#even if you didn't know anything about the historic characters

[staytinyville]

Daechwita (Burn It Pt. 2)

↣ Summary: You were only a decoy for all those who wanted your family off the throne. The real leader was your horrible sister who ruled with fear in their subjects. You only did what was told of you and if others came to assassinate you then so be it. 

↣ Characters/Pairing: Min Yoongi x Reader, Slight Jungkook x Reader,

↣ Genre: Historical, Mature

↣ AU/Trope info: Historical!au, Queen!Reader, Rebel!Yoongi, 

↣ Word Count: 6.1k

↣ Warnings: Abuse, Toxic household, 

↣ A/N: This turned into a four part miniseries. I swear I can’t stick to anything bro. I still need to finish the other series. I swear I’m still on them. I just haven't gotten the energy to sit down and write full chapters. All I got is the conversations. 

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“Hello, Jeongguk.” You smiled when the man bowed his head as he entered your room. 

You weren’t someone who took concubines in for the hell of it. You didn’t like to use people in that manner and especially not taking them from their home against their will. However with the way your parents saw themselves and wished to present the way you looked to the public they made you take the boy in. Even if you didn’t look for his company the same way your family looked at their concubines he was still forced to be at the palace. 

“Hello, your grace.” The boy gave you a large smile, his lips pulling over his teeth. 

“Such a lovely boy.” You cooed, squishing his cheeks together. 

He whined, trying to pull back from your ministrations but ultimately giggled at your doting nature. You had grown to love him. He was someone who looked at you with bright eyes and made you want to continue on going for his sake. It was you between him and the others who saved them from your family's wraths. You were the only one who truly cared about them. 

“How are the others?” You asked, giving him a smile. 

“They've been okay. Princess Munhee hasn't called for them. She's been too busy with some other men to pay them any mind. They are more than happy about that.” Jungkook explained. 

You sighed deeply, shaking your head. “I surely hope she doesn't gather more concubines.” 

Turning back to him, you gave him a kind smile, making him flush. “I've asked for you because I would like some information.” 

“Anything for you.” He quickly spoke. 

“There is a rebellion going on that plans on taking the throne from me.” You told him. 

“That can't be right—”

“Jeongguk.” You interrupted softly. “I want you to be honest with me.” 

You looked down, feeling upset over how you had asked something of him. “I know I took you from your home and brought you to this terrible life—”

“I wanted to come with you.” He stopped you, before you could continue. “You gave me the choice to come here–unlike Taehyung and Jimin.”

It had been an expedition your family had been taking when you came across all of them. Jungkook and Jimin were from one village and Taehyung from another. The expedition was meant to strengthen the royal family's ties to everyone in the kingdom. Showcase to everyone who would watch that they were proper rulers. 

All a lie it was for the people. Blindly following false words of kindness. Especially the families of the concubines. 

Jimin and Taehyung had been bought from their families. Munhee wanted the both of them the moment she laid eyes on each. Giving their families a hefty sum of money for each of the boys who didn't want to go with them. You remember those days clearly. If only because it was you who had gone to the families to ask for them as your own concubines. 

It made you cry on those nights. The way the two boys would look at you when they were placed in the hands of Munhee the first night. There was so much hatred in them–each bruise that was marred on their skin that you could see. It made you sick to your stomach to know that it wasn’t just you anymore who was left under the tyranny of your family. 

You tried your best to keep them from getting hurt–caring for their wounds and making sure they were well taken care of behind your sister’s back but there was only so much you could do. 

“They must hate me—”

“They could never!” Jungkook stopped you. “Maybe in the beginning but they know the real you now. The one who takes care of them after the princess was too rough.”

“They love you so much. I love you. I will do everything you ask of me.”

Your heart stopped for a moment, feeling like there was something grabbing a hold of it only to crush it. It was but a moment that you were brought back to the night Agust was going to kill you. The time when you wanted him to drag the knife along your neck. 

But yet here was this man who claims to love you enough to do anything you ask of him. You had never seen any of the concubines as more than just those you cared about. It wasn’t in your nature to fall in love with someone because of the life you used to live. 

Now you knew though, no matter what you had to stay to make sure these boys and the people would never fall into the hands of your family. Who would be there to save them if it wasn’t you?

“I don't need you to, Jeongguk.” You smiled softly. “I just need you to look like my pretty boy.”

“You asked me about the rebellion. Did something happen?” He asked with worry, his eyebrows pinching together. 

“Nothing that should worry you.” You told him. “However I do want to ask about a man who I believe might be part of it. I don't know his name but I have seen him before. He has a scar running down his right eye. He's young though, with long blonde hair. Namjoon told me you might know his name.���

“You must be talking about Min Yoongi. He goes by the name August so no one could find out his identity.” He easily answered you, no hesitation within his voice. 

“I see.” You mumbled to yourself. 

“Thank you Jeongguk.” You pulled his cheek so that you could lean in to give him a kiss. “You mean so much to me–all of you do.”

“You're our queen. We will make sure no harm comes to you.” The boy bowed his head, a bright flush along his cheeks that made you smile. 

After he left you alone, you began to scheme about how to start with your plans. The first task was getting that guard to understand you were on his side. As well, he was going about things all wrong. You had a kingdom to save and people to command. For once you were finally going to be the real queen you were meant to be. 

And the starting point was having Min Yoongi join the court. 

“Min Yoongi.” You spoke to yourself. 

**

“You're grace.” Yoongi bowed his head, turning to watch as the eunuch closes your study door. 

Once he is out of earshot, Yoongi relaxes his shoulders, striding over to the desk you were kneeling next to. 

“Good.” You spoke up, looking at him. “I would like to speak to you about something.” 

“I have decided to add another guard to my personnel. I wanted to know if you knew of anyone who was capable.” You spoke, looking over some documents.

It felt odd to finally start looking into the things the council shares with you without your father quickly taking them from your hold to do himself. However you took it upon yourself to do it all in secret. Helping the kingdom to thrive and send money where it needs to go. Go over trials that needed attention which you knew were going to easily go unpunished. 

It made you understand more just how much corruption was truly within the palace. And you first wanted to start with getting rid of your family before moving on to the council members on your father’s roster. 

“I might know some people.” He told you, making you nod. 

Your eyes moved along his face out of instinct, trying to find anything that might be wrong with him. There wasn’t any injury that you could see over his clothes–his scar was still the only thing that stared back at you. When you realized you had spent too much time looking over him, you cleared your throat and looked away. 

“How has my sister been treating you? You asked. 

“Like I'm not there–which I am grateful for.” He shrugged. “She is very—”

“Sinister. Evil. A tyrant.” You prattled off out of habit, rolling your eyes. “We all know.”

You didn’t really give him any reason to think about what you could’ve been like before he had entered your life. As far as he knew, you were only an emotionless doll that seemed to allow her family to speak over her at certain events. 

But he couldn’t help but be curious over who you were before he had tried to kill you. You were still you–it was clear in the way he would see you care for the other people within the palace court. You didn’t get upset when they would cower before you, trying to get away as fast as possible. So far the only ones who didn’t try to run from you were the concubines who claimed to be in love with you. 

The way you spoke though made him think that you weren’t someone who allowed others to walk all over them. You knew how to work people–how to get them to listen to you without having to cause fear in their hearts. It left him baffled to know that you were someone who waited for death with open arms. 

“Do you ever get tired? Of having to put up with them?” He asked. 

“That's why you're here isn't it?” You answered. 

“I thought the only way to escape their hands was by death. It was inevitable because I knew about the rebellion—even they knew. That's why I'm just the decoy for their schemes.” Your voice was soft, reminding Yoongi of your first meeting. 

“And the day you die though? They won't have that chance anymore.” He told you.

“They won't but that wouldn't be my issue now would it.” You smiled softly. 

Yoongi’s lips turned downward as your eyes took on something familiar to him. It left an ache in his chest making him feel uncomfortable with the way you looked at him. He couldn’t stand to see that kind of look pass behind your soul. It reminded him of his own ways that he was too scared to let go of. A reminder of his own feelings of hoping for a swift ending to his story. 

“So you'd rather leave your people in the hands of demons?” He frowned. 

“Don't they see me as a demon as well?” You asked him. “There are only two other people who know the truth about my position and you're one of them.”

“But the other staff? Don't they see your family beating you?” He wondered out loud.

“They just assume I'm a tyrant because I am treated poorly by my family. Lots of things are easier when you allow people to believe what they want.” You spoke calmly.

You had ideas brewing in your head. Ideas that you wanted to put into action. Yoongi knew that the moment you looked at him without emotions as you found him standing in line with the other warriors waiting to be chosen as a new royal guard. It seemed in the months he had been training to get the chance to stand in the palace courtyard you had changed your mind over the idea of death. 

It wasn’t something hard to do, but Yoongi did want to know why you chose to change things after almost being assassinated. 

“So why change now?” He questioned. 

“Because I thought about the people I'd leave behind without so much as a word. I'm not ready to give up yet. I learned that thanks to you.” 

Your words left him even more confused but he didn’t dare to question you further. “If you want me to put another knife to your throat for a new idea don't be afraid to ask.”

You had kept him in your study for a bit longer, pouring a drink for the both of you as you got to know your new companion. It had been a few weeks since he started to work with the others and you didn’t really got the chance to know how he worked. You figured it was best to know the person who was going to help kill your family. 

“Your name? Agust, what does it mean?” You asked him.

“I am from Daegu. It's a name I used to have backwards.” He waved you off, not giving him more about the life he lived before coming to the capital. 

“That's interesting.” You hummed, not wanting to make him uncomfortable. 

“What about you? Where do you get your personality from, if not your parents?”

His question made you look up with wide eyes, pressing your lips together as the alcohol in your system seemed to make you buzz. It wasn’t that you had a lot to drink, you only took a few sips every couple of minutes while he had already drowned three cups of soju. You weren’t going to be challenging him to a drink contest anytime soon. 

“I was taken care of by a nanny.” You answered. “I never really got the chance to be with my parents because they were too busy with Munhee. I was the smallest of us so naturally I was the weakest–at least in their eyes.”

For the past hour he had watched you make faces to yourself, acting like a child who was having an internal monologue. There were questions he knew you wanted to ask him but you would stop yourself for fear of overstepping. He saw you let go of your emotionless facade and take on the one he knew you hardly got the chance to show others. 

He wondered who your real friends were when you were an actual child. He knew your guard had been there for you for years from what Namjoon had told him. If he got the chance to see you act this way in private. It left a stale taste in his mouth to know that you have suppressed this part of you so much that you had to be inebriated in order to feel relaxed enough to show the wonder/curious part of you. 

“Being kind and gentle doesn't mean being weak.” He told you.

You looked up from under your lashes, catching his stare on your face. “It doesn't. Between Munhee and I though, I do believe I got the best brain.” You sat up straight with a smile on your face as you thought about yourself. 

“Let's hope your plans work out then.” Yoongi smirked. 

“If it doesn't, I hope you can continue.” You told him, making him frown. 

You might have been buzzed but there were parts that would go back to thinking about the present. You weren’t out of it completely but when Yoongi was able to catch you off guard he was able to see into the real you. So to hear you speak so depressing over something like this it made him want to bring back the person you were. 

“I promise nothing will happen to you.” He said without thinking. 

You completely froze, slowly looking up at him with wide eyes that seemed to almost have tears in them. You mouth fell open just a bit as you tried to keep from making your lips tremble. 

“Why make that promise?” You spoke softly. 

“Because there are people who care about you. Ones who want to see you rule the kingdom correctly.” He explained quickly. 

“You hardly know me.” You scoffed. “How do you know I'd do the right thing?”

“I’m expecting you to give me a reason.”

**

“This is Hoseok, your grace.” The man in question bowed his head and had a stiff smile on his face as he watched you look around the home. 

It was a typical home found throughout the capital, one that was meant for someone of noble status. Yoongi had told you and Namjoon on the way to his home that he shared it with two other men–one of which was going to be your new guard alongside Namjoon. 

WHen you finally turned to look at the man, you noticed how tense he was. The smile was forced, you realized, but a smile nonetheless. You gave him a kind on back, clasping your hands together as you were taught. Even if you weren’t properly trained to be queen you were trained in how to act like one. 

