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inlocusmads · 3 months

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so apparently PB has a book solely for their Indian audiences called 'the promise of forever' and being an Indian, of course I played it, like about a million times (mostly because it is a short read, I can get 15 diamonds) and I have some thoughts:

(if you don't wish to play the book, go ahead because there will be 'spoilers'?? it is a short book, so not really plot-twisty-things are involved)

firstly, the concept of arranged marriage depicted in the book feels like they watched 'Indian Matchmaking' on netflix and decided to cash in on that opportunity. The show in itself is very exaggerated and has many well-warranted criticisms towards it and you shouldn't take the concept of how matchmaking works in India from that show alone. It feels tone-deaf to the actual industry in India, its problems and so on. Now I don't really hold PB to a strickler for accuracy, but to market a book towards an Indian demographic and not do some proper research feels very.. weird

THE OUTFITS. for an indian family that is so hellbent on arranged marriages and their choice as gospel, it is funny how we get off-shoulder tops and glittery cocktail dresses. nowhere in actual hell would a family approve of wearing an off-shoulder top to a meeting with the son-in-law's family, like in the name of everything holy, PB, if you want to talk about how "orthodox" the MC's family is, you can't just reject this one key detail!!!

the love interest is an absolute piece of shit, by the way.

most accurate thing about this is the dad not giving a fuck about their first meeting, I love that (by the way, they used Dr Banerji's sprite and it is so fucking weird)

Also why the New York setting? I know a lot of first-gen immigrant parents do adhere to the arranged-marriage route but why New York though? While Hindu-Americans and Hindus in India usually share the same heritage, it doesn't mean their upbringing and the surroundings around them don't play a key role in how they perceive things. PB had an opportunity to really look into this, talking about culture-clashes but the book isn't too far different. You could have it in Kozhikode and it would still be.. the same.

All the more reason I think PB watched one episode of Indian Matchmaking and decided to just make this book and be like 'yay, we are going to write something for our Indian demographic and of course they'd relate to it! Oh wait-- you mean Indians in India and Indians in New York may have different experiences that can't be amalgamated into one? You mean I can't do this? That we need a sensitivity reader? Nah fuck that!' it is so fucking insulting.

Also Rishi's character (rishi is the love interest; yes, he is the only love interest; yes it's a 'he'; yes, there's no goc but points for realism I guess) is so not done well. Personally, yes, there's a preference towards cis men in Indian society - they're treated well, they're basically at the top of the food chain, but at the same time, the way he is that arrogant would NOT bode well with his family or MC's family. Like Harvard or not, he would be dropped right away. I know it is a common misconception that in Indian society, it's common for people to not take 'personality' into account while selecting a possible match for someone and it's all about their educational background, how much money they make, etc, but that's all in the past.

Arranged marriages in Hindu culture isn't always equated to abusive marriages or partners who are downright pieces of shits. Personality is a big BIG part and technically, MC should have a say. Doesn't matter if she's doing it for her parents, it is MC's life. And it isn't like the matchmaker runs out of options either. She probably has an armful of biodahtahs (if you get that reference, I am giving you a million cookies) and if Rishi isn't a match, they'd move onto the next one.

(Also it is ridiculously funny how 'arranged marriage' tropes in Western culture is equated to the 'closed proximity' trope but when you throw a couple of Indians in there, it is toxified ten-fold. Great job PB)

Now you could be like, "but Mads, it's a realistic portrayal of South Asian culture. Toxic arranged marriages do exist!" and I'm not negating that. But it would have been an empowering story if that were the plot and Rishi was a piece of shit as the narrative made him to be and MC found a way out.

But nope.

She marries him.

For a company that markets itself to be progressive, this book sure is a massive downgrade. It doesn't just villanize a character, it demonizes the whole culture. It reduces a culture to its stereotypes, even if the industry of arranged marriages in India has grown overtime and Indian society as a whole has become progressive in the past years. Or even better, Indian culture and tradition continuing to be associated with 'creepy, misogynstic men with an attitude problem' when in reality, we should be holding the person or the induvidual accountable, like how we do with actual misogynists. PB is doing an unimaginable horror here by saying this is 'accurate representation'.

The most unrealistic thing to happen is this exchange:

No Indian turns DOWN food. Please PB get this thing right. Like I don't care if Rishi is the worst person ever or if he claims himself to be the "rudest asshole in existence"; nobody turns down fucking home-cooked food. We'll just revoke their Indian citizenship entirely.

