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#just thought i'd provide some context
ninelivesart · 5 months
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About Me (Kind of)
Doing this Drawing My Reads challenge this last year, made me realize there's a lot people don't know about me. You don't have to know anything about me, of course. But since I've had an uptick in followers, I thought I'd share a few things anyway. For context.
I'm a librarian! Technically a Library Clerk because I don't have my Master's. But this last year I got promoted to Programming Clerk. And I specifically run my library's Makerspace. Which means I get to play with cool, creative machines all day. This also means that I sometimes get to just vibe to audiobooks and draw stupid stuff (it's ideal). My primary focus at the moment is our laser printer. So I will 1000% be adding those creations into my rotation soon. Expect to see some SVG files and wooden bookmarks and things on my Etsy shop soon.
2. That being said, it's important to note that I hardly ever pay for books. I have access to a full library 40 hours a week. So please don't think I'm out here spending hundreds of dollars on these books. I very rarely pay for them.
3. My education is in books. I have a degree in English and Literature. I minored in Journalism. I didn't get to go to art school because there just weren't a lot of options for me back then. So I am a self-taught artist. And I'm lucky to have found a job that combines both of my passions.
4. I am a fully adult woman. I read a lot of very adult books. I'm closer to 40 than 20 and I have a teenage son. Please keep that in mind when interacting with me.
5. My reading tastes can sometimes seem contradictory. I love romances but I tend to stick to fantasy and scifi. I don't do contemporaries very often. And I don't read classics because chances are, I've already read it, analyzed it, wrote an essay on it, and read it again. I did my time and now I'm in debt for classic literature. I'm just trying to have fun. So sometimes I might diss a popular book and be very critical about it. And then turn around and wax poetic about alien smut. I don't expect much from the alien smut. I do expect more from serious books.
6. I pick my reads with a randomizer! This is why I sometimes take a long time getting to a sequel. I have made exceptions for a series I wanted to continue right away. And sometimes I roll again if I'm not in the mood for the book I got. I'm going to try to be a little stricter on this in 2024 though. With the exception of the audio books I listen to at work. I always search Libby for what's available now so I'm not wasting my work time, searching every book on my TBR to see if it's in.
7. You are more than welcome to send me suggestions! I'll probably just stick them on my TBR so I can't guarantee I'll read it quickly. But if you think I'll like it, feel free to recommend it. I'm also happy to talk books with you if you need someone to vent to about a book you know I've read.
8. You are also welcome to add me on Storygraph (beautawn) or TikTok (NineLivesArt). I'm stepping away from Goodreads, so you probably won't see a lot of updates on there. But I post drawing videos on TikTok and I update my Storygraph pretty regularly.
9. However, I don't do reviews! Why? They make me uncomfy! Sometimes I really need to marinate with a book before I decide if I like it or not. Rating systems make me anxious. And my mood alters my decisions. I also don't like being mean. I'm fine talking about my feelings with other readers, but I don't like leaving reviews. Especially if I plan to make art for it. Don't want to draw a lovely portrait and then bash the book.
10. I do plan to continue this project into the new year. But I am planning on doing it a little different. I have some other (non book related) projects I want to work on, and I want to push myself to focus more on the things I need to improve. I really want to focus on environments this year, so I'll be drawing scenes from the book instead. Which means I may not draw a book even if I loved it.
Thank you for following my reading/art journey! I didn't expect this silly little project to have such a positive response. I love when people talk books with me and I actually made friends with a few authors this year! So overall, it's been a very positive experience and I'm ready to jump into the New Year and see what it brings!
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lactoseintolerentswag · 8 months
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Big Mama's Dialogue
I've heard a few people lament on how Big Mama is difficult to write because of how she speaks, so I thought I'd share my tips and tricks.
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I start out by writing what I intend for her to say without the flowery language added on. For example:
"I look nice in the new jacket I bought."
Doesn't sound like Big Mama at all, but it'll help you have a place to start so you don't have to be intimidated by scrolling through thesaurus.
Now, Big M has a tendency to do the following:
Use outdated American slang (anywhere from the 1920's to the 60's)
Apply alliterations (using the same letter at the beginning of a word to the adjacent/close word)
Use adverbs, so describing words with the end suffix -ly (i.e. softly, mysteriously, quickly)
Sprinkle in a few made-up words
So let's take the base sentence I provided an shape it to Big M's standards.
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Resources for American slang:
Instead of word vomiting out all the outdated American slang I know, I'm going to link some resources/websites you all can look at and come back to. She mostly uses 20's slang, so the links are centered around that.
1920's slang PDF, alphabetically organized!!!
List of slang phrases originating from the 1920's to the 2010's
Short list of slang flapper's from the 1920's used
So let's edit our base sentence a little, now it's:
"This new jacket I bought is the cat's meow."
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Adding the next layer:
I did mention that Big Mama tended to use both alliterations and adverbs in copious amounts, but don't feel pressured to use both at once in a sentence. If it fits, it fits. If it doesn't, some trimming might be useful. This is why having a base sentence is important, so the intention behind the dialogue isn't lost under all the additions you're adding. So with that in mind, I'm going to alter our example:
"This new jazzy jacket I just bought is the cat's meow."
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The last part:
I save the "fake words" part for last, because beginning with them can make your sentences clunky or not make sense. This part really relies on your personal touch or the context and tone of the situation at hand. The example I gave make Big Mama sound like she's preening about her looks, so I'm going to lean into that.
"This newsie-woozie jazzy jackety I just bought is the cat's meow! Grr!"
And for comparison, here's where we started.
"I look nice in the new jacket I bought."
And well, that's it!!! Hope it was helpful to those that needed it!!!
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bunnyteethhh · 5 months
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Erm.... Random comic ideas I had that would work instead of whatever the fuck they had now
Huskerdust comic
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Transcript::
*Making drinks*
Husk: Here. You've been acting weird lately
Angel: Whaddya mean? —i haven't been acting any differently?
Husk: if you say so,
Angel: if anything you're being weird. Why do you care?
Husk: I don't. I'm glad you feel less touchy, but. I can't help but notice how unusual it is. — especially for you.
Angel: I guess.
Husk: fuck you mean "I guess"?
Angel: ...
Husk: listen uh, I don't do this a lot. Or at all, but if somethings bothering you angel. You can tell me. —but you don't gotta tell me anythin if you don't want to.
*Flinch*
Angel: yeah uh— I'm not ready. To talk about it....
Husk: okay.
.
Explanation:
So basically some context is.. and brief s/a mentioned but not enough to be censored
I hated the idea of EP 4 so I had this idea that instead of it being explicitly shown or described. I thought about what my friend said and just shown through the victims behavior. Angel definitely stopped being flirty and touchy as he was with husk and he noticed that.
So he commented about it when Angel came to get a drink, I'd say it's pretty late anyway so they're alone at the bar.
Husk isn't much of a person for contact comfort or touch at all. So he doesn't mind that the angel seems unsettled by it now, he just finds it a bit odd.
So he respects that and lets him lean into him for comfort.
Because angel was never the one who got to dictate that, he felt that husk did care about his boundaries and how he felt. Especially in that moment when providing comfort was hard to do.
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haliteatiger · 30 days
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Happy Werewolf Wednesday, ya'll! We're serving up a big pot of tea tonight so get those cups ready!
Special thanks to Blackbackedjackal and King for their help in putting this together, editing, and especially to Jackal for being so supportive and encouraging. I'm very much not normally the type to do call-out posts, but people need to be aware of Dogblud, as she has hurt, not only myself, but quite a few others as well, and seems to have somehow gotten away with behaving like this for 20-odd years. I'm of the mind she shouldn't be allowed to do so any more, hence this post.
TL;DR - Beware of Dogblud, aka Ashryn, aka DogofBlud, aka ThatDogMagic. Very, very long post under the cut.
With everything happening with DogBlud and Blackbackedjackal's studio, I felt emboldened to come forward with my own experiences with her. This is something I've been carrying around since it happened roughly 2 years ago. It was one of the main reasons that put me off drawing werewolves, my own characters, or engaging any more in the fandom. I've hinted at it a few times but I've never had the energy to come forward and deal with the fall out. I wanted to move on with the rest of my life because IRL was more important than online drama. And I knew her behavior would come back to bite her sooner or later, regardless of what I did. 
It's been very validating to see that I was right.
It was around the time that Blud and I became friends that I was feeling a bit burnt out on werewolves. I'd been trying to pull together my own werewolf-related project for something close to 12 years. The past 4 years had also been pretty draining on me creatively and socially, as it had for a lot of artists with regards to the pandemic. I also had some IRL things I was dealing with: mainly with my marriage and transitioning between medications to manage my anxiety + bipolar.
Unfortunately, I didn't have the foresight to screenshot everything at the time. I do have logs from back when we roleplayed together. There are several conversations in them but because they were saved as text documents, they're pretty dubious in terms of solid evidence. 
It would have been better if I had taken screenshots as it was happening, rather than just saving the logs. With what I *do* have, however, I feel as though it may be enough to make the point that I'm trying to make, and to exhibit how horrible things got.
I'll provide some context.
I had talked with Blud on and off over the years, and we had always gotten along. We had a lot in common and after we had started talking more, our friendship eventually grew into a collaborative project. We were going to combine our stories and write a comic based on it. We had a lot of discussions on how Blud was reticent to do this in the beginning and how she wanted a contract to be made up so that in the event that something *did* happen, we could both walk away feeling like it was handled fairly.
Honestly, I should have listened to the first alarm that went off in my brain, when, in an act of ominous foreboding she said something along the lines of don't be so sure, it could happen. It was in response to me being like "we're getting along so well and share so much of a bond right now. I can't fathom that being a problem!" 
The contract never materialized. It was something we had decided to do *after* we had put together something of a prototype project to see how well we worked together. It made complete sense to me at the time as we were both eager to focus on the fun parts of writing and drawing together.
It was decided that I would be the lead artist (doing coloring and final lines) while Blud would do everything else (which was inking, layouts, and the majority of the writing). The both of us felt that she had more experience in those areas. I also believed that she had a better knack for it as well. I had felt that she had a better understanding of story structure than myself. And I thought that Blud had felt the same way about my art. That I had the experience to take point on that. 
Since I had collaborated with other artists and writers before, I attempted to approach the project with the same sort of professionalism I always do. Especially the projects that I genuinely thought stood a chance of being published in the future. We had started out trying to get a feel for each other's flows and rhythms. I had expected Blud to try and meet me in the middle of where our processes would potentially differ from one another, so that we could develop a fairly smooth workflow.
I had also expected, according to our discussions on the matter, that we would value each other's opinions on things and take them into consideration. We had such good synchronicity already.
In the beginning, there wasn't any unusual behavior that caught my attention. Blud was a bit uncomfortable with trying out new things but I did my best to accommodate her so that our project could move forward without too much turbulence. She had also mentioned to me before that she was autistic, and since my husband is also autistic, I knew how difficult it could be when it came to adapting to new routines. But when it was time for her to deliver the first set of layouts, it wasn't at all what I expected.
What I had expected was something with margins, clearly marked boxes, and figures that I could do rough lines over. I also expected notes that confirmed what we had discussed earlier about the project; that way I knew what she wanted or if there would be any changes. She took offense to this, feeling like I was violating our agreement. Though Blud did try to give me space with regards to the actual art, and while she would offer criticisms here and there, I trusted her opinion as an artist and as a friend. But apparently that didn't go both ways. In fact, Blud seemed to be offended that I expected more from her.
Blud agreed to concede. She suddenly seemed fine with the changes that I had asked for after seeing the layouts. I guess she was feeling overstimulated by the change and I might have been applying too much of a critical tone to her responses to begin with. I have had to deal with rejection sensitivity throughout my life and it's certainly prompted me to approach what people say to me online with a bit of scrutiny (sometimes too much).
And while I was mildly annoyed, although admittedly I was more concerned with Blud's overall reaction to my asking for clarification about several things in the layouts, I let it go. But it seemed like there was a problem. The majority of my ideas were either rejected or outright overridden with Blud convincing me that my faulty memory had made me unable to remember what we had agreed upon. Or that I might have been misremembering in my own favor.
There was one time where we were discussing a monster's design. Blud had already decided to settle on one design that she had come up with, even as I continued to offer other suggestions. The story was to take place in my setting, so I was under the impression that I got to decide what kind of creatures should populate it. The conversation ended somewhat ambiguously. I had assumed that we'd come to a solid conclusion later. 
I came back the next day and it turned out that we were using her design because that was what we had decided on. "Don't you remember? You really need to do something about that faulty memory of yours, Tek. I can't be doing this for you all the time."
At which point, Blud would go back and meticulously scour the conversation until she managed to find a set of lines that would make it seem as though I had 100% agreed. Even when I tried to explain that I had meant something else, she took it as an affront on her inability to understand nuances due to her autism.
I admit that my memory isn't that greatest at times, but I've never had anyone complain about it before. And none of my friends have ever minded providing reminders to me if I did misremember something incorrectly. We all forget stuff at times, right? It's *still* something that I'm self-conscious about because (like a lot of people with ADHD) my memory seems selective at times. This was, apparently, a problem that I needed to manage. 
And even as I'm remembering these incidents to the best of my ability, I've already spent so much time recounting all of this to friends. I feel confident in my recollection. There are some details that may overlap or become entwined with other things, but it all basically tells the same story. Especially in conjunction with what's been said by others. You're free to take it as hearsay since I do not have screenshots to back this up.
I will mention (since I've been told it's something that Blud has taken particular interest in) that at one point, I did have a crush on her. I was having some problems IRL, and it was nice to have someone whom I felt actually understood me. I also felt like I saw a lot of myself in her. I think that, at one point, I did describe her as the kind of "girlfriend" I would want. Blud seemed to indicate the feeling was mutual.
Between our collaborative partnership and all of the details we shared about our lives, it did feel like an intimate relationship at times. I had no intentions of pursuing it. We were not compatible in our romantic and sexual identities, and I had no intention of leaving my current partner for her.
I had begun to notice red flags, even if I wasn't ready to accept them yet.
I've had experience with abusive relationships in the past but they were in person, and not online. I knew what to look out for and yet I was being willfully ignorant about our friendship. I wanted to give Blud the benefit of the doubt. I wanted the project to work *so* badly that I was willing to work with her increasing demands as the months went by.
I had no idea that those demands would change into, quite literal, temper tantrums. It would then trigger my fawning response which was due to an abusive family situation that I had dealt with before I moved to Canada. The tactic was this: concede to someone until there was a time that they either understood reason or I had the chance to use it against them if necessary.
I started to take screenshots. I wish that I had taken a lot more of them so that everyone could get a better idea of what was happening. I did go back and manage to record the majority of the first outburst. It was the first inkling I had that Blud wasn't playing with a full deck of cards. I knew that that would be one of the first conversations that she would promptly delete. And consequently, I was right.
This assortment of screenshots will exhibit the first serious confrontation that Blud had with me. I am absolutely *not* proud of how I handled this. I was literally panicking at the time and doing whatever I could to get her to calm down. Because I have a temper that can look similar to this in person, I knew that I had to wait until the post-tantrum clarity would hit Blud. I tried my best to not lose my own temper in turn but looking back, I feel that I came off as sounding too timid.
I didn't want to ruin this project.
I wanted to make a comic with an individual that I admired and respected as a fellow artist. And, with me not knowing how to respond, my main priority was to not make things any worse than they already were.
Below is the conversation in its entirety:
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I had taken this screenshot on my phone after I had stepped away to compose myself. Blud had handled the confrontation and criticism with a reasonable amount of apprehension. But what had not occurred to me was that I could have said something that would remind her of past experiences with a roleplaying group.
It was something that had evidently scarred Blud for life.
I took away the wrong things from what she had told me, choosing to focus on the aspects of the "betrayal" that had appeared to bother her the most. And in hindsight, I did not see the correlation. I was genuinely apologetic that I had hurt her feelings.
But I *will* critique Blud for her poor handling of the situation. Whether or not I had hurt her feelings, no one is entitled to act like this or claim that this is what attempting to resolve a problem should look like.
I wasn't sure on how to initially respond to Blud. It had been ages since I'd had to deal with someone flying off the handle like that.
The following screenshots are where the conversation picked up, after she had already deleted the above message:
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We had weathered the "storm" and after Blud calmed down, she was ready to communicate. There was a part of me that was genuinely sincere when I apologized to her. I did mean it when I said that I had no intentions of hurting her and that I hadn't considered how my statement would sound to her.
I had hoped that this had been a stress response due to factors outside of our collaboration. And especially when I took into account how she had interacted with me in the past. I knew that Blud had a lot going on IRL, and that she had already put a considerable amount of energy into this project.
I had taken her meltdown more personally than she could perceive that I would, because this was something that was acceptable to her. She had a "condition" that would absolve her of these abhorrent meltdowns and I needed to get used to them if we were going to continue working on that project together.
I was shaking the entire time we were typing in the chat.
I was sincere in my responses. I really did want to work things out with Blud and give her the benefit of the doubt. I could have been taking the things that she said too personally or maybe I had been reading too much into the situation. Was there a chance that I could have been misreading her outburst? I tried my best to keep an open mind though I was still somewhat baffled by the fact that she would have meltdowns as often as she did.
I confided in my husband and some other friends about the situation. They were also bewildered by Blud's actions.
By this point, I was struggling with the reality that this collaboration was most likely *not* going to work out but I still wanted to try. I still cared about Blud. We would still hang out together and talk about things like music, our characters, or our stories.
While I did have the foresight to go back and screenshot this section, I wasn't fast enough to get screenshots of everything else that I will be going over. Blud *did* admit to going back and deleting certain exchanges due to a mixture of shame; not wanting to look at them when she would scroll through our conversations. 
