#and i cant even tell if they just really want to have queer dynamics but are too cowardly to actually go thru with it

[patrocles]

there needs to be a study into how the vikings franchise keeps utilizing homoerotism in its key lead dynamics and then pulls out the “nah nevermind here’s an undeveloped opposite sex romantic arc that wont matter bc they’ll get killed off anyways soon but we had to keep things from getting too gay”

ragnar/aethelstan, lagertha/astrid, ivar/heahmund, now harald/leif

[anonymouscheeses]

Im sorry i have to say it..: Get Your Hands Dirty sounds like a love song.

HEAR. ME. OUTT!! (No i dont mean a love song between Chloe n Ella omg 😭)

What I'm implying here is that it sounds like one of those niche high school love stories when one of the lovers(most likely a goodie two-shoes) goes to their mentor/parent/even the person their loving/etc to ask for advice on relationships. Or more specifically, if this person is worth it or even a good person. From the top of my head: I Won't Say (I'm In Love) and the goodie and the wildchild dynamic is pretty similar to Gabriella and Troy from hs musical, which iws(iil) kinda inspired this post tbh but also ive been thinking about this ever since i first watched the movie. (You plop in ur own songs, i js KNOW this trope exists)

Now that we've established the well used niche trope existing in this niche song made by the niche king that is Disney.... why do i think that Get Your Hands Dirty is a love song, i hear?

Lets analyze THE LYRIICS 😈😈

"Right and wrong, cruel and kind, who's to say?" "There's a code that I believe in."

"Robin Hood" "yeah?" "Awesome guy" "yeah!"

"Every choice, you're gonna find there's shades of grey." "There are rules for a reason!"

"So you could then cross that line, theoretically."

"You'd agree?" "But he stole for the poor."

"The decision's always up to you. When there's only one thing left to do"

"I don't know you anymore.."

Okay, so i shortened and made it tiny for obvious reasons, that bein its too long 😭 so! AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO GETS A FEEELIN?? a feelin that this is SCREAMING denial?! Its giving...

Chloe: Ellaaaa.... this girl im talkn to is SOOO HHHOOOOTT and PRETTY and cool and stuff but ugh.... SHE EEEVILLL!!

Ella: oh my gosh.. STFU. Shes prolly not even that evil ill prove it smh..

*get ur hands dirty starts playing. No exaggeration. No cap.*

"Okay, but there's some universal truths you must recognize." "Like?"

"Valiant knights, pure and good, guaranteed" "That depends on what they're fighting for"

"Creepy witches selling potions for evil deeds" "She could have kids she's providing for"

"If your good-good things will come to you"

MORE denial, Chloe wants to be friends with Red SO bad she looks stupid, but she brings herself back by trying to prove to herself that she's evil and they SHOULDN'T be that close. Which also is a big sign of comphet and heteronormativity, i would know 🧍 (which is a post for another day i might make. Prolly 2 prove that Chloe is a lesbian in deep comphet)

"But just how far do you go? How much do you compromise? Oh, tell me, how do you know. Where do you draw the line?"

"There's nothing I wouldn't do. If my heart tells me it's right. If it's for someone I love. If it's to save a life."

"To save your life."

Further deepening the trope i mentioned. The first line could be interpreted as a double meaning since the song is kind of mostly about Chloe coming to terms with the fact Red isn't really evil or as bad as she thought, plus the argument of where the line between evil and good is. It could refer to Red or Ella, maybe both, but Ella changes the meaning with her own experiences so it drifts off the focus from Red because we cant have ANYTHING 🤧 but i still believe Chloe intended it to be for Red since the entire song is really just for the progress of their relationship n stuff.

Now this could definitely all be in my head, yes, Disney would most likely NEVER canonize or even imply heavily a queer relationship or anything lgbtq on a pre established franchise (cowards.). But there is always a chance.... deep inside the dark heart of the mouse..

Plus, with the subtle hints here and there of Red and Chloe's relationship growing, romantically or not, they are still super close and love eachother alot. Chloe is js (kinda) canonically a girl kisser who cant help but find a girl kissable (same)

And don't get me started on this movie and its obsession with love and proving how it is not "ain't it". Hello...? They set the tone of love, but i see NO person close enough to Red established for this message (other than Chloe) and if they introduce some random guy in the next movies, NO ONE would care nor would they want it unless somehow its 100x better than redcharming, but thats impossible cz wlw 4 life.

So, this entire thingy is me basically finding scraps and wanting to provr that charminghearts IS canon and WILL be established soon! (Im delulu)

[jemmo]

today on everything i love and that is perfect about utsukushii kare (bc i just binged rewatched both seasons), i find it so fantastic and perfect how they, not even advertently, show how hira and kiyoi grow out of their high school personas, bc that is so a thing that happens and is something i find hardly any media really navigates as well as i see it here. high school is very much a rigid place, and in it you play your part; the popular kid, the class clown, the nerd and so on, but outside of high school, after high school, when you grow up and enter the wider role, there aren’t those roles to fulfil. you have to be you, and to do that, you have to figure out who that ‘you’ is, whether thats something you’ve always known or had inside and just kept buried or hidden, or thats something you’ve yet to discover and have to find, and then go on to actually be that, and shed all of that behaviour you learned or picked up or hid behind in high school. 

idk if this is a universal thing, but it is something that especially speaks to me, being more of the hira, the loner, unpopular, shy kid. that role offers a lot of safety in high school, which is weird to say bc its not a place you aspire to be nor is it particularly enjoyable, but in a way it spares you of further ridicule. if you just fill that role and don’t do anything that acts outside of it, you can get by just fine, then high school is done and you move on. thats what utsukushii kare shows so well. the way hira is treated in high school is never really that outright bullying you stereotypically think of, which i love bc thats not really what high school is actually like. really, it is more of what you see in the show. this lower level stuff that you kind of just go along with even if it is objectively mean. the name calling is not loud insults, its those pet nicknames that follow you and remind you of the things you dont like about yourself, the things you’re embarrassed about. its the established hierarchy that you are at the bottom of that signals to you everyday that you are less important than everyone else. and hira goes along with it partly bc of kiyoi but also bc its safe and, dare i say, comfortable, bc hira has not just not known different, but doesnt wish to either, which is how he settles into his dynamic with kiyoi. 

on the other hand, kiyoi’s place as the popular kid is something he is more visibly uncomfortable with, at least to me, and you see it even before you learn about what his real dreams and interests are. the way he acts with the people that surround him, he is never exactly like that. his treatment of hira especially is kinder while still hiding behind that film of treating him as the group’s lacky, but when people treat hira unkindly, he steps in, and i like to think this is from a place of him just being a good person and not just a defensiveness of hira bc of however he feels. its weird bc he does want to be admired so his place shouldn’t feel so wrong, but i think its from a place of wanting to be admired for his merit, for who he is, not out of any control or fear. he wants to be level with people when it comes to reality, and praised for the things he can do well, his abilities, not just some abject superiority others think he possesses. and i cant tell you how much i love this character for this whole ‘cool guy who’s expected to be so cool and not care about anything but actually really wants to do well at stuff and has a passion for acting and dancing and performance and just wants to be loved’. like that is one of my favourite character tropes ever and utsukushii kare does it with kiyoi to absolute damn perfection, which is only added to when you think about the queerness underlying it, kiyoi acting as this stereotypical straight popular high school boy who’s too cool for everyone but really not only is he not straight and have these complicated feelings for a boy, but he also loves performance and theatre and i love that those two things aren’t separate and it makes so much sense. there is just this young queer boy who wants to be liked hiding behind this veneer of coolness and popularity and its fabulous. 

so when they do get out of high school, we get to see kiyoi embrace that side of him that he always kept hidden, not just doing what he loves, but actively pursuing it, trying hard, putting in the effort and dedication and i adore that. it lends itself so well to the mantra of ‘trying your best is the coolest thing you can do’ which i wholeheartedly believe. not caring isn’t cool. caring is cool. trying your best is cool. and not only does it make kiyoi more admirable as a character, but it feels like kiyoi is a lot more comfortable and welcoming of the admiration he gets, bc now it feels deserved, and its funny that that manifests through him being humble and playing himself down bc thats the very human thing to do when you’re praised, but it also parallels the way hira downplays and degrades himself which is actually, in a twisted way, him thinking highly of himself, which we see discussed in the last ep of season 2. 

bc when hira leaves high school, he still clings to that role, even though there’s no one around him maintaining it. for him to be lowly, there has to be someone around him thats above him, but there isn’t now, which is why he clings to the dynamic he has with kiyoi above him bc it carries over and maintains his safe space. and what we see in season 2 is kiyoi removing that, asking hira to not raise him up just so he can put himself down, he wants to be level. and with kiyoi trying to take away that safety, that leaves hira having to figure out what his place actually is in the world, a world he’s always removed himself from. that’s why his discussion with noguchi is so important, bc kiyoi has struggled to be direct and put it into words with hira, either bc he struggles to say those things or doesn’t want to be so harsh with hira, but noguchi has no issue with holding back, nor feels any need to be gentle. he tells hira flat out you are selfish and ignorant to a fault and think so highly of yourself that you think you are the only person in this world. and thats what hira needs, a real challenge, someone who sees his mindset and twists it to show all the negatives of it. its never what hira intended, but its the message he sends to others; by belittling yourself, you give other people’s words and thoughts no weight or importance, thinking you know better. by removing people from your photos, by hiding behind the camera, you are not escaping the world, you are saying the world is only for you. there is only one plane to exist on, and by trying to be there alone, you deny everyone else of their existence. the option is not to not participate, its to participate alone. and what i’d hope continues in the story (idk what the movie is about at all) is a journey for hira to find how he can be involved at the same level as everyone else, to step out of the safety of self inflicted isolation and join in, feel comfortable finally taking up space and find who he is outside of high school. 

