#like if this insult or critique is not something you would level at a man. you should probably shut the fuck up

[lesbianwyllravengard]

I have always felt less than negative about taylor swift and I love criticising celebs but some of y'all really use your hatred of her to display some insane misogyny. just saying.

[theangryman]

kink as religion/spirituality

it’s a little gauche to say something is “like a cult” - it’s overused as an expression

but a large problem i have with kink/bdsm subculture is the commonalities with religion, the spiritual aspects

when you think of precedents for “consensual” ritualized harm and self harm, they are religious (several groups have traditions of undergoing full on crucifixions for Easter, there’s similar rites for some Shia Muslims for Ashura - which is today I believe)

the desire for progression as some sort of internal challenge - there’s always a desire and encouragement to expand one’s limits

it’s driven by the same desire for a transcendent experience

the communities’ members have strange persecution complexes, gaslighting victims of abuse, especially when by higher ranking members

the focus on hierarchy (leather culture had formalized rules - serve in a house, train as submissive - tortured gay men wanting to punish themselves - maybe can read a form a Catholicism into this; modern kink culture is like modern Protestantism in that any sufficiently well groomed upper middle class man can claim to have the unique skills to be a good pastor/“dom” and open up a church/dungeon)

the repulsion towards former members/critiques of systemic issues present (expression anti kink opinions has gotten me the same kind of hateful response from other trans men that being a trans man did in the 2010s online - to the point where gendering people correctly appears to be optional for folks who are anti kink? the double whammy of being accused of being a TERF and than insulted with “girl” is always a fucking whiplash - can you not use the term “TERF” to mean “anyone i don’t like,” y’all look like fucking morons)

maybe many of these things can be applied to things like multi level marketing or any other extremely large organizational idea that people subsume their identity into, but the aspect of seeking “ecstasy” adds a hellish intensity to the mix

and like losing one’s religion, it’s difficult to leave. it’s difficult to part with the thought parties the beliefs. it’s difficult to justify to outsiders. (i agreed to let him do X but he did Y - the specifics don’t matter but it’s going to happen to you)

it creates mind bending cognitive dissonance - only puritanical criticisms of kink can be addressed. no matter what critique of kink you make, the response is

men are submissive too! (go actually look at femdom porn/hentai lol and see what they want or make a troll fet dom-F account if you don’t believe me + most submissive men are trans men with self esteem issues - the type who have boyfriends that refer to them as their girlfriend to their family; the religious analog would be something about complementary gender roles perhaps)

it’s all about consent! (what do we say about consent in power dynamics? now this is a subtle point, which is made impossible to address because it is such a fundamental threat to heterosexuality itself, that Dworkin tried to make and was glossed into “all sex is rape” because it is such a threat - what do we say to the idea of consent when we are fundamentally unequal human beings by nature of assigned sex of birth? who makes more money? who can overpower? i think most have gotten the picture that what Thomas Jefferson did to Sally Hemings was unambiguously rape, but what about all of the women throughout history when marital rape was considered the norm? it requires acknowledging that your great grandpa probably raped your great grandma, or up and down that line for thousands of generations - maybe if you acknowledge up front that gooners are going to want you to agree to humiliating and disgusting sex acts up front - that agreeing to have mutual fun with a stranger means rolling the dice on physical assault - maybe if you agree up front and pretend you can set some kinds of rules it’ll work out; similarly, religion is the comfort that life isn’t pointless suffering and maybe we’ll get to see our dog and grandma again if you follow these rules)

you can’t project your trauma onto the community/bad people aren’t doing really kink (i have a fairly large sampling size of kink partners and experiences personally. i genuinely don’t believe my arguments can be dialed down to “i had personal trauma in kink thus all kink is bad” unless one is taking my words at bad faith. this very much reeks of accusing atheists of hating god because of trauma or not getting what they want.)

you don’t actually believe that/you’re lying/you want it (these are obvious comparisons to religion)

these feel like the same kinds of responses i see to ex Mormons/Jehovah’s Witnesses/etc online

modern kink is similar to modern Protestantism in that it facilitates the creation of micro cults. institutionalization of kink is structured such that critique can be deflected onto individual actors. i’d argue Reddit is a major source of kink “education” - and no one can deny that subreddits can have concerning moderators. You have Fetlife, which is primarily heterosexual, male dom/female sub pornography. You have a couple of Booktok tier pop psych books which encourage Bronze Age marriage models. This maps to the diffuse ways in which American Protestantism propagates its ideas - it’s a nebulous mess of ideas that can evaporate when asked to take responsibility. We can’t hold all Christians accountable for Mark Driscoll’s ideas; we can’t hold all kinksters responsible for the actions of [insert the creeps who message you if you take up my suggestion of a troll fetlife account]. But can we not ask what it says about American Protestantism that Mark Driscoll exists and says what he says? And can we not look askew when what he said could be happily echoed by a kinkster as long as it was prefixed with “it’s kinky and consensual btw <3” and had been posted on fetlife anonymously - instead of his own church forum?

Kink is reactionary ideology which has parasitized societal acceptance of queer folks to justify the abusive dynamics of heterosexual relationships and sex, which has replaced religion as the justification for that dynamic.

[caxycreations]

Might piss some people off with this, but it needs to be said.

Example #384329482742 of how NOT to critique/review writing: This.

No opinion is universal. No feelings are universal. What one person finds to be awful writing is what someone else would consider a masterpiece.

Insulting it with remarks of "This book is so bad", "it's boring and no one cares", and "this is stupid" over everything you dislike about it is not constructive or helpful, and telling other people how to write their books is just plain bad practice.

Are there extremes to be avoided? Yes, of course. Nobody wants to be faced with the ENTIRE cast of Naruto and Naruto Shippuden in the very first episode, and nobody wants to be faced with a million in-depth character introductions in the first chapter either.

But some people enjoy a fleshed out cast early on, so 4-5, maybe 6 characters is perfect for some people. Others prefer a lone protag, so anything over 1 is too much. Telling people NOT to introduce more than 3 characters in the first chapter can be taken either way (good or bad) but putting it as a hard and fast rule is just not the way to go.

I think the two things about this that irk me the most are:

"Worse than fanfictions" and "pointless dumb conversations"

"Worse than fanfictions" is probably the shittiest way you could say it. Know why? Because there are a fair chunk of fanfictions that are better than some of the shit on the NYT Best Seller list. "Worse than fanfictions" implies you see fanfic as an inferior writing form, that it's inherently worse than original fiction. That's so fucking elitist and such a ridiculous view to have. As if writing fanfic means you're a subpar writer, inferior to original fiction. Fuck that, and fuck anyone who thinks that.

"pointless dumb conversations" irks me because who are you to say what's pointless or dumb? Who are you to say it's even bad if it is pointless? If every single interaction, every single word and event, is of deep, powerful significance, then NONE of them are. "When everyone's super, no one will be" applies UNIVERSALLY. If every single statement and event has deep significance, then why should we care so much? Oh man, so excited to see Deep Quote #237492872978 after Major Event #284739467235734872 here in the third chapter, so very- where's the substance? Where's the character? Where's the personal touch?

Look, I get it. You want the booktok experience of "grip me by page three and don't let me go until I've finished the book" but that just isn't how it works. "Ooh keep reading, it ramps up, but does it really?" Yes! It does! That's how things work!

You start small. Introductions, setting the stage, establishing the story and it's elements, and then you build, you crescendo, until you hit a climax, and then you relax, you coast down.

Don't go around telling people to write the way you have here. You want to know what's really stupid?

Demanding people cater to the most anti-reading readers. You could be writing instead of reading? Is reading such a goddamn chore?

To anyone and everyone who made it this far, here's MY advice:

Write your way. Ignore OPs godawful "advice" and write YOUR way.

There are a billion people writing to appease algorithms and tiktok-level attention spans. We don't need MORE people dumbing down the writing, I promise you.

Write YOUR way. If it happens to be exactly what OP describes, that's fine! As long as you're writing that way because it's just your way of writing.

Anyone can write how they're told to write. Only you can write the way YOU write. So do your thing, your way, and you'll find your audience. People like OP seem to think every book needs to cater to their tastes or else it's bad writing, when in reality, every book just needs to cater to the author's taste. Their audience will find them, and those who don't like it can fuck off and read something else.

Things that immediately turn me off a fiction book

I'm pretty picky with what I read, because the time I spend reading is time that I could spend writing. I generally know if I will like a book within the first chapter, and I feel no shame in giving up if I'm not vibing with it.

And no, I don't believe in the "oooh read further it warms up" because does it? Does it really? Do I want to waste time finding out?

Frankly, at this point in life, I read more nonfiction than fiction because there's just so. many. bad. books. that are getting published. Worse than fanfictions.

Anyway, here are the things that make me give up. Maybe hearing this will help you as you write your own masterpiece.

Too Many Proper Nouns

Three characters maximum in the first chapter or two. Do not throw dozens of people at me. I will get confused and give up. Let me get to know the main character, by themself or with a few of their closest companions, before you make me remember everyone else. And go deep with those characters! I want someone to stick with!

You can reference other characters, to create a sense of a deeper world, but do not go all-in on them. Make it clear that they are just there to provide a bit of context, and we don't have to remember them yet. We should only be meeting three characters maximum.

Throwing Us Immediately Into a Dramatic Action Point

This is controversial I know, but I hate when something immediately starts with a battle. I don't care if any of these people live or die. I don't know them. I haven't grown attached to any of them.

Even just a page or two to get to know them first will help. You can have them gearing up for a battle, thinking about what's going to happen, maybe talking to their friends, maybe checking their armor, whatever feels natural for them. But do not just start with stabbing people! I don't care about them yet!

Too Many Details

Many this is just me, but I simply do not care about every piece of armor your character is wearing. I don't need to hear a play-by-play of every single color of every single thing because I don't care. Pick out a few specific things for me to focus on and that's it. Stop overloading me with colors and patterns and armor styles.

Yes, yes, you've done your research on historically accurate gear. That's great. It would be good for a movie. But if I have to look up different armor pieces every five seconds, I am glossing over it and moving on. I don't care. I'm here for the story. If I wanted an infodump about medieval armor, I would simply pick up a nonfiction book (and maybe I will).

White Space Syndrome

Tell me what the overall scene looks like instead of all these hyperspecific details of certain objects, like carts or emblems or whatever. I want to know where I am!!

Don't just say "a forest." Tell me what kind of forest. Tell me if it's a young forest or an old snarly forest or a swampy forest or a cold alpine forest.

Don't just say "a castle." Tell me if it's a bustling castle or a gloomy castle or a rundown castle.

Don't just say "on the sea." Cold sea? Tropical sea? Far far away from land or is land in sight? These are the things I want!

Too Much Backstory

For the love of god do not explain the entire history of this culture in the first chapter. The first chapter is for getting to know the characters we're going to be following. You can introduce those things slowly and carefully as the story unfolds.

I get that fiction writers are delighted by all the worldbuilding (or research, in historical fiction) they have done. But the reader does not care right away. They need to get invested before all those little specifics matter at all. My eyes glaze over and I give up because I don't want to have to remember all of that all at once. It's like you just threw a college textbook at my face.

Plus, if you're doing third-person limited, you have to remember that the character is not going to be thinking all of that! They won't say all of that either! Because they know all of that!

Even a general on the brink of a major battle is not going to go "yes, this all dates back to when we took Iuanfutila back in 181, when the brave Iuanfutilans protested the rule of our Yawwbaawnwhryr leaders ...." They are focused on the present moment, and they may discuss the backstory later. Tell us what we need to know now because that is what the character would be thinking too.

"Oh, but Topazadine, how will the readers understand the context if I don't tell them??"

