted with his body with the help of a few snagged medical books and Yuji’s laptop (which was still an enigma to Choso at times).

Both of his hands leave your breasts to instead push at his pants, the baggy material easily slipping down toned, lean thighs until they pool around his booted ankles.

His cock is pale but noticeably darker at the tip, and there’s a long, prominent vein that starts at the center of his shaft and disappears into black, coily pubes. His cock has never been able to stand up properly, weighted down by the sheer size, so it hangs between his thighs, thick and heavy, identical to his desire for you.

He wraps a hand around his turgid length, hissing through his teeth as he does, and pushes closer. You don’t move a muscle, standing stock-still as you try and fail to make sense of all these ‘phantom’ sensations.

If they were able, he’s sure your knuckles would have long since turned white with how hard you’re clutching onto the purse that’s now cradled against your chest. Your thighs shift together, inadvertently making your skirt rise a bit, heels noisily clinking against the platform of the car as you shuffle, and Choso spreads his legs and bends at the knees, a heaving breath leaving him as he slots his cock right through the opening between your thighs that you so graciously left.

The tights clinging to your thighs are smooth and silky, and coupled with the heat of your skin that perforates through, Choso feels himself jerk and twitch at the feeling. It’s leagues better than his hand, and his mind is already spinning at the thought of how you’ll feel on the inside.

His hand comes down heavy against the door beside your head, and you flinch as your head whips to the side to look, eyebrows furrowing when you notice the large handprint on the glass. His other hand curls around the pole to the left of you, hand gripping it so tight that he can feel the steel denting underneath his grip, and he rocks his hips, slowly.

Warm, soft, squishy, the adjectives flit through his mind one after the other, a new one coming with each push of his cock between your thighs. He’s hot all over, skin burning and strands of black plastering themselves to his damp face. His balls are tight, and his left eye twitches when a soft sound escapes your mouth, a look of bewilderment on your face.

He comes, hard. His orgasm locks all his muscles up and makes his teeth snap together so hard they nearly shatter. His eyes roll back, the pole caves in under the pressure of his grip, the window beside your head shatters as his hand goes through it, and he makes a split second decision to show himself in an effort to shield you from the hail of glass.

Choso can nearly see the scream of fright that gets caught in your throat at his sudden appearance, and a grin that lacks remorse twists onto his lips. Your bugged eyes slowly trail down, and the scream finally un-lodges itself when you catch sight of his softening length and the mess it’s left on your clothing.

Choso hides himself once again and steps off at the next station as he fixes his clothing. You stumble off as well, frantically heading towards the security booth as your eyes dart around to catch sight of him.

Soon, he thinks.

He’d let you see him again soon enough.

#choso x reader #jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jjk smut #jujutsu kaisen smut

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pigeonpeach · 7 months

Text

I’ve Loved You From the Start

Chiori x oni fem reader

Cw: nudity, Fem reader, reader is big bodied. Pinning, fluff with some suggestive themes

“You don’t like it?” You said surprised. The kimono your friend had seemingly slaved over was truly magnificent to you. The beautiful patterns matched well with your horns. It covered every inch of skin yet allowed you full mobility. It was a boost of confidence to you, for your size was rarely provided in stores. Your weight was healthy for your kind, but humans still regarded you as obese even if the weight was mostly muscles. You were actually considered “underweight” by your oni parents who worried you were too skinny whenever you would visit. Truth be told you had to lose weight if you didn’t want to go out practically nude like Itto did.

“It conceals too much to me… most women don’t even conceal their ankles anymore much less everything below the neck.” She eyed you with a stern expression you couldn’t crack. But knowing her you figured she was up to something. Chiori hardly ever hates her creations. Old ones she views as learning experiences. You didn’t give her much creative freedom so that might be the reason.

“We-well I have to. Anything more revealing and I’d get those comments again.” You sighed.

“Oh please those folk are simply jealous. Your body is far more beautiful than any of those old crones were in their prime and they know it.” She said as she circled you like a shark. She lifted your hands and examined every inch until she just eyed your chest. Which protruded so.

“Well they weren’t all old people but I just can’t find anything my size there at all. I needed something like this but the price to have something customized is more than for other… normal bodies…”

“Nonsense. I won’t charge you a dime. If anything this is good for business. It shows I’m capable of branching out from the societal expectation. That my clothes aren’t simply for one body type but all who come in. And besides, you are far more eyecatching than any other model.” She spoke casually. You tensed a little but relaxed, a blush settled on your cheeks.

“You’re sure you don’t need anything? I could do a favor if you won’t accept my mora. I just can’t take this from you without giving something back.” You said politely. She paused, finally looking in your eyes.

“Are you busy today? I know you’re here on a trip but… I’d like to use you as inspiration for more possible projects.” She walked over to the curtains to draw them, placing s closed sign in the window and making sure not a single ray of sun would leak through.

“No actually. I was just going to go sightseeing in Fontaine. I hardly ever get to leave Inazuma so I made sure to have plenty of time before I return.” You eyed her suspiciously. She brought the paper screens to enclose the space, so even if someone walked in they wouldn’t see you two.

“Undress then.”

“E-excuse me?!”

“I’d like to see your body as bare as possible. I’m going to do some sketches for possible outfits.” She pulled out her sketchbook as she gathered some other utensils to draw with. You gulped. “You offered to pay me with a favor so this is the favor I ask of you. But if you’re uncomfortable I could find another way.”

“Uh… can I at least keep my panties on.” You asked. She sighed.

“If you must.”

Even though Chiori had been a good friend of yours in Inazuma, and had also brought you to the hot springs before, and had routinely seen you in your underwear, it was rather odd to stand posing while she scribbled. You felt incredibly nervous.

“Excellent. Turn around for me.” She instructed. You did so. “So obedient.” She whispered. You wondered if you misheard that. But either way you trusted Chiori. You knew she meant no harm, she wouldn’t do anything against your wishes.

“Um… might I ask what you’ll do with the sketches?” You asked.

“Make the one I find suits you most. I’ll admit its a shame you don’t prefer more feminine clothes.”

“Well I do its just I hardly get to wear them.” You explained. She seemed to light up at that clarification.

“Perfect, because that’s all i have been designing. Now if you’ll allow me I’d like to get a closer look.” She said.

“That’s fine with me.” Your approval seemed to evoke something as she circled you once more. You felt as though she’d bite or do something at any second. It felt invigorating. You had never felt sexy or desirable until you met Chiori. She treated you like you were the epitome of beauty itself. You did however deeply miss her In Inazuma. You felt safe walking with her down the streets. She had on many occasions left your hasslers speechless and sobbing on some occasions. She was known for her brutal honesty, even when faced with nobility. Its why you knew for certain she was honest in her intentions. And you knew that you would receive many outfits in the mail once you got home.

“Chiori… you’ve always been honest with your…um… sexual interest in me but I never knew exactly why?” You croaked as you struggled to maintain a facade of strength and endurance.

“Do you not realize that you’re almost what every lesbian would crave? A big beautiful wife, with a plumb chest and behind, thighs thick enough to crush, tall, strong, and oh so polite. You’re everything a femme could want. If only you would leave Inazuma. You know, a fellow fashion designer caught sight of my sketches of you from back then and she wanted to know if you would be her model.” Her voice never wavered in any sort of embarrassment. You however felt a shrill run up your spine.

“O-oh.. i didn’t realize you like women too.”

“How?!” She seemed baffled at that response. “Oh please no man could ever compare to even the most basic of women. The curves, the plumps, the lips-“

“No i just didn’t want to assume anything. I figured you might have been but i thought it was wrong to make assumptions.” You quickly clarified.

“Good. I’ve made my interest in you far too obvious. It truly is a shame you didn’t want to come to Fontaine with me then.” She sighed. “People here seem to like you. They don’t have the biases of those retirement aged folk in inazuma. They see you as a stranger but also a kind one. I heard you helped a beached boat the other day, those sailors boasted about how you did the work of five men in one push. I’ve even noticed how the former hydro archon eyes you when we passed her the other day.” You truly were baffled.

“I-i was too worried then that.. i’d slow you down. Please say you’re not playing up my reputation here. I do love fontaine but If I leave Inazuma I want to be certain its the right choice of place.” You looked her in the eye as she still eyed your chest. Her hand reaching up to gently play with it. She looked at you as you turned red.

“I assure you my intentions aren’t just to keep you here with me. I have missed you greatly while here. The letters I sent don’t convey that enough to me. But I swear on a oathe that you could sue me for, the majority of fontainians I have heard from have nothing but admiration or curiosity to you. And if they had anything else I wouldn’t hesitate to correct them.” You kneeled so her hand could reach your face and brush the hair behind your ear. Her face was closer to you now as you looked at her. “I swear on the very life of every citizen in every nation, I would protect and provide for you if you just moved here.”

Your faced turned red, a expression of embarrassment and flattery. “I didn’t realize your feelings were that deep.. I just thought you found me attractive.” You gulped. You had been a expert with pushing feelings down, you loved Chiori but you never wanted to weigh her down. You worried your heritage would ruin her reputation or chances in life. You loved her so much that you had been slightly envious of that special patrol lady who had seemed so close to her. But you kept it to yourself.

“I have long viewed you for more than your tits, the reason I look at them so much is simply because of our height difference. But your body is not the reason I know those stereotypes are wrong, that every liar who says you are something else is wrong. I have witnessed your facade crack to reveal someone who is strong in every sense. You may lift a log but you do so for the child who’s stuffed animal was underneath it. You stopped your own and first vacation to help a beached boat and regularly step in to safe those in trouble. Your scars aren’t from battle but from good deeds. Your heart is more golden and radiant than any ring or necklace. If you were a stone, you would be the most precious and sought after. I have loved you all this time and I am not ashamed of it in any regard.” She said bluntly. Instinctively you pulled her in for a kiss. She didn’t resist one bit but instead moved her hands to your waist that instant. A wave of relief and excitement rushed over you int that instant.

Afterawhile she pulled away. “Now let me show you the extent of my love to you, so you can understand just how beautiful you truly are to me.” Her eyes shone with a desire no longer hidden. You nodded as you laid on your back, your legs spreading slightly.

#genshin imagines #genshin x y/n #genshin impact #wlw #chiori x reader #chiori x you #oni reader #fem reader #suggestive themes #fluff

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danshive · 9 months

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Towels Are Illogical

A Star Trek: Lower Decks fan fiction inspired by speculation about the lack of shame and modesty in the lower deck bunk corridors.

This story is tame, does not include detailed physical descriptions, and, with creative directing, could even be in an episode of Lower Decks.

Nonetheless, it has characters in casual states of total undress, and some suggestive moments.

Therefore, reader discretion is advised. Story after the “Keep Reading”.

Towels Are Illogical

By Dan Shive

Boimler’s troubles (or, at least, these specific troubles), began with the arrival of provisional officer T’Lyn.

As Boimler understood it, T’Lyn had transferred from a Vulcan vessel, and was Tendi’s “bestest science buddy”. T’Lyn didn’t look to Boimler as though she returned Tendi’s enthusiasm, but it was hard to tell with Vulcans. Boimler took Tendi’s word for it.

All of which was fine. Boimler was always happy to meet a new crewmate. He welcomed T’Lyn with open arms kept at a respectable distance.

No, the problem for Boimler was that T’Lyn turned out to be a trendsetter.

Naturally, not long after T’Lyn’s arrival, she made use of the sonic showers. As she set out to do so, however, she didn’t wrap herself in a towel. She simply undressed, stored her uniform, and started walking.

Changing clothes out in the open wasn’t unusual in the bunk corridors of the lower decks, nor was it that strange to not be in a hurry to get dressed again.

It was not uncommon, for example, for Tendi and Rutherford to get distracted in the middle of changing, and to have lengthy conversations while remaining in various states of undress.

It was, however, unusual to leave one’s bunk while still undressed as T’Lyn had done.

Mariner, with her usual lack of a filter, caught up to T’Lyn, and walked along next to her while wearing a towel. “Whoa, whoa, T’Lyn! You’re really going decloaked?”

T’Lyn raised an eyebrow. “Why would I have a cloak?”

“Sorry, sorry, turn of phrase,” While still outgoing and assertive, Mariner was a little awkward around T’Lyn. “A towel. I meant a towel.”

“Are these not sonic showers?”

“Well, yeah, they are, but…”

“To dry oneself off is unnecessary after a sonic shower, and it is illogical for me to cover myself. I feel no physical shame. Even if I did, we are about to shower together.” With what might have been a smile, T’Lyn said “decloaking is an inevitability.”

“Yeah… Yeah! You’re right!” Mariner declared. “I don’t need this!” She boldly whipped off her towel, and flung it over her shoulder. “I mean, I’ll hang on to it for now, don’t want to leave towels lying around the corridor, but yeah!”

Aside from a distracted ensign walking into a wall, this moment had little-to-no impact on others in the lower decks. It was later, after Tendi loudly expressed agreement with T’Lyn, and declared them to be “no-towel buddies,” that the idea started to spread.

As though it were the latest fashion, lower decker after lower decker stopped bothering with towels when walking to and from the sonic showers.

Even “towel guy” was now just “guy,” though he was still referred to as “towel guy.”

Tradition is a powerful thing.

Only one ensign, Ensign Boimler, was sticking to last season’s fashion. With a towel wrapped around his waist, he meant to go to the sonic showers, but was hesitant.

Everyone else not wearing towels bothered Boimler, but not for the reasons one might expect. Boimler was not, for example, overwhelmed by the sight of his exposed crewmates.

Back at his family’s raisin vineyard, Boimler was the most eligible bachelor around. Absurdly attractive women, often in states of partial, if not total, undress, threw themselves at him.

Boimler, hyper-focused on his future in Starfleet, and lacking patience in any failure to properly raise the raisins to be, remained completely oblivious. Without even meaning to, he had formed a callous around being affected by the nudity of others.

Tendi, Mariner, Rutherford, T’Lyn, or anyone else walking around in their birthday suits wasn’t going to power Boimler’s lust above impulse.

No, what bothered Boimler was he was the only one keeping himself covered at all times.

He’d mastered changing clothes without dropping his cloak.

His towel shields were up well before the eyes of others could impact his hull.

Not even Section 31 could know the secrets of Boimler’s hips.

But now, Boimler was the only one staying covered. He felt like a coward, and cowards had no place in the captain’s chair.

“A captain wouldn’t be afraid to drop the towel,” Boimler thought to himself. “A captain wouldn’t even bring a towel! They’d sit in the captain’s chair, naked as the day they were born, and do! Their! Duty!”

