#i think a lot of people are caught up in the this is a disability/this isn't a disability binary that we fail to see the complexities...

[luckyladylily]

So like, transandrophobia.

To start this out, I am a trans woman, been around in the queer community for a while. I'm also bisexuality, polyamorous, disabled, and aromantic, and I think these other parts of my identity and the crap I've caught over the years for them heavily informs how I analyze something like transandrophobia. My wife is also asexual, so that plays a part in it too.

So every group of marginalized people has their own unique experiences and problems. It's more of a rule than something we've mathematically demonstrated, but as far as these things go it's ridiculously well established, and personally every time I've done even a basic dive into the issues faced by a marginalized group it's been self evident. I could easily list a dozen groups ranging from racial minorities to different kinds of disabled people to different queer identities and analyze their social issues but let's be real, this is pretty well established theory, anyone who needs me to do that is not really interacting with good faith. This is one of the big reasons we talk to people about their own experiences and groups, we cannot reasonably extrapolate the experiences of others from our own.

So like trans men and trans mascs and anyone else that falls under that umbrella has their unique experiences. The idea that we would even question this is weird to me? Like I can't even imagine the kind of evidence someone would need to present to me to change my mind, and given the pattern of the queer community to be shitty in exactly this way to people in our community, yeah that is not happening.

Therefore, we are taking it for granted that the trans men/masc/related umbrella has their own things going on like everyone else ever, and I don't understand how someone acting in good faith can try to claim otherwise unless they are young or otherwise very inexperienced with such things.

The next point of contention seems to be the name, and I gotta be real I don't care and I don't understand why other people do. I've read all sorts of arguments against the word transandrophobia and the majority of them seem to be rooted in a misunderstanding of intersectionality, and even then it's like there is such a thing where people get so mired in theory that they miss the forest for the trees.

Perhaps more important to me, getting overly worked up about something as unimportant as the precise term is... weird. Like exclusionists hating on bi and ace people weird. I remember what it was like a decade ago when exclusionists were trying to police the words of bi women, and five years ago when ace and aro people were under constant attack under the pretense that our language was harmful for some reason or other. You are going to have to work very, very, very hard to convince me that any bickering over language as it relates to transandrophobia is not just more of the same.

Next, "transandrobros hate trans femmes" and similar stuff. I've seen the callout posts and found them completely unconvincing. Again, they read a lot like the old "ace people hate lesbians!" posts I used to see. I'm not convinced that the individuals involved were a problem, I am certainly not able to extrapolate a problem to the rest of the group.

Finally, there is this idea that "maleness is not a vector for oppression" and this invalidates something about the whole transandrophobia thing, ranging from the entire concept of trans men experiencing prejudice to something about language being imprecise all the way to "This is fascist shit, omg these people are basically nazis" depending on who says it. I'm not going to touch any of that and just look at the underlying logic.

This is based off a misunderstanding of intersectionality theory. Many people think of intersectionality as defining intersecting prejudice, like a ven diagram, such that transmisogyny is the intersection of transphobia and misogyny. This is incorrect. Intersectionality defines unique prejudice experienced by people with intersecting identities. Instead of a transmisogyny as the overlap of transphobia and misogyny, imagine adding a third circle that overlaps both but also has its own areas covered by neither.

Applied to transandrophobia, even if we assume maleness is not a vector for oppression, there is no reason to assume that the intersection of maleness with a marginalized identity doesn't result in new issues. Imagine that 3 circle venn diagram that represents misogyny, transphobia, and transmisogyny. Even if you remove the misogyny circle there is still plenty of ground covered by the transmisogyny circle.

This just isn't a valid criticism. It is a pure theory approach based on a flawed reading of theory.

So in summary:

Everyone has their unique shit going on and I've seen no convincing evidence that trans men, mascs, etc. Are the exception.

I not seen any convincing argument that the word itself is bad.

I've not seen any convincing evidence that there is some epidemic of transandrophobia truthers hating and harassing trans femmes on scales higher than normal background queer infighting.

The most coherent objection to transandrophobia I've seen is categorically incorrect and based on a fundamental misunderstanding of intersectionality theory.

I would like to remind everyone at this point I am a trans woman, part of the group that is supposedly a problem for and I've just not see it at all, to the point where it is kind of weird how intensely some people are pushing this.

I'm not trying to be mean or whatever, I'm sure the distress on display here comes from a real place and real trauma, but I've yet to see anything that makes me think there is substance to the objections to transandrophobia as a concept. It feels and reads like the latest round of queer intracommunity exclusionism, and the fact that this time around I'm not one of the target identities doesn't change that for me.

[byfulcrums]

been rewatching rtte

toothless is called T multiple times, but the letter T doesn't exist in the alphabet of this world

i think hiccup was also called H???

hiccup went to the wedding of the man who tried to kill him and his family multiple times. no wonder he thought he could change drago's mind

snotlout is canonically a theater kid

"you're so small and cuddly" "please never say that again"

the twins are really smart, but they're also just stupid

hiccup straight up disappears when he's working on something

heather had a super noticeable crush on astrid

fishlegs got a love interest!! a plus size main character actually has a cool, badass love interest!

it was super hetnormative but it was cute

there was an island full of flying women who were implied to regularly commit cannibalism

hiccup taught all the riders how to fly with toothless, that's so sweet

everyone is a flat earther except for the twins

hiccup almost directly killed a lot of people

and killed a LOT more when destroying their ships

“scalding– cal..ding--" "toothle, plama bla!" was pretty much the funniest part of the entire series

dagur was bullied as a kid by a guy 8 years older than him who literally tattooed an imagine of him beating up little dagur in his arm??? What was that all about

actually we need to talk about how messed up everything about dagur is and about how the things that could've/did happen(ed) to him may be the reasons why he's Like That

just why was he imprisoned by the outcasts??? he didn't do anything to them directly

oof my brain is spiraling. "he loved you" "ig now we'll never know" what do you mean he didn't know if his dad loved him

there's a technically musical episode

tuffnut became hiccup's defense attorney and immediately got him the death sentence

hiccup regularly jumps off cliffs

he also jumped off a boat, with his arms tied and without toothless. just where did he think he was going

snotlout's annoying attitude is actually because spitelout pressures him too much and he feels like he has to be perfect for his dad :((

THE 'HICCUP'S EVIL MIRROR' VILLAIN THEME DONE RIGHT YESS!!!

viggo is the best httyd villain change my mind (you can't, swords at sundown, you may bring backup but i will win on my own)

skrill comeback skrill comeback SKRILL COMEBACK!!!!

"COMEEE TO DADDY"

what is a boar pit???

oh my god i had missed this series so much. it has no right to be this funny

this was my childhood. it has forever shaped the way i am

berserker heather the unhinged >>>

actually good disability rep! yay

hiccup complains about his peg leg pinching him

he straight up cannot walk without it and it is shown many times

"well, there are the benefits of a metal leg" after it got caught in a bear trap

funny moments, like snotlout trying to steal it to use it as a weapon

the jokes!! toothless laughing at the jokes!!! hiccup being so fucking done with the twins, who are always making the jokes!

there's an episode where everyone is so sleep deprived they actually start spiraling

astrid becomes a happy go lucky girl, hugs snotlout and tells him he's handsome

the fucking mood swings snotlout got were insane

the twins were straight up just hallucinating

"i sent them to wash their dragons, how could they mess that up?" cut to heather falling on her face with a bucket full of water in her hands

fishlegs becomes so paranoid, he's yelling at everyone all the time

"don't you know the trapper's trap can trap the trapper?? ...oh gods, i must be losing it, i'm quoting dagur"

YOOOO VALKA!!!! it's so nice to see her

hiccup tried to murder dagur to stop him from getting to toothless, which is scary bc it shows just how far he's willing to go for his bff, but also funny because hiccup. that was not going to work

oh the hiccstrid slowburn, how i have missed you

the twins's made up language

there was a beach episode turned murder mystery and a musical episode held at gun point

hiccup has a whole little speech that he periodically gives astrid to remind her that the twins serve a purpose

[cressidagrey]

The Queen of Romantasy and the Race Car Prince - Chapter 18

Pairing: Lando Norris x Elizabeth "Lizzie" Treshton (Original Character)

Summary:

Elizabeth Treshton—bestselling romantasy author, queen of fae heartbreak, and sworn devotee of a carefully structured routine—never expected her service dog to abandon protocol and diagnose a Formula 1 driver with something. But that’s exactly what happens when Mara the wonder-dog ditches Lizzie’s side to aggressively alert to none other than Lando Norris in the middle of a coffee shop.

Warnings and Notes: 

Mention of epilepsy and service animals. I don't myself suffer from epilepsy, so I asked my IRL friend, who thankfully was nice enough to let me ask her all the questions I could come up with. The rest I asked Reddit. So everything that's wrong...that's totally my fault and not on purpose.

This has literally all the worst things the internet has to offer: Ableism, Sexisms, Toxic Media, horrible journalism, death threats...I am pretty sure I am missing some of it.

As always big thanks to @llirawolf , who listens to me ramble

Lando was exhausted. His body ached, the post-race adrenaline long gone, and his head was still spinning from the chaos of the last few hours. But the moment he spotted Lizzie waiting just outside the McLaren motorhome, arms crossed, wearing his hoodie, none of that mattered.

She grinned the second she saw him. “Podium at home,” she said, stepping closer. “You looked good up there.”

Lando let out a breath, shaking his head. “Felt like I could’ve done better.”

Lizzie rolled her eyes. “You stood next to Max and Lewis on the podium at Silverstone, Lando. Take the win.”

He huffed a laugh. “Fine. But only because you said so.”

She smirked. “Good, Pretty Boy.”

He groaned, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her into his side. “You are insufferable.”

“And yet, you keep me around," she teased him before growing serious. "I’m proud of you.” Her voice was softer now, meant just for him.

His chest went tight in the best way, and he wanted nothing more than to stand there forever. But the media was still prowling, and he knew the longer they lingered, the more likely someone would shove a camera in Lizzie’s face, and he was not in the mood for that.

“Let’s get out of here,” he murmured, wrapping an arm around her waist as they turned toward the parking lot.

The car ride back to the hotel was quiet, save for the hum of the engine and the occasional burst of radio chatter as their driver navigated through the post-race traffic. Lizzie rested her head against the seat, fingers absently playing with the sleeve of Lando’s hoodie that she’d stolen earlier.

Lando found himself stealing glances at her while she wasn't looking, caught somewhere between exhaustion and the urge to blurt out what had been on his mind all day. The closer they got to privacy, the more his thoughts swirled.

It wasn’t until they were halfway there that he finally exhaled and said, “You won’t believe the absolute bullshit they asked me in the post-race presser.”

Lizzie hummed. “Oh, I have a guess,” she said drily, one hand absentmindedly petting Mara. 

That gave him pause. He turned his head to look at her. “Wait, you’re not surprised?”

She sighed, shifting so she could meet his gaze. “Lando, people like that always think disability is a burden. They just don’t usually say it out loud where it gets recorded.”

Lando had never wanted to throw a journalist into a wall more in his life.

His grip tightened on the seam of his race suit. “Well, they did say it out loud. And I told them they were full of shit.”

Lizzie’s mouth twitched. “I’d have paid money to see Max and Lewis’s faces.”

“Oh, Max looked like he was gonna throw a chair,” Lando said. “Lewis just did that thing where he got all quiet and disappointed, which somehow made it worse.”

Lizzie chuckled, but he could see the tension in her shoulders, the way she was trying to brush it off. Like this was just another part of life she had to accept.

It made him sick.

When they got to the hotel, Lando kicked off his shoes and flopped onto the bed, tugging Lizzie down beside him. She curled into his side without hesitation, their bodies fitting together easily.

For a while, they just lay there. Lando traced patterns on her back, letting the post-race exhaustion settle over him. Lizzie’s breathing evened out, her fingers lightly resting on his stomach.

Then, because he couldn’t help himself, he reached for his phone.

And immediately regretted it.

Fuck, he hadn’t expected this.

The internet was a fucking warzone.

The clip of the interview had already gone viral. His own words were plastered across Twitter, Instagram, TikTok—everywhere. Some people were defending him, but far, far too many were twisting it into something else entirely.

He scrolled past comments that made his blood turn to ice.

“He’s just saying that because he has to.” “Epilepsy is a liability. He’ll figure that out eventually.” “Lando should focus on racing, not playing nurse.” “They won’t last.” “Imagine risking a career over some disabled chick.”

“She’s a liability.” “No way this lasts.” “Epilepsy is a burden. She’s holding him back.” “He’s just saying that because he has to.” “F1 drivers should date models, not disabled girls.”

Lando’s stomach churned. He kept scrolling, seeing more and more of it.

Then he started seeing things from before the interview.

People digging through Lizzie’s old posts. Analyzing her seizures. Mocking her service dog. Even accusing her of faking it for attention.

“She plays it up for sympathy.” “She knew what she was getting into dating an F1 driver, she shouldn’t complain.” “She’s so dramatic about it.”

Lando barely registered that he’d started shaking.

“Lando.” Lizzie’s voice was quiet but firm. “Stop.”

He blinked, realizing his breathing had gone shallow.

Lizzie was sitting up now, watching him carefully. “Give me your phone.”

He clenched his jaw. “No.”

“Lando.”

His fingers curled around the device. “Liz, this is—it’s disgusting.”

“I know.”

“No, you don’t—” He cut himself off, because of course she did. Of course, she’d seen this before. Dealt with it before. Probably expected it.

“I already know exactly what you’re reading,” she said plainly. “I’ve seen worse.”

That was somehow worse.

“I just—I don’t get how people can be so fucking cruel,” he muttered, voice raw.

Lizzie sighed, reaching out to take his hand. “They don’t see me as a person,” she said simply. “They see me as an inconvenience.”

He swallowed hard. “I should say something.”

“You already did.”

“Not enough.”

Lizzie gave him a soft, tired smile. “I love you. But you can’t fight every battle, Lando.”

He exhaled slowly. “Watch me.”

