#it fits pretty well with his need for toxic masculinity

[macchiatosdumptruck]

This is random, but have you noticed how Kreese uses different styles of speaking with different people? With Johnny, Robby, and Tory he's very relaxed and genuine. With Terry he's a little lecturing and authoritative. With other characters he's fake nice. And with Daniel he's... flirty??? I don't know how else to describe it lol. The cadence. Every single time! He smirks and pauses before finishing a sentence all slithery like a snake. He called Daniel Danny-boy too and idk how to feel about that

I didn't at first but after rewatching the show and focusing more on his character I do see it. I disagree with how he acts with Johnny though.

It's interesting because the show and the fandom often thinks of Terry as the manipulative one (rightfully so) when John's entire character is based on manipulation.

I would argue Terry is manipulative in a different way. His motivations are more obvious. More black and white.

Rewatching s2 it alarmed me just how textbook his emotional manipulation of Johnny was. Just how effective it was. It reminded me of DARVO tbh.

Kreese does this interesting thing with both Terry and Johnny where he brings up "the good times" specifically when they're rightfully upset.

Tory and Robby are interesting. He doesn't put on a false "helpless old man" front like he does with Johnny. He's straight forward. He's helpful but he's pragmatic. He doesn't lie to them, but he doesn't tell them all of the truth either. He views them as competent individuals but he reminds them of their weakness. They're fair game, in a way.

With Terry it's some sort of power play. His ego is always being fed. He's kind to Terry as long as Terry doesn't get too confident in himself. Then it's time to pull rank.

I think he might do that out of fear. As if he thinks Terry will leave him if he no longer sees Kreese as he used to. The most important person in the world.

He's saying "you can't ever leave me" and convincing himself it's a statement rather than a question.

And with Daniel, it really is ... Something.

Kreese's preoccupation with Daniel has always been different than his with Johnny or Terry. Daniel stands as something that Kreese is against. But he still respects him in a way. At the same time he's always belittling him. As if to make Daniel feel younger or smaller.

And I think that's why it comes across as flirty. It's almost like he's negging Daniel.

John "but I like that" Kreese wants to put Daniel in his place but he wants to have fun while doing so.

He's the only person in canon other than Terry to call Daniel "Danny." And he HAD to get that knowledge from Terry. He had to know it would specifically push Daniel's buttons.

And he enjoys seeing Daniel riled up. It's almost like that one asshole who harasses girls because "you're cute when you're mad."

Dominance is John's thing. Imagine if you can't intimidate someone out of fear, trying to do so sexually. 🤔

The extremely flirty and creepy way he acts towards Amanda is to be noted. It's similar to how he acts towards Daniel but more obvious. And I think ultimately this all ties in to how Daniel's enemies have always tried to feminize him in an attempt to belittle him.

Once again Daniel occupies a spot often taken up by a female character. The young hero vs the creepy and intimidating, yet still alluring villain.

[actualhumantrashcan]

I can understand a silly workplace comedy about pirates not being everyone’s jam but I really can’t understand the amount of queer people I see hating on ofmd.

like for one thing most of the debates turn into gatekeeping queerness (which I think has a lot more to do with the ages of the main couples than actual concerns about authentic representation but that’s another post) and the rest are just hateful because it doesn’t directly name or label it’s queer characters but like why do we need that at this point?? listen I love heartstopper with all my heart but it is exhausting to watch them explain queer identities sometimes (even though I do think it’s super useful for younger audiences I’m just not the target demographic!) and ofmd is an explicit, violent, adult show that doesn’t NEED to explain it’s character’s identities.

queer people past their 30’s are usually very well aware of their queerness and have had (hopefully) plenty of time to go through the arc of discovering that. so why would we need to see Stede or Lucius or Ed going through turmoil because they’re attracted to men when they have already come to terms with that at this point in their lives?? i for one find it so fucking refreshing to watch a show where the characters being queer is not their main arc, they just ARE queer and life is still happening to and around them. maybe that’s just the millennial gay in me talking, but it gets emotionally exhaustive to watch show after show where the queer character’s arc is overcoming homophobia. yes obviously homophobia still exists and yes obviously if ofmd was trying to be historically accurate these characters would be living in a very dangerous time to be queer but it isn’t trying to be accurate!! it’s trying to be fun and diverse and kind!!

and also, they aren’t pretending homophobia doesn’t exist!! it’s just addressed in a different way. Stede was emotionally abused by his father for his entire life for being “soft” and then was chased down by his homophobic childhood bullies, one of which explicitly told him that he “defiled” the great pirate Blackbeard by simply falling in love with the man behind that name. Meanwhile Ed was forced into the world of piracy at a young age and developed the entire persona of Blackbeard (who fits the toxic, violent masculine stereotype of the time) to hide the fact that he’s actually an incredibly sensitive and deeply queer man! and is told multiple times by male figures in his life that sex with other men is fine but it is absolutely unacceptable to be in love with a man. both of their arcs contain homophobic rhetoric that is still present in society today, but its never presented as a problem that they have to wrestle with. they don’t have to come to terms with what it means to love each other, they just have to overcome some trials that go along with the complicated lives they both lead as a pirate and former aristocrat. the homophobia in ofmd is woven into the backstory of each and every character, it shapes them into the people they are at the beginning of the show when all of their walls are up and they are performing the “pirate” roles they are supposed to play. and then we get to see them grow and realize that they are in a safe space, part of a community not just on the ship itself but in the life of piracy (which in the show is pretty much explicitly an allegory for queer lifestyles.)

anyway, I could rant about this all day but just truly why do we have to tear people down for enjoying something? why do we have to find reasons to hate something so obviously created with sensitivity to it’s queer audience and with so much queer joy? if historically inaccurate gay pirates going on silly adventures and falling in love are not your thing, fine! but perhaps just let people enjoy things and find your own things to enjoy.

[sunny-ssunset]

Love LOVED your honest dating and the smoking hc, would you be comfortable doing one of those for Craig's gang??

Honest dating headcanons 💯 🔥

dividers by pinterest

Craig's gang

Masterlist!

♡Course i can lmao I was thinking about doing one with craigs gang lol (GENDER NEUTRAL AGED UP)

♡Idk why but the jimmy one is really sad lmao

Craig

•Bro could not care less about you

•He wont care if you break up

•He wont treat you any differently in or after the relationship

•He'd hang out with you once and then you'd start dating with out you knowing

•It just happens one day lmao

•He just tells everyone your together

•He wont do any sort of physical affection

•He might buy you a gift on your birthday

•Tbh i dont picture him being an overly horrible person i just think he is boring as fuck

•Literally doesnt kiss you or hold your hand

•its just being w friends with more labels

Tweak

•Gets a nosebleed whenever you make eye contact

•SUPER nervous around you

•He cannot even comprehend you liking him let alone being in a relationship with him

•Dating freaks him the fuck out

•After you ask him out (sorry but there is no chance of him doing that)

•And even then theres only a 50 percent chance of him saying yes. Even though he likes you

•Overthinks all the time

•If you leave him on delivered for one second he'll freak out

•He is very anxious with you

•Needs constant reassurance you like him

•He is a bit of a pick me, he sends this emoji 🥺

•He is so clingy

•He'll cry if he sees you talking to anyone but him

•If you ever broke up he would never be able to talk or look at you again

Jimmy

•He asked you out as a dare thinking you would say no and you said yes

•Felt too bad to break up with you

•Has been convincing himself to love you ever since

•He'll try give you the ick or being mean to you to get you to break up with him

•You actually fall more in love with him

•He'll start to fall for you too

•If you laugh at his jokes

•Or make an effort to make him laugh

•But then his dreams get crushed

•Someone told you that he asked you out as a joke

•You genuinely get upset and break up with him

•Leaving him heart broken

•He brings you gifts and he looks at you whenever he makes jokes to see if you laugh

•He hates himself for what he did :(

Tolkien

•Probably the most sane relationship you will have

•He wont admit it

•But he is very very stuck up

•He has a very particular taste, like kyle

•However unlike kyle he is a pretty rizzy rizzler

•He'll take you out on nice dates

•He gets bored pretty easily though

•He'll break up with you in a nice way though

•He'll drop a bunch of flowers or chocolates at your door or locker and write you a note

•Too stuck up to do it in person

•He'll treat you like the relationship never happened when you break up though

•Like everything goes back to normal

Clyde

•He is a pretty well wanted guy in south park high

•He gets a lot of bitches which is very odd because he is one of those guys that really arent anything special but they pull so much

•These people have fueled his ego so much, he thinks he is Ryan gosling

•He'll come up to you like 'sup then ask you know a date

•You'll start dating

•He can be really sweet but he acts all tough because he is the epitome of toxic masculinity

•He got bullied for being a 'crybaby' so i guess he made himself the opposite to fit in

•He gets pissed off when you say he is being flirty with other people

•He cheats on you one night when he is drunk (suprise suprise)

•He cries telling you it was a mistake

•And you dump him in front of everyone

•And he makes you out to be the problem

•Then the whole school hates you

dividers by @k1ssyoursister

[littelestvic]

About Bluza and The Destruction of the Femenine Fantasy

Hello! I haven't talked about Joker Out in a hot moment. Today, after the release of Bluza and the reading of some dissapointed critiques on the nature of the MV, I wanted to talk about how I think Bluza has presented us with the most clever and interesting MV since A Sem Ti Povedal.

