#always fascinating to see women call other women misogynists

[elfwreck]

M/M outnumbers F/F in most fandoms for very obvious reasons. (I dunno about "good" reasons, but they make sense even if you don't like them.)

How many male characters are there in most fandoms? How many female?

If people ship at random, every possible way, you're going to wind up with a ton more M/M fics than F/F. But they don't ship at random.

Now - how many fandoms that do have female characters, fail the Bechdel test: the characters never have a conversation, never have an on-screen interaction that's not about a man?

(How many of them only have one female character?) (How much screen time do the women get?)

"One canon Undertale ship"... how much of the time playing the game is spent interacting with that ship? How much is spent interacting with skeletons?

Dungeon Meshi's damn near got parity. Has anyone checked Wattpad or other fanfic archives to see if M/M is more prevalent there?

M/M may be more popular on AO3, you know, the site built by slash fans to hold the M/M fics that kept getting kicked off other archives. The first multifandom archive that went out of its way not to prioritize gen or het--that built its seed stock of fanfic by reaching out to slash fans who were upset with Livejournal, with ff.net, with Fanlib and other commercially exploitative archives. M/M has always been more prevalent on AO3; there used to be lots of people who post their M/M on AO3 and post their other fic elsewhere. (Probably less of that now, but it takes a long time for the numbers to shift.)

Want more F/F-centric fandoms? Convince showrunners to flip the normal character demographics. When they do, you get F/F fanfic, and usually it outnumbers M/M. No idea what's going on with Project Sekai.

Steven Universe:

Xena: Warrior Princess

She-Ra: Princesses of Power

Rizzoli & Isles

Shows that only have women as protagonists, get femslash. Shows that have an ensemble cast of diverse women with maybe one or two guys on the side, get femslash.

Shows that have 80% or more men as the characters that get screen time get a lot less femslash.

Sailor Moon, which has a canonical M/F pairing as its centerpiece:

The F/F outnumbers the M/M by more than 4 to 1.

There's a good discussion to be had, about which fandoms inspire which kinds of pairings in fanfic, and how that relates to societal norms of various sorts, and what can be done to create more diverse fandoms that will inspire more or different types of fanfic.

But so many of these arguments come across as "it's sexist of you to write and read the stuff you like; you should like different things, be inspired to write different things" with an unspoken hint of "…in the fandoms I care about."

Is this where I get to throw in a book rec? Sure, I guess. (Disclaimer: I worked on production for this. I had no connection to the contents.)

This is not directly related to "why is there not more F/F fanfic?" But it does go into the history of canonical F/F stories and how those connect to fandom communities.

Hey guys remind me how many properties there are on ao3 where m/m outnumbers f/f for no good reason

[scoobydoodean]

hi! i read your misogynist post and while i haven't read it all to analyze, this one stood out to me the most:

In 1.06, Sam cuts Dean off before Dean can accept an offered beer from Rebecca, but then as soon as Sam needs Rebecca out of the room, Sam asks her to not just bring them those beers... but also fix them sandwiches. Rebecca says, "What do you think this is, Hooters?" and Dean mumbles, "I wish" and we somehow lose sight of the fact that Sam literally just asked a woman to make him sandwiches which is possibly the number one misogynist man trope.

while that i'm not justifying or defending, the thing about this section is he ASKED rebecca those things to distract her and not have her come back in the room right away after grabbing the drink, because he needed to DISCUSS with dean what he just saw on the camera without freaking her out because that was her brother. i would have done the same thing, and i'm a girl.

I would greatly appreciate it if you would read posts fully before responding to them. That said, of course there's a context to Sam's comments. I in fact stated in the very portion of my post that you yourself quoted that he wanted her out of the room:

then as soon as Sam needs Rebecca out of the room, Sam asks her to not just bring them those beers... but also fix them sandwiches.

Misogyny almost always has a conversational motive/context. It isn't usually cartoonishly and randomly spewed. There's a context to Sam's request. There's a context to Sam lying to the women he loves and intends as life partners, and using the word "bitch", and usually being bad with women more generally, and tending to view women Dean might be interested in or who might be interested in him as loose distractions. But if you think the writers weren't aware of exactly what they were writing when they specifically went to sandwiches, I think you're wrong, and Rebecca's immediate objection to Sam's request lends to the author's awareness.

The context of that entire section of the post is not to demonize Sam, but to state that fans who push this narrative that Dean is a huge misogynist (in an effort to erroneously demonize him) are almost always contrasting him with Sam, who they believe to be some bastion of progressive morals who has never so much as looked at a woman lustfully (because that would be Evil and Bad™️). When shades of misogyny in Sam (that he is very very unaware of) are intentionally written into the script from the Pilot.

Kripke appears particularly fond of giving Sam an air of moral superiority that often backfires on him when he endeavors to judge Dean. 1.16 "Shadow"—another Kripke episode—is also a great example. Sam at one point criticizes Dean (who has gathered all of their major leads up to this point) for not "thinking with his upstairs brain", because Dean dared get a bartender's number while asking her questions about the victim. Sam, meanwhile, has been floundering reading books and getting nothing. Later in the episode, Sam peers up at Meg in an upstairs window as she undresses, and gets called a creep by a woman who passes by and sees him leering. It's again—a situation where Sam's initial intention isn't any brand of misogyny. He thinks Meg is bad news and is tailing her, but then can't help... looking... and then looking again. But it's so blatantly intentional from Kripke—especially the contrast of Sam peering in at Meg upstairs while Sam sits in a car below—downstairs.

The goal of the writing team in writing in these moments certainly isn't to make me think of Sam as some horrible evil man. It's simply to give him flaws with a fascinating and rich context that make him far more interesting than the Mary Sue some of fandom is obsessed with rewriting him to be. Sam's misogynistic moments don't endeavor to villainize him any more than Dean’s do—they provide fascinating insights into Sam’s relationship with and clashes with Dean, and add to other incidents where Sam takes on a morally superior air—perhaps, in some ways, out of subconscious jealousy. I won't link you to every single thing I've written adjacent to the subject, but for example, this post on how Dean earns money, how Dean pimps himself out for information, and how Sam and Meg both minimize Dean's contributions to the case in "Shadow" while Dean actually gets all of the leads (similar minimizations occur in 1.10 "Asylum"—which is another excellent example of Sam floundering while Dean repeatedly displays his brilliance, only for Sam to ultimately accuse him of having no mind of his own).

[andsheoverthinks]

i am so tired of how easily people slip into anti-Blackness to defend their arguments

recently (always tbh but also recently) i've been seeing a lot of disdain circulating for African Americans, disappointedly but not surprisingly from a lot of non-white people as well.

[f appropriating other cultures is so repugnant to you... why do you have a kpop profile pic... but i digress]

specifically this is about the Cleopatra tv show? casting that people are discussing right now, it's really highlighted how Black people, especially African Americans, aren't allowed to do anything a little bit cringe without racist, violent blowback. Cleopatra has been played by many many actresses, most of whom aren't of Greek or Egyptian descent. So it's weird that people are acting like Black people are uniquely horrible and ignorant for the casting of a Black woman as Cleopatra, when many castings have not been historically accurate.

Liz Taylor was British-American, Vivien Leigh was British, Monica Bellucci and Sophia Italian... you get the point. and yet people aren't hurling racist slurs at white people (there are none) for casting Cleopatra as non-Greek/Egyptian all these years. if you're upset about this particular casting, you can at least be civil with your discussions. but, no, it's easiest to call us dirty, ignorant n******s because half the time people are just waiting for an excuse.

let me explain something to you, gently. a lot of people ask, well, African Americans and Caribbeans were sold from West African countries like Ghana and Nigeria, why don't they go appropriate those countries.

the answer's quite simple. we don't learn anything about West Africa in school.

laugh break, haha, dumb USAmericans.

okay, back to business. in the U.S., we learn a very short list of non-European civilizations: Mesopotamia, China, and Egypt. Maybe one line on Mali if you're lucky. the school system here is very sensitive to teaching anything that triggers 'white guilt' aka anything more than a cursory glance at anything concerning Black people and our history, which is deemed as unimportant. you can say we were obviously enslaved from West African countries so we should learn about those cultures, but... we don't speak our old languages, save for some loanwords like 'duppy' instead of 'ghost' in Caribbean vernacular and such, we don't eat our old foods, wear our traditional clothes... we don't even know what they were, what ethnic group(s) we would have belonged to. we're not immigrants in that sense that we have a home country, a definite place of origin. do you know what it's like to feel that so much of your identity is rootless? do you know how endless that emptiness is?

so when these three non-European civilizations were laid out before us, we latched onto the closest one, and ran a little too far with it.

in fact, my generation is less dependent on Egypt as a sort of crutch; this is more of an older people thing. we have healed enough to be able to look within.

this is not a sob story. this is just a story of how we got here, and how this construction of the world -- disregarding the effects of white supremacy and racial trauma while enacting racist behavior and showing incredible fluency with white supremacist imagery and rhetoric -- is fundamentally flawed.

this is just a sample of the racist tweets on the actress's twitter. i have chosen not to include the images that titilate these people but they are equally horrible, depicting violence against Black people.

in fact, i should stop calling this pathological behavior pattern 'white supremacy' at this point because a lot of people are actually getting off is to Arab slavery. the parallels between misogyny and anti-Blackness are so interesting -- misogynists are addicted to the ego boost of subjugating women, racists are addicted to the ego boost of subjugating Blacks. yes, your ancestors spearheaded an appallingly brutal slave trade of African people which lasted thirteen centuries and is continues to this day (yes, Black people are still being enslaved in your countries but you're butthurt over a tv show so it's time to go ballistic -- by the way white people were also kidnapped and sold but since the rise of European imperialism they'd been able to shed that 'shame'), even more evil than the triangular trade and there are fewer survivors because of the reproductive control methods (read, violent sterilization). source1 source2. you people spouting this nonsense because of a tv show are just as racist as the white people over here, possibly worse. do you feel edgy villain enough now? happy?!

and by the way, 'threatening' to cast white actors as Harriet Tubman or Martin Luther King doesn't hurt us the way that Cleopatra not looking white enough seems to emotionally wound you, we are used to being minimized and erased for our contributions to society and are not thin-skinned like the losers complaining about this like it's the worst thing in their lives.