Unbidden, an imagined scene of Captain Freeman bravely commanding the Cerritos in such a manner played out in Boimler’s mind.

Boimler, his face red, quickly sat down. He hurriedly thought of other things, like the Niners playing baseball in a holosuite.

As it turned out, nudity combined with competent Starfleet officers on missions actually could awaken something in Boimler.

“Bases loaded, Rom bunts…” Boimler whispered, casting away the sexy demons.

Boimler, deliberately lost in thoughts of the Niners losing at baseball, and trying to remember how baseball was played, failed to notice T’Lyn.

T’Lyn was fresh from the sonic showers, and, as per usual, not wearing a thing.

She observed Boimler. His discomfort about the towel situation had not escaped her notice. While she felt her actions logical, she knew it was her influence that had resulted in his current dilemma.

T’Lyn felt… Found it logical to help Boimler.

“May I join you, Mister Boimler?”

“EZRI ON FIRST!” Boimler blurted, bumping his head on the ceiling of his bunk as he sat up straight.

T’Lyn raised her eyebrows, her expression otherwise unchanged. “My apologies. Are you injured?”

“No, no, I’m fine! Sit, sit! What’s up?”

T’Lyn sat on the end of Boimler’s bunk closest to the viewport.

“You are uncomfortable with the idea of not covering yourself.”

“Whaaat? Why would you… Why would you think? That?” Boimler’s smile would have earned him an invite to many a Ferengi’s poker table.

T’Lyn said nothing.

“Okay, fine, yes,” Boimler admitted. “I know it’s the 24th century, and it’s illogical, but—“ T’Lyn calmly interrupted with a raised hand.

“It is logical for me to not cover myself because I do not feel discomfort in this situation. Context, however, is relevant.” In a shocking display of expressiveness, T’Lyn gestured with one arm, indicating the bunks of the lower decks.

T’Lyn then used both hands to draw attention to her own torso. “Were I in this state of undress at a meeting with the senior staff, and they were fully dressed, I would find it…”

Almost imperceptibly, T’Lyn’s head tilted, and her face scrunched the tiniest of bits. To Boimler, this somehow conveyed a shudder.

“Illogical,” T’Lyn finished. She rested her hands in her lap, their shameless, illogical gesturing for emphasis complete.

Boimler imagined himself in T’Lyn’s place in that hypothetical situation, followed by Worf catching a flying ball.

“You, Mister Boimler, are not me. You should do what is right for you,” she said, imperceptibly gentle. “Discarding your towel as an act of conformity is illogical. It is only logical if you truly wish to do so, and only if you are comfortable being uncovered.”

Boimler smiled genuinely this time. “Thank you, T’Lyn. You’re right. I think I really needed to hear that.”

T’Lyn smiled. It was barely perceptible, but it happened. “You are welcome, Mister Boimler.”

“And you know what?” Boimler said, quickly standing, “I shouldn’t be ashamed! I’m not doing this for peer pressure! I’m doing this for me! Bold Boimler!”

Boimler triumphantly cast aside his towel, standing fully exposed in the lower decks corridor, hands on his hips.

Right as Beckett Mariner, fully dressed, had turned the corner.

“NOPE,” Mariner loudly declared. Turning around, her hands raised, she quickly departed the way she came. “Nope. Nuh-uh. No way.”

Boimler felt a bit less triumphant. “Well, that was…” his hands fell from his hips as his posture slumped. “Discouraging.”

T’Lyn looked towards the parting Mariner.

“I believe she does not wish to think of you in certain ways, but does so under certain circumstances,” T’Lyn dryly hypothesized, a hint of jealously in her voice that only a Vulcan could detect.

“And what does that mean?” Boimler asked, not getting any of it.

T’Lyn stood. “Take it as a compliment, Mister Boimler.” With images dancing in her mind of a cute, flustered Mariner reacting to T’Lyn’s state of undress instead of Boimler’s, T’Lyn left to get dressed.

#star trek lower decks #star trek: lower decks #star trek lwd #star trek: lwd #lwd #Lower Decks #T’Lyn #Bradward Boimler #d’vana tendi #Beckett Mariner #samanthan rutherford #fan fic #fan fiction #st lower decks #lower decks fanfic #dan shive says stuff #mari'lyn

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newsfrom-theworld · 7 months

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On international women's day let me introduce you to some of the victims of ''Isr@el''

1. Shireen Abu Akluh

On 11th of May 2022 around 6:30 the prominent American Palestinian Journalist was killed by Isr@eli snipers; they also attacked her funeral.

The shaky video, filmed by Al Jazeera cameraman Majdi Banura, captures the scene when Abu Akleh, a 51-year-old Palestinian-American was killed by a bullet to the head at around 6:30 a.m. on May 11.

She had been standing with a group of journalists near the entrance of Jenin refugee camp, where they had come to cover an Israeli raid.

While the footage does not show Abu Akleh being shot, eyewitnesses told CNN that they believe Isr@eli forces on the same street fired deliberately on the reporters in a targeted attack.

All of the journalists were wearing protective blue vests that identified them as members of the news media.

2.Farah Omar

A Lebanese correspondent of Al-Mayadeen TV, was killed by an Isr@eli strike on Tayr Harfa, south Lebanon, on November 21, 2023, according to Al-Mayadeen.

4. Heba Sami

Dr. Heba Sami Al-Jourani who was known for her intelligence and determination lived elsewhere she could have been working in a very important hospital as a physicians to help those people who were wounded in wars and accidents, But unfortunately Heba had to put her dreams aside and stand face to face with death.

Heba’s family home in Rafah was targeted by Isr@eli warplane, minutes ago before she lost her life, Heba was sending messages and checking telegram groups to know where is the bombing she’s hearing, unfortunately that was her last scene,

Heba’s family became the breaking news at 11:48 am, on November

5. Walaa Saadah

A passionate filmmaker, writer, and blogger normally work day and night, travel, sometimes receiving awards but not if its a Palestinian woman in lives in Gaza and that’s the story of "Walaa Saadah, who was born in Beit Hanoun, Northern Gaza, in 1990.

Walaa since 2010, with too much passion worked in cinema and filmmaking, starting as a screenplay writer, she also worked in civil society organizations as a coordinator who directed several films that shed light on the suffering of the people of Gaza to the world.

Walaa was killed on March 2, 2024, in an Isr@eli airstrike on displaced people in Deir al-Balah city. walaa dream ended before having any chance to raise and shine as prominent filmmaker

6. Asmaa Hamdan

Asma a beloved 22-year-old, brought joy with her infectious smile. In high school, she was the heart of our large group. After a beautiful love story, she married Shadi and welcomed Sham, the light of her life. As an engineer, she graduated days before war disrupted everything.

Despite the hardships, Asmaa's resilience inspired us. Tragically, on December 25th, Asmaa and her daughter Sham were martyred in a massacre caused by Isr@eli occupation rockets, which claimed the lives of 100 martyrs in Al-Maghazi refugee camp, leaving behind a painful void.

7. Nagham Abu Samra

Nagham Abu Samra, 24 years old, was a professional karate player before Isr@el deprived her of that. She suffered from a critical head injury, and her leg was amputated after her home in Gaza was bombed by Isr@el.

Her uncle was pleading with the world to intervene and help Nagham travel abroad for treatment, but no one responded. Nagham was martyred, succumbing to her injuries from the Israeli bombing on January 12, 2023.

8. Talal Baalusha

A high school student, creative in traditional dance (dabke), and a member of the "Asayel Watan" group She also owned a clothing store.

She bid farewell to her family after they were martyred, then others mourned her.

She was martyred with her mother.

9. Hind Rajab

After she appealed to the world for help to save her, 12 days passed without communication.

On the 10th of February, the body of the martyr, the child Hind Rajab, and 5 members of her family were found.

Her Grandfather said: “We found the body of Hind and the rest of the family decomposed”.

10. Ayat Khadoura

Ayat, a Palestinian freelance journalist and podcast presenter, was killed along with an unknown number of family members in an Isr@eli airstrike on her home in Beit Lahya in northern Gaza, according to the Beirut-based press freedom group SKeyes, the news website Arabi 21, and London-based Al-Ghad TV.

Ayat shared videos on social media about the situation in Gaza, including a November 6 video, which she called “my last message to the world” where she said, “We had big dreams but our dream now is to be killed in one piece so they know who we are.”

Ayat was killed on November 20, 2023, at the hands of the Isr@eli occupation.

They aren't just numbers.

The UNRWA said 9.000 women where killed in this genocide.

Your feminism is trash if you aren't speak up for the women of Gaza, who are using pieces of tends as sanitary pads.

And always,

Free Palestine

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archiveikemen · 2 months

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Xeno Main Story: Chapter 4

Premium Avatar Challenge

This is a fan-made translation solely for entertainment purposes with no guaranteed perfection; expect mistakes, grammatical errors, and some creative liberties. All original content and media used belongs to Cybird. Please support the game by buying their stories and playing their games. Reblogs appreciated.

Read this before interacting

To buy myself clothes for the party… I rushed out onto the streets.

After browsing through a few branded stores, I finally picked a beautiful outfit.

(This doesn’t look weird, right? The store assistant said that it suits me.)

(So that I don’t diminish the outfit’s beauty, I must put more effort into doing my makeup…!)

I suppressed my nervousness and sat in front of the vanity mirror.

…

Rina: I’ve kept you waiting, Xeno-san.

Xeno: … [poker face]

Xeno-san turned around and his eyes slightly widened as he stared at me in silence.

(… So this does look weird on me.)

Rina: Um, how do I look? Is this suitable for a party?

Xeno: … Well, it won’t get you removed from the venue.

Rina: Which means…?

Xeno: It’s not half bad.

(… That’s a compliment, I guess?)

(I’m glad I put effort into dressing up…)

Xeno: By the way, Aegis. There’s still some time before we head to the venue, but there’s something important I forgot to ask.

Rina: What is it?

Xeno: Can you dance?

Rina: D-dance? No, I can’t.

Xeno: … I knew this would happen.

I was surprised to hear that.

(Now that I think of it, movies often show men and women dancing together at parties.)

The blood instantly drained from my face.

Rina: W-what do we do…!?

Xeno: Well, there are different kinds of parties. Not all of them will definitely involve dancing.

Xeno: It’ll be a problem if we have to dance later. … Now let’s go.

Xeno-san grabbed my arm and walked out.

Rina: W-where are we going?

Xeno: Just come with me.

…

I was brought to the lesson room where the members usually had their practice sessions.

Xeno: This is a special training before we head off.

Xeno: At American parties, most of the time as long as you somehow move to the music, you’ll be able to get away with not knowing how to dance.

Xeno: However, it’s different when it comes to couple dancings between a man and woman. If you don’t at least know the basics, everyone can tell you’re an amateur.

Rina: I- I thought as much.

Xeno: I will never allow that from my partner.

Xeno: A last minute crash course is better than nothing.

Xeno: Just in case we have to dance together, I’m going to drill the basics into you right now. Prepare yourself.

The fierce look on Xeno-san’s face was basically saying that he wasn’t taking no for an answer…

(… I have no other choice!)

Rina: Understood. Please guide me well!

I responded determinedly.

Xeno: We shall start immediately.

Xeno-san scooped up my hand.

Rina: !

With movement as fluid as the flow of water, his other hand went around my back.

Rina: Ah…

From the moment we met, Xeno-san and I had only been this close to each other a handful of things; for instance, him catching me when I was about to fall.

(But this is the first time we’re close-up face to face…)

Xeno-san’s handsome face was right in front of mine, making my heart go into a frenzy.

I could feel the warmth from his arm wrapped firmly around my back. Our faces were so close, our breaths touched..

Xeno: This is the most basic formation. We remain like this throughout the dance, so don’t let go.

Rina: G-got it.

(… What am I thinking? Focus, Rina! I’ll embarrass Xeno-san if I don’t remember what he’s teaching me.)

I resisted the urge to become overly conscious and focused on what he was saying.

Xeno: The steps are simple, you’ll instantly be able to memorise them once you get used to them.

Xeno: Start with front, front, sideways. Then back, back, sideways. Then front, back, sideways…

Xeno-san carefully guided me.

But I was unable to keep up, and stepped on his foot countless times because of my nervousness and panicking.

Rina: I’M SO SORRY! I stepped on your foot again…!

Xeno: … You seriously have two left feet. / … You really are awful at dancing.

Rina: Sorry…

Xeno: You’ve been focusing only on your feet since just now. Doing that will ruin your form.

Rina: But I can’t remember the steps…

Xeno: While I did say not to embarrass yourself, I never said you had to dance flawlessly. Dance isn’t so easy to perfect.

Xeno: You only have to be my dance partner and make it seem like we have chemistry.

Rina: Chemistry?

Xeno: That’s right. Dancing while trembling in fear because you’re overly conscious of your surroundings makes you look clumsy.

Xeno: Even if you’re unskilled, dancing with confidence and good synchronisation can also impress onlookers.

Xeno: So keep your head up, Aegis.

Xeno-san tugged my waist and brought me closer.

Rina: !

As compared to our formations so far, our bodies were even closer to each other.

He cupped my cheek with one hand and lifted my face, I held my breath as our gazes met.

Xeno: After all, you’re probably just thinking about whether your dancing is good or some other thing above your level.

Rina: You’re right about that… it’s because I don’t want to embarrass you.

Xeno: Like I said, you’re overthinking.

Xeno: As long as you’re with me, as your dance partner, I’ll never let you make a fool of yourself.

Xeno: I’ll lead you and cover any mistakes you make. It’s no big deal.

Rina: Xeno-san…

Xeno: All you have to do is turn your face up and look at me, your partner.

The look in his eyes was powerful and intense, I felt like I was about to be pulled in.

Xeno: Don’t get more worked up than necessary. Just keep your eyes on me and trust me. Understand?

Rina: … I understand. I’ll try.

Xeno: Good.

Xeno: Okay. One more time.

Xeno-san got into position for the dance once again.

(… Unbelievable. This feels easier than before.)

I looked up, focused my eyes on him, entrusted myself to him, and let my body move on its own.

(This way, I’ll somehow be able to dance at the party.)

… After that, we kept practising until it was time to go.

(He’s a strict teacher, but… perhaps, there’s no dance partner more reliable than he is.)

That was how I thought.