In retrospect, it was very telling.
And even after that meltdown, I still enjoyed the friendship that I had with her. I kept my guard up but I was willing to make compromises on her behalf if it resulted in better communication between the two of us. Blud made me promise to immediately tell her if I had a problem with something. I also agreed to keep notes of our conversations.
It worked for the most part.
In the end though, it became apparent that Blud wasn't willing to do the same for me (even after we had an extended conversation about it). I then realized that I had been tasked with basically *managing* her autism for her. I was already busy with my supposedly "bad memory" at the time; and Blud was more than ready to scroll back up through our conversations to cherry-pick a line or two of text to remind me of what was said earlier.
Because, for her, circumstances couldn't ever change. If they did, it would mean that Blud had lost control of the situation and that she was in the wrong. She could *not* be in the wrong. 
And if she was in the wrong? It would take solid evidence, three witnesses, and a court of law to prove it.
She had two other major meltdowns after this. I managed to step away from communicating with her through one of them and I don't remember the other meltdown lasting very long. She immediately deleted the texts of both of those instances before I could take screenshots of them.
It seemed like I could do nothing right when it came to Blud, no matter the lengths I would go to accommodate her. I knew that it was a common tactic used by abusers. I finally accepted that our partnership wasn't going to work out and I began thinking about an exit strategy. The final straw was when she began to expect me to be at her beck and call.
I had promised that I would be there for her, within reason, and I was willing to offer reassurances whenever she would ask me for them. The promise had been made back when we had first started to talk to one another with more frequency, before Blud had shown me her true colors. I would end up completely underestimating just how badly she would need reassurance.
To be frank, I underestimated a lot about Blud in the beginning.
I would end up mentioning that I enjoyed my space in several different conversations with her. That there was a chance that I might be offline for several days so I could take care of things IRL and recharge my social batteries. I'm somewhat of a recluse. And an adult who enjoys things that aren't online.
She said that it was fine.
I became incredibly anxious when I would talk to Blud, especially after her somewhat abrupt change in personality.
I then attempted to put my foot down about boundaries and this is what she had to say:
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I decided to walk away for a bit and I came back after I had had some time to think things over. This wasn't healthy for either of us. I wrote a couple of sentences to say goodbye to Blud before I blocked her. I knew that my actions would probably infuriate her. She had told me in the past that she *hated* not being able to have the final word... which she was able to do through email:
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“And I'm not letting you pretend you have control over the situation, or the high ground. You distinctly have neither. But since you're determined to stick to your 'principles' on this, I've decided to make it easier for you.”
She thought that she was absolved of all sins just because I had said that I would stand by her at her worst. And at the time that I said that, I had no idea that her worst would be her trying everything possible to protect her boundaries while stomping all over mine. It didn't matter what she said or how often she would apologize when I would confront her. She kept doing it.
I admit that I wasn't perfect in this situation either.
There were times when I was condescending, critical, or downright mean when I talked to Blud because that was the way I had felt when she was talking to me. I soon realized that it didn't matter either way. I could have been using the friendliest tone imaginable and she still would have perceived it as either mocking or dismissive on my end. There were even a few times where I would preface my explanations with an advisory “please know that I am not attacking you and try to read this in an understanding tone,”etc. I would then post an explanation I had spent hours picking at to ensure that there was no way she could misinterpret the intent. Even so, she still read the majority of what I said as criticism and would take it to heart.
I never expected Blud to do something that made her uncomfortable; nor did I expect her to overextend herself when it came to our project. I would go out of my way to make sure everything was fine when we would talk about it. I only expected mutual respect in return.
When we would get into discussions (arguments), she would never attempt to understand my point of view or let me explain myself. It would have made it about me when it should have been about Blud and her needs. She sometimes would agree to come to a compromise about something, but only if I would admit that I was in the wrong.
I know that if Blud was to look at these screenshots, she'd be incredulous that I'm trying to distract from the horrible things that *I* did. And those horrible things that I did? I tried my best to work with her.
It wasn't just her poor teamwork that bothered me. It was her attitude and the lack of respect that she showed me. She would never ask me to clarify something that I said; always assuming that it was a criticism against her. I can only speculate that Blud did not want to hear about how any of this was her fault, like in the email she sent me.
I don't know if I was actually her friend at any point. Friends make efforts to understand one another. Ideally, they’d want their friendships to continue, and they would want everyone to be getting along and having fun. She seemed to actively defy that.
I would argue that things like this don't just happen in a vacuum. There's almost always a reason for such things, but it's honestly a mystery to me as to where this vitriol comes from. I don't know why Blud sees monsters in every word, especially if they come from a  "friend". 
I've seen her viscously mock herself during meltdowns; it seems like she hates herself and expects everyone else to hate her too. I think that she wants it to be the truth, so that it validates the feelings she has about herself. The behavior patterns that I'd been exposed to are consistent with the idea that Blud is seeking confirmation about the personal assumptions she has about herself. It's what makes her so volatile to those around her. Yet, she refuses to break the cycle.
I hope that she can make that choice in the future but at this point, I'm not holding my breath.
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starrylothcat · 10 months
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My queen! May I humbly request to you a dialog burned into my skull for hunter ? I know you have a promt list but I have thought of hunter saying these lines ever since they came to me (I hope u don't mind a suggestion that's not on a list🖤🖤🖤)
"Do you have any idea how intoxicating you are to me? Do you even know what you Do me? How much you drive me wild?"
"Oh I think you do. Oh mesh'la, If I didnt know any better I'd think you like driving me crazy"
-I've had no thoughts other than hunter and his God damn inhanced senses and that scent kink 🙈 Nonthing but sinful smutty thoughts
Ofc my queen, you can go for whatever context you think fits. ☺️🖤🖤🖤
Essence
Summary: Your scent drives Hunter wild and his desire for you has been building. He’s been able to hold it together until a new scent from you pushes him to the brink.
Pairing: Hunter x Jedi Fem!Reader
WC: 4700 whoops
Warnings: NSFW, 18+. Scent kink, unprotected PiV sex (wrap it yo), cunnilingus, cum eating, praise, Hunter being a horny beast. Takes place during TCW. Reader is a Jedi for fun, not really described.
A/N: Let me tell you, I have no THOTS other than Hunter and his senses either! Thank you so much for this request…this dialogue is DELICIOUS and you sent me down a rabbit hole. I do not mind at all! I got a bit carried away, but I hope this is what you envisioned! This is what I humbly offer in return! Enjoy~
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Ever since you introduced yourself to him all those weeks ago, Hunter has been captivated. 
Whenever his mind was idle his thoughts drifted to you, the ghost of your scent always teasing his senses. He both wished he could be near and as far away as possible from you, your entire being taunting him whether you knew it or not.  
It wasn’t just your beauty that beguiled him or your skill on the battlefield, it was your alluring and downright intoxicating fragrance that overtook his senses any time you were near. 
Hunter was used to people’s smells, it was the downside of being genetically enhanced to notice such things. He often found other’s natural scents overpowering, learning to ignore them quickly.
But you, you were something else. 
Per the Jedi Council’s request, you were assigned to Clone Force 99 to assist with a  few delicate retrieval missions and had been given orders to train with them in the weeks leading up to the assignments.
His brothers grumbled, not liking having a Jedi on the team, even temporarily, thinking it was some sort of insult and insinuating they couldn’t handle themselves.
Hunter was skeptical too, but ever since first meeting you on a landing platform on Coruscant, your natural perfume ignited his senses like a newly formed star.
During missions, he could ignore it long enough to be successful and keep his mind clear. 
But when you were training, or on The Marauder, or just catching him in the halls of Kamino to say hi, he was tormented, and ached in silence.
You had just returned to Coruscant, having completed a mission successfully. You were back at the main GAR Headquarters and Master Kenobi wanted a debrief from you and Hunter. The war was picking up, and more and more Jedi and clones were needed in the coming battles.
Hunter was trying to clear his head before the meeting. He was stuck on The Marauder with you for a few rotations and his body was buzzing with need, his mind cloudy and spinning. He wanted so desperately to explore your body inch by inch, peel back your Jedi robes and become completely lost in you. 
It was all he could think about.
Every night, even when you weren’t near, he dreamt of the sounds you’d make as he took you apart and pieced you back together, how your curves would feel under his palms, desperate to be between your legs and drink at your source. Every morning he’d wake uncomfortably hard, hoping his hand would help him forget, but it only provided temporary relief.
Hunter was almost glad your time with them was nearing an end, not knowing how long he could suffer like this. 
Hunter had another problem, and it also had to do with you. He had been avoiding you the entire trip back to Coruscant and practically ran off The Marauder when you landed.
He knew you noticed, and figured you assumed he was angry at you. He watched as your face fell when you asked if he wanted to join you after the mission debrief for a drink, to celebrate the mission success. 
Hunter mumbled he was busy, not even looking you in the eye. 
How could he when he was seconds from wanting to taste your lips and fuck you senseless?
Hunter stood outside the door to the debriefing room, knowing you’d be in there. It was probably for the best if you thought he hated you. 
It wasn’t like you’d be able to be with him, anyway. 
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You were standing in the conference room, knowing Hunter was going to walk in any minute.
You were trying to figure out Hunter’s increasingly strange behavior toward you, not knowing if you did something to upset him, or if something else was bothering him.
The mission was a success, no losses were sustained, and you and Clone Force 99 worked well with one another, so that couldn’t be it.
Your heart sank a little, thinking maybe he figured out your feelings toward him. He did have heightened senses, maybe he noticed something, and you weren’t as subtle as you hoped? You were trying your best to keep everything strictly professional, the mission always coming first.
You couldn’t deny your growing feelings toward the broody Sargeant though, his smokey voice, curly locks, broad shoulders, and thin waist just begging for you to grab on to. Those exact fantasies were going through your head just a few moments ago when you were in your quarters. 
You meant to take a nap and rest, but your mind wandered along with your hand under your panties. You didn’t mean to think about Hunter, but it was his face that was between your thighs in the dream, his deep voice whispering praises as he entangled his body with yours. 
The chirp of your commlink interrupted your “nap,” alerting you that the debrief was starting earlier than expected. Begrudgingly, you dressed and headed to the meeting, not satisfied and a little more frustrated than before.
Hunter entered the room, and his nerves were immediately on fire. You were chatting with another clone, a Commander from another unit. 
You glanced at him, nodded, and went back to speaking with him.
A new odor from you was assaulting his senses that wasn’t your usual exilarating aroma, this was different.
Very different.
It was arousal. 
Hunter bristled, fighting the sudden and intense urge to rip his clothes off and yours, taking you right then and there in front of everybody.
It was hard enough to ignore your usual natural perfume, but this was almost cataclysmic.
Obi-Wan’s hologram popped up, exchanging short courtesies with everyone, before diving into the topic at hand.
Hunter was barely paying attention, voices fading as he tried to hold himself together.
Why would you smell like sex? 
Hunter scanned the room, looking at the troopers and other Jedi that were listening to the debrief from Obi-Wan. 
Was it one of them? 
Jealousy stabbed his chest like a blade, imagining you in the throes of pleasure with a reg between your legs. You can do better than that. He thought bitterly. It could be me if you wanted.
Your demeanor was calm, listening intently to General Kenobi’s report, which was the opposite of what your pheromones were telling him. 
The other clones seemed at ease too, and Hunter couldn’t pick up the hint of your arousal on anyone else in the room.
Does that mean…?
If Hunter wasn’t sweating before, he was now. 
The image of you laying on your bunk in your quarters, touching your own body, and pleasing yourself was almost too much to handle in this public space. 
Jedi were people too, people with needs. And you were taking care of that need right before this meeting. 
Hunter glanced in your direction, your body radiating arousal, burning him from the inside out. 
You were horny, there was no denying it. Still horny, it seemed, as if your private time before this meeting wasn’t quite enough.  
Hunter’s body went into overdrive, picking up your needy pheromones as they wafted to his nose. 
Was this purposeful? Did you know what you did to him and were testing him? Some sort of kriffed-up Jedi trial of will?
Hunter clenched and unclenched his fist, praying for this debrief to be over soon, or else he might implode, a beast clawing its way out that he wasn’t sure he could contain for much longer.
Who were you thinking of while you writhed under your hand?
The image of some shiny reg popped into his head again, or that Commander you were just speaking to, the sharp blade of jealousy threatening to split him open.
He wanted you, all of you. The thought of anyone else made his blood boil, though he knew he had no stake in you. No one did. You were a Jedi. 
After what seemed like hours, the meeting ended, and General Kenobi signed off.
Hunter had to get out of here, get away from you before he did something he regretted.
He wanted to pull you into the nearest supply closet and give you what your body needed. But did you even want him? Could you feel the same way, if things were different?
Hunter knew the Jedi had their codes, their honor. He didn’t want to put you in a position of temptation or disgrace.
Hunter barely heard you call his name, trying to get his attention as he quickly strode out of the mission room, needing to be alone, needing to get away from you. Once again, he was running away from you.
You were aware of Hunter’s strange behavior throughout the meeting. He almost looked ill, sweating and fidgeting, the muscles in his neck tense and his jaw set tight.
There was definitely something wrong with him. He raced off The Marauder, and now he’s avoiding you again like you were made of bantha dung.
You frowned, your patience thin.
You had to know what was going on. 
You left the room, scanning the hallway to see which way he went. You caught a glimpse of his armor and red bandana turning a corner some ways down the hall, and you jogged trying to catch up with him, calling his name. 
“Hunter! Wait!
Hunter didn’t look back, increasing his pace. His head was throbbing, his codpiece uncomfortably tight,  trying to get you out of his head. It didn’t help that you were chasing him down the hall. 
Hunter took a quick turn down another hallway, opening the first door that he saw. It was an empty training room, with floor mats and other exercise equipment scattered about the room. The door hissed closed behind him, hoping he had lost you.
He wasn’t fast enough, it seemed, as you slammed the button to open the door, stepping in.
“Hunter, what the kriff  is going on?” He could tell you were mad, your lips pursed tight and a flash in your eyes that told him you were here for answers.
Hunter was balling his fists again, not wanting to put you in a situation that made you uncomfortable, hoping he could come up with something to ease the situation.
“Nothing, I just needed some air.”
You glowered, crossing your arms over your chest. 
“Hunter, you’ve been avoiding me like I have the plague…did I do something to upset you? If so, let me apologize. You’re acting strange!”
“You didn’t upset me.” Hunter’s response was quick. “It’s just…”
 “Just what?” 
Hunter took in a deep breath. He knew you wouldn’t believe any excuse he came up with. You weren’t stupid.
“You.” Hunter grumbled, unable to look you in the eyes.
“Me?” You questioned. “So it does have to do with me? Hunter, I don’t want to play games!”
Hunter could hear the drop in your voice, not wanting you to think he was angry with you.
“No…it’s something else. My senses…” Hunter scrubbed his face with his hands. 
Hunter sighed. “Whatever you were doing before the debrief…..I can still smell it on you.”
“Hunter, what do you-?” You stopped, processing his words.
Hunter stayed silent.
Oh.
Oh.
Heat scorched your face, wanting to become invisible and shrink into nothing. He could smell that?
“Hunter I’m so sorry, I…umm…” You were almost too embarrassed to speak, your anger replaced with mortification, not realizing his senses were that acute.
“Don’t apologize.” Hunter started toward you. “It’s okay, it's just…overwhelming.”
You bit your lip, your face on fire, seeing how disheveled he seemed, but you could tell something was bubbling beneath his surface.
Your Jedi senses were picking up a need, a desire that he was holding back, one that was boiling over, one that has been held down tight for some time that was finally slipping through the cracks.
“I… didn’t have a chance to finish.” You couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of your mouth. “I got a comm for the debrief right as uh…I was almost done.” 
Hunter stared at you, mouth open.
“What are you saying?” His voice was low, his gaze narrowing.
You boldly lifted a hand and traced it down his armored arm. “I’m saying…I’d let you help me finish what I started earlier. If that would fix things, clear your mind.”
Hunter was speechless momentarily, not believing the words coming out of his Jedi’s mouth. 
You were close to him now, closer even than you were in the debriefing room. 
“I…I was thinking about you.” You whispered, your fingers still lightly outlining his armor.
Hunter brought his hand to your neck, tracing his fingers up to cup the side of your face, testing the waters. 
“Has…my scent been making you feel this way the entire time?” You looked up at him through your eyelashes.
Hunter closed his eyes, trying to steady his breathing, slowly bringing his forehead to yours. 
“Yes. Every waking moment.” He admitted.
The tension that had been building in Hunter, between the two of you, finally snapped. 
Hunter pressed his entire body into you, walking you back against the wall of the training room, pinning you. Intense heat radiated from him turning your blood into magma, your hands flying to grasp at the back of his head as his armor dug into you.
Hunter leaned down into your neck, inhaling deeply. 
“Do you have any idea how intoxicating you are to me? Do you even know what you do to me?” His tone was a hoarse whisper, like wisps of smoke from a recently doused fire, his hands tracing up your torso over your robes, leaving goosebumps in their wake. 
“Do you realize how much you drive me wild? How often have I thought of you like this?”
It was all out in the open now, there was no point in holding back.
His lips hovered above your pulse point, watching it beat and hearing the blood rushing through your veins.
Your body was engulfed with want, your core aching as you felt Hunter’s breath pant against your neck. “Your body…your smell…you tear me apart at the seams, mesh’la.”
“I didn’t realize…I didn’t think you’d notice-“ you gasped as his lips connected with your neck, his tongue tracing a pattern on your skin, his fingers locked on your waist. 
“I think you did. Oh mesh'la, If I didn't know any better I'd think you like driving me crazy.”