This whole portrayal of these two characters feels so... 90s. It's like they went to ChatGPT and asked them to type a script of a Bollywood masala movie with the snobby hero getting the girl in the end. I cannot believe this is an actual thing.

ALSO WHY IS THE MAIN CHARACTER READING INTO A LITERAL ABUSIVE PERSONALITY AS ROMANTIC? I know Choices MCs have a history of that, but this is downright disappointing. Also once again, a massive 'L' in terms of the 'representation' they want to bring out. They gave MC an American upbringing, sprinkling in coriander-bits of Indian culture and it feels so patrionizing. This romanticization of toxic marriages is not 'totes adorbs'. It isn't cute. it isn't 'enemies to lovers'.

Here's a crash course in arranged marriages for you, PB:

Arranged marriages do not always end in abuse. The reason why it is popular in India, from an oversimplified way, is due to the fact that India is pretty diverse. There's tons of religions, belief sects and languages spoken and it started as a way to 'preserve people's traditions'.

While there have been problematic things about it (inter-faith marriages are frowned upon; how religion also breeds a lot of intolerance, etc) arranged marriages are done even today is to eliminate uncertainty, bring about convenience and is deeply rooted in the history of the culture as a whole.

At the same time, in modern-day society, Indians like the rest of the fucking world, have a no-tolerance policy for abusive relationships. In an ideal lens, the parents would be as involved as the MC in her marriage to Rishi. It is seldom for a modern-day-21-st-century parent to not notice the red flags. Also weird for MC to not notice it either - resorting to "oh it's just a difference of opinion" when she is clearly educated, living in America and that too New-fucking-York and still resorting to a 80s, 90s mindset.

Representation doesn't have to always be "morally good". You can have terrible Indian characters, not terribly-written Indian characters. It just needs to be plausible within modern times. That's why they call it an accurate representation. And it needs to portray the culture as it is, without the stereotypes, without the constant romanticisation of something actually terrible (i.e Rishi's poor attitude and borderline abusive personality) and associating it with the culture and calling that representation.

There are so many areas PB could have focused on in this brief book or "improved" their Indian representation:

It could be about how MC deals with being a first-gen immigrant (I assume she is) or Rishi's own qualms with fulfilling his dead father's requests of 'settling down' but finding meaning outside of the marital sphere.

It could just be about an arranged marriage NOT working out. Instead of it being played for as 'enemies to lovers', it could be about MC seeing the red flags and getting out of it and that could be her journey of embracing her culture but also be able to call out and avoid things that are damaging to her life.

Or even a book set in India minus the marriage tropes. It could just be about how MC is dealing with the 'American dream' versus trying to stay at home and staying connected to their culture. This is a real thing that's happening right now; how many Indians migrate to America looking for a new life and the moral argument that arises from it.

Heck even a MaH-themed book where queer themes are discussed through Indian perspectives.

The actual problematic undertones associated with arranged marriage culture and providing thoughtful commentary without demonizing Indian culture as a whole.

It kind of sucks that PB - even though did no advertising for this book - still uses this as a flag to tell people they write diverse stories, when really, it's once again the same stereotypical shit we've been dealing with for so many years. It's Apu from the Simpsons multiplied tenfold but takes itself too seriously and threatens us that it's 'good representation'. It also sucks that once again, Indian culture is reduced to 'daal-eating, arranged marriage'ing, orthodox rude uncles, Kama Sutra chemistry' and market it TOWARDS INDIANS which is the absolute rudest thing I have ever seen, ever.

If you've read until here, I appreciate you taking the time to do this. This is just a rant and of course, from my own personal point of view and of course opinions are going to vary. But this ain't it, PB. Shove this AI-arted cover up your rear end.

But I do want to compile a list of resources for you/additional reading if you want to see an accurate portrayal of South Asian culture:

how to name your south asian character

things to keep in mind while writing a south asian character

how 'indian matchmaking' perpetuates harmful stereotypes

the actual reality of arranged marriages

american-born confused desis and representation (reddit thread)

#mads rants about stuff #the promise of forever #choices pixelberry #choices

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theravenclawlover · 3 years

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Welcome to the Industry of Porn

Paring: Avengers X Female!Reader

Warnings: +18, heavy smut, drinking, slight angst in later chapters, fluff if you squint, and my English as usual.

Word Count: 3,101.

Summary: AU where the Avengers are Pornstars. It’s pretty self-explanatory.

Chapter: 6.

Chapter Title: Metal Fingers and Flexible Girl.

