#Raphael has serious self worth issues

[steampunkserpent]

Wrote a new fic that wouldn't leave my head for Raphael x my tav, Vasilisa.

[sketch-guardian]

Can I ask for the students with an mc who has a RBF (resting bitch face) but then when you talk to them they’re the sweetest person you’ll ever meet?

Of course!✨There's no problem with your ask☺besides I usually have a similar face as well😂now the headcanons🙈:

"RAD CLASSMATES+NEW EXCHANGE STUDENTS WITH A MC WHO HAS A RESTING BITCH FACE, BUT IS ACTUALLY SWEET"

DEMYA

Demya has met her vast mix of grumpy or overly serious people throughout her life, so her first impression of MC, especially with that face, might be negative, in the sense that she would assume they're boring or strict, so she'd be pleasantly surprised to discover MC actually being sweet, Demya would also be instinctively attracted if MC offered her some of their food out of kindness, this would earn MC more mate points. It would make Demya snicker to see other people's amazement at MC's true behavior, having experienced it herself and considering that sometimes MC would be too sweet, to prevent some nasty demons from taking advantage of them, Demya would stand next to MC and stare at those with bad intentions with a hungry gaze, if they don't want to lose limbs or worse, become Demya's next meal, it is better for them to give up and move away. Also Demya might sometimes tease MC by pinching their cheeks to make them smile

DOMNRA/MOBIM

Domnra has a resting grumpy face most of the time and his pointed teeth increase the impression that he's aggressive, which on the one hand is true, given his anger issues, but Domnra is usually more barks than bites, being violence most of the time unnecessary. Domnra would initially expect MC to be somehow like Belphegor or Raphael because of their facial expression, so he would be reasonably baffled by MC's sweetess. Domnra might wonder if their resting bitch face is a strategy to keep people away, allowing only those who are trusted or who prove trustworthy to come closer, still he wouldn't ask himself too many questions about it and would welcome MC's tender sweetness, he would also get flustered if MC offered during his workouts to cheer him on and bring him supplies such as fresh water, snacks, towels or a change of clothes. Mobim is used to Domnra's annoyed expression, however the little curse is aware that not everyone is the same, so it would need some time to realize MC is actually kind and then become pretty attached to them

AZUL

Azul is friends with Domnra and Zuri, two of the demons with the least friendly faces present in Devildom, he also has no sense of self-preservation and therefore a MC with a resting bitch face would not make Azul desist from talking with them to get to know them better and in the end it would also have been worth it, considering their exposed secret sweetness. Azul and MC, despite their resting bitch face and his overly smug smile, would be the kind of sweet couple that would make the most jealous people's stomach turn, with flowers, kisses, cuddles and improvised dances (Devilgram would be full of their photos-). There would be times when Azul would try to break MC's act, with either puns or sneaky tickle attacks to see if they would give in, but otherwise he might jokingly just draw a smile on a piece of paper, handle it to MC and tell them to use it to show their emotions without changing expression. In this sense, Azul and MC would be a bit opposite, because due to his colors, Azul shows emotions even not on purpose

ZURI

Zuri has a very calm and serious expression, sometimes cold depending on how you approach her, to some she might even seem snobbish, but she is a hard worker who only thinks about moving on with her life, having achieved her power and success from below, against the expectations of other noble demons (the circle of demons that Mephistopheles knows for example). Zuri would analyze MC's resting bitch face, perceiving that behind that apathetic expression lies something warmer and would be pleasantly relieved to have been right. Zuri and MC would almost appear either a regal or intimidating couple, there would be no middle ground, but behind closed doors both would prove to be a little more loving, with gifts or acts of service and they would be fine with that, being intimate while minding their own business, without having to mask their feelings

ODON

Odon has a bit of an opposite resting bitch face, meaning that they practically always smile, without ever faltering. If Odon were to frown, it would be extremely worrying, but no one has ever lived long enough to be able to say they have ever seen Odon do that (perhaps only once Lord Diavolo in the past, who met Odon when they were younger, when they still struggled with emotions and therefore didn't really know how to smile). Odon wouldn't ask wonder about MC's expression, they aren't the type of demon to judge and if they were, it would be hypocritical on their part, which is why MC's sweet attitude wouldn't surprise Odon too much, being polite and nice themselves, despite their appearance. Odon would like to see MC smile, they imagine they would be radiant, but they would never pressure them into doing so and would settle with spending some quality time with MC, while drinking a good cup of green tea