Hunter lifted his head from your neck, locking his eyes with yours. His usual honey-brown irises were almost black, pupils blown wide with unbridled lust. 
You didn’t realize he felt this way for you for so long and felt a little guilty for unintentionally driving him mad. 
“Tell me to stop, and I will.” Hunter gasped, his cock aching in his pants, waiting for your answer, your arousal stronger than before, your body begging to be ravaged. 
You swallowed, momentarily wondering if you should stop this before it got too far, but his touch and feral desire for you were too enticing to ignore. 
You closed the distance between you,  crashing your lips against him. You dug your hands into his hair, kissing with uninhibited abandon, giving him your answer. 
He immediately kissed back with equal fervor, loving the sensation of you gently pulling on his hair, causing the burning flame in his chest to ignite hotter and brighter as your mouths greedily danced. 
You boldly nibbled at his bottom lip, earning a groan from Hunter as you slid your tongue against his, intensifying the already feral kiss. 
You knew this was wrong, against everything, but you didn’t care. The worries of being caught were carelessly thrown to the ground with your robes and his armor, quickly stripping one another, not wanting to waste a single second. 
You traced your fingers over his broad, powerful body as he gave you equal attention, running his thumbs over your soft curves, marveling at your figure. “You’re beautiful.” Hunter rasped. “Maker, I’ve wanted you since I first saw you.”
He searched your eyes one more time for any sign of doubt or hesitation.
 “I’m flattered, Sarge.” You teased, tracing your hand down his biceps, touching his sculpted muscle under his tanned skin. 
Hunter sloppily kissed down your neck and took one of your nipples in his mouth, suckling and teasing, gauging your reaction with every flick of his tongue, quickly learning what you liked. 
You gripped his hair again, panting and moaning as he lavished your breast before switching to the other.
“H-Hunter…” you could barely speak, still tugging at his locks which seemed to spur him on further. 
 “I can smell how much you want me.” Hunter rasped as he slid to his knees, hands caressing your thighs, looking up at you.
 “Can I taste you? Give you what your body has been begging for?” You looked down at the man kneeling before you, a dark and hungry look on his face, sweat beading at his brow, his chest heaving. 
“I need to know if you taste as good as you do in my dreams.”
You swallowed thickly, a new rush of desire flooding your senses. He's been dreaming about me, like this?
“You’ll have to let me know how it compares.” Your voice was raspy, trying to steady yourself, leaning back against the training room wall. 
Hunter smirked as he pressed his nose into your mound, inhaling deeply. 
He was finally at the source of what has been eating him alive the last few weeks, and it was intensely satisfying.
 “I can’t wait to see if your sounds are as pretty as this pussy. You’re dripping. All for me, hm?”
He brushed his nose against your clit, a jolt of pleasure electrifying your body as a lewd sound escaped your lips, louder than intended.
 “Did you like that? Do you want to cum on my face?” He mumbled, nuzzling his nose again against the sensitive nerve. 
You whimpered, needing more, so much more. 
“Y-yes…please, Hunter. I want to cum in your mouth.” 
You were begging now, his stubble scratching against your thighs and his lips gently kissing your labia. 
“That’s my girl, I’ll give you what you want for asking so nicely.” He rumbled into your soaking cunt, his cock weeping at the sight and the scent of you. 
Hunter wasted no time starting his feast on your pussy, probing his tongue and hungrily lapping at your folds.
He truly was eating you like a man depraved, your nails digging into his scalp. It was intense, better than you could have imagined, better than your hand under your blanket, wishing it was Hunter between your thighs. 
Your body shook and you couldn’t hold back the blissed sobs as Hunter gorged himself, his groans increasing in volume as he felt you get closer and closer to your peak, his jaw soaking with your fluid. 
Once again, Hunter quickly recognized your subtle reactions and knew exactly where to lick and suck.
His hooked nose pressed and ground against your clit, bliss building quickly, your legs threatening to give out at the sheer intensity of it all. 
You were a blubbering mess, words not coherent as Hunter moved his focus solely to your clit, needing you to cum. He flattened his tongue and pressed against your bud, grinding his mouth into you as you reached your peak. 
Hunter was barely holding himself together, his hands tightly squeezing your thighs to keep you upright, holding you as you came apart above him. 
Hunter let out a feral growl as you came, catching your release on his tongue, loving how your pussy clenched and legs quivered as your orgasm hit you like a ship going into hyperspace. 
Your vision went white and anything tangible vacated your mind, letting the ecstasy course through your body.
“Kriff, you’re so beautiful when you cum.” Hunter mumbled into your pussy, still licking and kissing between your folds.
 “So much better than my dreams.” You were breathless, coming down from your high, sliding down the wall. Hunter realized your legs were about to give out, wrapped his arms around you, and held you against him. 
Your heart was pounding, trying to piece together what just happened, Hunter’s cock rubbing up against your stomach as he kissed you again, as ravenous and desperate as before, his face dripping with your release. It wasn’t enough, though, for either of you. 
“Hands and knees.” He demanded between your lips furiously molding together. “Now.”
You immediately complied, any shred of your dignity completely gone. You shakily knelt on the ground on a floor training mat, resting your weight on your elbows, your ass sticking in the air.
You looked back at him over your shoulder, and the look on his face was predatory, dangerous even, his eyes completely black with craving.
Hunter knelt behind you, his chest heaving, rubbing his red cock head through your slick folds. You quivered, your cunt still sensitive from your orgasm. 
Hunter slowly nudged against your entrance. “That’s right, relax, mesh’la.” 
His breath was ragged, holding back wanting to slam straight into you and fuck you into oblivion.
 “There you go, just like that…Kriff you’re so warm.” Hunter’s voice was gravelly, letting out a low hiss as he bottomed out. The stretch was wonderful, being stuffed full of him, his hips meeting your ass. 
Seeing you like this, on all fours willing and taking him so effortlessly was almost overloading his system. 
He squeezed your waist, giving a few shallow thrusts that practically made his mind melt, feeling your walls clench and take him perfectly. 
 “Hunter…” You dug your fingernails into the mat, not caring about how desperate you sounded, or how you were exposing your ass to him like an animal in heat. 
“Fuck me, please.” You gasped, pushing back against him. 
“So needy…” Hunter squeezed your ass, slowly pulling out almost all the way. “You’ll get what you’ve been wanting, mesh’la. Don’t worry.”
Hunter quickly pushed back in, earning a pleasured whine from you. He was deliciously thick, and you could feel his cock head and veins glide against your walls as he picked up his pace, fucking you exactly how you wanted for who knows how long. 
“Is this what you wanted?” He grunted, breathless, his broody Sargeant composure crumbling with every thrust deeper inside you, his pace increasing. 
“Did you want to be fucked by me? Did you dream about me, too? Did you touch your perfect pussy and think of me?” 
You nodded, your eyes half-lidded and your mouth hanging open as he fucked you senseless, your cheek now pressed against the mat.
You knew you would probably have a red mark across your face but you didn’t care, just like you didn’t care how his hands would be leaving bruises on your hips as he pounded into you. 
You were thankful these training rooms were soundproof, the obscene slapping of sweaty skin and excessively loud moans hopefully muffled to any passerby.
Hunter groaned at your admission, his calloused hands leaving a trail of fire as they roamed your backside, one hand reaching under you and his finger finding your clit. 
“Did you touch yourself just like this right before the meeting? Wishing it was your Sergeant’s cock?” 
You nodded into the mat again, tears forming at the sides of your eyes, drool pooling under where your face was pressed into the firm fabric, the sheer intensity of him pulling you apart with every frantic thrust.
“Y-yes Hunter, I wished it was you, I wished it was your cock filling me up…” 
Hunter growled, pleased at your answer. 
He applied more pressure to your clit, causing you to convulse and shake against him, crying out his name, his cock pounding into you without pause. 
 “You’re so close, mesh’la, I can feel it. Be a good girl and cum for your Sergeant.”
Hunter leaned down, pressing his abdomen to your back, truly mounting you like an animal, his hips pistoning into you, growling in your ear. 
His control was gone. He needed one thing and one thing only, his mind now focused on a singular task, to feel you come apart on his cock, inhale your release, hear your voice shake as you cry out his name and his name only. 
Hunter’s hand was rubbing perfect, quick circles on your engorged clit, tears falling down the sides of your cheeks as the coil in your belly was wound tighter and tighter with every movement of his finger. 
“H-Hunter I’m so -“ You sobbed, so close to crashing over the edge, his finger relentless against your practically overstimulated bud.
 “Cum for me, now.”
 Hunter snarled in your ear, needing your orgasm more than you. 
“That’s it…let me hear you…” His voice was strained through his clenched jaw, inhaling deeply in the crook of your neck as your walls clenched and trembled around his cock, soaking him as your release rocked your body, every one of his nerves in charged with electricity at the sound and fragrance of your second orgasm.
“So perfect…just like that…” 
Hitched sobs of his name were more than enough to bring him excruciatingly close to his own explosive orgasm that was building quickly. “Where?” His hand was still working your clit, shocks of pleasure jolting your body, his hand soaked with your cum. 
“Inside…implant.” you gasped, and that was more than enough to unload inside you. Hunter bit into your neck, letting out a final low, guttural moan as his cock swelled and twitched, pulsating his release into your cunt. 
Your body was completely wrecked and overstimulated, clenching around his softening cock, feeling his spend leak out of you and onto the mat below. 
Hunter’s thrusts slowed, mumbling incoherent words in your ear, your head ringing and blood pounding in your ears.
Hunter slowly pulled out of you, watching as his cum dripped from your swollen pussy.
“Gorgeous.” He murmured, not being able to help himself as he grabbed your hips, earning a surprised yelp as he flipped you on your back, yanking your pelvis up. 
You were completely blissed, mind hazy, eyelids fluttering, trying to come down from your high. 
Hunter couldn’t help but smirk at the sight of you. He wasn’t done yet.
You gasped as Hunter lapped at your folds once more, gently this time, tasting himself mixed with your juices. You let out a choked groan as he softly teased your clit, cleaning you up with his mouth.
“Too much…Hunter…” You could barely speak, watching as he slowly ate you out. Hunter locked his eyes on you, continuing his languid pace, putting your boneless legs over his broad shoulders for better access. 
Hunter knew he could get one more out of you. “One more, pretty thing, for me.” He mumbled into your folds, swirling his tongue carefully around your aching clit.
You were grasping at nothing, digging your nails into the mat, your gasping mewls music to Hunter’s ears. His hands carefully caressed where he bruised you, gently suckling on your overworked clit, careful and precise. 
Your legs shook as a slow, rolling orgasm washed over your body, sounds unable to leave your mouth, Hunter’s sudden gentleness surprising but welcome.
Your body was covered in sweat, your hair sticking to your forehead and back stuck to the mat, trying to piece yourself together as Hunter removed himself from between your legs, barely registering him kissing you softly, stroking the side of your face, kissing the bite mark on your neck.
You wanted to say something, but the moment was interrupted by Hunter’s commlink chirping in his pile of armor. He cursed, standing up and rifling through his pockets, still buck naked. You sat up on your forearms, trying to figure out how you’d both get out of this room unseen, and what came after.
Hunter grabbed his device, speaking quickly to Tech who was on the receiving end. You didn’t pay much attention to what he was saying, trying to dress yourself and look presentable.
“Tech wants us to run through a simulation of our next assignment.” Hunter handed you your belt as he fixed his blacks, snapping his armor back into place. “But I told him it could wait until tomorrow.” 
You raised your eyebrow, trying to fix your hair. “I’m surprised you’re not running away from me again, Sarg.” You teased lightly, not quite sure what to say after your intense coupling.
Hunter chuckled. “I figured we could get that drink.” 
You looked at him, a blush forming at your cheeks. “To celebrate a successful mission.” He smirked as he adjusted his viroblade on his arm. 
“Agreed.” You answered, touching his arm like you did before, a mischievous flash in your eye.
“Since we are ditching training tonight for a drink, “ You continued, “perhaps we could discuss future strategies in my personal quarters afterwards?”
Hunter’s eyes met yours, the hungry look from before returning.
“Sir yes sir.”
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ladyluscinia · 7 months
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What Exactly Did David Jenkins Say?
Look, I'm still staunchly of the opinion that Word of God statements and creator interviews are overvalued in fandom, especially when they get pulled out mostly as gotchas without then continuing to analyze whether or not the show canon is successful at getting across that same message. Death of the Author is good, actually, and we should remember that. But they are worth looking at in the context of evaluating intent vs execution, and for future speculation - just, like, please with less of the whole mile high pedestal idolizing and backlash cycles.
But if overvalued "Word of God" is annoying, then overvalued "supposed creator statements that have gone through three rounds of telephone and any given blogger has only heard about a quarter of them, which they'll use confidently anyway" is worse. So, since I'd already looked up interviews for various reasons...
Here is a fairly comprehensive list of interviews David Jenkins has given and statements he's made during them, presented without commentary (save curating which statements get highlighted). All provided with links. I definitely missed some, so if you have any that you want to add, please do - though if you could trim off any commentary and save it for tags / your own post with a link that would be cool.
Also, again, just because he said it doesn't make it incontrovertible canon that only a blind person wouldn't understand. Some of these even arguably contradict each other. The creator's intent doesn't always translate to what the show is doing, nor do you even have to think it was a good idea.
(Listed in chronological order from oldest to newest - post contains spoilers below the cut)
Pre-S1
Gizmodo - Feb 22, 2022 - with Cheryl Eddy (io9) - Link
Why this story - Really, it was the enigma of Stede that drew him in. "I think actual pirate stuff is fine, but it's not necessarily my cup of tea. And I think Taika [Waititi] felt similarly. But hearing about this guy and reading about him and seeing that, you know, he left his family, then he met Blackbeard, they hit it off, and we don't know any of the details in between. So filling those blanks in, and having a very human story, and then being able to do it with the pirate genre, that was like, 'Oh, this would be cool.'"
Post 1x01 - 1x03
Polygon - March 5, 2022 - with Tasha Robinson - Link
David Jenkins, Taika Waititi, and Rhys Darby interview
About Stede running off to sea - "Stede thought he could outrun his baggage, and you can't outrun your baggage."
About S1 - "I don't think there was enough improv on set! We had an insane schedule, with a huge amount of plot. We were budgeted and designed as a one-hour show, but with a half-hour production schedule, which means we really had to chase these episodes to get them shot. And then there are certain emotional beats that we really needed. So trying to find places to find the fun was hard."
Mashable - Mar 5, 2022 - with Belen Edwards - Link
About the show concept - "It was Jenkins' wife who first told him about Stede's adventures; she thought it would make a good TV show."
On casting Rhys Darby - "Stede did a terrible thing to his family. If you cast it wrong, he's a very hard character to get behind," Jenkins said. "Very quickly, the only person I thought of for this was Rhys [Darby]. He has this childlike quality that's endearing."
About the story - "Seeing them discover a need for each other that neither anticipated and charting how that relationship goes is the meat of the story." + "If you're on this ship, you're running from something, and you're running to something that you can't be on land"
Mentions of matelotage - "In fact, one of Jenkins's favorite pirate facts that he learned while working on Our Flag Means Death was the term matelotage, which was a civil union between same-sex pirates. "The more you look at it," he explained, "the more you write to the fact that this is a queer-positive world.""
Discussing piracy careers - "Something else that astounded Jenkins about pirates was "just how fast it all moved — their lives were quite short," he said. "Your career [in piracy] wasn't very long.""
Post 1x09 - 1x10
Decider - Mar 24, 2022 - with Kayla Cobb - Link
David Jenkins, Taika Waititi, and Rhys Darby interview
Pitch for the show - "That was in the pitch," series creator David Jenkins told Decider. "That was the reason, to make them fall in love with each other."
About the romance - "The main thing to me was to side-step coming out," Jenkins continued. "I just want a romance. I want a Titanic romance between these two people. We don't have to do the coming out story and then the non-binary story for Jim [Vico Ortiz]."
About S2 and the show - "The show is the relationship," Jenkins said. "So, we end in a place where there is this breakup. What happens after a breakup between these two people who, one’s realized he's in love and the other one is hurt in a way that he's never been hurt before? What does that do to each of them in an action, pirate world with them trying to find each other again? So again, I really love those rom-com beats."
Collider - Mar 24, 2022 - with Carly Lane - Link
On making it a romcom - "It's the only reason to make the show. If you didn't do that, it would just be weird. I mean, you're using the rom-com beats. You're using these like they're together. And it's funny because so we're so habituated to be like bromance, bromance, bromance, and it's such a simple move to put them together."
Discusses focusing on romance - "I guess I really... I get kind of bored. How much pirate can you do? They're going to rob stuff. They're going to steal ships. There's only so many pirate stories you can do. So if you're going to do a workplace story, I mean, you're essentially having this... You'd have this same amount of relationships in Grey's Anatomy in the ER. So it's standard. It's the most standard. We're making a soap opera on a pirate ship, and to use those soap opera beats... I like it, and I like the flavor in a comedy when you have something that's played genuinely up against very ridiculous things."
Discusses history and kissing scene
Discusses importance of going home to Mary - "Yeah, that was the problem for me in the story. I knew that I wanted to have the end where he goes home, because you need to give Mary her day in court. I just wanted to know from Mary's perspective what happened and then to see that, yeah, they're friends."
Is Lucius dead? - "You got to wait."
EW.com - Mar 25, 2022 - with Devan Coggan - Link
David Jenkins, Taika Waititi, and Rhys Darby interview
Pitch for the show - "To me, [Stede and Blackbeard's relationship] is the reason to make the show," Jenkins explains. "When Taika and I were first talking about it, he was like, 'Oh yeah, that's the show.' I first started reading about Stede and how he befriended Blackbeard and we don't know why. Very quickly, it was like, 'Oh, it's a romance.'"
