#Everyone thinks it's a post reveal (like the characters do)

[yellowf1nch]

Minors do not interact, spoilers, light talk of sex/intimacy, lore dump.

Consider this a layman's terms comprehensive canon lore post for Date Everything.

Here I am summarizing my thoughts and more clarifications for the Date Everything lore, and while I did go in the game and pull the written lore, any speculations/theorized points are my own [though I think it goes unsaid, if you are a writer, fan, creator, etc. and want to ignore game lore that is up to you! I simply wanted to put this together, more for myself and for anyone who may be interested]. For those that haven't or don't wish to read either the first or second post I made regarding the lore of Date Everything, in those posts, I was using quite a bit of imagination/guess work, whereas here I have finished speaking to Skylar about all the lore she can provide.

I tried to give a brief warning for some storyline spoilers for specific characters, but just know in this and other related posts there will be specific character lore, and some regards to things that are revealed during their routes. I do not believe I mentioned anything about how to get certain endings, though.

Skylar is not just the glasses (i.e. frame, lenses, normal components), but specifically something called the "suspension of disbelief" inside of them that functions as an inter-dimensional translator.

The dateables are physically tied to objects (or the mental stimulation of concepts), but their personhood is actually a wavelength Skylar calls "animus," and exist in a different reality.

This alternate reality experiences time and space differently than we do, but seems to correlate with the physical objects in our reality. They also communicate in an entirely different way, so the "suspension of disbelief" acts as some kind of neurological bridge between how the dateables exist, and our capabilities of perception.

Skylar herself is a kind of mechanism that predetermines how the dateables appear (Skylar says "... I can shape [the dateables] into whatever form I want... it's just my representation of what they are in total."), influencing their perceived human forms that later become "fully" human after Realization. This decision is impacted by where the object was made, but subtle changes like accessorizing seem to be voluntary on the dateable's part.

On the topic of appearance and what she makes from "what they are in total," Skylar brings up wavelengths; each "animus" of an object or concept operates at a different frequency. She provides Luke as an example: Luke was created when microwaves were created, that's when his distinct frequency was established. every microwave is Luke, and Luke is aware of all of his instances. Another example, Dorian, is the "animus" of every door: He is always Dorian because he is a frequency. His small appearance changes, even just in the player's home, are completely voluntary (Skylar says, "sometimes it's just fun to put on a costume.").

Small note on this: Skylar mentions that everyone looks "human" because she is a pair of human glasses. If she were made to fit dogs, everyone would then look like dogs.

Dateables can change from being one to another-- think of Dirk and Clarence. Technically, they are the same, but depending on the state in which one finds them will determine who they speak to (Skylar says: "...with objects, it happens as a plank of wood slowly becomes a toy boat. The wood didn't change, but the status did, and once it's more toy boat than plank of wood it changes its wavelength... once the object or idea becomes large enough to have its own state, it breaks off the wavelength and forms a new one."). This wavelength is what Skylar calls "animus."

Eddie talks about making Volt; in this situation it can be assumed that Volt started branching off as his own frequency until he was able to separate from Eddie and exist independently. How much of Volt's existence did Eddie actually have a hand in? How much was it Volt trying to gain autonomy? [SPOILER] Based on the dialogue, it seems that Volt only exists here in this house because of the stress of the faulty wire, though Volt seems to share some memories with Eddie, so do they actually have distinct frequencies, or is it more like Volt is the same frequency just... [in music terms] an octave difference? The frequency is the same, but the pitch is different?

This also provides context into how some objects seem to have relatives, Like Stefan. Stefan mentions his mother, Chiminea (which is an older version of an oven), meaning that when the stove/oven appliance was created from the idea of previous stoves and ovens, Stefan was made. It's possible he was pulled from her wavelength, though I think it's more meant to make "relatives" as the predecessor items. Rongomaiwhenhua is the animus of the earth, hence her referring to many objects like Beau and Gaia as iterations of herself (her using terms like "children" I think are more from her acting like a goddess). Freddy mentions being the "runt of the litter" for his fridge siblings, perhaps different models.

This would also imply that Diana, for example, used to be Lyric or Penelope before we wrote in her.

So, for appearances, Dorian will always have brown hair as long as Skylar imagines him to have such. However, I would enunciate that even wavelengths can have gender if they want (as it is personal expression and a social construct). The objects don't actually have genitalia, so when Skylar gives them sexually dimorphic features typically seen in humans, she's operating under how they identify/refer to themselves as wavelengths. I would think there would be some kind of conversation between Skylar and each dateable in regard to their appearance, ensuring they are being represented as comfortably as possible... though since they aren't human I suppose that's like trusting someone to draw a character you describe.

I also believe that while Doug is the animus of a true concept, one could argue Skips is in fact tied to shadows which... are sort of physically existing? Though, shadows are the absence of light, light is just information, so Skips would be... the absence of information. Which to me, is not really a concept, but that's where some very complicated discussions about what defines something as "physical" and whether or not shadows are a state of mind. :)

Quick mention of the mobility of dateables:

While there isn't too much Skylar mentions/we have options for dialogue in regard to objects moving for lore, there are a few hints that I have used to come up with a theory. Skylar mentions that when we "activate" objects/concepts, they do a little wiggle (that we physically see). This wiggle is Skylar activating her translation between realities: "Dateviators can vibrate at the same wavelength as these objects, which is why when we awaken something it wiggles a little." I believe that, once "awakened," the bridge between realities is lessened, and the objects are able to exercise some physical autonomy... if they want to. Some dateables, like Dasha or Abel, seem to be content to stay where they are/how the person living around them positions them. That goes for most of the dateables. Others, like Bodhi or Bobby exhibit a clear desire to move, and once they have been attuned to our physical reality with the dateviators, are able to do so. Hypothetically, any of the objects could leave (except for those who are literally built into the house like Celia, Florence, or even Dorian), but they already exist elsewhere in other instances.

Quick side note: the existence of Bodhi would indicate any time period that has a time capsule creates an animus of (at least) a particular decade. Thanks to @sugarcubedd for confirming this: Bodhi mentions a grandmother who is a time capsule of another decade.

Why does Gaia insist she can't go places then? Probably to have an interesting character and questline. Maybe, she doesn't want to just go places, but to experience them from the perspectives of those who live/are from there (and to have assistance in meeting people/socializing). Why does Jacques not move around the house on his own? If I recall, he was specifically looking for a good adventure, not just mobility, which requires input from other parties (and gaining a cockroach crew basically gave him friends to hang out with).

Skylar also mentions some of what happens when the dateables are Realized, so lore spoilers ahead:

Skylar isn't actually making anyone human, just human-like (she likens it to veggie-burgers). There is no actual flesh being supplied, but the wavelengths of each object are strengthened through intense emotions (like love or friendship, presumably hatred as well), and are then able to be given a different physical form. This is also contingent upon the person wearing the dateables increasing their SPECS points.

When an "animus" in human form "dies," they just... lose their human form. No corpse, because there is technically no flesh. They still exist as a wavelength, and simply go back to being an object/concept. Skylar also mentions that humans have an "animus" as well, though whether we are all the same wavelength in "different costumes" or individually distinct wavelengths is uncertain.

Presumably, this indicates that the dateables still have an awareness of their iterations as objects across the universe, even when in human form. Though, the.. shall we say... site-specific events don't necessarily carry over, only the knowledge of things occurring (if a cup is shattered on one side of the planet, Daisuke just knows it happened, it doesn't mean every instance of him is then injured. He just retains the memory of that pain).

This could imply an afterlife for humans, or at least that we exist in the same alternate reality that the objects do, but because of our organic forms we can't perceive it. So once the player dies, hypothetically one could argue that we can talk to/be with the dateables in their reality. Perhaps we get reincarnated into another body, but the organic constraints mean we lose memories.

There is a very clear relationship that we, as humans, have with affecting the animus of the objects/concepts both individually and as a species.

Skylar mentions that the vast, rapid, and continuous commercialization and consumerism has helped to distinguish certain personalities, and has crossed over into skewed but relative cultures for objects. Things like their names are a direct result of the words we use to describe them.

This related to describing how objects can change from one to another animus, but this shows that we, as humans, perhaps have a much greater role than anyone realizes. Teddy and Diana are examples of this theory. Teddy makes it clear he was young when you were, and grew up with you. Diana is a direct product of the player's canon spontaneous thoughts and incoherent ramblings, would she be different if the player canonically wrote more coherently? Things like Luke and Friar Errol are a direct result of human innovation, so our ability to make new things quite literally creates new people. We [humans] had a hand in making Dirk/Clarence, though he only mentions his mother (a loom?) making him. Perhaps we are viewed as more of a force of nature? A natural event like a hurricane that can hold equal parts devastation, but bring unprecedented changes and new opportunities.