There's a battle. Two groups are at war. Or something was stolen. Or two people are fighting. Whatever. We understand those things. We can get the basic gist of how things are going to play out by just showing us these things happening. Then, as we have gotten a feel for the characters, you can tell us more about the context.

If you walk into a store that's being held up by an armed robber, do you give a shit about his backstory, or do you only care once that person has been arrested and you have to testify? I think we know the answer. You're not going "ohhh why is he doing this??" at first. You're going "HOLY SHIT THERE'S A GUN WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN NOW???" and then you'll care about the other stuff later.

Too Much Play-by-Play

I also do not need a play by play of a fight scene. I need to know the general movements, and then the overall atmosphere. I want to feel what the character feels rather than feel like I'm watching a football game.

Your reader will fill in the gaps if you give them enough information, but when you overload them with every single action, they're now trying to keep track of what went where instead of how this moment is supposed to feel. And now the action and drama has gone out of the writing because it's become a manual of fighting techniques.

Pointless Dumb Conversations

"Oh, could you turn around for me? I want privacy."

"Sure, of course, I'm a respectable man." Manfred knew that a lady-in-waiting would be unsettled by the presence of a strange man, so he wanted to be respectful.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Oh my god no one cares!!! No one!! We don't need this exchange. Cut it. This is stupid. Unless something is actually happening or something is meaningful about them saying this, shut up.

How to Not Write a Horrible First Chapter That Makes People Ragequit

Can you tell I'm mad today? I started and stopped three different books because they were all so bad.

Three characters max in the first chapter, with deep discussion of each. (One or two is better.) General appearance, demeanor, profession, whatever.

Restrain the urge to infodump! Dribble it out over the chapter!

Give the setting more attention than random little details that ultimately do not matter. I don't need to know the pattern of the curtains on the horsecart that's about to be burnt. Don't care.

Do not give a play by play of every single action that a character takes because it's boring and no one cares.

In media res is great but do NOT start with a big climactic intense battle or fight or whatever because we don't know these characters and don't know who to root for (or why we should care).

Your character is not going to give us a history lesson in why this conflict is happening. Do not do it yourself either. Give us just enough to get intrigued and no more. Think how your characters would think and what they would prioritize in discussions.

If a conversation is just pleasantries and has no purpose, drop it, we don't care.

[hezuart]

That anaversary aizen looks absolutely fabulous, he looks like a figure skater xd.

I heard along time ago the last arc of the anime was being animated finally bc they pulled a 90s sailor moon were the last season was not either animated or dubbed untill decades later.

I recall near the end of the current 366 episodes there was an episode were the creapy demon ppl woke up in hell and we're all bitter, and there was the other guy who was like, iM cOmEiNg FoR u IChIgO, but then is never mentioned again after and I'm like,why? Why is lt there just plopted randomly into a different arc that seams unrelated.

And locking aizen up underground seems ok, but It deff won't hold, and he will. Escape, and he will kill, you either need that one spell from star, dubbed, the darkest spell of moon the undaunted, a powerfull dark spell that killed immortal beings, that came from best character, eclipsa, the queen of darkness.

We need that.

Or stick him I'm crystal like eclipsa was in star. Is there no one who could trap him in ice or crystal for all eternity.

How about throw him into the centre of a volcano trapped and caged , forverr being killed by heat?

I assume there's space travel, send I'm into a black whole, were a black whole don't fuckin care if your immortal or fat, you will die

:3

Yes, I love anniversary Aizen. His original octopus-butterfly hollow design was ugly so I'm glad he's back to being the fashion icon he is.

Locking Aizen up underground once is one thing, doing it twice after saying he got more powerful by just sitting there, and he escaped to battle the Quincy Soul King God... is another. I think he should have escaped at the end of the Quincy arc. That is the only feasibility.

I heard the anime is coming back for the Quincy arc as well, but because of COVID its probably going to be delayed. (I'm not gonna watch it until the Rain section of the arc then I'm dipping out. I'm only here for Zangetsu)

and funny that you mention that hell scene in the manga :)

-> spoilers for the new BLEACH 73 page anniversary chapter / thoughts/critique on it

So hey you had a premonition! Syazel .... returned? And his hole is outside of his body??? for some reason???

(I didn't understand the explanation or why / how that happens and what that means for the hollow)

And my friend and I were laughing because out of ALL the things. Kubo could do in this anniversary. He gave Syazel his dick back after going to hell. That is iconic. (that's where his hole was located, and now that its not on his body ... well...) This is the funniest thing Kubo has EVER pulled. Kudos to you, sir.

The entire internet is freaking out over Ukitake being in hell. Honestly Kubo has done far worse, and we've established that Soul Society is a corrupt system that hasn't changed, so I'm not surprised he would pull something like this.

At the same time, Kubo 1. cheated his audience. 2. continues to prove me right that he cannot bring himself to kill his characters

1. Hollows who have commit murder in their human life are sent to hell. Syazel and Aaorniero are two of these hollows, and yet, when they are killed, there is NO gates of hell scene. We see them there later in the hell chapter (which was more of a promotion for the fourth movie and I didn't believe it would hold any merit)

But the same goes for Ukitake. We never see the gates of hell take him. What, was hell late? Did hell's gates get lost like an uber before picking him up? It's bull. Withholding such vital information from your audience, not showing the gates of hell when they should pick up this soul IMMEDIATELY is ... I mean its a lie. Kubo lied to his audience.

2. Now we are told powerful shinigami are sent to hell when they die. First of all that sounds like a security threat. Wouldn't shinigami want revenge for that? Or attempt to escape? Why would they still hold loyalty after being sent to a prison of eternal suffering?

Also "Yhwach and Aizen" were the only ones keeping Hell's gates closed is way too convenient and doesn't really make any sense. I feel like Aizen should have deliberately gone to hell to retrieve powerful shinigami / hollows for his army instead of keeping it /closed/.

This is definitely a Kubo-doesn't-know-what-he's-doing-and-is -making- stuff-up-as-he-goes, but it might have a pinch of merit because of previous plot lines.... but either way, there's some big plot holes here, but again, its Kubo, so I expected nothing less.

Again, he can't kill off his characters. He introduced zombification, he introduced immortality through the hougyoku, he has Orihime and Hachigen's reversal / rejection abilities. He brought back Luppi, friggen.... a character who's entire upper half of his body was incinerated. Like.... come on. No. He's dead, you can't bring him back like that. That's a cop out and just weird. You're taking away consequences and grief.

(Also Yamamoto and Unohana deserve to be in hell far over Ukitake, they've done some fcked up stuff in their pasts unlike him)

Also Kubo's favorite character is Mayuri, which.... you're allowed to have a favorite problematic character. But Keeping said character alive and bared from the consequences of abusing his daughter, murdering innocents, and experimenting on your own squad members? Nah. Nope. Kill him, Kubo. Kill this dude.

(his weird attachment to Mayuri is probably why he keeps bringing Syazel back, since Syazel is Mayuri 2.0, but Syazel is the bad guy who does face consequences for his actions while Mayuri is not)

~

Also, I'm certain Kazui and Orihime are going to be THRILLED that their precious husband/dad is going to hell when he dies :)

(I just... Rukia teased Ichigo about leaving Orihime at home. She teased him about having a house wife who he leaves all the chores to. Orihime had two panels. She checks on her son who promised he would be at home and sleep. Kazui fcking breaks his promise like it never mattered to him and JUMPS out the window after pretending to sleep in front of his mother. ... An 8 year old... alone... in the middle of the night.)

Orihime is abandoned. She is not invited to SS, she is not informed of what is going on, her son leaves her.... I...

Orihime is a side character. She doesn't matter anymore. She hasn't mattered for a long, long time.

A part of me is glad she had little screen time, since she tends to waste it, but another part of me is embroiled with rage.

I've even see people try to defend this. "Orihime and Ichigo can't be together ALL the time, that's an unhealthy relationship!" and I'm like guys... that's not the point. The point is Orihime is not part of Ichigo's other life. Any shinigami stuff from now on is none of her business. She's going to stay at home while Kazui and Ichigo go off and save the world. Ichigo is going to be fighting by Rukia and Renji while Orihime watches from the sidelines, or worse, doesn't even know what is going on with her husband and son. Orihime is going to be uninformed and abandoned, because she has not proven she is capable of fighting by their sides(go on, @ me. I will fight this. She's a failure.), and also because she prefers a human life over a dead one. Which is ironic, because she married a dead man. Ichigo is a shinigami, and he will be one forever. god forbid she ever meets his Zanpaktou. She would tremble in fear at the monsters her husband harbors in his soul, especially when she realizes they don't care about her and would rather see her dead. (Zangetsu would absolutely kill Orihime. Not sure about Kazui, but Orihime has not accepted Zangetsu, she does not like either of them, and the feeling is assuredly mutual.) frick now I want to make a comic about this

Also still frustrated over Zangetsu's shikai / bankai regression. Kubo once again lied to his audience. Ichigo has no bankai. How ridiculous is that? The main character of BLEACH doesn't have a bankai. Insulting.

(RIP to Chad. He doesn't exist anymore. He's just gone. No mention, no cameo. Gone.)

Kazui is a demon child. That character from the novels? Hikone? They're the same character. Literally same personality, same power level. Its worse because Kazui is a liar. He constantly goes behind his parents' backs. He can summon creepy fish and creepy eyeballs and open portals like is ANYONE aware of this? How has SS not kidnapped Ichigo's son and experimented on him / locked away his powers yet? All substitute shinigami require a reiatsu controlling / spy badge to keep them in line. Where is Kazui's? Or is he just a weird fullbringer?

I was worried Kubo was gonna try and pull a knock off Boruto but luckily he kept the focus on Ichigo and the others. But that being said, Ichika and Kazui are now just... sort of there? Kazui was kinda just.... having his own adventure that doesn't matter to the plot at hand, and Ichika had some nice characterization at first but she just hid behind her dad the whole time.

I have a feeling Kazui is gonna step in at the last minute or do some major behind the scenes thing that indirectly interferes with the main plot so no one will realize how powerful and dangerous he actually is. Its sad because Ichika is the superior character in personality and likability, but she clearly is not going to have a bigger part in this.

Ichigo having a normal life after everything still feels extremely boring and uncomfortable to me. Everyone's like 'I'm still bLEACH!" but.... BLEACH just... doesn't feel like BLEACH anymore. It hasn't for a while now.

~~~

There's two new shinigami characters. Didn't care for the girl, but the Sign Language kid who talks to animals is adorable ... however... he just reminds me of Chad, and I just... it hurts knowing Chad has essentially been deleted. Chad and Orihime are officially benched. They have chosen the human world, and Orihime has given Ichigo his spawn so she has no more use/purpose to him anymore... ////sigh

~~~

Also. This is claimed to be a new "arc". So is the BLEACH manga coming back? What is happening. I thought Kubo was tired and didn't want to do BLEACH anymore. I thought Shounen Jump cut him off. People made so many excuses for Kubo and why the past two arcs have been so badly written the past 6 years and now almost everything they've attempted to defend him with has been revoked.

BLEACH is going to continue to screw up its plot lines and characters, so Its probably best for it to stay dead but I've seen a lot of Kubo stans drooling over this content, they're desperate for BLEACH's return, but its already given out all its possible revelations. There's really nothing else to top here. It's just going to make things up as it goes along ,and I'm not really here for half-assed writing like that, especially since the damage of rushing the previous manga has already been done. Kubo and Shounen Jump are riding off a money nostalgia. None of this was planned.

Honestly though.... overall feeling of this chapter, not as bad as it could have been.