“I would hope Agust has told you how things are.” You immediately got to the point, seeing as you didn’t want to go through the process of waiting to explain things. 

The quicker the better.

“For the most part. Why do you want a member of the resilience to be your personal guard?” He asked, frowning his eyebrows. 

“Same reason you're in the resilience. I have people to get rid of.” You spoke out loud, causing him to furrow his eyebrows together. 

He tried not to turn his nose up, glare on his face that intimidated you just a bit. “You're willing to bloody your hands?”

“It's better than having them bruised.” Your voice was soft, causing him to suck in a quiet breath as he got caught in the look that passed behind your eyes. 

He glanced over to Yoongi who sighed deeply as he nodded his head slowly. 

“Your majesty?” A voice spoke up behind Hoseok as some people came out from the home. 

Taehyung looked at you with curious eyes, while Jimin held onto his arm to help him down the home’s patio. Jungkook softly shuffled behind a taller man who was watching with a confused look as the queen stood in his yard. 

“Boys? What are you all doing here? I thought I had sent you all to a physician?” You questioned, shoving past Hoseok who brought his arms in to keep from touching you.

The action made him even more confused as he looked over at Yoongi once more. Yoongi only chuckled, walking behind you to reach the concubines who had walked out with a broad shoulder man. Namjoon calmly walked closer to the younger boys, eyes scanning them for any signs of injuries as he usually did. 

“The doctor we go to is here.” Jimin spoke up, bowing his head when he made eye contact with you.

“Who?” You asked, looking over at the other man. 

“My name is Seokjin. It's nice to meet you, your majesty.” He bowed his head pursing his lips as he took in the guard that seemed to fuss over the boys. 

“Jeongguk told us to come here. He says Jin Hyung is a great doctor.” Taehyung answered, giving you a stunning smile as his hand rubbed at his ribs.

“Why thank you Jungkookie.” Seokjin cooed, pinching the younger boy's cheeks. 

“I'm glad to know you were all taken care of.” You smiled, bowing your head in thanks to the doctor. 

His eyes went wide as he stood up straight from seeing you smile at him and give him a compliment. 

“Right, wouldn't want the queen's concubines to be hurt.” He said stiffly. 

He suddenly sighed, looking between you and Taehyung with anxiousness. “I get they are yours to do as you please but I ask that you are careful with them for a bit—”

“We aren't her majesty's concubines.” Taehying stopped the doctor without manners. “It was Princess Munhee who broke my ribs.”

“She broke your ribs!?” You shouted, mouth falling open as the others flinched from your shout. “I just thought it was a normal bruise! Taehyung, why didn't you tell me how bad it actually was!?” You fussed, hands quickly pressing the boy's cheeks between your palms. 

Taehyung began to pout, his lips protruding out but he still basked in the attention you were giving him. 

“Jimin!?” You whined, turning to the round faced boy who gave you a soft look. 

“We didn't want to worry you.” He spoke softly as always. 

“Nonsense! You live in my home! You are mine to take care of.” You demanded, looking back over at Taehyung who looked at you with wide eyes. 

“We're yours?” Jungkook whispered, a blush settling on his face as he grew closer to you. 

You began to stutter, looking between all of the seven boys waiting for an answer from you. “Well, you live in my palace. I have to take care of you.”

“You don't–you just choose to.” Jimin sighed, quickly stepping in so as to not let the others hope for anything. 

“Come on, we'll see you at home.” He told you, nodding his head in a bow. 

Your eyebrows pinched together as you felt a pang in your chest over Jimin’s dismissive behavior. As he carefully moved Taehyung with the help of Jungkook, you shuffled your feet to follow after them but Namjoon spoke up. 

“We should get going as well. Don't stay for too long, Agust.” Namjoon spoke up, holding his arm out for you to take. 

“What is the queen up to? Asking us to be guards in the royal palace.” Hoseok sneered, glaring at the retreating figures of the royal court. 

“I would assume it's nothing good.” Jin sighed, worried about the concubines and their injuries. 

“Not for the queen.” Yoongi spoke up, turning to look at them. “I'm still going to finish my mission.”

“Are you sure about this?” Hobi asked. 

“I'm more positive now than I ever was.” Yoongi nodded his head. 

“Those men really care for her. I've never seen any concubines who are in love with their masters.” Jin explained, remembering about the conversations he had with all three of them over how you had sent them to see the doctors. 

It was Jungkook who had walked into his home asking for help for a fellow concubine. Teahyung was shuffling slowly with a hand on his ribs as he was being carried by Jimin. Jin had never had to treat Jungkook for injuries to the extent Taehyung had. Before they had begun to explain themselves he assumed Jungkook was just the favorite and hardly ever injured. 

But Taehyung had gone on and on over how you had fussed over the large bruise that was forming under his chest. Jungkook followed along with him, nodding and adding in his own statements over how kind the queen was. Jimin stayed quiet a majority of the time only making small comments about how (Y/N) was special to them all. 

“Things are not as they seem. That's what I'm coming to learn. I'll catch up with you later, Hobi.”

**

“Mother is sick. Surprised she hasn't died yet. She's so old. We'll see how she goes later.” Munhee talks to herself in front of her vanity mirror, you keeping her company because she had called for your audience. 

She has yet to get to the point but you stood off to the side, trying not to show any emotions as she continued on with her nighttime routine. However when she mentioned your mother, your shoulder straightened up, attention on her. 

“Does she need a physician?” You asked. 

“I don't know.” Munhee scoffed, waving you off. “I don't wanna get sick with whatever she has so I haven't even gone into that side of the palace.” 

“Where is that stupid maid? (Y/N) I need you to do my hair.” She demanded, slamming her hairbrush onto the table. 

You walked closer to her, taking the brush softly before combing through her long hair. Your lips twitched at how you wanted to pull on her scalp but you prevent yourself from doing that by thinking about your sickly mother. 

“I'll call for one.” You prattled off, talking about getting a doctor for your mother. 

“As if you know anyone.” Munhee rolled her eyes, picking at her nails. 

“I'm sure Namjoon must. I'll ask him.”

“That reminds me.” She turned in your hold, causing you to let go of her. “I want Namjoon to be my guard. I can't stand to look at that creature. If you picked him you can have him.”

Your eyes suddenly went wide, hands dropping to your sides. Namjoon had been there for you since before you were even queen. He was your one friend through your entire existence that didn't take your kindness for granted but rather appreciate who you were as a person. He was your person–the one who kept you from ending your own life. 

You couldn’t possibly give him up.

“I don't think Namjoon would—”

“I don't care what he thinks. I want him as my guard. You will do as I say or there will be consequences.” She threatened, coming to tower over you. 

“Of course.” You nodded your head, looking down from her eyes. 

“Leave.”

You fast walked to the door, your nose twitching in irritation as you slammed the door open. Yoongi and Namjoon flinched as they waited for you to exit your sister's bedroom to take you back to your own. You couldn’t dare to look at Namjoon too angry with your sister to think about letting him. Tears pooled in your eyes as you thought about it. 

“What happened?” Namjoon asked, seeing your upset state. 

“Munhee wants you to be her guard.” You spat out. 

“What? But I can't—” Namjoon shook his head. 

“It's what she wants.” You turned to Yoongi, not wanting to think about Namjoon anymore then you had to less you wanted to cry. 

“Mother is sick–she needs a physician.” You told Yoongi. 

“I'll call for one—” Namjoon tried to reach out to you, but you pulled away from him.

“No. I'll do it.” You shook your head. 

Namjoon looked up at Yoongi, wanting to know what to do. He only shrugged, not getting what was going on. But Namjoon knew you better than anyone. He knew that you didn’t want to look at him for fear of breaking down. He was upset with the whole ordeal but he knew that if you wanted to finish what you started you should do as they ask to keep from raising suspicions. 

However that didn’t mean he was pleased with having to move from being your guard. 

**

“You want me to kill her? But that's—” Jin shook his head, sputtering. 

“What the rebellion wanted to do.” You told him. “So long as the royal family stands this kingdom will never be free. We will start with the easier ones first. Do what you must.”

With Jin sighing, you turned to take your leave.

“Are you sure you're fit to rule? Seems like you're rushing into this.” Yoongi spoke up, trying to keep up with you. 

“You have no idea of what I had to suffer at the hands of those people.” You told him over your shoulder. 

“I've lived in the kingdom my whole life. I know what it's like.” When you heard him stop, you turned to see what was keeping him. 

“Not when they are meant to be your blood.” You swallowed thickly. 

“Family doesn't always mean blood. I've come to learn that.” He told you.

You could imagine he was talking about Hoseok and Seokjin. You didn’t know the full extent of how close Jungkook was to all of them but you knew he cared enough for Jin to take care of them. But still it was nothing compared to what you have. 

“I want that. A family who will be there.” You told him. 

“Isn't Namjoon always there? The concubines?” He asked. 

“I took them from the lives they should've had.” You shook your head, looking down. 

“You didn't have a choice. They've each told me the stories of how they got to the palace. How you took them in when Munhee forced them to come with her. They care about you.” He grew closer to you.

“I don't deserve it.” You shook your head. 

“It wasn't your fault. You were a victim too.” He spoke quietly, catching your attention. 

“Why change your mind now?” You asked, looking up at him. 

You felt his body brushing against your hanbok, your fingers twitching at the fabric as you had to hold onto it. Your body began to sway, a cloud falling over your head from how close he was to you. 

“I've been here long enough to notice those kinds of things. I'll do whatever you need me to do.” He spoke up, catching you off guard. 

“I don't need you to.” You told him, swallowing thickly. 

“You can't tell me the same thing you always tell others.” He spoke against your lips, causing you to flinch just a bit. 

“We have the same enemy. That's all that matters.” 

**

“I've given her some tea for now. What you should do is hope for the best. I'll gather some herbs to help heal her from within.” Jin told you as he stood up from looking over your mother. 

“Where did you say you found this doctor again, (Y/N)?” Your mother asked, finally turning her eyes away from Jin. 

“He's the one who heals Munhee's concubines. If he can make it seem like none of them have broken ribs I'm sure he can do wonders.” You spoke up nonchalantly. 

“Yoongi, please escort him out.” You told the guard. 

The two men bowed their heads, turning to take their leave. As they walked out, you couldn’t help but catch the way your mother eyed Jin’s back with hunger. 

“I want him in the concubine quarters.” Your mother spoke up as the door finally closed. 

You looked at her appalled, lips turning up. “He's a physician for the town though—”

“I don't care. I want him here—with me.” She demanded, enunciating her words. 

You sighed deeply, jaw clenching. “Of course, mother.”

Once more Yoongi flinched as you slammed the door open. His shoulders dropped as he sighed from the way you were seething. Whatever had transpired between you and your mother had you angry like the time Munhee had asked you to give her Namjoon. 

“What are you giving her and how long will it take?” You demanded. 

Jin raised his brows, looking down at your angry expression. “A few days. The poison is slow acting but with her sickness it will be quicker.” He explained.

“Could I do that to the others?” You asked. 

“I don't have much of the tea. But I can see if I can get you more.” He answered. 

Your shoulders dropped as you realized the meant he would have to leave the palace. Sadly he no longer had that choice. It made you want to cry once more over how you were going to break it to him. 

“You won't be able to. I'm sorry, Seokjin.” The tension that had been clear in your shoulder seemed to go away as you apologized to the older man. 

“For what?” He asked. 

“My mother—she wants you to be one of her concubines.” You spoke looking down at the ground, tears welling in your eyes. 

Yoongi was quick to notice your tone of voice before he grew closer to you, shielding you away from Jin’s eyes. 

“Does everyone have concubines here except you? Disgusting, really.” Jin sneered, lips turned up. 

Yoongi made you look at him, fingers toying with your own. “We'll find other ways. Don't worry.”

**

You were woken up by a body suddenly crushing you in your sleep. You thrashed around for a moment before whoever was on top of you placed a knife to your neck. You began to gasp, trying to move your hands to claw at your attacker but they were ahead of you. They held you in their grasp tightly, ready to kill you at a moment’s notice.

It didn’t feel the same. It felt wrong to have the cold metal pressing into your skin. You weren’t ready for death to come at that moment. Not when there were people waiting for you to save them. 

“Yoongi.” You cried out. “Yoongi!” You screamed. 

The door was slammed open after your first call of his name. 

