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thecapricunt1616 · 3 months

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Papaya (c.b one-shot)

Part one here

Blurb (More BTC!) : He knew you were that out of your mind, when he pushed his way through the house, shouting “Squish? SQUISH!” Over the music as well as he could and he found you being basically fucking molested by some meathead that had a good 6 inches and 75 pounds on him. The sight made him so enraged, it made him see red so quickly, it made him black out in anger. He came to again a few moments later after he uppercut the guy so hard he fell back on his ass, and then punched him in the face so hard that his nose started bleeding. “Bear?” You said confused

“See the fucking cup, asshole?” He seethed, everyone was watching now as he dumped the remainder of your icy drink on him and crushed it before throwing it at his shocked face “ the blue cup means she’s taken”

♡ One-shot inspo: Papaya is associated with femininity & strengthening love connections. Hang twigs of papaya wood over a door to keep out evil. Eat papaya with a loved one to intensify your love. Mix papaya leaves with mandrake and burn or use in the bath to reverse hexes and jinxes. ♡ Summary: You & Carmys first time, F/U to 'Very First Time'♡ W/C: 4.7k ♡ A/N: EEEE It's here! The first was recieved so well, & my sweet @carmenberzattosgf requested a part 2 as well as this sweet anon, so I had to indulge! I hope it is everything you wanted <3 Who's ready for some sexy sexy Carmy tomorrow!? I know I am!!! I can't believe this is my last piece before the drought is over...It has gone so freaking fast!!! I can't wait to meet all the new fans that this season brings <3 :) (P.S. If you were tagged, it's BC you asked for a part 2 or are my moot!! <3) P.S - Tumblr was really trying to get me to commit murder while formatting this JFC ♡ Warnings for BTC: SMUT SMUT SMUT, College relationship, childhood best friend trope, virgin!carmy, Fem!/AFAB!Reader, R has long hair, No use of Y/N (r goes by childhood nickname 'squish' ), Drunk men being pervy, Physical violence, Angry Carmy

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You stumbled into the nearest vacant bathroom (with your drink in hand of course) as Miley Cyrus’ We Can’t Stop bumps through the speakers of the frat house so loudly that the floors shook.

The amount of stinky sweaty bodies and drunk people making out in various corners of the hallway would usually get to you if you weren’t so out of your mind. You weren’t exactly sure which drink you were on yet, but you did know that when your best friend Paisley had challenged you to a keg standoff and you weren’t a quitter, so you couldn’t count just how many beers you had chugged.

You tried to count on your fingers as you hovered above the nasty toilet seat to pee just exactly how many red solo cups of mostly liquor with a bit of mixer you had consumed. You were distracted by that nasty toilet seat, wondering how the boys that live here don’t gag whenever they come to pee. You were happy that Carmy wasn’t in a frat. You were really happy that Carmy wasn’t in a frat, the guys here were assholes. Most of them, anyway.

You grabbed your blue cup, that insinuated you were taken or dating someone steady, out with you back into the hot sticky living room, to hear someone (probably paisley, it had to have been paisley or one of your other sorority sisters) had requested they play Girls by The 1975, you tried finding her but got distracted by hands on your waist and “I love your shirt” in your ear. It was a voice you didn’t recognize, you could tell the man towered over you by the way he had to hunch over to talk to you.

Carmy was bigger then you, but not that much bigger, this guy would probably have a head on Carmy. He had grown just like Mike said he would, and it looked amazing on him. Funnily enough though, even though you had been dating since the week you graduated high school - and you were now juniors in college, he still hadn’t slept with you yet. You often after you left his house to head back to your sorority house since they had a curfew, would cry to your sorority about how he still only wants to do oral.

He didn’t often want blowjobs unless it was a special occasion, he would tell you your hand is fine and you don’t have to do ‘all that’ even though you wanted to- you figured since he was saying that he didn’t want you to. You weren’t aware - but Carmy was kicking himself in the ass every single day that he hasn’t fucked you the way you deserve yet. He was honestly getting worried he was going to lose you to some guy who would. You had asked him, he had told you that he wasn’t ready to go that far with you yet, that he wanted to wait and make it special.

But in all reality he was terrified out of his mind. He knew he could make you cum with his mouth, but his dick?! He had to dig his nails into his palms until they near drew blood whenever you put your fucking mouth on him, so if you let him fuck your cunt?! He was worried he was going to cum in 3 strokes and you would laugh and break up with him and tell him you were better off best friends and there goes his only friend and the love of his life and the person he wants to marry. But he found himself asking as he fantasized about marrying you how he was supposed to do that if he can’t even find the balls to fuck you right.

His anxiety was what led him to calling you 3 times tonight, because you were late - and you were never late - because the two of you wanted to spend as much time as possible together since his schedule was so packed between working at the beef and going to classes part time. He was nowhere near graduating, that was because he was stacking his money away in a savings account that gained interest like Uncle Jimmy taught him, so that his graduation present to you could be the Chicago brownstone you both had talked about having together since high school.

He found it so incredibly sexy and endearing that you put school first in your life, he wanted to reward you for it. He felt you deserved the world and more, since you were his world. Which is why, after the third nervous stuttering voicemail which is how you could tell he was really nervous, had gone unanswered? He opened the find my friends app and grabbed his brothers keys.

“Mike I’m going…out!” He called and shut the front door before he could get questions about why the hell he of all people would be leaving the house past 10:00 on a Friday night. He anxiously mapped the location on his phone and hopped in the car. When he got there, though- he couldn’t even park near the house. He had to park a block over and walk because it was so packed with cars. He made sure to lock the car in case any drunkards were to try and sleep in it or think it was there’s, and put on the walking directions.

Carmen had to deal with drunk behavior well - every night, so being with a bunch of drunk people wasn’t his favorite place to be - but for you he persevered, because what the hell were you doing here.

You, currently, were inside, grinding on the same guy that had come up to you to Mirrors by Justin Timberlake. You had finished another drink, and forgotten completely it wasn’t your boyfriend behind you - and didn’t even have the mind to ask yourself what he would be doing there. Said boyfriend was currently pushing his way through the kitchen, and rolling his eyes and the ‘single, taken, DTF’ different colored cups on the counter as he tried to find you.

He knew you were that out of your mind, when he pushed his way through the house, shouting “Squish? SQUISH!” Over the music as well as he could and he found you being basically fucking molested by some meathead that had a good 6 inches and 75 pounds on him. The sight made him so enraged, it made him see red so quickly, it made him black out in anger. He came to again a few moments later after he uppercut the guy so hard he fell back on his ass, and then punched him in the face so hard that his nose started bleeding.

“Bear?” You said confused

He grabbed your arm gently “squish y’wasted. We're going home” he said firmly but not mean, and you stumbled next to him as people move out of the way since the entire room was privy to what just happened. You weren’t sure what happened all you knew was the man was behind you and then he wasn’t and then carmy was punching him and now you were in the car and Carmy was lecturing you about how worried he was.

“He could have hurt you, angel. Please- I know it’s college and you can do what you want but I love you and those guys are all assholes, they’ll take advantage of nice girls the second they get a chance. And you’re so sweet squish, you’re too sweet. They don’t deserve to have you over” he squeezed your hand and brought it to his lips for what he knew was probably the hundredth time in the 35 minute car ride back to his house.