Syazel stole the spotlight, and he's my friend's favorite character, so that's all that really matters.

[river-bottom-nightmare]

Nightwing 79 Review

i said i would and i will. i did like this issue! not as striking and attention grabbing as 78, but i think this issue was meant to be a foundation one, laying out the groundwork for the future. overall, pretty good. also there wasn't enough bitewing. as promised, overly extensive metaphors and me reading too much into things under the cut

i know i've talked about this cover before, but this particular thing is oddly important to me, so i'll talk about it again

this is me, once again screaming about how artists put nightwing in traditionally feminine poses and how every time i see it i just get whiplash. i mean, true, the main reason why is because nightwing is a so often sexualized character, and putting him in these poses just increases the objectification, which is a goal that dc producers have. but there are very few popular male characters that do this. the only one i can think of off the top of my head is deadpool, but that was so obviously a critique and a way to make fun of the media industry. when they draw dick like this, they’re being serious. they’re putting him in appealing poses meant to show him off, and that’s something that’s traditionally only been done to women.

it's a very direct and very loud breaking of traditional gender roles in media, especially for a character as high-profile and historic as dick grayson. colour also plays a factor in this. the entire background is pink. i was absolutely shocked when i first saw it, when the teaser came out, because i cannot think of any comic book covers of male comic heroes this high-profile where pink is even just prevalent in the cover, let alone the majority of the cover. the pink does look beautiful: it offsets and highlights the black and blue of dick's suit gorgeously, but does it with more finesse than orange or red. but the fact that the stylistic choice was made to accent and draw this cover with aesthetic and beauty in mind, completely ignoring traditional hard-set gender rules in art, was a conscious choice and one i wholeheartedly support.

just another example of the sexualization i was talking about. i remember seeing harley quinn in this exact pose in suicide squad.

so far, taylor's been pretty dead-set on bringing alfred to the forefront of importance in this series. he wants people to know how much he loves alfred's character, and how much the butler meant to dick growing up. he was dick's father too. but what i adore is how taylor managed to stress alfred's importance in a way that didn't insult or belittle bruce.

this is one of the best bruce and dick interactions i've seen, and it's done in one simple interaction. in this, bruce is tough and harsh. he knocked dick down hard, but then he reached a hand down and helped pull dick back up. let me analyze their dialogue for a minute

on your feet: this is bruce telling dick to get up. he's trained dick, he knows what the younger boy is capable of, he knows his limits, and he knows what dick can do. this is bruce telling dick i know you're strong enough to get up, so get up and prove me right

are you just going to knock me down again?: surface-level, it looks like dick's complaining. he doesn't like bruce's rough training, and he's tired of bruce knocking him down. but look at his face in this. he's smiling up at bruce, knowledgeable and a little hopeful. he knows that bruce is doing this to help dick better himself, he's completely on board with the rough training, because they both know the rewards are incredible. also, he's teasing. he's bantering with bruce. there's an ease in that joking statement, one that belies affection and intimacy. they've only known each other for a little bit, but they're already slipping into a close familial relationship.

it depends on how fast you learn: this is bruce bantering back. this is bruce not being a stoic, unfeeling asshole. instead, he's shown with the dry humor that a good batman writer knows is a staple of the character. he's teasing dick, telling him he'll basically whoop his ass if dick doesn't learn fast enough. it's incentive for dick to train harder, while also being lighthearted enough to tell dick that believes in dick and doesn't want him to push himself too hard.

gosh i love the titans. also it looks like wally's staring at dick's ass.

this was cute. a prod at dick's silly and playful sense of humor, while not dumbing him down for the sake of a laugh. instead, he's joking about food, which is stuff everyone jokes about. this is the kind of stuff that'll actually make me laugh, instead of just making me vaguely uncomfortable.

bludhaven's almost always portrayed as a cesspool of a city. and to be honest, it really is. but this panel gives the city a meaningful history, while also giving us a reason for why dick moved there.

it talks of a time when people still thought they could beat the monsters. that if they fought hard enough, they could win the fight. it was a tentative hope that you could always overcome hardship.

dick's little "i like that it's still standing" shows how he still believes that, despite what the rest of the world thinks. despite everything that he's been through, dick is still tentatively an optimist, and believes he can fight the monsters of the world and win. it's a beautiful testament to his character, and i'm like that they added his signature element of hope back in. it used to be what he symbolized as robin, and despite his growth and character arc from robin to nightwing, this is one aspect of robin that i'm glad nightwing still has.

remember when i said "things that make me vaguely uncomfortable??" yeahhhh,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Shooketh Dick: A Sequel

(the expressions in this series are just,,,,on point)

this was an incredibly sweet and kindhearted thing for dick to do, but i found it kind of,,,,,,,,desperate? maybe that's just me, but let me explain.

dick's suddenly a billionaire, and he has entirely too much money that he knows what to do with. it's also alfred's money, what the man left to him, so dick forever links it with alfred. in addition to that, he's back and bludhaven and looking at it with "fresh" eyes. (at least, from a different point of view since he got shot in the head. then mind controlled.) he's desperate to do something with the money and he's desperate to help the people around him that so obviously needs up, so he comes up with an on-the-fly solution that's a little impractical and a little crazy, but it still helps and still does some good.

to me, dick seems a little lost. he hasn't completely found his balance yet, and he's trying to do things that will. he tries charity, because that's what bruce did and it's what he knows, even though he admitted that he always thought bruce could have done more as bruce wayne than batman.

they have a family group chat guys yall were right.

also, do i think that dick would ever actually get his wallet stolen?? no way in hell, he’d notice someone getting ready to pickpocket him a mile away. but i suppose it’s important to the Plot. 

okay this is getting interesting. first blockbuster, now maroni (+ the weird heart stealer guy). i can officially say that i am intruiged

this particular artistic quirk is shown a lot in this issue, and from this art team in general, but i feel like this panel is one of the best examples of it. it was stunning enough to take up a full page, and it’s well deserved.

the way they show dick moving is absolutely brilliant. as a reader, i like seeing these smaller versions of dick getting clearer and in more detail as they come closer to the screen. not only do they show depth in the picture beyond what a simple 3 dimensional piece of art does, it also shows the passage of time.

in addition, it showcases dick’s skill. dick spots these mobsters running after a group of petty thieves. he then, and follow me here, leaps off the roof of one building feet first, springboards backwards off the side of the adjacent building with his feet, gracefully continues his backflip, rights himself, shoots a line with perfect timing: just in time to soften his landing but not slow him down, execute said landing on top of a moving bus, keep running on the moving bus without missing a beat, shoot his grapple, use the grapple to swing, use the swing to build up momentum, then use the momentum to deliver a powerful blow to the mobsters. and he did all that fast enough to catch up with the mobsters, even though he was a ROOFTOP OVER. 

d a m n  s o n

this panel, the very first in the issue, is also another example of that art style, but a little more distinctive. i love the way they showed dick’s different costumes through the ages, along with him simply growing up. it’s a little heartbreaking, but a lot uplifting to see how far he’s come. thank god he got rid of the red. now all we need is the fingerstripes, and we’ll be golden

discowing my beloved. also i can’t clearly see discowing’s hair but it definitely looks like it’s pulled back. it looks like he put it in a ponytail. guys. guys. dick had a ponytail omg. 

he’s having a Hero Moment

are you talking about the city, dick, or are you talking about you? the kgbeast, the court, the joker. dick fell to each one of them, no matter how hard he fought. he won in the end, eventually and with his family’s help. but i think he’s feeling a little low, a little defeated right now. it’s almost like he needs a win, he needs to feel victorious, he needs to feel like he helped someone (hence the food and the hotel room), just because he needs to remember what it feels like.

these lines were supposed to resonate with you, and goddamn they did.

i looked at it from two ways. first, it’s the girl asking, begging nightwing not to hurt them. bludhaven doesn’t know dick the way gotham does, they’re still a little frightened of him. this child was brave enough to step in front of all of the other hurt and homeless kids and ask, to a strange man in a mask, if he was going to hurt them like the other men had. it’s heartbreaking, but commendable, and an echo of the city itself that dick’s decided to protect. they’re bloody and broken and terrified, but still gritty and brave enough to stare what they fear in the eye and ask it not to hurt them.

second, it’s dick seeing the question reflected in himself. recently, he got shot in the head and lost all his memories. while i think that the way ric reacted was a perfectly valid and human response to the situation, i think dick still regrets how callously and rudely he treated his family. then, he was manipulated by the court of owls, then he was brainwashed with a magic crystal by the joker. dick does have a guilt complex. it’s not a big as bruce’s, but it’s there. and right now, with this girl begging her not to hurt them, dick is probably thinking about all the times he hurt people, in control of his own actions or not, bc he “didn’t have a heart.” 

little ambitious don’t you think, dick?

also just look at the sunset colours loOK at the they could not make this any more obvious oh my godddddddddddddddddddddddd

in conclusion, i need more of her

[echo-of-sounds]

rejection sensitive dysphoria

How Aizawa, Toshi, Hizashi, and Gang Orca would support their s/o with rejection sensitive dysphoria.

Sorry if some of these are a little difficult to read. A lot of this is personal so I sort of prattled on. But I think I edited them down enough to make sense and read clearly.

Aizawa Shouta

Shouta struggles with a few of your ADHD symptoms, mainly clicking and tapping. He’s also growing and learning. He comforts you from sensitivities and learns to help with memory issues. But one thing that’ll throw him for a loop is rejection sensitive dysphoria. Handling people’s emotions, he isn’t that best at. Handling your self-accusations, nearly uncontrollable guilt, and alienation hurts, worries, confusions, and upsets him.

It’ll take a lot of practice on his part to understand what exactly RSD is and how it affects your thinking, behaviors, and feelings. It’s hard for him to grasp how him saying “Don’t do that” or how reading a nice, useful critique on your writing is enough to make you sob for ten minutes. Your train of thought just makes very little sense. It’s helping you. You should use the advice to improve your skills. But he doesn’t voice that. It won’t make you feel better.

While he is confused about your reasoning, he understands you’re hurting. That’s more than enough to make him sit down, hold you, and talk (which is difficult for him). After reading about RSD and gaining new insights, he prefers talking out what happened and what your thoughts/feelings were saying. It’s to guide you along a path of understanding the situation better in hopes it’ll calm you. He wasn’t disappointed. That was just your mind twisting the conversation. Now, that doesn’t stop the flooding emotions, but it’s reassuring to realize his disgust wasn’t real. He still loves you. He always will.

A behavior that puzzles him (i.e. worries him sick) is when you fluctuate between a social butter and a hermit. You try so hard to make someone like you so much, but then a week later, you’re completely isolating. You don’t respond to texts or calls. You don’t engage. You just turn dormant. It’s like you either need to be beloved or erased. There’s no in-between… 

And that makes Shouta feel as stuck as you. Though he hides it to an extent. He knows if he revealed annoyance at your withdrawal, that could very well make it worse. And since he isn’t that great at emotional subjects, his choice of words could make it seem like he’s mad at you when that’s not the case at all. His annoyance is at the emotions. They take you away from the world, from your friends and life and him. It’s upsetting. He’s hurt that you don’t partake in card games with friends or join him for dinner anymore.

After a while, he will have a brief outburst. Despite the anger, underneath the scowls and retorts, you can tell he just misses you. He’s your partner. You need to have some sort of involvement in the partnership. At the end of his blowout, he apologizes. And you should, too. It’s unfair for you to disengage for so long. He understands your emotions are difficult to handle, but he doesn’t deserve you neglecting him. It’s on both of you to work with each other and figure out the best way to cope.