On purpose or not. (Probably the later)

So, let's talk about Bluza (The Song) for a second. A beautiful ballad about yearning for a woman, it's beautiful, it's romantic, it's idylic, it's perfect.

"Tonight you're my muse" that's beautiful! It's almost like you want that muse. You want to pretend it's you who Bojan is talking about. You want to be her.

So I was kinda in awe when Zoran broke a bottle on Bojan's head while the woman he was so enthusiastically singing about just protects herself in a bit of horror.

I found it fascinating how the beautiful instrumental notes just kept drifting away almost in a hypnotic matter while the rest of the men in the room broke into a violent fight.

During my stance on the Joker Out fandom I've come to realize how we have constructed what I can only describe as a Fantasy. And it makes sense: this is a mostly femenine-driven fan base (and as a transmasc person I will include myself here too) yearning to think they're the epitome of a Perfect Man. And how wouldn't Joker Out be perfect, when they're so beautiful and talented and write and perform the most beautiful and romantic ballads? We have unequivocally constructed the "Perfect men" fantasy around a bunch of people that, in the end of the day, are nothing more than your average men.

This is something that will forever happen in boybands, of course and I do not say it's Bad and you Suck because you idealize a bunch of guys (I do too). But Souvenir Pop feels like it wants to be a record about the new experiences after the last year, and you kinda need to understand how shocking it might be for a bunch of 20-year-olds from Slovenia to be nothing one day, and the personalization of perfection for millions of girls around the world on the next one.

And Bluza (the song) plays perfectly into this Fantasy. It's beautiful and perfect and romantic like how any other Joker Out ballad needs to be because that's what we want from them and that's what we demand from them: Idealized perfection.

So you could imagine the reactions to some fans when they found out that Bluza (the MV) plays into toxic masculinity, objectification of women, and violence. They weren't very happy about that.

Because yes! I DO think this song plays into the idea of objectifying women. I think they portray this random woman as nothing but an object of desire while Bojan has the absolute guts to sing into this lady he has never seen before in his whole life and knows absolutely nothing about (but she's pretty, at least) that Tonight, she is his muse.

And I think it's amazing, how I've read statements like "Bluza MV objectifies women" and "I do not care much about what happened in Bluza MV as long and the guys just stand there and look pretty" all coexist in the same environment. Because I think it's actually very interesting how they objectify a woman almost in the same way as the fandom objectifies them. Because at the end of the day they're nothing more than objects of attraction for many of us.

And I find it kinda fitting how they spend most of the MV just Standing there, almost awkwardly and clumsily, not even caring enough to pretend effectively that they're playing whatever instrument they were given, while Bojan sings beautiful lyrics of yearn and love to the nothingless.

So yes, I do believe Bluza MV is fitting. Is fitting in the sense I find very clever how they subverted the theme of the song to talk about the expectation the fandom has towards them to follow their fantasies of the perfect man.

Now, do I think this was all made on purpose? Well, no. Not at all. I think this reading is nothing more than a coincidence. I do believe they did try their best to make a MV just about being in love or whatever but it came out tacky, and I do not care at all about that reading.

But a meta-reading about the MV is not really that out of place when you take other things they've done. Take for example how A Sem Ti Povedal, how the song is also a very typical love song but then the MV also plays with themes of idealization and fantasy.

[yukishirostar]

So people are talking about a post in the Zolu tag by a certain tumblr user in regards to their issues with Zolu as a ship. They shall be unnamed because i dont wish to bring attention to them and instead just want to focus on their arguments because they're not the first people to make some of these points and so this is also an opportunity for me to talk about these things (a tweet is going around on Twitter containing these screenshots with the username so you can find it there if you need to anyway).

The way this person dismisses the relationship between Zoro and Luffy as a result of needing to pair gay Zoro with someone is too laughable, they must be very fit in order to be able to do these mental gymnastics. I believe that many people who are going on about the Zolu scenes in the OPLA were already Zolu shippers who were familiar with the original story and are enjoying the moments because they were well, really good Zolu moments? And there is actually, shockingly, many good Zolu moments in the original story too which is why many people ship them. Wild, I know.

Then there's 'straight-washed Sanji'. Equally if not more of a bizarre thing to believe. I might make some people mad especially the Sanji stans out there who constantly insist on the 'repressed queer' narrative with his character, but Sanji is written pretty explicitly to be seen as a cisgender and heterosexual character. The way you say with your whole chest that Luffy is 'canonically' aroace but don't acknowledge that Sanji is 'canonically' cishet is beyond hypocritical. If you believe Sanji looking like a 'misogynistic straight man' is different from the way he is written in canon then maybe you should go back and reread/rewatch series with your eyes open this time. If you wish to headcanon him with the frankly offensive repressed bisexual/transgender cliché then go ahead, but that is clearly not the intention Oda has with his character.

There's also the fact that aroace people can uh. Be in relationships. Get married. Have children. Did it occur to you that many people who ship Zolu ship them as an ace couple or-

First thing I want to say here, as a trans man who is 'mlm', can other dudes stop with this idea that women or fem-aligned individuals enjoying homosexual relationships between two men is inherently fetishising or that as a masc-aligned individual your enjoyment of a ship is morally superior in some way. Stop pulling out your 'mlm/ transmasc / cis gay' card in order to justify why your ship is superior. Its cringe af.

But if we are to insist that 'cishet female gaze fetishising mlm' is going on then ironically Zosan fits that the better than any ship in the fandom. It being by far the most popular mlm ship means there is likely a higher proportion of people who identify as cishet women who ship it. Its also the classic 'two men who dislike/hate eachother and have a toxic relationship but hot sexual tension' slash/yaoi stereotype. Majority of Zosan I've come across is depicting Zoro as the masculine male man in the relationship while Sanji the effeminate twink that Sanji stans project themselves onto and they go crazy for the bickering that is apparently reminiscent to them of a toxic heterosexual marriage. Meanwhile every Zolu/Luzo shipper I've interacted with has been some flavour of queer and Zolu is closest to the 'falling in love with your same sex bestie' narrative that the majority if not every non-heterosexual person has experienced at least once in their lifetime. This is just my personal view of course, but I think noting a difference in perspective on this topic is interesting and reveals that at the end of the day this is totally subjective and based purely on anecdotes.

Also it's just a very weird point here that apparently OP has 'plenty of varied queer rep' (it actually doesn't have that many canonical queer characters in relation to its cast size but anyway) and other media doesn't so shipping aroace characters in gay relationships is valid in those but not in One Piece … HUH???? So you're saying if One Piece had 'less' queer rep, then Zolu would be fine to ship? Idek my brain hurts.

"I have black friends so I'll speak for the black community and get offended for them" (btw this person then proceeded to block aroace people who had issues with their depiction of aroace people).

Also if we're talking canonical depictions, the only thing Zoro has been canonically depicted as is also aroace, equally if not moreso than Luffy. So by your own rules, you can't ship a cishet (sanji) with an aroace (zoro), therefore Zosan is now invalid. Stop erasing Zoro's aroace identity bigot.

'Categorically wrong' makes me laugh. I don't ship Zoro and Nami but like, people can ship what they want to??

'The general public is aware enough of gay people and how to spot them these days' uh... firstly this sounds very homophobic. Secondly the general public (cishet ppl) are famously bad at recognising queerness even when its in flashing lights before them. Thirdly you make it sound like Zoro was going around on roller skates and booty shorts listening to YMCA and Madonna in the show. I do agree he was gay-coded but it was mostly because he had sexual tension with every man he interacted with, not for the strange reasons you pointed out...

Its kinda the elephant in the room too but like. These are just headcanons. You can have multiple headcanons and interpretations of a character's sexuality. I can see Zoro as aroace virgin one day and a gay h*e the next. I'm actually allowed, legally, to do that.

The way they think shipping Zolu is harmful to aroace representation when BOTH characters are closest to being canonically aroace than anything yet ship Zosan, label being anti-Zolu as some kind of pro-ace activism, and then proceeded to block aroace people for criticising their incorrect depiction of what being aroace is...

This was a lot of words to say that you don't like a ship. Just say you don't like it, and it gets in the way of the ship you like, instead of writing a virtue signalling essay to justify your reasoning. Please.

They had some more to say on future posts I'll just pick my favourite bits

They really have this narrative that Zolu is only popular because of OPLA and can't fathom that its just a popular ship in general and always has been huh. And they couldn't make it more obvious that they're totally salty about it ranking in the top 100 most popular tumblr ships, lmao.

Your classic case of 'self-identifying ally who speaks over the people they are supposed allies of'. Its a general rule that you feel the need to declare yourself an ally you're probably not an ally, actual allies know they need to just shut up and do the work. Saying 'this character's aroace' and 'I have aroace friends' actually isn't what allyship is, thats just accepting that ace people exist which is like... the baseline.