#morganatic idol #ikemen series #cybird ikemen #cybird otome #morudoru translations #otome #morudoru main story #xeno main story #xeno #exe Creed

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magdalune · 1 year

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Angelina Laurant, 27yo — ambitious, vegetarian, creative, materialistic, non-committal

Second oldest and only daughter, Angelina is a fine and brilliant women in her line of work. Currently she resides in Paris (Magnolia Promenade) and runs her designer clothing store among the other fashion mega-brands. While she was gutted to leave her baby brother Ethan in the controlling clutches of her father, she needed her own escape. She still calls to check in on Ethan to see how he's doing and makes sure Alexi isn't causing too much trouble... Although she misses her brothers, getting away from Windenburg was the best decision she ever made for herself. Until an unfortunate disaster on one of her fashion shows, causes her to flee back to Windenburg for some much needed r&r.

But coming back to Windenburg brings back unwelcomed memories and unexpected faces...

#ts4 #simblr #ts4 simblr #ts4 screenshots #showusyoursims #ts4 portrait #ts4 gameplay #apigailplays #succession save #my sims #sim: angelina laurant #she gives hashtag girlboss

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melobin · 9 months

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ship your mutuals with idols? ⋆⁺₊⋆🩵⋆⁺₊⋆

hmmm cute. i’m sorry if i missed anyone 😭🫶🏻

@starrypen .. jeonghyeon.. who would i be if i didnt? it’s not just because you ult him, you’d look so hot together and he’s just so?? you?? the domestic dominance, the puppy like personality .. feel like he’d love going on walks at night, wrapped up in cozy clothes.. you’d be the moon to his stars.

@ensite .. sungchan. possibly the only person i’d ship sungchan with … you deserve it. honestly he’d be so lovely to you, the dream, clingy boyfriend who’s obsessed with you and every little thing you do. the whiny boyfriend who begs for kisses and wraps his limbs around you even if he’s too long for it. stares at you everyday with stars in his eyes and heart full of love, lays in bed at night thinking about your future together …

@kissohee .. leehan. you deserve to kiss his pretty face every day. he’d be so happy to be a fish dad with you .. fish parents … he’d go with you to little pet stores to buy new fish for your tank .. even if he may try to force feed you fish food every now and then, he’d love you more than his fish!!!

@kkurokitty .. junghoon… i’d be heartbroken myself if i didn’t do that. he’s sweet and caring and tbh a little bit of a loser but that’s perfect for you !! every loser boy deserves a hot girlfriend!!! perfect for each other tbh.. we know his love for those certain type of women …

@seolboba .. ricky !! makes sense in my head.. he has that giggly, goofy side to him that i think you’d bring out in him.. always be holding his mouth to stop himself from giggling too loud .. he’d let you play with his hair whenever you want and would always giggle about being taller than you..

@ntoniac … minjae .. makes so much sense. you’re both so creative?? you’re both blessed with the ability to write such beautiful things, even if it’s in two different ways!! could easily imagine him letting you cuddle into him whilst he’s working on a song and you’re writing something … mood lighting in the studio .. so domestic and sweet.

@wonsy … sunwoo... that boy needs someone like you. you’re both so sweet and loving and a little delusional but it’s okay !! you make each other even more delusional with how in love you are but you fit each other so well, sunwoo would be so cocky walking round talking about his girlfriend being a hot nurse too…

@neosvcr … sung hanbin !!!!! he seems perfect for you .. the vibes are just there ?? you’re so sweet and talented .. just like him. soul mates? plus he’s such a girl dad and you give off girl mom vibes .. you’d have the cutest kids together i stg.. weekly play dates with the neighbours kids vibes.

@heesbaby .. jay!!!! the perfect, doting, domestically dominant boyfriend … the one who takes care of you and tells you he’s proud of you for every you do, the dream boyfriend .. the future husband .. the one everyone around you adores and thinks is perfect for you. he’d be so happy to cook you dinner and have everything settled for you for when you get home from work .. house husband jay just for you!!!

@hoondrop .. seungcheol !! always and forever will be. my parents. you’re so caring and sweet and loving, you deserve someone who’ll treat you the way you treat other people .. he’d take care of you.. support you in everything you want to do .. two pretty people would make the prettiest babies too.

@productiwity … johnny. i feel like you’d be well with someone older and more mature.. someone with their head on their shoulders? he’s sweet and loving and would take care of you and guide and support you through everything you do. not to mention the way he’d drive you to uni every day and make sure to be there to pick you up after .. classic dilf boyfriend everyone’s jealous of you for.

@ bunny … i was stuck between a few but i decided on anton. it’s probably not who you wanted but i have my reasons .. he fits you so well, he has two sides of him .. the sweet, fragile side that needs to be taken care of, loved and praised and you’d do that so well, he’d melt into you like it was nothing .. ice cream on your tongue. but he also has the doting, caring side, just looking at how he is with his little brother you can see how loving he’d be.. he’d be there for you when you need him, always reminding you how precious you are and how much he loves you .. his lovely bunny ..

#✧ melody answers #✧ anon #this was so cute it took me so long LMAO

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dragonfly0808 · 2 years

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An Incredibly Long and Wholly Unnecessary Disection of How Fate: The Winx Saga Missed the Mark on What Made the Winx Club Special

So, I decided to make this cause I have way too many feelings on this and I saw someone make something similar about a different franchise and loved it so here goes.

DISCLAIMER: If you’re a fan of the Winx Club and enjoyed Fate, I have nothing against you, these are just my feelings and I 1) am really glad you were able to enjoy it and 2) genuienely sorry a show you loved got canceled cause I know how much that sucks

SPOILERS FOR FATE AND THE FIRST 3 SEASONS OF THE WINX CLUB (AND A BIT OF SEASON 4)

One more thing: I’ve only watched Fate once since I’m not about to make myself rewatch it for this so if I forget any certain scene I apologize.

With that out of the way, the themes I will be discussing in this essay will be divided into 4 categories: The Problems I Have In General. Questions That Will Never Be Answered. Character Deep Dives/Character Rants. And finally, How Fate failed to capture the Essence of Winx Club.

These will be the themes of every category (feel free to skip any that may not interest you).

The Problems I Have In General:

The Abandonment of an Amazing World and Dimension for a Hogwarts Rip-Off.

The Erasure of Good Adoptive Parents

Polyamorous My Ass (Srsly What the Fuck was that?)

Fake Feminism and Pitting Women Against Each Other

The Love Triangle Took Years From My Life and I’m Tired

Why Glitter and Love was Essential to the Feminism of the Winx Club

Questions That Will Never Be Answered

What Makes the Specialist Special?

Where are the Witches?

Why are Riven and Sky friends?

Character Deep Dives/Character Rants

From Naive but Loyal and Heroic to Boring and Annoying (A Bloom Deep Dive)

How Stella Became Everything She Stood Against (A Stella Deep Dive)

Why Musa Kinda Works but Really Doesn’t (A Musa Deep Dive)

Was Terra Necessary? What made her unique? (A Terra Deep Dive)

From Hero to Zero (An Aisha Deep Dive/Rant)

Why Sky Somehow was the Most Interesting One but Still Boring (A Sky Deep Dive)

Why Riven will Always Get the Short End of the Stick (A Riven Deep Dive/Rant)

Bea Could’ve Saved the Show, BUT- (A Beatrix Rant)

Why Flora Mattered (A Flora Deep Dive/Rant)

A Retrospective Look at Soft Boys (A Helia and Timmy Deep Dive/Rant)

The Forgotten Protectors (A Brandon and Nabu Rant)

Why Tecna is Often Discarded and Why She Shouldn’t Be (A Tecna Deep Dive/Rant)

How Fate Failed To Capture the Essence of the Winx Club

How Fate Forgot the Most Important Aspect of the Winx Club: Friendship Amongst Young Women

Now with that out of the way, let’s get to it, cause this is gonna be a long one.

The Problems I Have In General

The Abandonment of an Amazing World and Dimension for a Hogwarts Rip-Off

So. I think we can all agree that the world of Winx Club is one that is not only aesthetically pleasing but also very unique and magical.

We have Magix, where the three schools of magic are, all with very different but equally interesting aesthetics and designs that make sense for what the schools teach. We also have the city of Magix, where we have magical ships and a cool toned color pallet that makes us feel like we’re in a futuristic world, Red Fountain also feels right out of a sci-fi movie, whilst the clothing, stores, Cloud Tower and Alfea remind us of the magical aspects of the world.

Further into the series, we see the girls’s home planets, which are all very different, creative and fit the girls perfectly. We have Solaria with two suns, Lynphea as an ecologists utopia with hollow trees for houses and giant ladybugs for transport, Zenith as a sci-fi dream, Melody with its glittering oceans and singing whales, etc.

Watching Winx Club, just looking at the world adds so much to the feeling of magic, the setting just helps the story so much. Also it’s just fucking gorgeous.

Now compare that to Fate… where we get a dark forest… and an old Mansion, that serves as both Red Fountain and Alfea…

I would just like to say, I’m a sucker for dark academia, I love this aesthetic, for other shows, but this is supposed to be an adaptation of Winx Club, where there already was an amazing world where the story was set in, so why didn’t they even try to use that? I don’t know, but it really bothers me that they didn’t try even one bit.

Especially when the vibrant colors and fantastical environment were such a big part of what made the Winx Club stand out.

The Erasure of Good Adoptive Parents

I remember watching Winx Club for the first time and when it was revealed that Bloom was adopted I literally was like… but… her parents love her…

Yep.

We very rarely get good adoptive parents in stories (it’s getting a bit better but still, at least as a kid this was pretty much the only time I ever saw fictional adoptive parents that actually loved their child).

So, the fact that in Fate we get Vanessa (the sweetest mom ever in the cartoon) be a maniac who takes away Bloom’s privacy and tries to live vicariously through Bloom just really fucking pissed me off.

Like… what was the need for that? You didn’t need Bloom to be pissed for her to lose control of her powers and accidentally burn her parents.

In fact, I think it would’ve been even more traumatic and dramatic if Bloom had a good relationship with her parents (like she did in the cartoon) but still lost control, maybe in her sleep, and burned the people she loves most in the world, that would’ve been so angsty it would’ve been great.

But no, let’s continue the narrative that adoptive parents can’t be good parents.

Polyamorous My Ass (Srsly What the Fuck was that?)

This just… I’m so tired.

We pretty much never get Polyamorous relationships in shows like this and then we get… whatever the fuck this was.

So… Bea is obvs just using both Riven and Dane (it is Dane right? I don’t care enough to check). Riven, only likes Bea and is very biphobic towards Dane and Dane seems to be in love with Riven and kinda like Bea.

This relationship (if you can even call it that) is weird. Sometimes it’s portrayed as toxic, other times it isn’t and it’s just weird.

This also really fucking pissed me off. Because… why? You could’ve had Dane as a separate character, in the original we already had the Darcy/Riven plotline so why did you have to add Dane?

Honestly, Dane could’ve just had a crush on Riven and become genuienly friends with Terra or smth, he didn’t have to be involved with Riven and Bea, that should’ve been a separate plotline. If you wanted a bi character so badly you could’ve just made one of the girls (Flora- sorry Terra, Musa and Aisha are already largely headcannoned to be bi, they could’ve used that) be bi. You didn’t need to introduce a new character for the sake of diversity, especially if you were going to screw it up that badly.

Cause Riven and Bea are already dramatic enough on their own, we didn’t need this poor, horrible attempt at a polyamorous relationship.

Fake Feminism and Pitting Women Against Each Other

Next up… oh dear…

Where can I even start? Okay, one of the first things we see in the series is Bloom telling Sky he is mansplaining… when he’s very clearly not…

The desire to come across as feminist and be an #womenempowerment show is so obvious it almost hurts. But they never do anything to actually show this.

From the very first conversation between Bloom and Stella in the show, it was very obvious to me that they would be competitors, not best friends like in the show.

Throughout the show, we see the girls berate each other, compete and insult one another, and I don’t see how any of that can be seen as feminism.

Stella literally almost causes Bloom’s death out of jealousy over Sky.

How is this anything like the Winx Club?

The closest bond in the group is probably between Musa and Terra. And even then, a lot of the time I feel like Musa only tolerates Terra, and they feel like roommates, not best friends who would die for each other like they were in the Winx Club.

There is very little support amongst the women of Fate, there are few instances when we aren’t being told to compare them or to see who is best. That is not feminism.

Now, it would’ve worked very well if the girls got off on the wrong foot but we got to see them slowly bond and slowly trust each other and become good friends, but I never felt that. The only time that they join forces is to clean up the mess that they made, and even then it never feels like all 5 of them are on the same page, it’s more like the world (and story) is forcing them together.

This was a tad bit better in season 2 but there were mostly moments between 2 Winx not all of them (the only moments I liked were the sleepover and Terra coming out) in season 2 the strongest bond was clearly that of Stella and Bea.

So yeah, with constant competition, fights and very few moments of actual friendship, almost all of which feel forced, I can say that Fate does not feel like a Feminist show at all.

From the moment I saw they were going to ignore the gem that was Bloom and Stella’s bond in the original I knew they weren’t going to try to actually make the girls friends and support one another.

The Love Triangle Took Years From My Life And I’m Tired

Why? Why? WWHHHHYYYYYYY?!?!??!??

What was the reason? What was the fucking reason?!

There was none.

There was not a single reason why the love triangle between Bloom, Sky and Stella should’ve happened or was needed.

They could’ve easily introduced Diaspro, a character we already know and a character whose only purpose in the cartoon was to create drama and tension between Bloom and Sky.

Love triangles are dead. We all know that. You will never be Jem/Tessa/Will, stop fucking trying.

Okay so, first off, I would’ve honestly been okay if we’d seen Sky and Stella be exes and they like ‘Yeah we tried that was a huge mistake but now we’re friends’ and then Bloom comes in and Sky isn’t sure cause she’s Stella’s bestie but Stella is encouraging, that could’ve been cool. But that is obviously not what we got.

Why do we always pit women against each other over a man? I think we all know the answer to that.

The Love Triangle was bland, boring and useless. Nothing came out of it.

We apparently got Stella and Sky realizing they were codependent and toxic which… duh. But nothing comes from this, we never see them get closer and have a healthy friendship, we get 1 scene in season 2 that is never expanded upon and that’s it.

They threw Stella and Bloom’s friendship to the trash for a Love Triangle that absolutely nobody wanted. And even in season 2, Stella and Bloom? They’re not friends. They’re barely cordial with one another and that pisses me of so fucking much I can’t even describe it.

In the cartoon the girls NEVER fought over a man, if there were moments of jealousy they were passing (I can remember exactly 1 with Aisha and Bloom in season 2. That’s literally it). There could be drama with other girls and even that was very little mostly Diaspro and the messes with Mitzi and Crystal in later seasons but the cartoon almost never relied on that to create drama against the girls because they knew it wasn’t really needed.