Yagi Toshinori

Toshinori’s great with difficult emotions. Hero work’s given him plenty of practice. But he always has a soft spot for you and loathes how you berate and bully yourself. It’s not fair. Mistakes happen. Sometimes you mishear. You won’t always reach your goals, and that’s perfectly okay! It’s also okay to not be the best at everything. None of that means you’re a failure. Anytime he notices the brittle little switch flick on that revs up your thinking, he turns his focus to you.

Like when he drives you to your doctor’s appointment. But it was at one, not four. You disappointed yourself, made Toshi drive you for nothing, and took up his time and energy for fucking nothing. You failed. You’re a fuckup. It hurts. You don’t know why. It just hurts. It’s lonely. It’s overwhelming. You can’t describe the quality, nature, or aspect. You’re just scared and fragile and ashamed and inadequate and now tears are streaming down your face for absolutely no fucking reason and it won’t stop, it gets worse and worse and heavier and heavier and you just want to disappear.

Toshi gently pulls you to his chest. It doesn’t matter how ‘insignificant’ the reason is, he comforts you, softly reassuring he isn’t angry and you aren’t a screwup. You made a mistake. That’s it. There’s no consequence. No nothing. You two can go home and spend your time together, cuddling and kissing, instead of at a doctor’s office. You can fix the mistake later and all will be well.

The high standards you set for yourself upset him. It gives him anxiety. When you get your essay back, the one you spent uncountable hours on, and you only got a 91, he doesn’t understand why or want to see you cry. Out of one-hundred, that’s an amazing grade, especially on difficult subjects. He wishes you learn self-love and accept yourself- fumbles, slipups, and all. Because the minute you fail, since the standards are simply not achievable by anyone, you tongue-lash yourself to tears. You’re scared of failure. But that’s exactly what you set yourself up for with your thinking.

To help, he will read plenty about what he can do to support you. He knows it’s not all on him to fix. You work with your therapist and practice coping techniques. But he yearns to help. He always will. During the buildup of an emotional eruption, he talks with you, directing your mind towards self-compassion: self-kindness because you deserve warmth and sympathy from yourself, common humanity because everyone has flaws and faults, and mindfulness because you can have negative emotions without judging them or yourself.

Overall, Toshi is there to bolster and comfort you. If you need certain things explained or want company to an event, he’s right beside you. He wants you to love yourself as he does, completely. That includes your flaws and mistakes.

Yamada Hizashi

Hizashi’s very in tune with your feelings. The slightest change is often felt by him. It doesn’t matter if the criticism is real or perceived, he’s hugging you, drying your tears. You aren’t an idiot or annoying or inferior. You didn’t fail or disappoint. And he certainly isn’t mad or judging or rejecting you. He loves you dearly. The instant you withdraw because of his tone, words, or actions, he explains he isn’t angry, that he loves you just as much, if not more, than yesterday.

And whether or not the initiating scene was real, he reassures you that no matter how devastating, destructive the emotions are right now, they will pass. You will feel better. Your mind is just in overdrive right now. Once it hits the brakes, it’s easier to think about what really happened. You can recognize his critique wasn’t some personal attack because he suddenly abhors your mere presence. He was genuinely trying to help improve your piano skills. It was out of love. Everything he does is out of love.

The embarrassment and low self-esteem are his chief concerns. You deserve to feel comfortable with your mind and body. Who cares if someone doesn’t like your dress? Screw them. You’re fucking beautiful and worthy of having fun and feeling good. He tries his best to kiss the tears away. If you need more kisses in the places you hate, he gladly obliges. 

The idea of failing a task is too painful, so you never try. You don’t speak up even when you have a great idea. You don’t vocalize your needs because you’d rather be insignificant than called clingy and weak. Hizashi is the ideal man to help. He’s your cheerleader, supporter, and defender. He’ll tell the server your burger was wrong. He’ll listen to your ideas and bring them up, knowing they’re terrific, then make sure you get the credit you deserve. Your words are valid. You’re valid. It doesn’t matter if something you do isn’t the best. You’re still entitled to be heard, helped, and respected.

Hizashi cracks jokes galore. Sometimes they’re groan-worthy. Sometimes they’re pretty funny. Sometimes, after a stress-filled day when you’re raw and insecure, one minuscule jab in a teasing-but-maybe-not-but-maybe-bullying voice can reduce you to nothing. Because that’s exactly what you feel like- a stupid, unwanted, fruitless fool. He’s quick to catch the fumble and switches into snuggly mode, apologizing and nuzzling you under blankets. You know he never means to insult you. But that doesn’t stop the emotions from bursting.

He changes how and when he jokes by paying attention to your anxiety level. He also compliments you more, immodestly and extravagantly. It’s almost too much, but Hizashi doesn’t care. He just wants you to know how much he loves and appreciates you.

Gang Orca

Kugo struggles… a lot. Relationships and delicate emotions in general aren’t his expertise. In the beginning of your relationship, he notices your sensitivities straight away. He doesn’t bring it up at first. Thinking it’s him doing something wrong, he changes how he acts. Then it happens again and again, over things he’s plain confused by. Why does him saying “Not right now” or “I don’t care” bother you so? He was only answering your question.

The more he apologizes, the more ashamed you feel. You must start the conversation on RSD. He’d never mention it for fear he would appear rude or prying. And you’ll need to be specific about what you’re sensitive to so he can do his best to work with you. He reads all those relationship blogs and self-help magazines, hoping to find new ways to support you.

Like Aizawa, Kugo talks through what happened whenever you feel blamed or criticized. He desperately wants to understand your thinking. He hopes it’ll help you realize it wasn’t a big deal. Of course, it is a big deal when you’re sobbing and whipping yourself. But once you’ve calmed, he sits with you and just talks, openly and honestly: What about his words hurt? Was it a specific word, his tone, or what he said? Do you believe he meant to hurt you or was your mind goading itself on?

If you react with anger, he’s baffled. You asked for constructive criticism on your drawing and then when he gives it, you’re slamming your sketchbook closed and snapping at him. His go-to is to apologize. That just makes it worse because now you’re feeling angry and guilty. And his sad expression makes you absolutely incensed because why the hell isn’t he realizing that it’s not about him? And now he’s apologizing again and you’re crying and feel so exposed and threatened and judged and you can’t talk so you just run away, preferring to be forsaken than a burden.

Take the time you need to calm. Kugo will give you plenty of space. When the emotional flash dies and you realize you vilified him over nothing, find him, apologize, and explain. He appreciates both. He accepts your emotional dysregulation and all your strengths and flaws. However, he wishes you wouldn’t take your frustrations out on him. He loves you. He wants to be your backbone. But he can’t do that when you succumb to your fight-or-flight response.

To help reduce unnecessary stress, Kugo reminds you to eat right, exercise, and keep a sleep schedule. When you’re tired, he notices you’re on edge, expecting anger and rejection to come out of nowhere. He takes your phone from your fingers and carries you to bed. You’re unable to get up since he wraps you tight, so you might as well sleep. He pays attention to what you eat. If you haven't eaten healthily, he brings you a glass of water and apple slices with peanut butter. Any time you’re particularly jittery, he recommends going for a walk to get out the swirling energy. Or, if you suggest, sex to work out and get pleasure (which is always a bonus).

[babsaros]

Ohhhhhh, I take a big deep breath. Okay. so. 

“If you think the patriarchy is this simple, then you're categorically wrong. Gender is made up. Thats something we need to square away. Its a social construct, which was made up, with different cultural and religious interpretations. This type of simplification is almost (not quite because it at least respects people's identities and change) as silly as terfs who say that 'males hold more power control and influence than females.' While statistically accurate, they both ignore the experiences of trans people.”

I genuinely don’t know how else to explain to you that the definition of a patriarchy is a societal system where men are seen as a societal class with more inherent worth and thus power than women. That, yes, there will be outliers and edge cases and exceptions, but that is the system our society was based on and thus it affects our government, economy, culture, and sex, etc as a whole. That, yes, even the weakest least productive man is still seen as superior to his female peers by misogynistic institutions and employers. The lived experiences of trans people do not factor into how the most vitriolic transphobes see gender norms. At no point have I suggested I don’t think that gender is a construct, and I have in fact been critiquing the systems that uphold gender norms, mainly patriarchy. 

'trans men are specifically not perceived as men by transphobes' They aren't percieved as women either.

OK, so you say. My full statement was that they are not perceived as Trans Men. A Trans Man does not exist to a transphobe, but a Trans Woman is a bogeyman they’ve heard a million horrible stories about. 

Transphobic parents often refer to their trans daughters as 'son'. Do you think this means they see them as men? Or do you understand that trans people are often degendered and othered, not treated as their birth sex. 

Yes, I have been explicitly stating that transphobes see transwomen as men. Vice versa, transmen are seen as daughters and women. They’re transphobic, the very definition of the word is not acknowledging and respecting someone’s gender. This is not a gotcha. 

“I've read everything you've written. Its right there for people to see, I am not arguing that trans women do NOT face multiple levels of oppression, and i am only addressing what I find incorrect about what you said.”

I feel like I already broke down why your points are an inaccurate description of intersectional transphobia necessitating the term transandrophobia, but let’s go through them again. You list being seen as mere breedingstock, or mentally/physically inferior to men, or being subject to corrective rape and domestice violence as examples of misogyny that transmen face. I would correct that only by pointing out that transfeminine people are also subject to those forms of sexual assault and abuse, and are more frequent targets who often get turned away when they seek help specifically for identifying as transfem, where an AFAB person presenting any way could be seen as a far more sympathetic victim by those same transphobes, because transmisogyny is more normalized in cissociety. 

Then you try to argue that there are multiple distinct forms of transphobia that affect trans men. Now, I already clarified that being a “rude caricature” is an accusation of autogynephilia and an insult to how well someone passes against a trans woman, and that no transmen has been accused of autoandrophilia and manipulative perversion in the same way. I also clarified that no, by and large, most cis people are not worried about their children being molested by trans men the same way they fearmonger about transwomen in public restrooms and drag queens at libraries. 

And again, you’re ignoring the most important word in this whole discussion: Intersectionality. A man does not have to put in the same effort for basic respect that a woman does, and that goes doubly for transwomen who also have to struggle against transphobic stigma. A trans man may contend with transphobia in his life, and have to fight to be seen as a man at all, but he will not face hatred for being a Trans* Man specifically. 

“Trans men being deemed to not have the strength to commit assault and molestation its not an advantage btw, its why they have the highest rate of sa, and molestation performed on them.”

This is something I’ve had to debunk before and I’m extremely disappointed to have to do again. 

1. “In 2023, 50% of gun homicides were of Black trans women.” (everytown 2024) https://www.everytown.org/press/new-everytown-data-on-transgender-homicides-reveals-concentration-in-the-south/

2. “Transgender women are substantially more likely to be murdered than transgender men, and transgender women of color are murdered much more frequently than white transgender women.” (westbrook 2023) https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/08912432231171172

3. And according to the 2023 Trans Murder Monitoring report, 300+ trans people were murdered, and 94% of those people were transwomen, who are AGAIN at significantly higher risk of being assaulted or forced into survival sex work because of transmisogyny. https://transrespect.org/en/trans-murder-monitoring-2023/

A big thing to consider with these surveys and statistics is that they can only measure data of people who 1. Are/were openly transfeminine and 2. Also came forward about their sexual assaults, both things that carry an incredible amount of stigma and would be daunting to tell close loved ones, let alone the authorities that often commit transphobic hate crimes themself. Parroting a line you heard about transmen having higher assault stats perpetuates the very idea that they’re easy targets and that AFAB people are inherent victims and AMAB people aren’t and can’t be assaulted, in the same way that TERFS claiming transwomen have biological advantages in sports perpetuates the idea that women will always be weaker and inferior.