[swiftfootedachilles]

Hi I'm the kink trans Mickey anon I did see your answer I'm just very shy cos youre really cool and I didnt think youd answer

Can you say more about Him please I love the way you write and Understand him

anon you should NEVER be intimated im actually a loser and i usually only get like 1 ask a week, if that. i just wanna talk about freaky queer trans shit with someone 🫶🫶

he is my little baby i transgenderified him so hes my creation and i can do with him what i will. i like to think he gets his hands on hrt by his mid teens, even if he cant take a high dose or use it regularly so terry doesnt notice. i also think that since mickey being trans would make him even more susceptible to terrys violence, maybe cps actually steps in and terry gets a long sentence, leaving the youngest 3 milkovich siblings in the states custody. iggy probably ends up in a group home or with family. based on mandys ability to stay at a family members home with ease and the fact that she never canonically went into foster care or a group home but mickey did, she probably goes with a family member. since mickey is trans and cps doesnt want to deal with him in a group home, they get him to a foster family immediately. mayhap......kev and v!!! i love ethel and i would still find a way for them to foster her (perhaps after mickey or they have overlapping time spent at the balls'), but how perfect it is that kev and v are looking for a foster kid and mickey needs a foster family 👀 AND gallagher lives right beside him now. this completely changes their dynamic, the main thing holding mickey back from being with ian is gone so they can actually develop a relationship early on! theres actually a t4t gallavich fic where mickey is fostered by the balls and i love it :))) i want mickey sneaking over to the gallagher house so ian can do his t shot for him; he started on gel and only switched recently, and he hates needles. i want him wearing ians clothes and lips hand-me-downs, and lip doesnt say some snarky transphobic shit in response. only stares at mick sitting in his spot at the table, in his clothes, and sarcastically asks "he live here now? shouldnt we tell kev and v he ran away again?" i want carl to be too young to understand what it means to be trans, so he sees mickey as a role model of coolness, just like in canon

also random headcanon for the day is trans!mickey uses tattoos and piercings to accentuate his most masculine features. and he gets a gender affirming genital piercing. perhaps even multiple!!

[dirtbra1n]

HII good morning time for ask game. Throwing rare ssmy ones at the board. Shirabashi. Hiramiya. uhhh kuresawa tashiro No wait i cant do that to kuresawa. He loves his girlfriend. I WILL do it to ogasawara though. ogasawara x sasaki. And for fun if you have brain power. tell me about ur favorite mairuma dynamics….

HIII GOOD MORNING I’ve still got twenty minutes til noon as I write this part it counts. woke up read this and said aloud Oh sunnfish loves me…. my friends love me………

shirabashi: I get it, it doesn’t compel me*.

*I’m continuing my effort to get myself into these things. this is definitely still following the trend of I’m Not Doing Enough To Mindpalace Niibashi. sunnfish wouldn’t it be really funny if I shoved him into pathologic au. no better way to get me really invested in you than to suffer sundry agonies I’d say.

I think some of the kagibashi points sort of reflect onto the wall a little warped here which is really fun. Why are you tall. why are you so good at basketball. How Are You Single. followed by one conversation that concludes, Oh, that’s why. being someone who knows that shirahama cares so much about his appearance adds some fun color to this too. I think there’s some fun stuff to poke at there I’ll turn the heat up and let it simmer awhile

hiramiya: I get it, it doesn’t compel me**.

**You know. it’s also kind of a lie I think I just don’t follow through enough on putting petri dish miyano under a microscope. like. I think even in a world where miyano didn’t meet sasaki and consequently did not have to reckon with #BisexualityGate. having bl brain is kind of just a by-default queer thing straight up. Yeah I want to watch Hirano senpai and his handsome roommate I know next to nothing about gently and sensually embrace one another. I want Hirano senpai to be on the bottom. I’m normal. This is normal. like miyano can we talk about this. we’re taking this conversation to the hirakagi dorm and you will put the clipboard DOWN.

in other words Someone definitely would have to pitch me on more straightforward hiramiya—it won’t be hard, I didn’t say hirano was the dating sim au game’s default and preferred route for NO REASON—but going by system settings of What’s funniest. I’m 100% primed to skip down the road of Miyano most insane voyeur moments (#1). this is kind of a theme for hirano ships for me actually. Wait hold on HOLD ON JUST. ONE SEC

kagi would be there too. just chilling.

I know you took it back but I think a we got married setup with tashiro kuresawa and yuki would legitimately be very funny. just wanted to say that

SASAWARA: HA HA . YOU KNOWWWW…. probably could go trudge up one of my. I’ll be right back again

ogasawara sex comedy teaser for public consumption. don’t worry about masato here this isn’t about him

being brief It’s the old friends feeling. being verbose it’s You’ve seen me at my worst and snappiest and least tolerable and you still haven’t gone anywhere. you’re so annoying. are you home right now? need to drop off a cd. you’re gonna hate the third track but the fourth one’s gonna make you cry.

I’m always thinking about it. sasaki wanting ogasawara to leave him and miyano the hell alone on their date but the second ogasawara vanishes sasaki’s texting him Hey, where’d you go? old friends feeling. am throwing up all over the floor currently. I Get It. It Compels me.

MAIRUMA. BY THE WAY. love trio are my kids. I think the passive competition between clara and alice is the funniest cutest thing in the world

^ page saved in may-nearly-june 2021.

also Literally every single relationship with iruma involved compels me that’s my LITTLE BLUE BOY!!!! going to come back to this on the mairuma front later on the coattails of either rewatching the anime or catching up on the manga. and then They’ll all be sorry…… okay wrapping this one up now I love you sunnfish

[devoursbears]

So I go to a gay church in my area because I like the community and it is honestly incredible to see old queers every week. But I've been thinking recently about this particular dynamic in the bible study group.

in the group there is this gay catholic and and a nonbinary communist who are both retirement age and butt heads on every topic, with the Catholic very adamant in his positions and being sure of his being right about How To Christianity. Then the Communist who has studied other religions and is much more concerned with the Divinity found in humanity than some invisible Patriarch making all the rules. and it as me thinking about the Uber Right Wing politics of a buncha christians, and how 'traditional christianity' really does make sense with their political views (and lets be honest, it was designed that way)

because like, the Catholic. He means well, but basically always falls back to "Yeah God is easy. He is perfect and mysterious and we can't understand him but we have to follow his rules and those rules are the Bible and the Catholic Doctrine." Which. Every time I hear him talk I cant help but hear right wing rhetoric about not questioning established authority and how those in power got there in the first place.

For example, there was a discussion about Sin. and the Catholic goes on the expected spiel of "Sin is these actions as defined by bible and to be rid of sin you have to do the 3 step plan that the church made up which goes like admit guilt, apologize, then repent by not doing the thing again and also pray about it. Bam Done. Easy Peasy."

He kept repeating this line of reasoning even when this other guy, a New guy who specifically doesn't like Christianity because of people who prescribe how to think and act, as it is a trigger for New guy. But the Catholic couldn't tell that. His Catholic Programming wasn't able to compute any other way of a Correct Relationship with Religion. It felt incredibly reminiscent of something along the lines of "oh its easy to not get arrested, just don't to a crime sweaty :))))" type rhetoric.

and I don't have the writing skills to make extensive conclusions and tie all the strings together but I just wanted to share this pattern I see. where right wing Evangelical Christians have their view on life baked in in every aspect of their beliefs. and its frustrating!!! because religion even including Christianity can be a helpful tool for spirituality/hope in the world/ community for people but just like any system of power, it is important to question the structure, and who is in power and why. And like most power structures that want to maintain that structure, Christianity and Right Wing rhetoric often go hand in hand in their ability to drive any questioning out.

Anyhow, shoutout to Alien the 70ish year old nonbinary racing champ with an intersex cat they are my hero and I love them for having the energy to push back against the Catholic and his rigid power structures.

[erindrawsstuff]

Hello!

I wanted to ask if you had any comic recommendations! I’ve noticed that our tastes are very similar, haha

here’s one from me!

go check out My Superhero! by Jessie Paige Dawson

Oh I've been WAITING for this one--

A lot of the comics I read are less self-indulgent/wish-fulfillment/slice of life/romance and more "make me ponder about the thing I am reading on an obsessive level" and "I want this story to rewrite my life and make me question everything". However if I'm needing a mental break I will enjoy a good comfort comic!

WARNING BEFOREHAND: Some of the listed comics may include themes like slight body horror, suicide/self-harm, abuse, depression, etc. There are pre-existing warnings on most of these comics but like all media please proceed with caution and take care of yourselves!

On WEBTOON:

Space Boy by Stephen McCranie (currently on hiatus)

Do you love space? Do you enjoy colorful comics with intriguing casts of characters with a dash of existentialism and the complexities of life and what it means to be human? Then you'll definitely want to read this one. Also, it baffles me that Stephen has essentially improvised the majority of this story--it's incredibly cohesive and very well-written.

Nevermore by Kate Flynn and Kit Trace (updates regularly on Fridays)

This is the definition of disaster lesbians--toxic yuri, even, but that's why I love it! Very fun concept of limbo as a gothic academic setting where everyone is out to get everyone for a second chance at life. The main love interests have a recently-divorced vibe that is so messy and I eat it up every time they interact with each other. The supporting cast is also very fleshed-out and dynamic and play very well off of each other to make for interesting scenarios.

Suitor Armor by Purpah (updates on Fridays)

A comic that questions what it means to be human/have a soul and the complexities of life and the moral ambiguity! I feel like there's a pattern here... anyway, I really enjoy the world-building in this one and while I'm not usually a fan of plot-twists for shock value, Purpah does them VERY WELL and I was indeed very shocked and surprised several times.

Castle Swimmer by Wendy Lian Martin (currently on hiatus)

I do love my gay fish boys. Castle Swimmer is one of those comics I could picture as an animated series and if that happens I want to be on that animation team so bad (Wendy I'm on my hands and knees). The world building is immaculate and feels so vast that every time a new setting is discovered it feels like the world map is being filled out as you go. Main characters defy predestined-fates after falling in love with each other and I'm a sucker for that trope. Gender-fuckery and many representations of sexuality is also a normal occurrence so that's very refreshing. AND Wendy incorporates a lot of facts/biology/conservation awareness for marine life into the story and after episodes and I love that very much.