You didn’t say much of anything that could make sense, but he agreed with you anyway. “And theee um. The the- what was I saying?” You look over at him at a red light with a drunk smile, your eyes glazed over from all the alcohol and cheeks hot with the rush of it in your system.

“I dunno baby but you look cute” he tucked a piece of hair behind your ear and kissed your forehead gently

“Your knuckles are bleeding, did you hurt them?” You asked, the events from less than an hour prior already having been wiped from your mind. He chuckled a bit, shaking his head

“M’fine squish, you need some water” he helped you out of the car, supporting most of your weight as you stumbled up the stairs of the Berzatto house, and he unlocked the door.

“Ooooo you know what I want?” You asked and he smiled as he locked the door behind him and lead you to the kitchen

“What’s that honey?” He helps you sit down at the table and grabs a glass, filling it with ice water

“I want a bear special beef sandwich. Pretty please?” He came over and handed you the glass

“Drink that and we’ll talk about it” he said and you obediently chugged down the glass as he went back to the fridge and got out the beef they didn’t use today at the restaurant and a pan to heat it in

“This is good” you said, finishing it off and crunching on a piece of ice to which he cringed

“Ugh y’teeth babe don’t do that!” He scolded as he always did when you munched on ice, taking it from you and filling it again, adding a straw before giving it back so you were less tempted to repeat your actions

He was cutting up a bell pepper for your sandwich when you asked “why won’t you have sex with me?” Which almost made him slice his finger but thankfully he missed it by a centimeter.

“Who said I won’t” he looked back at you, his cheeks a pretty shade of pink as he flushed with embarrassment.

“I dunno. You say you’re waiting but I want to and paisley says maybe you’re shy and if m’drunk maybe you’ll wanna do it more but the problem-“ you’re interrupted with a drunk hiccup “with that is, paisley said you have to be drunk too, and you aren’t.” You slurred, struggling to find your straw again to chug down the other half of your second glass of water.

He stared at you, unsure of what to say and Mikey comes pounding down the stairs per usual and into the kitchen. A bull in a fucking China shop, just like Richie. “Yooo it’s squishy! Sup girl” he came over, giving you a brotherly push to the back of the head and doing the same to Carmy as he walks by to the fridge

“Hey! You could have killed me I’m drinking!” You slurred, “but I’m asking Carmy why he won’t h-“

“Heyyyy!!! Hey hey squish no we’re not sharing those things” Carmy cuts you off quickly and looks over, shaking his head

“She’s fuckin gone” Mike said to himself as he grabbed a can of soda

“Yeah why do you think I’m fuckin having her eat and drink water?” Carmy quips, putting the beef into the bun he’d toasted and adding extra cheese for you on top how he liked it.

“Mm. Make sure you have a few vomit bags ready I think the last time she was this wasted was her birthday” he headed back up to his room and Carmy sighed to himself, knowing he was right.

“Who’s vomiting?” You asked, sipping the last few dribbles of water and he set your sandwich in front of you, taking the cup to fill again and you gasp, having forgotten you even wanted the sandwich “I was just gonna ask you to make me one too!” You said excitedly and took a big bite.

He came back to the table, setting the filled glass down and sitting in the chair next to you, gently rubbing your back “chew it baby Jesus it’s not goin anywhere” he teased and pushed your hair back over your shoulders.

“I know- it’s just so good” you mumble with your mouth full and he chuckled, shaking his head and wiping some grease that had dribbled down your chin off with the pad of his thumb, wiping it on a napkin. He didn’t know what came over him, maybe it was the fact that you wouldn’t remember - maybe selfishly it was because he knew you’d be brutally honest, but he asked

“If we did have sex, and I didn’t last very long- would you be upset that you had to finish with my mouth or fingers instead?” His voice was laced with nervous curiosity, but he had to know this to be able to properly navigate having sex since you had been bringing it up more and more often as of late.

“What?! Upset? I think I’ll cry with joy that I actually can have your dick in me it doesn’t matter how long” you said casually. He wasn’t sure what it was about it, maybe it was the tone of your voice - like it’s an every day thought for you, like you were aching to have him inside of you. Yeah, that was it. The coolness mixed with desperation, it made his cock stiffen a little more than he figured it should have.

“Mm.” Was all he said, covering himself with his hand, it wasn’t like you would notice, anyway, but he was still ever so shy about you making him aroused - like he was doing something wrong. Even though you were his girlfriend of 3 years and you said I love you multiple times a day to each other.

While he was helping you shower, and then helping you dress for bed, that was when it hit him. This weekend, his mom would be out of town for some work thing he didn’t care to know the details of, and Mike goes to the casino every Friday and stays out practically until 5 am. He would have the house to himself, and it would be the perfect time to finally have sex.

He was mapping out in his mind the most romantic way to do it, flowers, candles, music? He told himself he had to do it right and make it a night to remember for the both of you. He had to cook for you - he figured he would make your favorite penne à la vodka, and he wouldn’t tell you about doing it just in case he bitches out. But the amount of thought he was putting into this, if he bitched out he was gonna be extraordinarily angry with himself.

Your voice pulled him out of his head as if always did “bear” you said sleepily

“Sup bug” he kissed your head tenderly and rubbed your arm as you nuzzled into his side.

“Can you turn the tv down m’tired” you mumble into his shirt and he took the remote, turning it off.

“Love you baby, g’night” he resumed rubbing over your hip as he got lost in his thoughts once again.

When the day came, he wasn’t sure how he didn’t bitch out. He thought about it 5 times that day and convinced himself not to, but now, now that you were sat at the table with him, a candle between you, giggling about how ‘romantic’ he had been acting tonight - he felt like a total fucking idiot.

“I’m sorry, fuck- do you not like it? I read one of sugars magazines she left behind before she moved - they said girls like candles and music” he pushed it to the side and you shook your head, moving it back

“I love it, bear. I’m just wondering why you’re treating me so special tonight is all, I’d have been a lot more dressed up and pretty if you’d have-“ he cuts you off

“You’re fuckin- y’perfect, squish. I love you, that’s why I’m doin it. I just wanna show you how much” he held your hand and squeezed it gently “you mean everything t’me. Really” he said and kissed your knuckles gently.

When you made it to his bedroom, you realized he’d hung romantic little white string lights along his headboard to provide more ambient lighting, and that’s when it clicked what was happening. Your heart raced in your chest like a hummingbird trapped in a cage as his hands roam your body.

You were sprawled out beneath him, both of you down to your underwear, the feeling of his lips nipping, and licking, and biting yours was enough to make you wet, but when his broad hands started palming your tits, his thumbs and forefingers massaging your nipples, you had to squeeze your thighs together to provide your throbbing clit some pressure. You were mewling and whining beneath him, he was panting and grunting into your mouth, your noses bumping with each unexpected kiss.

“Carmy” you whine into his mouth, reaching to pull one of your hands off of your breast and he pulled away just enough to speak, lapis eyes boring into yours that were no doubt lust blown.

“Y’good?” He asked gently, kissing the corner of your mouth chastely and eased his grip on your breasts. You moved the hand you were holding down, down, down, tucking his fingers into the waistband of your panties

“I want you to touch me here…please” you said softly and hook your arm around the back of his neck, tangling your fingers in his sandy blond curls as you pull him back for a kiss his breath hitched slightly at the action, his cock twitching at your words which you felt against your thigh, causing you to smile a bit. He cupped your heat with his hand for a moment, causing you to grind onto it needily and he sucked on your bottom lip as he spread your lips to slip his middle finger over your sticky soaked hole, teasing it gently before trailing it up to find the throbbing erect bud.

