#we need more diverse dating shows

[youngbounty]

Affectionate Touches

EDIT: I forgot to mention that this is for AsoBaro Week, tag @asobaroweek and include a read only dash line so this isn’t taking up the entire page. Today’s theme is Glass, Home and Significant Dates. The themes I follow are in the tags. Enjoy!

Ever since starting this relationship, Barok had begun learning how inexperienced he and Kazuma were romantically. Neither of them had ever thought about romance throughout their lives. Both of them had crushes growing up, but nothing came of them. Their relationship was the first one for either of them that went beyond the puppy love of grade school crushes. Most would believe that Barok would be the least affectionate of the two. However, it was the opposite. Barok was the one who enjoyed any and every physical affection, such as hugs, kisses, holding hands, and other displays of affection. Kazuma, on the other hand, felt discomforted by these things. Kazuma loved Barok, but he didn't feel comfortable with hugs or certain types of touch. Fortunately, Barok was sensitive to Kazuma's feelings and would always ask before hugging or touching him in a way that might make him uncomfortable. Kazuma was curled up on the couch, a book in one hand and a cup of tea in the other. The gas lamp created a warm glow on Kazuma's face. Barok couldn't help but admire Kazuma's beauty and grace. Suddenly, he felt the urge to hold Kazuma and kiss him. But as he took a step forward, he hesitated and cleared his throat. Kazuma turned to him, a questioning look in his eyes. "Excuse me," Barok said, avoiding eye contact. "I was wondering, if it's not too much trouble, could I...er...?" Kazuma raised an eyebrow. "Sure, go ahead. But, make it quick." Barok tentatively wrapped his arms around Kazuma's shoulders, savoring the warmth of his lover's close proximity. Kazuma patted his arm with a look of mild discomfort, but allowed the embrace to continue. After a moment, Barok planted a quick kiss on Kazuma's cheek and released him. Kazuma returned to his book, seemingly unperturbed by the gesture. Barok knew that physical affection wasn't Kazuma's forte, but he took heart in the fact that they were still making progress. In their relationship, they didn't need grand displays of love – they valued quiet moments of understanding and respect more than grand displays of affection. One day, Barok relished the opportunity to take Kazuma out to dinner. Barok toyed with the idea of a romantic picnic for just the two of them. With excitement bubbling up within him, he presented the idea to Kazuma that morning. “A picnic?” Kazuma asked once he was offered. “Indeed, I thought it would do us good to venture outdoors and enjoy some quality time together,” Barok replied. “Hm... what sort of nibbles shall we bring then?” “What sort of nibbles do you fancy?” “Well, most picnic-goers tend to opt for sandwiches. We could rustle up a few of those... also some savory bites, perhaps?” 

“Splendid idea. I shall also prepare some of your preferred tea,” Barok added with a small smile. “It seems you already have a plan in mind,” Kazuma teased, flashing a flirtatious look. “Perhaps just a rough outline. My true aim is to charm you with my company.” “I concur. I have been yearning for your company lately,” Kazuma admitted, lightly clasping Barok's index finger. It was his subtle way of showing affection. “Likewise. I have felt your absence quite keenly,” Barok confessed, moving to embrace Kazuma before withdrawing awkwardly. “I beg your pardon.” “No need to apologize,” Kazuma reassured him, smiling before proceeding to get ready for their date. Barok felt disheartened by how uncomfortable Kazuma was with physical affection. He knew that expressing love was different for Kazuma, but he yearned to connect with him through touch. Unfortunately, he struggled to find gestures of affection that didn't make Kazuma uneasy. Kissing seemed to be one form of intimacy that Kazuma was at ease with while hugging and holding hands were off-limits. Despite his sadness, Barok remained patient and understanding, hoping that someday Kazuma would feel more comfortable expressing his love in physical ways. Perhaps he was being too demanding. After all, he loved Kazuma for who he was, not just for physical affection. Barok reminded himself that he didn't need a fairytale romance; he just wanted to be around Kazuma and spend time with him. With a deep breath, he headed to the kitchen to make some tea and calm his thoughts. The prospect of a picnic with Kazuma lifted his spirits, and he looked forward to enjoying the day with his beloved. After wrapping up his duties at the Prosecutor's Office, Barok joined Kazuma to prepare for their picnic lunch. Kazuma brewed the tea while Barok made the sandwiches, mindful of avoiding any poultry after the chicken fiasco on their first date. Even now, Barok couldn't resist chuckling at the memory of Kazuma dumping all the chicken into the river, convinced it was poison. It was a humorous reminder of the quirks that made Kazuma so endearing to him, and Barok couldn't help but smile at the memory, though he knew he should have been clearer about the menu. The aroma of Kazuma's tea reached Barok's nose, filling him with anticipation. Kazuma always knew Barok's favorite blend. Looking over at Kazuma, Barok couldn't help but admire his serious expression. Whenever Kazuma worked on something he was passionate about, he threw himself into it with boundless dedication. It was yet another quality that drew Barok to him, among many others. Kazuma glanced back at Barok and let out a soft hum of approval at the sight of the sandwiches he'd made. A warm smile graced Kazuma's lips, then suddenly Barok's cheeks pinkened with self-consciousness. Kazuma chuckled at this reaction, then approached Barok and reached out a hand. Somewhat unsure, Barok accepted Kazuma's hand, feeling the press of a few fingers against his palm. It was an unusual gesture, but somehow endearing. Kazuma let out a contented sigh and smiled at him, and Barok couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat. “You make quite good sandwiches,” Kazuma said, catching Barok off guard. “Y-Yes... I suppose I do,” Barok replied somewhat lamely. He wasn't sure what else to say. “I'll pop them in the baskets. Wouldn't do to lug everything about on your own.” “I don't mind, really. We haven't got much. Thanks all the same.” “I'm keen on carrying a bit, all the same. You're very much welcome,” Kazuma replied sweetly, then gently withdrew his hand from Barok's. There was something about Kazuma's gestures, the way he offered compliments and help in such a sincere and meaningful way. Barok had grown accustomed to these small acts of kindness, but they still left a lasting impression on him. He couldn't help but wonder about the significance of Kazuma's finger-grasping. Was it a cultural custom he wasn't familiar with? After packing up the food and drinks, they made their way to the park, careful to choose a secluded and quiet spot. Kazuma was quick to grab the basket with the hot tea kettle and step aside to give Barok room to retrieve the other basket. Barok soon realized that Kazuma's back was turned towards the road, protecting him from any dirt or dust kicked up by passing carriages. It was an incredibly thoughtful gesture, one that touched Barok deeply. As they settled down to enjoy their picnic, Barok couldn't help but feel grateful for Kazuma's unwavering kindness and consideration. He knew he was lucky to have someone like him in his life. “Shall we head off?” Barok asked, his voice betraying a hint of fluster. “Yes,” Kazuma replied, deferring to Barok to lead the way. Barok took Kazuma to a quiet spot among the trees. They could only hear the rustling of leaves and whisper of grass. Kazuma spread out a blanket and carefully extracted the tea from the basket, then removed his coat and boots to avoid soiling it. Barok followed suit, eager to make this a pleasant experience. As he unpacked the sandwiches and fruit, he offered Kazuma an apple. The smile that blossomed across Kazuma's face made Barok's heart swell with warmth. "Cheers," Kazuma replied before taking a bite from the apple. "I suppose you don't go on outings like this very often?" "No, I don't really get out much since I've got so few friends and loved ones," Barok poured a cup of piping hot tea for the pair of them. "I reckon Iris would be chuffed to go on a picnic with you." "Ah, perhaps," Barok replied, with a hint of a smile. "Her mother and Klint used to go on outings like these." "Sounds like all of you had a jolly good time." "Aye, we did. I used to love spending time with Klint. At the time, it was just the two of us as I wanted to live near where I was studying to become a Prosecutor." "I can't say I've ever met your folks," Kazuma said. Despite being together for nearly a year, Barok had never mentioned or invited him to meet his parents. "My father and I haven't been on good terms since Klint's death, and my mother passed away three years later," Barok's tone became saddened. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry to hear that. I had no idea." "It's a shame really. Klint's death affected the whole van Zieks family. My old man tried to curse the Asogi Clan, which I didn't agree with, and we haven't spoken since," Barok explained to Kazuma, whose eyes widened before staring at the grass with a look of contemplation. Kazuma finally spoke, "I received a letter after Father's supposed death about the Professor and... what my father did." "That was probably from my father. I'm so sorry," Barok replied, saddened. "It's alright. I did have my suspicions, but I'm glad it wasn't from you." Barok was surprised. Did Kazuma think he was the one who wrote the letter? It made sense, but... "When I suspected your lineage whilst were under my care, I wished to protect your name from being dragged