Is Afro-centerism inaccurate? Probably. Is it fearmongering to position it as equivalent to white supremacy? Absolutely.

[Pop quiz: Which ideology enslaved, tortured, raped, killed, and colonized across many centuries?]

Does calling us n******s and invoking 4chan 'we wuz kangz' (yes there was a we wuz kangz meme but i'm not reposting their childish shit on my blog) arguments make you sound like anything other than a whiny child? No. Just say you don't like the casting like a grown-up.

Why doesn't Hollywood produce West Africa period pieces in order to cast more Black actors instead? Now there's an actually productive question. Thank you. Actually, next they should do a long, high budget docudrama on the Arab slave trade so you can feel really uncomfortable.

[musical-chick-13]

Who is the woman on your pfp? She looks very cute.

Ohhh, let me introduce you, my friend, to Cersei Lannister from Game of Thrones, the Character Of All Time, and my FAVORITE character in any piece of media ever.

This woman is the most fascinating fictional construct I have ever encountered, and, although she is...not a good person, her struggles are so painfully real (and even, many times, relatable) that she feels the most human to me out of an entire cast of richly human, well-rounded characters. She has an extreme tangle of a bunch of different psychological issues, all of which manifest in some pretty unpalatable ways.

She gets angry and jealous, she acts out, she has an unhealthy dependence on alcohol and is part of the most intensely codependent relationship known to fiction. She feels so trapped in her womanhood due to the horrible way the society she lives in that she resents other women and has a hell of a lot of internalized misogyny. She has an over-idealized view of her parents while also having been influenced in all of the worst ways by her father. She leans on violence and cynicism and increasingly-ill-advised personal isolation as a way to try and feel some semblance of control in a dangerous, misogynistic world. She exemplifies this intersection of "being a bad person," benefiting from material financial privilege, and being incredibly sympathetic and disenfranchised. And she fully owns up to the fact that she does horrible things!! She believes that what she does is justified to survive and to prevent other people from hurting her children, but doesn't try to kid herself into thinking she's a good person; and there are not enough words in the multiverse for how much I appreciate that. She also serves as a deconstruction of the "Evil Queen" archetype, because what would push someone to act like that? How do we measure those actions against a world hell-bent on cruelty? How do we reconcile the fact that there's still a person under there, one who is also suffering and who also deserves to be viewed with humanity, just like everyone else?

And probably most significantly (for me, anyway, lol) she's an excellent example of an antagonist who is mentally ill but not Evil™ Because Of It. Her mental illness and the maladaptive things she does to cope with it (mostly by turning...just about everything she does into a desperate attempt to avoid feeling any more pain--from her violent grabs at power, to her feral protection of her children, to her alienation of most of the people around her, to her automatic and self-sabotaging distrust of pretty much anyone and everyone) simply lend context to her worldview and allow us to see why she chooses to act the way that she does. The suffering she experiences due to her mental illness is intentionally meant to be sympathetic and to humanize her. We're meant to feel for her, and the few people she trusts and/or genuinely loves (mainly, her twin brother; her children; and, eventually, her right-hand-man) are the ones who don't make a habit of calling her "mad" or treating her like she's "crazy." She still gets to affect the overall story and other major characters in significant ways, which...doesn't always happen for female antagonists or characters who are meant to be read as mentally ill. And she doesn't die prettily after two or three episodes before never being mentioned again, either!! She's an extremely important character all the way through the show. And though mental illness deeply affects her in many aspects of her life, it's not The Reason™ she's violent or hostile or dangerous. It's simply a characterization choice that helps us understand her.

I love her more than life itself. She's everything to me.

[llycaons]

ep6: oh shit, there’s women in this show!

the fact that nhs knocks with a secret code. lmao

every single time I see this scene I have the same thought and its ‘jc tells wwx to stop being gay for alcohol’ because that’s what wwx is doing here metaphorically

I LOVE when they’re all scrambling here and wwx crosses his legs and fixes his hair

mind-control talisman must be insanely powerful to work on lwj so it must have some kind of constraints, like it’s not a total mind control, the subject has to be caught off-guard, etc. I like to think wwx realized how unethical it was after this and destroyed it but it’s a very strong magic spell to just drop and never mention again (LIKE TIME-STOPPING)

cut-sleeve? is this an intentional nod? it seems deliberate enough. is wwx in-universe testing the waters? he seems to think lwj is straight later on

THIS SHOT. SO CUTE

how he says wife...

I think lwj def knows he’s gay he’s just resigned to being alone for life because he can’t fathom being allowed to marry anyone but a woman and he doesn’t want to do that obviously. also he’s isolated bc of the autism and reputation... god, this scene is so sad

I didn’t realize this happened so early in the series! it’s so cute!

wcz is wearing jiang purple

this kid is SO well cast, he looks so similar to wwx esp around the eyes

lwj’s posture is killing me he is so fucking funny drunk

this set is SO pretty

this scene REALLY jumped out to me on my first watch - wwx sees lwj not bend and is determined to match him. not to be outdone

HE IMMEDIATELY STARTS PLAYING UP HIS WOUNDS WHEN THEY MEET WITH LXC. god wwx is such a delight

aww, lxc. nobody else would talk about him to his mother. this is so kind bc obviously it means a lot to him

actually I think wwx is perfectly within his rights to be annoyed that lqr treats him differently based on something his mom did. come on, lxc!

SHOE FLYING AWAY. THERE IT GOES. LOVE THAT MOMENT

at this point I think wwx has a crush but he also just wants to be friends so if lwj isn’t interested in him that way (and at this point he def thinks lwj is straight)  he still wants to hang out. I don’t think he expects his feelings to be very strong and in fact, in the future I read him as avoidant and scared of his feelings precisely because they’re more powerful than he knows what to do with. but for now it’s just a crush that he thinks he’s okay with not going anywhere as long as they get to hang out

lwj’s hair is so pretty here. this shot of wwx does make me laugh

hm. this means nothing to me. they’re not at a point yet where it means anything to them either and it was done just to protect wwx so *shrug*

wwx sheepishly getting off the ancestral table and then makinh gestures to dust it off is so fucking funny he has so much personality and charm

ik this is supposed to be a romantic moment but the guy looks so head empty. nothing going on behind those eyes. what do they brits say? gormless? he’s gormless

that post like ‘he becomes excited and deferential at the sight of a lesbian’ very true.

lwj doesn’t interact with many women throughout the show but he’s always very polite to them. probably still misogynistic, as every man is in this series is, but arguably less so than wwx (calls jl a mistress to demean him) and jc (has that stupid list of ideal wife qualities, genuinely tried to marry wq away from her family). he clearly respects ly a lot as his elder and I would love to have seen more interactions between him and other women.

heyyy demon subdue palace

ly being the only female leader of a very conservative and patriarchal sect is so fascinating honestly. would love to see more of her

also the rabbits with headbands might be dumb, but I think they’re cute

every single thing ly says also applies to wwx. the show hitting you over the head with parallels: DO YOU SEE HOW WWX AND LAN YI ARE SIMILAR. DO YOU SEE IT?!

I fucking love parallels. they made those women lesbians together

personal highlights:

lwj slouched over when drunk

wwx playing up his wounds when they see lxc

that shoe flying into the pond

wwx making a show of dusting off the table he was sitting on

[elinorwritesstuff]

Writing Advice Answers #4, Part Two: In which I go on a rant in support of female OCs

You mentioned that OCs are controversial in some fandoms, and that’s something I think a lot about, so sorry if this is a tangent, but hopefully it will be helpful with your confidence.

So I hear two basic criticisms of OCs. The first is the classic “Mary-Sue,” thing, which I’ll talk more about but is just so dumb. The one I hear most often, though (especially when I used to RP on tumblr) is “Women just create OCs because they think the character is hot and they want to live vicariously by writing sex/a relationship with them. Eww, cringe.” I hate this so much. You can find a character fascinating and compelling and intriguing and attractive. Who cares if you want to write a ship with them? Who cares if you want to write PWP with them?

It’s so weird, because I guarantee you that people writing canon ships are living vicariously through at least one of the characters.

The big hill I will die on with this stuff is that it is deeply, deeply, deeply misogynistic. Even when it comes from women, that’s just called internalized misogyny, most women have at least a little of it, and it is so freeing when you start to recognize it and get it out of your head. (For the record, I’m not assuming that everyone who writes female OCs is a woman. But this kind of criticism/judgment usually does.) And there are other people who have said this, and probably said it better than me, but I don’t have their posts handy so I’m going to say it myself.

This criticism is almost always leveled at women and female characters. Want to see the most egregious “Mary-Sue” characters, who are brilliant at everything they try, and always make the right decisions, and are destined to save the universe? Look at best-selling published fiction with male protagonists, written by male authors, especially fantasy fiction. Want to see the most obvious wish-fulfillment stories where a beautiful character falls madly in love with the protagonist and/or wants to have so much sex with them? One again, best-selling published fiction by male authors about male protagonists.

