#i recognize I am enjoying a show that contains these elements

[louisloulouie]

Without trying to sound hypocritical, I enjoy watching Game of Thrones and now I like House of the Dragon, but I cannot handle people actively in the fandom who ship things, because it all ends up being pairings with creepy/pedophilic age differences or it’s incest

[bakerstreethound]

🎻Send me a song 🎻 I’ll analyze it and tell you what fictional it reminds me of and the scenario that comes to my mind.

I know how much you love Sleep Token, I will pick their song 'Alkaline' for you. Have fun. 💙 ~ Bluebellinbakerstreet

I hope you are buckled up for the ride on this one because I adore Sleep Token’s music and will probably not shut up about it for a long time, so I thank you for sending one of their songs for I am chomping at the bit. I hope you enjoy some angst here! There is some softness if you squint.

Heart of Molecules

Contains spoilers for Good Omens Season 2; you have been warned! This is perhaps a love story, but not one you were expecting. Graphic by @firefly-graphics

Every once in a while something changes, and she's changing me. It's too late for me now, I am altered. There is something beneath. 

In short, Alkaline reminds me of a love story between Angel Crowley and the stars and nebulas he created. The absolute joy he radiates at his creations and the wonder and joy on his face are unmatched. He’s so unbelievably poud and happy at his gorgeous conjurings he worked on for who knows how long, before the beginning of time itself!

I’ve said this is a love story (and will continue to say so) this nebula and stars he falls in love with the complexity of the universe, knowing the significance of it that it’s too important to be erradicated. I would go so far as to say Aziraphale and the nebula Crowley created are both loved equally in Crowley’s eyes. 

She's not acid nor alkaline, caught between black and white. Not quite either day or night. She's perfectly misaligned. I'm caught up in her design, and how it connects to mine. I see in a different light the objects of my desire.

Again, it is Angel Crowley’s love letter to the universe he created and this ends up all being in a dream. Then he gets the notion this is the universe beckoning him home (even though he’s now a demon and needing refuge), and when he wakes along some old country road, asleep in his Bentley, and it all crushes back into him everything he lost and he wonders about the possibility of escaping back to his first love, the wonder of the stars, because he finds confort in them, as if it was a fragment of a memory long gone but he can’t pinpoint them. He knows the dream he has is definitely a call back to where he could be welcomed back with open arms, without judgement. 

It was comforting to him, yes and he could nurse what was left of his shattered heart. Which is  a reason the nebula poked at his dream, there’s still a connection to the universe he holds dear and he can’t stop thinking about them, for a creator cannot forget their creation. 

Ooh, let's talk about chemistry, 'Cause I'm dying to melt through to the heart of her molecules, till the particles part like holy water. If anything, she's an undiscovered element. Either born in hell or heaven-sent. Either way I'm into it. 

When he does return to Alpha Centuri the nebula there welcomes him, burning bright, welcoming him into her embrace. His glorious nebula burns brighter than ever, shifting in its form (almost human but not quite), wrapping him in their own sort of embrace, though he doesn’t feel the burn of them or is singed. He offers them a small smile, his glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. 

 “Gosh,” he holds back a tear, “You’re gorgeous as ever.” 

The nebula swirls around him once again, in a show of excitement, bathing him in a cloakof stars and sunsets he recognizes. Almost akin to Joseph’s coat of many colors, it drapes along his shoulders shimmering and dancing amongst the stars, colors enhanced and forms to him as if it was always meant to be. In a way it was, for the creation had crafted it for their creator when they were no longer an angel, waiting for the day when they would return to return what rightfully belonged to them. 

Not acid nor alkaline, caught between black and white. Not quite either day or night. She's perfectly misaligned. I'm caught up in her design, and how it connects to mine. I see in a different light, the objects of my desire.

Crowley chokes back more tears for this was the more than he thought he deserved. Eons of having his heart broken the almost eternal pining for his angel up above. Perhaps one day they would meet again, but for now, he’s back where he belonged in a universe of his own creation, safe amongst the stars. Here they welcomed him home tenfold. Here he could perhaps find the peace to mend his broken heart. 

******

Ace's 5yr Celebration

[science-fiction-is-real]

A lot of Tumblr brain rot and insanity that we see, the poor media literacy, over zealous morality policing, the madness where we label someone a genocide apologist because they watch Steven Universe, all of this would go away if you all learned how to think DIALECTICALLY.

Dialectics is a philosophical framework that is a keystone to socialist political analysis but also necessary for, like, daily life. It is based on the facts that the world is:

1) in a constant state of change and evolution.

2) is made up of multiple moving parts that are in conflict and contradiction with one another.

This means that multiple things can be true at the same time. Things can be both good and bad at the same time. Things that are progressive in one time period can be regressive or reactionary later on.

In other words, dialectics acknowledges that the world is COMPLICATED which you think would be common sense but apparently is not.

So how would this solve Tumblr brain rot.

Take a movie that is frequently labeled as problematic. We'll use James Cameron's Avatar for our example. Tumblr brain rot tends to jump to extremes and you may see Tumblr users say things like: "every person who enjoyed that movie or rights fan fic about it must hate indigenous people, due to the fact that the movie has anti-indigenous stereotypes and tropes contained within it."

Let it be known that I am NOT defending James Cameron's Avatar, saying that it's a good movie, or that James Cameron deserves your money. However it is a big jump to go from "this movie has problematic elements" to "everyone who enjoyed the movie is an irredeemable racist who deserves to be cyber bullied."

Because multiple things can be true at the same time.

Avatar (blue ppl version) relies on anti-indigenous racist tropes and a white-savior story line. But also

1) the movie unapologetically celebrates anti-colonial resistance and the struggle for indigenous self determination. And people may like the movie for that reason.

2) people may like the movie for it's positive aspects that are not racist such as detailed world building or good visuals.

3) due to being exposed to a racist public school system and very large amounts of racist propaganda from the ruling class, the majority of working class Americans, through no fault of their own, fail to recognize racism in the media when they see it. It's our job on the left to educate them and we haven't always been good at that.

4) it's a dumb fucking movie and the fact that you care what type of movies people like shows that you are spending too much time consuming media instead of going outside and engaging in real activism. Hating on Avatar isn't going to do a damn thing to win the right of democratic national self determination for indigenous people.

To think dialectically is to recognize all of these things at the same time.

While I don't recall any actual examples of cyber bullying over Avatar (blue ppl), I'm using it as an example.

But I hope how you can see how dialectical thinking can lead you away from unproductive behavior (cyber bullying people who like bad movies) to useful behavior (educating people on indigenous issues, participation in real life indigenous - rights activism). And that is how you escape Tumblr brain rot.

[corvidcrybaby]

Hello, friend! I just stepped into Hellsing this past weekend and through my scrolling for blogs to follow, I came across yours. I found you through your posts about your OC. Based on what I've already read from you, you seem like a highly thoughtful, kind and knowledgeable person, and I've got every intention of reading your stories and commenting on them!

If it pleases you, I'd like to ask you some questions about Hellsing and your relationship to it.

1. What first drew you to the series? And is it best to follow the manga, anime, or OVA in terms of interpreting the story?

2. If it was up to you, what would you change about the story?

3. What's your take on the overall dynamic between Alucard, Integra and Seras?

4. I see the story takes quite a few artistic liberties with the lore from Dracula by Bram Stoker. Why do you suppose Alucard tried to turn Mina? Do you suppose it was for similar reasons as those for why he turned Seras?

5. I've been doing my share of research into vampire lore as of late and have come to learn that the lore Bram Stoker borrowed from for and added to through his novel contains antisemitic undertones. As a Jewish individual and a fan of the Hellsing series, how do you navigate this? (Disclaimer: I am not Jewish, which is why I did not recognize this myself until recently.)

Thanks so much for your time and attention. Happy Holidays!

First of all, oh my gosh thank you so much for the kind words! This ask made my whole day - I hope you enjoy my works, I feel like you can physically see my sense of writing develop over time but I put a shitload of heart and soul into them so I hope it shows. <3 As for your questions, I'm going to get into some major spoilers, so reader be warned beneath the Read More.

I think the general aesthetic was what drew me to the series at first. The dark, edgy and mysterious elements blended with pulpy action hero shit and campy horror form a really unique beast in terms of art, storytelling, everything. I saw someone refer to Hellsing's approach as "aesthetic maximalism" and tbh that is everything I love about it - all this, plus the surprisingly heartfelt messages about war, trauma and being human kept me coming back for more. As for which version is best to follow, I personally lean towards the manga as the main reference point, but Hirano was plenty involved (to my knowledge) with Ultimate's development since it's the adaptation that's faithful to the manga. The Gonzo 2001 anime has some fun ideas and cool moments but it's basically fanfic, including some major changes to the characters from their original versions (Integra is outright cruel at times in 2001 and way more dogmatic, Alucard is more brooding and mysterious, and Seras has more to do and feels more mature but her personality got flattened). Oh, that and BDSM as a narrative device. Love that shit.

I would make a couple of changes, personally. First and foremost, I would make it a little clearer why Alucard decided to shoot Seras before then turning her. It's never explained if he did this out of selfish desire to have a companion, or if there's some other reason - from our perspective it seems like he really did just murder Seras to make her his pet. It seems totally plausible for him to have shot the vampire holding her hostage without hurting Seras. Right now, it basically looks like a glorified abduction. However, this kind of clashes with how their dynamic develops over time, and that's clearly not the kind of relationship that's meant to be portrayed between them, as they do have a certain sort of genuine affection for one another, but it isn't delved into as much as I would like. I think making it clear one way or another would dispel the uncertainty. I would also expand on Millennium's origins and personal motivations more, and at least make the references to their crimes against Jews more overt. Beyond that, there is little I would change.

BDSM polycule. No. Literally. I don't even mean this to say that they are canonically a throuple - that misses the mark. BDSM is often sexual, but it does not need to be (plenty of dynamics exist where a dominant and submissive engage in a power exchange without ever touching one another for mutual benefit). The characters call those who direct their actions 'Master' for a reason, and it's because Hellsing is rife with themes of dominance versus submission, and how the act of bending to someone else's will is not necessarily a bad, damning thing that makes you weak. Alucard knows he is not a moral person, so he gladly allows Integra to give him orders on who to kill, who to destroy, and so on. Seras is a fearful person who has long struggled to feel a sense of agency in her life, and lacked authority figures to guide her growth. Alucard and Integra both provide her that push - and it's scary, and it hurts, and she puts up a fight all the while because she's frightened and uncertain of herself. Everyone likes to act as though Alucard hated her for this, but that seriously misses the mark. Especially in the manga, Alucard is surprisingly patient with her refusal to grow, telling her to take her time as she adapts to being a vampire. But at no point do either parties let Seras forget - growth is not optional. Eventually, she will have to accept what she is. And she ends up finding solace, belonging, and fulfillment in her service to others in this way.

I doubt it was for these reasons. Personally, I think Alucard’s affiliation with and interest in Mina Harker is often overstated by the fandom - of Dracula the novel, and of Hellsing. I view what he did to Mina as a cruel, strategic crime of opportunity, a means of striking at the heart of the team of vampire hunters that were pursuing him. That, and a means of keeping an eye on them. Nothing more, nothing less.

