#i just don't see a romance happening in what we're being presented

[thepoisonroom]

someone should study how gender performance gets surveilled and disciplined in gay dating btw

[tactfullyinappropriate]

Ohhh boy, I'm gonna get a lot of flak for this one but... masc lesbian =/= butch. You can be the most masculine presenting person the world has ever known and that does not automatically make you butch.

Butch is an identity and you kinda need to fit that identity, not make the identity fit you. E.g. "lesbians" who are attracted to cishet men. Sorry, hun, you're just not a lesbian. Find your own identity that fits. You are allowed to be your own kind of bisexual or pansexual but what you are not, is a lesbian.

Sure, there is a lot of room for being your own person within an identity. I am not the same kind of lesbian as the next dyke. But if I did not fit (or if I no longer fit) the definition of the lesbian identity, I wouldn't call myself one and insist that lesbians expand the definition to include me.

'Butch' as an identity exists within a certain context. It *is not* a synonym to man, and it's also not a synonym to 'a masculine presenting lesbian'. If you don't vibe with the whole 'chivalry' concept and the specific ways in with butch/femme courtship (as an example) happens, maybe consider if this is the right label for you before insisting that we expand or rather completely rewrite the definition to exclude those things from it.

Some of the discourse around 'we should redefine butch!' reminds me of the discourse around redefining manhood. "It's not fair that men are expected to have masculine hobbies," they say. "It's not fair that men cannot wear glitter and makeup and retain their manhood. It's not fair that men are expected to open doors, and carry heavy things, and to-to---" Yes. You are exactly right. But butches are not men.

'Butch' is an opt-in identity, not something that society at large expects and requires from you. In other words: if you think femmes gushing about being courted by their butches in what to you appears to be a 1960s play-pretend of patriarchy, is silly, objectifying or demeaning toward one of the parties... consider that maybe 'butch' is not the identity for you. That maybe you are a masculine person with their own unique take on masculinity.

But insisting that we redefine butch is like me insisting that we redefine 'yoga' because I vibe with the gymnastics but I don't like the spiritual aspect of it. I can just go to Pilates instead. Or do yoga and accept that other people in the practice experience it differently.

What I am endlessly tired of, as a femme, is being lectured on what I *should* and *should not* find attractive. I am not somehow betraying feminism, objectifying people and degrading myself by daydreaming of a butch who opens the car door for me or - the absolute horror - brings me flowers on a date. I recognize that other people have the right to their own attraction and that masculine lesbians deserve the freedom to explore masculinity on their own terms and be treated with dignity and respect regardless of where that exploration takes them and regardless of who does or does not find them attractive.

That being said, the whole narrative of 'if you find chivalry hot, then you are objectifying butches and you are, in fact, an entitled selfish person' is tiresome. Not all femmes are women but in being chastised for our turn-ons and romantic daydreams (unless we're the Cool Girl who doesn't like flowers and rolls her eyes at romance) I see a lot of the admonishment directed toward cis straight women who dare to swoon when they read romance where the male lead is courteous and generous.

Except, again, butch/femme *is not* man/woman. It's a particular subculture within the lesbian identity and no one is pressuring anyone into conforming to it.

[love-byers]

....wait . there are people who don't think the show is centered around will? there are people who don't think a core part of s5 will be wills culmination as a character?? there are people who don't think the entire supernatural plot will circle back to will???

besides the fact that the duffers LITERALLY CONFIRMED that will is the center of s5...

the show itself literally tells you. that is the narrative they've been pushing the entire time.

the entire first season is about finding will. every single plotline is connected to finding will.

mike and the boys are using el to find will

jonathan and nancy are working together to hunt the monster they believe has taken will and barb

joyce is trying to communicate with will to find out where he is and how to save him

hopper is a cop investigating the case, and eventually he and joyce team up to investigate further into the lab conspiracy, believing it's tied to wills disappearance

a massive chunk of s2 is about wills connection to the upside down. he's being hunted by the mind flayer and used as a spy, causing a lot of the conflict but also leading to the resolution.

now that we know vecna was behind all of that, that open so many doors for will in s5. if you use your fucking peanut brain for 5 seconds you'll realize there are lots of things we don't know surrounding will and vecna that will come to light in s5. vecna specifically sought will out and hunted him down. remember s2?

"It wanted to kill you?"

"Not me. Everyone else."

we're also getting flashbacks of will in the upside down so we can see exactly what happened to him the week he was there. clearly there's something important we don't know about. the upside down is literally frozen on the day will went missing. but will isn't important and won't be a big part of s5?

s3 is the first time will is less significant to the plot. he still has the connection to the mind flayer and his ability to sense it is still relevant to the story and helps push it along. bit still, he had significantly less lines and screen time. much of his story is portrayed as him struggling to 'grow up' and not being interested in romance like the others. there are several jokes that present will as simply being childish and reluctant to grow out of it. which a lot of people found sort of annoying. i remember seeing a lot of people enjoying s3, but wishing will had more depth and importance.

but we now know that that's not the whole truth. all of that, him being annoyed and disinterested by romance, just wanting to play dnd with the party, and fighting with mike was all subtext leading into his sexuality and the fact that he's in love with mike. that's been confirmed by actors and the duffers themselves. though will's sexuality was always hinted at, it wasn't meant to fully come to light until s4. so they tried to pass it off as will just being childish. they tried to pass of mike and wills conflict as only being about dnd and growing up. a prime example of this is will tearing down castle byers after his fight with mike. he rips the photo of the core 4 as the ghostbusters down the middle, aka where he and mike are in the center. that is easily passed off as just being about the friend group. people BELIEVED that it was just about the friend group, and that there was no way will was in love with mike. but it's now literally confirmed that he is. like it's insane how many people never even considered that as a possibility. people literally just tune out parts of the show they don't immediately find interesting. i've seen so many comments on byler scenes, for example "it's not my fault you don't like girls", saying "wait i don't remember this scene when did he say that??" people just don't pay attention or think deeper than surface level, which in this case is okay because wills sexuality was meant to be something you slowly realized. the problem comes when people just start denying its significance and refusing to see it for what it is.

if you take in all of will's story with mike and whittle it down to "stupid gay crush on best friend" i don't know what show YOUVE been watching. did you forget that will only remembered his mom and mike when he was possessed and lost his memory? that mike recounting the day they met was enough for will to break through and communicate while possessed? that will puts mikes happiness before his own? that will has literally said he needs mike and always will?

it's not a crush that will can just get over. you know we actually have an example of a simple crush and it's dustin and max. how did that work out? dustin got over max very quickly and it's no biggie. he didn't go on a monologue about how he needs max and always will. he just thought she was cool and pretty.

also, the show spends so much time getting the audience to feel bad for will and want to see him happy. you are SUPPOSED to like him. you are supposed to have empathy for him. will is written to be extremely gentle, kind, and selfless.

will is too nice to say anything bad about anyone, even after being viscously bullied and called slurs for years. even by his own father, WHO HE STILL CANT TALK BAD ABOUT!!!