On Hiveworks:

Novae by KaiJu (Jen and Kate) (updates on Mondays and Thursdays)

Historical fiction with romance, more gender-fuckery, magic systems and astronomy (more space!! I love space!!). I eat up all the cultural references and have learned more from this comic than most of my history classes. Beautiful, beautiful art style and overall very well-written. Cant' wait to get my heart broken over the next few chapters (something just happened but you'll have to read it for yourself).

Tiger, Tiger by Petra Norlund (currently on hiatus)

My friend recommended this to me with the general pitch of "noblewoman cross-dresses as her twin brother to escape the responsibilities of high society and study sea sponges aboard the stolen ship of said-brother" and let me tell you I wish I read it sooner. I need to re-read it at some point but from what I can recall there's also a lot of queer pining and will-they-won't-they but also we can't worry about that right now because world-ending things are happening and one of the world-ending things is very hot and cool.

Barbarous by Ananth Hirsh and Yuko Ota (currently on hiatus)

I recently discovered this comic but I devoured it within hours; not only is the magic portrayed in such an interesting way (literally weaving magic/needing physical conduits to cast spells) despite being in a modern setting. Percy/Chiaki hits home being down on her luck and how her desperation to be perfect and powerful has made her do questionable things and I love that for her. All the characters are messy in their own way and it really breathes life into what could be considered a slice-of-life.

Namesake by Megan Lavey-Heaton and Isabelle Melançon (I'm actually unsure if there's a consistent update schedule?)

Man how do I even begin to explain Namesake?? I can't, that's why you should read it for yourself. Get ready to take notes because it is so dense with magical systems, character and setting history that I felt like I was studying but it's fun studying. This is also one I've followed for yeeearrrs and it's just gotten better with time.

Countdown to Countdown by Velinxi/Xiao Tong Kong (updates on Wednesdays)

This is actually a re-release of Xiao's previous comic by the same name; it had a similar format to Ava's Demon with painterly single panels (you can still read the original here), and now it's a paginated-format with a very fleshed-out story and world (and the art style slightly simplified but still gorgeous). I love the changes Xiao was able to make because it really helps the story and characters shine compared to the earlier version. I'm pretty sure that she had likened it to Tangled such as: generational trauma, escaping a tower, MC discovering the world while love interest grows to love their passion and joy despite struggling in said-world and they are both boys and they are kissing (I added that last bit it has been the slowest slow burn of my life).

Daughter of the Lilies by Meg Syv (currently on hiatus)

High fantasy/Dungeons and Dragons setting with incomprehensible beings and a girl without a face that just wants to be accepted by the family she has found within her adventuring party. I adore the character interactions and I don't want to say too much about the world because of very cool spoilers, but I really love this one.

STANDALONE COMICS:

Ava's Demon by Michelle Fus (updates fairly regularly now? but can have some hiatuses)

One of those OG webcomics I've been read since forever ago, but I still love it and am excited to see where the story goes. Sci-fi fantasy setting where most of the inhabited planets have been overruled by this one asshole who might be a god? Either way it follows Ava and a rag-tag group of friends/enemies/frenemies as they try to battle Titan's rule with demon pacts and untapped, unknown powers. I haven't re-read it in a very long time but I do remember enjoying the story and characters and the art style is absolutely gorgeous.

Lackadaisy by Tracy J. Butler

Oh my god please read this comic if you haven't already (or watch some of it as it's now an animated pilot on YouTube and has been recently funded for a full season!) I'm a complete sucker for 1920s/1930s prohibition stories and the underground businesses of rumrunners, not to mention the added bonus that they're all cats! The art style is gorgeous both in the earlier chapters and the later chapters, and the writing is so incredibly well-constructed and intricate that my baby brain could hardly keep up when I first started readying back in uhhhh 2010/2012?). It has a wackiness and charisma that Tracy has only honed since first starting and I can't recommend it enough.

The Meek and Mare Internum by Der-shing Helmer (The Meek is on indefinite hiatus, and Mare Internum is completed)

I honestly don't know if The Meek will ever be finished? Which is a bummer because I was hooked from the start. Granted I haven't revisited it in a long time so I can't recall a lot of details, but I remember it being wonderfully rich in world building and all of the characters were complex and shared interesting dynamics with each other. Fantasy setting with dangerous god-like beings playing sandbox with the politics and fates of the human world. There is also most definitely a green-haired girl in the story and she's really cool. Again, my memory is a tad fuzzy on this one so current opinion could be different from previous opinion.

Mare Internum is fully completed and is a sci-fi story that explored the dangers of an alien-inhabited Mars with a reluctant main lead. Proceed with caution as the very first page depicts an attempted hanging by the main character (there are warnings but it is the first page so it can take you a bit off-guard). I actually just realized as I was writing this that I never finished the story and that's very silly and goofy of me, but that just means we can experience it together haha.

Off-White by Jessi Derenthal, Anna Podedworna and Katarzyna Redesiuk (unfortunately discontinued, but who know what will happen in the future?)

I have to recommend the comic that indulged my wolf-girl era, it's only fair. But it's also because it's a beautifully painted comic and the team is so talented. I haven't caught up with them recently but I hope they're all doing well wherever they are. The setting is heavily inspired by Norse mythos, and the main characters flip between humans and wolves struggling to survive the spiritual collapse of the world as humans wipe out each respective spirit for total power. I remember being absolutely entranced by this comic and would get so excited every time it updated so my friend and I could read it. It's currently available on the Internet Archives and Wayback Machine, as the site was too expensive for the creators to sustain.

WOW I guess I was holding onto that for a while. Thank you so much for the ask! I can't promise I'll have the same energy for future asks but I really hyper-focused on this one since comics are one of my Special Interests. I also just started reading My Superhero!, so thank you for the recommendation!

[away-ward]

Continuation to my prev rant about michaelrikakaibanks bonus scene:

Michael telling rika in corrupt "dont look to anyone to have this" or something like that, only for pd to turn him into a cuckold 😭 i kinda feel bad for him as a character now, because i feel like pd was the one writing him like shit, he just always gets sidelined, and maybe that plays even a little part as to why we hate him so much, just like how we dislike rika. Im pretty sure, at this point it's just pd's fault in writing. They just suck as hell.

It's the fact that michael's rika's partner in everything but he always had to eat her leftovers as if he was just a sidehoe to her. I hate it! What's the whole point of corrupt then? PD could just literally made MichaelRikaKai happen and end that story there like their original plan for a reverse harem to happen in Corrupt as a standalone. This brings me back to a conversation on your blog here about Damon/Will' possibilities of happening and the answer was a big NO because no one can replace Emmy, not even damon (i sleep good at night knowing emmyks always will's priority even above damon in will's life 😌), then leads us to KaiRika's dating possibilities, and I think what you and anon said then finally happens now. Not to spook yall or anything, but Yall kinda jinxed it!!

PD wrote "possessive" men only for them to end up sharing their lovers with everyone, and worse was there was no tags of the story being a poly story like many other romance authors did. Even if this story or dynamics are experimental, they should've been mentioned way before all these happening. PD pulled the riverdale poly ending for michaelrikakaibanks, and for what? No one writes their MMCSs and FMCs worse than PD so far. And all because they favour that terrorist rapist ass hoe damon? And that self-insert, dull as a block rika? 🙄

And i hate that kai would give into rika, but not alex. Alex wanted to fuck banks, but she can't because he doesnt share banks, but why can rika have her then? Literally, no other excuse than pd being obsessed with horny taboo ass fetishes and wanting to make sure the readers know that that if there's one woman in this world that kai will be with other than banks, it's definitely rika. I never saw it this way but i feel like Kai's one of those guys that will actually marry a second wife and not admit that he likes it 🙄 how surprising, because he's the last character with a personality written like that, should be acting like this. I hate it!!!

PD's new bonus made me lose all respect to them as a writer, made me pity michael (pitying michael!?), disliking rika even more, pitying the fuck out of banks she literally cant catch a damn break, and hating kai. Idk, this series really left a bad taste in my mouth. This bonus is like an extension of that rika fight in conclave, so fucking unnecessary, and as usual, PD's just so dissapointing. What was going on through their head honestly??? I feel so angry because this means only DamonWinter and WillEmmy's love for their partners are the only legit ones in the whole series, at least, monogamously. The series were already shit with the plot and characters, now it just got worse with the dynamics. All that michael's sweet talk in corrupt and conclave to rika, and kai's assurance for banks in hideaway were ruined because of this bonus scene.

Devils Night Series at this point, is just Fall Away + Credence 2.0 + p*rnhub

When i first read nightfall, i remember MOSTLY thinking that alex/emmy and will/damon scenes were mainly WLW and MLM fetishes. Other readers kept on telling me that that wasnt all there was to it to these relationships and those sex scrnes, and while i agree to a certain extend that maybe they're not just fetishes and they could mean something more for these characters, look at what happens now? Am i not right? And lets not forget the target audience for this series is for WOMEN, ADULTGROWN WOMEN, and NOT FOR QUEER PEOPLE. So It IS mainly a big perverted fetish by now, if it wasn't then. Because if this wasn't queer sex fetish for these horny women, then what it? Everytime dmaon/will or even alex/emmy or banks/rika hookup, there will always be the other opposite sex being entertained and sometimes even get off to them, be it that the one being entertained were either DN readers, or the characters in the DN universe. We queer people cant catch a fucking break. I fucking hate itttttttttt. PD's braindead fans cant defend them anymore, pd'll never get out of these siblings & queer sex fetish allegations i fear, not like they ever cared, they'll just write worse, because "no ONe TeLls mE WHAt to WriTE" 🙄

At this point, it's really better for me to just stay away from dark romances, especially PD, because these Dark romance writers are just NOT IT. They'll never fight their allegations out of their weird ass trenches i swear. From damon's romanticised and infantilised arc, to the plot, to the characterisation, to the assault and crimes and all the unnecessary incestous plotlines between banks damon rika, and then the out of touch with reality to the point of utmost stupidity of the whole revenge thing, then the misogyny from male and EVEN female characters here, then weak men abusing women and gaslighting them, and rebranding them as women empowerment, then this. This fucking binus and THIS FUCKING QUEER PEOPLE FETISH. fuck pd honestly. Idgaf anymore someone needs to knock some sense into them. Because aside from writing all of that, the biggest problem was that pd and their hardcore friends always seem to live in a weird bubble and rebranding their ahit to look nicer as if they dont stink? Ohmygod look, pd and pendragons literally sound like the horsemen! Shocking!