“Lando.” Lizzie’s voice was sharp now. But not to him.

She was watching him with steady eyes, expression serious. “You don’t need to fight this battle.”

He knew that tone. She was digging in her heels, refusing to let him push himself to the edge.

“You’re wrong.”

She arched a brow.

He clenched his jaw. “This is bullshit, Liz. I can’t just—” He cut himself off, a strangled sound caught in his chest.

 “You said what mattered, Lando. The people who get it heard you.”

He swallowed hard, searching her face. “I just— I hate that you have to deal with this.”

“I know,” she said again, squeezing his hand. “But I also know that I have you. And that means more than anything some faceless idiot online could ever say.”

***

***

Lizzie had been expecting the backlash.

She had known what the internet would say after Silverstone. People had always found ways to turn her epilepsy into some kind of burden, like it was something Lando had to suffer through instead of something she had lived with her entire life.

But she hadn't expected this...this amount...

She had woken up before Lando, slipping out of the bed to go the bathroom, swiping her phone on the way...

She opened Twitter while brushing her teeth.

When she saw the hate, she wasn't surprised.

But that didn’t mean it didn’t sting. The words were still there, every slur, every insult, every snide comment about Lando being too good for her.

There were even worse things. Comments about the seizures, like the internet hadn’t decided to try and diagnose her enough times already.

But then—then she saw the thread.

She should have stopped reading after the first tweet. But she didn’t.

It wasn’t just speculation or people overstepping—it was surgical. Precise, methodical, cruel. Someone had gone deep, pulling up information she hadn’t even known was online. Her mother’s name. Her stepfather’s Facebook. The names and birthdates of her half-siblings—kids she had never met, would likely never meet.

Her vision blurred as she stared at the attached screenshot. An old Facebook post. A woman who looked so much like the mother she barely remembered, but older. A man beside her, his arm around her waist. And a baby in her arms.

The caption read: Our little family is growing.

Lizzie felt like she had been punched in the gut.

Little family.

She scrolled down further, her stomach sinking as she found another post. Two kids. A boy and a girl. Tagged with the names of people she had never heard of.

Her mother hadn’t just left.

She had started over. Had more kids. Had a whole new family.

And never once—not once—had she reached out.

A shaky breath left Lizzie’s lips.

Her mother’s new family. The one she had built without her. The life she had constructed, brick by brick, while leaving Lizzie and her dad behind like they had been a mistake she needed to erase.

Lizzie felt something sink inside her, deep and heavy.

And then she got to the comments.

"Lando deserves someone healthy.""She’s just going to be a burden.""You really think he’s going to stay with her forever?""He’s young, rich, and famous. Why would he settle for this?"

Her hands were shaking. Not from anger—though she should have been angry—but from something colder. Something sharper.

Because this wasn’t just strangers talking. These were the voices she had spent years trying to silence in her own head. The ones that whispered late at night, when her body ached from the aftershocks of a seizure. When she woke up disoriented, Mara pressed against her side, grounding her, reminding her that she was still here.

The ones that said, What if they’re right?

She wasn’t sure how long she sat there, staring at the screen, heart pounding in her chest.

Then—knock knock knock.

“Liz?”

Lando.

She squeezed her eyes shut. Her hands were still trembling. She forced herself to inhale, exhale.

The knock came again, a little firmer. “Lizzie?” His voice was careful. Concerned. “Can you open the door?”

Her fingers barely worked as she reached out, unlocking it.

The second the door opened, Lando was there, his eyes scanning her face, taking in her pale complexion, the way she was gripping the counter like she might collapse. His brows furrowed. “What happened?”

Lizzie swallowed, throat tight. “I—” Her voice wavered.

Lando took a step closer, his concern deepening. “Liz, talk to me.”

She exhaled shakily, forcing herself to say it. “My mum left when I was six.”

Lando stilled.

“She—” Lizzie laughed, but there was no humor in it. “She said she couldn’t handle it. That I was too much. My seizures, the hospital visits, all of it.” Her hands curled into fists. “So she left.”

Lando’s jaw clenched.

Lizzie’s breath shuddered out of her. “And now I find out she went and had more kids. That she had no problem being a mother, just not to me.” Her voice broke on the last word. “She replaced me.”

Silence.

Then—warm hands on her arms, grounding her.

“Liz.” Lando’s voice was quiet. Steady. “Look at me.”

She did.

His gaze was steady. Serious. “That is not on you.”

She tried to laugh, but it got caught in her throat. “It sure feels like it.”

His grip tightened—not too much, just enough. Just enough to keep her from floating away. “She made that choice. That has nothing to do with you.”

Lizzie shook her head, throat aching. “I—Lando, I just—I want to go home.”

His expression softened instantly. “Okay,” he said, no hesitation. “Let’s go home.”

Lando didn’t ask any more questions. He didn’t push her to talk, didn’t press for more details. He just nodded, pressed a kiss to her forehead, and said, Let’s go home.

Then he made it happen.

He was on the phone in seconds, making arrangements, calling his team, canceling whatever obligations he still had.

Lizzie sat on the edge of the hotel bed, staring blankly at the floor, the phone still clutched in her hand. The thread was still open, her mother’s face frozen on the screen.

She couldn’t look at it anymore.

Her fingers trembled as she locked her phone and set it down.

Mara padded over, putting her head on her knee, staring at Lizzie with deep dark brown eyes. Lizzie swallowed. 

Her thoughts were spiraling, looping around the same things over and over again. She left because of me. She couldn’t handle me. But she could handle them.

A deep inhale. Exhale.

She heard Lando pacing near the window, voice low but firm as he spoke to someone on the phone. “No, we’re leaving right now. I don’t care what the schedule says.” A pause. “Then change it.” Another pause, and then, more clipped, “Figure it out.”

Lizzie glanced up.

His jaw was tight, his eyes dark with frustration. He ran a hand through his hair before finally sighing, rubbing at his temple. “No, I don’t need to be there. I need to be with my girlfriend. Just handle it.”

A beat.

“Yeah. Thanks.”

He hung up, exhaling sharply.

His eyes met hers, and some of the tension left his face.  “We’ll be out of here in an hour,” he told her, voice softer now. 

Lizzie nodded. “Thank you.”

Lando crossed the room in a few strides, sitting down beside her on the bed. He didn’t say anything at first—just reached for her hand, threading his fingers through hers.

His grip was warm, steady. Grounding.

Lizzie let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

Neither of them spoke for a long moment.

Then, quietly, Lando asked, “Are you okay?”

Lizzie hesitated. She wanted to say yes. Wanted to act like she was fine, that this was just another stupid internet thing that she could brush off.

But this wasn’t just that.

She swallowed hard. “I don’t know.”

Lando’s fingers tightened around hers.

Her voice was quieter when she added, “I think I just… I don’t know how to feel about it.”

Lando nodded, like he understood. Maybe he didn’t fully, but he wanted to, and that was enough.

Lizzie exhaled. “I always thought maybe she’d had a hard time. That maybe she wanted to reach out but just… couldn’t.” A shaky breath. “But she could. She just didn’t.”

Lando’s jaw clenched again. His other hand came up to brush a strand of hair behind her ear, gentle. “That’s on her,” he said, voice low but firm. “Not you.”

Lizzie let her head fall onto his shoulder.

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, then rested his cheek against her hair.

They stayed like that for a while.

Eventually, Lando murmured, “Let’s get out of here.”

Lizzie nodded. “Yeah.”

They left the hotel without looking back.

[dancingafterdark]

oh my gosh! thank you so much for your lovely (and very thorough!) reply! i had already perused a few of your linked metas, so i knew i was talking to one of the very few season 2 stans i’ve seen online and didn’t want to risk coming off as if i was barging into your house and being a bitch about it — like i said, i actually don’t HATE season 2, i just have an issue with certain plot points/characters that end up breaking my immersion a lot more than season 1 — which, contrary to all the hype surrounding it, was NOT a perfect masterpiece unworthy of critique either (nothing is), so it’s interesting talking with someone who actually prefers season 2 over 1. I’m actually curious about your tea regarding said specific character that “tainted your enjoyment”, because i think i have had a similar experience regarding one character in particular throughout the entire show, including s1 and i actually think s2 wrote their character better conceptually if not with the. best execution, but i shan’t say their name aloud lest i get eviscerated :skull: 

okay, okay: looooong, rambling, semi-coherent post/response incoming, so I’ll just put this here and here we gooo~

Re: the fandom (and show’s) downplaying of Jayce’s trauma, analysing Jayce’s most infamous moment, and Jayce’s s2 writing in general:

I heavily agree that episodes s02e07-9 did a MAJOR service in helping “fix” Jayce’s reputation and gain him more grace/sympathy compared to how he was received in season 1 — note that i wasn’t HERE when season 1 aired, i hopped on only about a week after the finale aired and binged both seasons in about three days, but i have heard the stories and witnessed the Jayce Wars — and while i jokingly say i hate him and Viktor and Mel could do better by getting with ME instead lmao, I don’t. Maybe this is a controversial take, but I think he had one of the more consistently written arc of any other character in this show across both seasons, even as you pointed out, his writing in Act III is. questionable, and it’s NOT because i think he’s Christian Linke’s self insert either: his mini “corruption arc” in s1 was very tightly written even if it left me frustrated at him, which any good show is supposed to do, especially in the hyped Morally Grey Show™ with (allegedly) morally grey characters. I say people downplay his ravine trauma because i HAVE seen firsthand people disregard things such as his disability, saying that a broken leg isn’t “a big deal” — which I WILL blame on the show for being kinda bleg regarding its treatment of other freshly physically disabled characters throughout the season such as Salo or Jinx — and also viewers not having a good grasp on HOW long Jayce was stuck down in that pit; a sadly reoccurring pattern for the show, as I don’t think some people understand how much time actually passed in Acts II-III of season one either, and that has led to an exaggeration of just how much time Jayce had spent on the council alongside the scale of his political influence, and i think season 2’s execution of its VAGUELY A FEW MONTHS LATER timeskip between acts wasn’t handled as gracefully compared to the seven year skip in season 1. This is also why i argue we could’ve and should’ve had more episodes, to help better convey the passage of time beyond [shudders] music video montages, but i’m getting off topic.

It’s strange to see how...flippant the fandom is regarding the treatment of Jayce’s psyche, particularly due to his upbringing, and that has led to him being treated less sympathetically compared to other, more “pitiable” characters like Viktor or Jinx; i’m especially perplexed how the fandom took him accidentally killing a child during the Shimmer factory raid and ran with it to paint him as this psychopathic kid killer when, not only was he visibly distressed even long after he did it, it was an essential moment of character growth alongside a turning point in his arc — alongside the infamous bridge scene:

Yes, the blockade was objectively an awful thing to do and a gross usage of his newly-gained political power, as was his comments regarding how Viktor violating it affects his image and that people from the undercity are “dangerous”, and this is something show and character himself in the scene acknowledges was a step too far, but i think people zero in on him showing his ass towards Viktor (an offense punishable by death on its own) and not on the contextual reasonings as to WHY he put up the blockade in the first place; again, i think this is people forgetting how long season 1 realistically is, because chronologically, just a couple of nights before, a known terrorist not only had broken into their lab and made off in possession of what is essentially a magical atomic bomb powder keg while almost murdering his best friend/little sister in the process and said terrorist will go to commit a massacre on that very bridge while almost murdering his best friend again only a few hours following his and Viktor’s argument — a massacre he gets a VERY up close and personal view of the aftermath of the next morning, mind you (i know we’re all ACAB here and love Jinx, but, again, I think the fandom and the show later on kinda forgot that she was objectively a villain in season 1 — a complex and VERY sympathetic one, mind you, but a villain nonetheless), and you add on to his already established overprotectiveness and his distress over Viktor — who he had recently learned was on death’s door and is already critically frail in body and health — already having disappeared without a trace (“he does that sometimes”, he says while brooding in the forge, with a very deliberate closeup of his frustrated and conflicted expression) and his added conflicted feelings and the pressure put on him following his dethroning Heimerdinger and becoming the new, as Mel points out to him, “the defacto head of the Council” when he was, even just a few nights ago, simply a celebrity figure who doesn’t fully understand nor is particularly interested in playing politics, then I think writing all of THAT down into a timeline puts his more questionable actions during even that scene into perspective just as much as his unchecked Piltie privilege, even if it does make me want to tear my hair out and punch him in the teeth during the scenes where he shows his ass — which again, as frustrating as he may be, is a GOOD thing, because having a negative reaction to a character doing/saying something awful, even in the heat of the moment, as intended shows the strength of the character writing throughout the series, and it once again points to one of Jayce’s most evident fatal flaws:

The man wears his bleeding heart on his sleeve and he WILL jump into doing reckless/harmful things for the sake of his loved ones, even if it hurts them in the process — it’s basically the thesis of the entire damn show, as Singed directly points out (“Why do we commit acts others deem unspeakable? For love” and…god, not on topic with this conversation, but I adore the Jayce/Silco/Singed parallels woven throughout this series so much, I wanna chew on it)

This is a nuance, and feel free to disagree with me here, that I feel gets kinda skewered in season 2, particularly in Act III — and not just with Jayce, but he’s the subject of this discussion, so I’ll be focusing on him here: we start off incredibly strong with the nonconsensual necromancy highlighting just how far Jayce will go to in the name of “saving Viktor” and while I lament us not spending more time with either character to explore their processing of his actions, I think it’s, as you pointed out, Jayce’s writing and specifically his incredibly cryptic lines throughout Act III that really gives me pause. I feel like the writers were trying to have their cake and eat it too by having Jayce play at being Viktor’s morally opposed enemy for a bit while also holding the plot twist regarding Jayce’s actual intentions a bit too close to their chest, because some of his lines during the council room fight just seem. I don’t know, kinda detrimental to his end goal? That is why i don’t personally like his attitude or dialogue during the fight scene: sure, seeing him act all aggressive is (and i will be shameless here lmao) hot as fuck, we have external factors to justify his behaviour such as him being keyed-up while being caught mid-arguement with Mel + the Mage spamming the PTSD flashback button on repeat, and his lines make sense for that scene in the moment — but in hindsight, with the context of his promise to the Mage being not just to atone for their actions and prevent the robot apocalypse, but to also bring Viktor back to his humanuty, constantly being on the offensive when he’s still not too far gone yet is only going to push him on the defense and, oh, look at that: he’s now fully abandoned his humanity for godhood all because you blamed him for abusing the connection you tethered to him via the Hexcore without his consent, told him he was basically dead to you, and shot him AGAIN — and now you wanna appeal to his inner humanity with puppy dog eyes, an ethics debate, and a “i know there’s a part of you still in there”?? jesus christ, Jayce; viktor, please, stand UP—