Polygon - Mar 25, 2022 - with Tasha Robinson - Link
Discusses 3-season intent - "I think three seasons is good. I think we could do it in three."
Discusses acts within S1 - "To me, when you see him get stabbed, and the blood runs through his fingers, it’s like 'Oh, no, the clown got stabbed! And not comedy-stabbed, he got stabbed stabbed!' That to me is cool. And then having Blackbeard find him as the end of what would be the first act of our story felt good to me."
Discusses kiss scene filming and the national moment around gay rights
What to focus on a rewatch - "I think Con O'Neill does such a great job. He's such a complex character, and it's such a tortured relationship. And that's a love story too, between him and Blackbeard. It's a very dysfunctional story, but it's fun to watch. Watch that maybe, on a rewatch, looking where their relationship ultimately goes."
TV Insider - Mar 25, 2022 - with Meaghan Darwish - Link
Discusses show pitch - "When I was pitching [the show] to people, I'd be like, 'Okay, so it's about Stede and Blackbeard, and then they hit it off and then they fall in love.' And then people are like, 'Okay, cool,' Jenkins shares. "And then they really fall in love, and become intimately involved."
Discusses historical inspiration
Discusses S2 direction - "But when [Stede] goes to find [Blackbeard], he's gone and his crew's been abandoned. And so watching them try to negotiate that, that's a good rom-com beat," he adds.
The Verge - Apr 15, 2022 - with Charles Pulliam-Moore - Link
Discusses being surprised by queerbaiting legacy - "...part of me knew that, yes, Stede and Ed's romance was going to be real. But one part of me felt like, 'We're going to do this story, and they're going to kiss, and maybe that's not even going to be that big a deal. Maybe it'll just be a blip.'"
Discusses writing romance - "I'd never written a romance before this one, but I think with Ed and Stede, the question's always 'what's the need for each other?'"
Discusses falling in love and Stede's accidental seduction - "It made sense to have that love be almost like a teenage version of falling in love — one with all these intense and conflicting feelings. They're middle-aged, but Stede's young. Ed's young. Emotionally, they're like 16, and they've both got a lot to learn."
Discusses Con O'Neill as Izzy - "He plays an exhausted quality that's really lovely because this character could just be generically evil, and the way Con plays, it is like, he's credible. I believe that he can do some damage if he wanted to. My favorite thing I've seen about the show is somebody saying that Con's playing the only human with a bunch of Muppets. It does feel like that a bit where he's like Charles Grodin in The Great Muppet Caper."
On Izzy being in love with Blackbeard - "I think Izzy's deeply in love with Blackbeard, and it's a very dysfunctional kind of love, and he's like the jilted spouse who's losing his man to fucking Stede Bonnet, and he can't believe this is happening."
Discusses masculinity and piracy as an escape from that
Discusses diversity and trauma based stories - "And the consensus in that very diverse room was that we wanted to show that isn't just wallowing in trauma. We don't have to do a coming out scene or focusing on the trauma of it — not to say that those stories aren’t valid."
Gizmodo - Jun 20, 2022 - with Linda Codega (io9) - Link
Musing on fandom response to the show - "I'm wondering if the fact that because the queerness of this show isn't gaslighting the audience, and isn't a function of wanting to do something, but not being able to produce the results because of network standards. I think we just happened to be in this lucky spot where the show is actually queer… and I do think that people are responding to that."
Comparing fanfiction to writing - "And Con O'Neill's audition was one of those things I would go back to. I would watch that and be like… Oh, right, that's the show. And in a way, you're writing fanfiction for a certain actor and character because you want them to do something, and you're like–" at this point, it must be said, Jenkins let out a maniacal little giggle. He’s just as thrilled to show off Con O'Neill's ability to seem both deeply exhausted and menacing as the rest of the fandom. "And you [as the writer] you're like… And then Izzy does this now."
EW.com - Dec 13, 2022 - with Devan Coggan - Link
Discusses The Chain sequence - "I had initially wanted that end sequence to be like the FBI raid in a mob movie, where the feds come in, and they've got boxes of stuff, and everyone's running, and someone makes a dash for it," Jenkins explains. "So, it's like a mob movie or FBI raid story, and then it's also a story of Stede's lover coming back."
Pre-S2
Collider - Oct 2, 2023 - with Carly Lane - Link
Discusses fan reaction to S1 - "I thought that they'd kiss, and people would be like, 'Oh, cool, cool!' I kind of thought people would know a little bit more [about] where we were going, but then in hindsight, no, people have been hurt and burned on so many other shows and then made to feel silly."
Discusses starting S2 dark - "One of these characters is very, very damaged and has never made himself vulnerable in this way before, and I don't think [he] would react very well to having his heart broken in this way. I don't think it would be cute, and I don't think it would be funny. I think it would be scary as hell to watch a very damaged guy that we've established in Ed, who killed his dad and thinks he's not capable of being loved, deal with rejection and see that Stede really hurt him."
Discusses adding more female characters
Discusses S2 needle drops including "This Woman's Work"
Discusses 3-season arc
Post 2x01 - 2x03
Mashable - Oct 5, 2023 - with Belen Edwards - Link
Discusses fandom response to S1
About the canon gay relationship - "To watch the explosion of enthusiasm around [the kiss] was disorienting, almost," Jenkins said. "I thought people would react to it, but I didn't think the reaction would be that big. And then it was moving, because I didn't realize that this audience felt so unserved in general, as far as storylines go."
Insider - Oct 5, 2023 - with Ayomikun Adekaiyero - Link
Tease on leaning into the Stede / Ed / Izzy love triangle - "I think Izzy, in a certain way, got the worst deal in the first season," the showrunner tells Insider. "He gets jilted and then he still is in spurned spouse territory at the beginning of the second season."
Discusses Izzy's arc - "What is that relationship about? And I think by the end of the season it kind of becomes a little unexpected of who they are to each other and what they mean to each other," he teases
Discusses addition of Zheng - "He likens Zheng's way of pirating to a successful tech startup, compared with the garage sale vibe Stede had going on the Revenge."
Discusses introducing Hornigold - "I thought Hornigold was the most obvious because he was the person who made Blackbeard what he is. And Blackbeard has a father complex, so it's natural that he's going to bring his former captain back," the show creator said. "It's a struggle with him because he and dad figures don't historically do well."
Discusses importance of the mermaid scene
Inverse - Oct 5, 2023 - with Hoai-Tran Bui - Link
Reveals he didn't commit to the romance until shooting 1x06 - "Jenkins always intended his pirate comedy to end with a romance, but he'd envisioned it as an unrequited love. "It was going to be about Stede learning what love is, and Ed making himself vulnerable and getting burned," Jenkins says of his original pitch. But Darby and Waititi's choices in the scene, which they played without diffusing the tenderness with a joke, made him wonder if they could take the show in a new direction."
Discusses mermaid Stede idea from S1 - "We talked about Stede as a mermaid very early on in the writers' room," Jenkins says. "At some point, yeah, I want to see Rhys Darby as a merman." + "They wanted us to come up with a Season 2 pitch during Season 1. And that was one of the ideas we hit on, and I can't quite remember how we got there, but it was us asking, what is a pirate world? Are there mermaids? Is there magic in this show? With pirate stuff, I don’t know that I want there to be magic, but there was a way where it was something really beautiful about a mer-person, and I like the idea that their coming together would have a mythic size to it."
Discusses historical divergence
Discusses matelotage and pirates as weird outsiders
TV Guide - Oct 5, 2023 - with Allison Piccuro - Link
About the shipping culture - "It's the meat of the show, so it's great to have people bought into the central romance. If it were a bromance that we were trying to make look like a romance, that would suck."
Discusses playlists he makes
Discusses opening dream sequence - "I just like that it started with something badass. Stede, Blackbeard, and Izzy are on an arc together. Whether they're in stories together or not, their ultimate arc is together. I think, by the end of this season, the last episode, that first scene will be gratifying. I won't say why, but their fates are tied together."
Discusses Kraken arc - "But I think the thing that's good about this show is that it can go to really sweet comedy land, but I want there to be, like, if someone loses a body part, for instance, they lose a body part. To do justice to the fact that this guy is a killer and a monster, and dealing with heartache that he doesn't know how to deal with, I think you really need to go there."
Discusses Izzy in S2 - "I mean, he's jilted. He had a partnership with Blackbeard, and he knows he can't live up to this person that Blackbeard fell in love with... Who is that guy? What are his hobbies? What does it look like when he's not totally subsumed with his boss's love affair with somebody, and heartbroken?"
On S2 reunion - "The second season is them being a little bit more mature... It's the thing where you're in your 20s or 30s and you're like, "Well, should we move in together?" They have to make up some time because neither of them have been in a functional relationship before."
About genre of pirate stories - "...is a show about multiple relationships. That's what I want to see when I see this show. I don't want to see a bunch of pirate things that I've seen in other things, I'll just go watch another thing if I want to see that. That's not really my thing. I like the genre, but it's a very hard genre to budge. I want to see relationships in a pirate world."
Discusses the A Star is Born aspect of seeking fame / retiring
Mashable - Oct 7, 2023 - with Belen Edwards - Link
About the mermaid scene - "You need something expressive for when they come back together," Jenkins said. "Their reunion moment has to feel big and mythical. This is not a world where mermaids actually exist, but their love for each other has that size that you can get [a mermaid] in there somewhere."
About Kate Bush - "I love Kate Bush, and I love that song, and I know Taika loves that song," Jenkins explained of the choice. "So I wanted to find a place for that song somewhere in the second season."
Polygon - Oct 9, 2023 - with Tasha Robinson & more - Link
Compares S2 and "Golden Age of Piracy" stuff to Westerns, lists 5 he was thinking of - "Every Western that’s good is that story," Jenkins says. "'This way of life we made is coming to an end. It can't last. It's a blip in time. We created this thing because we need it to exist. We're outlaws, and we need a culture that suits us, but it's running out of time.'"
Gizmodo - Oct 9, 2023 - with Linda Codega (io9) - Link
Short tease on leaning into the love triangle
About Stede, Edward, and Izzy - "I think the three of them are on an arc together that's pretty inseparable," Jenkins said in an interview with io9. "And to watch Izzy try to process what's happened [in season one]… to watch him kind of grow and figure out what's his own story, if he can separate himself from this kind of toxic relationship, is interesting to me and I think gives him a lot of room for growth."
Post 2x04 - 2x05
IndieWire - Oct 12, 2023 - with Sarah Shachat - Link
Discusses directing and show creation
"The limitations of the show also naturally push it back towards moments with the ensemble and plot problems that it would frankly be irresponsible to tackle if you had a giant budget and a fully working ship-of-the-line to sail and then blow to bits. "That's the fun of the show to us, I think. If you open this up and you're like, unlimited budget, that would be terrible because I think you can get seduced," Jenkins said. "[It could be like,] 'Oh man, it's all leading up to a climatic battle on the sea.' And those things are great. But that’s not this show.""
"The nice thing about that, though, is you get to be the lo-fi show that’s like, 'Hey, we’re making The Muppets.'"
PopSugar - Oct 12, 2023 - with Victoria Edel - Link
About S2 Stede - "I like the idea that he learns and grows and he doesn't just stay a bumbling captain. He might be ridiculous, but he is getting better at it."
Discusses genre challenges - "How do you have a show that's a romance show but it's also a workplace show and they're criminals?"
Discusses Edward's redemption - "But Blackbeard still has to come back and apologize and be part of the community again, and give his little press conference. It was fun for us to look at that in the context of piracy, where they all do terrible things to each other. But even by their standards, what Blackbeard did was a bit much."
Discusses Izzy in S2 - "When Izzy shoots Blackbeard and they all mutiny on him, that's Izzy breaking up with Blackbeard. And they're both having their own journey in the wake of it, and Izzy's having his own redemption arc. He's trying to figure out, "Who am I if I'm not Blackbeard's first mate? Who am I outside of this relationship?"" + "If Stede's Spongebob, he's Squidward. I don't know what that makes Blackbeard. But there's a real pathos to Squidward."
Discusses trauma-based narratives - "As a diverse room in terms of sexuality, socio-economic background, and race, we thought, "Wouldn't it be nice to have a non-trauma-based story for these characters who don't get that historically?""
Variety - Oct 13, 2023 - with Hunter Ingram - Link
Discusses three act structure and making Stede work for a relationship - "The way I like to look at a season is in threes. The end of the first act is when they find each other, and this is the beginning of the second act. They've found each other, but they are pissed. Stede thought it was going to be [Kate Bush's] “This Woman's Work,” but, in reality, it is this headbutt –– literally."
Discusses the central romance - "It was always part of the pitch... that is the reason to make the show. The pirate genre is fun, but I wasn’t dying to make a pirate show. Taika wasn’t dying to make a pirate show. But the thing that was interesting to me was that Stede finds love, and he finds it with Blackbeard."
Discusses 2x04 plot - "This episode is based on a very, very thumbnail sketch of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?." Anne and Mary are Martha and George, and they are Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton."
Discusses adding historical pirates
Discusses Buttons exit - "I just love the idea of him turning into a bird: I love the idea of Buttons somehow being the one character that is able to figure that out."
Discusses Izzy and the crew's trauma plot - "We liked the idea that there is something about trauma and getting past that trauma, even on a pirate ship. They have been through two very different ways of living and they have to get used to each other again. But it's also a family that was separated, and becoming one family again is painful."
Discusses bringing characters back - "We could bring Calico Jack back, who, if you remember, was hit by a cannonball last season. Anyone who is that fun to play with and wants to keep playing, you always find a way to bring them back."
Polygon - Oct 14, 2023 - with Tasha Robinson - Link
Discusses 3-season arc and how keeping them apart with some plot device was never in the cards - "at the end of the first season, they're 14-year-olds, emotionally. In this season, it's more like they’re in their late 20s."
Discussing New Zealand production and ensemble cast writing - "It's pretty organic, because as we're going through and tracking everybody's journey for the season, we're watching the thing that holds us together — what stage of Stede and Blackbeard's relationship are we in? Because the overarching arc is, are these guys going to learn how to settle into a relationship?"
"The second season is more overtly about romance, and more a relationship story."
Energizing aspect of fan reaction
S3 is about "love is work"
Gizmodo - Oct 16, 2023 - with Linda Codega (io9) - Link
About the story - "I want to see them become a functional couple or fail to become a functional couple," Jenkins said. "Those are the most interesting parts of the show."
Discusses fandom engagement - "...ultimately the writers are also "the fans in the room." He goes on to say that, "We're fans of the world. We're writing fanfic about our own characters, our own worlds… It's paid fanfic, but it's fanfic." He gives another example: "If you're writing a season of Succession, you're writing fanfic Succession. You're just getting paid to do it. We, as writers–" it's clear that he's not just talking about the writers in the writers room, "become fans of the world and we all have things we want to see these characters do. What we do is not that different."
Discusses the A Star is Born aspect of seeking fame / retiring
Discusses Zheng Yi Sao
Villains of the series - There are a lot of new villains this season, but, Jenkins says, ultimately, "the antagonist on this show is normalcy… These pirates have a way of life that they're not finding in normal life. They've found a way to live and support each other and be there for each other. And that's always threatened by these larger, tyrannical forces that want to shut them down."
Post 2x06 - 2x07
Mashable - Oct 19, 2023 - with Belen Edwards - Link
Discussing drag performance in 2x06
"It is nice to see with Izzy's arc, where he finally breaks through whatever he's been doing to himself. He lets himself have that moment, which I just love. It resonates for Izzy, and I think it resonates for Con. Just personally, it made me feel good to see how it turned out."
Consequence - Oct 19, 2023 - with Liz Shannon Miller - Link
Discusses intent for romance - "...telling a love story in a serialized medium like television has its perils, largely because it's tough to know how much you can draw out any unresolved tension. "I think we take it episode by episode and we try to not piss people off in taking too long and doing double beats and triple beats," Jenkins says. "You can only do Will They or Won’t They for so long. Then you have to deepen it.""
Discusses pirate setting - "The emphasis on relationships also fits into the show's high-seas setting, which Jenkins finds similar to post-apocalyptic narratives. "It is a little bit like you're doing Mad Max, except there's relationships," he says. "Stuff's shitty, so you gotta try to find some joy. Of course, people are going to have a need for each other in these extreme circumstances, and I like the idea of these characters finding some level of a healthy relationship in these extreme circumstances.""
Discusses Jim x Archie
Discusses 3-season arc
Polygon - Oct 21, 2023 - with Tasha Robinson - Link
Discussing gender and power dynamics in Jackie x Swede / Zheng x Oluwande / Blackbeard x Stede + A Star is Born aspect
Jim not being jealous of Oluwande - "I think that relationship was always seen in the room as a friend relationship that got romantic."
About adding a villain - "I think a lot of the internal forces in Our Flag are the villains." + "I think this is a story about the age of piracy coming to an end. This way of life is coming to an end. And every Western that's good is that story: This way of life we made is coming to an end, and it can't last. […] I think every story about outlaws is about trying to preserve a way of life against normative forces that are kind of fascistic."
Historical accuracy - "The balance of the show is 90% ignoring history, and then 10%, bring it in, whenever we're like, Ah, gotta move the story forward! Remember, the English are out there, and they're really bad!"
Post 2x08
AV Club - Oct 26, 2023 - with Saloni Gajjar - Link
Killing Izzy was always the plan - "We wanted to show the depth of that character. Izzy is one of my favorites. He's like middle management who is in a sort of love triangle [in season one]."