Maybe DN is my first darkrom so that's why i fell so strongly about it, but ohmygod, this series is just so exhausting, and whatnot with its cult followers, especially on twitter 😭 those booktwt devils night were part time bullies too. Thank god you've never been on DN side's of booktwt KO, they're all always so mean, always namecalling people out of nowhere just because they were against assault (against assaulters!!), being bullies and horny af 24/7 over disgusting things damon do, making jokes about it too as if rika still wasn't suffering from damon's actions in conclave. It's good that you're just here minding your own business because let me tell you, booktwt is not wort it. Booktok too, but booktok is only a tad better. The amount of cringe ass accounts on twitter i've seen acting like theyre the horsemen or cowgirls, or acting as if thunder bay is their home is something else!!! Not to mention the emory hate? Banks hate? And they also come Even from big booktwt DN accounts too! I feel like this series was worth my read, only so that i know now which authors, books and fandom to avoid in the future.

I've always been familiar with stan and fandom culture, and now i'm reminded why i can never last long in it because of things like these. Apart from my interest gradually decreasing, the fandom and author experience were just trash tbh. Ngl, i always pray that your blogs wont be found out by booktwt because the amount of hate theyre (big booktwt dn accounts) gonna give us just because we dont like their favs (FOR VALID CONCERNING REASON TOO, not even petty ones). As much as i love to see your fics been read by others, i hope they only stay with the sane ones 🤞 so far dn tumblr accounts have been nothing but reactions, fics, chill and memes, so i hope it'll stay that way always, like booktwters can take their shit ass opinions to booktwt, let me have book tumblr to myself god!!! 😭

Sorry, at this point it's just useless rants, so i'm ipending this here.

That was such a mess, wasn't it. Michael's always been soft when it comes to giving Rika what she wants, and I think that's probably what he meant. He'll be possessive in the idea that no one else can keep her, but if she wants to touch and be touched, he'll let that happen too. He's still the one making the call, which is why Banks asks him for permission.

But still. I hated it.

then leads us to KaiRika's dating possibilities, and I think what you and anon said then finally happens now. Not to spook yall or anything, but Yall kinda jinxed it!!

Haha, right. I did say it could only happen if both of their partners are dead, so even I couldn’t have predicted this would surface. But again, I’m not surprised by the situation itself. There was one line in Nightfall that told me all I needed to know about how these people were going to function going forward.

"Winter will consider it cheating if she's not here, too."

Based on that alone, I figured these people would continue hooking up with each other whenever they felt the desire to do so. They have their Partner, but as long as their Partner is there/okay with what’s happening, it’s all good. My surprise was that it took more than ten years for it to happened (I thought it was happening the entire time), and that PD hadn’t dropped the notion that the sun rises and sets with Rika Fane. Not only is it still being pushed, but now it’s being pushed through Banks. That was what I was frustrated about.

PD pulled the riverdale poly ending for michaelrikakaibanks, and for what? No one writes their MMCSs and FMCs worse than PD so far.

Funnily enough, I just watched Dylan is in Trouble’s reaction to Riverdale’s first and last episode, and when he got to that scene his reaction was basically the same as mine to the bonus scene. I thought it was the perfect coincidence.

And doesn’t hate that kai would give into rika, but not alex. Alex wanted to fuck banks, but she can’t because he doesn’t share banks, but why can rika have her then?

That’s a really good point! And it got me wondering about where the line was for them. Is it just the four main couples are involved in this “sharing” or do Alex and Aydin get an invite? I imagine the girls would want Alex to join, but if their Partner needs to be there/approve, then that would include Aydin and I can’t imagine any of the guys wanting to include him. We know canon that Kai and Michael have shared before Rika, so this break down is in line with that. And the same for Damon and Will. But I can’t imagine any scenario where Damon is willing to bring in Aydin, so that means any sharing that involves Alex can only be with Willemmy, but we’ve been there, done that.

But again. What do I know. Maybe Kai and Michael are a lot more open that I think they are.

make sure the readers know that that if there's one woman in this world that kai will be with other than banks, it's definitely rika.

Again, it’s this pushing that Rika too amazing to resist, and the only reason Damon didn’t get a go is because they discovered their related. It’s irritating because it really does circumvent the idea that their partner is the one for them. It gives the idea that their partner is the one for them because Rika isn’t available (Will’s excluded from this because I don’t recall a time when he’s ever shown actual interest in Rika that way. His heart has been Emory’s since he was 14 and nothing will change that.)

made me pity Michael (pitying Michael!?)

oh the horror. I can understand why this is disturbing.

When i first read nightfall, i remember MOSTLY thinking that alex/emmy and will/damon scenes were mainly WLW and MLM fetishes.

One, I don’t know enough to argue fetish vs kink, but I know PD is queer themselves, so to me it just seemed they wrote what they would be interested in reading. If you think it’s wrong that they are anyone else are interested in that content, it’s fine, but it’s the readers responsibility not to engage. Idk, I’ve never gotten mad at an author for writing something I don’t approve of, even morally. I just avoid consuming it for my own sanity. But I know you’re not alone in this sentiment for either DN or other works, so who am I to say.

At this point, it's really better for me to just stay away from dark romances, especially PD, because these Dark romance writers are just NOT IT.

 From what you write after this, I would say, yeah you probably won’t have a good time with Dark Romance. I don’t think I’ve ever read a dark romance where the ML doesn’t to something irreprehensible and feels no need to apologize or redeem himself, or the narrative excuses it some way. Misogyny and abuse are prevalent throughout the genre, as well as sex and relationships that are outside the norm.

If DN is you’re first dark rom, then I definitely wouldn’t go deeper than this. As far as content goes, there’s so much darker stuff. But I will say for some, writing makes a big difference, so maybe you’ll find a writer you enjoy more. Again, though, if it’s the content that’s bothering you, I’d stay away.

For me personally, I don’t venture into dark roms too often. I tried a lot of the popular series when I had the KU trial, but not a lot drew me in. And I’ve already discussed what it was about DN that caught me, so I won’t go over it again. Just know it’s not for everyone and that’s fine. Find where you’re line is and stay on the side you enjoy so that you have a good time.

this series is just so exhausting, and whatnot with its cult followers, especially on twitter

DN is exhausting. From it’s plot to it’s characters, it’s not hard to understand what’s going on but trying to figure out the why takes so much effort sometimes, and it usually just goes back to “PD wanted the vibes, that’s all.” Which, okay fine, but I’m struggling to fine a reason within the context of the story and that’s where I’m getting frustrated.

I need context and good characterization. And I’m super easy to please. The characters can do just about anything, if it makes sense, and I’ll be fine.

Fortunately for me, this has been my only interaction with other fans, so it's been pretty good so far.

those booktwt devils night were part time bullies too. Thank god you've never been on DN side's of booktwt KO

Oh, I’m not worried about them. I think they’ll probably stick to their preferred socials. I used to worry that PD would find my blog, but I have no indication they’ve traveled this far away from FB, Twt, Insta, and Tiktok. Which is funny, because tumblr used to be the fandom site. It makes sense that they think Banks is the most hated in that case.

In my personal experience, it’s a lot easier to remain excited about a series if you can find people to talk to about it who are likeminded. Even if it’s a small group, it’s usually enough. I do wish more people created content for the series to share and gush over, even if it’s not what I personally want. I can also understand people who close the last page and never want to think about it again. Sometimes I feel the same way about DN.

Tumblr is a pretty chill place most of the time because you can just block people, even anons. It’s can be easy to ignore hate or avoid interacting with different sides of a fandom. I’ve never been on anything other than Insta and at this point it’s been a long time since then, so I don’t know how easy it is to cultivate your experience over there, but it’s probably why I prefer tumblr so much and never felt the need to leave or try a different site.

Anyway, you’re free to rant. I totally hear you and get where you’re coming from.

Take care, KO

[st4r-c0d3]

part five of what songs mha character would use to confess during karaoke (based on the ship): Sero Edition <3

Serojirou: Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars. you literally cant tell me im wrong here. Sero talking about how effortlessly perfect Jirou is to him?? free serotonin. this is literally the only way he would even dream of confessing to her. he wants to assure her that shes perfect in his eyes no matter what she thinks of herself

Kamisero: sunshine by atlas. listen to the song and youll get it instantly. it'll literally just click how absolutely perfect it is. the whole song is about how dazzling and brightening one's lover is. it just fits their whole dynamic perfectly while the style of song is perfectly fitted for Sero

Seroroki: La Da Dee by Cody Simpson. the whole song is about other girls being alright but not quite his type (which can definitely be used to convey a queer theme for them specifically). PLUS "when youre gone i think of you" is PERFECT for them on the account that Sero is always the one to ask about Todoroki. it very well portrays the feeling of constantly thinking of and wanting to be surrounded by the subject of one's attraction

Shinsero: Strange Sight by KT Tunstall. in simple terms, the song says "youre a bitch but im going to look past that and you physically cant stop me because im doing it out of love". thats literally it. it just works bc it would slightly embarrass Shinsou and Sero would have a fucking blast

Serodeku: Luv Bug by Wassup Rocker. again, listen to the song. its so wholesome. it mentions cute dates, loving insecurities, and GENUINE FLUFFY FEELINGS. its smth Sero would sing and smth Midoriya would definitely appreciate hearing. also the mention of loving the other's freckles and curly hair??? couldnt be more perfect for one (1) Izuku Midoriya

Seroiida: I Hear a Symphony by Cody Fry. look me in the screen and tell me im wrong. this song is basically saying, "you gave me more structure while also embracing the fact neither of us is really perfect which made me fall in love with you". its PERFECTION. that is all that even needs to be said fr

[usertoxicyaoi]

Can I ask you something? If Bls fetishize gay men, is there really anyway to ethically consume any series at all?

hiiii anon!!!!

oh good question.

ok. so. i think recent bl's, i'd say .... from 2020-ish, maybe even 2018/2019 tbh, have taken that step forward where, they're tryna move away from blantant fetishising, and become more progressive, not just towards gay men, but the asian queer community in general, and anyone who identifies themselves within that community.

