#and i think people are valid in wanting him to butt out of it

[random-civilian-number40]

i am just so baffled. i know it isn't all of them/us, but why are there so many toxic people in the twc fandom? it's honestly disheartening and makes me so sad to see. and yes, this is about the p@p situation. i know i may have zero followers but i just feel like i need to get it off my chest after reading mar's post. it sucks that someone would go to that extreme to ruin you. i've read their post and i've read what they have done. it's so.. confusing, i guess. because what i read, it really doesn't seem that big of a deal. and if you truly cared about people of color and the problems you had with these creators, you would not post a cancel post about them. what you should have done is talk to those creators privately and communicate to them your concerns with their behavior. i would assume we're all adults here, so you should really act like one.

[todayisafridaynight]

seeing info only about the kiryu and majima statuettes but absolute radio silence on the ichi one is utterly sending me. Theyre hiding the fact theyre gonna make ichi pale as a cracker again

[canichangemyblogname]

Actually, no. The shippers in the 911 fandom who primarily complain about Tommy and his past don't actually care about Tommy's past or his actions that contributed to the previous toxic workplace environment and harassment at the 118. Not everything is about a fucking ship, believe it or not, yet the only time they bring up his behavior is in relation to shipping. And because the only time they bring up a valid critique of Tommy's character is during shipping "discourse," I'm convinced it's not brought forth in good faith. Finding a way to tie everything to a ship—especially things like racism and misogyny—is cheap and tasteless. Not everything is about "shipping;" shut up about the shipping.

I don't think they actually want to discuss how white queers contribute to the marginalization of others, including other queer people, by weaponizing the patriarchy and/or white supremacy in their favor because so many of them are fellow white queers themselves. They don't care about how Tommy inadvertently, because of his past, provides a realistic portrayal of how white queers divide or hurt the larger community because of an inability to find solidarity with people of a different background, culture, or race (especially if it would "inconvenience" them or if it does not directly benefit them, like Chim saving Tommy's life). White people would rather choose misery and isolation over standing with or up for non-white people. White people are generally not willing to put in the work to build community; they'd rather contribute to the system or fly under the radar to avoid being shunned by the structures they, and the Ol' Boys Club, benefit from, like white supremacy or the patriarchy. Most white queers would rather be complaisant, complacent, and complicit. It's the white queer's adherence to oppressive systems that divide the community, not people's calls to tear those systems down. And it's only the white queer who can change their perspective on this.

Tommy only has himself to blame for his jealousy and alienation from a supportive and familial community, and only he can take the steps to ameliorate the situation. Tommy was an absolute fucking dick to Chim and Hen, and that has had long-term consequences on his life. Only he can correct for his behavior. He contributed to a toxic work environment, referring to Chim as a Chinese takeout delivery man, actively participating in Chim's hazing, and telling Chim that he did not like the man (mostly because he didn't know him). He would later call Hen "bitchy," and the men of the 118 would leave the "domestic work" to her as they did Chim, actively contributing to her hazing. He did not (verbally) stand up for her, iced her out, and also contributed to a homophobic work culture that made same-sex attraction the butt of jokes. He contributed to this toxic culture to fly under the radar, and that directly hurt people he should have extended a hand to.

Unfortunately for most of the fandom, this is, ultimately, a show that loves stories about redemption and resolution. And there is actual, explicit (meaning, non-subtextual) evidence that Tommy has put in some work to remedy what he did and who he was (including being able to 1.] own up to his past actions, 2.] understand how he hurt others, 3.] recognize why he did what he did and how that it is an explanation, not an excuse, and 4.] begin to make amends or rectify the situation, like reporting Gerrard and changing his mind about Hen and Chim). Hen and Chim would not have invited him for drinks regularly if they thought he was "irredeemable." The 118 would not have thrown him a going away party if they disliked him. Chim would not call in favors from Tommy on more than one occasion or even describe him as "so cool" if they weren't—well—cool. Eddie wouldn't enjoy ring-side fights and basketball games with Tommy if he didn't enjoy the man's company. Tommy also clearly refers to the type of man he was in the past tense, implying change over time. It can be argued that he has not put in enough work, but that's not what's being argued. We're getting bad faith arguments that Hen, Chim, and Eddie hate Tommy or bad faith arguments where Tommy's past actions are only brought forth as some sort of "gotcha" when a fan prefers canon representation over homophobic fan fiction tropes. You don't have to like Tommy, but making up non-textual reasons to dislike him is absurd.

Tommy, as a character in a narrative, provides a lesson for the general audience (GA), the majority of whom are white. It's not just important to see queer people on screen; it's important to see white people learn and change and admit they were wrong. It's also important that the show—well—shows the GA that whiteness and man-ness affect people's perception, position, and treatment. Tommy isn't just a gay man; he is a white gay man, and this has had a direct impact on how he navigates the world and how the world interacts with him. Gerrard treats men like Sal and Tommy differently than men like Chim or women like Hen, and staying in Gerrard's good graces—like the good graces of oppressive power structures—requires one to conform to a very narrow definition of a "real man," like being straight, white, palatable (like... not kinky, not risqué, not queer, all the things the fandom seems to actually hate Tommy for), and not helping oust regressive figures from positions of authority for the way they treat your coworkers. The audience got to see how Tommy went from being the prodigal son to being openly mocked by men like Gerrard. And it's important to show the GA that someone can and will be happier if they go against the grain and that admiration from men like Gerrard means very little in the grand scheme. Tommy is happier now after having been "rebuked" by men like Gerrard than he was when he strove for their praise and acceptance.

It's also important to show that men like Gerrard and his beliefs belong in the past, even though they exist in the present. This is a network TV show. A non-zero number of men like Gerrard catch this show weekly. It is still important to show that Gerrard is not the "type" of man anyone should aspire to be. His beliefs and actions are not commendable, and the show is very heavy-handed about this. The show is going to once again compare Gerrard ("bad captain") and Bobby ("good captain") to show how Bobby has created a good legacy at the 118. It began this parallel with Bobby Begins Again, continued to reinforce Bobby's good legacy in Buck's coma arc, and then revisited how Bobby has had a positive influence on the lives of the 118 in his season 7 montage. Now, the show is going to compare and contrast him and Gerrard to reinforce how important Bobby is to those around him. The show will also continue its inadvertent parallels between Buck and Tommy, showing how Buck is a different man under similar circumstances because he has had good influences (re: Bobby, Hen, and Chim) in his life. Buck and Eddie's relationship was shaping up to be very similar to Tommy and Chim's relationship: oppositional because of one-sided disregard and dislike, but it didn't because they had a good influence: Bobby (given the rather... fucked timeline, Tommy was likely newer to the 118 when Chim joined and, like Buck, his hostility and posturing were also likely influenced by insecurity and a desire to secure his position at the table).

Most unfortunately for many, the show is also going to show how Tommy has changed due to the same influences (re: Bobby, Hen, and Chim). They wouldn't have re-introduced both Tommy and Gerrard and mentioned their dynamic on more than one occasion if they weren't going to do something with that. Season 7 set up Tommy's upcoming arc very nicely. He knows the man he was, he knows the man who shaped him into that, and he knows how and why that was wrong. We'll get Tommy confronting his obvious daddy issues, jealousy, and desire for community (and why he didn't get a family-like dynamic at the 118, re: Gerrard *and* Tommy's own behavior). Tommy has been explicit about this, literally telling Buck that he envies the relationship the people at the 118 have and mentioning that he was not a good person, and this played a part in why he didn't have the same rapport.

9-1-1 is not a perfect show, but it does reflect some of the positive changes of our time. It's important to see representations of comp-het—like Buck, Tommy, and Michael—and how it negatively impacts people's character or relationships, and then how they—the character—can amend that. It's important to see stories that depict how silence is complicity and how refusing to be silent—as Hen refused to be—makes change and changes minds. It's important that the show reminds the audience that Hen is a black lesbian and that this has impacted how people see her and treat her, but that she is just as capable, if not more so. This includes men like Chim. Because I see nearly none of the people who "critique" Tommy in the name of "shipping" ever bring up how Chim has leaned on the patriarchy for support and a position at the table. He may have been the kindest to Hen, but he was by no means normal about women. And it is important to see how non-white men benefit from the patriarchy even as they are victimized by white supremacy. It's also important that the show shows the GA that non-white men are not affected by white supremacy equally, as Michael and Harry have had discussions about blackness and police brutality, a conversation that Chim is never going to have to have with his children, but that doesn't mean that Chim won't have to one day have a discussion with Jee-Yun about how and why some people treat her differently.

But the fandom approaches everything in a very... Catholic way. They don't approach this from the view that people can change and should be pushed to change; rather, they shun people like they've been marked by original sin. The structures we live under have deeply affected each and every one of our worldviews. "You are not immune to the propaganda" includes your personal philosophies and ideologies as well as the things you were taught since you were a child, consciously and "subconsciously." But, people would rather condemn everyone else as "irredeemable" than look critically at their own behavior out of fear of being "one of the bad ones." They'd rather *not* accept the fact that everyone has learning and changing to do as that would reflect upon them, too. This leads to being very resistant to being told that you're mistaken, you've hurt others, or that your behavior and beliefs contribute to repressive, dangerous, or toxic ideas (and we've seen a lot of that; y'all do not create safe online spaces). This leads to a lack of personal change as well as a lack of change at the interpersonal level because rather than teach or challenge, they stick up their nose and turn the other way. "Their barbaric bigotry; my enlightened neglect."