This triangle did nothing for any of the characters and the drama was petty and stupid. I just… I honestly don’t think I’m really saying anything of substance here but this particular topic just makes me sooooo mad that I can’t even describe the particulars of how this Love Triangle makes me just so mad cause it was FUCKING USELESS, IT DID NOTHING FOR THE CHARACTERS OR THE STORY IT WASN’T NEEDED, IT WASN’T WANTED AND IT WASN’T…. UUUGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!

Why Glitter and Love was Essential to the Feminism of the Winx Club

The feminism of the original Winx Club (especially the first 4 seasons) was honestly very simple. It wasn’t in your face or even really ever called out.

To me, the feminism in the original Winx Club was just… the girls themselves.

We had six very different young women, who were all portrayed as strong, funny, beautiful and just awesome.

We have Bloom, who’s a bit of a girl next door. She can be a bit hotheaded, but she’s crazy loyal and incredibly strong. We see her be naive sometimes and be really nervous and attempting to find her place and we also get to see her step up to the occasion when it’s time for blows.

We have Stella, a fashionista who I will talk a lot about in her section cause I am pissed of what they did to her. We see her be a kind person and try to grow and be dedicated to her passions.

We have Flora who is the girliest of girls but still portrayed as strong and smart. Her softness doesn’t erase her strength. And she doesn’t have these big stand up moments of ‘I’m strong and I will prove it to you!’ She just is strong.

We have Musa, who’s a bit of a tomboy and slightly more rough around the edges but who has a lot of emotional depth.

We have Tecna, who can come across as cold but who we see literally almost die for her friends and who has such a big heart.

We have Aisha, who’s very sporty and who has to seek out her place in the group and kinda learn how the whole friend group works and who we see grow in season 2.

We have a hotheaded girl next door, a kind fashionista, a girly girl, a musical tomboy, a tech girl and a sporty girl who are all portrayed as different and unique but are also all portrayed as strong.

Yes, we see them occasionally butting heads (if I remember correctly Musa/Flora and Stella are the ones that butt heads most often) and fight sometimes, but we see that their friendship is stronger than all of that.

We see them support each other in so many different ways and be the definition of ride or die.

Something I really like is that they don’t really make fun of each other’s interests despite having vastly different personalities. And they also don’t compare themselves and understand that they’re all awesome in their own ways.

The girls are united in friendship in such a deep way that they could probably never stop being friends even if they tried.

And… none of that is included in Fate.

Which is a fucking shame.

We don’t really see the girls’ interests in Fate, we just see them all acting like angsty teenagers who are either lashing out at pretty much everybody or being a bit of a doormat. They’re not really portrayed as strong either.

I can’t see the uniqueness that was there in the cartoon. The girls aren’t really… they’re just not interesting. Especially when compared to their cartoon counterparts.

Also, this part is a bit more petty and something personal to me but I think a lot of you can relate so…

Seeing girls that were fashionable, girly and weren’t afraid to show off their girlie side was awesome. Especially in a world of ‘I’m Not Like Other Girls’ protagoinsts that just hate dresses and only wear them once.

As a girlie girl myself, looking back on the Winx Club, I love that they didn’t try to make the girls more masculine to make them seem stronger. Even Musa, Aisha and Tecna who are arguably the least ‘girly’ show off their more feminine side in a way that feels natural.

So yeah… that last part doesn’t have to do that much with Fate I just wanted to add that.

Questions That Will Never Be Answered

What Makes the Specialists Special?

First off, I would like to say that I loved that in Fate women could be Specialists and guys could be fairies, I just thought that was really neat. So kudos to you for that Fate. Enjoy it, I won’t give you many.

Now on to the question. What makes the Specialists special?

In the cartoon, the reason I really liked the Specialists was their weapons, they were colorful, creative and straight out of a sci-fi movie. Brandon’s sword, Sky’s boomerang, Riven’s bolas, Timmy’s gun, Helia’s gloves etc.

It always felt like the Winx got magic and fantasy while the Specialists got technology and sci-fi.

And that is, once again, gone in Fate. The Specialists are now generic warrior driving Jeeps and wearing leather.

Where are the capes? The Owls and Wind Riders? Everything that made the Specialists cool even when they didn’t do much in a fight?

Where did that all go?

This one was more of an aesthetic thing but I still feel like it took a lot away from the Specialists and what made them low-key iconic.

Where are the Witches?

Where are they? Seriously I wanna know where my girlies are?

I get that, since they got rid of the transformation and gave us half assed CGI wings it might’ve been hard to differentiate the witches from the fairies but still… you can’t just not have freaking witches!

I like getting to see evil fairies but still. I don’t like this!

I just feel like it takes away so much not having the witches. Can you imagine getting Lucy and Mirta in Fate?… actually no, they would’ve been screwed over but you know what I mean.

Yet another topic that makes me so mad and petty that I can’t quite describe it.

Why are Riven and Sky friends?

Okay so, this is actually a genuine question.

Most of the boys were excluded from Fate (which I’m lowkey grateful for cause if they’d done my boys Helia and Timmy dirty there would’ve been blood) so they kinda had to smush Riven and Sky into bestie status.

Now, looking at this objectively, we know that in the cartoon, Sky’s bestie is Brandon. And Brandon and Riven have more things in common than you’d expect.

They’re both good fighters and work hard at Red Fountain, they’re kinda ladies men, they can be jokesters from time to time but take their duty seriously. They’re also pretty competitive.

I think Brandon is what Riven would’ve been if he had a normal childhood.

The main difference is that Riven has walls. He shuts people out and can be a bit of a jerk sometimes. The Riven in Fate is a straight up asshole.

So… why is he friends with Sky?

I’ll be honest, I really wanted to see more of these two, I think the dynamic could’ve been really interesting and cool to explore but… we got… pretty much crumbs.

With the like… two moments we have with them I don’t see why they’re friends and it ruins my sense of disbelief just that much more.

Character Deep Dives/Character Rants

From Naive but Loyal and Heroic to Boring and Annoying (A Bloom Deep Dive)

Let’s talk about our favorite hotheaded redhead shall we?

I’ll be honest, Bloom was always my least favorite Winx and I actually grew to dislike her post season 3, but… she didn’t deserve this.

I’m honestly not sure how to describe why the Bloom from Fate is just… so fucking boring… I don’t really feel many emotions coming from her.

In the original (at least the first 3 seasons) Bloom has quite a bit of personality, she’s a bit naive and impulsive but also THE ride or die bestie.

She’s fun to watch even if I would sometimes get frustrated when she acted a bit stupid or when she was impulsive.

Bloom worked as a protagonist partially due to her impulsive habits (since they make her take the lead/initiative in many occasions) but I feel like with Fate Bloom that impulsive nature comes across as more annoying since Fate Bloom isn’t as friendly as OG Bloom and doesn’t really have anyone to bounce her impulsiveness off of like she did in the OG.

I don’t know, I just never really felt any connection with her but overall I think she’s still the one that was done the least dirty. And the one I’m the least furious about.

I think the main problem I have with Fate Bloom is that she’s got that ‘I have to do this alone’ attitude and it never really changed, so she doesn’t really have anyone to bounce off of to make her impulsive and stupid moments less annoying.

How Stella Became Everything She Stood Against (A Stella Deep Dive)

Welp… I am fucking furious now.

I think most of us will be able to agree that one of Stella’s main purposes in the original show was to break the Dumb Blonde/Mean Blonde stereotype that was much more prevalent in the 2010′s.

Stella could come across as a bit full of herself and could be mean since she didn’t really have a brain-to-mouth filter but she was never mean on purpose and always made up for her mistakes.

We see that Stella is at her core a kind person and soft-hearted individual when we see that after knowing Bloom for a whole of one day and Bloom helping her once, Stella is willing to risk getting herself expelled to give Bloom the chance to go to Alfea.

We also see there’s more to her than just superficial stuff when, after the Sky-Brandon reveal she tells Brandon that she cares more about the face that he lied than the fact that he isn’t a prince. The quote was along the lines of: ‘My parents are the King and Queen of Solaria, didn’t do them much good.’

And of course in season 3 we learn that Stella is actually very insecure and believes people like her just because of her looks and get one of the best moments/episodes of the entire series.

Yes. Stella cares about her appearance and loves fashion, but there is so much more to her character than that. She is a loyal friend, incredibly kind person and willing to do anything for those she loves.

Now let’s look at Fate’s Stella

………..

I am just… Fate turned our Stella into a bitchy mean girl. That is all Stella really is.

Even in season 2 she still acts like a mean girl to the rest of the girls most of the time. I never felt her bond with any of the girls or even Sky for that matter, her best scenes were easily with Bea.

I just don’t understand how they missed the entire fucking point of Stella’s character and made her exactly into the stereotype she was supposed to subvert. How do you fuck up that much?!?!!?!?!

She tried to fucking KILL BLOOM OVER A GUY!!! The original Stella would’ve killed her with her staff for even laying a FINGER on her bestie.

Stella’s character in Fate might just be the one that pisses me off the most because of how much they missed the fucking mark with her.

They made her literally everything she stood against and then acted like they did something when she did the bare minimum for her ‘friends’.

And I cannot bring myself to care about the drama with her mom because of how fucking pissed I am about this.

Okay let’s think about it. This could’ve worked if Stella was only acting like a bitch because her mom expected that but, in the rare instances when she was sure no one was watching and no one would noticed, she revealed her soft side to the girls and they were like ‘Oh, this is the real Stella, bitchy Stella is just a mask’ but it doesn’t go like that.

Even after the reveal of her mom, she’s still a bitch!

Our Stella would never and I hate whoever thought this was a good idea, you sir or ma’am are stupid and the whole point of Stella’s character flew right over your fucking head! (No hate to the actress or any actors in the series though)

Why Musa Kinda Works But Really Doesn’t (A Musa Deep Dive)

I was wrong before. Musa is actually the one I’m least pissed off about because I actually kinda enjoyed her character in Fate, especially in the second season. (Doesn’t excuse the fucking white washing though).

I think out of the girls Musa would’ve probably been the easiest to adapt into a more ‘mature’ setting cause she is kinda the ‘angstiest’ of the girls due to her mom’s death and being the tomboy of the group. However… the Musa we know can be a little sassy and get annoyed with the girls from time to time but with Fate Musa, it’s a lot more prevalent.

Which makes sense with the change to a mind fairy (which I hate, can you imagine all the cool visuals we could’ve gotten if they’d kept her as the fairy of music? Also they still could’ve had the empath thing with her being able to ‘hear the songs in people’s hearts’ and just cranking that up to eleven).

I actually don’t have that much to say about Musa. I enjoyed her character, especially in the second season, I feel like she’s the only one that’s reasonably lashing out and it makes sense when she’s annoyed and I feel like we got to see her soft side in a few moments and she was involved with all of my favorite moments of Fate.

The only issue is that she’s angstier than the original Musa but again, it actually makes sense this time.

The only thing I am actually pissed off at is that we lost her dynamics with Tecna and Aisha cause there is no Fate Tecna and Fate Musa doesn’t really interact with Aisha and when she does it’s a far cry from their cool original dynamic and her chemistry with Terra isn’t enough to make up for it.

Was Terra Necessary? What Made her Unique? (A Terra Deep Dive)

So, we all know what happened with Terra. They white washed half the cast realized that we would obviously be pissed and tried to save it by changing Flora’s name to Terra and saying she was a new character… nice try.

Also as a latina myself, fuck you. If you’re going to claim you were going for plus-size diversity you do realize you could’ve just gotten a plus-size latina right? Anyways, fuck you.

So Terra… I don’t really care about her and kinda dislike her. I’ll admit that I am very much biased due to Flora being my fave and my latina rage but I just don’t find Terra interesting.

I don’t know what it is about her that makes her rambling annoying instead of endearing or whatever it is they were going for. They didn’t really give her anything interesting to do, she literally just had the ‘I’m fat self-confidence’ arc. I think I might’ve kinda liked Terra if she’d had something interesting to do.

The only scenes I genuienly enjoyed with her were her conversation with Riven (right before the final fight if I remember correctly) and her talk with Musa while Sam is dying... Coincidentally the moments she reminded me more of Flora…

Then in the second season she had a super weird attitude with Flora, I wasn’t sure if she was jealous or angry or what it just made her that much weirder to me, like, what the fuck was going on there? I don’t really think we ever got an answer for her weird behavior with Flora, cause I’m not buying it was just cause of Riven. That was weird.

The only girl she really bounces off of is Musa, and even then it mostly feels like Terra is following Musa around hoping for some love. None of her friendships really feel reciprocal. And her behavior with Stella is also weird as fuck. Like… you like it when she insults you? What?

Yeah she’s just weird and I don’t really like her. I feel like she brings nothing to the table. There is no real reason for her to be there. If they were going to try and replace Flora, they should’ve at least tried to make her cool and iconic.

From Hero to Zero (An Aisha Deep Dive/Rant)

Pffftttttt… okay let me get this straight. You took Aisha. Icon Aisha who climbed a fortress for her pixy friends, was a Princess that was pretty much a runaway and a sports goddess who challenged the boys and easily had the most depth/cool backstory from the Winx.

You took that Aisha… and gave us *checks notes* ‘Oh yeah, I flooded a hall in my school with literal shit once’ as her backstory.

Okay cool, I see how it is.

But seriously though. They made Aisha into an annoying teacher’s pet who kinda felt a little full of herself from time to time but was also constantly ignored as the voice of reason and had no arc of her own, instead acting as a therapist/scapegoat for the other girls.

Why is that? I think we all know the answer to that…

But yeah, I just… I am so tired. They reduced her to… to nothing really. She doesn’t feel interesting or compelling at all. I felt no connection to her and most of the time it felt like the other girls only spoke to her when they needed something from her.

In season 2 we get a little more about how she feels pressured by her parents to be perfect (which kinda alines with the cartoon) and she talks about not being experienced at relationships, which also makes sense with the cartoon, but it honestly still doesn’t feel like enough.

It still doesn’t feel like she’s actual friends with any of the girls.

They took away a lot… most of what made Aisha into one of the most well-developed Winx. She doesn’t feel fun like cartoon Aisha did, she’s uptight which just doesn’t make sense if she’s supposed to be Aisha.

She was just done dirty. Our Aisha was never so much as implied to be a teacher’s pet. She was more into dancing and sports and exploring.

Winx Aisha was a girl who’d been trapped most of her life, excited to finally get to be a a free soul and explore the world. Fate Aisha is stripped of all of that and we don’t really see why she’s so uptight outside of that one conversation about her parents where we still don’t get any real depth.

My girl deserved so much more and I will die pissed.