no matter how much will suffers, he remains kind and selfless. he gave a girl his tonka truck knowing joyce couldn't by him another one. mike says they shouldn't give up on looking for him because will sacrificed himself in dnd to save the party. remember the whole thing in s2 about joyce getting on will for constantly apologizing even when he did nothing wrong? there is no point to that besides evoking empathy for him!!!!! he is sweet and sensitive and doesn't deserve any of this!!!!!!!!

and about bylers being delusional for thinking will and mikes relationship will be a big part of s5 and the culmination of everything in a show about monsters killing people, here's a quote from shawn levy, who has directed many stranger things episodes

"People talk about mythology and The Upside Down, and all that is huge, but the magic of S5 are the characters who find sense of belonging with other and through that connection, become heroes."

everyone loves the stranger things relationships until they're queer. when they're queer suddenly there's no time for romance in a sci fi show, the writers actually suck, and they're just baiting. lumax and their love for each other was a core plot of the season where the big bad was trying to kill her all season. there is an entire plot point about max's memory of kissing lucas at the snow ball saving her life. in a show like this, there is time for relationships and supernatural stuff because they are interwoven when the time comes. they can do the exact same thing with byler in s5. s5 is going to be the longest season thus far. there will definitely be time for relationship development.

so yeah. call me delusional but i don't think the show will end with wills feelings for mike unresolved or with them just evaporating. given everything we know about s5 (relationships and finding belonging being an important factor, noah and finn constantly filming together, leakers saying will has a love interest) and everything we already know about the relationship formulas in ST, literally all the signs are pointing to byler. the only rebuttal people have is calling us delusional because the writers just wouldn't do that. if you actually push past the heteronormativity and consider the fact that the duffers do want to represent queer people in a way that doesn't reinforce the idea that we can never find love or be happy, things will start making a lot more sense.

i'm sorry to have to say this about mike but mike is a character presumed straight who hasn't been super relevant in the supernatural plot for 2 seasons now, just as long as will. his significant plot points are related to el or will. relationship development. and unlike will, he has been an ACTUAL asshole!!!! lots of people stopped liking mike as much after s2 because of his personality change. (ofc i still love mike, but there's been multiple plot lines about mike being a dick for no reason and apologizing for it) but no one has VISCERAL hatred for him like they do will byers. not saying mike deserves hate, cause he certainly doesn't, but the problems people have with will, they only have with will. any other character doing it is fine. 2 seaons of wills feelings for mike is boring and distracting but 2 seasons of mike having the same 'i love you' problems with el isn't?

i'm not saying the sudden hate for will is because it's now clear that he's gay but im kind of saying it

some people can't sympathize with queer issues because they don't care about queer people. they don't empathize with queer people. queer issues bore them.

will byers i will ALWAYS defend you. you are safe with me pookie

[ckret2]

i know you're reading the book rn, but i need to know is it true that bill has a redemption arc??? and that billford is canon??? I HAVENT GOTTEN MY COPY YET BUT IM SEEING OTHER PEOPLES COMMENTS AND POSTS ABOUT IT I NEED TO KNOW😭

As of the end of the book, Bill is in the process of being forced into a redemption arc. Please understand that I say that like "the airplane is in the process of being forced into a shoebox." It's not successful thus far and might never be successful from what the book presents. But the road is offered to him.

In my opinion, Bill & Ford's relationship is being written like a (mostly one-sided) romantic relationship (from Bill toward Ford), with multiple in-text parallels between how Bill talks about romance and how Bill interacts with Ford, and I believe the romantic coding is deliberate. I have not yet read something that explicitly verifies Romantic Emotions Are Happening and I don't expect to.

Like, we're at a point where Bill crushing on Ford has less textual support than Dipper crushing on Wendy, but more textual support than Tyler Cutebiker crushing on Manly Dan, and maybe even more textual support than whatever thing Dipper & Pacifica have going on.

It's left open-ended enough that you CAN go "Bill's just platonically obsessed with Ford and platonically trying to 'seduce' him and platonically heartbroken when Ford rejects their partnership after learning what Bill's up to." That is still an option. But this is some INCREDIBLY heavy romantic subtext.

At this point, "there's no romantic feelings on anybody's part here" is no longer the most default/neutral reading of Bill & Ford; it's gotta be, like, a choice. A choice that remains valid within the canon text, but still a choice.

So not "canon" as in "the word love is brought up between them" or "they were in a relationship," but "canon" as in "I believe wholeheartedly that the writer's intent was to make us think about a (toxic) romantic relationship when reading these scenes, whether or not such a relationship ever took place." The text doesn't quite go there, but it openly invites you to go there if you want.

I firmly believed the book wouldn't be any more billfordish than the show & J3 were—just some light, probably unintentional subtext. It completely blew past my expectations.

[prettyboysdontlookatexplosions]

sorry to keep talking about this annoying show. but like. ok. so here's the thing, the thing that at this point is basically the entirety of my ongoing interest in severance. the thing is that in the gemma flashback episode, in my humble opinion, they don't actually do a very good job of selling mark/gemma as a deep and profound love story. in fact they do such a poor job of it that there's a part of me that feels like it simply must have been intentional. outside of their meet cute, the only glimpses we see of their relationship when it was happy are (1) generic wordless dead wife montage shit that could belong to any couple in the universe, and (2) a scene the actual point of which is mark failing to understand who gemma is as a person and gemma being like, "um, but it's fine" (the ant farm scene...). like the OOOONLY conversation they have as two people who know each other that is not related to the infertility thread that shapes the bulk of the flashbacks, the only exchange that is actually in any way specific to these two characters, is mark fucking up. textually, structurally, analyzing this as a viewer, reader, writer, whatever, i'm like, come on they had to have seen what they did there, right? it had to be on purpose. they thought about what to include and they included that and not any scenes of the two of them bonding over nerd shit or whatever. like.... right??? especially since in the darker scenes from their marriage, we, IMO, do not see two people in a healthy marriage going through a difficult time. we see two people basically like... suffering separately in the same house. for the most part, we don't see them looking after each other. we don't see them reaching for each other. we don't see them being comforting or being vulnerable, offering kindness or asking for support. we see gemma lying awake miserable in bed while mark angrily takes apart the crib. to me that does not say "what a profound and deep real adult love." to me that says "if lumon hadn't intervened these people were five years out from divorce, max."

however, it's really tough for me to assess how i think the show wants us to interpret this episode, because so many people on the internet very clearly have interpreted it as a portrait of what real lived-in adult love looks like to the extent that many of them are like "how could anyone care about the relationship between the two main characters of a TV show when there was an episode about his sad wife?" and i mean i do just think this is a widespread case of heterosexuality brain poisoning. but because heterosexuality brain poisoning is so widespread, that means that i also can't rule out that the show's creative team also had heterosexuality brain poisoning and did think they were selling us on a beautiful if tragic love story. i can imagine how heterosexuality brain poisoning would look at the ant farm scene and be like, it's so cute how he got her a present that she hated haha :) and be so preoccupied with the boygirl of it all that they would not stop to think, "but maybe if we're selling this grand romance we should include one (1) conversation indicating how compatible and well suited they were to each other and how deeply they understood each other, to balance this out." i can also imagine how heterosexuality brain poisoning would just look at the inherent tragedy of lady want baby and be like, well basically the definition of love is to suffer and not get divorced, and, again, not consider that if you want to show the strength of a relationship you should consider showing scenes of two people taking care of each other. the more i think about it the more it really gets hard to wrap my brain around the idea that this would all happen by accident. but i also feel like you can just never underestimate the power of heterosexuality brain poisoning, the same force that paired up the two canonically sluttiest characters in the magicians and then decided to give them a bunch of conflict centered around monogamous commitment, LMAO. (that last scene in particular does feel like it's supposed to speak to the idea of how much a person might regret the way everyday stresses make you less present in your relationship once the person they were less present with is gone. and then there's the fact that in the episode we also see gemma asking after mark repeatedly... easy for ME to read as reasonable given her situation even though her marriage sucked but again like ok why is this what you are showing us... what is it communicating when you could have chosen any number of things to display...)

