#it was the product of a long period of thinking and it felt great to finally be embracing it

[szsariii19]

I just wanted to wish happy bi visibility day to my fellow questioning people. You deserve to be seen on this day as much as others do and I want you to know you're not alone <3

[bunni-v1]

hii, can I request "First Years Finding Out Your A Girl" with sebek and ortho please?

Ortho and Sebek Find out You’re a Girl?!?!?! (NOT CLICKBAIT!!!)

TW: Swearing (as usual lol); Ortho being creepy; Misogyny mention <3; Reader goes by she/her and is biologically female; Book 6 spoilers (very light, but still there); Bunni hasn't read Book 7 and therefore doesn't know what they're talking about :)

Info: Ortho x Reader; Sebek x Reader; Fem!Reader; Platonic

🍓Hi. If you’ve read the first part of this, I copy pasted the intro. Not because I’m lazy or anything (I’m a little lazy, but I’m a full-time college student who also has a part-time job, so I think I can be excused.) It’s mostly because… It’s a good intro. If people are just discovering this stuff then they can read it, but if you’ve read the first part you can just skip to the good good yk. Anyway, long-ass babble session, but I didn’t include Ortho and Sebek initially because they’re kind of new to the First year group so idk. Felt weird including them. Also, I haven’t read book seven so Sebek I bullshit a lot lol. Anyway, they’re here now, and I absolutely ADORE Ortho, so sorry if my favoritism shows.

First Years

Second Years

Third Years

Dorm Leaders

-Okay so, I know we’re all wondering, how the hell do you get away with hiding your gender for so damn long?

-Firstly, those ceremonial robes do great at hiding the figure. The only tell would maybe be your hair, but feminine men aren’t unwelcome at Nightraven College, so you mostly get a few questioning stares and that’s it.

-Secondly, Crowley wants to save his own fucking ass. He already has to hide from the press that he has a MAGICLESS student from ANOTHER DIMENSION here, he doesn’t need the fact that you are a woman ALSO on his plate. So, obviously, he helps you hide your gender from others.

-Grim knows, of course, and he keeps his mouth shut for a few yummy cans of tuna (and threats of being expelled from Crowley <3)

-Even when you were just a janitor, he couldn’t have the rumor that he put a “helpless” young woman to work. (Like it wouldn’t be expected.)

-So how do you two do it?

-Baggy ass uniform. Crowley gave you at least three sizes too big.

-Your figure is completely hidden. Sure, you look completely homeless, but at least you’re hidden.

-For your voice, you simply deepen it. After some point, you blackmail Crowley into giving you a potion to help with it, since it's so taxing on your voice. (Or maybe your voice is naturally deep!)

-Sam provides you (for an unfairly pretty penny (not too different from your original world…)) any feminine hygiene products you might need.

-Honestly, you’re set for being cared for, but it’s the adjustment period that’s the hardest part. 

-Truly, it’s very jarring to suddenly be thrown into both a magical world and be isolated in a man's world with nowhere to hide.

-At least in your world you had other women who could understand your struggles. Here though? You’re completely alone.

-You notice how… messy some of these guys could be. How some of them smell… really rancid. -How rough they were with you and each other.

-Honestly, it’s kinda eye-opening. The way men show affection to each other is oddly refreshing to watch and experience!

-Ace and Deuce specifically are a good… trial run.

-That’s not what we’re here to talk about though…

-For the most part, it's incredibly easy to hide yourself for the first while on campus. Everyone on campus is so self-absorbed that they don’t bother questioning you.

-Your only real risk factor is Savannaclaw, but it's easy to avoid those guys (minus Jack, of course).

-However, you can only hide your gender for so long… It’s mentally draining to keep up this facade all the time around people you care about.

-So… how do they find out?

Ortho 

-Okay, so Ortho is a little creepy weirdo. He’s a highly advanced robot who likely has autism, and loves his big brother a whole fucking lot. 

-(Side note: Can a robot, child, or thing have autism? Does that mean Idia programmed Ortho to be autistic? How silly of him.)

-It’s my personal head cannon that Idia DECKED this kid out in as much high-tech gear as he could get his hands on. 

-He’s equipped with some of the most complex medical features, therefore he has access to a database of all students at NRC’s medical files. (This is not legal, but he does not care for the law.)

-“But Bunni, what does that have to do with the prefect?” Well, Ortho is ALSO equipped with the latest medical scanner on the market.

-Think like Baymax, yeah? He can scan everyone one time and know every piece of medical knowledge readily available.

-Well, Ortho, the sweet little creep he is, automatically scans the medical information of any new person he sees/meets into his database — just in case it may come in handy.

-So, before he even KNOWS you. Before he speaks a single word to you, he knows you’re biologically a female.

-He scanned you without thinking and just shrugged his shoulders at it.

-You’re not from here, and you got thrown into this, so you being a woman doesn’t really matter too much to you being at NRC. 

-It honestly could’ve been anyone getting stuck here, so why should he question it?

-However, he notices that you are referred to with exclusively “male” pronouns, so he marks in your file that you are trans and moves on. 

-Again, who cares? He’s a magical robot guy based on his brother's dead brother. Who was he to judge?

-When he finally ACTUALLY gets to interact with you after being welcomed into the first-year squad, he’s very respectful of your gender.

-You are a man to him, therefore he refers to you with exclusively masculine pronouns.

-However, everyone in your little group already knows, and they assume that Ortho knows. So when they speak about you, they use feminine pronouns.

-Ortho, sweet as he is, immediately questions everyone as to why they’re misgendering you.

-Protective of the people he cares for at heart, he doesn’t like the idea that your so-called closest friends are misgendering you behind your back.

-Doesn’t believe them completely when they explain, so he goes to you because you’re the only one who knows who you really are.

-“Prefect!”

“Hey, Ortho! What’s up? Miss me?”

“Of course I do, but I have a very important question.”

“Sure, what do ya need?”

“Are you a woman?”

-At this point 90% of your friends know, but there is a handful that doesn’t… and you can’t be having that.

-You, of course, assure Ortho that you are not only a woman, but that your friends are not misgendering you behind your back.

-Relieved, he takes several of your friends off a hit list and removes the trans man label on your medical chart.

-Asks why you hid your gender in the first place.

-Promptly adds Crowley to a hit list (again).

-Ortho, out of EVERYONE at NRC, has absolutely zero behavior changes toward you. 

-He’s equally protective as he was before, he spends the same amount of time with you as usual, he doesn’t suddenly have some weird crush on you, and he’s still trying to set you up with Idia.

-Honestly, everyone should take notes from Ortho. He’s the best at this whole thing.

Sebek

-On the other hand… do not take notes from Sebek! He sucks at this! He sucks really badly!

-Out of all the first years, Sebek is not only the least close to you, but he is also incredibly mean. So you just… feel no obligation to tell him.

-In fact, you kind of… sort of… actively leave him out of the loop for a really long time.

-I mean, it's not an unreasonable thing to do. He is constantly berating you and putting you down for being human. You have no idea how he feels about women and you don’t want to find out first hand.

-In all honesty, he is the only person (other than Azul and the twins) that you’re really scared of finding out, and take extra precautions to ensure he doesn’t find out.

-However, you attend NRC, and nothing ever goes your way at NRC.

-Despite every precaution you take to keep your gender under lock and key, you overlook one thing.

-Malleus Draconia.

-His complete and total lack of social awareness is your downfall here. He finds out, and despite everything telling him to keep his mouth shut… he doesn’t. Because of course, he doesn’t.

-At this point, you’ve gone through most of your misadventures, and most — if not all — of your friends know you’re a girl.

-Hell, even Silver knows now. Everyone BUT Sebek knows.

-And he finds out because Malleus casually mentions it over dinner. Not even directly about your gender, he just uses she/her pronouns.

-Sebek, being Sebek, respectfully asks Malleus if he meant to say he. Malleus, of course, says no without a second thought.

-The shock and horror on Silver and Lilia’s faces was enough to be further confirmation.

-And Sebek’s world shatters.

-He was completely left out of the loop and also has a moral conflict now.

-As much shit, as I gave Sebek (as everyone gives Sebek) he RESPECTS women. His queen is a woman, and his mother is a woman. 

-In his eyes, women are some of the strongest people around. Regardless of if they’re human or not.

-You, on top of being a human from another realm who had successfully quelled several of the strangest students at NRC’s OVERBLOTS and came out on top, was also a woman.

-If that wasn’t strength, he didn’t know what it was.

-However, his bias against humans strongly clashes with his respect for women in this case.

-And it just… messes with his head. 

-He doesn’t treat you worse, in fact, he’s just… really awkward around you now.

-He doesn’t know if he should apologize or berate you for being a human, so he just stays stiff and glares at you.

-It's honestly more scary than him constantly talking down to you.

-However, once the two of you actually befriend one another, he apologizes to you. For everything, and explains where he’s coming from. Why he acted the way he did, how he really feels about you, and all that sweet shit.

-Afterwards, he is genuinely the best at keeping your secret (if he even needs to at this point).

-If there is anyone you can trust to keep his stupid mouth shut at NRC, it's Sebek. 

-His honor and pride force him into silence when it comes to secrets he promises to keep.

-In fact, if anyone is on your trail about it, he’s the first one to jump in the way and scare them off/shut them down.

[tremendouskoalachild]

what we know: The Acolyte was pitched sometime in early 2020. The Rise of Skywalker had just ended the movie saga. The Mandalorian, which kicked off disney+, had just finished its first season with great audience response. Lucasfilm was reorienting itself to streaming. Rayne Roberts loved the pitch, got Kathleen Kennedy who also loved it, and the show was greenlit.

the show premiered in summer 2024, after a generous marketing campaign (including a clip shown with The Phantom Menace rerelease, an original Victoria Monét song, and plenty of trailers and tv spots). multiple pieces of tie-in media were announced both before and during the show's airing (an Acolyte comic issue, a Kelnacca comic issue, a visual guide, an art reference book, two novels featurig show characters).

the high republic multimedia project (THR), in advanced development when the show was pitched and published continuously from early 2021, greatly influenced the show's development. the costuming is largely based on the look of THR, the show makes plenty of lore references, and includes a main character from the books in its main cast. THR material coming out in summer 2024 has "a century before The Acolyte" prominently on the cover, the upcoming show tie-ins are largely written by THR authors, and often feature other THR characters.

the show was expensive, with a long production period and a great focus on the technical aspects - building large elaborate sets, filming on location in Madeira, detailed stunt sequences with a lot of actor involvement, plenty of attention given to costumes, make-up and creature design. the cast included many high-profile actors. everything suggests the show had full confidence of lucasfilm.

what i'm gonna speculate: lucasfilm was playing the long game with this show, or hoping to. cancelling the show this early was unexpected.

in 2019 star wars was quite literally centered on the original trilogy. the seven decades or so around the OT contained all currently canon star wars media, even as the franchise was spoken of as one with 25,000 years of history. the following years would plug up even more empty spots on the timeline, with the projects often overlapping. this gave the writers much less creative freedom, which was the whole point of decanonizing all pre-2014 media aside from films and shows. over time, fans started clamoring for onscreen content set outside of the known eras, and there were more and more voices in and outside of the fandom exhausted with fanservice (the glup shitto phenomenon).

The Acolyte was set in a whole new era, as far as onscreen content goes, and its only legacy character was from children's and YA books most viewers wouldn't be familiar with. it was specifically introduced as a show you wouldn't need any homework for. it had actors prominent in entirely different contexts (Matrix. sitcom. Squid Game. YA. superhero movies. independent films. relationship dramas.) and the cast was pretty international.

the show had a lot specifically for established fans - you could say it was the most wide-reaching in its star wars references, incorporating elements from every trilogy, the animated shows, canon books, oldschool legends lore, video games. but i believe it was mostly meant to attract people who were not previously fans, and especially target demographics that were underrepresented in the fandom. draw in international audiences, young people who were around for other star wars properties but they never caught their interest, women who either weren't in the fandom or felt pushed away by the reaction to The Last Jedi.

lucasfilm execs definitely weren't planning for viewing numbers comparable to Obi-Wan Kenobi, or even Ahsoka, since those are characters people are already invested in. i think lucasfilm expected the show's audience to grow over a longer period, since plenty of people might check it out because it seems cool and they like an actor in it, and hopefully stick around to watch other star wars and become new fans of the franchise. the audience would get a chance to establish itself through new viewers watching it outside the couple weeks when it aired originally - it's a streaming platform, after all - and the show would have a solid fandom for its second season (which they were clearly planning to make).

these new fans would keep disney+ in order to check out other star wars shows and film, and keep buying star wars stuff over the hiatus. even if they were only into The Acolyte and their interest never expanded beyond that, there were many merchandising products and tie-in materials coming out. the comics and books would have connections to THR, hopefully getting an influx of readers before the initiative finishes next year and boosting sales of already published works. the THR readers who weren't interested in the show originally would see all their favorite authors writing stuff for it and check it out, too.

but then someone higher up decided to cancel it a month after airing so no i guess

[alatismeni-theitsa]

I really really hope I don't end up coming off as rude in this, but I found your account from the Hades tag (the game--which I suppose I don't really have the same negative feelings for, both because I'm neither greek nor religious and thus am very disjointed from the frustrations expressed ) and seeing as the designs were the main talking point (I know I'm oversimplifying her I'm so sorry if this comes off as rude) I was curious as to what would be a respectful depiction of Greek mythology. Greek mythology has always been something I enjoyed reading about, but knowing that a lot of my exposure to it has been heavily westernize one way or another, I was wondering if I could ask for I guess more insight? I might not share the same feelings (due to again having grown up unreligious and thus trying to compare how I might feel if my own chinese mythology was given the hades treatment isn't exactly far becaue to me they really are just kinda like prompts in my mind--though I'm not sure how wrong it is for me to think like that) I do wish to understand it because your culture religion and mythology isn't a prop. It deserves the same respect every other culture/religion has/is getting. sorry for the lengthy ask, but it's perspectives like you're I want to hear more about though I've struggled to really open up to them because often time the discussions felt hostile (that said I am conflict adverse so this is probably a me problem.). On a final side note (and this is definitely where I am about to sound really stupid/bigoted but I really have to ask because my conscious will not leave me alone about it) but would it be ignorant for a person such as myself to find enjoyment from a game such as Hades less because of it's mythological roots though they are a factor and more for the story it's decided to tell (for what is honestly when I really do think about it) using the greek mythology "props"? Like enjoying it seperate from the source material?

Hello and apologies for taking so long to answer! Two consecutive hours where I exist undisturbed is very rare in my life during this period, so please, again, forgive me for replying a month later. 💜💜💜

A second anon question I got about the same issue:

I appreciate both of you for asking. Identifying the problem in the context of your situation, and what you don't know is a great step forward (and I am very sorry I wasn't able to respond to you earlier). For those who don't know, this blog, despite the salty content, is all about peaceful discussion and understanding.

I think answering the first anon ask will also cover the first. Let me start with one point and elaborate on the rest:

"On a final side note (and this is definitely where I am about to sound really stupid/bigoted but I really have to ask because my conscious will not leave me alone about it) but would it be ignorant for a person such as myself to find enjoyment from a game such as Hades less because of its mythological roots though they are a factor and more for the story it's decided to tell (for what is honestly when I really do think about it) using the greek mythology "props"? Like enjoying it separate from the source material?"

Neither I nor any other (sane) Greek would like to police people in a way of stopping their enjoyment of media. Like other Greeks, I have also played Hades and liked it. I believe we can enjoy the present media and still advocate for better media in the future. We can all be more aware, and push for gods and heroes to be treated like the cultural figures they are, and not as products of late-stage western capitalism.

Greek gods and heroes cannot be separated from their culture and still be the same since they no longer carry their stories or embody the same values. (This goes for every cultural figure.) What would be the point of Heracles if your only exposure to him was that "he is an ancient strong guy who kills monsters"? There is a whole story to him beyond that, what makes him "Heracles", a hero that Greeks hold as a symbol even in our days. Without his story, he's no different than an average modern American superhero.

To the first anon: If you were to explain any Chinese hero or deity to me, you would still need to explain all the "surrounding" elements, like the world domains, the monsters, what is "respectful" and what is "not respectful" to do within the context of the Chinese culture. You wouldn't just drop the figure in question and expect me to understand everything, right? And for this reason, I don't think it would be fair to this figure and the Chinese audiences to just drop this figure separated from Chinese culture in a super American setting. As you suspected, it would leave a bad taste in the mouth of religious and non-religious people who know this figure.

There is some effort from Western media to incorporate these elements into their stories but it's done superficially through the classic Americanized lens. This doesn't allow the audience to feel these values and stories within a different context. The producers will do anything so (mainly Western) audiences don't feel alienated by exploring a foreign culture - but this entirely misses the point of exploring a foreign ancient culture.

I don't want to be entirely absolute here and say that no modernized depiction of these figures is good. It was even a fresh take a few years ago but now the market is so saturated with this presentation that even the audience who "loves Greek myth" is only exposed to this, and misses all the nuances of the ancient Greek context.

To its credit, the Hades game incorporated some ancient elements successfully (the gods offering their favor and getting vengeful when ignored, or having their own "human-like" interactions without getting reduced to the presentation of "petty humans"). This is more than what most westernized media has achieved but I still feel we only got crumbs compared to what we could have.

For me and some other Greeks, the game would be considerably elevated by the use of actual Greek culture, in addition to its cool story. By "actual Greek culture" I mean ways of interaction, clothes (not just the standard white chiton), music, etc. It looks like most western media fears that the Greek gods inside their culture will be "too foreign" for their audiences, which treats the audiences as if they're dumb and frustrates the already tired Greeks because god forbid we ever are "too foreign", "too unapproachable" to rich/western foreigners.

As always, depictions of heroes and gods from other cultures should be kept. The very recent phenomenon of westerners just deciding to "re-paint" the Greek gods Nordic pale or West African dark - according to their social sensitivities of the time - is a decision they took alone and without any consultation of Greeks. It's a decision that treats the Greek gods like props, as well, precisely because people of the original culture were never asked, and they are negative about this type of change. This decision was taken with the same brass the western colonizers used these same figures to set harmful standards for the colonized peoples and other nations they deemed "lesser", like the Greeks of their time themselves.