REMIEL

Remiel has a resting gloomy face, meaning that she often seems somber and has a deadpan yet soft voice, even when she's perfectly okay, furthermore her father Death wears a mask and isn't a very reassuring figure, although in reality he's caring towards her, so Remiel wouldn't ask herself questions about MC's resting bitch face or their hidden sweetness, because for the angel of death it would almost correspond to everyday life, to what she is used to. Remiel would still find the contrast between MC's face and their pure bright soul fascinating, in fact sometimes she would seem in awe, admiring it. Remiel would also find it thoughtful of MC if they helped her during the preening and cleansing process of her wings, paying attention to the eyes on the back

NATHANIEL

Nathaniel most of the time has an apathetic and stoic expression on his face, especially if he is busy with his celestial duty or other important matters. Due to that reason, many lower ranks angels would prefer to avoid him, only to discover to their surprise that he's actually chiller and cooler than it seemed. In short, Nathaniel experiences firsthand how wrong it can be to judge a book by its cover, so he wouldn't do the same with MC and would be grateful to have been granted access to their sweeter side. Nathaniel would like to take strolls with MC and leave most of the conversation to them, being more of a listener than a conversationalist and appreciating the sweetness soaking MC's words, in contrast to their resting bitch face

URIEL

At first Uriel would think that MC's resting bitch face represents reality, because it would remind her of the expression of some of her superior general angels, impassive and strict, qualities that she would be able to appreciate in a warrior, however discovering the contrast between their face and sweetness would remind Uriel a little of Nathaniel, to whom she has gotten used to over time, learning to read him. MC's sweetness towards her would leave Uriel a little flustered and defensive, not used to delicate or preferential treatment towards her, however that wouldn't mean she doesn't appreciate getting spoiled, she would just be too tsundere to admit it. Uriel's chest would swell with pride if MC cheered her on during training with other angels or helped her clean her armor. Uriel would also think MC would be a pretty good angel due to their sweetness, after all they're too good for their realm

[attemptsonherlifepdf]

bojack horseman and bo burnham: the art of acting like you’re acting and the comedy of misery

at the core of bojack horseman, raphael bob-waksberg’s 2014 comedy, is a story about the relationship between performance and depression. the protagonist of this renowned tragicomedy is best described as a sympathetic villain; he is shown to clearly be in the wrong across various events of the show, and is explicitly referred to as a bad person, but the audience is granted deep access to his personal struggles, resulting in some portions of the audience finding themselves on bojack’s side. the duality of his character is complex, but can be broken down into some core components, that all stem from the impacts of stardom and performance. the standup comedy of bo burnham arguably echoes this sentiment in real time. having been a performer from a young age, burnham creates work that serves as a satirical commentary on the life of entertainers. he uses original songs to explore the reliance upon and resentment for his performative nature both onstage and within his personal life. both the comedian and the netflix show are widely understood to be thinly veiling their critiques of the entertainment industry behind a particular brand of witty and absurd humour.

both bojack and burnham’s content openly criticises their audiences and explicitly states the manufactured nature of the narrative the audience is fed. in the fifth season of bojack horseman, the show satirises itself by having bojack star in a police procedural drama, parts of which are actively written by other characters to reflect events of bojack’s life. the titular character he plays, philbert, is the epitome of selfish male angst, and an example of what bob-waksberg’s show could have been; another story about a sad and angry man whose guilt supposedly makes up for the people he has hurt. according to bojack, philbert teaches us ‘we’re all terrible, so we’re all okay’, an interpretation that is harshly disputed by diane: ‘that’s not the point of philbert, for guys to watch it and feel okay. i dont want you, or anyone else, justifying their shitty behaviour because of the show.’ this moment is a direct reaction to some of the online reception bojack horseman has received. various circles of the show’s fanbase have found themselves relating to the protagonist to the point of defending his untoward behaviour, a response not intentioned by the show’s creators. this is not the only example of bob-waksberg’s ability to make his work self-evaluative. in season six’s exposure of bojack and sarah lynn’s problematic relationship, characters question their sexual encounter from the first season. the writers use this as a way of examining their own choices, and the harmful tropes they played into when using this exploitative sexual encounter as a gag. this self-evaluative quality is what sets bojack apart as a show that assesses the performance it participates in, much like the comedy of bo burnham.

