#<- i actually would not know either! sometimes gay friendships are just like that

[madlori]

Ok my fam, I think we all need a lil Come to Jesus moment. So let's talk about it.

"I'm disappointed Tommy wasn't in 8x02 and 8x03." That's ok! We'd all like to see him, and see our boys together. Going by precedent, we can probably expect to see him in 6-8 episodes this season (it could be more - Taylor had 13 episodes in season 5 - but we shouldn't count on it) and we've already burned one. I'd prefer not to have half of them during the opening disaster when SO MUCH ELSE is going on. I'd rather him appear in episodes when he's got a storyline with Buck, or even on his own, and especially at the midseason break or the end of the season when Relationship Events are more likely to happen.

"But the 217 engine!" I know. But as we sometimes like to say to other fans - we kind of baited ourselves with that. It was suggestive, sure. But the fact that production has MADE a 217 engine is also suggestive that we may see it again later, and they just put it in the hangar scene because they already had it and they had to fill up that hangar with as many vehicles as possible.

"An airplane disaster without using the pilot??" As others have pointed out, Tommy's not a jet pilot. And don't let anybody make you think you were nuts for thinking it was possible. It was definitely a reasonable theory, with supporting evidence, that he might be involved, but in the end, the big opening disaster is always going to be about our mains. As it should be. And honestly? It was great.

"But the whole point of bringing him back was to integrate him with the 118 more!" I'm sure that's still a goal they have, but it's probably easier said than done. Not just from a writing standpoint, but a contractual one, in that there's a limit to how often they can use him, so they have to pick and choose where.

"It's like they don't care about this relationship as much as we do." You're right. NOBODY will care about it as much as we do. They care about the main characters, about the show's actual premise (i.e. first responders encountering wild situations, secondarily the characters' personal lives). There is no universe in which ANY relationship in the show will be prioritized as much as we, the fandom, would like it to be. That's just life in the big city. But they do care, oh boy, they do. Enough to use BT scenes in off-season promo. Enough to write Tommy into a scene in the opening episode where, frankly, he didn't NEED to be. Also, consider this - to shoot that scene, Lou was probably on set a grand total of one day, MAYBE two. And they made sure to include him in the jokey "bee pickup lines" reel. You know what other relationship we haven't seen much? Buddie. They have not appeared together outside of work (and honestly, barely AT work either) except in the birthday party scene, and hey, did you notice that they do not interact at ALL in that scene? Buck spends that entire scene interacting only with Tommy. And that's a friendship featuring two mains that we know they value. That's not indicative of anything except the sheer scarcity of screentime.

"They should be promoting the queer relationship!" Should they? They've never really done that before, with the several pre-existing queer relationships. I have always sort of appreciated that they have not hung a neon sign on Buck and Tommy saying LOOK AT OUR NEW QUEER PAIRING. It's never gotten the Very Special Episode treatment - Buck never had gay panic, or much coming-out drama - and I like that. I like treating it no differently than other romantic pairings on the show. And they did actually promote it quite a bit when it happened. Now it would just feel kinda performative to me.

"Will he be in [whatever episode]?" Imma gently suggest we not do this every week. He'll be there or he won't. There'll be some we know he's in (I think 8x06 is a lock), some we won't know and will be pleasantly surprised, or unpleasantly surprised. I'd say odds for 8x04 are...20%, rising to at least 50% with 8x05 and 100% for 8x06.

And if you ever feel sad about it - go look at a still of Buck from any episode so far this season, and say to yourself, "This man is having heaps of amazing sex with his hot pilot boyfriend on the regular. Canonically."

I know a lot of us have encountered some pretty irritating gloating from people who hate this relationship (in a frankly weirdly obsessive way) about him being not there. Just remember - that's all they have to gloat about. The only "victory" they can claim is the absence of a character? Lame. And it's not even a victory, it's just the cost of doing business when your ship involves a recurring character. Sit back and enjoy your canon relationship between two men who've actually kissed on screen and ignore it. We can be generous about it.

So let's not talk ourselves off the deep end, shall we? I'd like to keep being a reasonable fandom.

[ichayalovesyou]

Why Do Old-School TV Duos Have SUCH MLM Vibes?!

I think there’s something very specific about the formula and writing style of non-serialized/semi-serialized shows from the 60s to 80s that featured two grown men going on wacky dangerous adventures that makes my gay little literary analysis brain go absolutely off the wall bonkers. I’m trying to figure out why!

I’m writing this on my Trek blog because I don’t think this pattern in people actually shipping these types of relationships the way they do if fandom as we know it wasn’t born via TOS in syndication. That being said! I also think it has to do with the way these shows are designed that makes myself and others OBSESSED with a specific character dynamic that feels (to me) damn near impossible to replicate in modern television. In a way that’s more than just fandom, it’s in the way TV like this was written at the time!

Further explanation under the cut!

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈

I think what it usually boils down to is this. There’s a charming protagonist whom without the series could not operate, frequently top billed or the title character! (See: Wild Wild West, Starsky & Hutch) BUT he doesn’t have anyone to play off of! So what do they do pretty much every single time? Give Mr. Idealized Vision of Time-Period Masculinity For Genre a second guy to rhyme with!

See but the other guy has to play opposite but parallel to our hypermasculine protagonist. So what frequently ends up happening is that in order to play off our “normal” guy, even though he’s also a white dude, is that he’s still somehow Other.

They’re always perfect for each other, and they always get into scenarios that would be written, shot and interpreted by conventional audiences as romantic IF either one of those characters were a woman! Especially at the time these shows were made in.

If the one is aggressive, the other is gentle. If the protagonist is violent, his counterpart is intellectual. If the one is stoic, the other is emotional. Which (while one size def doesn’t fit all) usually makes the second guy come off as much more queer-coded (and sometimes other minorities like neurodivergent/disabled etc) than the other because of the traits associated with masculinity vs gayness at the time! Our prime examples in these gifs are Spock, Hutch, Artemus, and also *BJ!

*(M*A*S*H is a bit of a unique case since the show flirts with queerness more openly in ways that people more into the series have explained better than me but I think it still fits the formula I’m discussing.)

Here’s the thing though right? We’ve got two best friends, and the show NEVER really feels right if one of them is missing unless the focus of the story is how A & B operate without each other while trying to find the other one. They stick with and rescue each other unfailingly in scenarios that might destroy a regular friendship.

Hell, there’s often stuff that would emotionally/physically destroy a regular person/character in modern media. But because it’s not serialized they always seem to pull through seemingly through the power of friendship alone or dealing with it off-screen! Emotional consequences? Yuck! (Unless it’s M*A*S*H or Starsky & Hutch, like I said, not monolithic)

Here’s the thing that some people might say throws a wrench into the interpretation I’m discussing. What about the absolutely non-stop parade of conventionally attractive women the main protagonist (and less frequently the supporting man) goes through?

I would reply: how many of those female characters actually emotionally impact our protagonists as characters long term?

The answer is of course, because it’s NOT serialized, almost none! Kirk can watch Edith Keeler get killed by a car accident and still be making eyes at Spock the next episode. Hawkeye can have a “life changing” romance with a Vietnamese humanitarian woman, then share a blanket with BJ next episode like she never existed!

The Doylist explanation of course is not just the fact it wasn’t serialized but also just, constant, blatant 20th century sexism. Which SUCKS!!! As well as not wanting a long term love interest to throw off the character dynamic of our duderagonists. It’s the 20th century tv equivalent of bros before hoes.