anyway. the reason i can't let this go even though the show at this point has convinced me it is probably all gonna be pretty dumb in the end is that i actually love the idea of a guy moving heaven and earth to save his not dead wife who has been asking about him for two years and then the two of them discovering that actually they should probably get divorced. like how do you come to terms with the realization that you want to divorce the person whose loss completely psychologically decimated you and whose miraculous return upended the material reality of your life and you sure thought would fix all of your emotional problems? how do you come to terms with remembering that the husband that saved you from hell, that you thought about every day you were in there, was also kind of a shitty husband? like i find that actually an incredibly juicy concept. and thinking about reintegration, assuming that ever actually winds up fucking mattering like at all (it sure seems like it will in season 3... but it sure seemed like it would about 4 separate times in season 2 so i'm not counting any chickens yet), what does it do to a person who was in a very normal and increasingly unhappy and distant relationship to suddenly have access to a version of himself who experienced this genuinely life-altering radically invigorating love? a love that actually caused the two people in it to grow together and as people over time even though their time was so bizarre and abbreviated? unlike your love with your wife that mostly just made both of you really depressed? a version of yourself that found real and thrilling happiness in a context that looked absolutely nothing like the things you thought you wanted from life, which, btw, you mostly got and which failed to make you happy? like that's interesting.... to me.

and there's some intriguing resonances here wrt the concept of normativity vs. authenticity and the thing that actually got me to emotionally invest in this show in the first place, which is that a huge chunk of the thematic and emotional thrust of the first season came from the fact that it not only had this unexpected (to me) tender gay love story but that the fact of this unanticipated (to the characters) gay love story was like completely central to the core story being told about these people reconceptualizing themselves and their wants and needs and place in the world and belief about the "society" around them. i was really pleasantly surprised by the subtext (barely) of that plot but then s2 was so dumb in so many ways i forgot about it. and like i'm not saying "mark s/helly r is actually queering straight hegemony" (or... Am i... no i'm not. but it would be funny if i did). but there's the potential for a resonance, like i said, with the idea of love & desire as something that radically changes how you move through the world and see yourself. i mean that resonance is already there for mark s. and helly on their own lol. but it would be REALLY something i think to see that carry into reintegration (which... sidebar assuming reintegration ever does matter i think it will be totally fucking stupid if it plays out any way other than "much, much, much more of an existential mindfuck for mark scout than he is anticipating," whether or not that winds up getting into the gemma stuff. i would actually be very confident that this would be the case based on the petey scenes in s1 but again at this point my trust that the show is going to be "not stupid" is very low.) we have already seen outie dylan take heart from the fact that his innie is kind of a cool badass, but it would be so neat to watch mark scout come into that realization (1) viscerally rather than through a third party and (2) totally against his expectations and his will and his desire to get back to normal with his not dead wife. like that would be really interesting and fun for me. also it would be funny to see the "mark/gemma is the most beautiful love story i have ever seen on TV" crowd [separate from the "i just want gemma to be ok" crowd, whom i do not understand because she is a plot device tertiary character with no personality and it's simply not how i watch TV but whom i basically respect as valid] completely lose their minds about this. but mostly i think it would be a sexy story to tell. and again if i just focus very specifically on the things the show has communicated about mark's actual marriage (including that when he's rescuing gemma he says "we were - we had a life together," as though he can't bring himself to say "we were happy" because they fucking weren't) i would be like, well, maybe... but if i think about the show as a whole (stupid now) then i just don't even know where we're going with any of it so i will refrain from actual prognosticating.

[lightningant]

Why's Jeverus and Prongsfoot so rare as James centric enemies to lovers and friends to lovers ships? I never thought about it till now.

Community, timing, style of shipping.

Prongsfoot got a lot of its framework in book 5, two and a half years after book 4, where Wolfstar was already locked in (after being so strongly established in book 3). James was dead and had a wife already, while Wolfstar was alive, single, and living together. Even upon reading in full in current day, Wolfstar is going to be the first thing for one to react to as the first pair of adult men the same age we're meant to root for.

Jeverus didn't lock in until book 7, at the very end, where we learn the bullying was sexual jealousy and there was a mutual obsession at play here. Snape's involvement in Lily gave him guaranteed proximity to James, who is fixated on him because he's standing next to Lily and is ugly about it...You know. Also, most fans start out strongly disliking Snape, and it's a crapshoot on whether the procession of the story is enough to change their minds. For people who do like Snape, their affection often begins because they find the bullying so horrible, so they're not going to give him to James. The 3rd faction is Alan Rickman fans, who prefer to use a character who functions as reader insert to romance him as their own personal Heathcliff.

So the fandom is rapidly approaching 30 years old. Often, you'll find a fandom has common ships where everyone just ships it out of a compulsive need to participate with others. Even after the tendency dies down and other ships gain prominence, you'll still see vestigial trends. Wolfstar gained fucking immortality. Why would you break up Wolfstar and Jily, the Best Ships? They're all paired up!

Do you remember ship wars? Because I remember ship wars. Your cast being neatly paired up used to be best case scenario. Nowadays people don't even use "OTP".

Not to mention they're teenagers and Harry is born a mere 3 years post-grad, so a lot of the most popular enemies to lovers tropes have almost no room to breathe. Sooooo much Drarry is post-war, I remember being on FFnet before the books finished coming out and it was still so much post-war. In the MIDDLE of a war? When James is married weirdly young? Doth our angel CHEAT? IN A WAR?

It's important, then, that Jegulus was a bunch of brand new fans taking the piss. There became a community of taking the piss. Good fics happened. They chatted about their joke fic getting good fics. Everyone wants to be in on the joke. Community is formed. When asked "what's a good gay ship for my boy James", their instinctive reaction will be "well I'm in on this little joke..." I like to lurk on Marauders fandom like an anthropologist and they're doing this exact process to Gilderat right now.

Not to mention Regulus characterization is reconstructed to fit the circumstances; he's a quiet black cat softboy who's beautifully tortured, and he's often presented as a brief relationship James has before Lily, as Lily doesn't date him until like, 6th/7th year, so we got a cross-section of "best friend's brother" trope, black cat/golden retriever, tortured Slytherin boy, sports rivals (seeker/chaser), forbidden love, breakup angst, Regulus isn't related to Lily at all so their wires don't get crossed, and Regulus isn't publicly a friend of James so it's actually possible to cleanly break them up so Jily can function.