bo burnham is known for directly addressing his audience, particularly in terms of discouraging idolisation and parasocial relationships. some examples of this manifest as responses to hecklers rather than a planned bit in the show, for instance:

heckler: i love you!

bo: no you don’t

heckler: i love the IDEA of you!

bo: stop participating!

he actively addresses the issues posed by being an entertainer, and encourages the audience to understand and recognise that his onstage persona is just that: an exaggerated persona. not once does burnham claim to be fully authentic onstage, and even moments of authenticity we see in his latest special, inside, are staged. we make the assumption that having the physical setting of a stage stripped away grants us a more personal look at the entertainer’s life, but he makes it clear that even in his own home we still see the aspects he has carefully constructed rather than the full truth. arguably though, parts of the show really are authentic; in his monologue during make happy, bo deconstructs his own show in a way that is similar to bojack horseman’s later seasons, admitting that all he knows is performing and thus making a show about the more mundane and relatable aspects of life would feel ‘incredibly disingenuous.’ in his attempts to separate himself from this onstage persona he actually manages to blur the lines between what is acting and what is now part of his nature as a result of his job. this notion is echoed in bojack horseman as bojack’s attention seeking nature is attributed to his years acting in front of a camera every day.

bo suggests that the era of social media has created a space in which children’s identities mimic that of an entertainer like himself, describing the phenomenon as ‘performer and audience melded together.’ in this observation he criticises the phenomenon. bo attempts to force the audience to recognise the ways in which their lives are becoming shaped by the presence of an audience and to some extent uses his own life as a warning tale against this. he points out the way in which the ‘tortured artist trope’ means that your cries for help or roundabout attempts of addressing mature themes such as substance abuse, mental illness and trauma become part of that on stage persona and therefore become part of the joke. both bo and bojack address these topics in more discrete manners earlier in their careers, but this eventually becomes expected, and thus they are forced to explicitly detail their struggles with these topics in order to be taken seriously. even then, portions of the audience are inclined to see it as part of the persona or as something that fuels the creators creativity and thus does not need to be addressed as a legitimate issue. the emphasis on creating a character or persona promotes the commodification of mental illness: any struggle must be made into a song or a joke or a bit, must be turned into part of the act in order to have value. this actually serves to delegitimise these emotions and create a disconnect between the feeling and the person, as it becomes near impossible to exist without feeling as though you are acting. even when an artist’s cries for help become blatant, they continue to go ignored because now they serve the purpose of creating content that criticises the industry they stem from. online audiences can be seen as treating bo burnham and his insightful work as existing to demonstrate the negative effects entertaining can have, and because this insight is useful or thought-provoking to audiences, he is almost demanded to keep entertaining and creating. in response to this demand, his work becomes more meta and his messages become clearer, and the more obvious his messages, the more people he reaches. this increases audience demands and traps entertainers in a cycle fraught with internal conflict.

during bojack’s second season, bojack’s date asks him, ‘come on, do that bojack thing where you make a big deal and everyone laughs, but at the same time we relate, because you're saying the things polite society won't.’ this moment exemplifies how aspects of his genuine personality have now become a part of his persona and this is demanded of him in genuine and serious situations, undermining the validity of his emotional reactions. he immediately makes a rude comment to the waitress at the restaurant they’re in and satisfies his date by performing that character he has set himself out to be. some circles of the fan base have argued that bojack is written as a depiction of somebody with borderline personality disorder, offering a psychoanalytical lens through which to view this notion of performance. a defining symptom of borderline personality disorder is a fluctuating sense of self; having grown up on camera, being demanded to perform to others as young as six years old, bojack’s sense of self will have been primarily dictated by the need to act.  whether this acting is for the sake of comedy, or as a representation of masking his mental illness, when they need to act is taken away bojack entirely loses his sense of self and relapses into his addictions: ‘i felt like a xerox of a xerox of a person.’ burnham’s depictions of depression run along a similar vein; in his new special he poses the idea that his comedy no longer serves the same personal purpose it once did for him. he questions ‘shit should I be joking at a time like this?’ and satirises the idea that arts have enough value to change or impact the current global issues that we are facing. burnham’s ‘possible ending song’ to his latest special, he asks ‘does anybody want to joke when no-one’s laughing in the background? so this is how it is.’ implicit in this question is the idea that when the audience is taken away and there is nobody to perform his pain to, he is left with his pain. instead of being able to turn his musings and thoughts into a product to sell to the public, he is forced to just think about them in isolation and actually face them, an abrupt and distressing experience.