Aaahh that's a spicy meatball. So first and foremost I think it is important to note that a great deal of tropes in literature from the Eurosphere have some level of antisemitism baked into them. As one of the oldest forms of bigotry, it's just a fact of life. If you're Jewish and engaging with media whatsoever, you run into it. It just happens. Now, having said that, I would say two things. One, Alucard is far tamer in appearance than Dracula is in the novel. No small beady eyes, no retracted hairline of messy-fluffy hair, and while he does have an aquiline nose, it isn't this grotesque-looking oversized Zeppelin of a thing as most antisemitic caricatures would portray. That, and his negative personality traits are more than of a general brute, rather than this small-minded, vindictive, greedy miser. Having said that, he does still use seduction as a weapon, he does drink blood (blood libel), and so on. That in mind, I think where I fall is that you cannot divorce the vampire from its origins as an antisemitic trope, but you can point to the elements of the trope that aren't necessarily anti-Jewish in nature as well as say that Alucard is departed enough from these roots to be largely divorced from them. Largely, keyword.The other part to this is that antisemites in Hellsing are consistently portrayed as the villains. Indeed, it is perhaps the only usage of the Nazi Vampire trope that I think does it justice. By having the bigots that would normally insist that Jews are blood-drinking monsters be the actual monstrous enemies who kill and plunder just because it's fun for them (and that they did this as humans long before they turned to boot), it gives the impression of commentary on how Jews are often scapegoated for the crimes of actual bad actors, in the same way that Jews get blamed for the economy being bad instead of the rich corporate oil barons who sit in their ivory tower ruining shit for everyone else. That, and general commentary on warfare. Warmongers gorging themselves on the blood of innocent people that their conflicts spill is a classic allegory of the vampire - hell, for that matter, think of how many Confederate vampires there are in fiction. It isn't a coincidence (and come on, we've all seen the thumbnail for that one YouTube video essay on this, LOL). Beyond this, I also want to draw attention to two things: Tubalcain Alhambra's name, and the Captain's death. First off, the fact that Hirano named the Brazilian collaborator with the Nazis after the Alhambra Decree, a watershed moment in European antisemitism which expelled, forcibly converted or murdered all of Iberia's Jews (Sephardim), boggles my mind and to this day I think it's the coolest fucking detail about Hellsing. It links the bad guys both with religious persecution and with violent antisemitism in an unmistakable way. That, and his name, Tubalcain, being named after the son of Cain. It's all very pointed.

Second, the fact that the Captain gives Seras the tools needed to kill him and it's a silver tooth? That Pip specifies comes from a death camp victim and makes it crystal clear for narrative purposes that it represents the crimes of the Nazis coming back to bite them? That's powerful, to me, IMO. It, too, links Millennium with their antisemitic crimes against humanity in a way that you really cannot make excuses for. I've spoken about this with fellow Jewish Hellsing fans, mind you, and my take is more charitable than most. If you want to be specific with it, the widely agreed-on way to properly discuss Nazism is to show point blank that their victims were primarily Jews, first and foremost - and in that, Hellsing falls short, as there isn't a single Jewish character in the series, named or otherwise (which is a gap I wanted to fill through my fanfiction). Having said that, I personally think that as far as depictions of Nazis in anime goes, it's one of the better ones out there - but it isn't perfect, and the style Hellsing is written in (it's basically opera, after all, Bertolt Brecht forgive me) kind of made that a forgone conclusion. Make of that what you will.

Thanks for the questions!!!

[stella-facem-ducens]

I think I don’t hate red.

my fic for zutara month day 7 “touch Starved” 

Summary: When Fire lust for Water and Water desires Fire (this is a smut fic :3)

@zutaramonth

The situation is more than bizarre, for the very first time Katara doesn’t how to feel, usually when it comes to Zuko she has two moods she is piss off with him or she is tired because of the endless chasing now under the tight bind that keep her in place, tied in a pole Katara feels something different she is curious, the cause, they way Zuko is looking at her, there are so many emotions in his eyes she can see anger, confusion and desire.

Zuko is doing the same to her, he is staring deep into Katara’s eyes, and he see the same thing instead of anger Zuko sees curiosity which makes an unfamiliar feeling burst in his chest, Zuko is accustomed to see in people’s eyes repulsion but not in hers, gradually Zuko is closing distance getting near to the waterbender, the girl who confused Zuko so much.

  “Why are you looking at me this way, why are you not disgusted by me ?” Katara could feel the heat irradiating from Zuko's chest, his hot breath near her cheek, those amber eyes looking at her, like a dragon looking at his treasure.

  “Zuko I am not sure if this is how you flirt…. what do you want me to say”?

“The prince of the fire nation is the most handsome boy I’ve ever seen, the way he masters his element is outstanding and those eyes are beautiful, they are like the sun.”

  Katara bit her tongue she absolutely didn’t want to recognize that and Zuko couldn’t stop blushing, Mai has never told him such beautiful words and this water tribe girl is boosting his ego but the feeling vanishes as he remembers the necklace inside Zuko’s pocket, a reminder this girl is not single.

  “Peasant, do you enjoy play with men? or is just with the avatar.”

“You don’t seem that kind of girl, so tell me Katara what is with you? Why is your precious fiancé not here with you?”

  “What on Earth are you talking about, what fiancé?!.”

  “Don’t lie to me peasant, I am sure you have one, after all it is your people's costume to give this kind of thing, I am not a fool.”

  Katara couldn’t believe it was her mother's necklace.

  “I am not sure what you are talking about Zuko.”

“If you remember and I am sure you do after all you raided my town.”

“I am from the south, we don't do that. The most important, why are you holding a dear memento from my dead mother!?”

“Please give it back…. I miss her every single day… please I beg you it is the only thing left I have from her.”

  The sound of Katara's sad voice, how she is at the brink of tears certainly doesn’t make Zuko happy in fact he is fighting his instinct to hold her and hug her. 

  “I lost my mother too, I guess that is what we have in common “

“So Katara let’s make a deal, you get your precious memento back, but you have to answer some of my questions.”

“You already talked about my face, what do you think about my chest where my mighty flames reside, tell me how the power inside the crown prince of the fire nation feels.”

  At first the question seems odds but the desire in zuko's eyes makes it clear what is his intention 

If they have to put a name of what is happening; is not love at first sight, this is desire at first sight and that is more than enough for the crown prince, if he wants something he is going to get, it is that simple, this waterbender is going to be his. 

dragons only have one mate, this girl is the one, Katara just need to realize her future is already decided, he is her future, and she is his

Katara can feel in the air the beating of Zuko’s heart, the heat coming from his chest. 

when ropes finally come off, she rests her head on Zuko’s chest, the fire inside him calls her.

Zuko can barely contain his lust, his body is burning in desire, his cock hard as steel, ready to please his future lady, tame her, show her pleasure no other man can replicate.  

He kisses Katara fervently, his hand slowly reaching his waterbender’s butt, the young prince is on fire he is eager to burn her, to make her lust fire to make her see they can burn everyone. he will be the flame heating her steam, a steam so hot it will burn everyone who dare to challenge them.

Katara couldn’t hold it either. She is moaning, the waves of pleasure Zuko is making her feel. how deep Zuko is pushing his tongue into Katara’s mouth, for him she tastes like heaven, like the most pristine water. 

  “You are beautiful, my raindrop" says Zuko, watching Katara moaning under his touch. 

  “Zuko, I.. I”

  Katara couldn’t form any words, not because she is basically betraying everyone; what her father taught her, he told her she must never be with another man until marriage, she must never let a fire nation get close to her and she must always harbor hate for the ashmakers those are the words her father said to her before he sailed beyond the horizon.

The real reason why she can’t form any sentences is because her body is missing Zuko’s heat, she wants to lean into his fire, feel again his hot breath, the sensation of his kisses how they felt like drinking hot tea so hot it numbs your tongue, she missed the burning hand in her butt, claiming it as his.

  “Zuko if in my life I have to regret something I want to regret this please don’t stop.”

  “Oh, dear Katara you are going to regret everything except me and what we are going to do”

  And true to his words the next thing the fire prince do is burn every claims any men may have on his treasure, the collar on Katara’s neck clearly crafted by the avatar is quickly yank away and burn, burning it near Katara so his princess can feel the flames, they are burning the gift the avatar gave her, the collar claiming Katara as the avatar ’s girl is finally burnt into ashes, the colors of the air nation doesn’t fit in his dear Katara ’s   neck

as the final dust of ash falls into the ground a sense of liberation fills Katara, she is free from a future that doesn’t longer exist, she will never be call avatar ’ s girl and with this new gain freedom katara takes the initiative she kisses Zuko hard, with her intense kiss she summons small sparks coming from inside Zuko, invading her mouth, her entire mouth is in pure ecstasy, those amber eyes now filled with lust, makes her fire prince sexier but is not enough for Katara, she needs to feel more, she needs to touch more with one hand slowly moving, too timid to do it faster she reaches Zuko ’s armor and trying her best to take it away, Zuko couldn’t feel happier and quickly succumb to his lady desire.

on the river bank the only thing dominating are the sounds of kisses, moans and heavy armor falling into the ground, the sounds of raw untamed lust, that is the perfect description. 

  “Zuko please let me touch you more… I need to feel more of you… I need to feel your hot skin against mine.”

  “You are a lewd lady but as your prince I am more than happy to fulfill your selfish desires.”

  in an instant both benders finally embrace each other, the friction between their bodies, the hands greedily moving from Katara ’s butt to her tight teasing her with his fingers, enjoying the sounds Zuko ’s little Katara makes, how the waterbender ’s legs start to fails her, how she voluntary open her legs a little to give him more access and he reciprocated by rubbing his manhood in her virtue, his rod pushing in desperately agony, he wants to go inside her so much but he is going to make her beg, a prince never beg

  “Say it Katara, you know what you want, you can barely stand under my touch.”

“You are surrendering your body, your strength to me” 

“Give your mighty dragon what he desires, you know what you have to say”

“Serve me”

  “Zuko, make me yours.”

  “You have to try harder, waterbender, don’t you remember, I am not a peasant, I am not just Zuko, you know who I am.”

  “My Prince, my dragon, I need you.”

  with eyes fills with devotion Zuko pushes deep into Katara not even caring if it hurts or not because Zuko is absolutely sure she is made for him, they are compatible in every level he will never hurt her, they are made for each other and he is not wrong the most beautiful lustful scream confirmed it, Katara inner walls fit him so right so tight, her entire body is eager to accept him, her body was made for him and only him

overwhelmed by the warring sensations, the burning, the needy emptiness, the want for friction, the intrusive stretching. He feels like a hot flaming steel rod as he finally breaches her maidenhead, sinking his length slowly inside of her, his hands shaking as they hold her hips tightly in their grasp, a groan punctuated by an exhilarated growl.

Katara was still adjusting to the sensation, her body feeling stretched and full, almost  too  full. Eased with each thrust, Zuko begins to growl rhythmically, in time with his thrusts.

Zuko struggles to keep the flames inside his chest, fire is dangerous, it is rare for a firebender to release their fire during mating, it requires a full trust in your partner's abilities.

Katara, she is different, katara lusts for his fire, she lusts for every single part of him, the proof of that is the kisses she is giving him in Zuko ’s neck, going from his chin to her chest forcing the flames inside him burst. unable to keep control and like a beast Zuko releases his fire, the sky turns red with Zuko's flames and as he breathes fire Katara keep kissing his neck

the deepest form of trust between the mate and her firebender

with each thrust Katara loses more and more the strength in her legs, not even the pole behind her can support her. 

the beast, the crown prince Zuko, he is devouring her with his dick

  “on four Katara, your prince's desire to make you feel his entire length.”

  Yes… yes… yes… My Zuko, claim me.”

  with a smile Zuko release his lady from his possessive hold, the sight of his lady quickly collapsing to the ground clearly her legs are unable to hold her, the view of her now in four, how beautiful she, with a wicked smile Zuko thrust his entire length inside her, both of them can’t keep it in, the emotions are too strong they can't keep it quiet  Katara screams Zuko name to the world to hear while he, like a dragon jet fire flames so hot they are almost white, sparks erupts from his feet burning the tiny bits of wood nearby, the water boiling, hot steam soaring, surrounding them, steam so hot anyone near it would get their lungs burn but water will never allow her mistress and her mate be hurt

  “Katara, you feel so good”

  “Burn everything, my fiery beast, let me feel your flames” an excited Katara screams in pleasure the sensation of Zuko inside her, the beauty of the flames around her, Zuko for her is the personification of the sun, her mighty sunshine.

  The words Katara said to her prince with such love, lust and desire do trick, Zuko ’s dick is pulsing in anticipation, ready to mark her as his, fills her, in a primal grunt Zuko grabs Katara waist and carefully change the position, he wants to do it in the missionary position, he wants to see her face. 

  “I am going to mark you Katara, fill you with the seed of the dynasty that will rule this world” as he is about to cum Katara grabs him by the neck and pull, kiss him, both of their bodies are shaking in pleasure, in what it can almost be described as dragon ’ s roar Zuko marks his princess, his lady, his waterbender.

like river of lava with a force only a fire bender can master Zuko cum, aiming to Katara very core, so hot and consuming, Zuko fills Katara deep inside making sure Katara ’s womb belongs to him, her walls contracting, each drop of her dragon ’s seed finds rest deep inside her, a new addicting feeling is forming inside her, she will never forget how it feels. her entire womb becoming a pool of magma. Katara wants Zuko’s cum so much, neither earth, water or air can compare to what fire is doing to her.