People are getting down on women (and people presumed to be women) for writing nice characters and fanfics, while men are making millions of dollars publishing books doing the same thing. I will own that when I talk about misogyny, it’s from an American-centric viewpoint, but that said, we hate things women like. You can see this in characters like Arya Stark, who’s supposed to be the coolest because she thinks “girl” things are stupid. (It’s fine to want to do “boy” things, instead of “girl” things; those definitions are arbitrary. The problem is the negativity towards “girl” things.) We hate women’s sexuality when it’s about women wanting to have sex, instead of men wanting to have sex with women. And like I said, the reason I say “we” and include women in these statements, is because internalized misogyny is such a thing. Look for these attitudes in yourself. Know they’re wrong. Be free.

In conclusion: Write female OCs. Read female OCs. Love female OCs.

(P.S. Male OCs are also amazing. So are non-binary OCs. Honestly I’d love to see so many more of them. Nothing here is to say that female OCs are better; it’s to react to negative attitudes toward them.)

[lamedemoniaque]

Weed update:

Weed is great but the after affects and the waves of dread and despair hit me so hard in the morning. Waking up is supposed to be a rebirth; a new day is upon us and I choose to be how I was in the past (pessimistic, susceptible to negativity, letting things snowball)

I can’t find solutions to the weird problems I have. Root causes for things help to cope but the gravity of my potential impact on this world is jarring…it makes me dizzy and unable to dream and I dont know what’s right or wrong. Im damaging my brain day by day but as i’ve come into myself recently, I see that I am in fact, quite reasonably human and reasonable humans drink and smoke and fuck and work out and talk to one another; sometimes passionately but most times it is idle in nature. The root cause being that humans do thèse things because they are human, And that’s the only reason we need. It’s not so simple, nor is it so unbelievably complex but it’s oh so frustrating. The only thing I’ve wanted to understand was others and i’ve made amazing strides towards this goal, but in the end, while it’s not a futile effort, it is rather arbitrary and there’s too many dead ends.

My findings are that people, wherever they lie on social standings, will always go out of their way to express their ideals, beliefs and their artistic visions. There’s no true hiding that can be done, but lets be real: body language experts are such horrid cunts and that whole practice is suspect to say the least. That being said, I get called out a lot for stereotyping people, and they are correct to do so but I’ve noticed that people dont usually tend to break social contracts, even arbitrary ones like marriage, friendships and job obligations but they also don’t go against the social conventions of their communities. I believe that community is essential to human life and capitalism and other shit has really skewed this sonic truth about human life. People in certain groups will act a certain way, but that is not a guarantee because guess what? People are complex! We like the mystery of others, so if I make an assumption about someone based on what I know about their culture and their upbringing, that’s just a lead into learning the actual true things about one. People break stereotypes as much if not more than they follow them and I think it’s fascinating truly.

In other news, my love life has continued to be in shambles but I do hope for a change in that whenever the Gods believe that I deserve what I am worthy of. That being said, dating apps are a disgusting trap for those seemingly desperate enough to play a part in the company’s shitty game (me af) and while I just literally typed that out, I don’t really hate dating apps, I just don’t like the way it’s set up. There’s this disgusting aspect to seeing others show themselves off with no substance and the substance is impossible to find because it’s too fucking hard to bridge the gap between the mutual agreement that we live in the same general area and not getting a feel for someone automatically by meeting them in an “organic” matter, but I still dont think it’s bad. I think the thing that bugs me is almost having to pay for the services because dating and being seen by other’s in your dating pool is really fucking hard! Like extremely hard, even if you’re confident and attractive like I like to believe that I am. I dont want to sound anywhere close to a misogynist, but I’ve noticed that through these dating apps, people seem to pigeonhole themselves into seemingly being one-dimensional and that’s concerning because even the people, ugly in their heart, are filled with endless depth that many do not know of, and while the physical aspect isn’t there, it’s still an odd, new thing that we’re still wrapping our heads around. I’m also very concerned about cis-women because I’m not convinced that they like men, but aspects of “masculinity” that are derived from social expectations but that are inhabited by those who I describe as “men-adjacent” (fruits, transwomen/transmen, dudes who know about hello kitty, dudes with a decent to great skincare routine, etc.) and by that I mean that this notion of the definition of masculinity, some machismo enigma of hard labor and bad takes, is 1. Not sought after and 2. Behind the times, maybe even forgotten, and it’s destroying my brain because what the fuck is the point of Irish Spring, Axe bodyspray, Old Spice and beard oil if that’s not what I would presume their dating pool would be, women, want from them at all? It’s still hitting me and it’s not that im even affected by this in any romantic sense (I’m nonbinary and have a devotion to looking as attractive as possible by almost any means) it’s just baffling…

And i know what the variable is that I’m missing! Conservative “people”! That’s not a bad point to make, but even those fools do exactly what I was alluding too. The gun girl cunt bitch lady has the most twinked up gayed out husband and the other shapiro also has a husband that is so against the conventions that they preach and so with that, I will say that the biggest voice for this arbitrary nonsense are not the ones that practice, but the ones who preach…

I’m just very alone romantically and it’s really making my grit my teeth so fucking bad! It’s not a sex thing! I’ve already had sex I dont even care about these primal, carnal urges I just WANT A FUCKING HUG WITH SOMEONE WHO CARES ABOUT ME!!! I WILL NOT SURRENDER AND GIVE UP ON CIS WOMEN BUT GODDAMN THEY ARE RETARDS!!!

[gencrittransvestite]

Truly fascinating how this is the only blog where I can post how extremely frustrating it is for me to see a person (transfem specifically) discuss a hobby that I happen to have through gender essentialist lens. And it's true that it's pretty male-dominated, though I dunno how special is it compared to the rest of hobby (it's about OSR, but all roleplaying is unfortunately pretty male-dominated), but the way she attributes it not to intra-community misogyny (idk how much of a problem is it, I barely ever visit any related sites, and fortunately things are not bad enough for it to be common in published materials) but to some "phallic drive of adventure narrative" and how virtually no woman would prefer swords and sorcery style game to something that deals with deep feelings and how "even cis women in these spaces produce things that are not relatable to women".

And normally when I see a man say shit like "numbers, blood and dirt is for boys, feelings and flowers are for girls" I just call him a misogynist because it's almost always this, but it's clearly not the case because not only does she mean that "feelings and flowers" are better, I fucking agree as well. And like, yes, I know that gender disparity between anything is always 70% due to direct misogyny and 30% because of echoes of misogyny in some other area, but also doesn't change the fact that my preferences in this and some other areas are "stereotypically masculine". Like, yes, I like sword and sorcery and imagining myself as some chevalier, just not a badass macho type but rathet some romantic musketeer.

So like, objectively I can't even complain about her ideas, because my motivation is not selfless - I am just very upset over being called a stereotypical moid.

If you want to pity me - don't, but I would like to talk about her points with someone who has correct opinions on everything

[werewolfcave]

It should be noted by point in bringing up Cheleanor wasn't to say "oh it's hated on" (because as someone who only watched TGP after it ended I never really encountered hate about it so I can't really speak on that? I'm sure there is some, especially considering it's a biracial relationship and people always get so pissy about white queer women being in love with black guys but that's a topic for a whole other post) or "oh we shouldn't call them this or that" (but I do prefer for them to be called m/f BECAUSE of the rampant bi erasure in fandoms, so calling them het leaves a bad taste in my mouth but that is literally personal opinion)

It's to say that I have seen Cheleanor referred to as if it is an exception. (And that often times Eleanor's bisexuality is erased within referring to it as an exception)

I bring it up because of the attitudes that go around of "oh all m/f ships are boring EXCEPT this one" or "the only m/f ship I respect" and Cheleanor was the first prominent example I could think of, where it's that good m/f ships are thought of as some "exception"

In general the whole point of this post is that:

A.) people will pass off other biases that may be present simply to say that "oh it's boring because it's 'straight'" rather than, say, "oh it's boring because the female lead is being written in such a way where the author is sanding her down to make her more 'appealing'" (this is my point about media literacy)

B.) this idea that there are only a "few good ones" or "m/f is inherently boring" or even "ew they're straight" bounces back onto people who are in those relationships in real life!! This is not just a commentary on fandom!! This is a commentary on the amount of legitimate biphobia that exists within the LGBTQ+ community because there are sections that legitmately believe "the straights" to be our enemy! And we pass that vitriol onto the next generation!

It doesn't matter if it is a joke! It gets normalized for younger members of the community and it creates this genuine idea that a bi person dating someone of the opposite gender, or a straight aro and/or ace person is inherently betraying their community!! This even harms nonbinary people who are in what are perceived as "straight" relationships or even transhet people! There are parts of your community that are legitimately hetero in some way! Saying "ew the hets" JUST HARMS THEM!! THERE ARE MEMBERS OF YOUR COMMUNITY WHO ARE CISHET!! BUT SOME PART OF THEIR IDENTITY LANDS THEM IN THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY!!!!

Even then! There are fucking allies! And we need to understand that these allies can be VITAL at times! We cannot act like these people are inherently our enemy!!! Its systems of systemic oppression that are our enemy!!

C.) The amount of blatant misogyny that creates this phenomenon!! There is a very specific reason I brought up specifically yaoi ships! Because there is an unwillingness to engage with female characters!!

That isn't to say that this biphobia isn't present within yuri shippers, I've been in the warrior cats fandom! I've fucking seen people be fucking weird about Fernsong because everyone hced Ivypool as a lesbian! There was a lot of biphobia there! Biphobia is present in so many different spaces!

But my point with bringing up yaoi is because I will see certain male characters (I made the original of this post about Goro fucking Akechi) who will have absolutely fascinating relationships with female characters BUT THERE ARE LEGITIMATE SECTS OF THE FANDOM THAT ACT LIKE THE MALE CHARACTER IS "SO GAY" THAT HE WOULD DIE IF HE HAD TO TALK TO A WOMAN?????? There are people who just create the most misogynistic bitchy gay boys for their, half the time, bland ass yaoi ships and its infuriating!