"What do you think masculinity and femininity are seen as? What is seen as masculinity, is a misogynistic patriarchal norm." 

This is an egregious misunderstanding of my original point, and the way TERFS view masculinity. Masculinity and Femininity are sets of attributes we have attached via aesthetics to a constructed binary gender system. Having a beard is considered a masculine trait yes, but on its own has no moral connotation in society at large. Some people view facial hair as trustworthy, others as deceitful. It is not expected nor enforced that men Must have facial hair. It is enforced that women Do Not have facial hair. 

The misogynistic patriarchal norms are present in the hearts of the organizers of these “safe” spaces, who have not done the work to deconstruct their notions of gender and presentation, who have internalized the idea that Men = stronger and more dangerous than Women ALWAYS. Trans people who are rejected from these spaces are not being rejected for apparent masculinity, they are being rejected for the way they fail at gender norms. A transwoman is rejected for not performing womanhood correctly, whether it’s something she can change or not. A trans man is not being rejected for having facial hair or simply being muscular, he’s rejected because all men are potential predators, and he was not perceived enough like a non-threatening woman. That’s what they’re supposed to be, men are supposed to be aggressive toward women, who are supposed to be submissive. The solution is not to normalize and praise features of masculinity, but instead to deconstruct gender norms so no one can be measured against them and found lacking. A beard should be a completely neutral accessory on anyone that wants to grow one.

'transadrophobia” is identical to plain old transphobia and misogyny, So is transmisogyny. They're words to describe the intersection. You claim the definition is an intersection of transphobia and misogyny, which is almost the exact same thing i’m explaining, so why are we still trying to call it transandrophobia. It’s transphobia. It’s misogyny Why do you think we need the terms biphobia, aphobia and lesbophobia then? Its all just homophobia, no? 

It is specifically not an intersection. They do not overlap. Trans men can be affected by both, but because they’re not women it's not transmisogyny, and because men can’t be oppressed under a patriarchy, it's not “transandrophobia” either. It’s transphobia /and/ misogyny, and there is NOT a need for a new term when it’s not an intersection. Biphobia/aphobia/lesbophobia specifically refer to unique forms of hate those demographics are subject to. Those words aren’t referring to an intersection of oppression, but narrow down the specific homophobia on display because it is useful to talk about how allosexual queer people can be aphobic, how gay men can be lesbophobic, how heterosexual couples dehumanize bisexual people and reduce them to hook-ups. There is no need for a new, inaccurately synthesized term. 

Could it be that we need words to describe the historically forgotten experience of certain minorities who until recently, were so forgotten about that they weren't even included in the law as to exist? and once it became more known that it was possible for trans men to exist, they went from being 1:7 proportion reference to trans women, to 1:1?

By “certain” minorities”, do you mean Trans Men? What does the introduction of the term “transandrophobia” contribute to the legal plight toward trans rights? Will the introduction of the term convince transphobic legislators to include Trans Men in their abortion bans, instead of simply referring to them as women? Does the term succinctly point out this dearth of transmasculine representation in media? Like, hey, I’ll concede a little and not even argue about if there's more transfem or transmasc rep, as long as you acknowledge that the vast majority of that rep is stereotypically offensive and created to mock or fetishize their existence 

Are there any widely known specific slurs with heavy sexual connotation about transmen the same way there are multiple slurs for transwomen? zippertits, cuntboys, pussyboy fakeboys, girlmutt and bitchboy Do people throw them around with the same casual air they talk about "traps" and "sissies" and "femboys"? yes. Especially the stuff about boys with 'cunts/pussies' also very pedophilic.

Zippertits is a specific slur for the look of top surgery scars, not just the idea of a transman existing. Funnily enough, “cuntboy” “pussyboy” “fakeboy” and “bitchboy” are validating in masculinity to the point of reclamation for more than one of these terms, where slurs like “femboy” “sissyboy” and “shemale” contradict a claim to femininity, specifically target the trans*fem identity, and are still highly controversial to reclaim. References to cunts and pussies is incredibly misogynistic, and infantilizing yes, but does not carry the same implication that someone is disgusting merely for identifying as a man. I did put some of these slurs into Google Trends for shits and giggles. What does the data tell you?

 I’m pretty sure you just made “girlmutt” up and i’m ngl that one kinda fucks.

If a transphobe correctively rapes a transman, is the goal to "correct" him yes. Corrective rape is very common in trans community into a more traditionally masculine man, no, into a more traditionally feminine woman.

Okay, whoa, how did you not get the point here? The goal of corrective rape in transmen is to deny their transgenderism and force them to identify as women again, yeah. The goal of corrective rape in transwoman is to reinforce one’s own place in the power structure over her, and shame the transwoman until she ceases to exist. Forcing her back in the closet would be good, forcing her to take her life would be better. 

transwomen are subject to transmisogyny, shamed for taking a woman’s place and then *again* for failing at being a conventional woman. Shamed for daring to think they could be as good as men, and then again for failing at their one purpose, and for not being a proper man.

No, there is no shame associated with wanting to be a man. Transmen are shamed for being women. Women have one purpose and their lives are devoid of meaning without that purpose, but they also should not want to be a woman because women are weak helpless things. It makes sense they want to be men, because men are superior in all ways, but they’re just silly women and THAT’S the shameful part. And then, once a transman has decided on this course of action and begun transitioning, their presentation is not as severely scrutinized and policed as a trans woman’s, because a trans woman must be attractive in order to pass, and she must always put in effort to being recognized as feminine and not merely a failure of a man. Again, it is not expected or enforced that a man Must have facial hair, but it is enforced that a woman have none. 

Transmisogyny is intersectional that way. Why are we still here!  "Do you know what intersectionality is? Trans men, being trans men, experience both misogyny and transphobia, and are heavily impacted by patriarchal norms. Their unique identity causes them to face a specific type of oppression. This does not mean that nobody else can relate to certain aspects of their experiences, but other people as a whole do not have the same combination of identities will not experience the same thing."

Again, you are not working with the right definition of intersectionality. Yes, trans men can experience both misogyny and transphobia, but NOT simultaneously. This oppression can also vastly vary due to one’s race or age. We do not need unique words for every combination of identity that must experience their own distinct and separate oppression from every other slightly different combination of identities. There is no need for the term “transandrophobia” in widespread discussion of transphobia.

By calling it “transandrophobia” we obfuscate the root causes of oppression,' Did you know that the term 'misogyny' from the root 'gyne' which referred to a woman who had given birth? Do we exclude trans and single women when we talk about misogyny?

Who told you this? “Misogyny” comes from a greek word, misogunia, referring to a tradition in Ancient Greek Literature akin to how we got the words “comedy” or “tragedy”. Misos meaning hatred, and gunē meaning woman. We do derive the word “gynecology” from the greek word gyne, meaning a woman who had given birth at least once, but “misogyny” has its own etymological origin. Even still, your point doesn’t negate mine, that inventing androphobia as a problem draws attention from deconstructing the patriarchy. 

Trans- trans, andro- man. Phobia- aversion. Now, if you were an idiot, you could put them together to mean the trans 'aversion to men', however logically it means 'aversion to trans men' (aka, the discrimination face by them)

Thanks for the grammar lesson, except that “transandrophobia” does not refer to an intersectional aversion to trans men. As you’re using it, it refers to the separate transphobia and misogyny they can face. I thought we were in agreement about that, but darn.

'we give fuel to genuine Men’s Rights Activists to co-opt our language' Yeah, well done this makes so much sense. You can't use that word because evil people might use a different word related to that word to be bad!  Terfs use the word 'sexism', to be transphobic by your logic we should stop using it?

I think you’re losing the plot a little here. TERFS accuse transwomen of autogynephilia, which, yes we can all agree is a shitty thing to do and a made up allegation. Misogynists and TERFS flock to co-opt the word androphobia and you ignore why for your own comfort. Yes, sometimes words are used as dogwhistles by hate groups. I don’t know what else to tell you? There’s a lot of rhetoric by TERFs that sounds good on its own and gets reblogged by well-meaning trans people who don’t know the full context it was written with. Doesn’t mean it’s just fine, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to distance yourself from that and deconstruct that rhetoric. 

'and let transphobes walk back progress by not standing in solidarity for the most vulnerable in our community and instead arguing that oppression is equal across the board when it explicitly IS NOT and CANNOT BE while we still live under patriarchy.'  That's a theory. One that is not backed by statistics. Trans men face violence, wealth issues, homelessness, social isolation, mental health issues, medical misogyny, lack of representation, sexual assaults, domestic violence and pretty much every aspect of oppression at near equal rates to transfems.

It’s borderline insulting to say I need to back something up with statistics and then not provide any for your own stance. You know why we don’t have statistics on whether trans men or trans women are more affected by poverty, depression, assault, etc? Because cis people do not care to hold those studies. They do not care about our oppression. You mean to tell me you do not see the ways transgender civil liberties are at threat every day in this country? You think these transphobic senators and legislators and judges and cops and doctors and teachers have not become more aggressive, more focused and effective at barring access to transition resources and discouraging gender non-conformity?

'It sounds like a refusal to acknowledge privilege because grouping yourself with the oppressed is less work than standing up for them.' Point out my privilege, i beg of you. I would love to find where it is.

If you are physically perceived as a man, you have privilege. If you identify as a man in a social setting, you have privilege over anyone who does not identify as a man in that setting. If you have been able to begin medically transitioning at all, you have privilege. If you have been able to come out with your preferred pronouns to anyone irl, you have privilege. You cannot decline your privilege by merely not making the decision to wield it to another’s detriment. Even alone in an elevator, a white woman has privilege over a black woman. A gay man has privilege over a woman. Trans men have privilege over women. 

'patriarchy is genuinely Men>Women as a societal structure. That trickles down to affect sex and culture and popular connotations' No. Incorrect. right here this is the issue. Do you think patriarchy is inherent? The patriarchy is CAUSED by sex difference, culture and stereotypes.

A patriarchy is not. Caused? The patriarchy has been cultivated and influences culture, not the other way around. The definition of a patriarchy is a societal class system where men are a societal class with more worth and power than women as a societal class. As a CLASS. On an AVERAGE throughout society. If your argument is that once the patriarchy is dismantled, then there will be a need for the term “transandrophobia” to have discussion around gender, then like. Maybe man! If we ever get there!

“...You don't say a black man experiences "misandrynoir"!! because living in a patriarchy fundamentally means men do not experience oppression based on their gender.”  Because misandry does not exist as a system of oppression. We covered this. Black men experience racism, Black women experience racism and misogyny. trans men experience transphobia AND MISOGYNY. Black men are not targeted by misogyny hence why there is no intersection, trans men are hence why there is.

Yep, misandry not a system of oppression, yep racism and misogyny overlap in misogynoir, nope the transphobia and misogyny that trans men experience does not overlap. You argue that transandrophobia can encompass being rejected from a space for having masculine features, but these features don’t get rejected in the form of misandry toward cis men. If that were true, you would be arguing for the existence of misandrynoir as a concept the same as transandrophobia. Instead, you acknowledge that misandry cannot exist as a system of oppression under patriarchy. So why can you not acknowledge that this is not an overlap of oppression?