the value of performance and art is questioned by both bojack and burnham, particularly during the later years of their respective content. burnham’s infamous song, art is dead, appears to be a direct response to the question ‘what is the worth of art?’ he posits that performing is the result of a need for attention (‘my drug’s attention, i am an addict, but i get paid to indulge in my habit’) and repeatedly jokes throughout his career that the entertainment industry receives more respect that it deserves (‘i’m the same as you, im still doing a job or a service, i’m just massively overpaid’). his revelations regarding the inherent desire for attention that runs through all entertainers is frequently satirised in bojack horseman. bojack is comically, hyperbolically attention hungry and self-obsessed, and the show has a running gag in which he uses phrases along the lines of ‘hello, why is nobody paying attention to me, the famous movie star, instead of these other boring people.’ his constant attempts to direct the focus of others towards himself result in bojack feeling like ‘everybody loves you, but nobody likes you.’ his peers buy into his act and adore the comical, exaggerated, laughable aspects of his character, but find very little room to respond to him on a genuinely personal level because of this. interestingly, bojack appears to enjoy catering to his audience and the instant gratification it produces, whereas bo burnham becomes increasingly candid about his mixed feeling towards his audience. ‘i wanna please you, but i wanna stay true to myself, i wanna give you the night out that you deserve, but i wanna say what i think and not care what you think about it.’ he admits to catering to what audiences want from him, but resents both the audience and himself in the process as it reveals to himself which parts of his character are solely for the sake of people watching him.

within bojack horseman, this concept is applicable not only to the protagonist, but to the various forms of performer demonstrated in the plot. towards the show’s end, sarah lynn asks ‘what does being authentic have to do with anything?’ to which herb kazzaz responds, ‘when i finally stopped hiding behind a facade i could be at peace.’ this highlights the fact that because entertainers are demanded to continue the facade, they do not receive the opportunity to find ‘peace.’ this sentiment is scattered throughout the show, through a musical motif, the song ‘don’t stop dancing.’ the song stems from a life lesson bojack imparted to sarah lynn at a young age, and becomes more frequently used as the show progresses and bojack’s situation worsens.

sarah lynn is also used to explore the value of entertainers; in the show’s penultimate episode, she directly compares her work as a pop icon to the charity work of herb, arguing that if she suffered in order to produce her work. it has to mean something. she lists the struggles she faced when on tour: ‘i gave my whole life...my manager leaked my nudes to get more tour dates added, my mom pointed out every carb i ate, it was hell. but it gave millions of fans a show they will never forget and that has to mean something.’ implicit in this notion is the idea that entertainment is the epitome of self-sacrifice. there is a surplus of mentally ill individuals within the industry, largely due to the nature of the industry itself, but some may argue that the cultural grip the industry has, and the vast amounts of respect and money it generates annually, gives the suffering of these prolific individuals meaning.