However the Watsonian explanation always seems to result in no love interest EVER being more important than what the two protagonists have no matter whether you think they’re queer or not. No attractive woman could make our reputed babe-hound protagonist abandon his buddy. There’s no earnest romance our more queer-coded supporting man doesn’t end (or get ended for him) often for the protagonist’s sake.

Now some of these women are incredibly well written and straight up GOOD matches for our guys. So why wouldn’t they get involved in something long term UNLESS!! They were in love with each other the WHOLE time?

What if protagonist (frequently the babe hound) doesnt know he’s queer, or knows but doesn’t know he’s in love with his bestie, or any number of similar fruity explanations? The supporting man also runs into this explanation but people tend to believe he’s already aware that he’s queer but either also doesn’t know he’s in love or is keeping it to himself because time-period homophobia and/or thinking (probably not unreasonably) that babe hound is straight?

Between the inherent closeness of being narrative foils. The regularly scheduled life or death drama creating sometimes insanely romantic (in the narrative if not a literal sense) drama between the two. The revolving door of weekly women they never seem to get attached to enough to leave one another. The non-serialized nature resulting in sparse personal information/history about the protagonists as a result.

I think between the very NATURE of the way tv shows were written at the time. Plus the way fandom was shaped by a dynamic that has rippled through how media works and is interpreted by fans for decades upon decades. It’s not hard to imagine getting really emotionally invested in the possibility of the protagonists being in love is a fantastic way to enjoy the media!

In conclusion, it’s really fun and easy to go “these bitches gay! Good for them good for them!”

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC REVIEW: Something Extraordinary by Alexis Hall

4.25/5. Releases 12/17/24.

The Vibes: queer found family, true love, calling HER daddy

Heat Index: 7/10

The Basics:

Horley Comewithers (or, as he is known for much of this novel, Rufus) is set to marry a woman of his aunt's choosing, despite the fact that he is a) gay and b) in love with someone else. In swoops Arabella Tarleton, twin sister of the man he's pining after. Arabella will secure her own freedom through marriage, and she has a fat dowry—but she knows she's no good for anyone who wants true love. So she proposes a scheme: why not run away together and marry?

What neither Rufus nor Belle realize is that there's a lot more to love than storybook romance, and sometimes the person you're meant to be with is the one you least expected.

The Review:

What an exciting, unique, heartstoppingly lovely book. Do Horley and Belle suddenly fall into the kind of m/f relationship you normally see in romance novels? No. But I would call this a romance nonetheless, because, despite Belle being on the aromantic spectrum (I'm not sure if you'd call her totally incapable of experiencing romantic attraction? I'm not educated enough on the aromantic experience to be certain, but based on what I've read, grayromantic may be a way to describe her?) there's just this like... sense of two people finding each other's soulmates in a way that isn't sexual, and isn't conventional, but also goes beyond standard platonic friendship.

Because Rufus and Belle have friends. They actually have a lot of them, even if the relationships aren't always easy or straightforward... and we see several of them in the form of couples from the two previous books in this series. So I would say that it's best to read Something Fabulous and Something Spectacular first. They're great books anyway, but you pick up on some dangling emotional threads from them and get resolution.

But no, what Rufus and Belle mean to each other is such a special and intense yet soft dynamic... They're truly husband and wife by the end of this book. Their future is together. They also enjoy sleeping with other people (though sex isn't out of the question for the two of them—there's a rather beautiful thing Rufus says about the capacity in which he would enjoy sex with Belle, if it ever happened, that I found remarkable).

What I find so smart about this book, the way so many Alexis Hall books are smart, is that she does confront the way something could be "missing" from Rufus and Belle's marriage. But it's not to do with Rufus's lack of sexual attraction to Belle. That's really not seen as an issue. It's not to do with their lack of monogamy, either (they both sleep with other people, on the page and off). It's to do with Belle feeling that, because she can't experience the type of romantic feeling that she's seen idealized in books, or within the sweepingly romantic relationships she's surrounded by... She is essentially depriving Rufus of finding the thing that she believes he needs.

Belle has been a polarizing character for readers throughout this series. Not for me, personally; she's flawed but hilarious, and clearly has had a good heart from the beginning (even if her choices aren't always... the best). She gets a bit of karmic retribution in this book that I feel some of her haters will enjoy, but it's not over the top, and she's not "redeemed", because there's... no need. But being fully in her head allows us to really get into why she is the way she is, and so much of it is like... Kinda meta?

Like—what would it be to be aro or on the aro spectrum in a fucking romance novel series? What would it be like to clearly love someone and not feel like you can ever love them in the "right" way? I will say, I don't consider myself on the aro spectrum (though shit, this book has made me wonder) but I did relate to Belle in many ways. It put her experience in a very "layman's terms", approachable perspective, which could be less than what the aro community could want? I can't speak for them, again, I do not identify on the spectrum. BUT I do think that if you've literally never read up on it at all, this book probably won't confuse you.

Rufus's development is probably a little less significant than Belle's, but it's still a breath of fresh air to see someone who's like... a bit lost, a bit sad, but also so funny and so willing to fully embrace "the difficult one" for who they are. He really rolls with the punches without ever seeming like a doormat. I also feel that his relationship with Belle would have fallen into "gay best friend" in a lesser writer's hands. But he's given such agency and such determination, even as he's initially drawn into this admittedly kind of zany plot.

No, this is a true queerplatonic relationship, and I love that it's given the space to be that while also receiving a classic historical romance novel treatment (albeit with the same degree of hilarious self-aware commentary this entire series has had—at one point we get an entire 1800s version of like, the Google review system for inns, and it is INCREDIBLE). Rufus does a run for your love. There's only one bed (and like, they are naked in the bed together, but no sex). There's an anvil marriage. It's great.

The only reason why I won't rate this a little bit higher is that I would've loved a teeny bit more Rufus and Belle together on the page, but I also deeply appreciated the roles Bonny and Valentine and then Peggy and Orfeo from the two previous books played in this one. Especially Orfeo. My kingdom for Orfeo, would die for them.

The Sex:

HOT. KINKY. SUPER GAY. You get several on the page sex scenes in this one, and they're all great (and not a one involves Rufus and Belle together, and they're so good with that). You have one f/f scene involving a sort of like... baby lesbian "it's giving missionary as in God" but in a funny way girl...? An m/m scene with a would-be highwayman bookseller guy and his MASSIVE SEA SERPENT (and some role-playing! Of the "oh no, I've never touched one before, you show me how" variety).

And... A spanking scene. Which is the first time I've ever read a man call the heroine "daddy". I was VERY pleased.

This may be the most unique romance novel I've read yet, and I'm so impressed with it. Would recommend to people interested in expanding their horizons (as readers, as people, whatever) or like, just interested in a hot, literally laugh out loud book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[mephistopheleswasrobbed]

We've entered into the secon half of the series and an end to the torture is nowhere in sight. What is in sight however is gay shit so let's talk about it.

1

Let's get the biggest thing out of the way first. The show was very clearly asking us to draw a parallel between Home and Peach, and Phoom and Vicha. You know, actual, explicitly in gay love couple Phoom and Vicha.