along with the Professor. Genshin told me he had a son and a student back home, and I didn't want them to suffer for his sins. If push came to shove, I'd rather it be me," Barok revealed before closing his eyes. "And what about Iris?" "I'm not sure. If she never finds out, then at least she won't be dragged into it. But secrets have a way of coming to light," Barok sighed, looking up at the sky. "At least I know my father won't pen such a letter concerning his granddaughter. But, then again, I am dubious he will ever come to know.” “I suppose if he chooses to remain ignorant. I think we're all guilty of it.” "Perhaps," Barok replied, smiling bitterly as he turned his face towards Kazuma. He longed to cup his lover's face but hesitated. "May I?" His hand hovered tentatively over Kazuma's cheek before finally making contact, their lips touching in a chaste kiss. Afterward, they stared at each other momentarily before Kazuma averted his gaze and focused on his tea. He did not seem uncomfortable, but Barok couldn't help but wonder, "Was that too much?" “N-No... it's fine,” Kazuma replied, stuttering. Barok paused momentarily. He was curious and had to ask, "Why do you not find comfort in physical affection?" "It's not that I don't, I..." Kazuma's face flushed red as he spoke. "I suppose it's different where I come from. In Japan, we don't hug or shake hands. We bow. We don't say 'I love you' to our family or lovers. It's not even required to love one's spouse like it is here. We express our love through action more than words. Most of the time, our words require reading the atmosphere instead of saying it bluntly. We consider bluntness rude." "So, it's simply a cultural difference?" Barok inquired, intrigued with the revelation. He had never pondered on it before. "You never hug or hold hands to express love towards another?" "Correct. We get plenty of it when we're kids, so we consider hand-holding something you only do with a child. Hugging can be considered invasive since no one would ever get that close with anyone unless they were... erm... married." "I see," Barok smiled a little. "And what about the fingers?" "Hm?" "You tend to grasp or hold onto my fingers or pinky." "O-Oh... that's..." Kazuma's cheek became dusted pink. "I suppose that's how we hold hands." Barok's cheeks flushed as he extended his fingers towards Kazuma's, now comprehending their significance. He grasped Kazuma's fingertips and gently kissed them, eliciting a flustered reaction from Kazuma. "I wish to stand by your side through all my days," Kazuma breathed. "I feel the same. May I ask, without making you feel uncomfortable, may I hold and touch you?" Barok requested. Kazuma smiled slightly and answered, "In due time. If you grant me some time, I will fulfill your request." "As you wish," Barok replied. Keeping in mind that Kazuma is from a culture where physical displays of affection are uncommon, it will take time for him to become comfortable with Barok's hugs and touches. However, like a blooming flower or growing tree, when he does, it will be a beautiful and powerful thing. Spending time together and cherishing every moment will lead them to that point. Patience and understanding are crucial in this situation. Barok must understand that Kazuma's cultural background will impact his comfort level with physical affection, and give him the necessary time and space. At the same time, Kazuma must also be patient with Barok as he learns to navigate this cultural difference. Expressing love through actions and reading nonverbal cues may not be common in Britain, but Barok is learning and growing in his relationship with Kazuma.

[street-smarts00]

Weirdest Place

Spencer Reid x gen neutral!reader

Summary: The team finds out you and Spencer have been dating during a night out.

WC: 1.1k

A/N: this is yet another fic based on an episode of friends, specifically a scene from the blackout episode but i added a fun twist lol

Tags: conversations about sex but not smut, established relationship between r & reid, consumption of alcohol

After the team was finished at the BAU they all went out to a local bar for drinks. As the night went on JJ and Hotch left to be at home with their kids. With their boss gone and the tipsiness from their drinks, the topic of conversation got more and more inappropriate.

“A boat?” Rossi asked

“Yes,” Derek confirmed

“A boat?” Emily spoke this time.

“Why don’t you believe me?” Derek asked, slightly offended.

Emily raised her hands in defense, “It’s not that we don’t believe you.”

“It just seemed like your weirdest place would be a bit more adventurous based on how you brought it up,” Rossi voiced.

Derek furrowed his eyebrows, “and a boat isn’t adventurous?”

“No it is,” Penelope chuckled before reaching for her drink. Of course, she’d already heard about Derek’s nautical escapades.

Derek directed his attention back to Emily, “And what about you? What’s your weirdest place?”

She leaned back in her seat with a tinge of embarrassment she tried to hide with smugness. “That’s classified,”

Rossi and Derek cringed at Emily’s diversion.

“Oh god,” Rossi chuckled before taking a sip of his drink.

“Do I even wanna know?” Derek asked half joking.

Emily shrugged instead of answering. Derek decided he was better off not pushing Emily to share her story. He then brought his attention to the man across from him.

“What about you, pretty boy?”

Spencer’s head darted to him with raised eyebrows. “Me?”

“You got a weirdest place?”

“I- um.”

His ears started to turn a shade of crimson and he stuttered on his words, or lack thereof since he was caught off guard.

“It’s probably like a library or something,” Rossi jokes, earning a bright laugh from Derek.

Penelope set her drink down, “don’t make him say it if he doesn’t- “

“Actually it was.”

Everyone froze and turned to Spencer.

Emily was the first to speak, “What?”

Spencer shifted in his seat while the courage he had before started to dwindle. His face was now officially turning red.

“Me and um- someone were at the library because I was showing her it’s Edgar Allen Poe collection. Then at some point we ended up in … um the second floor bathroom.”

“Oh my god,” Penelope giggled before placing her hand on her mouth in shock.

“I can’t believe I was right,” Rossi commented.

“I can’t believe Spencer Reid was getting freaky in a library,” Derek said with a humorous grin.

“Shut up,” Spencer squeaked in a high pitched voice.

He hoped the topic of conversation would quickly be dropped so he didn’t have to reveal too much about his love life. But he suspected that wouldn’t happen once you came back to the table.

You and Spencer had started dating a few months prior and wanted to keep things to yourselves. You both intended to figure out the beginning of your relationship without the eyes of your friends.

“The line for the bathroom was so long,” you complained as you approached the table and sat down next to Spencer. “What did I miss?”

“Oh we never heard Y/N’s place,” Penelope excitedly pointed out.

You looked at her confused, “What place?”

“I have no clue how we got here but they all started talking about the weirdest places they’ve had sex,” Emily explained.

“Wow. Well, when I’m done I need to hear all of yours,” you pointed your glass in a motion towards all of them before drinking the last sip.

“I usually don’t venture outside the bedroom but out of the few times I have I think there’s two tied for first place.”

“What’s one of them?”

“Library.”

Silence fell over the group. Spencer’s stomach dropped to the floor at your answer. His face turned cherry red and his eyes remained frozen on the table in front of him.

You on the other hand were baffled at the reaction from your friends.

“What?”

While your eyes scanned the group you were met with relatively neutral expressions that didn’t match the growing tension in the air. All of them looked as if they wanted to say something, but not one of them was ready to speak.

Embarrassment and regret were creeping their way towards you in silence. Your body tensed up and you folded your arms in front of you.

“Come on guys, it's not that weird. It’s not like we were in an aisle, we were in the bathroom,” you tried to defend yourself.

That sentence seemed to spark something in the group. Their body language started to relax but still had a bit of hesitation. They all knew at this point, but they wanted you to confirm it.

“What floor?”

You followed the voice to Emily “Excuse me?”

“What floor was the bathroom on?”

You couldn’t wrap your head around her question.

“Why does that matter?”

“It does, which floor?” Penelope questioned this time.

“Second I think,” you hesitated, still confused.

“Oh my god!” Penelope squealed. “You guys are sleeping together?”

With your eyes wide, face hot, and heart pounding, you stared at her. Trying to figure out how a story like this was one they already heard. You forgot until now that they were already playing this game before you got back.

Turning to the side you playfully smacked Spencer’s arm. “You told them that?”

He gaped at you and grabbed his arm. Face still red of course now accompanied with a crack in his voice. “I didn’t think you were gonna tell them. I thought you would have talked about the other time.”

“Why would I tell them that?” You said in a quieter tone.

“What other time?” Derek interrupted, filled with curiosity.

Rossi pipped in next, “you said two places were tied for weirdest, what’s the other place?”

You and Spencer went quiet. You looked at each other before returning your gaze to the group.

“I think this is a great time to get a refill,” you grabbed your glass and stood up. “Spencer, coming with?”

He quickly scrambled to stand up, “Absolutely.”

The two of you made your way to the bar as your friends all started murmuring.

“So, you didn’t want to tell them you had sex on a plane?” He asked with a slight smirk.

“No, of course not!” You squealed which earned a laugh from him.

“Eventually they would’ve found out we’re dating and I didn’t want them to figure out it was on the jet,” you explained.

“It’s not like any of them were there,” he said before leaning down to kiss your forehead.

“I still don’t wanna get fired.”

[arenee1999]

This renewal fight isn't just about Our Flag Means Death. The cancellation is part of a broader problem that has multiple arms.

Original content is being canceled, shelved and pushed to the shadows while remakes, reboots and endless sequels that can be milked well past their expiration date take precedence.

Lgbtqia+ and diverse content is being canceled, shelved and sidelined in favor of more of the same homogenized stories that have been being done for 100+ years.

Shows that have absurdly high ratings are being canceled. If a show that was being considered a flagship show for the network, that had the highest ratings for 14 weeks, that has a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes with a 95% Audience Score, is being canceled what hope does any other show have?

Streaming services and Networks are doing a 180° on they type of content they're interested in. Just a handful of years ago they started pulling away from the long season shows that could be endlessly renewed in favor of short contained stories that could be told in 1-4 seassons with 6-14 episodes per season. Creators have given them those stories but are still having to fight tooth and nail to get the renewals that should have been a foregone conclusion because these are the exact type of shows that were asked for. And audiences were more willing to take chances on these shows because with such a tightly wrapped story with an ending decided on before it started there's no reason we shouldn't be getting the whole story. No reason for premature cancellations when the number of seasons needed to tell the entire story was part of the original pitch that the network agreed to. No need to cancel it unless it actually does have atrocious viewership numbers. But now, these stories that were specifically asked for by the networks, that have ratings well above what's needed to justify keeping it on the air, are being canceled or shelved in favor of going back to the idea of endless seasons and spin offs and reboots of tired franchises.