the juxtaposing responses entertainers feel towards their audiences manifest as two forms of desperation: the desperation to be an individual who is held accountable, and the desperation to be loved and validated. we see both bojack and bo depict how they oscillate between  ‘this is all a lie’ and ‘my affection for my audience is genuine’, or between ‘do not become infatuated with me im a character’ and ‘please fucking love my character i do not know how to be loved on a personal level.’ bojack explicitly asks diane to write a slam piece on him and ‘hold him accountable’, similar to bo’s song ‘problematic’ in which the hook includes the phrase ‘isn’t anybody gonna hold me accountable?’ for his insensitive jokes as a late teenager. their self-awareness is what enables their self-evaluative qualities, but self-awareness is its own issue. bojack grapples with a narcissistic view of his own recognition of his behaviour before settling on a more nuanced, albeit depressing take. originally he makes the assumption that in recognising the negative aspects of himself, he is superior to those who behave similarly: ‘but i know im a piece of shit. that makes me better than all the pieces of shit that don’t know theyre pieces of shit.’ eventually, during his time at rehab he is forced to reconcile with the fact that self awareness does not, to put it bluntly, make you the superior asshole, it just makes you the more miserable one. the show does, however, make a point to recognise how the entertainment industry protects ‘pieces of shit’, prioritising their productive value over how much they deserve to be held accountable, demonstrated using characters like hank hippopoalus. the show itself obviously stems from the entertainment industry, as it is a form of media produced by netflix, one of the most popular streaming platforms available. bojack horseman and bo burnham represent the small corner of the industry that is reflective enough to showcase the damage it inflicts. this is powerful in terms of education and awareness, and urges audiences to question their own motives and versions of performance, but the reflection alone is not powerful enough to help the artists in question. burnham’s candid conversations surrounding his mental health continue to reveal a plethora of issues somewhat caused or sustained by the nature of his career. within bojack horseman, bojack is only able to stop hurting other characters when those characters construct a situation that forces him to face consequence, his introspection alone is not enough. while bojack ends on a message of hope, suggesting to the audience that reverting back to the status quo is not the only acceptable way for events to end, it leaves stinging lessons and social commentary with the audience regarding the unnatural and damaging narrative that performers live through. on a similar but markedly different note, bo burnham’s work and personal progression is playing out in real time, and not in a way that is as raw and genuine as it appears. each bit is planned, even the most vulnerable moments that appear unplanned and painful. his latest special is not entirely devoid of hope, but does translate to audiences as a somewhat exaggerated look around the era of social media and the development of performance, using himself as an example.

the absurdist humour that often acts as a vehicle for poignant statements or emotionally provocative questions is very specific to each media creator. bob-waksberg’s use of puns, tongue twisters and entirely ridiculous circumstances served to simultaneously characterise his points as an expected part of the show’s style of humour, similar to bojack’s emotional instability, but also to make them appear gut-punching in comparison to the humour. burnham’s work is similar in that poignant but blunt statements are often sandwiched between absurd and exaggerated jokes, making them stand out via contrast but not giving the audience too much time to dwell upon them as they are said. performance art is second nature to entertainers, and is presented a an issue that is infiltrating the general population via social media rather than solely affecting the ‘elites’. bojack horseman and bo burnham present the duality of artists simultaneously attempting to level the playing field and increase their chances of survival in the industry, and encourage audiences to know that everyone is bluffing and you’ll never have the right cards anyway.

i.k.b

[tmnt-roni-paws]

Another Long Post

I know I love Shredder!Raphael, but it also gets me thinking of Michelangelo and if he joined the Foot. To be more specific why, and it all comes down to self worth in the family. (I touched base about self worth in my Raphael has depression post).

Its no suprise that Mikey would feel like he is less compared to his brothers due to him 'being the goof ball'. So it wouldnt be a suprise to see him getting fed up and trying to make something of himself by going out on his own. Similarly to the live action movies, he would be a wayward teen with troble at home, a perfect Foot recruit, and why wouldn't the enemy clan snatch him while they had the chance?

This also leads me into how, i know most would just and put the blame of Raphael cause it would be the easiest thing to do cause he's hot headed and may make some sort of comment or start a fight, but I feel like it would ultimately be either Master Splinter or Leonardo to blame (maybe both), cause we already see how Master Splinter gets on Mikey about not being as serious as his brothers or taking his training to heart, and Leo would be in full agreements or push the issue himself as well.

I also feel like Master Splinter and Leonardo would be far more impactful then Raphael (whom is known for being close to Mikey in most tmnt media from comics to shows and comforting him often)

Raphael and Michelangelo bicker and fight all the time so the chances of Mikey taking Raphael's words to heart are very slim compared to if his father and Leo said anything.

[ralfstrashcan]

I call bs on that Downworlders-appealing-not-serious-Statement from Izzy in 3x06

Here's why.

Warning: Contains extended talk about how sex is referenced on the Show, so probably nsfw? But nothing graphic.

“I think the reason why I find Downworlders appealing is because those issues prevent things from ever getting too serious.”

Without context this statement can be interpreted two ways:

1) She is secretly scared of a committed and serious relationship and so just dates Downworlders so she doesn't have to worry about things getting to intense.

2) She isn't interested in a committed and serious relationship and Downworlders are the easiest way to have some kind of relation where both parties are aware that it's not going to go anywhere serious, so she doesn't have to deal with the fact that her partner gets overly invested which would lead to complications and possibly hurt feelings.