Their story obviously resonates a lot for our boys. Here is Dr. Phoom, a man who - is kind of responsible for the death of the man he loved - had somewhat moved on with his life only to find out later that said man he loved had died because of him - is here now, even later still, to apologise for that to the man who died. If that's not something Home can relate to, I don't know what is. On the other side we have Vicha, who - was abandoned and left to die by the man he loved - was unable to hear that mans explanation because of his interfering family, that was more worried about reputation than his happiness, and because he was in the moment too overwhelmed by the betrayal to give him a chance to explain. Which clearly mirrors Peach's story. (Thers's also the parallel of the class difference as Phoom seems to be at least middle, likely upper middle class by birth while Vicha seems to have lived at the dance school which would imply him to be the instructor's son or an orphan/otherwise family-less kid the instructer took in. Either way he was certainly not rich.) (And I guess Vicha knowing more about cooking than Phoom is also a parallel and also another indication of their different economic backgrounds.)

Dr. Phoom apologises for not being brave enough to tell Vicha what he wanted to tell him (which was also Home's problem)

And then Dr. Phoom finds out Vicha finally heard his apology but he's still sticking around and he says that's enough for him which prompts Home to look at Peach (again) because that is kind of what he hopes for. That he gets to properly apologise to Peach and that Peach will still be around afterwards.

Just like Dr. Poom he doesn't want to exocise his ghost, he wants to talk to him.

2

Home fully acknowledges Pangpang as his baby sister (in law) in his contacts.

3

Pangpang's viewers are devastated at their ship having sunk.

4

They're being annoying talking by way of Pangpang even though they stand right next to each other. Which is also a classic trope for fighting couples (though it does admittedly also get used for friends sometimes)

5

Fully adult man Dr. Phoom knows a lover's quarrel when he sees one.

6

Peach knows that to facilitate communication between two lovers he needs to at least somewhat communicate with his own.

7

For some reason their solution is to cosplay as dance students. And then they, of course, proceed to look at each other while making the "love" gesture.

We had previously seen Vicha do the same.

Looking at them doing that prompted Dr. Phoom to think of his own young love. He has definitely clocked what's going on here (though obviously he has more important things to worry about than some strangers relationship problems)

8

Now this is certainly not something you'd say if the end goal was friendship

9

Peach is using the same pic for Home's contact as Home is using for his, just zoomed in on a different place. And he has Home saved as DANGER DO NOT ANSWER! They're so annoying.

10

Pangpang is very happy her parents might be getting back together

11

Meanwhile Home is sitting at a bar, crying about calling Peach like he got dumped. (Which he did. For good reason.)

12

We've seen so far that the ghosts are very limited. They are not fully concious and aware beings, rather they are "caught" in their desires at the moment of their death, they pretty much move solely with the goal of fulfilling their last wish. More like a broken record stuck in a loop than a living being that has multiple options to act and react to whatever happens around it.

It is noteworthy therefore that Home's ghost continued his journey to Peach as that makes this his biggest desire at the moment he fell into a coma.

Unfortunately it seems that he can't speak. Although Peach wouldn't be able to hear him anyway, so maybe all he wanted was to see Peach one more time. We'll see next episode how similar or not Home's ghost is to the others since Home is not completely dead. For now the biggest difference is that he still looks normal.

No Lesbian Corner this week because they didn't interact. Kan was gone being shady for most of the episode.

[findafight]

i don't get why robin and eddie clocking each other is so popular. firstly i find it kind of cheap esp since it's usually a set-up for robin and/or eddie being all-knowing arbiters of lgbt knowledge while steve is clueless and dumb and not lgbt enough (despite usually being bi) to partake in this exchange as well. then it's otherwise used to establish an immediate connection between robin and eddie since they are both gay which automatically makes them besties. secondly it doesn't make much sense w what we see of either robin or eddie. like we know robin struggles w social cues and we see that that extends to sexual orientation through her interactions w vickie. also i think she is just not paying that much attention to eddie i must be honest. then w eddie he spends his time campaigning for the stancy revival while steve blatantly stares at his mouth so. i don't think he'd be good at that either. like the irony in this being so common is that steve is the person that does clock someone else on top of being consistently socially and emotionally intelligent and perceptive. idk sometimes i feel like ppl take him not clocking robin as proof he's incapable of it despite him then clocking someone later and being right, and that s3 scene fitting into the broader context of steve being lonely, insecure, and off his game for most of s3 as well as between s2 and s3. tbh missed comedy potential w steve being the one person in that trio that actually knows what's happening.

oooohg yeah i feel you anon. Not to say that all the fics that have these tropes in them are bad! it just. sometimes gets annoying? I don't want people to feel too bad about it but yes agree.

I think it really is used as a way to fast track their friendship. Truly unfortunate that it's often used to make them all knowing queer guides instead of the disaster teenage gays they are.

Robin is a small town lesbian who is only out to one singular person, she does not know anything, let alone vague little queer codes that might be happening. She wouldn't know Eddie was queer for a variety of reasons. She says herself she's not good at reading people! She's also busy worrying about if she's doing something that might out her or make people suspicious of her, so she's not analyzing other people's actions. She does not care about men that aren't Steve enough to pay enough attention to figure out if Eddie is queer or not lol. She can't even figure out if the girl she likes who likes her back is queer when her best friend is telling her. Oblivious icon! open your eyes, queen!!

Eddie had a man he deliberately broke a moment of romantic tension between his love interest by throwing a vest at his face staring at his lips and still pushed him towards said love interest. Sir. what are you doing. and once it's clear stncy isn't happening you know eddie would be like okay. why aren't you dating Robin? hmm? she's cool! and causes Steve to Suffer. (Steve was flirting with Eddie .5 seconds before he started on this please get with the program Eddie!!)

Also think it's silly that people would stereotype Eddie as Queer from how he dresses as though that's not just how a lot of people dressed? long hair was In in the 80s. Metal fashion was there. It also likely had some/a lot of ingrained homophobia in the subculture (as many things did). Sorry Eddie, but I'm pretty sure our boy Brucie did more for the gays than metallica. (Kissing Clarence Clemens Right On The Mouth Many Times On Stage thank you mr. springsteen and mr. clemens sirs.)

Steve's the only one of these three that 1) knows how to flirt 2) knows when someone is flirting with him 3) has consistently demonstrated being emotionally and socially intelligent to observe people (more than arguably anyone else in the series) and 4) has any kind of functioning gaydar. Totally agree that Steve not clocking Robin despite his gaydar is that he was way off his game, insecure, in a funk, pathetic sad meow meow era, and in a weird state of squish-or-crush on Robin, that was pushed towards crush by Dustin but slam dunked into squish by Robin coming out (does that make any sense?)

I truly, truly believe Vickie returned Fast Times paused on 53 minutes and five seconds specifically when she knew Robin and/or Steve would be the ones to rewind it. Why else would she not rewind it? when clearly they knew who had rented it and could potentially out her if they read into it? She was getting vibes from robin and knew that Steve would at least report Back to Robin (I refuse to believe the championship game was the only time stobin gossiped like they did. Vickie knows their shenanigans.) so she decided to be indirect but kinda obvious about it!! And while Robin is denying this Steve has seen the truth, he knows exactly what Vickie is doing. (would be very funny if Steve and Vickie clock each other, and then make eye contact like I know what you are. They deserve to become funky little friends while Steve is trying to get her and Robin together.)