Discusses how they really wanted the happy ending for S2 - "I think with season one's end, it was a gamble to leave it the way it was. Everybody stomached through it. Now if it turned out they didn't want us to make more, I just didn't want to have another story where the same-sex love story ends in tragedy, unrequited love, or if one or both of them are being punished."
Discusses S2 progressing the 3-season romance - "They’re a couple who is like in their late twenties right now as opposed to being teens at the end of season one." + "It was an interesting tension of, which one gives up their dream? A lot of times in relationships questions can come up, like who is going to give up on their dream to take care of the kids? Obviously, no one wants to, but someone ends up giving up more than they want to at some point. What's wonderful about a mature romance, and what I'd want to see more of in season three, is Ed and Stede making these tough decisions." + progressing past the getting together point
Discusses parallels, Republic of Pirates, and Zheng Yi Sao
Short bit about fan response
Collider - Oct 26, 2023 - with Carly Lane - Link
Discusses Ed leaving fishing - "I like that he had a little prima donna moment where he thought he could go and be a simple man, and then it's revealed that he really isn't a simple man; he's a complicated, fussy, moody guy. No, he's not gonna be able to catch fish for a living. For him to be told that, "At your heart, you're a pirate. You have to go back and do it," he doesn't want that to be true, but it was true."
Discusses Izzy's speech to Ricky - "I wanted to give Izzy a proper eulogy for himself. He gives a eulogy for himself, but it felt true writing it."
Discusses Izzy's death scene - "In a way, it's very much for Ed, that speech. The "we were Blackbeard" is claiming that he is also Blackbeard, that Blackbeard is not just Ed’s creation, and I like that for him, too, because he's worked so hard for that — and then just to say, "You can give it up." There can never be a Blackbeard again as far as Izzy's concerned because he's dying, and they did that together."
Discusses Republic of Pirates / music parallels from premier to finale
Discusses finale wedding - "We knew we wanted a matelotage in the season, which is the real term they had for marrying crew members. And yeah, they've always been in relief to Stede and Ed, and they're a little bit ahead of Stede and Ed in how much they can talk about things. So to have a bunch of family things in the season, like a funeral and a wedding, and have the parents kind of watch the kids sail away, felt right, and all of those things seem to work well together and build on each other."
Discusses retirement ending - "That will-they-or-won't-they is interesting to a point, but the real meat of it is always like, "Can they make the relationship, and can they do better than Anne and Mary?""
"Frenchie's in charge of the Revenge" + teases Stede struggling to give it up
EW.com - Oct 26, 2023 - with Devan Coggan - Link
Discusses Izzy's death and telling Con - "It feels like the logical end of Izzy's arc. It's heartbreaking to me because he's my favorite." + "I told him in the middle of shooting because I didn't want him to find out at the table read, obviously. I also didn't want it to leak. He was lovely about it."
Discusses Izzy's final arc - "You know, I didn't expect him to become kind of a father figure to Ed. I think we hit on that while we were breaking the [final] episode. He's in such a weird position: He's like a jilted lover, and then he's a middle manager who has to work for a terrible boss. He gets thrown away, and then he comes back. He really develops, and he becomes a part of this family. I think the biggest surprise was the extent that he was a mentor to Ed. They were both Blackbeard. They both made Blackbeard happen."
Discusses the happy ending intent - "With this season starting so dark, I kind of wanted to reward them for the work that they've done and the character growth that they've had. I wanted to leave them in a place where they're really going to try and make this work. I don't think it's going to be easy for them, necessarily. They're both still immature."
Discusses the wedding - "We knew we wanted a matelotage in the second season, and pretty quickly we landed on Lucius and Black Pete. It seems like they were ready for that. We made up a ceremony and everything, where they call each other mateys, and it was just fun to make our own version of a pirate wedding ceremony."
Discusses potential S3 and Frenchie's Revenge - "But it felt like a good place to end the second season. It felt like a contrast to the first season. If it turns out we don't make any more, I'm comfortable with that being a resting place."
Variety - Oct 26, 2023 - with Hunter Ingram - Link
S3 endpoint - "I love things in threes," he says. "That first act, second act, third act structure is so satisfying when it is done well, and you don't overstay your welcome. I think this world of the show is a big world, and if the third season is successful, we could go on in a different way. But I think for the story of Stede and Ed, that is a three-season story."
Discusses the draw of a "Golden Age" and it's ending
Talks about father figure Izzy and wanting a real sense of loss - "There is a nice parallel to have Ed treat him so badly at the beginning of the season and then come all the way around to where Izzy is this sort of father figure he doesn’t want to lose — because Ed usually kills his father figures."
Gizmodo - Oct 26, 2023 - with Linda Codega (io9) - Link
Teasing future Izzy - "Jenkins looked slightly sad himself, saying that "Ghosts exist in this world." I told him not to make promises he couldn't keep."
"Jenkins said that he doesn't see Izzy as a pure antagonist in season one because on some level… Izzy was right in his hesitations about Stede."
Discussing Con O'Neill & Rhys Darby acting
Jenkins confirms the season was always 8 episodes due to budget cuts
About S2 finale vs S3 - "The first season ends on such a downer, so it made sense to end the second season in a kinder spot." + "I think there's plenty of story left for season three, but I think that it was important to end this as if it was the end of the show, and on upbeat note and avoid the kind of "kill your gays" trope. I don't want to see Stede and Ed punished for giving it a go. I want to see them really say, 'yeah, we’re going to we're going to try to have a relationship'."
Teases S3 revenge against Ricky and going to the Americas
Vanity Fair - Oct 26, 2023 - with Sarah Catherall - Link
About the ending - "It's bittersweet. There's death and there's the rebirth of Stede and Blackbeard's relationship; there's a funeral, there's a wedding, and the idea that this family is going to keep fighting even as they lose members. And then it's about belonging to something." + "A lot of times, with this narrative of characters, same-sex relationships end on a dour, downbeat note, where one of them dies and it's unrequited or it's unrealized; something horrible happens and they're punished in a way. So it was important to leave it open and a lot more show to go, but also leave it in a place where it's happy."
Discusses Izzy as a mentor / father figure - "We felt like Izzy's story had reached its conclusion, where we put him through enough. And then there was the realization that he is kind of a mentor to Blackbeard and that he is kind of a father figure to Blackbeard." + "And it's also a pirate show, so he's got to die."
Discusses filming challenges - "It's a big show; it's basically a one-hour show that we're doing on a half-hour budget."
Discusses adding Zheng Yi Sao
Is the show a queer romance? - "For this show, it's important to me just to write a really bold-bodied romantic show that happens to be between two characters of the same sex. I think that the story beats don't matter, because if you've been in love and you've been hurt and you met someone you love—hopefully we all know what those feelings are."
Blackbeard's arc in S2 - "...the second season is about Blackbeard's midlife crisis. And then when they both have their midlife crises, they can open a B&B together." + "I don't think Stede and Blackbeard are ready to be married. They're emotionally saying: 'Let's give this a go.'"
Discusses historical piracy as "counterculture" that's been straightwashed and whitewashed
Did he feel responsibility to the fan community? - "As opposed to responsibility, it feels more like relief—that people feel seen and they feel good about it and they liked what we did. And so it feels like, Okay, somebody's out there and wants the show. The makeup of the writers room looks a lot like the makeup of the fan base. So as long as we're true to our stories in the writers room, I think we just feel excited that there's somebody waiting on the other end to enjoy it."
Paste Magazine - Oct 26, 2023 - with Tara Bennett - Link
Discusses whether fandom expectations felt weighty - "I think particularly for this season, that "bury your gays" thing… I didn't want to end on a downbeat for Ed and Stede. We did that in the first season. I like that there's a lot of different flavors. It's even a little melancholy because the Republic of Pirates got blown up. But there's still more good things."
Discusses production and plotting - "I wanted to start at the Republic of Pirates this season and end at the Republic of Pirates. And I knew I wanted the Republic of Pirates to be destroyed, ultimately. Within that, we are making a one-hour show on a half hour budget, on a half hour schedule."
Discusses planning the ending - "In terms of ending this season, it all felt right just in talking through it when we were in the room. It felt pretty intuitive. When you get to the third act of the story, things kind of settle in. There's gonna be a funeral. We always knew we wanted a wedding at the end of the second season. And I knew that I wanted Stede and Ed to start an inn together. So once you have those beats, it's kind of locked in."
Discusses Izzy's arc - "It's kind of a strange arc in that I knew we were going to put him through all these things, and I knew he would ultimately die. But I think him becoming a father figure to Ed in the last episode didn't really dawn on us until we were breaking the last episode. Asking what would this man say to Ed at the end because they've been together through everything? He went from a troubled and downtrodden employee to a jilted lover to a discarded employee, to someone that is just trying to find his footing again—no pun intended—to actually becoming this guy's parental figure on some level. And he's one person who kind of raised Ed right, because Blackbeard usually kills his parental figures. So, it felt right and it felt like that's how the mentor dies. The mentor in a story usually dies in the second act and then our hero has to go on and try to do it without them. It felt like the right journey for Izzy and a gratifying one for Con."
On leaving open for S3 - "I don't think it was a very hard thing to do. I think it was more that I felt a responsibility to leave Ed and Stede in a good place, at least for now. It's not gonna go well. They're not going to run a business well. Ed's too much of a talker. Stede can't focus. It's gonna be challenging."
Vulture - Oct 28, 2023 - with Sophie Brookover - Link
Discussing Izzy as a "father figure" and his S2 send-off being a priority
Meaning of piracy - "...what our pirates stand for is a life of belonging to something larger than they are in the face of a crushing, slightly fascist normalcy."
Re: Con O'Neill & Izzy's death - "I had to tell him about halfway through the season"
Third season about the work of a relationship between still damaged main characters
Discusses middles as about change and transitions, and wanting characters to change instead of reset, have them experience permanent consequences
About the final scene - "...Ed and Stede as the parents kind of watching the kids take the ship. Frenchie's the captain now..."
Objective of the crew - "...have had terrible things happen to them at the hands of colonial forces, so they want some payback. Party, plunder, and payback — the three P's."
Metro Weekly - Nov 1, 2023 - with Randy Shulman - Link
Discusses historical premise of S1 and easing into the romance
Discusses S2 genre - "In the second season, it was great because we know it's a romance and we can lead with that. It's a workplace show essentially. I wanted it to be more in the vein of early episodes of Grey's Anatomy or something where there are all these relationships on those shows. That's what you’re following — relationships and friendships that are taking place in a hospital, procedural. That's Grey's Anatomy. This is less procedural for the pirate stuff — and you need the pirate stuff."
Discusses not being into pirates - "But I'm like you. I'm not a big pirate person. In general, it's a big creaky genre that's hard to budge" + "Pirates of the Caribbean, those movies are great. That's not necessarily what I hunger to see, but in that genre, it's great. You're not going to beat that, especially on something that's lower budget. We've seen a lot of this stuff, so it's fun to take it then and don't do any of that stuff."
Discusses adapting historical piracy - "You don't want to see them punch down. You don't want to see them do terrible things to people who don't deserve it, which is not what they really did. So, in the show's world, I think piracy is like a stand-in for something. I think it's a stand-in for being an iconoclast and an outsider and queer in some ways and just different." + "Yeah, I mean, the British are there to be Stormtroopers, or Nazis in an Indiana Jones movie. I mean, they're in there to die essentially."
Discusses diversity staffing
Discusses performative masculinity
Discusses Izzy's death, happy endings, and openness to S3
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bambi-kinos · 20 days
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Let It Be (film) thoughts
Watched Let It Be an hour ago. Some thoughts.
The camera does focus on Paul a lot but I think it's because he was the most energetic through out. The film is doing John a kindness by keeping him out of the shot, he looks like absolute roadkill and they didn't use the blue sweater footage where he had showered.
George gets a surprising amount of focus and he's quite energetic through out. I wonder if his depiction in Get Back was a response to LIB.
They're still so in tune that they only have to play a few notes and the rest immediately jump in and pick it up. Note the flawless three song segue starting with Kansas City.
Paul and George come off as mildly bickering siblings here.
Ringo is barely in it which is brutal. Lovely to see him and George messing around.
Paul's babbling about if George says "no to films" makes absolutely no sense, it's a one scene wonder. Kudos to John for sitting through that so patiently.
I actually appreciate Yoko and John kissing, its like it provides context for them dancing to I Me Mine.
My dad just said the entire thing has a dark reputation because the divorce drama was happening in the background, otherwise it's just kind of. Normal?
But there's really no hiding how run over John looks. Poor guy.
Whenever they're on the roof Paul is making googly eyes at John. John cried through out the entire movie but I have to imagine the rooftop concert sent him into hysterics. When Paul watched Get Back's version, he admired it because he could watch John perform. "I can see him from every angle." The thing is John could see the same thing, he could finally see Paul perform in a way he had never seen before because they were on stage together. John saw something he never saw before: Paul staring at him with that face while performing. I'd start wailing in a movie theater too.
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beanibon · 1 year
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Cat Got Your Tongue?
Context: in which Vash gets a little cocky about bringing you to bed, until he's mere seconds from actually having sex and gets shy
A/N: definitely wasn't inspired by an AI chat with 98 Vash, I am so soft for 98 Vash he's my ultimate bbygorl. So I thought I'd spoil him
TW: alien genitalia, collar play, lots of dirty/pillow talk (as Vash gets a lil shy), switch!vash, oral (f!receiving), hand job, fluff, loud vash (man cannot be quiet to save his life), edging
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You had been tracking down the infamous Humanoid Typhoon for quite some time now, yet every lead always resulted in a dead end. Every small morsel of information you got on his whereabouts, was proven useless. Each dead end always led to a lengthy lecture from your boss, who seemed to think you could pull God from the sky for an interview.
What a bastard.
Now here you were, sitting alone in a practically empty bar at midday. The bartender had slid you a flat beer, that now rested by your side, turning warm as you stared aimlessly at the special drinks menu.
"What's a gorgeous young woman like you doing all alone? Need some company?" You snapped from your empty thoughts, eyeing the blonde man besides you, squinting at him as he seemed oddly familiar.
You blinked a few times, clearing you head. "I wouldn't mind the company, beats drinking alone."
"I'd agree in all honesty, but it doesn't seem like you've touched that for quite some time." The stranger pointed to the now warm beer, turning his attention to many spirits behind the counter, eyes brightening.
You shrugged slightly, looking down at the drink. "Not really my kind of drink to be honest."
"Then why don't a buy you a drink? Whatever you want, it's on me." The blonde had a growing smile present on his face, his enthusiasm was rather adorable as he waited in anticipation, eyes wide and puppy-like.
You returned the smile as you leant back slightly, hands tapping the counter. "I wouldn't mind a drink, a whiskey neat if you don't mind."
The blonde nodded, calling the bartender as he ordered two whiskeys. As the drinks were served, you happily sipped the liquid, enjoying the burning sensation sliding down your throat. A constant warmth entering you body, it felt amazing. Yet your companion would say otherwise, as he choked back a cough as the liquid burned his throat.
You couldn't help the laugh that slipped from you, looking back at this odd stranger. "Not much of a whiskey drinker, huh?"
The blonde chuckled sheepishly, rubbing his neck. "Not really, I much prefer I less burny kind of alcohol."
You chuckled at his response, taking another swig of your drink before turning to the stranger. "So what's your name? And what brings you to this little town?"
The stranger blinks a few times, suddenly sitting up straight as a coy smirk tugs at his lips. "I'm Vash, as for what brings me here: I just happened to be passing through when I spotted such a gorgeous young woman all alone, I simply had to keep her company."
The dramatic monologue made you cringe slightly, yet you couldn't help but find it slightly funny. "Vash huh?" You smirked, yet just as you were about to response with your own sly remark, you froze. Mouth still agape as you looked this stranger up and down, eyes widening as you jumped up, face-to-face with the blonde. "Wait Vash? As in Vash the Stampede!?"
Surprised, Vash was taken aback by your sudden outburst. "Ye-yeah, that's me. The man with 60 billion double dollars on his head, the one and only Vash the Stampede!" He responded, playing into his role with exaggerated theatrics.
Was this really Vash the Stampede? The very same man that shook you from his trail each time you caught the slightest scent? It was impossible.
"You've got to be joking, right? You can't really be the Humanoid Typhoon, you're way too-"
"Good looking?" Vash interrupted.
"Kind, is what I was going to say." You corrected, taking in the man before. He matched perfectly with the description provided, not to mention his face was exactly like the wanted poster stuffed in your pocket. It had to be him.
"Kind huh? Never been described as that before." Vash laughed, resting his elbows on the counter. "What about you? No way you live in this little town, so what brings you here?"
Those words confused you, then again with the kind of bounty he had, you could only imagine the kind of things he'd be called. "I'm a reporter, came here originally to scope out a group of bandits that's been terrorising a couple towns like this one."
"Is that so? I could use some action." Vash mumbled, eyes wandering as he sat in thought.
You watched him for a while, deep in your own thoughts as you tossed up between the options now laid before you. Either you could continue with the job provided and pray that Vash stays long enough for you to catch up with him, or you could forget the job and complete the original task you were sent to do.
"Whatcha thinking about there, gorgeous?" You jumped slightly, face tinted a light pink.
"Sorry, what was that?" You tried to play off his words, only now noticing how Vash was staring at you.
Those eyes, gorgeous and sparkling, just watched you with such interest. He held no aggressive demeanour about him, his body lax as he took you in.
"I said, what are you thinking about, gorgeous?" Vash leaned in a tad closer, smiling sweetly down at you.
Doubt played at your mind, how could this man truly be the allusive Humanoid Typhoon? He seemed so kind, so genuine. It confused your very soul, his whole personality screamed golden retriever.
"If you are the Human Typhoon, do you mind if I interview you?" You got a little shy at being so forward, yet you had already eagerly pulled out your notepad.