[Spoiler?] Monique, being the animus of savings, seems very concerned with us spending her. I'm under the impression that if everyone were to no longer save their money, have no savings to speak of, Monique would... disappear? But just as easily as she would be gone, the moment someone saves money again, she would be back [this was a dialogue option regarding forgetting/destroying each object that exists in the universe with Skylar that I didn't pick]. Not to mention, if everyone on Earth were to do away with Monique, if she still exists that would confirm life elsewhere in the universe that has the concept of saving money. [Spoiler] In some of Tony's dialogue, he mentions that an uncle of his (who he isn't actually related to) was a toolbox who fell from a crane and completely shattered. Tony says that he didn't actually die, but was essentially disabled and retired-- I suppose we must assume that this other toolbox was a different kind from Tony for both to independently exist, and we can use this example to support that the dateables don't actually die if one instance of their object (or somehow concept) is destroyed.

Vocabulary:

Animus- Skylar's term for the wavelength that is an object/concept's persona. It can hypothetically take any form, determined by who or what is meant to wear the dateviators.

Dateable(s)- a term I (and others) use to describe the characters in the game that are either objects/concepts. I use this term because I feel it better describes them as people even though they are non-human.

Known familial relationships (feel free to mention if there's more, this is all I have come across in-game):

Stefan has a "mother" named Chiminea

Freddy Yeti has siblings, [presumably] other refridgerators

Dirk/Clarence has a mother who is a loom

Diana mentions taking out pages, which could potentially make her own children

Kristof mentions [presumably] other cross-fit trainers as his clan/family group

Dunk has a father who shares his name, and is described as just a shuttlecock (whereas Dunk seems to be multiple pieces of equipment)

Johnny mentions his grandfather [maybe great-grandfather or father, I can't remember] was a septic tank. Another grandfather/father may have been mentioned as a shower as well (though his lore was a bit questionable/potentially made up) [thank you @rorydrawsandwrites for adding, I thought he mentioned having shower relatives, but I definitely remember septic tank being mentioned in his lineage. Further investigation is needed.]

Bodhi has a grandmother who is another decade/time capsule

honorable mention for Tony's "non-uncle" who he described as not actually being related to him

Bobby Pinn mentions their family of bobby pins [thank you @of-chaos-and-flame, I hadn't gone through their storyline yet]

Known frequency/animus changes [of one object becoming another] (feel free to mention if there's more canonically mentioned by characters other than Skylar, this is all I have come across in-game) [I edited this to highlight which I feel are truly canon (and which are more headcanon), because making the distinction between voluntary alternate appearances and true splits in wavelengths requires more discussion]:

Rongomaiwhenua mentions Gaia is a representation of her, Beau and Jacques are both different forms of her (perhaps her goddess status is because being all known metals/minerals)

Volt splits from Eddie, this isn't explicitly stated to be a familial relationship, and being able to thruple with them would support that it isn't. Perhaps they are more like positive/negative charges that split independently from the unified circuit, Eddie being the major frequency before

Diana mentions potentially making children (which would imply splitting their frequency from hers)

[potentially] Dirk becomes Clarence (and vice versa), the status of him being clean or dirty determine his animus

[potentially] Connie splits herself? Then coalesces? Could be read as a minor change in her animus, but her character/appearance doesn't really change

[potentially] Isolde is Beau, but an alternate version. The two are described as "not quite twins," so it's likely the state of being able to be locked (a chest) that makes Isolde unique

[potentially] River mentions changing states [of matter], it's possible the solid and gas version of her would be different from her being liquid (like Dirk/Clarence), but ultimately it's still her same frequency [...if one makes soup, does that mean River becomes Mitchell?]

[potentially] Bobby Pinn was "bent" at some point, which seems to have altered their personality and could indicate a change in frequency compared to a non-bent bobby pin

Should I add known relationships between characters here as well? That may require a more comprehensive, perhaps visual element.

[heymelissachambers]

compiled my ramblings into one comprehensive post of:

everything i noticed during opening night of tgwdlm reprised!

spoilers under the cut!

act one

emma’s outfit in the opening is slightly different than the costume she wears throughout the show (she has a longer sleeve shirt instead of the short sleeve button down)

the show started with everyone dancing in front of a scrim and then during bill and melissa’s verses they raised their arms up and the scrim raised with them to reveal the set!

they were using the fuck outta those office chairs for choreography in the opening. at one point all the girls were sitting on office chairs and the guys were pushing them around

ccrp had a clock hanging down from the ceiling which could just be for the office setting. but also, time bastard reference?

ted’s entrance was him zooming onstage in a rolling chair except he overshot so he had to scoot backward while talking to paul

bill sat refreshing his webpage for SO LONG before he answered paul’s question about beanie’s

there was so much physical comedy with the office setting, including paul realizing his mouse isn’t working and trying to fix it

charlotte drank SO MUCH from her flask

every time nora mentioned emma having a line it beanie’s it was either just barry swift or paul standing there. and emma would turn to him like ??? and he would turn around to the empty cafe like ??? bc there’s no fucking line

when barry swift goes to leave beanie’s he says (to emma) “that sign’s bullshit!” and then he turns around to paul and says “the sign’s bullshit!”

after the broadcast about peanuts, there was a ton of paul getting ready for the day where jon was just miming on an empty stage with nothing but sound effects it was great. apparently paul has a bunch of locks on his front door and he forgot to unlock the bottom one when exiting his apartment at first

lauren and will came on dressed as ruth and max for la dee dah dah day! and corey was dressed as frank! everyone was so excited! jaime played who i’m assuming is a new background character who wore a pale blue bucket hat and jeans.

near the end of the song everyone lines up to give paul a brief moment of physical torment and both the homeless man and jaime’s character slapped paul on the ass

ted was fully on his phone while bill was talking about alice

after bill points out charlotte putting a ton of sugar in the coffee and paul comes in to talk about the “flashmob”, charlotte starts pouring the sugar out of the coffeepot in the background

when charlotte was talking about sam singing the lights started getting dim and closing in on her and creepy music started playing until the “he got home late last night” “he didn’t get home at all” part and everything immediately went back to normal while everyone stared at ted. and then charlotte kept going on and the tech went back to being creepy

until melissa popped in to call paul into mr. davidson’s office and everything went back to normal except the other characters were so startled like they were caught doing something wrong. or maybe melissa’s just disconcerting. love that for her <3

melissa fully waited in the doorway for paul to walk past her and then followed him very happily which was just. a little character detail i loved as a melissa fan. is it bc she has a crush on him? is it bc she knows she’s sending him to his death? is she already infected? idk but she’s so unhinged i love her

jon shouted “that’s too many!” during what do you want paul when mr. davidson was making the many-curved woman

mr. davidson wrapped the phone cord around paul’s neck and was choking him during the call to his wife

there was a lot of chair choreography in this one too. i think mr. davidson was pushing paul around in a rolling chair at multiple points.

joey was pete for the hot chocolate bit AND for cup of roasted/poisoned coffee! will was also there dressed in a pastel patterned button down talking to pete like they were friends. they were DEFINITELY gossiping about paul and emma and fully pointing at them when paul dragged emma away from the counter. it was will’s character who tipped emma and made her sing cup of roasted coffee! and corey was also there dressed in a light blue shirt and pink tie! and then they all died!

during cup of poisoned coffee nora and zoey were yanking emma back and forth between them. i don’t think there’s a single actor who doesn’t toss lauren around like a rag doll

the bit where paul and emma go through the alleys starts off with emma saying “oh my god i’m unemployed” and paul saying “well the job market is good Now In 2018” and then emma asked him how he knew the streets so well and paul was like “uhh when i was a kid they called me alley cat” and emma went “what???” and paul was like “no no actually forget i said that”

during the fast bit of show me your hands it’s choreographed so that everyone is in the back of a cop car

that whole number was a crazy blur. extremely enjoyable!

after sam gets knocked out charlotte keeps trying to adjust his legs/shoes, at one point ted reached for her and she swats his hand away

the scrim went down for hidgens’ introduction and then when he let emma in it raised to see the set had changed to include stuff for his house!

hidgen’s house had a lab, an orange couch, a bar, a fireplace, and painting of hidgens over the fireplace. 10/10 set design

ted and charlotte Going At It lasted for longer than i expected and was lit with purple light. i love them.

ted sounds like he’s on the verge of tears when he says “i’m gonna go hit on that crabby barista”. that whole ted/charlotte scene was played a lot more serious than the original which i appreciate so much. there’s a moment where ted leaves and charlotte runs after him and calls his name and you really think she’s gonna leave with him!! but she doesn’t!! fuck man!!

jeff wore a wig for sam except it kept falling off near the end of you tied up my heart but he couldn’t pick it up bc he was supposed to be tied to a chair. so he kept scooting toward it. at one point jaime put it on his head and it immediately fell off. jeff (still supposed to be tied to the chair) reached out and put it back on and it fell off again. eventually jaime just flung the wig offstage. everyone was losing their minds it was hilarious.

at one point jon and will came onstage in black hoodies and sunglasses and pick up sam’s chair and charlotte’s like “sam you’re flying!! how are you doing that??”

i know that last one sounds fake. i stg it's real.