So, really, they've learned nothing from a character like Tommy.

[the-way-astray]

The Keefe Sencen Infantilization Argument (because I've seen people say that saying he infantilizes Sophie is a bad-faith argument):

(Note: This post is a repost. I had my thoughts scattered out over a few posts, so I wanted to put them all together in one cohesive post. If you've already seen all the original posts, then aside from like two sentences being reworked and the format being better now, there's like nothing new here for you. Sorry.)

Examples of Keefe infantilizing Sophie and my explanations as to why this is infantilization and not okay:

Lodestar, chapter 4. What I originally said: “There you go, rocking the whole adorable-when-you’re-angry thing. I think that’s what I’ve missed about you the most.” Keefe infantilizes Sophie by saying she’s cute when she’s angry. She is trying to express her feelings, and all Keefe can do is be all Awwwwww. Isn’t that so cute? She’s angry! How adorable. It’s a form of invalidating someone’s feelings, by treating them like they’re just entertainment or by brushing them off like that. It’s some of the most manipulative behavior out there. It also saves Keefe from having to actually take Sophie’s feelings into account. His infantilization of her also shows up in his incessant need to protect her. It’s icky and gross, and authors should stop encouraging this behavior.

Sophie and Keefe are having a mental conversation and Keefe starts talking about Sophie's love triangle/square situation and Sophie doesn't want to talk about it. Not a fan of this, because Keefe butts into Sophie's personal business, then when she gets worked up, he heavily implies that he thinks it's cute. But this one isn't particularly bad compared to the others. Don't get me wrong, I still think this is infantilization, but the best I can say about it is it's not the worst example.

Lodestar, chapter 46. What I originally said: “You’re so cute when you worry, he told her.” More classic Keefe infantilization. He once again invalidates Sophie’s feelings by dumbing them down and acting like they’re this cute, quirky, inconsequential thing.

Sophie is obviously incredibly worried. Keefe clearly knows this. And his comment is to be like Yeah, but don't you know that makes you sooooo cute??? Like, sir.

Lodestar, chapter 65. What I originally said: “Is this going to be another one of those nights where you spend the whole time yelling at me to come home? Keefe asked, making her sit up straighter as his thoughts filled her head. Because as much as I love it when you get all feisty on me, now’s really not a good time.” God, Keefe is so subtly invalidating. He treats Sophie like she’s just his personal worry machine, not a person with valid concerns and ideas. The flippant way he talks about her worry for him makes me so mad. He takes her worry for granted and throws it back in her face, without a care for how it would affect her mental health. He brushes her off and invalidates her because he thinks he’s so much smarter than everyone else. Not to mention he calls her worry “feisty” and further infantilizes her feelings and ideas.

This one honestly stands alone. Context doesn't really do anything to it. The infantilization for all these quotes is in the quote itself, because it is invalidating to treat someone's outburst of negative emotions as entertainment. Keefe basically just says that he finds it cute when she insists he comes home because she's worried about him??? He's like, yeah, Sophie's worried about me, tearing up her mental health over me, but like. She gets feisty when that all becomes externalized and she begs me to come home! Again, it's just a way he's able to brush Sophie's feelings off and disregard her opinion entirely.

When I say Keefe acts like Sophie is his personal worry machine, I'm saying he acts like her worry only exists for his amusement. He doesn't see the deeper feelings behind that worry (or if he does, he certainly doesn't respect them), and only see it for what he sees it as: something cute and adorable.

Nightfall, chapter 24. What I originally said: “‘I know! Our little girl is growing up and getting so snarky!’ Keefe pretended to wipe his teary eyes. ‘I’ve never been so proud.’” “Our little girl” . . . that totally isn’t creepy or infantilizing at all. The way Keefe talks about Sophie here is genuinely so gross, even if it is a joke. 

This is a joke. 100%. But it's a joke that sat very poorly with me because of the way Keefe verbalizes this. The problem for me is in the quote itself, again, because I feel like saying these sorts of things constantly is just so weird.

Nightfall, chapter 32. Wouldn't say what I originally said adds anything new, so I'm just gonna move past that. The larger problem here is 100% the fact that Keefe is clearly trying to joke to deflect Sophie's anger away. My argument isn't about that. My argument is that saying that someone's anger is adorable is textbook infantilization. In context, Keefe uses it as a way to deflect or joke. But the simple act of saying that is a form of invalidation where Sophie's emotions are made out to be some silly, inconsequential thing.

Anyway, about this quote in particular. Sophie is obviously freaking out, and she is clearly and seriously trying to tell him that his joking behavior is unacceptable. Keefe responds, not by listening at all to what Sophie said or what she's feeling, but by instead saying this. This invalidates Sophie's very real feelings as well as saves Keefe from having to confront what Sophie's telling him. And yes, this is a product of his deflection, but my point here is that saying someone's anger or worry is adorable or cute when they are trying to be serious is textbook infantilization, because it treats that opinion they have as a silly, child-like tantrum. "Awwww, isn't that anger adorable???" is what you say about a tantrum-throwing toddler who just got their favorite toy taken away, not someone your age presenting a valid, serious opinion. My issue is with the statement "Your anger/worry is adorable/cute" itself, not how Keefe uses it to deflect. It also presents Keefe, subtle as it may be, as the only one with valid opinions on things because Sophie's adorable little feelings get in the way of her rationality.

And before you say Sophie calls him out on this, yes, but he doesn't change. I'm not going to talk about it at length here, but Keefe apologizes to Sophie in the Nightfall scene after his bed rest more out of a desire to make up with her than a desire to change his bad habits. You can see this because he continues to do it into Unlocked.

Nightfall, chapter 34. Again, I don't think what I originally said adds anything relevant, so I'll skip that here.

The famous scene. I do admit that Sophie calls Keefe out this time. However, as I've already said, this doesn't stick, so it hardly matter. Keefe continues with this behavior through the series and into Unlocked, where he doesn't necessarily say these things out loud, but you can see he still thinks them.

Nightfall, chapter 70. What I originally said: “‘Much as I’m enjoying this sudden overflow of adorable Foster-rage—it’s not worth it.’” Ah, more of Keefe infantilizing Sophie and invalidating her feelings. If someone finds your anger or worry “adorable” and acts like it’s this cute little quirk, then that’s never a good thing. Especially if they enjoy it. Someone who cares about you should never enjoy seeing you angry or worried.

Sophie's having a serious, key word here is serious, discussion (we'll call it a discussion, even though that's not particularly correct) with Cassius, and even though her rage isn't aimed at him this time, Keefe telling Sophie her rage is adorable when she's being serious is still dumbing down her emotions to that of a toddler throwing a tantrum, not a grown-up (at least relative to Keefe) having a very valid reason to be angry. Just because he agrees with her anger, doesn't mean he can't still infantilize her.

Flashback, chapter 1, page 12. I think what I said in my original post just about sums it up: “‘You’re so adorable when you worry. I’ve told you that, right?’” (12) Yes, you have, and saying it more doesn’t make it any less icky and gross and infantilizing. It’s like he’s dumbing Sophie down to this object who only exists to entertain him with her adowabuw wittle feewings, instead of a person with very real, very complex emotions.

Keefe fans the air, so we have physical evidence he knows exactly how worried Sophie is. And his response is to be like, so cute! So adorable! Once again, this is serious, and Keefe is acting like Sophie's worry exists only to amuse or entertain him. I don't know else to communicate that that isn't a good thing. Someone being worried usually means they have something they're worrying about, worry doesn't just manifest out of thin air for entertainment's sake. Sophie also responds poorly to his writing her off, with what and the glare and all.

(Side note: When I was looking for that quote, I found a quote where Fitz says the exact same thing, I'm talking word-for-word "adorable when you worry" stuff. Like I mentioned in my disclaimers, I'm not saying he's more right for this and I'm not letting him off the hook. It's icky when Keefe does it and it's icky when Fitz does it. But I'm solely focused on Keefe, which is why I'm not bringing that up. It's also worth it to note that Fitz doesn't say this over and over again, the way Keefe does.)

Flashback, chapter 17, page 304. I think I'm just going to copy-paste exactly what I said in my original post because it's exactly what I'm trying to say: “‘Hear that, Ro?’ he interrupted. ‘She’s giving me her serious voice.’” (304) Another example of Keefe infantilizing Sophie and dumbing her feelings down for the sake of a joke. Awwww, isn’t her serious voice so cute? She only does that when she thinks she has something important to say to us grown-ups! Awwwwwww. 

Apparently, people don't get why this is a bad thing, so: acting like someone isn't being serious when you can literally feel their emotions and know they're being serious just because you don't like what they're saying is not just invalidation, but infantilization, because you are dumbing their emotions and the complexities behind them down to that of a child attempting to be serious.

I'd also argue that this shows Keefe's true colors: he only really listens to her opinions and respects them when he agrees with them. Disagreeing with someone is all fine and good, but you can still respect the other person's opinion and not dumb it down and act like it's lesser than your own. If Keefe said "Sophie, I hear you, but I think you're wrong" (in Keefe jokester language, obviously, not word-for-word what I wrote) then I wouldn't call this infantilization, I'd call it respect. My problems arise from when Keefe acts like Sophie's opinions are stupid because Sophie is the one saying them with that adorable little pouty voice.

Flashback, chapter 21, page 355. What I originally said: “It’s always fun when you get feisty.” (355) I’ve said this about a gajillion times, but Keefe’s infantilization of Sophie is so horrific, it’s like he doesn’t care about her at all. He just sees her emotions as amusement for himself.

