#fittest women

[uncanny-tranny]

The thing that gets me the most about intersexism is the fact that... it doesn't matter how many intersex people there are - no matter if they are as common as redheadheaded people or anybody else - when the intersexist sees human bodies and their states as a inherently a political battle, an agenda to be "won," the intersex body will always be an "anomaly," something crude and unnatural, regardless of how oxymoronic the "unnatural natural body" is.

#intersex #intersexism #intersexism tw #that's why the venn diagram between the transphobe and the intersexist is only ever a few degrees away from being just a circle #was watching how people treated an intersex woman indistinguishably with just... unparalleled misogyny and intersexism #because they see ALL bodies as a political battlefield for which their viewpoint must win. and it won't matter how many people it destroys. #...if you are destroyed by them - in the eyes of the intersexist - you deserved it. survival of the fittest right? #it reminds me of the salem with trials - if you drowned well you were a normal woman. it's better that you died though... #...your other option wasn't any better - truth is... the game was rigged from the start #this is why the argument that intersex people don't exist and are common isn't effective... #...it's like telling a sexist that half the population are women.... that's their problem! that's exactly their issue!!! #the issue is often not because they are common or not common but that they EXIST IN THE FIRST PLACE #it wouldn't matter if intersex people were twenty times as rare as they are now so long as they exist to the intersexist

[womenaremypriority]

Our culture posits brute strength as synonymous with strength altogether. This is why feminists are accused of thinking women are inferior when we mention women have significantly less raw strength than men. Think about how Darwin’s “survival of the fittest” is considered about how well an animal can win in a fight, instead of multiple aspects of strength both physical and mental. Brute strength has been considered the only part of physical strength that matters because it is the most immediate and obvious, and because it’s the area men succeed.

#my post #radical feminism #I say “our culture” to be simple but I’m mostly talking about cultural attitudes in the US and other English-speaking countries #for simplicity’s sake #But if this isn’t true for everywhere that makes total sense #^ #My bangers

[foreverdolly]

a lil sneak peak of the pre-edited third chapter of "savage bonds" to help ease everyone's monday blues.

The world just fell away, like ink on wet paper- it all bled around him. All sound and sight ebbed away, the only thing visible in his rage being your tear filled eyes. Feyd had seen looks of pure terror on the faces of men he had bested countless times before. It never meant much to him. The lives he had taken never weighed heavy on his shoulders. He never cared much for anything aside from his own ambitions. He had goals- found minor joy in sharpening his mind and his blades. 

 He had carried his memories of you from childhood with him into adulthood, each glance and nervous smile acted as a balm that soothed any future traumas or worries. He knew that one day he would be standing exactly where he was right then, with you within arms length. 

This wasn’t what he had pictured throughout the years though. Nothing could have prepared him for what he was currently witnessing. 

Women bled the same as men did. He never felt overly-noble when it came to protecting them, no matter how weak or frail they looked. Feyd understood that it was survival of the fittest. People lost their lives every day in much crueler ways than suffocation. . . 

But the guard had his hands around your throat, and in that moment Feyd no longer saw the proud woman that had managed to nearly knock him off of his feet earlier. No, in that moment you looked just like that six year old little girl he had always cared for so dearly. You looked exactly how he had left you- scared, fragile and innocent.  Feyd-Rautha wasn’t quite sure what love was, but he could imagine that it must be what he felt for you. Losing you was an impossibility, he’d never let it happen. He couldn’t.

#savage bonds fic #feyd rautha fic #feyd rautha #dune #dune part two #dune part 2

[goldenwilliamson]

would you maybe be able to write a fic for leah where the reader is a famous singer and goes to an arsenal or england game and then gets to meet the team after and leah is secretly a huge fan trying to play it cool (kind of like becks/posh)???

fan behaviour | leah williamson

pairing: leah williamson x reader

a/n: love this ask, feel like i miiight have read something similar to this but can't remember who wrote it, so apologies for conceptual similarities if there is any. also i reference reader wearing leah's no. 8 england jersey even though leah has worn many different numbers for england lol.

summary: reader is a famous singer who goes to an england game and goes back to meet the girls after, not knowing leah williamson thinks she is the fittest woman to walk the earth. leah's fellow lionesses taking the piss out of her a bit for her crush. reader finding it endlessly endearing, as you would.

word count: 2.1k

When you had asked your manager if she could organise getting you tickets to see the Lionesses play, you hadn't expected that your love for the women's team would be reciprocated in any way. So you were pleasantly surprised when your manager informed you that the team wanted to meet you after the game, and agreed immediately.

You had briefly met a few of the players already at a GQ event last year, and on that occasion you had found yourself completely infatuated with the captain Leah Williamson. You had watched on in the Euros as she lead the team out with such confidence and from there you had definitely developed a small crush on the footballer. You had even sourced yourself a number 8 Williamson jersey to wear to the final at Wembley.

After the historic final you shared a photo of yourself and your family donned proudly in your England jerseys to your instagram that night with the caption 'claiming the title of the @lionesses biggest fan. the girls brought it home ⚽️🔥❤️'. Little did you know that when Leah saw your post, she had made sure everyone on the team had seen that you were wearing her jersey. She couldn't believe her eyes, or that a musician of your status was posting about the Lionesses. In a simple display of mutual affection, Leah liked the post and left a comment saying 'The feeling is mutual, thanks for the love x'.

It wasn't until later in the year that the two of you had finally met at the GQ Men of the Year event after the Euros. You had seen her across the room and made a shamless beeline for her. Though no introductions were necessary, you both introduced yourselves, and right off the bat Leah mentioned the fact that you had posted a photo of yourself in her jersey. You tried your best to play it cool, but you certainly were blushing, which Leah only found more endearing.

"I've got to back the captain haven't I?" You'd told her.

"I'm not complaining, it looked better on you than it does on me," she responded flirtatiously with practised ease.

"You're making me blush now," you pat your cheeks, feeling the warmth of your face.

"Surely you get people complimenting you in every room you walk into," Leah said matter of factly, only flattering you further.

"Leah Williamson, stop inflating my ego!" You laughed, "You live a far more respectable life than I do, and you manage to look this bloody good while doing it," you motion up and down her body with your hands to her outfit, completely blown away by her ability to look so damn good in and out of kit.

"Well I'll take the compliment, but I'll have you know I have a great respect for you and your music," she says sincerely.

"Thank you, I guess it's my turn to take the compliment too," you tell her, and sadly your conversation is cut short by an announcement that the award ceremony is about to commence and that everyone must move to their seats. The rest of the night your mind was occupied with thoughts of the English captain, especially since she was honoured with multiple speeches of people singing her praises.

And while you couldn't have known it, Leah's mind was filled with you. After that night she had strictly listened to your music on repeat for weeks, much to the annoyance of her teammates who demanded something else be played since it was Leah who had the role of team DJ.

A few months later when you decided to secure tickets to the Arnold Clark Cup game in Milton Keynes, you had secretly hoped you might get another encounter with Leah, and your manager had confirmed this at the start of the night.

When the girls were in the change room before hand, news began to travel that you were in the crowd, but it hadn't reached Leah until she queued up one of your songs in the pre-game playlist and realisation dawned on Ella Toone's face.

"Can you believe Y/N Y/L/N is here? Apparently she's going to come say hello after the game," Ella said.