“Your grace!” Yoongi shouted, throwing the man off you. 

“Back off!” Yoongi pushed him away from your bed, grabbing at his sword. 

“What are you doing!?” The man sneered. 

“Me? What are you doing here? I told you all I had it covered.” Yoongi growled, sword held in front of him. 

“They sent me to come kill the queen. Something you couldn't seem to do.” The man retorted, looking between you and Yoongi. 

“Things have changed. I thought we talked about it. (Y/N) is not part of the assassination.” Yoongi tried to talk the man back down. 

“Anyone of the (L/N) family must be eliminated.” The man sneered. 

“Not her.” Your eyes flew to Yoongi crawling over the bed to get closer. 

“Don't tell me you've fallen for her? You are a disgrace to the rebellion. Just like all the others are.” 

He lunged towards Yoongi, knife ready as he tried his best to slash as the royal guard. However Yoongi was a trained assassin since he was a kid, no one could ever come close to what he had been trained to do. However just because he was trained didn’t mean the man wasn’t able to get a knick in. 

Once the man got tired, he charged forward with a grunt, ready to strike at Yoongi. However Yoongi wasn’t playing. Not when your life was in danger. So he took the sword and slashed it across the man’s torso ending his life in seconds. As he fell to the ground lifeless, Yoongi began to pant and place a hand over his bleeding arm hissing from the sting. 

“Yoongi! Are you okay?” You gasped, rushing to his side as he panted over the dead body. 

“I'm fine. It's just some scratches. I've been through worse.” Yoongi spoke quietly, looking over you. 

His eyes immediately fell to your neck, hoping that nothing had marred your skin. The scar from his own attempt stared back at him but at least it was reopened. His shoulders dropped their tensions glad to see you weren’t hurt.  

“Let me heal you.” You told him, moving him to your bedroll. 

You took the same supplies Namjoon had used on you all those months ago. However this time it was you using them on the man who tried to kill you. Yoongi allowed you to move the sleeve of his outfit. Your hands were soft, delicately pulling and pushing at the cut that didn’t seem that deep. 

He began to think about how you cared for the concubines. You must have grown to know how to heal others from the amount of times you had gone to them. 

“Why did you kill him?” You asked, not daring to meet his eyes. 

“He was going to kill you.” Yoongi spoke up, watching you with soft eyes as you cleaned at his wound. 

“And?” You questioned. 

He snapped his head to you, having thought that you were past wanting to end your life. When your eyes caught his, he saw that you were past that. It was doubt that seemed to be crawling into your head this time around. 

“You're a good queen. The people would be lucky to know the real you.” He spoke quietly. 

You swallowed thickly at his words. It wasn’t that you felt like you weren’t fit to rule. Rather it was that you weren’t properly educated to be one. You weren’t taught what your sister had been. The only thing you had to go off were your own morals and the ideas of those closest to you. You didn’t know the first thing it took to run a country but you wanted to try your best. 

“I don't feel like that.” You said, pulling away once you finished addressing his wound. 

“Take it from those closest to you.” 

“You included?” You asked, looking up at him. 

“I'm just the assassin who was sent to kill you.” He turned to the body that was bleeding out on the floor. “And yet here I am. Always the one who fails.”

He looked vulnerable to you. Like a little boy who missed out on his life because of some evil that came to take him. You didn’t know his past or what he wanted to do in the future but you knew that you wanted him in yours. 

“Redemption isn't impossible.” 

**

It took your mother four days to finally pass away. Her body was burned on top of a pile of wood for her funeral as was tradition. You watched as the flames swallowed her wrapped body whole. All seven of the boys stood behind you, watching with expressionless faces just like your father and sister. However, unlike them they knew this was the beginning of the end for the royal family's reign. 

Once everyone cried and prayed over the old queen's body, the rest of your family took their leave, leaving you and the boys. Yoongi walked up to your side, Hobi not far behind. You turned your head to look at him. 

“My mother was the easiest to get rid of but we still have more to accomplish.”

Permanent Taglist: @hecateslittlewitchling , @ldysmfrst , @cryingpages , @rln-byg , @vampcharxter , @kenzie203 , @loveless-lie , @puppyminnnie , @marvel-potter-1d-korea , @emtrades22 , @wolfgurl2600-blog , @misshale21 , @lovelgirl22 @vicurious28 , @lizzymizzy-blogg

#kpop fanfic #bts fanfic #min yoongi x you #min yoongi #min yoongi x reader #bts min yoongi #min suga #suga smut #suga x reader #suga bts #yoongi #bangtan sonyeondan #agust d #bts fic #bangtan #bts suga

[myfanfictiongarden]

Omg…. episodes 11 & 12 The Spoils and Kalends of February is what I`ve been looking for.

I’m not kidding when I say I’m in tears, this episodes were incredible.

#seriously.... what kind of show was this? #even if you didn't know anything about the historic characters #what they did to Atia & Servillia (and in part Octavia & Octavian) is unforgivable #even in the context of this show its crazy #WHY DID THEY NOT THEN INCLUDE FULVIA?! #but then you have episodes like the ones in the beginning and end #ep 5-10 are WTH crazy #but 1-4 & 11 +12 are incredible #I´m not kidding when I say I was in tears during 11 #everything about Lucius & Titus is sooo good #you feel for them every step of the way #the ending to 12 was also simply brilliant both in a touching & tragic way #everything with Brutus & Cicero was fantastic #as well as Caesar & Marc Antony #poor Niobe!!!!!!!!! #they were finally so happy together!!!!!!!!!! #the holding hands of Titus & Eirene makes me hope #they had a crazy journey until now and I wish the best for them #also- you know who wrote the best episodes of s1? #Bruno Heller #wth is wrong with the other two guys who wrote the rest #I really really hope s2 ups the writing #rome hbo #things i like #tv shows

[yotd2009]

insane 2 me that eiyuu senki has a translation b4 fate/stay night does

#it's literally EXACTLY what most ppl think fsn is.... #plot-light eroge with a 'historical figures (+ knights of the round table) but they're cute anime girls' gimmick #tbf though i've said it b4 and i'll say it again. i am the exact target audience for what ppl Think fsn is from the outside #and one of these days (read: after i get a pc and play through a million other (better) games i have on my list) i'll def play it #if only to analyze it as an arthurian adaptation bc going through conceptually inch resting arthurian adaptations is my hobby #(and when i say that i mean there is a Reason the term 'girlboss arthuriana' was coined (i should know. i coined it.) and the genre is #Oversaturated. i don't want to read another young/new adult novel about an arthurian woman by some1 who Clearly was seized w the need 2 be #mzb 2..... the sequel!. heard the most baseline description of this random lady. and ran w it! #i already know every single plot beat and every single cliche and major arthurian misunderstanding they'll run straight into #and it'd be redundant to point them out or analyze how or why they made certain decisions so i. don't read them anymore! #i refuse to touch anything girlboss arthuriana or openly derived from th white/game of thrones. i will have a much more enjoyable time #trying to figure out how arthurian gacha number 42069 or self published novel abt a minor character you'd have to read med lit #(or at least more than 1 wiki page) to even know or obscure 70s narrative song than touch a single nyt bestseller wannabe) #(*when i say arthurian gacha i don't just mean fgo it's just the most famous example. king arthur is a v popular gacha character and #i've yet to figure out why) #also eiyuu senki has palomydes AND didn't whitewash her so like. !!!!! . i am predisposed to like it more than other adaptations #(<<< has a fave knight of the round table (and it's by a Lot)) #+ i'm generally weak 2 knight girls. you should know this abt me already. and percival has a nice 1/4 scale figure so like .... #let's just say i Really want to like it #romeo.txt

[onyourowndaisymae]

obey me characters and incorrect things about the human world they believe in (headcanons)

just because they're old doesn't mean they're smart

somebody, at some point, convinced mammon the ninja turtles were real. if you ask him about it, he scoffs-- of course he doesn't think there are human-sized ninja turtles running new york city. they're in hiding so people won't find them and hunt them down, duh. he's so matter-of-fact about it that it makes you feel like a dumbass for a moment.

beel thinks everything that falls in the fruit and vegetable categories grows on trees. he cannot conceptualize another way they'd grow. what do you mean carrot trees don't exist...?

satan learned about subways in major cities and, coupled with his previous knowledge of historical railways, sort of just assumes that every country has an elaborate high-speed rail system. sigh. i wish you were right, satan.

lucifer thought that everyone carried a weapon on them in the human world. they don't? isn't it dangerous up there? why would you walk around unarmed, mc? what happens if somebody comes up and attacks you? somehow this misunderstanding has turned into a lecture for you--

asmo severely overestimated the human life span. his brain starts lagging when you tell him the average human lifespan in around 80 years. that's it? that's all? that's nothing! how do you even get anything done in that little time? he has demonus older than that sitting beside his bathtub! (asmo drinks in the bath, don't @ me) you would expect things to get a little angsty here as he realizes how short your own lifespan is, but for some reason he just assumes you're exempt from this rule. he'll make solomon figure out a way to keep you young and pretty with him, don't you worry!

levi didn't realize that the media in hell is different than in the human world. the thought of nobody on earth knowing who ruri-chan is ruins his evening. you broke him.

#yes this was inspired by undyne from undertale thinking that anime is real #obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me swd #obey me headcanons #obey me mammon #obey me beel #obey me beelzebub #obey me satan #obey me lucifer #obey me asmo #obey me asmodeus #obey me levi #obey me leviathan #otome

[elucubrare]

What are your biggest turn-offs when reading/watching historical fiction or retellings of myths?

this is really complicated - i can put it in two boxes, both of which are packed very full.

disconnection from the material reality of the past

when characters display a very specifically modern mindset (about social issues especially, but other stuff too)

(I also get bothered by some kinds of modern language - I don't mind it when, idk, an author uses "sensible" with the modern connotation of "practical" and not the 18th century "emotional" or "empathetic", but "yeah" or "okay," or even, as i found out when someone used it in medieval fantasy, "holy shit" will get on my nerves.)

there are modern things where (made up example!) a character who's supposed to be a cook will talk about making caprese salad for a fancy restaurant in December, and someone snarking on the book will say "yeah, right, they should know better than to make something that depends on a fresh summer vegetable!" and even with greenhouses, that's pretty fair. and that's even more extreme in the past. it's 1650 in Verona, it's December, you cannot obtain fresh tomatoes. i don't think this means that people in the past were, necessarily, more emotionally or spiritually in tune with the cycle of the year, or the labor it took to get clothes, or furniture, or any other material item, and of course wealth can insulate people from some of that difficulty, but it does mean that the seasons had more direct impact on people's lives. It's possible to, for example, buy clothes ready-made, but for anything fancy, it's more likely that it'll be made to fit if it's new, or altered extensively and painstakingly if it's not. that means that tearing or staining a fancy dress isn't just an issue of looking bad - you can't just replace it, and you probably won't throw it out - you figure out how to reuse it. those concerns of access to material goods are just a lot closer to the surface of the world than they often are now.

my objections to modern attitudes about the world are not that people in the past 100% accepted the views of their contemporaries - there were always people who didn't, and it makes sense that a protagonist would be one of them. but people wouldn't phrase those objections in the same way that modern people would - say your main character doesn't want a woman accused of being a witch burned. "God's power is such that the Devil cannot give this woman the ability to sour milk" is most likely going to be more persuasive to the crowd than "witches aren't real." and sometimes that's rough - it's not super fun to read about a Roman with Roman attitudes about provincial wars, or slavery in the city, but I put something down because a Roman character said (in internal dialogue) that he was disgusted to see that a man had been tortured because "Romans simply didn't do that." Historical Romans did do that, routinely - a slave could not testify in a law court unless they had been tortured. Even with distasteful things like that, I'd much rather it just be glossed over than to have them say the "correct" modern thing. It just makes it feel too much like the theme park version of the culture.

Both of these are because of specific things I come to historical fiction for - I want that sense of alienation, the gulf of experience. I hate that most historical fiction (and fantasy set in semi-recognizable periods) characters don't really care about Honor, except as a joke, because I love when characters organize their lives around arcane rules and systems that cause tiny things to escalate into blood feud. I just think they're neat! I like it when people's worldviews are shaped by their lack of scientific certainty about what causes crops to fail! If I wanted to read about people who thought and acted like me, and had lives that were mostly similar to mine, only cooler, I'd just read contemporary fiction.