Vash gave you a wink, chuckling at your antics. "Why of course, how could a deny such a request from someone as radiant as yourself?"
Your pen clicked, scribbling down your first note. "Womaniser confirmed." You teasingly joked, earning a chuckle from the man beside you.
"What can I say, I love the ladies." He laughed, winking at you yet again.
You found yourself smiling, crossing a leg over the other as you tapped the pen against your chin, unaware of the way Vash shivered at the action. "As the most wanted man on the planet, what are your views on killing? They say chaos and destruction follow you wherever you go, is that true?"
Vash seemed to deflate at that, clearly forgetting that he agreed to be interviewed. "I highly disapprove of violence, killing especially. I've never once killed a man, and I don't intend to." The answer only confused you further, but you held back to allow him to continue. "I am pretty unlucky too, I do bring a lot of grief for the people in the towns I visit. I honestly don't mean to, but with such a large bounty it's bound to bring trouble."
Tilting your head, it which Vash mimicked the moment he looked back ar you, your brows knotted together. "But surely you've killed someone before, the towns you've reduced to rumble, you can't tell me there weren't causalities."
The question was rather insensitive, accusing even if you were to look at it like that. Yet, Vash just smiled, hesd tilted the other way.
"To be completely straight with you, it broke my heart once I realised people died. I'll even admit I cried, embarrassingly enough," Vash admit, yet even as he smiled amid his words, those eyes gave away how fake it truly was. "Like I said, I don't kill. I never will take a person's life, no matter what they've done."
You lowered your notepad, the page still blank. Your hands rummaged through your pocket, pulling out the wanted poster of the very man before, staring at it.
Vash watched you silently as he rested his head on his hand, smirking. "Liking what you see? I have been told I'm quite the handsome guy, don't ya think?"
"I don't understand, I've been told so many things about you, yet. . ." You looked back up at him, face unreadable. "You're nothing like what I've been, you're kind, a little bit of an idiot, yet you're honest."
Those blue eyes shone, finally reflecting the smile that grew ever wider as he looked at you. "I don't recall the last time someone said that to me, I truly appreciate it."
As your heart fluttered a beat faster at seeing such a genuine smile, it admittedly looked beautiful. You put your notepad away, shuffling closer to the blonde, screw the job.
"I have a few more questions, not interview related," Vash sat a bit taller, curious as he listened. "I'd like to get to know you Vash, the real Vash."
This made Vash swallow thickly, cheeks dusted with a slight blush. "You want to know the real me? No rumours, or bounties just. . . Vash?"
You nod, a little too enthusiastically. "No rumours, bounties or anything in between, just you."
The smile that appeared on Vash's face made your breath hitch, his eyes sparkled, a faint blush on his own face. His body leaned closer to yours, head tilted. "Well then beautiful, ask away."
You couldn't help the giddy feeling warming your body, it could be the whiskey, but it remained untouched from when it first ordered. Gaining some courage, you took a deep breath before popping the first question.
"What's the type of women you go for?"
Vash snorted, face scrunched as he tried to contain his laughter. "So that's the first question you go with huh? Afraid you won't be my type?"
"N-no!" You slapped his shoulder, instantly breaking his composure as he laughed.
"Well if I have to be honest, she'd have to be fun. This place is a real strain on mind, so having a fun gal around who knows how to have good time is must." Vash took another swig of his drink, hissing as the liquid burned down his throat.
"Fun?" Guess I can be fun, it what you would've added, if you didn't have common sense. There was no way you'd openly admit how the blonde was making you feel, how each smile your way made your heart skip a beat, or each laugh causing you to squeeze your legs just that little bit harder.
"Yeah fun! I suppose having a wild side would also fall into that category too, I could totally get behind someone who's a little freaky if you know what I mean." Another thigh squeezing laugh, god this Typhoon was driving you mad!
It wasn't long before your mind began to wander, eyes lingering a little too long around his neck. Before you know it, a collar had materialised around it and you found yourself wiping your sweaty hands along your dresses hem.
"You'd look so pretty in a matching red collar."
Vash's face lit a red rival to his coat, head turning to stare you directly in the eyes. "Wha-what was that?"
Leaning forward, lips brushing against his ear, you repeated what you said in calm tone.
"I said: you'd look so pretty in a matching red collar."
"I-I was afraid you said that." Vash swallowed hard, all cockiness prior faltering as his mind weighed up his options. Yet the moment your teeth nibbled at his ear, the ache in pants becoming that more apparent, his mind was made. "Well I wouldn't be opposed to such a suggestion, in fact I think I might like it?"
The look on his face was pure gold, and the laugh you let out pierced his heart with cupids arrow. Now it was Vash's turn to squeeze his legs together, desperate to hide the root of the ache in his body.
"Would you like me to make you my sweet, obedient puppy? Take you for walks, showering you with treats and attention?" Each word was like honey from your lips, and Vash couldn't contain it any longer. The very thoughts wanting him to cum then and there, your words had him seeing hearts.
"Please, make me your good boy." Vash mumbled into your shoulder, hiding his head in shame.
A sweet giggle sounded from you, hand sliding down his around to lace your fingers around the cool metal of his prosthesis. Pulling him along, you left a few neatly folded bills for the bartender, leaving the empty bar as you dragged your prized Humanoid Typhoon behind you.
Vash didn't resist, his face droopy as he stared at you like a love sick puppy. Not to mention the way you held his prosthetic hand so gently, thumb rubbing the metal as if massaging it. It made his heart sing, he simply couldn't resist the giddy smile plastered on his love drunk face.
A whine sounded when you stopped, looking back at him with wide, innocent doe eyes. The very sight reached Vash's core, an impatient groan sounding from the tall blonde.
"Patience now, I just need to grab something." You gently pat his cheek, before slipping inside a store. Your absence made Vash feel empty, a childish pout forming.
It seemed like ages since you had disappeared, and the more time slipped by the more Vash began to remember how he looked. Suddenly self-conscious, Vash was tempted to flee and leave you to wonder where he went, but he couldn't bring himself to be that cruel. But the thought of you seeing the many scars, metal implants and hideous wounds and you looking at him in disgust, made running seem that much more easier.
"Sorry that took so long, ready to go?" Vash literally jumped, snapping from his thoughts as you reappeared holding a small gift bag in your hands.
Blinking, he peered at neatly tied bag, looking back at you with obvious curiosity. You simple smiled, grabbing his metal hand once again and leading him forward, all thoughts of fleeing quickly diminished the moment your hand entangled with his.
"It's a surprise, you'll have to wait and see." You hummed in a teasing tone, winking back at him with your tongue sticking out slightly.
Vash felt his body tingle all over, yet he couldn't rid the nagging voice reminding him he was hideous under the many layers used to hide what he looked like. It gave him fear of disappointing you, that he wouldn't be able to fulfill your needs just because of the way he looked. It frightened him.
Yet the way you obliviously tugged him along, most likely towards a hotel room you had booked for the duration of your stay, Vash wanted to please you. You were so kind to him, open to his side of things, he felt understood for the first time in years. And he'd be damned if he threw that away now.
Once you both arrived at decent hotel room, Vash watched as you placed the neatly tied gift bag on a nightstand. If curiosity truly killed the cat, Vash would be dead by now, so what's the harm in sneaking a quick peek?
"Oi, that's for later." His hand was swatted away, causing him to whine and rub it.
"C'mon sweetheart, just a tiny peek? I'll act surprised." Vash pleaded, arms snaking their way around your waist as he leaned against you.
"Are you that impatient?" You raised a teasing brow up at the begging man clinging onto you, giggling at his eager reaction. The feeling of his hips pressed into the small of your back reminded you of just how tall Vash was compared to you, it made you kind of nervous. "Fine, but you need to sit down at least."
Vash made a noise akin to high pitched bark, diving onto the rickety bed as it squealed under his weight, the one downside of your cheap hotel. As you approached, ruffling his hair the gift bag in your hands once more, Vash squirmed in excitement.
"Close your eyes," Vash obeyed instantly, and you slipped the item from the bag silently.
You clipped the item around the blonde's neck, feeling his muscle tense at the sudden foreign object, confused at the additional clicks. Once you gave the okay for Vash to open his eyes, the first thing he saw was you towering over him with a red leash in your hands. It wasn't long before he put two and two together, face burning the same red.
Fully flustered now, Vash struggled to form coherent words, every bit of confidence draining from his tongue as you gently tugged the leash. The very action made Vash's clothes feel unbearably tight, but something about you standing over him, holding that leash so beautifully in your hands made him want this even more.
"Cat got your tongue?" You smirked, wrapping the cord around your hand as you moved closer, forcing him to look up. "What happened to that cocky attitude before?"
Vash swallowed thickly, feeling his body sweat as the room became increasingly hot. Yet try as he might, the only sounds that managed to come from him were strangled whimpers, or stuttering groans.
"Uncomfortable? Want me to fix that?" You leaned forward, hands sliding up his torso as you began to unbutton his coat, only to have two hands stop you. A frown formed as you looked at Vash, puzzled you began to think you jumped the gun a little, moving too fast. "I'm sorry, is it too much? I didn't mea-"
"N-no you're fine, it's just. . . I'm not that pretty underneath." Vash looked away, suddenly shy under your attentive gaze, but you only smiled.
"Then how about we try something else, just until your ready?" You gently cupped his face, thumbs massaging his cheeks as his eyes widened, clearly surprised by your answer.
"But I still want you to feel good!" He spluttered out, grabbing your waist pulling you closer. "I just need some time to mentally prepare myself, for getting undressed in front of you."
Vash hears that sweet, gentle and addictive laugh from you, and it drives him wild all over again. Then he's met with the soft press of lips on his forehead, and he's become putty in your hands, sinking further into the palms that held him.
A needy whine is heard when you remove those soft hands, stepping back to pull the dress from your body. Vash watches, eyes wide as he takes in your own scars, clearly being a reporter had its bad days, but unlike his yours were beautiful and decorated with stunning tattoos.
Vash grabs the back of your thighs, pulling you closer as his chin rests up against your stomach, eyes looking up into yours. His own legs rub together in attempt to ease the pain between his legs, you held yourself with such pride despite your body being scarred.
Eyes never leaving you, Vash watches as you lay down next to him, a hand pulling him down by the collar around his neck. Slowly you open your legs, revealing your dripping cunt to the collared blonde, who was quick crawl over to you.
Eager to please you, Vash grabbed your thighs, squeezing them as he licked his drying lips. The very sight of you so wet made his cock twitch against its restraints, you were like this because of him.
Wasting no time, Vash pulled you forward with ungodly speed, causing a yelp of surprise that quickly turned to a needy moan. Vash's warm tongue lapped hungrily at your folds, metal fingers sending chilled shivers along your spine, the mixed temperatures were a whole new form of pleasure. As cold fingers parted you, his tongue worked eagerly to draw out more pretty noises from you.
Each moan, cry of pleasure and lewd panting was music to Vash's ears, the cherry on top was when you abandoned the leash and just grabbed a fistful of his hair. It was utter bliss as you pulled him further against you, nose bumping against your sensation bud of nerves.
Vash brought his flesh hand over, thumb pressed against your clit as he circled it, pinching down occasionally to elicit more sounds. Every new sensation was accompanied by either a harsh tug of his hair, or desperate jerk of your hips against his face, either way it caused a sickly sweet smell to arise from his crotch.
As you quivered around him, clenching against the wet appendage and intrusive fingers, your voiced cried out his name as your thighs squeezed his head releasing against him. Freeing Vash of your grip, you watched as his eyes clouded hazily, still pressed against your warn cunt, love drunk and wishing you could just suffocate him between your thighs. His cloudy eyes looked to you, a wonky smile on his face as he cleaned you up, licking up every last bit of sweet cum until it was all he could taste.
You opened your mouth to say something between pants, only to close it once Vash started to shed his own clothing. Your stomach dropped at the sight of him, not out of fear or disgust at what he looked like under all those layers, but out of worry and concern.
Sitting up, ignoring how your body protested the action, hands running along his scars, fingers tracing every line, bullet hole, or gash you could find. Vash flinched against every touch, worry present on his face as you looked at him. leaning forward, loving kisses were placed over each and every scar.
Vash gasped, eyes closed as each kiss made just that small amount of pain disappear. Not all of it, but enough to ease the constant ache his scars brought.
And without realising it, your lips connected with his, tasting yourself on his tongue as it invited you in. Vash whimpered, pushing you down again as he humped your thigh, lower half still clothed.
You pulled away, smiling up at him as your hands held his face once more. It was all he needed before Vash unclipped his pants, awkwardly kicking them off. You stared at his cock shamelessly, not expecting the sight you were met with.
Four petals had opened, tinged a slight blue as an appendage similar to a human penis was in the centre, except more pointed with slight ridging under the head. What really got your attention was the four vines that pulsated a blue iridescent glow at their rounded tips, twitching as they fluttered against your thigh, sending small shock waves against your skin. It was beautiful, and those tendrils made your body jolt at each sensation they placed against your skin.
"So you're not human?"
"Surprise, guess now my secrets out there." Vash laughed awkwardly, shyly looking away.
A smile graced your features as you pulled him in for another kiss, giving Vash the reassurance to press the tip in-between your folds. The sensation was odd, he was rather slender, but still long as he pushed himself further in. It took you a little longer to adjust to him, panting against his lips as you clenched around him.
"Do you really have to squeeze me that much, geez sweetheart you'll make me cum before I can even make you feel good." Vash pouted, teeth clenched as you squeezed him yet again.
"So-sorry, you're just so big it's hard." You panted, feeling yourself slowly relax as your body adjusted to the foreign cock.
"Thatta girl, you ready for me?" Vash took your slight tug against his leash as a yes, chuckling as he slowly moved his hips.
Even the movements felt odd, odd but so good as those slight ridges caused your toes to curl. Not to mention how those small, budded vines had latched onto your clit, sending waves of static like pulses against the already sensitive nerve bud. This Humanoid Typhoon was full of surprises, and ones you weren't gonna complain about any time soon. There was no way you could look at regular sex the same after tonight, not after Vash just filled you perfectly.
The only real issue was how slow he was going, it didn't match the pace of those waves of electricity against your clit. You were going crazy, growing impatient by the second.
Hooking your fingers under his red collar that he kept obediently on, you yanked him down, a squeal sounded from the poor blonde. "Vash baby, I need you to go faster."
"I don't want to hurt you though, you're not use to all of th-"
"For fucks sake Vash, hurry up and fuck me!"
Vash yelped, instantly picking up his pace. Yet after a while you tugged his collar again, signalling him to thrust into you faster still.
His pounding became almost ruthless, and his face, contorted with obvious pleasure, held a hint of worry as he struggled to keep the pace himself. You on the other hand, moaning at each hard thrust inside your sopping cunt, loved every tingle of static, every harsh collide of Vash's sculpted hips against yours. It was pure ecstacy.
Vash was practically leaning right over you, head buried against your shoulder as your legs were pressed against your chest. You could feel his pace staggering, turning sloppy as his high neared. His rough hands squeezed your hips, teeth chewing slightly against your shoulder as he moaned loudly.
The closer he got to his climax, the louder Vash was. You couldn't hear yourself over his whines, whimpers and pleasure filled cries, if you weren't heard before, your lewd act was definitely made aware of now.
"Ngh- so, ah! So close, sweetheart. Just a little. . . Longer." Vash panted out, crashing his hips against yours in desperation.
Soft hands raised his head, droopy eyes staring down into yours. "Stop."
"Wha- huh?" Vash thought you were simply joking, still he halted his actions, worried he'd done something to upset you. Or worse, hurt you.
But as he went to pull out, your legs wrapped around him. "I said stop, not pull out, such a naughty puppy."
Before Vash could question you, his collar was tugged roughly, cock twitching inside you. It was driving him mad not to fuck you, hands balled against the bedsheets as his eyes pleaded, begged you to let him come.
You tugged his collar again when he moved, trying to finish what he started, but you wouldn't let him. "Did I say you could cum? Such a bad puppy."
Vash whined, face buried in your chest as his hands clawed the sheets, eventually clasping each breast in one hand. He began kneading at them, squeezing them as if they were some stress toy to distract himself from being unable to relieve himself. Each second felt like hour, dragging on as you simply watched his small silent tantrum, abusing your breasts as his squished them around his face.
Giggling at his antics, you ran your fingers through his hear. "Alright, you've been a good boy, you ca- ah!"
Vash didn't let you finish, jumping up and pounding into you with inhuman speed. His hands grabbed your waist, pulling you down as he slammed into, this time you were the one being loud. Yet it wasn't long until Vash choked at a strangled cry, slamming into you one last time as iridescent cum began to fill your spasming pussy, milking his cock. Your high came not long after, nails clawing Vash's back as you cried out his name, eyes rolled back as your legs quivered.
Vash pulled out, collapsing on top of you as he panted against your chest, using them as pillow. You responded by combing his hair with your fingers, a sigh of content from the man.
His arms wrapped around your waist, humming against you as he closed his eyes, nuzzling at your chest. The steadying beats of your heart soothed Vash, eyes slowly closing as felt safe enough in your company to sleep. He's never had sex before, at least not much in his 150 years of wandering this desert wasteland, so when you moved to begin cleaning up the mess you both made he frowned, holding you tighter.
"Vash darling, we can't sleep on spoiled sheets, please let me clean up." You giggled, watching him shake his head 'no'. "You're such a child, at least move a little bit so I can remove the bottom sheet."
Begrudgingly doing as his told, without letting you go, he moved just enough for you to remove the spoiled sheet and lay back down. The childish Human Typhoon still curled on top of you, eyes closed and cheeks puffed out in a pout. The very sight made you laugh, gently stroking his head until his face relaxed.