"Is she really?" Leah said, her voice coming out squeaky, the excitement evident.

"Oh good Lee, maybe you can just ask her out like a normal human instead of listening to her like an obsessive fan," Georgia Stanway said loud enough for every one to hear, making the team laugh.

"Give it a rest," Leah shook her head, but she smiled, knowing Georgia had a point.

Leah knew she had spent way too much time thinking about you for only having met you that one time, but she couldn't help it. She definitely felt there was a little chemistry in your brief conversation at the GQ event. She tried not to let herself believe that but, after all, you were one of the most famous artists in the world, and she was just a footballer. She wasn't even sure that you dated women. Either way, the idea that you were in the crowd made her want to put in a good performance.

From your posh seats, which you felt extremely lucky to be in, you were enthralled in the game, cheering as loud as anyone when the girls scored their 4 goals against South Korea. You'd even come wearing a Williamson Jersey under your coat, and throughout the game your eye was consistently drawn to the blonde defender who charmed you those months ago.

When the game ended one of the many people working behind the scenes for the Lionesses came to find you at your seat to escort you and your manager through the back of the stadium down to where the team was.

You could hear the sound of Murder On The Dancefloor playing loudly as you followed your escort towards the change room where the team was clearly celebrating their win. The girls were mostly too busy dancing and shouting along with the song to notice your entrance, which made you smile. You didn't want to disrupt their celebrations by any means, but the woman who brought you down had cleared her throat to get the girls attention.

"Sorry to interrupt ladies, but I've got someone special here who has kindly come to say hello!" She announces to the room and instantly the heads turn your way.

You flash a smile and wave as the music gets turned down, "Sorry to show up in the middle of such a good song," you apologise.

"Are you kidding me? The music can wait, you're Y/N bloody Y/L/N," Ella said, making you laugh.

"And you're Ella bloody Toone, it's so good to meet you. I'm a huge fan of you all," You said, expressing your love for the entire team, looking around the room. Even though you've brushed shoulders with more celebrities than you can count, staring into a room of footballers you admire felt extremely surreal.

"We're fans of yours, especially Leah," Georgia says, gesturing across the room with her thumb towards Leah who you were only managing to see now.

She stood resting against the wall with her arms crossed, shaking her head, "Thanks for that G."

You decide it's getting a bit awkward with everyone staring at you, as if you're about to give a half time pep talk so you try to diffuse the situation a little.

"Well I'd love to get around and have a chat with all of you, but please put your music on and do your thing, I feel silly standing up here in front of you all," you say, smiling.

"You heard her girls, stop staring, play the music Leah," Millie Bright said instructively and you watched as Leah picked her phone up and pressed play on the music.

Instantly many went back to singing along to the Sophie Ellis-Bextor classic, and you made your way over towards Georgia Stanway giving her a hug hello, and sitting down with her for a chat.

"That penalty was unreal," you told Georgia, referring to the goal she scored in the game. You spoke with her easily, feeling like you were catching up with a friend.

You continued to move your way around the room, chatting with some of the girls individually and with some in smaller groups. While they all had compliments for you and questions to ask, you met them with the exact same energy. The room quickly filled up with more people who work for the team and friends and family which made you feel less like you were a lucky fan who had orchestrated a private meet and greet with the team.

The whole time you were in the room you were looking for Leah out of the corner of your eye, wanting to save her for a bit later so you could get some more time to talk with her. Once you'd basically made your rounds of the room chatting to the players and their family members you finally made your way over to Leah.

"Saving the best for last?" Leah smirks at you as you approach.

"Well I'm not one to pick favourites, but I did wear my Williamson jersey tonight," you say, pushing open your coat to show off the white England jersey tucked loosely into your pants.

"I can't get over you wearing my shirt," Leah said, her pearly white teeth on full display, which you reflected with your own face.

"Is it surreal for you? Since I hear you're such a big fan of mine and all," you say, reference Georgia's little quip from earlier which didn't fly under your radar.

"Oh, she's got banter," Leah says, an eyebrow raised.

"She tries," you shrug your shoulders.

"Well if you must know, yes I'm a fan. I may even have been told off for playing too much of your music around the girls," she admits, "But you've got my name on your back so I'd say the feeling is mutual."

"Oh, it's definitely mutual, if anything I'm underplaying how big of a fan I am," you say, your honesty laced with sarcasm.

Leah smiles, "Well if we're being honest I'm really glad you came today, I was disappointed we didn't get to chat more back at that GQ event," Leah says earnestly.

"So was I! I actually tried to find you later that night but had no luck," you said.

"Oh, you did? I was probably just sitting with Alex Scott chatting her ear off about how fit you are," Leah says, her forwardness catching you off guard just slightly.

"Well just as well I came here today then," you said, dropping your voice slightly and leaning in closer to her ear, "Because I haven't stopped thinking about you since that night."

"Well what do you say we get together for coffee soon and we can gush over each other some more?" Leah offers and you light up at the idea.

"I'd say that's a great idea," you nod, laughing, "Here let me give you my number," you motion towards the phone in her hand and she unlocks it, handing it over to you. You open her contacts and create a new one for you.

"Alright, all done," you hand her phone back to her, feeling your heart beating in your chest.

"Perfect, well, Y/N, it was a pleasure to see you again," Leah says, opening her arms for a hug, which you slip into gladly.

"Yes, always a pleasure. Make sure you text me later, don't leave me hanging," you say in your embrace, knowing that you're close enough to Leah that the other girls might not hear.

"I wouldn't dare," Leah promises.

"Alright, good," you smile as you step away.

Now that your conversation has come to an end Leah turns back to the rest of the girls, most of whom are watching your and Leah's interaction very closely.

"Alright girls, Y/N is heading off now, say your goodbyes," Leah says, using what you think must be her captain voice, sounding very assertive.

"Bye guys, it's been so good to meet you all," you tell everyone as they all say goodbye and thank you for coming. You embrace almost everyone in a hug as you slowly making your way back around to the door where your manager waits for you.

You give one last wave goodbye, and have one last look at Leah who is watching every move of yours with a small smile on her face. She waves at you as you look at her and with that you turn and leave the room.

As you walk through the stadium to the back entrance where a car is waiting for you, your manager asks how you're feeling after meeting all the girls.

You giggle like you're a teenager again as you tell her, "I think I have a date with Leah Williamson."

#leah williamson #woso community #leah williamson x reader #lionesses #lionesses x reader #woso x reader #woso #awfc

[kippah-for-lemon]

A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO,

a neighborhood science teacher asked if I believed that the Genesis account of creation was true. I answered, yes. Great, he said. Would I like to speak to his class about my understanding of creation? This modern-day John Scopes thought he was inviting a modern-day William Jennings Bryan to reenact the classic duel.

However, I told the class that while I believed the Genesis account of creation to be true, I also believed the scientific theory of evolution to be true. My response was greeted by puzzlement on the part of twenty-five eighth graders and disappointment on the part of their teacher. I went on to explain that science is one of humanity's great truth traditions, and religion is another. The two have threatened each other since well before the theories of Charles Darwin were formulated. But they needn't be engaged in such a heated rivalry because their goals are so different.

Science can help us understand how the world was created, but it can't tell us why it was created. And religion has no business telling us how the world was created, but we desperately need it to help us under- stand why we're here.