#my thoughts on...

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

All In 1

No tag lists. Do not send asks or DMs about updates. Review my pinned post for guidelines, masterlist, etc.

Warnings: this fic will include dark content such as noncon/dubcon, age gap, power imbalance, low self esteem, and possible untagged elements. My warnings are not exhaustive, enter at your own risk.

This is a dark!fic and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: you meet a mysterious man on a night out with your sister. (petite!reader)

based on the winning option for this poll

Characters: casino owner!Bucky Barnes

Note: told myself to slow down, didn't.

As per usual, I humbly request your thoughts! Reblogs are always appreciated and welcomed, not only do I see them easier but it lets other people see my work. I will do my best to answer all I can. I’m trying to get better at keeping up so thanks everyone for staying with me.

Your feedback will help in this and future works (and WiPs, I haven’t forgotten those!) Please do not just put ‘more’. I will block you.

I love you all immensely. Take care. 💖

It’s your first time wearing that skirt. You’ve had it in your closet for two years. At least. You’re not really a skirt person but it’s cute. The floral on black with the zipper up the front. It drapes nicely enough though you’re not used to wearing anything so short. You have a trusty pair of shorts on just in case. 

You don’t go out either. Definitely not to places like this. You keep an arm across your middle, gripping your other as the hordes of people make you dizzy. The shining gold accoutrement of the decor along with the waft of low music over the noise of tables and voices add to your vertigo. 

The casino is busy and bright and loud. You stay close to your sister as she leads you across the carpet; ivory with golden curliques patterned across them. You’re no gambler either but you’re not there to play cards.  

“I think it’s upstairs,” Roxie says as she looks at the tickets in her hand. “Gala Room B.” 

“Oh, right,” you murmur and smile at her, “what’s the band again?” 

“Don’t worry about it the tickets were free,” she chirps as you look up at her. You feel even more a child beside her; your height often adds to your inferiority complex. Historically, you think, those characteristics have been often intertwined. 

“No, but--” 

“You need to get out of mom’s place more,” she chides, “I could’ve brought Katie instead, but I chose you, sis.” 

“I know, er, thanks,” you run your hand up to your shoulder and rub it nervously. 

“Show doesn’t start for another hour. Let’s get a drink,” she insists and turns, strutting towards the long bar at the other side of the grand space. You trail after her, shrinking down even further. She turns back to you as she leans on a tall stool, “what d’ya want?” 

“I don’t know. I don’t really...” 

“I know, it’s one drink, how about a vodka-cran?” She suggests, “you love cranberry.” 

“Um, sure, if you think that’s good.” 

She sighs and rolls her eyes. She’s the wild one, not you. You know you bore her and since your parents’ divorce, years ago, you haven’t really hung out together. She went with your dad and you with your mom, since then, it’s all been a bit fuzzy. 

She orders as you stand back, not wanting to get in the way of the people all around you. You lean back, rocking nervously as you glance around. You feel underdressed as you see women in cocktail dresses and men in suits. Even your sister is a stark contrast to your overly casual attire; your favourite purple cardigan and the skirt you’ve never worn. 

Your eyes scan the room, admiring the golden sconces of bulbs that resemble candelabras and the gilt trim all along the wall. The more you look around, the less you belong. You don’t even know why you said yes. Well, your mom pushed you into it. Just like your sister, she keeps saying you need to get out more. 

You rub your lips together and feel around your small tassled purse. It’s used, like most of your things. The thrift store is as much as your mom can afford and you still haven’t found a solid job. You worked at the grocery for a summer before they laid off half of you then did a one-day stint at a polling centre for the last municipal election. Even if you wanted to go out, you don’t have the money for it. 

You pull out your chapstick and smear it around your chafed lips as you sway back the other direction. You stop short as you nearly slam into another body and you stumble out of the way of the man in his black-and-white suit. Embarrassment creeps hotly up your cheeks and you cap your lip balm and stand out of his path. 

He’s taller than you. Well, everyone is. But to you, he seems huge. His suit is finely tailored to his figure though his hair seems to clash with the refined style. It’s almost to his collar but neatly parted, a shank falling forward to frame his sharp cheekbone. His square jaw is trimmed thickly with a dark beard, peppered with strands of silver and patch along the dimple of his chin. You’ve never seen anything as blue as his eyes, they are almost inhumanly vivid. 

“Sorry, doll,” he touches your arm as he passes and smirks, swiftly turning his sights ahead of him. 

You gulp as your shoulder hits someone else. You spin to face your sister as she offers you a glass. You take the red concoction with the short black straw sticking out over the ice cubes. You thank her as the chill seeps into your hand. 

“Oof, look at him,” she leans to watch after the man in his dark suit, “damn.” You frown and look in the other direction. She scoffs and nudges you, “come on. That guy is totally stunning. Even you can see that.” 

“I don’t wanna gawk at him,” you mutter, “he’s a stranger.” 

“Oh, whatever, not like he’d notice,” she snips. 

You scrunch up your lip and tuck your chapstick away as you peer toward the man. He goes up to a table, sliding in next to a taller woman with honey-blond hair and a shimmery dress. He rests his hand along her lower back as he chatters to her and the rest of the players around the leather trim. 

“Sheesh, he’s fine,” she puts a twang on the last word, “mmph. If I wasn’t with Tom...” 

“Right,” you look down at the drink and sip from the straw. You make a face and cough. 

“It’s not that strong,” she slaps your back, “don’t be dramatic.” 

“I know,” you clear your throat, “I just wasn’t expecting the taste.” 

“Let’s go upstairs,” she points above. 

“Uh, okay,” you agree to her sudden diversion. You suppose you really are boring. 

You follow her up the curved stairs and along the railing that overlooks the lower casino room. Arched windows let in the night and the glow of the facade. You lean on the polished wood and peer down at the first floor; it looks even more resplendent from there. You sister puts her elbow on the railing as she looks around. 

“We could stick around after, lose some money,” she says. 

“I don’t... mom only gave me a twenty and I owe you for the drink.” 

“Pfft, whatever, I’ll spot ya. Tom gave me some extra with the tickets,” she trills, “it’ll be fun. Play some black jack. It’ll be an experience. You could say you’ve actually done something.” 

You smile, closed-lipped and tight. She isn’t wrong. It’s your first concert, for some cover band, and your first time at a casino. It’s not an exaggeration to say this is the height of your life experience. 

Your eyes wander down and meet another pair. You wince. It’s that same man. He walks towards you, a certain swagger in his stride. As he peers up at you, his cheeks dimple and he winks. You wrinkle your brow and look behind you. When you turn back, he’s gone. Right, you’re imagining things. 

Roxie slurps as her straw turns hollow. She’s already drained her cocktail, meanwhile you’ve barely taken a sip. She stirs the ice and hums. 

“Wait here, I’m gonna get a refill,” she raises her glass. 

“Oh, I can come with you--” 

“Nah, just stand here,” she insists. “You’ll just slow me down.” 

“Sure, uh, okay.” 

You curl your shoulders inward as she walks away. Great. All alone. You avoid looking anywhere but your glass. You face the railing again and balance your drink on it. It’s not bad, tarter than you’re used to and a little burny.  

You play with the black bracelet around your wrist, the band they stuck around it when they scanned your ID at the door. You suppose it’s a good idea but they wouldn’t be letting kids in here, would they? Oh yeah, the hotel is attached. 

As a kid, you never went on vacations like that. No hotels, no casinos, no shows. It seems like Roxie is catching up on all of that and you’re just there. The world is so much scarier when it’s all a mystery to you. 

“Excuse me,” a deep voice startles you. You ignore it, thinking it’s merely a passerby, “miss?” 

There’s a tap on your shoulder and you barely save your cocktail from spilling over the edge. You clutch the glass with both hands and face the stranger. It’s that same man, with the suit and the long hair and the oceanic eyes. Something about him is familiar beyond your few earlier glances. 

“I think you dropped this?” He holds up a chip with a golden 100 on it. You blink and shake your head. 

“No,” you scrape out of your throat, “I don’t-- I didn’t--” 

“I swear I saw it fall out of your bag,” he looks down at your purse. 

“Really, I’m not... I don’t gamble.” 

“Ah, well, if it’s just hanging around, might as well use it, huh?” He keeps his hand out, “maybe it’s your lucky day.” 

“I couldn’t. If someone lost it...” your voice doesn’t want to go and he leans in to hear you, adding to the heat spreading through your chest. Is it the alcohol or him? 

“You’re sweet, keep it,” he shoves the chip toward you. 

“Please, I... I... can’t...” you wipe a hand on your skirt and clutch the fabric. 

“Doll, I can’t hear you,” he says as he grabs your hand and dislodges it from your skirt, “here.” 

He presses the chip into your palm. You stare at his tie then look down at the white chip with gold detailing. His hand brushes yours before he rescinds his touch. 

“Erm...” you murmur dumbly and shake your head. 

“My treat,” he growls. 

“But...” 

“Like the skirt, by the way,” he surprises you as he pinches a fold, “cute on you.” 

Just as quickly as he appeared, he strides away, leaving you blankly staring after him. His broad shoulders move beyond a thick marble pillar as you hold up your drink and the chip. You just look between them. 

“Hey,” Roxie approaches again, “oh, what’s that?” 

“A chip...” you state plainly. 

“Duh, I know. Where’d you get it?” 

You look at the floor. Would she even believe you? “The floor.” 

“Ooo,” she plucks it from your fingers, “awesome, “now we’re definitely having some fun tonight.” 

“Rox,” you swallow and look up at her, “we should hand it in. It’s a lot of money. If someone lost it--” 

“If they lost it, they can afford it,” she bobs her neck as she speaks, “live a little,” she sneers and taps your glass, “and finish your drink. Maybe that’ll loosen you up.” 

You nod and recede into yourself, cradling the glass again with both hands. You put your lips to the straw and drink until you can’t anymore. She gulps straight from the brim of her glass and sighs, wiggling as she peers around. 

“I almost don’t even want to see these old men play music,” she snickers as she takes in the expanse of tables flashing lights. 

“Oh?” 

“Relax, we’re going to see the show. You’re a horrible liar and mom will see right through you,” she sneers, “besides, I told her I wouldn’t get you in too much trouble.” 

#bucky barnes #dark bucky barnes #dark!bucky barnes #fic #dark fic #dark!fic #all in #series #au #casino au #winter soldier #captain america #avengers #mcu #marvel

[theminecraftbee]

so a thing this fandom does that remains FASCINATING to me, as a function of the fact a lot of this fandom is people's first fandom or only current fandom, is just... assume a lot of things it does is a scourge that this fandom has invented or doesn't exist outside of it? or like, is uniquely bad here? and i won't deny that sometimes mcyt fandom is a bit more intense by virtue of numbers, but like...

duo names: confusing fandom-injokes to describe duos and groups tend to be an anime fandom thing specifically for many historical reasons, but they're not uncommon. hey quick--if you haven't been in KHR fandom, can you guess what 1827 is? no? i'll give you a hint: that's actually a ship name. or, ygo fans, tell me the difference between puppyshipping, prideshipping, violetshipping, and rivalshipping. my hint is that they're all kaiba ships and two of them are actually the same ship. good luck!

reducing characters to a specific trait: have you read fic in another fandom before? i would recommend you go do so and come back to me. my example here is "sasuke likes tomatoes", for the record.

common au fanon that's confusing to outsiders: my deep cut here is "when i got into certain tv fandoms i was baffled by the existence of sentinel/guide fics", which is a slightly older tv fandom thing so many of you probably don't know what i'm on about. but trust me: in certain fandoms it's ubiquitous and unless you've watched a completely different tv show you're gonna have to entirely pick it up from reading fic. oh hey, hybrid aus and watcher!grian, nice to see your relative here,

fanon being treated as canon: did you know there's this whole bnha character, naomasa, who is treated as canonically having a lie detector quirk? did you know that, best i can tell, that's not in canon anywhere, it just got echoed through fanon enough that everyone treated it as canon? 'fanon trait becomes so ubiquitous everyone assumes it has to be there' is not a new thing. also, batfamily fans, i have been lead to understand the tim and coffee thing is also this.

characters being treated badly to make a different dynamic look better: the fact we have the term 'character bashing' tells you all you need to know, here. if anything my one complaint on this front isn't even that it's happening--it's that i wish bashing and/or "not [character] friendly" was tagged a little more frequently, haha.

characters being reduced to their family dynamics: tale as old as time. "even the family dynamic thing" yes even that. just because this fandom tended to be particularly ship-adverse in the past didn't mean it didn't do basically the same behaviors as any fandom with shipping did with those dynamics, just gen. and other gen fandoms also do that. yes, down to the "and shipping reduces them to a ship, unlike my gen dynamic, which is very in-character; why can't people just be friends?" thing. some of you have to have been marvel fans right.

characters being reduced to their ships: some of you have to have been marvel fans right.