As we are not expected to change Maori, Chinese and Congolese gods' appearance (symbols, clothing, phenotype (or "race" as it is in some countries)) same goes for Greek gods. We grant all gods this standard because we recognize that they're - among other things - symbols of the overwhelming majority of the indigenous people of their land. Many USians mistakenly equate Greeks with the Western colonizers and the US culture, a thought that feeds their ownership attitude which I've spoken about many times in the past and i won't elaborate further on, for the sake of your sanity xD

Finally, if one struggles to place the Greek gods in the context of an actual religion, I think it would help them to read ancient hymns for the Greek gods (which are widely available online, in English at least) so they can see firsthand the veneration they were/are worth to their worshippers. Reading plays like the Bacchae or Alcestis, or parts of the Iliad and the Odyssey where the gods are present will show the magnanimity of the gods within the religion.

I'd also encourage them to recall examples of being present when their family or friends expressed veneration towards a deity (be it the God of Abrahamic religions, the Chinese pantheon, the Hindu pantheon, and so on) and try to imagine the same veneration towards the Greek gods. Studying Greek Orthodoxy is another way to understand this veneration. Since many ancient Greek elements remain in our Christianity, in it one can find many of the old type of respect. (Saint veneration replaced the deities' worship, the Greek type of offering worship, prayer to a home altar with offerings, road altars, funerary customs and processions, etc). If one is already familiar with Christianity this study would be a good middle step, in my opinion.

Having the context for each Greek myth figure one uses can be challenging but big studios should be able to hire specialists and offer proper representation. "They want the pie whole and the dog full", as we say here; they want quick profit with the least possible effort. They know that if they just name-drop some stuff western audiences will believe they have done deep research because previous media never invited them to engage deeply with the Greek heritage.

No culture is "uncomplex" and "easy to learn". Ancient Greek culture, like all, needs significant study to fully grasp. People should not expect to know it all after one Wikipedia reading. There's always more to learn and more context to be understood. The good news is that if you speak English and have an internet connection, translations and analyses of ancient Greek texts are super accessible to you.

It shouldn't be expected from all people to become experts but if one "loves Greek mythology" and their knowledge is PJO level, I am sorry but this person doesn't really know what they "love". A decent amount of study, at one's own pace, will enrich and deepen engagement with the Greek myths. Once you gain more knowledge, you understand why it's needed.

For the second anon's question, "What would be a proper representation of a Greek god", I have mostly answered it in the above paragraphs, but I would also like to add something culture-wise. Since the Greek gods in the media can exist in various eras, one should not divorce them from the Greek element. The Greek gods are an expression of the ancient Greek collective, therefore it wouldn't make sense for them to have lost all touch with Greek ways of thought and attitude. If they were Americans, they wouldn't be WASPs, or Native Americans or Black Americans. They would be more like First Gen Greek Americans. They would love (to a healthy degree) and mention their culture because that's where they came from and that's what they represent.

[venerawrites]

I need a Gaara hc or small fic where his s/o took an interest to kankuro than him ❤️

If u see this (have a great day!!) 💕

Gaara x gn! reader

author's note: thank you so much for your request! Gaara is one of my favourite characters in the show, so it was an absolute pleasure to write this one! I think it got a little bit longer than intended, but I hope you still like it! Also, I hope you had a pretty great day yourself <3

Warnings: none, slight angst? (not a warning, just a note - also I tried to make reader gn, since it was not specified in the request. If anyone sees any pronounce other than "they/them" used, please let me know.) <3

Memories of that one particular night often invaded his thoughts uninvited. Sweet memories, filled with soft music, heavy smoke, and a pair of dark eyes, which have haunted his being every waking moment for almost a year now...

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

The war was officially over. After a long period of struggles, losses, and the lost lives of countless young men and women, the citizens of Suna finally had the chance to continue their lives, free from worry and fear. And what better way to acknowledge this new freedom than a village festival?

Gaara reluctantly has agreed for the Council to organize a celebration, despite the current "black hole" in the village's finances. In his view, a priority was the rebuilding of the buildings and strengthening the economy, rather than hiring questionable street performers and musicians.

"Stones and sand blokes are easily replaced, My Lord", one of the old councillors has said to him earlier that day, "But is the spirit of the people that need to be brought back to life. They need an escape... a way to forget the painful and bloody reality we all live in."

That night he found himself silently following his siblings through the busy streets of Suna, his pale eyes observing the smiling faces of reunited families and the cheerful laughter of warriors, who eagerly shared stories of their bravery and courage to their fellow villagers. Maybe the councillor was right after all..

"Gaara, look", his brother shouted excitedly, pulling his sleeve and pointing towards a large tent towards the end of the village square. An old wooden sign was hanging next to the entrance stating: "Exotic dancers from far away lands... Come and experience the magic!"

The young Kazekage signed deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. He already felt irritated that he had to postpone his work for the day, but having to deal with his older brother, who acted like a hormonal teenager, made his mood even more sour.

"Kankuro, I don't think-"

Before he can finish his sentence, Kankuro has already wrapped his hand around his elbow and was dragging the redhead towards the tent. Temari, who was murmuring something under her breath, soon followed, looking just as annoyed as Gaara.

"We already visited three of the village attractions chosen by Temari", Kankuro finally said, looking at his sister, who crossed her arms and rolled her eyes in response, "Now it is my turn."

The siblings entered the tent and Gaara had to immediately squint his eyes to adjust his vision to his surroundings. The air was heavy with white smoke, carrying a certain sweetness to it, a product of the numerous pipes placed on the tables around the space. The light was dim, coming only from the small candle lights hanging around the ceiling.

"Kankuro", Temari coughed, waving her hand in front of her face, "Where did you bring us? I can barely breathe here."

The puppet master clicked his tongue, taking a seat at one of the empty central tables.

"Ah, stop complaining", he smirked, waiving her off, "I endured an hour of half-naked men twirling fire sticks. I am sure you can enjoy a few minutes of real art."

Temari opened her mouth to protest but stopped herself once Gaara glanced at her. He shook his head, signalling her not to argue. The two eldest siblings have been bickering all evening and the Kazekage's patience was running thin. He preferred to just agree to his brother's wish and hopefully after that, he would finally manage to escape back to his office and continue his work.

"Ah, what a surprise! What a surprise!", an excited voice sounded behind them and they all turned around only to find a tall blonde woman dressed in a red kimono. She smiled widely, before moving in front of them and bowing.

"We did not expect to be visited by the mighty Kazekage today", she said, looking directly at Gaara, "We are delighted to have you, My Lord."

The redhead remained expressionless but nodded his head at her words. Truth to be told, he did not want to be seen in a tent full with "exotic dancers", but at this point, when almost the whole space was full with people, he would draw more attention by standing up and exiting, than just sitting quietly on his chair.

"Thank you", he politely said, throwing a quick glare to Kankuro, " We are excited to see the show you have prepared for tonight."

"How long is this show?", Temari asked impatiently, looking and noting that the audience was predominantly drunk males, "And where is it going to take place? I don't see any stage around here."

The woman laughed, tilting her head to the side.

"The show can be as long as you want it to be. You can stay only for one dance, or you can enjoy a full night full of music and dances. And there is no stage. The dancers are going to create their art right here, in the public. We prefer to create an atmosphere which is more...", she paused, moving her eyes back to Gaara.

"...intimate."

The Kazekage tilted his head, crossing his hands in front of his chest. Something about this woman was making him feel uneasy. They had chatted with her for a few minutes now and he had more questions, rather than answers about what to expect.

The loud sound of rhythmic drums suddenly rang around the space and the crowd, which was enthusiastically chattering, silenced itself. The lights became slightly more dim and everyone's attention shifted towards the middle of the space, where a lonely petite figure raised itself from the ground, scanning the unfamiliar faces all around.

Dark eyes moved from across the room till they stopped on his pale ones. And suddenly, the whole world stopped... the music, the applause, the unamused murmur of his sister beside him. All he could see was the piercing gaze that bore into him, unmoving and not even blinking. It was almost as if was putting him into a hypnosis and he involuntarily leaned forward, his elbows resting on the table before him while he followed each move of their body.

From bold dark make-up to a body covered with gold jewellery, gemstones, and pearls, they were moving under the seducing rhythms with such ease and grace, Gaara could have sworn they were floating off the ground. Their hips swayed from side to side, while their body was twisting and turning, pearl beads clicking against their gemstone covered suit with every move they made.

Gaara has never seen anything more beautiful in his life.

Expertly moving between the tables, without losing even a beat of their rhythm, the dancer moved in front of the Kazekage's table with their back facing the siblings, before they bent backward, their dark gaze locking with Gaara's mesmerized stare once again. Without breaking eye contact, they sharply turned around and jumped on the table, their head tilting as if silently inviting the redhead ninja to say something.

Unable to resist this silent request, he leaned forward even more, raising his voice a little so the dancer could hear them:

"Who are you?"

They only smirked, swiftly moving once again in such a gracious way, that before the Kazekage could realise, they were behind him, their warm breath next to his ear.

"I can be anyone you want me to be..."

They stepped away, briefly focusing their attention on other members of the crowd, who just like Gaara had already fallen under the ethereal spell of this siren.

After a few minutes and a final loud sound of the drums, the lights went completely off and just like that the dancer was gone. Everyone looked around in confusion, before they stood on their feet, loudly clapping and whistling. Gaara also stood up, but instead of clapping, he quickly started to make his way towards the back entrance of the tent, where he caught a glance of a bare foot covered with pearl anklets exiting the tent. He heard the sound of his siblings yelling his name behind him, but he could not focus on anything other than catching up to the dancer.

It took him just a few seconds to get out of the tent, but once he did and he scanned his surroundings, he couldn't see anyone but drunk ninjas, who were stumbling down the road. No sight of the person he was looking for or of any of the "exotic dancers" for that matter. He made a few steps, peering behind the corner, only to find the alley behind it empty.

His lips immediately pulled themselves into a frown and he shook his head, looking up at the sky. What was wrong with him? He was never one to act impulsively or without thinking... but then what was he doing out here? He didn't even know this person. For all he knew, they could actually be an assassin, trying to trick them.

Gaara has just turned around, when he heard a voice behind them.

"I did not take you for one to give up so easily", a melodic laugh followed the words and he quickly turned around to find the dancer he was looking for sitting on top of one of the empty performers' carriages. They smiled, swiftly jumping down and making a few slow steps towards him.

"I assume you were searching for something... or someone", they laughed, raising their eyebrows slightly. Gaara's cheeks warmed at their words and he opened his mouth, before closing it again and gulping loudly.

Why was he feeling so nervous?

"No, I... I mean, yes. I was looking for you", he admitted, nervously moving his hand behind his head and scratching his neck, "I... wanted to tell you that your performance was truly beautiful."

This time it was the dancer's turn to smile and blush. They looked down, their right feet making small figures in the sand beneath. After a few seconds of silence, they lifted their eyes again, boring into his.

"Thank you. I am flattered that the Kazekage himself enjoyed my performance."

The redheaded male gulped again, his thoughts racing with ideas of what to say next, yet his whole body stayed frozen. If the slight blush on his cheeks and the top of his ears did not give him away, his stoic expression could easily be mistaken for indifference.

"Well", they finally broke the silence, peering behind Gaara's shoulder to see if the other dancers had finished their performance yet, "I better go. I have one more performance to do before we have to pack."

Gaara's heart leaped at their words. He nodded his head, gesturing with his hand towards the entrance.

"Apologies! I did not want to keep you, I just...", he stopped himself, unsure how to finish that sentence, "I am excited to see you dance again."

The dancer looked at him, biting their lip before giving him a small smile.

"Actually, the performance is going to be... private."

"Private?", he asked too quickly and with a voice too high pitched. He closed his eyes, mentally cursing at his reaction, before clearing his throat, "What does it mean... private?"

They let out a small laugh at the Kazekage's awkwardness, but quickly regained back composure, before tilting their head toward the well-lit noisy house at the end of the street.

"As performers, we are often hired by people for their own celebrations. The family that lives in that house over there just got their two sons back from war... so they wanted to organise something special."

Gaara listened carefully, the sound of their words leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. The idea of them giving a show to other people, where he had no chance to join and watch them, did not sit right with him. Who was that selfish to keep such beauty and grace to themselves, barring everyone else from seeing it?

The dancer gave him a small bow and a polite "goodbye", before swiftly turning away. They made just a few steps, when the Kazekage's voice stopped them.

"Wait."

They turned around, a curious smile playing on their lips.

"Yes, Lord Kazekage?"

"You can call me Gaara", the redhead said, closing the distance between them. His eyes shifted between their dark eyes and the house where they were supposed to go. Knowing he had little time, he had to choose his next questions carefully.

"What is your name?", he asked, his feet stopping right before them. The performer smiled at their question, battling their eyelashes and clasping their hands behind their back.

"Why do you want to know?", they arched a beautifully painted eyebrow, "With respect, Lord Kazekage, it is not my style to give my name to members of the crowd... even if they are the village leaders."

It was Gaara's turn to look at them questionably.

"How do one book you for a private performance if they do not know your name?"

Their gaze fell to the floor and for a second time, their cheeks turned a rosy colour. It was barely visible in the darkness of the night and under their stage makeup, but Gaara saw it as bright as day. He bit his lip, fighting the urge to let out a smile. His efforts quickly became pointless once they looked up at him again and he couldn't help but let the corners of his mouth twitch upwards.

"Speak to Izumi, the woman who was annoying your table earlier", they laughed, before turning away and starting to walk away. They did not get too far, however, before they turned to look at him again.

"They call me Pearl", they shouted, before lifting their hand and gently shaking the pearly threads hanging from their sleeve. With a final smile, they continued walking, soon getting lost into the darkness.

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

It did not take long for Gaara to find a reason to call the dancer for a private show.

Just two weeks after the village festival, it was one of the Councillor's birthday. Unlike his usual self, Gaara insisted on throwing a grand celebration. And just like the "selfish people who kept beauty and grace to themselves", he hired a private performer for the occasion, which just so happened to be Pearl.

A few months after that, there was a visit from Naruto and a few other Leaf ninjas to the village. Another reason for a feast to be thrown, as well as another reason for Pearl to be there.

Then it was Kankuro's birthday. And as a gift, he hired the same dancer again, this time offering to pay for them to stay for a full weekend.

Thinking back, this was the biggest gift he had ever given his brother and probably the only one he regretted

It would be foolish of him to think that he was the only one who had fallen under the magic of their body and gaze. Deep inside he had already expected that his brother would fall victim to their charm.

What he had not expected, however, was that they would fall too... for Kankuro.

Maybe it started the first night they met. Maybe the whole night they were actually looking at his older sibling, rather than him. Maybe he has mistaken their glances across the room for harmless coincidence, rather than silence promises to meet somewhere private once the moon is up high in the sky. Maybe he had lived in his own fear of rejection for so long, that he accidentally gave Kankuro the chance to snatch the thing he wanted the most right under his nose...

There were a lot of "maybes" racing through his head as his blue eyes stared at the object of his deepest desires and his brother embracing each other under the pale light of the moon, their lips locked in a passionate kiss, while their hands explored each other's skin.

Gaara's fingers involuntarily snapped the flower he was holding in his hand, resulting in one of the thorns on the stem piercing his skin. Scarlet drops of blood started to drip on his pale skin, forcing him finally to look away.

People always said love was supposed to feel beautiful. That it gave you wings and made you see the world in a different light...

But where was that beauty? How was he supposed to see the world, when it seemed it was all fading in darkness?

Throwing the flower to the ground, the Kazekage turned away and hurried back towards his home. Not daring to look back, he thought of the night he met them for the first time.

The night when it was just him and them.

[storytowrite]

Love Untold (OT8 x F! Reader)

Chapter 11

Paring: Changbin x reader

Genre: smut

Warnings: 18+, oral sex, mention of blood, sexual fantasies, sweet names, pet names

Word Count: 4498

Masterlist | Love Untold Masterlist

Due to the work of your parents, you are forcet to constantly move. However, this time moving houses let to interesting and unusual events. You met 8 handsome boys at school and somehow you managed to move in with them. How will your fate go?

......................................................................................................................

You woke up in the morning with a terrible stomach ache. The tremendous contraction felt like knives being driven into your belly. You knew the pain well, you started your period. You quickly grabbed your bag and desperately began to rummage through it. Your eyes lit up when you managed to find the only sanitary pad you always carried with you, just in case.

You grabbed your new clothes and quickly made your way to the bathroom.

“Oh hi Y/n. Have you had enough sleep…?" Before Seungmin could finish, you disappeared behind the bathroom door.

You closed the door and turned on the hot water in the shower. The room quickly filled with warm steam. You stepped into the shower, and the hot water caressing your skin brought you much-needed relaxation. The contractions slowly stopped, so you closed your eyes and immersed your head in the streams of water. Drops ran down your cheeks, dripping onto your bare arms.

You quickly dressed and disappeared back into your room. You felt terrible and had no intention of getting out of bed.

You said that today you're blowing off school, your stomach pain was even worse than in the morning, and your general mood put you in a depressed mood. The first day of your period has always been brutal for you. But today was a tragedy. You've never felt so bad before. You couldn't help it when the contractions were getting stronger.

You pulled the duvet over you, pulled your legs up and closed your eyes. You were hoping that today no one would even approach you and you could rest.

Only after a while did you realize that you don't have any more sanitary pads or tampons, and you won't last long on makeshift pads made of toilet paper. You didn't even have the strength to get out of bed, let alone go to the store for sanitary pads. 

You've been wondering for a long time what to do with yourself and how to get sanitary pads, but the deafening headache didn't make it any easier. You could feel your head throbbing, and even the slightest amount of light shining through the tiny holes you had left in the quilt to get some fresh air annoyed you.

The thought ran through your head to call Sebastian to get you some menstrual products, but first of all you weren't sure if you wanted him to meet the boys again and secondly it was really embarrassing to ask a much older guy about it . 