[newnlovesjennie]

one piece au where literally nothing went wrong everyone is alive and happy hc's

nami

belle mere is still alive obvi

the attack on her island was less of an attack and more of like a alliance? like the fishman pirates pulled up and were like hey we need a hideout can we pls use ur island. and they were like yeah offer us protection and in turn u can use our island! no violence no blood nothing!!

in this au fisher tiger is still alive and the fishman pirates are still what he envisioned before his death, so he’s the captain, not arlong

speaking of arlong he’s like hella toned down. he got the jinbei affect in the sense that koala changed him and showed him humans aren’t all bad. yeah sure he’s more radical and unhinged than the other pirates but he’s just like the weird conservative uncle you tolerate at thanksgiving not a real threat

hachi and nami bonding!!!

nami never develops an obsession with money, she gets to put her full effort into map making and exploring that talent

she makes maps for the fishman pirates completely out of her own free will

she joins the movement for fishman human equality woohoo!!!

yeah in this au that movement actually gets taken seriously instead of played off and the fishmen actually make progress in equality 

koala visits sometimes! koala and nami bonding time!!!

law

doflamingo is toned down like 1000% in this au he’s not a family killer in this one he’s just odd

like seriously idk how the logistics would work but maybe somehow after the whole “doffys family becomes human” thing the humans don’t persecute him? so in turn he just kinda is pretentious and misses being rich instead of holding a particular grudge against humanity?

either way he’s also just the weird conservative uncle you see at thanksgiving 

corazon is number one dad ever did he offer law henny for his 8th birthday yes does he know how to do laundry or cook not at all but he is trying his best!

LAW BABY FIVE AND BUFFALO AS COUSINS. PLEASE!!!! dellinger too maybe idk if he’s a kid or not tho

the executives like trebol diamante whatever the fuck also aren’t as evil either they just tryna do their own thing yk just black market deal in peace but no unnecessary killing 

donquixote family stays pirates instead of going and trying to take a whole kingdom (took a shit ton of convincing for doffy to accept that)

the whole pirate warlord thing gives doffy enough prestige he don’t need to be a king necessarily 

law eats the op op fruit, doffy tries to get him to make him immortal, corazon slaps him, doffy changes his mind

(i am taking so many liberties in this au omg)

zoro

kuina didn’t fucking fall down a flight of stairs!! yippee!!!

their whole competition abt who will be the greatest swordsman is still on

they venture outside the dojo and become pirates

both bounty hunters maybe

kuina is so so gay

hear me out…. kuina x tashigi? LET ME COOK

yeah zoros just there

they find their way to mihawks island without the whole kuma blasting zoro to a random island thing

they beg mihawk to train them but he’s like wtf get out of my house but they show potential and he’s like ok fine ill train y’all 

persona is also there bc i said so FUCK MORIA ALL MY HOMIES HATE MORIA she left him and somehow ended up with mihawk he also let her stay for some reason (he needs to stop adopting kids)

hear me out…. perona x kuina? or at the very least they become besties

once again zoro is just there

robin

olvia and saul are still alive

all of her island is still alive, don’t ask why the world government is ok with that they just are shhhh shhhhh 

robin grows up an archeologist but decides she needs to find the poneglyphs and discover the truth of the world

so she becomes a pirate and joins baroque works, led by crocodile

he respects her (WHAT) doesn’t try to kill her (WHAT) and they actually have a fun friendship a friendly lil boss secretary relationship its adorable

she helps crocodile get with doffy because god knows he couldn’t do it himself

ok if this is how this au is going robins gotta be besties with bon clay come on. mr three hello?? 

[anauro]

I’ve been going through my Google docs and found this alternative ending to ch20 of Drugs and surgical scrubs aka what would happen if Regulus didnt blurt out “the Barty and Rel thing”

“You know how sometimes friends decide to fuck up the friendship with sex?” Evan didn’t wait for an answer, before carrying on, “they say it’s just gonna be a one time thing, that it won’t change anything, but it actually does change pretty much everything. And then the other person expects things to get back to normal and I want it too, don’t get me wrong, I really do. But I can’t.” Evan looked at him pleadingly. “I can’t.”

Regulus felt anxiety weave its way into his brain. He set down his coffee and looked Evan in the eyes.

“What exactly are you telling me, Evan?”

In the peripheries of his vision, Regulus could see Evan’s nails digging into his palm. His breath hitched in his chest as Evan opened his mouth.

“Me and Barty slept together.”

Oh.

The air got knocked out of Regulus’ lung and his vision went black as Evan’s words settled in.

Evan and Barty slept together.

His two best friends. Straight. Fucked each other.

This better be a fucking joke.

But Evan didn’t look like he was joking. Instead, he mirrored Regulus’ terror, both of them staring at each other with pure fear.

Regulus cleared his throat. “Come again, sorry?”

“I slept with Barty.”

The pain that exploded in Regulus’ heart was overwhelming, each heartbeat spreading it further around his body.

“But…but you’re both straight,” he managed to squeak out.

“No, that’s the problem, Reg.” Evan reached forward and grabbed Regulus’ hand. Regulus allowed it, too shocked to protest. “I don’t think I’m straight and it scares the crap out of me,” he said in hushed voice. “I… you’ve known me since I was a little kid, so tell me. Am I different now? Does this change anything?”

Regulus wanted nothing more than to run away from here and be sick in some bathroom and then challenge Barty about this new development.

The pain in his chest was not easing off and Evan’s fingers around his hand felt like blades, seeping the poisonous venom into Regulus.

The same fingers held Barty’s hand. Touched him.

Regulus closed his eyes shut.

“Liking men isn’t a bad thing, Evan,” he forced the words out of his mouth. “It doesn’t change who you are. You were always like this, you just didn’t realise until now.”

“So I lived over twenty six years of my life without knowing? What other things am I hiding from myself then, huh? From you?”

Regulus shook his head, biting on his bottom lip. He didn’t want to have this conversation with Evan, least of all now. But when he opened his eyes and saw the desperate look on Evan’s face… Evan was still his friend. Even if Regulus hated him at that very moment.

“I’m gay, Evan.”

Surprised flickered through Evan’s face.

“You… what?”

“I’m gay, Evan,” Regulus repeated, wringling his hand free. “I’m gay and I always have been and there’s nothing wrong with me, so there’s nothing wrong with you either.”

Evan watched him, utterly astonished.

“Don’t give me this look, Ev,” Regulus sighed. “I didn’t tell you before, because it wasn’t relevant. You guys were doing your girls and I… I was hooking up with men all along.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” Regulus scrunched up his nose. “What are you sorry for?”

“For making you feel like your sexuality wasn’t relevant. For not being enough of a good friend that you felt safe coming out to. For that… I’m sorry.”

Oh.

A warmer feeling started to spread through Regulus’ body, originating at the fingertips Evan held just a moment ago. It eased Regulus’ heartache, an aloe vera to his soul.

“It’s okay, Evan,” he said quietly. “It was me who didn’t want to come out to you guys rather than you doing anything.”

“Man, look at us,” Evan mused. “We could have been having awesome gay sex all throughout uni.”

Regulus swallowed down the bile that was coming up his throat.

“Yeah. We could have.”

He could have had Barty all along. For years, he could have had him.

If only he had said something.

“How did it happen?” The question was out of Regulus before he realised.

Evan gave him a confused look. “You mean me realizing I like women and men?”

“I mean you and Barty.” Even saying the words out loud burnt in Regulus’ throat. “How did it happen?”

“Oh.” Evan’s smile faltered. “It… just kind of did? I said I’ve been having thoughts about men and he offered and I agreed.”

“He offered?” Regulus all but choked out.

Was that how easy it was to get Barty all this time?

All he had to do was ask and Barty would offer?

