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365daysoftododeku · 5 years

Text

2nd August 2019

Author: Kenyoda

Admin’s Note: Another oneshot of @ebonyphd‘s Internet Friends AU! You can read the rest of the series over here!

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Unexpected Friends

Shouto had known that this was a bad idea from the moment Natsuo had suggested it. But he was too shy to actually ask Midoriya out on his own, so he leaped at the rather neat solution that his brother had offered at the time. His current partner - a guy this time - had been dying to meet Shouto. Natsuo claimed that Tenko was also a high nerd and that he and Shouto would get along like a house on fire.

Shouto was unconvinced.

The last partner his brother had was a snobby ableist that had also been “dying” to meet Shouto. They had spent the whole date “lamenting” over Shouto’s “misfortune.” They had no idea he could read lips. He had spent the whole time fuming: he was deaf, not dying. They were also super rude to Natsuo. He was quite glad when Natsuo dumped them.

Natsuo had suggested that Shouto and Izuku tag along on his date with his boyfriend to see a movie. That way, if things went well, Shouto could ask him on a real date. Shouto had reluctantly agreed, pretty much because he had no idea what to do otherwise. So here he was now, waiting for Izuku and this ‘Tenko’ to show up. When Tenko made an appearance with a blonde girl that looked like she walked out of a vampire manga, all of Shouto’s alarm bells rang at once.

He, presumably, was dressed in black from literally head to toe. If he did not know any better, Shouto would swear the open jacket they were wearing was from Empire Souls, specifically from Company XIII, one of the main antagonists of the game. Under that there was a black t-shirt with red lettering that said,

The Number of FXXXs I give today:

houto internally snorted at that. This was Natsuo’s boyfriend, huh? This was completely different than his usual dates. They were usually somewhat intelligent, sociable, but ultimately shallow. This guy screamed anti-social. As the two approached, Natsuo grinned. The hood of the jacket was thrown back, revealing white hair and red eyes. A devious smirk was etched into his face, but his eyes softened when they landed on his brother.

“Hey Nats!” greeted the blonde as they came to stand before them. Tenko just gave a halfhearted wave and mumbled something. Natsuo did not seem to be offended - in fact he smiled wider.

“Hey Tenko! Glad to see you made it! How did the competition go?” Natsuo asked as he stepped forward and hugged the shorter man. Shouto blinked in surprise when he hugged him back.

“Good,” was the only thing Shouto could make out from the angle. Suddenly, there was a tap on his shoulder. He turned to find a bright Izuku bouncing next to him. Shouto couldn’t help the grin that stretched across his face. He hugged his friend tightly, Izuku doing the same. It had been nearly 2 years since the two had become friends. They were both in high school, Shouto attending a school for the deaf and blind and Izuku one closer to his home. But they met often at each other’s homes, and they spoke all the time on Unplug. Izuku beamed at him again. Shouto’s heart jolted in response. He had also been pathetically crushing on him for the last year.

Shouto had tried on numerous occasions to tell his friend, but he always lost his nerve at the last minute. What could he offer Izuku? He couldn’t hear him - sure, Izuku never minded that he had to sign when they were together, but he could not expect him to want to do that forever, right? Izuku was clearly popular among his peers, and becoming more popular since his friends encouraged him to start the HeroTube channel to supplement his forum ramblings. He had seen personally that his friend was pleasant and attractive, especially after he bulked up to do a Valor cosplay. Izuku discovered that he loved working out and that Uraraka did too, so they continued. Sometimes Shouto would join them on runs.

Shouto had little to offer in return, so the thought of admitting his crush was a little daunting. Both his siblings had been insisting that he at least attempt to talk to Izuku about it but Shouto refused. He didn’t want to lose the easy friendship he had with the other boy. Izuku was currently rambling to him about some post he found regarding a potential TV serialization for Altered Reality Academia. Izuku’s facial expression turned curious and then he told Shouto that his brother was trying to get his attention.

Shouto turned to see Natsuo and Tenko standing in front of them, Tenko looking a bit curious. Natsuo formally introduced everyone. The vampire girl’s name was Toga Himiko. Then he was introduced to Shimura Tenko. He and his brother apparently met at the hospital where Natsuo was currently doing a hands on internship. Shouto, through Izuku’s helpful translations, asked the teen whether he had ended up there due to the vampire girl and Tenko laughed heartily. Natsuo scowled.