You want to keep getting good, original stories that aren't just endless reboots and sequels of a once good idea that's lost it's soul? Join the email & letter writing campaign to MAX and other streamers and networks. Tell them you are interested in seeing more original content. Diverse content, lgbtqia+ content. Help save OFMD and in the process save your own favorite shows. No, one letter, one signature can't change anything. But thousands can. Be one of the thousands.

@renewasacrew

[weebsinstash]

I want yandere Alastor being the biggest fucking hypocrite on the block and getting painfully humbled by reality so fucking bad you don't understand

I want a story where you stumble into becoming his friend with benefits, become the person who gets him interested in sex as a physical activity, and then one day you ask him "hey, what are we?" And his response being ABSOLUTELY RUDE AS HELL, albeit unintentionally, and you immediately cut him off from sex because his reply was basically the equivalent of "you're fun to sleep with, but the rest of you? No :)" (and also maybe he didn't even fully mean it, maybe he only partially meant it but he can tell he's forming some kind of new emotion for you and he doesn't want that to become a point of weakness for him so he's pushing you away but once you're actually gone he wants you back more than ANYTHING--)

I want yandere Alastor who laughs in your face if you nervously ask him if you're his girlfriend or something but then when you show up around town with another man less than a week later and he sees how easily you REPLACED HIM, he's just absolutely losing his mind. What do you MEAN you were still sleeping with other men this whole time?!?! The Radio Demon was getting SLOPPY SECONDS??? WHY would you let these-these disgusting bastards DEGRADE YOU-- meanwhile you and him could've been having like hardcore bdsm sex with actual degradation or some semi respectful form of it and he's STILL over here "B B BUT THESE MEN PROBABLY DONT EVEN RESPECT YOU--" and neither did you, you laughed in my fucking face you bitch!!!

yandere Alastor just having to sit and have a fulllll glass of whiskey and ruminate on his thoughts as he tries to come to terms with these sudden EXTREMELY POSSESSIVE feelings and urges he has. What do you MEAN he wasn't providing anything for you that you couldn't get somewhere else AND BETTER AND ALREADY HAVE BEEN? what do you MEAN you're making gifts for and going out and having actual fun dates with some of these men? What do you fucking MEAN YOU'RE 'ROMANTICALLY INVOLVED WITH SOMEONE ELSE NOW' AND WOULDN'T SLEEP WITH ALASTOR EVEN IF HE APOLOGIZED BECAUSE YOU REALLY LIKE THIS GUY--

Alastor hardcore coping, trying not to think about you at all, telling himself he just needs time and this'll all blow over and he wont even think about you anymore, and eventually finds his feet carrying him to your favorite jazz club that he would take you to, AND YOU'RE ALREADY THERE WITH ANOTHER MAN. Now THIS is what causes Alastor to finally have a public episode. No, some RANDO can't come with you HERE, this is YOUR place, OUR place, it's special, it's for Alastor and you ONLY!! basically turns him into a little kid stomping his foot going no no no that's MINE!!!

This narcissistic ass man really ain't shit, over here responding to your actually extremely valid question of "what are we?" because you were actually trying to respectfully ask him if there were any certain boundaries or if you were now exclusive, and he hits you with some deflective dehumanizing diversion like "what makes you think I would have THOSE kinds of feelings about YOU?" until he's painfully aware you're sleeping with another man, kissing another man, making hot meals for another man, holding his hand tenderly as you take a leisurely stroll, GOD FORBID HE CATCHES WIND OF ANY MARRIAGE TALK, HE WILL FUCKING L O S E IT

Juat the idea of him being so close to having what he wants - your body, heart, AND mind- and he fucks it up big time and ruins your relationship and self esteem so badly. He tries to pretend that he doesn't need your attention and/or affection but the second he doesn't have EITHER, he's a jealous mess trying to literally one-up whomever you're with, show off, impress you, usually digging his hole even deeper. Alastor becoming more unpredictable over time, literally losing sleep over you, absolutely CONVINCED 500% that all of these, shall we say, "more modern men" that you're choosing are not even worth the dirt in the treads of your shoes.

Just twirling my hair kicking my feet thinking bout yandere Alastor, becoming dead-set on genuinely and fully believing he has to save you not just from these men, but also yourself. Oh honey, he's so sorry, CLEARLY this is his fault for not watching over you better. He already knew you were... delicate and naive, but here you are, running around letting these men treat you like some kind of object just because you need what you perceive as acceptance and validation. It almost breaks his heart, truly, but don't worry darlin'! He's a southern gentleman and, SURELY he can turn up the charm and make it clear to you that you MISUNDERSTOOD HIM, right? :) You're going to GIVE HIM ANOTHER CHANCE, right? :)

genuinely, i feel like this man is more likely to try and gaslight you into believing you completely misinterpreted what he said instead of just apologizing let alone ADMITTING that he himself didn't communicate jack shit about shit, wasn't honest or up front about his feelings, and may have even be intentionally cruel to you in a moment of weakness to try and keep his own insecurities at bay, but then is fully capable of convincing, some may even say BRAINWASHING you into believing, oh sweetie, if these DEGENERATE DELIQUENTS somehow convinced you that your best friend and future husband is somehow your enemy, then, CLEARLY he hasn't been keeping you close enough to properly care for you and help you keep a clear head, has he? guess it's a good thing both of you are Sinners and he has NOTHING but time to show you EXACTLY what his intentions are. So, dear doe, which do you like the sound of more: a spring wedding, or a summer wedding, or maaaaaybe you two could even get hitched during some lovely acid rain so your new spouse can demonically laugh at all your screaming "gentleman callers" captive in the wedding audience who "accidentally" weren't put under any gazebos or any sort of protection while being forced to watch Alastor take you away--

[winxwiki]

On the Winx reboot leaks

Long post, leaks analisis, spoilers if you don't want to see it under Read More. Seeing the Rainbow artist names attached onto these pictures and the development renders, these are 100% real. On top of that, It's not the first time Rainbow got something leaked, received feedback and acted accordingly. Remember the negative feedback on the 2023 easter eggs designs? Poof, gone. Remember the positive feedback on the 2023 leaked group design? Suddenly, Rainbow started using that Bloom at press events.

I genuinely believe that Rainbow "leaks" stuff now on purpose to receive feedback without actually needing to announce anything final to broadcasters.

Let's see.

From the Lorem Ipsum we can tell this isn't remotely final, but a group test. We're back to Bloom with a ponytail (they really like it!) and Tecna does have robotic limbs. Each girl's design seems to reflect their elements:

Stella has stars, the sun, wings at her feet and light, even light rays on her wings and top

Bloom seems to have scales of some sort and patterns on her leggings. Maybe to indicate that she's an artist? Or meant to represent the breath of life?

Musa, the smallest, got some musical sheet onto her. Overall not the most musical inspired design. Everybody kinda looks like an ice skating ballerina.

Flora got flowers. Really most obvious one there.

Aisha's hair is a bit too much, I prefer her civilian braids more. I like how her dress has wavy patterns of sorts and sparkles that look like shining waters on her shorts and skirt. They can do better on her though. Wings look like they got splashes of water. It's still cool that Rainbow is experimenting more with black textured hair than any american animation studio, so kudos for that.

Tecna looks like she's wearing a circuit but looks the most generic. Probably because she has too much going on with a full bodysuit with patterns. I don't like the accessory on her head.

Proof that these are real: these obvious dev documents

They even got an alt with their "civilian" hairstyles, but it says "transform". Which means no hairstyle or design is final so far.

It seems Musa and Tecna share skintones, Bloom has her own, Stella and Flora share it too, Aisha has her own and is the darkest. I think we can make Stella and Flora a little darker each in varying degrees, to show that Stella is tanned and Flora is a dark skinned latina.

There is a lot of focus on the designs we saw leaked that got positive reception. It's likely they will be finalized, since they went as far as making a test animation with that Bloom design.

A lot going on here in this room already giving Bloom so much personality. Her own shelf with the name with a heart-shaped B. A guitar? A sketchbook and school supplies. Bloom is back to drawing again, we last saw that in World of Winx but in the main series it was always just left implied by her earth room's belongings and her huge drawing desk, yet it was never expanded upon. Hopefully her being an artist can finally shine through her personality.

Most importantly, she's back to being silly, goofy and expressive again. Of course, the reboot is back to square one with the story and characterizations. I hope more quirks that were not explored in the main series get more attention in the reboot (again, like Bloom being an artist!)

The Trix now got a symbol and individual faces while sharing the same body. Icy's design is nearly identical to the original, I actually like the small cuts showing skin on her chest, so she doesn't feel too covered up. Midriffs are back and so is 2000s fashion.

Important detail, Icy is taller than Bloom. Is it her heels? Regardless, we got some more body diversity.

Some more notes:

Artist is credited as Pasqualino Masciulli, a real 3d artist at Rainbow

Date is 17 April 2024, for some reason they're using the wrong format. This is VERY recent. They're NOWHERE near done!

It says episode 106. It must be a reference to the reboot itself, Season 1, episode 6, as the old series episodes in total were 208. This means the series has at least finished writing and storyboarding, but they haven't finished with the character designs yet!

Further proof that fucking nothing is done yet, the leaker said this. From what I just noted above, I believe it. They're not remotely done.

This "Damien" motherfucker looks ai generated, doesn't fit the style in the slightest with his weirdly realistic face and the belts details and clothing folds are all over the place. Shame to whoever did this.

Who even is this guy? Is he the new character Iginio was warning us about? He doesn't look bad but they can do even better. Definitely a fascinating choice for the sexy bad boy, because I know that's who he's gonna be.

Don't fucking use AI for your art, though. It looks like shit.

Interesting, no specialists in the leaks. No Roxy or Terra either though.

