#in competition?

[pynkhues]

What confuses me the most when it comes to these femme/masc discussions is that these poeple act like the majority of fanarts, fanfics, even analyses, don't characterize lestat as the masc one.

He is predominantly the top (and even though they are CANONICALLY vers, bottom lestat is very much unpopular), he is drawn taller, bigger, more mascular than Sam actually is. He is also usually "the husband" , "the father", and I would say that even the fact that he is seen as less vulnerable plays into that trope. Of course Louis being seen as the total opposite.

It is disingenuous to act like your opinion will take away all of those popular interpretations or that you have taken away all Louis' feminine traits by doing your own research behind some fan readings. And the fact is that many of them are based on modern standards of what it means to be masculine/feminine,on the way poeple see gay men as more feminine by default or are simply already largely accepted by the fandom.

As you've said already, neither of them are exclusively masc or femme! And at the end of the day caring more about a fictional character than about the fact that there is a real person behind the screen you are calling names or making negative assumptions about is weird. Especially when that person has been open to fair and real discussions from the beginning.

Sorry for the ask being so long but the way some people act on the internet without any care or consideration really bothers me. Hope you had a good day despite all of this!

I hope you don't mind me grouping all your asks together like this, because I really appreciate you all being so supportive and engaged with the discussion, and think you do bring up some different and interesting points, most of which I agree with, some I don't necesarily (in particular, I wouldn't say Louis' just Jacob once he's stopped performing masculinity, but I appreciate too that there are some mannerisms there that do feel more informed by Jacob's own movements/experiences than in other periods of Louis' life), but I feel like I've said all I really want to say about it at this point.

So! Links! Because yeah, I've been pretty baffled by people being so vitriolic about different interpretations of the dynamic, given masc!Lestat x fem!Louis is far and away the most popular interpretation, which I talked about a while ago here, and I do tend to see it as an exercise in trying to control the fandom and iterations of Louis' character that may appear in fandom spaces, which I talked about here and here along with the pervasiveness of gender essentialism in these conversations (although I guess they finally did respond directly and off anon lol). I know a lot of you are responding specifically to this post, but the fashion and nails I talk about here, and - - yeah. I think I'm just going to leave it there for now, if that's okay?

Thank you all though for these thoughtful asks, they were really interesting to read (and honestly, it's nice to feel some resonance in both directions), and I'm grateful for the flurry of support after yesterday. I'm fine though (yoga helped, haha), and I'm really just ready to move on from it honestly. Hopefully that cohort did just block me, as they tagged they would, and we can enjoy our own spaces in the fandom playground. :-)

[hussyknee]

If I tell you this is a horror dance number it still won't prepare you. That last move was so terrifying even the judge was like "Let go! Let go!" If you told me they're actually possessed I'd believe you.

The music is a remix of the song Mere Dholna from the Bollywood movie Bhool Bhulaiyya, a remake of the classic Malayalam horror-comedy Manichitrathazhu. It's about a young bride that seemingly becomes possessed of Manjulika, a dancer of the ancient royal court whose tragic death has turned her into a vengeful spirit, one who evokes the wrath of the goddess Durga Kali. In the iconic scene that is repeated across remakes, the groom and his family discover his bride dancing in the dead of night in a manic, disassociative fugue, wearing a moth-eaten dancer's costume and a face smeared in kohl, ash and vermilion. She's hallucinating that she's Manjulika dancing carefree for the court with her lover. The upbeat music is deliberately incongruous with the pathos and creepiness of the scene in reality, especially as it crescendos in the bride's head to the moment when the king decapitates Manjulika's beloved in a fit of jealous rage.

This specific number is by the all-male troupe B Unique, performed for the Indian reality talent contest Hunabaarz. It's a modern fusion based on Bharatnatyam that turns up the creep factor by 200% and is basically a showcase of contortionism and synchronicity. One of the most perfectly choreographed and executed dances I have ever seen. Truly incredible!

The group is still taking their work across the world's talent shows. And yes, that guy is hypermobile enough to do that with his neck. XD

[gilsart]

idk guys I was probably going through euphoria when I made this (I have BPD)

bonus for the aftermath and also a little silly interaction based on a tiktok trend

[mebssann]

Always glancing at each other but never at the same time

[thicc-astronaut]

commensalism between slime monsters and certain varieties of fish

[starlightseq]

this is silly.

inspo.

[kocho15]

Safety.

[singswan-springswan]

In a happy world where Jason is legally resurrected and gets to go to college like he's always dreamed of

[toasterkoi]

I walk through the rain to come and see you

To touch the edges of your world

You tie my insides up, cat's cradle

---

Cat's Cradle - Flower Face

Aka,, the epitome of the buried grief and confusion Sonic endures after the events of SA2.