“No. I did not. I am apparently more of a vampire than she claims to be… I am actually allergic to the sun,” he said, surprisingly in sign language. When Shouto must have given him a surprised look, he explained that his sister was Hard of Hearing. Shouto found that it felt a little less weird now. That is, until Toga said that he looked good enough to eat; then he was momentarily afraid for his life. A sneak glance at his friend’s pale face said that Izuku felt the same. Tenko rolled his eyes and assured them that she had already “fed” and that they were safe.

Shouto was still dubious.

“So what are we seeing again?” Natsuo asked his boyfriend, signing for Shouto.

“Sako-chan is debuting his movie at this festival, neh neh— Ten-chan?” Toga said, her lips and curls moving rapidly. Natsuo stumbled translating a bit but Shouto got the idea. Ah, another friend is debuting a movie, huh? Interesting. Apparently, it was part of an independent film festival. It was called DartMan: The Dark Midlife Crisis. It was supposed to be a parody of edgy superhero films.

As the group made their way towards the building, he and Izuku caught up on their week. Shouto told Izuku about his thoughts on becoming a social worker or a lawyer. His friend thought that was an amazing idea and had no doubt that he could pull it off. When Izuku said that, Shouto couldn’t help the flush that washed over his face. He wanted to tell Izuku how much his support meant to him, but he couldn’t begin to form the words. His hands were shaking too bad. So he settled for a probably broken but vocal ‘thank you.’ Izuku beamed back. He then surprised Shouto by saying he was still thinking about what he wanted to do. This was unusual as Izuku had talked about being a comic artist for the longest time.

Izuku had always talked about his want to be the next Yagi Toshinori. His writing was excellent and his art was amazing. Shouto was sure he was a shoo-in for the art school he wanted to go to. It was part of a larger university. What had changed? He had entertained the notion of them going to that very same university together. He had thought that maybe mentioning it would not be a bad way to approach the crush problem. Start simple. After all, most people would probably run the other direction if someone suddenly blurted out that they would ‘dream of kissing them and never leaving their side ever again’ out of nowhere. But Izuku’s change in direction had thrown him.

“Why did you change?” he asked as they stood in line. Izuku looked thoughtful for a moment.

“Well, partially because of my mom and partially because I tried commissions for a while. Sure, it was nice getting the money and I did not mind drawing for people, but suddenly what I loved doing became a chore. I— I don’t want to lose what I love doing for money. So, I have been thinking lately that I should do my art for myself on my own time and find something else to do…” Izuku said, his face clearly saying he was not sure about it. “I still want to go to UA, though. They have good connections,” said the boy with a shrug.

“That doesn’t sound like you, though,” Shouto pointed out immediately. Izuku cringed. Shouto pounced on that, nerves be damned. His friend needed help and Shouto was going to give it. “What is really bothering you? Someone leave nasty messages about your work again?” Shouto asked. Izuku resolutely shook his head, even as he moved forward in line. “Then what is it?”

“My mom was talking with one of the neighbors and they said some things about how I was wasting my potential and that I was such a ‘smart boy’ and that mom was a bad parent for letting me waste my time,” he finally admitted, shoulders slumping. Shouto inwardly seethed. How dare they make Izuku feel bad about what makes him happy?!

“That’s bullshit! You are smart! That is what makes you so good at what you do! You would not be half the analyst you are if you weren’t! Sure, being a comic maker is not the first thing that people would think of for you, but that doesn't mean it's not what you are destined to do. Tell them to go pack sand,” Shouto argued. Izuku laughed, out of shock more than likely.

“Thanks Shouto, I just… I worry that I am not cut out for it… if I am not living up to my potential,” he said, forlorn. Shouto took the distraction to buy their tickets for the movie before Izuku could even protest. He then beckoned his friend to come along. Izuku pouted, saying it was not fair. Shouto just grinned.

“Don’t worry about it, you can pay next time,” he said with a grin, before turning scarlet. Way to be a pretentious ass! he berated himself. He was no better when he caught Izuku sporting a similar shade on his cheeks. Shouto decided to find another distraction. His eyes landed on his brother and Tenko walking together.