Calling a wholesome loving ship like Zolu an icky ship is a severe consequence of online brain (this person is 26 years old btw)

[guiltycorp]

Okay finished the Haruspex route of Pathologic Classic! I need to play Clara's route to see the whole picture but I'm already fascinated by the differences between P1 and P2 in terms of characterization. I think I like Pathologic 2 even more now considering how they improved on Artemy's route, I am sorry to say I didn't like it at all in classic... This is all just my personal impression after first playthrough ofc. Ramblings about both Artemy and Daniil ↓ I think what bothered me about Haruspex was mostly just his attitude and his messiah plot. Once the first day is out of the way it's all smooth sailing for him, a bit too much so?? The only personal conflict he has is figuring out his father's exact wishes for him and choosing a sacrifice. Killing anyone is treated as fair or something that needed to happen and the Haruspex is always shrugging it off... And either option, Aglaya & the Town or Polyhedron... It just doesn't seem like he is that attached to either? So it doesn't feel like he is sacrificing much personally? Like sure he wants to save the Town because of his messianic qualities, but that's again more about fulfilling his 'role' rather than genuinely wanting to save lives, or at least it read that way to me. I'm sure it's meant to be both and P2 makes this far more apparent, but in P1 it elicited a rather squinty reaction from me. Plus well yeah, getting rid of Polyhedron is pretty much just ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, like yep he sure didn't care about that thing lmao so getting rid of it isn't such a difficult choice at all. The suggestion that the Polyhedron could be his Udurgh is kind of useless because the Town and Earth are far better candidates and fit with Kin beliefs better, which in this game Artemy pretty much doesn't doubt at all.  Maybe this is why the Bachelor is so present in his route? Daniil did say he'd commit suicide if he lost, maybe we'd want to think twice about pushing him towards it... But again! Does it seem like this guy cares ahhh haha... The dialogue option that is actually engaging with what Daniil said is pretty much there to make it clear to the player what the Utopian ending is and what it would be like.

Ngl at first I thought he was meant to be the 'sacrifice' until they said it's a woman. Every time Artemy learned something about the Bachelor's motivations he'd write down in his diary like '...if it matters' since the player can always choose what ending to go with I guess. I also find it curious that he can say that they are friends but still always writing only 'the Bachelor' in his diaries while Daniil switched to 'Artemy' and 'Burakh' during the final stretch. The one-sided yaoi................ 🤔 At least Artemy doesn't get mad at him for ordering to set the mythic bull on fire, I guess their friendship did mean something to him after all at that point. Also when Capella tells him that he should ask the Bachelor for help with getting into the Polyhedron since the Bachelor 'fawns upon you a lot anyway' the Haruspex just goes 'oh yeah! ok' fjdghdjg... Now that I think about it I DID like the Haruspex route for what it did with the Bachelor hahah, his dialogues and letters are just so good sometimes. Like wow, I felt this.

Very cool, if i was Artemy I'd totally abandon my weird murderous calling for this. Tangentially related... P2 had one moment that I remember from my last replay when Rubin, if kept alive, falls into a deep deserved sleep in his home, and Artemy just starts emotionally monologuing at him.

Like, P1 Artemy would never, but also it goes to show that he's still very much a repressed man here too, buying into toxic masculinity ideals who can't just talk to his friends about his feelings directly... The same character, but more complex. I want to make it clear that I DO like him and his motivations in P2 actually, and his personal conflict being more about the future of the Kin makes that game much more powerful to me than what his classic route was. I heard that initially he was planned to be far more violent and dark, so maybe he could have been sort of a villain protagonist and this was changed later and this is why it feels a bit bland? Hmm... Idk this is fun to me because meanwhile the Bachelor didn't feel that different to me in both games lmao. A highly stressed educated guy who is just trying to prevent the spread of epidemic the 'right' way and then clinging to the only chance he has left to preserve both his ideals and his life. He is a bit less polite in P2 at first (while still very much helping by warding off Rubin) but then rather quickly becomes more cordial to Artemy and vice versa (and wow it sure is nice when Artemy can actually be polite and friendly..). And the moment when he explains some of his personal deal to Artemy feels rather similar in both iterations mood-wise.

I liked his route in P1 a lot, surprisingly so, and I now understand why so many people liked him before P2 came out and afterwards too... There's just something very real about how he is the intelligent Capital doctor but with an extraordinary dream to combat death itself, possibly given to him by the Powers That Be due to these children trying to cope with people dying around them. And instead of favoring him for it they hate him! They leave him with nothing but this final chance to fix things, even if that means destroying everything and rebuilding anew. Daniil's desperation feels very real and thus more compelling, plus like... I mean it's pretty much confirmed that it's not just the Polyhedron and that the soil itself is 'rotten' (literally in the meta real world and through blood beneath the earth in the Town itself) and the decease could return again, sooo his ending doesn't look that bad comparatively. I also appreciated how Maria (or uhh was it Nina talking through her here as well?) explained how their Utopia doesn't actually mean a 'perfect' place, more so just an impossible dream.

The Bachelor doesn't mind this at all, a detail I loved.

...Hmm that said maybe P1 makes it a little too easy for him to kinda ignore the Kin issue, he is only mad about their circumstances when it comes to Vlad choosing to doom thousands of the Kin workers inside the Termitary (which is just his doctor ethics). I mean it is realistic for him to ignore the implications of representing the imperialist side, he does mention his father was a military man too at some point I think... Still, he is very quick to accept the Kin's unique beliefs as something that has obvious merit, trusting the Haruspex with that side of things in both of their routes, and he doesn't make much of a distinction between them and regular Town people when it comes to patient treatment. If anything it's probably a sign of how the writers weren't thinking that hard about this worldbuilding aspect at the time... even if I appreciated them showing the downsides of the Kin's society, I think those were done better than in P2 purely because it was a bit more realistic (I am talking about sexism mostly, such as selling their own daughters and not respecting their autonomy, plus the mention of Kin politics and different ruling clans rather than the hive mind situation implied in P2). Like, it is more obvious in P1 that wholeheartedly embracing the Kin's return to tradition isn't such a good solution for them either, but one that will likely happen anyway with Artemy and Taya as their new leaders. And it could get trickier in Pathologic 3 I think, especially since most of us really appreciated the portrayal of colonization in P2 and would expect it getting addressed again in future games of other character routes, but we'll see I guess! Either way I look forward to that game a lot now.

[karlachismylife]

character ask thingy for konig, thank you sm I hope your day is going great! <3

Oooh, König! I'm not talking about him much on here, am I? Might have something to do with the betrayal of my friend whom I dragged into the COD fandom for my Karlach x Soap team or at least Ghoap only to lose her to the Ghost x König gang... (I'm joking, we're still having fun, ship whomever you want). Thanks for asking!! And also thank you, my days are pretty okay lately, hope yours are too <3

If anyone else is interested, I'll be glad to talk about someone else from COD and BG3. The game itself is here if someone wants to reblog!

So, König, the big Austrian that has literally a couple parapgraphs of bio on the wiki but a ton of fans to make up for it, eh?

favorite thing about them

I'll do two, because one is mostly canon based and the other mostly headcanon, but not fully. The canon favourite thing is that he's imperfect at his job. It's not just his size that prevented him from becoming a sniper, it also says he is "unable to stay still". I think it would be easy to make him a total machine and just slap the social anxiety on top as the only "imperfection" he has, especially since he is a minor character in a fucking pew pew ka-boom game. But they literally said he's actually not that good at his job (like, if he's unable to stay still, this won't impact just his sniper abilities, you know?). So that's neat, I love when people are allowed to be not that perfect at their job. And the favourite headcanon thing is that he's a gentle giant, I just love the type. Yeah, he's huge and kills people, but he'll also cradle a little bunny like it's the most precious creature on Earth.

least favorite thing about them

Uhh apart from the fact that people for some reason (ahem, racism) replace Gaz with him instead of just adding him?.. I think he either compensates for his anxiety or just feels much more confident at work and it makes him a little too cocky without needed (for me at least) charisma/unseriousness towards himself. Judging mostly from his body language. I know he has a sense of humour, but yeah... maybe calm down a little big guy.

favorite line

Any of the few lines in German he has. Or the "pick your guts off the floor", lol. I just like German and König is a funny fella, especially when he sounds angy.

brOTP

König x Gaz! There have been a couple arts on the theme and I absolutely adore them. Stop pretending they can't coexist! Also, Kyle would definitely find a way with words to make König feel more at ease off duty or would handle the way König is in the field easily.