Most importantly, people actually like Regulus, and Regulus is 1000x more susceptible to Draco in Leather Pants characterization than Snape, who's glazing trends towards the gothic and byronic, not the dark academia sensitive flower having a moral crisis. It's a very lovingly set playground, and steals attributes from other ships to make a more generically appealing whole vs the other two James dynamics going on here. People accuse Regulus of stealing Snape's personality, but in reality he is stealing a truly galling amount of Sirius' tropes (everything BUT his personality), and honestly I think people underestimate the dramatic potential of Regulus being the one malding over James dating the brother who he hadn't been able to connect with, because the malding is utterly hopeless, and the tragedy hurts worse, and the Wolfstar hits like a home run when Lupin is the dick grayson or whatever the hell that guy from ATYD's name was in this relationship picking up the pieces.

Can I say bad taste? I'll also say bad taste.

[ilikekidsshows]

I keep seeing people saying Adrien disregards Ladybug’s boundaries and if we call Marinette a stalker, then we have to call him a harasser too. What do you think?

---

I'm not gonna let people with the opposite priorities to mine tell me what I should be doing, but, like. Let's pretend this request is done in good faith for a moment, that the Marinette stans posting stuff like that are just asking for what they think is fair play instead of this kind of thing being a distraction from the issues being discussed.

No. I don't think we need to discuss the harassment with the stalking if we're discussing the show past the first three seasons, because these things stopped being equal with the retool, and before the retool I did, in fact, treat them equally by ignoring them both. I kept ignoring the stalking for most of the retool too. I ignored Marinette ignoring Adrien's boundaries as she dug into his personal business, as she tried to control who he spends his time with, as she couldn't stand being “just” his friend until it all led to her picking his abuser over him.

Surprise! It's about the abuse apologia! That shouldn't be a surprise, I say it a lot, but I don't say it on every line on every post so some people miss it. Do I need to type “the stalking that’s a part of a larger pattern of dehumanizing Adrien that led to the abuse apologia” every time I mention the stalking? Maybe then people would get the hint.

Because that's the problem with the stalking: it's actually a symptom of a larger problem in the show. The show constantly and consistently dehumanizes Adrien, most often through Marinette. Marinette drooling over his pictures and her being unable to say more than that he's “pretty” to tell us why she likes him is presented as true love. She treats him very similarly to the mob mindlessly chasing him around in ‘Gorizilla’ so it blurrs whether or not the way he gets mobbed is wrong or not. Marinette's love for Adrien is depicted through her not caring about what he's thinking or feeling, but trying to trick him into being with her and stopping him from being with others like he can't have his own opinion on that. When we get to the abuse apologia at the end of season 5, many Marinette fans first defended it with how in character it was, like that made the situation better, instead of making everything she's done in the series up until then worse.

The retool retroactively makes the stalking lead up to the abuse apologia, because it's part of a pattern of dehumanizing Adrien. Because the writers think dehumanizing Adrien is okay because he's the “love interest”.

So, in order to treat Cat Noir harassing Ladybug with the same severity, we need

a consistent and constant pattern of behavior where Catdrien ignores Maribug's boundaries in different ways that are presented either completely uncritically or very vaguely critically 

it all to lead up to a scene of Catdrien ignoring Maribug's boundaries in a way that's unforgivable and ruins the entire relationship retroactively while they stay together and pretend everything is fine

Considering how the canon Adrinette is specifically written so that Adrien respects Marinette’s boundaries so much she gets to decide everything that happens in the relationship, I highly doubt that's gonna happen. So, no. I won't be discussing the harasser allegations unless I’m, like, gonna do a post specifically about how bad this romance show is at romance.

Also, I’m gonna be honest: I look at these whataboutisms that Marinette stans throw around and all I see are distractions. They make it sound like a genuine question, but instead it's actually just making people who want to criticize Marinette jump through arbitrary hoops before they can be “taken seriously”. It's another thing from Astruc’s playbook, where he says only people who’ve also made a successful TV show can call his show hot garbage. I have never seen an Adrien salt blog get told: “you should criticize Marinette too to keep things balanced or you're a hypocrite.”

[chireikiden]

Might be a pretty basic take by the standards of more seasoned yuri fans, but it's my perspective as someone who's mostly read yuri in a Touhou context (though a lot of it), and exclusively manga from the Japanese fans as opposed to i.e. written fics.

Touhou yuri (using it very broadly here to describe any kind of wlw shipping present) is, across the board, in a pool of fan literature going back twenty years, remarkably good at taking the lesbian part for granted. Not counting outright het content or works that simply don't bring it up, I have only very vague memories of a character's lesbian orientation being either denied or even brought to question (even in the cliche "But we're both girls!" manner, which even as a somewhat dead horse trope you might still expect to see, given plenty of doujin writing isn't exactly highbrow). You might be able to read "Does she like girls?" between the lines in the usual question of "Does she like me?" if you really want to, but the way it's still basically treated as default is fun to me. There's a reason Touhou basically has honorary yuri status on e.g. Dynasty Reader, even the stories with effectively zero shipping in them. You might not notice if you haven't browsed the site, but it's literally nothing but yuri + Touhou. We even got upload rights just so we could post more Touhou.

(Of course, Touhou being yuri city is part of the reason any hint of straight romance gets a really strong kneejerk reaction from people, including me. But that's also because the lack of usable male characters makes that shipping inherently hamfisted, up to and including literally making up cardboard villager OCs. Basically the only positive example I can remember off the top of my head is Hisona's An Old Poem for the Cuckoo Bird depicting Youki with a 1000-year-old mostly joking crush on Nue, which after some chin-scratching I decided I liked alright. And Hisona of course has plenty of yuri cred to cover for it.)

But although taken for granted, most Touhou yuri is one or more of: a.) On a "blushing maidens thinking about holding hands" level in its approach to romance, b.) Only depicting the starting moments of a relationship, at best - usually just pining, c.) Only off-handedly teasing, basically to acknowledge the ship is there, d.) Showing a very close and loving relationship but leaving the romance part subtextual, even if thinly veiled.

While those are all fine - some of my favorite artists like e.g. Ashiyama undeniably fall under d.) - it means that artists who depict more established couples, and couples that get depicted as more established, stand out. I love when a story is very blunt about two characters, whether the focus is actually on them or not, already being an item. Be it due to a difference in target demographic or what, many of these works seem to have a slight lean towards being more raunchy/horny even when not outright R-18, but I don't actually mind that too much when it does happen - as long as they're fun and raunchy, as opposed to only raunchy or, god forbid, unfun in raunchy ways.

I like how Moyazou depicts Mokou and Keine as basically-married. I like how Atoki depicts YuuParu or SakiYachi after drawing like twenty books of them (each). I like when Kawayabug depicts Tojiko as Miko's beleaguered wife. But the example of the day is obviously risui (of Ladies of Scarlet Devil Mansion), who you might have guessed inspired this ramble. Funnily enough, in LoSDM she seems to have walked back Meiling and Sakuya's relationship coincidentally at the same time she toned down the content to fit SCoOW's guidelines, compared to her usual works that have MeiSaku at a much more established and mutual stage.