It was strange.

He had never seen Natsuo so relaxed around a date before. Most of the time, he was overdressed and drawn as tense as a bow string. Now though he was in a simple polo and a pair of jeans. He was walking with his arm around Tenko’s shoulder as they talked. They quietly laughed at some inside joke as Toga flitted around them all bouncing curls and energy.

He wondered if he and Izuku could ever be close like they were, so secure in their relationship. His eyes cut to Izuku and the boy seemed lost in his own head. But that was Izuku, forever dreaming. A soft smile pulled at his lips. Izuku’s eyes suddenly bugged and he turned red. Shouto was confused at first until he felt Izuku squeeze his hand. Then he felt his face heat.

When had he taken Izuku’s hand?!

But his friend only smiled bashfully as he stared at the floor. He did not let go of his hand. Shouto’s heart kicked in his chest. It was a lovely feeling. Maybe he had a chance after all? Shouto held his hand a little tighter. They settled into line for snacks and Shouto felt eyes on him. He looked up to see Tenko eyeing him as his brother talked with Toga about something. The ethereal looking teen gave him a kind, teasing smile.

‘Nice job,’ he mouthed before eyeing their joined hands then looking at him again. Shouto blushed again, but felt grateful all the same. Tenko had definitely been a nice surprise. The boy was strange and had equally strange friends but so far he had been nice. Far nicer than most people he had met since he had finally started escaping the house. Shouto smiled back and mouthed,

‘Nice jacket. Empire Souls?’

Tenko nodded before mouthing, ‘made it myself.’

Shouto gaped. Okay… maybe Natsuo was right. He was going to have to speak to his boyfriend more… maybe if he plucked up the courage… he could go on a real double date with them in future. That could be fun. He felt a tap on his shoulder.

‘What are you smiling about?’ Izuku mouthed.

‘The jacket is Empire Souls inspired. He made it,’ he mouthed. Izuku’s eyes lit up. He immediately started drilling Tenko for details. Shouto laughed, but he was keenly aware that despite his enthusiasm, Izuku still hadn’t let go of his hand.

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Would you like your work to be featured in the 365 Days of TodoDeku Project? Apply here! (≧∇≦)/

#Story #ebonyphd #TodoDeku #365DaysofTodoDeku #TodoDeku365 #365 Days of TodoDeku #tddk #Shouto Todoroki #Todoroki Shouto #Izuku Midoriya #Midoriya Izuku #Boku no Hero Academia #BNHA #My Hero Academia #MHA #Todoroki x Midoriya #Shouto x Izuku #TodoIzu #long post

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goldenoutlander · 7 years

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A long rambling post to us from ObsessiveSassenach. I copied and pasted her letter to us....