OTP

I don't actually have any preferences at all, I like everything I see with him simply because people explore different dynamics and it's the most fun part for me. BUT I'll say like what I saw from Ghoap x König less because everything I saw puts Soap into a position/dynamic I don't really enjoy that much. Doesn't mean there isn't something I'll like a lot tho!

nOTP

As always, nOTPs are not my thing, but toxic stuff upsets me.

random headcanon

Also giving you two: he loves wearing lingerie but is a little bit ashamed of it and definitely hides it and he's generally a sweet tooth, especially for chocolate, so a slice (several) of good Sachertorte will make him really happy.

unpopular opinion

Uhh... he doesn't have a huge dick?.. No one in my universe does cuz I don't see the appeal (we have huge straps in my universe tho. but toys are separate). I don't know what's popular opinion lmao, sorry.

song i associate with them

Oooh, I actually have one this time! It's from my favourite German band Oomph! - "Kleinstadtboy". I like the whole album it's from because they experimented with their sound and quite successfully in my opinon, and this one has both the lyrics (yeah it's about gayyyys but also toxic masculinity in general. fits him well I think) and the according sound. The overblown dry electronics crackling/rasping just suits him, I think. I think he smells of static electricity too.

favorite picture of them

I don't really have one? But I like him doing different finishers. Looks impressive thanks to his size.

[tendoujo]

HC 01 : A "short" analysis of Akane being a parallel to Ranma fighting gender norms.

Are we, in 2024, ready to accept that Akane Tendo is Ranma's perfect parallel when it comes to the symbolism of fighting against the gender norms of their time and the acceptance of one's true self ?

Ranma is a character that suffers from the consequences and expectations of a normalized TOXIC MASCULINITY IN THE LATE 80s - mid 90s. His transformation is one clever tool to show the viewer the change of treatment his male form gets from the female one, both having their own pros and cons according to the situation and beliefs the character gets into. This series heavily emphasizes the gained value Ranma obtains when he's a man, almost as if showing how people consider him less or weak when he's a woman. After all, Ranma 1/2 makes a constant MOCKERY of the injustices caused by sexism in a Japan of such era.

Ranma takes it from the point of view of a man trying to fulfill the expectations of a toxic masculinity laid upon him, a mere teenager that, when forced to be a woman, loses a supposed "value" and "strength". He NEEDS to break the curse not because he WANTS TO to but rather to keep the WORTH people see on him, a worth only relevant when he's a man.

And here's where Akane enters the picture. While Ranma's female form shows you a pinch of the unfair treatment women go through everyday ( the effect of sexism ), it is Akane's character the one taking it fully from the perspective of a woman. One that's not only dealing with the sexism of society but also one where her demeanor and appearance does NOT fit the traditional concept of FEMININITY.

Akane's described as a TOMBOY, or at least what people considered to be a tomboy in the 80s - 90s. For our current times, she's pretty feminine having a closet full of colorful outfits with skirts and dresses, plus an emotion-driven personality. Yet we are seeing it from the current values and agenda. Back then Akane was the perfect example of a TOMBOYISH CHARACTER, aka : a girl that had short hair, took roles mostly associated with men, "acted just as violent as a man", got into constant physical fights, and had the strength mostly seen in male characters.

She disregarded the usual "main female character" tropes, especially the one of the "main love interest" that we see of women acting all feminine, delicate, dependant, with the house wife attributes of cooking and taking care of others.

Throughout the story Akane is pint pointed as a girl less cuter than the others for acting like a "boy" or rather, not taking part of the girl stereotypes of those years. She's not good with cooking or sewing, her skills fall better in fields mostly dominated AND expected in men like martial arts and the display of one's strength. She has to constantly deal with others demeaning her as "weak", "uncute", "macho", "ugly", etc, during the story only for 1. being a girl, and 2. not matching the expectations ( both physically and mentally ) set on women.

Although Shampoo does know martial arts as well, it seems that the story "forgives her" for acting AND looking more traditionally feminine and knowing basic "housewives attributes" ( example cooking ). The fandom and manga calls Akane the "tomboyish" one for being so violent when in reality, Shampoo is just as violent or even more than her. But it's important to mention that Shampoo IS A VICTIM OF THE SEXISM throughout the story as well. Perhaps she doesn't have it as rough as Akane or rather, her problems set root in another topic compared to Akane's battle with her FEMININITY.

Physically, though having banger outfits in the manga, she doesn't match the "pretty feminine girl" concept. First, her body. It's taken as a JOKE in most instances with Ranma and other characters making fun of her body lacking certain. . . aspects. Later on in the manga, Akane finds herself being insecure of it to the point of starting to consider herself "not enough" or the fear of getting confused with a BOY.

Second, HER HAIR, a key element in her story. Some old folks still see short hair in women as something "masculine" and this alone shows another effect of TOXIC TRADITIONAL FEMININITY and how it impacted Akane's character. We see at the beginning of the series that her long hair represented her FEMININITY and how letting it grow was her solution to be seen AND accepted by others as a girl.

If she couldn't change her demeanor as a fighter then PHYSICALLY she tried to make it up for it in what she could control : her hair. So when it was taken away, it was as if she had been stripped of something that made her BE ACCEPTED. Like the title of the chapter says : A girl's hair is her life.

Akane losing her hair meant that she had to deal with a sudden supposed lack of femininity and it is exactly this what makes her confront herself and eventually, accept her own person regardless of what others think of her.

She's dealing with toxic masculinity, as well as toxic femininity. Akane is seen as weak by men because of her gender, most not considering her an eligible rival. But they also see her as girl that "lacks" for not matching the traditional standards ( aka. stereotypes ) of a girl. It's truly sad to think that not only do the men judge her but so do women, even her own sisters feed onto such expectations.

Akane is a character that HAD TO TAKE THE ROLE OF THE "SON" of the Tendo family cause no one else would. Mostly so her father could be at peace knowing that someone capable was in charge of the family business and it seems that it wasn't enough with Soun WANTING a man in charge despite Akane's best efforts. Akane is STRIPPED AWAY from the family business, her future, just for being a girl. Unless she gets married, of course. . .

The STRUGGLES OF A WOMAN having to deal with that era's sexism, the imposed traditional femininity and toxic masculinity is translated better through Akane's perspective and her story than female Ranma's. She IS his parallel from another point of view and challenges when it comes to fighting gender norms and the eventual acceptance of one's true self because, despite being mocked every chapter, she CONTINUES BEING GENUINE TO HERSELF. She can doubt herself, change her opinion or try something new but at the end of the day, she always decides to BE TRUE TO WHO SHE REALLY IS AND CONTINUE DOING WHAT SHE LIKES DESPITE WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK OF HER. Credit is due where credit is deserved and Akane does need to be recognized more as an actual character that broke barriers. Actually, it's ironic to think that Ranma is widely recognized as THE character that broke gender norms in the 80s while people poorly mention or even consider Akane one as well. Almost as if HER being exactly a GIRL gave her less of a value in her OWN FIGHTS against the gender norms and sexism. The joke writes itself.

[chapinii]

Many on Quesadilla island believe that Fitmc was very much closeted to himself and the world up until he arrived on the QSMP, but perhaps that closet wasn't quite as locked as some may presume.

With the environment of 2b2t being so rife with hatred and homophobia, a deep and meaningful relationship was always out of the question. But within its depths lay the rub, of Fit, going through the all too familiar queer experience of being very aware of his sexuality against this toxic landscape, and knowing the possibility of others out there being just like him. Others whom he could never risk reaching out to in public, but longed to all the same.

He'd heard and seen his fair share of casual to severe homophobia, as well as witnessing with some amusement how the homoerotic tension some players swear against can tear factions apart. He knows all too well the irony that comes with a land so dominated by toxic masculinity and bigotry. This is a place where a man will stare you in the eyes, caress your cheek so gently, then spit in your face in disgust before insta-killing you. Of course, the price for outing somebody in such a place is a pretty penny for sure. Being a blank slate in the land of anarchy is your strongest asset. The last thing you want to do is throw fuel onto the fire and give people even more of a reason to put your head on a spike.

And so, he kept his feelings repressed- for the most part. He'd hide a blush as he melted internally over a handshake with a particularly muscular allied base leader. He'd allow himself the luxury of a poster, of an old Hollywood western starring a (very) dashing cowboy, that he'd stick crudely on the bedroom wall of wherever he'd end up staying for a while. But perhaps, just a couple times, he'd had a few small but significant experiences: the touch of a hand on his for just a fraction too long, warm eyes from a face he can't quite remember looking him up and down, all but rendering him breathless. Split second opportunities that would make those feelings bubble up to the surface, too strong to ever truly ignore. Being a lone mercenary in a world of anarchy is all well and good, but God does it get lonely.

He and Pac like to take things slow. It's a mutual decision. Neither of them have ever truly felt the need to sit down and discuss why. Fit wouldn't like him to know what he thinks about whenever the subject drifts towards the two of them going any further with their relationship. Every time Pac makes any kind of suggestive advance, heck, even if he looks at the man for too long, his mind can't help but think back to one quiet night on 2b2t, so many years ago. Flashes of encountering a stranger, deep underground, of a clumsy, desperate kiss. Stubble on stubble, the raw smell of dirt and sweat and cigarette smoke. He remembers the thrill, the terrifying electricity of it all, until a clatter was heard in the cave behind them and the moment was gone forever. It meant everything and nothing at the same time, that chance encounter. It was the closest he'd ever came to a real connection with somebody. He didn't know what became of the other man who so urgently whispered 'run', into his ear. He could have killed Fit right there, made a point of it, and yet he didn't. The mere memory of it petrified him, but by God, did he feel alive.