A/N: I gotta admit, I did a lot of changing for this chapter. That's why it took me so long to get it ready, and also I've been actually reading from the stack of books I have. I finally got around to finishing "The Outsider" by Stephen King, I liked it.

"You gotta be shitting me?" said Cassie as she looked at you incredulously while a small grin played on her lips.

"Why are you making it sound like it's a bad thing," said Bucky as he raised his hands in the air, but then he grinned, "I am really good at my job, thank you very much."

"Jerk," said Cassie as she rolled her eyes at him.

"Nobody's questioning your job, I just didn't think Stark was going to be putting me with the ones that have more time here? I thought maybe the other way around. You know what I mean?" you said as you looked around with your cheeks turning a bit red.

"Oh, so you wanted easy, like Spidey or maybe even Scott?" asked Natasha as she laid her head on Steve's thighs. The man blushed lightly as one of his hands went to her hair. They had told you that they weren't dating, but you and Cassie—even Bucky—were eighty-five percent sure something was up.

You blushed a little as you nodded but you shrugged not sure if telling them that it didn't matter or yourself.

"It doesn't really matter, but it was my way of thinking like 'baby steps'. But I think I'll be fine with Robocop over there," you said you stuck your tongue at him which turned into a smile. He rolled his eyes at the overused nickname, but he couldn't help himself but smile when you did.

He just knew it was going to be fun.

When the morning came to officially start working at Avengers, you woke up feeling a little bit nervous, yet a weird wave of excitement came with it and you were sure why. You've seen the man naked more times than you can count with both your hands, and you knew what he could do; you've seen that from your phone and from that one time you got to see Steve and Bucky go at it, granted, it had been a little because they used that prosthetic hand that looked somewhat real—he liked his metal one better after he grew to see it as a good thing and not a bad thing. You were nervous because you were only a couple of hours away from having the man fuck you in front of cameras, but the excitement was because the man was about to fuck you not just with his dick, no, those fingers were more than ready to be inside of you and that was enough motivation to get your body ready.

You walked into the kitchen to find Wanda, Natasha, Cassie, Peggy, and Gamora eating breakfast as they conversed.

"…that way the outfits don't clash, oh hey sleepy head, good morning," said Cassie as she saw walk toward the pantry door.

"Morning, what were you guys talking about?" you asked as you took out your favorite cereal.

"Cassie has this idea for our photoshoot tomorrow, and is pitching the idea to us before she goes to the makeup and costume department," said Gamora in her soft yet hard voice.

"Oh, fun," you said as you set your bowl on the kitchen island and took a seat between Wanda and Cassie.

"Are you nervous to get Barnes all to yourself," asked Peggy with a salacious grin. You shifted on your stool as all eyes turned to you.

"Nervous, but I'm sure I'm not the only one that's probably gotten a little nervous about having a one on one with him," you said with a small shrug.

"You are the first one aside from Rogers to get to fuck him as a one on one. Sure, we all have fucked Barnes once or twice but there's always more people involved," said Natasha as she sipped her orange juice. You stared at her with wide eyes at the new information.

"So that's why he was all grins last night," said Cassie as an afterthought.

"Well, now I'm even more nervous."

"Just think about his metal hand and you'll be fine." Peggy still held that damn salacious grin.

"Alright, we are going to pick up the scene from the point you open the door."

Anthony and Joe were both talking to you and Bucky as they directed the new scene which was the one that contained the sex scene that you had been dreading yet awaiting with utmost want.

"So, we're good?" asked Joe a last time before heading to his directing chair. You and Bucky nodded and then walked to your positions.

"Silence in set…and…ACTION!"

You opened the unlocked door of the apartment, gun in hand as you were ready to fire in case anyone jumped to attack you. Your eyes roamed the room quickly and noticed that it was clear, but something told you that the whole apartment was not. You had been sent to follow one of the many leads SHIELD had on the Winter Soldier. With cautious steps, you moved around the room and checked any room that you thought he could be, but as you moved to walk past the kitchen a foot knocked your gun off your hand. Before you could fight back, the man you had been looking for tackled you to the clear space of the living room. You grunted as you landed on your side, but quickly recovered and elbowed the man on the face. It startled him for a second, but it was enough for you to push him with your feet as you turned on your back. He landed backwards but his hand was right next to your gun which he grabbed and aimed at you, but you quickly kicked it back and sent it to the kitchen behind him. And then your knee met his jaw. You ran past him toward the kitchen to grab your gun, but the man got up faster than you could run, and he grabbed you by the waist and dragged you to the kitchen island where he threw you against, making you let out a grunt as your tummy connected with the border of it.