[eddiediazismyhusband]

I think part of the problem I have (and this may be an unpopular opinion) is all the hopes and opinions and ideas people (fans) have about the new season. And I don’t just mean things like the “mustache = obvious gay Eddie” that’s happening. But thoughts on Bobby, his and Athena’s living situation, Gerrard as captain, let alone Buck, Eddie, and others.

I know a lot of spec is just for fun, but some people take it quite serious. And I know I’m newer to this fandom but sometimes I read serious takes and go “….but that would never actually happen?! I know many of us don’t trust Tim and the writers but realistically that would never be a storyline on a tv show.…that’s a fanfic.”

So I can’t blame you for your pessimism or want to avoid spec. I hope we don’t get a lot of bts stuff either too, because I feel like fans will be trying to (over)analyze everything to figure things out. Only to likely be disappointed because I don’t trust these writers to write/do anything half as creative, original or logical as fans come up with. Expectation is the enemy and I’m afraid a lot of fans have theirs set too high for this season already

anon i have disgraced you by leaving this burried in the inbox and i feel awful 😭😭

i think fandom in general (and i mean any fandom not just 9-1-1) have this tendency to blur the line between cautious optimism/spec and actually convincing themselves of something happening…

i think a lot of people (and if you are one of these people this is NOT a dig at you) still want to have faith that the writers are actually going somewhere with the story, and they do so by speculating and putting actual thought into what the overarching storyline could be but unfortunately after 6 seasons of waiting, i’m getting tired of the whole thing being dragged out.

it’s no longer a will they/won’t they between the characters for me because multiple times they’ve reached the point where they don’t need anymore of that build; the only will they/won’t they is in terms of the writing team actually going somewhere rather than continuing to bait us

i have no issue with spec/theorizing (i may not wanna see it but i just filter out the spec tags) but my issue lies with some of the more popular buddie blogs having this whole “i can sense that buddie is happening” and then treating people who are validly apprehensive towards getting our hopes up like we’re brainless idiots who don’t know what we’re talking about

even though we literally went through the same thing of buddieblr being like “s7 is our year i can FEEL it there is no way they aren’t going canon”….. just for them to not go canon bc the writers (yet again) changed their minds last minute when they got an early renewal and realized “oh- we don’t actually have to commit anymore, we can just keep baiting snd dragging them along— and they technically can’t call it queerbaiting anymore bc buck’s bi now!”

like everything surrounding this season has been screaming to me (NOT anything from oliver and ryan— ive spoken before about how i think they are where we’re at in terms of being strung along by the writers every season) that we are just being baited again.

and as far as the over-analyzing, i’ve seen so many people saying things like “omg oliver and ryan posting candids/photos and tagging each other buddie is obviously happening”……. as if oliver and ryan aren’t friends…. like i fear the two of them posting eacg other doesn’t really mean much if anything when they’ve done that throughout their friendship.

and just because there are some deranged people on the internet spewing hate about them being friends doesn’t mean that their posting is a sign of anything either other than the fact that they’re probably blocking the lunatics and posting each other anyway…. it’s not some gotcha to anyone in the fandom, it’s not a sign that buddie is coming, it’s two castmates being friends, and doing things that friends do all the time

overall, like i said, i have no problem with people (other than myself) engaging in spec and at this point the people who are getting their hopes up will only have themselves to blame if we’re let down again… my issue mainly lies with some of the bigger blogs being dicks to people raising valid concerns over the new season and not trusting the writers when the writers haven’t done anything to earn that trust; in fact having only done things to the detriment of that trust.

anyway, sorry for the super delayed and super long response, anon 😭😭 i’ve been neglecting my ask box lately in lieu of a spike in temu stans sending me hate yet again but i was just scrolling through and noticed this one and wanted to make a response!

[absolutebl]

Hi!

I love your Blog and love to read your takes in everything. So thank you so much for all your Posts and thoughts about the industry etc.

Here is my question: i came across one of your posts where you wrote "actually gay, not bl gay" (it was a Post about Jojo and Only Friends) and while I FELT that I TOTALLY understood what you meant and instantly was like "yes 100% clear" Id love to read and learn more about what this means exactly and why some bls feel quite heteronormative while some dont. Would you mind explain the take on "actually gay Not Bl gay" a little bit? And why some Shows feel just more queer than others (besides the unbelievable stupid "gay only for you" trope lol)

Thank you so much and I hope you will have a nice day!

actually gay, not bl gay

There's actually quite a discourse on this right now mostly originating with @waitmyturtles and @wen-kexing-apologist (Post @killiru references above is here.)

I tend to mostly talk about this in broad brush strokes as a queer lens.

But there's a great ven diagram (which of course I've lost the link to) that approaches the idea of and queer lens by tunneling into its approach and intent:

about queers

by queers

for queers

How do different BLs intersect in different ways with these three elements?

When I said "actually gay, not BL gay" I was alluding to this discourse. Specifically the "about queers" category of BL.

There are characters in BL who read as genuinely gay (as in belonging to the queer family of this terrible reality we live in) and then there are those that seem more performative (to exist in a bubble of fantasy were sexual identity is almost unimportant, only the romance matters, everything is safe sweetness & light). For some queers this can read as manipulative or even exploitive (because it is inauthentic to most queer experiences). For me, it's fine... even desirable. I like the safe bubble. I enjoy the utter delusional escapism of it. Sometimes I will call this sanitized gay. (Since it is designed to make gay palatable to non-gay identified folks e.g. seme/uke.)

A sanitized gay BL may be unintentional but it is nested in origin yaoi and mm romance whose target market has never been the queer community, and whose authors have historically not been members of it, either.

Let's be frank, we queers are generally a terrible target market, we don't have enough spending power - especially not for a piece of pop culture as niched as BL. And as creators we really want our voices to be heard (obvs), which makes us produce content that those unsympathetic or uncaring find uncomfortable. (Yes, I know, fuck them, but also, they have all the money and the entertainment industry is a numbers game.)

So in the arena of office romances, just as an example:

actually gay = The New Employee

sanitized gay = Our Dating Sim

actual gay = Step By Step

sanitized gay = A Boss And a Babe

All of the above have the same tropes, archetypes, and premises. All of them are BL. Some are just... queerer feeling than others. And the characters in those shows (Step by Step and The New Employee) read as more "actually gay."

This has nothing to do with the actors, chemsitry, or how much we may personally like the show (Our Dating Sim is one of my absolute favorite BLs). It has to do with how closely those CHARACTERS intersect with the reality of queerness as we inhabit it today. It will be lots of little touches given to the drama by director and script:

language use,

surrounding friendships (and friendship style),

mannerisms and physicality (specially body language around straights vs other queer characters),

makeup & wardrobe,

facial expressions,

surrounding queer-coded behaviors by side characters,

layers of story nuance that indicate a complicated queer-driven back story.

Markers of specifically a queer identity are given to the leads.

These kinds of BLs are satisfying the "about queers" category. ("By queers" can be difficult to extract because IRL outting is involved. "For queers" is the rarest kind of BL, because making something specifically for us often alienates the majority of the rest of viewership/market. I could be argued that SCOY did this.)

I'm sure I've missed things, but I hope that kinda makes sense?

By/For/About discourse from @wen-kexing-apologist here:

Parts 1

Part 2

Part 3

I'm indebted to them for the links!

More Queer Stuff from Yours Truly

BL Linguistics & Queer Identity - I Am Gay versus I Like Men 

Will BL Get More Honestly Queer? 