You sank deeper into your bed, trying to stop the growing pain in your stomach. You felt that from the comfortable position and the warmth of the soft duvet you started to want to sleep. Slowly your eyelids got heavier and heavier.

You had almost fallen asleep when a loud knock on the door woke you up. All you managed to muster was a quiet "Come in," but no one came in. You repeated it louder, but again no one answered. You scrambled out of bed, trying to straighten up. However, the pain in your stomach didn't even let you think about straightening up. On your first attempt, the stabbing pain in your lower abdomen made it possible for you to crawl to the door on all fours.

You pulled the handle and with great pain you managed to open the door. You looked wasted. Despite the morning bath, drops of sweat formed on your forehead, every hair stood out in a different direction, and your face was pale as a sheet.

A visibly annoyed Minho stood in the doorway. "You're late with my breakfast..." He didn't finish his sentence and his expression changed 180 degrees. There was no longer a grimace of indignation on his face, and it was replaced by concern in the boy's eyes.

“Y/n what's going on? Why are you so pale? Are you feeling unwell?” He started to panic a bit. You could bet anyone that Minho would be the last person you'd suspect of something like this.

"I'm fine. My stomach hurts a bit." You gritted your teeth as you tried to get up off your knees. However, the contraction in your lower abdomen was so strong that you immediately fell to the ground, clutching your stomach.

Minho quickly rushed over to you, put your hand around his neck and took you in his arms. He carried you, like a princess, to bed. Even though you felt bad, you couldn't help but notice his lovely features. His purple hair covered his beautiful, sparkling eyes.

He placed you gently on the bed and was about to leave, but you grabbed him by the sleeve of the leather jacket he wore so often. The boy looked at you in surprise and sat next to you on the bed.

“What's going on Y/n?” Your snow-white face turned red as soon as he spoke.

You fought with yourself for a long time to gather yourself to tell him the truth. But the longer you sat in silence, the more the chance of someone helping you slipped away from you.

“So…I well…I have…period.” You whispered so softly that even the boy sitting next to you couldn't hear.

"Do you think I know what you're saying? Use a little voice, it'll be easier." He bit back aggressively, but didn't cross the line.

“I have…I have my period.” The boy's expression as soon as he heard about it was priceless. The boy was shocked, his whole body tensed and he started to wander around the room. “I have a request…Could you…Could you buy me some sanitary pads? I can't get out of bed, and if we don't want a bloody flood here, I need some pads." You finished and hid your face in your hands.

The boy just nodded his head and without a word, quickly walked out of the room closing the door behind him. You were left alone in the silence, you could have sworn that the boy blew you off and laughed right after he left the room. However, you faintly hoped that he might have some sympathy for you.

But right now it was more important not to get carried away by the pain that was attacking your whole body. You closed your eyes in search of relief, but your rest was interrupted by a knock on the door.

You didn't even manage to open your eyes when the other 7 guys entered the room. Everyone was holding something else in their hands. From a hot water bottle to all kinds of sweets. The boys gathered around you, asking about everything. The questions mixed with each other, causing confusion in your head.

You finally couldn't take it anymore and burst out. "Hey, but did you know that period is not a fatal disease?! Tomorrow will be better. I just need to rest for a while." Your slight elation stunned the others. Each of the guys handed you what they had for you and stepped back.

Suddenly, Minho ran into the room panting. His beautifully styled hair was now stuck to his forehead. The boy's breathing was rapid and unstable, which made you believe that he must have been running here.

“I didn't know which ones to take at all, so I took them all. Long, short, thin, thick, pink, blue, green…” the boy went on as he took out more packages of sanitary pads and tampons.

Your eyes got bigger with each packet. You didn't even know that someone would actually come up with the idea to buy probably every possible option of menstrual products they had in the store.

"Thank you guys, I really appreciate what you're doing for me, but let me take my pill, put my hot water bottle on and take a nap." You said grabbing a small medicine container and taking out a small white pill.

The boys have agreed that they will leave you, but they will take turns coming to you every two hours to make sure everything is okay.

So you were able to rest today. You didn't have to do anything. You stayed in bed all day, they brought you food, changed the water in your hot water bottle, even sat next to you to keep you company.

You had no need to lie, it was by far the best first day of your period in your entire life.

The following days of the period were definitely better. You felt much better, your stomach didn't hurt, and your face regained its color. Even a smile appeared on your face, and you went to school normally. Of course the boys were still happy to help you and drive you everywhere.

The problem started on the 4th day when you woke up. Your breathing was quickened and your whole body was pierced by a pleasant warmth that surrounded your core the most. You've never had a dream like this before.

You dreamed that you were sitting in your room when Minho came to you and without further ado kissed you. You liked it very much and you kissed him back. After a while others started coming and you slowly tasted them. The taste of their sweet lips drove you crazy. The contact of so many lips with your sensitive body turned you on very much. The kisses got more and more passionate and you were getting wetter. But before anything else could happen, you had woken up.

You knew it was going to be an interesting day, you had a terrible desire. It's good that you were the only one who didn't have classes today and could calmly control your lust.

You got out of your warm, comfortable bed and went to the bathroom to freshen up. As usual, your bath was slow and very pleasant. Warm drops replaced the lips of the boys, stroking your arms, waist, thighs. That feeling of a knot forming again came back.

You closed your eyes and slowly moved your hand from your face to your breasts. You grabbed the nipple between your fingers and began to twirl it, squeezing it lightly from time to time.

Even though you knew it wasn't appropriate, you tried to imagine that instead of a drop of water, it was the boys' mouths flooding your body with passionate kisses. Your breathing quickened and your head involuntarily threw back. You knew you were excited. With your free hand you slid down to your clitoris, pressing it, you started to make small circles.

A low, muffled moan escaped your lips. You leaned against the still-cool wall to keep your balance. Your chest was rising and falling rapidly. Your breathing was shallow. You couldn't help but bite your lip. The idea of boys was driving you crazy.

You felt that your orgasm was already close, you were no longer able to hold back the melodious sounds flowing from your mouth. Suddenly you heard a loud bang of the door closing. Your eyes opened wide, and the image of the boys who had touched your body a moment ago disappeared. The whole wonderful mood went to fuck, and you ended the shower unfulfilled.

You were pissed at whoever slammed that door in that moment, but that meant you were finally home alone and you could finish your fun, in peace. You quickly jumped out of the bathroom and, wrapped in a towel, went to your room to get dressed

You were wearing beautiful red lace panties. Even though you had your period, you really wanted to wear them. After all, there are tampons. You didn't bother to wear a bra though. You pulled a short floral summer dress from your closet and put it on. You felt like you could run around the meadow right now chasing butterflies.

Satisfied, you went to the kitchen, which was beautifully lit by the sun coming through the large window. Your skin glistened in the sun's rays and warmth enveloped your body.

You wanted to make yourself breakfast taking advantage of the lack of people at home. You were finally free to rummage through the lockers without fear of being judged. You walked over to the fridge and was about to open it when you saw a small white note.

The first thing that caught your eye was your name. You already knew it was probably another order that Lino gave you. And of course you weren't wrong. It said in small letters that you had to clean the whole house until they got back.

At first you were pissed at Minho's next order, but after a while all the tension left you. For letting you live with them, you could at least do that much.

You quickly ate breakfast and went to the men's grotto, where you started cleaning. You put on some music in your headphones and let yourself be carried away by the songs. Before you knew it, you'd almost cleaned the entire downstairs floor. All that's left is to arrange things in a huge wardrobe.

You started to clean up the books when a small gold box caught your attention. Unable to resist, you grabbed it and opened the delicate lid. You see a pile of old childhood photos.

You looked at each photo carefully, because the place where they were taken seemed familiar to you. You were shocked and your heart skipped a beat when you came to a picture of a little boy. You knew this person well, he was your childhood best friend, and by the way the first boy you had a crush on. Unfortunately, after another move with your parents, your contact broke off, approximately 10 years ago, and you have never seen him again.

The photo in that house meant only one thing, that one of those guys was your childhood friend.

But which one? You wondered. So many emotions and conflicting thoughts were running through your head right now. How come you didn't recognize him? Has he recognized you? You couldn't take your mind off it even for a moment.

All you knew, at that moment, was that you wouldn't stop until you found out which one of them was your friend. The worst part was that none of them looked like L, because that was the name you remembered the boy had.

Tormented by thoughts about the found photo, you quickly finished cleaning and went upstairs to cover the entire ground floor. You started with the kitchen, as it was the best option, right in front of the boys' rooms, which you were a little afraid to enter.

You turned up the music on your headphones and started cleaning out the top cabinets. The dust in the air tickled your nose. You started to sneeze and it was a good thing you had something to grab onto, because standing on your tiptoes on the kitchen counter and reaching to the end of the cupboard wasn't a very smart or safe idea.

Trying to reach the last scrap that was farthest from you, you had to reach even further. Suddenly, you felt a rather strong blow to your buttock. You jumped in fear, but a sweet moan escaped your lips. You looked down to see who spanked you and saw Changbin. You were surprised by his presence, after all, only you had the day off. You wanted to go down to the boy, but your foot slipped off the counter and you almost fell. However, at the last moment, Bin caught you.

You felt his strong hands on your buttocks, holding you tightly. Your legs wrapped around his waist. You landed perfectly so that his face was between your tits.

The slight vibrations caused by the boy's lips, who obviously wanted to say something but couldn't, caused you to tighten your legs around him and several sweet moans escaped your lips.

The boy, gasping for breath, walked over to the counter and sat you down. Only the contact of the cold stone with your skin made you move away from the boy. However, the heat between your legs began to form again.

"Y/n I understand that this is how I affect girls, but to the boobs right away?." He started getting closer to you. He placed his hands on your bare thighs and moved them as close as possible to your core.

"I don't want to say anything, but you're the one who slapped my ass." You decided to join in the fun and tease him a bit. The desire in you grew stronger, and you became more and more courageous.

“I couldn't resist, your beautiful round buttocks sticking out from under the dress attracted my attention too much.” He continued slowly bringing his face closer to your neck.

As soon as his lips met your skin, you tilted your head back, allowing him easy access. You threw your arms around his neck and pulled him to you. It was the signal for him to start. You felt every muscle in his body move with your touch, adjusting to your movements.

“Fuck y/n you’re so hot. I could take you here and now." Those words hit you like a red rag to a bull.

You slowly and sensually licked your lips, not taking your eyes off the boy. The sun shone on his muscular body, showing the muscles.

You smiled at him and pressed your lips together. The kiss wasn't innocent at all, it was full of passion and lust.

His hands continued to caress your thighs. You felt like you were in heaven. Finally, you didn't have to imagine boys. You had one live and exclusive.

You deepened the kiss, slightly parting your lips. The boy immediately took advantage of the opportunity and crept his tongue into your mouth. Your tongues fought for dominance, saliva mixed, and your breaths became the only one.

You couldn't control yourself and grabbed your chest. With slow but firm movements, you began to caress your breasts. The extra stimulation only increased your desire.

You pulled your mouth away from the boy to gasp for air. You were both breathing heavily, and the boy had no intention of pulling away from you.

He noticed your hand, which was now playing with the effect that was visibly sticking out through the dress. 

You felt a firm grip on your wrist. Changbin grabbed your hand and put it around his neck.

"Let me help you baby girl." One corner of his mouth rose up. Kissing your sensitive neck, he began to move lower and lower. Slowly, stroking your body with his fingertips, he slipped down one strap of your dress.

Your body was craving more attention, and Bin's slow movements were driving you crazy. Unable to take it any longer, you grabbed his hands and placed them on your chest.

The boy was slightly surprised at how needy you were, but his expression quickly changed. The surprise in his eyes turned into a swashbuckling smile.

In one swift move, he pulled your dress down, exposing your breasts. The cool breeze that brushed your skin made you arch, moving even closer to Bin.

The cold air was quickly replaced by the boy's hot lips. A louder moan escaped your lips. Before, no one focused so much on your breasts.

The boy's tongue swirled around your nipple, moving from one breast to the other, spending the same amount of time on each.

Your pussy began to slowly throb, demanding more attention. Your whole body tensed as Changbin lightly bit your nipple. A victorious smile was painted on the boy's face as you grabbed his hair and pulled him closer to you.

One of his hands slid down your waist, stopping between your legs. He cupped your nipple with his mouth and sucked hard on it.

The warmth of his lips and his saliva which additionally moistened your nipples caused that a muffled bunch of melodious moans came out of your mouth.

Satisfied with his actions, he crept a hand up your dress and only when you felt one of his fingers approach your panties you did stop him.

The boy looked at you worried. It's like he's scared he hurt you.

"Something wrong Y/n? Too soon?" He got worried and was about to pull away from you when you grabbed his shirt.

"I'm just still on my period, but that doesn't stop me from pleasing you." You said biting your lips.

You quickly jumped off the counter and grabbed his shirt, dragging him into the living room. You pushed him onto the couch and fell to your knees.

The boy made himself comfortable on the couch. He put his hands on the back of the couch and made his legs in a man's spread. He smiled nonchalantly.

You, like a cheetah on the hunt, began to creep towards him, on your knees.

He licked his lips as you ran your hands over his thighs. Your face was very close to his crotch, and your gaze never left his beautiful shining eyes for a second.

You pulled his shirt up with one hand, revealing his well-sculpted belly. You knew Bin was muscular, but not that much. You placed your other hand on the boy's already hard penis.

You didn't see what his penis looked like, but you knew it was big. You started to massage it through the material, causing him to throw his head back.

You smiled victoriously and, taking advantage of the fact that he wasn't looking, placed a passionate kiss on his stomach, right next to the line of his boxers. The boy's body tensed, which made his muscles even more visible.

Unable to hold back any longer, you grabbed the fabric of his pants and pulled them down along with his boxers. You saw Changbin's large, fully erect penis. Your eyes widened and you sat motionless for a moment, staring at his dick. You thought it would be big but not THAT big.

However, seeing the boy, whose slightly narrowed eyes were fixed on you, you shook yourself out. You grabbed his penis at the base and ran your tongue along its entire length in one fluid motion.

A single moan escaped his lips, echoing in your ears. You knew it was the right way. 

You took the tip of his member into your mouth, sucking lightly on it. The boy threw his head back again as soft lips wrapped around his foreskin. The boy's penis began to throb slightly in your mouth, releasing pre-ejaculate. A slightly brackish liquid ran down its length, landing on your tongue.

Feeling the taste of the boy, you wanted to put the larger part of the penis in your mouth. You could safely say that half of his dick was in your mouth.

“Fuck, y/n. You are amazing." He breathed out between deep breaths. He reached out to you and grabbed your hair. Making your head move, tailored to his needs.

You moved your head slowly for now, your tongue running the entire length of his cock. The heat between your legs grew and became unbearable. Who would have thought that giving a boy a blowjob would turn you on so much?

You grabbed the rest of his member with one hand, stimulating him further. You perfectly combined the movements of your hand and your mouth, maximizing pleasure, and the boy's reaction only confirmed it to you. 

Changbin was sitting on the couch with his hand still in your hair. His breathing was unsteady and his eyes stared at you with command. Small droplets of sweat began to form on his exposed belly, and moans of pleasure escaped his mouth from time to time.

Unable to control the desire for fulfillment anymore, you stuck your free hand into your panties and began to make small circles around your clitoris. The touch on the very sensitive clitoris made you close your mouth harder and hand on Changbin's cock. This caused waves of slight tremors in the boy.

The grip in your hair showed that the boy was already close. You too felt your orgasm slowly approaching.

You sped up your head and arm movements. The boy's dick hit the back of your throat, making you gag, but you continued to give him pleasure. After a few more powerful movements, the boy came with your name on his lips. His cum shot out, down your throat. His penis throbbed and twitched in your mouth.

Continuing to please yourself, you waited for the boy to finish his orgasm, you carefully licked his tips and swallowed his juices. And after a few moves you came too. Your whole body shook and tensed intensely. He gently rubbed your back as he guided you through your orgasm.

Once you were both satisfied, he pulled up his pants and you sat on his lap.

“Y/n, I guess we need to stay home alone more often.” He chuckled cheekily, winking at you.

You just giggled lightly, punching him in the chest. You placed one last kiss on his lips and headed to the bathroom. You definitely needed to freshen up.

You spent the rest of the day alone in your room scrolling through your phone as the boy went to the gym. In the evening, everyone came home from school tired. You invited them to the table for a tasty and exquisite dinner prepared by you. Even though someone always cooked your meals for you, you loved to cook and you could finally show it.

Everyone was eating your food and the compliments were endless. You had a pleasant evening talking about today.

“Well Hyunjin now I know what you meant when you said Y/n kisses well. Her lips are amazing, and not just for kissing." Changbin fired suddenly.

As soon as you realized what the boy said, you choked on the food that happened to be in your mouth. Your fulminating eyes fixed on the boy, who was obviously proud of what he said. You had flashes of anger in your eyes and a blush of shame on your face.

The rest of the guys stopped eating and turned their full attention to you.

"What do you mean?" Seungmin asked curiously, shifting his gaze to Changbin.

He was about to say something but you cut him off by throwing the spoon you were holding at him. The laughter of everyone gathered in the living room made you want to sink into the ground.

“Ask Y/n, maybe someday she will tell you.” Changbin smirked and went back to eating.

You closed your eyes hoping that if you couldn't see the boys, they couldn't see you either. The boys, seeing that you were visibly frustrated, decided that they would not ask unnecessary questions. After all, they would find out everything later from Changbin anyway.

Everyone went back to eating and talking together and that was how your day ended.

<;- Part 10 | Part 12.1 ->

[valeurex]

Is there any other reason why Viserys choose to wife Alicent? And was it truly all Otto's doing?

If you mean any other than repeating what most do ( that she was kind, beautiful, intelligent, etc. ) yes, then there arguably is. I do dive into divergencies based on small analysis which is a factor of great importance but I shall formulate this as solely my HC.

Yes, it was done by Otto's manipulations.