Genesis doesn't discuss the survival of the fittest, but, as you well know, Darwin's scientific creation story does. That story's operativeprinciple of the survival of the fittest became known as Social Darwinism, which taught that only the truly gifted deserve to survive. It is unfortunate that this teaching has become an axiom of modern life. In contrast, our Jewish tradition has always taught that we are responsible for the survival of the least fit: the orphan, the poor, the lonely, and the stranger, to name just a few. And in Genesis 1:27 we are told that every single human being is divinely gifted and deserving of dignity. The opening of Genesis tells about the creation by God of a universe of harmony, balance, and beauty, formed from soupy chaos, tohu vavohu. It is the most profound story we know, and it reminds us why we are here. It sets forth our work, and our challenge. But is the story true?

Regretfully I must admit that the story is not true, or at least not yet. When will it be true? When we accept our responsibility as God's partners in creating the world described in Genesis.

-Rabbi Rick Jacobs (b. 1955)

An excerpt from my Temple's Rosh Hashanah prayer book. Under the cut is just a testimony from me but feel free to reblog for the quote alone.

It really stuck with me because I was raised Protestant. I even attended a private Christian (nondenominational) school for three years. Sixth through 8th grade (for non-Americans, I was the ages of 11-14 give or take).

I was taught that evolution wasn't real. I wrote an 8 page essay on why Charles Darwin was wrong and that The Bible was correct. Little did I know I actually did believe in evolution, and so did most of my peers as I reasoned that over a long time of adaptations maybe there could be a different species

I was shell shocked when I switched to a public high school (14 years old) and flat out told evolution was true (or well as true as a scientific theory can get). I lost my trust for authority, and I realized how damaging my education had been.

I'm AFAB, and so I was taught my responsibility was to be quiet and to please my husband. I often asked far too many questions, especially when it came to the teachings of the Bible, to the extent my own teachers, men and women who were supposed to nurture my curiosity and be my guide into the world, shunned me.

Starting my Jewish journey, I sobbed. I sobbed after the first service I went to. It's so different from what I had been through before. I'm so glad I'm allowed to ask questions and it's even encouraged. I'm glad the Torah is scrutinized and we are encouraged to study the book and even admit when G-d has done wrong.

My partner, knowing my past, pointed this specific excerpt out to me. I had to fight back tears. I feel so loved and welcomed in Judaism.

"...Jewish tradition has always taught that we are responsible for the survival of the least fit: the orphan, the poor, the lonely, and the stranger, to name just a few. And in Genesis 1:27 we are told that every single human being is divinely gifted and deserving of dignity."

#jumblr #jew #jewish #rosh hashanah #Rabbi Rick Jacobs #jewish tumblr #jew convert #jewish convert #jewish pride #jewish joy

[chawarin-panich]

I really had to read with my own two eyes multiple times since this post had multiple people add on to it, bringing it back to my dash again and again, that the drama from Tharn and Phaya's past life did not feel dramatic at all. And somehow that detracts from taking the drama of the present as seriously as the show is taking it. This story is based on Thai folklore? The Naga and Garuda are eternal enemies. The love between a Naga and a Garuda is an insult to the literal cosmic order. Chalothon who was only trying to preserve the natural order has been wronged by their love. The natural order is also referenced several times but especially when the priest was like keep Phaya and Chalothon away from each other, they're destined to be enemies. Not meeting the show halfway to accepting this as part of your lens as an audience is frankly...an interesting choice to make. The next bit is pure conjecture on account of me not being Thai but I'm trying to relate to what The Sign is likely trying to do from my own understanding of Asian folklore and the way we use those stories to build new stories. What is there to get out of this show other than the big fuck you to 'natural order' of things that must be because of the way that they are. Why can't a Naga and Garuda be in love? This must be a concept that people explore under the general lens of forbidden love in Thailand (pure conjecture but also like I don't know how it can't be true). We all have our poorly explained versions of Forbidden Love gone bad; Romeo and Juliet, Ram Leela, Devdas would be some heterosexual stories of Forbidden Love that kind of hand waves around the forbidden part a little bit that I'm familiar with. Devdas (the story I'm most familiar with of the one's stated) and its myriad adaptations is a story about the absolute ways we hold on to class even as it brings about our own downfall.

It's a great pick for a queer adaptation because the reasons why the lovers couldn't be together was so made up and really came down to ONE person (Devdas' mother) who just couldn't let go of class even though everyone else was literally begging for the two to just be together because let me tell you none of you have met a poor little meow meow on the scale of Devdas.

The Sign is bringing the forbidden love between a Naga and Garuda as a parallel of the forbidden love between two men. Homosexuality outside of the legal sphere really does come down to an ideological difference as to what is natural vs not. Homosexuality goes against a natural order of reproduction. And this is true. Two men cannot reproduce, two women cannot reproduce with each other.

The challenge isn't to prove that they can, it's to prove that reproduction isn't the centerpoint of human life, that we have transcended the need for our life to be dictated by this 'natural' order because on principal our societies just aren't built along the paradigm of 'survival of the fittest' where the benchmark of species fitness is its ability to reproduce.

Thai shows including things that have come out of Idol Factory (that produces The Sign) are often socially engaged with LGBT rights within Thailand. Now that gay marriage is legal or on its way to be, I assume a move in the direction of bringing same sex relationships up to the same societal respect as straight relationships would be a natural direction that future screenwriters will go.

The Sign is trying very hard to take the question of homosexuality right to the heart of Thai culture and tradition and talk about it from that lens [this is less conjecture and more paraphrasing what Saint has said about the show in interviews] And I know that you all are capable of meeting a story halfway in respecting its desire to set up the stakes through references of allegorical story telling since y'all have been doing it with Last Twilight and Le Petit Prince. So I don't know even know why I had to make this post but: tl;dr: The stakes of the love between Tharn and Phaya and the forbidden nature of it is set before you even see much of the show just from the fact that Tharn is a Naga and Phaya is a Garuda and as a member of the audience you have to accept that the love between Naga and Garuda is a deviant form of love in Thai culture.

#the sign the series #im not tagging this post heavily #because i dont want people to be mad at me #because im a coward like that #but oh my god sometimes i really will read things and be like #*bursting into tears* but-but you're watching a thai show #and then i must be a smartass about it on my own blog but in like the most cowardly way possible

[finelinevogue]

tough love training

summary - you attend defence training with the most attractive shadowsinger

word count: 2k

a/n: fic is basically what it says on the tin.. i made up a character so you could get mad at someone without them being an existing sjm character!! bit of angst and near death experience in this fic..

It was another day in of training up in Windhaven.

Everyday you still wonder why you had chosen to train here and not at the local self-defence classes down in Velaris, because you weren't exactly the fittest, no thanks to your asthma, and you weren't exactly the bravest.

You had chosen to train with the fiercest instructors to have existed in the Night Court, in order to prove your worth to yourself.

Your whole life your parents hadn't been that loving and would never really acknowledge your presence. But that is how parents treated their offspring in the Court of Nightmares. They would run little experiments on you and treat you as a specimen rather than a daughter. You got used to it over the years but never got over it. Joining this training was an effort to prove to your parents that you were more than a science experiment.

That and you had found yourself incredibly attracted to Azriel, the Shadowsinger.