Quibbles like this are a waste of time til then. I don't care if you think its a waste of time. Its not to me. You may be unaffected by what I am speaking on, however being a survivor of a cult based explicitly on male superiority, I have difficulty accessing the service necessary for me to recover because i am a trans man. Its sure as shit not just misogyny, because thats what they are there for

Sorry, you were the one that said “arguing over etymology is just stupid”. I won’t ask you to elaborate on your trauma further, though I am mildly confused about what exactly you mean here. Are you referring to services such as therapy, medical intervention, or faith for example, and saying you have been discouraged from accessing these things explicitly because you are a Transman? Are the resources for recovering from your experience in this male-dominated cult being gatekept for cis women only? Would it be easier to access these services if you were transfeminine? Would introducing the authorities in charge of these services to the term “transandrophobia” make them more sympathetic to your struggle? If you care to elucidate, please do. If you can’t, please take some time to reflect on why. 

Maybe also take some time to reflect on why else you might feel rejected and ostracized from a queer-friendly space, besides your physical appearance. Hint: It might have something to do with the way you view and treat other trans people with an eerie similarity to their radfem aunts and chauvinistic fathers.

hey. when cis society is oppressing a trans man, what he is experiencing is. In Fact. misogyny. i'm sorry i know none of us like to be reminded of our agab, and it hurts whenever people perceive you as the wrong gender. but a cis person hate-criming, assaulting, verbally abusing, etc, a trans man is not doing "transandrophobia" because they do not perceive him as a man.

they perceive him as a woman failing at her gender, as a woman who has been seduced and lied to and manipulated because women are so easily led astray, just like it says in the bible. they perceive him as a woman who has been mutilated. they perceive him as a dyke that needs to be fixed. if they are hate-criming him because they *do* perceive him as a man, because he passes well enough they aren't thinking he could be trans, then they're doing so out of homophobia, perceiving him as a gay man, a pervert, a sissy, a danger to children. OR, they are being transphobic but specifically because they think he might be transfeminine instead. when cis society oppresses a trans woman, they are able to do it on multiple levels at once. She's a woman failing at her gender, a dyke that needs to be fixed. Or she's an evil and grotesque crossdressing pervert, a rude caricature, a danger to polite society. she will never be doing enough to escape oppression entirely, no matter if she gets every surgery she can and wears makeup every day and passes perfectly, because she lives under a patriarchy, and she's a woman, so she lives in a panopticon, and HAVING to get surgery and wear make-up to be respected IS oppression, especially if the alternative is being hate-crimed.

trans women (and trans men who pass) are not experiencing "transandrophobia" when a 'queer women and nbs" event turns them away at the door for being too masculine. they are. IN FACT!! experiencing the byproducts of misogyny in a patriarchy!!! where the terfs and coward cis women running those events and occupying those spaces have been taught (sometimes through experience, sometimes by men, sometimes by women) throughout life that men = stronger and more dangerous than women ALWAYS. That they need to protect themselves at all times and always be vigilant. That men and women can't be friends without sexual tension (and so as queer women the mere existence of what they perceive as a "man" is a threat). That women need a separate sports league because they can't possibly compete with someone who has even a little bit "extra" (an unquantifiable amount actually because there isn't a standard range) testosterone. That women should cook and men should fix cars. i promise you, i promise i promise i promise. it's misogyny. like!!! you don't say cis gay men experiences "androphobia", bc that's not a thing!! you sound like fucking mens rights activists guys please! you don't say a black man experiences "misandrynoir"!! because living in a patriarchy fundamentally means men do not experience oppression based on their gender. its not happening. shut the fuck up. stop walking us back to 2014 can we please take a step forward and stop bitching about this. there are genuine issues in the world and i'm frankly sick of people who should be smarter than that needing to be gently hand-held through this fucking explanation for the millionth time and still stomping their feet.

[princecharmingmendes]

Heart by Heart | Chapter I | Raul Mendes

                                           *secret agent AU*

Y/N and Raul have been friends ever since they could remember. And falling in love with your best friend can be pretty tricky and messy 99% of the times, add that to the fact they're constantly risking their lives side by side on the field since they're both secret agents, and the best team that's ever existed. Perfect recipe for disaster.

Helloo, this is the first chapter of this series and I'm super excited about it. Please read the warnings on this one, if you don't feel comfortable with the contents listed on the "warnings" section, please read something else, there are a lot of other works on my masterlist and on the "fic rec" hashtag on my blog. I plan on posting a chapter weekly, which means new chapter every Thursday (and maybe a sneak peak every monday). Please give me some feedback and I hope you guys like it as much as I did. I'll stop rambling now, byee. Happy Reading!

                                                     masterpost | next chapter

*Word Count: 3.4K+;

*Warnings:  cursing, descriptions of violence, blood, injuries, hostage situation and a whole lot of teasing. Please don’t read it if any of this subjects make you uncomfortable, feel free to check my masterlist for other writings. 

*Posted: July 1st, 2021.

                                                     -*-

Raul Mendes was a pain in the ass. Y/N loves him way too much for her own good, but he was a pain in the nonetheless. 

He was the only person she knew who could be in a possible life-or-death situation and still make fun of her through their communicators. And sure, that made the whole thing lighter and less scary, and sure, he was the best agent she’s ever met, but damn did he get on her nerves. And Raul always knew how to get her frustrated or squirming, he enjoyed it more than he was willing to admit. Sure, they’ve been friends for a long time and she should be used to him, but it never got easier. The fact he had a killer smile, the looks of a legit greek god and had this whole tough guy exterior, but secretly had a soft spot for her did not make her case any less complicated.

Y/N and Raul knew each other ever since they’re basically born. Their parents met when they worked together at a company of secret agents, it was only a small corporation back then, and they were known as the best agents at the time. After they retired from field missions and eventually desk jobs, they became only advisers and emergency contacts. But despite that, they kept their friendship going though all the years and that’s how Y/N was introduced to the triplets. They’re always together, doing everything with each other and protecting themselves. And of course she loved Peter and Shawn with her whole heart, they’re like family to her, but Raul was different. Y/N wished it wasn’t, but there are certain things in life you can’t exactly control. Like falling in love with your best friend.

And it’s not like she stood a chance, to be honest. Regardless of his looks, he treated her like she hung the moon and stars on the sky. Sure, he was a tough guy, who rode motorcycles and wore leather jackets, and wouldn’t admit alive that he cried while watching Lion King. But he took care of her when she was upset or having a bad period, he would take her driving around town at midnight on random occasions just because he knew it would make her feel better, and would always be so mindful of everything involving her. And yeah, he teased her endlessly, but it was part of it and in reality, Y/N didn’t mind it that much. 

So when they started growing older and decided to follow their parents career, it only made sense they trained their asses off and got the job together. The company their parents worked for grew a lot, a team that was originally formed by 15 agents turned into a massive business, with over 100 employees, doing various functions. Shawn was picked for a more diplomatic field, always in meetings with important people and traveling around the world. Peter became a tech engineer, developing the coolest gadgets and weapons imaginable, something out of Totally Spies! Raul was clearly a field agent, an expert on body combat and weapons, best out of the four when it came to their physical test. And Y/N was the one who guided the operations, the hacker and responsible for strategies, also for the tech part and best sniper out of the three of them. 

That made her and Raul an unbeatable team and the best duo ever. Their chemistry on the field was recognized by their bosses on the first week, basically glueing them together for every future mission and it worked. For the company. But it only dug her little crush deeper on Y/N’s heart. And obviously no one knew it. She was a spy for fucks sake, she knew how to lie and she wasn’t going to be the one to tell him. Raul didn’t date, working on this field made  everyone’s love life a bit harder than it was already, and he never seemed interested enough in anyone with the same career to have a long lasting relationship with. That didn’t mean there where a lot of people interested, which made Y/N’s heart twist in her chest. 

“Sweetheart, you still with me?” Raul’s voice came through her earpiece bringing her back to reality.

“Of course I am, you idiot, I take this job really seriously” Y/N replied rolling her eyes as if she didn’t just daydreamed a bit. 

“Oh sorry, doll, didn’t mean to insult you hard working” he chuckled “but could you please check in the corridor number 6, half the team is heading down there right now”

“Sure” she quickly typed on her computer changing cameras really quickly, perks of being Peter’s best friend is that she could usually take extra stuff and the newest gadgets on the market “It’s clear and, by the way, you look pathetic with this glasses”

Raul laughed clearly amused, throwing his middle finger up in the air in the direction of the security camera he found “Oh really? Tell that to Peter, he’s the one who created them” 

“Technically their still a prototype, so make sure to let him know”

Raul scoffed playfully as he climbed another set of stairs, the man and woman with him following without questioning, used to his ways of leading “Of course, I’m sure he’ll like to hear your fashion critiques to his million dollar glasses”

“I’ll write it down, now careful, you’re approaching the level where they’re at”

“Sure, mom, I’m always careful” he said in a hushed tone signaling to his teammates to keep quiet and try to find the possible security team they left to watch the hostage.

“Shut up” Y/N said trying to hold back the smile from stretching her lips, already letting the airway team know to be ready to pick them up as they approached their target. 

They’re currently in the middle of a mission where they needed to recover another agent who got caught up in an ambush two weeks ago, and now they’re being kept as a hostage. Raul’s leading a team to retrieve the agent as quickly and as silently as they could, two with him and three other on the opposite side to meet halfway. All that while Y/N’s on the under construction building across the street seated among her gear, gun in hand following their every step and guiding them through the camera system and the big windows that other building had. It’s not the worst mission they’ve ever been, no apparent violence or blood bath, just a simple rescue mission, but they still felt a little jittery and always worried about each other’s lives. And through the years, they noticed that their copying mechanism to make this less stressful (at least a tiny bit) was through light banter and jokes. That somehow brought a bit of normality to their very non ordinary job. 

Y/N did her best to keep them hidden while they crashed into the building as quietly as possible, trying go unnoticeable since they didn’t have enough munition or people on the tactic team. It would also prevent them from moving the target around or opening fire. And despite the fact Raul kept on trying to joke around and that she’s been doing this for at least four years, the fact that they’re working with a less experienced and fresh out of the academy crew made her a little jittery. Not that she didn’t trust Raul to command everything and boss everyone around if things got messy, she just didn’t want him to get in the middle of a crossfire again. 

He had the terrible habit of playing the hero in the most inconvenient times, like when they were little and a guy twice his size, with three friends mocked her pigtails. He didn’t stand a chance, but he went after them anyway. They ended up having to run as fast as they could so they wouldn’t end up with a black eye or something. And that was nothing compared to the stupid shit he could do on field. And Y/N couldn’t be more pissed whenever he came home with more bruises then he should just to play Superman or something. Sure, that was admirable and the fact that he put everyone on his team on his top priority was definitely something fantastic for a captain, but not for Y/N’s heart. 

And for that reason, she was always extra careful, but when he had a newbie joining him on the field, Y/N tripled the attention to avoid putting the kid in danger, and, consequently her best friend. 

Raul was quick to take down two man on their level without raising much alarm, grabbing their munition, dragging the unconscious bodies away from where they’d be easily seen and moving forward to another set of stairs. He was a very skillful agent, with great physical development and worked great under pressure, with quick thinking and a natural leader. So it didn’t shock her when he was able to do that as if it was the most natural thing in the planet. While Raul was more of a passionate person, Y/N was more rational, was analyzing every possibility and coming up with creative solution, she was also really cold on work (she just had one exception) and was a quick thinker, great person to rely on. It’s almost as if the complimented each other and that’s why it worked. That’s why when she tells him to shoot, he does without thinking, or to jump, he wouldn’t blink before doing it head first. 

And that’s why they’re able to reach the hostage without much trouble. 

“Told you to chill out, I knew we could make it” he murmured through their coms and she giggled, shaking her head incredulously.

“You should watch the entrances while your teammates take care of the hostage”

“That’s why I have you, sweetheart” he said with his infamous smirk stretching his annoyingly pink lips.