(Then again, I think the writers also forgot about Viktor’s ✨magic touch✨ as well, or simply didn’t properly establish how that ability was limited as he further “evolved”; another point to THIS SHOW NEEDED MORE GODDAMN EPISODES: I would’ve KILLED for the time at the commune to be spread out over more than a single episode, if only to more properly establish Viktor’s limits — perhaps as a two-parter? Oh, to dream. So I make a conscious effort to tune out all but only the most shiptastic dialogue and behaviours during that scene and choose to focus on Viktor’s glorious thigh action instead, lmao—)

And yes, HARD agree that the show kinda just…skips over Jayce’s attempt early on, especially since it’s heavily implied that he successfully went through with it in the happytimes AU; yet again, another reason why I’m baffled why the fandom fixated over his accidental killing of a child to paint him as a murderous kid-killing madman as it’s made clear that his negligence in handling his crystals leading directly to the death of a child — even in a freak accident he couldn’t have prevented unless he knew that said child was planning on breaking into his apartment with the intent of robbing him blind — would have contributed to his spiraling mental health and decision to end it all just as much as the political fallout and scandal of a Zaunite child dying on topside grounds and his subsequent exile; now, whether or not this universe’s version of Viktor tried to or could even make it in time to prevent him from jumping is another story, but, as Mage Viktor said, in all timelines, in all possibilities — this is just one path that didn’t end happily for our men of progress. Now, I DO have. hm, issues with the finale having three of our four main characters who have expressed suicidal intentions throughout the show choosing to heroically sacrifice themselves for “the sake of others/the world” as the culmination of their character arcs, but excluding that fact that Jinx’s survival and basically guaranteed return is the worst kept secret in the writing room, I can’t feasibly see Jayvik’s arc ending any other way either: even if we did go down the path of “friends to lovers to enemies” that their League counterparts did or how the released initial storyboards were implying, I cannot see an ending where one killed and then was forced to go on living without the other as a happy ending, or even a satisfying one — their stories are simply too connected to have ever ended any other way if they had to die.

Speaking of…

Re: mage viktor my beloved, fate, tropes + storytelling, and a big ball of timey-wimey…stuff

again, this is another case where i’m probably seeing the more critical posts on this matter or am simply spending too much time on arcanetwt (do NOT recommend: your brain will turn to mush and leak out your ears just ten minutes of scrolling “hot takes“, save yourselves—); actually, funnily enough, there actually has been ongoing debate over there regarding the Mage twist, his actions, and the exact same trolley problem you had brought up for the past couple of days. Now, I LOVE the twist personally and am fascinated by Mage Viktor, for reasons I’ll further detail below, but for the sake of argument, let’s entertain the idea that the Mage deliberately doomed Jayce and had been playing an active role by pulling the strings so that Jayce ends up playing the exact role he planned for him (he didn’t, but let’s pretend): I still don’t like this take because it essentially robs Jayce of all of his agency. Furthermore, arguing over whether or not who “doomed” who in this equation misses the point of their story entirely, and that point is: Jayce and Viktor’s paths were always destined to end this way.

Jayce was already doomed with or without Viktor’s influence, and vice-versa: whether he dies alone with his also dying mother in a freak blizzard without ever having been touched by magic, or by taking his own life once his research and scientific pursuits backfire onto him, and likewise, Viktor was doomed to die and go down a dark path in hopes of prolonging his lifespan even if Jayce never merged him with the Hexcore; and while you can argue that, what with their being infinite possibilities, there are hypothetical timelines where Jayce and Ximena never got trapped in that blizzard and the former went on to live a happy, successful life as a blacksmith or merchant following in the footsteps of his father, or Viktor never left Zaun, continued to work with Singed to perfect Shimmer, and was able to heal himself that way — all very fun “what-if” AUs to explore — I feel that focusing on hypotheticals still misses the point of the Mage’s words: “in ALL timelines, in ALL possibilities”. And I have reasons to take his word for it because, while he may be an all-powerful time traveling god in this form, he is still Viktor and therefore he is still a scientist at heart, which I feel quite a few people in the fandom ignore: we have no reason to believe that he has not exhausted every possible option or factor across all of time and space only to come to the same conclusion — no matter how far their paths diverge, Jayce and Viktor will always inevitably meet at a fixed point of origin that will lead to the end of the world. That’s why I don’t personally fw the whole “the Mage is manipulating Jayce to clean up his mess” take or the sentiment that “well, if the Mage never gave Jayce the rune in the first place, this never would have happened” because, well, for one, I highly doubt this was an outcome Mage Viktor even wanted to come to in the first place — look at his expressions in that scene in the finale, the inflection of his voice — but also, once again, this take robs Jayce of his agency throughout the entirety of the show, and I. don’t like that. With or without his emotional support shiny rock, Jayce would’ve either gone onto be so enchanted by magic that he’d try to recreate it, or he’d be dead: the rune played very little of a part in that process because Jayce Talis, alleged himbo, is above all else: 1) INCREDIBLY intelligent and was able to successfully recreate the runes he’d seen the Mage produce down to a science despite only seeing them briefly when he was only three apples tall, alongside nearly having already cracked Hextech before he met Viktor that fateful day, and 2) INCREDIBLY stubborn and headstrong: once he has a goal, he sets his mind to it and with or without the rune, he will find a way to bring magic to the world, goddamnit, even in a roundabout manner. Both him and Viktor connect so well because they are stupidly determined in their aspirations and enable the shit out of one another when locked in a room together despite their drastically different paths in life, like two magnets destined to meet despite their contrasting charges, which is why the twist works so well in my opinion: hell, even our Viktor, in his dying moments in The Message Hidden Within the Pattern, comes to the exact same conclusion (“...two sides of the same coin, inextricably bound…”) even if the message he gets from it is: emotions and humanity sucks and is the root of all evil, good intentions be damned, i’m ascending to the divine bad news about the divine—

Onto the matter of WHY people seem to dislike the twist that i’ve seen firsthand, it usually comes down to a few crucial factors: “it should’ve been [insert other League character] here instead” or the OP has many gripes regarding the time travel part of it all, which…yeah, I get it, even if I disagree. I usually see people argue that Viktor was never planned to be the Mage and that the twist was a retcon based on the fact that some redditors (of course) claimed that the leaked model of the Mage in season 1 heavily resembled Ryze + connecting his established LoL background regrading his handling of runes, to which…okay, ignoring the fact that I am a filthy, disgusting CASUAL who has never touched a league of legends in my life and whose eyes glaze over when skimming the wiki pages, people are aware that creatives can just…put things into their projects deliberately to throw off the audience, right? Have we forgotten Alex Hirsch faking an entire leak controversy to protect the most important plot twist of his show because he and his team had already noticed that viewers were not dumb and some had even already figured out the reveal only eight episodes in (and this was in 2014, mind you)? The point is, these creative teams know that viewers are not stupid and made a point to leave just as many clues hinting towards Viktor being the magic from the beginning than they did it being Ryze or any other League character not directly involved in the story they’d otherwise have to scramble to introduce: from the use of his and Jayce’s leitmotifs throughout the essential scenes to the blatant foreshadowing of Viktor being represented by the magician card. Furthermore, there are more direct character motivations behind this writing decision that are also crucial as to why the “Viktor shouldn’t have been the mage” argument falls apart to me personally: why the hell would Jayce have listened to anyone other than Viktor? We’ve seen firsthand how defensive Jayce gets towards anyone that dares to even question Viktor’s safety, so why would Jayce listen to a random stranger — even one who had saved his life in the past and directly inspired him — when he had Heimerdinger, his mentor, exiled for simply threatening to have the one thing that could save Viktor destroyed? And furthermore, why would someone like Ryze, who knows firsthand of the danger of the runes’ power, entrust the fate of the world, let alone hand one of to a random child without another word or warning him of the dangers of pursuing magic? I also feel like some people interpret the creators’ comments that “the only one who could defeat Viktor is himself” as meaning that if Viktor wanted to prevent the robot apocalypse, he should have interacted with Viktor directly instead of relying on Jayce, rather than the fact that this much older and wiser version of Viktor has recognized that Jayce truly is the only one who could reason with Viktor and help him see his humanity because he realizes now how much Jayce well and truly loves him.

But even then, I feel all of this this is still ignoring the crucial elephant in the room, and that is:

Arcane is, first and foremost, an adaptation and as any good adaptation should do, it needs to be easily accessible to casual viewing audiences as it is to hardcore fans as to not alienate or confuse non-League players.

Granted, I also feel the advertising of Arcane as a wholesale prequel to LoL rather than as what it actually is — an AU — to play just as much as fault as it is mismanaged fan expectations: even in season 1, there are quite a few major writing decisions that contradict established League lore such as Vi no longer having amnesia a writing decision i’d have preferred given how dirty the actual writing of the show did her, the distinct lack of heavily pivotal characters such as Blitzcrank, Zeri, Ezreal, Camille Ferros, Stanwick, etc., Piltover being connected to Zaun through the bridge rather than being built directly on top of it, or Viktor’s transhumanism dabblings being more biomechanical/magic based rather than the traditional cyborg narrative of his League counterpart, etc. and all of this contributed to the slightly more high concept elements in-line with the game narrative introduced in season 2 such as the Black Rose plotline not being very highly received by casual viewers on the account of it being “too confusing” and people generally not liking having to do homework to understand basic plot points (speaking from experience as an MCU survivor lmao) — so why the hell would the writers take the time and risk with the already crammed finale to make the Mage anyone else other than an already established character in the narrative for a little bit of fanservice, especially with the story they wanted to tell?

I mean, hell, I’ve already seen a semi-popular(?) Arcane focused video essayist (whose name i won’t mention but you can find relatively easily) in their critique of season 2 bemoan how “complicated” Jayce and Viktor’s plot is in s2 compared to the more “relatible” conflict of the sisters because it focuses on concepts like fate and time-travel and, well…maybe I’m just a stupid English major, but I don’t personally think jayvik’s narrative is any more complicated once you divorce it from the more high concept magic and fate elements — but then again, this same person complained about the finale following basic, “predictable” tropes and conventions they thought Arcane (y’know, the steampunk sci-fi fantasy television show) was “too good” for, so what do I know? i’m not a YouTuber, lmao. Point of the matter: I do feel like people forget that Jayce and Viktor are also the protagonists of this story, so of course they would play a crucial role in the magic-centered element of the plot that they kickstarted in the first place while the sisters’ conflict is more intimate and family-oriented — you don’t have to like it or wish it went another way more en route with your theories, but that is just how this story was told. Ah, but I think i’m harping on this point enough as is.

Regarding time-travel plotline, I’m going to be blunt here: I don’t care for them, but I also care even less for nitpicking them — even the most tightly written scripts involving the matter can have plot holes or contradictions. Considering Ekko also deals with time travel as his power-set, I’m less bothered about it and the multiverse being explored or crucial to the plot of Arcane than other people. Sure, you can argue that Mage Viktor’s existence is a paradox or whatever, but choosing to get hung up over the schematics rather than the actual themes of the story is…eh, it’s not something I have the energy for, but other people are allowed to analyze as they wish.

Re: the goddamn music video montages

I don’t have much to add here: i’m just happy to meet somebody else who didn’t enjoy the fucking music video segments lmaoo; sure, stylistically, they’re incredible (especially the watercolour one, holy shit) and most of the season 2 soundtrack is absolute bangers so I can understand wanting to show it off — and if you allow me to put on my tinfoil cap, I suspect the increased use of them in season 2 versus season 1 to be a budget thing, considering there were allegedly already crucial cuts being made in the writing department alone, but that’s just a theory (a gAY THEORY-). I just. don’t like them: rushing through crucial scenes like Vander’s recovery process, the timeskip, Isha bonding with Jinx, or like, everything involving Vi, her time on the Enforcers and the fallout her Act I ending, all scenes that imo should’ve been properly spaced out into their own arcs, alongside them quite literally giving me a headache from overstimulation. The over reliance of them is also strange considering season 1, unless my memory is betraying me (it’s been a few months since my last rewatch, admittedly) there was only two flashy music video segments in the entire season and both were in episode 7: all the other scenes that showcased the soundtrack either had them simply as background tracks or the songs were diegetic [shudders in arcanified Imagine Dragons cameo]

re: MOAR EPISODES + the future of jayvik

i agree that even season 1, for as tightly written it was to support its three act structure compared to season 2 imo, also suffered from a critical lack of episodes — i really wish we had more screentime dedicated to Vi readjusting to life after spending seven years falsely imprisoned in high max solitary confinement or exploring her relationship with Caitlyn (sorry to be a hater, but i was not invested in their relationship because of how rushed it was in s1, which was why i was so excited going into s2 seeing where it would go…welp-), everything involving Mel and her relationships with Ambessa and Jayce (as well as them establishing the Black Rose stuff much earlier in the narrative), and, like. just anything involving Sky so that her fridging is a little more palatable [sighs and takes a drag of my cigar] oh, if only…

I also agree that season 2 definitely added a lot more context to moments of s1 as well; granted, most of these are in relation to jayvik because I am filthy shipping trash lmao, and there are some elements added that I’m personally not a fan of such as Vander and Silco’s additional backstory, but considering Arcane was the first major project for a lot of the writers on staff, I can only hope they take the criticism they’ve already received and apply it to other future projects set in this universe — including knowing how to pace out their elaborate stories a bit better. Regarding the possibility Jayce and Viktor returning in these proposed spin-offs, I actually think there’s a lot of narrative potential to explore with them once the adrenaline high of, y’know, saving the world wears off, especially since I’d think they’d have a lot of unresolved trauma they’d also have to unpack and work on — Jayce’s time stuck in the ravine, Viktor regaining his humanity or being permanently stuck in his Herald form and having to readjust after being stuck in the arcane under the influence of the Hexcore for so long, Jayce having gone back on his word and his guilt over hurting Viktor several times even if it was to save him, possible jealousy on Viktor’s part towards the Mage and trying to figure out his own magic if he still has it; all avenues that I adore reading about in post-canon AUs that i think could make for juicy spin-off material, just as long as the writers carefully read the Do Not Separate label before proceeding.