This outfit is a mix of 2 outfits from season 2. Which means they're studying their own old designs. The same goes for another Bloom render and concept.

Fascinating detail: they're using 2000s dress up pixel dolls as reference. Learn from the masters! This dress doesn't resemble anything and doesn't seem to be a civilian dress but a transformation one, with all the glitters and stars around.

Last but not least, absolutely atrocious 2000s fashion is back (this is a good thing). We can hope a little but it's surprising how in 5 years they haven't done shit yet. That's some development hell. Either Iginio is really passionate about making this the second coming of Christ or they don't know what the fuck they're doing.

Free hopium tanks!

[afacetomeetthefaces]

@netflix more media outlets are baffled by your cancellation of this incredible piece of queer art:

Netflix’s recent cancellation of Dead Boy Detectives is about more than a TV show – it’s about the fight for queer art and representation. In a world of attacks on queer rights and queer folk, including rising transphobia, Dead Boy Detectives is a desperately needed piece of queer art. Created by Steve Yockey and based on DC Comics characters, the show follows ghost detectives Charles (Jayden Revri) and Edwin (George Rexstrew), psychic medium Crystal (Kassius Nelson), and friend Niko (Yuyu Kitamura) as they solve supernatural mysteries and confront their demons, literal and figurative. The show centres and celebrates queerness and tackles serious issues regarding violence, justice and accountability. It’s also an exemplar of diverse media representation and inclusion, with three of the four main characters people of colour. It captured a loyal fanbase, excellent critical reception and reviews (including a 92% approval rating and 90% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes), and good streaming metrics, staying in the top 10 shows on Netflix for three weeks. It was even submitted by Warner Bros. (one of the show’s production companies) for Emmy nominations in several categories. Still, Netflix recently cancelled the show after one season – to date with no official explanation for the decision – leaving fans, cast and crew shocked and devastated.

[imagining-in-the-margins]

CM Damsel/Dude in Distress Fics

Hey everyone! I want to start by saying thank you so much to everyone who participated - it was so much fun to write alongside you all, and I can’t wait to share everyone’s hard work. You are so appreciated, and the diversity only makes these events better.

Without further ado, here are all of the entries + recs for the Damsel/Dude in Distress Challenge!

S.R. SFW Fics (Fem!Reader)

Kryptonite by @foxy-eva: Spencer asks you to rescue him from a very scary spider in the bathroom

Safekeeping by @/foxy-eva: Spencer is there to protect you when a situation gets out of hand. 

Funny Thing Fate by me: Reader is tipsy and lost in D.C. when she spots a man she thinks might be able to help.

Rib Cage by me: Spencer realizes Reader is the one, but it might be too late. He has to find her.

I Choose You by @ofwilliamandwalter: What happens when the lowly stable boy, Spencer, and the royalist of princesses, Reader, fall in love?

So, a Wedding? by @ssahopelessly: Reader had the invitation for nearly three months, but she didn't take the time to find a proper date.

The Found Part of Lost by @ssahopelessly: When on the way back to the station, you and Spencer find a friend on the side of the road.

Explosion by @c-m-stuff: Reader and Spencer are married. When Reader risks her life, Spencer is relieved she's still breathing.

Rose Coloured Lens by @alleyholls: Reader cuts her finger while cooking and Spencer bandages her up.

But it's Better if You Do by @fortheloveofwonderland: The absolute last thing Spencer needs is to fall for you, the magnetic exotic dancer who Morgan and Luke pay to give him a birthday dance.

More fics below!

Assorted SFW Fics

Never Let Me Go by @/foxy-eva: [Tara/Reader] Who knew how easy it would be for Reader to find comfort in Tara’s arms.

The Friendship We Have is a Rare Find by @/cherubcurls (Ao3): [Spencer & Penelope] Penelope and Spencer agree to meet up to have a study session before finals, but they end up not studying at all.

Peas and Love by @/masterwords (Ao3): [Hotchgan] Hotch hurts his back and Hank takes very good care of him.

I'll Do It by @tobias-hankel (Ao3): [Hotchreid] Hotch saves Spencer from an interrogation gone wrong.

He'll Say He's Just Not the Same by @spencer-reids-adventures (Ao3): [Hotch & Spencer] Spencer suffers a depressive episode, and Hotch comes to check on him.

Who's Afraid of the Bogeyman? by PandorasDreaming (Ao3): [Spencer & BAU] When Spencer is kidnapped by Mr. Scratch, they must race against time to save him before his mind breaks.

Saved from the Rain by @leahseclipse: [Spencer & 10th Doctor] Spencer has an encounter with a strange man who saves him from the rain.

I Get By by @/GarlicBreadforJuliusCaesar (Ao3): [Gen Fic] The one where Spencer has a fight with a vending machine, and the BAU chip in to help.

Co-Creator Bonus List!

SFW Gender Neutral Reader

Kitten Love: Spencer’s vet begrudgingly agrees to an emergency house call.

Diamonds: Spencer comforts Reader when they have a bad pain day.

Rotten: Reader struggles to feel at home in their body following a trauma.

Melancholia: Reader has been acting weird lately, so Spencer makes a much needed wellness check.

Storm: Reader has a panic attack.

Bruises: The team is concerned when Reader shows up with bruises on their neck.

SFW Female Reader

Astraphobia: SSA Reader and Spencer share their most embarrassing fears.

Different Dialects: Autistic!Reader. Spencer is trying to tell Reader he likes her, but it feels like they speak entirely different languages.

Porcelain: Autistic!Reader has a meltdown in the cafe. Luckily, there is a Dr. Reid nearby.

Baggage Claim: Autistic!Reader is having a hard time at the airport.

Stranger Danger: Reader is a single mother having a very bad day.

From the Tree: The kidnapping case becomes personal when Spencer and Reader get a call from their nanny.

NSFW Female Reader

It’s Too Cliché ❤️: Reader and Spencer are the worst at friends with benefits. After an exchange of gifts & nasty words, the two reunite on a very eventful NYE.

Cupid & Psyche ❤️: Reader and Spencer get kidnapped by a rather romantic matchmaking unsub who demands they perform for him.

Big Bad Wolf (Part 1, Part 2): Spencer is overwhelmed by the apparent innocence of an elementary school teacher he meets on a case.

Thank you for writing and reading with me.

Let me know if you'd like me to add your story to this list!

[breannasfluff]

Safety and Frogs

AO3 Link

Malon hums to herself, combing her fingers through fluffy brown hair. The screen door to the house swings open; squeaking on the hinges. She should oil it later.

“Got room for one more?”

“For you Fairy Boy? Always.” She smiles up at her husband as he settles onto the wide porch swing on her free side.

“How’s Hyrule?”

“Ran out of energy helping with the fairies. Now we’re both enjoying a nice break.” At her side, the traveler is fast asleep against her shoulder. She’s eased Link to sleep with the same gesture many a time.

“Well, I think I could do with some rest myself.”

“Finished with the horses?”

“The boys are still moving grain. Wild is…helping.” Causing chaos, comes the subtext.

“And Wind?”

“…hm.”

So, instigating said chaos. Well, as long as they don’t set the barn on fire. Link sets the porch swing rocking with a foot and she leans into his side. Even after 10 years of marriage, her favorite place is next to him. They’ve been together long enough that they can be apart, but it will never be her choice.

Link is…different, the more time he spends with the boys. Oh, sure, he’s changed a lot from the young boy who wandered out of the forest. Even more so since they started dating or got married. Those were drastic changes, borne out of struggles and pain.

Now, he changes subtly each time he comes home. Link grows comfortable in his role as the temporary leader of the group. He knows when to keep the boys out of trouble and when to let them learn their own lessons. With so many diverse backgrounds and ages, he deals with all sorts of oddities.

Malon can’t help but look at him with the boys and imagine little ones of their own. Her fairy boy would be a wonderful dad because he already fills that role for eight others.

At her side, Hyrule shifts slightly and she resumes combing through his hair. He settles with a little sigh. Glancing at Link shows a fond smile at the motion.

“How are they doing?” she asks.

Link turns his attention back across the ranch, eyebrows furrowing slightly at the racket in the barn. “It’s good. Everyone’s grown more comfortable with each other and their role in the group. Friendships are still being made but…there’s a lot more trust than when we started.”

He presses a kiss to Malon’s hair. “I love them. Even when they drive me up the wall. All I want to do is see them go home safe.”

“You’re doing that already.”

“But…I feel like I should do more.”

Malon knows this mindset; they’ve battled it for years already. It’s a product of the hero’s spirit; the insatiable need to help. “Link. You are already doing that. Do you let Wild blow up everything he sees?”

“No.”

“Did you let Wind steal Warriors scarf and dye it?”

That gets a snort; one of the funnier stories he shared with her. “No.”

“Do you let Hyrule wander off and get lost?”

“I think that’s impossible to stop, but I send Wolfie after him.”

“What about traveling all night? Not checking for dangers? Eating unknown foods?”

“Okay! Okay!” Link holds up his hands, waving her off. “I get it, I do a lot.”

She smirks and kisses his shoulder. “You do a good job, fairy boy. You’ll get them all home safe. I promise.”

“How do you know?”

“Because with you? There is no other option.” Link will do everything in his power to protect the boys. She’s made her peace with it, even if it raises his chance of injury. He wouldn’t be the man she loved if he was different.

The racket in the barn dies down, and there’s little sound but the odd whinny of a horse and the creak of the swing. Malon lets her eyes close as she leans on Link, taking a deep breath of the warm summer air.

“I can kill 16 bokoblins with thunder.”