that being said, of course there will be instances where queer asian people, including queer asian men, will be fetishised.

i think the biggest example in terms of progression has been in the sheer amount different genres of asian queer shows that are produced, and in addition to that, in the increasing number of people who both behind the cameras and in front of them identify as asian and queer too.

also i feel like the way sex is used in asian queer shows has shifted. yes, of course, there are still instances of rape/non-con/dub-con, but there was a time when sex was Literally Only used within asian queer shows For That Only. now? sex is used to explore dynamics, explore feelings, progress a story, progress a relationship. its treated as a character, in a sense, and given some meaning and substance. also, that includes the whole top/bottom discourse too. like. i think there's just more looseness and freedom to it now? like. yeah, some characters LIKE bottoming, some LIKE topping, some ARE versatile! for example, i call pete from kinnporsche a pillow princess ALL the time, and thats bc he IS. thats with no malice or rudeness or any intent to fetishise him as being all weak and delicate, usually the traits that are associated with "being a bottom", bc he isnt weak or delicate! but during sex, he LIKES being the taker, he likes receiving, and that plays a huuuuge part in his character's development later on in the show.

i'd also say "coming out stories" have recently not been .... THAT heavily used, within recent shows that i have watched? and thats not to say that coming out stories arent important! of course they are. or there's a lesser case of characters having internalised homophobia, filled with shame and self-loathing bc they realise they're queer, in recent shows i have watched. thats not to say they dont question who they are, they do, but they dont hate themselves for being queer. its more a case of exploration. and its so nice to see that for a change? asian queer characters being gentle on themselves, learning to treat themselves with patience and time to navigate their identity. and its so nice to also see asian queer characters for a change who are just, queer! loud and queer!

what i'm trying to say is that they are all stories at the end of the day. and all forms of story telling, from healthy to toxic, from stories of kids in school to students in uni to working adults, from coming out stories to stories that talk about sparking a political revolution, stories that are coming of age or a slice of life, stories that span all types of backgrounds and time periods, should be able to be told. and sometimes they'll have characters that are already so comfortably queer in their own skin and some that aren't, and there'll be some stories that are more tame in terms of how physical they are and like to explore the more emotional nuances of the story and some that like to explore sex in a multitude of ways. there's really no right or wrong in terms of wanting to set out a story and choosing which way to tell it. the scope is so huge.

now. like i said. not every asian queer piece of media will be faultless, and there will be instances of fetishisation. but i also want to look at how far we've come! i've been around watching asian queer media since ... god .... i cant even remember how long, its been that long, and ive seen how far we've come. as an asian queer person myself, it gives me so much pride and joy in seeing that!

and i think, the older and more mature i have gotten, my mindset has changed a lot. now, i like to see stories and media as a whole thing. that, yes, there will be faults and its not going to be perfect. but as someone who can compartmentalise, as a consumer, as an audience member, as an asian queer person, as someone who is watching this as a form of escapism, i'll recognise the faults and the things i'm not fond of, or that dont sit right with me, and put them to one side, and still allow myself to enjoy the rest of the story/media. otherwise, i'll never be able to enjoy anything ever again, if i scrutinise every single little thing and every little detail ethically. like i said, not everything will sit right with me, but i can work with that and say "yeah i didnt like that narrative choice" and put it to a side, and move on. and if its reeeeeeally bugging me, i'll just drop the show. now, some people like doing that (scrutinising every little detail through ethical lenses) and thats their choice in how they view media. but ig i'm not like that? and i can let myself enjoy asian queer stories that are trying to say something, to convey something, as a bigger picture.

and yeah, there will be instances where queer characters in asian media will get fetishised, there will be the whole "husband and wife" and "girls on campus stalking a queer couple" etc etc etc. but i can look at all that and say to myself, yeah, work needs to be done here, whilst also enjoying the rest of the show and what its trying to convey or tell.

so yeah, i do think you can, if as a consumer, you can appreciate the bigger picture whilst also understanding that we've still got some room for progress.

[vaspider]

I have a question, and you seem to be very good at explaining things. My understanding is that transfemme/transwoman/femme? are all the same, and mean someone who was assigned male at birth, and currently identifies as transgender. And the same for transmasc/transman/masc. Just, yknow, the other way around. Is that correct? Or am I getting my terminology wrong? I've always been kinda shakey on that, but wasn't sure who to ask without seeming rude, or like I was mocking them.

"Femme" is a word with multiple meanings. It can mean:

"Woman" - since it's just the word 'woman' in French, and this is where all of the other meanings come from.

"A femme lesbian, that is, someone who fits the 'femme' dynamic or presentation within a butch/femme relationship, or simply on their own." - This is regardless of actual gender, pronouns, cis, trans, whatever. Butch and femme in this context come to us from Polari, which is a theater cant from the UK commonly used by Travellers, theater people, sex workers, and queer folx (and all the intersections thereof). The butch/femme dynamic in lesbian (and gay!) relationships and communities goes back at least seventy-five years. This has way more context to it than I can cover in this, but, like, if you look at movies like Paris Is Burning or read any of the older lesbian zines, you'll see many many examples.

"A transfeminine person, that is, someone who was assigned male at birth and is moving in a feminine direction with their transition, or presents feminine rather than masculine OR a person who presents feminine regardless of gender." - 'Femme' is often used as a catch-all term for anyone who is "femme of center" when discussing gendered issues. This can include cis women, femme non-binary people regardless of gender at birth, binary trans women, and many other varieties as well.

You'll sometimes see "women and femmes" used to describe who belongs in a particular space, but this is falling out of favor, thankfully, as it was often used as a low-key misgendering of AFAB non-binary people and trans men. What people usually meant by that is "people with vaginas and also trans women I guess," and it ended up with a sort of 'woman lite' implication for the word 'non-binary' and excluding non-binary people who didn't present feminine enough (usually meaning 'they have a dick and are non-binary'). The whole phrase is a mess and I'm glad we're moving more toward talking about "marginalized genders."

My wording on this may not be perfect, and it may not match every single use of femme as other people understand it -- and I'm sure I've forgotten some usages of it. The point is that it's a contextual word. What it means often depends on the conversation at hand, who's having the conversation, what community they're part of (whether that's the lesbian community, the queer community, the trans community, what region or country they're from... ), etc. If you're confused by someone's use of 'femme' contextually, it doesn't hurt to ask for more information. (Though I would avoid saying things like 'define femme' bc that's often the sort of thing that TERFs and the baby-TERF exclusionists do, and you may come off unintentionally as one of them. Asking 'hey, I know this word has lots of contextual different meanings, would you mind clarifying for me' is probably better.)

That's one thing, honestly, I think we need to get a lot better at as a community -- and here I know I'm going on a tangent -- recognizing that a lot of our words are contextual, lots of them don't have single, fixed, universally-recognized meanings, that the US isn't the single defining experience of queerness and other countries use other terms which are as correct as ours, and that even regionally there are lots of different terms or slightly different definitions. This sort of dogmatic 'there is absolutely only one definition, and it's mine, and I'm going to redefine your experience and your identity if it doesn't fit my definition' is something I've seen far too much of lately, especially from younger queer folx.

I know it's like, really tempting to want to have singular rigid definitions for every word, but that doesn't fit people's experiences of gender or sexuality, and the trend I've seen toward literally telling people "you are not X, your experience doesn't fit X, you are Y," is some nasty-ass stuff and it really needs to stop. I've seen it most often with younger lesbians telling older (in some cases decades older) lesbians "you're wrong, you're bisexual/pansexual, you're not a lesbian," but I've also seen it with gender, people telling others what their gender is, and that's the shit that TERFs and other transphobes do, we can't be doing that to each other.

Anyway, femme means a lot of things, depending on context. Ask people if you're not sure. And before I hit post on this, let me make clear that I don't tolerate discourse around whether butch and femme are "lesbian exclusive" terms. They are not, they never have been, and if someone comes into my notes trying to start that old bullshit up again, they will not get the serotonin of a reply from me. They will get blocked without response.

[the-ghost-rat]

I love how your opnions abt the show match mine so much cause ive been feeling the excat same way abt clankie, ppl describe them as a “fast slow burn” but they just arent. They just go from sometimes talking to frankie sundally being head over heels for cleo then back to barley talking w some the slightest bits of being romantic(by that i mean one shot of them sitting at a table) i truly dont blame ppl for wanting cleuce back cause these two had so much chemistry toghter so many ups and downs that clankie just doesnt have, ive been feeling the same way abt g3 habby too-it feels like we went from heath having a big crush on abbey to sundally them datin, it legit does feel(like you said) that their just catering to g1 fans, same w draclawd which is ironic cause i legit felt nothing when i saw heath ask abbey or clawd ask draculaura for prom despite loving them alot in g1-they just lack the fun dynamiacs the two couples had, draclawd being a himbo x bimbo Romeo/Juliet couple while habby having a jessica & roger rabbit dynamic, all they do now is just blush & hold hands thats rlly it - also honestly seeing frankie try to figure out this new feeling would be a really interesting concept, it would get me more on board w the ship-it could be a nice way to help kids who r still questioning its not something i see any show do they useally have the character already know their queer

(Yeah the club feels like a lowky retcon, its mentioned one time then completely vanishes never mentioned again-the way its introduced is so awkard too they just have drac tell us what it is then cut to ghoulia sitting in one if the chairs-it would feel much more natrual if again like you said it was used to further devlop clankie & to help frankie figure out their feelings, trying to live up to her exes is a rlly fun concept too n could work just as well)

Right, its why i say g1 was better at contextualizing the newer characters like why wasnt catrine at monster high? Oh yeah cus she lived in scaris before! Boom there done , now why did teez never show up before? Hell if i know 🤷🏽‍♂️ but his here now , also im the excat same way-i see ppl bash g1 for having random episodes that dont connect n are just random when it never set up to be a serialized show-its an episodic one, its like complaining shows like courage dont have one overarching story, g3 however DOES set up to be a serialized show, to have one overarching story yet it never allows conflicts to proced beyond one episode , like antoer user said it wants to be the next amphibia or owl house but its far too simplistic to make those show’s sort of story work-i strongly agree they should have just made it a simplistic episodic show w silly monster teen shenanigan like g1-its where monster high works best, the more serialized overarching story sort of format works much better for ever after high