What the ever loving fuck is wrong with you people You people You Antis, NST, Truthers, Haters, wtfer name you want to be called or are called. You people. You know I’m talking to you @noshippingallowed @contemplatingoutlander @goldenoutlander @adhara112 @aliceinoutlanerland (oops you forgot the d in outlander. get a d.) @whylimewhyanything (put the lime in the coconut) @whoreallyknowswho (it’s whom! whom! unless you just forgot to finish your sentence) @prodigiousreblogger @bestof60 (are you 60?) @vividdreamer318 (your imagination is certainly leading you astray) @breezylouisey (is that you weezy?) @momofmusa (i thought you were mom of USA lol) @alittlebitmasss (oops your s key got stuck) Anyway, there are more of you and I’m sorry I didn’t give you a moment of thrill by acknowledging you by name but I mentioned the Tumblr accounts that I’ve seen making horrendously wild, hateful, fictional, hurtful accusations against other Outlander fans with no speck of proof - accusations meant to inspire others to emulate you and spread hate to those people as well. Let me get this straight. From what I can tell, you are super hopping mad about the content of certain Twitter and Instagram accounts. Fine. Totally fine. You are entitled to your opinions. I can see why those accounts might make some people mad. I mean, irrelevant to my life but maybe not yours. You are mad that certain Twitter and Instagram accounts have been created for the sole purpose of throwing shade and mocking a certain celebrity you hold in high esteem. I get that. Fine. Be outraged! Express yourselves!! Speaking of fine I know you will go through this post with a fine toothed comb for anything you can argue with and attack me over because god forbid you actually read the message, digest the information, thoughtfully consider the content and then share your thoughts and opinions and maybe answer some of my questions. Nope that’s not your style. Attack attack attack half-cocked and don’t put any thought or concern for reality into it. Yes you are the borg of Antis as the foil to the Shippers. I didn’t create that world, you did. You wanted to be the anti-shippers. You are gathered on Tumblr together to be this Anti-Shipper fighting army. Go forth and fight uhh I guess? WHY???? See, shippers are motivated by love. That’s really obvious. There are all types of shippers just as there are all types of people (and even all types of antis), but what brings them together is not just their love of Outlander (and you guys love Outlander too! Whee we have something in common) but their love of the LOVE parts of Outlander and all the LOVE associated with Outlander in promos, BTS, interviews, Q&As, social media banter between the cast and crew, etc. LOVE is LOVE is LOVE is LOVE is LOVE is LOVE is LOVE is LOVE. So you generally don’t see shippers on social media attacking people with hatred and lies and accusations of criminal activity. Wait wait wait. Correction! YOU see shippers doing those things but no one else does. You mostly see shippers doing those things with accounts that aren’t even recognized shipper names. They are basically troll accounts that you have deduced are shipper accounts. You do have these long convoluted narratives of what certain shippers are alleged to have done and you bandy them about so frequently that your telephone game grows legs and walks it’s own marathon and becomes some weird beast-mode attack shipper who does horrible things. You say you SAW these things but you haven’t. Show me a tweet, a facebook post, an instagram post from an Outlander fan who identifies herself as a shipper and has a known persona in the fandom and is attacking, hating, committing these horrendous crimes you claim. What I mean is, SHOW ME THE MONEY! SHOW ME PROOF to back up your narrative. You have specifically named a number of Outlander fans and made outrageous claims as to their character, behavior, beliefs, actions, off-line actions and more. YOU HAVE NO PROOF BECAUSE THESE STORIES ARE FICTION. I’ll give you an example of how your lies have grown wings, run a marathon and turned into beast-mode: So a certain blue check account posts that a certain object of your hatred and hate-mongering did something so illegal that she would have been arrested and would still be in jail. You all headnod, mouth breath, feel righteous for having attacked her because you were soooo right, bang away at your keyboards and continue the lies and hatred and stoke the fires for uhhh fun? Yet you all know that she isn’t in jail and couldn’t have done this highly illegal thing because you watch her every move and you saw her posting pics of herself just last weekend participating in a fitness event. Hmmmm. Are you collectively dumbing each other down with your groupthink or all you all that stupid? YOU KNOW IT’S A LIE. But you’ve all convinced each other it’s ok to lie about it, malign, spread hatred and misinformation about certain fans and tarnish their reputation in the fandom because… because? because why??? Help me out here. So it’s because someone has said rude bad things to an actress you believe is Sam Heughan’s girlfriend even though he has never once said so. You BELIEVE it so it’s your reality. And the fans that you malign? You do that because they believe something else. But the weirdest thing is that you do malign them by tossing out totally unfounded and false accusations