On a lighter note, I once read someone propose that if they were to return in a future spin-off, that they’d only appear on screen via random background cameos a la Rapunzel and Eugene chilling in Arendelle in crowd shots during the first Frozen movie, just living their best life and being in love, and I think that idea is fucking ADORABLE (even if the writers are too cowardly to actually do it). But as it is, i’m largely satisfied with the ending we have for jayvik for now <3 after all, what’s a sweeter ending than tenderly holding your partner in the infinite embrace of the arcane?

OKAY! I think that’s all i’ve got in me for now (who knows: i might remember something i forgot at three in the morning lmao) — i’ve had to retype all of This at least three times because tumblr decided it’s allergic to me interacting directly with this post at all 🥲 bless you for such a lovely, well thought-out response! I hope what I added to this dialogue doesn’t read weirdly; I originally sent my ask while en route to a doctor’s appointment to get a nerve block injection in my head and now I’m recovering from it with an icepack in one hand and my phone in another, so things may sound a bit jumbled rn. Lovely to meet and open this discussion with all of you; I love this show so much, and even my more negative criticism comes wholeheartedly from a place of love for both this world and these characters, but I’m also incredibly shy irl, so interacting directly with the fandom is a herculean task for me 😭 so thank you for having me — I really do appreciate your perspective! i may be more critical of season 2 than you are, but I really think having an open dialogue really does help the fandom as a whole, as well as introduce me to so many fascinating people in the process!

(p.s. i know my handle is a bit of a mouthful, so for brevity’s sake — you can call me MK <3)

I think one of the biggest missed opportunities in S2 imo was not making Jayce’s time in the ravine a bottle episode. As it stands in the show we got, I’m fine with it being where it is and think the “Jayce in dark souls” contrast with Ekko is hilarious, but i think even cramming it in like they did has led to some viewers downplaying his trauma and the vague timeline of events only being segmented a la montage didn’t really help — and that’s not even getting into Mage Viktor’s role in all of this. It’s obvious when some people haven’t rewatched the show in a while since it came out, since there appears to be this narrative being spread around now villainizing the Mage, saying that he had “doomed” Jayce either through giving him the mission in the first place, or is trying to paint Jayce as a victim who only stayed with Viktor out of “obligation” for his mission or even people saying that he had groomed Jayce (god, I hate how flippantly that word is used nowadays), and I think that’s because, even foregoing the twist at the end, we just didn’t spend enough time with the Mage to establish his motivations even for a bait and switch. Now, while I know not a lot of viewers like him, either because they think the twist is stupid or they’re just salty it wasn’t Ryze (as if shoving in more League lore would magically fix the writing or pacing problems this season lmao), I actually think Mage Viktor ended up being one of the more compelling characters for me to come out of s2 because of how little we know about him and how he got where he did, but obviously not everyone feels that way and while I’m not saying the writers should’ve showed their hands entirely — because, regardless of the logistics, that reveal still was one of the better executed imo and hits incredibly hard, especially on repeat viewings — I also just wanted to see more of this character and the eerie, desolate world that Jayce was thrusted into.

There’s also the meta reasoning that we, the audience, would simply have more time to sit on the information being processed before being thrown back into Plot Stuff™: I hate the internet for what it did to the word “filler” and acting like character focused episodes over strictly plot-driven episodes is a sign of bad or “lazy” writing, because even in a show as plot heavy as Arcane, allowing moments of reprieve actually allows your audience to process what’s being shown onscreen rather than having a million things thrown at you or having crucial character arcs condensed into music video montages — lemme also just pour one out for specifically my girl Vi real quick because she was done so dirty. Now, you can argue that we simply just didn’t have enough time to explore little moments of R&R with the characters (ignoring the fact that s1 was also nine episodes here), that just points to the crucial problem of s2 in my opinion in that we simply had too much stuff going on. In a perfect world, to me anyway, we would’ve had at least another season or the finale releasing separately to the rest of the season as a two-hour special. Now, while I didn’t love s2 as much as s1, I also don’t think it’s unsalvageable or ruined the show either — in fact, there’s a lot of moments I love conceptually or standalone, and that’s why I think the choice to prioritize twists/big moments over smaller, more intimate character scenes hurts all the more, but with whatever ends up coming out of this universe in the future, we could wind up looking back at this season with a newfound appreciation. But if this is the last we see of Jayce or Viktor — if not forever, then for a while — I���m saddened that we weren’t allowed more time with them, especially since the core emotional moment of the finale hinges on them, and even on repeat rewatches, it’s very evident that the writing of Jayce especially in Act III is heavily reliant on the execution of the twist and even then, some of his lines are still confusing to me (“everything you did to these people you did alone” is one that confounds me, even from a place of rationalizing Jayce’s cryptic behaviour throughout the last two episodes as a front for toxic yaoi’s sake). All this, and I feel like letting Jayce have a moment to really reflect on him murdering Viktor and maybe even giving him a moment with Ximena was such obvious tearjerker material that I’m shocked the writers didn’t go for it.

Gah, my apologies for rambling so much in your inbox. I’m genuinely not trying to be a negative nancy like how a lot of people are about Arcane s2 and act pissy because the show didn’t go in the direction I wanted — writing is my passion and all of my critiques come from a place of genuine love. I guess I’m just throwing this out there for the sake of discussion? Do with this what you will, I’m just some random nobody on tumblr.com XD

Ooooh long ask - I love it! I will try to respond to everything you wrote, but incase I miss something - apologies in advance <3. Since you were mainly talking about S2, I have to give a little disclaimer: I am one of the few people on here (at least from what I've seen) who prefers S2. I wrote a #personal post about why that is; if you are interested you can find it on my profile, tagged as such. TL;DR I am NOT objective when it comes to S2 or S1. Because while the first season objectively has less flaws, there is one character that tainted my enjoyment of it on my first my first watch ( I am still debating on wether I want to get into that on my blog in a post someday, but that's neither here nor there). So yeah, just a heads up that I am somewhat biased :) I think one of the biggest missed opportunities in S2 imo was not making Jayce’s time in the ravine a bottle episode. As it stands in the show we got, I’m fine with it being where it is and think the “Jayce in dark souls” contrast with Ekko is hilarious, but i think even cramming it in like they did has led to some viewers downplaying his trauma and the vague timeline of events only being segmented a la montage didn’t really help — and that’s not even getting into Mage Viktor’s role in all of this

I adore bottle episodes. They are usually among my fave ones in any show, because the reduction of elements really allows good writing to shine. So, a Jayce ravine bottle episode? Hell yes. About downplaying Jayces trauma - I still think that episode actually helped make people like Jayce more than before (which is not saying that the montage etc was the best way to do it) - whereas most viewers on the first watch (including me) completely glossed over the fact that he tried to kill himself in S1 and failed to empathize or even understand Jayces character. I wrote a whole post about my thoughts on this - I hope it's okay if I just link it here. It’s obvious when some people haven’t rewatched the show in a while since it came out, since there appears to be this narrative being spread around now villainizing the Mage, saying that he had “doomed” Jayce either through giving him the mission in the first place, or is trying to paint Jayce as a victim who only stayed with Viktor out of “obligation” for his mission or even people saying that he had groomed Jayce (god, I hate how flippantly that word is used nowadays), and I think that’s because, even foregoing the twist at the end, we just didn’t spend enough time with the Mage to establish his motivations even for a bait and switch. All I can say is that arguments about who "doomed" who are really irrelevant when it comes to Jayvik. Idk if it's a perfect analogy, but it kind of reminds me of the trolley problem - there is no correct answer. Should mage!viktor have let Jayce die as a child? Should he not have saved him from suicide later? What about how Jayce doomed Viktor and by proxy himself, by ignoring his wishes? I think there are several valid positions for people to hold about this if they want to philosophize about what they would or would not have done in either one of those situations. BUT you shouldn't project it onto what the show explicitly depicted: Which is a) Jayce looking in awe when he sees mage!Viktor and neither scared nor angry b) Viktor giving Jayce the choice to leave and c) Jayce clearly stating that he wants to stay with him. Now, while I know not a lot of viewers like him, either because they think the twist is stupid or they’re just salty it wasn’t Ryze (as if shoving in more League lore would magically fix the writing or pacing problems this season lmao), I actually think Mage Viktor ended up being one of the more compelling characters for me to come out of s2 because of how little we know about him and how he got where he did, but obviously not everyone feels that way and while I’m not saying the writers should’ve showed their hands entirely — because, regardless of the logistics, that reveal still was one of the better executed imo and hits incredibly hard, especially on repeat viewings — I also just wanted to see more of this character and the eerie, desolate world that Jayce was thrusted into I am not sure if the majority of people really dislike the reveal, or if it is mainly those who are more involved in fandom or league lore. At least from people in my real life, I have never heard anyone disliking the reveal - quite the opposite.

Speaking for myself, I’ve never liked time travel plots — they often feel like a lazy cop-out. That said, this one actually works. It ties together several elements the show had already set up, and does so beautifully through a single character. Mage!Viktor’s message distills all the other storylines into one simple, tragically unsatisfying — yet strangely life-affirming — truth.

I also find it interesting that while he’s literally a mage, he actually aligns more with the archetype of the sage. To me, Commune Viktor embodies the show’s magician archetype (as hinted at in that one Sevika scene with the cards), whereas Mage!Viktor represents what happens when that magician archetype becomes too successful in reshaping the world. He even says as much himself. It really makes me think about how Viktor cycles through multiple archetypes over the course of the show — always orbiting around the hero archetype embodied by Jayce.

Sorry for suddenly going off about archetypes — but all this to say: Mage!Viktor doesn’t deserve the hate he gets, in my opinion. He’s a smart addition to the story and leaves a strong impact despite his limited screen time.

There’s also the meta reasoning that we, the audience, would simply have more time to sit on the information being processed before being thrown back into Plot Stuff™: I hate the internet for what it did to the word “filler” and acting like character focused episodes over strictly plot-driven episodes is a sign of bad or “lazy” writing, because even in a show as plot heavy as Arcane, allowing moments of reprieve actually allows your audience to process what’s being shown onscreen rather than having a million things thrown at you or having crucial character arcs condensed into music video montages — lemme also just pour one out for specifically my girl Vi real quick because she was done so dirty. Again, I am all with you on this. Filler episodes only feel like "filler" if the writing isn't on point - and because Arcane has skilled writers, I think their work gets better, the more it is allowed to breath. I am also glad you mentioned the music video montages. I am not a fan of those. They are very cool visually - hats off to the animators - but that's it imo. I also know they are a staple in the show, but I do wonder if both seasons wouldn't actually be better, if they replaced those with other scenes. As for Vi, all I am going to say is that I hardly remember her in S2. I think that speaks for itself. Now, you can argue that we simply just didn’t have enough time to explore little moments of R&R with the characters (ignoring the fact that s1 was also nine episodes here), that just points to the crucial problem of s2 in my opinion in that we simply had too much stuff going on. In a perfect world, to me anyway, we would’ve had at least another season or the finale releasing separately to the rest of the season as a two-hour special.

When I finished watching S1 and was talking to my friend who had recommended it to me, I remember saying how I felt like the show needed two more episodes (therefore making it 11) to really work for me. So S2 definitely could have done with at least 2 more, but realistically more like 3-4. I have to say though, while I was watching I didn't really feel like there was too much going on for me plot wise. I enjoy when the world opens up and the scale becomes bigger. The thing is though, back then I didn't know there wasn't going to be S3, so I got excited about the new things they threw in because I thought I was watching the midway point of the story - not its conclusion. So yes, agreed, in a perfect world Arcane would have had another season. I am still hopeful that they will give us what was missing in the spin offs (more on that in the next paragraph) Now, while I didn’t love s2 as much as s1, I also don’t think it’s unsalvageable or ruined the show either — in fact, there’s a lot of moments I love conceptually or standalone, and that’s why I think the choice to prioritize twists/big moments over smaller, more intimate character scenes hurts all the more, but with whatever ends up coming out of this universe in the future, we could wind up looking back at this season with a newfound appreciation.

This is exactly what I’m hoping for too — especially because I had a similar experience with Season 1 while watching Season 2. The added context really elevated a lot for me. And now, Season 2 itself has so much potential to be elevated by the spin-offs. I just hope they do it justice, because honestly, S2 is special to me — and I don’t want it to remain just potential. But if this is the last we see of Jayce or Viktor — if not forever, then for a while — I’m saddened that we weren’t allowed more time with them, especially since the core emotional moment of the finale hinges on them, and even on repeat rewatches, it’s very evident that the writing of Jayce especially in Act III is heavily reliant on the execution of the twist and even then, some of his lines are still confusing to me (“everything you did to these people you did alone” is one that confounds me, even from a place of rationalizing Jayce’s cryptic behaviour throughout the last two episodes as a front for toxic yaoi’s sake). All this, and I feel like letting Jayce have a moment to really reflect on him murdering Viktor and maybe even giving him a moment with Ximena was such obvious tearjerker material that I’m shocked the writers didn’t go for it.

I feel like I end most of my metas by pointing out how there is so much more to be done with Viktor and Jayce narratively. That being said, if I was a writer I'd be a lot more confident on what to do with Viktor after the finale, than with Jayce. Partly, because of what you described - some of the things he says and does in Act 3 are...strange.