Why Sky Somehow was the Most Interesting One but Still Boring (A Sky Deep Dive)

Sky makes me feel conflicted. I think he (along with Musa) was the only one I genuienely liked and enjoyed watching but at the same time he annoys me.

I loved his dynamic with Silva but I just… I don’t even know how to describe what it is exactly that annoys me about him but he’s just not interesting enough. I’ve literally forgotten almost any scene that he is in.

I’m trying to remember right now and the only scenes I can remember are the mansplaining scene, when Bloom drugs him, when he comforts Stella, one or two scenes with Silva… and when he beats Dane’s ass… and that’s literally it.

He’s not that bad, he’s got interesting dynamics and a cool story behind him and with the revelations in the series, he is one of the most affected, so in paper that should get you to be invested but… he’s just not memorable.

Why Riven will Always Get the Short End of the Stick (A Riven Deep Dive/Rant)

One of the things that annoys me the most from the original Winx Club is how Riven is pretty much reset every season to learn the same lesson over and over and over again.

This is because his scene in the Cloud Tower dungeons when he sees himself as a monster and decides to change is one of my fave in the series and probably my fave scene in all of season 1. So having him be reset was just… such a disservice to that awesome scene and to his character as a whole.

I think we can all agree that Riven could’ve been such an amazing and iconic character if he’d been allowed to slowly grow and if we’d seen him mature over the seasons.

So in this aspect… a part of me really likes Fate Riven. He’s an absolute ass and a bit biphobic but I like the possibility of taking this and allowing him to grow after his whole mess with Beatrix (I kinda loved the chaos of their relationship up until they got Dane involved).

The set up is there and we really see him try to move on in season 2 which I love. He still has his moments of being an ass, but through a few conversations with Sky and his bond with Musa we do see him trying to grow.

However, I would’ve loved to see him be more vulnerable. Sometimes it feels like instead of his own character he’s there to bounce off of Bea, Sky or Musa. I don’t know I just feel like he has a lot of potential but for some reason he just doesn’t feel like a complete character to me. Maybe this would’ve been fixed in season 3 but we’ll never know.

All in all he was one of my fave parts of Fate, especially in season 2. Whether he would’ve been allowed to keep his progress unlike his cartoon counterpart, we’ll never know.

I feel like the more mature setting actually kinda fits Riven. Though I’ll be the first to admit that the writers occasionally tried too hard to maintain his ‘bad boy’ image in season 1 and I cringed a few times at his lines.

But he was one of my fave parts of season 2. So overall I’d say that, in a way, Fate actually improved Riven ever so slightly.

Bea Could’ve Saved the Show, BUT- (A Beatrix Rant)

So, I love Bea. She was my fave character in Fate, she’s just a chaotic gremlin and quite frankly she deserved better.

Her dynamics with Riven, Stella and Bloom were excellent. I love how manipulative she is, it makes her vulnerable moments all the better. When she goes to the Winx dorm crying to ask Stella to hang out but gets rejected and she just looks on at the group having fun like an outsider… That scene got me.

It’s a little confusing how she goes from menace in season 1 to kinda a teacher’s pet in season 2 but it kinda makes sense and she does become a menace again so it’s cool.

I both love and hate her ending. I love her constantly switching sides, being unpredictable, turning around last minute and going ‘I just saved the world, feels pretty great to be a fucking hero’, I love that concept but I hate her just being thrown away and killed like she hadn’t been carrying the show.

I don’t think they saw the amount of potential that Bea had, personally I would watch an entire show all about Bea. Them just killing her shows me that she was only really a plot device to the writers, a way to introduce her mysterious sisters. And I hate that.

Bea was the wildcard of Fate, the character plenty of us thought we’d hate but that ended up being a diamond in the rust. She was cunning and had the best of all the Trix, Darcy’s plot line with Riven and her manipulation, Stormy’s powers and chaotic energy, Icy’s ambition, personality and charisma.

Quite frankly, she’s probably the character with the most depth and motivations. She’s the most interesting.

And they killed her off for shock value.

I hate that we lost the Trix’s dynamic and different personalities but for me personally Bea was worth it, she was an awesome character who deserved to be in a better series. But yeah… I love Bea but even she wasn’t enough to save this shit show.

Why Flora Mattered (A Flora Deep Dive/Rant)

Disclaimer, I am very much biased here, even more than before cause Flora was always my favorite Winx. Now with that out of the way…

I think one of the reasons that Flora mattered so much is that she was never shamed for being very feminine. Flora was a cottage core, soft hearted, kind, soft spoken young girl who was still allowed to be strong and a badass. She was never made more ‘masculine’ to show her being strong. Her transformations always involved skirts and dresses, bright pinks, long flowy hair, bracelets and necklaces and cute tiaras.

She was never shamed for her girlieness nor stereotyped as someone overly shy. Flora could have a few shy moments but they were pretty rare in the large scheme of things.

She was shown to be incredibly smart, especially in seasons 1 and 2 with her love of potions. Flora gives the girls a lot of support and a safe place but we also see her be vulnerable and insecure, but she never changes her girliness nor does she feel the need to ‘grow out of her girly traits’ to gain confidence or confront her fears, she also doesn’t feel the need to ‘toughen up’ keeping her soft heart throughout the entire series.

I love this. I loved that Flora was so soft but never shamed or considered ‘weak’ for it. She mattered cause she was there for the more sensitive girls. The more introverted, soft spoken girls.

The girly girls that can still be just as strong and confident as any other woman despite loving pink and flowers and skirts.

I think that’s a big part of why Flora matters. She’s allowed to be a heroine with a soft heart that is never forced into an angsty personality because of the events that occur around her. She’s a special kind of softness. She’s not the kindness that comes from naivety but the kindness that is forged in steel from tough experiences.

We eventually got Fate Flora but I don’t think she really captured the essence of OG Flora, she just doesn’t feel like the soft, introverted, gentle soul we know.

She feels a little… full of herself? In a way?

I won’t talk much about Fate Flora cause I can’t truly put my finger on what it is that just throws me off about her.

But I’m pissed that they truly thought they could get away with tossing Flora to the side, cause we all know they only included her in season 2 to try and save their asses.

Because soft, sensitive girls deserve to see themselves represented without the whole ‘break-out-of-your-shell-and-become-more-wild arc’. Because soft girls can be complete and happy without becoming party animals. That was what Flora was to me. That’s why she mattered so much to me personally growing up.

That is why Flora mattered.

Why Helia and Timmy Mattered: A Retrospective Look at Soft Boys (A Helia and Timmy Deep Dive/Rant)

Now, I am honestly glad that Helia and Timmy weren’t included because they would’ve botched it.

So, I always adored Helia but, looking back on him and Timmy now I almost find them surprising that these two were incorporated into the show the way that they were.

Helia was the definition of a soft boy, he was into poetry and art, he wore loose shirts, had long hair, was soft spoken, loved to meditate and was introduced as a pacifist, but he was also a Specialist. Something I really liked was that instead of a sword he had his strings which incorporated his way of being a pacifist into his Specialist gear.

There were never jokes about him being Helia being gay and he was portrayed as attractive, the second Flora meets him she’s already blushing and giggling. Helia is a poet, a sensitive boy in a school filled with soldiers and warriors, but they rarely make fun of him for it, and when they do it clearly is meant to be in a teaseful way amongst friends. And we see the boys go to him for advise.

And then we have Timmy. Timmy is a nerd. He has a laser gun instead of a sword and is more of a pilot and tech guy. He’s shy and socially awkward, lanky, and his portrayl is very dorky.

In season 2 we see him doubt himself as a Specialist when he can’t stop the Trix, the same happens in season 4 when he is chasing Anagan.

But we see that at his core, Timmy is an incredibly courageous person. He goes after Anagan even when he’s doubting himself. The boys may tease him occasionally but they never treat him as an outsider and in fact try to help him, even when it backfires, it’s done from a desire to help their friend.

Timmy may consider himself as the weak one, but he is never portrayed as the weak link in the Specialists. We see that his role is a crutial one.

In season 3 we see him break down when he thinks that Tecna is dead, but his tears and despair are never considered to be ‘weak’ or ‘exaggerated’.

We see all the boys break down at the end of season 4.

And that is something important. Especially for a cartoon in the 2010′s.

Seeing soft and dorky boys be portrayed as heroes was a great thing that we shouldn’t forget.

The Winx Club never revolved around the Specialists, they could’ve all been just the generic hero, but we see the small difference between Sky, Riven and Brandon and then we get Timmy and Helia who are completely different and not what you’d first think off when you think ‘heroes in training’.

This is an extension of Flora’s softness and kindness never being something that she is ashamed of or for.

Helia is allowed to be a poet and to love meditating and to be a bit of a pacifist whilst still being strong and a hero in his own right. Saving Flora in his introduction and Sky later in season 2. He is never shamed for being the sensitive one.

Timmy has a lot of self-doubt. But he is allowed to grow, he is allowed to be a nerd and dorky and socially awkward whilst still being a fundamental part of the group. His intelligence is portrayed as an advantage not a freak trait. He may be teased for being the nerdy one from time to time but he is never bullied or shamed for it.

And they are both allowed to have good love stories. Helia and Flora, two gentle souls that find each other and are like Snow on the Beach, falling for each other at the first time.

Then we have Timmy and Tecna, where it seems that Timmy falls first but doesn’t know how to act and Tecna always cares about him but seems to catch feelings a bit later on. That it takes them a long time to officially become something because they are both unconventional in their own way. And when they go on a date and feel stressed they decide ‘Screw doing this the traditional and ‘normal’ way, we’re doing it our own way’.

From what we see in Fate, I can tell they much prefer angsty characters. And Helia and Timmy would never have been allowed to be soft.

We saw 2 kinda soft boys in Fate. Dane who was just… a bit of a train wreck to me. He was an ass to Terra and was just super weird with Bea and Riven and was just willing to go along with whatever Bea said and then we have Sam who I wouldn’t exactly describe as a soft boy and well… he almost killed someone in season 2 so… yeah. He’s just boring and with zero depth to me.

If they’d been in Fate Helia would probably be emo or very angsty and Timmy would probably have been bullied a lot more. So I’m glad they weren’t included at all.

Because soft and sensitive boys shouldn’t be erased. They are important, especially when the stigma against them is still kinda strong.

We need this in the media, we need to see boys loving poetry and being proud to be a bit dorky and nerdy. We need to see boys crying and breaking down and not being ashamed or shamed for it. We need boys that are absolutely in love and not be teased for it.

Angsty boys can be fun to watch, but soft boys are also important. We need more of them.

The Forgotten Protectors (A Brandon and Nabu Rant)

When I think about it, I think that Brandon as a character, at his core, is a protector. He is Sky’s squire and is willing to trade places to keep him safe. He tries to keep Stella safe, is willing to risk his life to get Sky back in season 3 and well… he’s a Specialist so this is clearly what he loves.

Brandon was always a support character, he’s never really given a lot of backstory or traits outside of being a dedicated Specialist, being charismatic and sometimes flirty and caring deeply about his friends and Stella.

Brandon is a fun character not because of his depth but because he’s just a great guy. He’s charismatic, definitely an optimist and cracks jokes in the middle of a fight. When Timmy struggles over why Tecna is mad at him, Brandon is randomly punching the air and offers him hair product.

I would classify him as a himbo.

Brandon worked as this protector character, especially since not many of the Specialists had a lot of depth. And I always loved him,

So I’m glad he wasn’t in Fate cause, again, they would have erased his optimism and just, slightly goofy instances for an angstier attitude.

To me, Brandon’s main purpose in the show was to be a protector and a friend. He was the voice of reasons amongst the boys, especially in seasons 1 and 2. He’s there for his friends and would do anything for them.

I think Brandon could have perhaps benefitted from a more mature setting, mainly to get more depth but I think the Fate writers would’ve fucked it up. I don’t think they could handle having a non-angst, let alone an optimistic character.

Then we have Nabu, our second forgotten protector. I call him a protector mainly due to his sacrifice in season 4. All I have to say is… Nabu was a fun character. He was a bit weird in the beginning but we got to see he was calm, had extreme trust in Aisha.

We only had him for a season so I really don’t have much to say about him other than… I cannot see any iteration of Nabu working with Fate Aisha. I just don’t.

I can’t see either of them in Fate not just because they’d be fucked over but also just because I can’t see their characters fitting the ambience.

I don’t know why but to me Brandon and Nabu just emanate happy calm vibes and I can’t see that working with Fate’s desperate need for shitty angst.

Why Tecna is Often Discarded and Why She Shouldn’t Be (A Tecna Deep Dive/Rant)

I think most of us can agree that Tecna is neurodivergent coded. Most consider her to be autistic.

In the OG, Tecna rarely gets to be the center of attention, but when she does, man does she shine. I love Tecna because her arc throughout the seasons isn’t necessarily about changing to fit in, but it’s more about growing into yourself if that makes sense.

Tecna doesn’t change her personality or who she is, she doesn’t try to mask how she is. The only thing she really does is working on expressing her emotions and showing that she cares about her friends, but this doesn’t equal her changing or suppressing her quirks and more neurodivergent tendencies, which I think is just beautiful.

I think that’s a great example on how to write an autistic character growing into themselves (though I myself am not autistic so feel free to correct me on that if you have feelings about Tecna being seen as autistic),

In season 3, we see the way the club literally falls apart when they think she’s dead. We see that they love her and when Tecna reunites with Bloom in Omega, she is crying cause she knew that her friends would find her.

This is the moment that cemented for me that these girls would truly go to the end of the world for each other.

Those episodes in season 3 may be some of the best, and my favorites, in the entire series.

Tecna is the character that is underrated, and who some may believe doesn’t add much to the story, but when she’s gone it hits you like holy shit, in a way she is the glue of the group.

She may not always be the voice of reason but the girls know to always listen to her cause when she’s determined to figure something out, she will do just that. They know that they can count on her.

She is a pillar in the group, just as much as the other girls, even if the show doesn’t always give her a spotlight, we know that it’s true.

And… Fate just threw her out the window.

The fucking disrespect.

I personally think they just didn’t want to be bother with a complex character like Tecna.

I just… I hate that they couldn’t even be bothered to try while another part of me is glad that they didn’t ruin her with an angsty hacker take on her.

But my girl deserved better.

Anyways, on to the final section…

How Fate Failed To Capture the Essence of the Winx Club

How Fate Forgot the Most Important Aspect of the Winx Club: Friendship Amongst Young Women

The final section is something I’ve already touched on a bit but, in Fate, the girls aren’t friends. They barely feel like decent roommates.

I will never forgive the way they disregarded Stella and Bloom’s beautiful bond. They were each other’s person, they were bonded for life and truly they were just THE besties ya know?