when sam was fake dead during the song and charlotte was checking on him to see if he’s alive she says something like “i didn’t know you had such good memorization” (referring to him singing the whole song)

there were also disco lights in the audience for you tied up my heart they truly did the most for that song

emma and paul clink glasses at “fuck clivesdale”

infected sam and charlotte puppet emma and paul around during join us and die and almost make them kiss at one point. they also both tweak ted’s nipples while beating him up

at one point charlotte is using her intestines as a guitar and sam is using bill's leg

after that ted spent most of the scene just standing/sitting by charlotte’s dead body

by the time paul declared he would never be in a musical he and emma were the only characters onstage. and then he marched off to join bill and she stood alone onstage in front of charlotte and sam’s corpses as the curtains slowly closed. which oooooo foreshadowing to the fact that she’s the last one to be infected by the hive??

act two

paul and bill were fully crawling on the ground to show them crawling through the window of the teacher’s lounge

paul had a flashlight that he was shining around the dark stage which set the vibe of the scene so well

alice had blue goo coming out of her mouth!!

instead of bill trying to talk to alice in between her verses for not your seed he was silent the whole time

alice kept shoving him away but during the “it’s not my fault anymore” bit she was curled up on the ground and bill was holding her. absolutely devastating

and then at the end of the song alice and the other infected girls placed the shotgun in his hands which was CHILLING

when joey’s army character is throwing grenades he yells “smoke bomb stage left! smoke bomb stage right!”

when hidgens first goes to play the piano emma and ted are like “no no no!” while he slowly lowers his hands. and then he slowly raises his hands away from the piano and emma and ted are like “phew!” and then hidgens goes back to the piano and they start going “no no no!” again

will as hidgens was fully bending over leaning against the piano while talking about his business boys. it was so horny. his whole performance was so horny. amazing.

when hidgens says “d’ya mind if i give you the pitch” ted says “fucking go for it hidge”

hidgens also gets REALLY in ted’s face when pitching working boys

during showstopping number when the infected working boys enter they repeatedly pantomime playing basketball and golf/baseball but never football which was another reminder that the hive doesn't fucking know how humans work. and possibly a reference to pete miming golf/baseball when singing about the football team in if i loved you (and i’m saying golf/baseball bc i truly can’t tell which it is)

there’s one piece of choreography where hidgens is making the hands of a clock with his arms and ticking down the minutes which is like. SO SMART

instead of saying “today has taught me something” to paul and emma, ted says “that guy’s show taught me something” (talking about hidgens doing working boys)

when ted was making his way to the park to meet up with the army there were a ton of vines hanging upstage and there was a whole bit where he kept getting tangled in the vines. it was so silly and made no sense. 10/10

after ted made his way through the vines he kept going “it’s in my mouth! it’s in my mouth!” and then he did a borat impression and turned to paul but then realized paul wasn’t there (bc he just abandoned him) and was like “fuck!!”

there was a lot of cool slow motion choreography during america is great again. and let me tell you that song was hitting hard for the audience considering. well. everything.

after america is great again macnamara is carried out like a corpse by ted + the military characters

during the blackout after the helicopter scene jon had to run around from backstage and lie down center stage for the next scene. and the audience could hear jon throwing himself to the ground in the dark and we were all laughing

the meteor was HUGE and shaped like pokey’s mask!! the eyes and mouth glowed blue!! everyone lost their MINDS when they saw it there was a whole round of applause just for the meteor.

mariah still had the blue goo on her mouth for this song!

the ensemble’s “we will not be resisted” during let it out was sung!!

in her final scene emma was wearing the shirt she wore in the opening to bring it full circle when inevitable started!

i was disappointed that mariah and jon didn’t have their little duet moment in inevitable but! that was because mariah was changing into her melissa costume! and jaime changed into the charlotte costume she wore in the opening as well! full circle!!

ted and melissa stand next to each other a lot during inevitable which was a huge win for me, the person writing a fic series about them being besties

also during inevitable all the signs from prior scenes were hanging from the ceiling: clock from the office, beanie’s sign, hatchetfield high sign, the vines from the park, and the pokey meteor!

the bows were fully in character while emma was begging the audience for help and at the end hidgens just picked her up and started carrying her off while everyone else started exiting (still in character and at one point ted and melissa were chatting which made me so happy)

misc

dan and donna did the pre-show announcements which included dan saying he’s never been to a musical, but if he knows all the lyrics and dialogue, should he sing along? and donna saying “Absolutely Not!” which got a round of applause

the lights for multiple numbers had a honeycomb pattern that i eventually realized was because it’s a hivemind!

there were so many strobe lights! most notably during the helicopter crash and the meteor explosion

lauren being tiny was truly made use of throughout the whole show. there were SO many songs where she was just being tossed around

though honestly it was a super tactile show. everyone was shoving and grabbing everyone.

something they did in the theater was tape over the gendered bathroom signs with wiggly-branded all gender bathroom signs

[trans-vincent]

Having thoughts and feelings about Ramil at the moment. He so badly needs someone else in his corner, but the only person he has is Paytai who had even less power to protect them than Ramil does. Khanin who is an explicitly very empathetic and caring character saw them being abused and has never so much as mentioned it since. His father is comfortable abusing him and Paytai publicly like that, I hate to imagine how many more people have seen what happens and done nothing and never mentioned it.

It's truly just Ramil and Paytai against everyone else and despite Ramil being a prince they have no power to do anything.

Ramil makes his speech about domestic abuse, thinks that enough people care to vote for him to win only for his abuser to ruin it by revealing he rigged the vote.

There is no way Ramil comes out of the competition better than he was before. Either he loses and has to deal with his father's wrath, a father who at that point might have less to lose if he goes too far and seriously injures Paytai or Ramil as he can no longer become king. Or he wins he competition and his father is made king and therefore given more power and less oversight, and as a result can abuse Ramil and Paytai more. Plus I would expect that post-competition, especially if Ramil wins, there will be more pressure on him to produce an heir to continue the royal bloodline and considering his relationship with Paytai there is no way that ends well for either of them.

Ramil is the most isolated character in the entire show, the only person he really has is Paytai, wheras Paytai does have other people and is treated relatively well by Khanin, Charan, Ava etc. where Ramil is not offered the same kindness or friendship. And he knows that anything he does wrong will result in Paytai getting hurt, not just him.

When you think about how his life is going its so fucking bleak and there isn't really any way out for him.

[phuljari]

a think piece on how arnav singh raizada realised his feelings for khushi

of course, it would have been discussed numerous times before, we all know what happened and when it happened. i'm thinking more along the lines of why it happened this way. why did it take him so long to realise that these visceral reactions he has over her did not really stem from a place of hate, that hate was just a byproduct, a reaction, because he didn't realise what his emotions meant.

that it was altogether a new feeling, to be so consumed with thoughts of someone (whom you supposedly dislike). he tried so hard to run from those feelings, misdirecting them to hatred, disgust, apathy and what not. it was new— an unknown feeling that made him uncomfortable. i think in a way this echoes what i said earlier too, that arnav never really believed in love. which is why it took him ages to figure out why the hell he was so obsessed with someone who shouldn't even matter to him. i think what he hates the most about feeling attracted to khushi (aside from the fact that he never imagined himself with a girl like her? ie. see how he berates her: status, class, money, god-fearing etc) is the way she makes him feel— weak. and that's the feeling this man has rarely, if ever, felt for anyone outside his family.

also, elaborating on the statement that arnav didn't believe in love (even though no one asked for it lol), it is imperative to add that he has seen love exist, only barely, with nana-nani or whatever stories he heard about them and between mama and mamiji. but what else did he also see? that his dad cheated on his mom. that anjali's first wedding got broken off. and even though anjali was relatively happy with shyam— it wasn't a relationship he had experienced in his childhood, which is generally the time when your experiences shape you the most. so maybe he believed that love exists, to some degree, but not the whole unfiltered ~i would die for you~ love. remember how he convinced mamiji to accept payal? with the 'raizada' reputation? so he hadn't really experienced the best examples of love either.

unlike popular belief that arnav never felt deserving of love, i think that he never completely believed in it. especially not for a man like him who has to be careful around every turn because everyone around him is expecting to benefit from him. remember, this man is hella confident, and believes completely in himself (almost to the point of narcissism, esp in the early ipk days) and his ego is justified, afterall he did do a lot by himself and he's not bluffing about any of it. this man doesn't doubt himself, he could have anything he wanted. even love— that lavanya was willing to give him. but he doesn't believe in his ability to love, not after what he had seen with his parents.

which is exactly why this new confusing feeling, these obsessive thoughts about khushi, the way he felt weak and defeated in front of her was so absurd for him that he couldn't even realise that he was attracted to her. (with her, he has realised his ability to love, to want someone so desperately.) but instead he kept challenging her in order to make her feel weak and defeated. projecting much, sir?

and to be fair, arnav has mostly been a man of his words— truthful. if he said he didn't believe in love before he experienced it with khushi, it means he genuinely didn't. anyway, that's my take.

i have so much more to talk about this man!! for example how his diabetes is literally a metaphor because he can't have 'sweet' things in life?? 'sweet' here literally meaning happiness! happiness translation: khushi. and having diabetes compliments his character so well too? like he was cruel, cold-hearted and bitter (esp about his past, that he never could overcome) and so it aligned pretty well with khushi's 'meetha khaiye meetha boliye' kyuki arnav ko toh meetha bolna hi nahi aata! usse toh meetha mana hai na!

if you're still reading, thanks for sticking around lol

[taraxacum-vulpes]

why is everyone pretending like cyberpunk edgerunners is good. the writing is so bad i hate it

[fictional-men-enthusiast]

Sometimes I think about if the CH reboot took the late 2010s cartoon route of doing episodic shit for the first few seasons and then slowly introducing serialized elements instead of pretending it was still a parody when they clearly took their characters and storylines seriously too much for it to actually be one.