Queer lens (from the director) and chemistry (from the actors) in BL (A Tale of Thousand Stars)

Touch & Daisy in Secret Crush On You - Queer Coded Language and 3rd Gender Identity

BL in Taiwan & Gay Marriage

Debating Queerbaiting in BL ( + Devil Judge... is it queerbaiting?) 

BL Actors and the Assumption of Queerness - outing actors, coming out, being out, more:  Is that BL actor actually queer?

So is it really fetishization? straight women loving bl 

Some BL fans are sasaengs, and it’s a problem in this fandom 

BLs That Highlight How Society Treats Queers

10 BLs That Are Honest to a Queer Experience 

(source)

[a-room-of-my-own]

Hello ! Sorry about the casuistry (very long) ask, feel free to ignore of course, but I'm curious about your perspective regarding something :) I met a woman something like a year ago and we became close very quickly. I'm a straight man and she's a lesbian. Over that year we bonded closely and built a very sweet friendship. We share certain existential concerns and we learned to navigate it in very different ways, which we shared with each other. Over tea recently she told me that I showed her that and how she could have levity towards even the Big Serious Things that concern her, and I in turn told her she took me seriously in spite of that levity and showed me that I could take myself seriously as well. That's a good summary of our relationship dynamics. More recently, and I assume you saw that coming, I've been developing feelings of attraction towards her. I already had feelings for her, but that's nothing new: I can feel very passionately about friends of both sexes and I'm fine with it, if anything I'm always happy to feel love. Here I'm talking specifically about physical attraction. Now here's the puzzling part (for me at least): I don't feel bad about it, in either of the two ways I could. I don't feel guilty, and it doesn't put our relationship into perspective. I don't wish that things were different and that we could share that attraction. I love how rich our friendship is, and I'm fine having those feelings pop up sometimes, accept to feel them and then fade. It's not a part of our relationship, and it doesn't need to be. I feel it, it's real, but in a way it doesn't concern her. In that vein, I feel like that feeling guilty would just as much make that attraction part of our relationship as if I wanted for it to be mutual. She once told me that had I been a woman she'd have had a crush on me. I see my feelings as a sort of equivalent to that statement, as in: yes, were we different attraction would probably be a part of our relationship. But we're not, and I don't even think it would have been an improvement. I think it not being involved allowed for the simplicity and ease with which we connected and trusted each other. I suppose the question is : in your opinion, is my not seeing this as a problem a problem ? I remember you wrote about men pretending to be a woman's friend but actually wanting a romantic and/or sexual relationship with her. Even though I don't think this is the situation at hand, it made me want to ask your opinion. I'm not sure whether I'm actually at peace with my feelings and desires (in which case, great!), or if I'm rationalizing and it's actually a dishonesty towards her that I won't admit to.

On the contrary, I think you’re handling it very well. In the past I’ve been attracted to unavailable men (gay men, men in a relationship…) and men who wanted things I couldn’t give them at that time. I think that true love - even if it’s just fondness - comes with respect and care. You love her, you’re attracted to her, but you know better. Just don’t tell her and work on your feelings until they pass.

When I wrote about men who pretended to be friends with women when they actually wanted to have a relationship with them, I meant men who actually faked a friendship. I had « friends » like this in my 20s who made me think they cared about me when they were keeping me close to try something every now and then. Thing is, they never really cared, the idea that maybe they could get something was there since the inception of our friendship. You seem to care a great deal about your friend and to understand your feelings with distance and maturity so I think you’ll be both fine.

[forpiratereasons]

meeting stede bonnet

a slow meandering through June. second prompt: trust!

day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | day 7 | day 8 | day 9 | day 10

-

“Cough up, you lot,” Lucius said, sliding into the sticky booth at Spanish Jackie’s. “I was right, so that’s fifty each, thank you, I take small bills, large bills, piggy banks—”

“No way,” Oluwande snorted. “Nope, don’t believe it.”

“And yet, it’s true.” Lucius pressed a kiss to Pete’s cheek, stole a long sip of his frozen margarita. Strawberry. Pete had terrible taste; Lucius loved him.

“That’s not possible,” Roach cut in.

“Gotta say, lover, I don’t buy it either,” Frenchie agreed.

Lucius took a moment, preening, and then turned to Jim. “Jim, darling?”

Jim sighed. Rolled their eyes. And people said Lucius was dramatic—Jim went through life like they were starring as a very annoyed spy in their own biopic.

“It’s mostly true,” they said.

“It’s all the way true.”

“Mostly. Probably.”

“It’s very, definitely, extremely true.”

“It’s a little vague.” Jim waved a hand in the space between them. “It’s more like—he’s in the process.”

“But he is?” Oluwande asked. “Coming out?”

“Little rainbow pin, right there on his shirt yesterday,” Jim said, nodding. “He didn’t say anything, but I thought he was going to shit himself every time he had to come up to one of us. He had it on again today, with one of those stringy little rainbow friendship bracelets you can get in the park on Sundays.”

“Kept rolling and unrolling his sleeve,” Lucius added. “I think he sweat through his shirt, actually—he was wearing a different one after lunch.”

There was a pause as the group considered this.

“You know,” Frenchie said, after he’d tipped the remainder of his beer back, “I didn’t think Stede could even get nervous. He’s like, the most balls-to-the-walls guy I know.”

The group around the table murmured in agreement. Stede tended to recklessly throw himself into things, as if he’d forgotten they could go badly, but maybe that was why they largely tended to work out instead. Sometimes it looked like insane courage; sometimes it just looked a bit insane.

Mostly, it looked like someone desperately trying to make up for lost time.

So it’d been unnerving, really, to watch Stede flit anxiously through the shop, jittery in an old, familiar way that reminded Lucius of being twelve. Like he was trying to say something but was terrified that someone else might know.

Nevermind that Lucius had definitely already known Stede was gay as a pink flamingo—hence the fifty dollars everyone now owed him, thanks ever so.

“So what’d you say to him?” Pete asked.

“Nothing.” Lucius took another drink of the strawberry margarita; it was ghastly. “You didn’t see him, he was like a skittish little horse. I didn’t want to startle him.”

“Probably better to give him space.”

“You just don’t want him to cry on you, Jim,” Frenchie pointed out.

Jim shrugged. “I really do not, yeah.”

“I could talk to him,” Roach offered.

Pete reached a hand out for a high five. “We’ll go together.”

“Absolutely not,” Oluwande said, loud and stern.

“Nobody’s talking to him,” Lucius cut in over everyone. “No—no, do not give me the eyes, Pete, I’m serious. We’re not ambushing him on this, yeah?” Roach opened his mouth to argue; Lucius shook the margarita threateningly at him. “No. We’re going to let Stede come to us, yeah? We are all going to respect Stede’s boundaries, and when he’s ready we’re going to be chill about it so this bizarre little man has safe little gays to go to in his time of need.”

“Not sure you can describe us as safe little gays, babe,” Frenchie mused.

That was fair. Lucius soldiered on anyway.

“Think about when we were coming out, yeah? And how much better that would’ve been if we’d had people in our corner who were patient, who we could trust, who let us go at our own pace?”

Everyone thought. Jim, who would never volunteer anything in their life, still looked significantly at Olu in a jaw-droppingly sentimental thank-you-for-being-that-person sort of way. Frenchie leaned over and kissed Roach’s cheek.

“So it’s decided then,” Pete said, supportive to the end. Lucius loved him. “We’ll let him come to us.”

“When he’s ready.”

“And only when he’s ready.”

“That settles it, then. Cheers, m’queers,” Frenchie said, and everyone clinked their glasses over the table. “To trust!”