about their behavior and ascribe all kinds of unsavory activities, motives, and behaviors to these fans you have chosen to malign. You do the thing to them that you so claim to hate they are doing to the objects of your admiration. I’m still working on this and I still need your help. So because you BELIEVE that two actors are dating and BELIEVE that it’s wrong that internet trolls make claims that they are not and some internet trolls say really rude things and tag them, you feel fully justified in making claims that the trolls are not just trolls but actual recognizable Outlander fans. Are you like shippers of trollworld or something? I’ll just come right out and say it. Kim Hickey is not behind any of those trolls accounts you claim she is. I know this and you know this. You know which accounts are legitimately hers because she identifies herself. You are even attacking her My Peak Challenge account that she posts inspirational memes and encourages people to donate to Bloodwise. Are you for fucking real? You’re attacking a charity endeavor in your blind hatred of…. hatred of who fucking knows. Even if you didn’t know she wasn’t behind the troll accounts, you absolutely have no basis for claiming she is. You are making shit up and publicly proclaiming it as truth just like that thing that Shippers do that you claim to hate. Also, let’s talk about me: I am a public person online. I don’t hide behind cutesy names. You can look me up and it won’t even be doxing me because it’s all right there, isn’t it? I have no sock accounts. I put my name on all my accounts because I own what I say and share. This tumblr account was created in the middle of last summer as a parody of Starz Obsessable campaign therefore it did not need my name on it. I never had a Tumblr account before that and I have never even sent anons on Tumblr. I never pretended I was anyone else or made any attempt to be anyone else. I posted freely about myself and my life when it was topical, including photos of myself. If you were like BINGO I’m such a supersleuth I figured out who is behind that blog!! you’re not smart or observant. It was obvious. The thing is, though, shippers didn’t know who I was. Not because they didn’t know who was behind “Obsessive Sassenach” but because they didn’t know who Nipuna was. Isn’t that funny? One of the Outlander fans on the top of your BAD SHIPPER LIST WHO MUST BE EXTERMINATED list isn’t even known by other shippers. What makes me a shipper? Just that I have heart eyes for Sam and Cait and think they have chemistry and oh wait, whoah, ZOMG, Arthur Kade thinks that too. Josh Horowitz does too! and ummmm ummmm that one lady at TCA that one year and that one book author who was on the NYT best seller list and you know I could go on. It’s not a crime to be fully happy to enjoy Sam and Caitriona’s chemistry. And if that makes me a shipper, yay. But the only reason I’m actually a known component of the shipper community now is because you guys have dragged my name around and created ridiculous lies about me. It’s like I’m some sort of Shipper Legend (to you, not shippers) who does these super crazy Shipper things in AntiLand. Remember the grave story that was created by one of you weirdos because a family friend of mine who is a caretaker for a military graveyard in the USA was friends with Sam’s father? You guys turned it into: That Crazy Shipper Nipuna stalks Sam’s father’s grave in hopes of running into him and Caitriona making a baby on his dad’s grave in Scotland. Or something like that. Anyway, tour bus guides in Scotland think there are crazy Outlander fans who stalk Sam at his father’s grave but if they stop to think they realize they don’t even know if he has a grave or if it’s even in Scotland. You’re maligning the whole fucking fandom you freaks! You’re creating these outrageous, convoluted piece of fiction because you are all worked up about uhh something and then you tag other nasty people and get them to repeat the stories and then the stories get embellished and repeated and you sit back and watch the telephone game continue. But don’t you realize that you’re fucking the whole thing up for yourselves too? I mean, I guess not if you like chaos and mayhem. But most of you profess to care about people being nice and kind and cry out that bullying is bad and wrong. But then you do just that when you pick an Outlander fan and create detailed and convoluted lies about her behavior. The people you lie about know they are lies, sure. And lots of other people know they are lies and ignore you, but you repeat the lies over and over and you know that saying about how if you repeat a lie often enough people will start to believe you. So you repeat and repeat and then sit back and with self satisfied smiles. Or maybe it’s just that your mouth is open because you’re breathing through it. Whatever. I don’t know your motives. I don’t know what attracts you to fan the way you do. I don’t know what fulfills you. I know it’s not LOVE. But do you even know? Are you just running around half-cocked and brainless and letting yourselves be lied to? What gives? Can you help me understand why you are constantly naming and targeting certain people and pointing others to attack them and if that doesn’t work creating stories that will hopefully motivate them to attack? WHY???2 notes Mar 27th, 2017 ng post from ObsessiveSassenach to us all.