She loves every part of him, the flames, those yellow eyes, her body, everything about him. Katara is like the ocean, her body want to pull Zuko ’s body to the deepest part of the sea 

During their orgasm Zuko sees the beauty of love in her eyes he is not sure how long it will last but he will never forget what he saw, he saw the pure raw form of love in Katara ’s eyes.

For a moment they stay in silence, neither of them wanting to separate from each other, katara ’s core is greedily milking each drop of Zuko ’s cum and his dick is possessively refusing to go soft, she is his to fill. 

So both of them opted for the second best thing, they sit with Katara on top, still connected but the fire prince is not done, not even close he needs to consume his Katara until the last piece

“You know waterbender I haven’t punished you for kyoshi island”

before Katara could even respond or complain her prince sucks her nipple, kisses her breasts trying to kiss her heart too but he needs more, from her breast he goes up, to her neck covering her in love bites.

The moans are a blessing to Zuko’s ears like a symphony of lust and love, he will never forget how a celestial ’s symphony sounds. 

He isn’t expecting an angry Katara, did he do something wrong? The answer comes quickly, she starts kissing him passionately this time she is the one claiming him, her tongue deep inside him trying to reach the flames inside Zuko, searching eager to find that burning sensation. The sensation of their first kiss, she is looking for those sparks of lust.

she is not done she can tease too; a dark idea comes to her mind she starts grinding zuko ’s massive dick against her inner walls, he is still deep inside her and she is going to take advantage of that, she is the one this time to make Zuko scream her name.

Her mission is complete, finally from her prince’s mouth those sparks come again, the ones she is starting to love, the proof of Zuko’s deep desire for her, those flames are finally free.

  After the kiss ends, Zuko is proudly proclaiming a simple truth.

“You greedy waterbender, if I knew better, I would say you are from my kind after all your people is all about community and sharing but it appears you are eager to consume me”

“don’t worry my fire lady, I will provide you with the fire your soul desires.”

“You will find no better men in those filthy dirt-benders, you will find no better in the punny breeze-bender you called avatar, you will not find no better men on cowards from the north, no puddle-bender will be better than me.”

  After the proclamation, Zuko lie down letting Katara ride him, a perfectly opportunity for her to escape, Zuko already made his choice, he chose her, it is time for her to decide the answer comes as expected, the greedy waterbender is riding him good with each thrust she is not leaving a single inch outside, she is taking Zuko’s massive dick completely which is amazing because Zuko knows how big he is and he also knows his princess love it, the lust in Katara’s eyes are the evidence, it showed when she saw his cock the first time

Zuko is about to reach his climax and Katara knows it too, the final decision is in her hands.

Katara doesn’t stop when she hears Appa coming closer to her location, she doesn’t stop when she hears her friends calling her, she doesn’t stop when she sees the shadow of the giant bison in the horizon, at this moment everything she needs is Zuko

“I want your seed Zuko, I want all of you, I need to feel your heat inside me again, I want to feel the warm sensation in my belly, I want to feel your pulsating dick releasing your cum in me, the seed of the fire nation in me…. Please turn my womb into a pool of fire and magma, mark my insides with your cum. 

As she says this she grabs Zuko hands and place them in her hips with a final movement she push down and let the must lustful sound leave her mouth to the world to hear, she let Zuko seed remind her she is now fire nation, claimed by the crown prince whatever she like it or not her body will always remember the fire nation ’s prince claimed her, she is forever his. she let Zuko burning hands mark her hip, a red handprint, it will disappear in few days but it will a reminder of what happened today for days 

She is undeniably his and for the look in his face he is undeniably her.

  Katara ’s body is sore and with Aang near, it is obvious they can’t keep doing it, as she stand up Zuko grabs her and place a big kiss leaving a love bite in Katara lower belly and then soft tender kisses following a pattern, the fire nation ’s symbol 

  “You know Katara, this world can know peace when my nation wins, when I am fire lord the world will find and know peace.”

  Katara is sure Zuko means well, she knows her sunshine, the prince, truly believes that but for her, is Aang the hope for the world, she has to go with the avatar and stop Ozai

The look on Katara's face tells Zuko what his princess is thinking, a little angrier Zuko continues.

  “I will keep chasing the avatar and I will keep looking at you with the same eyes I am looking at you now.”

saying the last part softer, hopeful Katara feels the same, hoping she will look at him with desire too

Katara stays silent, she truly doesn’t know what to think, the groan of a flying bison reminds her she must go. 

“You should dress yourself; I will not tolerate the avatar looking at you while you are naked”  the crown prince commanding it with jealousy, Katara has no intention of letting neither Aang nor Sokka see her naked, covered in Zuko’s love marks not because she is ashamed but because she is not that kinky

Before Katara could leave, a still naked prince showing off how handsome and big he is, grabs something from his pants on the floor. It is Katara’s necklace, but the fabric is different. Instead of blue it is dark red.

Before leaving Katara does something unexpected, a kiss, a short but meaningful kiss, a kiss that feels and is a promise.

  A few hours later now with Katara on Appa, her friends get curious about her necklace.

  “Katara what happened with the collar I gave you.”

“Yeah sis, and now your old one is red… as soon we land you should totally change it to blue.”

  Katara tries to agree with her brother or be sad about Zuko burning the gift aang gave her, but she refuses to lie, for her it would be dishonorable, she won’t lie about something she doesn’t regret. 

“The collar was burnt and about changing the color” Katara makes a solemn pause this is important for her.

I think I don’t hate red.

[mthompsonarts345-01]

2/17/23

For this week’s blog I am showing my continuation of work for the zine Dr Seuss project. I am enjoying this project so far it has been nice to work with type in a more out of the box way and alternative way. I originally started with a large section of text and narrowed it down to a section that had the repetition of the word “biggering”. I was glad I found this section because it has been fun to work with in my zine with making increasing the size. Along with this size increasing I am playing around with some of my other words at the end with what they are meant to embody. I think this creates a good balance of what the reader is looking at when flipping through this. You don’t want something that looks like it is repeated over and over but rather something that catches your eye on each page. In the photo above I am showing two different sizes and styles I have been playing around with for my small zine. On the right is a smaller sized one on white computer paper. This one contains a diamond slit in the center. The left one is on two different kinds of colored paper and contained a different style of cut and a larger size. I think I like the formation of the left zine better and I also like the idea of using colored paper. The only downside is the paper I have I would have to trim down to an 8.5 by 11 size. However, it is still an idea. I hope to make good progress on everything tomorrow and figure out how to lay everything out correctly. I am a little bit worried about having printing or  page formation complications.

In this week’s reading it talked about letter forms and the many different things we can do when designing and modifying them. When looking at some of the images in the beginning of this reading of combined letter forms it made me think about a project that I did last semester with combining two different letters to create one symbol. This led me to think about last week’s reading where it talked about how we only need certain elements of a letter to be able to recognize it for what we know it as. I think this is interesting because so much can be changed, added, or subtracted with a letter but if we still can see the main parts that we know of it, then we will be able to declare what letter it is still. This requires a certain amount of preciseness from the designer to ensure that you are creating the right visual. Just like letters must be created with clarity, so should our grids and layouts of information as designers. Everything should align in a visually appealing way and not lead to any sort of confusion for the viewer. I would like to experiment more with combining letters or changing letters and also would like to learn Indesign better because it is so type centered. 

[wawue526]

The Increasing Popularity of Skin Treatment For Men

Once we get older our skin ages, and even as we begin to discover ageing skin our ideas change to epidermis care. Today I do want to examine the problems with main-stream anti aging services and products, uncover what natural skincare is and why that is essential for you yourself to know.

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The reason is this. Lots of the antaging manufacturers that you might take for given and perhaps even use each day include a selection of substance and petrochemical components, several of which are proven to cause cancer and many which lead to skin problems along with other health problems.

I spend much of my time researching epidermis maintenance systems and considering the health implications of most of the compound components which are used in them. For instance only this morning I was studying the outcome of a study done on rats which includes been published in the Newspaper of Investigative Dermatology which figured the use of lotions containing sodium lauryl sulphate improve the risk of epidermis cancer in mice by 69 percent.

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[lansplaining]

last question made me think - thoughts on modern AU Jin GuangYao? Because I feel like while in a modern au maybe he has the luxury to be a bit more open about his anger or ambition at times , he's always going to be a very gracious and well-mannered person.

man this is SO tricky

let's just establish up front that i am tragically very weak for modern aus, i can't explain it, i have hated them in every other fandom i've been in, but for some reason here we are

but i think part of the reason i do like them so much is because The Villain Is Society to such a dramatic extent in MDZS, the questions an alternate setting opens up about who these characters could have been if they'd had other choices are sooo compelling

i don't know the Fandom History well enough to say, but i sort of assume the semi-default 'barely contained rage gremlin' take on modern AU JGY is heavily influenced, if not all but originated by the Meng Yao vs the HOA series, which is a story i deeply enjoyed but also found upon revisiting did not really ring true to me in its characterisations (though again, i really still enjoy them for what they are)

the biggest problem for me with a modern AU JGY is what his anger and ambition are directed towards. bringing down the local HOA and ruining wei wuxian's sex life? yes, sure, extremely funny. but i think it's a mistake to imply, as this kind of characterisation does, that JGY is inherently seething with semi-aimless ruthlessness and ambition that just needs to find a suitable target. his resentment develops because he is being deprived of a position he (correctly!) feels is not only his by right, but that he is very aware he has the talent and intelligence to make use of-- and even though it never gets framed in exactly these terms, from his earliest days in the jin clan, he is trying to pursue his own agenda in addition to doing his dad's bidding. the watchtowers come up, and are rejected by JGS, very early! JGY does not just want to be a jin just to be a jin, he has goals and plans for what he is going to do with the position he was born to

so in a modern au, it doesn't make sense to me to just give him a new setting to be ruthless for the sake of ruthlessness in. he pursues that strategy because it's what's required by the circumstances: his birth, the jin clan, the necessity to solidify his place in the clan no matter what as a first step. and that last one is the other key element: what exists in a modern au that he can only get through his family the way he can only achieve a stable place in cultivation society by being recognized by the jin? why can't he just pursue his goals by other means, and make JGS's recognition the final step, not the first one?

because i think of course you can build in a lot of that resentment and anger in emotional terms by whatever paternity bullshit you decide to have JGS pull. he doesn't need recognition, but he wants it, so maybe he goes to extreme lengths to get it for not-entirely-rational reasons, okay. but that just... doesn't feel like what JGY is actually doing in canon? as stated above, he has actual goals. his ambition is not 'i'm gonna be the jin heir woooooo,' it's 'i'm gonna take my place in society and make a difference.' but it's a misreading I think is really, really common?

and okay, this has gotten off-track, but i'm getting there now, because what this slight misreading does is turn JGY's constantly discussed and CONSTANTLY ignored persona of kindness and graciousness into-- well, a persona. an assumption that it's the customer service face, the emotional labour, that he's putting on entirely against his will. and this is partly a book/show divide, because ZZJ's performance leans into that reading quite a lot, with the way they cut to his eyes going dead in the smile. but I think we get so much evidence that this gracious and kind person is who he ideally wants to be. it's there in his title imo, it's in the way he leaves up JZX's murals, it's the fact that it seems the way he is most around LXC, a relationship that represents basically everything he truly cares about (and also, re: that last ask, really represents the idea that one of the things that comes with privilege is the power to be gracious!). i think there is less than no reason to think that in a modern AU, he wouldn't also dream of being that kind of person, even if he's in a job or a social situation or whatever where he can't always live up to that ideal for himself.

obviously the customer service jokes are all extremely funny in a modern setting, and i'll always allow a bit of sloppy characterisation for the sake of a good joke, but i do feel i have come across vanishingly few modern AUs that really consider the kind of person JGY would choose to be in a world with more choices, rather than just exporting his canon coping mechanisms with no real justification for them

[harrysgoldenbum]

Chai for Two

Harry x Jiya

word count: 1819

warnings: none, just soft and fluff

it had been proofread, but I am sure I might have missed a mistake or two

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translations/pronunciation/extra info

~~

Harry woke up mid-morning wrapped around Jiya. Harry laid on his side and had a thick thigh thrown over Jiya’s legs and his arm was wrapped around her waist, while her face was tucked into his chest.