[user-needs-new-hyperfixation]

Hey hey heyyya! Glad to see you're back. I don't know you, and I was introduced to both you and seeingteacupsindragons through a.. mutual. Point is, I remember not too long ago seeing a post from seeinteacupsindragons and it mentioning weekly chats or something with you, to manage expectations or something. I don't really understand much, and I'm not gonna pry haha. It's just good seeing you're back, and I thought it may make you guys happy if I mentioned how I happy I get seeing yalls interactions.

Please keep taking care. I don't think there was an issue or anything don't get me wrong, I just thought letting you know seeing all this cheered me up whilst I'm personally in a bad place yk. Stay gay lol, and much love to you both! Also, I keep forgetting messaging is a thing and I don't have to send an ask haha, sorry about that. Am too lazy to go copy paste it to messaging though, so here!

(Unrelated but affitionally cause adhd and sidetracked lol, but I love how true to your name your posts are. It resonates with my adhd brain in a good way I love it haha)

Oh yeah no, nothing's wrong or has been wrong, and I've been here the whole time haha!! (though definitely posting WAY less Moriarty the Patriot stuff since that particular hyperfixation has been hibernating a bit lol).

I actually wanted to make a post about this anyway so thank you for the prompt! The way my brain works *gestures to a heaping thrift store clothing bin of assorted undiagnosed neurodivergent traits* makes maintaining friendships very hard for me. I tend to slowly psych myself right out of them. Either I feel so much pressure to maintain constant communication that I run into some kind of executive dysfunction standstill and can't make myself do it, or I worry so much about being too much that I barely talk at all so that I don't become annoying. I find actual conversation (as opposed to just yelling random thoughts from the stage of my blog lmao) very easily becomes overwhelming, and I quickly run out of things to say and become convinced that I am the most boring person in the universe and no one would really be interested in being my friend anyway. Also life is just really damn busy sometimes! Adulting™! @seeingteacupsindragons has been amazing about working with me to figure out what works: for me, a scheduled chat day every week means we have lots to talk about, I have the energy to talk about it all, and I don't freak out about whether I'm communicating too often or too rarely. And it's ended up being one of the most wonderfully enduring and consistent friendships in my life. Marr is an incredible and patient friend and I am so grateful to know hir!

Anyway, thank you for your kind words, and I'm glad you like the blog! I will probably be making some more Moriarty posts now that I've got myself deep in writing another longfic, and then of course once the 2nd part of the manga starts up! 😊

[beevean]

Me, an amateur writer with poor english grammar thinking of dialogue for fanfics: hmmm i need to make sure i catch their personalities and particular dynamic here, otherwise it'd seem too generic

Netflixvania, acclaimed show done by professional writers: sassy girlboss and dumb moron man! Sassy girlboss and dumb moron man! And for you hmmm. Oh i know! Sassy girlboss and dumb moron man!

Hahahahaha

the implication that NFCV would care about personalities

they couldn't even be consistent with their own OCs 💀

The thing is that sassy banter is not inherently a bad dynamic. It can be fun, and it can show natural chemistry. Even the games had something similar: Maria gently pokes fun at Alucard for the way he talks (as in, barely), and Julia gives Hector some attitude when she plays coy about her identity. Or, not quite the same still, but Jonathan and Charlotte have this Red Oni, Blue Oni dynamic where Charlotte really wants to be Jonathan's braincell. It can work, it's fine, sometimes friendship and love is joking around each other.

But NFCV fails because it's much more meanspirited about it. And there is an audience for this, of course: for example, look at all the people who are positive N!Trevor and N!Alucard had steamy hot gay hate sex because they see their dynamic as homoerotic, but for me, it doesn't feel earned because they have just met and N!Alucard plays jump rope with the line in a way N!Trevor never matches. N!Sypha calls N!Trevor a deformed pet bear in jest, again without him ever matching her (and I'm not mentioning when she got genuinely angry with him over nothing, like when he made a comment about beer being better than sex and she got so pissed she froze that beer - it's played for laughs but still, it's mean). Greta jokes that N!Alucard is lucky that she's there to run his life for him, when again they don't quite know each other that well and she met N!Alucard when he was a traumatized mess (a trauma she made a nonsensical joke about, although he found it funny so I guess that counted as a bonding moment). And I don't think I need to tell you that Lenore is more than mean to N!Hector - but I can point out how incredibly tasteless the very idea of her spouting dick jokes to pass the time is, to pretend they have sexual chemistry, when not even two months prior she sexually abused N!Hector in multiple ways and she forced that sexual tension onto him. Again, you could have written anything else, you could have had her ask him if he likes his new uniform or some shit, but somehow you managed to choose the worst possible option. peak

But also yes, the sameness just hurts everything. Hector/Julia and Alucard/Maria are conceptually a similar ship, mostly because they share similar narrative roles, but they don't talk the same, they don't interact the same, Alucard and Hector are different people and Maria and Julia are different people and it reflects in their dialogue. Maria is more jokey than Julia, because Alucard is more terse than Hector. Jonathan and Charlotte poke fun at each other from time to time, but the whole game is about their friendship, how they help each other and support each other. Jonathan is angry about his father's death and Charlotte emotionally supports him, Charlotte feels slighted when treated like a girl and Jonathan treats her like a peer, not like a genius like she wants to be seen lol but not like a little girl either. They have each other's backs in every way.

Like. You have to have some substance behind the banter. That is what I'm saying. Chemistry can be shown by jokes and all, but you also need to convince me these people like each other. When you scratch under the banter of the NFCV couples, there is either nothing behind it, or something really rotten.

(and, as I said multiple times, I actually would have liked if N!Hector and Lenore sassed each other to keep up the façade that they're happy with one another, but N!Hector is quietly seething and conflicted and Lenore regrets that their chemistry is built on deceit and imprisonment, and this is why she snaps when he briefly breaks it: out of guilt she can't cope with. That would be a great way to subvert the cliché and actually play with the tragic elements at hand that had the audience interested. But S4 is cowardly on a whole another level, so the dick jokes are just to laugh at and I'm really meant to believe their love is wholesome.)

I'll just leave this here to cap it all off:

[smolweeblets]

Would you be willing to write either headcanons or a oneshot about working out with Yelena. My gay little brain wants scenarios to think of when exercising

Minor Injuries

Yelena AOT x Reader

Going to the gym was nice. The atmosphere was nice, not that many people at the time you usually went and everything was kept clean. The people at your gym were nice too, offering help when you seemed like you needed it, sometimes you even found the occasional sticky not stuck on some of the machines with little motivational quotes.

Yet yourself found one teensy little problem… Which was that you found yourself always being stared at by another member, a tall and lanky blonde that was always by the treadmills.

You could always catch glimpses of her, and her turning away quickly after you catch her. Honestly, you dont know why she was just… looming over you like that. Was she judging you? You really cant tell. It was very creepy.

After your initial impression, you tended to avoid her. She took the hint and left you alone for the most part but you still couldnt shake off the weird feeling when she was around.

You two never interacted, until one day you find yourself in a small accident.

It wasnt anything big really, you just accidentally dropped a weight in your foot. Yelena found you hopping on one leg like a maniac and you wanted nothing more than to melt into the ground.

“Are… you okay?” She hesitantly asks.

“Yep! Im- uh- just a small accident!” You grit through your teeth.

“Do you need help-?”

You suck in a breath before responding. “No, I swear im all good!”