Azriel had been one of the founders of this training camp, specifically made for women who wanted to gain confidence and self defence skills. His sister-in-law, Nesta, was the one whom had initially come up with the idea and his brother, Rhysand, had funded the activities.

Azriel and Cassian joined as instructors without hesitation, knowing how sparse training for women was across the courts.

You and around 10 other females stood in a semi circle in front of Nesta, Cassian and Azriel, awaiting instructions for the morning session.

"Okay, listen up! Today we are going to do one on one combat. You lose, you're benched for the rest of the season." Nesta explained.

“Winner gets to skip the 10km run tomorrow.” Cassian added the prize, earning a round of cheers and excited nods.

"Choose partners and then let's go." Azriel finished off the talk and then you were off to find your close friend, Gwyn.

On your way over to your ginger-haired friend, someone aggressively nudged you. You didn’t need to turn around to guess who it was, but when you did you weren’t shocked to see Lia standing there unkindly smiling.

Lia had had an issue with you ever since she figured out your crush on Azriel. She, too, had a mad crush on him but to the creepy point of bringing him gifts all the time and holding onto his biceps without permission. Maybe Azriel liked her back, who knows?

"Can I help you? " You questioned Lia, looking around to see if anyone has noticed.

"Let’s be partners." You looked around to see if anyone else wasn't partnered up, but unfortunately Gwyn had partnered up with someone else having thought you were going with Li today. You sighed. "It also looks like you don't have a choice."

"Fine. But push me like that again..." You were cut off.

"Lia? A word?" It was Azriel. "Make your way over to the training mat Y/N. Lia will be over in a minute."

You couldn't get any words out so you just nodded your head, making your way over to your area. Looking back at Lia and Azriel you expected them to be flirting, but instead found Azriel angrily pointing a finger at Lia. You had no idea what it was about but Lia looked quite sheepish after Azriel was finished talking.

Lia walked over to you with her head held lower than its usual prideful self. "Listen Y/N. I think I'm gonna work with Cassian today. Azriel said he wants to intensify my training."

Lia didn't look you in the eyes, but you were glad she would be gone. You nodded and walked over to a bench in your training area, taking a quick drink before walking over to the punch bags. If you couldn't do one on one combat then you would just have to tirelessly punch a bag instead.

You heard footsteps behind you and thinking it was Lia back for a second bite, you sighed and asked. "Can I help you?"

"I should be the one asking you that." Azriel chuckled with that charming smile, making you turn around with a blush on your cheeks for your tone of voice.

“Azriel… I…”

"Also that’s an extra 1km tomorrow for being cocky with me." You rolled your eyes and turned back around. "Don't make it 5." He said firmly.

You turned around smiling and went back to punching the bag. You didn't have much upper body strength, or any for that matter, so it made punching the bag a lot harder and painful than anticipated. However, that was the whole reason you were here - to build muscle and improve your self defence.

You heard Azriel sigh behind you. "You're weak today."

"Yeah I've heard that my whole life, yet it's still not done anything to solve the issue." You stopped punching the bag and turned around to face Azriel, crossing your arms in the process with annoyance.

"Well that's only because they haven't helped you find your strengths." Azriel smiled.

"What, and you're willing to?"

"Yes, actually."

"Listen Azriel. I’ve been bossed around my whole life and I don’t need someone new mansplaining my whole life away. If I end up nearly dead on a battlefield then I might need a few pointers. but for now I'm going to fight on my own."

You turned back around to start punching again, but Azriel caught your wrists before you could swing at the punchbag. Not only did his touch deliciously burn your skin, but when he pulled you closer to him your whole body set aflame from how warm and comforting he felt. His warm eyes looked down upon you and you licked your lips to looked away before he could truly read you.

"Y/N. I don't think you heard me correctly when I said I will help you. Normally people don't turn down an opportunity for help." He gave you a questioning look.

"Well then I’ll be your first." You tried turning around but Azriel still had a firm, but gentle, grasp on your arm.

"Stop being stubborn." Azriel almost shouted at you. "Y/N I want you to progress with these sessions... I... I... need you to be that good that you won’t end up nearly dead on a battlefield." You'd never seen Azriel so choked up on his words.

As he was talking he started to let go of your hands so they fell back by your sides, his skin still burning beautifully in the after-feeling. You stared at him blankly. What did he mean? What did "need" mean to him? Was it possible he might like you too?

"Need?" You quietly ask.

You stared at him hoping to catch his eyes. Azriel just coughed quietly and brushed his hand over his mouth. He then quickly departed the scene and left you wondering what the Mother that was all about.

••••

It was later in the evening that you found yourself in the training area again.

You continuously punched the punchbag, your hands slightly bleeding from the blows. One punch for your mother. One punch for your father. One punch for your messed up childhood. One punch for being weak. One punch for the inevitability of becoming nobody. One punch for Azriel. The last punch was enough to set you off crying.

You rested your forehead on the punching bag and cried softly to yourself, your hands and body tired and weak.

"It’s pathetic how hard your try, only to fail.”

Your head whipped around to see Lia standing there, watching you like you were the most pathetic being alive.

"I haven’t failed." You stood up straight and wiped the tears from your eyes with your bloodied hands. You weren’t going to let Lia see you for what she believed you were; weak.”

"Don't lie to yourself, Y/N." She chuckled. "You have two options. Either you quit these sessions and make it easier for yourself. Or you one on one combat me, right now, and prove to me you're worth more than what I know you are."

“I’m worth more than you think.”

“Aww is that what Azriel’s been telling you?” She cooed. Your heart tweaked at the mention of Ariel’s name.

You heavily sighed, not going to let her taunt you anymore.

You were ready to walk a tightrope over a cavern or jump out of a tall building, but no. Just as you were feeling your weakest you would have to fight. "Ohh. Is that a sigh of defeat?"

"No. I accept your challenge." You looked her dead in the eyes whilst tightening the bandages around your wrists, wincing as you did so.

You both took your starting stances on the combat mat, trying to control your breathing for what may come next.

Lia made the first jab right into your throat which threw your balance off, and gave Lia the chance to kick your legs from underneath you. You plummeted to the ground with force and let out an oomph when you landed on your ribs. "Wow. I mean, that couldn't have been more pathetic."

Lia was expecting you to not stand back up. So you did.

"I'm not done yet." You said, wiping away the sweat on your forehead.

"Alright, but this time last longer than 2 seconds." Lia chuckled.

She ran towards you and you could tell she was aiming for your stomach, but your were quick enough move around her and kick her legs from underneath her. You smiled to yourself as she landed on the floor harshly.

You turned around and shook off your hands, feeling a little more confident now that it was a tie. As you were congratulating yourself you didn't see Lia run up behind you and grab and pull your neck. She started to squeeze and cut the air off from your lungs.

“What you gonna do now? Huh?" Lia chuckled.

You wanted to tap your hands against her arms, as you would do in training, to let her know that you quit because you couldn’t breathe, but she had your arms locked in place too.

Your felt your face flush red as her hold on your neck was too tight. Your eyes watered as you tried your best to move and wiggle your way out of this hold, but nothing was working.

“Gah…” You tried to speak, but only a mutter of sounds fell from your lips.

“What was that? You trying to say something? No one is going to hear your shouts even if you could speak. You’re fucking alone, Y/N. Remember?”

"Is she?” Was the final thing you heard someone say, before your body gave out on you and the world turned black.