Harry woke up from the sunshine streaming into the bedroom. Jiya’s sage green sheets covered him from the waist down. He moves his head back far enough to look at his girlfriend. 

A content smile forms on his lips.

Pressing a gentle kiss on Jiya’s forehead, he relaxes into the mattress and just holds her. It was the first night he stayed over at her place and he is already looking forward to the next time.

It was about five minutes later when Jiya woke up and presses closer to his body. She was just in a cute cotton pajama set that consisted of a pink button-down shirt and sleep shorts. “Morning,” she mumbled against his skin. 

He didn’t say anything, but his hand continued to caress her back. They lay in silence for some time just enjoying the warmth that came from the sun and each other.

He liked how he felt when he was around her. It was effortless. He didn’t have to worry about what he was doing or saying, he didn’t feel like he had to put on a show for Jiya. He was able to be himself around her. 

It took a little bit of courage from Harry before he asked her, “Will you teach me how to make chai?” 

Jiya pulled back in surprise and looked at him. “Really?”

“I want to be able to make it for you,” he whispers shyly. “The way you like it.”

A rush runs through Jiya’s body. Just the thought of Harry wanting to make her tea warms her from her fingers to her toes. A bright smile stretches across her face.

And that's what gets them to get out of bed. The two of them freshen up and took turns brushing their teeth. Harry now had a brush in Jiya’s toothbrush holder. He pulls on the soft yellow shirt he was wearing yesterday and his jeans. Jiya added a sports bra under her sleep shirt and slid on a pair of house slippers. 

Pulling out a small copper-colored pot, Jiya showed him how much water to put in. “It depends on how many people are going to drink it. My Bibi Ji taught me how to make chai, but my Nani Ji helped me get it to my taste.”

She explained to him that over the years she had made so many cups of chai, that she has gotten used to just eyeballing how much water she needs to boil. “Even if I have to make a large pot, I’ve just gotten used to it. What you have to keep in mind is that along with the water, you will be adding milk too.” 

Harry was quiet as he watched her move around in her kitchen. She was in her element, bubbly, and light. He took in every word she was saying. 

The stove ticked a few times just before the flame caught.

Much like the rest of her duplex, her kitchen was cozy and welcoming. Her colored cabinets popped against the white backsplash, and wooden floors. Her wooden floating shelves provided more space. The shelves were covered with various cookbooks, spices, and dishes. Jiya’s windowsill, just above her sink, was decorated with a few plants, one looked like spearmint and another looked like basil, and there were a few others that Harry couldn’t recognize. Near her stove, sat a tray that had ceramic jars labeled ‘sugar’ and ‘tea’, next to it was a container that held wooden spoons, spatulas, and what looked like a small steel sieve. 

While the kitchen colors were gray and white, the stillwater blue kitchen island provided a sharp contrast. Which happened to match the living room sofa. Jiya also inserted a shot of color with the different mugs and dishes she used in the house. Along with a couple of flower bouquets, that sit on the kitchen counter and living room table - she also has one in her office. For the last couple of months, Harry had taken it upon himself to make sure that the flowers were exchanged for fresh ones, changing them about every two weeks. 

Jiya placed the pan over the fire, “I hope you know that I am making you a cup too.” She tosses him a smile over her shoulder as she reaches into the cabinet. She pulls out jars that contain cardamom, clove, and cinnamon sticks. “I personally don’t add sugar, but you can always add it after.” She also pulls a mortar off the shelves. Moving, Harry comes to stand beside her. Placing a tea towel under the grinder, Jiya added two cardamom pods and one stick of clove into the bowl. She snaps a cinnamon stick into a fourth and drops it into the water. Taking the pestle, Jiya pounds the green cardamom pods and the clove a few times before she drops them into the water too. “There are so many different spices that you can add to chai, it just depends on the taste you are going for. Like, some days instead of adding cinnamon, clove, and cardamom, I’ll use fennel seeds. The amount of spices you use changes, depending on how many people you're making tea for. Of course, you don’t have to add spices if you don’t want to. You could just make a plain cup too.” Placing the lid onto the pot, she leans back against the counter and tells him to wait until the water boils. 

Standing close to each other, Jiya looks up at him and can see the concentration on his face. She hesitates for a second before she works up the courage to ask him, “Can I ask what prompted you to want to learn how to make chai?” His eyes catch hers. And a small smile forms on his pretty face, just giving her a hint of his dimples. 

“You’re the first person I’ve been with who has taken the time to learn the things that I like. And every time you do, it reminds me how effortless a relationship should be. I wanted to return the gesture, and not because I want to even things out, but because I want to.”

Leaning in, Harry presses a gentle kiss on her lips. “It’s just something I want to be able to do for you.” He murmurs against the apple of her cheek. Cupping her head in his hands, Harry presses delicate kisses on her eyelids. “Is that okay?” 

Pecking his pink lips, Jiya whispers a soft, “Yes.” 

They stand in each other's warmth, enjoying each other’s presence, while they wait for the water to boil. 

It takes about two minutes until the water starts rolling. 

“So usually with loose leaf tea, one spoon is enough for about two cups, if you want stronger tea then you add more and let it simmer for longer.” Scooping the black tea from the designated jar, Jiya adds a spoonful to the pot. They wait about 2 minutes before she moves toward her refrigerator and pulls out a gallon of milk. “Okay so this is going to sound silly, but it was the only way I could remember how much milk to add when I was younger. I was never taught how much to measure, my grandmothers took ‘measure with the heart’ literally.”

Tipping the milk gallon, Jiya poured the milk into the pot. She continued to do so until the liquid turned into a medium tan color. “As a kid, I would always compare the color of the tea to my skin color.” 

It took Harry a second to process what his girlfriend just said, “What?!” 

Jiya felt her face heat up, and a slight blush showed on her tan complexion, “I told you it’s silly,” she cried out. “It doesn’t work for everyone but that was a connection I made when I was a kid!” Shy, she turned her face away from Harry. “Hey, hey,” he turns her head so she’ll look at him. “Just wasn’t expecting you to say that, Jiya. It was the last comparison I was expecting you to make.”

A small chuckle rumbled out of Harry, “If that is the way you remembered it, it's the way you remembered it.” 

“Okay…” Jiya starts, desperately wanting to move away from the subject, she fidgets in his embrace. “When we add milk into the pan, you want to keep a close eye on it because when it starts to rise, which happens very quickly, it can boil over.” 

And sure enough, it was a few minutes later, Harry heard a hiss coming from the pot, and saw the milk starting to rise. Moving quickly, Jiya turned the flame down and set the liquid to a simmer. “I usually let it simmer for fiveish minutes so that way it's not watery.”

She presses herself against his body and wraps her arms around his waist. “While we wait for the water to boil, what do we want for breakfast?”

They agree to avocado toast with a side of fresh fruit. While the toast heats up in the toaster, Harry takes on the task of cutting and seasoning the avocado. “When did you learn how to make chai?” 

“My Bebe Ji taught me when I was around six or seven,” Jiya responded as she washed up some blackberries and blueberries.

“And your Nani Ji, helped you figure out the way you liked it to taste?” 

A wide smile took over her face, she loved it when he would refer to her grandparents in Punjabi. “Yeah. She was the one who taught me what different spices to use, and which ones complimented each other well.”

Harry stretched against the kitchen island and placed the plate of toast and the bowls of berries on the other side. And watched Jiya turn the flame off the stove and cover the pot with its lid. She took out two mugs from the cabinet and reached for the sieve. Harry watched his dream girl uncover the pot and placed the small sieve over one of the cups and poured the liquid through the netted material, leaving the used spices behind.

She clearly had years of practice with the way she did it with such ease and natural fluidity. Once both cups are filled, Harry picks both of them up from their handles and walks around the island to where their breakfast waits. Jiya follows him and settles down on the barstool next to him. 

After waiting for a few minutes, Harry blows in his cup to cool the hot drink before he takes his first sip. He tastes the spice blend. It's not overwhelming but just enough to give the tea flavor. “I hope you know darling, you’re going to have to give me this lesson a few times before I’ll get it down pat.” 

With a gleam of happiness in her eyes, Jiya nods her head as she takes her first sip of the morning. 

~~

what do yall think :)

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Talk to me // Masterlist // More of Harry and Jiya

[tcm]

Reframing Films of the Past: An Interview with TCM Writers

All month long in March, TCM will be taking a look at a number of beloved classic films that have stood the test of time, but when viewed by contemporary standards, certain aspects of these films are troubling and problematic. During TCM’s Reframed: Classics in the Rearview Mirror programming, all five TCM hosts will appear on the network to discuss these issues, their historical and cultural context and how we can keep the legacy of great films alive for future generations.

Also joining in on this conversation are four TCM writers who were open enough to share their thoughts on their love of classic movies and watching troubling images of the past. Special thanks to Theresa Brown, Constance Cherise, Susan King and Kim Luperi for taking part in this conversation. Continue the conversation over on TCM’s Twitter.

What do you say to people who don’t like classics because they’re racist and sexist? 

KL: There are positive representations in classic Hollywood that I think would blow some peoples’ minds. I always love introducing people to new titles that challenge expectations. 

That said, anyone who broadly slaps a sexist or racist label on a large part of the medium’s history does a disservice to cinema and themselves. That mindset keeps them ignorant not only of some excellent movies and groundbreaking innovation but history itself. 

I think people need to remember that movies are a product of their time and they can reflect the society they were made into a variety of degrees - good, bad, politically, culturally, socially. That’s not to excuse racism or sexism; it needs to be recognized and called out as such for us to contend with it today. But it’s important for people who say they don’t like classics for those reasons to understand the historical context. In particular, we need to acknowledge that society has evolved - and what was deemed socially acceptable at times has, too, even if sexism and racism are always wrong - and we are applying a modern lens to these films that come with the benefit of decades worth of activism, growth and education.

SK: I totally agree K.L. For years I have been encouraging people to watch vintage movies who keep proclaiming they don’t like black-and-white films or silent films. For every Birth of a Nation (1915) there are beautiful dramas, wonderful comedies and delicious mysteries and film noirs. 

 These films that have racist and sexist elements shouldn’t be collectively swept under the rug, because as K.L. stated they shine a light on what society was like – both good and bad. 

CC: First off, fellow writers may I say, I think your work is amazing. I'm continually learning from the talent that is here, and I am humbled to be a part of this particular company. Similar to the prior answers, for every racist/sexist film the opposite exists. Personally, classic musicals attracted me due to their visual assault, creativity and their unmistakable triple-threat performances. While we cannot ignore racist stereotypes and sexism, there are films that simply are "fantasies of art." There is also a review of evolution. In 20 years, what we now deem as acceptable behavior/conversation will be thought of as outdated and will also require being put into "historical context."  What we collectively said/thought/did 20 years ago, we are currently either re-adjusting or reckoning with now, and that is a truth of life that will never change. We will always evolve.

TB: I would say to them they should consider the times the movie was made in. It was a whole different mindset back then. 

Are there movies that you love but are hesitant to recommend to others because of problematic elements in them? If so, which movies? 

TB: Yes, there are movies I’m hesitant to recommend. The big one, off the top of my head, would be Gone With the Wind (1939). The whole slavery thing is a bit of a sticky wicket for people, especially Black folks. Me, I love the movie. It is truly a monumental feat of filmmaking for 1939. I’m not saying I’m happy with the depiction of African Americans in that film. I recognize the issues. But when I look at a classic film, I suppose I find I have to compartmentalize things. I tend to gravitate on the humanity of a character I can relate to. 

KL: Synthetic Sin (1929), a long thought lost film, was found in the 2010s, and I saw it at Cinecon a few years ago. As a Colleen Moore fan, I thoroughly enjoyed most of it, but it contains a scene of her performing in blackface that doesn’t add anything to the plot. That decision brings the movie down in my memory, which is why I have trouble recommending it.

Also Smarty (1934), starring Warren William and Joan Blondell, is another movie I don’t recommend because it’s basically about spousal abuse played for comedy, and it did not age well for that reason.

SK: Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961): Audrey Hepburn is my favorite actress and I love her Oscar-nominated performance as Holly. I adore Orangy as Cat, as well as George Peppard and Buddy Ebsen, who is wonderfully endearing. And of course, “Moon River” makes me cry whenever I hear it. But then I cringe and am practically nauseous every time Mickey Rooney pops up on screen with his disgusting stereotypical performance as Holly’s Japanese landlord Mr. Yunioshi. What was director Blake Edwards thinking casting him in this part? Perhaps because he’s such a caricature no Japanese actor wanted to play him, so he cast Rooney with whom he had worked within the 1950s. 