All the same, he didn't dare risk anything like that again. That was until he came to the QSMP, a place where he didn't have to hide himself from others, but still he airs on the side of caution. He's afraid of getting things wrong, of throwing himself into something he can't run away from. This isn't just some random encounter with a player in 2b2t. Pac is different. Fit knows he's got a past of his own, he sees how it torments him sometimes. What if daring to make a move, even kissing him opens up old wounds for the both of them?

Fit's no longer hiding in the dark. Making things 'official' with Pac is not a once in a lifetime chance, but the longer Fit hangs around him he feels like it is. He wants to keep Pac safe just as he kept himself safe for all those years. When he finally lets himself get closer to his roommate, one wrong move and another hypothetical cave noise could sound, followed by the form of something even more terrible that could rip the two apart forever and send Fit straight back to square one.

Slow and steady wins the race. Slow and steady keeps them both safe.

But God, what he'd give to feel that thrill again.

[trauma-express]

I feel Simon doesn’t have toxic masculinity, but he has toxic vibes in his extreme black and white thinking.🧐

Well on one hand I agree that his problem is more black and white, 'us vs them' mentality rather than any issues specifically w seeing womanliness/femininity being weak or anything. But I do think he does have aspects associated with toxic masculinity, though it's more a angry internet nerd guy way than in some alpha male dudebro way.

For one, we can see from his writings and models that he's very interested in war and soldiers and 'Rise of the True King' can be seen using the 'guy getting power and he respect that naturally belongs to him' (listen, we can't all do it like Tolkien). Apart from these showing Simon's need for a world he can understand and be in control of, they could also be seen as typical male power fantasies.

He also prefers to present himself as being logical, and people against him as being unreasonable or weak when he's just as driven by his emotion, which is a pretty typical trait of this type of guy.

I really don't think the subtext of his arc being an angry cishet white guy who refuses to change his damaging and bigoted beliefs, mainly conflicts with women, and ends up attacking his semi-official romantic partner, a black girl, over it was unintentional. His relationships with Grace and Samantha are fascinating to explore because they are complicated, but while I understand they had a lot to fit in 10 11 min episodes I would love to have met his mother. That is a missing puzzle piece i would love to fit in to place, but we just have to theorize (And I have).

(also I have been writing up another meta abt Grace and Simon's relationship, specifically in regards to [though I hate how pop-pysch the term is but i can't think of anything more to describe it] emotional labor if anyone is interested)

[aleeyenn]

Hi i just wanted to say I love your works and profile sm, I love how you represent fireafy and coinpin and each of their respective characters, and I especially love how you represent Coiny. I feel like from what I've seen people don't see how Coiny really is, they usually just reduce him to a jerk or a firey slapper. But he's so much more and so different from that lke in canon he's so driven and serious but then fun and chill when needed, and how he can be fun and silly but then empathetic and sweet when given. and I feel like the way you represent him is so accurate and takes evey aspect of him in canon as well as headcanons that just FIT HIM SO WELL and idk it just makes me so happy. I also LOVE your headcanon of him being able to pull both masculinity and femininity, I love it so much it emulates the essence of him so well so be so comfortable in himself and not have a shred of toxic masculinity or anything like that. And I love how you make him adore pin like YES HE ADORE AND LOVES and does whatever pin wants it just makes me so happy esp with how gorgeous she is and as someone who is also plus sized and having issues with self image seeing coiny adore pin like that makes me believe in myself more idk how to explain it but YEA hahah just really like how you depict his charcater as a whole

I also love all your designs for every character

But ye I just want to say that hahah

i saw this when it was sent yesterday and i was in school and i was SOOO HAPPY i was telling all my friends with tears in my eyes and squealing over how sweet of a message i received LIKE I HAD TO FORCE MYSELF NOT TO CRY AND I KEPT GETTING UP AND PACING AAHH😭😭😭 i have waited for when i have free time where i’m not super tired to respond better than i would tired But! THANK YOU SOSOSOSO MUCH!!! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH THIS MEANS TO ME!!! YOU REALLY DONT!!! thank you thank you so much!!! i’ve been struggling with forming my thoughts and feelings into words recently so forgive me if this is a messy reply but AHH!!!

coiny is one of my favorite characters he’s sooOOO FUNNY AND CHARMING! i love expressing his silly side and how dumb he is sometimes so i do it in most of my work (because it’s lighthearted almost every time) and it makes me so happy to see him being so.. coiny! he is genuinely such an amazing character and the perfect balance of cool, kind, and idiotic(affectionately) he’s so nice and so compassionate and i appreciate that about him so much and I AM SO HAPPY THAT YOU CAN ENJOY MY PORTRAYAL OF HIM BECAUSE HE IS SO AWESOME! I LOVE EVERY PART OF HIM!!! and you like my headcanons!!! i forget what kind of coiny headcanons i have represented on this account but YESSS!!! COINY PULLING OFF FEMININE CLOTHES IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS TO THINK ABOUT! he is SO proud of it. he will put on a pink frilly dress and walk with confidence and feel as pretty as can be! i’ve been meaning to draw him in a dress for months actually (i have so much i want to draw all the time but i’m either really busy or i have zero motivation But this message gave me the motivation to actually try soon KEEP AN EYE OUT! maybe ill draw pin and coiny with their outfits swapped 🤫) he is one of the most positive and caring contestants on bfdi and he makes me so happy!!! he can wear both girly clothes and masculine clothes HE CAN WEAR WHATEVER HE WANTS and he will look TOTALLY AWESOME IN IT! and OMFGGG DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON HOW MUCH HE LOVES PINNN SHE IS HIS WHOLE WORLD AND COINY IS HERS AS WELL! coiny will do anything for her he loves her so bad… AND!!! AHHHH!!!! I AM SO SO SO INCREDIBLY HAPPY MY PIN HUMANIZATION MAKES YOU FEEL THAT WAY!!! BRINGING PEOPLE SELF-CONFIDENCE AND EMPOWERMENT THROUGH MY DESIGNS AND REPRESENTATION IS MY ABSOLUTE GOAL WITH WHAT I DO!!! it seriously means everything to me that i’ve Actually been able to achieve that and help people with how they feel about themselves indirectly. my eyes are watering while typing this ARGHH i really just want everyone to know how beautiful they are no matter what their size or weight or height or color or LITERALLY ANYTHING is. and as someone who also struggles with their self-image/esteem it means even More to me because i know how it feels!!! seeing yourself in a design of your favorite character or a character you enjoy in general feels SO GOOD so i strive to do that as much as i can. body diversity and diversity in all aspects is incredibly important to me and i want to sprinkle it everywhere in whatever i do!!! everyone is so beautiful and different and i think that is a blessing!!! whoever is reading this is beautiful and whoever in the WORLD is too just how they are now!!! EVERYONE IS GORGEOUS!!! it may take a while to feel it and that’s okay but just know that you are!!!

in short i am happy i was able to touch your heart and make you smile and give you at least a little bit more confidence in yourself. you are amazing and so kind for sharing this all with me!!! i think you can tell now how much this did for me by how much i wrote (SORRY ITS HUGE BLOCKS OF TEXT) and i can’t thank you enough for liking my work from characterization to design. every time i get a message like this i will not stop thinking about it and i hold it close to me every time i draw Like those other messages about my pin gijinka from months back I STILL GET SO EMOTIONAL OVER. i’m really glad i can make you feel that way and i hope i have made many others feel the same way too. THANK YOU!!!💖💖💖🫶🫶🫶

[macchiatosdumptruck]

okay but why do most villains (or exvillains like Johnny) go crazy over/because of Larusso? is it because they tried so hard to destroy him and failed, and have to live with that failure? Like with Silver. He's 100% to blame for everything, why the unhingedness?

I think that's part of it, and that's what they would probably tell others. That he was an annoying little pest who couldn't leave well enough alone and they were only giving him what was coming to him. That they were humiliated by him and angry in a very normal, masculine, heterosexual way.

But looking at how real people treat both Ralph, and the character Daniel, it has to be more than that.

I think he represents a form of masculinity that bothers them. He's too androgynous, too skinny, too pretty, but he's also very secure in himself. He doesn't see the need to puff himself up and act all macho. He's comfortable in his skin.

I think people see that and resent it. Because if they have to play by the rules (rules, being gender conformity) then he should have to as well. But instead he's somehow winning the girls and getting the trophies anyway.

Something about him deeply aggravates a certain type of man. We see it to this day, the oddly targeted and pointed hatred towards him, especially from men. He's treated in ways I've only ever seen female characters treated tbh, lol. He's the bitchy wife. He's the stuck up prick. He's the goody two shoes. He's no fun. He's the stick in the mud. Etc.

He disrupts their power fantasies I think. Which is why a certain type of Guy is so deeply invested in Johnny getting the "better" of him. Because that's the way it was supposed to be in their mind.