And Fate just made them into competitors. There is not a single moment in the entire two seasons that they felt like friends, let alone besties. I cannot picture OG Bloom and Stella EVER acting like their Fate counterparts. Like my girls would rather die than do each other dirty like that.

Then we have Aisha. In the OG Aisha had 2 amazing bonds, Musa and Flora. We all know how big SonicWave is. Musa and Aisha immediately connected, they went clubbing and got into a bit of trouble together and Musa was the first to really understand Aisha’s backstory, and we see Musa trust Aisha with her boy problems.

Aisha and Flora feel like besties, they’re there for each other and have casual chats in the middle of the night.

With Stella, especially in season 4, Aisha and Stella can but heads from time to time but they know that their friendship will always prevail because all the girls are bonded for life.

None of that is present in Fate. In Fate when they butted heads I couldn’t care less. I just wanted to slap Stella because she was being a bitch and I was annoyed by Aisha. She doesn’t really interact with Musa and Terra isn’t Flora so it doesn’t work. And she and Bloom don’t feel like friends. Not really.

There is no Fate Tecna so we have no chance to get the amazing chemistry between Musa and Tecna, those two were perfect as besties, they just worked so well.

It’s just… so many amazing bonds and friendships and dynamics all thrown away for the sake of angst, drama and useless conflict.

The event that sets into motion the entire story of the Winx Club is Bloom running into Stella and choosing to help her. It’s Stella deciding to help this girl she just met get into Alfea because they just immediately bond and that’s who Stella is.

The very first time the girls hang out, when Bloom is attacked, the other girls don’t hesitate to join in on the fight to save Bloom, not necessarily because they’re close at this point but because all these girls would never just stand back when something like this is going on. But as their friendships and bonds grow, we quickly see that they are all ride or die.

They don’t fight over boys, if they tease or take things too far, they apologize. They may but heads and get into fights but they know (and we know) that their friendship will always prevail.

In Fate… they’re not even friends, let alone besties, let alone ride or die besties that would go to the ends of the world for each other.

All of those bonds and friendships are just… nonexistent .

How can Fate claim to be an adaptation of the Winx Club when they throw away the most important aspect of the show?

In the show, friendships always take center stage, romances always felt like sideplots or add ons, not the main drama, or they were rarely the main drama. And when romance was the main drama, there would be an inevitable scene of the girls comforting each other. (Stella comforting Bloom. Tecna, Bloom and Stella comforting Flora about Crystal. Musa letting out her frustrations about Riven with Aisha. The girls helping prepare Tecna for a date, etc.)

Friendship was the bloodline of Winx Club. And Fate somehow… missed that.

I’m too tired and frustrated to make an actual outro and I’ve been working on this for literal weeks so… that… is the end.

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lestappenforever · 1 year

Note

Max watching tit streamers anon here (I shall sign as 🍒 anon)

During quarantine, Max broke up with his then girlfriend Dilara. And well, ig he did need to fill an need of his so he went ahead and followed a bunch of insta models and also started watching tit streamers on twitch (idk if that's the proper term for them but yk they were "gamer" girls wearing some rather suggestive clothing).

People learnt about his endeavors on Twitch because he would comment stuff on these girls' streams and even make donations (i remember him making a donation and commenting sth abt the girl using the money to buy a simulator(?)) Our boy is not that creative with usernames so everyone could more or less understand it was him.

Now it's fair to mention that at the time Max had created an account on Twitch, which he streamed on, however quickly gave up on it. Plus he didn't use this account to comment on these girls' streams. He did so from his burner (?) account

When people found out they started pointing out his comments on Twitter and tumblr and I remember there being a post where they mentioned that Max had once wrote in some girl's that was wearing glasses chat that she looks like a "sexy teacher". The next day Charles had a stream and it was one of the first times he wore his glasses on stream, so some people considered it to be a funny coincidence (or not just coincidence we may never know👀)

Part 2:

🍒 anon again

"Regarding that particular stream Charles did (where he locked his now-ex gf out of the apartment) we have no clue whether Max watched it or not.

What we do know, though, is that Max liked Charles' tweet about it.

I remember lestappies in 2020 (that I'm pretty sure could be counted on like one hand), we were having a field day with it.

It was actually rather interesting that Max liked Charles' tweet given that this was back when they didn't use to be as close and used Lando as their messenger, as well as the fact that they do not follow each other on Twitter.

So this did raise the question as to how Max found out abt this tweet, but most concluded that he found out because Lando had interacted with it.

Really, lestappen and their relationship with each other back in the 2020 quarantine period is quite an overlooked chapter of their story, and it's filled with such small moments worth mentioning"

YOU CAME BACK! Thank fuck.

Okay, so during quarantine I was working retail in a grocery store and had to work harder and longer days than I had ever done in my life (and let me tell you, being an essential worker during the pandemic was exhausting), so I must have missed the comments on women's streams altogether. But I am so glad to have you, 🍒 anon, to fill me in on little things I might have missed over the years!

The 2020 quarantine era of Lestappen is definitely overlooked because there are so many gems like this that should get more attention. And Lando being the Lestappen carrier pigeon during this time is just one of those glorious gems.

Thank you so much for this, 🍒 anon! ❤️

#Asks #Anon asks #Lestappen asks #Lestappen dynamics anons #🍒 anon

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fuckyeslilkim · 1 year

Text

Rapper Lil' Kim Has Had A Profound Impact On Fashion Over The Years

hen Lil’ Kim made her debut with the 1996 album Hard Core, she utterly and completely changed the rap game. A protege of Notorious B.I.G., and the sole female member of his hip-hop group Junior M.A.F.I.A., Lil’ Kim, aka Kimberly Denise Jones, had a flow that was raw and gritty, with raunchy, sexually liberating lyrics that made critics clutch their pearls. Hard Core went on to become certified double platinum by the RIAA, cementing the then-22-year-old as a bona fide hip-hop god. But it wasn’t just Lil’ Kim’s lyrical prowess that set her apart from her contemporaries that came before her. Her sense of style also made her a trailblazer, solidifying her as a pop culture fashion icon.

While other women rappers like Queen Latifah, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, and Da Brat favored more androgynous clothing, like oversize T-shirts and baggy jeans, Lil’ Kim’s outfits were ultra-feminine, bold, risqué, and revealing — as provocative and outrageous as her songs. She wore teeny-tiny bikinis, see-through silhouettes, candy-colored wigs, and equally vibrant fur coats. She also helped popularize ’90s and noughties logomania, a trend in which designer branding is made overtly obvious on one’s clothing and accessories (the antithesis to “quiet luxury”). In Kim’s case, logomania also applied to hairstyles, as she famously wore wigs with Chanel’s double “C” logo and Versace’s Greek key motif. (The move made sense for someone who frequently name-dropped designers in her lyrics). Aside from head-to-toe designer monograms, Kim has worn a sparkly catsuit made with 965,000 crystals, embellished headpieces with matching thongs, and a gray, floor-length chinchilla coat (which she modeled next to mob daughter Victoria Gotti in the video for 2003’s “Came Back for You”). The list goes on.

“She was bringing something new that we hadn’t really seen before,” says Elizabeth Way, fashion historian and associate curator at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). “For so long, female rappers had been kind of marginalized and really tried to fit in with their male counterparts, especially with their style. Lil’ Kim rejected that and embraced her femininity in both her style and her lyrics.” Marissa Pelly, stylist for the rapper Ice Spice, shares a similar sentiment, pointing out how the industry made female musicians feel like they couldn’t boldly embrace their sexuality while simultaneously being perceived as “chic” or “luxury” — as if the two concepts could not co-exist. “Now when I see female artists owning their sexuality, while also being muses for some of fashion’s most elite houses, I think of — and I thank — Lil’ Kim.”

Behind every celebrity style icon is a brilliant stylist; a wizard behind the velvet curtain, so to speak. For Lil’ Kim, it was Misa Hylton. One cannot discuss Kim’s vestiary tours de force without mentioning the industry legend by her side, who had already been masterminding looks for Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, Jodeci, and her then-boyfriend Sean “Diddy” Combs. But theirs was a match made in fashion heaven; the two women felt an immediate kinship. “I think that Kim and I were magical together and when you have that type of synergy only greatness can come forth. We were thinking outside of the box and unapologetically taking risks. People gravitate to that type of authentic and creative energy,” Hylton told Dazed in 2018.

The two women set the bar high high from the beginning with a legendary look the promotional poster for Hard Core, Kim’s debut album: a leopard print bikini and a sheer, marabou-trimmed duster. The one-piece was designed by Sex and the City costume designer Patricia Field, who owned a store in New York City from 1996 until 2016. It was known to be a hot shopping spot for fellow performers like Debbie Harry, Lady Gaga, and Kim’s friend and frequent collaborator Missy Elliott. Hylton and Kim frequented Field’s boutique almost daily. In the years — and decades — that followed, both the look, and Kim’s signature squatting pose, would be replicated by the likes of Teyana Taylor, Nicki Minaj, GloRilla, and countless others.

Hylton and Kim also went all out for the “Crush on You” music video, directed by Lance Rivera. Inspired by the The Wiz’s color-changing Emerald City disco dance sequence, the video featured the star in monochromatic technicolor outfits and matching wigs — and instantly catapulted her to mainstream MTV fame. “When you think of the blueprint for most female musicians’ styles today, you think the designer logos; the iced-out, statement jewelry; and different styles of wigs — that was all her,” explains stylist Estelle Aporongao. “Kim’s DNA runs through the contemporary fashion industry’s veins.”

In 1998, Kim donned a bejeweled caged headpiece and matching arm sleeves to the 1998 Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards, which felt like the ultimate statement. But the rapper topped herself yet again a year later when she attended the MTV Video Music Awards in a purple wig and lilac-colored, sequined jumpsuit, complete with a single purple pasty that garnered an unforgettable reaction from Diana Ross. The moment would become the stuff of award show legend.

That same year, Kim covered Interview magazine’s November issue wearing only a Louis Vuitton headgear and LV logos painted all over her body, a moment described as a “cultural reset” by celebrity stylist Audrey Brianne, who works with Chris Tucker and Tyler Posey. “At the time, it was a fresh idea no other star had rocked quite so boldly. If people weren’t already paying attention to Lil’ Kim by then, they were now,” she says.

To be clear, Lil’ Kim was interested in fashion long before she dressed in colorful furs. “Her high school friends recounted how she would spend her allowance on clothes and had Gucci before they even knew what it was,” explains Nygel Simons, a stylist and archivist, noting that the artist also worked at Bloomingdale’s prior to rapping full time. “It really shines through when an artist genuinely loves fashion.” Nowadays, it’s not out of the ordinary for a designer to dress hip-hop artists for red carpets or sit them front row at Fashion Week, but in the 1990s, that relationship didn’t really exist. Lil’ Kim had a je ne sais quoi that both attracted and inspired designers like Karl Lagerfeld, Giorgio Armani, Betsey Johnson, John Galliano, and Donatella Versace, who would dress her for her 1999 Met Gala debut.

Way long before Barbiecore would become a part of the cultural zeitgeist, Lil’ Kim sported a pink, full-length mink coat with a studded pink bra, matching hot pants, and pink snakeskin boots for the “Rock Style”-themed Met Gala. “Donatella is my girl. We’ve loved each other from the moment we first saw each other,” Kim told Vogue in 2020. “At the Met, you’re a designer’s muse, [and] she loved the fact that I have fun in her clothes.”

Lil’ Kim has also walked the runway for designers including Baby Phat, The Blonds, and VFiles. But her closest friendship is with fashion designer Marc Jacobs, whom she calls her “bestie” and who has played a significant role in her life and career. Jacobs dressed Kim for her court appearances and subsequently became her prison pen pal when she served a one-year sentence for lying to protect friends involved in a 2001 shootout. Kim sent Jacobs the Bratz doll coloring pages she painted, which he then had framed and hung in his house. Jacobs is also writing the foreword for her forthcoming memoir, The Queen Bee.

“These were interesting and important alliances for her during the early 2000s because it further legitimized the message to her fans and the public that her empire and reach extended well beyond music,” says stylist Alison Brooks, who works with television personality and hairstylist Jonathan Van Ness. “I believe it was a turning point, not so subtly signaling to other artists to bling themselves out in designer looks with confidence and embrace their curves with body positivity before body positivity became a thing.”

When it comes to her own work, Pelly says she’s strongly influenced by Lil’ Kim. “I love how effortlessly she would combine her own fun custom pieces with luxury ones, while also demonstrating a great deal of high-end fashion knowledge.” Pelly says she had this approach in mind while styling Ice Spice for the “Barbie World” music video, pairing a custom Chanel-inspired, Christian Cowan tweed set with a Barbiecore bra by Laser Kitten, custom Emilio Pucci, and pieces from the Gaultier archives. “It’s that duality that’s so inspiring to me and creates the most interesting, well-rounded looks every time.” She also drew ideas from Kim’s 2003 “Summer Jam” performance, in which she wears SS03 Jean Paul Gaultier script belts around her waist and chest. “I love when artists love the same brands I do... I tracked down the same belts for Ice’s Paper Magazine cover back in April as a nod to the OG style icon.”

It’s difficult to imagine what would have happened if Lil’ Kim hadn’t paved the way for women in hip-hop to take fashion risks. Cardi B might not have worn archival Mugler to the 2019 Grammy Awards, and who knows if Megan Thee Stallion would have modeled for Calvin Klein. Then there’s the countless Kim homages artists have paid over the years: Beyoncé replicated several of Kim’s famous looks for Halloween 2017; Rihanna has cited the rapper’s penchant for experimenting with different looks as a major influence on her own fashion sense; and Miley Cyrus dressed in Kim’s MTV VMAs look for Halloween back in 2013, purple pasty and all. It’s for reasons like these that stylists like Simons believe Lil’ Kim deserves official acknowledgement for her legacy, particularly from the Council of Fashion Designers of America. (For years, fans have been calling on the CFDA to honor Kim with its annual Fashion Icon award.)

One thing’s for sure: You’d be hard-pressed to find another hip-hop fashion icon with the same enduring legacy. “Lil’ Kim is the blueprint,” says Simons. “Whenever you think you’re being presented with something new, if you search hard enough, you’ll find that Kim has already done it at some point.”

#lil kim #lil' kim #rap #queen of rap #rapper #fashion #fashion icon #cfda #hiphop #female rap #female rapper #queen bee #naomi campbell #hip hop

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mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess · 2 years

Text

Just your regular trip to the mall

Warnings: suggestive content but not too explicit

It's a rainy day with nothing to do - but Wei Ying isn't the type to just laze about the house, so he suggested he and Lan Zhan go to the mall. It's sales season after all - maybe they find something nice to buy for A-Yuan for when he returns from his school trip.