[abearthatwrites]

A Brief Rundown of the IRL Ithaca Saga (to the best of my memory, in probably not chronological order)

jorge (creator, odysseus) decided it'll be cool to celebrate the ithaca saga with the epic cast via a trip to ithaca, greece

surely nothing can go wrong

mico (telemachus) seemingly found out about the trip with the rest of the fandom. he proceeded to plot a trip to ithaca

the epic cast dealt with multiple broken vans and missed a ferry by one minute. they had to cancel a stream because they were too exhausted

mico made it onto a plane

ithaca got hit by a typhoon, forcing them to move another stream indoors

mico got banned from tiktok. it was reversed

mason (tireseas) asked luke (zeus) to stop the rain. luke refused

the crew hiked up to odysseus' palace. they ran into a roadblock. mason looked into the future and did not see a way around it. (they found a way around it)

the crew found a well and sang their epic songs into it. except jp (crew) who just sang happy birthday

janani (aphrodite) also sang "royal we" into the well

anna (penelope) made it onto the plane to fly out to ithaca

hermes (troy) decided to take a plane to ithaca like a normal human instead of teleporting. he got side-eyed by a woman at the airport as he slept sprawled out in a chair. this quickly became a meme

hermes arrived in ithaca to the delight of everyone except jorge. mico also appeared in his videos. mico still had not updated anything after getting on the plane

anna's connecting flight got cancelled, leaving her stranded in a fancy hotel. she struggled to find the toilet in her hotel room

mico finally updated, claiming he was stuck in munich. mason appears in the video and gives him a water bottle, proving he is lying

the fandom believes mico anyway

mico is forced to post another video revealing he had been gaslighting us basically the entire time and was just delayed in getting to ithaca, that was all

troy and talya (circe), in character, talk about tea. troy says the tea tastes like her father's approval. earle (ares) then asks for 1000 cups and breaks down crying as luke cuts the camera

jorge posts a video apologizing for mico's absence, encouraging him to fly to ithaca, new york. mico appears in the background of this video

mico posts a video saying that he's finally in ithaca, but the crew is in ithaca, new york. jorge appears in the background of this video

jp films a behind the scenes video, calling out "some random guy" who just showed up asking if anyone knows jorge. it's mico

janani sings "royal we" again, but after she says "troy was breached" troy comes out screaming in pain. mico appears in the background of this, filming the video from two points above

it's time for the ithaca saga livestream... except it gets cancelled because the connection is bad and jorge's devices are dying

TL;DR: the gods saw the epic crew in ithaca and went "do you guys think it'll be really funny if we just. recreated the odyssey"

[veal-exe]

I saw a post earlier, I will not be appending my response to that post to the post itself, but I did want to touch upon it.

The post was about how trans men and transmasculine people afab don't have any media tropes that are, we'll say, problematic for them, the way that the 'funny man in a dress' trope is trans-misogynistic, I wanted to discuss that and lay that claim to rest.

Below I will be discussing some tropes in media that affect trans masculine people afab. Some may be worse than others, some accidental, some maybe on purpose, but I've compiled them because I think it's important to understand that just how the harmful tropes aimed at masculine people afab do exist, they just differ in their execution.

DISCLAIMER: If I have worded anything poorly in this post please tolerate it, English is my fourth language and it can be overwhelming to attempt linguistic perfection or the performance of it for native English Speaker.

EDIT: tumblr really messed my layout and formatting up, sorry for that but I'm not fixing it unless I really need to.

1. “Tomboy Gets a Makeover” = Suddenly She’s Worth Something (AKA: Now She’s Fuckable)

This one’s everywhere. You’ve got a character who’s rough around the edges, usually wears hoodies, maybe doesn’t shave, maybe doesn’t even care what people think. And the story punishes her for that. Until someone (usually a fairy godmother or mean girl turned ally) shoves her into a dress, puts some gloss on her lips, straightens her hair...

and then she’s finally seen as beautiful, desirable, and valid.

The core message? Your masculinity is temporary, and your value doesn’t actually exist until you conform to traditional femininity. You weren’t lovable, datable, or even visible until you softened up and got pretty.

This trope tells young people AFAB:

You're not enough unless you perform femininity

Your gender nonconformity is a flaw to fix

If you're not seen as sexy in the "right" way, you're invisible

And this sticks. Especially for transmascs, who grew up seeing their natural instincts or styles treated like a before picture.

Examples:

The Princess Diaries – Mia goes from “invisible frizzy nerd” to prom-queen level once her hair is flat and her legs are waxed.

A Cinderella Story – Sam’s baggy clothes are treated like a shield for her insecurity, until she shows up in a dress and suddenly earns male attention.

The Breakfast Club – Allison is artsy and weird and quietly masc... until she’s quite literally pink-washed and given a makeover so she can be datable.

She's All That – Laney is cool and self-possessed in her own way, but the movie waits until she’s in a red dress and contacts to take her seriously.

Meteor Garden – Shan Cai’s toughness is tolerable, but she’s still only framed as truly “lovable” after being softened through male attention.

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

2. “She Pretended to Be a Boy” = She’s a Lying Snake Whore

When characters AFAB dress or live as boys, it’s almost always framed as deception. Not survival. Not autonomy. Not self-expression. Just trickery. There’s a dramatic “reveal” scene where everyone suddenly feels betrayed, like the character has been scheming the whole time instead of just…

living. Sound familiar?

This isn’t just about fiction. It directly echoes how transmasc people are treated in reality, as liars, as fake men, as threats to those around them just by existing. The idea that someone AFAB could be masculine, or just a guy, is treated like a trap set for unsuspecting cis people.

The underlying message:

You can’t be trusted if you present as masculine

Your gender is a mask, a trick, a crime

If people liked you before, they were duped

it’s the same logic used to justify violence and exclusion towards Transmasculine people AFAB in reality.

Examples:

She’s the Man – Viola pretends to be her brother to play soccer, but it’s all “uh-oh she has boobs” humor. Her gender presentation is the punchline.

The King’s Affection – She lives as the crown prince and does a damn good job, but the tension constantly hinges on whether she’s tricking people by being there at all. Masculinity is okay only if it’s secret and painful.

Coffee Prince – Go Eun-chan presents as male to get a job, and instead of critiquing the system that forces her to do it, the narrative focuses on her guilt and “the reveal.” Masculinity is tolerated, but never fully respected.

Victor/Victoria – Gender is treated as a clever disguise. The moment someone finds out “the truth,” it’s all shock, betrayal, and drama. Queerness framed as a con.

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

3. “It’s Just a Phase” = You’ll Be a Real Girl™️ Eventually

You can be a tomboy for now. Run around, get messy, be loud. It’s even kind of cute! As a little kid who needs to grow up. Then suddenly, your masculinity isn’t just childish! it’s a problem. Something to “grow out of.” Something to fix!

This trope trains audiences to see AFAB masculinity as:

Immature

A quirk of childhood

A stepping stone to real femininity

And what does “real girlhood” mean in this context? Dresses. Lip gloss. Boys. The implication is that your value kicks in when you start performing the kind of femininity that makes you palatable and desirable. You were allowed to be wild for a minute, but only if you clean up nice later.

It reinforces the same tired message: Girlhood = destination, not a choice. Masculinity is just the wrong stop on the way. If you are Transmasculine AFAB, you are a child who should grow up, immature, being treated as much younger than they are is a huge issue with transmasculine people AFAB.

I would like to add that this is also a misogynistic trope, but misogyny intersects with transandrophobia in ways that are valid to talk about.

Examples:

The Parent Trap – Annie and Hallie are opposites, but Hallie (tomboy-coded) only really “settles down” and softens once she’s back with her mom. Her rougher edge is charming but temporary.

Now and Then – Roberta is the tomboy of the group, and her Big Moment of Growth™ comes when she puts on a dress. Not solving childhood trauma. Not emotional healing. The dress.

Boys Over Flowers – Jan-di is scrappy, resilient, athletic! and then she falls for the male lead and gradually loses every bit of that fire. By the end, she’s quiet, deferential, and soft. like that’s her natural arc.

Hi My Sweetheart– Rainie Yang’s character starts out masc-presenting and bold. She’s mocked, corrected, and eventually “fixed” into a soft, pink, cutesy girl. Her makeover isn’t for her. it’s the narrative giving her permission to be “dateable.”