You gasped lightly at the contact, back arching a bit and moaning shamelessly, your voice coming out high pitched and whiny “oh yes” you said as he rubbed the pad of his finger back and forth and in circles, alternating between the two in such a way that was making your stomach tighten and thighs shiver.

“Yeah?” He kissed your jaw “feels good mm? Sound so pretty, princess” he said hotly in your ear, gently nipping at your neck in the way that drove you wild.

“So good you make me feel so good” you mewl as he moved his finger down again, thrusting it in and out as he does that beckoning motion with the finger and he gently rubbed your clit with his other hand. You sob in pleasure, fisting the sheets with one hand and tugging Carmys hair with the other.

“Good girl tha’s a good girl” his husky voice and hot breath made you shiver even though with how close your orgasm was- you felt oh so hot. You felt him lick your sternum where he had watched a bead of sweat trailing down and that caused your eyes to open once more, to see his staring back like a round eyed cat.

“M’gonna cum” you choke out, pulling the sheets harder to avoid hurting him by pulling his hair too hard. This brought a grin to his face, finding your nipple with his lips and sucking on the sensitive bud, just as he adds another finger, speeding up his beckoning motion. Your eyes nearly roll back when you felt his lips on your ear, encouraging you

“Yeah? Yeah pretty girl? Are you gonna cum f’me? Feels sooo good huh. Go ahead princess let me feel you cum on my hand I love it when y’pussy sucks in my fingers it’s so fuckin hot. Y’re so fuckin hot” your jaw fell slack in a silent scream, brows knitted together as he praised you while your orgasm came over you full force. You swore you saw stars behind your lids.

“Please please please pleaaase bear” you found yourself begging, pulling him up for a kiss and he chuckled into your lips, pulling away enough to ask,

“Please what, what baby what d’you want?” He cooed sweetly before ravishing your face with kisses which made your thumping, racing heart turn to goo

“Please fuck me. Please- oh god please I fucking need you inside your fingers aren’t enough I need to feel you.” You begged, your voice was raspy, needy, he never heard anything hotter in his life.

“Yeah?” He asked sweetly, resting his forehead on yours, nuzzling your nose in a eskimo kiss gently. “Open your eyes” he said softly and dried his hand on the sheets, pushing your sticky, sweat slick hair from your face and cupping your cheeks. Your eyes flickered open to meet his honest blue ones, blown with lust, glazed over with love. “Tell me again, I want to see you when you say it baby, so I know you want this.” He rubbed your jaw tenderly with his thumbs.

“I want you to show me how much you love me, Bear, please” you said softly and he smiled in the way that showed off his little dimples, to which you kissed it gently before he told you

“I don’t think there’s a way to show you just how much I love you, because it can’t even be described in words - but I’ll try anything f’you, squish” he kissed your forehead lovingly, lingering for a moment. Your eyes fluttered shut as you soaked in the moment, gently rubbing his back.

“I love you too, more than words” you said honestly when he pulled away, grabbing a condom from his nightstand drawer and ripping it open with his teeth, an action that had you clenching around nothing, but hopefully that would be resolved in just a moment.

“Now, if you want to stop just say the word, if you can’t find your words just like…bite me I guess” he teased and you giggled, shaking your head

“Will do” you watch as he slipped off his boxers, rolling the rubber all the way to the base, he tugged off your panties that had been soaked through, tossing them in his laundry basket since you’d need new ones after which lived in his top drawer, and got between your legs. You watch as he strokes himself a few times with his hand and you felt your throat go a bit dry. What if you were the one to ruin it all because it wouldn’t fit or something?

“You ok?” He asked gently as he caught you staring and you met his eyes again, putting on a smile and nodding, spreading your legs wider in hopes that might make more room.

“Amazing. Excited” you said, it wasn’t exactly a lie, but you left off your biggest and most present emotion nervous.

“Okay…that look says I’m worried so what’s up?” He held your hand, gently rubbing the back of it with his thumb and looking into your eyes. It was impossible to lie when he looked at you like that, even more impossible when you were both butt naked and his dick was in his hand.

“What if it doesn’t fit?” You asked nervously. He chuckled as if he didn’t believe you, shaking his head

“I’m not that hung, babe. It’ll be fine. Do you care if I touch you?” He asked and you shook your head, swallowing thickly. He knelt on the bed with his left knee, leaning over you and nestling the tip of his cock between your folds and rubbing your wetness up and over your clit, causing a small gasp to leave your lips. He watched you carefully, for any signs of discomfort or that you were having second thoughts.

Your lips were parted and little puffs of air fan his chin, eyes hooded in pleasure and little squeaks coming out of your throat each time his tip bumped your clit firmly and the ridge of it rubbed back down to swipe over your hole and back up to repeat the assault. You could cum just like this if he did it long enough. “Feels good?” He checked, intertwining your fingers and squeezing your hand lovingly.

“Uh-huh” was all you could manage to get out and he smiled a bit, kissing your chin gently

“Want me to try being inside Angel?”

In response, a needier, whinier “uh-huh”

He looks down for a moment, grabbing his cock and lining the tip up with your entrance. “Remember what to do?” He triple checked, this time- just a quick nod. He ever so gently eased his way in, his jaw tightening at the way it made his balls feel 10 pounds heavy, his cock twitching at the foreign sensation. He grunted to cover a whine instead, and you squeezed his hand tight, looking down and watching as he slowly pushed his shaft in about a fourth of the way and stopped, looking up at you. Once more.

“How do you feel baby?” He gently rubbed your clit with his other hand, causing you to clench around him and in turn a unconscious moan tears from his throat “jeeesus fuck” he grunts, hips sinking in further in instinct and you squeak, shifting uncomfortably which made him look down and quickly pull back out to just the tip “sorry- fuck I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened are you ok?” He kissed your wrist.

“Burning. Kinda. Not a bad, it feels…kinda good? It like…it feels like a good stretch when it almost hurts. And like…full. So full, but like a good full. A fulfilled kinda full, is that weird?” You rambled on all the thoughts swimming in your brain other than ‘cock feels good’ which was the main one.

“Yeah? Feels good f’me too baby” he leaned in, kissing your lips and sinking in further, half way now. He kept kissing you, gently sucking on your tongue as you got used to the uncomfort of the stretch. “Can I try moving Angel?” He asked , almost into your mouth, you just respond with a huffy hum of agreement before pulling your lips back up to his. He very slowly at first started to thrust and had to let go of your hand to fist the pillow so he didn’t bust right then.

“Holy fuck” he pants, nuzzling his face in your neck and continuing to rub your clit as he thrusted in and out. The feeling left you breathless, wordless, thoughtless. You were on cloud nine, you could die like this. You felt that sensation of an orgasm coming in your belly again, this was the quickest he’d ever brought you to another.

“Bear-bear- I’m-“ you whine out, back arching and jaw dropping as his tip brushes your g spot and you nearly cry, tears gathering in the corners of your eyes at the intense pleasure it brought. “Cumming, cumming im cumming” you babbled, as your orgasm took over, clenching and unclenching around his cock in such a way that he literally couldn’t stop himself from spilling into the condom if he tried.