CC: I cannot necessarily state that I am in "love," but, a film that comes to mind would be Anna and the King of Siam (1946). It is an absolutely beautiful visual film. However, Rex Harrison as King Mongkut requires some explanation. 

Holiday Inn (1942), and the Abraham number...why??? Might I also add, there were many jaw-dropping, racist cartoons.

How did you learn to deal with the negative images of the past? 

KL: I often look at it as a learning experience. Negative images can provoke much-needed conversation (internally or with others) and for me, they often prompt my education in an area that I wasn’t well versed in. For instance, blackface is featured in some classic films, and its history is something I never knew much about. That said, seeing its use in movies prompted me to do some research, which led me first to TCM’s short documentary about blackface and Hollywood. I love how TCM strives to provide context and seeks to educate viewers on uncomfortable, contentious subjects so we can appreciate classic films while still acknowledging and understanding the history and the harmful stereotypes some perpetuated.

SK: It’s also been a learning experience for me. Though I started watching movies as a little girl in the late 1950s, thanks to TCM and Warner Archive I realized that a lot of films were taken out of circulation because of racist elements. TCM has not only screened a lot of these films but they have accompanied the movies with conversations exploring the stereotypes in the films.  

CC: As a Black woman, negative images of the past continue to be a lesson on how Blacks, as well as other minorities, were seen (and in some cases still are seen) through an accepted mainstream American lens. On one hand, it's true, during the depiction of these films the majority of Black Americans were truly relegated to servant roles, so it stands to reason that depictions of Black America would be within the same vein. What is triggering to me, are demeaning roles, and the constant exaggeration of the slow-minded stereotype, blackface. When you look at the glass ceiling that minority performers faced from those in power, the need for suppression and domination is transparent because art can be a powerful agent of change. I dealt with the negative images of the past by knowing and understanding that the depiction being given to me was someone else's narrative, of who they thought I was, not who I actually am.

TB: I’m not sure HOW I learned to deal with negative images. Again, I think it might go back to me compartmentalizing.

I don’t know if this is right or wrong…but I’ve always found myself identifying with the leads and their struggles. As a human being, I can certainly identify with losing a romantic partner, money troubles, losing a job…no matter the ethnicity.

In what ways have we evolved from the movies of the classic era?

KL: I think we are more socially and culturally conscious now when it comes to stories, diversity and representation on screen and behind the scenes, which is a step forward. That said, while there's been growth, there's still much work to be done.

SK: I think this year’s crop of awards contenders show how things have evolved with Da 5 Bloods, Soul, One Night in Miami, Minari, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The United States Vs. Billie Holiday, Judas and the Black Messiah and MLK/FBI. 

But we still have a long way to go. I’d love to see more Native American representation in feature films; more Asian-American and Latino stories. 

CC: There are minority artists, writers, producers, directors, actors with the increasing capacity to create through their own authentic voice, thereby affecting the world, and a measurable amount of them are women! Generally speaking, filmmakers (usually male) have held the voice of the minority narrative as well as the female narrative. I agree with both writers above in the thought that it is progress, and I also agree, more stories of diversified races are needed. 

TB: One important way we've evolved from the movies made in the classic era by being more inclusive in casting. 

Are there any deal-breakers for you when watching a movie, regardless of the era, that make it hard to watch? 

KL: Physical violence in romantic relationships that's played as comedy is pretty much a dealbreaker for me. I mentioned above that I don't recommend Smarty (1934) to people, because when I finally watched it recently, it. was. tough. The way their abuse was painted as part of their relationship just didn’t sit well with me.

SK: Extreme racist elements and just as KL states physical violence. 

Regarding extreme racist elements, D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation (1915) is just too horrific to watch. I was sickened when I saw it when I was in grad school at USC 44 years ago and it’s only gotten worse. And then there’s also Wonder Bar (1934), the pre-code Al Jolson movie that features the Busby Berkeley black minstrel number “Goin’ to Heaven on a Mule.” Disgusting.

I also agree with KL about physical violence in comedies and even dramas. I recently revisited Private Lives (1931) with Norma Shearer and Robert Montgomery based on Noel Coward’s hit play. I have fond memories of seeing Maggie Smith in person in the play when I was 20 in the play and less than fond memories of watching Joan Collins destroying Coward’s bon mots.  

But watching the movie again, you realized just how physically violent Amanda and Elyot’s relationship is-they are always talking about committing physical violence-”we were like two violent acids bubbling about in a nasty little matrimonial battle”; “certain women should be struck regularly, like gongs”-or constantly screaming and throwing things.  

There is nothing funny or romantic about this.

KL: I try to put Birth of a Nation out of my mind, but S.K. did remind me of it again, and movies featuring extreme racism at their core like that are also dealbreakers; I totally agree with her assessment. I understand the technological achievements, but I think in the long run, especially in how it helped revive the KKK, the social harm that film brought about outdoes its cinematic innovations.

CC: Like S.K., Wonder Bar immediately came to mind. Excessive acts of violence, such as in the film Natural Born Killers (1994). I walked out of the theatre while the film was still playing. I expected violence, but the gratuitousness was just too much for me. I also have an issue with physical abuse, towards women and children. This is not to say I would not feel the same way about a man. However, when males are involved, it tends to be a fight, an exchange of physical energy, generally speaking, when we see physical abuse it is perpetuated towards women and children.

TB: I have a couple of moments that pinch my heart when I watch a movie. It doesn’t mean I won’t watch the movie. It just means I roll my eyes…verrrrry hard.

-Blackface…that’s a little rough; especially when the time period OF the movie is the ‘30s or ‘40s film.

-Not giving the Black actors a real name to be called by in the film (Snowflake…Belvedere…Lightnin’). I mean, can’t they have a regular name like Debbie or Bob?

-When the actor can’t do the simplest of tasks, i.e. Butterfly McQueen answering the phone in Mildred Pierce (1945) and not knowing which end to speak into. What up with that?

Are there elements they got right that we still haven’t caught up to? 

KL: I don't know if the pre-Code era got sex right (and sensationalism was definitely something studios were going for) but in some ways, I feel that subject was treated as somewhat more accepted and natural back then. Of course, what was shown onscreen in the classic era was nowhere near the extent it is today, but the way the Production Code put a lid on sex (in addition to many other factors) once again made it into more of a taboo topic than it is or should be.

One thing I particularly hate in modern movies is gratuitous violence, and it perplexes and angers me how America weighs violence vs. sex in general through the modern ratings system: films are more likely to get a pass with violence, mostly landing in PG-13 territory and thus making them more socially acceptable, while sex, something natural, is shunned with strictly R ratings. Obviously, there are limits for both, but I think the general thinking there is backwards today.

CC: The elegance, the sophistication, the precision, the dialogue, the intelligence, the wit. The fashion! The layering of craftsmanship. We aren't fans of these films for fleeting reasons, we are fans because of their timeless qualities.

I'm going to sound like a sentimental sap here, ladies get ready. I think they got the institution of family right. Yes, I do lean towards MGM films, so I am coloring my opinion from that perspective. Even if a person hasn't experienced what would have been considered a "traditional family" there is something to be said about witnessing that example. Perhaps not so much of a father and a mother, but to witness a balanced, functioning, loving relationship. What it "looks like" when a father/mother/brother/sister etc. genuinely loves another family member.

I was part of the latch-key generation, and although my parents remained together, many of my friends' parents were divorced. Most won't admit it, but by the reaction to the documentary [Won't You Be My Neighbor?, 2018], the bulk of them went home, sat in front of the TV and watched Mr. Rogers tell them how special they were because their parents certainly were not. We don't know what can "be" unless we see it.

[rose7420]

Captured

A request from @laurenandloki! Such a great prompt! And to everyone please don't hesitate to send me requests, I am more than happy to write them!

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omg I feel bad that I keep asking you to write scenarios! Ahh are you sure it’s ok that I submit them?😅🥺❤️ What if Loki has been talking to this teen borrower now for a little while every time he spots them borrowing stuff in his room? Loki has grown quite attached to her as well because they always talk whenever she comes out to get supplies.

But one night, Loki waits for her to come to his room for their talk, but she never comes. Loki knows that something is wrong because she’s never late. That’s when he could hear the Avengers out in the kitchen asking questions and faint crying/whimpering since his room is really close to where the kitchen is. He teleports to where the Avengers are at and his heart sinks. His little friend had gotten herself caught and was sitting in a jar now being stared at like an animal. Loki freaks out on everyone, and once he’s holding his friend close to him, he yells at them once more for scaring a child and retreats back to his room with her pressed to his chest all while she’s clinging to his shirt🥺

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Y/N jumped out of her bed with glee. She had just finished the book that Loki, her new buddy, had loaned her. He of course had to shrink it to a manageable size for her to hold. The ending of the book had been amazing and full of suspense and she was aching for what was to come next. She slipped her woolen slippers on, all of her clothes were made out of wool since borrowers like herself were sensitive to the elements. Sneaking out of her home was a doable but exhausting task. Since Loki wasn’t the only person in the building so she had to watch out for others. Humans weren’t cruel people but their curiosity caused them to do unspeakable things, with no care to how it would affect others.

She lived in a small hole by the kitchen counter. It was easier to get food, supplies and simply keep an eye on the news around the bullying since everyone usually gathered in the kitchen and spoke occasionally. Peeking out and double-checking to be sure there were no humans around, she sprinted to Loki’s room. However, she had not checked well enough.

“What is that?” A curious voice said.

“Such a little thing aren’t ya?.” Her heart sped with fear and her little legs pumped furiously with power in each step begging to reach Loki’s room.

She’d be safe, get to see Loki, start reading her new bo-

Then she ran into a soft, firm wall. A pale wall.

A palm.

Before she had recognized the situation she was in, her body was effortlessly scooped up and dropped roughly into a jar. She scrambled to her feet looking out the clear walls to be met with a giant face. A man stared back at her with curious brown eyes and short chestnut hair. Her heart pounded with panic as he shouted loudly to his companion. She covered her ears at the loudness of his tremendous voice, causing her to drop Loki’s shrunken book.

The strange man picks her glass prison up to bring her closer to his eyes. The brown orbs blink with wonder and fascination staring at her like an animal at the zoo. Soon more pounding vibrates the air around her, indicating there are more giants coming nearer.

“Tony, whatcha got there?” Another man with wavy dark hair asks. He looks as if he is nervous to approach her.

Tony, the man who is apparently holding her captive shoves the jar into this new man’s hands. Y/N whimpers as her small body is thrown hard into the glass wall. Her shoulder aches with pain and unwanted tears escape her eyes.

“She’s so...small.” New guy says.

“Yeah I know right? Found her scurrying along the floor. Imagine if there are more of her out there!” Tony remarks, and she already hears the plans of an experiment forming in his head. Her stomach fills with dread.

The new guy passes Tony the jar containing her back to him but Tony’s grip is slack. Her jar falls towards the floor waiting for a terrible breaking of glass and her bones. She floats in the air from the force of the fall and then suddenly she hits the bottom of the jar harshly landing on her already hurt shoulder and lets out a sharp cry of pain. A palm surrounds the glass, looking up she sees Tony staring down at her with wide eyes. Her attention is drawn back to her arm as white-hot pain flashes through the appendage. She starts sobbing from the blinding pain in her arm, the fear of being experimented on, and worst of all, never being able to see Loki again. She buries her face in her unhurt arm and lets her shirt soak her tears and the sound of her sobs.

Loki was worried. It had been a while since he had seen his small friend. She usually came to visit every other day, if not every day. However, he had not caught sight of her at all. Then he heard voices in the kitchen talking about experiments. He knew them to be Tony’s and Bruce’s. But the nearly indistinguishable whimpers he recognized to be Y/N’s. He rushed to the kitchen in a blind panic and mad fury. His eyes fell upon a troubling scene that broke his heart. Y/N was in a small glass jar, weeping. Tony held her loosely and Bruce stared with wide eyes doing absolutely nothing to help the small being. Loki rushed forward and snatched the jar out of Tony’s hands being careful not to cause Y/N to slam into the side. He immediately teleported right back to his room, deciding to deal with the two scientists later and focus on Y/N as of now. He tilted the jar to the side and gave Y/N the chance to come out of her own accord. She paid no attention to his offer, her shoulders shaking with sobs and leftover fear. He gently tilted the jar causing her to slide onto his palm, a small object falling alongside her. A book. She must have been on her way to return it to him.