Oh PLEASE do a post for the lore & mythology if ur up for it cus i have so MUCH to say about it n would love to see ur take on it, i honestly hate the whole were-ruler concept due to it being based on a popular misinformation that wolves have an alpha(im autistic & have a special interest in wolves so thats why it bugs me alot) it doesnt even make sense for most of the wereanimals-why would the werecats care about whos the alpha?? Their house cats they dont have a hierarchy and like you said it has nothing to do w the school, it feels like its just half assed into the show so they can have a big conflict, i honestly in general just cant stand the wereanimals-thats the ONLY monster we ever get in terms of new characters n all of them just act like wolves or even cats(clawd jumping onto the wall when scared), the human vs monster conflict is also done so horribly-the monsters r still framed as being a minority like in g1 okay yet the show constantly depicts the monsters as practicing how to kill humans, lagoona stating she has killed multiple sailors in her life & when clawdeens dad comes everyone in the school tries to eat him, the show litrealy justifies humans discriminating againest monsters yet we r supposed to see them as the marginalized ones? Even tho their the ones attacking humans unprovoked? Its giving me disneys zombies energy , also as someone who is a witch-i rlly cant stand drac or the depiction of witchcraft lol they made it a human practice yet dont AT ALL bother takinh inspiration from actual witchcraft, its all just pretty lights n goofy spells n like i get it its a kids show but come on at least try to take some inspiration, you could make witches a seperete monster like in g1 and nothing would change in the story there was no need to make it a human practice

Also yeah i strongly feel you on bloodgood, she got streaked by the “adorkable” beam hard ,how i explain her is in g1 she actually felt like a guardian, she was characterized w how a teen might see their high school principal like (being very intimidating n rule following) in g3 however she acts like an adult sitcom character, shes also honestly such a hypercrite-she almost kills or well “expels” toralei after she “finds out” shes a witch yet just tells draculaura to not show off when she finds out shes a witch (its also so weird how nightmare barley ever appers anymore since in g1 they two were always seen toghter, nightmare was almost a part of bloodgoons design i mean after all she is the headless horsemans daughter)

Also MAN the relief i felt when u noted how stereotypical the characters are-ppl always get upset at ppl saying this n pulling out excuses like “but its not a stereotype some people are like this!!” Not getting thats litrealy what a stereotype is-its taking one aspect some ppl from a group has n applying it to the whole group, its not ppl making up things, like how lagoona is overly obbessed w telenovelas even tho shes 16-telenovelas are watched way more by the middle aged women then teen girls , it feels like they just slapped it there cus lagoonas latina n we ALL know latinas love their telenevolas am i right??(sarcasim) same thing w her having anger issues , why does it HAVE to be lagoona?? Why cant anyone else have anger issues?? Manny is litrealy right there he had that in g1

I also agree with everything you said-i would just add that the issue w the new ethnic backgrounds is they took away already prexisting representation, by that im refering to the wolf family-there was no need to make clawdeen biracial now when she was already a diverse character(being monoracial Black) n its even more upsetting when aside from drac all the other white main characters got to keep their race, their all still monoracial white , i remeber reading the show bible where it says nonbinary is normalized in monster high that it has tons of nonbinary characters-yet thats not what we actually see in the show, the only nonbinary character is frankie everyone else stayed cis it feels even more wrong to me since “frankenstein” is a common insult cis ppl throw at trans ppl, it feels wrong that in this massive school the only nonbinary character is the frankenstein monster

Monster high G3 rant

Watching the TV series and I’m kind of disappointed.

This will be my second watch of season 1, I’m rewatching after the current season 2 episodes.

the show feels very flat in my opinion. They’ve given the characters a lot of cool traits, but they’re used for like one episode and then never brought up, or they only use one specific trait 24/7. Like Frankie in this generation, they have the ability to electrocute, extend their body parts, and they get visions from the people they’re made out of. Specifically they get visions from this one recurring doctor/ scientist. The idea is cool, but the vision literally is there to give exposition about something conveniently. Like when they are trying to solve the puzzle of clawdeens mom, Frankie’s vision just conveniently tells them what to do and how to do it.

In that same episode, we see manny taur. A Minotaur character. And right away we are just told that he’s good at puzzle solving, and so is draculaura! They’re rivals! But this is the first time I’ve ever seen or heard about draculaura being into puzzles, let alone her one sided rivalry with manny. And as the episode ends, she’s like “well you can be the rightful puzzle master” but it feels so flat. There has been no build up to this moment.

Another example is lagoona. In her designated episode, she is rooting for torelai to win the fear-leading captain over draculaura (another thing that has no build up as to why it’s important to her) lagoona explains that torelai is holding a secret over her head, and if it gets out she will lose her status as the fiercest monster in school. But this is the first time we have heard this!! In previous episodes there’s no mention of her being scary or fierce. Or even her super fast swimming skills. It’s just brought up and glosses over with a “be who you are, it’s okay to like what you want! We all have secrets 🥹” but there’s no real character development.

My last example will be the way draculaura is presented in this series. From what she tells us, she has high standards to live up to as a vampire. She needs to look good for her day so she studies endlessly and is striving for perfection. But she also has a love for witchcraft, which is banned in monster high due to its connections to humans. This can be a cute premise, but they NEVER show draculaura compared to any other vampire to show how she’s supposed to act. They never give us episodes where she blows off her friend’s shenanigans because it makes her look bad, and they never really show her dad being so overbearing. They don’t show us WHY humans are hated. And even though witchcraft is banned, whenever anyone finds out about it they’re just cool with it? No push back or anything. The only character to challenge draculaura was torelai.

This all may be very nitpicky, but MH is a character driven franchise. Character relationships with each other and their surroundings are very important to me. I want to feel the so called pressure these characters are being put under. It doesn’t have to be ultra serious 24/7, but issues get resolved within one episode and then rehashed a few episodes later with no further development. Especially with characters like Cleo and lagoona. They have been benched as side characters in this show, and side characters get much worse treatment.

‘The general episode progression is like this - introduce an issue, introduce a high stakes situation that involves the school, have all or one of the main 3 engage in a sequence of fights against this issue(or rapid solving of said issue through convince) - issue is resolved and lesson is told to viewers-characters reset for the next episode.

I know this is a children’s show, but that doesn’t mean it needs to have bad writing, not all kids are high off cocomelon. Kids deserve good writing in their media!

My next rant will be about clawdeen and her story this generation

[hayleysayshay]

You might not like it, but it IS heteronormative to assume or even head canon that every couple is going to want kids... Which you do. You say you might not want them, but you feel the need to hc every queer couple with them, and that's.... That's gross. Yes, queer couples have fought for the right to have children, but that doesn't mean they all want them, or that that fight wasn't itself driven by internalized heteronormativity that queer people are still struggling to overcome today. You probably think every mlm and wlw couple is top/bottom too. FFS I wouldn't assume your sexuality if you didn't seem like such a cishet.

????????? I’m just trying to have fun online by posting things anon, honestly fuck off with this shit. You’re literally an expert on me from a post about wuko having babies???? How do you know my opinions on anything?

Again, where did I say every couple wants children. I just said that wuko would be the last couple as that’s the story I came up with in my head. I really don’t understand your problem. I barely talk about shipping with anything else, I don’t really ship much outside of this fandom, so you’re gleaning this from a post where I said Korrasami and Wuko would have babies? By your logic if I said one couple didn’t want children, then I would be okay? I wouldn’t be heteronormative? I could appease the queer god? Cant believe I have to put myself through a tick box exercise to appease an anon. Gotta remember to make sure I leave one couple child free to appease salty anon next time I headcanon anything. No-one else had a problem with that post but you! Other queer people liked the post. Are you going to send anon messages to them as well? Spread the word?

And if you want to think that every couple that is queer who has had children has internalise heteronormativity, then have fun with that take, bet you’re fun at parties where you tell parents that actually they’re all just trying to be cishet for wanting to raise a child. Or do you just say this anonymously on the internet?

And no I don’t? I don’t like top/bottom dynamics in pairings at all? I don’t even like smut fic ahdjdjs.

IT WAS A POST ABOUT WUKO HAVING BABIES FFS NOT SOME IDEOLOGICAL STATEMENT BY ME.

Are you like... fourteen or something. Seriously.

[stormblessed95]

Hi stormy

Your blog is highly appreciated, love you

I am a butter era army which makes me fairly new but right from the get go i got hooked onto jikook and i am 90% percent sure, from my end, they are a thing. I mostly watch original content and dont get myself into too much edited clips cause i dont want anything but logic and my own opinion to base off of when it comes to judging jikook's action so when i watch content i enjoy ot7 but mostly concentrate on jikook. Recently though, i saw something that just made think twice about yoomin.( i know about most of the other ships or atleast the most popular ones and i personally disagree with any of them being romantic) Now my question is what is the thing that made you think that jikook is the ship which is romantic over yoomin cause seeing how much yoongi genuinely adores jimin and has something towards him that i personally cant see any other member have that just make me doubt that its just based from platonic feelings especially that yoongi is one of the more queer members as in how he answers questions about relationships and of course his lyrics. What i mean is yoongi has expressed his feelings in many ways and out right favoured jimin in almost everything he does. Yoongi is loving and caring to all the other members but jimin is just something else for and he says it out loud.

Other than the gcf, rosebowl, jungkook birthday trip from paris and the known off time jikook spend together. What makes you definitely think that yoongi and jimin aren't the ones romanticly together.

Ps i can definitely say that i am almost done with your masterlist. LOVE YOUR BLOG

Thank you for your hard work

Not you asking me to disprove YoonMin anon! Lol here is my thing, I don't like doing ship comparisons really. For me, the difference is crystal clear. And nothing any other duo has done has made me think something more might be happening there, not really. I talk about this a little bit in a similar ask someone sent about minimoni, and most of my points there about why I see KM as different still stand, so instead of retyping those points, I'll link you there:

I also stand by what I said there too, its easy to get into nitty gritty types of conversations over DMs. I won't lie and pretend like I'm not SUPER curious over which YoonMin moment made you think twice over them and think maybe there might be something there. If you feel like coming back and telling me, I'm all ears and we can talk about that particular moment too!