You can tell the writers wanted two contradictory things at once: tell a story about how Jayce has come to understand Viktors importance to him and the lengths he is willing to go to for that but also not make it too obvious because then the finale will lose its emotional impact. I think the only way to rectify this, would be to show more of his conversation with Mage!Viktor and that somehow explaining why Jayce was putting up the "toxic yaoi" front as you accurately called it lol. They could still do this in flashbacks in a spin off - or maybe even in the form of dialogue with Viktor, who knows. Unfortunately, I see one more problem with Jayces as character (that I don't see with Viktor at all) - because they kind of wrote themselves into a corner when they completed his arc with "now, all i want is my partner back." and him succeeding in that. Because assuming that him and Viktor are not somehow separated after the finale (which I'd hate because their dynamic after what happened is too interesting to be left unexplored), he has everything he claims he wants. And if a character has everything he wants, what is there for him to do?

Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy post canon fluffy cottage by the stream AUs, and I'd watch the shit out of that if it were a show, but realistically, it's not something that will ever get made. I am not saying it's impossible to create a new plot line for Jayce - because he is an interesting character - but it isn't the easiest thing to imagine because of how murky they kept his inner workings in S2. Gah, my apologies for rambling so much in your inbox. I’m genuinely not trying to be a negative nancy like how a lot of people are about Arcane s2 and act pissy because the show didn’t go in the direction I wanted — writing is my passion and all of my critiques come from a place of genuine love. I guess I’m just throwing this out there for the sake of discussion? Do with this what you will, I’m just some random nobody on tumblr.com XD Please don't apologize - yapping about Arcane and Jayvik and writing is all I want to do on the internet these days, so thank you for giving me the opportunity to do so. I really really enjoyed your ask. You also don't come across as a negative nancy at all - as I said, everything you pointed out makes absolute sense to me as a S2 stan lol. I can see that it is flawed and I am happy to discuss those flaws, while loving it regardless. So yeah, thank you and if anyone else has anything they want me to ramble about - ask away!

[nagichi-boop]

Gerald’s Journal - Disability representation

I read scans of Gerald’s Journal and I have to talk about it. Not the lore or anything like that, but the disability rep. I didn’t expect to cry reading this.

Please don’t look at this post if you don’t want to be spoiled about what’s in this journal. If you do want to read it, you can find scans here. Credit to this Twitter/X thread for the images I’ll use.

I don’t have much to say about this image, but it is nice to see Maria using a mobility aid. It’s not often we get representation for an ambulatory wheelchair user.

I do wonder about Maria’s relationship with her parents. They weren’t happy with Gerald’s wish to bring her to the ARK so that he could research a cure for her, but they let her go anyways? Maybe Gerald got some sort of order to get her to go or Maria decided she wanted to go with him, but it seems a little odd to me. I’ll expand on this a little later.

Quote from right page: “[Maria] is growing into a lovely young woman. It breaks my heart that someone as bright and energetic as her is diminished by disease. There are no visible effects, and I’ve caught my fellow researchers muttering to each other, doubting her illness. It is infuriating. I find all my reason and restraint vanished when she’s slighted.”

Oh my days, I’ve never felt so seen by a piece of media and it just so happens to be my special interest video game. I am tearing up again thinking about this. Maybe that’s silly but to have a character express his frustrations about people doubting the invisible disability of his grandchild is so touching. I wish people in my life were more like Gerald. People with invisible illnesses get doubted so much because we “look fine”, but it’s so invalidating to have your struggles questioned just because the symptoms aren’t as visibly obvious.

Quote from left page: “[Maria] doesn’t know the full scope of what [Shadow] has been designed for, but she understands he will be under tremendous strain. She’s helped me conceptualize a number of accessories that will help focus his power and aid in his mobility.”

So we now have confirmation that Shadow’s air shoes and inhibitor rings are akin to mobility aids. I headcanoned this but I didn’t know they’d flat out confirm it like that. My favourite character is canonically disabled physically (and I’d argue mentally given his PTSD). I don’t have much to say about this besides being happy that my favourite character is now even more relatable.

It also makes a lot of sense for Maria to help create them because she has experience with her own disability and can offer a perspective that an able bodied person couldn’t. That and it makes Shadow’s connection so much stronger. His mobility aids were designed by Maria. He didn’t just help her with her disability - she helped with his. He wouldn’t be able to function without what she and Gerald created for him.

Quote from the right: “Back on Earth [Maria’s?] parents have been blessed with another little girl. They’re already run tech(?) and she has none of the genetic markers like to [Maria’s] condition. While this was welcomed news, the unspoken commentary was received loud and clear.”

(I am assuming they’re talking about Maria’s sister, but I guess they could also be talking about her cousin.)

So did Maria’s parents see their new daughter as a replacement? If I’m reading that correctly, it’s so sad. Do you think Gerald told Maria about her sister/cousin? If she did know about it, I bet she was excited to meet her. But I get the feeling that her parents back home didn’t really care about her anymore given what Gerald says in his journal. It hurts that much more when you consider how much Maria wanted to go home, perhaps even return to her family.

I feel like all of this makes Maria’s death more tragic for both Gerald and Shadow. For Gerald, he did so much reason and sacrificed so much in order to try and find a cure for Maria. He supported her when no one else did. And from his perspective, despite her illness and the judgement of others, including potentially her own family, she was still positive. And yet she was killed, and he only found out about her death because of a report that had her name on it (I think anyways?).

From Shadow’s perspective, she is the person who gave his name meaning. Despite most being distant and weary of her, she was immediately friendly to him and helped teach him about the world. She helped created the devices used to reduce his pain and control his powers. He quite literally carries part of him with her. She was his sole reason for existing for a long time. And despite being this super supportive, kind, loving person, she was killed. I can imagine him being mad at Gerald for messing with his memories, but I figure there’s a degree of understanding, even if he doesn’t fully agree with what Gerald did. The difference between them both is Shadow’s purpose shifted beyond Maria while Gerald’s did not. Anyways, I digress - this post is about disability rep, not Shadow lore.

I love this and Dark Beginnings for their direct and indirect disability rep. My love for Shadow and Maria has only grown and I have a deeper appreciation for Gerald. I wish more people were as understanding as he is towards people with invisible disabilities.

I don’t really have a conclusion. I just really wanted to yap about the journal entries.

[moonlighthcandmore]

Blind Tim AU

Ok, I've been thinking about blind Tim AU way more than I should have. Sorry if this feels weird, or off since I haven't done this before, but this is basically going to be a dump about my AU idea.

Tim got blinded while he was Robin, but before he worked with almost anyone other than Batman. Batman tried to bench him, and didn't want to let me work ever again, but we all know how Tim is. Once he figures out how to live his new normal, he started working, simultaneously staying away from Bruce so he can't stop him while rubbing it in Bruce's face that he's doing it. It's a learning curve to try to figure out how to beat criminals, but he finds ways around every hurtle like a true Robin.

When he started working with the YJ, he didn't tell them that he was blind, and none of them caught on for a long time while they were just working together, and not spending time together outside of work. He works so seamlessly, because he's learned how, and built himself personalized gear to help. So the very first time they all meet up to do something after a mission, they decide to watch a movie. They're all still in costume, but Tim gets his white cane before coming back. They're all confused, but too scared to ask. They end up spending the entire time whispering about it, and not paying attention to the movie. Especially since he wasn't paying attention, so he ended up getting hit in the face with the bag of gummy worms that Bart threw at him. He doesn't notice their inner turmoil since he's gotten four hours of sleep in the same amount of days, and is struggling to stay awake.

Eventually he starts working with the batfamily again too since Bruce gets over himself, and realizes that he can't stop Tim either way. Dick is a lot more supportive, and Damian is more cautiously curious since he's met a lot of people that can work past disabilities. There also wasn't a power struggle for him since Tim wasn't working with Bruce anymore anyway. Tim is working with a lot of organizations that help disabled people in Gotham, especially the ones that have been disabled by the rogues, but can't afford to go somewhere safer to get treatment. Damian begins helping him, and getting involved with every event that Tim puts together.

Anyway, enough of my rambling, I'll probably post more about this, but feel free to let me know if you want to see more of this AU!

[avelera]

Unwell thinking about how the possibility to push Viktor to ask for more of Jayce's attention, or even to remove Mel from the picture, didn't even OCCUR to Future Viktor. Because he truly thinks that Jayce can't possibly unconditionally accept him and his flaws. He NEEDS to be physically perfect first.

So the timeline of Jesus Viktor keeps playing out as an inevitability, partially fueled by Jayce's attention being pulled towards the Council and missing a lot of red flags happening with Viktor.

When all it would have taken was Viktor directly asking Jayce for help or attention instead of skirting around the issue/generalising it to "people need our help". That sweet dog of a man would have dropped anything if only you asked, Viktor

Jayce would have dropped EVERYTHING, E V E R Y T H I N G if just ONCE Viktor had given him an unambiguous, "Help me!" I believe this in my bones.

And this gets into something I love about S1, which is how airtight it is written (S2 has a lot of bigger events but lays less groundwork, it's why I give it a 95% instead of a 100% like S1, just as a writer). Because you can go back to S1 and see every single moment that people could have prevented what comes later, and exactly why they were unable to do so.

You can see that Silco wants to shut down the bridge to trap Vi in the undercity -> He tells Marcus to find a way to shut down the bridge -> Jayce as a new Council is flustered and overwhelmed so when Marcus says the only way to be 100% safe is to shut down the bridge he says sure, let's do that then, because Marcus deliberately only gave an engineer one solution so the engineer listened -> Viktor gets trapped in the blockade after acquiring Shimmer, he's nervous and on edge because he has illegal drugs on him for an illegal experiment -> Jayce is overwhelmed and harried and freaking out because he's been summoned down to the bridge to collect Viktor. He's also freaking out because he's now worried for Viktor's safety because he's been getting fed crisis after crisis about how it's the people from the undercity who are dangerous, he just saw death for the first time after Jinx's explosion and he grew up with Piltover prejudices that are resurfacing under the assault of Silco's machinations, Jinx's attacks, and Marcus's manipulations -> Jayce freaks out and yells at Viktor out of fear for his life -> Viktor who was in an emotionally vulnerable place, fearing for his own life and worried he'd lose Jayce's regard if he proceeds hears Singed's voice in his head saying Jayce might not understand, decides not to tell Jayce about the Shimmer. Jayce's prejudices also push Viktor to clam up instead of going to him for help like he might have otherwise -> overall the chaos on the bridge and the Molotov further heightens the tension and robs Jayce and Viktor of a moment where Viktor would have felt comfortable coming clean, asking for Jayce's help, or bringing him in on the experiment -> Sky dies as a result -> EVERYTHING that happens in Act 2 as a result of Viktor doing those Hexcore experiments alone.

Like that's just one example of how that one bridge scene argument is caught in an incredibly intricate web of human cause and effect, it's fucking genius.

But we see why Viktor didn't ask for help, even aside from that one conversation on the bridge. He generally doesn't ask for help, perhaps because of his disability and his pride, perhaps out of shame because he knows these experiments are extreme, perhaps out of fear because he doesn't want Jayce to know how close to death he really is and fear clouds your judgement, perhaps because it's a very human, self-defeating thing to do.

And as for not asking Jayce to dump Mel... how could he? He's dying. When he dies, Jayce is going to be alone in the world, how can he begrudge him a new partner? Even if he despises her existence in Jayce's life with every fiber of his being? Especially when she seems to represent that he and Jayce's paths in life have diverged, and maybe that's what's best for Jayce! He has a promising future elsewhere, even if Viktor hates it, he's dying and he doesn't have the right to ask Jayce to change, not unless he can cure himself. Not unless he can offer himself as a real alternative.

Which is what makes the Mel-inspired look for his robot in 2.08 so fucking bonkers. Like wow, Viktor did it! He cured his disease and transcended humanity and he's working on their dream like they always wanted and he's BACK and he's ready to FIGHT for Jayce's time and attention, while effectively cosplaying as a robot version of Mel, in the Council Chamber that stole so much of Jayce's attention as if he needed to do any of those things to get Jayce's attention other than just ask him for it directly using his words.

[genderqueerdykes]

I feel like the transandrophobia discourse, and, correct me if I'm wrong - is really dumb because it boils down to

"Trans men get mistreated in unique and notable ways" - general agreeance

"we came up with a term for it." Everyone foams at the mouth

Are people really that caught in the "men cannot be mistreated as a class" brainpoison?

yep, they are, thanks for taking the time to send this! you summed it up perfectly! i've been wanting to talk about this so thanks for giving me a great ask to follow up on for that!

it's really racist because idk how to tell people that being a black man, cis or trans, and being outside can get you killed in the USA if you're doing something cops find "suspicious" just because you're black and a man. black men are still viewed as violent and dangerous. black men still struggle to find community resources. black men still struggle in the work place due to systemic racism. black men are not valued anywhere near the same as much as white men are.

this goes for all men of color. being a man of color in the US is terrible. it's not a cake walk for men of color, even if they're mixed. they face constant oppression, every day of their lives, and it's not a good idea to dismiss that just because you think being queer is the only way to be oppressed in society. but it's very racist to ignore that cishet men of color suffer in the USA and other places white people have colonized.

disabled men are also oppressed. disabled men lose tons of privilege because man = workhorse to most people. we make men they think they have to do all the work forever for everyone around them and not complain. if they start experiencing chronic pain or fatigue, mental health symptoms, or anything that prevents them from working, they are treated like absolute garbage on top of being miserable from their illnesses. men can be neurodivergent. men can be disabled for life. men get sick, too, and it impacts how society views them greatly.

there's a lot of ways that men can be oppressed. ignoring it for the sake of a sassy snapback isn't cool. it's racist and ableist as hell and it's not worth throwing those people under the bus for. please care about men of color. please care about disabled and neurodivergent and chronically ill men. there are way more things that can hold a man back aside from just their assigned gender at birth. society is actually very cruel to a lot of men.