Y/N shook her head when she felt her face warming up a bit, stupid boy “Well, actually I’m pretty busy calling for our ride, so watch your own back this time, you’re a big boy, I’m sure you can do it”

Raul scoffed but did as she say either way “fine, are we clear?”

“On your floor yes, climb three more levels and meet me on this side of the street, don’t stall champ, they’re going to notice there’s something wrong with the cameras and their man who aren’t responding, so be quick”

Raul chuckled as he helped balance the hostage on Roman’s arms and signaling them to climb the stairs again “Yes, ma’am, anything to keep you from frowning and scolding my ass”

Y/N rolled her eyes smiling, sighing in relief that half of their mission was done and it went as smoothly as it could have been “Great, now get your ass out of there now, Raul” 

The tactic team started moving to the floor they’d have access to jump, and everything was going too smoothly to be true, not even a minor inconvenience. And that was not normal, at all. That’s when Y/N started getting worried. 

Everything was great until Seth, from loosing a lot of blood and being severely dehydrated, started loosing his conscious, making Roman’s job a lot more complicated and making everyone move slower. And while that was happening, Y/N saw when one of the guys saw his partners laying limply on the corner of a hallway and finally the pieces clicked. Luckily she was able to caught it quickly enough to be able to mess up their coms, so instead of a dozen men, they’d have to deal with two. She was also quick to let Raul know, so he jumped into action, telling everyone to rush and grabbing Seth’s right side, basically carrying him alongside Roman up the stairwell. 

But as they’re almost reaching the door, Raul heard footsteps rather close, rushing Roman up the rest of the way, warning he’d be right behind him, that he was only to be a bit far back so he could hold whoever was coming. 

He ran downstairs, quickly blocking the door to the staircase with a fire extinguisher, running all the way upstairs to reach his teammates and jump to go home. But as he had just reached the door, his colleagues waiting for him with their gear (and also his) ready to cross to the other building, he felt the barrel of a gun touching the back of his head. Raul raised his hands in surrender, his teammates staring at him with horror in their eyes as they aimed their guns to whoever was behind him, but he knew they couldn’t do much before he got shot. He also knew they’re too young, apart from Roman and Cara, who were both holding Seth up, they weren’t experienced enough to do something like that. But before the person could pull the trigger, they grunted in pain and Raul felt the barrel slipping away. 

He turned around to watch the guy on his back in the floor, clutching to his left ribs, a little pool of blood already forming underneath him and gun long forgotten. Raul looked around to see if it was anyone from this guy’s side or anyone on the stairs, only to be met with silence and a single security camera with the green dot on, meaning Y/N was still in their system. He shook his head in disbelief, dragging the whining man outside of the room, quacking his gun down the stairs and managing to lock the door so they could escape safely. 

“Still with me, baby?” Y/N’s voice teased mimicking the way he said it earlier. 

Raul shook his head with a smirk on his lips, before moving to where his teammates stood still a bit shocked with all that happened in front of them “Wouldn’t dream of leaving you, sweetheart”

“Alright boys, the helicopters are coming for us, meet you all on the roof in three” Y/N said through the coms for the whole team, quickly shifting to a line only the captain, Raul, could hear “and if you dare be late just to make a big entrance or another dramatic scheme you can think about, I swear to God I’ll leave you behind”

“You wouldn’t dare”

“Try me” Y/N sing sang picking up her stuff and quickly shoving them down in her backpack, gathering the rest in her hands before turning around to climb to the rooftop. 

As she climbed the last set of stairs, Y/N saw their helicopters approaching as the seven agents she was waiting for used a special gun to shoot a line to her building, before locking them in place before zip-lining their way to meet her. She helped Seth, the agent that was kept hostage climb up the little wall since he was in a pretty bad shape, throwing his arm across her shoulders and basically dragging him to where they thrown the stair to climb up to the helicopter with the medical team waiting for him. Cara and Roman climbed first since they’re going to report what they saw and assist Seth as best as they could. Roman grabbed him and the rope stair, shouting to pull them up so he could be taken care of. 

Raul was the last one to arrive, as always staying behind to insure everyone got there safely and no one would try to kill them or anything. He graciously climbed the all as if it was nothing, pulling the gun from the string and cutting it so no one could follow them up there that quickly. Raul told everyone to climb onto the helicopter and they’re quick to follow his order, only one person stubbornly waiting for him, as always. He held back the relieved smile from stretching across his features, noticing how warm and relaxed he felt only by seeing Y/N standing besides the hope ladder. She looked worried, a frown on her beautiful face and Raul wanted to smooth his fingers over it as if it would ease all of her troubles away.

She nodded as soon as he was close enough, Raul being quick to pick up the heavy backpack she was carrying and leaving the rest to her “Are you okay?”

“What? Of course, Why do you ask?” he knew why she was asking, hell, his heartbeat was still a bit too fast to be normal, and yeah, partially was because he was standing in front of Y/N, but on the other hand he almost got killed. She only arched her brow at him and he sighed in defeat “Of course I am, doll, you know me, I’m always okay” 

“That’s what’s scares me the most” she said with a sad chuckle and started climbing the rope ladder to the helicopter and Raul was quick to follow behind.

“Dude, that was insane, I can’t believe you didn’t miss or accidentally shot Raul from across the street!” the youngest guy from the mission shouted as soon as they reached them on the vehicle, Raul closing the door behind them. 

Y/N only giggled in response “yeah, a bit crazy, isn’t it?”

“That’s because she’s the best, Tommy, but she won’t believe it” Raul said as he sat on one of the vacant seats, waiting for her to join him. 

“Oh shut it” she said unable to stop the smile from forming.

They kept on talking about the mission for a while, Tommy and the other two kids who recently joined still high from the adrenaline, but Y/N couldn’t be more worn out and Raul was quick to catch it. He leaned closer to her and she automatically laid her head on his shoulder, a movement that was almost mechanic to both of them. He gently grabbed her hand that was placed on her knee and interlaced their fingers together, letting her play with his hand to pass the time. 

Y/N sighed and mumbled after a while, when most of the kids were too distracted to pay attention “Are you really okay? Don’t say that you’re always fine, I mean it”

Raul had mastered the art of the poker face. He could easily be having the worst time of his life, but he would never let it showcase always with a quick sarcastic remark and an easy smirk on his lips, ready to flirt with anyone to distract them from the real problem. Raul was not the best when dealing with feelings and emotions, always thought it was easier to push them away, but Y/N saw right through him. She always did, ever since they were little. After that, he never tried to hide it again from her, always being as honest as he could with her about how he was, and obviously it didn’t always work, but she understood and respected it. It’s not like he needed to say anything for her to know. 

But at the same time, she didn’t know that he would always be fine, as long as she was safe and right next to him, the rest didn’t matter. 

“I promise you I’m fine, you saved my beautiful ass and we’re going home, I’d say we’re fantastic” he said after a while, pressing a long kiss to the back of their laced hands. 

That seemed to be enough to convince Y/N, since she huffed through her nose and let out a tiny giggle, before leaning closer to him and Raul took it as a sign to drape his arm over her shoulder pulling her closer to his chest “your beautiful ass is really annoying, you know that, right?”

“Oh, I do, but you love it anyway” he said with a giggle, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head, as she just showed him her middle finger, making him laugh even more. 

Yeah, he was definitely fine. For now. 

                                                     -*-

*Please reblog or like this post if you liked it so I’ll know.

*I’m sorry if there are any spelling mistakes.

*Please do not repost this without giving me the credit, this is a completely original piece and I do not give permission to copy this!

*Hope you guys enjoyed it!

*xoxo

-🌙

[moodymelanist]

eris and tarquin meeting at a party via eris insulting tarquin and tarquin being not at all phased by eris' snark and it makes eris blue screen now who could i be i bet you have no idea

wow what a mystery. I have no idea who could have sent this at all! no clue!

anyways college students au as usual. let’s say Eris and Lucien get invited to a swim team party 👀

Within five minutes of being inside the swim team’s party, Eris couldn’t help but start complaining.

“I mean honestly, who runs out of alcohol at an athletic party?” he complained to Lucien. His youngest brother was barely paying attention to what he was saying, clearly looking for his girlfriend within the sea of people.

“Yeah, it’s horrible,” Lucien muttered. He went on his tiptoes to keep looking for tiny Elain. “God, I wish there weren’t so many people in here. Elain’s already short enough.”

Eris rolled his eyes. “Another thing wrong with this thing. Did they just invite everyone?”

He turned to see if his brother was listening but there was no one next to him. Sighing, he decided to make his way to the kitchen to see if he could dredge up something to drink.

“This is just ridiculous,” he grumbled to himself. He didn’t think anyone would be able to hear him over the music but a rather handsome Black guy chuckled from next to him.

“What’s so…” Eris said, but his voice trailed off almost immediately. The guy next to him was absolutely stunning, with silvery curls hanging to his shoulders, a tall, muscled frame, and a perfect smile. “Funny. What’s so funny?”

The guy just tilted his head back and laughed again. “I think you’re pretty funny. What other critiques do you have?”

“Well,” Eris began uncertainly. He found it rather difficult to stay focused when this man’s biceps were so… muscular. “Um. There’s no more alcohol.”

“That is pretty necessary for a party,” the other guy mused. “I’m Tarquin, by the way.”

“Eris.” He was starting to get a little unnerved by all the attention from someone completely out of his league, and his usual snark was suffering. He normally would’ve said he didn’t care, and he definitely wouldn’t have said his name, but there was something about Tarquin that completely eliminated his usual arsenal.

“I like it,” Tarquin said, grinning widely again. Eris felt like his brain was short-circuiting when Tarquin turned that wonderful smile directly on him. “What else have you noticed?”

“Uh…” Eris trailed off for the second time that night. What the hell was wrong with him? He’d never been lost for words like this in his life, yet here he was making a fool of himself. He told himself to get it together before he opened his mouth again. “Well, I think there’s way too many people here. I already can’t find my brother and now I’m here talking to a stranger.”

“Well, I don’t think talking to strangers is so bad,” Tarquin replied. “Especially when they’re as handsome as you.”

Eris couldn’t even come up with a reply right away. He just blinked as his brain processed the fact that Tarquin had just called him handsome. A god of a man thought he was handsome.

He knew he was good-looking, but he certainly wasn’t on Tarquin’s level. The man in question chuckled at Eris’ face, which was slowly but surely getting redder the longer he was speechless.

Eris had managed to get his wits about him and was about to say something when a young Black woman with the same silvery curls and dark skin marched her way over to Tarquin. “Varian just got back with more alcohol. Can you come help?”

“Yeah, no problem,” Tarquin said. He looked over at Eris with a rueful smile. “Hosting duty calls.”

Eris had the horrifying realization that he’d just spent the last ten minutes bashing the party to its host. His face was on fire as he tried to stutter out an apology. “I didn’t realize — I’m sorry — I’m such an asshole —”

Tarquin just laughed again. “No, no, don’t apologize. It was really refreshing.”

“Seriously, it’s not okay—” Eris tried again, but Tarquin just waved him off.

“I promise it’s okay,” Tarquin interrupted, smiling again. He leaned in closer and Eris fought hard not to lean into that broad chest. “I’ll take your phone number as an apology.”

Eris almost dropped his phone three times trying to get it out of his pocket, but Tarquin just smiled as if he thought it was the cutest thing in the world. That damned smile was going to be Eris’ ruin if Tarquin kept it up.

“Enjoy the party, Eris,” Tarquin said as he walked away.

“Yeah,” Eris said faintly. “Yeah, I will.”