••••

You could feel the wind softly blowing on you whilst the birds sang their morning songs.

That's when you realised that you were not in your normal bedroom, but rather someone else's bed. You sat up in alarm and threw your legs over the side of the bed. Too busy to take in your surroundings, you stood up for quickly only to get hit with a spell of dizziness. Luckily someone's strong arms caught you before you could fall forwards.

"Woah. You need to be careful Y/N. You took a hit yesterday." Azriel spoke down to you, his arms warm and strong around your body.

He guided you to sit on the edge of the bed, him following.

You tried to speak but your throat hurt too much. Before you could even signal to Azriel for some water, he was holding a glass for you with his hand that wasn’t still holding onto your waist for support. You drank the water with a small wince as it passed your throat.

“Thank you.” You whispered, not being able to bring yourself to look at him.

“How are you feeling?” He asked in return, taking the glass back off you. Your fingers started to play with each other, picking at your nails anxiously.

“O-okay.” You nodded.

“Lia has been banned from the training programme and Rhys has her on community service for the rest of her life.” Azriel explained. “I would’ve put in her prison, personally, but…”

“If anyone should’ve been banned from the programme it’s me.” You picked extra hard at your nails, only to have Ariel’s hands cover yours to stop you. You heartbeats picked up at the gentle touch.

“Why would you say that?” You turned to see Ariel’s eyebrows furrowed and eyes full of sorrow.

“Because Lia was right. I-I am pathetic and if I can’t defend myself in training, I don’t see the point in trying anymore.” You watched his eyes watch yours with intensity.

“You should know your words hurt me.” Azriel kept focus on you and it was hard to look away.

“How so?”

“Because the idea of you being cruel to yourself is just as painful as watching you slip out of consciousness yesterday. It’s the same pain.”

“But why? I don’t understand…”

Your lips were shortly cut off with Azriel’s on yours. You were taken aback by how soft the fearful Shadowsinger’s lips were against yours, but slowly melted into the kiss. Azriel was careful not to knock your bruised back, but he did not hold back from kissing your existence out of you.

He slowly pulled away with apprehension, whilst you licked your lips to continue revelling in his sweet taste.

“Do you understand now?” He asked.

“You only did that because I talk too much.” You smirked, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

"Shut up, you!" Azriel laughed with you, before kissing you once more. His lips felt so right against yours, even if the thought of this beautiful male was attracted to you seemed so wrong. You could and would kiss him for days if this happy and bright feeling in your chest remained.

"What does this mean to you?" You shyly asked, reluctantly pulling away from his lips to hear his answer.

"Everything.” He nodded with a smile. “Ever since day one I've felt this unexplainable pull towards you. Now, I understand why.“

You smiled lovingly as he carefully took the back of your head and brought you in for a hug. You rested your head on his shoulder and closed your eyes, knowing you were safe here and had more than one reason to continue training.

#azriel blurbs #azriel fanfiction #azriel #azriel shadowsinger #azriel shadowsinger blurbs #azriel acotar #acotar fanfic #acotar fanfiction #acotar #azriel x reader #azriel x you #azriel fluff #azriel angst

[june-harper]

I don't want ask u anything but I do want to tell u....u are with out doubt the sexiest fittest women I've seen anywhere and I mean anywhere. Ur beautiful stunning as u probably know bet u get told this at the time .I'd die give anything to have a woman like u. Can't take my eyes of u .even a night with u ..that would b best day my life..U got it all .and sorry I just had to say this and it's took weeks to say it

.

That's very sweet of you! Thanks 🥰

[communistkenobi]

in Whipping Girl, Serano grapples with "nature vs nurture" "biology vs society" and so on, and she seems to fall into a sort of centrism where both models are wrong (or rather, only partially correct). her argument is that on the one hand, gender is very obviously socially mediated and (re)produced, and on the other, there is something within people that precedes the social and determines our comfort level with the gender roles we must perform in our lives - she calls this subconscious sex, this thing that everyone has, including cis people, but in trans people it produces this feeling that we are not living our gendered life correctly, that there is some disconnect deep down, that our assigned gender is dissatisfying in some intangible way that can only be resolved via transition. and this subconscious sex is maybe biological or maybe psychological, but it's something that can remain unmoved by the gendered social pressures we are forced to navigate, and therefore there is something "true," or at least compelling, about a partially biological conception of gender. It's not classical gender essentialism but rather a retraction of the essential element of gender away from our genitals and into our brains.

and i find this nature vs nurture dichotomy she explores extremely frustrating. first, for the obvious fact that it assumes a very limited experience set for trans people (a lifelong struggle with gender dysphoria that begins in childhood and culminates in a binarist transition from "one sex to the other"). this model is correct for some people, but it is also the model that medical and psychiatric institutions rely on when "diagnosing" us as "real" transgender people, excluding the possibility of exiting the binary altogether, of rejecting it outright, or of even experiencing the binary in different ways.

two, I don't actually think gender essentialists are making biological claims about sex and gender when they talk about the inherent differences between men and women, because the scientific consensus on the biological components of sex are far more complex than genitals = gender, a fact that has no bearing on reactionary beliefs about gender and sex. Gender essentialists are making political claims using the rhetoric of the biological, the natural. These people have political platforms and goals that are not even remotely restricted to the realm of biology - gender segregated bathrooms and change rooms as well as sports and competitive games, banning transition care for trans people, the violent enforcement of patriarchal & white supremacist western gender norms, the attendant political beliefs about the criminalization of sex work, and frequently, the banning of abortion - these are claims about the built environment, about entertainment & play, about medical care, about labour, about law and the role of the state in producing gender. What is "biological" to transphobes & homophobes is what is natural and unchanging, but paradoxically must also be violently imposed upon people in every sphere of their life in order to be maintained. You see conservatives do this all the time - they talk about natural law, about the rule of man, "survival of the fittest" being used to gleefully explain social murder, "natural differences in men and women", biological claims about racial superiority, and so on. These are not biological claims because these claims do not bear out empirically, they are claims using the authority of tradition cloaked in the authority of biology. "It's always been this way" is not about biology, it is a call to return to a mythical past, a past closer to the imagined "natural state" of human beings prior to the intrusion of "society" and its attendant degenerate tendencies that corrupt "pure" human beings (almost invariably articulated as antisemitic conspiracies about who "orchestrates" this societal degeneracy). They use biological rhetoric because of the supposed apolitical, objective, empirical nature of the natural sciences - they refer not to the epistemic discipline of biology but to the claim of objective authority conferred upon biology. biology cannot be countered with the social because it is outside the social. "facts don't care about your feelings" is a dead meme phrase by this point, but it is probably the perfect distillation of these peoples' worldviews. They are correct not because their beliefs are empirically proven, but because their beliefs provide a rationalisation for the world they want to build. It is the modern version of the divine right of kings. There is nothing "biological" about any of these discussions other than the fact that they argue about how human bodies can or should be used - which, if that's our standard for biological, then everything is biological.

Are trans people biologically their gender? I think we need to reject the premise of this question. It is conceding too much ground; it pivots the discussion to "proving" transness in laboratories, to arguing about our genitals or our chromosomes instead of health care or housing or labour or public space. It accepts as valid the rhetorical sleight of hand that bigots do where they mean "unchangeable" when they say "biological" - something that nobody believes anyway unless you want to also object to like, the sterilization of medical equipment or heart surgery. We circumvent and alter biology every day. Reactionaries do not care about biology even a little bit and we do not need to humour them by pretending otherwise. We have scientific understandings of gender that do not adopt a biological lens because that lens is unequipped to deal with what is going on in front of us.