[cacodaemonia]

I was unfortunate enough to come across this ask from someone I don't follow a while back. It was one of those wtf moments that was so strong, I had to show the screenshot to a friend who isn't in fandom and never has been. They know the basics of how fandom works, and I've told them about the pro-censorship people in fandom, but this post really required some extra explanation, and I thought I'd share how I broke it down for them:

Obviously, most antis are very young. We all know this. That doesn't mean that all young people are anti-sex, pro-censorship, or unable/unwilling to distinguish fiction from reality, but it's much easier for young folks to get caught up in dangerous and toxic communities—in both real life and online.

From what I've seen over the years, there are all kinds of reasons why antis campaign against fiction they don't like and why they harass other fans and small creators. But I think a key point is that they seldom target big name authors, movie studios, or other media companies who make 'problematic' things.

That right there tells you a lot about one of their primary motivations: power over others.

They want to feel morally superior to people who create art (including writing, etc.) that they dislike. And because they can't influence powerful individuals and companies, they turn their personal disgust and outrage on people who are their relative equals or on those who have even less socioeconomic power—especially marginalized groups like queer and disabled people, who make up large portions of fandom.

There are plenty of other factors that impact this radicalization, of course, but I really think that the power aspect and feeling like they're one of The Good People are the most important elements.

But anyway, the screenshot above got me thinking about how someone could reach the point where they genuinely believe that government censorship of fanworks is necessary to... what? Prevent people from making (subjectively) 'gross' art because... that will lead others to commit actual real life crimes?? That's what the anti above seem to be suggesting with the slippery slope comment, and when I got to this point in the explanation to my non-fandom friend, they were BOGGLED. They simply could not comprehend the massive leap of 'logic.'

So I paused for a moment and considered how I could explain it, based on the various stages of indoctrination I've seen among antis over the years.

I think that a lot of these young people are probably very new to fandom. They find out about fanfic and go onto AO3, and they likely assume that some algorithm will handfeed them what they want—even though they haven't bothered to learn how an archive like AO3 works and haven't used any search filters to include or exclude things they like or don't like (this required a whole explanation about AO3 filters to my friend btw).

So anyway, these people who have grown up on sanitized mass media fail to heed any of AO3's many warnings, including creators' tags, and they come across something that they think is gross or that makes them uncomfortable. For example, "Ewww, fics about underage characters having sex is gross and makes me uncomfortable." That's fine. Hit the back button and use filters to avoid that. Problem solved!

But then maybe they go on social media and complain about someone making art they don't like, and they rapidly get sucked the echo chambers of cult-like anti communities. And this is where they all amp each other up by exchanging conservative talking points dressed up in ostensibly progressive language. They begin to feel angry and self-righteous and certain that they have to do something about this issue they've collectively fabricated. After all, "Think of the children!!"

I should also point out that most antis don't seem to even understand the words they use. For example, in that screenshot, it's pretty clear that the op is using 'censorship,' 'glorification,' and even 'slippery slope' as emotional catch phrases rather than words that have useful and concrete meanings outside of fandom.

Finally, their crusade against the fiction they dislike becomes such a huge part of their identities and 'friend' (more like mutual purity surveillance) groups that they just keep building it up into this huge moral panic until they're unironically saying things like, "Writing a fic about a 17 year-old and an 18 year-old kissing is actual pedophilia and the author should be harassed and doxxed and imprisoned."

When I got to that point, my friend was still boggled, but it was more of a horrified sort of boggled, where you just stare into space and contemplate the merits of a giant space rock hitting earth in the near future.

I really wish people getting sucked into anti mindsets would take a moment to consider how bathshit their beliefs sound to the average human being on the planet who doesn't spend huge amounts of time on social media.

[bamfaholic]

From Eden to Sit at Your Door

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Kurt x Reader | 2.8k words

Summary: Kurt visits home, Munich, and decides to sit across from you. With your limited vision, it takes time for you to catch on to who this man really is. Not that you're given much time at all before your life is in danger.

Summary:

You take another sip, nearly emptying your cup. “I’m sure you’re a wildcard yourself.” You offer him your name, finishing your tea. “What brings you back to Munich?”

He begins to raise his hand, perhaps offering a handshake, before quickly pulling away. He clears his throat, “Kurt Wagner, and homesickness, really. It has been years since I’ve been home.”

You offer him a sweet smile. “Welcome home, Kurt.”

Alternate summary: Kurt is on a mission, accidentally causes hijinks, and catches feelings for the reader. Even more hijinks ensue.

A/N: this originally was going to be a bullet hc of a blind!reader x Kurt and now it's a multi-part fic lol. The reader will probably turn into an oc but the cringe cop has me in cuffs

This fic has been posted to my AO3 as well! Support me and find my other works there!

On an Autmn morning, you lounged at your local café, just mere blocks from your flat. The wind nipped at the tips of your ears, rustling stray hairs free. You remained warm, though, with your wool coat and cup of peppermint tea in your palms. The harsh difference of the chilling wind and familiar warmth was a part of this routine you cherished. Slowly raising the cup to your lips, a sip warmed you from the inside out.

The workers knew you, knew your name, your story. Practically blind from birth, you couldn’t recall a time when you didn’t have a thick dark vignette frame your vision. Your eyes were often compared to translucent glass marbles, commonly in distaste. Every now and then you were even accused of being a mutant. You always replied with a scoff, wondering if simple biology had been thrown out the window ever since the Mutant Panic in the 70’s.

Though, it piqued your interest in university. You began to dig to see if mutants were similar, or even no different, than those disabled. Unfortunately, the hoops to jump through to acquire a degree with accommodations surmounted and you had to drop out. Your classmate and friend, however, still often visited to read to you scientific papers, and assisted you in writing a thesis in their free time. For now, you resorted to being an author, as you needed to express your ideas with the world.

Which is why you people watched. Each morning you had your cup of tea and watched the quick blurs and bursts of color, sometimes squinting to really focus on a detail. You listened to their words, their stories. It was all ample ammo for your works. You had fallen so lost in concentration, you failed to notice the man sit down at your table. You took a few more sips, savoring the flavors melting over your tongue. There was a flick of a distinct blue, such an unnatural color, that caught your eye.

“Ah, excuse me.” His German was natural, native, and yet there were inklings of an American influence. “I hope you don’t mind me sitting here.”

You turned your body to face him, setting your cup down on the coaster. “No, not at all.” You softly smiled. “It’s not often I have company.”

While odd in nature to encroach a stranger’s space, it didn’t bother you. You figured all the other seats were taken; it was a busy morning after all. If he was not to disturb your peace, then you would pay it no mind.

You scanned him up and down. From what you could tell, he was wearing a coat with a hood, and something a deep rich blue beneath. Lots of blue. He must really enjoy the color. Gears began to turn in your head, perhaps he could be a fountain of inspiration.

“Your eyes,” He began softly, appearing to nibble on a pastry, “I don’t think I’ve seen a color like that before.” His voice was bursting with excitement and curiosity.

You sigh, biting the inside of your cheek. Here we go... You were prepared to recite the speech you’ve given your entire life but decide to keep it short and sweet. “It’s glaucoma, my eyes shouldn’t look like this.”

“Ah, I see.” Another bite. “I apologize, I have never heard of such a condition before.”

You glance down, tracing the lip of your teacup with your fingertip. “Are you American? I hear it in your voice, but your German is perfect.” You decide to change the subject.

He chuckles, “Have I really been gone that long?” He softly mumbles to himself. “No, no I am not. I’m native to here, Munich, but I have been living in the states for some time. New York.”

“New York?” You raise a brow. “That must be so exciting.” A smile pulls at your lips. “I’ve always wanted to see the city, is it as nice as they say?”

Another chuckle, heartier and from his chest this time. “It is far too glamorized. Very dirty, stinky.” He waves a hand. “But the people there… They are truly one of a kind.”

You take another sip, nearly emptying your cup. “I’m sure you’re a wildcard yourself.” You offer him your name, finishing your tea. “What brings you back to Munich?”

He begins to raise his hand, perhaps offering a handshake, before quickly pulling away. He clears his throat, “Kurt Wagner, and homesickness, really. It has been years since I’ve been home.”

You offer him a sweet smile. “Welcome home, Kurt.”

You hear his heart beat a little harder, faster. “Ah, thank you!” His cheeriness returns, and you surmise this is this natural state of being.

 Now this man really has your attention. You curse yourself for not bringing your notebook. You just simply must engage him in more conversation. “I don’t mean to pry, but I’d love to hear about your time in America, where you plan to go and do while you’re here, back home. I hope it’s not too invasive.”

His tone tells on himself, making it clear he’s excited for someone to be interested in him. “Ah, well, in America I have found family.”

There’s a quick arch of blue that blurs behind his head. You blink. Did you just hallucinate?

“They truly are a gift from God.” He shakes his head. “You asked about my time in America, no? Not my family. Ahem.” He clears his throat and straightens himself in his seat. “I was rescued, in truth, I did not have the best life here in Munich. I used to be in the circus.” A smile slips across his lips as he reminisces. “They called me ‘The Great Nightcrawler.’” He spreads his hands out and open in front of him for added effect. “I was a trapeze artist, a great one.”

You hang onto every word, but bust out a giggle, “I assumed as much, with ‘Great’ being included in ‘The Great Nightcrawler’ and all.”

Kurt stumbles over himself, “Ah, yes- I suppose you are right.” He laughs in turn. “But I flew through the air with ease, to deafening applause.”

“Did you enjoy it? It sounds like you were beloved.” You muse.

“Aye, I did.” A beat passes, and his tone suddenly shifts somber. “Doing a performance, anyway. Any other time… It was not so great, the living conditions.”

Your lips form a tight frown. You won’t push himself to share what could be hurtful. The man links his hands together in front of him on the table. “A cage,” He begins. “I was kept in a cage, like an animal. Fed scraps, if anything. Force-fed beer after shows.” A broken, awkward laugh escapes his chest, “I would suddenly be a drunkard, not even knowing where in God’s Earth I was, then thrown into that harsh cold steel.”

You knit your eyebrows together, chewing the inside of your cheek more. A nervous, unhealthy habit you developed when the gears began to turn in your head. “How?” You squeak out. “How is that possible? How could they do that, isn’t it illegal?”

There’s a great, long pause. The shuffle of the pedestrians that wade by fill your ears. “I am a man of God, friend. I entrust in Him my life, my future. If He wished for me to… Endure that trial, then who am I to question Him.”

His answer left a sour taste in your mouth. He was dodging the issue at hand, you both knew that. You take a sharp inhale through your teeth, fidgeting with the hem of your one sleeve. It wasn’t uncommon to find someone faithful, and you had no gripes against Kurt for being so devout, but you just couldn't accept it being used as an excuse for flat-out abuse.

You open your mouth to press him without much thought, but luckily something else ensnares your attention. About twenty feet down the sidewalk, across the street, you hear the chatter of two policemen.

“There he is.” The one on the left gruffs.

“I see ‘im.” The other spits, “Bloody mutant.”

A mutant? Your heart leaps. Despite your infatuation with them, hungry to know more, you nearly never got to interact with one. You whip your head around, hoping that maybe despite your impaired vision, you could spot them in the crowd. Alas, the only strange figure is… The very man seated across from you.

Your heart now pounds in your ears, adrenaline searing through your veins. “Kurt,” You lower your voice, reaching out to grab his hand. “Please, just, trust me.”

“What?” He laughs, “Is there a joke coming? What is with the sudden seriousness, friend?” But as he sees your expression, his body tenses.

“Just walk with me. Do not look behind us.”

You rise from your seat, pushing it in beneath the table, slinging your bag over your shoulder. Still gripping his hand firmly, you begin to drag him down the street, blending in with the foot traffic.

“He’s starting to get away!” Your ears burn, hearing the police notice your failure to slip away.

It is only now your heart drops as you realize you have no idea what you are doing. Your guess about Kurt being the mutant is confirmed by the police’s reaction, but you didn’t think this far ahead. Where were you even going? What was the end goal? Walk to the end of the earth, hoping the police never catch up?

“Friend-“ Kurt begins, “What is the matter? What is going on?” His words slam into each other a tad, his breath hitching and increasing. He whips his head around, trying to see whatever had spooked you.

“The police,” You begin in a hiss, “They seem to be after you. I heard it.”

“Heard it?” He’s stunned. “Heard it where?”

You quickly yank him into a tight alleyway, a mere inch separates your chests as you face him. “Shh, watch. Across the street, they’re coming towards us. I’m sure they saw us dip in here.” You’re out of breath as your heart pounds against your ribcage. “I heard them talk about a mutant.”

It’s only now, being so up close and personal, do you truly see Kurt. It’s not that he likes the color blue, he is blue. His eyes are a dazzling gold. Two tiny points threaten to peek out from his lips, little fangs. Your eyes drift down, seeing a tail that ends in a pointed spade. You surmise that must have been the blur of blue from before.

“Y-You’re the mutant.” Your voice trembles, the adrenaline putting strain on your body. The realization of the pleasant fellow you spent your morning with being so… Different. You kick yourself for thinking that way, but it’s only result of the propaganda lining the streets. Your eyes are burning holes into him. You hear the blood rush to his face and ears, heart pounding.

You clutch your cane tighter, leaning into it. It’s not the best for you, as not only do you have Glaucoma, you happen to be blessed with the co-morbidity of Sickle Cell Anemia. Your joints are weaker than a healthy individual, and intense exercise, like running from the cops, is ill-advised. Your head swims as the tachycardia hits you like a tidal wave.

“Ah-“ Kurt raises his hands, hoping it eases your panic. “Aye, I am, but I am a friend. I won’t hurt you-“

Something whizzes by, grazing the bridge of your nose. Screams ring out in the street, pedestrians scrambling in every which way.

“Halt!” One of the officers bark, pointing some form of gun at the two of you. “You are being detained, mutant!”

The other steadily approaches, reaching for something hooked to his belt. Kurt’s eyes glance from the officers to you, and he closes the gap, wrapping his arms around you. “Take a breath, this may be disorienting.”