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

5. “One of the Boys” But Never Really One of the Boys

She’s tough. She’s cool. She fights. She hangs with the guys. She might even burp. But make no mistake! she’s never actually allowed to be one. This trope gives characters AFAB just enough masculinity to seem "interesting," then punishes them if they go too far with it.

Again, this is also a misogynistic trope, but the intersectionality here is important even in the ones that don't seem obvious, some people will poke fun at me putting Natasha here for example, but if you do that you're misunderstanding my intent and I do not care for it.

I am not saying ANY of these characters are coded transmasculine, I am discussing how masculinity is treated in regards to characters AFAB.

The message is clear: You can borrow masculinity, but don’t get comfortable in it.

These characters:

Get constant reminders that they're different

Are sexualized, softened, or sidelined the moment they get too close to “boyish”

Exist to complement the boys, not compete with them

Examples:

Avengers – Natasha Romanoff is deadly, competent, cool under pressure, but also constantly shoved into the “team mom” or “sexy redhead with feelings” role. Her backstory centers around forced sterilization, and her arc in Age of Ultron literally says she’s a “monster” for not being able to have kids. Tell me again how she’s treated like “one of the guys.”

How to Train Your Dragon – Astrid starts out as the alpha fighter, but as soon as Hiccup grows up, she becomes a background girlfriend with no arc of her own. Her sharp edge gets smoothed into supportiveness.

My Hero Academia – Nearly every tough AFAB character gets undercut. Mirko is badass but exists on the fringes. Jirou gets development, but only as support. Bakugo’s mom is comic relief. Meanwhile, male characters are allowed complex, messy, powerful arcs without ever needing to "soften" for the audience.

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

“AFAB Character Learns to Embrace Womanhood” = Moral Victory!

You start with a tough, scrappy, masculine-coded person AFAB, maybe she fights, maybe she’s emotionally shut down, maybe she just doesn’t want to be like other girls. It doesn't matter, this is how it ends:

She softens. She submits. She “grows” by becoming a wife, a mom, a love interest, a Real Girl™️.

This isn’t healing. It’s containment. The message is: your rebellion was cute, but it’s time to settle down and accept the role assigned to you.

“Growth” = compliance. “Strength” = giving it up. “Maturity” = pink, dresses, and a baby carriage.

Examples:

The Hunger Games – Katniss Everdeen is trauma-coded, masc-leaning, and uncomfortable with romance or traditional femininity. So what’s her ending? A baby epilogue where she’s in a dress, quietly settled into nuclear family life. Is she happy about it? No, but there's no denying that this is her ending.

Mulan II– In the original, she challenges gender roles and becomes a literal war hero. In the sequel? The plot revolves around her needing to prove she can still be soft, feminine, and wife-material. Her masculinity is not allowed to just exist.

Jojo Rabbit – Rosie (the mother) is framed as the ideal woman: warm, loving, feminine. Meanwhile, Elsa (a girl in hiding) starts out guarded and hard-edged, but only becomes “redeemed” once she softens and embraces traditional femininity.

A Silent Voice / Koe no Katachi – The narrative constantly punishes her for not being “nice enough,” and her arc only begins to shift once she becomes more demure and apologetic. She cannot be both a good person and brash or hotheaded, submit or be branded evil.

Inuyasha – Sango is introduced as a demon-slaying warrior. But her story ends in the most vanilla way possible: marriage, motherhood, and sidelining. She loses her edge completely. I hate the end of Inuyasha so much it is borderline a meme in my circles.

Fruits Basket - Uotani is tall, tomboyish, and used to be in a girl gang. She has strength, history, and depth. And then her “big growth moment”? Realizing she wants to be softer and more ladylike, because femininity is treated as the finish line within the story.

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

“Masculine Presentation” = Joke Costume or Moral Failure

When characters AFAB wear suits, cut their hair short, or pass as masc in any way, media rarely lets it land without a laugh track, or a moral consequence.

Masculine presentation is treated as:

A silly costume

A failed experiment

A sign of monstrosity

Or something to be shamed out of.

The story makes sure you feel embarrassed for them. It invites the audience to laugh, cringe, or judge, because “girl in boy clothes” is still a punchline in mainstream media. Just like 'Boy in girl clothes' is.

And yes, this hurts trans women, but it also absolutely targets butch, GNC, and transmasc folks. Masculinity is marked as wrong on AFAB bodies, funny if temporary, disgusting if permanent.

Examples:

Scooby-Doo – Velma’s masc coding (short hair, flat clothes, practical shoes) constantly becomes the joke. If she dresses even more masc? She’s “mistaken” for a man and ridiculed. Her queerness and presentation are treated like a quirk at best, a problem at worst.

The Suite Life of Zack and Cody – London Tipton wears a single masc outfit and the laugh track explodes. The outfit itself isn’t weird, but the show acts like the sight of her in anything non-feminine is a cosmic-level joke.

Friends – Rachel and Monica wear tuxedos in one episode, and the joke is entirely that it looks “wrong.” Chandler mocks them, the camera lingers on how “awkward” they look.

iCarly – Sam dresses masc semi-regularly, and is constantly mocked for acting “like a guy.” In interviews, actress Jennette McCurdy has said this ongoing joke contributed directly to her eating disorder relapse. This is not harmless.

Matilda - Miss Trunchbull is heavily masc-coded: big build, short hair, no makeup, harsh voice. She’s a literal villain, and her appearance is meant to be scary. Her masculinity is associated directly with her monstrosity.

Aikatsu! – Girls in suits are used as performance shock value. “Omg, a girl in a tuxedo??” is the whole joke.

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IN CLOSING.

These tropes don’t exist in a vacuum.

they shape how people see us, and how we see ourselves.

When characters AFAB exploring masculinity are only ever jokes, villains, phases, or tragedies, it sends a message: You don’t get to be this. You’re only allowed to visit. And when you're done, you better come back “correct.”

But we’re not punchlines. We’re not broken girls. Some of us are boys.

Some of us are neither.

Some of us are just butch as hell and happy about it.

We deserve stories where we aren’t corrected. Where masculinity on AFAB people isn’t a phase, a disguise, or a joke. But our lives, and the truth of them.

[ask-the-rag-dolly]

edit : i'm sorry but this post is messy i don't like how this is the ramble that got the most attention shhffs please check out the addendum in the reblogs if you want a more clearer analysis

-

FIRST OF ALL the thing about the paint huffing - Other than that it's funny - is that we were getting ragatha at her most honest . she's more reflective and reveals her mind more which is a Lot considering that she has shown herself to be a people pleaser trying to avoid conflict . this is Literally The Last thing she wants

and honestly it would be fun to see the fallout of this in episode 5 when she would inevitably sober up and be Mortified about that fact considering she said This to gangle here

like . interesting ragatha . is that why you Do Not Stop Jax when he goes to bully gangle . other than not wanting him to hate you you also prefer it if gangle is in her tragedy state . is that it . Is That It -

also you guys don't know how much i fucking screamed at these scenes okay . there's nothing i love more than nice characters that show their less than desirable traits . my favorite thing about ragatha is not that she's a sweetheart but that she's Dishonest . even to the point that gangle mentions it in her talk with pomni

like my ongoing theory right now for the ' evil ragatha ' comment gooseworx made for episode 5 is that ragatha's going to say or do the Most Morally Ambiguous thing possible that will send the entire fandom on fire . like we're talking Arguments on whether she's in the right or wrong Even though this is a show that invites nuance instead of black and white views , and it'll be so fucking marvelous to witness

NOW . i really don't think she's faking being nice ! i believe with all my heart that ragatha's inherently Good and i will throw hands at anyone who thinks otherwise . it's just that she's just Repressing What She Thinks About The Others because , again , Avoiding Conflict ! which is shown by how annoyed she got with pomni talking to gummigoo ( gayass ) , what she said to gangle , and what she said to zooble

yes i screamed about the toybox interaction i knew that ragatha was going to not like zooble's grouchiness But I Digress .

all of this is interesting because . again , ragatha's a people pleaser trying to avoid conflict . i think her reasons for being nice and helpful are both selfless and selfish . selfless - she doesn't want anyone to go through the stress and pain of feeling alone , and selfish - she doesn't want anyone to hate her . they're like a smoothie , she's not one or the other . it's just that the latter reason ... has a lot more influences on her thought processes than she'd like to admit .

and that's showcased if you look at episode 2 with her conversation with kinger . she was worried about pomni going through something traumatizing , yes , but she added that she thinks pomni doesn't like her that much . which . it's a small piece of dialogue but it really shows how much ragatha's Gripping That Fucking Fawn Response . yes , her concern is everyone's wellbeing , but she also Would Not Like It If Anyone Hates Her , to the point that it'll stick to her . and she'll try So Hard to compensate for it .

like . she is really a nice person but she's dishonest because she doesn't want to be hated which is very much a selfish reason . she's falling into that pitfall of ' a friend to all is a friend to none ' . argh . why is she so complicated god i'm going to put her in that deepfryer again

[luna-azzurra]

Genius Things to Do When You’re Stuck in Your Plot...