This is a sad scene, and Keefe has every right to be emotionally . . . off in this scene. But it still doesn't change the fact that he calls Sophie's anger "feistiness" and then says it's fun when she gets angry. You could say that's not exactly what he said, but it's likely that's what he meant given the past few quotes I've shown. Keefe has demonstrated a pattern of thinking Sophie's anger is amusing or adorable or fun. Anger is a negative emotion. When Sophie feels anger she doesn't feel good. And Keefe is like, yeah, but it's cute! Do you see how that's not the greatest thing to say? It says a lot about his internalized beliefs about Sophie, and is essentially confirmed by Unlocked. And even if that didn't represent the way he saw Sophie inside, that's still a really shitty thing to say because it still carries the invalidation.

Legacy, chapter 3, page 70. What I originally said: “‘Tell me why you have that cute little crease between your eyebrows.’” (70) You already know what I’m going to say. Keefe finding Sophie’s worry cute is textbook infantilization. But also, if he finds her worry and anger so adorable, what’s he gonna do when the Neverseen are defeated and Sophie doesn’t have as many things worrying her?

So, the crease between the eyebrows is obviously because of worry. So by saying he finds it cute, Keefe indirectly says he finds Sophie's worry cute, though I'm sure I don't have to spell that out because he's already flat out admitted he finds Sophie's worry cute several times. I'm going to sound like a broken record if I repeat what I've been saying this entire post about why this is infantilization, so instead I wanna talk about that last paragraph there. Keefe literally knows how queasy Sophie's worry can make her sometimes, and he has expressed this before, as well. So he knows exactly what Sophie's going through when she worries. And still, he acts like her worry is amusing, funny, cute, or otherwise a quirky little thing. I don't understand how Keefe can be so invalidating, having had firsthand experience with Sophie's emotions.

“But I was only half listening because she gets this cute little crinkle between her eyebrows when she’s trying to be serious, and it makes me want to reach up and smooth her forehead with my fingertip—and I’m betting she’d think I was super weird if I did that, since it’s not like she’s my . . . ” (Unlocked, very first paragraph of Keefe's diary entry, 481)

Don't have an e-book of Unlocked, unfortunately (boooooooo). So the context is that Keefe is giving us (or himself???) an intro to what he's doing here, which is writing about his drawings. He explains that Sophie gave him the idea and gives a general overview of what she said to convince him. Then he says this quote.

Here's what I said, which I stand by: I hate the way Keefe talks about Sophie. She’s just this soft, kind of ditzy, child-like sort of figure in his head. He admits that he doesn’t care what she has to say, he just cares about how adorable she looks while she says it. This is a textbook sign of a toxic relationship. You should care about what your partner/crush says, because that shows that you see them as a person, not as your personal cover model. Also “trying to be serious” paints Sophie as this impudent little child who’s trying to get the attention of the older, more experienced adults and it very much implies that Sophie is not serious, but awwww, look how cute she looks trying to be serious, isn’t it adorable? Except Keefe and Sophie are the same age. So this is another case of textbook infantilization.

Personally, I think I made it fairly clear why I think this is infantilization. Keefe did not listen to the latter half of what Sophie said because he was too busy imagining how adorable she must've looked as she said it. I don't know how to make it more clear that Keefe does not respect or care about Sophie's opinions. He did what she asked, sure, but he did not actually listen to her. Again, implying Sophie was not being serious when she was is infantilization. It takes away the weight of what Sophie is saying and makes it out to be a thing of like, Oh well, Sophie told me to, so I guess I'll humor her adorable little wishes and give it a shot, but let's get back to what's more important here, which is how cute she probably looks! I don't know how else to explain that that's not an attitude you want in someone who claims to listen to you and respect you.

Addressing some other things (Keefe calling Sophie herself cute [1], Keefe's deflection [2], Keefe praising Sophie's prowess [3], Sophie not seeming bothered [4], and The Real Problem [5]):

I don't think Keefe calling Sophie herself cute or adorable by itself is infantilization. That's just a cute, fluffy teenage crush. 100% cool with that. My problem is with Keefe dumbing Sophie's negative emotions that have complexities behind them down to something cute or inconsequential by calling them adorable. There's a quote in the diary entries where Keefe describes Sophie's blush as adorable and proceeds to describe it in vivid detail. I don't like it for personal taste reasons, but I would never argue that this is infantilization. Because. It's not. There is no dumbing down of emotions here, no shrugging off experience or maturity. There's just a kid with a crush.

As for Keefe's habit of deflecting stuff through jokes, yes, it's a flaw and yes, some of the times Keefe infantilizes Sophie, he's using it as a joke to deflect. Yes, that's the larger issue. But the point still stands that the way in which he thinks of Sophie's worry and anger is infantilization.

There are moments where Keefe talks nonstop (sometimes in a very unnatural way, in my opinion) about how powerful and amazing and brilliant and talented and spectacular Sophie is and how he respects her choices and whatnot. I don't see this as particularly contradictory to his infantilization. Keefe can dumb Sophie's emotions down to cute, inconsequential little playthings while also insisting that he thinks she's amazing and powerful. I do think he does think that she's incredibly talented, but he also invalidates or disrespects her choices because he sees her emotions as adorable and unserious. Sophie is objectively powerful and talented and smart, I'm not really sure how saying those clear facts out loud changes the fact that Keefe still sees Sophie as very juvenile in his head. He can respect her prowess and capacity for talent while still disrespecting her opinions and emotions. The two can coexist. This is why I say Keefe pedestalizes and infantilizes Sophie simultaneously.

As for saying this doesn't bother Sophie (except in that one instance where she glares at him), I'd hardly say it matters. People can be the object of toxic behavior without realizing it. Sophie doesn't really seem to care past a handful of seconds when Keefe reads her emotions without her permission (on purpose, with intention), but I think most of us would agree that that doesn't make it acceptable. And Keefe's infantile views of Sophie say more about him than they do Sophie, which is the argument I'm trying to make. My point is that Keefe sees Sophie's emotions as inconsequential little things that don't need to be taken into account. This is all mapped into how he sees her internally. Again, just because Sophie doesn't seem bothered by Keefe's comments, doesn't mean they're acceptable, especially considering it gives us a view into the way he truly sees Sophie. And if Keefe thinks of Sophie is such an invalidating way, how are we supposed to believe he'll respect her when she argues with him, instead of just writing it off as "that adorable rage"?

And last but not least (as this is literally the reason people are annoyed with Keefe, regardless of what flaw you're talking about): the infantilization isn't the problem. Not really. What the problem is is that it is never called out by the narrative and when it is, it lasts two seconds, doesn't stick, and Keefe continues with it having not learned a thing. He doesn't change, and I can give you a thousand explanations for why Keefe may be so prone to infantilizing Sophie based on his childhood, trauma, and everything else, but none of that is an excuse. And I'm certainly not a fan of the way we're constantly told that Keefe respects Sophie when he's clearly so ready to undermine her emotions or dumb them down. If you're going to have him say things like this, it should be understandable that it's not a good thing.

I think it all comes down to this: Imagine you were trying to get a very serious point across to someone or otherwise feeling very emotional over something and then you look over and the other person's reaction is like, Aw, you're so cute when you're all worked up trying to be serious! Anger so adorable! Worry so cute! I love it when you get feisty! Wouldn't you feel like they don't respect what you're saying? Is that not incredibly icky and weird?

Here is the definition of infantilization. I think it's very difficult to make an argument that Keefe is not doing this to Sophie. And if you think that's bad, oh boy, is it so. Much. Worse. In the actual Unlocked novella. It's very difficult to deny that Keefe only sees Sophie as an adorable little cute thing that amuses him when you read it. But I'll get there . . .

Anyway I'm leaving it off with this because these are the vibes I get from Keefe every time he makes an infantilizing comment about Sophie (minus the yelling, Keefe doesn't really yell):

[scalingsvt8thusiast]

Skin-Deep Chapter 3

summary: The one where you fall for Seungcheol amongst all the protests and insecurities. The one where you don't know that he's fallen for you too.

A/N: I was debating doing a 3 and 3.5 again for the latter part of this chapter, but I cannot handle inconsistencies so that means it was either having many 0.5 or having that one off soonyoung insert. So i'm gonna try and stop the 0.5 chps but that depends on my future writings as well D: my mind is plagued by these sort of arguments

You and Mingyu were walking down the street after a very successful shopping trip. He wanted a new pair of leather shoes and you needed a new dress. The two of you were preparing for his parent’s imminent arrival. Every time his parents came into town, they insisted on having at least a meal with you.

“You know, I would have thought that Seungcheol would ask you out by now,” Mingyu said, you could feel him looking at you, trying to get a read on your emotions regarding the topic. 

“And I told you, I’m not special,” you kept your face unreadable, you didn’t want Mingyu to worry. 

It was hard to admit that you like Seungcheol. But you had to constantly remind yourself that despite what he says or the way he acts, he would do it for any girl who gave him any form of attention. His words that probably meant nothing to him, meant everything to you. You weren’t special. This placed you in an awkward situation, if you told Seungcheol how you really felt you’d be risking jeopardising the friendship as well as the dynamics of the group. That and you did not want to embarrass yourself. 

“I think the two of you should talk,” Mingyu said. His forehead creasing from how wide his eyes were. Maybe he would be able to read your mind if he looked at your harder.

“I think you should butt out, Gyu.” You said, you were starting to get annoyed, with yourself and Mingyu. More annoyed with yourself really. “Think about it, Seungcheol’s not dumb. If he wanted to do something, he would have done something by now.”