Her eyes pop open and she glances over at Hyrule. He’s blinking sleepily up at her.

“…what?”

He just nods and yawns, showing white teeth. “Chu chus are edible if you are desperate enough.”

Well, that’s…worrying. Malon glances at Link, hoping for some help.

“Go back to sleep, traveler.”

Hyrule yawns again. “Legend’s got a pair of red underwear he stole from Wild…” and then he settles back on Malon’s shoulder and falls asleep again.

Malon presses her lips together, trying to stop the laughter from shaking her shoulders. Link rolls his eyes. “Hyrule says the weirdest things mid-nap. He gives me a run for my rupees; I’ve got no idea if what he says is true half the time.”

She arches an eyebrow. “And the underwear?”

“You’re welcome to ask.”

The silence stretches, and then they both break into quiet giggles. The gentle motion of the swing lulls her into a doze. She should go inside and start on dinner. Maybe bake some rolls? What would the boys like that she can make in a kitchen? Wild deserves a break from cooking, especially over a campfire.

Perhaps…she can make… ~

Malon wakes to whispering. She doesn’t move at first, although her ear flicks as she listens.

“Take the picture,” someone hisses. Legend.

“I did! Look, they’re all conked out.” There’s Wild.

A pause. Then Four asks, “Hey, what if I tickle the old man’s ear with a feather.”

“Don’t do that!” A light slap and some shuffling.

“Hey—”

“Shh!”

Someone else has joined the trio and Malon works to feign sleep.

“Why are we whispering?”

“They are asleep. Hey, whatcha got, Sky?”

“A frog! Look, it’s a small one.”

“Can I hold it?” Wild asks.

“Sure, here you go.”

Silence. Suspicious silence. It’s a silence that points to a prank in action.

“Hello, boys.” Link’s voice has Malon opening her eyes to take in the situation. Wild stands directly in front of Link, hands cupped around the frog. There’s a slight look of panic.

“Have a nice nap, old man?”

He ignores the question. “You weren’t going to put that frog on me, were you?”

“O-of course not! I would never!” Wild glances back at the other boys, looking for backup. Four edges away. Sky is confused, and Legend has a highly insincere smile on his face.

Next to her, Hyrule wakes up and blinks, looking around. “What’s going on?”

“Wild has a frog.”

“Cool, can I see?”

Wild passes the frog over, relieved at the distraction. Hyrule examines the frog and then pops it in his mouth.

Did he just…eat…a frog? Is that something these boys do? Goddesses, is she not feeding them enough?

“Hyrule.” Link’s voice is cool and he’s making use of his disappointed face. “Spit it out.”

The traveler does; the frog none the worse for its sudden journey into a mouth. Sky swoops in and saves it before anyone else decides they want a snack. Hyrule gives her a sunny smile. “Frog legs are excellent cooked.”

She manages a faint smile. “I’m sure they are.”

No, her fairy boy will have no trouble with children in the future.

[blueiscoool]

Ancient Roman Elite Necropolis Discovered in Italy

A two-year dig to install a solar power plant near Rome has unearthed an ancient Roman necropolis containing 67 skeletons buried in 57 ornate tombs.

Archaeologists were baffled by the find — thought to date between the second and fourth centuries — not least because the skeletons were discovered wearing golden jewelry and expensive leather footwear, inside tombs designed to resemble their homes.

The discovery, on a 52-acre patch of land close to the ancient city of Tarquinia, north of Rome, was a surprise to authorities, despite the area being renowned for such findings.

Silver rings with amber and engraved initials, precious stones, terracotta pottery, coins, shiny glasses, amulets and even items of clothing were found alongside the golden necklaces and earrings.

“We found several skeletons still wearing their expensive stockings and shoes,” Emanuele Giannini, lead excavation archaeologist at the site said. “All these riches, and the fact that the bones show no sign of stress or physical labor, (leads us to believe) these weren’t local farmers, but upper-crust members of Roman families coming from cities.”

Giannini said techniques of “pre-emptive archaeology” such as field surveys and trial trenches were used to identify potentially ancient constructions below ground.

“We did have a faint idea that some treasure could lie there, as historical sources mentioned the location of a postal station for travelers near the site,” explained Giannini. “Many Romans would stop (here) for the night to eat and rest, but the magnitude of the discovery is unmatched.”

The diversity of funerary objects laid near the remains, and the luxurious designs and linings inside the tombs, have led archaeologists to believe that the occupants wanted to recreate heavenly spaces similar to their earthly homes. The interior of many tombs originally featured elaborate cloth linings, or were surrounded and covered by tiles or terracotta pieces like little houses.

Giannini said another astounding aspect is that most of the discovered tombs were communal — built for at least two occupants who likely shared a family link. A few skeletons were found wrapped around each other.

“Building tombs for entire family nuclei is a typical ancient Roman trait,” he said, “but these are outstanding in their inner decor, which shows wealth and status.”

The shallow tombs were found just 20 inches below the surface — almost popping out of the grass — yet nobody had ever noticed anything peculiar.

The site’s unique state of preservation has been attributed to the fact that “huge limestone blocks that stick out of the ground (made) ploughing, seeding and modern farming impossible in the area,” said Giannini. “It has remained untouched (for) centuries.”

Findings from the dig, which started in 2022, are being preserved as they’re found and many are going on show at the castle of Santa Severa in the coastal town of Santa Marinella. The skeletons however, are being analyzed to determine their origins and will not be put on display until forensic tests have been carried out.

Whatever their genesis, authorities are certain more hidden wonders will come to light as digs for the solar park move to another nearby site.

“We are excavating a huge rural area to redevelop the land and are balancing the need to avoid ruining such unique wonders with the goal of boosting clean energy production,” Margherita Eichberg, art heritage superintendent of the provinces of Viterbo and southern Etruria for Italy’s Culture Ministry said. The area where the necropolis has been discovered will not form part of the solar park and will be cordoned off for safety reasons, without public access.

“This is the fascination and beauty of Italy: Each time there’s a dig, incredible wonders from the past come out of the ground which need to be preserved.”

By Silvia Marchetti.

[th3worstinm3]

Okay so this is how I imagine Noah as a husband bc we need more stuff in here

ALSO THIS IS LONG OKAY I GOT CARRIED AWAY

• hes the most loving human being ever

• he loves cooking you food

• like you wake up later than him and he's making breakfast, shirtless and he's so huggable

you woke up after coldness invaded you body. noah wasn't in bed. you huffed, turning around and covering yourself up with the blankets. just as you were about to doze off again, the smell of pancakes and someone singing softly caught your attention.

sitting up, you placed one feet after the other on the cold floor of your room. you hugged yourself, the short tank top you wore to sleep doing nothing to cover you up from the cold breeze of the morning.

as you tiptoed down the stairs, the sound of music and the smell of food grew stronger. turning the corner, you saw your, now husband, shirtless, making breakfast and swaying with the rythm of the song that was playing as he worked. you slowly walked towards him, hugging him from behind and sighing when his warmth engulfed your own body. his giggle made you both shake. "good morning, beautiful." he said, simply and softly. you happily hummed in response.

• he would bring you EVERYWHERE!!

• like when he tours Europe or Australia he just brings you with him because he knows how much you love discovering new places and taking pictures of everything

• i think he likes doing the locking your arms together as you walk thing

• also his hand is. way bigger than yours so you hold just his pinky finger with your whole hand and he MELTS he's so pretty

• also, if you're distracted he just creeps up behind you, grabs you by the waist and lifts you up in the air while kissing your cheek. in the hypothetical case that you're taller than him, he likes, again, creeping up from behind you but instead of lifting you up, he hugs your middle and rests his chin on your shoulder

• the moment you both got engaged he HAD to post something like how couldn't he?????

• i think he would post a picture of both your hands, holding each other and showing your ring. the caption would be a heart or something like that. and that's his only Instagram post, literally his only post there

• also he loves bringing you flowers aaaa

• and its almost September 21st so lemme write something short

"I'm home!" you heard your husband as he closed the door behind him and kicked off his shoes. you paused your laundry work and went over to greet him.

you stopped in your tracks, eyebrows pinched together with a playful smile as you saw his hands behind his back, hiding something from you. he giggled, looking up innocently.

he walked closer to you, now watching you closely, and with a chuckle, his hands moved in front of you, showing a beautiful bouquet of yellow flowers, all different shapes of yellow and diverse sizes. it had a letter attached to it, but you didn't pay attention to it as you quickly jumped on him, hugging him tight. his free hand went to your back. you didn't know what yo say, so you just stood there holding him.

"i love you." he whispered, and you swore you felt your heart melting right there.

• you go on dates all of the time

• doesn't matter what type of date, lunch, breakfast, formal, fast food, the only important thing is that you're together while doing it

• he brings you to every rehearsal and i mean EVERY rehearsal

• you're like a second family to the boys by now because you spend so much time around them and just laughing with them

• also you're literally The First Person to hear his demos like hes in the studio, and hes working and you walk in to pick up dirty dishes or mugs and he just pulls you to his lap with an excited "listen to this!" he's so cute

• i feel like he has recorded you talking and added it to one of his newer songs like the man loves you so much and he wants everyone to know how importan you are to him

• hear me out, STEALING HIS CLOTHES!!! they're so big on you and he loves how they look on you

• i feel like he's the type to match EVERYTHING and i mean EVERYTHING, from socks to sweaters man loves matching clothes and things with you

• also if he hears you saying you like something, get ready to be greeted with it whatever you saw that you liked next day, like he buys you EVERYTHING you say you like he spoils you rotten

now on a more spicy note .... nsfw ahead ehe

• he's the most romantic motherfucker, if you ask him to go slow he will go slow no matter how much he just wants to flip you over and break you in half

• and i mean it, candles roses and fucking music if you ask for it

• jealous fucking. like one day you started talking to... say davis, and noah noticed he was getting closer to you and tracing his hands on your arms and thighs and when you keave he's pinning you against the wall and fucking your brains out

• "you're mine, understood? mine, just mine."