“Kurt, what-!“ You don’t get to finish, gasping as you feel yourself being hurled at a racing speed. It takes you by such surprise, you lose grip of your cane.

A plume of smoke clouds your vision as the smell of brimstone burns your nostrils. You cough, wobbling on your feet. You were dizzy before, but this was tilt-a-whirl level of topsy-turvy. You try to use your cane to steady yourself, but find that your weight is being supported by nothing at all.

You begin to head face first to what’s beneath you, but you’re caught by Kurt, his arm wrapping around your torso. “Careful there, friend.” He softly says, lifting you up. He refuses to release you until he’s certain you won’t go tumbling.

You blink. You were just in the alleyway, but now you’re peering down the city of Munich. The cops are just below you, and you see one officer ready his gun, aiming right for Kurt.

“Kurt!” You lunge toward him, the shingles of the roof unkind to being stepped on. It begins to slip away, sending you back down with gravity.

Another shot rings out. Kurt snatches you again, by your scruff, but he didn’t foresee the hit landing on you.

A curdling scream is ripped from your lungs, you feel the pierce of a needle in your side. In an instant, it feels cold, like liquid nitrogen being pumped in your veins. You look down, seeing a vial attached to the needle. Without much thought, you reach to grab it. Whatever it is, you want it out.

“No, don’t do that-“ Kurt firmly grasps your wrist. “I’m sorry, friend, but not until I know what they just dosed you with.”

                “Dosed?” Your body not only feels frigid, as if you were tossed into a snow storm naked, it’s quickly increasing in mass. Your legs are growing limp.

“Aye.” His jaw locks, his gaze scanning down at the chaos below the two of you. “We must go.” He tosses you over his shoulder and whispers, “I am sorry.”

Another brief burst of frightening motion, another plume of smoke. It feels like being pitched like a baseball at record speeds. Your tea threatens to come back up from your stomach. You groan, rolling your head to the side. It’s strange seeing such familiar buildings from a birds-eye view, but you recognize you’ve moved a few blocks away in an instant.

You suffer a few more rounds of the sickening movement, before it finally ends. You’re in a cold, quiet bell tower. You’ve lost all sense of direction. You could be halfway across the globe for all you knew.

Kurt rests you against the wall, watching as your body slumps. “I am sorry, friend.” You try to move your head up, to hold his gaze, but you can’t. Your arms lay solid on the harsh stone.

Kurt crouches down, moving your coat away to inspect the projectile lodged in your side. “I am so sorry if this hurts. Please let me know.” His voice is so soft, as if he was speaking to a new born. It comforts you. He gently cups the tube in his hand, reading the inscription on the side. “Tch, American.” He spits.

He sighs, forcing a little smile for you. “Good news and bad news, friend.” He gently frees the needle out from you, ripping a pained gasp out of you. “It is just a tranquilizer, you will not die. It also happened to hit your liver, so it will flush out of your system quicker than usual. Bad news, you will be… Like this, for quite some time.”

You can’t even respond. You’re putting all your willpower into focusing on him, keeping your eyes open.

“But fret not, I will keep you safe!” He grins, slipping the tranquilizer into his pocket. “They do not call me the Great Nightcrawler for nothing.” He chuckles, but the worry lines on his face are crisp, even with your vision.

He glances over his shoulder. The chilly air only burns as wind whips across your features. You begin to shiver. When he looks back to you, he scrambles to slip off his coat, draping it on top of you. Underneath, he wears a tight black, red, and white uniform.

Silly, you think, your rational slipping, his circus outfit, here?

“Ah, I am so sorry.” He gently wipes a tear that you hadn’t registered. “You are safe, shh. Rest.” He pats your head.

You gain your senses for a moment, frustration boiling in you. You don’t, can’t, let yourself go. Not here, not now. You blink, again and again, fighting those heavy eyelids.

In astonishment, you watch as Kurt opens your satchel, rummaging around. He pulls out your wallet. Is he… Robbing you? How could he? You grumble in protest, but it falls on deaf ears. He places your wallet back in your bag, laying it gently in your lap.

“Rest easy, friend. I will return, I promise you.”

Smoke swirls in front of you, that now familiar burning smell hits you. The last thing you can recall is noticing a rosary, of all things, resting in your palm. The face of The Messiah watches you as you helplessly black out.

- - - -

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Find the fic here on AO3

Banners by @/cafekitsune

[fatphobiabusters]

Hello. I’ve never sent a message on here before, although I’ve been following for awhile, but I was hoping I could vent a bit (anonymously, if possible. Thanks.). So I came across a disgusting YouTube video (channel name is Asmongold Clips so people can avoid it) where a guy mocked a fat airline passenger and joked about essentially locking fat people up in concentration camps to lose weight, all while using very dehumanizing language. Against my better judgment, I left a reply (my first-ever YouTube comment at that) since I didn’t come across anyone calling him out. I immediately got attacked for it, and while I’ve gained a lot more confidence in myself and my ability to handle offensive things ever since coming across blogs like this, it still bothered me. Probably doesn’t help that I’m also autistic as well as a minor and can’t process things like this very well. Not long after this, I also heard that leaving comments on any kind of YouTube video supposedly gives the channel money if it’s over a certain amount of words. I’m not positive if this is true, but it left me feeling guilty/worried. I don’t know, I guess I just wanted to see what your all’s thoughts are on this and if I handled it well, or if there are better ways of dealing with things like this. Thanks for listening, and sorry if it became a bit rambling. Also, know that I really appreciate this blog; it’s helped a lot.

____

Mod squirrel:

People in the youtube comments are uniquely out of pocket and Im not sure why. To be frank no one will listen if they want a fight. If you leave a comment you do it on the off chance someone else relates but not in hopes of changing minds. Ive actually disabled notifications for comment replies because I argue too much in YT comments. I try a one and done approach with comments and dont wait around or care if someone who can't even upload a pfp has to say.

All that said:

You aren't obligated to fight every battle. Its definitely a skill that has to be trained up. You can leave a dislike and move on. Like I said youtube doesn't work for changing minds in the comments. If you want to make comments look into disabling the notifications for replies, say your peace and not look back.

The money thing I have no idea. I thought everything was about views and retention time. Either way thats not your burden. You can try the dislike button instead (at a minimum this teachers the algorithm what you don't want to see giving you more peace, hopefully).

And because this got me thinking: I dont suggest minors going full face forward like, say Greta Thunberg. As sad as it is to say. Any minor, on any issue, leave it to the adults because these bigots and trolls can be vile. You can support and stuff but dont become the "face" of anything. Being swatted or something is a possibility and I especially don't want any minors getting caught up in that. You can help in other ways but yall gotta stay safe. Greta has had absolutely horrid things said about her and if you want to care about issues there's levels between 1 and 100.

The occasional youtube comments won't put a target on you. That level of stuff is fine. Reading books and educating yourself is a foundational level that can take years.

I dont think you, anon, specifically are going to run off to do something wild but your ask got me thinking about how in movies there's always the teen who wants to save the world. Today's digital climate is so murky and dangerous. Its a balance between safety and realizing your full activism goals.

Anyway a bit of a tangent there.

Tldr you're doing great, you didn't do anything wrong. 🫂

[tealvenetianmask]

I'm sick, so I'm going to do the very normal thing and wax poetically about the positive neurodiversity representation is in HB. That's because they manage to make it appear neither purely good nor purely bad. It's allowed to just be part of what makes our characters who they are in their beautiful complexity.

Exhibit A: Blitz (there's no exhibit B yet, but maybe there will be!).

He never gets a diagnosis. No one in this show does.

I think ADHD is obvious. I did a post on this a long time ago, but the man barely sits still, and he's always climbing and sitting on things in odd ways. He misses things other characters say when he's caught up in his own ideas. He sometimes falls on his face when distracted despite having literal acrobatic skills. He gets stuck . . . hyperfocusing on things to the point where he ignores other pressing matters. He's an out of the box thinker and has an infectious enthusiasm for life.

You've probably seen me on here arguing that he has dyslexia. ADHD and LD (learning disabilty) are a much more common combination than most people acknowledge, just like ADHD and autism. If this is your take on him, I welcome you to comment too, but to me the LD/dyslexia thing is pretty powerful because I have ADHD and LD too. We all come to these conversations with our lived experiences.

And just like lots of real people with these and other neurodiversities, he also deals with a shit ton of trauma and related disorders as an adult. BPD . . . PTSD . . . you get the gist. The trauma is portrayed as bad, and some of his resulting behaviors certainly are too, but he's still fundamentally a good person who's been through a lot.

I think the part of his story I most understand as a neurodivergent one is the concept of "not being good enough" that he carries around. It originated before the fire, with Cash devaluing him (literally) in favor of Fizz. Blitz has an ever-present itch to prove himself, believes that he is not worthy of love, and that what he can DO for people is all that will make anyone want him around.

I think that most neurodivergent and/or otherwise disabled people get this, either from the always pushing side or the giving up side, or both at different times . . .). I grew up with parents who expected A LOT, and frankly, to this day, I often CAN'T meet their expectations because of how my brain works. I learned that I need to accomplish things. I also learned that I need to accomplish them IN MY WAY, or else I'd just fall short. I spent a lot of time when I was younger thinking that no one was like me (cue angsty music), but it turns out, a lot of people are. We just weren't very open about it in the 90's/2000's. That's why representation is important.

Blitz finds ways to work. He works very hard for his company, because he cares deeply about it and about the people who work for him, and also about PROVING SOCIETY WRONG (yes, there's a pushing back against racism element here too). He chooses to not care too much about spelling or paperwork and leans on employees for some of that- not justifying Moxxie being stuck with it, but, yes, this reads as self-accommodation to me.

And having to work around having more trouble with certain things because your brain works differently? Well, when a person grows up like that, you can get a really inventive, dynamic problem solver. Some people will say that this is inherently part of ADHD, and I don't know, but it's part of Blitz.

Anyway, I'll try to write a more coherent essay on some of these issues as they appear in the show later. Stolas is also an interesting case.

But do discuss! Entertain me on my snotty sick bed. XD

[zahri-melitor]

One of the many tragedies of Jack Drake is that not only was he bad at being a parent, but that he had the perfect person to discuss how hard the experience was for him right there and yet the only conversation they ever have about parenting Tim is conducted at gunpoint.

Because look at Jack Drake. As far as he was concerned, he had everything under control until Janet died and his world fell apart.

Tim was a Good Kid™ as a kid. He was well behaved and polite and not a difficult child and that's obvious from the fact that many of his memories of his parents together are of being taken out in public. Jack and Janet had one kid and they clearly wanted that kid to enjoy the same things they did, so they took him with them to restaurants and museums and art galleries and the opera. And he enjoyed it and enjoyed that time with them.

Jack however clearly saw his role as a father and a husband in the very traditional position as the main provider. It was his job to work and bring in the income that supported their lifestyle (his depressive episode after losing the company and their having to move makes it very clear how much of his self-worth was tied up in that role). He had a son, but his time with Tim was pretty clearly about taking Tim out with him on a Saturday afternoon to watch sport, or play tennis with his friends, or go to the monster trucks, or go fishing: being able to spend a few hours with Tim and show him off to his friends and then return home and someone else took over looking after Tim. And in his mind, he clearly thought he was a good parent! He spent time with his son! His son was a credit who was worth showing off! He could take Tim with him when he and Janet went out for the evening, and Tim could be relied upon to behave. He was winning at being a father!

The part Jack never realised, of course, was that like many men in his position, he'd handed the day to day logistics of raising a kid over to his wife (Janet) and to people he paid to do it for him (Tim's boarding school). He wasn't the disciplinarian parent. He was the 'fun' parent, who got to have the good times with his child.

If Jack was ever actually involved in decisions about discipline and consequences of actions, it was probably at the ultimate stage: the 'wait til your father gets home' sort of threat. The nuclear option. He didn't handle the everyday stuff - he probably never SAW the everyday stuff.

So, Jack thinks he's a great parent. He can brag to his friends about how well behaved HIS child is, unlike those little ruffians you see screaming in public or whose parents can't take them anywhere because they're disruptive.

Then his world falls apart. He's injured and disabled and grieving. He's a single dad. And the kid he's got is suddenly not the child he remembers. Tim frequently acts out, lies, runs away and comes home with bruises and notes from school saying they’re worried something is going on. He also starts dating and possibly trying to have sex ‘too young’ (being caught with Ariana sleeping over and the couch situation, Steph being pregnant even if Tim insisted it wasn't his).

Jack Drake has to suddenly step up to be the main parent of a 14 year old who he's probably never had that dynamic with. He doesn't have the years of experience in how Tim reacts to various forms of boundaries and punishments, because he's never been the one who set them or enforced them. He's probably never sat down and talked to Tim about his feelings in his life. And Tim, I repeat, is fourteen years old, possibly one of the most difficult ages for a kid. Everyone's 14 year olds are suddenly more difficult than usual and pushing boundaries.

On top of that, he's got to learn this all on the fly, in circumstances where he basically has no support. "Help, I'm a new single father to a teenager' isn't really a genre of self help book or parenting group that gets a lot of love - most people who are single parents aren't men, and most people looking for advice on dealing with problems with raising their kids are talking about under-5s, because by the time kids are out of the toddler stage most parents have a reasonable idea of what works and what doesn't, have networks set up, and are usually reaching out for a bit of advice or support about a specific situation, not Dealing With It All.

What Jack really needs is a buddy or two who are also single fathers to teenage boys, who have experience navigating this, maybe who also acquired responsibility for their son in his teen years. Wow. I mean that's a big ask, but funnily enough, there's someone who lives right next door who exactly fits that description...

(The tragedy that Bruce and Jack only ever have the one discussion about parenting Tim, the kid they've been effectively co-parenting since Tim was 13 years old, and that that discussion took place with Jack holding a gun on Bruce).