They want toxic masculinity to work for them, not to see an example of a guy flourishing despite denying it.

I think it is also other things. Like, with Chozen, it was a humiliation. Daniel was who he was trying to be in a way. A fitting heir. An honorable man. He bested him, and yet, he wouldn't even do Chozen the dignity of properly ending him. A bit of compassion that may have seemed like yet another embarrassment. But of course, over the years he learned otherwise, and then he started looking up to Daniel. Admiring him.

I know a lot of the fandom likes to think that Johnny was so distracted by Daniel because he was secretly running from gay thoughts, and he may well have been. But they weren't kind, I don't think. They were angry. And part of that anger was probably towards himself and kreese's and his dad, and whatever, but also part of it was very much at Daniel for being Other. Like. Right in front him.

It's so funny (not) that at the end of the movie he seems to have at least some emotional intelligence and apologizes. In the beginning of the second movie he realizes that the things he had been holding dear were poisonous.

Then he just forgot all about it because it was easier to blame Daniel, than to blame Kreese or himself. It was Daniel's fault he never had a proper relationship, it was Daniel's fault he peaked in high school. Certainly not the guy who was like low key/high key grooming a small army of child soldiers.

Mike it was just him keeping his word to his boss. It was a business thing. Monetary gain. He is also the most normal of all the people affected by Daniel LaRusso Derangement Syndrome (wow it's been a while since i typed that) but once Daniel (and Terry ) comes back into his life he's back in it again.

Terry, I mean. I have lost count of the number of times I've discussed his specific form of mental illness was tbh and it still makes me think every day. Like, I'd just be repeating things I had said in earlier asks lol.

Kreese, I think is the most upset at Daniel's version of whatever "masculinity" is because for him, he seemingly adopted his stance out of survival. (What happened between the war and the films. He was far too normal in those flashbacks) Daniel represents the sort of weakness that almost took Kreese himself out. (That he still sees sometimes in Terry)

And even still, he is insufferable enough to be so so pretty during all of this. I mean, look at how people treat the pretty boy idols of the time? No matter who they are, there are going to be people very vocally disliking them because girls like him even though [ insert whatever fallacies of masculinity here]

Like. I don't like or dislike Timothy choolamoo but the way some men can't stand him reminds me a lot of those angry men complaining that their girlfriends had a crush on Ralph in highschool.

So i think it's because he's appealing in a way that is confusing in many aspects. He's appealing in the same way cute girls are and that's Not Ok. Because they're Not Gay. But he's also appealing (and detestable) because he gets to be happy and successful in a way that doesn't make sense to them. Because he's not playing by the rules.

So, I think it all combines, and they get angry boners over it.

[courtney-deserved-better]

okay ive got fantasy high on the brain so here's a little fantasy high td au that i will never write. spoilers for like. all of it that's been released so far.

the bad kids:

right off the bat, sammy and amy as adaine and aelwyn. don't have much to say on this besides i think they fit pretty well. amy would have to be a bit smarter for aelwyn's place in the story but other than that i think they fit pretty well. sammy as a wizard with anxiety but who also desperately wants to fuck up the ppl who wrong her once she gets treatment for that anxiety. also i like to think in this au that amy would have a redemption arc and she and sammy could learn how to be somewhat functional sisters.

lightning as fabian. they are both egotistical athletes with a ridiculous amount of pressure from their shitty parents and i would love lightning to have an arc where he makes friends and learns to overcome toxic masculinity

dj as gorgug! he has the capacity to rage but he doesn't want to unless its necessary which disappoints people who expect someone as big as him to be a fighter. but he just wants to give tin flowers to his friends! maybe his love for cooking turns into a love for creating and that's how he becomes an artificer. he would definitely make little mechanical animal friends. also that makes his moms wilma and digby

hear me out. priya as kristen. big worshipper of helio thanks to her parents/being his chosen one but as she goes through the world without that strong of an influence she realizes how wrong they are and breaks away from that mentality. a bit of a chaotic being as she goes through life trying to find structure again but dedicated to her friends and whatever deity she's worshiping at the time

kitty as fig. she loves her friends so so much. she wants to try so many different things. she has issues with an authoritative female figure in her life (emma/sandra lynn). i think she could rock the punk/devil aesthetic while still being so friendly and silly.

i had such a hard time figuring out who would be riz but i'm gonna say shawn. they're both conspiracy theorists who probably drink way too much coffee and get way too little sleep. i can see shawn's obsession to surviving the zombie apocalypse be turned into an obsession with solving mysteries in this world. i think it'd be funny if that made sanders sklonda because she already sorta has tired single mom trying her best energy and is (unfortunately) a cop

others:

chris as aguefort. truly a facilitator, manifester, and being of chaos. alternatively i could see him being the jace to chef's porter

millie as ayda!! she would sooo be a librarian who doesn't understand friendship and the chaos that comes with it but wants to be loved so bad but doesn't understand how to get that love and is generally insecure while coming off as knowledgeable and somewhat aloof

if kitty is fig then i can see emma as sandra lynn in an "older sister who's been raising her younger sister and who knows who her real dad is but won't say" i think there's some delicious sister angst there especially with kitty pulling away once she realizes they're actually half sisters and emma knows who kitty's dad is because she's older but won't tell her. not sure how gilear factors into the situation

dave as biz. has his nice guy thing with sammy instead of sky.

zee as zaphriel/the hangvan. just chill vibes dude.

scary girl as baron!! she's already lowkey got the aesthetic in different colors all she needs is the puppet/mask/mirrors stuff. she would haunt the shit out of shawn

raj as ragh!! starts out as a bit of a bully jock but once he gets over his toxic crush, is rescued by the bad kids, and comes out he's so much happier and nicer while still being a total jock. not sure how wayne would fit into the equation but maybe he could just be raj's friend on the bloodrush team

duncan as jawbone is really funny to me because yeah he has this crazy past as a drug dealer but now he's a high school guidance counselor who's super dedicated to helping kids and has embraced the domestic life?? kinda have a hard time seeing it for duncan but i do think it would be really funny

alejandro as garthy. don't have much to say on this just the vibes if alejandro wasn't evil and wanted to chill on a pirate ship he would be garthy.

leonard as sprak they're both so silly

i think putting trent as gilear would be so funny. local normal guy is just cursed to have the worst day every day. make that man the lunch lad

ennui as zayn purely bc of the tall goth aesthetic

beth as cathilda. i like to think she's generally small and helpful but could kick so much ass if needed

the rat grinders:

courtney as kipperlilly there's truly no other choice.

scarlett as oisin bc she seems like the nicest, most reasonable rat grinder and then bam she's been scheming with their most evil plot

crimson as mary ann bc she is so expressionless 24/7 but can fuck you up without blinking

julia as ivy. mean girl time!!

mal as ruben. he thinks he's so edgy and cool when he's just a high schooler who sings in an emo band. kitty would enjoy psychologically tormenting his as wanda chillda

bridgette as lucy!! she and courtney were once best friends until she was the one rat grinder who chose to die rather than be overtaken by rage and courtney is left alive and grieving and betrayed by her best friend

emma (td) as buddy, actually a pretty nice person who is being influenced by a toxic mindset and suffers greatly at the hands of people using her as a pawn

gotta go be a functioning human being in society so that's all i got for now

[deconstructthesoup]

Holy shit, you guys liked my Hatchetfield/Fantasy High idea... still coming up with a good name for it. Just using "High School is Killin' Me" would be good, but that might get confusing in the tags.

That being said, oh boy do I have more, so... let's dive in.

Ragh: He's essentially Max Jagerman if he'd actually had the chance to get that redemption arc (instead of, y'know, dying and becoming a vengeful ghost). Back in his freshman year, he was that jerk, and when he met Fabian, it could've easily resulted in two equally hardheaded guys becoming each other's absolute nightmare, but after Fabian initially got rejected from the team despite being the best at tryouts---and after Fabian slipped Ragh the answers to a test in order to get into his good graces---Ragh stuck up for him and got him on the team. It took a while for them to really become friends, mostly due to the fact that they both needed to grow past the toxic masculinity, but they got there eventually, with Fabian being the first person that Ragh came out to. And, yeah, their relationship was initially "friends with benefits" until they got their shit together. (I don't know what Lydia's deal is yet---she might just have a chronic illness, but it could also have LiB connections.)

Tracker: Her story's fairly similar to in canon---religious family who kicked her out once she started questioning everything, moved in with her cool uncle as a result---only instead of dropping out of high school, she transferred from Sycamore to Hatchetfield High. This worked out pretty well, seeing as Jawbone had just started his guidance counselor position after getting clean and putting that psychology degree to good use. Tracker's adjusting all right to her new life---she goes to concerts at the Slaughtered Pig, she's getting really into witchy stuff, and she's bonded with the principal's daughter over having to go to the school your parent works at... and she's also somehow developed a gigantic crush on the local church girl, which she initially tells herself is completely hopeless. But at night, she dreams of a haunted forest, a full moon, and a woman with white hair whose face she can never quite make out. And one day, she and Kristen find a book in Jawbone's study...