• hhhh he's so hot

• shower sex, of course. after a long day he just brings you with him in the shower and fuck under the warm water and hes so gentle

• this man loves eating you out okay he's liked tweets about it i know he loves eating his partner out like it's his last meal and he does it amazingly great too like by the end your legs are literally shaking and you're WASTED like actually wasted

• i also think he would be into letting you control things from time to time, if he's too tired or lazy he just pats his lap and you're able to take control for the night

• his neck is his most sensitive area i dont make the rules, if you kiss him or even bite him he'll whimper like I'm not even kidding he whines when you bite his neck

• i got carried away but you get me right he's fucking attractive

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

LGBTQIA+ Pride Day: Fight for rights in Brazil goes back a long way

In the 1990s, parades showed pride and demanded rights

“Visibility” is a word that permeates the history of the LGBTQIA+ struggle in Brazil. Not even during the most violent and authoritarian times—such as the military dictatorship—was there silence or inertia. In the attempts to form national meetings from 1959 to 1972, in the creation of Grupo Somos and the newspapers Lampião da Esquina and Chanacomchana in 1978, in the lesbian uprising at Ferro’s Bar in 1983 and in the years-long pressure to remove homosexuality from the list of diseases—which finally came to fruition in 1985—rights activists took the lead in mobilizing and putting up a fight.

It comes as no surprise, therefore, that the main date for celebrating sexual diversity in Brazil is June 28, in reference to a riot that took place in New York City in 1969. On that occasion, regulars at the Stonewall Inn, one of Manhattan’s popular gay bars, resisted a violent police raid. The protest became a milestone in the LGBTQIA+ movement for rights in the US and is now celebrated in many other countries, including Brazil, as International LGBT+ Pride Day.

“These dates can and should be celebrated. But not everything began at Stonewall and not everything was settled there. Many other episodes need to be remembered so that we have a more collective, plural, democratic, and diverse memory of the struggles of the LGBTQIA+ community,” said Renan Quinalha, law professor at the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp) and head of the LGBTQIA+ Memory and Truth Group, under the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship. “We end up being influenced by North American cultural imperialism. This makes some national milestones invisible, which we also need to celebrate as advances, achievements, and references for memory in this political construction of the community.”

Historian Rita Colaço, an LGBTQIA+ activist and director of the Bajubá Museum, argues it is necessary to direct less attention to the US as a reference point and more to elements within the Brazilian movement.

Continue reading.

[joshslater]

A Star is Born

Similar stories and bonus material on my Patreon.

"It's not just porn. The adult industry is much more than that. Unlike Hollywood there is room for more narrow interests, and more diversity in actors. Obviously the revenue per title is smaller, but the production overhead is too, so you could still get some decent cash."

I had changed to my sincere voice, somewhat undercut by the venue and the thumping music in the nightclub, but otherwise I had stacked everything I could against him.

"I don't know, man." He was still unconvinced, but I knew now it was self-doubt, not stigma that held him back. He didn't think he had neither the looks nor the body.

"You're exactly what I need. You don't even have to be naked. $200 for a few minutes of dry humping. Then we can see what the response is."

He sat silent, nodding slightly to the music and making up his mind. "What would your mates say?" I asked, already knowing the answer. In his friend circle he would move up in rank, being seen as desirable and virile.

"Ok, I'll do it."

The first shoot I keep very much on his terms. We have a large couple of warehouses in the old paint factory that closed where we can fit a lot of different sets, though you can't use two sets near each other due to the noise. I made sure the studio was empty by the time he arrived to avoid any second thoughts. I let him use his own clothes for the same reason. We go to the "boy room" set and I hand him a baseball bat. "Just walk in through the door, pick up the bat, put it between your legs, and grind on it for a bit. Just pretend it's the best fucking experience you've ever had."

I take the camera and he awkwardly follows my instructions. It's very stiff up until the bat is between his legs, when suddenly his whole performance changes. He slowly teases the bat in and out, polishes the base of the handle with one hand, keeps the bat in place with both legs and moves his hands like his jacking off a huge wooden dick, rhythmically buckles his whole body while riding that bat, in and out, while his ever louder moans turn into an uncontrolled scream of pleasure as he comes in his jeans.

He's trapped.

He's looking confused, shocked almost, as I wrap up the shoot. He's barely listening to what I tell him about publishing dates and payment details, as he is walking behind me toward the exit with a dazed look on his face. He just can't believe what he had just done. Not the recording of erotic content for the internet, well only partially, but mostly that he would be so good at it. He'd bragged of course to his group of mates what a stud he was, like they all did, but any of the girls he'd slept with would rate him "fine" at best, and he knew that. But here he had been like possessed by a gogo dancer.

There isn't any visible cum stain on his jeans yet when I take the bat from him and tell him goodbye. It will probably not soak through at all, but it will be on his mind all the way home. There will be a lingering feeling of unease, pride, confusion, and horniness that he can't shake over the following days. He'll have boners more often than even as a teen, and jack off multiple times a day. Every time with a big release and trembling orgasm. He might hook up with some of the girls he knows to relieve his constant horniness, and find that he is a much better lover than he used to be, but can't last very long. Most importantly it will only give him a very short-lived relief.

By the time I call him a week or so later he's desperate to film. I ask him to come in later that afternoon, making him disrupt whatever else he has already planned. He shows up right on time though, slightly out of breath, and with a visible bulge in his jeans. This time there are a few people around in the studio. A painter is finishing up the new frat room set, dirtying the area around a light switch with a paint-dipped sponge as we walk by. Once we carefully pass by the "boy room" set a pair of twinks are fucking on the bed surrounded by a cameraman, a boom boy, and the director. He's torn between his old impulse to look away in modesty and his new one to see as much as possible. He doesn't slow down, but he is taking in everything.

I lead him to our private gym. It doubles as a movie set, but all the equipment there is legit and used by all the talent in between shoots. "The guy on top is Xander XeXy," I tell him.

"What?" He looks confused.

"The guy you watched in the room I filmed you in. He's been trending a lot." I can see reality intruding. He realizes this is a business with porn actors doing porny things, seen by the public. "Oh. OK."

He doesn't follow up so I move on to our business at hand. I hand him his next outfit, a maroon sweatshirt, grey gym shorts, white crew socks, and a pair of Nike sneakers with orange details. No underwear. The sweatshirt has a yellow sigil printed on the front looking like any college emblem, unless you read the "Professional Porn Actor" around the rim of the sigil. At first he looks a bit lost, like he's wondering where he'd change outfit, until he realizes we just walked past two naked men fucking.

He gets naked and his dick stands attention as soon as it's out of his briefs. He doesn't look at me, awkward about being alone with a man, naked and with a boner, for the first time in his life. The moment he lets go of the grey sweatpant shorts, the tent his erect dick made collapses and the dick hangs down one of the shorts legs. It's the same size as when it was erect though.

I pick up the camera and start shooting, directing him to get onto the treadmill and start running. His sloppy dick isn't really visible through the thick shorts fabric, but you can see from the movement that it's swinging inside. After that warmup I continue to direct him on what equipment to use, what exercises to do, and with what configuration. Light weights, many repetitions. I however ask him to repeat the sets several times to give me multiple camera angles to cut between. At least that's what I tell him. Then when he is all damp and flush after the thorough session I tell him to start over from the beginning and do all of them once more. This is the only usable footage, because otherwise it would be obvious how much he's changed in just two hours.

He looks about the same on the treadmill, though way more athletic, an inch wider shoulders and a few inches shorter, with his dick flopping around. Then it starts getting interesting. During squats we can see a tent forming, and by the time we're recording bench presses there is a very noticeable straining of fabric going on. Much bigger than was going on before, though perhaps unsurprising given the size of his now much larger flaccid dick.

We move to the locker room set and I have him stretch a bit, feeling himself up after the workout, before sitting down and cool for a bit. Then on the bench he starts to tease out his rock-hard dick from his shorts. He takes the balls out too and just stares at them for a bit. I'm still recording of course, but I haven't told him to do this. He doesn't know why he did it. "It's what would happen in a porno, and we're recording one," is how he rationalizes it for himself. At the same time he wonders why he did it unprompted. Deeper yet he is confused about how his dick is suddenly way larger than when he stepped out of his jeans just hours ago.

He grabs it, leans back against the lockers, and begins to stroke himself. It is already slippery from sweat and pre, and makes a wet noise as he lets his hand move up and down the shaft. As the shoot before he begins to moan loudly, and goes on for a good 5 minutes until he erupts in shot after shot of cum landing on his sweatshirt and his shorts. As before he is looking shocked and confused as I wrap up the shoot and he finds himself on a porn set, drenched in sweat, and with several ropes of cum on his clothes.

He slowly puts his deflating dick back into the shorts while I come to the rescue with a towel to clean up the worst of the cum. I tell him it was great, that he's a real natural, while I nudge him to his feet and walk him back out through the studio. I tell him he should consider doing workouts regularly. That he looked great doing them here and people would love watching him doing more. He's still in that post-orgasm glow, but nods politely while looking at the now empty sets to see if he can get another glimpse of any action. At the entrance I hand him a promo card for the Xander XeXy series and thank him once again. He's well out the door before he'll starts to wonder what happened to his old clothes, deciding to pick them up another time.