“Maybe he IS dumb, you never know.” Mingyu shrugged, you looked a him incredulously, “I mean the last time we played soccer together, he did fall down and hit his head quite hard.”

You sniggered and said, “Gyu, I love you, but please for the love of god, shut up.”

Then you spotted something on the other side of the street that made your heart to stop. Mingyu who continued walking noticed that you weren’t next to him. He followed your gaze and made a mental note to never speak ever again. 

Sitting at a table outside a cafe was Seungcheol and a girl. The girl was twirling her hair, looking extra love-sick and giggling while Seungcheol sat relaxed with his arms crossed. As she spoke, she leaned closer him. Mingyu froze with his mouth agape, he didn’t know what to say or do. He turned to you to look at you. Your were standing completely still, eyes devoid of life, your lips slightly downturned at the ends.

“Told you.” You whispered, loud enough for Mingyu, loud enough so he wouldn’t hear how your voice cracked. You met Mingyu’s eyes and gave him a weak smile. Mingyu had never felt shittier. 

He wrapped an arm around your shoulder as he lead you to his car, hoping that Seungcheol did not see the two of you. Actually, he hoped that Seungcheol did see the two of you, that would give Mingyu a valid reason to punch him when you weren’t around. 

The car ride to your place was silent. You sat with your hands on your lap, eyes cast towards the moving scenery. 

Mingyu had seen you through breakups before. He always felt that you had a habit of dating people not on the same level as you were. He could never pick out any decent guys from any of your past relationships. When Seungcheol started showing an interest in you, Mingyu was excited: finally there was a guy worthy of you and your time. Oh how wrong he was.

Mingyu cleared his throat, “Your brother called me the other day, he was talking about some car.” He forced a small laugh. He was hoping to take your mind off Seungcheol, he knew how much you liked home so anything related to that would be good. 

You hummed, then barely loud enough for Mingyu to hear, “I’m alright, Gyu. Don’t worry.” 

Mingyu huffed, when he saw Seungcheol, he was going to get it. 

“Cheollie~ you left me alone at the party the other day!” Seungcheol rolled his eyes, he couldn’t even remember her name. What was it? Jimin? Stella? Ying? Fuck it. 

“Yea, I just wasn’t feeling it.” Seungcheol reasoned he could probably get through this conversation without saying her name. 

She giggled and leaned closer, “Anyway Cheollie~ I’m so happy we’re finally out on a date! I knew we were always~~~ meant to be” 

Seungcheol cleared his throat and tried his best to lean further away into the chair. If he had a choice he would rather it be you at this cafe, sitting opposite him, rather than this pink, squeaky thing. 

“This is definitely not a date,” he rubbed the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed, he could feel a migraine coming on. “I called you out here because I heard about the way you treated my friend.”

“Which friend? Was it Jeonghan? Baby I only have eyes for you~” Seungcheol wanted to throw up. 

“Y/N.” 

“Who? Baby~ why are we talking about another girl?” 

“You disrespected her while she was working.” Seungcheol was becoming increasing annoyed every second. The thought of this thing disrespecting you pissing him off. 

Soonyoung had told him about the event at the coffee shop. It took all of Soonyoung and a very concerned Jeonghan to stop him from barraging out the door and killing those girls. Who did these people think they were? Paying you off? Disrespecting you that way? He seethed silently throughout the whole outing with his friends.

“OH!” As if she had just received a revelation, she smiled sweetly, “I did you a favour Cheollie~ that gold digger has no place being anywhere near you.”

Seungcheol’s fist clenched. He really did not want to start punching women but this person was making it very hard. He reminded himself, the faster he was done with this, the faster he could go and look for you.

“Your father works at my company doesn’t he?” Seungcheol forced himself to look at her. As soon as he got home that day he looked up this girl’s family, turns out her father worked at one of his father’s subsidiary companies.

The girl’s eyes flicked upwards as if thinking, if that was even possible. “I’m not sure baby, but I’m definitely on your level~”

“Jesus Christ are you dumb- you know what? Let’s cut to the chase I can’t deal with this anymore.”  Seungcheol stood up, not wanting to be in this thing’s vicinity any longer. “You talk to her again, you even so much as look at y/n? I’ll make sure your father is fired, I’ll make sure your family won’t be able to find another job anywhere in the world.”

The girl immediately recoiled from him, her mouth hung open at Seungcheol’s glare. If looks could kill, she would have been dead 10 times over.

“Think I won’t do it, baby?” He spat the last part out like it was poison. 

 “I’ll make sure you never leave your house ever again. Trust me.”

A/N2: Again, always accepting criticsm, comments, questions :D shoot me a message/dm/ask or whatever ✌️

[dangerpronebuddie]

Been talking to a bunch of people about a bunch of things since that episode, and despite how mad I am, I still have hope. (Foolish? Quite possibly).

Hold onto your hoola hoops folks, this is long lol.

I'll start with the issue that affects the most characters: our beloathed bigot, Captain Gerrard. He has something against each and every one of the characters: race, gender, sexuality, what socks they wore on Thursday. This jackass hates everyone.

Judging by the still Tim shared, Ortiz had a hand in putting him in charge. It's honestly the most logical explanation since we could've easily had Hen or even Chim as captain again if push came to shove (and captain Han again could've been really interesting considering 6x14 but I digress). Regardless, he's there. And he's going to make everyone's lives misery. And no one is going to let him. He's intruding on a family. Not one of them is going to willingly stay silent. It's much more likely they'll have to hold each other back.

The one person that likely won't stick up for them? Tommy. Don't attack me yet, hear me out. We know how he was in the Begins episodes. But when he came back in 7x03 he had a dry sense of humor and an attitude that could've mixed well with the 118 (I'll admit it. I liked him in 7x03). But 7x04 emphasized not only Buck's jealousy that Eddie was spending time with Tommy, but also Tommy's jealousy of Buck and the fact he has a family at the 118 and with the Diaz boys. He has high expectations and gets pissed when they aren't met (re: expecting Buck to be completely comfortable and out for their first date just days after their kiss and then leaving him on the curb when he wasn't). He dismisses Buck's wants and concerns (not even trying for the bachelor party and then waving off Buck's worry over Bobby because his real dad's alive). That last bit, that 7x10 scene was quite deliberate.

I'm not going to get into the kink joke. That's not even an issue. But Buck was worried about his surrogate dad and wanted someone to lean on, only for Tommy to dismiss said worry and then spin it to be "woe is me" about how he didn't have that found family, or a real family. The jealousy he feels towards present day 118 keeps on being addressed. Any topic Buck discusses with him is waved off as if it means nothing. What does that mean for Gerrard being back?

Well. Tommy's "tough luck kid" attitude towards Buck isn't likely to stop. They've made no move to suggest it will. So when Buck wants to vent about how bad Gerrard is, Tommy is going to dismiss it. "I had to put up with it too, ya know." No empathy, no support, just diminishing valid worries and making Buck the butt of the joke, as always. (Side note: see a pattern? Any specific characters ring a bell... at all?)

Why does this matter? Jealousy started this relationship. Jealousy will end this relationship. Just like Abby finding herself started and ended that, Buck's job started and ended Ali, Taylor's job started and ended that, and Buck's death started and ended Nat. Jealousy (in general and involving Eddie) started BT. Catch my drift? When Tommy gets jealous that the 118 stick up for one another and support one another and when he sees Buck and Eddie lean on each other more and more, he's not going to stick around long. Will it be a confrontation? Most likely. Unless he gets the LI treatment and it happens off screen. I think it would be more fulfilling on screen and show the most growth from Buck, like the Taylor breakup did.

As for dealing with the bigot himself, he's either going to be reported, replaced, or rigor mortised. I see Bobby having to do some intense healing both physically and mentally before he returns either to work in general or as Captain (I really have no idea whether they'd basically demote him to have Gerrard or not. I don't get it pero ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯). Also, his heart stopped for 14 minutes and he just walked away?? Sure, Jan. But maybe it's a 911 miracle. Or it could be like Buck in 3x01. An injury you think is completely fine only for it to come back to haunt you. But considering Bobby mirrors Eddie, it's much more likely his mental health takes the biggest hit and gets to heal (unlike my poor Eddie. I'm still so pissed. More on that later). He also resigned. That has to be fixed. He'll probably be forced into therapy, either by the department or Athena (who should go herself and I'd be incredibly disappointed if she didn't suggest he see someone). And once that's all dealt with, he'll be back to work. How long that will take? Don't know. Whether he directly replaces Gerrard or if the jackass is already gone when he gets back? Also don't know. (Little side note that's totally unrelated: I want to see Eddie as Captain at least once. It would be interesting to see).

And then there's Ortiz, the supposed puppet master. Drama for the sake of drama. I think they just couldn't have more than two or three happy characters in a finale so they decide to traumatize the children and torture Hen and Karen as usual. I hate it. But I'm focusing on what they'll do with it. I've hated storylines before and some have been resolved, some have been dropped (for now). But what they'll do with this woman? I don't know. Will she find out Madney has Mara and go after them? I don't know. Her end goal and their plan for her is the one thing I simply cannot figure out (yet).

And the most heartbreaking and infuriating of all... My Diaz boys. I cannot begin to tell you how upset I am over that. I can't. There's so much they could've done instead and so much I hate about what they did. These boys have been fighting since day one to heal and as soon as they take a step forward, they're yanked five steps back and punished for being in pain. I cried twice yesterday talking about Chris. So I won't get into all that. My anger is not the point.