"Who the fuck are you and what do you want?" he growled right next to your ear which made you shiver.

"I was just sent here to be of help, Captain America has been looking for you for a while now," you said as you struggled under him. He was pressing his whole body on top of yours while his metal hand took a hold of your head from slamming it against his face.

"Fuck the guy a couple of times and now he wants to bring him to his place," he said with almost a chuckle in the back of his throat.

"Fine, don't come with me but there are others that are also looking for you and I'm sure they will not be as nice and good looking as me," you said as you relaxed under him because you were starting to ache all over. Sensing your body relax made him relax which had his hips lower down to touch your ass.

"is that a gun or are you actually happy to see me?"

The man groaned as you pushed your ass against his groin. He grabbed ahold of your hair and pulled your head back that way you were able to see his face.

"Don't do that," he growled so close to your face that some of his spit landed on your cheeks, but you couldn't help the wicked grin that spread on your lips as your eyes looked at his dark ones that made his deep blue eyes a lot more alluring.

"Why? Am I getting you too excited, Soldier?" you pushed yourself harder against him and this time he pushed back. It made him close his eyes momentarily at the friction, but you had seen it and it had sent a ridiculous amount of slick down to your underwear.

"You wouldn't be able to handle me, princess." He had meant it to sound like a warning, but it only made you take it as a challenge.

"Trust me, you won't hurt me, I'm a big girl."

It seemed it had been enough teasing for the man because as soon as you said those words with the dirtiest grin directed at him, he turned you around and pulled you into a bruising kiss. He still had you pinned down which made it impossible for you to roam your fingers through his long hair, and the kiss had you practically moaning with need.

"Only a kiss and you ready to be on your knees," he said as he literally pushed you down to be on your knees. You happily waited for him to take his cock from its tight confinement.

"You're probably not that big, sweetheart," you said in a mocking tone, and you knew you were just making the man build up until he snapped and used you in all the ways he wanted.

He didn't respond with his words, but rather with the presence of his cock right in front of your face.

"Nothing to say now? Open up, princess," he practically purred with a grin as you obediently did. Your eyes followed the movement of his hand as he grabbed the thick and long cock and guided the tip of it inside your waiting mouth and tongue.

The dirtiest, sluttiest, and neediest sound erupted from your throat as the taste of his pre-cum touched your taste buds. You grabbed the base of his cock as your other hand grabbed his balls while your mouth eagerly sucked him off.

"Fuck, someone's eager," he gasped with his head thrown back as your mouth had him in the clouds.

His hands were on your hair as he helped you down his cock when you started to take him down your throat and his eyes were on you. But when you looked up at him, he could've cum, because your eyes were teary, a little red, cheeks red, sweaty, and your lips were wrapped around the girth and length of his cock.

With a whine as you sucked on his tip, he pulled you up before he could cum, and you stumbled a little as he turned you on your stomach and bent you over the same spot you had been previously pinned. His big hands roamed your body before both hands landed a nice smack to each asscheek which made you yelp but at the same time, your ass was ready for more if he wanted. Instead, he took a hold of your pants and dragged them down your legs, revealing the soaked garment of your underwear. He pulled your legs apart and kneeled down, his hands—one cold and one warm—spread your cheeks open, and as you bit your lips expectantly, his tongue met your soaked sex. You moaned as his tongue greedily explored your lower lips. He was eating you out like a starved man, tongue lapping at you, lips sucking the best he could, but the second you saw stars was when the cold hand that was helping him spread your cheeks for him, slowly made a path down your thigh and then up toward your clenching hole. You were moaning, your head kept lolling to the side as if you couldn't find a comfortable position, and your hands were clawing at the flat marble while your eyes were shut tight. But when his cold metallic fingers started to tease you as he lapped at your tight asshole, you shrieked at the harsh contrast from all the warmth that you were feeling.

"Oh fuck, please," you whined as his metal fingers kept teasing you, never fully dipping inside of you.

"So needy," said the brunet as he smirked when he pulled back to see how his fingertips glistened from the silk he was collecting. You whined when you felt his hands leave you, but then you moaned when two of his fingers plunged inside of you with a slow thrust which made you feel the stretch more than if he had just gone for it.