[brainrotcharacters]

That's that shit eating grin that practically screams "Harder! HARDER!" except the homoerotic subtext is a tripwire they're crash landing through

[prlssprfctn]

God, I just know that the family hates playing Scrabble with Jason, because they agree being casual and not search for unusable words through dictionaries intentionally - side eye at Tim, who prior the Scrabble night learned by heart the whole dictionary and spluttered words the next day without even remembering their meaning just because he wanted to win - and then they forget that Jason is English & Literary major. And his casual words are like. Unknown by the half of population.

Jason: Hm-m, geoluread. Dick: There is no way this word is real. Jason: It means yellow-red, actually. Poets and writers used it to describe-- Damian, aka. Nerd Jr: He is right, it is a real word. Tim, groaning: Can we play Uno? Duke: No, no, wait, I use Jason's bizarre knowledge for making my own dictionary to use in school essays and impress teachers, let him cook. Cass, nodding: Good source information. Dick, frustrated: THIS IS NOT EVEN FAIR Stephanie, reaching for her phone: I smell a fight--

[deconstructthesoup]

Brennan when D20 first started: Yeah, we're in a dome that can change colors depending on the situation, blue to start out, red for combat, we've got some purple and some green and maybe some yellow in there for ambiance, custom battle sets made by Rick Perry :)

Brennan for Crown of Candy: Okay... hear me out... more than one color at a time on the dome

*Insert about a year of doing seasons online due to quarantine*

Aabria, rocking up for MisMag: Hmm... new system :) Custom props :) Background effects for dome :)

Brennan, eye twitching slightly: Okay... what about strobing light effects on the dome? What about custom computers for the digital battlesets?

Aabria, grinning evilly: What about flowers all over the dome? What about in-theme makeup looks? What about physical props for moments that happen organically in the campaign? What about ambient lighting? WHAT ABOUT BACKGROUND PROJECTIONS?

Brennan, slamming hands on the table: BACKGROUND PROJECTIONS?! HOW ABOUT BACKGROUND ANIMATIONS, BABY?! HOW ABOUT MOVING SET PIECES THAT COME IN FROM THE CEILING?! YOU DRESS UP ALL THE TIME? WELL, I'M DRESSING UP FOR OUR DRAG QUEEN SEASON! AND I'M NOT DONE, I GOT A WHOLE NEW NOIR-THEMED SIDEQUEST! I'M MAKING THAT OTHER GAME-SYSTEM NOIR THEMED AND BRINGING IN NOIR LIGHTING AND MAKING TRACKS FOR THOSE TOKENS TO ROLL DOWN IN AND ANIMATED SCENES TO PROJECT ONTO THE DOME!

Aabria, floating into the air Galadriel-style: PUZZLE BATTLESETS! ANTI-SURVEILLANCE MAKEUP! I GOT CARLOS LUNA TO RECORD WHOLE-ASS AUDIO LOG ENTRIES FOR YOU GUYS TO DISCOVER AS YOU UNRAVEL THIS MYSTERY!

Brennan, going Super Saiyan: MINIS FOR EVERY GODDAMN OCCASION! EVERY SINGLE BATTLESET IS MORE ELABORATE THAN THE LAST! I GOT WORDS ON THE DOME! I'M INCLUDING A PLOT-IMPORTANT CLIP FROM FIVE FUCKING YEARS AGO TO PROJECT! I GOT SMOKE EFFECTS AND EXPLOSION EFFECTS! MY DM COSTUME GETS MORE AND MORE ACTION-MOVIE RUGGED AS THE SHOW GOES ON! I MADE A WHOLE! NEW! SYSTEM!

Aabria, achieving godhood: THE SET MOVES! THERE ARE WIND EFFECTS! I TOOK YOUR NEW SYSTEM AND I MADE A MAGIC VERSION! I GOT HOLOGRAMS IN THE DOME, BITCH! CARLOS LUNA IS RIGHT BACKSTAGE WITH A MOTION-CAP THING ATTACHED TO HIS FACE AS HE DELIVERS LINES FOR THE TALKING ROCK!

Brennan, achieving elder godhood: FLAMETHROWERS FOR THE LIVESHOW IN NEW YORK! THE GIANT MONSTERS ARE REMOTE-CONTROLLED! THE DRAGON ACTUALLY BREATHES OUT SMOKE! AND I GOT GLOW-IN-THE-DARK BLACKLIGHT MAKEUP EFFECTS! ME, THE GUY WHO ALWAYS WEARS THE SAME FIVE SHIRTS!

(@quiddie please confirm that this is how the production conversation goes between you and Brennan)

[kiwymelody]

So Maushold just won a regional.

Here's every time the crowd chanted along to Population Bomb during the finals :

[daydreamerwonderkid]

Post patrol family game night goes awry ...

Meme reference under cut