AND

No, I don't think it happened entirely by his plotting, tho yes he does play a significant part in it. Neither CAN I answer directly because I think there's a mixture of both ; my stance here is very conflicting and here's why.

The issue of Otto's orchestration is like adding to the bonfire; you may additionally try to play the wind but you don't know how the fire will behave or which way it will go ...

The main reason why Viserys chose Alicent was because she wasn't vulturing around him like other women did. The show gives us scrubs of this angle but picture yourself in his situation, you're the King, highest autority around, suddenly single and everyone knows you must bring new wife ( and not just simply but enter that kind of marriage that will guarantee production of more descendants in closest period ), there's a lot of prying eyes with one main interest (power) why women would be clawing at you, you're not a hunter but the hunted one. And then there is Alicent, who by that time shows no other personal ambitions, no rapacious power play than her deepest condolences; to help him with the weight of his grief and the way she seemed to be thoughtful about his well-being while bringing little things he enjoyed and would find distraction in ( not herself!! )

He knew her, he knew Otto, he knew house Hightower. Otto served well for years to his family ( mainly -> Jaehaerys ) , so there was nothing like diving into unexplored waters plus this was another way how to secure him tighter by his side ( hah, this was a part of Visery's ambition if anything ). People may call it as they wish but I say it was based on a pillar of whim and comfort he long knew and thought he TRUSTED. The importance of verified inner circle is crucial. It's the: ' I am bound to eternally please everyone around, so why can't I do for once something for myself? ' ahgdjsf . Most politically convenient marriage included only 12-year-old Laena, so we all don't have to guess long why it's a huge no-no for him on many levels.

Interest & curiosity. There had to be handful of moments when Viserys ( after slowly getting used to her presence ) kinda /expected/ her arrival while musing upon her enigmatic side: ' oh, I do wonder what Alicent will think of this. ' Her stance, belief, angle of view ... that kind of conversationally-opinionated curiosity.

Summary? Course of circumstances fragmented into knotting bundle that turned out to be convenient for both parties.

BONUS.

- As for Alicent: we know the girl frankly had no choice because the other two powerful men unfairly decided fate for her. BUT if I dig in to find some positive aspect here - - if she felt that bad in his company she wouldn't continue to go there, she would either complain to Otto where we would see that either he or she would find a way how to swirl out from this mess of a situation. - As for Otto: he may be hyper-ambitious but I don't think he'd push his daughter to Viserys if he'd find him dangerous or unfitting for her by any means ( well, we don't know that don't we? But let's hope not ). - From Visery's perspective - he technically and commonsensically saw her frequent presence in his domain as a green light, and that's pretty much all to put a dot. My point here is that whatever happened between them kinda flourished naturally on pedestal of friendship subsequently building with time, and that highly contributed to his final decision which by all means wasn't immediate but a challenging one to make ...

[chaithetics]

For a fluffy request: Stewy taking care of a sick reader

Couchside Comfort

Pairing: Stewy Hosseini x f (Roy) Reader/ Stewy Hosseini x reader (can be read as either the usual Roy reader or Roy-less reader as there's only one small reference to Shiv Roy at the end)

Word count: 2.5K

Author's note: Thank you so much for this request Nonnie! I absolutely adore this type of fluff! I know you probably meant sick like a cold or something minor but this felt like the perfect opportunity to do a chronically ill reader, I then had a lovely ask regarding endo from @emeraldsandelderberries and I was convinced to finish off the idea about a reader having their period and making this ask endo related. I hope you don't mind Nonnie, if you had another illness in mind or wanted something more generic, please do let me know and I can do that! I think having chronically ill readers and fics is so important and endo is so important, so this is dedicated to those two and anyone reading who has endo, a chronic illness, gynae pain etc. You all deserve a Stewy who will take care of you and I hope you all enjoy this! I'm very tempted to write more chronically ill fics! As usual, reblogs and comments are more than welcome and appreciated! PS has not been proofread (shocker!)

Content/chapter warning: established relationship, mentions of endometriosis, chronic illness,pain, periods, fluffy fluff. There is no physical description of the reader but they are AFAB/have endo.

*********************

It had been an absolutely miserable day, you’d woken up feeling a bit bloated and with an ache in your lower back. It wasn’t a great feeling but having dealt with a chronic illness for a significant amount of your life that flared up randomly and consistently through your cycle, you had sadly become used to waking up with discomfort and bloating. At least with your career and home life, you didn’t need to worry about the oxymoron of wearing jeans with an endo belly. 

But the morning had very quickly progressed from mild (for you) discomfort to a full-blown flareup with the culprit being your period. You ended up staying home and having a sick day then going to work, you didn’t text or call Stewy as there wasn’t much he could do. Endometriosis wasn’t something that had an easy guide to fix and cure, it was unpredictable it fluctuated and maybe if you just rested you might feel better by the time Stewy came home. Which you knew was unlikely anyway. 

You’d taken anti-inflammatories, had an obscenely long magnesium bath, you’d tried napping but you couldn’t get into a position anywhere that was comfortable enough and didn’t hurt. Hours had painfully, slowly gone by and you were now curled up on the sofa watching one of your favourite comfort films Dead Poets Society, even though it always made you cry. 

Stewy was home a bit earlier than usual, he wasn’t expecting you to be home already but he knew you were as he could hear the sound of the television playing something. You hear the door open and the sound of him coming in and the usual routine of shoes off and so forth. You hadn’t called or texted so he just assumes that you finished work early and you’re unwinding on the couch. 

“What are we watching?” He calls out as he follows the noise of the television to you. 

“Dead Poet’s Society.” You tiredly and quietly call out as you feel a new shooting pain travel through your abdomen. 

“Why are you watching a sad movie? This one always makes you cry.” Stewy asks as he can now see you and he knows the answer before he even finishes that question. 

You’re awkwardly curled up on the couch with a blanket around you, an electric heat pad tucked into your pants against your abdomen to provide some relief against the sharp, pelvic stabbing. There’s water and chocolate nearby. Your face is in a grimace and Stewy can see that there are some tears in your eyes, he’s been around long enough to know that they’re a product of both your physical pain and tears from this film. 

“Do you want to watch something else?” You softly ask rather than directly answering as you close your eyes, trying to sink further into the cushion on the sofa. It was quickly starting to feel like the migraine that had been haunting you for most of the day was coming back and sinking its cruel claws into you. 

“Literally anything else that isn’t so depressing.” He bluntly says as he watches you carefully. He doesn’t really complain but he’s never really understood the whole sad comfort movie phenomenon, he’s hoping something a little lighter might be a better distraction.  

“I have my period.” You say as you squeeze your eyes with another grimace, it’s a shoot wave and it feels like it’s poking your ovary. 

“Who directed that one?” He asks as he comes closer to you. 

He immediately knows the grimace and his heart pangs at that, he can tell you’re in pain but it seems like you’re in a state that you can put up with a bit of his humour. He’s hoping that it’ll at least make you smile a little or distract you just a small amount from the searing pain, even if it’s only for a brief minute. 

“I guess you since I’m not pregnant.” You say with a small smirk trying to focus on Stewy’s kind teasing as a distraction. 

“Huh, interesting, I don’t think I remember that one. Who was in it?” He questions, as he kneels down on the floor next to where your face is on the sofa. You chuckle a little, the smile feels nice but the small laugh does send another shooting pain up your side and you gasp at that before you’re able to respond. 

“Well, not you since, again, I’m not pregnant.” You try to tease back. 

“Noted.” Stewy chuckles with a small smile as he carefully smooths your hair, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead, he pulls your blanket up around you a bit more. “Do you want some peppermint tea baby?”

“Yes please.” You reach for his hand to hold it as he kneels next to you. His hand quickly envelops yours, it’s nice and warm, comforting. But Stewy is always comforting. You wonder for a moment if it would be a better heat pad than your current one or maybe if he could just be an additional one. 

“We’re out of berries.” You sadly whisper as your mind tries to focus on anything but the pain and a priority for you is of course that fruit, it’s one of the only things you feel like you could stomach right now, the chocolate had gotten too sweet far too quickly. 

“We’re not. I’ll make some tea for you and get some, okay baby?” Stewy says as you continue to hold his hand and he strokes your cheek with his thumb, you can’t help but melt into his kind, safe touch. 

“I don’t want to move, and I don’t want you to go.” You groan out as you curl inwards, trying to find some position that isn’t too uncomfortable while internally it feels like your organs and the endometriosis tissue are going off to another war against each other and you already know who has won. 

“I’m not going anywhere. They’re frozen, there’s always an emergency stash for you.” Stewy reassures you as he continues to stroke your face and presses a few more soft kisses onto your head as he becomes more worried at your pain, he often thinks it and he knows you do too but moments like this always surprise at how awful such a common illness can be and he wishes that there was a cure, some magical treatment to completely prevent the flare-ups, that it wasn’t all trial and error and ridiculous potential side effects. 

“Really?” You question, your eyes opening at that. That simple, thoughtful piece of knowledge is without a doubt, the highlight of your awful day. You’re so in love with him and grateful for him. You smile a little bit more at that. 

“Yes… But it’s that bad you don’t want to move?” Stewy asks visibly concerned. As any partner would, he hates seeing you go through this and it always concerns him, how awful it is and that not much can really be done. 

“If I move it eliminates the possibility of the couch swallowing me whole.” You nonchalantly answer. 

It had been a fantasy you’d had when today’s endo flared up, the internal uprising had begun and it was still a very appealing fantasy. You were certain that if the couch did swallow you whole it would be rather soothing and you wouldn’t feel any pain. 

“I guess I skimped out on this couch babe, it doesn’t have that feature. I’m sorry baby. But I did it because I know of your wanting to be couch-swallowed tendencies.” He teases as he continues to stroke your face and you giggle a little at his ridiculous joke. 

Stewy’s many things, ridiculously handsome, intelligent, savvy and witty but he’s also extremely gentle and even goofy. You’re so grateful for him and he’s always this way with you, he’s so loving and you don’t think there’s ever been someone who has seen this all and has continued to show up, to support you and make you feel so loved. You wished this migraine wasn’t here and you could take in his physical beauty and not just his emotional beauty. 

“I’m going to make you some tea and grab the berries, okay baby?” He asks softly in the sweetest voice he has, it’s a voice reserved only for you. It’s literal warm honey to your ears and soul. You nod, he kisses your hand and gets up to head to the kitchen. 

You close your eyes again and snuggle into the blanket more. The couch still hasn’t swallowed you whole, unfortunately, which is surprising considering how large it is. But you suppose that’s a good thing since Stewy’s here now. You listen to the soft patter of his feet that you can hear in the kitchen and him humming as he opens cupboards, and makes the cup of tea. 

After a couple of minutes, he comes back over, placing a bowl of the aforementioned berries onto the coffee table and has 2 mugs in his other hand. You move to try sitting up and he sits on the end of the sofa as he carefully hands you the mug of the warm peppermint tea. It’s so nice and warm in your hands, you take a few sips of it and then a large gulp, wanting the herbal medicinal effects to hurry up and kick in. You hold the warm mug in your hands for a few moments, basking in the heat as Stewy sits next to you with his hand running up and down your back, soothingly tracing gentle patterns across it. 

You lean over to place the mug carefully onto a coaster on the coffee table, you try to stretch a little as you know movement will help but it feels impossible. You then lean back and curl up into Stewy’s side but after a few moments you slink down until you’re lying on the couch again but with your head and part of your upper body curled up into his lap. You close your eyes as you feel the gentle movements of his stomach moving a little with each breath and the warmth of his cosy, signature turtleneck. 

“Do you have a migraine as well honey?” He asks softly and you nod. 

“It’s been on and off all day, like a goddamn ghost haunting me in a haunted house.” You exasperatedly sigh. 

His heart breaks at that and he quickly moves a hand to gently massage at your lower back, he knows it always gets tense and is frequently a source of pain during your flare-ups. But he moves his other hand so that he can gently press a bit of pressure to the pressure point near your temple to try and bring you a bit of relief from your migraine. 

“Is that okay?” He gently asks as he continues. 

You smile at the feeling, of having such gentleness, love and support. Despite the pain and how cheesy it sounds, just his presence is already helping and giving you a bit of comfort during this awful pain. You nod quickly, moving your hand up to give a gentle squeeze to the hand massaging your lower back. 

“Yes sweetie, thank you. I love you so much.” 

“I love you too baby.” He says as he continues with what he’s doing. The film eventually ends and he’s happy about that, he’s silently praying that your next choice might be something a bit lighter or that you’ll be open to a minor suggestion, although he totally respects that not being the case. Today is a day with you and your comfort being the focus. 

You’ve had some more meds and you’re still in pain but you’re feeling a little bit more comfortable with movement and having an extra blanket around you. You sit up for a moment to drink some more of the tea and eat some of the mostly thawed-out frozen berries. There’s something about the cold taste of them that helps during a flare you swear. You look at Stewy and the migraine is definitely currently feeling a little bit better. 

You’re in awe of his gentleness and the way that those deep brown doe eyes of his are looking at you with adoration, even with you looking and feeling absolutely miserable. He’s always been handsome but there’s something even more special about him in moments like this you think. 

“Thank you for-” You start to say before he can cut you off. 

“You don’t need to thank me for this baby.” “But-”

“No, I don’t even want you to try.” He says with a playful but kind smirk on his face as he looks at you. 

You laugh a little and nod. Then lean over to give him a kiss on the lips, it’s soft, gentle, warm and loving. You feel yourself melt into the gentle but brief kiss, and his hands gently rub at your back as he kisses you back softly. It’s a sweet kiss and when you pull away, you place your hand on the side of his cheek, feeling the perfectly trimmed dark stubble of his beard. 

“I really do love you, you know?” You say with a small smile. 

“I know, it kind of helps in these romantic situations.” He teases and you roll your eyes before moving back down to lay in his lap again. “But I love you too baby.” He has a hand stroking your face again and you can feel yourself starting to feel like maybe napping is finally an option. “Did you want a bath?” He asks after a moment of thought. 

“I had one a few hours before you came home.” You answer tiredly. 

“Did you want another one?” He asks in that ridiculously sweet voice that would absolutely melt you if you weren’t in so much pain. 

“Maybe later.” You pause for a moment thinking while in his lap and enjoying being surrounded by him and the warmth from his body, the heat pads, and the blankets. “Did you want to watch Little Women?” You ask a little bit more cheerily. You hear Stewy sigh a little at that.

“I thought you’d never ask.” He’s so glad it’s something a bit happier than Dead Poets Society. “I think I’m more handsome than Laurie.” He says it almost absentmindedly as the film starts. 

“You are.” You immediately agree, he is, without a doubt and always has been, no matter what adaptation you watch. Although the 2019 one is a favourite in this household. “But you are an Amy.”

“What?” He asks in shock. 

“You are!” You respond with a smirk.  

“If you weren’t in excruciating pain right now I’d consider biting you.” He says it mockingly and you giggle a little at that. 

“Are you saying you don’t want to play bitey?” You tease. Knowing that as you’d gotten older that was not a normal game in normal households.

“Well, I know for a fact that you don’t like bitey.” Stewy immediately says, it was a fact, Shiv was always known for taking the game too far. “But I just can’t believe you’d say that baby, that’s cruel. I’m so not an Amy.”

[aghostrandom]

W.I.T.C.H., interview with the creators

Some time ago, I made a post about "the original Elyon being a guardian," and since everyone was confused, I thought I'd translate the interview from which I read this information.

I don't know if someone else has already done it, but since I didn't find anything online, I decided to do it myself. I will translate the entire interview with the help of an online translator and a friend of mine.

Just remember that this interview was published in April 2021, marking 20 years since the release of the first volume.

Enjoy!

Here the original link in italian: https://heroica.it/w-i-t-c-h-20-anni-barbucci-canepa-intervista/

It is April 3, 2001 when Italian newsstands are hit by a small earthquake, which will soon transform into a hurricane...

The first issue of W.I.T.C.H. is released, a comic magazine that will shatter every sales record in a matter of months, embarking on a quest to conquer the world.

It all begins in Milan, at the headquarters of Walt Disney Company Italy, with an intuition of the then-director of the company's women's periodicals, Elisabetta Gnone, and the talent of two young artists, Alessandro Barbucci and Barbara Canepa, whom I have interviewed for you.

Interview with Alessandro Barbucci and Barbara Canepa

Let's start from the origins: How was W.I.T.C.H. born?

Alessandro Barbucci: It was 1997, Sailor Moon was still fresh in everyone's memory [the last series had been broadcast in Italy between March and May of that year, editor's note]. And then there were the Spice Girls...

"Sailor Moon was ironic, arrived at the right moment; the Spice Girls were five purely pop characters, worthy of a cartoon - during that period, we were big fans, we even went to see the movie in the cinema!" Alessandro revealed to me.

Elisabetta Gnone, who was then in charge of the women's periodicals at Walt Disney Company Italy, had a great intuition: she realized that there was a missing product for teenage girls, an audience segment that had never been considered by the major company before. When thinking about teenagers, one couldn't ignore what was happening in pop culture at that moment...

Barbara Canepa: During that period, a passionate fanbase for manga was beginning to take shape. it was clear how this new language was able to respond to the tastes and needs of teenagers - not just boys, but girls as well!

In fact, up until that moment, it was believed that girls didn't read comics. It was precisely with shoujo manga (like Sailor Moon, but not only) that this belief began to falter.

Canepa: Exactly. I had already been an avid manga reader since the days of Candy Candy: we're talking about 1986 when Mondadori released the first monthly editions at newsstands. I started reading my first manga at the age of 12, and at 16, I saw Akira (1988) for the first time in theaters. In fact, I was the one who got Alessandro passionate about this style, even though he already had some knowledge of it. We felt that the language of manga was the best way to visually "tell" this story.

Barbucci: Initially, I proposed girls in a steampunk, military style. I was a big fan of Tank Girl by Hewlett and Martin.

In my mind, Hay Lin had already existed for a long time: I had been drawing her since high school, but she was a punk with military boots," Alessandro revealed to me.