It's a short distance by car and Wei Ying loves watching his husband drive, a focused look on his handsome face and the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to reveal his toned arms - not to mention the redness of his ears when Wei Ying tells him how irresistible he looks doing it.

It's obvious all eyes are on them when they walk into the building, and Wei Ying delights into the possessive arm Lan Zhan wraps around his waist as people walk past, looking at them more or less subtly.

Before they get any shopping done, though, Wei Ying drags Lan Zhan into a coffee shop. After all, he hasn't had his dose of caffeine yet.

The barista seems a bit flustered when Wei Ying cracks a joke and winks at her, but all color drains from her face immediately after she hears him order "a large black coffee with 6 shots of espresso and no sugar".

"I apologize for asking again but... six? That's... really strong coffee, sir..."

"Oh, I know, I know!" And Wei Ying smiles in a way that's only slightly mischevious. "This one", and he points towards Lan Zhan, "...has kept me up for hours last night and I really need something to keep me awake for the day!"

The barista flushes red again and scurries off to make Wei Ying's order. Lan Zhan sends his husband a warning look and fishes through his thick wallet for a large tip. The poor lady definitely needed it after that.

They chose a seat by a window, watching the rain as Wei Ying daintily sipped at his drink. "This is almost as hot as you, Lan-er-gege~"

"Make sure you don't burn your tongue. I will need it later."

Wei Ying nearly chokes at that. "So shameless, Lan Zhan!"

---

The table next to them is soon occupied by two young ladies - who seem too caught up in their conversation to notice how loudly they are speaking.

"I am telling you, I don't regret buying that mascara at all!"

"Didn't you say it runs immediately? 50 dollars for nothing!"

"You're really not creative at all! It may not be good for makeup, but you know what else it's good for?"

"What?"

"Blowjobs!"

"How so? You're gonna put mascara on his pubes or what?"

"How uncreative! I'm putting the mascara on me, so when I blow him, it runs down my face! He loves it so much!"

Wei Ying snickers at the conversation and gives Lan Zhan a sultry smile.

"I should ask them what brand they're talking about. I bet you'll love me looking up at you with bruised lips and runny mascara while you-"

"Wei Ying."

"What, you wouldn't?"

Lan Zhan huffs, ears red. "...I didn't say that."

"Of course not, you don't lie." Then Wei Ying gets up from his seat and casually walks up to the ladies.

Lan Zhan wishes he didn't have to hear such an explicit conversation. Women (and Wei Ying) are so open about such things!

---

They enter a clothing store next. It's one of the largest in the mall, with sections for both men, women and children, maternity clothing and accessories.

Wei Ying seems to be picking up something from everywhere, throwing his choices at Lan Zhan to hold onto.

He's just about to go to the register when his eyes glint in that playful way Lan Zhan both loves and fears, and says, "Lan Zhan, I've just noticed something! They put the lingerie section right next to the maternity stuff. I wonder if that's an indirect advertising method!"

Lan Zhan sighs.

Wei Ying, disatissfied with the reaction, rushes to pick something Lan Zhan doesn't manage to see and then calls out to him to go to the fitting rooms.

He emerges from there in a red lace bodice, his hair down. "Think you'll have me shop in the maternity section soon?"

Lan Zhan doesn't pounce him right then and there only because a sales assistant passes too close by.

They get the bodice.

---

Letting Wei Ying loose in a toy store is a mistake - and Lan Zhan learned the hard way as the cashier fills up a third large shopping bag with various toys and plushies.

"A-Yuan's gonna love these! I can't wait to try them together!"

The cashiers looks a bit terrified as the total moves into the four digits, but neither of her two clients appear fazed.

"I believe Wei Ying said we should not spoil our son so much."

"Yeah, but he's been doing great in school and in his extracurriculars and the Easter Bunny is coming anyway, he deserves it!"

"I agree. But why were you angry at me when I bought him-"

"He doesn't need a PS5 of all things, Lan Zhan. He's too young, that's why I told you to reel in with the spoiling."

"Children love the PS5, I was told."

"Well I also love a lot of things, that doesn't mean I get them!"

"What would Wei Ying like that he doesn't have? I can buy it, no matter what it is."

He hands the cashier a black card as he says it and the woman looks wistfully at him, then at Wei Ying. "They don't make men like this anymore..."

---

Wei Ying very disrespectfully watches Lan Zhan carrying the dozens of heavy shopping bags with no effort at all, loading up the car without breaking a sweat.

"You're so strong, Lan Zhan~ I bet you could hold me up with one hand!"

"Wei Ying."

"Well, it's true isn't it? You've held me up in the air before while we-"

Wei Ying finds himself pinned to the boot of the car. "Shut up, or I will make you - here in the middle of the parking lot."

"As if you'd let anyone else see the way I look when you-"

"Is everything alright, sir?" One of the security guards asks, not too good at concealing a knowing smirk.

Lan Zhan lets go of Wei Ying and immediately apologizes as he gets into the car, husband in tow.

"You will put me into jail."

"That's alright, they have conjugal visits~"

"Not everyday."

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #wangxian #writing attempts

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ltwilliammowett · 2 years

Text

Evading Impressment

Escaping from a pressgang was not an easy thing to do. You might manage to escape a crimper and not take his shilling. And maybe you were even exempt from pressment, which meant that you had a letter from the admiralty (rather from the sick and hurt board) exempting you from service because of a serious health problem. However, this was dissolved in 1803 because there were simply too few men and so those who were considered unfit were allowed to be forced back into service. This process was called Hot Press.

The Neglected Tar, c. 1800, evokes the effects of impressment on a seaman's family and home. (x)

But now we come to how you could actively escape a pressgang and you had to be very creative, because the men could not be tricked so easily. As in this case from Cork, where a desperate man tried to fake his own escape to avoid being caught by the active pressgang of a local warship. However, the poor soul had not reckoned with the Lieutenant on duty. He had gone so far as to go into the church and, surrounded by all the mourners, open the coffin and pull the not-so-dead man out of it and take him with him. Bell, an already experienced sailor from Newcastle, was caught in 1813 and briefly stored in a room of a government building while the press gang went on with their business. Bell almost ended up back in the Navy if it weren't for his sister. She had managed to gain access to him and was there with him to tase the clothes. Now a rather tall and much stronger woman than before left the building and disappeared. A little later it came out what had happened and since women were not allowed to be pressed, she was released.

The liberty of the subject, by James Gillray, 1779 (x)

Thanks to a jack trick, a young sailor who had just been discharged from the navy escaped a press gang in 1815. They picked him up in London and just as they were about to take him away, he slipped out of his jacket and ran away. Of course, the press gang ran after him and right into the arms of a group of workers who had placed themselves protectively in front of the fleeing man. Eventually, a big brawl broke out and both groups parted badly battered. The victim himself managed to escape and was not seen again.

The Pressgang, by George Morland, 1790 (x)

Another type of rescue was the fictitious arrest. The pressed one was accused by his friends of having committed a minor crime or another minor offense against them, which required a trial and thus took him out of the press gang. It quickly turned out that there was no evidence against him and so he was released, hoping that the press gang had already moved on. But of course they were not stupid and some lieutenants were so smart and just waited in front of the prison to collect the seemingly lost loot. Out of about 10 fictitious arrests, about 5 were recaptured.

The press gang seizing a waterman of Tower Hill on the morning of his marriage day. Illustration from The Comprehensive History of England (Gresham Publishing, 1902) (x)

Another method was to sign in as a fisherman. There were agents and lawyers who drew up these papers and were in contact with fishermen who earned some money with each new crew member, even if the member never showed up for duty. But this way the men were protected from serving in the Navy.

#naval history #naval recruitment #pressgang #evading impressment #18th- 19th century #age of sail #napoleonic wars #royal navy

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evilwriter-originals · 1 year

Text

Plastic Smiles

A/N: Sadly my mall horror story wasn't accepted into the anthology. However, that means I can share it here!

Rated: mature

Warnings: blood

Word Count: 4,437

Summary: A journalist named Blaine goes to investigate a mall where people seem to be disappearing.

The mall seemed to appear almost overnight. One day it had been an empty lot that was for sale, and the next it was a big, sprawling, four story mall.

But nobody talked about that in a way that implied it was unnatural. How could they when the mall was everything anyone could ever want? The food court was huge and diverse, even accommodating certain allergies (like gluten and dairy). The stores ranged from arts and crafts, to toys and games, to clothes. There was a movie theater with an IMAX screen on the fourth floor. An elevator and escalators transported shoppers between floors.

Everyone loved the mall. It was like it was mandatory to love the mall. Or, that’s what Blaine seemed to be observing.

Blaine Fletcher was a journalist—maybe not the best of the best when it came to getting stories published—and he fancied himself an investigative one too. He was 28, and had a degree in creative writing and communications. The creative writing degree tended to make people brush off his stories, as they were usually rather strange. He thought this unfair. It wasn’t his fault that he was the only one that noticed the strange happenings of the world, and they most certainly were not made up.

Recently, Blaine had heard about the mall through a nearly-forgotten newspaper printing. There were ads for it and its stores all over the paper. Blaine had been uninterested, but had skimmed through all of it anyway.

And he was glad he did. There, at the back, there was a list. At first it wasn’t clear what the list was, but looking at it closer revealed it to be one of those missing persons lists.

Oddly enough, an internet search showed that almost every person had last been seen at this mall.

The mall had a name. Or, it had had a name. Blaine had been sure of that, but now that he’d driven one state over (an easy feat given that he lived in New England), and entered the mall, any memory of its name left his mind. He kept trying to recollect it, and it felt like it was there, just on the tip of his tongue, but he was floundering in fog. There was no name.

And honestly? He didn’t quite care. Maybe it hadn’t actually had a name to begin with and was just “The Mall.”

Blaine stopped at the food court first. It was a huge, tiled room with a massive fountain in the middle, bordered by all sorts of cuisines. He was hungry after his drive over from Connecticut, but now he was having trouble deciding what to eat.

He approached one of the shoppers. He was always a little shy when he first got into investigating something, even if that was just scoping out a place to eat, but once he got his rhythm going, he couldn’t be stopped.

“Where’d you get your burger from?”

The woman, probably in her 30s with red hair, looked around as if he was talking to someone else. He usually felt safer talking to women. He wasn’t sure if he, well… “passed” as a cis man, as it were. He was on testosterone, which had deepened his voice and made little bits of stubble appear along his jaw, but he still had his breasts. Currently, he was wearing a sports bra rather than a binder. Binders weren’t good for long days, and this one was sure to be.

“Me?”

Blaine nodded emphatically.

“Oh, that shop over there,” she said, pointing nearby. “I eat these nearly every day.”

“You… come here every day?” Blaine found that incredibly odd. Who had the time and money to come to a mall every day?

“Nearly every day,” she corrected.

“Ah, well, thank you for the help.��

Everyone at The Mall seemed friendly, a bit more so than Blaine was used to. Wasn’t Massachusetts supposed to be the “Mass-hole” state? Ah, well, at least he wasn’t dealing with anyone belligerent or sarcastic.

The line for the burger joint moved along swiftly, no one complaining, everyone getting exactly what they ordered. Soon, Blaine was paying and being given his food.

“How long have you worked here?” Blaine asked the man at the register.

“Four years.”

“Four years?” Blaine asked incredulously. “I thought The Mall was new.”

“It is.”

“Then how—?”

“Next customer!” The man was suddenly acting as if he didn’t exist. Okay, so maybe there were rude people here.

Blaine found a small table rather easily despite there being a lot of people here. It was a convenient one, a good place to people-watch while he ate. The burger really was very good, and he enjoyed his fries a lot as well. People were laughing, talking, smiling. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Maybe nothing was.

Blaine was questioning why he’d even bothered coming here. It seemed like a normal mall.

Sighing, realizing he’d wasted his time, he threw out his food wrappers and then made for the doors. Time to go back home, he guessed.

That’s when he noticed an advertisement on the directory screen. There was a small bookshop called Death & Delights on the second floor. Blaine had always loved books (one reason he’d picked writing as a major in college), and was fascinated by the name of the place.

Death and Delights.

Feeling intrigued, he turned on his heel, away from the doors leading to the parking lot, and headed for the elevator. If he’d been allowed time to notice, he would have seen a heavy coat of pollen on many of the cars in the parking lot. (He hadn’t been given time though.)

Blaine felt more comfortable taking the elevator; escalators had always scared him from a young age. He was followed in by three other people.

“Going up?” one of them, a smiling middle-aged woman asked.

Blaine looked at the buttons. “There only is an up.”

“That’s what I said.”

Blaine scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, uh, floor 2.”

The woman just smiled and nodded, and hit the button for him.

The people in the elevator chatted as if they’d known each other a long time, all smiles and laughter. Blaine felt like the odd one out—something he was quite used to feeling—and was happy to be let out on the second floor.

Death & Delights was a little hard to find, but he came upon it in a corner of the mall near the floor-to-ceiling windows. He thought he heard modern pop music playing, but it was nearly impossible to make out over all the shoppers and their laughter.

A little bell rang as Blaine pushed open the glass door, coming into a shop that was decorated in purple and black, with tapestries hanging on the walls. He didn’t say hello to the man at the front counter yet, just gave him a polite little wave, and began his look around.

Something about the store fascinated him. It smelled of incense and something sweet he couldn’t put his finger on. The smells were new to him, but made him also feel oddly at home.

The tapestries were interesting, depicting skeletons and naked women with long hair dancing beside them, odd symbols that Blaine had never seen before in splashes of beautiful color, and a lot of other things.

Then there were the books themselves. They smelled old, musty, and some of them had a fine layer of dust on them as if they were never touched. The spines were all cracked leather, the pages themselves looking to be yellow and old.

“Don’t get a lot of customers?” Blaine asked of the man at the front counter. He had short white hair despite looking to only be in his 50s or 60s, and piercing blue eyes.

“Most aren’t interested in the macabre and occult,” he responded, straightening. There was a twinkle in his eyes, almost like a challenge. “Are you?”

Blaine gave a noncommittal shrug. He’d been a little interested in the occult while in college, but that interest had died away. He felt a tiny tremor of something stirring in him though, like a pleasant tingling in his gut.

“Ah, well, take a look around.”

“I’m… actually looking for someone to speak with,” Blaine said. “Just for a few questions.”

The man eyed him up and down, noticed the bag slung from his shoulder. In it, Blaine carried his laptop, a notebook, and a variety of pens and pencils that were always going missing.