I honestly don't believe it's 1) because Izzy isn't the person to get scared of anything that affects her herself (meaning she'd of course be scared of her siblings dying a horrible death, etc.) She is incredibly courageous and one of the strongest characters on the Show, she is brimming with self-confidence and in contrast to Jace's it's 100% genuine and not to cover up some complex and twisted self-esteem and self-image issues. She is passionate, in fact her passion is probably her most defining character trait. So to think that she's scared of a committed relationship is just odd. Also, taking her relationship with Meliorn into account, it was clearly not going anywhere serious, but she obviously cared for him (and he cared for her) so if she was scared of any kind of commitment and her goal was to avoid getting feelings involved and eventually hurt (which is exactly what happened in S1), that wasn't a success, and she must have known that even before it all fell apart. Did she seem overly concerned during her affair with Meliorn, angsting over her attachment to him? No.

Whether you go with option 1) or 2), they both imply that Downworlders are the easiest (if not the only) source to access casual relationships / hook ups. And that's simply not true.

Let's take a look at the Shadowhunters' sex life. There's not overly much to go on, but there is enough.

- Alec: Zero sex life before Magnus, though that has probably to do with him not being outed and homosexuality being extremely frowned upon, so he's not really representative. He does check out Jace and some other Shadowhunter Dude in 1x12 though, so there's that.

- Jace: We see Jace rolling around in bed with Kaelie once and out on a date / friendly evening with four Seelies (both in 2x07). Besides that he states in 3x02 that he's been with tons of people (and it was never serious). So, a promiscuous Shadowhunter with loads of no strings attached sex.

- Lydia: Lydia's been engaged to John, and after he tragically died (RIP John, I so ship you with Lydia in any and all AUs) she decided that “in this line of work, the only thing worth falling in love with is the work itself” as she tells Alec in 1x08. There's nothing known about her sex life, but she was willing to marry Alec, knowing that nothing would ever happen between them, so she was either expecting him to be fine with her having an affair on the side or she was okay with the prospect of never (again?) having sex in her life. Of course she was probably still mourning her love and also she's incredibly ambitious and wanted that Institute no matter what, so I think the fact that she didn't prioritize sex in her life plan doesn't necessarily mean she's generally not that interested in having sex or that the society she lives in would condemn a sexually active person.

- Raj: Yeah, it pains me to even think about that, too. Whatever, for Science! In 2x04 he mentioned (talking about a corpse with its heart torn out, srsly, that guy) “I thought I was having a rough weekend. [...] I'm just saying, I've been in his shoes before. Except my demon's name was Kathy.” so he clearly had some relation with that Kathy person that ended in a broken heart (or bruised pride) for him. Also, considering that Raj is pretty racist towards Downworlders and dating Mundanes is forbidden I think it's pretty likely that Kathy is a Shadowhunter as well. In 2x08, which doesn't take place too terribly long after 2x04 he claimed to have been “this close to lining up a three way.” Disregarding the fact that I find it hard to believe he'd find one person willing to get with him, let alone two (sorry, I just hate him and his douche-y attitude and I can't imagine you wouldn't notice those after 3 seconds of talking to him and would be instantly turned off) wasn't that at Max's Rune Ceremony Party? Where there were exclusively Shadowhunters invited, hosting warlock excluded? So this indicates that a) after a short amount of time after a failed relationship / whatever he was open for a sexual adventure and b) Shadowhunters participate in threesomes, something that you probably wouldn't easily and openly mention in a reticent society.

- HELL EVEN ALDERTREE admitted to having dated a Downworlder and was also hitting on Izzy, which, considering she's younger than him and his subordinate should be frowned upon in an uptight society.

- Aline: In 2x15 it is mentioned that she was secretly seeing a girl named Carolyn and since they were in Alicante this Carolyn is most likely a fellow Shadowhunter. Also since that relationship is talked about in past tense it has probably ended. So she has a dating life.

- And then there's Izzy herself, of course. On-Screen she's only ever been in a relationship with Meliorn, but in 1x06 Maryse declines her offer to marry in Alec's place, saying “You can't do this. You and your Downworlders have seen to that.” referring to the tons of affairs with Downworlders Izzy has had. Not to mention Izzy's comment about jewels in 1x04. There's also the fact that she openly hit on Simon in 1x02 and when Alec rolled his eyes she commented “It passes the time.” Whether she meant flirting or the resulting possible hook up is anyone's guess, but I don't think I'm seeing things when I say it could very well be both... considering she and Alec both talked about Simon as 'it' in that scene (which, rude). So long story short, Izzy too has an active sex life.