Elisabetta Gnone told me that the concept was considered too "masculine," so she proposed the idea of the five witches, which directly connected us to manga. Some people at Disney Italy were afraid that, given the theme, it would veer into Satanism, but their greatest fear was the manga-style big eyes!

Canepa: For them, it was inconceivable to publish a comic even vaguely inspired by manga, which at that time were their direct competitors in the market.

Barbucci: At one point, they considered investing in the relaunch of Daisy Duck by introducing our five characters as anthropomorphic animals. It was an attempt to somehow connect with the Disney universe.

Canepa: Yes, exactly. The project was called Daisy D. and it was intended for the monthly magazine Minnie Mag. The story featured Daisy Duck as a private investigator, accompanied by our W.I.T.C.H. characters, who in this version would have had snouts and gloves, just like Minnie and Mickey! I still have the first page done in watercolors, as we wanted to make it like the pages of Paperinik's Trip...

The scriptwriter, Ilaria Isaia, revealed to me that the inspiration for Daisy D. came from the success of "Minnie and the Magnificent Five," a story published in Minnie & Company in 1993. It featured Minnie in the role of an investigator, solving a mystery connected to five girls. Daisy D. wouldn't have been very different: "It revolved around Daisy Duck as an investigator, called by her friend to investigate mysterious events happening in a college attended by five students with magical powers," explains Ilaria.

Barbucci: Fortunately, nothing came of it.

Canepa: We were well aware that a story starring Daisy Duck wouldn't resonate with teenagers. We needed five normal girls that the readers could identify with...

Barbucci: So, the W.I.T.C.H. characters returned to being human.

For Will's design, Alessandro Barbucci Alessandro Barbucci was also inspired by "Alita" (1990) by Yukito Kishiro.

The graphic style of W.I.T.C.H., while drawing inspiration from manga, remains a hybrid of the West and the East. It doesn't stray too far from certain Disney characters, starting with Ariel from "The Little Mermaid" (1989).

Barbucci: I can tell a funny anecdote about this! As we mentioned, Disney Italy opposed W.I.T.C.H. in every way possible: they particularly disliked those manga-style big eyes. Together with Elisabetta Gnone, we came up with a game, a kind of bet with the top executives of Disney Italy. I drew a series of eyes, including manga characters, Disney characters, and our W.I.T.C.H. characters. Only the eyes were visible, nothing else. "Since you have so much to say about these manga eyes, guess which ones belong to the W.I.T.C.H. characters!" That was the bet: they could no longer complain. Well, they were wrong: they chose the eyes of Ariel from "The Little Mermaid" (1989), the protagonist of the Italian magazine of the same name, directed by Elisabetta herself, and successfully published by them for years. They didn't take it well...

Indeed, Ariel broke the Disney graphic conventions with the proportions of her face.

Barbucci: It was a "graphic shock," something that had never been seen in Disney until that moment. It was certainly a step towards manga aesthetics, with these very large eyes that we later found in the design of many subsequent characters, from Belle and Jasmine to Anna and Elsa.

We remember that you and Barbara worked on the magazine "The Little Mermaid" in the 1990s, just before W.I.T.C.H. started. In the covers drawn and colored by Barbara, I can already perceive some hints of manga style. Was it intentional?

Canepa: Absolutely yes! At that time, I bought Japanese magazines like Newtype and Animage to get inspiration. In one of the illustrations I made, there's Ariel with a straw hat: I think I took inspiration from an image of Nadia from "The Secret of Blue Water" (1990-91), or maybe from some other cover. The close-up of the face, as well as the fluttering leaves [like flowers in shoujo manga, editor's note], the pose of a model on the cover of a fashion magazine... it was all too innovative and "manga" for Disney Italy at that time, which often had something to say about my work! Even before W.I.T.C.H...

The scan on the left is taken from the website www.onlyshojo.com.

Walt Disney Company Italy didn't want anything to do with W.I.T.C.H., as we mentioned. What made them change their minds?

Barbucci: We worked on it secretly for at least a year, even at night. Then, finally, a ray of light... At the time, the main headquarters of Disney would send representatives around to other offices to find out what was being done in the rest of the world. Elisabetta was lucky to come across an American manager who was a big fan of Wicca. [Secretly from the top management, editor's note], she presented W.I.T.C.H. to him: he fell in love with it and financed the project, ordering Walt Disney Company Italy to proceed with its production.

Concept art created by Barbucci and Canepa between 1998 and 1999. Notice the homage to Minnie in the first illustration!

Images provided by W.I.T.C.H. Italia.

The project then gets underway. How did you divide the work?

Canepa: It's hard to say. Officially, Elisabetta wrote the plot, Alessandro created the character design, and I took care of the color and atmosphere. In reality, the three of us worked together on the concept, characters, and the world they would inhabit. We drew inspiration from our personal lives when creating these five girls. The city of the W.I.T.C.H., Heatherfield, is a mix between our hometown of Genoa and San Francisco, which we had visited together. Will shares my birthdate, while Elyon shares Alessandro's. At the time, I was a big fan of frogs, just like Will! Cornelia's cat is named Napoleon, just like mine - I also gave the same name to Elisabeth's cat, the protagonist of the first volume of END, the comic I created with Anna Merli. For Hay Lin's restaurant, we were inspired by a small Chinese "hole in the wall" where we often ate near our apartment in Milan... In short, W.I.T.C.H. was built and conceived based on our personal experiences: friends, memories from adolescence, and more.

Based on these characterizations, I created the character profiles that you can find in the first five issues of the magazine, as well as some internal editorials.

The character of Irma is inspired by Barbara Canepa in terms of design and personality, while Will is inspired by Elisabetta Gnone: with her, she shares an introverted personality and the detail of touching his hair when she is embarrassed.

Scans by poochieandotherfriends.it

Elisabetta chose the ethnicities and names of the girls, coming up with the acronym W.I.T.C.H., while Alessandro created the symbols of the Guardians. To draw the Heart of Kandrakar, Alessandro was inspired by a pendant, a unique piece that I was very attached to and still possess to this day!

Scans by poochieandotherfriends.it

Lastly, I'll reveal something you may not know: I was the one who designed the Witch's transformed costumes! I remember when Elisabetta jokingly scolded Alessandro, telling him to draw them less provocatively... (laughs). As for their everyday costumes, Alessandro created them, often drawing inspiration from his and our friends.

Scans by poochieandotherfriends.it

Another significant responsibility of ours was to form a team of artists who would work on W.I.T.C.H. alongside us. In fact, Alessandro and I couldn't have done it all by ourselves: W.I.T.C.H. was becoming a massive and important project, especially since it would be released on a monthly basis! Therefore, we conducted courses at the Disney Academy: Alessandro taught how to draw the Witch, while I taught manga techniques, coloring, and graphic design.

Scans by poochieandotherfriends.it

Did you encounter any other issues with Disney Italy during the production?

Canepa: There were some controversies, but at that point, the project was already underway. There were several delays, actually: the first issue was supposed to be released on Halloween in 2000. I remember that they criticized the covers: they didn't like the white background, and in the first cover, they didn't like the difference in proportions between Will and the others, which is another typical graphic characteristic of manga.

Barbucci and Canepa created the first five covers of W.I.T.C.H. and the corresponding chapter opening pin-ups.

You create the comic of the first issue: On the third page, there's a very intense panel with Will partially nude (without nipples); she appears like that later during the Sailor Moon-style transformation as well. These are not erotic images, but they certainly deviate from the Disney style. Did you face any issues regarding this?

Barbucci: Strangely, no. Maybe they had already given up at that point...

Scans by poochieandotherfriends.it

You left the project after the sixth issue. What happened?

Barbucci: The back and forth with Disney to bring W.I.T.C.H. to newsstands was incredibly exhausting. By the year 2000, we were drained from the continuous meetings, discussions, and delays... Moreover, both Elisabetta and we had realized our potential as authors. She was the first to leave: she left the world of magazines to fulfill her dream of becoming a novelist. And she succeeded greatly, as a few years later, she created the Fairy Oak series of novels, which sold millions of copies worldwide! Barbara and I were already in contact with various French and American publishers. In France, they allowed us to express ourselves artistically in a completely free way. It felt like a dream! There were so many things we wanted to talk about, things that weren't even proposable in Disney: sex, religion, politics... Sky Doll was born during this period. Furthermore, there were legal disagreements with Disney regarding the moral rights of the Witch characters. In short, after a few years with the multinational company, it was time for us to move on to other things. We needed a change of scenery!

The story you had in mind for W.I.T.C.H. was different from what we later read in the issues after your departure?

Canepa: Yes, it was darker, introspective, and more complex. It was a glimpse into teenage life presented through five very different girls. The plot had different layers of interpretation, including ecological aspects. It was certainly closer to manga in terms of themes: there was more focus on the girls' personal lives, their adolescent struggles. There wasn't a clear division between good and evil: the girls would be drawn to the Metaworld and tempted to join, crossing over to the other side of the barricade. Elyon would be the first to succumb, but they would all do so to some extent, even fighting against themselves.

Moreover, the Metaworld was a fascinating place, a natural paradise that was quite different from the medieval setting that Disney eventually created. At the heart of it all was the concept of growth and transformation, which is so dear to adolescence: the girls would have had the ability to transform into fantastic animals! Like teenagers who find themselves caught between childhood and adulthood, the W.i.t.c.h. would have been caught between two worlds, remaining trapped in one or the other, by choice or against their will. It wasn't always clear...

The W.I.T.C.H. transform into adult versions of themselves, adhering to the main theme of many majokko ("magical girl") anime.

Even Elyon, who in the version you have read is the princess of Meridian, was a very different character in our story. She was the Guardian of the Metaworld and had powers related to time, wild nature, and death. She would have tried to bring the other girls to the dark side and then redeem herself: in the last issue, she would have sacrificed herself to save the lives of her friends.

In W.I.T.C.H. #2, you can perceive some traces of the original Elyon, who at a certain point addresses the girls repeating, "Come to me, come to me..." as if trying to lead them to the dark side.

I transferred her main power, the ability to "bestow" death, to the protagonist of END, Elizabeth: with this character, I have done and will do everything that I couldn't do with Elyon, who was initially supposed to have white hair like her.

Barbucci: What was actually realized was a harmless mythology, closer to fairy tales and therefore to the Disney style. There is no mention of witches anymore... We would have focused on a more New Age aesthetic, with references to Wicca, which was very popular in those years.

After leaving W.I.T.C.H., you left Italy for France, from where you embarked on various successful projects, with Sky Doll first. It can be said that you found your dimension and creative freedom. Now that 20 years have passed, what is your relationship with W.I.T.C.H.?

Canepa: It's needless to say that the bond has always been very strong and still is today. It was our own creation for a long time: seeing it succeed worldwide brought joy, but also suffering because we felt disconnected from it.

Barbucci: It was a love-hate relationship, but I must say that it gave me the greatest satisfaction of my life: seeing dolls of the characters I drew being sold in supermarkets!

Some sketches made by Alessandro Barbucci at the beginning of 2021, to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of W.I.T.C.H.

Canepa: After twenty years, perhaps it can be said that we have made "peace" with what happened. The hardships we endured have now drifted away with the wind, and that's how it should be. Today, I can talk about W.I.T.C.H. with more tranquility, almost with tenderness. For many years, I didn't even want to face it. Initially, leaving Italy helped, but then W.I.T.C.H. reached France and the rest of the world. Over time, this forced me to look at it with more "serene" eyes, so to speak. If I hadn't left W.I.T.C.H., I would never have created Sky Doll and END, and perhaps I would have never become the director of a French series that, today, celebrates nearly 100 books 12 years after its creation. Destiny, then? I believe so. Fate wanted to take something away from me to give me something else. In hindsight, I truly believe there was a magical thread in all of this... or rather, a true witch's touch! There is a happy ending to it all: today, history reminds us that we are the true creators of W.I.T.C.H. The readers know it, and so do industry professionals. Even Disney, in the end, acknowledged us. Every now and then, Elisabetta, Alessandro, and I talk and, laughing, we say, "What if we got back together and remade W.I.T.C.H. in our own way?" In any case, this remains and will always be the most important project of my life. And to have touched so many hearts around the world... well, there's nothing more beautiful and satisfying. So, thank you all. I was happy to give you these five girls.

For Women's Day 2021, Barbucci drew again the famous pinup from the first issue, Halloween.

Current and Future Projects

Alessandro Barbucci His most recent work is "Le Sorelle Grémillet" where he returns to portraying teenage girls ("it's a bit like how I would have liked to create W.I.T.C.H. back then, but it wasn't possible"). Additionally, Alessandro continues to work on "EKHÖ" and other projects. Follow his Instagram and Facebook to stay updated!

Barbara Canepa For over 12 years, Barbara Canepa has been the editorial director of the Metamorphose series for the French publisher Group Delcourt, with over 100 published books. She has several projects in the works, including "MINA's Diary," where she will serve as the writer, while Isabella Mazzanti will handle the artwork and coloring. The work is a free interpretation of Stoker's Dracula, introducing a new way of conceiving vampires. For the past two years, she has been finishing the writing of 12 volumes of a new jeunesse series, "GREENWOOD," aimed at rediscovering and respecting nature to the fullest. Stay updated on her activities by following her on Instagram and Facebook!

[feminist-furby-freak]

The Woman-Identified Woman

by the Radicalesbians (1970)

What is a lesbian? A lesbian is the rage of all women condensed to the point of explosion. She is the woman who, often beginning at an extremely early age, acts in accordance with her inner compulsion to be a more complete and freer human being than her society - perhaps then, but certainly later - cares to allow her. These needs and actions, over a period of years, bring her into painful conflict with people, situations, the accepted ways of thinking, feeling and behaving, until she is in a state of continual war with everything around her, and usually with her self. She may not be fully conscious of the political implications of what for her began as personal necessity, but on some level she has not been able to accept the limitations and oppression laid on her by the most basic role of her society--the female role. The turmoil she experiences tends to induce guilt proportional to the degree to which she feels she is not meeting social expectations, and/or eventually drives her to question and analyze what the rest of her society more or less accepts. She is forced to evolve her own life pattern, often living much of her life alone, learning usually much earlier than her "straight" (heterosexual) sisters about the essential aloneness of life (which the myth of marriage obscures) and about the reality of illusions. To the extent that she cannot expel the heavy socialization that goes with being female, she can never truly find peace with herself. For she is caught somewhere between accepting society's view of her - in which case she cannot accept herself - and coming to understand what this sexist society has done to her and why it is functional and necessary for it to do so. Those of us who work that through find ourselves on the other side of a tortuous journey through a night that may have been decades long. The perspective gained from that journey, the liberation of self, the inner peace, the real love of self and of all women, is something to be shared with all women - because we are all women.

It should first be understood that lesbianism, like male homosexuality, is a category of behavior possible only in a sexist society characterized by rigid sex roles and dominated by male supremacy. Those sex roles dehumanize women by defining us as a supportive/serving caste in relation to the master caste of men, and emotionally cripple men by demanding that they be alienated from their own bodies and emotions in order to perform their economic/political/military functions effectively. Homosexuality is a by-product of a particular way of setting up roles ( or approved patterns of behavior) on the basis of sex; as such it is an inauthentic ( not consonant with "reality") category. In a society in which men do not oppress women, and sexual expression is allowed to follow feelings, the categories of homosexuality and heterosexuality would disappear.

But lesbianism is also different from male homosexuality, and serves a different function in the society. "Dyke" is a different kind of put-down from "faggot", although both imply you are not playing your socially assigned sex role. . . are not therefore a "real woman" or a "real man. " The grudging admiration felt for the tomboy, and the queasiness felt around a sissy boy point to the same thing: the contempt in which women-or those who play a female role-are held. And the investment in keeping women in that contemptuous role is very great. Lesbian is a word, the label, the condition that holds women in line. When a woman hears this word tossed her way, she knows she is stepping out of line. She knows that she has crossed the terrible boundary of her sex role. She recoils, she protests, she reshapes her actions to gain approval. Lesbian is a label invented by the Man to throw at any woman who dares to be his equal, who dares to challenge his prerogatives (including that of all women as part of the exchange medium among men), who dares to assert the primacy of her own needs. To have the label applied to people active in women's liberation is just the most recent instance of a long history; older women will recall that not so long ago, any woman who was successful, independent, not orienting her whole life about a man, would hear this word. For in this sexist society, for a woman to be independent means she can't be a woman - she must be a dyke. That in itself should tell us where women are at. It says as clearly as can be said: women and person are contradictory terms. For a lesbian is not considered a "real woman. " And yet, in popular thinking, there is really only one essential difference between a lesbian and other women: that of sexual orientation - which is to say, when you strip off all the packaging, you must finally realize that the essence of being a "woman" is to get fucked by men.

"Lesbian" is one of the sexual categories by which men have divided up humanity. While all women are dehumanized as sex objects, as the objects of men they are given certain compensations: identification with his power, his ego, his status, his protection (from other males), feeling like a "real woman, " finding social acceptance by adhering to her role, etc. Should a woman confront herself by confronting another woman, there are fewer rationalizations, fewer buffers by which to avoid the stark horror of her dehumanized condition. Herein we find the overriding fear of many women toward being used as a sexual object by a woman, which not only will bring her no male-connected compensations, but also will reveal the void which is woman's real situation. This dehumanization is expressed when a straight woman learns that a sister is a lesbian; she begins to relate to her lesbian sister as her potential sex object, laying a surrogate male role on the lesbian. This reveals her heterosexual conditioning to make herself into an object when sex is potentially involved in a relationship, and it denies the lesbian her full humanity. For women, especially those in the movement, to perceive their lesbian sisters through this male grid of role definitions is to accept this male cultural conditioning and to oppress their sisters much as they themselves have been oppressed by men. Are we going to continue the male classification system of defining all females in sexual relation to some other category of people? Affixing the label lesbian not only to a woman who aspires to be a person, but also to any situation of real love, real solidarity, real primacy among women, is a primary form of divisiveness among women: it is the condition which keeps women within the confines of the feminine role, and it is the debunking/scare term that keeps women from forming any primary attachments, groups, or associations among ourselves.