“Journalist, are you?”

Blaine laughed. “Yeah, I am.” He approached the counter, laid his hands on the glass top, which, as he looked through it past smudged fingerprints, he saw there were various crystals and miniature skulls and skeletons for sale. Staring at one of the skulls, admiring the detail in it, he asked: “Can I get a name?”

“Victor.” The man was smiling, just like everyone else in The Mall. You were supposed to smile in The Mall. “What kinds of questions do you have?”

Blaine was fishing his notebook out of his bag. Despite packing pens this morning, they seemed to be evading him. He sighed.

“Do you have a pen?”

Victor helpfully pulled one out of his pocket and handed it to Blaine, who gave him a grateful smile.

So, Blaine dove into his questions. He was glad he’d had them written down beforehand, because he was appearing to be forgetful today. Still, he smiled, and went on.

Victor painted a good picture for him. He’d been working at The Mall as soon as it had opened, thinking it was a good opportunity for his bookshop. The Mall was a few years old and everyone in town enjoyed it. People came from different states to see it. There wasn’t anything much going on there though, despite what that newspaper had made Blaine think.

Wait…

What newspaper?

Blaine couldn’t quite remember. He also forgot to flip his page of questions to get to the seriously juicy ones about disappearances.

He bought the miniature skull he’d been looking at before he left, a little thing made of ceramic or pottery. Victor gave him a pat on the shoulder and helped him with the door.

“Have a good day!” Victor called.

“You as well!”

Then Blaine was heading for the elevator, feeling satisfied. He didn’t know where he planned on going to next. Maybe the basement.

He checked his phone briefly to see if anyone had tried contacting him, saw a text from his dad, and let it go unanswered.

He could get to it later.

“Up or down?” a person in the elevator asked him, smiling.

“Down,” Blaine answered. “Basement level.”

The person just nodded and pressed the button below 1.

The ride was silent, and Blaine was glad the skull was hidden in a paper bag so no one would see it. He didn’t want to potentially scare anyone with it. He didn’t even know why he’d bought it. It had just been calling to him.

Once in the basement, the two stepped out of the elevator. The doors slid shut behind them, leaving them in a concrete room that was as large as The Mall was wide. Dull fluorescent lights flickered overhead.

It smelled sweet down here, like the bookshop.

And it was filled with people.

Blaine suddenly felt like he’d been punched. His gut twisted, his hands beginning to shake.

This wasn’t right.

“We shouldn’t be here,” he said to the person who had come down with him, words tight and rushed like he was going to be sick. He remembered now, that before, there had been no button below 1. There was no basement.

“Of course we should,” the person responded with a smile. Then they meandered away into the crowd of mingling people. Some were sitting on the concrete floor, some standing, and all around there was that sweet scent that was starting to smell rather sickly.

“No, no.” Blaine went to grab their shoulder, but they were already out of reach. He turned, frantically pushing the buttons to the elevator to make it open and take him from this wretched place.

The elevator wasn’t working. The compartment didn’t even seem to be on this floor anymore.

“Shit,” Blaine muttered under his breath.

He turned around, looking at all the people. Something didn’t feel right. He felt like… he felt like a cow being left for slaughter. They were all in the same boat, but they were smiling, laughing, and chatting as if nothing was wrong.

Above the sweetness, Blaine could also smell unwashed bodies and sweat. Hair was lank and oily, or packed together and bushy, as if people had tried to finger-comb it. A lot of these people had clearly been here for a long time. He noticed, uneasily, that most of the people down here were people of color, or wearing cheap clothes, or possibly even queer like him.

Easily expendable.

Now that “shit” exclamation turned into a terrified, breathy “Fuck.”

Blaine turned back to the elevator, slamming on the doors, the buttons, anything he could touch.

“Let me out! Let me out!”

No one heard him. Or, if anyone did, no one cared.

Blaine pressed his head against the doors, breathing heavily. He felt like he was going to panic, chest tightening, throat closing, stomach twisting with dread.

That missing persons list had just gone up.

Blaine couldn’t help it: he screamed. He screamed so loud it could be heard over the din of happily chattering voices.

No one noticed.

No one cared.

Crying in terror, wondering how he had even gotten into this mess, Blaine sank to the floor on his knees.

And there he stayed.

---

Hours could have passed. Blaine wasn’t entirely sure. He’d taken out his phone, had tried calling anyone at all, but there was no signal. The time on his phone stayed the same as when he’d arrived in the basement: 2:06 PM. There was no Wi-Fi either.

Blaine had run his hands through his hair over and over, had pulled some out, even. His dark brown curls were now a mess.

He sat near the elevator, tears wiped away, voice hoarse from screaming. He sat silently, and didn’t smile.

Not like the rest of the people down here. It was like they didn’t know they were trapped. How long had some of them been down here?

Most importantly, when would The Mall try to claim its next victim? Would Blaine be able to get out then, when the elevator came back down?

He was hungry. It was long past his usual time for dinner. He was worried out of his mind. Was anyone trying to call him? Anyone from the office? Any of his friends? His dad when he hadn’t responded to one of his texts that he’d gotten before going into the elevator?

Or would no one remember him? Would no one care?

Blaine sat with his back against the elevator doors. He got tired of looking at the cheerful people, got tired of wondering why he himself wasn’t affected by whatever power The Mall held. So, he took out the skull from the paper bag and began fiddling with it.

Looking at it made him think of Victor and how kindly he’d treated him, and oddly enough, he found himself longing to be in that strange bookshop again. At least he wouldn’t be trapped down here to waste away with all these smiling people.

The elevator dinged.

Blaine jumped to his feet, careless of the skull falling from his fingers and cracking on the unforgiving concrete.

He was ready to bolt when the doors opened, but he crashed into someone, and fell back out of the elevator with a startled sound. He landed hard on his rear, scraping up his palms in a bolt of sheering pain as he tried to brace himself so he wouldn’t hit his head.

“I didn’t expect to see you down here.”

The voice was familiar. Blaine lifted his head, shaking hair out of his eyes.

“Victor?”

The older man stepped out of the elevator, not wearing a smile, looking rather calm and collected. Odd. Was he not affected by The Mall either?

“Wait, wait!” Blaine rushed to his feet, but the elevator doors were already closing. “No! No! Dammit!” He slammed a fist against the doors, jolting pain into his skinned palms. He didn’t care about that very much, didn’t care about the way blood began to seep between his fingers.

Victor just watched him with what seemed to be mild amusement. Blaine turned to him, confused and desperate as ever.

“You’re… not affected by It?” Blaine asked.

“No.”

“Then what the hell are you doing down here?!” Blaine was angry now. “You could have let me out!” He looked around at all the other people trapped here with him. “You could have let all of them out!”

“I think It might trap me if I try to do that.” Victor shrugged. “Besides, The Mall and I have come to an agreement.”

“An… agreement?”

That’s when Blaine noticed that Victor held a satchel in one hand. He found himself slowly backing away from the bookseller, a nervous sweat popping out on his temples.

“Look, you have to let us out.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.” Victor took a step forward—Blaine, a step back. There was something dangerous in those piercing blue eyes.

“What agreement, then?” Blaine asked. “You can’t break it?”

“The agreement is that I feed It,” Victor responded. “The Mall can’t kill on its own, and time doesn’t work the same down here, so it would take too long for people to die.” He put one hand in his satchel. “So I come and do Its killing.”

Blaine’s eyes went big, his heart dropping to his feet.

“You— You— Why are you telling me this?”

“Because you’re not getting out of here alive. Or at all.” Victor smiled, and it wasn’t like those plastic smiles everyone in The Mall wore. It was genuine, and scary. It was like a predator showing its teeth before the final attack.

There was a flash of a long blade in the flickering fluorescents, and Blaine ran.

The problem was, there was nowhere to run to. There was the entire length of the concrete basement, large as it was, but the elevator wasn’t open. He was stuck.

He briefly thought of rushing into the crowd, of using people as something to get in Victor’s way, a shield of sorts. But that would just hurt or kill someone that wasn’t him.

Oh god, oh god, oh god. Blaine couldn’t think straight. He heard Victor’s pounding run behind him, could almost hear his breath. He was gaining on him.

Blaine abruptly turned, tore off his bag, and threw the entire thing at Victor, who was a mere six feet away. The laptop was going to add some weight to that.

It had the desired effect; it hit him square in the face, and he went down on his back with a cry, blade loudly clattering from his hand. Blaine’s bag and broken laptop pieces skidded away.

Blaine didn’t know what he was doing, didn’t give himself time to question it. He grabbed the weapon—a long, sharp, and slightly curved kitchen knife—and straddled Victor, shoving his satchel as far away as he could just in case it contained more weapons.

“You’re… you’re going to let us all out.” Blaine held the knife in two shaking hands, chest heaving with labored breaths. His vison was blurred, and he didn’t know if it was from the running or the ice that shuddered through his veins.

Victor didn’t look scared, just mildly startled. Blood leaked from his nose, and for a moment he just stared at Blaine.

Then he smiled.

“You’re not going to use that, are you?”

“I will!” Blaine cried, his voice uncomfortably high-pitched. “Let us out!”

Victor still didn’t look the least bit concerned. He didn’t believe him.

The Mall’s business partner tilted his head back and laughed.

“Oh, you’re pathetic!” he laughed. Blood ran into his mouth and he spat it out. “You don’t have what it takes! You don’t have the mettle!” He was struggling against Blaine now, trying to get himself free. “You don’t have what it takes to look someone in the eye and take their life.”

With an enraged shout, Blaine slashed down with the knife. A wound bloomed across Victor’s left cheek.

“I don’t have to kill you,” Blaine panted. “I just have to get these people free.” He scrambled off of Victor, grabbed him by his shirt before he could react, and pushed him. He stumbled, but righted himself, turned on Blaine with a growl.

Blaine’s bravado was false, but he leveled the knife at Victor. That had been the last straw.

“Walk.”

“And where are we going?”

Blaine grabbed Victor’s wrist and twisted his arm behind his back. The both of them were leaving blood stains on his clothes.

“You know where. Elevator. Move.”

Victor walked forward, Blaine close behind, holding his wrist in a vise-like grip. He was still unsettled by how calm Victor seemed, how sure of himself. Then again, this was his turf, and Blaine had only stepped into The Mall that very day.

“And how do you plan on getting all these people out?” Victor asked with a tone as if he were asking about the weather.

“None of your business. Move.”

That was the problem. Blaine didn’t know. He didn’t know how to free anyone from The Mall’s trap. Maybe something to do with Victor?

He told himself he’d figure it out once he got to the elevator.

The bloody knife trembled in his shaking hand.

They made it around the crowd and to the elevator. No one noticed them. Conversation carried on as usual.

“Open it,” Blaine ordered.

“To you? I—”

“I said open it!” He dug the knife point against Victor’s back, hopefully giving enough of a warning.

Victor pressed the button, the elevator dinged, and the doors opened.

“Going up?” he asked, putting on a smile.

Irritated with this man’s confidence, a plan snapped into place. Blaine stood in the doorway of the elevator, spun Victor around so he was in front of him, and pressed the knife to his throat.

He’d never spoken with a sentient mall before, but now was just the time for that.

“You let these people go!” he shouted.

“NO NEED TO SHOUT,” a voice came back. Or what Blaine thought was a voice. It was gentle and roiling, quiet and loud, all at the same time.

“You’re going to let these people go.”

“OR WHAT, DEAR BOY?”

“Or I kill him. No more food for you. No one helping you. You starve.”

The Mall seemed to be considering this.

Then, very suddenly, there was a rumbling. Blaine stumbled, but kept upright, kept his tight hold on Victor. There was no way in hell he was letting this man get away.

The rumbling continued, and it felt like something was expanding. Looking behind him, Blaine saw the elevator doing just that. The doors were widening, the space inside getting bigger and bigger.

And Blaine grew scared, feeling as if he could see every moment he’d ever lived and every moment he wouldn’t. What if this was another ploy to trap and consume them? Suddenly, the large elevator grew into a gargantuan mouth in his mind, and his knees almost started knocking together.

“How do I know you won’t trick us?”

The Mall smiled. It was like Blaine could feel it all around him, under his feet, crawling up his spine to raise the hairs on his neck.

“YOU DON’T.”

But this was Blaine’s only option of getting out with all these people. If he died trying to rescue everyone, so be it.

The people were suddenly all looking at him, a hundred tired, and slightly-crazed, desperate eyes fixed on him. Their smiles were gone, and there seemed to be conscious thought in them again.

“Get in the elevator,” Blaine said as calmly as he could. His hand trembled, and he accidentally nicked Victor on the neck, making the man flinch and wince.

Hmm, what to do about him? He couldn’t just let him out to continue this whole agreement.

Blaine moved aside to let the people enter, their scent rank in his nose, making his face scrunch up a little. They were murmuring quietly, looking at themselves and those around them in wide-eyed horror.

“What… what happened?” one older black man asked as he began to pass through the doors. “I just went shopping. I wanted to get my granddaughter a gift. I…” He trailed off, looking at Blaine with terrible confusion.

“I’ll explain. Or… do my best to explain,” Blaine answered.

The man nodded, and he passed into the elevator.

The basement was empty, the elevator full. Blaine still stood in the doorway, blocking it from closing.

“What’s your plan now, genius?” Victor asked, voice rich with condescension.

“This.”

Blaine removed the knife from Victor’s throat, and (he swore he’d read about this online once, but couldn’t remember where) kicked him in the backs of the knees so that he went down. He stumbled into the basement.

The last thing Blaine saw before the doors closed was Victor scrambling up, a loud, desperate “No!” leaving him.

And then the elevator began to go up. Blaine was surprised by this, given that he’d just broken The Mall’s agreement. Maybe it would enjoy Victor as recompense for letting them all go.

The elevator stopped.

“Okay, out! Everybody out!”

There was a rush to get to the doors as they opened. Blaine was helping to direct people.

He made sure to be the last one out.

The Mall looked normal. The lights were on, though it was closed and empty. Tinny, cheerful music played from somewhere above.

Blaine didn’t realize that he’d still been holding the knife until he heard it clatter to the floor, staining the pristine white tiles with crimson. He sank down onto the floor, his head in his hands.

Now, he began to sob.

---

In a day, The Mall was gone, leaving the lot as empty as it had started. In two days, people forgot that it had even existed.

But not Blaine. Blaine knew now, knew that there were supernatural forces in this world he couldn’t hope to stand against.

And during each long, and all too frequent, sleepless nights, all he could see was that last look in Victor’s eyes: dread and doom.

#horror #writing #fiction #short story #short stories #whump #blood #trans character

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