The Discourse: yeah this is an "actively running show" fandom thing, but also a hiatus fandom thing. ask a homestuck about vriskourse sometime. as much as i hate to say it, it probably made doomsday discourse look cute.

and those are just like... some things i've seen people complain about on my dash recently. idk it just hit me there are probably fans in mcyt fandoms who are assuming that some things (like hybrid aus or duo names) are the kind of things that only happen here, so i thought i'd offer some examples of other places they happen! i also have even more examples if you'd like.

to be clear: this isn't shaming anyone for complaining about any of these things. lord knows i go complain to my friends about it all the time, just the other day i was complaining in the category of 'they keep bashing my guy'. it's more of just... a gentle reminder that maybe we're big, maybe we're loud, maybe we have problems... but these problems aren't always unique.

so uh. we're all suffering together i guess...?

#discourse #<- because. yeah. #this isn't meant to start a discourse this is more me laughing about Fandoms Is The Same #its also why i'm not bringing up the More Serious types of Fandoms Is The Same because i don't want to make light of it #and am instead bringing up the pettier ones #this sparked initially by someone acting like duo names are a this-fandom only phenomenon after years of being a ygo fan #and i was like. oh i've done this song and dance many a time. #and then i was thinking about posts complaining about things like fd and ships and everything else and i was like. oh that's an OLD song #so here. so we all remember sometimes that we all suffer together lol #this isn't a vague of anyone in particular i just constantly waver about making this specific post #anyway back to my usual discourse-free self

[hedgehog-moss]

Inspired by your last ask! What are the best French books you’ve read that have no English translation yet? I read Play Boy and Qui a tué mon père (really loved the latter) last year and it feels so fun to read something that other Americans can’t access yet

I'm too nervous to make any list of the Best XYZ Books because I don't want to raise your expectations too high! But okay, here's my No English Translation-themed list of books I've enjoyed in recent years. I tried to make it eclectic in terms of genre as I don't know what you prefer :)

Biographies

• Le dernier inventeur, Héloïse Guay de Bellissen: I just love prehistory and unusual narrators so I enjoyed this one; it's about the kids who discovered the cave of Lascaux, and some of the narration is written from the perspective of the cave <3 I posted a little excerpt here (in English).

• Ces femmes du Grand Siècle, Juliette Benzoni: Just a fun collection of portraits of notable noblewomen during the reign of Louis XIV, I really liked it. For people who like the 17th century. I think it was Emil Cioran who said his favourite historical periods were the Stone Age and the 17th century but tragically the age of salons led to the Reign of Terror and Prehistory led to History.

• La Comtesse Greffulhe, Laure Hillerin: I've mentioned this one before, it's about the fascinating Belle Époque French socialite who was (among other things) the inspiration for Proust's Duchess of Guermantes. I initially picked it up because I will read anything that's even vaguely about Proust but it was also a nice aperçu of the Belle Époque which I didn't know much about.

• Nous les filles, Marie Rouanet: I've also recommended this one before but it's such a sweet little viennoiserie of a book. The author talks about her 1950s childhood in a town in the South of France in the most detailed, colourful, earnest way—she mentions everything, describes all the daft little games children invent like she wants ageless aliens to grasp the concept of human childhood, it's great.

I'll add Trésors d'enfance by Christian SIgnol and La Maison by Madeleine Chapsal which are slightly less great but also sweet short nostalgic books about childhood that I enjoyed.

Fantasy

• Mers mortes, Aurélie Wellenstein: I read this one last year and I found the characters a bit underwhelming / underexplored but I always enjoy SFF books that do interesting things with oceans (like Solaris with its sentient ocean-planet), so I liked the atmosphere here, with the characters trying to navigate a ghost ship in ghost seas...

• Janua Vera, Jean-Philippe Jaworski: Not much to say about it other than they're short stories set in a mediaeval fantasy world and no part of this description is usually my cup of tea, but I really enjoyed this read!

Essays / literary criticism / philosophy

• Eloge du temps perdu, Frank Lanot: I thought this was going to be about idleness, as the title suggests, and I love books about idleness. But it's actually a collection of short essays about (French) literature and some of them made me appreciate new things about authors and books I thought I knew by heart, so I enjoyed it

• Le Pont flottant des rêves, Corinne Atlan: Poetic musings about translation <3 that's all

• Sisyphe est une femme, Geneviève Brisac: Reflections about the works of female writers (Natalia Ginzburg, Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Townsend Warner, etc) that systematically made me want to go read the author in question, even when I'd already read & disliked said author. That's how you know it's good literary criticism

Let's add L'Esprit de solitude by Jacqueline Kelen which as the title suggests, ponders the notion of solitude, and Le Roman du monde by Henri Peña-Ruiz which was so lovely to read in terms of literary style I don't even care what it was about (it's philosophy of foundational myths & stories) (probably difficult to read if you're not fully fluent in French though)

Did not fit in the above categories:

• Entre deux mondes by Olivier Norek—it's been translated in half a dozen languages, I was surprised to find no English translation! It's a crime novel and a pretty bleak read on account of the setting (the Calais migrant camp) but I'd recommend it

• Saga, Tonino Benacquista: Also seems to have been translated in a whole bunch of languages but not English? :( I read it ages ago but I remember it as a really fun read. It's a group of loser screenwriters who get hired to write a TV series, their budget is 15 francs and a stale croissant and it's going to air at 4am so they can do whatever they want seeing as no one will watch it. So they start writing this intentionally ridiculous unhinged show, and of course it acquires Devoted Fans

Books that I didn't think existed in English translation but they do! but you can still read them in French if you want

• Scrabble: A Chadian Childhood, Michaël Ferrier: What it says on the tin! It's a short and well-written account of the author's childhood in Chad just before the civil war. I read it a few days ago and it was a good read, but then again I just love bittersweet stories of childhood

• On the Line, Joseph Ponthus: A short diary-like account of the author's assembly line work in a fish factory. I liked the contrast between the robotic aspect of the job and the poetic nature of the text; how the author used free verse / repetition / scansion to give a very immediate sense of the monotony and rhythm of his work (I don't know if it's good in English)

• The End of Eddy, Edouard Louis: The memoir of a gay man growing up in a poor industrial town in Northern France—pretty brutal but really good

• And There Was Light, Jacques Lusseyran: Yet another memoir sorry, I love people's lives! Jacques Lusseyran lost his sight as a child, and was in the Resistance during WWII despite being blind. It's a great story, both for the historical aspects and for the descriptions of how the author experiences his blindness

• The Adversary: A True Story of Monstrous Deception, Emmanuel Carrère: an account of the Jean-Claude Romand case—a French man who murdered his whole family to avoid being discovered as a fraud, after spending his entire adult life pretending to be a doctor working at the WHO and fooling everyone he knew. Just morbidly fascinating, if you like true crime stuff

#ask #book recs #the book i started reading last night is The Naked Neanderthal by Ludovic Slimak and i also didn't #expect it to have an english translation but it does #i'm only at the beginning and so far it's philosophical ponderings about what kind of creature the neanderthals were #if they were humans in a different way than us. with a different kind of intelligence #and how to understand it without projecting our own way of being in the world onto this other humanity #sorry to quote cioran again but it reminds me of when he said every generation misses the good old days and #if we retrace our steps from regret to regret we'll find the original regret #our nostalgia for a time when humans weren't yet human

[sissiarte]

THEY ARE HERE!!! I'm very excited to finally share the full designs hope you guys like them <3

These are only like a base, they'll wear more layers on top and have more weapons and armor some times (and like, wear other clothes) but I wanted to have at least one reference for myself that I can use and later on work on top of and give them more outfits (playing dolls with them basically)

I had a lot of thought behind the designs so if you're interested, there's an infodump below the cut. It's very long and messy so read at your own risk

I tried to have some sort of historical accuracy (even if it's a fictional story and the exact time period when it happens is ??) mainly bc I'm tired of how celts are portrayed in media (they wore tacky colors please stop with the grey brown leathers fur), and a bit bc I'm a nerd and I can't do anything if I don't do some research before.

On the other hand I wanted to make good character designs that told things about the characters and stuff, so I had to juggle a bit both things. Plus there's not much variation in clothing styles, so I had to do what I could.

I wanted to use colors, jewelery and styles to group or distinguish the characters. So Láeg and Emer wear a very similar color palette, Cú Chulainn has some blue in his mainly red outfit (and also the under tunic thing resembles Emer's) and Ferdia has some red in his mainly blue one.

Láeg and Cú Chulainn wear the same kind of thing, but I gave Cú Chulainn more layers in reference to the 34683 shirts thing. I went no pants wider belt for Ferdia bc honestly I didn't know how else to make a clear distinction as "this one character is from a different place", there's only so much you can do with the few styles there are.

Jewelery choices! This was a lot bc I really like torcs and I wanted to use them again to give Ulster characters and Connacht characters different kinds of torcs. My first instinct was to give Connacht those very heavy ones that have rings at the ends, but then I did some research and those were only found in england so. Then I went to look what kind of torcs were found in each place and I found that they were the same!!! Obviously!!! Bc they are next to eachother!!!

So I took creative choices and as I found some bracelets in Ulster that looked like torcs I went okay those done (plus they are way easier to draw) And I gave Ferdia the spirally one and Cú Chulainn the "bracelet" one. Plus gave a matching bracelet to Láeg. Emer wears a lunula bc her father is described as wearing one in The Hound of Ulster and I liked it.

(some pics for reference: from left to right the torc Ferdia wears, the bracelet Láeg wears and from were I based Cú Chulainn's torc, and the lunula Emer wears)

Also important, the headpiece Láeg wears. I used to draw Cú Chulainn with a similar one just because I liked it, but then after reading I liked that Láeg is the only one wearing it. At first I was going to give Emer a similar one but in the end decided against it to make it exclusive to Láeg and to not give her more jewelery than to Ferdia. I wanted Ferdia to wear a lot and be like, more stylish I guess bc I feel he cares about that stuff (I mean part of the bribe to fight Cú Chulainn was a brooch so)

And I think that's it! Sorry it was a lot hfasjkd but I wanted to share it. If there's something I have missed and you're curious to know about feel free to ask! I might have a long ass answer like this or it might be just because XD And if you have comments or opinions they are also welcome! I'm no expert or anything (just a big nerd) so I apreciate any insight.

And if you've gotten this far thank you for reading my yapping <3

#tain bo cuailnge #cu chulainn #laeg mac riangabra #fer diad #ferdia #ferdiad #emer #ulster cycle #sissiarte #character design #irish mythology #medieval literature #celtic mythology #illustration #i should make a specific tag for my art on this stuff #bc I want to do a little visdev or comic proyect #to have it all together in one place

[qqueenofhades]

Hi Hilary! I could use some help with something. Do you know some topics for historical tangents a history professor (Hob) could go on while talking to some students? Like some interesting discussion ideas? I was not a history major and I’m now drawing a blank 😅 I’d appreciate it greatly!

"Right, morning everyone... MORNING... yes, we all do know it is morning and I would like to remind everyone that it's not my fault we were scheduled at eight bloody AM. Consider it building character. Great. Let's get started. Can we put the phones down, please. In my day we didn't even have phones. No really. We didn't. Really didn't.

Anyway, so where were we? Ah, yes. End of the Western Roman Empire circa 476 CE, which stands for the secular Common Era, which historians now generally use instead of the Christian A.D. Anno Domini, which trust me, they used when I was born, because I am very old. Ah, you're laughing again, because you think I'm joking. Which, er, I definitely am. Anyway, the so-called collapse of the Roman Empire is one of the most mythologized events in the Western historical canon, and there are accordingly a lot of misperceptions about what happened and how. As we covered in the last class -- well, can anyone tell me what we covered last class?