Women in the movement have in most cases gone to great lengths to avoid discussion and confrontation with the issue of lesbianism. It puts people up-tight. They are hostile, evasive, or try to incorporate it into some ''broader issue. " They would rather not talk about it. If they have to, they try to dismiss it as a 'lavender herring. " But it is no side issue. It is absolutely essential to the success and fulfillment of the women's liberation movement that this issue be dealt with. As long as the label "dyke" can be used to frighten women into a less militant stand, keep her separate from her sisters, keep her from giving primacy to anything other than men and family-then to that extent she is controlled by the male culture. Until women see in each other the possibility of a primal commitment which includes sexual love, they will be denying themselves the love and value they readily accord to men, thus affirming their second-class status. As long as male acceptability is primary-both to individual women and to the movement as a whole-the term lesbian will be used effectively against women. Insofar as women want only more privileges within the system, they do not want to antagonize male power. They instead seek acceptability for women's liberation, and the most crucial aspect of the acceptability is to deny lesbianism - i. e., to deny any fundamental challenge to the basis of the female.

It should also be said that some younger, more radical women have honestly begun to discuss lesbianism, but so far it has been primarily as a sexual "alternative" to men. This, however, is still giving primacy to men, both because the idea of relating more completely to women occurs as a negative reaction to men, and because the lesbian relationship is being characterized simply by sex, which is divisive and sexist. On one level, which is both personal and political, women may withdraw emotional and sexual energies from men, and work out various alternatives for those energies in their own lives. On a different political/psychological level, it must be understood that what is crucial is that women begin disengaging from male-defined response patterns. In the privacy of our own psyches, we must cut those cords to the core. For irrespective of where our love and sexual energies flow, if we are male-identified in our heads, we cannot realize our autonomy as human beings.

But why is it that women have related to and through men? By virtue of having been brought up in a male society, we have internalized the male culture's definition of ourselves. That definition consigns us to sexual and family functions, and excludes us from defining and shaping the terms of our lives. In exchange for our psychic servicing and for performing society's non-profit-making functions, the man confers on us just one thing: the slave status which makes us legitimate in the eyes of the society in which we live. This is called "femininity" or "being a real woman" in our cultural lingo. We are authentic, legitimate, real to the extent that we are the property of some man whose name we bear. To be a woman who belongs to no man is to be invisible, pathetic, inauthentic, unreal. He confirms his image of us - of what we have to be in order to be acceptable by him - but not our real selves; he confirms our womanhood-as he defines it, in relation to him- but cannot confirm our personhood, our own selves as absolutes. As long as we are dependent on the male culture for this definition. For this approval, we cannot be free.

The consequence of internalizing this role is an enormous reservoir of self-hate. This is not to say the self-hate is recognized or accepted as such; indeed most women would deny it. It may be experienced as discomfort with her role, as feeling empty, as numbness, as restlessness, as a paralyzing anxiety at the center. Alternatively, it may be expressed in shrill defensiveness of the glory and destiny of her role. But it does exist, often beneath the edge of her consciousness, poisoning her existence, keeping her alienated from herself, her own needs, and rendering her a stranger to other women. They try to escape by identifying with the oppressor, living through him, gaining status and identity from his ego, his power, his accomplishments. And by not identifying with other "empty vessels" like themselves. Women resist relating on all levels to other women who will reflect their own oppression, their own secondary status, their own self-hate. For to confront another woman is finally to confront one's self-the self we have gone to such lengths to avoid. And in that mirror we know we cannot really respect and love that which we have been made to be.

As the source of self-hate and the lack of real self are rooted in our male-given identity, we must create a new sense of self. As long as we cling to the idea of "being a woman, '' we will sense some conflict with that incipient self, that sense of I, that sense of a whole person. It is very difficult to realize and accept that being "feminine" and being a whole person are irreconcilable. Only women can give to each other a new sense of self. That identity we have to develop with reference to ourselves, and not in relation to men. This consciousness is the revolutionary force from which all else will follow, for ours is an organic revolution. For this we must be available and supportive to one another, five our commitment and our love, give the emotional support necessary to sustain this movement. Our energies must flow toward our sisters, not backward toward our oppressors. As long as woman's liberation tries to free women without facing the basic heterosexual structure that binds us in one-to-one relationship with our oppressors, tremendous energies will continue to flow into trying to straighten up each particular relationship with a man, into finding how to get better sex, how to turn his head around-into trying to make the "new man" out of him, in the delusion that this will allow us to be the "new woman. " This obviously splits our energies and commitments, leaving us unable to be committed to the construction of the new patterns which will liberate us.

It is the primacy of women relating to women, of women creating a new consciousness of and with each other, which is at the heart of women's liberation, and the basis for the cultural revolution. Together we must find, reinforce, and validate our authentic selves. As we do this, we confirm in each other that struggling, incipient sense of pride and strength, the divisive barriers begin to melt, we feel this growing solidarity with our sisters. We see ourselves as prime, find our centers inside of ourselves. We find receding the sense of alienation, of being cut off, of being behind a locked window, of being unable to get out what we know is inside. We feel a real-ness, feel at last we are coinciding with ourselves. With that real self, with that consciousness, we begin a revolution to end the imposition of all coercive identifications, and to achieve maximum autonomy in human expression.

[thisfanisgonesorry]

I'd love to request some Junkrat dreaming about his parents, especially his Mum

And how proud they are of him

Give me the feels!

started writing this fic the second u sent it (sorry tf2 fans) cos ive been brainrotting on my sweet boy augh anyway, made this junkrat/you fic just so i could work it into my sleepy time fics and also cos .. youll see

tags: fluff, light angst, sleepy time fic number 3, comfort,, heavily based off shit i grew up w as a kid in australia, paranormal ghost shii, genderneutral reader, open interpretation,, weird pov thing oops

heavily inspired by these 3 clips just in case ur interested :-) (spoiler warnings obv)

[game of tones] [bobs burgers] [tf2 comic #5, old wounds]

<3<3<3

He woke up in his childhood home, he furrowed his eyes at the surroundings and sat up, confused at how he fell asleep on the couch, and the TV buzzed from the heat. The kids channel was inactive as it tended to be late at night. He was remembering things that he hadn’t seen in years. He sat up and went to wobble his way around the building before both feet landed on the carpet.

He paused, noticing both legs in tact, then realising his arm was too. “It’s a dream.” He said plainly, realising what was happening. He began to make his way towards the kitchen, the bright light seeping down the hallway and into the dark lounge room.

“Jamison!” The tall blonde woman called out to him.

“...Ma?” He looked at her confused and she handed him a plate full of meat and vegetables.

“I was wondering when you’d wake up, tea was about to go cold.” She smiled warmly at him, all he could really do was smile weakly back. “Something the matter?”

“Uh.. Nah, nah.” He hesitated.

He’d dreamed of his mother before but not quite to this much extent. Not this much detail, it was uncanny how real it felt. 

“Dinner looks good.”

She placed her plate of food on the bench and put a hand on his face. “You look so grown up.” She frowned at him slightly.

“What?” He was taken back and put his plate on the bench too.

“How long has it been?”

He froze for a minute. “Close to fifteen years.” She kept rubbing her thumb over his cheek before he pulled her hand away.

“That’s a long time.” She laughed softly. “What’s happened?”

He furrowed his eyebrows and shrugged casually. “Not much.. Lost my leg.. Lost my arm.. Survived the Omnic Crisis.”

She grabbed his now in-tact amputated arm and ran her hands over his forearm. “That must’ve been hard.”

“It was.” 

He was a little uneasy about how she somehow knew which arm was gone. They just stood there in silence for a long period of time.

“Is this real?” Jamie laughed awkwardly. “It’s just a dream, right?”

She looked up at him and a moment’s silence passed over them and a sense of knowing filled the air. 

“I’ve missed you.” She said softly.

“I’ve missed you too but how.. How are you..?”

“I bet you’ve done great things since I’ve been gone.”

He pressed his lip into a fine line at her changing the topic but then frowned at the knowledge that she would not be proud of her son if she knew of all the awful things he’s done.

“I don’t know about that..”

“What have you been up to?” She responded casually, as if making small talk with a friend you see once a month.

“I’m a criminal now.” He shrugged with a nervous laugh. “I make a lot of money and.. It makes me happy, I’ve met a lot of good people through it. I’ve travelled the world.” He rambled a little, almost like he was trying to sell a product.

“If it makes you happy, then I’m proud of you.” She sounded faintly disappointed yet still felt genuinely proud of him for finding what makes him happy and finding people that he loved.

“You’re not.. Upset?”

“I think I can understand why things happened the way they did.” She placed a reassuring hand on his arm. “You’ll always be my baby, no matter what. I don’t think it makes you a bad person for trying to survive.”

There’s another long gap of silence, both not sure what to say next.

“Tell me about your friends.”

“Ah, my friends?” He hesitated. “Where do I even start?”

“Tell me about the big one.” She smiled.

“Roadhog? His names Mako but he don’t like when we call him that. He’s my best friend, he’s basically like a brother. He’s been there for almost everything, thick and thin, y'know? He's the only person who I can really count on.”

“And the other one?”

“Y/n.. They’re.. Well. I'm lucky to have ‘em, I think you'd love ‘em too. Y’know, in a strange way, they remind me a lot of you. They’re both really important to me and I’m grateful to have them.”

Silence lingers in the air once again, an awkward stillness of uncertainty. What do you even say in this situation? What could you possibly talk about?”

“So.. There’s an afterlife?” She stayed silent. “Why’d it take you so long to visit? Why are you suddenly visiting me now?”

“I think you know why.” A lot of ideas raced through his head, so many possibilities on why. She spoke plainly with a slight sentiment of sadness at the end of her words. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

She wrapped her arms around his torso and pulled him into a tight embrace. He hesitated but hugged her back, savouring the moment.

“I think it’s time for you to wake up.” She said softly.

“I don’t want to yet.” He said as she pulled out of the hug and kissed his forehead.

He jumped awake with a loud gasp. I was leaning over him with my hand resting on his shoulder. “Jamie? Are you okay?”

“Huh?”

“You’re crying.”

He wiped his face in a hurry with his hand and attempted to with his bicep. 

“I’m fine just.. Realising some stuff.” He smiled up at me warmly though it was clear something happened to upset him.

“You can talk to me, you know?”

“I know.” He continued to smile. I handed him a water bottle and smiled back at him. “I’ll tell you about it later. Just gotta think on it.”

[stevie-petey]

hello i wanted to say this earlier when you were talking about the wiritng of duffer brothers and specifically how they will likely be bringing back the love triangle again and i just wanted to add how it feels like a step back for all three of them! i felt like nancy breaking up with steve was important for both of them, for steve to realise that he needs to do some serious introspection and let go of the life that he knows is fake, and for nancy it feels doubly important to not attempt to stick with something just because it was there in the past, and instead allow herself to move on from a stage she feels complete with and move onto what she really wants (johnathan), even if it's unconventional! and then for johnathan it felt like the more classic, someone is choosing me when i am not usually chosen moment. i honestly, truly, wouldn't even be that mad if they break jancy up, just because, y'know they're like 19-20, and it's okay for nancy to decide she wants to explore things outside of hawkins and it's pretty normal for most people, and would strengthen that "moving on" theme they were able to capture in s2, but if she goes back to steve.............hmmmm. feels unfair thematically for steve to go back to a person he dated during a specific period of his life he wants to get away from, feels unsatisfying for nancy wheeler to be delegated to Love Interest TM (as u mentioned) AGAIN, and feels bad for johnathan because omg why??!!?!? would u do that to a character whose already lost a lot of the importance and relevance that he used to have???? remember when he used to be the main character (not to mention they literally cut out his new friend argyle for the hell of it). idk i feel like after s2 they just stopped caring about a lot of these core characters and there are so many moments i could point to and be like hey guys nice regressing you did there.

my apologies, this is getting really wrong, but you mentioned that you like themes and i LOVE your themes it's very cathartic. i am excited for s3 to see character themes continue because i understand ur working with the show itself here but it immediately upset me when they made, like, russian soldiers, the main villain of the season. i felt like we had developed two very good seasons exploring the US's ability to use its citizen's bodies, especially women and girls' bodies, in its war for imperial power, and were doing some good digging at the crux of the cold war, with the upside down and its monsters making up great metaphors for the war crimes and unnatural horrors it's willing to unleash onto people as long as the government and military benefits, with brenner and the scientists and the labs all representing this part of the government. and then we get "russian communists are bad".......right......and i'm sure you believe that....... i understand that they needed like a new villain, but i think it would have been better for them to continue that thematic critique they had established already. like, the base being in the lab is perfect! wow! what an immediate link to capitalism and consumerism in reaganamics and the ways it is designed to hypnotise you to spend your money and feed the economy that thrives on unethical practices and can only exist if it has a population hooked into the addiction of product consumption that in turn provides the economics to increase the empire. DO SOMETHING WITH THAT, GODDAMIT. The mindflayer even mind controls people which fits so well into this theme but they insisted on having the russians be the human villains of the show and it blew it so bad for me :(. i don't know exactly what they should have done, but i think maybe even having a portal open to the upside down because of all the artificial-ness of the mall mixed with the constant ads trying to convince (ie control) people to bye stuff mixing with hawkins freakiness would have been more fulfilling for me. obviously i know you won't be doing anything like that but i'm excited to get some relief through character relationships from this huge problem i have with the duffer brothers.

yeaaaaah u can def tell the show was going a bit haywire once season 3 released BUT the seasons vibes were immaculate u cannot argue with that. however yeah its wack how they brought up some cool villains and powers and then just. dropped it. do we know what happened to all those flayed people ???

as for jonathans character just becoming less and less important as the seasons go on ,,,, i grieve that every day. he deserves so much better in that aspect. and nancy !!! and steve !!!! like the love triangle pisses me OFF !!!!

as for ur russian rant imma be real i followed a bit of it but my brain is so sleepy and im not a history buff but ur SO real and valid for all that. i think the russians were fun but apparently everyone hates them ??? wild. i also have poor media literacy but thats not important rn

[thesherrinfordfacility]

LWA: That conspiracist "magic trick" document is...that's why I rarely interact with fandom spaces. S2 does indeed have a bunch of problems, a lot of which have to do with the material conditions of production and some of which are endemic to the source material. S1 was not a well-plotted or well-paced show, because the /novel/ is not well-plotted or well-paced. S2 didn't have enough material to justify six episodes, and only the Job minisode justified its length in terms of either character's characterization. Etc. Both seasons are flawed scripts saved by the leads.

The other problem here is that Gaiman has transformed a single season into a trilogy, and if there are going to be narrative payoffs we don't see them yet; it's as if PRIDE AND PREJUDICE ended with Lizzie Bennet rejecting Darcy's first proposal (which is, after all, what we got, except that Aziraphale and Crowley are both Darcy and Lizzie simultaneously). In an incomplete trilogy, there just isn't sufficient evidence to understand whether the author has missed a trick or if they're setting up a third-act resolution. For example, take Crowley's proposal, which insists that he and Aziraphale have spent their "existence" denying that they're a team. I know everyone got hung up on Tennant's intense delivery, which is great, but Crowley's narrative of their friendship in S1 ("How long have we been friends? Six thousand years!") doesn't track with anything dramatized for us on the screen, and neither does this. Is this another "Crowley is an unreliable narrator" problem, as Gaiman has confirmed he is about the Fall, retroactively constructing an emotional bond that neither character felt? OK, if so, what's the underlying narrative argument motivating this behavior? Or do Gaiman and Finnemore think that that's what the series is actually dramatizing?

Here's what I mean. In S1, there's nothing to indicate (in the script, the actors' performances, or even the score) that they have a genuine, mutual emotional connection until 1601, some centuries post-Arrangement, which is the first time that Aziraphale expresses concern for Crowley's safety and also the first time we see him successfully break out the puppy eyes. (Post S2, it's now "expresses concern for Crowley's safety as a demon.") Before that, they have unequal and fleeting moments of connection: Aziraphale is more interested in Crowley during Creation than vice-versa. Crowley is charmed by Aziraphale in Eden and pleased to see him again at the Flood, but he is guarded or hostile when they meet at the Crucifixion and again in Rome. S2 now adds that he isn't all that excited to see Aziraphale again during Job, either, although Aziraphale comes across as quite chipper about the run-in. Aziraphale is equally guarded at the Crucifixion, excited to see Crowley in Rome, and then mildly annoyed about running into him during the Arthurian period (and it's apparently still canon that the Arrangement won't begin until a few centuries later). In 1793, they've become attached enough that they've started the damsel-in-distress game, and in 1827 Crowley invites Aziraphale to Edinburgh for fun, suggesting that they are now actual friends and not just doing transactional job swaps. But in 1862 Aziraphale is cold again for reasons not explained by the 1827 minisode. (As an aside, S2 Aziraphale is just mirroring S1 Crowley in asking for big things--Crowley requests collaboration, a celestial nuke, treason, and child murder, all but one of which he gets, and the last not for lack of trying--and /Aziraphale/ is the only character making inappropriate requests for help?!) 1862 is the first time we see them seriously miscommunicating, as opposed to arguing--Crowley's approach to his request is bad and Aziraphale overreacts equally badly. And then we are shown that the emotional stakes of their relationship intensify after they reunite in 1941, when all the gazing and romantic music tell us that Aziraphale has fallen in love. Given that the script makes clear that Aziraphale and Crowley are having the same conversation in 1967 that they were in 1862, and Aziraphale still believes he's handing Crowley a suicide pill, Aziraphale's decision to yeet himself out of the car immediately when Crowley tries to ramp things up again is probably the /least/ codependent thing either character manages post-1941 in the first two seasons.

The fanon narrative in which they've been mutually pining for six millennia uncritically tracks Crowley's story, but it doesn't track the script. They /aren't/ a team or even especially attached until the Arrangement kicks in, and the first in-script signs of the codependency that will cause them to implode in S2 don't show up until the end of the eighteenth century. (In the novel, Aziraphale doesn't even understand that he genuinely /likes/ Crowley until they're thwarting Armageddon!) These are two characters who canonically get along just fine without seeing each other for years, decades, centuries, or millennia! But without the third part of the trilogy, there's no final evidence about how we should view Crowley's approach to relationship story-telling, let alone how we should judge whatever Gaiman (and Finnemore) are doing.