He didn’t know why but a pang of sorrow and guilt flashed through his heart.

He tenderly caressed her back in a circling motion with a single fingertip. He hushed her cries, not to tell her feelings weren’t valid, but only so she could calm down and they could speak. A few tears later her sobs quieted and he slowly brought her to his eyes, able to see her swollen, red eyes and the trails of leftover tears.

“Oh, my poor dear. I am so terribly sorry. I should’ve been there sooner. Please forgive me.” Loki watched her as she raised her eyes to meet his. He smiled reassuringly trying to ease her spirits even more. She tried a small smile of her own and held her arms out towards Loki. He delicately pressed her form against his cheek and felt her body instantly relax as she spread her arms a laughable distance over the expanse of his cheek. After a few more tender-hearted moments he released her.

“I see you brought the book back, did you enjoy it?” He picked the tiny postage-stamp-sized book off his palm and grew it back to its normal size. She nodded vigorously to his question.

“I loved it! Do you have the next one?” She said eagerly, standing up in his palm. He laughed at her excitement, glad to see her fear gone.

“Woah, my little bookworm. I don’t want you falling off.” He gently nudged her to a sitting position, immediately concerned by the pained look that had crossed her face as he did so.

“Are you hurt dear?” Loki pressed.

“It’s my arm, I got hurt in the j-jar,” Y/N said with a stutter in her voice at the end, her fear of the past entrapment obvious. A shot of anger flared through Loki.

“Let us look at that shall we?” Loki said as a question, but Y/N knew it was a demand.

He carried her over to his clean, paperless desk and set her down carefully to not hurt her arm any further. He walked off momentarily to gather supplies, returning with scissors, an elastic wrap, and some sort of cream. She watched as he sat down, his towering torso taking her entire eyeline up. She knew not to be afraid of Loki anymore as she had been in the past. Though he was a giant and towered over her without effort he proved to be gentle and able to hold his curiosity at bay showing care for others’ feelings, especially hers.

She giggled at how concentrated he was on the task of cutting down a wrap that wouldn’t swallow her arm.

“Do tell do you find so amusing?” Loki asked not looking up from his work. He sometimes came off intimidating but Y/N knew he only taunted and did not mean it at heart.

“You’re so focused Loki.” She admitted.

“Well Y/N, I don’t know if it has occurred to you but your smaller size does require a smaller bandage than mine would, therefore I must cut it to the proper size for you.” He looked up at her shooting her a grin.

Y/N smiled at his sarcastic remark. He finished cutting it down to size and asked her to extend her arm. He rubbed cream onto her sore arm informing her that it would take away the pain. And it did instantly, the cool cream sent the uncomfortable heat away. Then he began to wrap her arm with surprising technique, especially for someone so small. She only reached the second joint of his thumb, and his other fingers surmounted her tiny frame.

“Let’s find that other book shall we?” Loki asked presenting a helpful palm at her feet. She tried to climb on with one arm but apparently one needed two arms to do that. Sensing her struggle, Loki pinched her waist with practiced care, lifting her to his shoulder where she was eventually going to go anyways. He let her off onto the broad platform and steadied her with a finger curled around her waist when she stumbled.

“Thank you Loki,” Y/n said curling up next to his neck, the pounding of his pulse a welcomed sensation.

His voice vibrated her as he spoke: “You’re welcome my little bookworm.”

[hakasims]

Shitty Luca Movie Recap, Episode 4

Can’t Watch Nina, Even For Luca?

Don’t Worry, Me Neither. Goodbye.

.

..

...

Ok, fine, I’ll talk about the damn thing.

So it’s a warm September night, and I’m in the mood for a Luca Marinelli feature. In my infinite wisdom I choose Nina. “It’s directed by a woman,” I reason, “and women know what’s up.” ‘What’s up’ in this particular case is code for ‘how to frame beautiful men for the female gaze’. Because women can be auteurs, too, and being an auteur means making movies about your own personal wank material.

Turns out, sometimes a woman’s wank material consists less of a gorgeous male form and more of fascist architecture. We’ll discuss the former in due time, but for now, what’s Nina even about? Well, at its core it’s a simple story about a young woman who doesn’t know what she wants, set against the backdrop of the Rome that is almost entirely empty due to most people leaving for the summer. This could have been a fairly straightforward coming-of-age film, but Nina is too indie and up its own ass for that. Literally nothing of note happens in this movie, and it’s all long static wide shots of empty streets, endless stairs, and domineering largeness of Rome’s most famous fascist buildings such as the Palace of Italian Civilization, the Sapienza University of Rome, Palazzo dei Congressi, and, most prominently, the Fountains Hall. (Google what they look like if you don’t know.) Now, I’m guessing those locations weren’t chosen by accident. They could have easily added to the creepiness of the movie — and I’m assuming creepiness was intended; otherwise how do you explain these hoverboarding nuns?

Anyway, the employment of the locations could have been atmospheric and thematic had the shots not been so bland. But they are. Bland, flat, and always looking the same no matter what is happening in the scene. Usually audiences are willing to sit through slow uneventful movies because of interesting visuals or characters worthy of attention, but Nina has neither. The titular character herself is tedious. Even her bad fashion sense is bad in a boring way that doesn’t tell you anything about her. Is she stuck in perpetual adolescence? Is she searching to get in touch with her sensuality? Who knows. The only thing I’m certain of is that she needs to learn to tuck her tops into her bottoms.

Nina spends her days giving singing lessons, going to Chinese calligraphy classes, eating cake, exercising and taking midnight walks in the empty city. She wants to go to China in September — it’s the closest thing to a goal she has — yet she’s done no preparations, and instead of learning Mandarin she’s studying calligraphy. And she’s real bad at it, too.

There are reoccurring visual elements in the movie besides the vast emptiness: stairs, white columns, a jogger, a red dress, animals… You’d think those were very straightforward symbols, but they’re used too sporadically and inconsistently to hold any meaning. For example, animals. Nina is tasked with both helping out in a pet store and house-sitting an apartment with a German shepherd (a good boy named Homer), a guinea pig and a tank full of fish. The instructions she’s given are absurd, like feeding the dog sleeping pills and putting the guinea pig on a diet. And then there’s a supposedly American TV show always playing in and out of diegesis about dogs living in cages and swimming happily in pools, and it looks and sounds like a video off the political section on the dog version of YouTube. It contains timeless classics like “You are a dog born in the age of consumerism” and “Depression is an evil illness now spreading amongst dogs of every breed, dogs belonging to every social class.” The butter commercial from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend could never. And I wish the whole movie was as surreal as this TV program but unfortunately it’s as bland and directionless as Nina herself.

And boy is it directionless. There aren’t any subplots in the movie, no cause and effect, no acts, no structure, no flow; only scenes that happen, and I can’t even find any reasons for the order in which they happen. The scenes also don’t start or end; they just interrupt each other, not leaving any emotional impact. For example, there’s a scene where Nina sees her future self. She’s on one of those midnight walks with the good boy Homer when she sees a couple being romantic. The woman is wearing a long red dress, and the man is in all black. The shot is wide, so it’s impossible to see their faces, but the woman is obviously Nina:

And the man is definitely Luca. I recognized his ass. I’m not joking, guys. It’s his ass:

Also I was later directed to the website of the photographer who took the set photos, and yes, it’s Nina and Luca.

I never forget an ass.

Anyway, Nina, who at this point hasn’t properly met Luca’s character, Fabrizio, sees herself from the future acting romantic with him, and doesn’t react. We don’t even know if she recognizes herself or him or whether it’s even a real scene or a dream. How are we supposed to empathize with a heroine who isn’t allowed to react to her environment?

Whatever, it’s time to talk about Fabrizio. He plays the cello and he’s obnoxious. That’s it. He first appears as a patron of Caffé Palombini, the real-world café Nina frequents (and buys her cakes at). She’s drinking her usual milk shake and reading. At some point, their eyes meet, but neither says anything, and then Nina gets up and runs after the good boy Homer who decided to take a little stroll by himself. She leaves all her things behind: her milk shake, her handbag, at least three books, a whole stack of paper for calligraphy, and her diary. It’s obvious she’s going to come back as soon as she gets the dog. And yet before her feet are even out of frame, Fabrizio gets up, goes to her table and fucking steals her diary!

His next several appearances are random and sporadic, and it looks like he’s stalking Nina, but by the time of his first actual scene she is following him for some reason. Obviously, he can’t let a woman outcreep him, so he ambushes her:

He tells her blankly, “You’re following me,” but I think this scene deserves better dialogue. Thankfully, we have a whole well of predator/maiden media to pull from.

Though I personally believe this is the most appropriate line:

Fabrizio lets Nina know he has her diary in the dickiest way possible: he quotes from it to let her know that he’s read it. He then informs her that he’ll only give it back to her if she continues following him. And it’s not blackmail; “it’s an agreement.” What an asshole! I’m weeping for the dignified cuckoldry of Joseph.

And what was the purpose of that “agreement” plot point if the next time they meet is by chance? Quirky love interest writing, duh. So quirky that the accidental meeting happens when Nina is walking past a phone booth where Fabrizio is… doing a phone prank? I don’t know, I got nothing. Anyway, he’s annoyed their meeting is unintentional on Nina’s part, but he returns her diary, and I guess they start dating? He watches her sing once with what could only be described as a complete absence of emotions:

In the next scene she watches him play the cello after which they go on a date. Nina is wearing the red dress from the vision, but Fabrizio’s shirt is different. I fucking give up.

Their next (second?) date is a romantic dinner on Nina’s roof, and they’re dancing for entirely too long. She then tells him she’s scared of how much she’s enjoying his company, gives him a ridiculously chaste kiss goodnight and… completely ghosts him afterwards. And if you didn’t dislike Fabrizio before, you will now as he starts calling Nina at ungodly hours (including 5:30 am) and leaving her very whiny and increasingly more passive-aggressive, entitled, and accusatory voicemails. At some point he even leaves a voicemail for the fucking dog! He’s like, “Homer, I’m worried, meet me at the café.” Again, quirky love interest writing: extortion, phone pranks and a voicemail for a dog.

Fabrizio then lets Nina know he’ll be leaving town in three days in case she’d like to see him one last time or whatever. And she never fucking does! In any other movie she’d be chasing through the airport, but here she just drops him like he’s a well-tucked shirt! She tells the kid she’s befriended (she hangs out with an eleven-year-old boy the whole movie, don’t worry about it) that she’s afraid to be “like everyone else”, with a job and a boyfriend, so she doesn’t even say goodbye to Fabrizio. At some point she goes for a walk with the good boy Homer, and Fabrizio is also there, and they just miss each other. Even fate isn’t interested in that romance.

And then all the fascist buildings get covered in gigantic paper figurines, and the red-dressed Nina runs into Fabrizio’s arms. Because of course.

Nina is one of those movies where the main theme — a struggle to grow up — is obvious, but the rest of the elements are a mess only the writer-director could decipher. And I don’t really care. Again, I had to read Japanese postmodernists at university. What I do care about is the male form I mentioned at the start. I know I have no one but myself to blame for my expectations of how the director should have framed Luca’s body or face, but it’s one thing to frame him blandly and a completely different thing to isolate him as the only character (or actor) she’s deeply uninterested in filming competently. Everyone else in the movie gets their fair share of close-ups and decent lighting whilst Luca — whose name is literally second in the credits — gets, um, neglected.

This is his introduction:

These are literally all his close-ups:

Should I even count this last one? What’s with the lighting? Like, this is as well-lit as his face gets:

Oh, the shot is too wide and you can’t see his face properly? Well, tough poop:

Are you kidding me with this shit?

Nina may not be objectively the most terrible of the movies Luca’s been in: I’d argue both Mary of Nazareth and L’ultimo terrestre are worse, as is Slam, whose time’s a-coming. Nor is it the movie where Luca appears the least (The Great Beauty’s literal one minute of screen time is saying hi). But it’s the only movie I have no reasons to watch: it’s blandly shot, poorly structured, badly themed — and it’s actively obstructing Luca’s beauty and charisma. So no matter which film you’ll ask me to do next, at least in terms of the visual component of my posts, we have nowhere to go but up.