Right now, Helena is the victor. She proved herself right. Eddie is unfit, incapable, unstable. She didn't want Eddie to drag Chris down with him and Eddie has spent the entire time since she said those words preventing it. He's tried to show Chris they're enough just the two of them, that no one can tell Chris he's different, that people do stay, that running from the problem won't sto-

*Record scratch*

Yeah.

Eddie learned from experience that the Diaz way of handling everything (re: not at all) doesn't work. You can't run from the problem and expect it to go away. That's how you start piling up those boxes Frank warned him about. He knows that running doesn't work, and he (and Buck) have consistently shown Chris that staying is what matters (insert Buck's definition of love). But Helena and Ramon just showed Chris he can run from his problems.

Now, Chris is a smart kid. Like Carla said, I think he understands a lot more than we'd like him to. 7x01 broke my heart when he admitted that love didn't matter because everyone just leaves anyway. He's still in the mindset that whether or not you stay makes no difference. He's going to realize that, in fact, it does. Because the way Eddie loves him is vastly different than the way his grandparents do. And it won't take long for him to realize that. The only way Helena will see that Eddie is a good dad is if Chris confirms it.

Whether or not he and Eddie will have patched things up by the time he wants to go home is still up in the air. I think I would personally prefer to see the work they put in to repair this. I love how Eddie and Chris communicate. No matter the issue, they always talk about it eventually. It may take a little bit for them to get to that point, but when they do it's beautiful to see (the skateboard, Eddie's therapy, Chris' independence).

And speaking of communication, can they please clarify that Eddie only hugged Kim???? Everyone acted like they found them in bed together! I need that cleared up because the reactions from the others were disproportionate. (Chris I understand, but Buck implied Eddie and Kim slept together and so did the parents. Bad editing. Happened a lot this season).

As for buddie, I have no complaints on them this season at all. The communication, the openness, the vulnerability they had with each other was remarkable. We made headway this season. And now, for however long Chris is away, Eddie and Buck will only be BuckandEddie. They are the only thing each of them is allowed to have, and I'm really hoping they actually lean into that. Feelings realization on one part at the very least. What sparks it? Who knows! It could be Chris' absence making them reexamine their relationship, Tommy pointing out their bond, one of them getting hurt and the other absolutely losing it (Drown Buck 2024/ Trap Eddie 2024). (I have way more buddie specific specs but here isn't the place for them all lol). The possibilities there are endless. And I am excited for it, despite of- and in spite of- that finale.

Am I still incredibly pissed at the episode? Yeah. Was the season lackluster overall? Also yeah. Ten episodes and constantly changing plans doesn't make for a good season. But I'm still going to stay hopeful. It's a beautiful story and I'm letting them tell it, but these bonkers decisions really need to be fixed. And soon.

Anyway, if you read this I love you 🩷 (and tell me your own specs/ hopes for the next season!)

[namazunomegami]

emperor!sukuna x imperial concubine!reader

a/n: part 2 of my self-indulging mess. I had a lot of fun writing him and his drabble got finished way before I developed the whole plotline for Geto lol. I'll try to complete Gojo today or tomorrow and Toji is in the works yaaay!!

Also, I'm so surprised my Geto drabble got so many notes in such a short time!! I wouldn't expected people to be remotely interested in my writing but now I'm getting confident.

And finally, I can guarantee that this reader is gender neutral.

Likes and reblogs are appreciated <33

wc: 674, I know, I know, Geto got the princess treatment from me but sometimes less is more <333

cw: historical AU, scheming, mentions of pregnancy, mentions of sudden infant death syndrome, betrayal, accusations of abortion, execution, nudity, mentions of poisoning, suggestive

credits: i used a colored manga panel instead of a fanart but I have no idea who did the coloring so feel free to help me credit their work. And again, my precious @notveryrussian did the proofread, luv ya mwah <33

MDNI PLEASE! I'm gonna find you and kick you in the butt if you do. If you’re not comfortable with dark content or anything mentioned in the warnings just scroll, there's nothing wrong with that.

His mandate of heaven is very different from Gojo and Geto. Sukuna is a ruthless tyrant, he enjoys crushing any nation he deems either threatening or undeserving to even exist next to his borders. His palace is a snake pit, full of betrayal and backstabbing. Executions are frequent and he needs no valid reason to sentence someone to death, he enjoys the bloodshed and the sight of lifeless bodies. You can’t survive that place acting kind and humble. Sukuna specifically torments his concubines physically and mentally for the sheer enjoyment of it.

His court is probably the most competitive. You need to be as ruthless as he is, you need to become a schemer. One of his high-ranking consorts takes you under her wing. She lets you spend leisure time with her, and somehow, she ends up telling you way more sensitive information than she should. She once managed to give him a child, but the infant sadly died days after they were born. She complained about how hard that pregnancy was and that she’s afraid of going through it again, even though she’s attached to him. And not long after this conversation, she fell ill. Retching out everything she ate, her stomach burned and ached. She was so weak her cycle was two weeks late. She trusted you enough to have you fetch her a specific herbal tea to ease her pain and grant her some dreamless sleep.

And that’s the moment you decide you’ll use everything you know about her to cast her down and take her place.

You accuse her that she’s pregnant but wants to abort her baby. Your story is so intricately constructed from all the details you knew that his officials are on your side without hesitation. She watches you horrified, desperately telling him that nothing could be so far from the truth. Sukuna decides to believe in your words and orders for the consort to be executed. Finding pure joy in how she wails and begs for forgiveness. At the execution, he studies your face, every little detail and reaction and you were aware of that. It’s time to impress him. Your face is still, you don’t even flinch when her head is severed by the neck. The eunuchs come for you at night.

He loves and loathes this tradition at the same time. The servants want to protect him, so they deliver you stark naked to ensure you won’t carry any weapons. Fools, as if a weak and trembling creature like you could ever hurt him with a mere dagger or a sharpened hairpin. Yet it makes you look like an offering. A sacrificial lamb. Maybe because you are.

Some primal instinct tells you to balance your inner strength and innate fear of him. Pull back your shoulders, straighten your back, don’t even think to conceal your private parts. Let your fingers quiver and the sheer dread in your eyes seep through. He mocks you. Almost laughs at you while sitting comfortably on the intricately carved shelf bed, wearing a loose bright yellow robe, leaving almost nothing to the imagination. There’s no reason for him to not do this though, he’s a god, the son of heaven, therefore, everything about him is perfect.

The first thing he asks you is if you’re satisfied with your pathetic attempt to improve your position. You don’t dare to tell him that you feel the guilt rotting your insides. He confesses that he was poisoning her meals, he wanted to watch her wither away slowly and enjoy her suffering, but you ruined his plans. He might spare you, you’re a stupid little thing, you couldn’t have known. He warns you that you need to do so much more if you want to be on his good side. You need to be absolutely despicable to earn his praise. Though you feel content having reached your goal and getting to spend a night with him, somewhere deep down you hope you can leave his chamber in one piece or, at least, alive.

[wisyhana]

Saya and Kaiba date Commission by timopeticro

I'm so happy with the result; they look gorgeous and adorable! Here's some context to this scene:

It's Kaiba's birthday, and Saya asks him to spend the day together. At this point, Kaiba has already accepted his feelings for Saya, and the girl finally has feelings for him (it took her a year and a half, wow). She's eager to spend more time with him, and it's clear how quickly she makes the first move once she starts liking someone. She invites him to her favorite place, a Harajuku-type street, and takes him to try different street foods. Saya is talking a lot, which catches Kaiba's attention immediately. She talks about the food and the place and asks him many casual questions. It's their first time being so casual and open for silly conversations, and Kaiba is enjoying it. However, he's also very conscious about everything and can't avoid being slightly anxious, especially noticing how pretty Saya looks in her goth dresses and how lovely she smells. Since discovering her secret, he has been eager to see her more often in her outfits and even caught her singing again. He's learning to like them and is anxious to know more. They also stop at card shops, where Kaiba enjoys seeing people dueling, especially the younger ones. He doesn't bother to go unnoticed; once he steps into a card store, he catches everybody's attention and is pleased to join. The duels help him to relax a bit more around Saya. She's very curious to see him that way, as he's always the boss around her, and seeing him as another player is refreshing in her eyes. They stay at the card shop for a few hours and even try to play tag games. Saya shows how she's more confident playing with other people and aims to win, making Kaiba proud. However, he also hates it because Saya's whole tag duel strategy involves using his precious monsters to kick other people's butts -since her deck focuses on using others' monsters as fusion material. Saya needs to learn how to play in teams, but with time, she'll know.

Eventually, they both feel comfortable, especially Kaiba, but he keeps yearning for something during the entire date. Though he isn't sure what he wants from Saya, Kaiba knows he wants to touch her. However, he was hesitant and didn't like feeling that way. At some point, Kaiba stops being so demanding around her, but as a consequence, he is troubled about asking Saya for something. He would have been happy just holding her hands, or at least that's what he told himself. Not knowing how to ask, he shyly begs Saya to hold his hands. He is embarrassed by how he asked it, but as Shakira said, "Lo hecho está hecho." Saya is glad to fulfill his request; it seems like the first time he has asked for something so kindly, and she is unaware of the valid reason for why he's asking. She quickly grabs his hands, surprising him, and they share a pleasant moment in silence. Kaiba notices how big Saya's hands are, and Saya realizes how cold his hands are. They talk about them, and Saya comments on how she thought Kaiba's hands would feel more robust, but they felt gentle to the touch, while Kaiba points out how fitting Saya's hands would be for piano to what Saya confirms she knows how to play it. Saya gently caressed his hands, trying to warm them up. Kaiba feels so comfortable that he thought he could die at that moment. It's such a simple yet meaningful moment for them. Eventually, they have to part ways; Saya quickly leaves on her own and goes home without giving Kaiba a chance to offer to drive her home, but he is used to her being like that. In the car, Kaiba notices that Saya's scent is still with him, and he doesn't know how until he smells his hands, and it hits him. Saya usually uses perfumed hand cream, and Kaiba always knew. For the first time, he notices how idiot he's acting for smelling the scent on his hands, thinking about Saya, and holding to the memory of this birthday.