I'm not sure if you've read my yoonmin dynamics post yet, but it should be clear that I agree with you, if Yoongi had a bias it's Jimin. J-hope is right up there though too. Yoongi loves Jimin, he feels comfortable around Jimin. While Yoongi can and does get affectionate with everyone... Jimin, J-hope and occasionally Jin, are the only ones that he tends to actively seek out affection from. Teasingly or otherwise. Jimin called him his baby for a reason. Lol and Jimin loves spending time with, hanging out with and being around Yoongi. For sure. And musically, Jimin is for sure Yoongi's bias. Lol he has always been very very vocal about how much he loves Jimin's voice and his style and how it matches well with HIS style. But a bias towards one of his best friends, does not mean a romantic interest. Yoongi seeks that affection out from Hobi too. They don't have an exclusivity to their relationship like KM tend to have. Every duo has a relationship that is unique to them, but there are boundaries that only KM seem to not have with each other that the others do have, no matter how odd or weird or small those boundaries may be.

My Jikooks dynamics post covers the majority of the reasons why I believe Jikook to be romantic. Their bond just goes deeper. And honestly, like if we are for real truly honest here. Even if Jimin and Jungkook are not a couple, if they are just insanely close best friends who flirt and get intimate or whatever you want to call them. Any other "ship" that involves them could not be true. Or at least, it cannot be true and be monogamous. Jimin cannot be dating Yoongi and be giving Jungkook hickeys, he cannot be dating him but spending all his free time with Jk, among other things. He can't be dating Yoongi, and then look at JK not with just fondness or admiration, but like he hung the freaking moon and stars in the sky just for him. Jimin MELTS for Jungkook in ways he doesn't for anyone else. He nurtures his relationships with every members very very well, he does a great job, but he flirts intentionly with JK in ways he doesn't with any of the others.... so again, how can he do these things, and be dating someone else? This doesn't necessarily mean FOR 100% that Jikook have to be a couple, but unless they are poly or in an open relationship.... Jimin and Jungkook cannot be dating anyone else and get away with behaving the way they do together, regardless of what their relationship status might be. Yoonmin love each other, they are not each other's priorities though. Jikook are each other's priorities in many ways. At least, that's how I see it.

This was fairly vague I think, but if there are any specific moments with Yoonmin or with Jikook that you want me to talk about, please feel free to send in another ask! I'll turn anons back on soon, I just have a couple more asks to get through. I hope this helped explain things at least a little bit though from my point of view. You are all of course entitled to your own opinions over the matter too. Thanks for ask 💜

[idreamtofmanderleyagain]

Five years ago, the women on this site who treated me like trash over loving Labyrinth and shipping Jareth/Sarah were almost always obliviously consuming Radfem propaganda, or were out and out Radfems/Terfs themselves.

They were the types of people who casually threw the word “pedophile” around against grown women who shipped an adult Sarah with Jareth, aka literally one of the most popular ships for women in fandom for 30 years.

Pretty much invariably, these women had serious sex-negative anxieties, which included a severe paranoia about any and all kink and fetish, and porn in general. I saw a lot of shocking, fear-mongering propaganda surrounding sexual expression. Pretty much invariably, their method of approach involved immediate personal shock-value attacks on anyone they perceived to be “bad.”

Today, you can look at the way some people react to other popular so-called “problematic” ships and recognize the same toxic, fear-mongering rhetoric coming from women who consider themselves regular, trans-inclusive feminists. Sometimes it even manifests in the words of very well-meaning people (including myself here), who feel the need to talk about specific issues that pertain to their own experiences of trauma and oppression.

The people who shit on Labyrinth often seem to not really be able to comprehend that the Goblin King, like the film itself, is canonically a representation of a teen girl’s psyche, a soup of fears and anxieties and desires and dreams. He’s not a literal human adult preying on a literal child, and to read the film that way seriously undermines the entire point of the film. 

When I (and people of many fandoms) say “This is fiction, calm down,” I’m not just saying it’s not real so it cant hurt you and you can’t criticize me. I’m trying to call attention to what fiction actually is - artistic representations of feelings and experiences. The Goblin King is Sarah’s fiction. Therefore, he can be anything she or any woman who identifies with her wants him to be, including her lover when she’s grown and ready for such a thing.

I once took an alarming dive into Beetlejuice fandom to see what content was there (the cartoon was a favorite when I was little). Chillingly, what you’ll find is an extremely wounded fanbase, with a sharp divide between the older women who had long been shipping BJ/Lydia because of their love for the cartoon series (and whom were previously the vast majority of the Beetlejuice fandom), and a massive amount of young people riding the wave of the musical fad who had decided that the entire old school Beetlejuice fandom was populated by literal pedophiles. 

I saw death threats. Suicide baiting. Constant, constant toxic discourse. It did not matter how the BJ/Lydia fandom dealt with any particular issues that would exist in their ship, in fact I’m certain that the people abusing them cared very little to even consider if they were trying to handle it at all. The only thing that mattered was that they were disgusting subhuman scum asking for abuse. If you have at any time reblogged recent Beetlejuice fan art or content from fans of the musical, you have more than likely been engaging positively with the content of someone participating in toxic fandom behavior.

Nobody is really sticking up for them, either, as far as I saw. It’s really hard to imagine how painful it must be to have such a large group of people explode into into your relatively private fandom space to tell you that you are evil, vile, and deserve constant abuse, and also you are no longer allowed into the fandom space to engage in it’s content. But I think there’s something very alarming indeed about this happening specifically to the BJ fandom, and I’ll explain why. 

The pop-culture characterization of Beetlejuice, which is heavily influenced by the cartoon series to be clear, has always in my mind been a vaguely ageless being who matches with the psychological maturity of whatever age Lydia is supposed to be. He’s more or less like an imaginary friend, a manifestation of Lydia’s psyche. In fact, I would argue that i think most of us who grew up with the cartoon or it’s subsequent merchandizing before the musical ever existed probably internalized the idea as BJ and Lydia as this ageless, salt-and-pepper-shaker couple beloved by the goth community, similar to Gomez and Morticia. In each version of canon he may be a creepy ghost in the literal sense, but any adult who is capable of identifying literary tropes (even just subconciously) would read cartoon!BJ as an artistic representation of a socially awkward outcast girl’s inner world. Lydia’s darker dispositions and interests, which alienate her from most others, are freely accepted and embraced by her spooky magical friend. BJ/Lydia in the cartoon were depicted as best friends, but to my memory there was always an underlying sense that they had secret feelings for each other, which I identified easily even as a small child. In fact, their dynamic and behavior perfectly reflected the psychological development of the show’s target demographic. They are best friends who get into adventures and learning experiences together, who have delicate feelings for each other but lack any true adult romantic/sexual understanding to acknowledge those feelings, let alone pursue them.

Though I haven’t seen the Musical yet, I’ve read the wiki and I would argue that it embodies this exact same concept even more so for it’s own version of the characters, in that Beetlejuice specifically exists to help Lydia process her mother’s death.

This is not a complicated thing to recognize and comprehend whatsoever. In fact, it looks downright blatant. It’s also a clear indicator of what BJ/Lydia means to the women who have long loved it. It was a story about a spooky wierd girl being loved and accepted and understood for who she was, and it gave them a sense of solidarity. It makes perfect sense why those women would stick with those characters, and create a safe little space for themselves to and imagine their beloved characters growing and having adult lives and experiencing adult drama, in just the same ways that the women of the Labyrinth fandom do. That’s all these women were doing. And now, they can’t do it without facing intense verbal violence. That safe space is poisoned now.

Having grown up with the cartoon as one of my favorites and been around goth subculture stuff for decades, I was actually shocked and squicked at the original Beetlejuice film’s narrative once I actually saw it, because it was extremely divorced from what these two characters had evolved into for goth subculture and what they meant to me. It’s not telling the same story, and is in fact about the Maitland's specifically. In pretty much exactly the same way two different versions of Little Red Riding Hood can be extremely different from each other, the film is a different animal. While I imagine that the film version has been at the heart of a lot of this confused fear-mongering around all other versions of the characters, I would no more judge different adaptations of these characters any more than I would condemn a version of Little Red in which Red and the Wolf are best friends or lovers just because the very first iteration of LRRH was about protecting yourself from predators.

I would even argue that the people who have engaged in Anti-shipper behavior over BJ/Lydia are in intense denial over the fact that BJ being interested in Lydia, either as blatant predatory behavior a la the film or on a peer level as in the cartoon (and musical?) is an inextricable part of canon. Beetlejuice was always attracted to Lydia, and it was not always cute or amusing. Beetlejuice was not always a beloved buddy character, an in fact was originally written as a gross scumbag. That’s just what he was. Even people engaging with him now by writing OC girlfriends for him (as stand-ins for the salt-and-pepper-shaker space Lydia used to take up, because obviously that was part of the core fun of the characters), or just loving him as a character, are erasing parts of his character’s history in order to do so. They are actively refusing to be held responsible for being fans of new version of him despite the fact that he engaged in overt predatory behavior in the original film. In fact, I would venture to say that they are actively erasing the fact that Musical Beetliejuice tried to marry a teenager and as far as I’m aware, seemed to like the idea (because he’s probably a fucking figment of her imagination but go off I guess). The only reason they can have a version of this character who could be perceived as “buddy” material is because...the cartoon had an impact on our pop cultural perception of what the character and his dynamic with Lydia is. 

We can have a version of the Big Bad Wolf who’s a creepy monster. We can have a version who’s sweet and lovable. We can have a version that lives in the middle. We can have a version who’s a hybrid between Red and the Wolf (a la Ruby in OUAT). All of these things can exist in the same world, and can even be loved for different reasons by the same people.