“I insist, at least just sit down for now. Hopping help with the pain at all.”

Having no reason to object, you calm yourself down just enough to take a seat on the nearest bench.

The woman takes your foot and winces when she sees the area.

“Is it that bad?” You sigh.

“Its gonna bruise pretty bad. Wait there a bit, ill get some things to help with the pain.” Before you could object, she was already out the room, leaving you to your own devices.

“Here, this should be able to help. Try to bear with it for the moment yeah?”

[insert procedure on minor blunt force trauma im not knowledgeable enough to write]

“Ah- I do have to admit, I feel somewhat better, thank you” You offer a grateful smile to the woman.

“No problem, whats your name by the way? We seem to always go here at the same time, I notice you struggling sometimes.” You heat up at the mention that shes been looking at you.

“Yeah,” You chuckle awkwardly. “I see you staring at me sometimes, honestly found it a little creepy, but im glad to know youre actually nice. My name is Y/n, nice to meet you” You offer your hand to shake, she takes it but you can see shes also flustered to hear that youve noticed her staring.

“Likewise. I didnt realize that my staring could be seen as creepy, I apologize for that. I can see why youd be weirded out. My name is Yelena.” She shook your hand, and you couldnt help but notice how smooth her hand felt against your own.

~~~~~

That was the start of a peaceful little friendship between the two of you.

She helped you out and gave you tips as much as she could. And in turn you gave her a reason to do something other than run on the treadmills.

You both loved to talk about trivial topics, how your days have been going, something funny you saw, or even what you had for breakfast that morning. She was a nice company to be around, and she was around a lot.

Despite your first impression of her getting off on the wrong foot, you find yourself quite attracted to her, you push the feeling down as best as you can, but thoughts linger in the back of your head during each interaction with her.

~~~~~

“Gah, im tired. Im gonna go now, you have fun.” You sighed as you started to tidy your stuff.

“Nah, leaving soon too. You got anywhere to be later?” Yelena took a sip out of her water bottle and slumped on a nearby bench.

“Thats kinda random, but no, why do you ask?” You paused and and looked at her.

“Wanna get some drinks together? Weve been friends for a while but havent seen each other anywhere other than the gym.” Yelena smiled softly to herself.

“Sure, sounds lovely!” You grinned.

A/n: This is not my best work so I apologize for the quality, i hope you still enjoy 😭❤️

[total-drama-takes-takes-2]

lgbt thoughts

like the ethnicity post i really only have ideas about certain characters and the rest are up to whatever people think they are ^_^ i mean these are too, speculate whatever you want, but heres my interpretation of a few characters

joner: aroace. romance-neutral. this is all self projection on my part, i think joner as a character just prefers friendships to relationships and romance would make him uncomfortable but hes very supportive of others. he/him (impartial to she/her though)

scary: aromantic and unlabeled otherwise. romance-repulsed AND she's a hater about it. she/he/they

kelly: always been transfem somehow to me. transhet. they/them and VERY occasionally they/she, really depends on the mood

michela: bigender boygirl but doesn't really talk about it, especially in those words. would date whoever but high preference for dudes. would label her preference for guys as either straight or gay depending on the context. she/her

courtney: calls themselves non-binary for binary people but it's more complicated than that. sapphic with an itty bitty tiny like for guys they they're still sorting out (is it platonic? romantic? they don't know) . they/them

ass: doesn't care. doesn't know. definitely not cis but a part of it is just not wanting to be like other girls. has a lot of self-doubt over their identity and actually tends to move through labels quite quickly, so they use they/them as a catch-all neutral

max: i had a hard time with this one in terms of good rep and stuff like that, but i think it's safe for me to say max is a pretty binary trans guy. more or less transhet but hes more flexible when it comes to michela's identity. he/him

scruffy: transmasc lesbian and that was always the intention tee bee ach ^_^ they/them but sometimes they/he if they feel like it

fren: gay and definitely not cis but he's very mysterious about it. he/him

bonnie: like courtney also tells binary people that they're non-binary out of convenience, but they definitely don't feel like the term really fits them. not fem not masc not androgynous but something new entirely (goth). on a more serious note i do think the gender fuckery in the goth subculture made them realize a lot of things about themself when they first got into it. also a frequent label-changer when it comes to sexuality. they/them

patrick: unironically too obsessed with himself to be into anyone else in a romantic way /j. hes bad aro representation. hed slay in a QPR tho. he/him

julia: lesbian but she hasnt come to terms with it yet lol. i agree w the headcanons that shes aspec in some regard but havent put much thought into it. she/her

kitty: pan but adverse to romantic relationships. some kind of gender. also a furry i dont think ive mentioned it yet but they have a fursona and made patrick make one too. therres a canon patrick fursona in my notes. no set pronouns, tells people to use whatever

peter: bi and trans guy. tends to prefer girls and feminine presenting people for the most part! he/him

I don't know what sha-mod and mclovin are but they're definitely something. same with caesar, idk what's going on there but he's definitely not cishet.

I definitely need to write albert, phillip, and noco more to get a good feel for them. and everyone else i dont have any strong feelings on

[rmwb-fanfics]

Why do you not like Hermione? Ron and Hermione are each other’s soulmates

I don't love Hermione. Her superfans along with the movies radicalize me into saying that I hate her. Sometimes I really don't know.

I find her irritating. I don't like the way she treats Ron or Harry. I don't care for her interests. I don't find her funny or interesting.

I generally would say that the IDEA of her and Harry's friendship is fantastic because I am a guy who has a lot of friends that are girls and I know dozens of men who just don't get it and either assume I'm gay or am just waiting for their boyfriends to break up with them so I can swoop in.

Boys can be friends with girls. I like that about Hermione.

Except I don't like her and Harry's dynamic. Their friendship doesn't feel like it gains any emotional complexity until the sixth book, and by then I'm more invested in Ron and Harry's friendship, and Harry and Ginny's romance to give a damn.

Deathly Hallows rolls around and everyone is sort of at their worst. I honestly prefer her while Ron is gone because she isn't fucking talking. She's a fine secondary character but in contrast to Ron and Tonks and Sirius and Neville and Ginny and Snape and Dumbledore, I find her to just be... lacking. She doesn't go through much growth which, considering the fact that she's a JKR insert is mildly hilarious. I just wish we got more of Hermione... struggling. I know that sounds bad but we get quite a bit of it in the books and it just doesn't seem to affect her.

Summed up, I think she's boring.

Now, on to the whole Ron and Hermione being soulmates thing. I really don't mind Romione. Like, at all. I like them in canon, specifically their little moments and implied off-page interactions, but they aren't soulmates.

Which is what makes them interesting.

They aren't perfect. Their relationship has rough edges. Hermione's a very difficult person to deal with and throughout their relationship, through marriage, kids, and whatever else, they would always have different troubles to navigate. BIG ONES. They're the type of family where their kids would be like "My parents should've gotten divorced" but like, they're 12 and don't actually understand why their parents love each other, and then by 19-20 they'd be like nah I have good parents and they didn't just "Stay together for the kids" yk?

On the scale of traumatic and fucked up, Romione falls between the idealistic-low-drama-just-fun of Hinny and the real-life-shit-happens-what-the-fuck-she's-pregnant of Remadora. I wouldn't say they're soul mates but they make it work and they're happy to keep trying and keep working on it to improve themselves and their relationship yadda yadda yadda.

That being said: FUCK I feel bad for Ron because if I had to deal with Hermione every day I'd actually blow my fucking brains out oh my god.