But the point stands that it's really fun to see LoSDM almost rub it in your face from the very start - from Meiling's dream to every other conversation she has - that everyone in it is unapologetically and openly lesbian, assumes everyone else to be a lesbian, and doesn't hesitate to talk about it like a (romcom idiot) adult.

Also, risui draw lady very good

[hashimasims]

Presenting Kaye for @changingplumbob's Dating Deanna

Hello there! Umm . . . My name's Kaye and I'm applying to be a contestant on Dating Deanna

I've just recently aged up to a young adult (21 in Watcher years) and moved out of my Mother's house and into an apartment in San Myshuno! Nothing I ever did made her happy but I think most of that stems from the fact that we're on one of the spare branches of this save's legacy family - did I forget to mention my last name is Glynnan? I was also born a human which is a MAJOR area of contention for my mother Deliliah who thinks it's a disgrace but my big brother Domenic loves me just the same and doesn't care that I'm not exactly the girly girl princess mother always wanted. I wanted to play football instead of joining the cheer leading team in high school and I'm a bit of a glutton - though I consider myself more a foodie who just enjoys ALL food!

I'm an Adventurous sim and I love the slopes of Mt. Komorebi just don't put me on a set of skis, snowboarding is the only way to go down the mountain! I do have to admit that though I don't dislike rock climbing I'd much prefer using the safer machines found at gyms to actually climbing the mountain after hearing about my Uncle Daolong's incident.

I'm working on becoming a professional athlete one day and here's to hoping one of the EA Gods will patch in professional snowboarding. If that happens I'd be the happiest woman ever! But currently just making Candles and selling them on Plopsy to make a bit of extra cash while I slowly move up the athletic career corporate ladder.

I love listening to music at the end of a long day but PLEASE no winter holiday music! I heard far to much of that All I Want for Winterfest Song while I was working retail as a teenager I NEVER EVER want to hear it again if I can help it!

Now for the specifics I guess . . .

I'm a cisgender female still exploring their sexuality. I'm attracted to both men and woman so being classified as Bisexual might be easiest though I'm leaning more towards Pansexual since I don't really care if someone is nonbinary, trans, genderfluid etc and I've met a few Sims who claim they're bisexual but won't date Trans sims, to each their own but why? If someone makes me happy and I them it seems perfect to me!

My traits are Adventurous, Music Lover, and Glutton. I think there used to be more like Socially Awkward and Vegetarian but my Watcher wasn't sure if @changingplumbob had the more traits mod so removed the last two

My current aspiration is to be a Master Maker

My likes and dislikes are below ↓ There's quite a few but My Watcher actually cut it down from what was there when I was a Teenager

Am I OK with getting flirty with the other contestants? I'm here for Deanna but if any of the other contestants flirt with me I don't see a problem with it since we're not in committed relationships or anything.

Am I open to Polyamory? Maybe? It seems to be working fairly well for my cousin where monogamy hasn't been working for my mother - three kids from three separate failed marriages yikes! Maybe you shouldn't talk trash about El when you don't have even half as healthy of a love life. Sorry mom I know it's not proper to air your dirty laundry on national tumblrvision but oh well! Domenic raised me to think honesty is the best policy so . . .

Open to woohoo? I mean it's part of romance now a days so I'd be alright with it. I just won't let my brother tune in those days. Sorry Dom!

Am I open to flirting with Joey? I think I could be! Again I signed up for Dating Deanna and don't want to hurt her feelings but the heart wants what the heart wants I guess

My watcher is ALL IN!!!

[dreamcatcheratdawn]

Hii, do u write for Chris Prince? If yes can u write some hcs for crhis x reader in a platonic way? Like they act like siblings, ty! Ily <3/p

Okay, I liked this idea because it's a bit of a departure from the romance we're used to seeing in fanfics here, it was a bold request. As I don't know Chris Prince as well as I'd like to, I did some in-depth research on him and found some nice things. (And sorry for doing this so late, my little vacation had arrived and I decided to give myself a break before going back to college, so I didn't get involved with anything on social media)

"I'll protect you, always."

Chris Prince x gn!reader Warning: Very fluffy, slight mentions of narcissism, nothing too heavy.

Chris has been your friend since you were both in your mothers' wombs.

Your mothers were best friends, so there was nothing to stop them doing the same with their children. In other words, you and him. Your friendship was so natural that many people mistook you two for brothers.

Not that Chris didn't act like one.

Man, while it was nice to share your moments with him, it was a pain to have Chris Prince all over you, showing off how beautiful and perfect he was. Seriously. He had no shortage of compliments for himself. He complimented you too, but not with the same intensity as he complimented himself.

Oh, there was also that thing about doing things perfectly. When he focused on doing something, he wouldn't let go until he'd successfully completed it. This implied that he lacked interest in his studies, no matter how much you and his parents argued with him to make an effort, but he wouldn't even listen. He also bragged about the things he did perfectly well, like playing chess and ball. He would make fun of you about why you seemed so weak at it. And for the idiot that he was, he didn't realize that this hurt you, until the point that you exploded one day and ran off the soccer pitch.

He was startled by the sudden explosion. Like any child, he got desperate and came after you, and you duly explained your point. It wasn't easy, because making amends was something Prince didn't do, even more often. But for you, he did, even if only in the slightest.

Hearing Chris's apology made you smile, and then you were back to your normal selves.

When you received your first confession letter, Chris felt an extreme need to protect you. He found out about the boy who gave you the letter, and asked you a barrage of questions as if it were an interrogation, asking things like: what are your intentions with her, what made him fall in love with you, and so on.

When you found out what he'd done, Chris thought you were going to give him a scolding, but you just laughed it off, teasing him that he was being too protective, even insinuating that he was jealous of your suitor.

He blushed, starting to freak out, justifying himself by saying that it was only to protect you from bad guys, but you didn't listen.

There was also the day he had to go to Japan, and that day was heartbreaking. You said goodbye, tears rolling down your face as he huffed and puffed, wiping away his tears.

"Don't cry like that, you look like those cats that get ugly when they're wet." He said, laughing. You punched him in the arm, not even having an effect. He said goodbye to his parents and his parents made a point of being present.

After that day, you stayed connected by cell phone, talking every day, without exception. It was like a ritual.

When he grew muscles, you asked God to have mercy on you because this boy was showing off ten times more than before. There were so many photos of his muscles in your gallery that your friends really thought he was your boyfriend, even though you strictly said that you saw him as a brother, and he did the same.

And what a gossip Chris Prince was. He would tell you about every atrocity that happened during his stay in Japan that you wouldn't believe if he didn't have proof. And he would also share with you in messages about his rivalry with Noel Noa. You had the impression that you knew Noel Noa more than you knew yourself, because Chris talked about him so often.

You made a point of following his matches, whether on television, on your cell phone, wherever you went. You were his number one fan, so you would support him in whatever he decided for his future, extolling how incredible he was, even though he was already doing that for himself.

It was about ten years ago that Chris showed up at your college door in a sports car. THE GUY LITERALLY SHOWED UP WITH A FERRARI LA FERRARI ON THE DOORSTEP OF A COLLEGE LIKE IT WAS NOTHING. Clearly your classmates were shocked that you went up to him.