Make a fake conspiracy board connecting every character like you're solving a murder. Use string, post-its, color-coded chaos. Even if your book isn’t a thriller, this helps you spot secret relationships, hidden motivations, and “oh crap, this character actually caused that moment three chapters later” reveals.

Write a therapy session transcript for your protagonist. What would they say to a stranger? What wouldn’t they say? What does the therapist pick up on that they don’t? (Also: gives you instant internal conflict fuel.)

Record a fake podcast episode where your villain is a guest. The topic? “Why I Was Right and Everyone Else Is Just Soft.” Let them monologue. Let them get unhinged. You’ll learn so much about their worldview and how they justify their chaos.

Assign zodiac signs to all your main characters and write how they’d react to a haunted house. Not because astrology is the answer—but because forcing your brain to imagine characters in weird situations unlocks surprising truths. (Your Scorpio would definitely flirt with the ghost. Your Virgo brought sage.)

Write the worst possible ending to your story on purpose. Like, make it hilariously bad. Deus ex machina, everyone dies, aliens show up—it doesn’t matter. Sometimes mocking your plot actually helps you figure out what doesn’t work so you can reverse-engineer what does.

Do a “what if this happened instead?” daydream session in the shower or on a walk. No pressure. Just free-thinking. Let your brain go off-road. You might stumble into a better twist, or a softer moment, or a scene that guts you in the best way.

Write the one scene you’re most excited about—now. Even if you “haven’t earned it” yet in the draft. Screw linear order. Give yourself a jolt of joy. That scene might be the key to unlocking everything else.

Make your characters write Yelp reviews about each other. “One star. Always steals my fries. Would still die for him.” This is ridiculous, yes. But it will reveal interpersonal tension you didn’t know was there.

Tell your plot to someone who knows nothing about it—and see where they get confused. Your roommate. Your cat. Your reflection. If you can’t explain it out loud in 2 minutes, it’s probably too complicated. Simplify the heart of the story. Get clear again.

Write a flash-forward epilogue. Even if it never makes it into the book. Where do these characters end up? Who are they now? That can tell you where the real story wants to go—and help you figure out what’s missing along the way.

[yearoftheotpevent]

hello fan creators!

Year of the OTP is officially back for 2025 with a new set of prompts!

we've switched some of the prompt categories around in an effort to make the event more inclusive of all kinds of fanworks. we've also included song prompts this year! the playlist is on spotify here.

we want to give a huge thank you to everyone who participated in the last event - it grew so much larger than we ever expected and it's truly amazing how you all took our last set of prompts and made so many wonderful things. keep it up!

a couple housekeeping notes: we will not be reblogging every entry this year. mods will keep an eye on the blog if you have any questions, but the reblogs were too much last time. thank you for your understanding!

we will be closing the 2023 collection on December 31. thank you for your continued participation, but it's time to look forward!

the link for the new collection will be posted here January 1.

we're looking forward to seeing what you create this year!

alt text below the cut.

Year of the OTP 2025

The Rules: the Ao3 collection accepts any /-ship works inspired by a prompt from this sheet The Challenge: make 12 works for one ship in one year, using prompts from each month

*you do not need to do the challenge to post to the AO3 collection, as long as you follow the rules*

January first kiss ♦ “may I have this dance” ♦ sharing clothes ♦ BDSM AU ♦ stockholm syndrome ♦ Strong – One Direction

February Valentine’s Day ♦ “it made me think of you” ♦ bed sharing ♦ multiple penetration ♦ mind control/mind break ♦ Like Real People Do – Hozier

March fresh starts ♦ “what are you doing with that”♦ florist/tattoo artist ♦ phone sex ♦ major character death ♦ Take Care – Drake

April pranks ♦ “right in front of my salad” ♦ running away together ♦ dom bottom/sub top ♦ raised to be a killer ♦ Drops of Jupiter – Train

May hanahaki ♦ “we’re dating? since when?” ♦ body swap ♦ magical sex toys ♦ stalking ♦ Paper Rings – Taylor Swift

June pride ♦ “I can’t get you out of my mind” ♦ relationship reveal ♦ unconventional sex positions ♦ paying a debt with your body ♦ Good Looking – Dixon Dallas

July vacation together ♦ “I like my _ how I like my coffee” ♦ kidfic ♦ mutual masturbation ♦ dehumanization ♦ You May Be Right – Billy Joel

August Sports AU ♦ “you’re thinking too much”♦ cooking together ♦ object insertion/ penetration ♦ becoming a monster ♦ You Shook Me All Night Long – AC/DC

September high school/college sweethearts ♦ “come here” ♦ date night gone wrong ♦ semi-public sex ♦ abduction ♦ Thinking Bout You – Frank Ocean

October costumes ♦ “boo” ♦ online dating ♦ shibari ♦ mutual non-con ♦ Mr. Brightside – The Killers

November camping ♦ “are you sure” ♦ touch-starved ♦ cockwarming ♦ abusive relationship ♦ A Thousand Years – Christina Perri

December holiday traditions ♦ “where are you taking me” ♦ bathing together ♦ food play ♦ tortured for information ♦ Everything Is Alright – Laura Shigihara

[allpiesforourown]

Superstar Luo Binghe au. All the directors beg him to be in their movies because his fame will immediately assure success for anything they make. He’s handsome, charming, dedicated, and most of all, extremely talented. He even does his own stunts!! Women love him, and men who say they hate him will still watch his movies so they can figure out how to be more like him. 

The only weird thing about Binghe as an actor is that he refuses to star in romantic films. He won’t kiss anyone, won’t pretend to date someone on screen, won’t even let another actor take over his role for the scenes he doesn’t want to do. His reason? He’s completely loyal to his husband.

Everyone thinks it’s stupid, obviously. You aren’t “cheating” by pretending to love someone else, it’s literally your job! Luo Binghe still refuses and says even he’s not good enough an actor to make anyone believe he could ever love someone other than Yuan-ge.

His fans hate this mysterious Yuan-ge. Because of his (probably insecure and jealous) spouse, all of Binghe’s fangirls cant see him sweep some y/n character off their feet. It’s even worse because they don’t know anything about this guy. Whenever someone asks to see or learn about Binghe’s husband, the star says he’ll never reveal Yuan-ge to the public, because he’s too beautiful and he doesn’t want everyone falling in love with him. 

People kind of run with the idea that obviously this guy must be a total weirdo who Binghe is embarrassed to be seen with. That has to be the explanation, because no matter how perfect someone is, how can they have such a chokehold on THE LUO BINGHE??

Then, one day, years after Luo Binghe’s initial rise to fame…. He goes on a talkshow. With his husband Shen Yuan. 

Obviously EVERYONE tunes in. No one uses TVs anymore bc of the internet, but just for this show, viewer ratings are the highest theyve ever been. Everyone wants to know what the fuss is all about with this guy to have Luo Binghe so down horrible. 

And Shen Yuan isn’t a weirdo. He’s also not some pretty yesman. He makes jokes that make the audience burst into laughter. He’s opinionated, which is really refreshing when every other celebrity stays neutral on every topic to avoid losing fans. He’s polite, but he’s not a pushover. He’s likeable, but he’s not a try-hard about it. Referencing memes makes him an instant hit with the younger generations, and the calm gentle way he talks makes him a hit with the older ones. All of a sudden everyone is going, okay we see why Luo Binghe is obsessed with him. 

Except… while shen yuan was making jokes and charming everyone, Luo Binghe was at his side, pathetically pawing at his husband for attention. The actor keeps whining every two minutes to be reassured yuan-ge still likes him. Whenever Shen Yuan compliments the host, Binghe looks like he’s about to cry. Whenever Luo Binghe jealously wraps his arms around shen Yuan everyone watching just rolls their eyes. Seeing them together people realize… shen yuan is the one that’s out of Luo Binghe’s league.

In just one hour public opinion goes from ‘no one can be worth binghe acting like that for’ to ‘luo binghe is so annoying, let shen yuan talk!!’ 

The next day someone finds shen yuan’s twitter and it blows up. He has his own fan pages now. There’s no pictures of him online other than the footage from the talkshow, so the fan accounts just post that over and over again. Shen yuan retweets a post about him with the caption “i never realized she was holding a plate of corn in this scene” and everyone loses their mind. Everything he says immediately goes viral bc that’s luo binghe’s attic wife.

People start nagging Binghe to post about Shen Yuan bc theyre so attached after his one and only publicized appearance. Binghe is super possessive, but yuan-ge tells him not to worry, so he relents and posts pictures of him and shen yuan on vacation. They’re together, holding hands… but shen yuan’s face and body are blurred out. It’s HORRIFYING. He looks like an eldritch monster bc luo binghe refuses to let anyone look at his yuan-ge in a swim suit, go away you perverts!! His instragram is now just full of pics of shen yuan where his eyes are blacked out so noone else can see how pretty they are. It’s nightmare fuel

Shen Yuan is unfortunately too unbothered to post pictures of himself. Everyone’s tired of Luo Binghe for “hogging shen yuan all to himself” when Shen Yuan is practically an internet celebrity now. 