The whiny grunt he made when he came was the hottest noise you had heard to date and was nothing short of beautiful. He bit down on your neck, sucking a pretty purple bruise into the skin before burying himself to the hilt as he shoots rope after rope of seed into the condom. Your thighs tightened around his waist, nails digging into his shoulders so hard they’d leave moon shaped bruises come morning that he’d proudly walk around the house with at breakfast so Mike could finally believe that he’s not just lying about doing sexual shit with you.

You wrap your legs around his hips, keeping him there and relishing in the feeling. You felt like he was made for you, you fit together like 2 puzzle pieces. You knew he was your forever, but this solidified it even more. After he fucked you through both of your highs, he pulled out and laid next to you in a heap, panting for a few moments before he finally spoke

“Biggest mistake of my life was waiting so long to do that”

@carmenberzattosgf @daysofyellowroses @aestheticaltcow @l4long-winded @thehouseofevangelista @w31rdash @caramelberzatto @wtfsteveharrington

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velvetvexations · 4 months

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I just want to rant about my least favourite Julia Serano post/passage/concept, because as a transmasc nonbinary person this genuinely raises my blood pressure. Sorry about how long this is lmao

Link: https ://juliaserano.blogspot.com/2014/02/what-is-subversivism.html

It's her concept of "subversivism": bigotry that posits trans people as non-subversive, and compliant with the social order of patriarchy. Essentially, it's the impossible expectation that trans people should always be subversive to gender norms in everything they do. TERFs do this a lot, by claiming that the existence of trans people who happen to fit a gender stereotype (e.g. a trans woman w/ feminine interests, a nonbinary person that dresses androgynously) mean they support gender roles.

This is a really good concept! It's very useful for explaining how anti-trans activists, particularly TERFs, talk about trans people.

The only problem is that instead of talking about her own experiences with subversivism, or using some kind of source as an example of how subversivism works, she spends most of the post/chapter making harmful assertions with no basis in reality. Specifically, she asserts that transmasculine people are seen as more subversive than transfeminine people, and that genderqueer or GNC people benefit from subversivism. And she doesn't even attempt to have a source for it, because if she talked to a single transmasculine or nonbinary person about subversivism, they would tell her that they've experienced it too. Hell, even if she just looked at how TERFs talk about transmasculine and nonbinary people, she'd see that subversivism is a common tactic. So the piece is filled with bigoted bullshit.

In one part she notes that masculinity is associated with power/boldness, but femininity is associated with weakness/timidness. And she suggests that may be why transfeminine people are seen as non-subversive, which is true! But that's also the exact reason why transmasculine people are also seen as non-subversive: in a TERF's eyes, transmascs want to go from weak femininity to powerful masculinity, which is seen as the "easy way out" of misogyny. Later, she mentions transmasculine people being supposedly welcomed into queer and feminist spaces, but fails to consider that often this "acceptance" is often contingent on being misgendered and treated as a woman. (I think some of your more recent reblogs have also talked about this). In her more recent book, she even refers to subversivism as "compulsory genderqueerness". This is clearly meant as a nod to the concept of compulsory heterosexuality. But genderqueer is not in any way a privileged identity like heterosexuality, and it's extremely offensive to suggest that it is! Some studies even indicate that nonbinary/genderqueer people have worse mental health than binary trans people. (Unlike her, I have a source for that: https ://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11930-017-0111-8).

And what's most frustrating to me is that she knows better! Like, it'd be one thing if this was just a tumblr post by a random trans person. But Julia Serano is a published academic, and very well respected in the trans community. She has done legitimately good work, too - her work on debunking AGP and ROGD is a genuinely good resource. So she knows full well that sweeping statements like the ones she makes in this piece need a source. In the blog post she magically remembers how to use sources when she talks about oppression of bi people, which makes it all the more frustrating. And the thing is, I'd also be fine with it if she didn't mention transmasculine or nonbinary people at all, and only talked about her own experiences. I'm not even asking to be included, just to be… not demonised, or gaslighted about my own experiences of transphobia!

Now, Whipping Girl was published over 15 years ago, and she might have changed her opinion since then. But she pretty clearly hasn't, since she was reposting her passage from Whipping Girl about it on Twitter a few months ago! That's how I found out about it in the first place. Honestly, it's a testament to how pervasive anti-transmasculinity and anti-nonbinary rhetoric are in the trans community that Whipping Girl is regarded as a core text for transfeminism, but I've barely seen anyone else talk about the blatant misinformation in it.

Anyway that's the end of my rant, sorry it's so long but I could write so much about this lmao

What is velvetvexations.tumblr.com if not a place to complain about Whipping Girl? You're valid, anon.

It's really not hard to tell why so many people who worship her do the same thing where they compulsively compare everything to how much better they very wrongly believe non-trans women have it. Even if she doesn't personally believe the exact same things her attitudes have bare minimum greatly influenced this bullshit and she needs to reign it in.

Like, is it bad to place responsibility on her like that? To say she needs to put in time and effort countering these things and educating herself where need be? I don't think so. She is, evidently, the Queen of Transfeminism, she, apparently, wrote the transfeminism Bible, as far as I'm concerned it's her job to climb back into the trenches when people start abusing her shit.

#whipping girl #julia serano #transmisogyny #transandro phobia

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mask131 · 6 months

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Greek monster myths (1)

Various mini-articles loosely translated from the French « Dictionary of Feminine Myths », under the direction of Pierre Brunel. (You could also translate the title as “Dictionary of Female Myths” – the idea being all the myths centered around women)

Article 1: Gorgô

[Note: this mini-article is distinct from the mini-article about “Gorgons”]

The appearance of Gorgô, at the end of the eleventh chant of the Odyssey, is meant to cause fright – not just to Odysseus himself who is just done with invoking the dead, but also to the audience hearing this rhapsody (the Phaeacians listening to Odysseus’ tale), and to the very listener of the Homeric poem. Gorgô forms the dominant peak of this “evocation of the dead” (nekuia), she is the “chlôron déos”, the “green fear”. Odysseus’ mother, Anticleia, just disappeared back again nto the Hades – the hero wishes to summon other shades, such as those of Theseus and of his former companion Pirithous, “but before them, here is that with hellish cries the uncountable tribes of the dead gathered”. And Odysseus adds: “I felt myself becoming green with fear at the thought that, from the depths of the Hades, the noble Persephone might sent us the head of Gorgô, this terrible monster…” (633-635). It is barely an apparition, it is the possibility of an appearance, but it is enough to terrorize the living.

Jean-Pierre Vernant, in his work “La Mort dans les yeux” (Death in the eyes), establishes the link which ties together Gorgô and Medusa. Because Gorgô is more than a singular unification of the three Gorgons: she is a superlative form of Medusa, she is what happens when her petrifying gaze survives beyond death. By studying the depictions of Gorgô in ancient statues, Vernant establishes two fundamental traits: the faciality, and the monstrosity. He explains that “interferences” take place “between the human and the bestial, associated and mixed in diverse ways”. Maybe Gorgô is, as Vernant suggests, “the dark face, the sinister reverse of the Great Goddess, of which Artemis will most notably be the heir”. But Gorgô is also placed in the function of watchful guardian of the world of the dead, a world forbidden to the living. The mask of Gorgô expresses the radical alterity of Death and the dead.

Article 2: The Graeae

Daughters of Keto and Phorkys (they are thus also called “The Phorcydes”), sisters of the Gorgons, these divinities of shadows, which were born as elderly women and doomed to share one eye and one tooth for all three, appear exclusively in the tale of Perseus and Medusa.