Gaaaaaaaaaaah, I love them so much, and this commission only makes me even more in love with them.

[dailygtwscar]

[248 - ARTIST SUPPORT 🧡]

It's Disability Pride Month!

If you're a disabled artist of any kind, please promote yourselves in my submissions!! I'll queue up everything till the end of the month. (I don't know how artists supports work here or if they're even a thing at all but !!!!!!!!!)

(rules are: no nsfw, no AI-generated images, no NFTs, tag your tweet with the proper warnings)

Also, here's some stuff I'd like to get off my chest (long text post ahead).

First of all, I wanna i want to mention something about how I draw Scar. I know I haven't been the best at drawing him with mobility aids. I'm still trying to get better at it. Scar himself has seen some of my posts & has never really said anything about how I draw him, but I personally don't think that's a valid excuse for me to only occasionally draw him with mobility aids. I apologize, and I will try my best to draw him with mobility aids more often now.

Another thing I wanna talk about is the reason I couldn't make a disability pride post earlier than I intended (which is honestly just me venting but it'll give a bit of context on my sporadic posting schedule). I was really anxious about it because of the internalized ableism / impostor syndrome I've been dealing with for the past year or so. I have an anxiety disorder and I am also neurodivergent. Somehow, it didn't feel right calling myself disabled even though it has made it almost impossible for me to get through highschool, have dropped out of college because of how severe my anxiety got, how rsd has kicked my butt since I was little, how it's so hard for me to read social cues and make friends, how my terrible memory has caused me forget the most simple & important things (and it has gotten me in trouble so many times), how most of the people in my life were ableist towards me, etc, and just overall how made it difficult for me to be a "normal" human in society. All because I've convinced myself that "it's not that bad" (spoiler alert, it is).

Even now, I still feel iffy calling myself disabled despite being diagnosed for nearly three years now. I felt like I didn't have the right to talk about anything related to disability because mine isn't physical. At the end of the day, I'm still disabled. I know it's not a bad thing. It's just very difficult. So please be patient with me, with both art and me in general. I'm really trying my hardest here.

[floradinterlunium]

Times Tae Debunked Tkkrs and Affirmed Jikook

I know a lot of Jikookers aren’t happy with Tae right now. They hold him responsible for stoking the fire that fuels Tkkrs. And Like I’ve previously stated I’m not one to police peoples feelings or opinions. Your anger is your own, same going for your opinions.However, in the spirit of peace and reconciliation I want to remind everyone of all the times Tae has intentionally and unintentionally debunked Tkk and affirmed Jikook…because he has done so more than any other member.

Tae has a personality that you either choose to hate or you choose to love because he’s an enigma. It’s often times difficult to know if he’s as oblivious as he seems, a genius mastermind that plays the airhead card, a free spirit or all of the above…my vote goes to all of the above! 

There are moments where it’s clear Tae is up to no good and is trying to serve JM and JK their just desert for abandoning him by exposing their location. Other times it seems like he has put zero thought into the implications of his words. However, regardless of his motives (or lack thereof) Tae is pretty good at playing games in the category of “softly exposing Jikook.”

So for funsies lets kick this off with one of Tae’s favorite games called…..

“Whose Room is It Anyway?”

When on tour it appears as though Tae never knows where other members rooms are. He’s either always messaging the group chat to find out where everyone is OR he’s just plain ole confused about whose room he’s in. 

Exhibit A. Osaka V live

I don’t think there’s a jikooker alive that hasn’t heard of this Vlive. However, When most here the words “Osaka” and “V-live” what typically comes to mind is JK clearly muttering the name “Jimin” whilst being butt naked in a dark room listening to sexy time music. 

However, what’s often overlooked is the how and the why we know this sensitive information. You see this gem of a jikook moment came to us for one reason and one reason only and that reason is Kim Taehyung and his childlike innocence (then). 

Tae has never been good at operating solo on his Vlives. He tends to run out of things to say and in this live that’s what happened. He ran out of things to talk about so he called on his fans to give him suggestions. They suggested he go to another members room. But Tae being Tae...didn’t know ANY of their room numbers! Don’t believe me...I have the receipts!

See he didn’t know any of the members room numbers. He texts the group chat to get members room numbers and I guess it was Jin that replied with the members room numbers. Not JK. Jin. Tae decided to go to JK’s room (my guess is because he can pull the hyung card on him and sort of voluntell him to go along) and he messaged JK to let him know he was coming but JK never responded. We know this because when he arrived JK asked him multiple ties what he was doing there. 

Now I won’t analyze this Jikook moment because it’s been analyzed enough. What I want to point out is how in this moment  Tae unintentionally debunked every Taekook claim because HE. DIDN’T. KNOW.JK’s. ROOM. NUMBER!!! 

I don’t know about you but I’m 100% certain that I wouldn’t need a third party to tell me where my boyfriends room was!

Now some may cry...this was just one time...he probably just forgot! And I would respond...haven’t you heard the news????? Tae is the grand champion of the game Who’s Room Is It Anyway!

Don’t believe me? Let’s take a look at a few more examples

Exhibit B. New Jersey Vlive

This moment is another famous Jikook Vlive most known for Jikooks tension. However, when watching this I also noticed that while Tkkers for some reason also like to claim this live as their own, Tae debunks them. I mean he again broadcast his lack of knowledge of where JK’s room is. Take a look for yourself down below .. .

Tae didn’t know whose room he was in. My guess is he thought it was either JM’s or JK’s room.

Now to be fare... a “valid” question does arise...and that question is if he didn’t know JK’s room number, how did he get there??

And to answer that question I’d say he could have done many things including but not limited to texting the group chat...but in reality its neither here nor there because this one simple fact remains...TAE WASN’T CERTAIN OF THE ROOM HE WAS IN! If he were dating JK he wouldn’t need to ask him...he’d know!

How’s the old saying go???

First time can be a mistake.

Second time is a choice.

Third time.. third time is the vminkook live

Exhibit C. Vminkook Live

Again another famous vlive with popular Jikook moments...the most popular moment being Jimin’s TMI where he exposed how frequently JK comes to his room. It was a funny moment...a funny moment that yet again Tae used to debunk Taekook by broadcasting how unfamiliar he is with JK’s room situation.

What boyfriend would so frequently be confused as to where his partner is sleeping? Moreover, why would that same boyfriend confuse his partners room for his best friends?? Hmmm??? Either JK is cheating on Tae with JM and has been for years or JK has never been Tae’s boyfriend!! I’d bet on the latter considering Tae’s jovial expression when admitting to the fact he never knows where JK’s room is!

First time is a mistake

Second time’s a choice

Third time is a habit...a habit that spells out the phrase “GET.OUT.OF.YOUR.IMAGINATION”

Now this next round of Tae Games is pretty spicy. The game is called-->

“Karma’s a B**H ”

When it comes to Jimin, Tae can sometimes act like a jilted bride. He doesn’t like it when Jimin “ditches” him for JK. When this happens Tae sometimes makes a point to call him out …

Exhibit A: The Salty Smirk

I’m not certain if this is Tae punishing JK for keeping his JM from him or punishment for JM for ditching him or BOTH? Either way Tae was not shy about exposing JM’s and JK’s whereabouts (at god awful hours). And he didn’t just expose where they were...he exposed why Jimin wouldn’t join him...

JM wouldn’t be joining Tae because JK wouldn’t let him. UM? What? Jungkook...the maknae, the member with the least amount of seniority is keeping JM, his hyung from hanging out with him on vlive? I don’t think people understand enough how much Tae exposed them here! And that smirk...he knew what he was doing!

It’s not just oh Jimin can’t come because he’s hanging out with JK...it’s no JM can’t come because JK won’t allow him! Let that sit with you for a second! “JK is stopping Jimin from coming!” Tae is strongly insinuating that Jikook’s power structure is outside the normal hyung dongsaeng dynamic.  Tae straight up destroyed any theory that he’s dating JK by exposing Jikook’s relational dynamics. The boy is chaotic!

Exhibit B & C

Again with exhibit B we have Tae exposing Jimin’s whereabouts and why he’s not with him. It seems like Tae is quite salty about getting left at the alter and JM always running off to be with JK?!/!?! Don’t believe me....look below!

Still don’t believe me? Here’s one more moment in which Tae is in the mood for chaos. 

Now, in this moment Tae doesn’t mention why Jimin decides not to join him at the gym but look at his face...look at that smirk!! Doesn’t it remind you of something else??? Maybe it reminds you of Exhibit A. It seems like he is itching to tell us why Jimin didn’t join him but this time chose not to say it aloud but definitely hints at...that smirk can only mean it’s something spicy.

And don’t we later learn that Jikook had many drinks that same night...because they were sending Hobi off??!!?! 

I mean this boy is chaos itself! and We may be like...what the hell happened to this Tae? The Tae that loved debunking his own ship and exposing Jikook!.! 