[kiribakuhappiness]

Fic ask game 17 and 6?

Fic Ask Game:

17: What has been the proudest moment for you so far since you started writing?

This is gonna sound so absolutely cheesy and cringe because it really doesn’t have much to do with my own writing at all but - whenever I get messages from other people (usually anons) who tell me that they’ve started writing again because they’ve been following along with my blog for a bit and I inspired them to just say fuck it and get back into it (or to start writing for the very first time in general!)

Seriously, trust me, I know how dumb that all probably sounds, but I think that is quite possibly the coolest thing I will ever do; inspire other people to enjoy the same things that I do. The internet is such a weird, wonderful, horrifying place because everyone is so encouraging and friendly until suddenly you’re Doing The Thing and then everyone seems to develop some kind of a vendetta against you because you’re making moves when they’re not or you’re not making The Right Moves or you’re making the Right Moves but you’re not from the Right Demographic to be making those kinds of moves and honestly? I’m fucking over it.

If you’re not confident enough in your own damn writing and you’re not having fun with it and are completely content writing literally just for yourself, then you need to a choose a different hobby/career path. Thinking that someone else is going to “steal your thunder away” or whatever else just because they write a similar story to yours or write a story that you’ve been thinking about writing for a while is a big ole red fucking flag - and if you’ve never heard anyone say this before, then listen to me real closely when I’m telling you right now.

Your story is just as unique of a creation as you are - even if you’re using the same old damn tropes to tell the same old damn story. I can write a Fake Dating story and litter it with hundreds of overused tropes and as long as I’m actually enjoying what I’m writing and as long as I’m giving it a proper effort to make it my own, then there is literally no one else who can write the same story as me, even if all of the elements and characters within the story are exactly the same. They won’t be able to replicate the way that I express certain emotions through the characters, they won’t be able to simulate the flow of a carefully constructed conversation/interaction like I can, they won’t be able to nail the imagery or the flowery sentence structures or the scattered symbolism or whatever else it is about your writing that makes you LOVE WRITING so damn much.

So whenever I get a long rambling Ask about how someone on this random blogsite in this random corner of the internet read my KiriBaku stories and were inspired to try writing or picking up writing again as a hobby? Bro - there is absolutely nothing else that I could ever create that would be cooler and make me feel more proud of myself than that. I truly fucking mean that.

6: What are some topics you will never write about?

This is a really interesting question because I know that a lot of people get really defensive about these kinds of things - whether it’s because they feel really passionately about a certain topic or perhaps they feel like it’s not their place to write about certain things, the reasons vary and the reactions to them vary even more.

For me (personally); there is nothing I won’t write if I have good reason for writing it.

This isn’t me tooting the ole “I Can Write Whatever I Want Cause Fuck Censorship” horn, because quite frankly I find that mindset to be kind of childish and ignorant to have (don’t misinterpret what I just fucking said, you internet scoundrels. I am not calling the act of having that kind of mindset childish or ignorant, I am saying that usually the people who have that kind of mindset are younger or uniformed in some way).

Just because you can write about something doesn’t mean you should.

Recently, I got some rather colorful Anon Hate about Cold Turkey, and honestly, I was expecting it to happen at some point to some degree, and while I won’t get into all of the gory details because like I’ve said many times before this blog space is for positive interactions and I feel like things like that are best left between the sender and the blog owner (though if you’d really like a response from me to something like that - try taking yourself off Anon next time so we can have a proper chat). But I understand where they were coming from when they sent it, which is why I chose to hear what they were saying but not directly engage.

To them - literally for all they know - I am just some random person on the internet who wrote some smut and that on its own is enough to condemn me right off the bat. Dude, I get it. I am literally the easiest target in that regard, internet trolls and those who feel they have a social justice to impart will obviously trickle into my Asks after posting a story like that because that’s how they feel and nothing I say or do can take that away from them (and it shouldn’t). It doesn’t hurt my feelings, I don’t take “You’re Horrible, go Choke” very seriously from an internet stranger, and that’s mostly because I know for a fact that person probably didn’t even attempt to read my story before they sent me all of that unnecessary hate.

It wasn’t just a smut story - it was a story that contained smut, and there’s a difference.

There are many people who use smut purely as a way to let loose on some of their most wild fantasies (whether those fantasies are morally grounding or not is a totally different topic), and honestly, as long as it doesn’t involve anything unsavory (and you all know EXACTLY what I’m talking about and if you don’t then bless you, you are what’s right with this world) then it really isn’t any of my damn business what they choose to write about on the internet.

I’m not their fucking mom. I’m not their therapist. I’m not their dictator or their president and, quite frankly, they are NOT my responsibility. I can look at something and be like, damn, that’s kind of fucked up in a way that my own emotional trauma doesn’t cope well with (I am not a foot fetish person blah gag sorry I just don’t get the appeal LMAO), but then I can just scroll past it and move on with my day.

But writing a story that contains smut doesn’t mean the story itself isn’t trying to make some kind of a point, or portray some type of healthy boundaries within a sexually active relationship (whatever relationship that may be), or try and enforce the idea that just because you have a connection with someone and just because it feels good, that doesn’t mean things will just magically work out if nobody ever openly discusses what they’re feeling.

That was literally the whole point of Cold Turkey, and I think that if the Anon who sent me that hate were to have actually read the story, then they probably would have recognized that and they might have even appreciated the overall message (or maybe they still wouldn’t, and that’s fine too)!

In the story, Katsuki believes that being attracted to Kirishima is like having an addiction because it helps to put a mental barrier between himself and his emotions that he is so unequipped to handle, and so to combat those undesirable feelings, he reacts in a sexually deviant way because in the moment it feels like the right thing to do in order to get what he wants without having to deal with any of the stuff that he doesn’t. But then he comes to realize that there’s far more to loving another person than just your sexual attraction towards them (which we see when there starts to become this emotional distance between them despite having been such good friends beforehand and despite having taken their relationship to the next level), so then he tries to defensively shoot to the opposite end of the spectrum and ignore literally everything that he is feeling in order to stumble back into the Friend Zone and maintain the relationship that they had before they were ever sexually active with each other - which he then realizes isn��t enough for him anymore. Kirishima was the perfect catalyst for this situation because at the end of the story, he showed Katsuki that there can be a happy medium between them, where they can exist together as friends and as lovers, and how all of that messy emotional stuff can still be portrayed in a healthy, sexy, fulfilling story that keeps the reader invested without falling victim to the same old toxic relationship tropes that usually come with this type of story.

There’s nothing I won’t write about if I have a good reason for it. Pretending that things don’t happen in real life and so shouldn’t happen in fiction is the same as turning a blind eye to gay relationships in fiction as being nothing more than either just “A Light-Hearted Wholesome Fic” or “Ravage Crazy Fantasy Sex.” There is a healthy medium, with beneficial values and positive outcomes, because Love is still Love and the experiences we all go through are one in the same.

Don’t let other people tell you differently. We are all humans, and we all deserve to know that the love we feel for others is in no way deviant or forbidden or taboo (whether that be with another man, or another woman, or another non-binary, or another of any of the other various labels that we like to give that make us easier to separate and manipulate and isolate from each other).

So if I write something with smut in it, or I write something with excessive violence, or I write something unsavory, I’m not doing it for shits and giggles or because I get some kind of sick pleasure from it. I’m not trying to provide shock value and I’m not trying to pry off of other people’s traumatic experiences (I’m not even trying to show any of my own because that’s my own business!)

I think a writer’s responsibility, especially in fiction, is to tell a story; a realistic story, a relatable story, a funny story, a heart-warming story, a sexy story, a heart-wrenching story. And yes, it’s all just fun and games, and no, people probably shouldn’t take it as seriously as they do, but that’s the great thing about participating in fandoms and choosing to be on the internet, everyone has their own opinions and beliefs (whether you like or not), and everyone has advice to give and wisdom to share and not everyone is filled with malicious intent if you’re willing to accept all of that for what it is.

These Ask responses got crazy long LMAO sorry sorry!! I just had so much to say and I wanted to say it in a way where I could get my point of inclusion and perspective across! I feel very passionately about these kinds of things and I don’t generally get to discuss them so openly so I really appreciate anyone who has made it this far! Thank you so much for the questions!! <3

[lierenprotectionsquad]

Path To Isolation

Drafted (1.15.21)

I wrote this as a salt fic about my transphobic teacher who publicly shamed, bullied and humiliated me because of my pronouns. It’s sort of inspired by RWBY, sort of not. Eike is inspired Jaques Schnee as well as my old teacher, and Robin is inspired by Weiss Schnee as well as me. This contains direct lines from Jeff Williams’ Path To Isolation, as well as Pyrrha Nikos’ destiny mentality and elements resembling a reverse My R by Hikaru Station. I purposefully over exaggerated the ridicule of boys in theater and colorblind artists, as I have never heard of anyone in today’s day and age facing such hurtful criticism for those things. That is not to say that it might not happen to people! Anyway, enjoy this attack on my transphobic teacher!

UPDATE! (2.6.21) Turns out I might actually be going back to that cursed school after all...

Once upon a time, there was a rich man named Eike. He wasn't very appreciated by the working class, for his ways were unethical. The lower class, the poor, worked in the mines while he sat comfortably in the big white house on the hilltop. He got richer with each day that passed, while the lower class hardly earned enough to survive. He wasn't very appreciated by the working class, and his shadow fell dark upon his children. Robin was very different from their siblings because society had rules. Rules the other two were happy to follow, but not Robin. Robin had never felt like a part of society, yet couldn't figure out why. Until they could. They were unlike most others, and Eike wouldn't have any of it. He tried desperately to change his child's view, but Robin has always been one to stand firm in their opinions and feelings. "Why can't you be like everyone else?" he asked. "Why can't I be like myself?" Robin asked. "It isn't normal. I refuse to relate to something I've never seen before! You're not special!" He said. "No," said Robin, "I'm not special. But are you really so singleminded that you cannot open yourself up for something new?" "Excuse me?" He said. Now he was angry. Robin could see it. "It isn't even new. There are many people everywhere who are like me!" They screamed. "Well then, why don't you go to them." Said Eike, and then he left, leaving Robin in their sorrows.

"Why," they said, "Why can I not live as myself having to meet ridicule from those I once trusted?" Robin had to look around themself, for they could not think of a solution. They walked towards their room but stopped in the stairway. "What if I fell down the stairs? Then all my sorrows would vanish. No one could hurt and mock me anymore. I would be free." They stood there for a while. No, Robin could not do that. They would lose. They walked the rest of the way up to their room and looked in the mirror. "Who is that?" They asked themself, "why do I not know this person looking back at me? I know who I am. But how can I find myself if I'm constantly forced to conform?

They needed to isolate themself from the enemy, and that would not happen in the city. So in the cover of darkness, they left their home. Robin travelled for three days before running into someone. A boy holding a book. "Hello," said Robin. "Hello," said the boy. "Why are you out here alone?" They asked. "I wanted to be an actor, but everyone I know says acting is for girls, so I left." He answered. "Do you believe in destiny?" asked Robin. "That depends on how you look at it. I don't believe in any predetermined fate," he said. And Robin knew where he was going with it. "But a final goal." They said. "I am on a journey to find a place for myself where no one will mock me. Do you wish to come with me? You can perform for me on our journey." The boy smiled wide. "Yes." He said. And they continued their journey together.

They travelled for another three days before they met someone else. This was a girl who sat by the road and cried. "Hello," said Robin. "Hello," said the girl. "Why are you out here alone?" They asked. "I wanted to be a singer, but no one has faith in me because I am afraid of singing in front of others, so I left." She answered. "Do you believe in destiny?" asked Robin. "Well, I don't think I believe in any predetermined fate. But rather," she said. And Robin knew where she was going with it. "A final goal." They said. "We are on a journey to find a place for ourselves where no one will mock us. Do you wish to come with us? You can sing for us on our journey." The girl smiled wide. "Yes." She said. And they continued their journey together.

They travelled for another three days before they met someone else. This was a girl with a paintbrush in her hair. "Hello," said Robin. "Hello," said the girl. "Why are you out here alone?" They asked. "I wanted to be a painter, but everyone says I'll never make it because I do not see colour like they do, so I left." She answered. "Do you believe in destiny?" asked Robin. "No. Or, maybe. Not those predetermined fates. But rather," she said. And Robin knew where she was going with it. "A final goal." They said. "We are on a journey to find a place for ourselves where no one will mock us. Do you wish to come with us? You can paint us a picture of our journey." The girl smiled wide. "Yes." She said. And they continued their journey together.