The most ancient mention of the Graeae comes from Hesiod’s Theogony, which only counts two of them and names them Pemphredo and Enyo (Enyo was also the name of a goddess of war within Homer’s Iliad). The third of the sisters appears within a fragment of the Athenian logographer Pherecyde: Deino (“The Dreadful”), later called Persis by Hyginus (in his “Preface to fables”). Other authors, like Ovid, prefer to stick with two Graeae. Hesiod makes a quite flattering portrait of them: he makes them elegant goddesses with a “beautiful face”, even though they were “white-haired (understand “having white hair due to old age”) since birth”. And while their very name means “old women”, the Antique iconography actually follows the Hesiodic model: the depictions of the sisters as disfigured by the effects of time are quite rare… At most the artists will just put a few wrinkles. These mysterious hybrids between youth and old age, virginal seduction and sinister ugliness, finds an echo within a few lines from Aeschylus “Prometheus bound”: “Three ancient maidens, with swan bodies, that share a single eye and a single tooth, and who never receive a look from the shinng sun or the crescent of the night.” Aeschylus had an entire tragedy written about them (Phorcydes) which was unfortunately lost – but Aristotle wrote about it in his “Poetics” and implies that the play insisted on their monstrous aspect, placing them within the legendary area known as “the gorgonian fields of Kisthene”, and closely associating them with their sisters, of which they form a reversed image. Indeed, the Gorgons have a very powerful eyesight which no mortal being can face, while the Graeae have an extreme form of blindness. This trinity of women, old by nature, can also be understood as the antithesis of the three Charites, the Graces which embodied eternal youth.

The Graeae seems to have only a role within the myth of Perseus. And, outside of a few details, this legend does not change much from Pherecyde to Ovid’s Metamorphoses, passing by Lycophron, Apollodorus’ Bibliotheca, and Hyginus’ Astronomy. In all those versions the Graeae are the jealous keeper of the secret path that leads to the Gorgons, and Perseus must steal their eye in order to obtain the knowledge needed to reach Medusa. However, Pherecyde did change an element: according to him the Graeae do not protect the path leading to the Gorgons, but rather the path leading to the nymphs that hold the magical items Perseus needs to fight Medusa.

Due to their limited presence in Greek mythology, the Graeae have quite a poor cultural posterity. In the 19th century Goethe will remember them: in his “Second Faust”, Mephistopheles appears under the guise of “Phorkyas”, a monster with only one eye and one tooth. In the world of paintings, Edward Burne-Jones, who created a true “Perseus cycle”, had a strong interest for them: he worked for a very long time on a painting of the Graeae. Their face is barely visible, but the cloth that wraps itself around their body is menacing ; they are within an arid desert, under a dark sky heavy with clouds – they perform a sinister dance, in a mockery of the Graces. Perseus comes to steal their eyes, and the grey color that invades all the nuances of the picture symbolizes the unique presence of those strange crones, both disquieting and pitiable.

Article 3: Echidna

Echidna, “the viper”, is according to Hesiod the daughter of Phorkys and Keto, themselves born of Pontos, the Sea, and Gaia, the Earth. Echidna’s sisters are female monsters like her: the Graeae, and the Gorgons. Hesiod describes her as having half of the body of a “fair-cheeked nymph”, while the rest of her body is the one of an enormous, big, cruel, spotted and terrible snake which “lies within the secret depths of the divine earth”. Echidna as such belongs to this large mythological family of snake-women, of which the most famous case in France is the fairy Mélusine. But unlike Mélusine, Echidna can never leave the snake-half of her body, and thus a better French heir would be Marcel Aymé’s depiction of the vouivre with her cohort of vipers.

Theodore de Banville, when he imagines Hesiod scolding him for sanitizing Classical mythology, makes of Echidna the symbol of the archaic mythology: he tells him that he is “making a toy out of the history of the gods” by depicting Love as “a sweet child, free of carnivorous appetites, ignored by the Furies and by bloody Echidna”.

Echidna precisely appears as a being led by an amorous desire within Herodotus’ tales, that he claims to have collected among the Greeks of Pontus Euxinus: as Herakles was sleeping, Echidna steals his horses away. She only agrees to give them back if he sleeps with her. When Herakles leaves her, she tells him that she will bear three sons from their union. He advises them to only keep with her one that would be able to bend a bow just like him, and to force the others to leave. She does that, and this favorite son is supposed to be the one that created the Scythian people. This meeting between Herakles and Echidna might be derived from the famous encounters between Herakles and three of Echidna’s other children: the Nemean Lion, the Hydra of Lerna, and Cerberus.

In Aeschylus, Orestes compares his mother, Clytemnestra, to “a horrible viper”. Sophocles has Creon call Ismene, which he believes to have helped Antigone, “a viper that slid in my house against my will to drink my blood”. These examples show a link between the Ancient metaphorical speech, and the mythological allusions. Indeed, only the context can allow us to determine if these authors meant “viper” as a common name, or as a proper name: as “Viper”, “Echidna”. But it confirms the idea that, in Ancient Greece, Echidna is a monster born of an archaic fear of the women, and embodying their supposed perfidy.

#greek mythology #graeae #gorgon #gorgo #medusa #echidna #greek monsters #female monsters #ancient greek monsters #greek myths

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boytoyhalo · 9 months

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hey fitpac nation I have a minor (but actually not that minor) bone to pick w yall

i keep seeing people say "oh screw your heteronormative dynamics" about pac calling fit his wife today, like in general I'm seeing a lot of implications that assigning fit the "feminine" role in their dynamic is somehow better or more progressive than assigning it to pac and. I seriously need you all to realize that assigning EITHER man in an m/m relationship the role of "wife" IS heteronormativity. Like, that's what we're doing when we call either of them, or actually any man, a "malewife". we are putting a heterosexual dynamic onto a homosexual relationship that's like the entire point

And like. I get that you think because pac is the smaller and less "traditionally masculine" out of the two (which I have separate thoughts about but that's a post for another day) it's somehow more subversive to assign the role to him but think about it critically for two seconds - why is fit "the wife"? because he's caring and devoted and shows love through acts of service? why are these traits that you associate with the role of wife - do you percieve these as inherently feminine traits? and following that train of thought, is Fit REALLY that much more typically masculine than pac is, or is part of the reason he seems that way just due to the difference in muscularity/size? Do you associate smallness/weakness with femininity?

Listen. the whole malewife thing is fun, we all love a bit of light-hearted forced feminization - but please, stop kidding yourselves. You are not more progressive or less heteronormative for assigning the big buff man the "feminine" relationship label than the people who do it to pac. At the end of the day it's still assigning heteronormative roles to a homosexual relationship, it's still doing so based on traits that you percieve as feminine because of heteronormativity.

and BTW this absolutely applies double if submissiveness is part of your idea of what makes a malewife (which lets be honest it is) why does being submissive make you a wife answer quickly. THATS STILL HETERONORMATIVITY FOLKS

#fitpac #discourse #I guess #your first mistake was viewing masculinity and femininity as opposing forces. your second was viewing them as monolithic constructs at all #qsmp shipping

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andthemoonsingswisely · 2 months

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Arya, Lyanna, Nature Motifs, Harrenhal, and Femininity

When we’re introduced to Lyanna in the first chapter, it’s through the POVs of Robert and Ned. What I found interesting was that both Robert and Ned remember her love for the outdoors.