I'm sympathetic to Serano's desire to locate an origin for the dysphoria a lot of trans people feel, particularly because it allows us to more easily justify our existence. I'm also sympathetic to the fact that when she wrote this book, the public discourse on trans people was very different from what it is today; she's not even close to the first person to engage with this nature v nurture debate because it's the debate all trans people are at some point forced to reckon with. but ultimately I think this conception of transness is both politically a non-starter and a concession to our enemies that we do not need to give

#whipping girl #even old new york was once new amsterdam

[sflow-er]

Fröken Julie?

Terrible screenshot but the play shown next to Wille here is Fröken Julie by August Strindberg.

Cut for a summary of the plot/themes which I guess might count as a spoiler for YR S3.

Disclaimer: I haven't actually read or seen Fröken Julie, I just looked into it a bit online. So if anyone reading this has more insight, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

So, Fröken Julie is a story about an affair between a highborn girl (Julie) and an ambitious valet at her father's manor house (Jean), set on Midsummer Night. There's a power imbalance between them; first she has all the power, but as the play progresses, he figures out her weaknesses and exploits them. The story ends with Julie taking her own life after their plan to run away together and steal her father's money as a nest egg for the hotel Jean wants to start falls through. Oh, and Jean also has an existing fiancée among the staff, a cook called Kristin.

Strindberg wrote the play in 1888 as a tragedy about class warfare. His idea was that Julie, who dreamed of not being upper class anymore, represented the death of the aristocracy. Jean on the other hand represented an upward-mobile working class (ETA: he aspires to open his own business, which would make him bourgeois). Strindberg meant for it to be a social Darwinist piece where Julie and Jean were in a "survival of the fittest" against each other. There was also a "battle of the sexes" type of theme (Julie's portrayal seems rather misogynist based on my quick sweep and has been suspected to reflect Strindberg's own opinion on women, but apparently there have been some feminist readings as well).

I'm not sure what to make of it as a thematic hint here, except that I'm very sure it wouldn't be so prominently displayed in a trailer released so early if it was there to foreshadow an unhappy ending! Julie, Jean and their seemingly toxic affair definitely aren't apt parallels for Wilmon, so no worries there.

My guess is they're using the play to hint at a more general theme of class conflict and Wilmon's compatibility being called into question. Perhaps even Simon being wrongfully cast as a gold digger or as someone who just wants to take Wille down...

Anyway, just my two cents!

#young royals #young royals analysis #young royals season 3 #young royals season 3 trailer #young royals season 3 spoilers #young royals spoilers #yr spoilers #yr s3 #yr s3 spoilers #yr s3 trailer #yrs3 #yrs3 spoilers #yrs3 trailer #young royals season three #fröken julie

[old-acc-discourseisdumb]

I didn’t start identifying as queer so I could be diagnosed with a label. I’m not an animal being classified under a biological term, a taxonomic group which has a criteria so rigid it will only be changed with mind blowing biological evidence, only to be met with criticism and doubt still. These are feelings, language and culture.

Feelings can be straightforward, such as happy, feelings can be charged with layers and layers of experiences and years of history behind them, such as anger, and feelings can be conflicting or not quite fit with any known word. That’s how people make up new words based on old, well known concepts, such as bittersweet. Gender and attraction are feelings.

Language evolves, yes, but not in the same way as animals. It’s not coincidence after coincidence and survival of the fittest. Most of the time, it’s forced, purposeful changes. Take the word ‘okay’ — once upon a time a small group thought the feeling they were trying to communicate wasn’t properly explained with the phrase ‘all correct.’ People began to misspell it ironically as ‘orl korrect’, which was shortened to ‘OK’. A few decades later, ‘okay’ came about, because ‘OK’ wasn’t communicating what people wanted anymore. Language is changed and added to when someone wants something to be known and has no current way of articulating it. Sometimes it’s ridiculed, such as some slang, different dialects, and English variations. Gender and attraction are expressed through language because it’s a feeling.

Culture should be viewed through the lens of an anthropologist — someone who studies humanity. Witness without judgment people using whatever confusing and contradictory labels they like, if any at all, and together we can study those behaviours to discover why they bring such comfort. After all, you can’t properly study the behaviour of people who you’re forcing to act a certain way. Gender is a part of culture because of it’s significant role in language.

Queerness should not be about rigid criteria, exclusion, or checklists. It’s a beautiful, colourful feeling on a spectrum which can only be expressed through words in an attempt to summarise it.

I’d like to draw specific attention to the following:

Identities outside the binary, such as bigender people.

Contrasting identities, such as a woman who experiences gay love for men.

New and uncommon identities, such as xenogenders.

The use of the term ‘non-men’, which chooses to describe lesbian identities in relation to the exclusion of men instead of in relation to a unique, feminine love of women. Being a lesbian is least of all about men, so I don’t see why it should be defined in relation to them.

The arguments against such identities are recycled queerphobia. Men who are also lesbians—and others who don’t neatly fit into binary labels—do not need to pick a side, just like bisexual people don’t. Neopronoun users aren’t cisgender attention seekers trying to be special, just like the non-binary people attacked with those words or the binary transgender people before them. These are just some of the awful things I’ve heard about the less accepted side of our community.

Such people, including myself, may not be practicing queerness in a way well-known by the mainstream, but it should be expected that as more and more identities become common, more are discovered. If you want to take a torch into the darkness to welcome the people you know are hiding there, expect to see an entire world you were blinded to.

#queer #lgbt #lgbtq #radical inclusivity #nonbinary #bigender #multigender #male lesbian #lesboy #mspec lesbian #microlabels #xenogender #neopronouns #my posts

[makethatelevenrings]

Somewhere Only We Know - TWO

Chapter Warnings: spoilers for 2x02, swearing but that’s part of the show idk why you would be surprised by that

shoutout to @yanna-banana​ for showing me this Instagram dupe site so I can make this a bit more ~interactive~ since reader is, y’know, a social media manager. also thanks for ur patience my lovelies, i’m having “ahhhh im graduating” depressive states and all my energy is going towards finals and existing rn.

Series Masterlist

“Okay. Laptop. Charger. Keys. Coffee. Shoes. Shoes!”

For some reason, you were a mess this morning. You had been repeating your list of things you needed over and over again and yet every time you kept discovering something else you had forgotten. Your bag lay half-packed on the couch as you ran around like a chicken with its head cut off in pursuit of your shoes. Seriously, how the fuck did you lose the shoes you had grabbed from your closet just a minute ago?

That’s because they were in your hands.

Sighing, you pulled on the sensible flats and took another moment to look around your room and list out all the things you needed for work today. The TV played in a lone drone behind you and you turned your head to see This Morning playing. Philip and Holly were interviewing some guy from that one reality show.

“What about Amy? Are you going to wait for her?” Holly asked.

“Nah, no. I was just playing a game, know what I mean?” the guy replied. Christ, was that Jamie Tartt? It was, wasn’t it. “Find the fittest girl there, have sex with her in the toilet, ask her to marry you. Strategy.”