My response to that is I don’t doubt that Tae still exist seeing that the above photo is recent...he may be  chaotic and irking peoples nerves right now but he really has done a lot to show the world that him and JK are nothing but friends! He has directly debunked tkkers and indirectly debunked them SOOO MANY TIMES! The only way they’d believe him is if photos were leaked of him with someone else....wait! That already happened and they still don’t believe him... I guess now the only thing he can do is come out with it and say he’s dating Jennie...and hell he might! AFTER his album comes out there might be an announcement!? 

I’m actually crossing my fingers that they do make the official announcement after his album drops! But let’s wait and see. In the meantime I am holding my judgement because for years the above Tae is what we got and what we loved! 

There are so many more instances of him debunking his own ship and affirming Jikook but here are just the standouts!

[yukisubmarino]

In my opinion (now and throughout this post) Oshi no Ko’s biggest issue is the narrow motivation of its lead, Aqua Hoshino.

Aqua’s motivations are clear from the start: To take revenge against the person who killed his mother, who he watched bleed out and die as a child. A perfectly human and understandable motivation, one that would make an interesting storyline regardless of medium, era, etc.

So why doesn’t it work in OnK?

Because it’s just too simple, and this story has already evolved beyond that type of simplicity. OnK has demonstrated an ability to handle complex challenges with multi-dimensional characters, creating an impressive web of intrigue among people who all share adolescent traumas at the hands of Japan’s entertainment industry:

Kana Arima - acting only at the behest of her mother, gets really good but doesn’t particularly want the spotlight for herself, but is driven by her mother’s unfulfilled dream and her own base desire to satisfy the only person who genuinely loved her.

Akane Kurokawa - chasing validation from the child (Kana) who gave her this acting dream, while simultaneously looking to surpass her abilities in the court of public opinion—with the knowledge that she cant do both tearing her apart

Melt - Plucked by an agency after coasting on his charm, chooses a more difficult and less satisfying acting path because more talented peers made him feel guilty for following a career he wasn’t suited for

Taiki - Auteur stage actor possibly acting only to please the career theater man who raised him (i dont read the manga so this is just based on the most recent episode and could very well be incorrect).

All of these secondary and tertiary characters provide more complex motivations than Aqua, and would make better choices for the story’s main focus considering the show’s strength for investigating complex motivations. So why exactly is Aqua the main focus, here?

I can’t say for sure. I suspect focusing the story on a character with simpler motivations makes him more digestable for a mainstream and younger crowd, which is understandable. Its like when a romcom with fun, interesting side characters chooses the beautiful but boring guy as the main romantic interest just to get as large a swath of the audience as possible to get interested.

But OnK isn’t a forgettable romcom, or a C-minus shonen or a half-hearted manga adaptation. It’s a banger that’s fucking excellent at everything, which makes it so frustrating that we spend more time in Aqua’s head than we do with anyone else when anyone else would provide more interesting narration.

The most recent episode gets close to revealing some actual depth in Aqua. He taps into his base emotions and realizes the dark cloud that’s been motivating him to seek revenge is the little Aqua inside of him that feels guilty for “letting” his mom die (which is of course bullshit, but you know, childhood trauma). Introspection! Growth! Good stuff!

So what does Aqua do with this breakthrough? He collects cigarette butts to do dna tests—because revenge must be had, damn the psychoanalysis. Damn the half brother discoveries, damn the harmful effects on all the women who love him—there is a man out there who must PAY.

This would be fine in a lesser show, but OnK not only should be better than this…it IS better than this. When I complain every week that this show should be about Kana and Akane, its not because i think Aqua has unreasonable motivations or is portrayed badly. Its because a show as excellent as OnK deserves a lead that is equally so.

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

What do you think of Rhaenyra and Aegon's relationship before the dance? Aegon refused to usurp rhaenyra bc she was his sister but what of Rhaenyra's feelings about him ? Do you think she ever looked upon him as her brother instead of her rival ? at least when they were young?

Hi anon, this is a good question!

I feel like book!Rhaenyra was pretty hostile towards her younger siblings as a teenager, and settled into ambivalence as an adult. Rhaenyra was ten years older than Aegon, which meant that by the time he was old enough to really interact with, she would have already been fifteen or so. There's a line in the book about how when Daemon came back to court, when Rhaenyra was fourteen, one of the things they would do was sit around mocking Alicent and the people she surrounded herself with. Alicent generally gets the blame in the show fandom for "poisoning" her kids against Rhaenyra and her children, but I think in book canon a lot of it was initially driven by Daemon. He was the cool older dragonriding uncle with a bit of a bad boy reputation, and he swooped in and started paying attention to her, lavishing her with gifts, taking her out for dragon rides, telling her how pretty she is, and making her feel wittier and more popular than the queen by making her the butt of their jokes. Daemon was said to be "noticeably cool" towards Aegon and Aemond, and you can bet teenage Rhaenyra with a bit of a crush on cool uncle Daemon is going to follow that lead. And even if Daemon and Rhaenyra didn't directly include Aegon and his siblings in their mockery, how do you really develop a relationship with kids when one of your favorite hobbies is hating on their mom and her friends? It's not like modern day, where Rhaenyra would maybe get babysitting duty or have to drop them off and pick them up at school, and maybe would develop a relationship with them independent from her relationship with Alicent. In the Red Keep, they'd have their own separate lives. It's interesting that at this point, even Alicent saw their poor sibling relationship as a problem that needed solving, saying the fact that Aegon and Rhaenyra didn't get along was all the more reason to bind them together in marriage. Of course, that doesn't happen, and eventually Rhaenyra starts spending more time at Dragonstone before moving there completely, and they just don't seem to have much to do with each other after that.

As for book!Aegon refusing to usurp his sister, I think it speaks more to his values and his personality than it does to his personal relationship with Rhaenyra, which I think was at best pretty ambivalent on his end too (although we aren't really told how he felt about it, it couldn't have felt great as a little kid to have your older sister and your uncle talking constant shit about you and your mom). He wasn't ambitious or power hungry, and if you lack those qualities, why would you want to be king? What would you get from kingship that you couldn't get from being a prince except a lifelong headache? I think as far as Aegon is concerned, it was more like, hey, if she wants to be queen that much, let her and I'll just keep partying on. But the argument that is ultimately used to convince him is a valid one from his perspective too. They didn't actually have the kind of family relationship that would make him feel comfortable trusting his life, and the lives of his siblings and kids, in the hands of Rhaenyra, her husband, and her children.

[rinskazuu]

rating record of ragnarok characters /10, because i can.

DISCLAIMER: i’m only rating the characters based off what the manga & anime has portrayed. i’ve done little to no research on these people themselves, which is why i don’t condone anything immoral that they’ve done. this was written before the release of chapter 73+

a/n: i think i wanna do this for every anime + genshin & val. PLS WATCH IT & LMK IF YOU GUYS LIKE IT. also i dont care abt grammatical and/or punctual errors, this is a shit post

MANGA SPOILER WARNING!!

THOR: first of all, he’s so fucking hot. his smile caught me so off guard tho, i kinda just stood there watching the screen, baffled. not much character to him, he’s just hot. 7/10

LU BU: i’m chinese, i literally feel so happy when i see chinese characters. biased, but definitely a plus. he, just like thor, has little to no character. first character i called hot, is hot, but there are hotter characters. (what, i am not talking abt hermes wdym?) 7/10

HERMES: 10/10. no explanation. my man right there. i literally scream & cream every time i see him. why is he so fine. not a single panel or clip where he looks bad. pls eat me out, sir i beg. i will serve you. ONE CHANCE. JUST ONE?? i’m in love with him. who needs real men or women when hermes.

GOLL: she is SO ANNOYING. her eng & jp voice are both annoying asl. she’s that one character, that exists in mostly every anime, used to explain background info & battle info on other characters. brunhilde is too nice on her. she reminds me of when i first saw yachi (haikyuu) on screen. yachi, too, was annoying. but i grew to love her🫶. 1/10

BRUNHILDE: SHES SO HOT. ATE. SHE ALDNAHDISKZ. yeah, what else is there to say? 8/10

APHRODITE: she truly lives up to her version in the greek mythology. hottest woman/goddess alive. ate. her boobs, i want to squish them & bury my face in them. WHEN IS IT MY TURN TO HOLD THEM? 8/10

ZEUS: idgaf what anyone says, he’s not hot. not even his younger self. he looks like mirio (mha) turned netero (hxh). love his character tho. the eyes scared me at first. he’s hilarious. 5/10

ADAM: my friend, the one who recommended snv to me, told me he’d be more my type. he was, minus the fact that’s he literally butt fucking naked. nice ass cheeks tho. def pretty boy, his wife is hot too. i want her more😋. his line abt fighting for his children made me cry. should’ve won. i say, let hermes be uncleless & fatherless. 7/10

POSEIDON: he was fs the blueprint for adam. anywho, yk hes fine. SOOO FINE. meowing for him. he doesn’t beat hermes tho. nobody beats hermes. well, look wise at least. it was rlly hard choosing who to root for in this fight. that’s a lie, i was always on humanity’s side. sad he died:( 9/10. -1 for being a little, arrogant, narcissistic, egotistical bitch. 8/10

SASAKI KOJIRO: see, zeus coulda been hot like him at that old age. man aged like fine wine. character was a W. hot, determined, good character, funny. what else can you want from a man? 8/10