People go to watch movies and their theatre conversations sound like this:

“Oh, Luo Binghe’s in this one!”

“Who?”

“You know Shen Yuan’s annoying husband?”

“OH THAT GUY..”

[chevxyn]

lowkey

feat. sae, reo, aiku, kaiser x reader. (sep.)

how the two of you almost got caught (his pov)

sfw, gn!reader, estb. relationship, private relationship. (insp. : lowkey - niki)

SAE ITOSHI

by them seeing sae opening a door for you.

sae opened the door for you when you were on a date on a private dinner. press caught you and took a photo, but luckily the media didn’t budge as they thought it’s just a normal interaction of sae being a gentlemen (he won’t do that to anyone else).

sae itoshi caught opening a door for a random individual, any thoughts?

the two of you are at the couch, as your back pressed on his chest. you saw the post and showed it to him, and he just replied with a simple hum and a kiss at the back of your head.

nobody knew about this simple relationship, and he plans keeping it that way until the two of you are married— to respect you and your privacy.

REO MIKAGE

by them seeing him buying flowers for you.

your birthday was near, and he planned a whole week of surprises before it. so he went to buy flowers, some of his fans saw it took a photo. as they uploaded it online, everyone just assumed it’s for his mother or a family member.

mikage’s heir, reo mikage caught buying flowers! for a family member or for a secret lover?

you both were eating dinner when he caught the post, immediately clicking the disinterested button. as he looked at you— reaching out to hold your hand and kissing it. you were confused but let out a smile.

and he promised himself, when the time comes where the two of you do reveal your relationship, he will do everything to make you comfortable.

OLIVER AIKU

by them seeing him buying a gift box for you.

he had just came back from italy to go home to you— but before that he went to buy you something, at the gift shop he said he was buying his partner a gift, but the cashier know him. and when the word got out people just assumed it is one of his games.

japan’s u-20 captain, oliver aiku rumored to have a partner after buying a gift. is it one of his facades?

he threw his phone to the other side of the bed when he saw that, slightly annoyed but his expression immediately softened as you entered the room, going straight to his arms.

if only everyone knew what his partner did to him, they would see and understand how he is heads over heels for them.

MICHAEL KAISER

by them seeing him going somewhere after his game.

as kaiser finished his game, he immediately went somewhere else. not even the press could hold him back, speculations arise from kaiser having an emergency to well, having a partner. but quickly ignored the latter cause nobody thinks he would be focused on dating. (how wrong they were.)

michael kaiser fans speculate he was going to a secret lover as he ran from the paparazzis; here’s the truth!

as he read through the article that ‘uncovered the truth’ he just scoffed as it wrote that he most likely just had an emergency rather than meeting his partner; that’s sleeping in his arms right now.

but he had promised you that he’d always put your privacy first— even if it means he has to pay the press to shut their mouths off.

a.n : do you want this but with haikyuu characters?

©chevxyn

[twilightofthesandwiches]

So one of the cool and interesting ways ‘Steven Universe’ used to try and balance being both a series of 11-minutes episodes that each have their own satisfying emotional resolution and being an overarching story with complicated character arcs that take multiple seasons to resolve is the… I’m going to call it the ‘Not Quite Right Lesson’ episodes. Episodes where a character kinda learns a Very Important Lesson… but a more careful and retrospective look at the situation shows that what they learned is not Quite the Right Thing for them. They internalized something in that adventure which just ended up causing more Emotional Troubles for themselves farther down the line.

‘The Test’ is the most classic example. 

As a standalone thing, it’s just a sweet episode about Steven learning to accept that his caretakers are also flawed and confused and figuring this shit up as they’re going along just like he is, and then doing a nice thing for their sake.

But looking back at this episode, it is quite obviously the nadir of Steven appointing himself as the Family Therapist and repressing all of his problems so he could better help the Gems’ with theirs. Like, there have been some early warning signs for this Complex, but this episode is the one that really cemented that idea in his mind and probably the reason it took him like the Entire Rest of the Show Including a Post-Finale Season to really untangle it.

But… also, I’ve been thinking a lot about the episode right after that, ‘Future Vision’. I think it’s also a very important ‘Not Quite Right Lesson Episode’ for the character of Garnet, and to some extent, the Crystal Gems as a whole. In many ways, it is to the CGs' character arcs' what 'the Test' is to Steven's.

So in this episode, Garnet reveals to Steven the fact that she has Future Vision. She hoped that telling Steven a little bit more about herself and being honest with him will lead to a greater understanding and a greater bond between them… but it backfired. It just led Steven to become a total paranoid, terrified wreck stuck in a total existential crisis.

And it seems like the lesson Garnet learned is that… she should’ve never taken that risk at all. That it would’ve been better for everyone if she just kept Steven ignorant of the truth forever.

Extremely reinforced with the ending of the episode, where Garnet chooses to once again hide an uncomfortable truth (that he just came very close to dying again) from Steven, for the sake of his own ‘peace of mind’.

So, like, the Gems were already hiding uncomfortable truths from Steven since day one. “If you could only know what we really are” and all of that. But I think… With the actual truth of Homeworld encroaching on them more and more at this point of the story arc, this would’ve been a great time for the Gems to reconsider their attitude and actually Explain to Steven What the Hell is Going On. 

But instead, I think Garnet saw the events of ‘Future Vision’ as a reinforcement of the idea that there’s just some things Steven is Better Off Not Knowing. Actually being frank with him about Homeworld and the Diamonds and the War right there and then, that would have just overwhelmed Steven with fears and worries and would’ve ended up doing nothing but hurting him. And Garnet can’t accept that possibility, not again.

And so, Garnet, alongside Amethyst and Pearl, keep all these truths from Steven as long as possible. Only revealing bits of information when they have to. For Amethyst it’s about her emotionally-evasive attitude (also, she legit doesn’t know all of that stuff herself). For Pearl it’s about how she learned to romanticize Rose’s own fucked-up obsession with secrets. For Garnet, with her usually very direct attitude and preference for the most straightforward solutions, I think it’s very much the events of ‘Future Vision’ that were still playing in her head every time she had the choice to actually Explain something to Steven and decided not to. 

But that, indeed, was Not Quite the Right Lesson. While being bluntly and directly told by Garnet all about the Many Ways He Could Die caused Steven to go into an anxiety spiral and an existential crisis for an episode - the way the Gems have been consistently secretive and evasive with Steven ended up causing him so much more emotional grief to him in the long run. As all of these secrets ended up revealed to him in the most surprising, dramatic and traumatizing way possible.

And the secretive attitudes ended up driving a wedge between Steven and the Gems. 

Even after they promised to be more honest with him. Because the sight of Steven crying on the roof that day is one that Garnet can easily move away from. Because Garnet’s Not Quite Right Lesson was almost as difficult for her to unlearn as Steven’s own. 

But after the big confrontation at the start of the Zoo Arc, Garnet ended up being the most upfront about the Crystal Gems’ history. Almost overeager to share what she knows about the past.

I mean also, again, Amethyst just has less to tell and Pearl is hiding secrets for reasons beyond her control - but I think it’s also important to consider from the perspective of Garnet’s arc.

Because the fallout of the Pink Diamond Reveal is very much centered around Garnet (or, well, Ruby and Sapphire). That was the Truth that was hidden from her 'for her own good'. And at the end of the day, despite all the grief that unveiling that truth has caused

It has also brought them, all of them, a lot closer.

There's a reason why 'the Truth' is Garnet's Final Missing Piece in the movie. It is as central to her character arc in the series as Lesbian AngstTM grief over lost love is to Pearl.

And still, some remnants of the Trauma of 'Future Vision' remained...

After all, even the very last episode of 'Future' was centered around the Gems once again trying to hide things from Steven (at that case, their turmoil about him leaving) for his own sake

Even though it once again just caused Steven a whole lot of grief.

It's maybe notable that at the end of this episode, Garnet, once again, tells Steven what's waiting for him in his Future...

[rexomi]

Something something. Making Solas a liar in Veilguard actively brings back a problem they fixed working on Inquisition.

On December 20 2019 VGS posted an interview with Trick Weekes about their work on Solas. This whole sentence is a link so its large enough for mobile but also disclaimer this is before they changed their name so deadname warning.

Here's a transcription I found here which is where i took the screenshots above. Since I know not everyone has 40 minutes to listen to an online radio interview.

I however highlighted the main point since most of you are not reading the screenshots anyway but skimming through. Rant under Read-more. Also bc i try to not be too negative on people's dashs but also i wanna ramble some more.

"But he lied a lot more. And it really weakened his character."

You can tell this happened during the game. Solas lies only once within Inquisition. He says something he can't be vague about and you push him so he lies, badly. He usually tells the truth vaguely. Typically Solas lies no more than Blackwall.

I fully believe that if in Inquisition your inquisitor figured out that Solas was Fen’harel and asked him bluntly to his face he'd confess. He might even be impressed. But why would you ever start to think that. No one assumes that their coworker is actually Poseidon regardless of how much they love the beach and ocean.