Or there is the fucking age old behavior of hating a woman character (OFTEN TIMES IT IS A FUCKING BROWN WOMAN IN THE MIDDLE OF TWO WHITE MEN) because they "got in the way" of their gay ship. Which then leads to some insanely vitriolic shit about that woman and half the time towards the fucking actor who plays them if it's a live action media!!

This post is first and foremost about the idea that a queer person dating someone of the opposite gender is betraying their community and how that plays into fandom spaces but the misogyny is also very much a KEY FACTOR HERE.

Sometimes. The "het" ship is more compelling than the yaoi. I know. It's crazy. But it's true.

[artfightdramaconfessions]

I wanted to explore some topics that are spoken about here constantly. Do forgive my rambling.

I find the subject of analysing and addressing your own biases towards certain types of characters, both regarding your own and those of others, to be fascinating. And I think it's something that deserves to be spoken about outside the context of this silly artistic event, or the people participating in it.

While I also must say I'm not fond of others policing what I should create and how I must do it, I also don't think it's something as simple as“I am allowed to create what I want and anyone who questions it only wishes to control me”. A conclusion I've seen people in this blog reach time and time again.

I don't think you should be chastised for preferring certain characters to others. I consider that to be incredibly rude and distasteful. However, you should always question where these preferences come from. Why aren't any of your characters women? You aren't a misogynist, but why don't they call out to you in the way masculine, or nonbinary characters do? What is it about femininity that doesn't spark your creativity in the way masculinity or androgyny does? What does that say about you?

And that goes for everything, aside from just gender. Even if you don't do it in a way that is malicious, there clearly is something there. And ruminating on where that comes from and how that affects your art won't just benefit you as an artist, but as a person in its entirety.

Why don't you know how to draw fat bodies? Why are most of your characters light skinned? Why do you prefer certain hair textures? If any of these apply to you, I implore you to explore these trains of thought. Self-reflection is a truly valuable tool, and you shouldn't be afraid of it, even if it says things that aren't exactly flattering about yourself. Certainly much more valuable than seeing this as a very simple, very one-sided issue.

[a-stitch-in-time-and-space]

some (not new) ideas I’m throwing at the wall vis-a-vis gender and star trek (esp in ds9)

Note: We’re eeeeever so slowly moving into times in which “transgender” - as useful a phrase as it is - isn’t the catch-all it’s been for the past 15 or so years, mainly with an understanding that gender is an infinite, fascinating playground that is affected by culture and time. I’m partially using transgender/trans here, and partially terms like nb, genderqueer, femme, and masc as well as “gender transgressive” which is useful to describe, well... transgressive gender.

However I wish I could jump into the future to see what terminology exists then...

I do think there’s something interesting in certain transphobic media, esp the kind that deals with crossdressing-for-laughs (vs drag, which is ofc community-based), because even though it’s usually done mockingly by cisgender heterosexual guys, it reveals how undeniably queer certain ideas are, even if that queering is done in a punch-down sort of way

surprise, this is about Profit and Lace, specifically in how it introduces the idea of transgressive gender in Quark and in Rom, accidentally building off Pel’s story in Rules of Acquisition.

surface story is yeah: Quark makes an ugly woman, with a dose of misogynistic haha women and their hormones amirite (and that opening *shudders*), but what is fascinating is how easily Quark is able to access what we’d today call gender affirming surgery in a future where you can be altered to look like all kinds of different species. 

all this handwringing about regret and “staying in your gender” (which isn’t how it woooorks for a lot of us) and not allowing consent over our own bodies and the patronizing, ahistorical, unscientific, slew of unwanted commentary from everyone and their mums, it’s just... not there. they know Quark is going to reverse the surgery the second the jig is up and Julian still just does it, because sure, got a moment to spare.

you wanna have boobs? yeah, go on. you wanna have boobs and still be considered a man? uh-huh, that’s cool - wow, Rom makes a wonderful “woman,” don’t you think? (and Leeta’s.. kind of in support of that!) 

I’ve argued a fair few times that Rom is trans/nb/femme/genderqueer by Ferengi standards (that is, gender is measured by business-sense/lobes and is its own kind of binary -- also on that note... their mother is trans/nb/genderqueer by that measurement too). It’s a really fascinating overlap between financial class and gender as a caste system (which affects both Ishka and Rom in different ways), which also exists on earth irl today, even though that intersectionality doesn’t  get discussed enough outside of queer circles.

I think Quark fits that standard as well, but he’s fighting it a lot harder than Rom is. The central tension of Quark’s series long arc is his attempts to be A Good Ferengi Male and failing over and over and when he occasionally succeeds, how he doesn’t often feel good about that. He blames a lot of this on the Federation, but by all accounts it was in him to begin with, although he used to be able to cover it up more easily.

Quark desperately wants to get it right, but a lot of the time he’s clearly masking. Sometimes he really enjoys it though, it’s not like with Rom where he has no sense for business, so much as it takes effort.

meanwhile Pel (whom I HC as masc) doesn’t have access to the kinds of surgeries that are so easy to get in the Federation, which puts her in danger - much like not having access puts us in danger today. I'm sort of torn on the headcanon that she either gets her lobes enlarged via the same surgical procedure (which, again, is so no big deal in the future) or because she’s in the gamma quadrant, she’s able to reimagine gender without having to change herself physically - which many trans/nb/genderqueer or otherwise gendered/non-gendered people also don’t want to do.

I also think it’s interesting that Quark-as-a-woman who is dressed in clothes (gasp) is fetishized, because she’s oh so transgressive -- exactly what happens to us today and one reason why so many trans people end up in sex work (of any kind - here’s me adding: get that money however you can and want to, siblings, much love and support). 

I bet there are underground sexual “deviancy” shops that sell fake lobes to imagine your female is actually the man of the house, or even lobe-enhancement that some females take to “pass” although they were actually designed for helping out your small-lobed son “perform business better”

(all of my talk of lobes: here’s the reminder that lobes in Ferengi culture are sexual characteristics)

bottom line, the tension between cisgender (heterosexual) people trying desperately to maintain a binary system of understanding gender and how they play in genderqueer sandpits is always interesting for me to watch. 

on the one hand they’ll argue there are innate social behaviours that exist in women (and they exist across species) - the way Quark has to learn to walk for example, or even - interestingly - that when Ishka starts dressing, her style is very different from men’s dress (maybe inspired by an older version of Ferengi culture where females weren’t so oppressed? - Ishka as transfemme? She could notice that she and Rom have the same likes and she buys him - gasp buys with her own money!! - a lovely dress and one of those massive lobe-earring/necklace things (lobe-lace?), so they match) - and innate social behaviours that exist in men

on the other hand they will unknowingly present a future in which the distinctions between woman and man are so immaterial that you can access any kind of physical surgery you want - in the Federation that is, and differently defined throughout different species on different planets. I always liked the idea that the further away from the “paradise” of earth you get, the more diverse the gender distinctions become but in a lot of these places they also practise rigid systems, like on Ferenginar. I can imagine some majority-human planet worshipping the old ways of the 20th century and enforcing that colonialist gender binary, urgh, can you imagine....

You wonder what things like “assigned gender and sex at birth” might mean in a future where there’s no social capital involved in assigning those kinds of things, if anything.

 And so, Profit and Lace is -- still not a good episode. I remember one of the DS9 writers talking about how unexpectedly well it’s aged and it absolutely has not. It’s misogynistic and transphobic, but I think also very important in the canon of Star Trek’s accidental gender-exploration (Star Trek’s accidental gender-exploration sounds like the title of an article....)

sometimes you find the best gold nuggets in the trash.

and on that note: time to spin the wheel and headcanon that O’Brien was (using today’s terminology) assigned female at birth and decided he liked the sound of being a boy when he was thirteen (his parents like: “for your birthday we got you gender reassignment! and you can always change your mind.”)

also I wrote it above, but Rom and Ishka wearing matching outfits and it being equally shocking is *chefs kiss* (esp with Rom as Nagus)

[sweettodo]

Rolling ⟿ Hisoka x fem!reader

Includes : praising, smut, watersports, consumption of alcohol, use of molly, swearing.

Word count : 4,8k

A/N, I haven’t really written something like this, I’ve never taken molly but I did sorta look it up, I don’t condone using molly, nor do I condone drinking. This smut is for the sole purpose of a little fun night.

••

"And who might you be?"

••

The event was at it’s prime, everyone chatting, drinking, eating, I hated the idea of coming but disregarded those thoughts the second I got ahold of some alcohol.

"I'm y/n, you?" The dark yet beautifully illuminated ballroom created a sparkle from my red gown, etching out my body to my liking. The tall man who stood two feet away from me devours me with his devilish yellow eyes; his charismatic smirk which quickly lured me in for more.

"Hm, I'm Hisoka, but enough about me. You're so exciting to look at, I must admit." I smile and blush, looking down at the rest of my dress.

"Thank you, what brings you here?" I change the subject, standing in the main area of the ballroom, the bar a reach away, I needed it.

"Ahh, just work business, and you?" While he talks, I observe what he's wearing; a black on black suit, his multicolored hair which was more or less intriguing.

"The same, I'm here with my Co. Owner." I smile, a server comes from Hisoka's right, a plate with champagne, he stands in front of us, I graciously take one and Hisoka does the same, thanking the waiter. His eyes slightly widen as he sips from the glass.

"A lady a charge?" He's tilted against the column, we look at each other intently, I kinda liked his vibe.

"Yep, what can I say!" I giggle, he retorts with a light chuckle, his low eyes captivating me more and more.