I’ve been using Beetlejuice as an example here because it’s kind of perfect for my overall point regarding the toxic ideologies in fandom right now across many different spaces, including ones for progressive and queer media, and how much so many people don’t recognize how deeply they’ve been radicalized into literalist and sex-negative radfem rhetoric, to the point where we aren’t allowed to have difficult, messy explorations of imperfect, flawed humans, and that art is never going to be 100% pure and without flaw in it’s ability to convey what it wants to convey.

This includes the rhetoric I’ve seen across the board, from She-Ra to A:TLA to Star Wars to Lovecraft Country. We don’t talk about the inherent malleable, subjective, or charmingly imperfect nature of fiction any more. Transformation and reclamation are myths in this space. Everything is in rigid categories. It is seemingly very difficult for some of these people to engage with anything that is not able to be clearly labeled as one thing or another (see the inherent transphobic and biphobic elements of the most intense rhetoric). They destroy anything they cannot filter through their ideology. When women act in a way that breaks from their narrative of womanhood (like...not having a vagina), then those women must be condemned instead of understood. Anything that challenges them or makes them uncomfortable is a mortal sin. There is an extraordinary level of both hypocrisy and repressive denial that is underlying the behavior I’m seeing now. Much like toxic Christian conservatism, these people often are discovered engaging in the same behaviors and interests that they condemn behind closed doors (or just out of sheer cognitive dissonance). As an example, one of the people who talked shit to me about Labyrinth was a huge fan of Kill La Kill, which to my knowledge was an anime about a teenage girl in like, superpowered lingere (hence why I stayed the fuck away from that shit myself). Indeed, they even allow themselves plenty of leeway for behavior far worse than they condemn others for, and create support systems for the worst of their own abusers. 

Quite frankly, I’m tired. Instead of talking about theoretical problematic shit, we need to start talking about quantifiable harm. Because as far as I can tell, the most real, immediate, and quantifiable harm done because of anybody’s favorite ships or pieces of media seems to consistently be the kind that’s done to the people who experience verbal violence and abuse and manipulation and suicide baiting and death threats from the people who have a problem.

[ma-lark-ey]

Okay so I gave up on the image thing but I do have some fun texts from my boyfriend from this chapter. And, I limited myself to TWO callouts of Neil's gay sexual tension

Chapter 6:

Her roommate Renee was a mystery...Nicky had called her the sweetheart of the team. Neil understood why as he listened to her talk. He had no idea how she qualified for the Foxes' halfway-house team.

I want to study Renee like a bug she's so interesting

"You take him straight there, you get me?" Nicky waved her off. "Have a little faith in a guy, Dan." "That's Renee's job, not mine. Mine is to make sure we start the year with ten working bodies." "It's not like we're going to kill him." "Kevin already tried," Matt pointed out.

The Foxes' dynamic is literally so sibling coded, it's adorable. They're adorable.

"My mother's family is French." It was a lie that probably had his British mother rolling over in her sandy grave.

Brit-French beef is never not funny to me. Like it's so. I cant even explain but it's so funny.

"Believe this, Neil: you can't put a leash on me. Don't think you can, okay? And don't be stupid enough to tell other people you will. It's not safe. You'll make me want to break you." "You?" Neil said. "You can't." Andrew's smile curved wider. "Ohhh, that sounds like a challenge. Mother may I?" "Your mother's dead. I don't think she cares what you do." "I know for sure she never did," Andrew said. "Well, she had to take offense to the dying part, but I thought that was rather fun. But you're right." He slapped the heel of his palm against his temple as if something obvious had just occurred to him. "I do as I please. Consider this your official invite, you suicidal wretch. I'm bringing you to Columbia with us this Friday."

As promised, my baby’s commentary;

he gets it. (for context earlier I sent something Neil said with something along the lines of 'you want him to bad you look stupid')

"If I go, promise me you'll never touch anything of mine ever again." "So possessive," Andrew said. "Of course I am," Neil said. "Everything I own fits in one bag." Andrew considered that, then answered with a mad grin. "Okay. One night with us, and no more break-ins. Friday night will be fun." Neil highly doubted that.

"Are you bleeding anywhere?" Matt asked. "Nowhere vital," Neil said.[1]

[1] I think about this conversation literally daily its so funny

"Maybe they'll get in a crash and won't make it," Nicky said hopefully. "Really, Nicky," Renee said. "That's a little inappropriate, don't you think?"

Take a shot every time Nicky cracks a joke about how he hopes Seth dies (impossible drinking game)

His mother's watchful eye noticed his lingering looks and increasing distraction. Afraid he'd spill their secrets over a childish crush, she beat him like she could kill his hormones with her bare hands. A few years of this violence and Neil finally got the hint: girls were too dangerous to consort with. [1]

[1] And now youre queer so howd that turn out. Bisexual little mess. real talk I want to kill your mother with my bear hands neil i think it'd fic you.

"Questions, comments, concerns? Anyone?" [Wymack said] Seth pointed at Neil and said angrily, "I'm fucking concerned—"

Coach cutting off Seth here is the comedic genius I came for. He's so funny. You threatened by a twink Seth??? By a TWINK??? okay...

"Personal favorite was when someone told the police we were running a meth lab out of the dorm," Dan said sourly. "Police raids are awesome." "The death threats were creative, though," Nicky said. "Maybe this time they'll follow through and actually kill one of us. Let's vote. I nominate Seth."[1] "Fuck you, faggot," Seth said. "I don't like that word," Andrew said. "Don't use it." "I would say 'fuck you, freak', but then you wouldn't know which one of you I was talking to."[2]

[1] OUT OF POCKET OUT OF POCKET OUT OF POCKET

[2] I would say I hope Seth dies a slow painful death but his death is actually quite dramatic

This time it was all teeth. Andrew's drugs made him manic,[1]

[1] I wanna know who’s bright idea that was. ‘ah yes, lets give the boy known for being unpredictable and violent a drug that makes him manic, aka, unpredictable an violent.’ JUST PUT THIS MAN ON WEED GOD GOD

"Look at me," Andrew said. Kevin turned a haunted look on him. "It'll be fine," Andrew said. "I promised, didn't I? Don't you believe me?"

"Why does Kevin trust Andrew?" Renee smiled. "Because he knows he can."

THIS.

Even if everything in Neil screamed at him to run, Neil couldn't do it, not after seeing that little show between Kevin and Andrew today. Maybe he was pathetic, or maybe he was too jealous to walk away. Maybe Neil just needed to understand. Why did Kevin always get more?

notes:

no big character thoughts on this chapter.

I'm back on my anti-Seth shit, and I will be back on my Nicky hater shit next chapter.

I've read through chapter eleven again at this point and plan to be completely through book one by the end of the day so expect a little bit of reblog spam to get through the other chapters.

I'm just holding Neil like a scruffed, drenched cat at this point and showing him to my boyfriend like an exhausted vet.

But hey!! Now all of the Foxes are here!!

I really like Dan and Matt :]] they're genuinely my favorites. Especially Matt. I ADORE Matt. He's just a guy!!

Lark Liveblogs Literature Part ???: All For The Game Series - Nora Sakavic

I'm doing something a little bit different with this one! In the business of full disclosure, I read TFC (and about a chapter of TRK) in April this year, decided "I can't mcfucking do this" and then gave up. And then didn't stop thinking about Neil Josten for the next eight months and now we're BACK. So, instead of properly 'liveblogging,' unlike most first-reads I do, I'm actually annotating this one because it's too good to NOT.

That means I have a customized (so totally legal mhm) word doc, highlight/unline privileges, and audacity.

Here's what I knew before I read back in April (stolen from my beta version of this post);

Andrew Minyard: Gay(?), funniest bitch alive if Tumblr brackets are to be trusted. Murderer? Has Boyfriend???

Sports. Maybe. Yes? sports.

Drugs are involved. Somehow.

Now, here's where I am going in now;

Ranking the Foxes goes; Neil, Aaron, Dan, Kevin, Andrew, Renee, Matt, Nicky

I have no idea how exy works, I do don't plan on figuring it out.

Do not remember if I read TRK but what I remember happening is far too much to be just the 230 page doc that is TFC so I MUST HAVE right?

Do know his real name's Nathaniel because I did read that scene reveal and get JUMPSCARED by my brother's name.

How this is going to work is that I'm going to put in my annotations for each chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 1:

"You can't be serious." "Very serious, and very out of time,"

"were a team of talented rejects and junkies because Wymack only recruited athletes from broken homes...nice in theory, but it meant his players were fractured isolationists who couldn't get along long enough to get through a game."

"God damn it, Minyard. This is why we can't have nice things."[1] "Oh, Coach," someone said over Neil's head. "If he was nice, he wouldn't be any use to us, would he?" "He's no use to us if you break him." "You'd rather I let him go? Put a band-aid on him and he'll be good as new."[2]

[1] This is why we can’t have nice things, darling. Because you break them. I have to take them away

[2] Andrew I’ll kiss you

"blond and five feet even"[1]

blond? wrong. five foot even? correct.

"They were champions, and Neil was a jumble of lies and dead-ends."[1]

[1] Neil your self-loathing is showing

"It's not a good idea." "Your opinion has been duly noted and dismissed,"

"It was proof he existed, same as this game they both played. Kevin was proof Neil was real."

"It's about second chances, Neil. Second, third, fourth, whatever, as long as you get at least one more than what anyone else wanted to give you." Neil had heard Wymack referred to as an idealistic idiot by more than one person, but it was hard to listen to him and not believe that he was sincere

"It sounded like a dream; it tasted like damnation"

notes:

nothing much to say on chapter one--- it's a standard introductory chapter to a contemporary(ish) novel.

Wymack sets up the series' key theme with his line, "It's about second chances, Neil. Second, third, fourth, whatever, as long as you get at least one more than what anyone else wanted to give you."

Kevin's demeanor in this chapter is very similar to the Kevin we see up until Raven's come into play--- He's very good at acting very standoffish and tough.

The shift in Kevin when Riko comes into play was actually so dramatic I didn't recognize him here, I was afeared

some of the quotes I've added here are obviously because I thought they were funny exchanges--- others are me English Majoring(tm), and others are just me marking plot, characterization, facts, etc.

admittedly what i've put here is about half of what is actually highlighted/underlined in my doc.

I want to study the dynamic between Neil & Wymack under a microscpe