#for the reference of anyone reading I'm not actually all that into Danny - Ethan is my sub of choice (then Jack Harper then William Cage)

[academicgangster]

As someone who enjoys Daniel Kaffee very much, in part because I am in fact into subby men and he is a (not at all) covert sub, I appreciate this post a lot! Danny's not my favourite sub, but I do love his character - particularly his learning-to-stand-on-his-own-feet arc and his super high-strung SUDDENLY SWEARING moments. 😂

ANYWAY YOU FOLKS WERE TALKING ABOUT SUBMISSIVES and that is my very niche area of expertise in this fandom, heh, so I hope you don't mind my going off on a couple of tangents here :D

• I'm not super into Danny the way @supergeekytoon is - I consider him the Puppy / Little Brother Friend I'd love to have - but I do thoroughly adore him because of the cleverness he hides under sass and obfuscating stupidity, and also for the fact that he's that little bit socially awkward, that little bit (though reluctantly) eager to please, and makes connections in unexpected ways. Also that he admits he doesn't like boats, and uses a comfort item (the baseball bat) to help him think. And - my very favourite thing about him - that his reaction to a woman asking him on a date is "I've been asked on dates before :D" DANNY YOUR LACK OF TOXIC MASCULINITY IS WONDERFUL AND I LOVE U.

• LOVE your points re: Danny's entire story arc being about agency. This is why I can't see him as the kind of straight-up, unequivocal sub that, say, Maverick, or even Ethan, is: Mav and Ethan, though very different in the things they're into, both know exactly how to be in control and can therefore find release in voluntarily giving it over. Danny, so far, has spent his whole life fighting for control, fighting for the right to know what it is, and so he'd probably also vehemently fight the idea of giving it up - no matter how much his body betrays him by liking the thought of giving it up. Danny's a sub and he hates that he's a sub.

• That'd be why in the Tom Cruise Sub Masterpost (lol what is my life) I described Danny as "likes to be handcuffed, whines about rules". He chafes at the thought of voluntary obedience, and is not likely to deal well with the service aspect of submission or with being taken into subspace; he'd probably panic and nope out if he felt himself approaching it. That said, the instincts are very much there, even if his various issues mean they stop at play at a scene and (for now) don't go deeper into play a scene.

• Uh, tell me I'm not the only one who initially thought the 'use your Harvard mouth and ask me nicely' line meant...Something Else. Something Else And Much, Much Creepier.

• I don't in any way sexually enjoy this, but on a social level / character study level, I really, really love how surprisingly often Tom's characters are put in the position of being creeped on by someone who has power over them. I doubly love how it's always portrayed as being unequivocally creepy, as opposed to the camera framing it as a nice/normal/complimentary thing (which, unfortunately, usually happens when it's a woman in that situation). See: Claire in MI: 1 (slightly ambiguous but Ethan is clearly not into it), Colonel Jessup here, Dr Hineman in Minority Report, Julie Gianni in Vanilla Sky, all the way up to the White Widow in MI: Fallout.

• I also love how crystal clear Tom makes the difference between his character consenting vs. not consenting in sexual situations. Among other more subtle examples, we see it in MI: 1 with Claire vs Max, and we see it in Vanilla Sky with Julie vs Sofia, and it's Fucking Great.

tl;dr Danny Kaffee is a super interesting character, and also if you guys are looking for someone who actually DOES have domme fantasies about subs played by Cruise I'm your girl, lol. Also also I love flipping the sexual script even if it's not strictly a Sexy Situation, and Cruise does that extremely well, thanks for coming to my TED talk ᕕ(✿◕‿◕)ᕗ

FUCK YOU @ineverhadadoubt, I’M NOT INTO SUBMISSIVE MEN IT’S MORE COMPLICATED THAN THAT

A slightly humorous critical response to @ineverhadadoubt on my irrational attraction to Daniel Kaffee 

A bit of context before the main argument. I’m known on the Benthan Discord Server as the Resident Kinkster, not because I’m kinky per se, but because I don’t shut up about them. As well as my very peculiar thirst objects: Rolled Up Forearm Sleeves, Voice Kink, Rope. Jk lmao. (or am I, you don’t have proof). And Well, look. I really like Danny Kaffee and this post by @academicgangster slightly inspired me to write this. Also because I have a lot of thoughts and I need to get this out and defend myself from Libel™ and False Narratives™ from @ineverhadadoubt and @misstangle about kinks I don’t have. 

So, having watched A Few Good Men three and a half times over the course of three days has led to various conversations and speculations on the film. Mainly centering on the character of one, Daniel Allister Kaffee. In this essay, I will be responding the frankly egregious accusations the Mainstream Media™(e.g. Ruth) that the author is into subish men when the reality is a far more nuanced and complex situation having to do with the themes present in the film and the characterization of Daniel Kaffee in particular.

Keep reading