Jawbone: He's kind of the Miss Holloway equivalent, because honestly? There's really no other character who fits the vibe. Instead of being an immortal 80's singer who became a witch, however, he's a seemingly normal guy who grew up in Hatchetfield and has left quite a bit off times, but always finds his way back, and he's staying this time. Part of the reason he always leaves is, of course, the pressure of being queer in a small town, but he also has always had unusual abilities that he can't explain, and he used to either ignore his powers through the use of drugs or show them off as party tricks that would eventually get out of hand. But after years of misspent youth, he decided to get his life together, kind of like Emma did... and when he came back to Hatchetfield, he found a copy of the Black Book and learned the truth. Jawbone's now a protector of the town, helping people in his own way---and sometimes, that means having to let people in on the truth about Hatchetfield.

Ayda: She's well known for being the principal's daughter, a total nerd, and a bit of a recluse through no fault of her own, but there is much more to Ayda than meets the eye. See, Arthur Aguefort, way back in the 1900s, made a deal with Tinky after he lost his wife---that if he never lost Ayda in that same way, he'd serve the Lord in Black for eternity. Tinky agreed, Arthur managed to find a loophole and get outta there with an indefinite lifespan and a seemingly immortal daughter, but Tinky wasn't too happy about losing a future resident of the Bastard Box, so he turned the gift he'd given Ayda on his head. Instead of living forever, Ayda is capable of dying, but every time she dies, she is born again, with no memory of who she was or the powers she has---the original Ayda could control flame, and so can every version of her. So Arthur has to watch his daughter die again and again, find herself again and again, struggle again and again... yeah, there's a reason he became principal of Hatchetfield High instead of the mayor. By this point, he's decided that if he can't help Ayda, the best thing he can do is get to know her well while he can. (She's gonna have a happy ending, don't worry---I'm not that cruel)

Aelwyn: On the surface, she and Adaine have the same relationship as they initially did in canon---constantly bickering, constantly competing, you know the drill---but underneath all that, Aelwyn cares deeply for her sister, and has tried very hard over the years help keep Adaine's powers hidden from their parents. It's really due to not wanting to upset their parents that Aelwyn doesn't try as hard as she should, and why she's fairly distant from her sister most of the time. Their relationship is sorta a Lex-and-Hannah situation... if Lex was a straight-A popular party girl instead of a grungy, rebellious high school dropout. Aelwyn does eventually find herself and grow closer to Adaine, but it takes a while for that to happen.

Zelda: She's still a super-shy and awkward dork who loves pretty much every alt-music genre known to man and has some mild anger issues. In all honesty, not a lot changes about her, aside from her being human and not a satyr---she has a crazy family, she's got a crush on Gorgug that eventually turns into a very sweet relationship, and she eventually becomes friends with The Seven... though, I'm gonna need to finish that season before I can give you guys any more information on the rest of them. However, I will say that the Penelope and Sam situation is gonna tie into the Honey Festival.

Other miscellaneous ideas/characters: Sandra Lynn is a park ranger in Witchwood Forest, Garthy O'Brien runs one of the only queer nightclubs in Hatchetfield, Basrar still runs his ice cream parlor, Gilear is still a mess

And... yep, that's it for now. I'll talk about some of the antagonists later, and then maybe I'll get around to The Seven.

[eruhamster]

Hi....! If you don't mind, can I ask, who are your top 7 favorite romantic relationship's couples in books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series/etc (can be canon or non-canon) and your top 10 favorite characters ever from any media? Why do you love them all? Thanks if you want to answer....

THIS WAS REALLY FUN TO WRITE!!! Thank you! I spent like an hour and a half writing. I thknk that these answers would vary from day to day but at least the top couple answers for each have been pretty consistent.

It is skewed from me recently reading tons of BL...

Favorite relationships:

1. Gutsca/Guts and Casca from Berserk: This one has a stranglehold on me I don't think really fades. I think it's the one M/F couple that truly feels equal without it being sidelined. Guts and Casca know each other's pain more than anyone else and accept each other for who they are, fully. They would both do anything for the other even if the other doesn't know it. They hurt each other but it isn't toxic; they are actively trying to get better together, and help the other get better. They fall apart when they're separated, and yet at the same time the narrative refuses to let them be together. It's painful but you can really feel their devotion to each other. And unlike other M/F, there isn't some kind of feeling of a power imbalance. Guts isn't Casca's owner. In fact, he's depicted more of her loyal dog. He has no control over her, and he knows that due to her trauma, there's things he as a man cannot do for her, so he steps aside and allows the women in her life to assist her. She was his first step toward breaking from toxic masculinity and understanding women not as an other species, but as other people. He treats her as an equal. Not a thing he owns, not a child. Even when she is catatonic and acting like a toddler, he treats her the same as anyone deserves to be treated. He has demons just like she does, but even at his worst you can tell he respects her deeply and doesn't ever want to wrong her. It's breathtaking to me. It's so rare in media to see a relationship like theirs. It's why I can't give up on Berserk even with Miura's death. I need to see them succeed.

2. Bongchun and Soongap from Bongchon Bride: I think this is still my all-time favorite romance story. For a million reasons outside the main couple. Read Bongchon Bride if you have time, it's beautiful. But yeah; I like two genres of romance pretty evenly- noncon stuff and romances where people fit together like puzzle pieces. And they're the latter. No matter how Soongap thinks he's not truly married to Bongchun, they are 100% married. They act exactly as a marriage should be. There is no selfishness between them; they always think of what is best for them together, as a team. They lift each other up and fill the others' shortcomings. They heal each other and comfort each other and keep each other safe and out of trouble. A lot of romances will have a sort of one-sided romance where one person is the giver and one person is the receiver; not with sex, but in general. One person has all the wealth, power, emotional stability, etc, and the other is essentially pampered. This manhwa starts out like that but Soongap is not the kind of person to take without giving. He isn't just a trophy or a toy for Bongchun, he fits himself into his life and makes Bongchun's life substancially easier. He helps him come out of his hermit shell, he makes things for him, he takes care of his mother, he handles the finances and bartering, and he lends Bongchun his advice and warnings, which helps Bongchun when he is so naive and lacks Soongap's critical thinking skills. They fit together like puzzle pieces. :)

3. Hee-ryang and Yeonjo from Steel Under Silk: These two are sort of like the anti-Bongchun/Soongap. You can see how perfect they are for each other. They think very, very similarly. They get along so well when things are going good because they're so similar to each other. In a different universe, they would make a conniving power couple that could take on anything. But instead, they're stuck in a situation where they're both miserable and refuse to allow themselves happiness because that would hurt their pride too much, and their pride is all they have. There's this feeling that if they were in opposite scenarios, they'd end up doing exactly the same as the other did. So it feels equally toxic and heartbreaking instead of other noncon stories like it where it's an abuser and an abusee. They can hurt each other so deeply because they're mentally on equal playing fields, and because technically Yeonjo was the initiator of all of this. Hee-ryang was going to buy him out of slavery. Yeonjo at every step of the way has gotten himself into a situation to crush Hee-ryang's heart to pieces, and that's why it ends up spiraling and why Hee-ryang goes for really deep-hitting insults like saying that Yeonjo's body 'betrays' him and loves sex. He says stuff that Yeonjo told him in confidence just to hurt him because he's got nothing else and because he feels the same way about himself; he had to use his body to survive too, but in a way that left him littered in scars. I know if they can turn from each other to a single villain, they can be a strong team because they clearly understand each other so deeply.

4. HuaLian/Hua Cheng and Xie Lian from Heaven Official's Blessing: This one's hard on the mind since I've been on a kick for this series but it's more of that puzzle piece thing. Hua Cheng is only the rich, powerful man he is because Xie Lian believed in him. He was part of the reason Xie Lian went through 800 years of suffering, but Xie Lian never once thought of it that way. Never in all those books did he ever regret saving that little boy. He only wonders what happened to him. And when he finds out that that little boy was Hua Cheng all along, he isn't upset. Because all Xie Lian ever wanted in his life, the thing he lacked even as the pampered crown prince of that perfect kingdom, was a person who understood him, including his faults, and still believed in and accepted him. His parents didn't understand him, even if they loved him unconditionally. Feng Xin cared for and believed in him but could not accept his faults and ultimately left when Xie Lian told him to. Mu Qing understood his faults but was so petty that he misunderstood and twisted his intentions and fucked off when things got bad. Hua Cheng believes in Xie Lian strongly enough to not budge even when Xie Lian is at his absolute worst. He only leaves Xie Lian through no fault of his own. Because he knows Xie Lian needs someone. Just one person. To be there and believe in him, like Xie Lian was the one person to believe in him.