It was simple aftercare, and you didn't mind that at all, as long as Vash was comfortable. The peaceful look on his face made you smile, giving in to sleep yourself.
But as you slowly began drifting off to sleep you were abruptly woken, pushing the blondes face away from you.
"Vash! Don't bite my tits like that!"
"I'm sorry, they just felt so good I had to!"
"No you didn't, you idiot! You just wanted to be a perv!"
"For your information you slept with this perv, besides shouldn't you be treating me a little kinder? I made you feel good didn't I? Ow! What was that for!?"
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A/N: I'm not overly happy with how this one turned out, I was clearly in different moods writing it.
I hope you guys enjoyed it anyways! Trying to give our 98 Vash some lovin, also his dick is suppose to be my Stampede Vash's headcanoned dick, but you can just replace the petals with wings or feathers.
Love you all, enjoy!
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thebroccolination · 1 year
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People Think Krist Is Homophobic (but He Isn’t)
[TW: discussions of homophobia, death threats, "the rape filter joke", etc.]
Last September, I made a thread about The Whole Krist Thing, and I'd like to make a version here on Tumblr as well.
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NOTE: My being a queer fan of Krist doesn’t override the feelings or opinions of other queer people. I fully understand that time on this planet is limited and you don't need to exert precious energy into researching an actor. The reason I'm making this is to provide context for people who are new to the fandom or just wondering why Krist is known as homophobic.
- Why I Made the Twitter Thread -
As a queer international fan living abroad, my understanding of Thailand, Thai culture, and Thai language is extremely limited. Like most of us, I rely entirely on translations, both official and fan-made.
After watching SOTUS for the first time in 2020, I saw English-speaking fans claiming that Krist Perawat, the actor who played Arthit, was homophobic. And it wasn't just one or two people saying it. It was dozens. Hundreds. That called for some research. I loved Arthit, and Krist's empathetic portrayal of him didn't mesh with the angry guy in the Instagram photo I was seeing passed around.
I'd made a number of queer Peraya fans on Twitter, so I went to them individually and asked, "What's this about Krist being homophobic?" As queer fans who were knowledgable and openly fond of Krist, I wanted to hear their side of things.
They sent me links and photos and videos and translations that thoroughly explained how Krist's reputation for being homophobic had gotten so out of control. The problem: those things weren't compiled in one place, and they were all on Twitter where the Asian Peraya fandom is most active. Interfans, meanwhile, took the worst of everything they could find and compiled it into contextless videos for Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, etc. Since the vast majority of Krist's fanbase is spread across Asia and many of them don't engage with the international fandom, it's no wonder to me that the homophobia thing has become so ubiquitous over the years.
It's a paradox where, in order to see the evidence of Krist's allyship, you kind of have to be a fan already. Or you have to know which keywords to use to navigate Twitter's nightmare of a search function (I know, Tumblr is worse). While I made that thread, I was regularly texting Peraya I knew things like, "Do you know where that one interview from 2019 is?" or, "Did you take a screenshot of the marriage equality post he made last month?"
The thread was difficult to make, and I'm a fan! What I know of Krist, I know because I've been a fan for three years and I have access to information that fans who have been here much longer can find.
I also procrastinated on making it for ages. I knew the amount of vitriol people hold against him, and I just wanted to enjoy my time in fandom quietly without calling waves of anger and hate to my carefully curated little corner of sunshine.
Then Krist was in a car accident.
And even though he was reportedly driving safely and slowly, Thailand is notorious for its poorly maintained roads and a high number of traffic accidents. Only months after receiving his first driver's license, Krist's car flipped upside down, and he had to reassure fans from the hospital that he was physically all right, just shaken.
Meanwhile, some international fans thought it was funny.
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And that's when I started making the thread.
So, with all that said, let's start with Krist's allyship, because I know most of us agree that that's the bare minimum for an actor working in the BL industry and profiting off the queer community.
- Acts of Allyship -
In the early days of their SOTUS fame, Krist and Singto were interviewed about the LGBTQ+ community.
Acceptance and equality is something that the LGBTQ community still struggles to achieve up to this day. But both Singto and Krist believe that this should not be the case. “They are just humans. They are like me, and they are like everyone,” Krist claims. Furthermore, he mentions that we should all be given the freedom to love anyone we want to love. “It’s just natural,” he says.
“They don’t have to understand now,” Singto says, referring to those who can’t grasp same-sex relationships. “One day, when they find their true love, they will realize that love is the same no matter the gender.” Krist adds, “Gender is not relevant when it comes to love. But in case some people still don’t understand this in time, what’s important is that we all give due respect to each other at the end of the day.”
He's also educated himself in colors representative of the LGBTQ+ community.
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When Krist and Singto attended an award ceremony for their photoshoot in the gay magazine Attitude, Krist shared a sentiment that he gave to a queer friend of his. "If no one accepts you, you can stay with me, because I accept you for who you are." [Paraphrased]
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Despite Thailand's current government leaning on BL series as a new soft power, it's still very conservative, and its people are to this day fighting to see equal marriage recognized.
Krist often adds his voice to this fight on Instagram, specifically as someone who works in the BL industry. These were in 2021 and 2022:
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And, like many young people in Thailand, Krist also seems to support the Move Forward party. Earlier this week, he used an orange heart in a tweet to encourage people to go out and vote in the most recent election. One of the many things the Move Forward party is pushing for is the legalization of same-sex marriage "with the same rights and responsibilities as their heterosexual peers", which the current military government actively does not.
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- His Circle -
When I was making my Twitter thread, I hesitated before including mention of his queer friends and coworkers. I knew how that would sound, but in the same way I felt it was important to mention my own queerness, I also think it's important to highlight not just the presence of queer people in his life, but how comfortable they are with him.
As I said in my Twitter thread, having queer friends isn’t indicative of anything substantial, but I do think it’s important to look at how those queer friends interact with him. If you’re queer, you know firsthand which friends you’d be physically affectionate with. The entertainment industry is its own world, of course, and the weight and meaning of relationships and connections can be different, but for all Krist's fame and popularity, he's not so famous or remotely powerful that faking a friendship with him is going to get them very far.
Among his queer friends, you've got Jennie who babies him, Godji who treats him like her son, and Oat who still adores him years after SOTUS. All of them queer, all of them visibly affectionate in a way that feels authentic, at least to me.
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On the professional side of things, I think the best example of someone who wouldn't bother with him if he were homophobic is Golf Tanwarin Sukkhapisit. In 2022, Krist worked on The War of Flowers with Golf, a nonbinary queer activist, former MP, and director of The Eclipse. Since they're not just a queer person in the industry but a vocal queer activist who's made incredible progress for the community in their country, I value their judgment of his character.
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Again, the reason I bring up these people isn't to say, "Look! Queer people! He knows some!"
It's to point out that he's close to them, and it disrespects their judgment to casually assume that they’d cosy up to a homophobe.
It's a small point, yes, but it was important to me when I first became a fan to see that queer people who know him personally had "vetted" him.
- Growth -
For this next section, I'll address three things I see brought up most often: the rape filter joke, the rumor that Krist said he doesn't like watching men kiss, and the claim that he's only doing BL because rent is due.
1) The Rape Filter Joke
In 2017, Krist and Singto were on a live with (I think) two other friends. They were testing out different filters, and when they got to a blur effect, one of them (one of the friends, I think) said it looked like the filter they put over victims of sexual assault on the news. They all laughed, including Krist and Singto.
I can't find a video of the original event, but we do have a translation of the apology he gave in 2018, and the public apology he made in 2020 when the video resurfaced again.
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While this is unfortunate, and it would be nice if he hadn’t done it, I’m more interested in how he responds to criticism and his growth afterward. The incident was in 2017, but even speaking on it in 2020, he didn't make excuses for himself.
He apologized, accepted culpability, educated himself, and has never repeated it.
2) Krist "Doesn't Like to Watch Men Kiss"
There's also a claim that goes around that Krist said he doesn't like to watch men kiss. But that isn't what he said.
The subtitled interview that this claim was taken from has been split into two parts, and I think a lot of people have only seen the first half, if they've seen either.
(Also, my deepest apologies, but I'm linking you to Twitter for the video clips.)
In the first clip, the hosts tease Krist about Singto's sex scene with another actor in Close Friends. I can't speak to the nuances of what Krist is saying in Thai, but in the subtitles, he's basically saying that as a guy, he doesn't want to watch stuff like that and just skips past Singto and his partner to one of the other couples, like the male-female pairs. With just this clip, I agree that it doesn't sound great.
But in the second clip, the hosts tease Krist until he admits that the "stuff" he doesn't want to watch is Singto specifically kissing people who aren't him. Krist's jealousy, especially when it comes to Singto, is a well-trod fanservice joke.
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3) He's Doing BL Only for the Money
I mean, I have no idea, but it'd be very weird if this was true, because he hasn't been in a BL since 2018 (if you count Our Skyy), and he's doing very well for himself financially.
Listen, this is probably the least serious people get when they criticize him, but I'm including it because why not, this is already a thesis.
From what I understand based on actors' comments, BL roles don't make a lot of money for the actors. (Boun even quoted a surprisingly low daily salary recently, and I'll share it here if I find it again.) Of course, I imagine Krist has enough fame and clout that he gets paid more than most actors, but to be frank, he absolutely makes more from all his other work.
Apart from the acting work he's done, he hosts two music shows, he starred in a musical recently, GMM just flew him to Japan for the first leg of his Asia concert tour, he runs a restaurant with Wave, and he has a bunch of sponsorships. And that's off the top of my head. The car from his accident in 2021 was a luxury model, and he replaced it with another pretty soon afterward. I'm not bragging for him or anything, but the "he's just doing BL for the money" is an odd thing to say when he probably already earns more than most without doing it.
It would have been a better argument back in 2016 when Krist's family was deep in debt. Krist's said that his main motivation to join the entertainment industry back then was to pay off that debt for his family, and he did so with the money he made from SOTUS.
Krist has spoken in the past about wanting to do more BL roles, but GMM preferred that he work with Singto. Now that Singto's left GMM (likely to start his own agency), Krist is in Be My Favorite, so I think his explanation tracks.
It's also worth mentioning that you can do something for the money and also love what you do. In the case of SOTUS, Arthit wasn't just a role that made him money, he's the character who changed Krist's life. He honors Arthit to this day by always wearing the bracelet he wore to his audition and by naming his music studio "SUN St." after Arthit.
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(This is a very minor point, but I don't think a homophobe would cherish a queer role to quite that extent even if it was their kick-off point. If anything, they'd probably try to bury the role and pretend their real success started later.)
- Perception of Sexuality -
I think the reason the IG story hits people so hard is because Krist's reaction makes it seem like he's horrified that people could even think he's gay. My understanding is that he was tired of people interrogating him about his sexuality.
Krist is very openly affectionate with the people he loves, regardless of gender, which is clear in the photos with his friends above. Thus, he's always been like that with Singto. They hug before every show, they sleep on each other, cuddle, what have you. All the stuff of people who have developed a tight bond over the years.
When Krist was asked if he was afraid that that would put off potential partners in the future (which, good god, the questions they're asked) Krist said he doesn't care how people perceive his sexuality.
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This was in 2018, the year Our Skyy aired, and he's said similar things in passing before and since.
- Conclusion -
All of what I've posted here is just a slice of what's out there. This is just the stuff I could find with reliable English translations because I'm making this for an English-speaking audience. Krist's fans already know all of this, which is why he has queer fans in the first place, and a lot of them are just too tired by hate fatigue to keep correcting misinformation.
I'm not trying to get every person in the world to like Krist, I promise. He's not perfect. He's a loud mess, and while he has four cats who love him, they're also exhausted by him. I just happen to like loud, obnoxious people, especially when they're as kind as he is.
There are plenty of Thai actors I don't vibe with for any number of reasons ranging from serious to petty. You have my written permission to dislike some people.
The Instagram story he posted was a bad move, we're all agreed. He agrees. He's apologized multiple times over the years. Whether one accepts his apologies is each person’s right, and I understand if this is enough to turn people away.
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I just hope it's clear that he's been a staunch ally of the queer community and remains so to this day.
Personally, I'm more upset about the question.
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This isn't a question you ask anyone.
And this wasn't the first fan to ask him.
According to people who have been fans from the SOTUS era, Krist and Singto were both relentlessly dogged by fans about 1) their sexualities and 2) details about their relationship with each other. We've all likely seen it happen to actors today, but back in 2016, there weren't hundreds of BL actors vying for the spotlight, so the spotlight hit Krist and Singto in a way that we can't imagine today. Most of us, myself included, arrived in this fandom long after SOTUS's meteoric rise to popularity that ended up saving GMMTV from bankruptcy, but given how many fans still behave like they're entitled to know an actor's sexuality, I think it's safe to trust that it was relentless. Fans accusing Kit Connor of "queerbaiting" as recently as 2022 is proof of that.
At the end of the day, there are plenty of reasons to dislike Krist, just like there are to dislike any person on this planet. He's hyperactive, he's whiny, etc. He's not flawless, but I think he's more than shown through his actions that he isn't homophobic, either.
He's not some actor playing queer roles for clout. He's vocally supportive of queer rights, and he backed that up this week in the polls by voting for the most progressive party in his country who are actively pushing for marriage equality.
But like I said, you don't have to like him, so I'll end this post with a quote from a friend who doesn't like Krist for the funniest reason I've ever heard:
"I don't think Krist is homophobic. I just don't like him because he reminds me of every kindergartener who demanded my attention at the exact moment when I was carrying something that could spill – and then it did spill, and they laughed about it for five minutes."
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lady-harrowhark · 1 year
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hello, can you explain to me in more clarity your “waxen” theory regarding Ianthe? I’m not picking up on what this implies but it’s making my brain itch.
Sort of! Totally fair question, I just don't have a lot of clarity myself in that I don't have a fully formed theory lol. There's definitely some links and parallels in verbiage that are pinging on my radar, so I do think something's funky, but I wouldn't say I'm fully on board with this yet. I'm just playing in the sandbox Tamsyn has provided us, tossing out ideas and thinking out loud. But I can go into some more detail, and add some more thoughts that have occurred to me since I posted that last night.
(Here's a link to the post in question, for context)
Anyway! So let's first lay out all the times we get someone described as some type of wax. At various points in HtN, we get the descriptions "a shoddy wax cast of some more beautiful sculpture," a "wax figure in a pink dolly dress," a "wax figure in pale purple chiffon," and "waxen face" for Ianthe. We also see that descriptor used a few other times for other people throughout the series. In GtN, Harrow's parents' bodies are called "waxy" and the first introduction of Protesilaus (as the beguiling corpse) says he was "waxen looking in the sunlight." In NtN, Kiriona's skin is said to have a "weird, waxy quality," then Naberius's skin is called "waxen" when they first meet up with Ianthe, and again a few pages later it again references the "waxen, handsome face". What I'm getting at here is that every time this sort of description is deployed, it's in reference to a dead body that's been preserved, manipulated, and is essentially masquerading as a living person... except for Ianthe.
We also know there are a multitude of times that she's described as looking like a poor copy of Coronabeth. There's that "shoddy wax cast of some more beautiful sculpture" line, her first introduction calls her a "starved shadow" of her sister ("or the first an illuminated reflection [of Ianthe]," and actually, off the top of my head I don't know that we ever see their descriptions framed that way again... I'd have to investigate this more later, but this might be the only time that Corona is described as a "better" version of Ianthe, rather than Ianthe being a "worse" version of Corona, which is interesting), there's a point where it says "The second twin was as though the first had been taken to pieces and put back together without any genius. She wore a robe of the same cloth and colour, but on her it was a beautiful shroud on a mummy," etc etc etc. I know there's more, but I'm too lazy to go pull the rest of the quotes and you get the picture by this point I'm sure. So nearly all of these situate her, at least visually, as a copy or approximation of Coronabeth, and one that doesn't quite live up to original at that.
So now let's pick apart this snippet of conversation we overhear between Silas and Ianthe at Magnus and Abigail's dinner party a bit. Ianthe says she was born via "surgical means," which I'm assuming is referring to a C-section delivery (or whatever the necromantic equivalent is) and notes that Corona is a few minutes older. Silas seems surprised (or perhaps concerned?) that they "risked intervention" and Ianthe says Corona had "removed [her] source of oxygen". At this point Silas says, "A wasted opportunity, I'd think." I had always taken this for him just being a dick and implying he wished she'd died in the womb, but coming back to it with this new angle... well. She says "Corona's birth put my survivability somewhere around definite nil." And I'm wondering if that doesn't tie to Harrow's comment about infant deaths generating "enough thanergy to take out the entire planet." Basically, could Silas have been implying that the Tridentarii's parents wasted an opportunity to use the thanergy from baby Ianthe's death to power up Corona?
Harrow says that twins are an ill omen, but the text hasn't come back to that as of yet. Given the difficulty necromancers experience with pregnancy, I'd imagine twins would could be especially dangerous and that in and of itself could be considered an ill omen. Ianthe's comments certainly suggest that their mother carried the pregnancy, although I don't think we know for certain whether she was a necromancer. I am so intensely curious about the Tridentarii's childhood and their parents; we get so many gestures towards some really twisted family dynamics, but very little in the way of concrete explanations. Particularly relevant here, I'd love to know more about their father wanting a "matched set" and how that came about. Did they intentionally plan for twins from the start? Was it only once they knew they were having twins that that became a factor? What's the significance there?