"She should be on a hill somewhere, under a fruit tree, with the sun and clouds above her and the rain to wash her clean." - Robert, AGOT Eddard I

The little crannogman, Howland Reed, had taken her hand from his. Ned could recall none of it. "I bring her flowers when I can," he said. "Lyanna was … fond of flowers." - Ned, AGOT Eddard I

From the start, it’s established that Lyanna loved nature and the outdoors. Both Robert and Ned know this to be true, yet Ned tells Robert in a later chapter that he never really knew Lyanna; while it’s true that knowing something such as someone’s preference for the outdoors doesn’t translate to knowing them, and we can just leave it at that, I want to take a look at the deeper implications of nature, especially in regards to its relationship with femininity.

"You never knew Lyanna as I did, Robert," Ned told him. "You saw her beauty, but not the iron underneath.” AGOT Eddard VII

the truth is, Robert loves this idealized version of Lyanna—he loves Lyanna because she’s dead, because she can be the beautiful dead girl sitting passively as nature happens to her, as she gets washed by rain as opposed to actively wading into the water. To Robert, Lyanna’s love of the outdoors is a symbol of her femininity only because he associates it with the passiveness of a dead girl. However, we know that in life, Lyanna was seldom passive, and made choices which would affect herself and those she loved.

She becomes the Knight of the Laughing Tree to get justice for Howland Reed during the Tourney of Harrenhal. She wears a crown of winter roses given to her (in a controversial move) by the man she loves. Lyanna’s association with nature is her choosing justice and love. It’s no coincidence that she’s subverting the trope of “male knight defending a maiden’s honor” and pushing past the barriers of traditional femininity through the guise of nature.

now, where does Arya come into this? Well, now that Lyanna’s dead, Arya’s similar personality and paralleling themes of justice and love act to reveal more about who Lyanna was as a person while placing heightened importance to these characteristics of Arya, basically telling the reader: hey, watch out, this is going to be important.

In AGOT, Arya picking flowers displays her connection towards nature that, like Lyanna’s, is more active than passive. But it isn’t until ACOK when the real “tree arc” happens. A slave in Harrenhal, Arya witnesses and is the victim of severe abuse and injustice, with trauma and grief adding to her feelings of powerlessness. And then this happens:

“"But there is no pack," she whispered to the weirwood. Bran and Rickon were dead, the Lannisters had Sansa, Jon had gone to the Wall. "I'm not even me now, I'm Nan."

"You are Arya of Winterfell, daughter of the north. You told me you could be strong. You have the wolf blood in you."

"The wolf blood." Arya remembered now. "I'll be as strong as Robb. I said I would." She took a deep breath, then lifted the broomstick in both hands and brought it down across her knee. It broke with a loud crack, and she threw the pieces aside. I am a direwolf, and done with wooden teeth.”

The weirwood is a symbol of strength for Arya, and a way she can break the barriers of not just traditional femininity, but also her slave status. Moreover, the godswood is also tied to her encounters with Jaqen. Like Lyanna, Arya also uses her connection to nature to get justice. Arya being the ghost in harrenhal is an important thematic parallel to Lyanna, highlighting their courage and shared internal values.

(I have a pet headcanon that Lyanna was the one speaking to Arya with the help of the old gods, which COULD be canon if TWOW came out before I died—just write the damn books grrm!)

But we’re not done yet, because justice is only one half—as I mentioned earlier, nature is associated with BOTH justice and love for Lyanna, and for Arya as well, as I’m about to show you.

In ASOS, while Arya and Gendry are in Acorn Hall, Tom of Sevens sings “My Featherbed” which contain these lyrics:

“And how she smiled and how she laughed, the maiden of the tree. She spun away and said to him, no featherbed for me. I’ll wear a gown of golden leaves, and bind my hair with grass, But you can be my forest love, and me your forest lass"

Gendry is strongly hinted to be a potential romantic interest for Arya, and I’m not even going to mention all their shared experiences with nature because that would just be me quoting the entirety of Arya’s chapters in ACOK and ASOS. I found it quite neat that like Lyanna, Arya’s “love” also breaks barriers, since Gendry is a lowborn bastard and since Arya herself doesn’t fit into the mold of a proper lady.

I feel like this could def be more fleshed out, but I’m typing this on a time crunch so tldr; Arya’s relationship with nature parallels Lyanna’s, as they are both rooted in justice and love, and as they both subvert the traditionally feminine idea of a woman who has nature happen to her instead of being a part of and acting with nature.

#asoiaf #arya stark #lyanna stark #gendrya #rhaelya #arya stark meta #Lyanna stark meta #canonarya

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rosiethedragongeek · 1 year

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Rating the gang's dragon's mates (as shown by the Rise of Berk game I'm p sure) bc someone has to (also I'm sorry if the images look a lil weird I'm dragging them in bc it's just easier rn and idk what that'll do to them lol)

Okay up first, Stormfly's mate

6/10

He's hardly the worst out of all of them, but I'm just not that big a fan of him being so green idk. I like the green and pink together, but I'm honestly not that sure how his colors look w Stormfly's just aesthetically

Hookfang's mate

7.5/10 maybe? POTENTIALLY an 8 idk

I bounce between liking and hating the colors, but either way they look nice together. She's making a kinda derpy face but that's a postitive honestly. (Also I doubt this is true bc I'm p sure they have one Monstrous Nightmare model/drawing (depending on whether you're seeing a drawing or a model lol) that they use in game, but the fins on her back look spikier than Hooky's to me and her horns look smaller?)

Barf and Belch's mate(s?)

(WHY IS THE PIC SO SMALL???)

5/10

I kinda like their colors, or,, I would if it weren't for the greyish silver that's just kinda everywhere. Idk I kinda associate zipplebacks w brighter colors and I just don't like the shade lol. Also the 'spikes' on their heads just don't work for me (not a huge fan of the spikes on their necks and back being so spaced out and also silver just meh). The little scales on their wings fading from red to orange to yellow is a nice touch though I like that a lot.

Also I just discovered that Barf and Belch are a boy through their mate's fandom wiki?? I was curious bc I've never been sure, so I checked to see what was up w these one's and they're female, so I was like ohhh Barf and Belch must be male, and I went over to their wiki and yeah they are. I just feel like there were easier ways for me to figure that out lol.

Meatlug's mate

3/10

I hate him I hate him I hate him I HATE HIM. I hate that he's like, a greyish green and bright yellow. (I love Meatlug's color pallete, I love how soft and warm it is, this is NOT that) His ear things seem longer too, which I HATE. Also the bumps on his face and tail (which are few and far between for me) just being ORANGE is kinda gross. (I'm not gonna comment too mucch on the texture and stuff of them bc the game isn't THAT detailed and that's FINE, but in the picture they look like,,, pussy???) (Meatlug's, at least in the shows, are more textured and not straight up purrple and shiny idk)

Toothless' mate

Like 4/10?

I like her tail fin being a different shape, but her ear thingies are too round and short, and I feel like all of her proportions are to softened you know?. Also she looks like she's wearing eye shadow which,,,, :/ (could just be the shadows but idk that's what it looks like) (also, her feet and the way she's sitting she just looks like they're trying to make her very feminine, which is okay, but like paired w the proportions and stuff idk it just feels wrong to me

(I'm joking around and wtv but honestly I like her so much more in the Rise of Berk art style, she's just a little more angular, and it cuts the sparkles and stuff, and she just feels a LITTLE more like what she should've been.)