"You take my fingers so good, doll," he groaned as he saw how your pussy sucked his fingers in greedily. He was obsessing over the sounds you were making, the way your slick dripped down whenever his fingers tried to pull back, the way your legs were quivering as you tried to keep steady, and the way you kept muttering things to either him or yourself had him grinning like a mad man. He was obsessing over how much he wanted to grab you and fuck you senseless, but not before you came around his fingers. Good thing you were close.

"That's it, gorgeous, cum around my fingers, I bet they feel really good," he said before he gave a bit to the lower part of your asscheek which made you yelp, but it might have also been because of the ways his fingers picked up speed. You tried with all your might to keep your legs open, but when all the build-up finally snapped, your knees buckled under you. The Soldier noticed before you could collapse, kept you steady, and his fingers moved so fast that the squealing of your pussy drowned the shriek that came out of you when you came around his fingers.

"Fuck, doll, that's it," he grunted as some of your cum landed on his lips and cheeks due to the rapid motion of his fingers. He waited until you were breathing alright before he pulled his fingers out of you. He stood up and turned you around, your eyes were hooded, and a small smile was on your lips.

"Open up, princess." You opened your mouth obediently as his soaked fingers went for your mouth. You moaned obscenely when the taste of you was on your tongue, and your eyes never broke contact with him as he stared at the way you sucked his fingers off like you had his cock not long ago.

He picked you up and sat you on the kitchen island, and he positioned himself between your opened legs and pulled you down for another bruising kiss. You pulled back as he took the rest of your clothes off while your hands did the same to him. In no time both of you were fully naked and panting into each other's mouth. He pushed you back against the cold marble, your legs wide open for him and he grabbed ahold of one of your legs while with his other hand grabbed his cock to tease your sensitive sex.

"Look at you—" he inserted the tip of his cock which made you whine at the stretch it gave, "—you've only had my mouth and my tongue and you're already dazed out. You sure you can take my cock, baby girl?"

"How about you fuck me already, all this talk is making me believe you're scared your cock won't be enough," you said as you held a glare that only made the man growl and push the rest of his thick cock inside of you.

You both groaned loudly, and not letting you adjust to his size, the man started to savagely thrust into you, one leg held by his metal hand while your other legs hung in the air. You took ahold of it, and pull it down from your ankle, that way you spread yourself even more.

"Fuck, look at that—" the man let go of your leg "—hold it too."

You obeyed, and now you held your legs wide almost like a full split while the Soldier grabbed you by the waist while he proceeded to bury his cock with a hard and deep pace. His eyes were glued to the sight of his whole cock going in to then come out fully slicked of your juices. You looked at him to see how his eyes roamed your pussy and his dick which made you blush but due to your already flushed skin, it went unnoticed. It seemed he was hypnotized by you, and with that in mind, you pulled your legs down to the point you were now doing a full split on the kitchen island.

"Oh fuck," he whined as the sight of you became too much for his mind to withhold. He was fucking you harshly and you could only take it all and before you knew it, you were cumming with a shout of a 'shit' as you struggled to keep your legs spread while two of his fingers found your clit.

The man was speaking but just watching you squirm, moan, whine, and curse while you came around his cock. He couldn't hold his own orgasm anymore and after a couple of harsh thrusts, he pulled out, and with the loud grunt, he came all over your spread legs, torso, and a little over your tits.

You kept your legs spread like that for a minute as you came down from your own high.

"You know, I still need to bring you in," you said as you slowly shifted into a sitting position. The man only stood in front of you, eyes roaming your body, looking at your cum-covered body.

"He thinks because I'm now free of HYDRA's control I'm going to go with him and try to be better?" he asked with an annoyed expression, "there's nothing aside from him there."

"That's not entirely true," you tilted your head with a grin on your lips, "as far as I'm concerned, now we are friends, and by the way, I'm Agent Violet."

"You make it sound like you fuck your friends," he said with a huff for a laugh as he approached you.

"Well," you shrugged as he pecked your lips, "we just like to enjoy the moment."

"You really know how to sell what your selling."

"CUT," shouted Joe, "print it, that's in."

"That was perfect you two," said Anthony as he approached you and Bucky while both of you were handed a robe which you took with a smile.

"Thank you."

"No need for a reshoot later, the rest of the day should just be the other scenes and we'll call it a day until tomorrow," said Joe as he stood next to Antony.

He let both you and Bucky go and get clean up before the next scene.

By the end of the day, you were ready to collapse on your bed and sleep till the next morning. Which you weren't sure if you were ready for, after all, Thor was a bigger guy than Bucky.

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