HI LWA✨!!!!!!

i mean first off, in general response to the entire thing:

i joke, but what you've said does really highlight, i think, a key detail that the fandom (including myself) get carried away with; that if we were to watch the show specifically with brand new eyes, without any influence of a surrounding fandom that has existed for the last six years (or 33, paying the book due consideration), the relationship between crowley and aziraphale would be regarded very differently.

but first re: Magic Trick Theory. i felt really bad for saying it at the time, but i was so full-body convinced that eps 1 and 2 were fake following the screening because they felt weird. i genuinely couldn't understand why people were saying what they were (obviously there were great moments, no questioning that), because all i could feel was a sense of unease. and that's not even because it didn't follow the tone of s1 (which i loved for its delicate balance of being the most ludicrous, dry-funny story with undertones of serious philosophy and subtle complexity), but because it felt like someone had taken a section of the story and stretched it out so forcefully across a frame that was too big for it.

i won't list off any particular issues i had for fear of causing offense, because my rather insignificant opinion is genuinely not intended as a means to shit on s2, but once i let go of the notion that this season was meant to do anything other than set up s3, have a couple of silly (but still potentially Important for s3) subplots, and just be a fun and wild ride in developing aziraphale and crowley as characters, i began to enjoy it. that was entirely to do with me and my expectations, because neil never really told us to expect otherwise. in any case, for me, this feeling kicked in around ten minutes into ep3; let go of expectations and just went along for the ride.

with the benefits of hindsight, i don't think that s2 was badly written; it was still subtly nuanced and clever, but just in a very different way to s1. it still asked questions. it still questioned the black, white, and in-between. it still had the undertones of a fairly cohesive plot. production quality, given the state the industry was in when filmed, was really commendable and honestly astounded me given the limitations that were in place at the time. david and michael's respective performances were amazing, there's no doubt, but i don't think they necessarily saved it, because in many respects i don't think it needed saving.

yes, there were flaws, but altogether it was a very enjoyable season. and whilst i realise that some people understandably watch shows for plot and thematic intricacy, artistic direction, particular acting set pieces, or anything that gives Depth (myself included on some shows), i just liked it simply because it entertained me. it made me laugh, cry, angry, bemused - whatever emotion you can think of, i can probably tell you a time during that fateful Friday morning (clutching my fourth coffee that night, having driven the m5 for a horrendously inappropriate amount of time, and in my 16-22nd hour of being awake - just setting the scene) where i felt it. i just enjoyed the ride.

(and by the by, still personally think the screenings were a mistake - fun, exciting, and communal in spirit, but a mistake)

but this brings me to the Theory. im sure this comes to noones surprise, but i love speculating. it's fun, it's self-rewarding, and frankly just helps my head Quieten Down a little. a form of self-care, if you like. i like that it's possible to look at the same scene, episode, season, and interpret it differently. to think that a character does something for one reason, but also for another, or that the plot could go this way, or it could go that way. ive personally tried to stay away from speculating based on anything but what the story has shown to us so far. yes, sometimes i joke that "haha, neil would definitely bait and switch us" etc etc., but ultimately im not the authority on what he will and won't do, and i don't try to assume that i have spotted an ulterior motive other than what has been shown to us in the show/book.

so when it came to the Theory, i loved the parts that referenced the show itself; because the interpretation and presentation of such was really well speculated. it has references, clearly had a lot of knowledge and research behind it, was eloquent and well-reasoned (however inaccurate it may turn out to be), and honestly was intimidating - in a good, awe-inspiring, jealous-of-their-intelligence way - in the depth of dedication the author had to writing it. but as i remarked in an ask from someone (@swansdreaming shout out!✨) that asked for my thoughts on it, the only real reaction i could give as to how valid i found it was that it was "A Lot".

s2 ended narratively on a problem (well, a couple of them), so it's not bold to assume that they will be largely resolved in s3. what i think was bold however is to be embroiled in how odd s2 was that there has to be a higher purpose for it narratively. i think a season can be written perhaps a smidge weaker just because it was, with no lofty reason as to why. it's entirely possible - as i got over myself - to just sit back and enjoy it for what is put in front of you, and not think much more than that in terms of the technicality of the show... just relax and trust that the loopholes, or the armoury chock-full of chekhov's guns will be explained. speculate about the future of the plot in terms of the material itself put in front of you? yes, cool. but justify the plot by way of "there's no possible way that the script/writing could be flawed?" - whilst a commendable notion and likely rooted in admiration, i think that's potentially a little audacious and even a little bit of unnecessary glorification.

but let's talk about the relationship itself. again, controversial and brave, and yet so inescapably true. i definitely think there is Something There right from the beginning, but my god, it is not love. curiosity and fascination, absolutely (to varying degrees). attraction and tension (in any form), i daresay so. but it's not love, not even friendship - frankly it's barely even respect. we see flashes of potential friendship and respect:

crowley's reaction to aziraphale giving away his sword and aziraphale being grateful for his platitude on his choice to do so

aziraphale lying to the archangels in job, and aziraphale's reaction to crowley's constant attempts to show job and his family mercy

aziraphale offering crowley dinner in rome, and crowley's stunned/amused reaction to "let me tempt you"

their mutual bemoaning about their respective roles during arthurian albion, and agreement that the weather is pretty miserable (incidentally but irrelevant - my favourite funny line from s1 is michael's damp comment, gets me each time).

but even then, all of these are rooted in other things too, if not in actual fact; the main one that immediately springs to my mind is self-interest. the overall tones of these scenes are not very warm, barely even tepid; they are just two supernatural beings, alone in their experience of being so and being on earth amongst humans (who do many problematic things that seem to confound them slightly which - fair), and relating to each other as a result. but there's not much else to it, to their relationship, when you step back and look at it as the big picture. as i said, other than a couple of lines, there's little if any genuine connection beyond relatability - and even then that's questionable.

edit bc important: reexamining crowley's line in the coffee shop re: "you only ever call me for three reasons...", this indicates that he's aware that aziraphale only contacts him out of self-interest which... whilst i think is slightly derivative to suggest at this point, it is also true and aziraphale doesn't negate it. whether crowley says this as a reflection on himself for not being worth aziraphale's time, or as a reflection on aziraphale himself (both?) is almost immaterial - but he is able to admit to himself that their relationship might not be as rooted in love and partnership as he would otherwise like to think.

the one thing i do think is correct is that they have been in a six-millennia-long dance, circling each other and mirroring each other, a constant give and take.. and aside from its overt parallels to jane austen/regency aesthetic, that's why i particularly like that the dancing in s2 was the dance it was - a quadrille (?) instead of any 1-1 dancing in the time period like a waltz was such a great reflection of this... mirroring each other in their sways and swings, circling each other, drawing together and retreating, and the occasional brush with each other (hands)... it was just so symbolically appropriate to represent this symbiosis they have been cultivating for millennia, rather than them be represented as fully cohesive together in the form of a partnered ballroom dance... incredible. and completely - once again - set up the dilemma for the Feral Domestic in ep6.

i realised this earlier today (i don't want to admit what number rewatch im on but i feel like i could get s3 greenlit singlehandedly at this point), but when i ruminated what feels like eons ago on aziraphale's tendency to place crowley on a pedestal? yeah, once again the mirroring theme continues. these two have such idealistic images of each other built in their heads, and to me (without going off for the thousandth time in Detail) it's aziraphale that starts to re-examine that image in s1 and 2.

to me, he starts to consider that actually his image of crowley was not true to reality, but still found that he loved the Real Crowley even more. but crowley ends up destroying that image entirely by the end of ep6 with his 'i love you but not that part/s, and so fuck it, "no nightingales""... i don't know if that was the intention of the script/narrative, but it's certainly how it looked to me - that aziraphale was almost fully accepting of who crowley was (bearing in he doesn't have the facts - *sideeye*).

crowley's image of aziraphale however is so inaccurate and, as with just about everything that is crowley and his story, he doesn't like or want to hear or accept the truth if it doesn't suit him. run away together? aziraphale is practically the shaking-chihuahua antithesis of running away from things. reject heaven because they're toxic? yes, but it won't change unless they perhaps try to change it themselves. we could have been us? aziraphale was literally offering this to you, and a chance (as aziraphale genuinely believes at that time, naivety notwithstanding) to actually be free and safe in being so. whether crowley clings to this narrative out of loneliness, a hope of true redemption, stubborn pig-headedness, or a combination of these and others besides, he really set himself up for disaster.

aziraphale has his hand in the issue too, there's no doubt - he's pretty incompetent about seeing things truly outside of his own comfy little world (bookshop or in his head, either works), and doesn't make any overt measures to try to infer and understand the things that are left Unsaid. whilst crowley is keeping things from him and hiding behind a mask, aziraphale by all accounts is a smart guy, and even without the full facts you'd think he'd at least be able to surmise why crowley cannot say yes to restoration... or maybe he does, but by the point that he's caught up enough to understand, crowley already lit the touchpaper and aziraphale retreats in his own hurt and sense of rejection.

the fact of the matter is that these characters, for having known each other for so long (in varying degrees of intimacy, granted), just do not know the first thing about what their respective cores are. it's very easy to focus on the star-crossed lovers element of the story (including myself in that number) and hyper-romanticise that aspect, than actually recognise the constant, problematic miscommunication and subsequent misunderstanding that - the way it's currently going - is going to lead them straight to their demise.

[theculturedmarxist]

hi! i’m 18 and just got my state ID and registered to vote! i’d like to hear your thoughts on biden’s potential second term - i think he’s incompetent but it feels like i have to vote for him bc it would be worse if trump won. kind of a “the lesser of two evils” situation

Apologies for taking so long to answer this. It's a question that's been coming up a lot lately and I wanted to try and answer it thoroughly.

In my opinion, Biden being "the lesser of two evils" is I think pretty hard liberal cope. It's a line designed to prey on people like you that might not have the experience of knowledge to assess the political situation in this country or the dynamics at play.

So you're 18. That means you were born, what, around 2005? So you wouldn't really remember Bush II, would probably have just started being aware of things during Obama's presidency, becoming a teenager during Trump's first term, and turning 18 during Biden's. A pretty eventful youth so far.

The Democrats have been "the lesser evil" for a while now, but what does that mean exactly?

Things would start to change significantly after World War 2, and especially with the death of FDR.

The Democrat's platform starts at the 10:50 mark.

The "New Deal" Democrats would last until Jimmy Carter, but 12 years of Reaganomics would pretty much kill it. It might have been 16 if not for Ross Perot in the 92 election. For that and various other reasons, like the fall/dismantling of the Soviet Union, Clinton won.

The Reagan era significantly changed the Democratic Party, but it wasn't Reagan alone that's responsible. Reagan was the product of bourgeois reaction to the New Deal. The Powell Memo is often pointed to as the beginning of this reactionary period where the bourgeoisie started to claw back the gains the working class had made via the New Deal and LBJ's Great Society. In short, the wealthy and wealth-aspirant thought that the working class was too comfortable, too educated, and too politically active for its own good, and that would have to change.

1991 saw the dissolution of the Soviet Union, one of the greatest disasters of the 20th century. For all its faults, the shadow of the Soviet Union presented a very real threat to the bourgeoisie—the wealthy class of capitalists that own businesses big and small. As long as the USSR existed, there was a viable alternative and counterweight to the USA and everything it represented. Once the USSR was gone and the threat of revolutionary communism with it, the capitalists no longer felt they had any need to compromise with the working class.

So going into the 90s, the Democrats abandoned blue collar laborers to instead start pursuing the conservative, educated, moderately wealthy "middle class," actually the same demographics that the Republicans traditionally attracted. To appeal to them (and to satisfy their corporate backers), the Democrats started a number of reactionary measures. "Welfare reform" was one, basically cutting down New Deal programs and restricting how much they provided, to whom, and for how long. Ultimately they'd gut labor power with programs like NAFTA, and send millions to jail with the "Crime Reform Bill."

Without the Soviet Union, the 90s would also see the beginning of virtually unrestrained American military intervention. Iraq was first, but Yugoslavia would be destroyed by NATO not long after.

In short, Bill Clinton and the Democrats continued what Ronald Reagan started. This stage would culminate with the 2000 presidential elections, where Al Gore capitulated to George Bush by refusing to contest the intervention of the Supreme Court in order to not upset Republicans.

George Bush becomes president, 9-11 happens, and it's 8 years of The War On Terror. The Patriot Act is passed. The Department of Homeland Security is created. First Afghanistan is invaded, and then two years later Iraq. The US is transformed into a surveillance state, and the changes that Clinton had inaugurated continued under Bush. The Democrats made a lot of noise, but they still worked with Bush virtually every step of the way, funding his wars, confirming his judges, renewed and expanded the Patriot Act, etc.

Things just kept getting worse, right up to the economic crisis of 2007. I really can't overstate how bad this was. If China hadn't stepped in and extended the US a line of credit, there was the very real danger of the entire global economy collapsing in on itself.

People had had enough. Obama was virtually carried into office on the people's shoulders after a historic turnout. Democrats weren't the "lesser evil." They were good guys, and for once, finally, the good guys had won! We'd won! No more world policing. No more terror. No more tyranny. Everything was going to change!

Everything came to a stop as a massive spontaneous party broke out. And why not? We were finally going to get publicly funded healthcare. The Patriot Act was going to be undone. We were going to end the Iraq War. Guantanamo would be closed and the use of torture ended for good. Immigrants would get a path to citizenship. The right to abortion would finally be a legal guarantee. Wall Street would be punished for putting hundreds of thousands of people out of work and costing And there was nothing the Republicans could do to stop it, with an unstoppable Democrat majority in the Senate and the House.

So imagine our surprise when none of that happened.

Instead of punishing Wall Street, they picked Obama's cabinet while millions of people lost their homes. In spite of not having to give one single shit about what the Republicans thought, Obama bent over backwards to appease them, but also to protect the private insurance industry. Abortion rights were neglected as not a priority in order to, once again, appease Republicans. The wars no only continued, but expanded. Wanton murder was employed around the globe by the relentless use of drones. Promise after promise was broken, and the Republicans made gains in congress.

Things would only continue to get worse. Libya was destroyed. ISIS was created by funneling weapons looted from Libya to rebels in Syria. Syria would be spared the same fate by giving up its chemical weapons to avoid Obama's "red line" threat.

Occupy Wall Street would emerge as a global phenomenon in response to the failure to provide the aid the working class was promised. Obama would oversee a coordinated national police crackdown, fully employing the police state that the Bush administration and their Democrat collaborators had built.

What I want you to understand is that Trump didn't come out of nowhere. 24 years of Republican and Democrat collaboration went into the groundwork for his election campaign.

And of course, it was the Democrats and Hillary Clinton's campaign that worked to elevate him to prominence. The Democrats further helped by running the most unpopular candidate in history against him and sabotaging the at the time most popular politician in the country (but it's okay, the courts say they had the right to do it anyway).

I don't know how well you remember the Trump years. They certainly weren't great, but for all the Liberal screaming about him, he wasn't all that different than every other president we had. He did some good things, and a lot of bad things. The only real difference was that all the awful things he did, Democrats and their supporting institutions pretended to give a shit about. Like Frankenstein, they went insane because of the monster they created. Instead of owning up to the fact that decades of misrule had made them unpopular, no one liked the candidate that they'd forced down everyone's throats, their arrogance alienated the electorate even further, and that 8 years of remorselessly broken promises and oppression at home and abroad had everyone completely fed up, they instead came up with an elaborate conspiracy theory about Russian subversion to explain why Hillary Clinton lost to a fucking reality TV gameshow host that they themselves had pit against her.

And now he's back! Again! And why? Because, once again, in spite of all their promises and bullshit, Biden was more of the fucking same—only somehow worse.

It's really astonishing how badly the Democrats managed to fuck things up. For all the bitching about Trump's covid response, it managed to accomplish a lot. The eviction moratorium and, ugh, "stimulus checks," kept millions of people from losing their homes. The expanded child tax credit lifted millions more out of poverty. Medicare expansions provided millions of people with healthcare and would keep them from getting kicked off it for the duration of the emergency. Student loan payments were stopped. For the first fucking time in American history people were able to get medical care at the point of service without having to deal with private insurance bullshit and at no cost to themselves! There was government mandated, paid sick leave! And we can't forget Operation Warp Speed, which provided the vaccines that Biden would eventually take credit for and cut all our throats with.

And Biden basically killed all of that. He declared Covid over and ended the state of emergency, which brought an end to all these programs. Millions lost healthcare and dropped back into poverty. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed because Biden lied about the vaccines protecting from infection, and thousands continue to die every week, even now.

The children Biden promised to free remained caged. Roe V Wade was struck down and absolutely nothing was done to prevent it in spite of knowing about it weeks in advance. Restrictions on abortion and laws punishing abortion seekers were passed and nothing was done. Laws persecuting trans people have proliferated and no one was punished. The Biden administration abandoned Afghanistan to the Taliban in order to recklessly start a war in Ukraine using a neo-Nazi run government. Now they're openly, knowingly, and willfully aiding and abetting a full scale genocide in Palestine, and threatening to rain more destruction on Yemen, another state in which it participated in genocide, another "bipartisan presidential effort, covering both the Obama and Trump administrations."

I've covered a lot here, but this isn't even exhaustive. There's more, so much more. The point though, at long last, is that the Democrats are not "the lesser evil." They are actively, eagerly complicit in every bit of evil that they blame on the Republicans. They blame, and complain, and bemoan, and then the Republicans get what they want anyway. The Democrats act upset about it, and promise to "fight for" access, or reforms, or whatever, and then it never happens. They make up some excuse like "the senate parliamentarian told us no." Or some bullshit about how the filibuster won't let them do what they really want to do. Or some dogshit about bipartisanship. Or some other fucking stupid crap, when really they have all the power they need. They just don't want to. They bitch and moan, but they actually love the Republicans and desperately need them around.