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the1rei · 4 years

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Little Moments: Reboot Chapter Twelve: Fumbling in the Dark By Ericobard and shadows59 Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Fandom: Ben 10 Series Relationship: Ben Tennyson/Gwen Tennyson Some Additional Tags: Bullying, No proofreading, Family is Drama, Long burn

Old wounds don't heal as much as we think sometimes, but with trust, you can get through anything. Their second summer begins with a bang as the Tennysons' plunge into danger, proving they are still heroes.

Read my review below:

Wearing plumber suits was never something Max insisted they did in the series, even he didn't often wear his own, even when entering unknown situations, so why is he insisting they do so now? Not to mention the suit would cover the Omnitrix making it difficult to use.

What is the point of changing the bolder into a stump? Why would the Plumbers have the symbol used by the necromancer or whatever from the first chapter carved very conspicuously on the underside of it? It's also convenient that Gwen noticed it for a moment and then got so distracted by it that she completely forgot about it after that.

I find the subtle reference to the claustrophobia Gwen developed, due to nearly being killed, in the original to be a far better representation of Gwen's character then her having a panic attack.

"(He) glared at her with an eye that was only a shade greener than the rest of this body." Wildvine's eye was blue in the original series, the only series that counts, and the one Shadows59 didn't seem to bother reviewing before writing this story. Gwen also expressed a little anxiety at Wildvine's appearance in the original, but because he was Ben, she handled it.

"She remembered the first time she used that spell and how it barely blew away a mist. She'd gotten better." This story has explicitly shown that your magic is strong because of the chapter nine power up rather than your skill with it improving.

This chapter in the original captured the fun, high energy action of the series perfectly. In the reboot, however, like in the first chapter, the action lacks that fun excitement and is dragged down by unneeded drama.

Why is Shadows59 bothering to humanize the bug creature for it just to go wild and get squashed? It comes across as pointless virtue signaling of Gwen by making her seem like an overly moral person for trying to talk to something that is trying to kill her.

Why does Gwen have this weird obsession with thinking that if she cries, Ben will think less of her?

They have this big dramatic moment about Gwen being afraid of Wildvine and the tight, enclosed tunnel because of her near-death experience, but they resolve it and bond as partners. I liked this scene much better in the original when it was done more subtly in the first chapter of the story. To repeat from the chapter one review: "Gwen is having a nightmare in which Gluto doesn't reform to save her. Gwen wakes up to Ben, holding her and telling her it will be all right. She cries in his arms all night, and from his silence, it is obvious that he too will never fully overcome what happened to her." But they've faced that pain together so Ben knows Gwen can handle the dark tunnel and him turning into Wildvine, because he has shown her he'll always be there for her. How is the long drawn out drama in this chapter an improvement to the simple love and dedication expressed in just a few lines of the original?

I like how Ben listens to heavy metal and Gwen to classical. I'm a pop/rock fan myself, but even I know that if you're interested in music that takes great skill to make, you will listen to metal or classical. The music choice does a good job showing that they are complementary opposites. (The kind of opposites that really do attract ;)

Max really starts acting out of character in this chapter, more like he did in the 'Ultimate Weapon', but less severe. Dissecting these changes and why would take too much time and guess work as the nature and history of the Plumbers fluctuates even in the original series, the situation with the mudpuppies, for instance. In the original, due to the summer Ben found the Omnitrix and the invasion of the Highbreed the Plumber to become active again, including Max, and black-ops causing him to have to go underground and pretend to take the Omnitrix with him. In the reboot, the same seems to be happening except with extra drama, particularly about how much Max is lying to Ben and Gwen. In the series after the truth came out, he always was open with them, lying to them is broadly out of character for him.

"his green eyes shone yellow around his green irises" Blitzwolfer's eyes don't have irises or pupils for that matter, like most of his alien forms.

So just to be clear, Ben suggests that they use her as bait to get all the insect monsters to attack her while he stands safely on the sidelines. Ben would never suggest such a plan in the first place, and for him to do so after having had a moment with Gwen where they come to terms with the trauma she suffered by being dragged into a tunnel by an alien monster is beyond parody. The only reason this is happening seems to be so that Gwen can have more of the spotlight. How is it that these creatures have already created a massive hive?

Ben calls Gwen pretty; it comes across as a cheap replacement for the original when he calls her beautiful before they go on their first date. Why did Shadows59 trade that meaningful moment of realization for a cheap joke?

Shadows59 also replaced Gwen getting a little distracted by Ben's guns with her cracking jokes about how his guns are water pistols. Does making Gwen get distracted due to her attraction to Ben somehow detracts from her character?

Gwen doesn't think the damage to the plumber suits is possible then describes it as looking like someone stabbed through the suit when earlier she explicitly said the suit doesn't protect against stabbing weapons.