They travelled long, long and longer than long before they met one more. This person was different from the others. "Hello," said Robin. "Hello," they said. "Why are you out here alone?" Asked Robin. "My name is Clove, and I am on a journey. Every time I see myself in the mirror, it is harder to recognize myself. I see only who they want me to be and that I cannot stand for. I know who I am, but I can't find myself when I'm constantly forced to conform. I am on a journey to find a place for myself where the society I grew up in cannot reach me." They answered. The four travellers could not believe it—one like them. One who had already set out on their own journey with a clear goal. One like Robin. "Who are you? And what are you doing here?" Asked Clove. "Broken artists, outcasts of society. We are like you, on the hunt for a place in the world." Answered Robin. "The path to isolation is littered with the dreams that lay destroyed," said Clove to themself, "but maybe not anymore. Do you believe in destiny?" No one had words. "When I think of destiny, I don't think of a predetermined fate you can't escape. But rather some sort of final goal, something you work towards your entire life. What if something comes to show you that your destiny can be achieved? Or what if something comes along that will let you fulfill your destiny in an instant?" "What?" Robin asked. Clove was making no sense to them. "I believe that it is my destiny to find a place where I can just be me. And what if you are my chance to fulfill it?" Said Clove. "I want to come with you!" "Then come with us." Said Robin. And the five continued on their journey together.

They travelled for many days, but they were not tired. For they travelled with laughter and song and plays and stories. They shared with each other their dreams and taught each other their crafts. Robin thought they would have to find their place alone. And so did the boy with the book, the girl who cried and the girl with the paintbrush in her hair. Clove thought they would have to do it alone. But they found each other and realized that they were the goal they had all been reaching for. The path to isolation was not so isolated after all.

[drunken-drengr]

2, 13, 22, 31, 50 for Ragnar and Karrie? Or Mehri if you wanna!

Hej! Thanks for the ask, I’m gonna go all three because honestly, my ocs need some good lovin’

Do they wear perfume/cologne? If so what scents do they prefer?

For Karrie and Ragnar, that’s a hard no; but Mehri does! She always enjoys scenting herself with nice smelling flower and plant extracts that her clan collects/trades for. Mostly just because she likes smelling nice, makes her feel nice, but also because her girlfriend enjoys it on her. Mehri loves all scents, but lavender and grass scents seem to be her- and her girlfriend’s- favorite.

Do they enjoy poetry?

Karrie has always been an avid poetry consumer, or just literature in general. Unfortunately she could never seem to get her hands on it often when she was a younger Carta member, but when she could, she cherished it. Analyzed and broke down the shit out of it, but enjoyed it nonetheless. She has no issues with understanding deeper themes and messages in poetry, something Solas recognized and implored. Sometimes they’ll just sit together, in the thick dust and dark of Skyhold’s library and just read in silence.

Ragnar enjoys it, but there is a stark contrast between the dwarven poetry he grew up reading and surface poetry. While he loves reading surface poetry, he will admit, he can have a hard time understanding it when it contains more abstract and less literal ideas and themes. Morrigan has resigned herself to sitting in his tent at 3 am and helping him understand, watching him slowly make progress throughout the night. She’s proud, but like hell she’ll admit it.

Mehri does not. She thinks it’s nice and all, but poetry is simply not her cup of tea. She’d much rather sit down and listen to Dalish stories around the campfire with the clan’s young, thank you very much.

Would they ever betray someone for money?

For all three- never. Karrie and Ragnar have a code of honor, and betrayal is strictly off the table. Theyre not conventionally nice people, they’re just honorable. Mehri is the opposite. She is simply too nice, but wouldn’t be considered honorable, though she tries her best. She would betray someone given the right circumstances, but not for money.

What superpower would you choose for them and what would they choose for themselves? If they have one would they choose something else?

For Karrie, I’d choose shapeshifting. Think of how much more feral she’d be. Karrie would probably pick that for herself as well, because though she’d never admit it, that’s a class of magic that really intrigues her. Either that or elemental control.

For Ragnar, I’d pick invincibility, which he’d probably also pick for himself. Or perhaps he’d pick an uncanny reaction time? Speed?

Mehri- super strength. But she’d probably choose something fun for herself like phytokineses.

What is your favorite thing about them?

There’s a lot I like about Karrie; she’s my favorite (sorry Ragnar). I don’t think I could choose just one thing. Her indomitable spirit? Her aggressive nature? Her fiery locks and tattoos? I think my favorite thing about her is just her.

I like Ragnar’s irony. From Prince to exiled. He seems like such a tough, no-shit taking guy, but he likes it when Morrigan bosses him around and shows her teeth. Seems stoic but he’s an easy going guy, loves the surface.

[ncisfranchise-source]

Let the good times roll one more time!

NCIS: New Orleans signed off after seven seasons with a finale that mostly wraps up some lingering threads. Special Agent Dwayne Pride (Scott Bakula) marries Rita Devereaux (Chelsea Field), with Dr. Loretta Wade (CCH Pounder) officiating. In attendance for the intimate ceremony are his team — Tammy Gregorio (Vanessa Ferlito), Hannah Khoury (Necar Zadegan), Sebastian Lund (Rob Kerkovich), Patton Plame (Daryl “Chill” Mitchell), and Quentin Carter (Charles Michael Davis) — and his family — mother Mena (Joanna Cassidy), brother Jimmy (Jason Alan Carvell), and son Connor (Drew Scheid).

And while Connor’s mother Sasha (Callie Thorne) plans to take him into witness protection with her, when she sees him having fun at the wedding, she instead skips out on the marshals … and leaves him to stay with his dad.

TV Insider caught up with executive producers Jan Nash and Christopher Silber to find out what would’ve happened next.

The series ends on a positive note. Was that always the plan for the end of Season 7 or did anything change after you learned you weren’t coming back?

Christopher Silber: We would’ve probably ended with a bit of a cliffhanger or at least an open-ended idea that there is more trouble to come for our characters. When we found out that this was going to be the series finale, it was Jan who felt like, “Let’s have it have a positive ending without it making it feel like it’s an ending for our character, just an ending for the series. They will continue even if we don’t get to see them on their adventures. But let’s give them a win, let’s end on a high note.”

Would it have been more of a cliffhanger than Sasha being followed? An additional mystery?

Jan Nash: Sasha being followed probably would have been the end. I think we would have done a lot of the same elements, but we would have ended telling a story in that episode that would have leaned in a little bit more to her being in danger and when she pulled away, she was being followed. We would have had a sense that Season 8 would have opened with either her having already been harmed or seeing her be harmed perhaps. That investigation would have defined the beginning of Season 8.

It’s also fitting that the series ends with the Second Line. So was that part of the plan for the series finale whenever it was going to happen?

Christopher Silber: Not to be overly optimistic, but we knew that there would be a series finale, but we never had a plan in the seven seasons I was on the show for how we would end it. It felt right in a moment, that’s for sure.

At the end of the series, the team’s all staying put professionally. Is this a team you imagine continuing to work together for years or do you see any of them moving on?

Silber: I would say that they would work together for a while, but you never know where they might end up and that isn’t meant to be coy.

You really did a deep dive into family with Pride in these final episodes and it’s been so wonderful to see him getting his time with his mom, marrying Rita, getting to know his brother over the years, and having those moments with the son he didn’t know about. So what did you want to do there this season?

Silber: We’ve done so much with the man and put him through his paces throughout the years. We’ve shot him. He had an overwrought relationship with his father who was a criminal. He had to witness his father die. What we wanted when we delved into a new chapter of his family was to show how he evolved, how he didn’t have to be surrounded by so much chaos. By connecting with Rita and finally finding some grounding there and spending more time with his mother and then introducing the son character, we really gave him a full spectrum. When we met Pride in the original crossover with NCIS, he was recently separated, heading into a divorce, his daughter was going to college, and here we can end with Pride remarried, with a son, so it’s really full circle for him.

It seems like we got to see the acceptance that Pride and Jimmy had for who their father was through their conversations with Connor about who Sasha is.

Silber: Absolutely. That was another thing. Not to get too heavy about it, but as we as adults reach the place where our parents were when we were kids, we look at them and say, “Look at how you’re messing up.” For Pride, it’s realizing that it can get complicated even with the best of intentions. For him and Jimmy, they recognize that. Even in dealing with Sasha, someone who tries to kill him multiple times, he was able to see that she also contained multitudes.

Did you accomplish everything you wanted with Pride and Rita’s wedding — the actual ceremony, the celebration, and the lead-up to it?

Silber: Under the circumstances, meaning the COVID of it all, meaning that we were given a little bit of lead time, which we were grateful for, to know that this was the series finale, I am extremely proud and satisfied with how we did it. If we had more lead time or if we thought we were going to keep going, maybe it would have been grander, but I think it was appropriate to the show for sure.

Nash: I’m not sure it would’ve been bigger. We’ve never talked about this, but I felt like the intimacy of it was really beautiful and that the Second Line was really celebratory, particularly to people in New Orleans, who did all of that because they had to move it around a lot because there were some storms coming in. They did a magnificent job.

One of the most pleasant surprises of this final season was how much I enjoyed Hannah and Carter’s developing relationship. What did you like about exploring that? Do you think they could make it work or might him staying weigh on them a bit?

Nash: It was clear to us when we put them together procedurally earlier after Charles joined the show, they had a real chemistry. We started talking about that earlier and then decided we were going to just let everybody else see what was happening almost more before they saw what was happening. We had set Carter up as being a character who did not put down roots. He was not somebody who is interested in making connections, particularly in his work environment. That gave us an opportunity to bring in his mother and let him explore some of the things that might have gotten him to the place where he was that kind of person. And it really just made, I think, the journey of Season 7 really compelling for both of them. I’m going to believe — because the show in my mind continues — that they are gonna make it work and they’re going to be charming and adorable and happy for a very long time.

Tammy found a home in New Orleans with and away from the team, which she never would have imagined when she first arrived. Where did you want to leave her?

Silber: For all of our characters, we wanted to see them grow and change and evolve — certainly with the team as their family, but also in finding their home and finding their roots in New Orleans. For Tammy, when she arrived, she was someone who was thinking about finding her way out and unsure about the team and to be able to see her finally mark her own territory, own who she is and own what she wants to be, that was special for us.

Sebastian’s had quite the professional journey these past seven seasons, but he hasn’t been lucky in love. Is that something you would have changed if you had more time to wrap up the series?

Silber: Oh, I think so. He was a great example for us in that when the show started, he was the lab rat. He was someone who you wouldn’t expect to scout in the field and to be able to take that character, show his growth in an arc over the series into a very confident field agent who still remained interesting and funny, the adjustment didn’t change his character. It just matured him. But yes, I think if we’d had more time, we were always talking about finding him love. It just didn’t work out for him, but I’m sure in the future he will find the right woman.

We really got to see just how much Loretta does, for the city and for the team in these episodes. What did you want to showcase with her this season?

Nash: Obviously CCH is such an amazing actress and such an amazing presence that we just felt like the things that we wanted to talk about were stories that could very much be told through her character. We just realized that not only would she be able to do the things she’s always done on this show so effectively but also to explore her emotional life in a way that allowed us to take advantage of all the many gifts that CCH has. When we started the season, we knew we were going to lean into that character and the gifts of that actor. At the end of the day, it was all we could have hoped for and more.

Can you say anything about what else you would have liked to have explored if there was another season?

Silber: Certainly we would have wanted to explore and we were excited about exploring Pride’s relationship with his son and digging deep into that and seeing what that means to discover that you have a son who is nearly fully grown and to try to build a relationship and try to build those ties. It would be challenging for sure. We thought that the young man who played Connor was fantastic and there was great chemistry with Pride and with Jimmy as well. As well as solve incredibly interesting and fun Navy crimes.

You have NCIS Hawai’i coming up. Is there any chance we’ll hear more about the New Orleans team on there or do you know for sure that you won’t address it?

Silber: Never say never. … I’ll be a hundred percent honest with you. We are happy for all crossovers. It’s fun. I was fortunate enough to be involved in the NOLA and mothership crossovers the couple of times we did it. I know the shows like it, the writers like it, the actors like it, and the audiences like it.