#stormfly's mate #hookfang's mate #barf and belch's mate #meatlug's mate #toothless' mate #how to train your dragon #rise of berk #httyd #rosie's httyd brainrot

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trauma-express · 25 days

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I feel Simon doesn’t have toxic masculinity, but he has toxic vibes in his extreme black and white thinking.🧐

Well on one hand I agree that his problem is more black and white, 'us vs them' mentality rather than any issues specifically w seeing womanliness/femininity being weak or anything. But I do think he does have aspects associated with toxic masculinity, though it's more a angry internet nerd guy way than in some alpha male dudebro way.

For one, we can see from his writings and models that he's very interested in war and soldiers and 'Rise of the True King' can be seen using the 'guy getting power and he respect that naturally belongs to him' (listen, we can't all do it like Tolkien). Apart from these showing Simon's need for a world he can understand and be in control of, they could also be seen as typical male power fantasies.

He also prefers to present himself as being logical, and people against him as being unreasonable or weak when he's just as driven by his emotion, which is a pretty typical trait of this type of guy.

I really don't think the subtext of his arc being an angry cishet white guy who refuses to change his damaging and bigoted beliefs, mainly conflicts with women, and ends up attacking his semi-official romantic partner, a black girl, over it was unintentional. His relationships with Grace and Samantha are fascinating to explore because they are complicated, but while I understand they had a lot to fit in 10 11 min episodes I would love to have met his mother. That is a missing puzzle piece i would love to fit in to place, but we just have to theorize (And I have).

(also I have been writing up another meta abt Grace and Simon's relationship, specifically in regards to [though I hate how pop-pysch the term is but i can't think of anything more to describe it] emotional labor if anyone is interested)

#anon #infinity train #like i said studying him like a poisonous bug he truly is fasicnating to me #but its 2024 so if people dont know or like my stance on Simon by now idk what youre doing here #(not directed at you anon just in general)#anti simon laurent #to be safe... and for tagging consistency tbh

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reunionatdawn · 7 months

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My Analysis of the Best Paired Endings in 3H (Part 17: Annette/Gilbert)

Gilbert: I remembered how happy you would be, as a child, when I handed one of these dolls to you. Annette: I was back then, but I'm not a child anymore. It's too late for this now, Father. It doesn't make me happy anymore. Gilbert: Annette… Annette: I… I was so lonely after you left. I was always, always alone. I didn't know where you were, or who to turn to for comfort. All I could do was look at the dolls you carved for me, and remember you…and weep! Gilbert: If you don't need it, you can throw it away. It is all the same in the end.

Annette was also a victim of Faerghus's patriarchal culture. The tagline for the game was, "Sweet memories twisted by time's cruel hand". Her fondest memories were related to her father. But Gilbert was so devoted to the king that when he failed his duty as a knight, he felt too ashamed to live a happy life and abandoned his wife and daughter. He didn't even think he had the right to smile.

Ashe: Your father gave it to you. I know you said you'd throw it away, but you can't just toss out something so important. Annette: Ashe… Thank you! I'm so happy!

Annette shared her paralogue with her father and many of her Supports ended up being about him in some way or another.

Annette: Then the least you can do is apologize. I'm fine, but Mother deserves as much. I've finished my studies at the school of sorcery and entered the Officers Academy. I have a busy and satisfying life now. But Mother… She's waited for you to return all this time, living under my uncle's roof.

The Crest of Dominic is associated with the Empress arcana. It represents the divine feminine principle, which includes qualities such as abundance, nurturance, motherhood, and love for home and family. And Annette's story arc revolved around her broken family.

Dimitri: Annette… Something's been weighing on me. Something I've done terribly wrong. Your father… He worked tirelessly. I don't know if I ever saw him take a rest. I feel as though, in a way, we stole him from you.

I probably can't talk about pairings without addressing Netteflix, the #1 most popular ship for Annette. The two of them actually had a lot in common. Both of their fathers were so devoted to the dead king that they failed their living children. There was a lot of potential for them to connect on a deeper level because of that. But the whole Support chain revolved around singing. Which actually ended up working out pretty well.

Felix: I want you to sing for me. Your song never leaves me, whether I'm asleep or on the battlefield… I might be a captive of your song. Annette: Captive… Wh-what are you saying?! That's… um, embarrassing! Felix: …I-it can't be helped. I don't even know what I'm saying! Annette: W-wait a minute… Why are you blushing, Felix? Felix: …Mind your own business. Annette: …………….. Felix: …………….. Annette: …I don't really get it, but if you're saying that much, then you can listen to my song again.

I found their A+ Support absolutely hilarious. It seemed like Felix, who was raised in a strict military family, had so few opportunities to experience people expressing themselves, that he became utterly fascinated by singing. It was something foreign and exotic to him. He only showed interest in Dorothea when he learned she could fight, but even MORE when he learned she could sing.

Felix: Alright, then. Sing something for me. Any song you remember. Annette: Leave it to me! Then, I'll sing you my favorite song! Um, um. Burning with fiery life, carrying the blood of flames... Let's get into the bath with our bodies still hot...♪ If we start to feel dizzy, let's take a break...♪ Once we've revived, let's try getting in again...♪ ……………… Felix: ……………… To get in a bath when your body is hot… That's some determination. I should learn from that. Annette: ……………… Felix: However… to rest after getting dizzy and then enter again… You really like baths that much? Annette: ………

In their Hopes Support, the lyrics for Annette's song were slightly more suggestive than they were in the localization, since it alludes to people getting in the bath together. Annette was blushing when she finished singing. I think she assumed Felix asking her to sing was a way of him showing romantic interest and she was attempting to flirt with him by choosing lyrics that were a bit risqué. But Felix just did NOT pick up on it at all. It went straight over his head.

Felix & Annette After the war, Felix inherited the title of Duke Fraldarius from his late father, Rodrigue. Some time later, he married Annette, and the pair earned renown together by working hard at restoring their territory to and beyond its former glory. The people adored the pair: Felix for his fierce determination, and Annette for her boundless cheer. Years later, Annette threw herself into songwriting, and with the support and encouragement of her husband, she produced melodies that remained popular for generations. The lyrics became distorted over time, however, and the original meaning of the music was lost.

They're an inoffensive ship with a pleasant paired ending in AM, although I don't exactly ship them. I thought it was great that she was able to help him find a passion for something unrelated to military or warfare. I always thought that his "passion" for swordsmanship was drilled into him from birth rather than genuine. Still, I think the joke was that he fell in love with singing, not Annette herself. I thought they had deeper relationships with other characters.

Annette: Mercie, we'll stay friends like this forever… Won't we? Mercedes: Is something wrong? You sound worried. Annette: Since our time in the capital, so much has happened. We've had to make new lives for ourselves, and we've seen at least as many hard times as good. If things keep changing like this, I wonder if we'll be able to stay the same people we are now…

Other than her father, Mercedes was the most important person to Annette. In their A-Support they both confessed their love for each other. And while it did seem like the bisexual Mercedes may have loved her beyond friendship (especially in the Japanese), Annette seemed insistent on emphasizing her platonic love.