Anyone?

Anyone?

Come on, one of you, just raise your hands. I don't bite.

Fine, all right, I'll do it myself. Again. Last class, we covered the eventful fourth century in Roman history, where the empire split into western and eastern halves, eastern Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, and established his capital in Constantinople, which would later get the works from the Turks and become Istanbul. The western capital moved to Ravenna in 402, and it had been in Milan before that, not Rome. No longer the center of power as it had been for many centuries beforehand under both the empire and the republic, Rome was infamously sacked in 410 by the Visigoths under King Alaric I. The Supergoths. The Ubergoths. The Verygoths. The Turbogoths. All right, I'll stop. The Visigoths had formerly been a Roman client kingdom in the south of Gaul, which is the modern country of -- anyone?

Anyone? Anyone? Oh come on.

Yes, thank you Sarah, it was in fact France. See everyone? Not that hard. Now that we're up to speed, right, the so-called End of Rome in 476, when the last Western emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed by Odoacer, general of the Ostrogoths. Not the Visigoths. Definitely different thing here. The Alsogoths. The Othergoths. The Ohgodthosegoths. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I swear I will actually stop. But the common narrative from then is that Rome just bloody disappeared altogether, the Dark Ages started, it was grim and miserable and murdery all the time, everyone forgot how to do scholarship or art or religion or anything else, and then miraculously a thousand years later, woo, the Renaissance! Everyone sorted their heads from their arses and could do maths again! I'm sorry about saying arses. Please don't report me to HR, they've had enough of me already. Anyway, this argument, despite its long-time supremacy in the Western historiographical canon and Western popular culture, doesn't make sense on any number of levels. And that is because? Can anyone give me just one reason to start with?

Anyone?

Anyone?

Sarah again, yes, thank you. I appreciate you greatly, Sarah. Yes, for one thing, the Eastern Roman Empire still bloody existed! It was literally that meme where we're announcing that Rome is dead, Constantinople wants us to stop telling everyone that they're dead, and we sigh that sometimes we can still hear their voice. Yes, I know what a meme is, don't look so surprised. The city of Constantinople became the center of Roman culture and power, though we call it the Byzantine empire to distinguish it from the pre-476 Roman empire. It used Greek instead of Latin as its primary culture and language, it was Orthodox Christian instead of Catholic Christian, and while it was no longer the multinational power player that its predecessor had been, it still produced some heavy hitters. Such as Emperor Justinian in the sixth century, who actually, albeit briefly, reconquered the territories of former Rome in the west, and was married to the very fascinating Empress Theodora. We'll have to get back to her, but anyway, in the territories of Former Rome, such as modern-day Spain, France, and Germany, there were still client kingdoms who were directly descended from Rome and who premised their new independence on their Roman inheritance. The Visigoths -- yes, them again -- in Spain, the Merovingians and the Franks in France, the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes in Germany, and other. So tell me, can we really say that Rome collapsed, exactly, and/or disappeared, instead of just dissipated and re-formed? We still had Latin as the language of state administration, the Roman Catholic Church as the supreme religious and cultural arbiter, and other major innovations that would last through the Middle Ages. Where does this whole Dark Ages thing come from?

Anyone?

Anyone aside from Sarah?

Oh, God's wounds. All right then. The idea that Rome disappeared overnight and took everything good with it is a projection, a fiction, popularized by proto-Renaissance and Renaissance writers who wanted to legitimize their look back into the past. We're getting ahead of ourselves, but the idea of the Dark Ages as this backward slovenly time of idiocy and misery -- it just gets me very worked up, all right?! Yes, written texts and certain other traditional markers of historic narrative became much scarcer than before, and we don't know as much about it as we do the more meticulously documented societies on either side, but it's only dark because we've decided that Rome, the brutal excessively slave-owning militaristic expansionist violent empire par excellence, was the marker of all culture and the peak of Western civilization for all time and nobody else could ever come close! This is how we get bloody Game of Thrones insisting that the medieval era was always filthy and dark and full of rape and violence and morally awful people -- so tell me, George, which part of your fantasy novel, the dragons or the ice zombies, were we expected to read as actual literal truth? It's just because we want to protect the idea of ourselves as so much better than people in the past, and the past itself as full of terrible violence that is somehow worse and more primitive than our violence, and that surely we could never do that because we're so much better! Which is total bullshit! Bullshit!

...yes. Thank you. Right. I'm fine. I'm absolutely fine, I apologize for that. Just a bit of a trigger for me. We'll get back to the lesson now, yes. I'm warning you, though. If you use Dark Ages uncritically in your essay, I am knocking you down a full grade. No matter what."

#acedragontype #ask #history #hob gadling #you're welcome to use all/parts of that as you wish XD #ahem #or: how the fall of the western roman empire gets Hob to blow a gasket about game of thrones

[olderthannetfic]

Although I agree that the Bechdel Test isn't the best way to wage if a film is feminist or not (remember that mess of Blue is the Warmest Color? Yeah), I do think it's a great way to highlight just how lazy some writers are, independently of their paycheck/time period they're writing in/many other historical and geographical factors.

We have very successful and praised writers who do this constantly, and have been doing so for their entire career (Christopher Nolan, Paul Thomas Anderson, Sam Mendes, etc), and no one thinks it's weird that we can get through 90~ movies of a story without these female characters either interacting with other female characters or that these two discuss something other than the male characters.

Sometimes these movies are delightful, technically superb, extremely well acted, but then I can't stop myself from going back and thinking about just how little women were in it, and how this very easily translates into how little consideration these screenwriters have of us. How forgettable we are, in their eyes.

I hate Tumblr's use of "X doesn't exist in a vacuum," but I do think it applies to these instances. Writing an entire script, which averages to 110 pages of story, and never noticing that there aren't two women with names who talk to each other isn't just something that comes out of nowhere (and, most times, I feel like the requirement for these writers to be able to pass the Test isn't even "Are there two women with names talking about something other than men?", but "Are there two women that aren't there just for the male characters?" It's basically a mixture of the Sexy Lamp Test and the Bechdel Test).

And, to conclude and pivot back to my main point about laziness: Tommy Wiseau's The Room passes the Bechdel Test; Lisa and her mother, Claudette, sit down and discuss Claudette's recent breast cancer diagnosis, as well as Lisa's employment situation. If a barely coherent movie written by a guy who didn't know what he was doing can pass it without issue, there is no reason as to why renewed, famous, extremely well-paid screenwriters can't do the same.

--

It's useful as a thought experiment, same as "Black people spoke X lines of dialogue in 2023 in [whatever]" type stats.

They're helpful because people go "Wait, how can it be that little???"

It's like all those experiments where people think women are "dominating" the conversation once there are over 30% women in the room or they're speaking 30% of the time or whatever it is. You knock people out of their unconscious bias with some hard numbers that get them thinking.

As long as we understand it as a "Wake up! The bar is in the floor!" thing about the whole industry and not a real test where a passing grade for a given movie means anything, it's fine. It's fine if some movies don't pass.

[blackbatcass]

helloo :D

So, I keep seeing people saying that Jason is Bruce’s favorite child, and the only one that was actually like a son to Bruce. (aside from Damian) Also that just because Dick and Bruce were partners/brothers too, it means that Dick isn’t really like Bruce’s son. How Jason and Bruce are each other’s favorite and Dick wishes he could be Bruce’s son (basically it just gets worse and worse jekskenjske)

AND I DON’T REALLY GET THIS AT ALL.. I COMPLETELY DISAGREED

But then I saw SO MANY posts about this (just getting harsher and harsher LMAO) and I thought I’d ask someone who knew more. So, yeah, here I am!

Thanks for answering if you do, and have a wonderful day!

anon do you want me dead. is that what's happening here

JK JK my first fanon jason ask... what a historic day! basically you're completely right. I don't know where this frankly insane take comes from but whenever me, my mutuals, and pretty much anyone in this corner of the dc fandom sees a post like it we roll our eyes to the heavens. to put it simply the idea that jason is bruce's favorite and the only one he actually loved like a son is a complete fucking lie lol.

first of all to claim that bruce didn't love dick like a son is......I mean. let's just say people saying that have probably never read a comic with bruce and dick before. literally the number one thing to know about these characters is that the love bruce and dick have for each other can be seen from outer space. they have never been normal about each other. bruce raised dick since he was eight. they are thee og codependent father-son partners 'we saved each other we are pack bonded for life if anything happened to him i'd kill everyone in this room and then myself' duo. I mean... there is nuance to be had where they had a very complicated tangled up hard-to-label relationship that had elements of being father & son, elements of being brothers, and ofc partners as batman and robin but that is a function of their relationship being TOO crazy and close not the other way around lol. it is patently true that bruce and dick know each other better than anyone else in the world. it is pretty much true that if you're going to play the favorites game, it's hard to deny that dick is bruce's favorite. that's his eldest his most trusted his saving grace his person who understands him better than anyone. I could pull like an endless amount of panels as evidence that dick was bruce's favorite. there are so many 'dick is the only thing i did right' 'i only feel pride when i look at nightwing' etc etc. dick is his child in every way that matters basically

which is not to say that jason isn't bruce's son! he definitely is! bruce does love jason, but jason was his second kid lol. and it's...i mean jason was robin for a very short time in the grand scheme of things. you can blow through his robin run super fast because it's just not very long. the idea that bruce loved jason more or there's more of a father-son bond to be found in the few issues they were together for as opposed to the 10 years dick was robin is actually insane. bruce literally admitted that the reason he let jason be robin was because he missed dick. lol. lmao even.

basically yeah claiming that jason is bruce's favorite and dick was never treated as bruce's son is just a lie. it's not true. it's like that 'jason is tim's favorite robin' nonsense that was going around a few months ago; it completely ignores canon and essential character elements in jason's favor. I don't know why some jason fans are so obsessed with putting him up on a pedestal by bashing other characters on his behalf. and like...it is possible to have two sons? and love them both? lmfao? and that's not even getting into like tim and cass (also bruce's adopted children). I don't know why people just decided this was a thing but it is false<3

#ask #NOT maintagging this bc i don't want to die<3 #but thank you for the q anon. i am honored that you trusted me to answer a fanon question. #like i guess you can use the 'dick wasn't technically adopted until he was an adult!!!!' as a gotcha but #it doesn't. it doesn't mean anything lol #he was technically a 'ward' bc he was created in the 30s. and that was just. normal back then i guess #same thing with roy and other sidekicks #but yeah. #fanon comes up with a lot of wack takes but #'dick was never really bruce's son jason was the favorite' #is ESPECIALLY FUCKING BONKERS lol #like #WHAT

[mixelation]

i went into the itasaku tag and there's a lot of art of them with minato. (if you just went WTF WHY? it's because in the big favorite character poll that happened semi recently, they're the top 3 favorite characters.) anyway obviously i started to go "hmmm could that ship WORK though"

here is what i have so far

itachi and sakura accidentally time travel directly into the middle of the third shinobi war. this forces an unlikely team-up thing for survival.

i think itachi is so committed to his villain bit he would rather fuck himself over royally than team up with sakura. sakura is SLIGHTLY more likely to play nice but still needs dire circumstances as motivation. so maybe: they end up immediately in enemy territory with their konoha headband (sakura) and uchiha eyes (itachi) and become immediate targets. suddenly sakura is like "hey i need you to kill everyone" and instead of doing that itachi coughs up blood. she can point him at enemies though and he'll genjutsu them and that works great. like this

so sakura is like "okay i need your help as a more experienced ninja for my own survival" bc yeah sakura is a badass, but she's never had to go on the run before or fight more than a handful of ninja at once. meanwhile itachi is breathing better than he has in years after one (1) session with sakura and suddenly a temporary team up seems like a great idea. like yes he wants sasuke to kill him but in order for that to happen he needs to live long enough to un-time travel himself.

however. neither of them have any idea what's happening. they get into stupid nerd fights over details of historical events. they cite publications at each other. frequently it turns out both of them are wrong. they also argue over whether or not they should seek help from konoha

sakura: you don't have to TELL the uchiha you murder them all in the future???? just use your fancy eyes to legitimize being an uchiha so they believe us!