Ben uses his karate training to put Exoskull in a hold so Gwen can trap his head in an airtight magic sphere causing him to pass out due to lack of oxygen. This has to be one of the clearest examples of Shadows59 taking an accomplishment of Ben's, one that showed what an intelligent and capable combatant he was, and giving it to Gwen. In the original, Ben as Wildvine, learning that he can't overpower Exoskull, wraps him up in vines, squeezing him tighter with each breath Exoskull tries to take. It takes Gwen a moment to even realize what Ben is doing, when she does, she praises Ben before moving in to help him with his plan. Why change that, why take away from Ben to give to Gwen?

Do I even need to comment on the color of Four-arms eyes in the original series?

Ben is now pinching Gwen's ass; I guess it is supposed to be fine since Lili taught Gwen that's just how boys express that they like a girl. Wouldn't that be at least a little more appropriate in a few years when Ben wouldn't be doing it to another eleven-year-old?

The problem with italicizing dialogue that mentioned back in chapter three is far more noticeable here as several characters have all their speech stylized this way.

-Erico Every time I read this chapter I am reminded of everything this story has lost, fun, subtlety, and a balance between the main characters. In their place we have melodrama, clear proof that Shadows59's skills have eroded.

In the original, Ben wasn't afraid to use Wildvine because they had come together to come to terms with what happened none months ago. Gwen was afraid of not being there for Ben in the original as well. I don't know about minor details, but one major detail that has changed is Ben's willingness to send Gwen out into danger while he sits on the sidelines.

When I started reading this story I thought that not only did you have a big influence on Shadows59, but that you were the author because all the long rambly melodrama that I read in your story had wormed its way into the reboot. So let me assure you, you are having a profound influence on Shadows59.

(As always, please go leave Shadows59 a nice positive review he won’t delete.)

#ben 10 #bwen #ben x gwen #gwen x ben #benxgwen #gwenxben #ben and gwen #gwen and ben #fanfic #review #Little Moments

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gaiatheorist · 7 years

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#NakedIsNormal

Valentine’s day, 2017. I’m going to have to start time-tagging these posts better, because this is a part of my ‘diary’, and it’s hard to cross-reference. Valentine’s day is a non-event for me, but I’ll no doubt spend the day being mildly irked by people hinting and bragging, that’s not annoyance at love, it’s my default-setting anti-materialism.

I flicked through the news this morning, skimming over the heavy, terrifying bits to give myself a rough understanding, and then dipped into the fluff-and-filler, as is my way. Married Japanese couples are having less sex, and Playboy magazine are re-introducing nudes, in an attempt to boost flagging sales. In a preemptive strike against likely objections of objectification, Playboy are saying ‘naked is normal’. (Try sitting in a house with temperamental heating, in the UK, in February, I’m wearing 3 jumpers, and debating another layer, if I’m naked for longer than it takes to bathe and dry off, it’s probably the ‘paradoxical undressing’ stage of hypothermia.)

Two things, there, the likely ‘must have more sex than the Japanese’, and the ‘sex sells’ angle. It’s fine for the UK audience of the Guardian to attempt more sex, because we still technically have free healthcare, and access to family planning, the Japan article quotes concerns for a falling birth-rate should the trend continue. It does also raise concerns about work-life balance, but the bottom line is that sex is for making babies. How very ‘proper’. The other thing is the ‘sex sells’ ideology, that the Playboy spokesperson was skirting, or possibly de-skirting around.

Looking at it from the outside, Playboy stopped the ‘nudes’ in the print magazine to increase advertising revenue, and stop the magazine being a ‘top shelf’ product, both perfectly valid business strategies. Is it just me that can see they’re missing the point? With the possible exception of the ex, I don’t think anyone buys hard-copy magazines any more, the vast majority of everything-ever-available is now digital, which is why the magazines in the doctor’s waiting room are ancient, fewer people are buying ‘paper’ copies of stuff, it’s just clutter, and we’re all Feng Shui now. You don’t buy a hard copy of Train Spotting Monthly to read on the tube, because you can’t get a seat, and turning the pages provokes elbow-battles.

Two things extrapolated from the original two things; Sex isn’t just for making babies, and the percentage of the Playboy audience that ‘appreciate’ the nudes are most probably accessing that particular type of content online.