Annette & Mercedes After the war, Annette and Mercedes lived separate lives: the former as a teacher at the school of sorcery in Fhirdiad, the latter as a cleric at Garreg Mach. Though they lived apart, they exchanged letters so frequently and shared their lives with one another in such detail that it was as though they were side by side. After many decades, they resigned their respective positions and reunited at Garreg Mach. In their final years, they relocated to a modest house in the Fortress City. It is said that they were happy together to the very end.

They will not be life partners even if you go for their paired ending. It's slightly a bittersweet ending, showing how, as friends get older and pursue their own dreams, things don't always stay the same between them. While they do eventually reunite during retirement, I don't consider it to be the most satisfying ending for either of them.

Annette: You know, you might already know, but my uncle is really strict. He always said, "Do everything perfectly on your own, whether it's cooking, studying, cleaning, or laundry." …Otherwise, being a knight's daughter would just mean being bought by a noble for their Crest.

By the end of the game, I did not ship Annette with anyone, nor do I think any of her romantic paired endings offered a truly satisfying conclusion to her storyline. Even at the Goddess Tower, she just wished to stay friends forever with Byleth. Romance and marriage had little to do with her character arc and she expressed more interest in her friends and family compared to her love life.

Annette: My father was so happy to see me using magic… Seeing him happy made me happy too, and that made me want to work even harder. If only things could have stayed like that… Byleth: What do you mean? Annette: When I was about 13, my father left home. He was a devout man, so I figured he'd gone to the monastery. That's why I went to the school of sorcery, so that I could eventually get accepted at the Officers Academy. I studied harder than ever, and sure enough, I finally earned a referral.

Annette joined the Officer's Academy to reunite with her father.

Annette: After the battle at Gronder, some people claim they saw my father. They said he walked off the battlefield clutching… His Highness's dead body… So long as Father's alive, I don't need anything else. I just… I hope to see him again one day…

And her motivation for joining VW is simply to find him. Repairing her relationship with him was absolutely vital to her happiness.

Dimitri: Say, Annette… When this war is over, where will you go? I heard that you were close to Baron Dominic back in the academy days. Annette: That's right… But five years ago, my uncle betrayed the Kingdom and went over to the Empire's side. I reconnected with Father. So I'd like to live with my family again, in the capital. Also, if I'm in the capital, I'll be able to see you from time to time… Right?

In many of Annette's paired endings, she moves away to live with her husband (Claude, Linhardt, Felix, and Ashe). But she wanted to stay in Fhirdiad to live with her family, and so she could stay in touch with her friends such as Dimitri. I was rooting for her to reconcile with her father more than getting a husband. Gustave was clearly the "life partner" she wanted most.

Gilbert: Still, I wonder what path my life should follow once we achieve our goals. Byleth: Aren't you going back to your family? Gilbert: That has been my intent. But surely my daughter, Annette, must have her own path to follow. Perhaps she would be happier if our paths diverged. Of course, if she desires it, I will gladly return.

And that's obviously what he wanted, too. Gilbert prioritized his duty to his dead king over his relationship with his living wife and daughter. Similar to Dimitri, his character arc was about forgiving himself and realizing that he should live for himself and not the dead.

Dimitri & Gilbert Dimitri assumed the throne of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus and spent his life ruling justly over Fódlan. At his side was the knight, Gustave, who had discarded the name of Gilbert and reaffirmed his oath of fealty to the royal family. After many more years of service, in which the trust between them grew and never wavered, Gustave finally wished to retire. Though he bristled slightly at Dimitri's request to look after and tutor the young prince, it is said that Gustave took on that duty with due patience and solemnity for the remainder of his life.

Gilbert only has a few paired endings. His ending with Dimitri depicts him becoming a father figure to Dimitri's son, which is the same as his solo ending. And it sounds like he was still bound by duty and guilt, unable to have his own life or even retire.

Annette: I'm not going to cower in safety while they struggle, especially when I'm in the best position to help. Gustave: If you sense any danger at all, child, promise me that you'll run. I couldn't bear to lose you.

For better or worse, Annette was the most important person to Gustave in both Houses and Hopes. His guilt and shame led him to make bad choices. But in Hopes, when it came down to life or death, he was a father first and a knight second. He will let his daughter flee, so that he could die in her place.

Gilbert: Your Highness, may I ask what your next plan of attack is? Should we dispatch our troops to the Kingdom capital or to the Imperial capital? Dimitri: We will take the Imperial capital. There, I will kill her. We end the war and chase away the lingering regrets of the dead. Nothing could be more to the point. Annette: Uh, that may be true, but don't forget that your people need our help right now…

Annette's relationship with her father was interesting due to how inextricably linked it was to Faeghus's toxic culture of chivalry and the overarching themes of AM's story.

Edelgard: But one cannot measure a leader's worth based solely on whether or not they bear a Crest. There are plenty of talented people in this world without one. People believe Crests are blessings from the goddess, that they're necessary to maintain order in Fódlan. But the people are wrong. Crests are to blame for this brutal, irrational world we live in. Their power is granted only to a select few, whom we elevate and allow to rule the world.

One such theme was "blind obedience". Because Dimitri bore a certain Crest and had the "divine right to rule", his attendants were not willing to step in and call out his poor leadership. Without Byleth acting as an authority figure to override Dimitri, everyone in the Kingdom army will be sent to their deaths.

Gilbert: Annette, throw down your arms! Would you really fight your father? Annette: I can't do it, Father. I can't betray Mother and my uncle! If I have to defeat you, then so be it!

There is unused dialogue that was apparently meant to be an alternate scenario based on whether Annette was defeated in Part 1 and was unrecruited in Part 2. Annette sides with the Empire because she has given up on her father and wants to stay loyal to her mother and uncle. And Gilbert is so loyal to the king that he's even willing to kill his own daughter. It was clearly the "bad" ending.

Annette: We thought maybe you hated us, were trying to forget all about us… Gilbert: Never. I swear it on his late majesty, and on my homeland. Annette: I see. All right…then swear. Swear that some day, when this war is over, you'll come back to us. Gilbert: I hear you, Annette. I will return without fail. Annette: No matter what. That's a promise you just made. If you break it, I'll never speak to you again. Gilbert: Yes. I promise.

And it was meant to juxtapose the "good" ending.

Gilbert & Annette Having discarded his false name, Gilbert, now the royal knight Gustave, renewed his loyalty to King Dimitri. Returning to the capital city of Fhirdiad, Gustave reunited with his wife, who had been staying with Baron Dominic, and his beloved daughter Annette, who began working as a teacher at the capital's school of sorcery. Initially, conversations within the family were somewhat awkward, but over time, smiles and warmth returned. In the Kingdom free from the shadows of war, the three of them enjoyed peaceful and happy days, reclaiming the life they once had.

A fulfilling occupation was vital to Annette's happiness. Her strict uncle wanted her to be perfect at everything, so she wouldn't be sold off for her Crest. She worked so hard because she wanted to support herself. Her dream was to become a teacher. When she was younger, she wanted to be a teacher at the school of sorcery, and she achieves that in the ending with her father.

This is the only ending where Gustave completes his character arc and learns to live for himself. Deep down he was not a bad person, and it was rewarding to see him get his priorities straight. He could still serve the royal family, but his focus should be on his own family. He is a father first and a knight second.

#fe3h #fe3h meta #fe3h gilbert #gustave eddie dominic #annette fantine dominic

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