While you observed the man in front of you, you weren’t the only one, Hisoka was excited. He undressed you with his eyes so sensually, he could have ravaged you right there. The way your hair paired perfectly with your dress, your makeup was to impress others, you didn’t do this for yourself. You wanted people to look at you, Hisoka picked up on your undertoned confidence and he knew that he liked you. You also had a bite to your personality, he liked the power you held.

‘How have I not met her sooner?’

"Do you plan on going straight back to the hotel room? Or another party?" Hisoka shakes his thoughts out of his head, watching the pretty lady raise an eyebrow in return.

‘Another party? Well.. was I not invited or something?’ I shrug.

"I'd head to another party; if I had known one existed." I roll my eyes, he stands straight and turns around quickly, placing the empty glass on the high table next to us.

"It was more of a word of mouth thing; I'd be happy to take you as my plus one? But the scene might be different as you’re used to..."

"Who did you come with tonight?" I ask, changing the subject from the party for a light minute, wanting to be nosy, what if he had come with a woman.

"Just a few friends, god knows where they are." He jokes, I laugh, my fingers rolling the neck of my glass, swirling and swallowing the last sip of alcohol. The hot feeling in my stomach from the drink making me feel more loose and relaxed, ‘I could go with him to a party, where’s the harm?’

"We should." I nod simply, he smiles and wastes no time taking my empty glass from my hand. Swiftly placing it on a servers tray as the kid walked by. He signals for me to follow him. Leading the way and I follow close behind, my hand gently holding up the fabric of my dress so I don't trip, 'he was so tall', and quiet, who the fuck was this guy I've never even seen him before?

"Is it off base if I say that you strike me as very mysterious?" I toss my hunch out there, he looks back at me when we reach valet.

"I'd like to see myself as more of the withdrawn type." He sticks out his hand, I grab it, it was soft, his fingers long and lanky. He led me a few steps ahead when a car pulls up, opening the passenger side door of a black matte Camero; with red interior. 'Nice pick y/n' I do a little jig of accomplishment and slight excitement before he hops in the sports car.

He pulls the car out of park speedily and drives out of the culdesac.

"What do you do for work, Hisoka?" I ask him, he glanced at me, a hand holding his chin while his elbow sits on the middle console.

"I dip into a little of everything, call me an opportunist." He simply answers. There was a big lie right there, I've been able to pick apart things being true or false since childhood; my tack record never really failing me, he didn't need to know that.

"I own an agency, if you were curious."

But he assumed this. He guessed it when he recalled your name during tonights convo, she owned an agency, more like a school for beginning nen users, she raked in millions a year. A firecracker, determined and strong willed woman she was.

"My, quite fascinating, you must be of some talent, yeah?" He asks, a little of a misogynist thing to ask but I quickly shake it off, Hisoka speeds down the highway and I look out the front window.

"I guess." I hum, I glance at his hands, they kinda made me excited- the size...

Minutes later we arrive at a gated neighborhood, he swings his car through the entrance of the gates and I become excited, finally I could really get fucked up.

"Aren't we a little too overdressed for a house party?" I chuckle, he pulls up the the front of the house.

"This isn't your average party babygirl, no one cares what you'll be wearing." Babygirl? A slight cringe at how loosely he used the word. I furrow my eyebrows, before being able to question him someone is swinging open my door along with the drivers side. It was elegant- he looked... so good.

"Not my average party hu-" my mouth falls open a little before I look at him. I knew these some of these people. It was packed. But Hisoka never stopped shuffling through the crowd, leading me down the few stairs and ignoring any welcomes that came his way.

We reach a basement door, he knocks twice before opening it and he lets me in. There were a bunch of couches, a TV, a bar, kitchen etcetera. Everyone looked like they were rolling, drunk maybe?

No. Not rolling on the floor literally. But rolling on some type of psychedelic, or shitfaced for sure. My heart falls in my throat, baffled.

"I don't get into this kinda thing." I nervously chuckle, stepping away from him, he frowns, lifting his hand to my shoulder, caressing it.

"You will soon." I smirks, grabbing my hand and leading me deeper into the foyer. I look around, it looked fun, I wanted to feel it but I would leave myself open to being taken advantage of.

"Drink?" Standing in front of the bar, he pours vodka into a glass, I smirk. ‘Who was this man?’ I liked him, I ignore my slight anxiousness.

"Mhh, gladly; thank you." I hum, taking it from him, right as I'm about to drink from the glass he stops me, covering the opening of the glass with his palm.

"You'll be very- what's the word? Hot, if you drink that by the way." Referencing to the drink, is that what he did for a living, reeled women in to sex them up on molly and champagne?

"You want to take care of me? Hot and bothered Mr. Morow?" I lean into him, his head slightly dipped down so he can hear me, in all honesty, I already was hot and bothered. His bloodlust licking all over my body and seeping into my pores, he smelled amazing, the tone of his voice got me stirring in my shoes.

I look up at him through my thick eyelashes and he bites down onto his lip in anticipation on what was to come.

"You wanna get me vulnerable?" I reach up and scissor the fold of his black blazer, stroking it slightly, "you wanna take advantage of me Hisoka? Coulda’ just told me what you wanted from the jump." There had to have been something in the air.

While on the other end of things, Hisoka’s breath was quickly sucked out in a bit of a shock. His heart thudding a little faster than usual; god he could tear you up.

“I’m stronger than you think I am Hisoka,” I giggle. I was, I was always on my A game.

“What kind of man would that make me y/n?” He smirks, pressing his cheek against mine and whispering, “if I wanted to take advantage of you, I would’ve torn you to pieces before we even got into my car.” I gulp and pull away from him slowly, mustering up the courage and taking a swig out of the cup and his eyes widen, I stop halfway down the drink and press him to drink the rest.

“Go on, drink it Hisoka, you wanted to get me fucked up.” I chuckle, he pushes the cup and pours his own.

“Drink all of it, you wont regret it.”

••

My head was spinning, the walls dipping in and out, swirling, my third eye was 100% open for sure. I sat on the ‘L’ shaped couch, Hisoka diagonal from me sitting comfortably on the corner, we didn’t really talk. Or maybe we were talking? I really was out of it. I didn’t pay attention to the other party goers, there were around 30 people down here.

While he looked over at the wall, I started deep into his soul. The more I looked at him the more I envisioned him on top of me in some dimly lit room.

“Hmm, y/n, if you keep looking at me like that who knows what I’ll end up doing to you.” My eyes quickly snap up to meet his own.

I was so empty headed I didn’t have the capability of feeling embarrassed.

“What are you gonna do about it?” Hisoka’s dick slighty twitched in his pants. He was already pussywhipped.

He needed you.

He looked at me seductively, eyes low. I bit on my bottom lip; a one night stand wouldn’t hurt. It’s been so long, although you were so intoxicated you had no idea how this would go, nonetheless feeling much more bold.

Hisoka was right, you were hot. Your body throbbing, everything was definitely more sensitive, tingling almost.

Hisoka was restless, he knew that he was going to make you his little plaything.

He couldn’t help it; standing, he taps on your shoulder and ushers you up, grabbing your elbow and slightly dragging you down the darkened hallway, it made you dizzy, your eyes spiraling and colors accentuated and it made you see new weird versions of colors, ‘is this real?’

He opens a door and flicks on the light, your eyes needing to adjust to the weird vibrating walls.

You weren’t able to talk much, everything sounded foreign when it left your lips, like a jumble of noises so you held back talking. He shuts the door quickly and walking back towards you, towering over your body. Your heals slip off your feet when Hisoka is pushing you onto the bed, your legs slightly falling open and you stare at him through your lashes, looking like a whore.

He leans over you, his knees pressed on either side of your own, pinning your wrists back above your head, you bite down onto your tongue. Leaning into you, he dives into your neck, bitting and gnawing at the bit. You breathe out a slight whimper; almost undetectable.

Senses heightened, you felt like you could taste him already. He nibbles and licks down the v line of your dress, he radiated a hot and intense vibe, you were stunned. You were also beyond horny.

Hisoka moves his knee up to your cunt, you gasp when he applies the littlest pressure. He pulls up and looks at you.

“I can feel your heartbeat on my knee.” He states, I blush and look away.

“That’s because I’m horny.” I admit, he smirks and uses one of his hands to tuck hair back.

“Are you now... what can we do about that?” He purrs, mouth pressed against your ear and you shivered. Tugging slightly against his grip, he releases you, your hands land on his chest, trailing down and unbuttoning the single button on his black blazer.

“No Hisoka, what are you going to do about that?” You send him a smug look and push him off you slightly, you felt confident so why not have a little more fun than usual.

“My my, are you insinuating you’re going to use me?”the undertone of sarcasm made you laugh, you push up onto your knees and he falls on his back.

“Mhm, I’m going to fuck you until all your kids are dumped into me.” Lifting up your dress slightly so you could straddle his waist, he stares at you with his tongue being pinched by his teeth.

You roll your hips as you tug apart the strings that kept your dress closed, watching him as you smirked, he picked up quickly what you were doing and bunched up your dress from your legs, slowly taking it off and over your body, throwing it to the side, he sits up; and since his legs still hung off the bad, this was easier for him to sit comfortably and as close to you as possible.

His hands tickle down your sides, ending up at your lower back as he pulls you into his grasp tightly, grinding against his dick in the process. You lean back slightly, pushing the blazer off of him and he shimmies it off, you start unbuttoning this shirt and his hands caress your butt, following your tailbone and gripping.

You push off his shirt and he was breathtaking. His toughly toned chest, hard as a rock. Abs galore, his shoulders broad and his biceps huge.

“Let me know when you’re done staring.” You roll your eyes and let him toss the shirt on the floor.