So of course Jack is terrible at being a parent to Tim. He's inexperienced, he doesn't have any support, he doesn't SEEK support outside of marrying Dana (and Dana clearly while lovely is both ineffective and reluctant to interfere in Jack and Tim's relationship). Now, he fails on very specific axes, in ways that are both understandable and also signs that Jack has a bad handle on his temper.

His go-to threat is sending Tim back to boarding school, because: when Tim was at boarding school, Jack didn't have any discipline issues with Tim! It clearly worked!; Tim doesn't want to go back to boarding school, making it a threat to hold over him; again, Jack's seeing a kid who is sneaking around, lying, running away and he's at his wits end - there's a narrative in the circles he lives in that such kids DO need to be taught to behave and sending them to boarding school is a way to do that.

He runs hot and cold on paying attention to Tim because up until Tim was 14 that was...what he did! And it wasn't such an issue then, as he wasn't a single parent. And when he pays attention, he does tend to be focused (laser focused, in fact), in getting Tim out of No Man's Land, of the dramas at school during Cry of the Huntress when Jack's getting outraged over Tim's bruises and getting into fights, when he's arguing with Ariana's uncle over whether Tim and Ariana's relationship was going too far.

It's just that he never developed the day to day, in between level of parenting and boundary setting and discipline. He's got a temper, and he swings between "it'll be fine, Tim's a smart kid, I trust him" laid back permissiveness, and getting mad and going immediately to the nuclear option: "You are going back to boarding school!" and so on.

He doesn't know how to walk away and calm himself down when he's worked up. He's not particularly good at redirecting his aggression. And he gets easily frustrated, because in his mind everything went smoothly for years...until it was all his responsibility.

And the thing is, there are so many ways Jack could have tried harder to be a good parent, that were available to him. But because of his background and the culture he lived in and the demands of storytelling he never reached out for any of them.

(And Bruce was right there! They knew each other socially! Everyone knew Bruce had worked through having two teenage sons on his own! He could have asked for advice, and he even knew Bruce knew Tim, given Bruce had officially fostered Tim while Jack was in a coma and in hospital. If you were putting together a specific support group you'd kick yourself over how perfect this was)

It's just such a part of the tragedy of Jack Drake.

[bengiyo]

Hello 👋

All of your favorite horniest sex scenes?

Hello! I've been busy, so this has taken forever to get to!

I don't always need the guys to bounce around on each other and gyrate enthusiastically for it to out as horny. Oftentimes, I find myself more drawn in by the building desire between the characters, and the explicit acknowledgement of release. I like when the sex feels like it's also revealing something to us about the characters. I've highlighted many of these before, but it's fun to revisit.

Ghost Host, Ghost House Episode 4 Couch Scene

I will never get over this scene, and especially the director's cut of it. These guys knew they liked each other almost instantly, and it was so rewarding to see them reach a place where they could express that. Bonus points for discussing the logistics of gay sex.

This show has been on Gaga and YouTube for a while, but it's also now available on Viki!

La Pluie Episode 6 Floor Scene and Episode 7 Bed Scene

I liked this scene so much that I wrote about it. Again, there's a lot of anticipation between these two, and you can tell how far it's built up because Patts has to dial it back down when Saengtai wants to stop. It's especially important to me because Saengtai does blow Patts in the next episode. If you're on iQIYI, there's an extended cut of that at the end of the video lists.

Mood Indigo: The Post-Funeral Scene

These two are so horrible for each other, but damn are their sex scenes compelling. Theirs are the kinds of scenes only possible between two people you know can never work long term. I was so glad that we got back to Haruhiko in Playback, and the first thing he did was blow Rio in a car. If you haven't seen the Novelist, and you're itching for hornier BL, it's right there.

The End of the World With You "You're Soaked"

From the same team as The Novelsit, we got to experience baby's first fuckboy in this incredible show. Again, I love when we get scenes with couples who aren't ready to work, because they're allowed to have raunchier sex. They get to amp the intensity of the physicality because they need to give a reason why someone was so caught up and missed the warning signs. I actually love the car scene later as a more romantic intimacy scene, but we're focusing on horny here.

Jack o' Frost Birthday Sex

A common theme here with the Japanese offerings is that people are allowed to have more interesting sex scenes right before they split. This is true even in Jack o' Frost. We get a really great oner from the leads that precedes their breakup and Ritsu's accident. I think this might be my favorite of this list because the actors have to build the entire scene together since there aren't any cuts.

Gameboys 2 Bed Scene

Cairo and Gav are one of my favorite pandemic couples we got on screen, and I was quite relieved for them when they finally got to have this moment. We also confirmed they switch, and I love that.

Wedding Plan: Namnuea Showing Off His Stamina

No list for me would be complete without including them. I really loved seeing two gay men go at it after clearing out all of their misunderstandings. They had already had sad goodbye sex. It was thrilling to see them having enthusiastic, athletic sex. This also leads directly to one of my favorite emotional payoffs for a closeted character of all time.

Kiseki: Dear to Me Reunion

The second couple stole this show, but damn if I didn't love the way these two played out sex across multiple years between their characters. These two really suffered, and I really love the way Taro Lin and Hsu Kai captured the changes between these two as Bai Zong Yi grew and matured. This really was a solid sex scene.

Love Class 2: Sungmin and Joo Hyuk

I just really wanna thank them for reassuring me that if Korea wanted to, they could deliver.

Sleep With Me Jeans Scene

I am not a lesbian, but I share their beliefs. This scene was so good. I loved that these two, who have different kinds of disabilities, were able to have a very fun sex scene. I really like when it's clear both characters want to be there.

Only Friends: Boston and Top in the Car

Despite my eventual disdain for this show, I was impressed with Neo and Force for giving this incredibly selfish sex scene between their characters. This entire scene is about injured egos, and it's a standout scene from this show. We won't discuss the rest of the show here.

Thanks for the ask!

[redbuddi]

okay but fr americans.... vote. like obv it is not and should not be the only vehicle through which to enact change, but it is still a way to move the needle a little bit. im genuinely concerned how many ppl are writing off the idea of voting entirely, not only specifically because of this election, but also because just philosophically speaking its not good to completely forego a tool for change just because it isnt as powerful as it should be. and thats what it is: a tool, and one of many.

if kamala gets into office a lot of people will still be hurt, but if trump gets into office even more people will be hurt on top of that! "oh so youll vote for someone who causes hurt?" well what else am I supposed to do? vote for the brain worms guy? not voting isnt going to help anybody, itll just hurt more people than could have been. obviously its a bad system. obviously it should be better. and obviously it should not be the only vehicle one considers to make an impact. but it still matters. kamala might not be perfect but for gods sake dont forget about project 2025 and the people who will be caught up in that! me and my friends and my family will all be affected. queer people, people of color, disabled people, and every other possible kind of marginalized group will be caught up in that. the system is broken and needs to change and we should continue to fight to change it, but until we get to that day when everyone is treated fairly we cant just forfeit our ability to enact change, no matter how small and incremental. i cannot emphasize enough that you have everything to lose by choosing to not vote.

and for those who still dont agree, those who think there's something up with my encouraging people to vote, i get it. i get why youre angry and you have every right to be. but i need you to ask yourself this: "will choosing not to vote do any good?" because if it doesnt matter either way people might as well vote just in case. a 0.000001 chance of changing anything is still better than complete zero, after all. and with so many lives on the line, why would you want people to give up that chance?

[imaginedreamwrite]

for matchmaking Monday, Gaz or Simon or Johnny think John needs to start dating again, they set him up with one of their girlfriends/wives friends —can you make reader have some kind of disability like you did with Unburdened?

People You Meet

A/N: Reader has mutism and speaks in sign language/writing on a board if I use these with reader " " they are meant to be taken as sign language and not spoken word

The no smoking sign at the back of the reception venue had stacked on another irritant that got under the captain’s skin. If it weren’t for Kate Laswell and his men, he wouldn’t be here putting up with the inability to smoke cigars on the venue grounds.

“A wedding is a celebration, Cap. Even you must like weddings, the free booze, the food-” Kyle began speaking and was swiftly cut off by Johnny’s eager horniness

“Scamming on single bridesmaids.” Johnny cut Gaz off, speaking over him as a few of those bridesmaids walked past the 141. The sight of them made Johnny turn his head, trying to get a crack at the pretty women walking by.

“I’m divorced, Gaz. I’ve made enough mistakes-” John reached for his pocket, the cigars that should be in there were missing, and his mood dampened again.

“Got room for another wedding in you, Cap? Another attempt at marriage maybe?” Gaz grinned at the leader of the 141 before he looked around the venue, as if to find someone specific. Gaz’s date, and his fiancée, hadn’t paid any mind to his staring, if anything she had almost aided him.

“Who the fuck are you looking for sergeant?” Simon asked gruffly, drawing the youngest soldier in their unit’s attention back to him.

“A friend-” Gaz ignored Simon, largely, and his grin widened when he caught sight of who he was looking for. The small group of soldiers had been puzzled by Sergeant Garrick’s distracted state, until a woman slipped through the crowds and joined him.

“Thought you’d show up late again,” Gaz pulled her into a side hug, his fiancée doing much of the same, “Cap, Soap, Ghost this is Y/N.”

John watched as you waved, smiling cordially but you hadn’t spoken. You were studying them just as they were studying you, though your attention was divided between Gaz and his fiancée, and them. Gaz had looped an arm around your shoulders to secure you to his side as he made the introductions.

But what had really drawn their curiosity was the way your fingers moved as you communicated in sign language. You hadn’t spoken, you hadn’t made any kind of noise that would be taken as verbal welcoming. Rather you communicated through the standard ASL.

“Y/N is mute, she’s been mute since she was 5. She communicates through sign language,” Kyle explained, signing like you had, though slower, “and she has a board to write on.”

You finished signing and rest your hands by your sides again, silence between the men and you was tampering on the lines of awkward. There was no real clues given by Gaz as to why he wanted you to meet them, not really until he had furthered his explanation.

“Y/N is related to the bride,” Gaz had been practicing his British Sign Language, trying to master the communication, “and is my fiancée’s sister. We met a few years ago, and she is part of my family.”

“It’s really nice to meet you all,” your fingers moved quickly, forming the letters and words you were trying to communicate, “Gaz has told me a lot about you.”

“Aye, had he mentioned how devilishly handsome some of us are?” Johnny cocked a grin, charming and flirtatious as he naturally was.

“Johnny,” you signed his name, your head tilted slightly to the side, “flirts with anything that has legs and a heartbeat.”

“-flirts with anything that has legs and a heartbeat.” Kyle delivered the message as you signed, even though both John and Ghost knew sign language.

“I dinnae-” he protested, crossing his arms over his chest, taking offence to the very idea regardless of it being true. “Gaz’been spreading lies.”

“Ghost,” you looked at the silent and masked man, only giving him a quick look over, “deadly and mysterious.”

“Oi! I get manwhore and ghost gets mysterious?” Johnny harrumphed, rolling his eyes at the implications that Ghost was somehow on a higher scale than him.

“Captain Price,” when you looked over at him, John felt alike a battering ram had slammed right into his gut, rattling any kind of protective guard that kept him emotionally isolated, “brave, daring, capable-”

“-smart.” Gaz finished for you, relaying everything you signed as you signed it, until you were done.

“What the fuck, Kyle? That’s all I get?” Johnny was still mildly miffed about the designation he had gotten, irritated that Kyle had seemingly ruined any chance to flirt with you before he had it.

“Johnny likes to make things explode,” you signed the words, emphasizing the explosion aspect of your speech, much to the amusement of Gaz and John.

“Gaz we should take our seats,” his fiancée addresses him a tap on the shoulder, drawing his attention back to her.

“You’re seated with Y/N, Cap. Over here.” Gaz states before he starts moving toward the table you’re assigned to sit at, with Ghost and Johnny following behind.

You find your seat in between Gaz and John, your name scrawled across the placard—with the addition of honorary bridesmaid added beside it. You reach for your chair and find that John has already started pulling it out for you. You smile at him and raise your hand to your chin, keeping your fingers and hand flat before you move it forward and slightly downward.

Once you take your seat you reach for the already filled glasses of water and pull it before you. You don’t get to take a sip, not before Johnny breaks the silence at the table.

“You know the bride?” His question draws your attention and you raise your head to look at him from across the table.

“The bride and I have been friends since we’ve been ten.” You communicate in sign language, and as you do Ghost translates instead of Gaz. “The groom is a soldier of yours?”

“Good soldier,” John answers you now, stealing any opportunity from Johnny who tries to flag down one of the waiters for a drink, despite there being a bar, “smart and tactical.”

You don’t think to ask more than that, and they don’t give any more on the soldier marrying your friend. But your connections to the lot of them are indelible, through Gaz’s relationship with your sister, his fiancée, and through the bride that’s marrying one of their soldiers.

As the night progresses, you feel more comfortable around the soldiers that Gaz wanted you to meet. Their sense of humour makes you laugh, and you hang onto every word they say when they tell you about some of the things they get up to on base. But it’s John that you can’t stop looking at, can’t stop drawing your attention toward the pretty captain with heart stopping blue eyes.

By the time the dancing arrives, Johnny asks you to one or two because he has to show the rest of them up. You like being around him, he seems easy to be around with a boyish charm that’ll never leave. One dance turns into two, and potentially three, if John hadn’t interrupted.

“Gaz set this up.” The whispered admission draws a silent laugh from you, as John seems annoyed but not surprised.

“I know.” You mouth the words, silently confirming what he initially thought. “Gaz likes to meddle.”

The hand on your back tightens as John dances with you, his eyes moving across the room before they settle back on you. His blue eyes search your face before the corner of his lips twitch but he remains quiet. He is a good dancing partner, he takes the lead and whisks you around the dance floor to the music, before he escorts you back to the table when it’s over.

After you take your seats again, the table is suspiciously empty, another ploy by Gaz no doubt. Regardless of the emptiness at the table, there’s no lingering awkwardness between you and John. It feels oddly comfortable, and any silence there could be is filled as he begins telling you some unclassified stories about the three soldiers that had been here minutes ago.

By the end of the night, his hand is on your thigh with a promise to take you for coffee for a proper date.