I’m having an argument with myself about whether ‘naked is normal’, and coming to the conclusion that I am, in fact, ‘old’. (As well as cold.) Naked is all well and good, but there’s a time and a place for it, in my personal opinion, that’s not ‘all the time’, and ‘everywhere’. Those toned-tanned, specifically-shaped bodies bouncing up, trying to sell us everything from vitamin tablets to beach holidays? They’re part of the reason some people are so uncomfortable with the concept of ‘naked’. ‘We’ don’t look like ‘them’, and, while we’re not 14-year-old girls, the perfection-proliferation still niggles. I’m out of that loop, in that I’m not ‘on the market’, I don’t feel the need to display my wares to attract a lover or mate, my skin is almost always covered up. Prudish, no? Actually, no, but there are so many reasons I keep my skin covered, it’s difficult to know where to begin explaining, and no valid reason I should have to explain, it’s my skin, and I do with it as I please. I don’t have ‘issues’ with the fact that I’m so pale I pretty much glow in the dark, sunlight blisters my skin, I don’t ‘tan’. It would be difficult to place a hand on any part of my body, and that hand to not cover a scar of some description, or, at the very least a bruise. I’m fair skinned and dark haired, and have a thoroughly disgusting habit of pulling out stray leg-hairs with tweezers. I have some very distinctive tattoos, and I’m not a 6ft-blonde-size-8.

Naked can be utterly delicious, the first enticing glimpse of a part of a lover that’s normally covered up can be devastatingly-delightful, and oh, the moments of just appreciating the naked entirety, I might need to have a little sit down.

I’m rambling, as is ever the case. Naked, for me, isn’t ‘normal’, it’s perfectly natural, and I don’t have a problem with my pale/blue flesh, it is as it is, and I accept it as such. When naked is ‘normal’, what’s left to reveal? When everything is exposed, where’s the shared intimacy? When everything has already been displayed to within a hair’s breadth of decency, what is there left to willingly give? (’Decency’? I’ve bypassed sounding like my Mum, and turned into my Gran, although, in honesty, my Mum did have a tendency to tug my tops down, and my skirts up, any wonder I have these odd attitudes?)

No, naked is not ‘normal’. Try going to the supermarket naked if you don’t believe me. I’m not body-shaming,and I don’t think we should all be covered from top to toe at all times, nudity is natural and beautiful, I’m a greedy girl, and can appreciate both the male and female form, why limit your options? If naked is ‘normal’, it becomes cake-every-day, and loses the ‘special’ element. I’m so old fashioned, aren’t I? I’m coming over all ‘save it for the wedding night’. It’s not that, not entirely. When naked is normal, expectations shift. We’re monkeys in shoes, with everything that ever was in hand-sized gadgets in our pockets, but we’re still monkeys. When the ‘display’ behaviours are normalised, the signals get messy, and ‘visible’ can be misconstrued as ‘available’ by certain types. I’m not colluding with the ‘asking for it’ school of thought, and, if you want to display your flesh, you should be allowed to do so without judgement or assumptions. It’s tricky for the young ones, and the vulnerable ones, though, ‘everyone’ is sexting, the try-before-you-buy has become an accepted part of these baffling digital courtship routines. Comprehend-before-you-send doesn’t have the same ring to it. Revenge-porn and malicious use of mobile technology are very real, and naked-is-normal plays straight into that. Back in my day, you only knew that so-and-so had taken an intimate part of such-and-such into their person because the toilet-wall graffiti said so, now, you can see it on video, in full resolution, on a Fakebook group-chat you’ve been tagged into.

There you go, in my weird-skewed opinion, naked is not ‘normal’, the more normal it becomes, the less special and intimate it is. We’re meat no-one eats, these carcasses we contain our thoughts within, and project our thoughts onto are nothing but collections of cells and water when all is said and done. They’re ours, though, and, for me, exposing the whole thing to another is the ultimate act of love, of trust, that can’t be ‘normal’, it is extraordinary, even those times when it’s pure, hormonal lust and desire. Each of us carries that spark of sex-magic, and that particular flush, that glow, it can’t be air-brushed on. The ‘normal’ naked in Playboy won’t have the naturally dilated pupils, the flushed-full lips, the blood rising to the surface of the skin for kisses, all of that will have to be painted on afterwards, parody-perfection, and a hope that the staples don’t obscure anything that’s meant to be displayed.

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