You were definitely disoriented, but aware enough to consent but you were 100% felt empty headed besides the fact you could smell colors. Neither was Hisoka, he looked at you while he sworn you were moving so much more slow, you weren’t; but he thought you were teasing him.

He moves his hands to explore your body, feeling your soft and warm skin. His hands knead your boobs, like it was something he’s never felt before.

You push yourself off of him, “stand up and get on the bed fully.” You demand, he stands, but before he can plop back down, you unclasp the button on his slacks, hesends you a smug glance, looking down at your small hands compared to his wide waist, he was going to absolutely fucking obliterate you and you had no idea.

“You won’t be in charge for long my love, but I suppose I’ll let you have your fun.” Hisoka whispers, you could’ve fallen apart right there, but you held it together for the sake of the challenge he bestowed upon you.

He tugs his slacks off and you watch him with puppy eyes, the air coming from his nose hitched, you didn’t even bother to look at how hard he was, while he stares down at you, your hand climbs the back of his neck, standing on your toes more to kiss him.

Once you guys find yourself deep in a messy make out session, he taps your ass so he can pick you up. You jump a little and wrap your legs around his hard waist, feeling so high up you didn’t even know if he was really this tall or if it could be being literally high off molly altered your state.

He drops down onto the bed, you gasp when his clothed dick slides across your clothed cunt, it sat against your stomach as you looked down and your eyes widen, looking at how... how fucking big he was.

He scooches back so his head upper body is against the headboard.

“You seem intimidated, are you scared I’ll break you?” The smug look on his face made you laugh.

“Nope.” You were lying right through your fucking teeth. You were terrified; his cock was fucking huge.

You roll circles against his throbbing cock as you both took turns sucking and biting on each others necks, he left strong hickies and bite marks all over your chest.

He was so close to coming which was extremely unlike him, he could last for so long and was pissed that the drugs were bringing him so close to the edge.

“I’m giving you a few more minutes before I’m taking control.” He hums, you allow him to take control prematurely.

“Take control of me now Hisoka.” You purr in his ear, he takes action, swiftly pushing you up and slipping your panties down your thighs and shoving you on your back so your head was on the pillows.

He rips your panties off, you kick them off your ankle and his hand trails up your abused chest, hand gripping your neck. You were seeing fucking stars, literally? You didn’t know you were so high; but you did notice the peak was slowly ending.

You stick your hand down and it falls into the waistband of his boxers, he grabs your wrist and throws it back at you. “Don’t touch me.” He snarled, knowing it sounded rude, this was only because he was so close to nutting that if she even do much as stroked him he’d bust.

He tugs at his boxers and while your swollen lips and sliding his tongue in your mouth, you feel his sly hand rubbing your thigh and opening it, his hand grabs the headboard and the other one is holding your thigh open widely.

“You gonna let me put it in?” You whisper a little sassy, he looks at you with mean- intense eyes.

“My love, you won’t be able to as much move when I’m done with you, keep the attitude to a minimum.” He growls, your leg wrapping around his back and as he pins your thigh down, Hisoka knowing you were about to attempt to slam your legs closed.

He slowly slides into your dripping pussy. All he could think about was being enveloped in your hot walls. Savoring the feeling, he had enough self control to slowly enter into you. Your eyebrows furrowing and your mouth falling open, you watch him slowly fill you up.

You couldn’t even think of words, or noises for that matter, your brain drowning in loud red colors and your eyes were only looking at him, you didn’t even know what the room around you looked like. You were spinning, your body felt like it was trembling and twitching. He gives a tiny thrust to finish filling you up and your legs jolt, attempting to squeeze shut when he hits your cervix. It hurt so bad, you wince and your eyes screw shut.

He on the other hand was captivated by your beautiful body and scent, he couldn’t wait to watch you fall apart and drip cum all over him.

Hisoka pulls back, the pain making things feel a little more real; you look into his eyes, his golden eyes, pupils dilated from the drug- as he swears he can feel every nerve in your twitching cunt. Lowly, he lets out a little chuckle before yanking your leg up further and he picks up the pace, it was so sensual. You never made love but if it was anything like this and you didn’t even know the man? This was a culture shock.

You glance up at his bicep, trailing up towards the headboard, his hand clenches tighter on the headboard, you see him begin to white-knuckle the wood and your eyes widen, glancing at him. Seconds later, he has your face twisting into immense pleasure when the pace picks up, he releases your thigh from his grasp and grabs your throat, leaning in and licking slowly down your jawline, the pounding of his cock into your pussy feeling euphoric, your head spun, lacking oxygen, still high, you can tell he had finished his peak, his thrusts becoming more stable.

The snapping of Hisoka’s hips, you were finally able to get the clogged up moans that begged to come out. Finally, when he heard your moan, he began sweating. His hair becoming a little slick, falling down to his shoulders.

“O-h my god.” You groan, your stomach tightening, you wrap your arm around his neck and his flexed arm hold him up neck to your head.

“You want me to fuck you harder pretty girl?” Hisoka grunts, you let out a whine, fingers intertwining into the hair at his scalp.

“Yes please.” You mewl; this is was his moment to really get down to business, he pushes off the rattling headboard. He swiftly gets off of you, but roughly shoving you by your shoulder onto your hands and knees, he rips your arms from underneath you, causing you to fall harshly into the bed; holding them tight while he reaches off the side of the bed and picks up his tie.

His dick sitting pretty between your ass cheeks- hard as a rock, he ties you up. You bite down on your bottom lip, almost sad you couldn’t rub your hands all over him and touch him.

“God, your pussy is so pretty.” He mumbles, pulling your cheeks opposite from each other so he can get the view of the pretty cunt he was about to tear up. He spits onto your already dripping pussy before quickly picking up where he left off, the difference being he didn’t hesitate to pound hard into your cervix. You let out a screech and attempt to move away but he grounds your hips and gives you strong thrusts, not holding back, Hisoka disregarding your little screams from the pain.

“Does that hurt? You’re so fucking tight; no wonder it hurts so bad.” He grits, angrily fucking me. You become more and more vocal, screaming into the mattress. You pleaded for him to untie you.

“Y-you’re fucking ruthless H-Hisoka,” you moan between thrusts, he chuckles.

Hisoka was so close to coming, it took him more willpower then he’d like to admit. He brings his hand up and slams it down onto your ass. The slap ringing through the room.

You let out a throaty groan, tears soaking the bedsheet from your eyes. You had gotten used to the pain, but he filled every crevice in your pussy, you could feel absolutely everything, from his veins to his cock twitching.

You’re so close to releasing, his name falling out of your mouth incoherently and swears following the screams. Hisoka groaned and held down your arch so he could drill into you. You screamed, for mercy? His dick nor himself cared how bad far he was reaching. He brings his hand down again into a hard slap, you cry out and moan. He loved it, encouraging him to go faster. “My god, princess, you enjoy me hurting you with my cock and my hand? What else can I do to you?” You whine and you feel your juices drip down your thigh, you can came and didn’t even know it. Hisoka pulls out and listens to you moan, groan and cry while your legs shake and smirks.

“Untie me please, Hisoka I need to touch you.” You whine, he rubs your ass.

“Hmm well, I could, but I won’t.” He yanks you up by the hair and hair hand runs down your throat, your throat was dry, makeup running down your flustered face. He could come just looking at your face. He never felt that way before, it had to be the heightened senses from the drugs.

He sits against the headboard once again and without untying you he pulls you by your thighs and slowly pushes you down onto his cock. Eyes rolling to the back of your head, hissing when he grabs you by the hips and shoved himself into you.

He stares at your pretty lace bra and disheveled face as he bounces you up and down, your mouth forming a perfect ‘o’, practically going cross eyes he was reaching so deep into you. “Y-you’re so big.” You whine, unable to look into his eyes because you could barely keep them open.

“You’re taking my cock so well.” His chest riding and falling, it wasn’t as fast as he liked but he knew he was filling you up as much as he could, fitting his cock into your pussy as he pleased.

He flexed his back, lifting you still and snapping his hips into you. You practically collapse, hair sticking to your forehead and drool coming from your mouth. You scream and your legs begin to quiver.

“A-Ah! I need to pee” You wail as you feel another orgasm wash over your body, he doesn’t slow down but he remains at the same speed, only making the orgasm stronger, he moves a hand and rubs your bud in a pressurized circular motion. A mixture of piss and cum gushes out of your beaten pussy and you have no control of your body, falling forward onto his shoulder and he catches you.

The sound of wet skin slapping against each other filled the room, not stopping you even whilst releasing. He was so thrilled seeing you squirt all over him. Smirking slyly.

“Do you want me to fill you with my seed pretty girl? Have my kids pour out of that tight little pussy?” He grits, moving you back down onto your back and pulling up your numb legs. He needed to come in you now. Drilling into you like no tomorrow. You begged for him to untie you again and again.

He didn’t listen, brutally fucking you. Fucking you so hard your walls clenched so hard he could barely reach as deep. He was so close, Hisoka panting as he begins feeling dizzy, his dick twitched before abruptly stopping, slowly thrusting after a moment, hitched breathing and sweat dripping into your crunched up stomach.

Coincidentally, the slow thrusts made you orgasm again, convulsing and your muscles twitching as you both chased one of the strongest climax you’ve each had. Sniffling and trying to stop the tears, your ass and pussy still twitching as he pulled out of you, he stared sensually at your cunt, watching his own seed spill out of you.

After a few moments, he stops himself from falling in love with your cunt that he just stretched out to fit his desire. He lifted you up by the tied arm and slipped his tie off your wrists, setting you free.

Before you’re able to do anything, he runs his fingers up your slit slowly and carefully, picking up both of your cum, he lifts his hand and grabs your jaw, you instantly open your mouth and stick your tongue out, he sticks his two fingers down your throat and you suck on them, swallowing some of his seed. “Good girl, I didn’t even have to tell you.”