Of course dating and casual hook ups isn't the same, but. Since of all known Shadowhunters there are apparently several with an active sex drive and associating with Downworlders is pretty frowned upon, associating with Mundanes is absolutely unacceptable because they can't know about the Shadow World and at least dating is apparently no problem between Shadowhunters, I find it pretty reasonable to assume that hook ups between Shadowhunters are fine as well.

(Taking into account that “Nephilim love once, fiercely” it would make it even more logical that everything that's not True Love is casual, thus making it even more plausible that not-serious relationships between Shadowhunters aren't uncommon. I'm personally not a fan of that line (see here somewhere at the end if you're interested) but the line is canon and therefore deserves consideration.)

Conclusion: Downworlders aren't the only source for casual hook ups.

This, of course, brings up the question why Izzy would choose to hook up with Downworlders at all if she could bed other Shadowhunters just as easily, without commitment being an issue, especially because associating with Downworlders kinda ruins your reputation. When Maryse explains in 1x06 why Izzy can't take over marrying for Alec she says “You can't do this. You and your Downworlders have seen to that. You can't possibly attract the caliber of husband who could help us restore the honor to our family name.”

Of course Izzy is rebellious and doesn't care what other people think of her, but she's not stupid. She knows that falling out of favor with the Clave can have serious consequences and upholding the Lightwood Image is important, a calculated move, a leverage, an insurance. So why would she do it anyway, if it's not out of necessity?

Because it's political. She is very pro-Downworlder from the start, she's interested in their ways of life (that butterfly thing in 1x05) and she's against the narrow-minded, racist ways most Shadowhunters display. This explains why she is simultaneously more interested in Downworlders and less interested in Shadowhunters.

To claim that Izzy just dates Downworlders because it's easier (or because she's scared, which, again, pffffff) takes that whole political and revolutionary aim out of her character and that's just reducing this action to something self-oriented instead of something she does with the awareness that it sends a certain signal to Shadowhunters of her and the older generation. It's really not called for, contradicts canon in my eyes or at least doesn't really make sense, and I really don't like it.

Also, just something to think about while we're talking about Izzy's sex life, more specifically all her alleged Downworlder Conquests.

- Vampires: The fact that she asked Raphael in 2x10 if being a Vampire has made him uninterested in sex implies that she doesn't know being a Vampire doesn't necessarily equal no interest in sex, so she probably never hooked up with a vampire.

- Warlocks: Remember that flashback from 2x18 when Magnus said he'd loose all his street cred if his people found out he “let a Shadowhunter spend the night”? And we're talking about spending the night at his home, not sleeping together. Makes it sound as if Warlocks kinda hate Shadowhunters and want nothing to do with them. So it's probably not Warlocks either.

- Werewolves: Before Luke became the Alpha I got some seriously Anti-Shadowhunter-Vibes from the pack as well (still do, honestly, but because of Luke the pack mostly behaves) so I find it hard to imagine any of those wolves would be willing to hook up with a Shadowhunter. Then again, Maia hooked up with Jace and she doesn't really like him. Then again, this could be a Maia-thing.

- Seelies: Can we talk about the fact that Seelies are like the Sex Tourists of the Downworld? They seem to only leave the Seelie Realm to get their mack on. Anyway, I clearly remember that one Scene in 1x03 where this dialogue happens

Alec: Downwolders are slaves to their impulses.

which, to me at least, implies that Izzy first and foremost mingles with Seelies. This dialogue could of course be because she was with Meliorn at the time, but consider that while Alec had to marry, Izzy was declared the one and only Shadowhunter with “ties to the Seelies” who could possibly convince the Clave that the Seelies aren't on Valentine's side. If Meliorn was just the latest of her flings who happened to be a Seelie I don't think that would make a good enough argument with the Clave; also why wasn't Jace also considered a Shadowhunter with ties to the Seelies? Because I don't believe that Kaelie was the first ever Seelie Jace has been with.