He hides in your expectations.

You can't ask him about being an ancient elf or being Fen'harel of myth because those aren't very probable. They're astronomically low to be truth within that universe. And outside, no one finished DA2 and went i wonder if one of our next companions is the Dread Wolf. Sera said, impossible things can't be surprises. He doesn't have to lie so when the truth comes out it's becomes obvious on a second playthrough.

They then actively bring back a problem they fixed in Inquisitions development. That they were open about fixing. That having a character that outright lies to you makes you have no intention of even hearing out the character. It retroactively undercuts Inquisition bc i see people trying to find Solas' lies in it when they aren't going to find any beyond the court intrigue.

It undercuts any lore we do get from Solas bc people dismiss it outright as being a lie from Mr "I abhor blood magic". I feel like shaking people's shoulders like no, dont do it.

They retconned him guys i have proof from 2019.

And its like if you hate Solas is this even satisfying? Like that's not Solas. His motivations are gone (that's a whole other post) and so is his core personality trait. It's like they went here's the Dreadwolf but during the ten years they replaced the smug asshole who was insufferably right with a 20 yo senior chihuahua that doesnt have any teeth.

My favorite villains are those that tell the truth. Because nothing hurts more than the truth. Can you imagine if he told you the truth. If he told you horrible things that you dismissed as lies to only be true. Wouldn't Varric’s death have more weight if he told you Varric was dead only for you - for everyone - to see him in the Lighthouse. If it was a spirit who took his shape to help you or even because it saw something worth reflecting in your memories.

So you dismiss him until it's revealed near the end oh he was telling the truth and you have an oh shit maybe he was right about other things but its too late to try and stop any of the truths he told you which could be from allies/companions betraying to stuff about Ghilan'nain and Elgarnan.

Like the only way to redeem Solas was to listen to him and by going out of your way to address problems he sees and you can find the alternative to tearing down the Veil by a series a little puzzle pieces throughout the game.

Have it be he will only listen to you if you listen to him. That he'll reject your other solution bc why the hell would he trust you if you couldnt extend the same.

Like Solas couldve been a great villian and he should've been great for both the haters and those that liked him. Not only the romance but for those who became his friend. Like i keep coming back to if i hated Solas would i be satisfied with Veilguard.

And the answer is no because that isnt Solas.

Tricking him has no weight bc he's an idiot in Veilguard like not even in the ending bc doesn't notice you switch the dagger around like right in front of him but none of his actions make sense. Ppl have mentioned the regret prison makes no sense for Elgarnan and Ghilan'nain bc they don't have regrets.

Attacking Solas has no weight because he literally needs the shit kicked out of him by a dragon for it to even begin to work. They literally need him to be at deaths door before its realistic that Rook could take him in a fight.

Redeem has no weight bc of the massive retcons to his motivations. They had to retcon the post credits scene bc even if Flemythal went hey i don't want you to do this Dai Solas wouldve went okay but that doesnt solve my other problems with the veil including the corruption of spirits and the fact its in literal shambles so i guess is still coming down.

I'm just disappointed. By the end of Trespasser they had a great villian and they just tossed it to the side and reverted him and people are arguing about a character who's sole defining trait in Veilguard is a problem they solved before Inquisition launched.

Basically we can sum it up with a screenshot.

[yokumirumerafan]

Hi! Can I request the characters finding out that reader is a secret admirer of theirs but reader doesn't know they found out, like what would they do after. Sorry if this doesn't make sense

Demon Slayer Characters Reacting to Finding Out Y/N is Their Secret Admirer (Without Y/N Knowing)

📌 Post Info Characters Included: Hashira (Rengoku, Giyuu, Shinobu, Sanemi, Obanai, Tengen, Muichiro, Gyomei, Mitsuri) Main Trio + Genya (Tanjiro, Zenitsu, Inosuke, Genya) Upper Moons + Muzan (Kokushibo, Doma, Akaza, Gyutaro, Kaigaku, Hantengu & Clones) AUs Used: Canon-Compliant Short Summary: The Demon Slayer characters secretly discover that Y/N is their secret admirer, but Y/N has no idea they know! How do they react, and what do they do next? From smug teasing to flustered panic, everyone handles it in their own way!

🔥 Hashira 🔥

Rengoku Kyojuro

Gets all fired up with joy but pretends he doesn’t know.

Drops way more compliments than usual.

Subtly tries to catch Y/N in the act of leaving gifts or notes.

Plans a dramatic confession when the time is right.

Giyuu Tomioka

Internally panics but remains unreadable on the outside.

Becomes hyperaware of Y/N’s presence and actions.

Avoids confronting them immediately, afraid to scare them away.

Lowkey hopes they confess first so he doesn’t have to.

Shinobu Kocho

Smug but amused, teasing Y/N indirectly.

Might set traps to catch them in the act.

Leaves fake clues to see how Y/N reacts.

Secretly flattered but waits for the perfect moment to reveal she knows.

Sanemi Shinazugawa

“Tch. Idiot.” (Internally: I’m the idiot for feeling this happy...)

Acts more protective over Y/N, whether they notice or not.

Tries not to get his hopes up but ends up being obvious.

Watches for more signs and may purposely walk into their setups.

Obanai Iguro

Is very suspicious at first but then melts inside.

Kaburamaru delivers tiny notes back to Y/N without them knowing.

Subtly tests if they truly admire him or if it’s a joke.

Once sure, he watches over Y/N like a silent guardian.

Tengen Uzui

Instantly feels ✨flamboyant✨ about it.

Leaves dramatic hints that he knows and finds it hilarious.

Starts treating Y/N like a secret lover before they even confess.

Plans the most extravagant reveal—fireworks included.

Muichiro Tokito

Seems indifferent but keeps Y/N’s gifts like treasures.

Might space out thinking about them more often.

Lets Y/N think he’s still oblivious while subtly reciprocating.

The moment Y/N confesses, he deadpans: “I knew.”

Gyomei Himejima

Deeply moved, might even tear up in gratitude.

Prays for Y/N’s happiness whether or not they confess.

Becomes more protective and kind, ensuring they are safe and happy.

Would wait patiently, trusting fate to bring them together.

Mitsuri Kanroji

Freaks out in excitement but tries to act normal.

Gushes about how cute Y/N is without revealing she knows.

Gives Y/N even more affection than before.

Blushes twice as much around them and waits for them to confess first.

🌊 Main Trio + Genya 🌊

Tanjiro Kamado

Smiles warmly, feeling incredibly flattered.

Wants to make sure Y/N is comfortable before responding.

Would be the type to confess before Y/N has the courage to.

Leaves sweet, indirect notes as a way of gently pushing them.

Zenitsu Agatsuma

Screaming. Crying. Fainting.

Thinks he should pretend he doesn’t know but fails miserably.

Becomes even more dramatic around Y/N.

Will accidentally blurt out “I KNOW YOU LOVE ME” in panic.

Inosuke Hashibira

“Hah?! Someone’s got a crush on ME?!”

Initially doesn’t understand why.

Tries to catch them in the act with horrible stealth.

Ends up just bluntly asking, “Oi, you like me, right?”

Genya Shinazugawa

Completely flustered but pretends he didn’t see anything.

Avoids Y/N at first because he’s nervous.

Ends up acting extra nice without realizing it.

Would confess first once he gets over his anxiety.

🩸 Upper Moons + Muzan 🩸

Muzan Kibutsuji

At first, he’s indifferent. Then, intrigued. Then… possessive.

“How foolish to admire me, yet how fortunate for you.”

Secretly watches over Y/N, waiting for them to reveal themselves.

Once they do, he ensures they never leave his side.

Kokushibo

Internally shocked but keeps his cool.

Feels undeserving of admiration but secretly treasures it.

Observes Y/N more closely, his curiosity growing.

Won’t reveal he knows unless Y/N confesses first.

Doma

Smug and playful, acting completely unaware (but he’s not).

Purposely says things like “I wonder if I have a secret admirer~?”

If Y/N is shy, he’ll make it very hard for them to stay hidden.

The moment Y/N confesses, he smirks: “I knew, my dear~.”

Akaza

Conflicted at first but ultimately flattered.

Watches Y/N from afar to confirm if it’s true.

If Y/N gets nervous, he’d gently encourage them.

Will probably confess first once he’s sure of his own feelings.

Gyutaro

In complete disbelief.

Assumes it’s a prank at first.

If Y/N is genuine, he starts acting softer around them.

Wants them to confess first but ends up revealing he knows.

Kaigaku

Acts like he doesn’t care but is DYING inside.

Becomes extra flirty or mean just to test Y/N’s reaction.

Secretly wants them to be braver about it.

If they take too long, he’ll be the one to confess.

Hantengu (and Clones)

Hantengu: Terrified.

Sekido: Annoyed but secretly blushes.

Karaku: Instantly teases Y/N.

Aizetsu: Flustered but happy.

Urogi: Wants to surprise Y/N with a confession first.