He'll be hard again before he gets home, and he'll be self-conscious about the big dick being hard to miss as it moves around unrestrained, bouncing against the fabric of the shorts. Then he'll have a few days of uncomfortable discoveries. He's just as horny as before, but instead of constantly orgasming and getting hard again he's lasting much, much longer. He's not interested in getting together with any of the girls he has on speed dial to ease hard dick issues though. Nor does his usual porn appeal to him. Instead he's just lying in bed, pumping himself for an hour or two until he explodes in loud orgasms. Maybe an hour later he starts firming up again.

He's giving excuses to avoid meeting any of his group of friends. The shirts don't fit his broader shoulders anymore and his trousers either don't fit at all, or show a big dick outline. When he does show up for a night out he finds himself distracted, like nothing he used to like about going out interests him anymore. He's introduced to a new girl. "He records some adult videos," his mate says with a wink. "I can see why," she responds, staring at your groin and licking her lips. She just looks so boring to him. It's getting more and more difficult for him to orgasm and he doesn't even see the point of having sex. He feels like a soda bottle, and masturbating or sex is just someone shaking it without opening it.

He's getting a pair of compression shorts to wear under his gym shorts, and a membership to the cheapest gym within reasonable distance. Something about looking great and others watching got stuck in his head. He's following the same routine as in the shoot, and really putting in an effort. To his surprise he can see some of the other men glancing his way. He likes it. If only they knew how hard he was while they were watching him, he's thinking. Perhaps they too were hard watching him. Suddenly his fantasy is pushing him to the edge and he is overcome with the desire to finish. He runs to the locker room and find the most private place he can, though nothing is truly private there, and starts working his big dick. It's not unlike the latest scene he recorded, but this time there are people within earshot hearing him moan. He's sure of it. His cum explosion is more under his control this time, so he doesn't look unreasonably untidy, at least not given his previous hard workout. Hardly any visible stains that can't be explained as sweat.

The few people in the locker room behaves as if they didn't hear anything, but he knows they would have to. He blushes as he rushes out and jogs back home, his mind again a jumble of emotions. Back home he strips naked, puts on the "Professional Porn Actor" sweatshirt, loads the Xander XeXy video from the business card URL, and coming again several times over the next few hours.

By the time I call him next time he's into a routine. Workout at the gym every day, a run home, and an hour or two of wanking to Xander videos. It takes longer and longer for him to get off. Physically he's changed further. Dropped perhaps another inch, massively improved muscle definition, and a whole lot of extra chest muscles. Most of all though his body fat has continued to climb down, making his face look much younger and leaner. His friends have mostly given up on him, or at least decided to come back later when he isn't so occupied with his latest obsession.

I call him in the middle of wanking, asking him if he wants a supporting role for the next Xander video. I can almost hear his precum drooling. I tell him that it's a bit of a bad boy on bad boy, so he needs to be outfitted properly. Nothing permanent of course, but it would fit the scene if he got some piercings. Doesn't have to be anything crazy, but perhaps a ring in each ear and studs through the nipples. I could of course just do it myself, but I want him to find a place, book a time, feel the procedure, and then anticipate the shoot for a few days.

He shows up on time, hard and horny. He hasn't been able to come for the past few days. He's wearing his new golden earrings, the porn actor sweatshirt, but compression shorts and blue jeans. Xander is already there, shaking his hand and greeting him by name. It always makes such a big impact when the guy you've been masturbating to for two weeks is just as stunning in real life, and knows your name. I quickly move along to our garage set, with a shutter door to the outside, to snap him out of his daze a bit. Partly to be professional, but party to not make him too comfortable with Xander yet. Just before the garage I have them strip and put on the dirt bike kit I've laid out for them. Thick polyester pants, slinky polyester shirts, boots, gloves, helmets, and goggles. All of it Fox Racing branded.

The glossy material of the shirt hangs off of his sizable chest and you can see a hint of the piercings through the material in certain poses, but his focus on the upper pec muscles makes the nipples point slightly out and down. I've told Xander to keep it cool initially, so there's no talking between them. For this shoot I've also gotten a boom boy and a cameraman, so I'm free to only direct.

First I have them mount the dirt bikes, some cheap 125cc ones we got that look aggressive with lots of open space, black mechanical parts, and the rest in striking green for one and blue for the other. Then they ride out a bit, turn around, and we start rolling. They ride into the garage, kill the motors, and dismount. Then they do a bit of teasing each other, while they remove more and more gear. Googles, gloves, helmet, shirt.

He's too into looking Xander's naked chest up and down to notice he is hairless and bronzed. They play a bit until Xander pushes him onto the flatbed with rugs and crap on it. I cut and before we continue with the sex part we need to set up the fixed cameras we cut between. With Xander on break and the rest of the crew rigging I walk up to him and tell him he was great. Then I push him every so slightly on the abdomen and a small amount of oil leaks out of his pores, covering him with a glistening sheen that makes the muscles pop in the light. It'll lock him into that greasy twink look we've been looking for.

[writingwithcolor]

Happy New Year from WWC, Updates, aka we’re alive! (12/31/22)

Hi lovely followers,

First of all, thanks so much for your patience and all your continued support for WritingWithColor. 2022 has been heavily, heartily, devoted to tending to our personal lives, from pressing demands at work, school, mental health, family matters, and so on. All the while, trying to dig through the long backlog of Q's.

2023 should show us some more devotion to WWC. We'll answer more questions, invite fresh mods in the team to balance the load, and last (but not least) get the new Writingwithcolor.org up and running! Your kind donations have gone towards the new blog in progress and will continue to support it. Once that’s all established and stabilized, we’ll look into meeting our other fun goals, such as:

Diverse writing advice e-publications.

Follower giveaways and bonus content.

Charity and community causes.

See support the mods page to donate or learn more

We have made some major strides behind the scenes, though. 

Progress made in 2022

Here's some progress made so far.

1. Writingwithcolor.org, as mentioned, is a thing! Its also been around for a while. It won't forever lead to tumblr, but to our new site, when it's complete. But as long as Tumblr is around and working for us, we'll keep some sort of link between them, so no need for you to fully switch to a new platform to see our content. (Note: you can use that URL to share WWC on other social media. Facebook has blocked all Tumblr URLs, as is.)

2. Major clean-up in the tags, improvements to search. You'll notice both consolidation and separation of some tags. For example, you can search the tags for "Black stereotypes" or even "Black women stereotypes" whereas before they were separated out, which created a less concise search. 

Updated tags and improvements:

X + stereotypes (e.g. Jewish stereotypes, Jewish women stereotypes, etc.)

X + tropes (e.g. Black tropes, Black men tropes, etc.)

X + names (e.g. Indian names, Korean names, etc.)

Colonialism, was colonization

Exotification, was exotic

Fetishization, was fetish

Othering, was other

Microaggressions, was micro-aggressions (the "-” breaks search)

lgbtqia, was lgbtqa+ and lgbtqia+ (the “+” breaks search)

interracial + romance, friendship, relationships, marriage, adoption (it used to all be nestled under "interracial”)

Many more, with some changes ongoing. Check the navigation

What to expect in 2023

     1. Blog askbox re-opening. We haven't determined a exact date yet, but it will be early 2023. | Early 2023

     2. New askbox. Along with re-opening the askbox, we will have a new means for you to submit your questions. | Early 2023

     Our new askbox will:

Streamline the process by organizing the Q's for us (Previously, they’ve been manually screened and organized by Colette with the help of others...oo wee) 

Allow us to respond to questions faster.

Help guide askers through the process to better ensure ask is meeting guidelines, making it more likely to be answered.

     3. New blog launch! Individually hosted and paid for by donation funds from you all! | Spring 2023

     4. Continued blog improvement and cleanup (i.e. tag improvement, outdated post updating or deletion, fixed broken links) | Ongoing, 2023

Again, thanks so much for your support and just enjoying the blog. If you’d like to reply to this post to boost your favorite inclusive books or media of 2022, feel free.

See ya in 2023!

Sincerely,

~Mod Colette and the WWC Team

[melverie]

Everyone, please take the Nightbringer survey that the devs have released and make sure to write something--good and bad--for the general feedback question (the last one)

If you need some ideas on what you could give feedback on, under the cut is a short summary on the things I ended up writing about as well as some points others have brought up

AP Recovery Flash Sale

-> the 20 DP price tag just isn't viable; maybe only sell one D-Energy & lower the price to 12 DP instead?

attribute diversity

-> there seems to be a general trend of a character getting same card sins over and over again; Levi has multiple lust cards, all of Satan's URs are wrath cards and so on

Beelzebub

-> his personality is mostly just reduced to "I'm hungry" in NB; would be nice if the game could lean more into the other aspects of his character (caring about his loved ones, love for sport, Devilcat, playing the saxophone...) -> his guilt over the banshee situation was a nice change of pace for his character

Cerberus

-> I just want to be able to pet him, he deserves it :(

character dynamics in general

-> their dynamics are so well written; the game is really good with 'show, don't tell' when it comes to everyone's relationships and opinions of one another and it helps in making the story fun to read

communication

-> criticized the birthday events being dropped but it not being announced in anyway; it's understandable that they would be dropped eventually given the cast size, but a prior announcement would have been great -> communication in general is really good though + it's done in a fun way (i.e. letting the characters make the announcements)

difficulty

-> difficulty curve is way too high which also caused a lot of people to drop the game

event frequency

-> imo the events follow to quickly after one another & I'm starting to get burnt out from them; making the time in between events a little longer by a few days might help

Grimm

-> Azuki-tan Wallet, my beloved <3 They're a literal godsend -> generally it's a lot harder to earn Grimm in NB since the amount of Grimm earned per stage doesn't increase as lessons go on anymore. Would be nice if that could be changed

Nightmare

-> love the first 10x summoning discount -> would be nice if the monthly limit on exchanging Ravens for Demon Vouchers could be at least raised a little

romance

-> events seem to focus a lot less on romance--which is totally fine as not every event needs to be a dripping with romance--but hardly any romance overall in the last several events is a weird choice for a dating game -> some daily chats force the player to go with a romantic option; would be great if we had the choice to turn them down as an alternative

Ruri☆Tunes & accessibility

-> Ruri☆Tunes just isn't accessible, especially not for those with disabilities; I'm not sure what accessibility options can be added, but lowering the score needed to skip a stage would be a good start

[exhuastedpigeon]

Buckxtommy? Eww 🤢🤢 tommy is racist

I wasn't going to answer this because you're clearly a child without the ability to understand that characters, like real people, can grow, but actually I'm going to answer it and it's going to be LONG.