"When did you get here?" You asked, circling the car and getting into the passenger side, staring at the luxury car compartment, totally absorbed.

"Yesterday, at 3:17 in the morning. I didn't tell you because I wanted to surprise you." He smiled mischievously, lifting his sunglasses and showing those captivating blue eyes that always calmed you down.

"And what a surprise." You said, smiling at him and giving him a hug, which he reciprocated by pressing your body to his.

"Come on, I'll take you for a snack. Put your seatbelt on." He said, starting the car. You obeyed him, smiling at your best friend, at your brother you hadn't seen for years, and finally you were together again, ready to live every shared adventure. You would take his friendship to the grave, and he would do the same, with all the certainty in the world.

I don't know what to think about this, I think it's a bit blergh, but okay.

[lurkingshan]

My Journey to You Ep 12 check in

I am watching this for the first time after really enjoying Fangs of Fortune and wanting to check out the director's other work.

Unsurprisingly, the visual storytelling is on point and the show is gorgeous (though not quite as gorgeous as FoF, I am impressed he topped himself). I also find the plot in this one easier to follow, which I attribute more to editing than anything else. FoF was edited in a way that felt like it was trying to confuse you, where this show presents the story in a much more straightforward manner.

I can't lie, I was a bit underwhelmed by the lead characters at first, because I definitely expected spicier personalities for a lady spy and a rebellious son (plus I love Zhang Linghe best when he gets to be bitchy so I was a little sad he wasn't going to get to go there for this one). They're just so placid and nice all the time! But as the story went on I appreciated that this was part of the point--they are two people who really would prefer a quieter life but are forced into these roles they are not naturally inclined to/equipped for, and it's been interesting to see them find inner wells of strength and use their intelligence to figure it out.

Speaking of, I feel like there's something special about Ziyu that is going to be revealed. There have been lots of indicators that his father, and then the elders, were protecting him beyond what I'd expect for a pampered spare son.

The dynamic with Shangjue, Yuanzhi, and Qian is pretty fascinating. They are presented mostly as villains, but they're all just working toward goals that feel vital to them. I like that Shangjue is onto Qian (and Weishan), but knows he can't just attack rashly and is kind of intrigued by her managing to best them sometimes. And I like that Yuanzhi is such a brat but we're slowly learning his vulnerable spots and areas of naïveté. I find them all interesting characters but I'm not really shipping anyone in this trio at this point. This one does not feel nearly as queer coded as FoF.

I also like a lot of the side characters in this, Jin Fan being my personal fav. He's just so funny and I loved the reveal about him being a Super Extra Special Red Guardian. I still don't know what Lady Wuji's real deal is but I loved her double cross moment.

Ep 10 is the MVP so far for me because I loved the hell out of that underwater trial sequence. It was so beautifully shot, I loved it as a character moment for Zuyi, and it sold me on the romance.

I've heard tell that this show doesn't have a proper ending and was originally planned to have a second season that never happened... I grow fearful about what will be left unfinished.

[giggly-squiggily]

Ahh, does it make me cringefail if i talk about Franky twice in a row? Can you blame me? (You don't gotta write anything if you don't wanna! Just figured since we're sharing and all.... (ノ´∀｀*))

Considering his history with finding a partner, once he (somehow) sweeps [Y/N] off their feet, you bet he's gonna be boasting about it! EVERYONE is hearing about how awesome his partner is, how sweet they are, how skilled they are, etc etc..

ESPECIALLY Loid.

He tries to make it a competition between the two of them against Loid and Yor, but nobody else in either party really cares...

~💫Forgetful Anon (i guess we're sticking with that!)

(Headcanons to Dabbles: OFFICIALLY CLOSED)

Forgetful, my friend, my ally, my Franky-centric dabbler who brings me and the Fuzz so much joy; you are the farthest thing from cringe and this HC is truly precious! I love Franky both being so stupid in love and also just ridiculous it's a hilarious combo and I'm happy! I've gotcha covered! :D

“Hey there, Forgers! Have you met (Y/N)- wait, of course you have! They’re my partner now!” Your boyfriend announced with such glee- like a child who got their dream toy on Christmas morning. It was utterly adorable, if not a bit embarrassing.

“Yes, Franky. You’ve told us that- repeatedly.” Loid tsked with a small sigh, no real malice in his voice as he gave you a smile. “It’s always a pleasure to see you, (Y/N). I hope the trip here wasn’t too bad in this weather.”

“Oh no, it wasn’t bad at all! I’m used to this kind of thing.” You laughed as Anya ran over, taking your hand and bringing you to Yor. The three of you went about to the living room as Franky puffed his chest with pride.

“Aren’t they just amazing? Tough as nails, but sweet as candy! How’d I get so lucky to meet them?”

“Through me. And the agency.” Loid reminded, softening as he watched the informant swoon, head over heels in love. “You really do like them, huh?”

“Like? I’m so in love, Loid! I’ve never met anyone like them! They’re talented and smart and considerate of my time-” He paused briefly on that one, side eyeing Loid before continuing. “They always make me feel like I’m important, even when their plate is full.” He leaned in his arm as he watched you chat with Yor and Anya, laughing and smiling without a care in the world. “I owe you one.”

“You really don’t. I didn’t expect this to happen, but I’m happy for you both. Truly.” Franky eyed him suspiciously, but found no lie. He smiled after, lightly punching Loid’s arm.

“Say- we should do a double date soon. Maybe I can teach you the ropes on how to properly woo your lover~”

“No thanks.”

“Come on, I’m basically an expert on romancing people now!”

“You really aren’t, and I think I’m doing just fine with that.”

“I-” Franky raised his brows, not expecting that. Loid seemed to stiffen at the accidental confession. “No way, you’re-”

“Fuzzy head! Papa! Come play with us!” Anya’s cries of joy reached out to them, a pack of Bondman playing cards in her hands. “(Y/N) brought me a present!”

“We’re gonna play old Bondman! Is-is that what it’s called?” Yor asked as you grinned, lifting a shoulder.

“Sure- let’s go with that. Franky, you’re on my team.”

“Be right there, gorgeous! Winning couple reigns supreme!” He cried, laughing like a gremlin as he ran over. Loid shook his head with weary amusement, joining the party as Franky kissed your cheek.

He might be a bit of a show boater with this kind of thing, but his feelings were true. Franky clearly loved you, and to Loid; that was worth putting up with his informant’s antics.

[nikalaeva]

ACOTAR Villains, Part 2

We move on to antagonist №2 - Ianthe. For me, she is the leader among the ACOTAR villains, despite all the flaws I'm going to write about.

Let's start with the good. I like Ianthe because of her "down-to-earth" nature. Yes, she is a priestess with high status, but also just a fae, who doesn't have any physical or magical power that could compare to the HL. Any priestess is respected, this is not Ianthe's personal achievement, and all she has is her brains, cunning and friendship with Tamlin, although the latter, given his emotional instability, needs to be handled with skill. And Ianthe does it brilliantly.

And now on to the "buts...".