It goes back to abandoning the New Deal and waging class war against the working class. The Democrats represent certain sections of the petite and major bourgeoisie, and their interests are totally, fundamentally opposed to the working classes. They have nothing they can realistically offer us because doing so would improve our lot at the expense of their PMC servants and capitalist masters. Their power relies on our weakness.

The reason why the Republicans, who the Democrats decry as fascists, as threats to "our democracy," continue to be a thing at all is because their objectives and the Democrats are actually one and the same. The Democrats make a big show of opposition, talk loudly about their principles and "fighting for" what they think is right, and then they go ahead and give the evil fascist Trump an entirely new fucking military for his trouble.

The Democrats aren't, and have never been "the lesser evil." They're an essential component in perpetuating evil. They always have been, and always will be, and you shouldn't let anyone deceive you into thinking otherwise.

[aeoki]

Blackjack - Miracles Don't Exist: Chapter 4

Location: Underground Family Residence Characters: Hitsugi & NEGI Season: Winter

TL Note:

1. The name of the sixth of the Seven Mysteries of Yumenosaki, 悪夢ノ咲 / akumu no saki, is a combination of the words “悪夢 / akumu / lit. nightmare” and “夢ノ咲 / Yumenosaki / lit. blooming of dreams”.

I’ve chosen to translate this as “Nightmenosaki”; a portmanteau of “nightmare” and “Yumenosaki”.

2. Both “Kisaragi Station / きさらぎ駅” and “Ura S ku / 裏S区” are ghost stories posted on the Japanese online forum 2channel. I can’t seem to find anything in English for the latter ghost story, but the basic gist of it is that a young boy wanders into a place called “Ura S ku” (“ura / 裏” meaning “behind” or “opposite side” and “ku / 区” meaning “district”), and talks about his odd and strange encounters with the residents there.  The connection here that these two stories share with the sixth Yumenosaki Mystery is that they all talk about someone who wanders into another space/world and encounters odd things.

Hitsugi: The sixth of the Seven Mysteries of Yumenosaki – “Nightmenosaki[1]”.

It starts with an introduction that’s common amongst most ghost stories: Late at night, a student sneaks into a dark Yumenosaki to fetch something he forgot.

Yumenosaki is an idol training school and security is pretty tight, so sneaking in can be a difficult task.

That student snuck in carefully using a route that no one would use.

He headed towards his classroom and tried to find the item he had left behind.

But then, he noticed something was strange.

He couldn’t find his classroom anywhere. In fact, the floors, walls and ceilings were old and crumbling to the ground.

Inside that ruin of a school were creepy “men in black” who were roaming the area.

If you get spotted by those men, then you’re out. You’ll get killed and won’t ever be able to return to your own world.

NEGI: “That’s a common ghost story~ If the people who experience that mysterious stuff are killed, then how did the ghost story come into being?”

“Don’t tell me a ghost rattled on and on about what they experienced and spread those rumours?”

Hitsugi: That’s because those on the mysterious side were the ones who told, of course. They did it to warn the students not to get close to the school at the dead of night.

A school falling to ruins that’s similar to Yumenosaki and only appears at night – that’s “Nightmenosaki”.

There are a surprising amount of ghost stories that talk about how people wander into a scary world. “Kisaragi Station[2]” and “ “Ura S ku[2]” are pretty popular, aren’t they?

The reason why anyone would be scared of those stories is probably because everyone has experienced being lost in an unknown place before.

They don’t know anything about their surroundings and there’s a fear that completely envelops them… That must be the first form of fear we of all humanity felt.

NEGI: “What are you talking about? I know you like the occult and scary stuff but…”

Hitsugi: Hehe. Please don’t panic – today is a new day and it has only just begun.

I’m sure you’ll still make it for “Star Fest” even if we chat for a long time. Slow and steady wins the race, Onee-chan.

NEGI: “You’re the one who tends to get panicked. Hearing that from you kinda irritates me.”

Hitsugi: Hehe. The Seven Mysteries of Yumenosaki are all made-up stories created to hide a repulsive truth.

It’s just foolish talk to erase the line connected to God. A product created from manipulating information.

That’s also precisely what “Nightmenosaki” is.

A calamity befell this land in the past. A flood caused a great landslide and the old Yumenosaki school became buried in the ground.

NEGI: “Ohh, I see…”

Hitsugi: Yes. “Nightmenosaki” is that buried school.

Right now, the building that has disguised itself as a ruin is the underground home of Ayase-senpai and the others.

Judging by the structure and the time period, I think Ayase-senpai and the others lived underground before that, but the landslide brought the school and several other things from the surface…

Ayase-senpai and the others in his family are making convenient use of that.

And in the current era, the connection between the underground and the surface exists – even if it’s miniscule and in the form of ghost stories.

That student used the route to go underground and entered the old and crumbling Yumenosaki school – that is the truth behind “Nightmenosaki”.

NEGI: “I had this thought before but if people spread that sort of ghost story, then wouldn’t idiots set up tests of courage here and storm the place?”

Hitsugi: Those sorts of idiots aren’t suited for being idols. Not for the type of idol God is looking for.

So those idiots are placed on a black list and made so that they can never find success in this industry.

You’ll be deprived of your role if you get near the taboo. That’s one common rule Yumenosaki and the far away Reimei Academy share.

Those who get too close to God – too close to the sun – will have their wax wings melted and they’ll fall to the ground.

NEGI: “We were deprived of our role, too.”

Hitsugi: Yes. It’s frustrating. But we’re still alive.

The Seven Mysteries are a few lines that connect to God. We’ll follow those thin spider threads and we’ll escape from hell.

And we’ll kill the demon that’s sitting in God’s place – “Priest”.

God is at the centre of the world. There are still many believers in the industry who think that way.

First, we’ll make those believers of the former God our allies.

And we’ll reveal the entire truth – accusing “Priest” of being a fake God.

That’s the only way we can live. 

No. That’s the only way we can seek revenge on “Priest”.

NEGI: “Just so you know, I’m not looking for a bloody battle.”

Hitsugi: I know. You want someone to listen to your songs, right, Onee-chan?

NEGI: “No. I want someone to acknowledge me – I want someone to know that I exist.”

“‘Star Fest’ is the perfect opportunity to do that.”

“It’s the second biggest idol festival aside from ‘SS’. I’ll wear the best outfit that Anzu made for me and…”

“I’ll sing. I’ll let the whole world know.”

“That we’re right here.”

“Anzu might be in a difficult situation right now, but if I sing, then maybe that will give her some courage.”

“It’ll show her that she’s someone amazing… That she’s the best ‘producer’ who can make someone shine the brightest. Maybe that will get through to her.”

“Those sorts of successful experiences and feelings make people strong.”

“That’s what I will send to her.”

Hitsugi: Can you risk your life for that, Onee-chan?

NEGI: “Who are you speaking to? I’m already dead but I’ve been given the right to risk my life once more.”

“There’s nothing that could make me happier. Thank you, Hitsugi.”

“For giving your sister another chance.”

Hitsugi: No, no. I love your singing so I just wanted to hear it again.

Hehe… Alright. I understand how you feel now.

It’s a “producer’s” job to respect those feelings and support their idol.

Let’s make use of the Seven Mysteries and escape from here.

That ghost story proves that the underground and surface are connected. We’ll find that connection and escape.

NEGI: “Right. I feel bad since it’ll mean Mayoi-sensei’s kindness would have been for naught. He protected us all this time.”

“But if we told him we wanted to leave, he would’ve definitely stopped us. He’s too kind.”

Hitsugi: Yes. It’s unknown how much the Seven Mysteries contain the truth, but it was stated that the student wandered into “Nightmenosaki” at “the dead of night”.

Maybe that’s the only time the connection will open. Come to think of it, that’s also the time when Anzu-senpai came to see us.

NEGI: “I see. I hope we can escape before a new day arrives.”

“Otherwise, we won’t make it in time for ‘Star Fest’.”

Hitsugi: Right. All the idols standing on this year’s “Star Fest” stage will call themselves Santa…

It would be a shame for Santa to be late, saddening the good children, wouldn’t it?

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[destinygoldenstar]

Just A Couple Of Fun Headcanons Of TD Characters (Owen)

- Owen’s family (two loving parents, uncle, grandfather, & youngest of three brothers) are huge nature enthusiasts. Owen learned plenty of survival skills in the woods from his grandfather, who is a hunter, and they pay a visit to his woodland life almost every month. 

- As a small kid, Owen’s grandfather taught him how to fish for the first time, and they cooked the fish for dinner for the family. Young O was upset because they were once living fish, but his grandfather taught him that sometimes meals have a dark side to them, but that doesn’t make them any less tasty. If anything, the depth to the story makes it taste better than something bland.

- Overall, Owen’s family all have great loving relationships with each other. They’re all obese, and incredibly reckless with their spending habits. They go in debt a lot more times than you think. It’s a casualty at this point.

- Owen and his brothers go to a catholic school. They’ve been in one in all their school years. Owen’s usually the restless one during mass. He was also in a choir at one point, but he hated it.

- Owen has a list of all his sins. It’s a very small page, but he never forgets his wrongs this way. (And then becoming a mole doubled that page)

- Owen isn’t a literature person. In book reports, he draws them out in little scribbles.

- Growing up, Owen had multiple buddies and got along with people easily. However, none of them were really ‘close friends’. They were just people he hung out with from his extroversion. A lot of his classmates are really serious or have family issues, so Owen simply felt like he had everything easy compared to them and had no interesting stories to bond with. At most it’d be about a hunting weekend with his grandfather or compliments to school food that literally no one else would say.

- Despite being as big as he was, he actually wasn’t incredibly food obsessed in his early child days. Most of his weight was carried over from his family, so it wasn’t like it mattered. 

- When he was around ten, he had a dream to become an Olympian. It became a path he wanted to pursue at first... you can probably guess where that led to.

- It didn’t work out. School PE was painful and not helpful. The failure led to quite a bit of insecurity. So Owen practically begged for his parents to send him away to a summer camp he found online. A fat camp. 

- That too ended up being bad. Everyone there was incredibly miserable, and the coaches guilt tripped the kids all the time. They had to jog in the hot sun for hours, with one coach mocking that people like them could never win a race. There was also a restraint with food amounts, and boy did the kids get hungry. 

- Owen found a food stash at that camp in the middle of the night, and from borderline starving, he raided it. He regretted this, added it on his sin list and prayed for forgiveness and all of that, but he had to admit he liked it. 

- After leaving the camp, he took a studying interest in recipes for the rest of the summer, learning about all kinds of food. If asked, he could gladly nerd out some facts about cooking. 

- Owen doesn’t just eat food mindlessly. He has an understanding of a variety of edible stuff. Sometimes he’ll compare people around him to a food product to understand them. He’s cheese. Noah’s curry. Izzy’s hot peppers. And so on. If he calls someone equivalent to Chef’s food, he means that as a compliment. 

- By his teenage years, he gave up on his athlete dream and decided he was going to work towards becoming a gourmet. Not only could it pay for his family, but it was also something he genuinely enjoyed. He wanted the people around him to never be as miserable as that camp ever again. So he made a vow to share what fun he found along the way. 

- Counting what he lost at the camp, he practically doubled his size and weight by high school. Appetites definitely grow when kept too far away from food for a long period of time. But when asked, he’d shrug off all concerns. Course, stereotyping isn’t so kind, so not a lot of people in school took interest in him as a person aside from the occasional gross-out gag that landed once every twenty attempts. 

- Owen has a whole closet full of stuffed animals. Those are his ‘friends’. As much as he won’t want to admit it out loud, it’s obvious to a few people that he has a crippling sense of loneliness. He can’t be in a room by himself for five minutes without panicking and thinking no one wants him. The stuffed animals aid it and help him sleep at night. He still sleeps with a plush toy to this day.

- Owen doesn’t actually process his bisexuality. In his mind, it’s completely normal. This guy can’t stay in a closet even if he tried.

- Owen’s audition for Total Drama was just him eating cheese and expressing all the fun party ideas he has for the other contestants. He admitted he didn’t think he was gonna win or anything, but what he really wanted was to fit in with a crowd he can connect with from a dramatic experience.

- They picked him for the show because of his mascot demeanor. They had ‘comic relief’ in mind from the start. “He’d make a great running gag; Just LOOK at him!”

- Needless to say, Owen won Island (in my canon) and gained loads of buddies from the experience. But then he gave up his money for the million solely because he wanted to have fun. He didn’t think there’d actually be consequences.

- Owen has an obnoxious amount of screen time on the show because the producers always market him as the main joke character of the show. They need him for the comedy purpose. The more he’s on that show, the more he’s molded into that role as his stereotypes, both the comic relief ones and the offensive fat kid ones. But he stayed anyway because he cared about the people around him, and thought they were genuinely interested in him as a person. (They weren’t. They only saw him for his role.)

- Unlike everyone else, Owen genuinely thought Chris and Chef cared about him. Chef was always making ‘delicious’ meals for him and all his friends, and Chris shared his enthusiasm for the ‘fun’ games. When Owen was in the hospital from is broken jaw, Chris paid the medical bills to assure he’d come back to the show right away with special treatment. After his first elimination in Action, Chris pulled him for the mole job, setting it up as wanting to help Owen and his family for their cheese cellar situation. He confessed that without Owen, he didn’t know what the show would be like. Owen took that as though Chris cared about his well being, so he accepted the job. (Chris and Chef didn’t actually care about Owen as a person; They just wanted his jokey image)

- The mole role was miserable. Everyone became disgusted by Owen after that. It took a LONG TIME for anyone to talk to him since then. He dated Izzy, and he occasionally visited DJ for support in their family’s broke situations, but other than that, nobody wanted to hang out with Owen anymore. 

- World Tour was his chance to rebuild his friendships and get a fresh new start. But the thing was, Chris had replaced him as his prize camper, especially now that Alejandro and Sierra were in the picture. Childish comedy was out, and sadistic comedy was in. 

- I already made a post about Owen in World Tour. TLDR, he didn’t rebuild any of his friendships. Everyone bullied him, used his kindness, and then abandoned him, leaving him all alone. 

- He tried to come back to the show, but Chris didn’t want him back. He didn’t compete in All Stars because Chris wanted that to be a ‘serious season’ for the ‘serious characters’. And well, Owen was framed the entire show as a joke. 

- Needless to say, Owen believed that. He believed his feelings didn’t need to be taken seriously, and that he was very shallow, pretentious, and one note. To hide any negative emotion of feeling less important and unheard, he embraced the role with a smile, especially since he had someone to look after.

- Life after Total Drama wasn’t easy with the debts and the loneliness being untreated. He had next to nowhere to go without the show. It wasn’t long before he found that someone else was in the same boat as him. He was also the only person who didn’t shut Owen out after the show. So their agreement to become Reality Pros was mutual. Owen just tagged along to whatever Noah was doing, and they went from there.

- They went to move out and live together, and they moved all around the world depending on the show. Owen was the one responsible for groceries, and Noah was responsible for everything else. For the long time that they spent with their career together, Noah became Owen’s whole world and dreams. He was what Owen wanted from the start, as the friend he needed, who understood him and wanted to be near him. 

- Beary got a funeral in Brazil. RIP. 

- His biggest fears were flying and letting Noah down. If he screwed up, he felt bad about it. He didn’t want anything to be about him and instead, let it all be about Noah. It’s not like shallow Owen had anything interesting going on anyway. (A mindset from Chris’s psychological torture)

- And then Noah fell in love...

- Owen cared about Noah. A lot. Suffice to say. So when he realized Noah didn’t feel the same at first... it was a bit hard to stand, especially to not show any of that despair in front of Noah or the camera. 

- Owen did what he thought he was supposed to do. Help his little buddy get the girl. Even if that meant it was far more apparent that Noah wouldn’t need him anymore, eventually. If anything, Owen dreaded that Noah dating Emma would mean Noah would abandon him like everyone else did. But Owen assisted the relationship anyway because he puts Noah’s needs over his. Always. 

- Noah and Emma didn’t end up together. Emma said she’d date him ‘when she won’. She didn’t win. So she was still in a rocky position in how to get in law school. She chose to focus on that over dating Noah, and they both thought that was for the best. Admittedly, with Emma’s past relationships and Noah’s lack of experience with feelings, neither of them would have been as ready to start one as they initially thought. Both Emma and Kitty still stay in touch and they’re all loyal friends who will be at each others aid when needed.

- Owen pretended to be disappointed for his little buddy, even if deep down, he was wondering if that meant he still had a chance. He was sad for Noah. He was sad for Noah. He wasn’t gonna think abut himself...

- But Noah caught him crying by himself in the middle of the night, believing he failed Noah ‘like he always did’. That Noah wouldn’t care about Owen anymore, and that’d say something since Noah didn’t show that very well. He had to get the girl. He didn’t get the girl. So now it’s the fault of the sidekick for screwing it up. 

- Noah confessed that Owen didn’t fail him. Not at all. If it weren’t for Owen, Noah wouldn’t know what he’d be doing with his life. Noah didn’t get in the college he wanted to, so he’d have nowhere to go if Owen never came into his life the way he did. Noah has a hard time showing that he cares about people in general, but he’d always care about Owen. Noah’s still learning how to show that care better. 

- A year or two later, Owen and Noah mutually start a bit of an asexual relationship. Noah doesn’t really strike me as someone who’d be into all the sex talk. Owen’s just happy that he can connect with someone that he can do anything for. 

- Izzy and Owen reunited quite a bit in the future after their separation in World Tour. They don’t get back together, but they remain great friends, and Brainzilla turns out to be a nice edition to the friend group.

- Owen didn’t end up remaining friends with everyone on Total Drama, but he did with Geoff, Bridgette, Gwen, and DJ. He never goes back to Chris. He doesn’t need Chris anymore with his new reputation.

- Owen has a cheese business that blooms pretty quickly. You can thank his boyfriend and his parents for the help. The flavor is called ‘Quippy Cheddar’. 

(Let me know if you want me to do anyone else)