5. Beefleaf/He Xuan and Shi Qingxuan from Heaven Official's Blessing: A more doomed version of Hualian. They get along like two peas in a pod. As much as He Xuan tries to act like he hates SQX, you can tell he doesn't. He keeps him safe and throws joking jabs in ways only a friend does. He Xuan is a good actor but there's no reason for him to act that was as long as he did. And even at the end of the story, when he's trying to appear as Hua Cheng, he treats SQX the same way. Because it wasn't an act. He genuinely cares for SQX, even despite everything. But he is such s resentful ghost who sits atop a mountain of bodies and still has the fucked up mindset of a hungry ghost, so he can't let it all go. He can't. He hurts SQX by killing his brother, who deeply wronged him. He feels he had to. For his family. And yet he still carries SQX back to the capital, where SQX loved to go. And drops him off safely, and without changing his fate. And keeps his distance. But SQX does not seem to hate He Xuan. He knows his brother wronged him deeply. He knows he doesn't deserve godhood, so he doesn't want it. Even before his brother is killed he was dead-set on ditching godhood when he found out the truth. His brother had to tie him to a bed and sedate him to stop him. And even after it all, he makes sure Xie Lian does not wrongly blame He Xuan for things he didn't do. He takes responsibility for the situation he ended up in. And while he's afraid, as the coward he is, when he realizes He Xuan is there again, he doesn't react badly. He wants to ask him something. But he's gone before he can. I'd like to think when the story ends, they do rekindle their friendship, and maybe become more. There's time for it. And SQX is a cultivator, and a good one. He could continue cultivating and live a long, long life, even without godhood. There's time.

6. Sylhan and Gjord from Antidote: This manhwa is still ongoing but so far I've really enjoyed their dynamic and I think they'll end up a favorite. There is a power imbalance here but ot wasn't always this way. You get glimmers of it from talk of the past and Sylhan's occasional dreams. As Lord Khallak he was a genius who was good at what he was, which is why Gjord, a king of a people that hate Khallak, has devoted himself entirely to Sylhan. He accepts Sylhan even at his worst, unconditionally, and is clearly doing his absolute best to work in the shadows to give Sylhan the life he deserves after he was wronged by people who hate them. I'm eager to see more because you can tell they were that puzzle piece kind of relationship with how Gjord tells him how they used to argue all the time over political and governmental things, and how Sylhan used to be very strong-willed. Sylhan is weak and confused now, but you can get glimmers of the past. Reminds me of wedding vows. In sickness and in health.

7. I don't know that I have a very specific 7. This probably fluctuates with time. But I'll point out the one I've liked and am still mad about being sidelined; No Name and Jihwa from Painter of the Night. They're complete opposites but their personalities seem reversed. You would think that twinky, soft-hearted son of a nobleman would be the more gentle one, but it's the nameless criminal. No Name takes all the abuse Jihwa throws at him and just does not care and responds kindly in turn; he pulls his hand away from his face when he's chewing his nails raw, he drapes him with robes when he's cold, he gives him advice, he drops by and warns Jihwa and then saves Jihwa's life. They feel to me like a curly-haired, yippy little pomeranian and a big, tired wolf. To be honest, I would have preferred a story with them as the main couple. They're far more interesting. And they act this way even when they don't actually care for each other yet, by the author's own words. There's some kind of natural pull there.

Favorite characters:

1. Casca - I could go on for ages about her character. Anyone who insults Berserk is a moron. Casca is handled phenomenally. She is a woman with trauma and people who care about her enough to try and help her through it. She is not treated as a fridge, she is a main character as much as Guts is, and her trauma is not magically solved. It's even acknowledged that Guts is centered in her trauma and it's other women that help her the most. But she still cares about that man, and appreciates both what he did for her, and what he didn't do - what he understood he could not do.

2. Sansa - A girl dealt a bad hand who doesn't have to become 'masculine' to fight back like you usually see in fiction(including ASOIAF itself with characters like Arya). I think any girl who was in a bad situation can relate to her.

3. Miquella - God-twink who is not evil no matter what Twitter tries to make you believe. He genuinely wanted to fix his mother's warcrimes and make things better for everyone. He cared too deeply and that was his downfall, as to become a god you have to remove that caring part of you. I like to think the Grace leads you to him to kill him specifically because he is the ultimate threat to the Greater Will, far more than Ranni, and could have legitimately ushered in an age of peace and prosperity.

4. Kaji - The one character who had any sense in Evangelion who is largely ignored. He cared deeply, deeply about Misato even when Misato was too fucked up mentally to accept him, and he fought for what he believed in. He isn't the kind of character to just let things be.

5. Bulma - Obsessed. She's smart but she's also stupid and she is the worst person to exist on the planet. I know she is all kinds of isms and wouls be insufferable IRL. Compells me though

6. Hange - She's been a constant even though I don't like AoT anymore and hate the ending. A genius who cares deeply about things. The anime flanderized her.

7. Shi Qingxuan - Obsessed with how unapologetically flamboyant he is while also just being the most generous and common sense person in the story behind Xie Lian. He was somehow consistently the only one with his brain attached and would call others out on their stupidity - and was always correct.

8. Yamcha - He was hot in the original, before Toriyama made a laughing stock of him. Also, I gotta say I'm obsessed with the sort of long-haired, tan-skinned, silly, muscular guy that's obsessed with love that you see in stories every now and then. Yamcha, Sokka, the main character of Golden Boy, the wolfy boy tertiary character from Inuyasha, Casey from TMNT, etc. That kind of guy.

9. Bada from Dreadful Night - I love green-haired, long-haired boys with no-nonsense personalities.

10. Gwyndolin - Man, I am obsessed with that design.

[blinkbones]

desperately wishing i had the skill to draw & write a version of hamlet in which they're all plant people and i could push the corrupted garden metaphor to be visual and fictionally tangible but also make it a story of rebirth with a 6th act in which the rot has fed a new, uncorrupted court (compost is cool, u guys)

ophelia as a conventionally beautiful & pretty flower (poppies? fragile, love-red, but also linked with poison) in the beginning, slowly rotting and being overgrown until blossoms sprout out of her eyes and mouth to show her being smothered by the patriarchal court. after her suicide she's reborn as pond vegetation. a lotus. lilypads. for the rebirth theme and as reclaiming of the danger represented by water throughout the play (framing her as a character capable of escaping the rot of the court, like she does in the original through death outside of the castle)

guildenstern and rosencrantz as parasitic vines twisting and twining together until they meld into a two-faced janus after their death. only then can they begin a reflection on the past and the future, and play the role of commentator of the evolution of the court

laertes as a weeping willow, a tree to symbolize his toughness and successful masculinity, but a riverside, droopy one, to foreshadow his death (he is felled in the end and does not re-ermerge from the water as he sister does)

claudius as an unleafed winter apple tree, already fully corrupted, hiding masses of insects and putrefied plant matter inside his hollowed bark. also because dead trees foster new life (favored by birds to build their nests in)

king hamlet as a thunderstruck tree, echoing his brother in being already symbolically corrupted (bloodthirsty conqueror) but felled prematurely via extreme violence

polonius as mistletoe. for the association with trickery (emblematic of the loki & baldr story) and the completely toxic parasitism (unedible fruits, ungraceful, sucks the sap of stronger trees--claudius) and also because i think it's kind of a goofy plant

all guards and gentlemen as common trees -- birches, maybe, because they're less imposing than oaks. (and of course, they're all rotting a little bit, like the rest of the cast)

horatio as an olive tree, because it's associated with athena (thus knowledge, which evokes his erudition) and it's a southern tree, showing his foreign status (also because i like olive trees, and i like horatio. i think he needs a nice tree)

gertrude as lily of the valley, because it's pretty and a beautiful pure white, but kind of droopy and absolutely poisonous. Also associated with Eve's tears after her banishment from the garden. She eats one of Claudius's apples (but unlike the Eden apples, those are rotten... well... he's a bad apple lol) However it also re-appears every spring (and symbolizes it), which both shows her ability for resilience (surviving her husband's death, which is difficult in this ancient patriarchal society) and foreshadows her rebirth after act 5 (when hamlet will get his shit together and forgive her) However she is reborn as the same flower--unlike ophelia, she isn't able to transform.

and finally hamlet as a black rosebush, because roses are kind of the protagonists of flowers and clearly identify hamlet as the main character, because it's such a classic edgy/goth choice, but also because, while hardy plants, rosebushes are by no means a tree, and we need to show hamlet's inability to fit masculine expectation by making him a feminine/androgynous plant (not a tree--also it shows his ousting from the order of succession, which is represented by a genealogical tree. being a flower, it's clear he's lost the land & throne). also roses are full of thorns, hurting those who touch them, and hamlet definitely fucks up his entire entourage. (i love him). and, finally, the black rose is a botanical anomaly, and echoes hamlet's genre-bending characteristics (as a character and as a play) ; and it's associated with darkness and co.

addendum: the yorick skull alongside a pomegranate as the fruit of the dead (greece); the fruit remains while the plant is long dead. to also evoke the myth of hades and persephone and a link with seasonal rebirth following corrupting actions. also because it has such rich symbolism across the world; so it foreshadows rebirth of the purified court in act 6. also because the little spiky bits of the pomegranate are reminiscent of both a jester's hat (yorick being a jester) and a crown (you can go wild with this one: because hamlet future king, because yorick presented as a paternal figure moreso than actual king hamlet, etc)