Spring Court

The presentation of Ianthe as a sexual predator is shit. We learned from Amarantha that women can be rapists too, SJM, we're not stupid. Why can't a woman achieve her goals without spreading legs? Her haunting of Lucien is stupid, what's it for? If Lucien is just a "trophy" she wants, the amount of effort and risk involved won't justify the result. And if Lucien is Ianthe's great love, we've seen too little to understand.

But Ianthe is Tamlin's friend. Am I supposed to believe she didn't try to get close to him at least for the benefit of it, especially after Amarantha? Ianthe is the perfect wedge to drive into Feylin's relationship and cause a breakup. Nah, it's better to make Tamlin an abuser and Feyre an emotional cheater than to put Ianthe into their forced, traumatized relationship - a woman who knows Tamlin better and longer, who will force Feyre to end the relationship with such "third wheel". Is this misogyny? If we present Ianthe as a rival - of course, but this is not bad, 'cause through Ianthe the author would reveal: 1) the theme of misogyny, 2) the influence of friends on love relationships, 3) the different views of a man and a woman on this situation, which leads either to a solution, or, as happened with Feylin, to a breakup.

Imo, it is better to make Ianthe asexual - not in terms of orientation, but in the sense she doesn't consider sex/romance as a tool. And then the "wedge" for Feylin would be Ianthe's envy and resentment personally towards Feyre, who received the honor and adoration of Prythian, which Ianthe strives for.

Night Court

Harassing Rhysand is bullshit. I just don't believe Ianthe thought it was worth the risk, given his reputation and Tamlin's presence. I can believe Ianthe was trying to play "two fronts," but quickly realized she couldn't handle it against the daemati and gave up on the obviously stupid idea.

(maybe I'm exaggerating her intellect because the other villains are even dumber?)

Starting ACOMAF, we could've gotten a whiny backstory about Ianthe being held captive by UTM because Amarantha was afraid that she and other priestesses were secretly organizing a revolution while Amarantha was terrorizing the HL. But then we would've learned from Rhysand it was a lie, and Ianthe has a shady past and ties to shady characters, but no proven ties, so accusing her would've been slander.

What do we have in canon? Rhysand knew Ianthe was rotten person. He might have ignored her because he hated Tamlin, but he KNEW Ianthe was hanging around Feyre now, and he didn't even mention it to her to be on guard. Would Feyre have believed him? I doubt it, but the point is that Rhysand tried. But it look like he was more interested in watching Ianthe plot at Tamlin's Court than he was in keeping traumatized Feyre safe from her machinations.

Feyre

Okay, she was never smart 😮‍💨. I'm not downplaying her UTM trauma, even dying painlessly would've been devastating to psyche. So I don't find fault with Feyre trusting Ianthe with everything. Feyre also (much to the chagrin of anti-Tamlins) admits she told Ianthe about Nesta and Elain and set them up for harm.

But what do we see later? Feyre is taking revenge on Ianthe not for her deceiving, not for her sisters, but for Rhysand (in the scene of Lucien's rape). Feyre, your fucking mate has obviously been through worse things from Amarantha, Ianthe is YOUR enemy. Btw, in the fandom it's often written that Feyre, the main character, didn't defeat a single villain, but in the interests of justice (suddenly, huh?) she killed Ianthe, luring her to the Weaver. Why is this forgotten? I think, it's precisely because Ianthe is underrated. She is presented as a "little evil" serving the "big one", a kind of rat, and ACOMAF is not "A Battle Of Wits and Statuses" between Feyre/protagonist and Ianthe/antagonist, but a fucking love triangle. Okay, this is a fucking romantic fantasy - then ☝️, let Ianthe be her rival.

Prythian

Compared to Amarantha and Hybern, Ianthe loses in "scale". A big omission, I tell you, which could've played into ACOWAR. Ianthe could've been reason for the HLs' mistrust of Tamlin (assuming an equal mistrust of Rhysand), reason for underestimating Feyre, who trusted her, and as a result her sisters suffered.

It would seem that Ianthe is just a pawn, but it's precisely this, her small figure compared to the all-powerful HLs, that became the source of big problems and discord at the war council. Because when I read about mega-giga-strong heroes and ultra-super-cool villains, I don't feel involved in the plot and can't empathize with the characters, their "great" problems for me are like stars exploding in deep space - too far and incomprehensible. In high epic fantasy it's easier to feel involved in the history and struggle between Good and Evil than in pulp fiction about pseudo-fairies fucking.

That's why I liked Ianthe, and I still felt a vengeful pleasure when she was killed. Even without a proper backstory, she was a credible antagonist, not just a sadistic psycho with murky motivations. In the last post, I wrote that Amarantha was supposed to be Feyre's moral compass. Ianthe could've been an example to her of how power and worship can corrupt, how easy it's to succumb to the idea of ​​"the ends justify the means," especially for a High Fae, especially the High Lady that Feyre had become (we'll skip the details).

And as a reader, I would've held my breath for the coming war with evil, who respected Amarantha and for whom Ianthe was just pawn.

[camellia-thea]

I'm curious about your thoughts for present day Armand/Daniel. How do you think starting their romance when their both vampires now changes their character arcs and dynamic? It feels crucial that Daniel was human and Armand was a vampire. Granted this is assuming the show is not doing a past version as well.

i'm so sorry, this has been sitting in my drafts for ages; this is such an interesting question, thank you! this was sent in reference to this post about book canon devil's minion. if there's anything here i can clarify on, let me know; this might be a little disjointed as i've jumped in and out of working on it for a week and a half!

i think that it's a little complicated overall, but not in a way that makes a good (for the viewer, not healthy) relationship impossible in the show! i think assad and eric both really love their characters and it's pretty clear to me that they're absolutely fighting for us dm fans. and given the recent interviews with rolin saying that everything between them has been devil's minion so far, i'm certain we'll end up well fed!

i'd love for there to be a past relationship that armand has taken from daniel, and i do genuinely think that it is a potential way they might take it. however, if we're going by the assumption that they aren't, i actually think it will work pretty well! there are obvious dynamic shifts between them, but that was never not going to happen, given the changes the show made to book canon (generally for the better! i think they've handled almost everything very well).

i think that a relationship starting between them with them both being vampires wouldn't work if it had been in the 70s, but i actually think it being old daniel works really well.

obviously the chase is a really really important part of the development of their relationship, but i can see it playing out in both directions; daniel chasing armand because 'what the fuck, man? you turn me and leave?' and on the other end, armand following daniel to keep him safe from other vampires, given he's pulling a lot of negative vampire attention towards him. i'd love for armand to appear for a night, engage in an argument or simply just appear wherever daniel is, then vanish again. i think that there is still a lot that can be played with in regards to the way that armand interacts with daniel as a fascinating creature and a step between the world and him.

i do think that this armand is a lot more in tune with the modern world in comparison to book armand, but i don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. book armand was living in a very different context; he and louis had been separated for a while before daniel was approached, and armand had essentially been drifting since then. a young man who connected with the world, as directly as daniel was trying to, was something that book armand needed. i think that now, with the wound of a very explosive separation from louis, he needs something different. someone (relatively) steady and also someone able to call armand on his own bullshit and lies. daniel has not lost his connection to the world around him, nor his nature of wanting the truth and to see the world. i'll come back to that in a minute.