Outside of those "waxy" descriptors, Ianthe tends to be described as much more sickly looking than even other necromancers. We know that necromancers on the whole tend towards a phenotype of physical weakness, but even still, there's an emphasis on this with Ianthe beyond that. This might be due in part to narrator bias (coughGideoncough) or the direct juxtaposition between her and Coronabeth's vivaciousness, but what really jumps out at me as contributing to this effect is how frequently she's described as being colorless, pale, washed out, bloodless, pallid, anemic, etc etc etc. It very much makes me think of the way the color drains away from Colum (and even the rest of the room and the others in it) when Silas is siphoning. Silas himself is also often described as colorless ("mayonnaise uncle," "milk man") but not so much in a way that implies frailty as much as I read it as implying a stark coldness, in line with the very black-and-white moral authority he presumes to wield, a purported "purity", much different than Ianthe's colorlessness. With Ianthe, you get a sense that her palette ought to have been or perhaps was closer to Corona's, but the color's been drained away; where Corona's hair is described as golden, Ianthe's is "canned butter", for example. Almost like the life's been siphoned out, one might say.
So to kind of circle back around, do I actually think Ianthe is dead or a corpse like the other "wax" figures we've seen? Nah. Between Harrow and Palamedes, and especially Palamedes's medical necromancy, I think we would have heard about it by now if that were the case. But I do think it's entirely plausible that she's had a bit of a brush with death and that perhaps she's never quite fully come back from, and I do think she's being intentionally positioned as somewhat adjacent to death. If their parents were wanting twins from the outset, perhaps they used necromantic means to encourage the conception. Or if the pregnancy was as high-risk as I suspect it was, perhaps she'd died or nearly died at birth and been resuscitated. Their parents may have gone to extremes to keep her alive, to maintain their matched set. Given the themes of this series, I do feel it's necessary to draw a distinction between "resuscitation" and "resurrection" although they are curiously adjacent to one another. For all the text has grappled with dying and staying dead, dying and coming back, dying and choosing whether or not to return... we haven't touched on what something like a "near death experience" would look like. I'd imagine having that sort of experience, even at an incredibly young age, might lead one to be fascinated with, to use Ianthe's own words, "the place between death and life... the place between release and disappearance."
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donamori · 10 months
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I'm so fucking disappointed about the project moon decision to let their contracted CG Artist go and kinda wanted to sum up what I understand of the situation.
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Basically Korean incel mgtow types made a list of demands to PM. From what I understand this started with anger about uptie 4 costs, but seemed to focus more about supposed "feminists ties" that the CG Artist had from before she started working at PM.
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However beyond this list of demands it seems that many of the "fans" raging about the Artist were also making threats about wanting to kill PM staff. This culminated in a bunch of them actually forcing their way into PM offices and demanding to see the director and the Limbus Company account was forced to make a statement at 12 am Korean time. (Machine translation here)
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They attribute it to her name on PM being linked to her name she uses in social media and the opinions she expressed being thought to be the opinions of PM. Keep in mind the opinions expressed were posts she made on non Twitter accounts from before she worked with PM and that she had even deleted those old posts.
The situation is extremely fucked up and messy and it seems like, in my own opinion, that PM was forced to make a decision they would not make otherwise due to the threats of violence and the rapidly escalating situation. This is an opinion one of the fan art accounts I follow expressed as well. I'd include the tweet, but they have privated their account since then. The CG Artist in question has apparently deleted her accounts, and regarding all of the controversy surrounding this situation, it really terminally can affect her career going forward
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I'm honestly not sure how to feel going forward. It's so fucking heartbreaking to see these hateful tactics used successfully and for talented artists and creators to be harassed and silenced.
Again I just wanted to provide context for English speaking fans. The controversy isn't as simple as "mad about no swimsuits" it's unfortunately much worse than that, it's disgusting harassment because of the personal views someone expressed. I don't know much about Korean politics but from what I've been told there's a lot of very extreme feminist hate.
I hope this provides some insight :( My hope is mostly that the CG Artist doesn't continue to get harassed, and that her career doesn't suffer too much because of this.
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dwcmarshalarts · 9 days
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your writing and illustration are both so incredibly compelling, i don't know much about these characters but i just keep imagining scenes out of their life stories. truly some awesome storytelling :D wish you'd make a comic someday
Much appreciated, truly!
Early on, I was inspired by a lot of works that depicted scenes that were otherwise given no context, and forced the viewer to come up with stories for them. Forced viewer interaction that was engaging.
I never thought I'd have the time to draw out the stories that came to me in full- so I took advantage of illustration to pack as much story into my stuff as possible.
It's humbling to know that I can provide the same phenomenon that inspired me all those years ago.
That said, now that art is my full time job, I'm hoping I can finally get to telling those stories in long format.
There's *some* comic material out there already! But nothing from beginning-to-end. Below are some older material.
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my-autism-adhd-blog · 6 months
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Okay I have two questions, a long and a short one.
Long question: Is it normal or even POSSIBLE to "break out of" a sensory sensitivity?
I think this needs context:
When I was but a little creature of a child in elementary school I would always stick my fingers in my ears to dull sound when the halls or classrooms were full of echoes or chatter or loud music or whatever, I never got a full overload and never had a meltdown but it would bug the hell out of me whenever my ears were assaulted by the cacophony of shouting or talking.
One day, though, I must've though enough was enough and that the noise could not possibly have been that bad. Naturally little me did the very sane thing to do: FACETANK THE HALL NOISE.
Nowadays only the worst noises make me want to cover my ears and even then I'd rather tank them than get caught looking autistic if I was in public (Hell people in the highschool i just graduated from still unreclaimably used the big R slur).
Sounds do get annoying still, but I sorta facetank and/or listen into the details now.
Did.... did I exposure-therapize myself against noise? Or have I somehow permanently gaslighted myself and still have the sensitivity?
Short question: is talking/explaining to nothing/myself about something i watched a video about/got interested in constitute stimming? Especially if i get up to pace while doing it?
Hi there,
I think it’s possible to get used to certain noises/sensory sensations. Since you hear these noises often, you could be getting used to it. But I do t know you personally, so I can’t say for certain. I’m only taking a guess here.
Maybe some of my followers can also provide some thoughts and insights too?
Sorry if this doesn’t answer your questions. But I appreciate the inbox. I hope you have a wonderful day/night. ♥️
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maevecrom · 13 days
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I really want to talk about the pregnancy situation in acosf.
(Just to preface - I don't excuse nor condone the withholding of medical information from a patient; Feyre had every right to know about Madja's concerns, this post is simply a word-for-thought about how harshly we, as a community, condemn Rhys for hiding it.)
I think the biggest thing about this situation that frustrates me is the pregnancy arc in its entirety. I am so unbelievably happy for Feyre that she is finally content. She deserves to have her hae. But what I do not appreciate is SJM using her as a sacrificial lamb for Nesta's redemption arc. Feyre and her maternity should not have been changed for the sole purpose of bringing another character peace/grace. Nor do I appreciate the complete and total rewrite of Madja's abilities; you're telling me in a world where there are contraceptives, there are no forms of abortion? Or in a world where Azriel could drag Cassian off the battlefield with his organs hanging out, he could come out unscathed but they couldn't perform a cesarean? Not only that, but withholding said information from Feyre had absolutely no impact on the story. Rhys could’ve told her from the beginning and nothing would’ve changed.
Now, let's get into Rhys:
I haven't seen as much hate towards him for this as of recently since CC3 came out, everyone has been harping on him for getting mad at Nesta. So, I think now that everything has calmed down we can have a logical conversation about this.
Logically, from the start Rhys should've known, or at least speculated, that his child could've been born with wings. But, I also want to bring of the point of Illyrian's lack of education. Mating outside of Illyrian camps was practically unheard of, and it was kind of an unsaid rule that Illyrian men mate with Illyrian women. So, on some level, I'm not sure the difference in pelvic sizes really came up in his mind because the difference between Illyrian and Fae anatomy was probably never taught.
It's also important to recognize that this was never mentioned in the book as a conflict. We have no idea what Rhys knows or doesn't know because we were never given that interaction. So, in my opinion, it's not really fair to base your hatred of an event based on speculation.
Now, onto the actual withholding of information: I'd like to make it known that he had only hid the information from her for 12 days. Not even 2 weeks. I think that is very much a reasonable amount of time to keep information from someone if you are still looking for a solution. Now, do I think that entirely excuses it? No. But I do think it provides context and at least eases up to effect of keeping it a secret.
I also keep seeing people say it was out of character. It's not. We have seen Rhys sacrifice his own sanity for his loved ones, taking on the brunt of burdens in order to keep those around him safe and euphoric. We all read how mentally unstable he was becoming towards the end of acosf and that's because, although we all keep forgetting this, he isn't just a husband or father; he's also a High Lord. Not only did he have an entire court to run, he's going person-to-person, teaming up with Helion, making visits to the Dawn Court, desperately trying to find a solution for Feyre. So he could one day go to her and say "We found a complication, but it'll be okay bcause we know how to fix it."
Onto the Nesta situation, I'm so tired of seeing the whole "she told Feyre because when it comes down to it she really does love her." Are we forgetting that she ALSO kept it a secret? Nesta withheld the information until she could wield it in a way to harm Feyre and villianize Rhys. She didn't do it out of the kindness of her heart. Was I glad someone told her? Yes. But she didn't deserve to find out that way.
She's not a saint. She's not a martyr. She didn't do half the shit she did in acosf out of love or peace, she was cruel and mentally unstable.
I've also been seeing so many people mention the IC and how they should've punished Rhys, but they didn't aid the investigation in any way. None of them offered to help find a solution for Feyre's issue.
What really went wrong is that we didn’t see the discussion that was had. We didn’t know what was happening during Feyre’s pregnancy. This not only exacerbated the situation, but also forced people to come to their own conclusions and speculations. People saying Rhys wasn’t punished have no idea what happened between Rhys and Feyre privately. All in all, I absolutely hate this trope for using Feyre as a pawn to further Nesta's character development and as a plot device.
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doctorofmagic · 1 month
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BLOOD HUNT PREDICTIONS (and spoilers!)
Okay, I see everyone is struggling to keep it cool because of what just happened today in Blood Hunt #1. But honestly I'm very excited to put the pieces together (also very HYPED!!!). So here are my thoughts (and my friend Red's, thank you, my darling) on what we gathered so far through clues, covers and solicitations.
Obviously, spoilers.
Well, first thing I'd like to establish is that people will probably feel lost if they haven't read the last Blade volume. Thankfully, yours truly did! Which means I can provide some context:
Just recently, Blade released an ancient evil called the Adana by accident. To make it up for this mistake (which would lead to the end of the world, basically), he had to embrace his full vampiric powers by drinking Dracula's blood (they're in a kinda complicated relationship right now, not friends nor enemies but necessary allies). That also meant that he was corrupted by its evil.
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Plus, as I said it many times, Blade has a deep respect for Stephen because of the Montesi Formula, which resulted in the extinction of all vampires. Yes, Stephen did it once, and I'll get back to it because I think it's REALLY important.
Since we established that Blade might be corrupted, let's move on to the next topic.
Is Stephen dead?
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My best guess is "not really".
In Blood Hunt, we see that T'Challa sacrificed himself to protect Cap America Sam and the rest of the Avengers who survived the first strike. But is T'Challa gone? Luckily, I follow Farid Karami on twitter and he posted a few inks he did for Black Panther: Blood Hunt. And guess what? That's right, we'll about to have vampire!T'Challa!
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Besides, we all know that the next Doctor Strange issue will feature Wong and vampire!Stephen. What we didn't know was how Stephen would fit in the plot, but thanks to the variant cover I posted last week, we do now: he'll be guiding his allies via his astral form.
Now, how can the Sorcerer Supreme deal with the vampiric threat? It was shown that Stephen and Clea are looking for the Montesi Formula again.
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For those who don't know, the Montesi Formula is a spell from the Darkhold that can wipe every single vampire off the face of the Earth. Stephen already used this spell once when he fought Dracula (and Blade was there, hence the respect he holds for Stephen). Unfortunately for them, Wanda has just recently absorbed the Darkhold within her body as a way to gain autonomy from Chthon (as seen in Darkhold: Alpha and Omega). Besides, Wanda was captured by the Bloodcoven, which means she can't do much right now. In addition, as hinted by Blade himself, she won't use the Montesi Formula, mostly because the character can't be involved in another kind of genocide (thanks, Bendis). And that leads us to the next topic.
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Who could do it? The very one character who would overcome morals on behalf of his people, the same one who already appeared in the first issue: Doctor Doom. And if we think about it, he has two advantages already: 1) he's second in line to be the Sorcerer Supreme, and 2) as already established, he'd do anything to protect his planet and, most importantly, Latverians.
It's also important to reiterate that an astral form is not as powerful as the body+soul. With Stephen's strength limited, it's not that crazy to imagine that he could pass the mantle to Victor for a limited period while they find the spell. "Why not Clea?" I don't know. It's already established that managing the power of two sorcerers supreme is extremely hard and draining. Could be another reason as well. I'm just trying to find a coherent train of thought through this variant cover here:
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Still, we're left with a very important dilemma. We have nice vampire allies in current comics: Brielle (Blade's daughter) and Soldier and Reese from the Midnight Mission (Moon Knight), the three of them being characters to be featured in the tie-ins. Well, not to mention Stephen and T'Challa, and maybe some more to be turned in the next issues. This is why I don't think the Montesi Formula will happen. Jed won't kill THE Black Panther, let's be real. So what's next?
We're expecting a plot twist at some point, and Blade will have an important role here. He's set to have another solo title this year, probably following the consequences of his actions. But there's a high chance someone else is involved. Let's check this panel once more:
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Atlantean rituals.... Where did we hear about it before? That's right, Sorcerer Supreme #11!
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During the old age, Varnae become ruler of the vampires and was brought back by Marie Laveau in modern age, fighting Doctors Strange and Voodoo. His last appearance traces back to Blade when he and his friends confronted him. Frank Drake sacrificed himself in an explosion to kill Varnae, and that's the last time we hear about him.
But see how the pieces come together? Blade, Stephen and Varnae. It makes sense that things would center around these three. And this is why I'm very excited. It's not a surprise that I love Blade and Stephen's relationship, and all these elements would make a wonderful drama, one that I'm really looking forward to!
Overall, I'm not worried about status quo or anything like that. I know things will work out in time, and seeing so many of my favorite characters involved in an event written by McKay only makes it better!
And that's it! Feel free to add your thoughts on this post! And see you all next week with Doctor Strange #15! 👀
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greatwyrmgold · 2 years
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Caramelldansen, the Disney Channel theme, & obfuscated authorship
Kevin Perjurer's Disney Channel's Theme: A History Mystery and jan Misali's who wrote Caramelldansen? feel like complimentary opposites.
Both are videos about the authorship of music that lots of people have heard but few people think about. But the similarities end there. (Aside from some fairly petty stuff like "both have iconic associated choreography, if the wand thing counts as choreography".)
Perjurer expresses frustration that, for all the artistry he puts into this and his other documentaries, he will be remembered as a YouTuber or a content creator, not a documentarian or a filmmaker. For all the work jan Misali puts into his craft, he embraces the fact that he makes YouTube videos. It's not easy to remix "Die Young" and "Hare Hare Yukai," but Misali did it...and what kind of documentary would have a 13-second title card in the middle with a mashup of a J-pop song and an A-pop song playing over it?
(Are American pop songs called A-pop? They should be.)
On a related note: Perjurer's documentary seems to have that tension as its primary theme. The tension between the effort and artistry that goes into something like the Disney Channel theme, and the disrespect it receives for not even qualifying as "low art". The primary theme of Misali's video seems to be more along the line of "It's worth remembering random facts about the world," expressed through his frustration at Remix Records, his frustration at how much Caramelldansen ("I would absolutely love to play the garbage Caramelldansen rhythm game!"), and the random facts he dug up while researching and chose to share for no other reason.
(There's a decent argument that who wrote Caramelldansen?'s primary theme is more along the lines of "'Caramelldansen''s original authorship is irrelevant, because the meme is what makes it 'Caramelldansen'," but that theme doesn't really appear outside the video's conclusion.)
Another stream-of-thought association: Perjurer has nothing but respect for the work of Alex Lasarenko, both his contributions to the Disney Channel theme and his broader work. Misali has nothing but shade to throw on the work of Giovanni Sconfienza, both his "contributions" to Caramelldansen and his broader work, and especially his attempts to take the Caramell out of Caramelldansen. I feel both of these are 100% justified, given context, but it's another interesting contrast!
Perjurer assumes that the audience will accept that the Disney Channel theme's importance is obvious to the viewer, and understand what made it so prominent. It was played on one of the biggest kid's TV networks of the 21st century! Misali focuses most of the video on why and how Caramelldansen rose to prominence, because for a lot of people it's just "that song that plays for ANIME LOL".
The obfuscation of the Disney Channel theme's authorship comes down to Disney being Disney and not saying anything about non-Disney people who make Disney Disney. (And, to be fair, broader industry trends.) The obfuscation of "Caramelldansen"'s authorship comes down to some rebranding done years after the fact. Misali is (I feel, rightfully) critical of [name]. Perjurer is (I feel, rightfully) respectful towards Alex Lasarenko and the music he directed/composed.
Most obviously: It takes months of research, correspondence, interviews, and so forth before Perjurer can figure out who wrote the Disney Channel Theme. Misali identifies Caramell as the creators of "Caramelldansen" in the opening seconds of the video. (Also, it's in the song's title.)
Now, you might reasonably wonder why I wrote this post, comparing two random YouTube video essays on similar topics. I'd like to provide some grand thesis statement that ties my conclusions and process into some statement about the nature of art. However, at the end of the day, this is more of a jan Misali post than a Kevin Perjurer one. But I think both would agree that this kind of little thing has merit. (Nowhere near enough to ask for their opinion or assume they'd have one, of course.)
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