- Mundanes: First off, Mundanes aren't Downworlders, so there is that. Secondly I honestly doubt she has a dating / sex / whatever history with Mundanes because the way she says “Shadowhunters don't date Mundanes” in 3x04 sounds to me as if Charlie is the first Mundane she interacted with. It makes sense, because Mundanes aren't allowed to know about the Shadow World. (Simon in 1x02 was an exception because he was already involved in Shadow World business.)

Of course talking about “Seelies” or “Seelies and the occasional Werewolf” instead of “Downworlders” in that Scene mentioned at the beginning doesn't have the same nice ring to it, so I get why it was scripted that way. Still. Ugh.

[oncethrown]

2x13 Thought

Okay, I haven’t seen the episode yet, I just saw a few clips and read some commentary and I want to talk about patterns again:

It’s not awesome that Alec and Magnus experienced and at least partially addressed, if not completely resolved, a major issue in their relationship, kissed and then got panned away from so that Jace could get fucked in an alley. 

But last time I reviewed an episode, I mentioned that a lot of the sex scenes we’ve seen are set in fling type relationships?

There is one relationship on this show built on love, mutual respect, growing trust between naturally distrustful people, and just generally being competent adults in a committed relationship... and every time those two characters kiss more than three times in a row, either the plot interrupts them, or there is a fade to black. 

Meanwhile, we watch:

-Isabelle strip down to lingerie and climb into bed in heels because she is manipulating/buying information from the Melionr with sex. 

-Jace obviously in middle of foreplay with a completely nude woman, in a scene making a point about how he’s a self destructive mess who doesn’t know how to cope with being punished by the Clave, and isn’t getting help for what he just went through with Valentine

-Jace making what looks like (again, haven’t seen the whole ep yet) the absolute bare minimum in terms of amends, with a woman he has a very antagonistic relationship with, to the point where they have been in several serious physical fights, who is making it clear that this is not a serious thing, and he should not expect any of the emotioal support he needs to be getting from somewhere.

-Maia seeming to get off on the reversal of power a little as she shoves him around, and fucking the enemy in an alleyway... after he killed most of her pack and tried to follow the order to chip them all like dogs. 

And, just to add a little more to the pot, there are less extreme examples

-Simon fucks Maureen and we see them the morning after only so a very poorly acted dream sequence can drive home the point that he doesn’t actually like maureen

-Clary and Simon waking up in bed together so that they can have a scene where Simon doesn’t come clean to her about the dangers of being a daylighter, and Clary sets up a lie by omission about the big Jace reveal. 

-Isabelle and Raphael in heated kissing in a blissed out drug haze, who would have boned all night long if Raphael wasn’t asexual. And Raphael really truly caring about Isabelle is written as a bad thing, with a mutually destructive end point, and while they don’t actually have sex, everyhing about the yin fen addiction story line is crazy sexualized, to the point where Isabelle forcing Raphael to bite her reads as a rape. 

Like... to me the very clear message here is that sex is bad? 

People actually losing clothes, deep kissing and heading toward the smushing of booties is always written as self destructive. 

People waking up in the morning together, booties thusly smushed, have done a bad thing, and prove it to the audience by going on to lie or embarrass the person whose bootie they hath smushed. 

So... that’s fucked up enough... but then it gives this weird other flavor to the refusal to show Magnus and Alec do more than kiss standing upright and fully clothed, only theoretically booty adjacent  It’s almost like the logic of the writing is that Magnus and Alec not having sex is proof of love. 

But the flip side of that is that, in order to be written and filmed as a loving they have to maintain this ‘purity’. 

Obvious this is a huge slap in the face to an LGBT audience, this sort of coded slithery “just don’t shove it in our face” thing

But I also feel like this is super irresponsible for a show aimed at a young, predominantly female demographic. Like... love and sex do not necessarily have to be one and the same, and there’s nothing wrong with Isabelle having a casual thing with Meliorn, or Maia deciding the chemistry she has with Jace is worth taking him for a spin, or Dot not having the whole story about Magnus and Alec and leaning into a moment she misread...

...but like... giving Alec and Magnus a scene to move forward in Magnus’s process of forgiving Alec, and Alec’s process of unlearning toxic Shadowhunter shit, and letting them acknowledge issues they are going to need to continue to comfront during a relationship they are both clearly in for the long haul

and then lovingly, happily, romantically, consensually, respectfully, playfully smushing booties

should be a thing that fucking happens