itachi: (silent internal emoting)

meanwhile jiraiya has picked up on the most INSANE rumors of a tsunade impersonator smashing forests and mountains and shit. she may or may not have an even worse orochimaru impersonator with her. jiraiya sends minato to investigate.

there's a lot of fanboy debate over if minato could beat itachi in a fight. and for the purposes of this fic, i'm going to say: yes, yes he can. and it's incredibly upsetting for both itachi AND sakura

minato, to sakura, while sitting on itachi: okay so if you ARE an impersonator, your tsunade costume is really bad

sakura: (TERRIFIED SILENT SCREAMING?)

minato: but your jutsu impersonation is pretty spot on.....?

minato: (looks down between his knees at itachi) did you do that with your..... sharingan....... mr. uchiha bastard?

itachi: (has never been more confused in his life. he's never lost a fight this bad. he assumed losing a fight this bad would mean he'd die. he's not confused about being called a bastard though. that just happens.)

then idk. maybe they tell minato they're time travelers and he takes them back to jiraiya. the mood is very "minato is strong and hot and friendly. this is both sakura and itachi's type they didn't know they had. but also. help."

jiraiya: hmmm well, this one's obviously an uchiha, but YOU need to prove you're really tsunade-hime's apprentice. tell me...... what are her measurements

sakura: (pulverizes a boulder with her bare fist) does that answer your question or should i demonstrate on something else ( :

jiraiya: wow it's a mini-tsunade no further questions!!!!

i think i want minato to be in the 18-19 range so it's right around the time of itachi's birth. they decide itachi and sakura shouldn't go to konoha to reduce time travel shenanigans, such as accidentally preventing their own births. it seems like itachi would especially be at risk for butterfly effecting himself

sakura: (thoughtful expression)

itachi: no.

sakura: i don't say anything!

minato: ???? aren't you allies?

sakura: inside joke :) don't worry about it :)

so minato ends up their konoha proxy. he goes and researches un-time traveling them and then shows up and acts.... really charming? like when minato tells you everything will be okay, you believe him. and he's SMART and HANDSOME and once SETTLES AN ARGUMENT OVER WHERE THE RICE COUNTRY CAPITAL, WHICH MOVES ON AVERAGE EVERY THREE MONTHS DURING THE WAR, CURRENTLY IS. he's not even condescending that they're both wrong. itachi keeps thinking about him wrestling him down into submission and he doesn't know why. sakura is rethinking her personal definition of "dreamy"

sakura after minato leaves: this is SO upsetting. he's not even my type. i like dark and brooding.

itachi: what

sakura: DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT

and theeeen...... maybe they both get so sexually frustrated over minato they have sex with each other, idk don't worry about it

#itasaku #itachi/sakura #itachi/sakura/minato kind of i guess #ninja nonsense

[blackbird-brewster]

Meta: Jemily Queerbaiting

With the huge influx of posts saying 'Jemily is gonna be canon', I really appreciated seeing this post because OP was completely correct. I didn't want to write an entire dissertation as a reply, so I'm making my own post with my personal opinion on this. (All sources are noted in footnotes)

Before I began this rant, for anyone who thinks this is anti-Jemily. It is not. I have shipped Jemily for 18 friggin years and that's never going to change. This post is specifically my thoughts about queer baiting.

First off, I need to note that the showrunners (and the cast members who use social media) KNOW what a huge queer following this show has and that's why we got pansexual Tara Lewis in S16 [1]. Which, in itself, was SOOOOOOO important!!! Our first canonically queer main in SIXTEEN seasons was a middle-aged Black woman!!! That's phenomenal. (The fact it was horrible rep, because they instantly ruined her relationships once her queerness served it's plot point is a whole other post entirely)

In my opinion, the 'big Jemily moment' Paget posted about on Twitter [2] (and AJ hinted at during a recent IG live) is simply queerbaiting to get people to watch S17. I know a lot of you are newer to the fandom and I love your enthusiasm, I really do, ship and let ship, but listen, let's be real, Jemily is not going to be made canon. The showrunners aren't going to suddenly say (after 17 seasons) 'Surprise, Jemily is endgame'. This show has never cared about queer rep and now that CBS/Paramount have already ticked their queer rep box with Tara, they won't be in any rush to add any other characters to it.

Please buckle in, I've got a lot of thoughts on this matter --

What is Queerbaiting?

If you aren't aware of what queerbaiting is, here's a good definition:

Historically, queerbaiting has carried two meanings: the first is an act of aggressive heterosexuality to shut down queer subtext on screen while still teasing and catering to the queer audience in advertising, public relations, and fan engagement strategies; the second is an existing homoerotic tension between two characters played up on screen while met with derision by the professionals behind the scenes. [3]

The Medium article quoted here is from 2017, a time when parasocial relationships were really starting to take over social media. In 2024, actors are now only a mention or tag away online, they have direct conversations with fans, and this process has allowed for an even deeper form of queerbaiting.

Oftentimes online, actors are asked directly about certain ships and while some ignore these questions (usually to avoid breaking their contracts or other repercussions), others (looking at you, Paget) choose to instead tease fans about queer ships. She's done this for years upon years and if I've learned anything in the past twenty-years of existing in fandom spaces it's this -- don't hold your breath. In it's original meaning, for something to be deemed as queerbaiting there had to be malicious, or at least, purposeful intent to string queer fans along by teasing them with suggestive content about the ship in question, while knowing this ship will never come to fruition in canon.

The thing to remember is, Paget and AJ aren't the only ones who know about Jemily shippers -- the network and showrunners are well aware of this ship too. When networks/showrunners figure out they have a strong sapphic fanbase, they love to use that to their advantage to get more viewers and higher ratings. Queerbaiting is a goldmine to keep fans watching long running shows, look at Rizzoli and Isles, Supergirl, and OUAT for examples of this.

Jemily and Queerbaiting:

Ever since Emily joined the BAU in S2 (2006), there have always been fans who ship JJ/Emily (shoutout to the old LJ forums!). Way before celebs were just a tweet away from fans, back when all our fics began with disclaimers so we wouldn't get sued by networks, we went to great lengths to keep our fanworks far removed from actors/showrunners attention.

As far as Jemily goes, this reply from Paget in a 2009 interview with TVGuide.com [4] (which has now been deleted from their site unfortunately, but there are quotes on Tumblr still [4.a]) confirmed some fans' worst fear -- the actors had found our fanworks online.

TVGuide.com: Of course, a band of fans want her to hook up with Hotch.

Brewster: I know! I didn't realize that fans make these videos on YouTube? A.J. Cook sent me a hilarious one that made it look like Prentiss and J.J. were having a secret lesbian affair. You know, when Hotch was blown up in the SUV, we shot this scene where he's in the hospital and I'm standing next to him, looking at his bleeding ear. Our director came in and said, "Paget, you're looking at Hotch like you're in love with him. It looks really weird." So now, every day, Thomas [Gibson] and I flutter our eyelids at each other.

This was the first time I recall anyone acknowledging Jemily shippers publicly and at the time (Jan 2009), the show was still in Season Four (just before CBS fired both AJ and Paget [5]). Paget genuinely said it's 'hilarious' that fans shipped JJ/Emily. Even now, I'll see people say 'We know Paget and AJ have seen Jemily fanvids, so they obviously ship it too' -- but those same people rarely acknowledge the full context of the original answer. Paget not only thought JJ/Emily were 'hilarious', but then she doubled down and turned her reply back to how she and Thomas liked to play up the chemistry between Emily/Hotch.

While no one can say for sure which video it was that AJ sent Paget, just knowing they were watching JJ/Emily fanvids sent a bit of a shockwave through the femslash side of the fandom. To some it felt like an invasion of privacy, fanworks are by fans for fans -- knowing the cast were poking around in fandom spaces added an extra layer of worry around what we fans were posting online. Fifteen years ago, it used to be quite taboo for actors to outwardly discuss shipping or other fanon for whatever show they were in, and we fans were usually comfortably removed from the actors altogether.

Of course, now it's the norm for fans and actors/showrunners to co-exist online and interact with one another. This connection has opened new ways for shows to queerbait their fans. Pretty much every show has some form of social media account now and there is no doubt that the people running those accounts keep up with the most popular ships and hashtags. Not to mention that actors are constantly barraged with questions about whether they ship their character with x,y,z, or whether they think a ship should be made canon, etc. These interactions only serve to benefit the shows themselves, because whether the conversation is for or against a certain ship, it's all just free publicity (Why do you think CM now has a TikTok account?)

Every time AJ or Paget say anything about Jemily, the queer side of the fandom loses their minds. But this has been going on for YEARS now and every single time, it turns out to be nothing but social media hype and queerbaiting. Remember this AJ post? [6] Or what about the notorious reply by Paget to a fan, where she talks about how she and AJ held hands under the table 'for the shippers' [7] I've seen this cycle over and over again, so perhaps I am cynical, but I'm not getting my hopes up that Jemily will ever seriously be canon.

It's widely known now, after both Kirsten [8] and Paget [9] have talked about it, that there was an early idea where Prentiss was supposed to be queer, but that was ultimately scraped before it ever made it on screen. For context, please remember, this show has been airing for nearly twenty years. It began in 2005, during the highly conservative Bush administration. Queer people didn't have rights in the US, we couldn't get married, we were rarely protected under discrimination laws, and we could even be fired for simply being queer (in some states). Diverse queer representation on screen was extremely limited to things like 'The L Word' and 'Queer as Folk' (both aired on Showtime, so they were behind a paywall. And as far as tLw goes, that show was extremely male-gaze focused and is horrible in nearly all regards if you try to rewatch it now). As far as prime time shows went, queer rep was even more rare. Which is why Emily wasn't queer from the get-go.

Yes, things have changed since 2006 in terms of queer rep on TV. We have a myriad of queer identities represented in TV and film nowadays, which is why I think it's so easy for newer fans to say 'lf she was supposed to be gay anyway, they should just make Emily queer in canon!' I know this is what fuels most fans' demands for Emily being confirmed queer, and I get it, I DO. I would be all for it! However, I do not, in one hundred years, actually believe that is going to happen after they already canonically queer confirmed Tara in S16. The fact we even got ONE queer character is ground-breaking for this show.

It's also worth noting, that in the time between Paget's departure in 2012 and her return in 2016, she became very active on Twitter. This was when more and more fans began asking her about Jemily and after Kirsten's AfterEllen interview, fans also pushed for Paget to address the possibility of Emily being gay. 'Pushed' is actually an understatement for some of the outright harassment she would receive. (AJ received some of this harassment too, but less so because she doesn't use social media ass often) Back then, neither of them replied to these things directly. Yet, no matter what either woman posted, the replies were full of Jemily stans begging for her acknowledgement. (Did you know 'stan' is literally a term coined for stalker fans?) I remember one time AJ's friend was missing and she posted info on her IG about it, you know what the replies were? People asking her about Jemily. It was genuinely sickening.

Within this context, it was no surprise to fans when Emily came back in S12 , she and JJ's friendship was seemingly erased. The two women were rarely on screen together in the late seasons, plus the writers saw fit to even give Emily not only one (Mark in London, but two, on-screen boyfriends for the first time in the entire series. I personally do not think these changes to Emily's character were coincidence, I saw the hellscape of what people would say to AJ and Paget online and I fully believe that upon Paget's return to the show, the showrunners purposely tried to distance JJ and Emily to dissuade the more abusive side of the fanbase.

Can I prove that, no. But it is the only reason I can think of as to why Emily S12+ seemingly didn't care about JJ anymore, despite their deep and meaningful friendship. I mean, they both CROSSED THE WORLD to go rescue each other in prior canon -- but when Emily comes back, they acted like they barely knew each other. This was even more prevalent in S16, when JJ's main storylines all revolved around Will, and Emily barely looked at JJ in the entirety of ten episodes. (Remember how Prentiss didn't even hug JJ after bomb, but she did go hug Luke?)