“Wow,” you drawled before you shut off the TV. “He’s a piece of shit.”

You headed for the door and quickly backtracked. You almost forgot your entire bag and the leftovers from the shoot you had last night. Ugh, you needed more coffee.

~~~

You were scrolling through TikTok in search of a new trend to use for a Richmond video when all five foot two inches of your boss came bursting into your office.

“Oh, sorry! I should have knocked. Get your bag, babes, we’re going to lunch,” she exclaimed. “There’s this cafe that’s a ten minute walk from here and they’ve got the best coffee.”

You knew better than to argue with the pure ball of energy that was Keeley Jones. In the short time you’ve known her, you loved the beaming blonde. She and Rebecca were infectious in their laughter, light, and kindness. When you first interviewed, you were intimidated by the two women, but you quickly learned that they were goofy as hell and always down to gossip.

Grabbing your purse, you dutifully followed Keeley through the maze of hallways. She passed the locker room without a second glance, but you made sure to peek over your shoulder to see a few of the guys streaming out of the doors.

“Yo, Keeley!” someone called. She spun around and waved at whoever yelled and then grabbed your hand, pulling you over to talk to a few of the guys.

“Hi Isaac! Have you met our new social media manager yet? She’s gonna be the one making you all look sexy on the Gram now,” she announced. You offered them a tentative smile and the large man in front of you beamed.

“Isaac McAdoo,” he introduced. You gave him your name in turn and then cleared your throat. You weren’t as charismatic or bubbly as Keeley, but you were trying to make more of an effort. Your last job was filled with a few passive aggressive comments thrown over cubicle walls and then bossa nova jazz everyday. No one had been chatty or nice the way everyone was at Richmond.

“I’ve actually been meaning to set up meetings with all the players,” you explained. “My job is to handle the team’s socials, but I also want to integrate the players' ideas and individual brands. I’d also like to know if anyone is working with a management team so I can coordinate with them on certain posts.”

“Isn’t she fucking brilliant?” Keeley exclaimed.

Isaac puffed out his chest and flexed his biceps. “As long as you make us look good, then I’m in.”

Keeley patted you on the shoulder. “We should get going to lunch, but check your email soon. I’ll make sure we can coordinate times to meet.”

“Awesome. Nice to meet you!” He darted off to go talk to someone else and Keeley slid her arm into the crook of yours so she could lead you out of the building and down the road.

“Isaac’s all bark and no bite unless you’re on the field,” she explained. “Sam is an absolute sweetie and Colin is darling. Richard is my go-to when I need to know a wine pairing and Zoreaux is a beast at Dance Dance Revolution. Bumbercatch is…”

Keeley listed off all the players on the team and you tried to keep a mental catalog of everything she said, but it was making your head spin. You were grateful once she stopped outside a small cafe that was indeed a short walk from Nelson Road. A simple vanilla latte and a chicken cobb salad was your order while Keeley got a complicated drink and a wrap.

The owner, Alex, handed the two of you your drinks and you turned with the intention of finding a table to wait for the food when Keeley stopped short. Some guy stood half-obscured by the plant shelves, but he stepped out once he realized he caught Keeley’s attention.

“Jamie?!” she exclaimed.

“I-I’m not stalking ya,” he blurted out. “I’ve been following you for, like, a few blocks now and I couldn’t text ya because I deleted your number.”

As he rambled on, his words started to fade in and out as you took him in. His slicked back hair made him look like a corny Godfather character and the all black ensemble didn’t help. You could understand why people fawned over him with that strong jaw and blue eyes, but as his lips moved all you could hear was his smarmy talk from the show this morning. 

“So, yeah, I’ve been following you for the last few blocks. No, I’m lying. I’ve been following you for your whole lunch hour. But I’ve just been trying to build up the courage to say hi…so…hi.” His voice trailed off and he shrugged.

“That’s, like, the definition of stalking,” you murmured which drew his attention to you. Jamie Tartt was starting to feel like a bad omen that was following you around.

“Hi, sorry. Jamie Tartt.” He offered you a cocky smile that you recognized from the TV that morning and you merely glanced down at his outstretched hand. You had no idea where that hand had been. Raising a single eyebrow, you let your gaze trail up from his hand to his face.

“I’ll go find us a table,” you said to Keeley before you brushed past him and found an empty table by the window. You always loved sitting by the window and watching the world pass by. You could make up stories about the people that passed by. Like the lady walking two poodles. Maybe she was some CEO or maybe she was an undercover agent. That would be sick as hell.

“Sorry about that, babe,” Keeley apologized. She placed your salad in front of you and then took the seat across from you. “Now, I just want to say that your idea about meeting all the players? Brilliant. Absolutely fucking brilliant. When we get back to the office, we can set up a calendar for everyone to schedule a time to meet with you. How’s that sound?”

“That’s great. I really love working here.” You looked towards the door where Jamie Tartt was heading out of, a coffee clutched in his hand. He glanced back at the table you were sitting at and you immediately looked away and back at Keeley. You offered her a tight smile and nodded along to whatever she was saying.

Hopefully that was the last time you would ever see Jamie Tartt.

Tag List: @shiptheship​

#jamie tartt x reader #jamie tartt imagine #jamie tartt series #jamie tartt fanfic #ted lasso fanfic #somewhereverse

[macsimagines]

vampire kisaki🙊

This one is soooo good I think I got a little carried away

TW: YANDERE BEHAVIOR, MINORS DNI, BLOOD DRINKING, KIDNAPPING, NON-CON BITING?

Yandere!Vampire Kisaki Tetta

He is not an ancient vampire whos history can be tracked back to great vampires of old. He was not turned by a sire revered and worthy of a title that would be remember throughout the ages.

Kisaki Tetta is smart, however. Ingenious. He disposed of the worthless Vampire that had turned him, Osanai was only useful for that one thing, and took over his weak and useless coven and made it into the power house it was today.

Over the simple course of a decade he had managed to become one of the most powerful Vampires in the underground and was still slowly rising to the top.

He had it all except for... you. The pretty girl that had offered him her blood. You knew about the underground world, knew that clean blood was worth a pretty penny so you sold yours by the bag to vampires and then saw Kisaki... A young newly turned Vampire that wouldn't last long in a survival of the fittest world.

Or so you had thought. Still you took pity on him, rolling up your sleeve and offering him you wrist. "Here, free of charge. Just don't take too much ok?"

Kisaki only allowed himself a sip, but your blood was the greatest he's ever tasted. He's had gallons over the years, from some of the strongest of men to the most beautiful of women and even the purest virgins, but your blood, his first taste, was worth more than gold to him.

From then on Kisaki would covet your blood for himself, he'd gain power and pay any price to drink you straight from your perfect veins.

"Te-tetta! N-not to much!" you whimper out as he takes your blood from your neck, always your neck never wanting to drink it from the bag. "So good~ Tastes so good, Y/N."

One day you try to quit selling your apparent top dollar plasma, but that doesn't exactly go as plan when, in response to your refusal to let him have your DNA he goes and kidnaps you.

Now you're the most cared for livestock in all the world. Kept in a golden room filled with every possible luxury, feed only the best cuisine made from the finest ingredients. Kisaki had to keep his precious blood cow healthy and happy afterall.

#yandere tokyo revengers #yandere kisaki tetta

[redglassbird]

I believe in women supporting women 💪 [except when it is women at a thrift store. Then it is just me + believing in survival of the fittest]

#Women #Thrift #thrifting #text post #tumblr #cottagecore #Fashion #Clothing #accessories #Shop #shopping #cozy #yea #Chaos #Chaoscore #True #Mecoded #Anyways

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

actually 28 Days Later saying that no, survival of the fittest doesn't matter if you don't give everything you have to protect your people, and especially those seen as more vulnerable (i.e. women and children) in whatever way you can, survival is worth jack shit if that isn't your priority, is kind of profound