i think the changes made to daniel match very well with the changes made to armand. older daniel is a lot more direct than younger daniel, and i think that young daniel, while being willing to stand for what he wants, did not have the power to set hard boundaries and expectations. older daniel, both because of life experience and because he is a vampire, comes at it with a little more equal footing. i think that he also knows how to look for armand's red flags, and i think that will help. i don't think that there will ever not be an inherent power dynamic between them, but that's part of the fun. i also think that daniel being more able to sidestep that dynamic.

but the key thing, i think, is that daniel, as he is in the show, understands how to live. maybe not well, but he has lived a full life in a way that armand has not had the opportunity to. i think that vampirism is a way for daniel to reconnect to living, and given the small snippet we've already seen of him, he's thrown himself into it. a book tour, hunting, having fun with mind-reading during interviews, i think he's reveling in what's been given to him. this is something louis was attempting to do with his photography, though the show very specifically makes commentary that he is not managing to connect with his subject matter in a way that daniel is. (i'll come back to this in a different post because it's interesting and i have commentary). armand needs that connection, this armand, book armand, both of them need a new connection to life, and i think that older daniel is a brilliant match.

i don't think armand could ever not love his fledgling. i don't think he could ever not end up obsessed with any fledgling he makes. armand loves completely, fully, and obsessively. his love consumes him enough that he reshapes himself to fit the other person. and given how significant a fledgling is to him, i don't think there could ever not be some sort of relationship there. this is doubled by the fact that armand is so unused to -- and terrified of -- dealing with loneliness, and the breakup with louis means that i think he will be actively seeking the presence of others, specifically daniel, even if that's following him at a distance.

and i'm a little sad at the lack of mind reading that will happen between them, because armand planting thoughts into daniel's head is a personal favourite from the books, but i think they have the potential to play with the sire-fledgling bond instead, which i'm curious about!

i also think it's super important to remember that the next season is the vampire lestat, not the queen of the damned, and that the devil's minion chapter takes place during the space of over ten years. while it's been confirmed that elements of qotd will feature, and i don't think they'll set daniel and armand aside, but it's still very distinctly lestat's turn in with the talking stick, as it were. and i think that it'll be a very good thing for daniel to learn more about armand; the children of darkness (or satan, in the books) is super important and i think that it'll be really interesting to get daniel responding to it.

either way, i think it's going to be good. i know assad and eric are so passionate about it, and rolin has also been very clear about its presence. i trust them to make choices that are justified with the characters, are interesting for the plot, and have good thematic influences.

[mattzerella-sticks]

With Benedict coming into his own as a bi man, here is my thoughts on how next season could play out if it truly is his turn to get married.

So what I'm thinking is Sophie Beckett as a gender fluid character in the television adaptation of Bridgerton, who will at times be presented as masculine but also feminine. And Benedict happens to fall in love with both versions of how they present themselves.

How?

Well, Sophie decides to go to the Masquerade Ball as the 'Lady in Silver' and Benedict is so charmed by them that, even after they leave, he is obsessed with finding them.

And in his pursuit he enlists the help of a Servant Boy (Sophie) who he does not recognize.

In Benedict's pursuit for the Lady in Silver, he starts to find himself growing fonder and fonder of the Servant Boy he has partnered with, however still holding out hope for the 'Lady in Silver' as his one true love. Meanwhile Sophie, not believing Benedict would be as keen to accept them if he were to find out the truth (that his dream girl is some poor servant), decides that this might be the only way they can spend time with Benedict.

However, secrets don't last long in the ton. And Sophie will confess to Benedict, expecting to be let down and turned away. Except Benedict is relieved that this love triangle he had invented was between two people, him and Sophie, and he expresses his love for them and they become engaged.

And Sophie wears a tux to the wedding but is painted to the high heavens because we're playing with gender here and it's the 1700s and no one's done it yet so they'd be setting a trend and we're having fun with historical romance fantasy.

And after the wedding, Benedict refers to Sophie as 'her' when she dresses feminine and 'him' when they choose to dress masculine but also I could see there being an effort to introduce 'they/them' pronouns into this universe as well.

That's just my take on what could happen, let's see what the writers come up with in 2 years.

[swifty-fox]

of course everything you write is amazing but you’re also really out doing yourself with cicada season. the depth of gale’s trauma that you probe but don’t unfold, letting it lurk and dictate who he is while keeping us (and gale too kinda) in the dark. the way you write bucky in this is like i’m getting to know him along with gale and falling in love with him too. the history of his tbi and how it intertwines with what gale struggles with (unconsciously knowing but not knowing things about yourself and the curiosity of such a thing.) the way as gale grows so do his frogs. the comments and tidbits which i hope buck and bucky get later on when they are happy together. (gale having a family, gale having romance, gale having more than marge) i also think its hilarious that bucky doesn’t know benny is gay the same way gale didn’t think bucky was gay. gale letting him stay the night and hold him healed me in a way i hope it works to heal gale too. and the ending? oooo helen you onto him you know what you’re doing. let yourself *feel* gale 😅

i’ve also got a theory: gale is so adamant he wants no romance, nothing to chance, etc but if/when bucky shows up the next time acting like nothing ever happened he’s also gonna be like *what the fuck*

bucky taking buck’s virginity — 16 year old me who always wanted to marry the person she lost her viriginity too (i didnt but i was a romantic) is crying.

wahhh this is SO sweet im kissing you anon.

Cicada season is definitely VERY near and dear to my heart. It's such a project and I'm working so hard really deliver the best piece I can. I'm not really a Kill Your Darlings writer. I don't cut a ton. But I've cut and edited and tweaked so much of it before it's even gone to beta.

for Gale's trauma I PROMISE we're gonna get at least half an answer next chapter. But yes I think it's fun kind of unfolding what happened as Gale does in therapy. Even though he remembers, being able to confront to directly is something he struggles with. I have a friend who shall remain anonymous who has been advising me with ptsd stuff at some stress to their own triggers and I can't be more grateful that they're willing to help me out with this. (You know who you are <3)

Their (and my) main motivation was to make SURE Gale was not just his trauma and his triggers and while yes part of the point of the story is that Gale has allowed himself to become caught up in bad coping mechanisms and unable to grow I wanted you to also just learn Him before I laid it all out on the table, as you would with a real life person.

And Gale and John are two sides of the same coin! Because John absolutely has ptsd from what he went through. And so yes when he recognized the panic attack in gale in the previous chapter it's cause he's like 'damn I and people I know have been exactly there' while also holding him accountable for being a grown adult who is capable and SHOULD manage his reactions ina way that's healthy for everyone. John himself is in therapy, though a little less so now that he's a few years out (I'm still researching tbi stuff but he does have long term PT and MT support)

I thought the helen bit was sooo funny I don't think she meant be present with what you're feeling by getting dicked down but you do you gale!!!

HAH We will see. I don't plan out my chapters too much besides a few key scenes I wanna hit. How Gale reacts to something I only know before it happens about 50% of the time.

OH HAVENT WE ALLL HAD THAT MOMENT