So, do Paget and AJ earnestly ship Jemily, or are they continuing the long tradition of queerbaiting us? Who fucking knows, not me. But based on the history of this fandom, I think I can make a safe bet. (Interestingly, if you search all of Paget's twitter for the word 'Jemily' [10] she only has 3 direct tweets mentioning the ship. I don't think it's a coincidence that two are within the past few months since they started filming S17 (the other one was a RT of Kirsten (who tagged something Jemily)

This is all to say --

Just because Paget and AJ have publicly talked about Jemily,, this doesn't mean it's ever going to happen on screen. And you know what, THAT'S OKAY!! There has been this constant outcry (after Tara became queer confirmed) of 'Do Emily next' or 'Why wasn't it Emily with a girlfriend!?' and 'Jemily needs to be canon in S17!' -- as if people believe their ships aren't worth anything unless they are canon.

That couldn't be further from the truth! Fandom is built on headcanons and fan interpretations and rare pairs and all types of shippers. Your ship does NOT need to be canon for you to enjoy it. I will ship Jemily forever, no matter what. I don't think there will be some magical queer plot in S17, at best, we might actually get to see Emily/JJ on screen together again and after the train wreck that was S16 -- I'll take whatever I can get.

And hey -- if I am completely wrong, if Erica Messer pulls a Korrasami out of her hat, I will be ecstatic. I will be happy to be proved wrong, but at the same time, I'm not going to lose sleep over it and I'm DEFINITELY not going to go hound the actors about it on social media.

Sources:

[1] 2022 Digital Spy article about the importance of Tara's coming out

[2] 04/18/24 Paget Tweet

[3] 2017 Queerbaiting article from medium.com

[4] 2009 Broken TVGuide link

[4.a] Tumblr quote from the above TVGuide Interview

[5] 2010 Kirsten interview screenrant.com

[6] 2019 AJ Instagram Post

[7] 2020 Paget video on Twitter (via @karasluthqr)

[8] 2015 Kirsten interview AfterEllen.com

[9] 2016 Paget Interview CriminalMindsFans.com

[10] @PagetPaget search 'Jemily'

#criminal minds #emily prentiss #jennifer jareau #paget brewster #aj cook #cm commentary #queerbaiting #cm meta #criminal minds evolution #cm evolution #my writing #long post

[daenerysies]

why are alicent stan’s so gleeful about what the show has done to her character? book-wise she was an antagonistic, ambitious, manipulative woman who knew exactly what she wanted and how to get it; versus the show, where she has been turned into a constant victim to the men around her with no autonomy or agency what-so-ever. whether it’s otto, viserys, aegon, larys, she’s been reduced to a hypocritical, bitter, puppy-eyed woman with no want for anything in her own life; just a doll to be played around with and eventually discarded.

instead of being the calculating and intelligent woman who dog walks viserys up until his death (and even after) she's now his victim because of the decision to age her down to 15 rather than 18 like her canon age, and in turn age viserys up in order to further emphasize the age-gap and power dynamics. she is portrayed as an abusive mother on screen (physically and mentally to aegon, mentally to helaena and aemond), falling into the 'abused becomes the abuser' trope, which is a rather harmful stereotype. she told aegon that he would be king, but then began having 'second thoughts' when the actual usurpation took place, of which she apparently had no idea, "am i to understand that members of the small council have been planning secretly to install my son without me?" once again reducing her to a pawn of the men around her. these second thoughts took place because of her apparent 'reconciliation' with rhaenyra, as if a few words and hand holding could ever undue the years she spent undermining rhaenyra and attempting to have her and her children disinherited and shamed (mayhaps even killed due to the bastard rumors). she is now a victim to larys as well. larys, despite his lower standing than her THE QUEEN, is able to 'manipulate' her into doing sexual favors for him in order for her wishes to be granted. she has no control over the men around her and no respect from any of them because they know she is willing to bend over backwards to please them. she openly admits that she knew her father had been manipulating her for years, and she still fed into his bullshit. she only wants aegon to be king due to her 'misunderstanding' the words of a drugged up and dying man (and it being HIS 'wish' for aegon to succeed him, not hers). her only want in the show is 'to make a window in the wall of her prison.'

the greens were named for HER in the book. not aegon. not otto. not house hightower. her.

“the beacon on the hightower, do you know what color it glows when oldtown calls it’s banners to war?”

“green.”

except that it doesn’t in canon. house hightower’s only set color is grey, and their only beacon is the regular depiction of red and orange fire. there is no green to be scene anywhere to represent the hightower’s or oldtown or their beacon. the color green didn't have any meaning to her. alicent chose it for herself. she wasn’t ’showing off her allegiance to her father and house after being scorned by the targaryens’ it was a political statement that she CHOSE TO MAKE for herself. she was the leader of team green and was the main culprit in usurping rhaenyra and crowning aegon. she didn’t do it for her father, or her house, or viserys; she did it for herself, because SHE wanted aegon to be king.

there are ways to add complexities to characters without completely changing everything about them, and what they stand for. alicent might have partially fallen into the evil step-mother trope in the book, but considering it’s a historical account; we have next to no information on how she really feels. they could have deep dived into her feelings regarding the succession, how marrying the king without a male heir should have given her the privilege of being the future king’s mother, instead finding out the harsh reality; that viserys would not remove rhaenyra as heir, and that she was negated to only being the king’s wife and giving him spares. they could have played into how complicated her relationship with rhaenyra is, how angry and self-righteousness she would have felt considering the only reason viserys was made king was due to male preference primogeniture. why she felt the need to isolate and bully a child because of said child's father’s decisions. there were plenty of other roads that the writers could have taken to add actual nuance into alicent’s story, and not just adding in more unnecessary and brutal violence towards women.

all of this to say that aging her down and turning her into nothing more than a abused child-bride was not the way to go to add nuance to her story. women shouldn’t have to be tortured, neglected, raped, abused, etc. in order for the audience to like and feel sympathy for their character. that’s an inherently sexist and abhorrent point of view, and considering how virtue signaling a lot of her fans are it’s not surprising that they’re willing to overlook it for the sake of continuing their poor baby alicent ‘always a victim to the men in her life’ rhetoric; as if that was ever a core part of her character.

what they gave us in house of the dragon was not the real alicent hightower, just a cheaply made original character with alicent’s name slapped on her in place of a discount sticker. hotd's biggest crime was reducing powerful ambitious women to side pieces in the big bad men's war. why do women in this universe have to suffer in order for the audience to feel sympathy for them and their plight? and no, i'm not going to argue with anyone going, "b-but OBVIOUSLY you just don't understand her character uwu," i understand her plenty, thanks.

if you actually like alicent (or any of the women in general) in fire and blood you should be seething in outrage over house of the dragon's portrayal of them.

#asoiaf #fire and blood #house of the dragon #hotd critical #anti hotd #book alicent hightower #anti show alicent hightower #anti alicent hightower #anti alicent stans #otto hightower #viserys i targaryen #aegon ii targaryen #larys strong #rhaenyra targaryen #all of these choices were made in the name of 'feminist writing' #and they are probably the most misogynistic choices one can make #women do not need to be playthings to the men around them #for their characters to be sympathetic #i'm prepared for the mob don't worry #me not putting anti in front of the men is hurting my soul #but they're not the purpose of this post so fuck them #hotd rant #team black #anti team green #anti team green stans

[booksandpaperss]

How Stranger Things (poorly) handles racism as a topic compared other heavy topics it successfully tackles

before we get started, I would to direct you all to some other accounts who have already discussed this that you should check out either before or after reading this post: @wewebaggit @googoogagaeyes @elekinetic and anyone else please feel free to tag yourself or another account that’s discussed this and I’ll happily boost it

Content Warning for in show examples of racism and discussions of racism, as well as mentions of homophobia and the AIDES epidemic

.

. While we're discussing historical accuracy in stranger things and homophobia + ignorance being present even in well meaning characters, I want to point out that if the writers of the show weren't so squeamish about addressing racism in any in depth way, than this type of historical accuracy would be for racism too.

what I mean by this: in this sense, the show is not consistent. It's clear that the writers have done their research on 80s homophobia and how openly prevalent it was, if the AIDES allegory in season 2 and the way homophobia was very clearly present in seasons 1 and 2 (it still is in seasons 3 and 4 but the first 2 seasons showed it in the scope of the entire town), but racism was just as overtly prevalent, and yet the writers have neglected to address it in the same thoughtful and coded way. if the show was just as consistent about racism as it is about homophobia, than the white characters would be at the very least shown as ignorant just like the straight characters are.

and I'm not going to say that it's completely ignored, because that's not true:

-in season 2; mike makes an ignorant comment that implies Lucas should have been Winston because he's black, and Lucas calls him on it. There's also the very racist undertones (that are practically overtones) of Billy's treatment of Lucas. -There is almost nothing in season 3 except for a jokey joke when Nancy says the whole party is her family and the receptionist, who is a black woman, gives Lucas a skeptical look.

-Season 4 is a little better, with the implications (key word: implications, I'll come back to that in a moment) of Lucas's season 4 arc being that he was trying to fit in because he didn't want to be racially targeted and bullied for being a nerd at the same time anymore, that he felt like even more of an outsider compared to the rest of his otherwise all white friend group who, as far as he knows, are all cishet and giving him shit for wanting to lessen how much he's perceived as an outsider because he's automatically seen as even more of a "freak", and his friends just weren't getting it because they were white and ignorant. So the writers aren't blind to race and racism.

However. None of the examples that I've just listed are addressed later in any in depth way; not like the homophobia is. The only one that's even remotely delved into instead of simply being glossed over is Lucas's s4 arc, and even that is still very flitted around and left up to interpretation of the audience.

The writers seem to have a very "hit and run" sort of policy with addressing racism. They clearly know they should, and they at least seem to know that having a black character in an 80s setting with a cast of mostly white characters inherently creates a lot of racial subtext-

-for example, the very loud subtext of Jason (a white boy much older than Lucas) seeing Max (a white girl) in a trance alone with Lucas (a black boy) and immediately assuming the worst + Jason's white friends tackling an 11 year old black girl to the ground: subtext that I'm still not sure if the writers and directors were even aware of bc they never addressed it and their track record isn't great-

-but they hardly do anything about it.

I'm not surprised, considering this show is headed by two white men, but what really gets me is that they all truly could have tried harder. Like I said earlier, it's clear they've done research and put thought into addressing homophobia (it still could've been handled better but that's an entirely different conversation), and it's evident from Max's s4 arc that they also did research on Depression, PTSD, and the impacts on someone of their abusive family member dying. So the lack of care and thought put into addressing racism in the same way is clearly more than ignorance (which would still be bad, when you're writing a show this big in 2023 with topics like this you're actually, shocker, responsible for making sure they're addressed properly, ignorance is a choice at that point), its just fucking lazy. they don't care. And this not caring is inherently harmful on a show this big and frankly, I'm tired of so many viewers and people in this fandom straight up ignoring this fact, just like the show runners.

And I haven't even covered the complete lack of effort put into Patrick's backstory, or the fact that Erica is very much the sassy, mature for her age black girl stereotype (she deserves so much better). Oh, And we can’t forget the copaganda.

I'm glad that season 4 started to explore the dynamic between Lucas and Erica and expand on both their characters, and from the looks of things that will continue in season 5, so the writers have a chance to do their research, actually put effort more effort into the sinclair sibling’s characters, and improve, and I'm hoping they will but as of right now I don't trust them to, and won't unless they prove me wrong.

TDLR; the main issue is that Stranger Things is clearly a show that addresses topics like depression, abuse, homophobia, and racism, but the racism part is neglected compared to the others, just like how Lucas and Erica's characters are handled poorly compared to the white characters,. it's lazy, horribly insensitive, and racist in and of itself. There's a clear bias, and even if it improves in season 5 we still should be talking about it, and more white people (yes white queer people included, we are not exempt from this discussion, if anything we should care just as much about it as when we’re talking about homophobia) in this fandom need to start listening when black and brown people do talk about it instead of just waltzing through and ignoring it for your own peace of mind.

also I should clarify that I myself am white, I made sure I did research before making this post in order to talk about this accurately and consciously, but if I made any mistakes or said something insensitive or used an incorrect term or anything else, feel free to correct me and I will readily fix it

as a final note: please check my rebligs of this for links to more posts that talk abt this issue

#also I know this is a lot of text I’m sorry I tried my best to format it but it’ll be way easier to read on desktop than on ur phone #stranger things #stranger things analysis #stranger things fandom #tw racsim #elli talks stranger things