You wipe under your eyes and he smirks.

“We could stay here for the night, or we can go back to my place?” He hums in question. You just drop your back onto the bed. Trying to compose yourself.

“Yeah.” You sigh, panting slightly, he hands you his shirt and you slip it on and button it up.

This was the first time you were now looking around to see where you were, the high slowly reaching an end. You wondered what time it was, hoping to find a clock. Hisoka looks at his phone, ‘1:30am’ it read. He and you had both taken the drug at 9.

He slips on his pants and opens the foreign closet, he didn’t know what to find but when he saw a black t shirt he took it and slipped it on, it fit. He snoops through the closet and tries to find pants for you. He sees a pair of basketball shorts and tosses them towards you, you catch them and try to move as little as possible.

He sees you struggle to put them on and smiles, biting his tongue to prevent him from saying something arrogant. He was so fucking tickled that he fucked your legs into becoming numb and paralyzed.

He steps over at you and crouches down, he grabs the waistband and slips them over your legs. He should’ve warned you his dick would hurt you so bad, but he was so high he didn’t even think to mention it. Hisoka takes your hand and gently leads you to your feet. You feel like your organs had been shifted and you felt empty and cold.

As you and him quietly make your way through the house, people still resides there and the music was as loud as when you first arrived, no one really paid you any mind; which surprised you because your hair was a rats nest and you looked homeless. Barefoot, you and him walk to his car, more like limped.

“I feel like I’ve been split in half.” You mumble as Hisoka helps you into the car, he chuckles. While shutting the door and quickly making his way to the drivers side, he slides in and instantly starts the car.

He begins to drive down the road and out of the gated neighborhood, he puts his hand on your trembling thigh, glancing over at your wrecked face.

“My love, just wait til’ you see what I have waiting for you when we get home.”

[papirouge]

I was today years old when I discovered that Andrea Dworkin, one of radical feminism's most prominent ideologal guru supported incest and bestiality

"The parent-child relationship is primarily erotic"

"The incest taboo, because it denies us essential fulfillment whom we love with our primary energy, forces us to internalize those parents"

"The relationship between people and animals (...) is always erotic"

It's fascinating how the intellectuals obsessed with destroying Judeo-Christian values are coincidentally proponent of the most decadent degeneracy. I'm sorry but if your idea of "emotional fulfillment" is sexing your family you are actually proving the necessity of Christian morals. God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for a very good reason, just saying.

Apparently Dworkin back tracked on these crazy statements later in her career, but :

1) who the heck has to backtrack about incest or bestiality??? like.....that's one of the basis of Civilization everywhere in the world. It's not "oops I made I made a controversial statement" - this woman straight up tried to RATIONALIZE the sexualization of parent-child relationship, I-

Radfem have cancelled people for much less than that.

2) radfem love to build entire narrative based on the actions of individuals to put it on whole demographics. I know it cause I'm Christian and one of radfem favorite tactic is trying to weaponize the antics of American evangelicals (bc according to radfem, Christianism = White/conservative/racist/America) to argue ALL Christians are racist & misogynist, obviously...

Even when I tried to defend tradfem not to long ago stating they weren't individually threatening to (non traditional) women radfem tried to clown me, saying I was #notallmen'ing tradfem, BUT WATCH THEM DOING THE EXACT SAME THING WHEN THEIR FAVES ARE GETTING CALLED OUT!!!?!!?

Oh, so suddenly radfeminism isn't a "personality cult" but somehow when it's people appreciating someone "problematic"'s specific take, they're guilty by association. It happened so many times already. I got shit for pulling out Judith Reisman's whistle blowing work about Alfred -I am a pedophile- Kinsey, and radfem started getting salty bc of Reisman's support of a book exposing gay nazi, calling her a "HoMoPhObE", and totally dismissing her incredible work exposing the Kinsey Institute institutional rape of children.....

Radfem also love calling gender critical women "conservative" just bc they happen to reblog material from republican sources or for thought crime.

Even if they deny a cult, they definitely behave like one.

So now.... since radfem allow themselves to distance themselves from their incest supporting faves "becausd they're not a cult", why can't they apply the same energy to others before labeling them with a cursed stamp just bc they happened to agree with the (totally legit) takes of someone "problematic" who I'm sure didn't support incest?

That's the type of double standards from radfem : do as I say, not as I do.

I'm not surprised to see radblr cannibalizing itself right now. I saw it coming months ago when a whole bunch of Black/Brown radfem left bc they were done with the hypocrisy and underlying racism of this communism. I'll never forget their never ending screeching about the Karen meme they tried to paint as an attack against White women, but later on got dead quiet when Muslim radfem were called Islamist and salafist by zionist Whitefem for defending Palestine SMH.

[a-duck-with-a-book]

REVIEW // Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

★★★★★

Before I get into my rant, here is my very quick review where I parrot what everyone else has been saying:

Beautifully written, Bone Gap is a refreshingly different YA novel with a hypnotizing narrative and fascinating characters. I loved seeing their stories revealed amidst the magical realism of the story. Bone Gap itself was a fantastic setting that functioned almost as an extra character.

TL;DR -> read this book!

I've talked before about how much I enjoy many of the retellings in YA in a previous review, and this book once again shows why this trend deserves more academic attention. For anyone who isn't aware (which I certainly wasn't until I got about 60% of the way through the book... oops), Bone Gap draws from the story of Hades and Persephone. The myth of how the goddess of spring came to be in the Underworld has been a popular story for millennia, and in the past few decades it has (rightfully) faced some not-so-favorable scrutiny.

// image: official cover art Melissa Castrillon //

Largely, complaints stem from the kidnapping and r*pe of Persephone in most classical versions of the tale:

"He was riding on a chariot drawn by immortal horses. The son of Kronos. The one known by many names. / He seized her against her will, put her on his golden chariot, / And drove away as she wept. She cried with a piercing voice, / calling upon her father [Zeus], the son of Kronos, the highest and the best."

Homeric Hymn to Demeter, translated by Gregory Nagy

As I mentioned in my Circe review, the "retelling" of older myths and folk tales is by no means new-rather, humans have been adapting the stories each generation was raised with to suit their new needs and values. Stories meant to teach young girls how to prepare to become dutiful and doting wives in arranged marriages to ugly, older, and perhaps violent husbands (think the traditional versions of Beauty and the Beast) become tales of headstrong women who want more for themselves and *gasp* know how to read! See this description of Belle from the 18th century version by Jeanne Marie Leprince de Beautmont, then compare it with the "misfit", not-like-other girls bookworm of the Disney movies:

"When they came to their country house, the merchant and his three sons applied themselves to husbandry and tillage; and Beauty rose at four in the morning, and made haste to have the house clean, and dinner ready for the family. In the beginning she found it very difficult, for she had not been used to work as a servant, but in less than two months she grew stronger and healthier than ever. After she had done her work, she read, played on the harpsichord, or else sung whilst she spun.

Beauty and the Beast, by Marie Leprince de Beautmont

The Hades and Persephone myth has similarly gone through the 21st century transformation, but, interestingly, by way of two very different paths-"Good Hades" and "Bad Hades". "Good Hades" makes the god of the Underworld a sort of feminist character who, in a way, rescues Persephone from the misogynist world of Olympus and mankind, allowing her to blossom (as it were) in his realm. He is respectful of her body and frequently asks for her consent. Hyperaware of the history of the pair's relationship, authors will often beat the reader over the head with the "see! he's asking for consent!" element, which I'm not one to complain about. Rachel Alexander uses the "Good Hades" approach in her Hades and Persephone series (which I highly recommend). While the "Good Hades" stories make him into a misunderstood, kind, and respectful love interest who we are meant to want to end up with Persephone, the "Bad Hades" ones take his persona in an entirely different direction. "Bad Hades" is conniving, evil, and almost always described in ways that disgust the reader: corpse-like, cold, oily. He is a villain who Persephone must escape from, a foe with no regard for her bodily autonomy and twisted views of love and authority. This is the path that Bone Gap takes:

“Don’t worry. I won’t touch you until you want me to,” he said, as if he should be congratulated for such scruples."

The trait that both of these trends share is that Persephone becomes an independent, active participant rather than a pawn in the game played by Zeus, Demeter, and Hades. She often takes charge of her fate, sometimes outmanoeuvring Hades or even developing powers that outmatch those of the other gods. While Ruby's Bone Gap and Alexander's Hades & Persephone series take opposite approaches in their interpretation of Hades, both give Persephone similar authority and liberation. Ruby's Persephone (SPOILER) maims her own face in order to force Hades to let her and Finn go (END SPOILER) while Alexander's is revealed to be (SPOILER) the "true" ruler of the Underworld and has powers over Tartarus that even Hades is intimidated by. (END SPOILER) The myth of Hades and Persephone can be a controversial one to approach-some readers won't even pick up a story if it is such a retelling simply out of principle. I've seen quite a few posts floating around which condemn every Hades and Persephone retelling, especially those with the "Good Hades" storyline, and I stringently disagree. Many of the myths, fairy tales, and oral histories we rewrite have problematic pasts that reflect the standards of the cultures they were told within. Modern retellings can further mold those same frameworks into new tales that instead show us our current standards. Bone Gap is such a beautiful and well-written rendition of the modern retellings trend, and I will just keep hoping that academic circles will start paying attention to the old stories finding their way into YA books.

[everyonewasabird]

I would love to see your Thoughts on the Hugolian Internal Magic System sometime:D It's something I like talking about but def. some Deep Nerding that is not an overcommon discussion!

Ah!! Thank you!! I’ve been wanting to talk about this!

But also, it’s so Big? So instead of overwhelming myself trying to cover it coherently, I’m going to get the ball rolling by scattering undeveloped ideas everywhere.