#it is!! about people protecting each other!! no matter what!!!! #jim protecting selena and hannah ending up being the major climax of the movie took me by surprise but like. that's actually #what it's all about isn't it #hannah's dad in his final moments screaming and fighting to protect his daughter #selena with the pills to try and protect hannah despite not being able to truly protect her #hannah clobbering jim over the head bc she thought he was infected was hilarious (''but I thought he was #biting you!'' / ''I was KISSING her?!?'' shfkdbgks) #like. it's all about protecting each other okay? okay #Lu rambles #songs about somebody else #<- general zombies tag btw

[autumnmobile12]

A question that doesn't come up often enough: Where's the rest of Trevor's family?

We know the entire Belmont line was almost completely annihilated in a mob, but the series is pretty vague on how many people were actually living in the house. With a high mortality of the medieval period, families were often big and with an occupation as dangerous as hunting monsters, the Belmonts were probably no different. This was very much a 'survival of the fittest' and 'heir and plenty of spares' mentality.

Trevor lost his family at twelve, so it's very unlikely he was the only sibling. But even in the event his parents were extremely unfortunate and he was their only surviving child, the multiple siblings theory still applies to the previous generations.

So his immediate family was killed. What about the extended family?

In Lament of Innocence, Leon Belmont was a French baron, but he gave up his land and titles to rescue Sara. Following the storyline of the Netflix series, he then chased Dracula east and neither the games nor series ever mention what became of him other than the fact he fathered the entire bloodline.

Based on the games, it would be safe to assume the Belmonts are not part of the aristocracy, but as far as the series goes, they are mentioned as one of Wallachia's 'great houses' in the first couple episodes. They're not unknown to the Wallachian people. Plus, the reigning Prince of Wallachia did have the power to invest anyone he chose with a noble title. The real Vlad the Impaler actually made use of this power by elevating members of the lower classes, effectively ensuring their loyalty through gratitude. (Because if he was overthrown, things weren't going to go well for the people who benefited from his rise to power.)

So it's not impossible that somewhere in the 400 years between Leon and Trevor, some Belmont won the favor of Wallachia's monarch and was rewarded with a boyar lord's title.

'Not much of a family and not for long' seems to indicate the line was already pretty diminished before the mob attacked.

Trevor only mentions his family a handful of times throughout the four seasons, and the only specific members that come up are his parents with the reference to his mother's books and the story of how his father had once gotten into a fight with a Speaker.

The only other time his parents come up is in Season 2 when Sypha asks if they were magicians, to which he answers no, but they knew a lot about magic. At the very least, this shows both of his parents were alive long enough for him to remember them. Otherwise, the story about the fight with the Speaker could have easily been told to him by another relative that had been looking after him while the books Trevor mentions that belonged to his mother could have just been part of the family's collection after she was long gone.

With some historical context (provided we adhere to accuracy,) this actually gives some insight to Trevor's childhood. He would have known his mother very well. Unlike many other European countries where the nobility left childrearing to a nurse and other staff, the education of a boyar's son in Wallachia was actually left to the women of the household. His mother would have likely overseen every part of his upbringing that wasn't physical combat training, which would have been his father's domain.

Another possibility worth exploring is his mother was the Belmont and his father was the one who married into the family. An unusual if not unheard of dynamic for the times, but the series does subtly imply the women of the family were as much of hunters as the men when Trevor talks about how only one member of his family encountered the Infinite Corridor. It's possible they could have adopted other more non-traditional roles for the times.

This also accounts for his complete lack of surprise in Episode 3 when 'the Elder's grandchild' turns out to be a granddaughter and again in Episode 4 when Sypha reveals herself as a mage.

So we've established both of Trevor's parents were alive and well for a significant part of his early life. On to the extended family.

Unless the Belmonts were practicing Targaryen levels of incest (although marrying one's cousin was an accepted practice in this time,) Trevor should have had other relatives to rely on. Assuming the family had a traditional dynamic and his mother did indeed marry into the Belmont line, and since aristocrats generally married other aristocrats, her father would have been one of the boyar lords of the region. The same applies if his father had sisters who married into other families.

Given the primary goal of marriage in this time period was less romantic and more in the interest of forming alliances with other families for political or financial reasons, there could also be a wider family network among the nobility at play.

Side note: There's a small possibility he's distantly related to one or both of these two.

...

So what happened to those other relatives?

Personally, I think the answer to this question might play into the cynicism and bitterness of Trevor's character in general. If we explore the scenario that he did seek help from his mother's family, people who had no ties to the Belmonts other than the fact their sister/daughter married into the family, with the self-serving atmosphere of the Wallachian aristocracy at the time, I can imagine him being met with a cold reception.

And sadly, this would be an all too realistic situation for the times. As stated above, the boyars were corrupt.  There wasn’t a clear hierarchy among the nobility (That is, Wallachia did not have the equivalent of dukes, earls, viscounts, etc.) so power was determined by wealth or land-owning.  This rivalry for power went all the way to the top; Wallachia's throne changed hands once every couple years as the Dănești and Drăculești branches of the reigning family relentlessly fought over it.

In this minefield of political intrigue, the only surviving member of an otherwise shattered bloodline, especially a twelve year old excommunicate, would not have been of much use in the eyes of the nobility. With the Belmonts disgraced with heresy charges, neither branches of the reigning family would have been interested in their support and probably would have wanted to distance themselves from an alliance that could potentially damage their own reputation.

A public rejection from the Prince would have rebounded throughout the region and put the final nail in the coffin of what the Church started. None of the boyars would have been interested in helping Trevor, distant family or not. On the other hand, helping their orphaned and disgraced nephew/grandson is the Christian thing to do, but since Trevor and his murdered family are now enemies of the Church and out of favor with Wallachia's monarch, that 'help' might've extended only as far as, "We're deeply sorry for your circumstances. Here's some money, now get out."

So Trevor was born into one of the highest and most privileged classes in the region and is the product of literally generations of a family that has had two goals since Leon: protecting the world from Dracula and the destruction of Dracula. The night of the mob would have completely shattered a mentality he'd had since he was born. Throw that on top of that the trauma of losing one’s home and entire immediate family in a single night and then being vilified by both the people his family had protected and the wider circle of his extended family.

That is a brutal shift in world views for a twelve year old to handle, so it's easy to see why the series opens with him already burned up the anger and the grief over what happened and all that’s left for him is the aimless wandering, drinking, and getting into fights.

In all, this statement really summed up the beginning of his character arc perfectly.

#castlevania #trevor belmont #belmont family #sypha belnades #character analysis #castlevania headcanons #castlevania targoviste #character development #speakers #medieval wallachia #wallachian social classes #medieval romania #medieval history #medieval europe #wallachian politics #game of thrones reference