HERACLES: disappointed. so disappointed. he looked better in the disney ver. this fight was so boring for me. you’re telling me i’m supposed to watch the fight instead of ogling at hot characters? no. character was okay. 6/10

JACK THE RIPPER: massive L. not supporting a murderer. next. 0/10

SHIVA: hot from the beginning. 4 arms? do what you want to me, sir. 3 WIVES? tengen (kny), is that you bro?😭 anywho, he’s cocky, def my type irl LMAO. i wouldn’t let that slide tho.. his wives are hot too😋 8/10

RAIDEN TAMEEMON: i paid very little attention to this fight. don’t remember his backstory too well (i read this fight not even 24 hours ago btw). not that good looking, not ugly either. i liked his character, upset he took 3 of shiva’s arms. why 3? why not 2? he got 1 arm left. 4/10

BUDDHA: THATS MY GOD RIGHT THERE. ate. i’m not religious, and neither are my family, but they are buddhist, so by default, i am too. i personally think buddhism is the best religion, but we’re not gonna get into that. i have very valid reasons btw. love his personality, love his looks. massive W. ofc he fights for humanity. he’s a walking W. 9/10

ZEROFUKU: precious. definition of deserved better. what made me sad, is how he was written during the fight. he’s consistently hitting, with little to no strategy. his backstory is sad, but his battle exp was written poorly. also the random ass monster possessing took me tf out. 7/10

HADES: fine ass mf. he’s so different from how he’s usually portrayed, both look & personality wise. the first W netflix has pulled. he’s hot and responsible? persephone, we can share him babes. also, the relationship between him & poseidon made me SOB. like actually. hurt so bad i made an angst edit. 9/10

QIN SHI HUANG: first off, i don’t do research on my own ethnicity’s history. i didn’t even know who tf lu bu was. my family knew tho. with that aside, PROUD TO BE CHINESE❗️ he’s so fine. SO FINE. the way his character was written, was wonderful. i loved the fight between him & hades. the tension & the lengths they went to try & win. 9/10

BEELZEBUB: his backstory was so tragic. what i didn’t like, was how they rushed his & lilith’s story. like, they kinda randomly said i love you to each other. i’d love to see their adventures tgt. lilith, leave that emo thing, and come be w me. he’s fine too. i rlly like how they introduced him. 8/10

NIKOLA TESLA: i don’t have much of an opinion on him. very chatty, which i don’t actually mind. i guess we’ll have to wait for more chapters to release before i form an opinion on him. 5/10

ODIN: the hair bro. THE HAIR. i keep forgetting he exists, but i’m not his biggest fan. not bad, but i prefer his sons. i do like the theory of him being a traitor. he looks the part. 5/10

LOKI: honestly, i liked him a lot in the beginning, but now, it’s like he’s kinda on the side. cute & hot. thor is the better brother tho. speaking of, how tf are they even brothers? moving on, i like his personality. i like his shocked, mixed w angry, facial expressions more. 7/10

ARES: the hair again. very stylish, i do like it, but it took me out. walking around looking like a school girl. i don’t like how he tries to be a know-it-all w hermes, when he literally relies on him for info. but that’s my man for you. his expressions are SO WELL. 6/10

ADAMAS: i was awfully confused, at first, when there were 3 older brothers to zeus. usually, it’s just hades, poseidon & zeus. not his biggest fan, his character was rushed. 4/10

BONUSES

JESUS: i was very happy to see jesus. i’m not sure why, i just was. why is he the only character, THAT LOOKS LIKE THEMSELVES? 9/10

LU BU SIMP AGENCY: 10/10. i don’t need to say anymore. W cheng gong. love that man.

FORSETI: what a loser. he was so annoying. 2/10

EVE: mother? mommy? whatever. MEOW. 9/10

SASAKI SIMP AGENCY: love them as well. 10/10. walking Ws all around.

i don’t think i’m missing anyone, am i?

[dballzposting]

DBZ has 10000000000 things going on but one of my favorite things is the way that Future Trunks BUTTS HEADS with Vegeta. The way he is FORCED TO RECONCILE with him.

Trunks is just of entirely different sensibilities. Hes of a time where what matters most is those you have in your life and it's vital that you protect them becasue once they die they're dead forever. And he was raised by Bulma. And hes 17 years old. And you can tell

And Vegeta's sensibilities are obviously that of a Saiyan and a warrior and it's not his job to protect people if it means taking his eye off of the opponent.

Neither of them are wrong and they both make perfect sense.... tgats what makes their opposing viewpoints so compelling ...

"Found, you're a bigger grief than you are, lost!" is a quote from some shit I never read (Ovid's Metamorphoses or something phonetically like that) and it was uttered by a character's father after he found her and she had been magicked into a cow. It's a quote that I just keep thinking about for Vegeta and Future Trunks however and for them it really goes both ways.

The mutual disappointment and rejection .. and it's a violent quote in a sense becasue it's so overt and even confrontational.

Trunks was really hoping for something better out of Vegeta, and Vegeta would rather have no son than have a disappointing son.

It has an angle like that Patrick Stump song that goes like: "I dont ever want to meet you / 'cause you're like porcelain / and I think it would crack if I found you were a brat / stay perfect, stay perfect." But even beyond Trunks's hard disillusionment is also the way that Vegeta is not ready to have a kid and pass the torch, so he wasnt going to extend much to Trunks anyway - not to mention that he is not ready to consider valid any perspective or opinion other than his own. So Trunks is gonna have to earn his respect in a way that Vegeta would honor.

That's all ... just always loved that part of DBZ

[thehorrorsoftheblackbunnymask]

A few things I've noticed after this school year.

I can't take compliments people give me seriously. Back when I was being abused, my abusers would always call me ugly, always, and the only form of "compliments " they would give me were all sexual. This literally rewired my brain into thinking "If they're not sexualizing me, they don't love me." "If they're not sexualizung me, I'm not pretty."

I want male validation. No further elaboration.

Less people like me now that I'm skinner. So many people had "crushes" on me when I was fatter, but now that I'm like, 40 something pounds lighter, I don't get that anymore.

I hate being black sometimes. Like, the racist comments that get thrown my way genuinely hurts at times. Due to me being dark skinned in a majorly Hispanic area, being dark isn't really part of the beauty standard. People be calling me ugly just because I'm black. I was talking to my friend and I was talking about how my male friends would talk about their types, I'm not attracted to any of them (expect for one but he pisses me off so he's irrelevant rn) and none if them describe me in anyway. It's always light school, curly hair, skinny, big butt, hispanic, literally anything that isn't me. It makes me feel so unwanted by everyone, and after I told my friend I liked him, even tho we cool now, a lot of the shit he says just feels so backhanded and targeted, like he wants me to hear it and wants to hurt me by saying it.

I've never been asked out by a guy, nor have I been genuinely approached, when all my other friends have. I just feel so ugly sometimes. I'm sick and tired of falling for someone first, I want some to like me, I want someone to love me, I want someone to chase me, not the other way around. I'm sick of being dragged around.

[tianrenart]

More writting thoughts on Tuesday

Again just reflecting on comments. I do enjoy the comments I get on the fic because it gives me perspective on what I am thinking and how I want the story to go, mainly because it usually goes against expectations. At the beginning of the atory I had said the smut scenes moved the plot along and I know there has been mention of a completely sexless scene because, of course, kink isn’t always sexual. However this made me realize that sex is very much the antagonist of the story.

I will not be writing a sexless scene for a very long time because that would mean the main conflict is resolved. I think people see asexuals as automatically sex repulsed but that’s not true, not in my experience. Asexuallity is about lack of attraction not lack of sex drive or sexual interaction. Sex repulsed aces are very valid belive me I have times where I get the ick too, but guess what? You can be allosexual and sex repulsed too! What I love about asexuality is that it shines a light on what people believe is “natural” and makes you actually think. That is why in Tuesday sex is the antagonist. Alastor is sex indifferent in this story, there are things he likes about sex things he can even enjoy, he doesn’t need it but he can enjoy it. He has to come to terms with this and also find safety in expressing this without feeling like he will be pressured into sex he doesn’t want. He also has to reconcile his ace identity with his sex drive. Because those are two separate things and I think that gets conflated a lot. As someone who has had their Ace identity used against them by an ex who withheld intimacy from me under the guise of “being respectful of my assxuality” it’s hard to work that shit out. I thought for the longest time that I was demisexual simply because I have a sex drive. I want this story to show people that yes you can find no one sexually attractive and still engage in the act. And yes just because you are an ace that can even enjoy sex under the right circumstances with a partner that you feel safe with doesn’t erase your asexuallity. That took me years to figure out so it’s gonna take Alastor a long time and a lot of kinky sex for him to figure out too, lol. As for Vox, sex is also his antagonist because he’s still engaging with Val and feeling butt hurt about Alastor. His cross to bear is to realize the opposite of Alastor. That love and intimacy can be shown in other ways then sex. And that most of the time sex is just a bandaid to hide the cracks of failed intamcy. That someone can love you and enjoy things about you that is not just your body. The big bad of the Tuesday series is sex. So it would be odd for the boys not to do battle. Basically every prompt is a fight scene, it just happens to be explicit raunchy sex but it’s still a fight scene. I mean it when I said the sex scenes add to the story. It reflects a part of the boys psyche and what they are working through. What they really want (and not just in a sexual way) what they hate about themselves and what they don’t want to face.

Anyway I love getting all the comments on the story, especially when it triggers deep thinking like this on my part. I really love that about fandom and fanfiction, the interactive bits. Thanks for reading both my stories and my long musings.