To start, my feeling is that the brick operates on something that isn’t real-world logic but a coherent system of magic logic, heavily symbolic, and with power over the events in the story. It’s not fantasy-world magic--it’s closer to magical realism, though it never quite reaches what I’d consider that.

There are a lot of magical elements in the brick. Some I want to acknowledge but have little to say about:

The animal thing. The dog-man versus lion-man, mice and cats and all that. The visual use of it in Arai’s manga was how the penny first dropped for me about the brick having magic. Many other people have more coherent thoughts about this than I do.

The fatefulness of spiders and the doom that hangs over anything connected to the numbers four or eight.

Enjolras and Grantaire in OFPD as the apotheosis of the ideal and the grotesque uniting in the sublime--I’ve read meta from you and others about this! It’s fascinating, and I feel like I only half understand it! I have nothing to add to it but it’s wonderful.

A whole lot of characters symbolize different things, and the way that functions has a magic logic to it, and Oh God This Topic Is So Big, I Can’t.

Related to the symbolism, there’s the, um--economy of casting? There’s a coherent logic behind a lot of the coincidences: If someone goes for a police officer, they’re probably going to find one--where brick logic differs from real world logic is, that policeman will always be Javert. All the misfortunes of poor and friendless young women befall Fantine. All people at the cusp between abject poverty and marginal respectability live in the Gorbeau house. I’m not sure I’d quite call this magic, but it’s related.

The place where I first really noticed the magic system myself was with the four-and-a-half characters who have power of will over when they die.

The first is the Conventionist, G——, and it’s with him we get a description of the trait I’m talking about:

Though so near to his end, he preserved all the gestures of health. In his clear glance, in his firm tone, in the robust movement of his shoulders, there was something calculated to disconcert death. Azrael, the Mohammedan angel of the sepulchre, would have turned back, and thought that he had mistaken the door. G—— seemed to be dying because he willed it so.

This isn’t a magic that can be used for arbitrary purposes--you can’t game the system with will-powered immortality. I think it’s more that the characters who have this are so in tune with the magic they become immune to petty injury until they reach the moment of their death--which will be an appropriately symbolic one.

The second of the four is the Bishop, though his death is a little different: instead of culminating in a moment of transcendent will, he’s granted Hugo’s ideal of the perfect death. (Now--I have Massive issues with what Hugo thinks the perfect death is: blind, and beloved woman is taking care of you. It’s gross, sexist, ableist bullshit with wild disregard for boundaries, and Hugo is being The Worst. But anyway.)

In the text it’s the ideal death, and Myriel is granted it. This feels to me like not an exception to the system but its culmination--the other four are granted sublime and transcendent suffering, and Myriel was granted something past that: transcendence without the suffering.

Following the Bishop and the Conventionist are their direct successors, slightly more tarnished, but only slightly: Jean Valjean and Enjolras.

Like the Conventionist, neither can be killed until they choose to die. Until that time, bullets don’t touch them. Both deaths are sublime and transcendent, but Enjolras seems to come closer to perfection--there’s something strangely self-defeating in Valjean that doesn’t exist for the other three. Nevertheless, both of them clearly have near-superhuman power of will over their deaths.

Discussions of what Enjolras would have done if he’d survived after condemning himself for Le Cabuc feel slightly misaimed to me because of this--my feeling is that once he condemned himself, there was no other ending. He belonged to the magic, and he had willed it so--he Knew.

(And... okay, side note, I personally am writing an AU where he lived. But I had to fracture some of the magic system to do it. It felt right to me that in a story about Combeferre the magic would be fractured--I don’t know, I feel like that’s a thing.)

Aside from those four, many characters have different magic at different times.  Eponine gains a preternatural ability to get things done, Gavroche is made of magic and Paris, there’s a lot of magic in Cosette, and so on. The Amis are also magic, and a few of  them seem remarkably able to perceive it--Combeferre understood Valjean at a glance and described Fantine exactly. (Side note: my  favorite headcanon about Combeferre is that he has a nearly unparalleled  ability to perceive the magic system but is too at odds with himself to use it.)

But I feel like there’s a character with a half-realized version of the transcendent will like the other four above, and it’s Javert.

There’s something really interesting going on with Javert and magic.

Like Valjean and Enjolras, he’s immune to bullets, (”You’ll misfire”/The pistol misfired.) And Valjean almost gave to Javert the transformation Myriel had granted him, but something went wrong. Instead of becoming the fifth of these supernormal characters, Javert reaches half a revelation and backs away. He wills his own death, but prosaically and with despair, in a bastardized version of what the others achieve.

I can’t prove this, but I put real significance in that moment when Javert’s tied-up body makes a cross with Mabeuf’s body laid out, and instead of bearing his suffering he asks Enjolras to re-tie him lying down. Javert does a LOT of things wrong morally, but magically and symbolically that might be where he got off the path of the Absolute. (Does it matter symbolically that there end up being four of them (a fateful number) rather than five? Does the feeling of transcendence in Enjolras’s death and incompleteness in Valjean’s have anything to do with the fact that Enjolras convinced Grantaire, but Valjean did not convince Javert? ...I’m not convinced of any of that, but it occurs to me.)

--

And the barricade.

The barricade is made of magic and fate and the Absolute. It magically draws everyone to it and intensifies the magic potential in anyone near it. Enjolras and Jean Valjean become godlike, and everyone else becomes more transcendent as they get nearer.

I swear I can hear the first sparks of the magic of the barricade forming in Grantaire’s dialogue in the Corinth. He’s in the middle of a misogynistic and racist harangue and then he bursts out with:

“And it appears that they are going to fight, all these idiots, to get their  heads broken, to massacre one another, in midsummer, in the month of  June, when they might go off with some creature under their arm, to scent in the fields the huge cup of tea of the new mown hay!”

(Wilbour. Hapgood massacres this line.)

...then he goes back to rambling, until he wanders into an entirely perceptive (if wryly mocking) description of Marius’s love for Cosette and his own for Enjolras: “They must make a queer pair of lovers. I know just what it is like. Ecstasies in which they forget to kiss. Pure on earth, but joined in heaven. They are souls possessed of senses. They lie among the stars.”

Which, for once, is exactly correct.

And I think these sparks happen because the barricade is beginning, and the barricade is magic, and it’s what finally pulls from Grantaire what he was capable of.

There is SO MUCH MORE I’m sure, but this post is becoming novel-length, so I’ll stop for now. Anyone who wants, please argue or expand!

[bronanlynch]

reverse unpopular opinion: game of thr*nes

oh boy. oh boy. what a question. what a can of worms you’ve opened.

see, the thing abt having a love-hate relationship with something is that on some levels I do love it a lot. it also makes me very angry, and sometimes makes my depression actively worse (the spring that the final season was coming out was like. not a great time for me in general and watching a season of television in which the thematic takeaway, inasmuch as there are coherent themes [which uh. there aren’t. only incoherent themes here, but what can you expect from writers who said that themes are for eighth grade book reports], is that nothing matters and nothing changes and fuck you for caring, was not the best thing I could’ve done for my mental health. however, unfortunately, I do not control the hyperfixation)

that being said, I love a series with in-depth worldbuilding. I love when fake places have detailed in-universe histories and legends and like, contradicting narratives about what happened in the past. (not all of the worldbuilding is good and plenty of it contains a whole lot of unexamined racism and misogyny and homophobia but that’s a different, longer post) also as a fic writer I appreciate how much detail there is so like, if I needed some random person to appear for a couple of lines, that person probably already exists and has a name and that’s both fun on a worldbuilding level and makes my life significantly easier.

also, despite being eternally disappointed that he made the viking-inspired culture ahistorically misogynistic (and weirdly against the ideas of trade, when actual early medieval scandinavia famously did quite a lot of that, and farming, which. do they exclusively eat fish?? when fishing is barely mentioned as a thing people do??? hello???? how did they not all die of scurvy???? george please take my calls????) I am fond of and fascinated by the iron islands. yes I know most of them suck however they’re the only people in the series who care about the sea. let me have this. everyone else, despite living on a big ol island, does not give a shit about the ocean. george please (my nickname in the sff soc got watch party groupchat was set to ‘yara gayjoy’ I am not immune to lesbian pirates)

the other thing I like is the characters. I’m constantly thinking about that post that’s like “grrm knows women are people, he just doesn’t respect us” and tbh that kind of sums up how I feel about like. a lot of the characters. there are some really interesting character concepts! there are characters that I got attached to when I was fifteen and will never be able to pry out of my heart! however very few of the characters that I care about got arcs or endings that I found narratively satisfying but that’s what fanfiction is for and oh boy do I sure have a lot of that (I haven’t actually finished or posted any of it but it’s there, lurking in the back of my hard drive, waiting for my current interests to fade because I do always end up going back to it).

specifically regarding the show: the costumes and the music are both fantastic. like, in general, and with some exceptions (the lighting is the last season was. bad), it’s a very competently made show. it’s visually very pretty, and the costumes (with a few exceptions) are gorgeous and interesting and well-designed. and the music fucking slaps. ramin djawadi knows his shit.

the other thing abt got is like. sappier and that is that it’s something I’ve bonded with people over bitching about, because not all of it’s good but there’s so much to unpack and that can be fun with the right people. and also zan and I have spent a significant percentage of our friendship coming up with elaborate AUs to make things better or at least more interesting for our favorite characters and it’s kinda nice knowing that even though we both have plenty of other interests, that will always be something that we care about and can like, fall back on as a shared fandom

on a shallow note, my loras tyrell cosplay is a work of art and I look very pretty in it (wow I miss conventions...... when will I once again drink an overpriced cocktail in a hotel bar while dressed as a fictional character.....)