This got really long so I'm putting it under the cut but if you don't want to read it there's the TLDR:

Tommy was, at best, a passive member of the boys club at the 118 when we first meet him and at worst an active member who made Chim and Hen's lives harder when they first joined, but as the shitty people left the 118 and were replaced with less shitty people, Tommy starts to become kinder and more accepting and less of a toxic macho man.

He's friends with Chim and Hen when he leaves the 118. He's been away from the 118 for probably 7-8 years at this point and in that time he has clearly continued to grow.

People can change. People do change. Sometimes it takes meeting new people to spur that change and sometimes it takes a change in scenery. For Tommy it seems to have taken a mix of both to get him to where he is today - a funny, sweet, kind, queer man who is willing to STEAL A HELICOPTER and FLY INTO A FUCKING HURRICANE because someone he worked with for a few years almost a decade ago had a hunch. He believed Hen and Chim. He trusts them and they trust him.

So here's my question anon? Why don't you?

And now for the very long part under the cut...

When we first meet Tommy Kinard in Chimney Begins he is a part of the old boys club that is the LAFD and the 118. He's a person surrounded by shitty people and he adapts and behaves like them.

We don't know much about Tommy, but by the end of the episode he accepts Chim as a teammate and friend because Chim proves himself to Tommy. Do I think you should have to prove yourself to be accepted? No. But i understand the thought process because you're relying on people to have your back and save your life. We also find out Tommy's favorite movie is a romcom - not your typical toxicly masculine answer.

He shows growth in Chimney Begins and I cannot stress this enough, at the end of that episode Chim and Tommy are friends. We don't have an exact date at the end of Chimney Begins, but we can assume based on when Bobby joins and when Hen joins that it was at least a decade prior, if not more to where we are currently in canon.

In Hen Begins Tommy is still a part of the boys club at the 118, but you can see that he (and a lot of the team) don't actually agree with Captain Gerard, but he's their boss. They can't exactly call him out because that puts their own job on the line. You can see Tommy look at Gerard like 'what the fuck' when he calls Hen a "diversity hire" but he doesn't say anything in that moment - Chim does and Gerard brushes him off.

Sal makes a gay joke about Tommy in this episode and Tommy plays it off as a joke because what else is he suppose to do? Tommy looks uncomfortable when Gerard starts going on about female recruitment in the LAFD and him saying/implying that female firefighters aren't as strong, etc. He doesn't say anything, but I ask? Would you be brave enough to risk your job for someone you just met a few months ago?

When Hen gives her big speech Tommy looks back at Chim and sees him nodding. He looks at Chim because (I think) he's reminded of how they treated Chim when he first started. It's Tommy that says Hen's instincts are good after she disobeys orders and goes looking for another victim (who would have died if she hadn't). Tommy and Sal shake her hand and then Tommy pats her on the shoulder and says 'you're good'.

This interaction is both similar to and different from Tommy's 'moment' with Chim. Similar because it seems like Tommy needs new firefighters to prove they can be there before he trusts them and different because the Chim and Tommy moment is framed as the start of a friendship and that moment with Hen and Tommy is framed as the start of a good working relationships.

The next scene is Hen talking to their new interim captain about how her colleagues are impressed with her and how they've filed complaints against Captain Gerard. We can assume that Tommy was one of those colleagues.

Then we get Bobby Begins Again - Tommy is laughing and joking with Hen about how long the new captain will last. Tommy even asks to place a bet on credit and Hen jokingly says he better pay because she knows the bookie.

Tommy is shown to be a part of the team - the Hen and Chim team - on calls. Yes, he's still friends with Sal but he's much less likely to be at Sal's side when Sal makes shitty comments. Tommy even tells Sal to stop when Sal starts going off on Bobby.

The next scene we see Tommy in is him hanging out with Hen and Chim at a bar - when Hen tells them that Bobby didn't fire Sal, he suspended him and found him a new spot, Tommy takes that information and accepts Bobby because he finds out he's a good man and a good captain.

Then we see Tommy, Chim, Hen, and Bobby hanging out, sharing war stories. We even hear Tommy talk about 'scars helping him get women' because he's still not out with the team yet - he's still hiding that part of himself because he isn't ready yet (and because that wasn't a part of the storyline for Tommy at the time).

The rest Tommy's part in Bobby Begins Again is just showing how the 118 is becoming more than just a team - family dinner for example. Tommy smiles and is excited at the idea of 'family dinner'.

When he leaves the 118 Hen and Chim are happy for him and celebrate the move because it's a good career move for him. They even smash his face into the cake!!!

AND THEN in Broken Chim calls Tommy to ask him for a favour. A favour that saves the 118s asses.

That doesn't even touch on the Tommy of today - the Tommy who is brave and kind and trusting and funny. The Tommy that Chim is friends with, that Eddie is now friends with, that Buck has a HUGE crush on.

If you like the Firefam (which I'm hoping you do since they're the main cast of the show) I would hope you also trust their judgement. If they like a character who wasn't great in the past but has grown, we should see that growth and hopefully like them too.

You can dislike Tommy all you want, but don't try to tell me it's because 'he's racist' because that isn't true. He's evolved like people do. We should want more characters like Tommy because they remind us that just because we've done something shitty in the past it doesn't mean we can't grow too.

Anyone who says OOH TOMMY IS A RACIST HOW CAN YOU LIKE HIM clearly doesn't watch the show. Just because his development happened off screen doesn't mean it didn't happen.

[lurkingshan]

Japanese QL Corner

ICYMI: There are so many Japanese qls airing weekly, so I’m going to start posting this little round up at the end of each week. All of these are on Gaga and I highly recommend watching!

Love is Better the Second Time Around

This is officially my favorite bl currently airing. I loved this second episode a lot. I appreciate that while the first episode gave us a really solid grounding in who Iwanaga is, the second let us get to know Miyata in all his contradictory glory. That entire sequence from his failed proposal to him demanding Iwanaga take responsibility was glorious. He is still nursing a wound from their high school days and hearing Iwanaga sincerely apologize for his immaturity in making the bet back then seems to have given him some of his power back. I love that he's making Iwanaga work for it, and judging by that smile at the end of the episode, Iwanaga loves it, too.

My Strawberry Film

Yet another week focused on the het love rhombus, this time with a double date. I was spiritually with Ryo sitting on a rock by himself, headphones on and gazing at the sea in mild despair. The plot continues to move at a glacial pace, and I am not nearly as interested in Minami or her secrets as the show wants me to be. She is just not a compelling character. I did appreciate the show making it clear that Hikaru's crush on her is based more on a fantasy of who she is than the reality. And I felt for Chika a lot in this episode and was glad she aired things out with Ryo; she needed his rejection to move on. I wonder if, as @bengiyo suggested, this show will play better as a binge, because it's kind of torturous as a weekly viewing experience.

Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yara ka

A nice ending for a show that didn't quite come together for me. I liked both of these characters a lot, but the writing for their romance was kind of all over the place and we spent a lot of time on frustrating plot diversions instead of building a stronger relationship foundation that would leave us feeling confident about their future (apparently a lot of that extra plot stuff was added to stretch the simple manga story to 10 episodes, and it sure felt like it). I didn't at all buy Mizuki suddenly reappearing and trying to help them get back together. The way the show used his character was perhaps the most frustrating part of all; he felt more like a plot device than a person. But I'm glad Soga and Sakae decided to try again at the end, even if I wish we would have spent the back half of the show seeing them actually work through these complications instead of just talking about them constantly only to end right where they started. Not one that I will be rewatching or that will stick with me, I think.

Bonus: Call Boy (2018)

I have been meaning to watch this film for ages, and finally got around to it this week. Before I am accused of false advertising, let me clarify that this is not a bl or a romance at all; rather it is a story about a disaffected youth who gets offered a job as a sex worker in a high end club and finds purpose and satisfaction in bringing others pleasure. Our lead Ryo is (mostly) het, but he does have one extremely memorable sexual encounter with a male colleague (played by my beloved Izuka Kenta!), and this is in general a film exploring sexual kink and stigma, so it earned its spot on ql corner.

This movie is surprisingly great, and its themes are very sex and sex work positive in a way some other recent shows have claimed (and failed) to be. The narrative is all about Ryo coming to understand the purpose of sex work, finding his own pleasure in fulfilling his client's needs, and working through his childhood trauma in the process. It's very well done and I highly recommend it for anyone who can handle exceedingly NC-17 content. It's on Viki for rent (and also in the grey).