[bookwyrminspiration]

i'm wondering if it would have been better if forkle told sophie that she was going to be unmatchable a lot earlier. instead of sophie having to go through the painful process of finding out herself right after a friend was kidnapped. sophie was more opposed(?) and less interested in the idea of matchmaking in the earlier books. forkle is absolutely in the wrong but i'm curious about how 12-13 sophie would have reacted...

oh this is an excellent concept for rumination! Immediately my mind jumps to both an in-canon and writer's explanation for him not letting her know.

Canonically? Perhaps Forkle has been keeping information from Sophie for so long he's lost sense of what she should be told and didn't realize that knowing her match status would ease her mind. As long as he spent reading her thoughts and monitoring her, the level of connection and understanding he maintains with her either never truly existed on any substantial level or it rapidly deteriorated once she moved to the Lost Cities.

How could he monitor her so closely and not realize all she wanted was to fit in? And that match making was one of her ways of doing that, even though it made her uncomfortable. I feel like if he was offered the opportunity or asked about it he'd say something like "that's unimportant and you should worry about things that actually matter" and be really dismissive if she wanted that info. Then again that's basically what happened when she asked about her bio parents so it would be on brand for this stinky man (insult)

from a writers perspective? Shannon wanted to use her unmatchable status as a plot point and for drama to move the story forward. this especially appeals to the people who find the romance and love triangle to be the most interesting part of the book. Keeping Forkle from sharing that information means she could bring that up whenever she wanted when it was needed in the story. It's actually an excellent writers strategy to plant seeds without knowing when they'll come back because then you can take advantage of them when you get stuck. I've done it multiple times in the au! There's actually things I have yet to bring back because I haven't needed them yet.

However, you also need to keep in mind if the thing being withhold makes sense to be withhold in that way. Mr. Forkle not providing information about matchmaking to Sophie makes enough sense that we can let it slide for the most part. Because he's kept information from her before and because he critiques the current system it makes sense he wouldn't tell her.

But if Sophie had been made aware when she was 12-13? That would drastically change the last few books--and at the very least alter the first ones.

Without being in a relationship when she found out, I think she'd appreciate the excuse to not have to participate in matchmaking. She seemed uncomfortable with the idea when she was younger (still is, but put up with it for Fitz). I don't think she'd see it as a big deal or really care about her status. She might even tell others (her friends) and be like "ah no I'm not signing up; I'm unmatchable." it'd become something normal to her, not something to fix.

There would still be that element of annoyance that the reason she was unmatchable was because Forkle refused to reveal her parents, but that's a frustration with him and not at her status.

We wouldn't have had the drama of Legacy and trying to find her bio parents. Sophitz wouldn't have fallen apart--Sophie would enter that relationship knowing her status and Fitz may have known either and had the chance to come to terms with it or respectfully tell her that was a deal breaker (which is okay for him to have that opinion). Sophie might empathize with Dex and his family more, being closer to them in society's eyes when it comes to matching.

all these possibilities!! I think being told that information at a younger age would've made life a whole lot easier for Sophie. But because of Mr. Forkle's priorities when it comes to her and Shannon's desire to make it dramatic (not a bad thing) it got pushed off until it would impact her life the most. Essentially used that one "make everything go wrong and the worst possible outcome" (heavily paraphrased) writers advice here.

[thehollowprince]

Sterek, Thiam, & Queerbaiting, Oh My!

(Or how racism and homophobia suppressed the actual representation of gay men in the show that fandom so desperately claimed they wanted.)

So, I'm just going to come out and say it right off the bat: neither of these ships were actually queerbaiting. As a matter of fact, I'd say that those ships just by themselves (and the fandoms that rose around them) were low-key homophobic. The reason I say this isn't just because of the large number of women in this fandom that fetishize mlm sexuality, nor is it about those who attack anyone who has any critique of those ships, its just about the ships themselves.

Now, one could argue that those ships arose from the fandom, and that is true, forever linking canon and fanon in the worst possible way, but this is more to do with the fact that the production of this show cowtowed to the vocal fans on Twitter and put moments in there that, while not explicitly canon, was a not-so-subtle nod to those "fans" that harassed people over crack ships.

Of course, I've been over this before, the pedophilic nature of Sterek and the outright abusive elements to Thiam, but those very real complaints (from an actual gay man like myself) always fall on deaf ears or is usually met with the whole "fiction doesn't affect reality" spiel. And this is incredibly frustrating (or even downright infuriating) to those of us who have had to live with these stereotypes because of our sexuality. To this day there are people out there who equate gay men with pedophiles. That's one of the major talking points for these anti-LGBT religious groups and there's an entire group of people on the internet who are dedicated to promoting a predatory style relationship (Sterek).

What makes the popularity of Sterek so infuriating, is the fact that we had Danny right there. Danny was present in the second episode of the series. We were introduced to him before there was any kind of interaction between Stiles and Derek, and yet he is continually slept on by the fandom, and then by the production as a result of the fandom, which eventually led to Danny just disappearing from the show entirely. To add insult to injury, Danny was practically everything Fandom was crying for when it came to gay representation. He was handsome with a nice body, smart and funny, and everyone liked him, and yet there's usually cricket chirps whenever he's mentioned. Something similar happened to Scott - a character that who stuck fast to his morals and was just an all around good person, and yet so many people violently hated him. Now what could Danny and Scott have in common that made so many people look past them? Gee, I wonder?

Moving forward, once Sterek was no longer a possibility, rather than focus on, I don't know, Mason, a character that was tailor-made for the fandom, they once again make up a crack ship to flock around (Thiam) rather than focus on the actual, consensual relationship that was made up of actual gay characters.

But you may be saying to yourself, "at least these two (Theo and Liam) were around the same age", and you would be right in that regards. But what makes this ship bad, is that it's rooted entirely in first deceit and then later in physical violence. I remember very vividly seeing someone say that Liam and Theo punching each other was how they expressed their affection and I was horrified by that. How many times a day on this app do we see posts floating around that domestic violence is wrong? And then how many times do you see a ship (usually a crack ship) that a fandom loves rooted in physical violence? The disconnect is terrifying.

All of this while Mason and Corey were right there, being cute and in love and everything that fandom claims they want when it comes to representation, yet they're totally ignored in favor of the two straight characters beating the shit out of one another. This is why so many franchises revolving around these "macho men" are able to thrive, even though so many people (mostly women) in fandom claim they want softer men. And yet, whenever a softer man is presented, particularly if they're a man of color, they're brushed aside.

And that's just mlm representation! You hear almost nothing when it comes to wlw representation, unless its to get the women "out of the way".

This all comes down to the racism that permeates every level of fandom. I'm not saying this is intentional, because we've all done it. Hell, I did it. When I joined the Teen Wolf fandom, I followed pro-Sterek blogs and reblogged Sterek posts, because I wanted to be accepted in the fandom, and I bought into the propaganda that was fanon!Sterek. I read the metas and the fics and decided to believe in those instead of what I saw on the screen with my own two eyes. Thankfully, I snapped out of it, but that's why Sterek (and later Thiam) dominated fandom spaces, even making their way to polls for "Best Couple" on many websites.

And then, when these ships don't become canon, fandom screams QUEERBAITING!!! Even though those ships were something made up entirely by the fandom and never something that production considered being canon.

Another big part of how the situation gets as bad as it does is that fandom misunderstands (either accidentally or deliberately) what racism actually means. It's not just the throwing of slurs, it's the preference of the white character over the character of color, even though the latter has everything they said they wanted. Racism is reducing characters of color to stereotypes, such as a brown or brown person being violent (Tamora and Kali) or the sexually obsessed Latino (Scott) or the untrustworthy negro (Deaton and Morrell). Hell, even Boyd was thrust into the silent negro stereotype for some reason.

Now this part, this is as much the production's fault as it is the fandoms, because while the former introduced those concepts (or even if fandom thinks they introduced those concepts) fandom then takes them and blows them out of proportion. How many times have I gotten an ask from that one anon telling me that Scott was "obsessed" with Allison? How many times have I seen metas about how Deaton was "untrustworthy" because he didn't share his every waking thought? How many times did we see particular blogs slut-shame Braeden because she engaged in a consensual relationship with Derek?

And the thing about those is, yes, the original idea was introduced in the show, such as Scott's relationship with Allison or Deaton only offering advice when asked or Derek and Braeden flirting, but fandom took them and cranked them up to eleven in an effort to make these characters look horrible. This is something we don't see at all when it comes to their white counterparts. Stiles is never described as "obsessed" by the fandom despite his fixation on Lydia. Peter is almost never described as "untrustworthy" by the fans despite lying and decieving people all the time. Neither Lydia or Malia are called sluts for being sexually active despite not being in relationships.

When Derek repeatedly assaults Stiles (or Scott, not that fandom cared), it's seen as quirky or romantic (same with Thiam), but when Scott hits Isaac or Jackson, in scenes that were very specifically shown to be comedic, its seen as abusive and violent. Stiles asking Danny if he's "attractive to gay guys" or pausing after Caitlin asked him if he liked guys is deemed proof that he's bisexual, but Scott's interactions with Isaac and Danny (or even Stiles himself), where had they been a guy and a girl, it would have clearly been an intimate moment, is still considered absolutely straight by fandom.

So what's the difference?

It's the racism.

The real kicker at the end of the day here is that fans cry queerbaiting, all the while they're actively sleeping on the actual gay representation that's there. It doesn't fit their aesthetic, so they ignore it, and then wonder why mlm relationships are going down in television. I'm not saying we shouldn't want or demand more representation in media, but people can't be so ignorant as to outright ignore the representation they're given and then wonder why they're not getting more.

Well, this got way longer than I originally intended and I hope I'm not just screaming into the void, but this is an issue that's still relevant, all these years after Teen Wolf ended.

[twentiethcenturymoviesandtv]

Star Trek: The Characters

Storytelling, especially where it regards movies and television, is always evolving.  

Whether it’s in deeper themes, better effects, different genres, or evolving archetypes, there is always something that is changing, except, perhaps, where the importance of characters are concerned.

Characters are an integral part of storytelling, particularly where it concerns television.  When it comes to television, the setup is everything, and the characters are part of that setup, that ‘home base’ that the audience returns to at the start of every episode.  The characters are the people that the audience gets to know, who star in each adventure.  Characters are what holds the audience’s investment, the reason fanbases tolerate bad episodes and praise good ones.  In the end, the main characters keep an audience’s attention, making each episode, even the bad ones, enjoyable.

In short, characters can make or break a television show.  It is vital that they be likable, or at the very least, interesting, lest the audience utter those eight deadly words:

I Don’t Care What Happens To These People.  

Once those words are uttered, it doesn’t matter how gripping your narratives are.  The viewers will start to leave.

See, while a film can get away with some lesser characters by distracting with an interesting concept, set-piece or a fast-paced story, television can’t.  Thanks to a smaller runtime and a smaller budget, television, by necessity, tends to be character based.  As a result, the main cast of a television show has to be able to work in multiple stories of different kinds.

This means that writing for characters on television can be pretty difficult.

The best television characters tend to merge two ideas together: That of relatability and entertainment value.  

You see, television, like all stories, tells stories of exaggerated versions of reality, especially in the cases of science-fiction adventure shows like Star Trek.  The only way to make an audience buy an unbelievable world is to create believable characters to place in that world, that relatability in the stories and characters.  When we see McCoy’s frustration, or Kirk’s boldness, or Spock’s reservedness, we see elements of ourselves, our own personalities and lives.  It is vital to make characters seem real, if not realistic.

The question is, does Star Trek manage to do that?

That’s the question we’re going to be answering today.  Let’s take a look, starting with the Captain of the Enterprise Crew: James Tiberius Kirk.

Kirk truly was The Captain in every sense of the word.  A Reasonable Authority Figure who did far more adventuring than realistic counterparts would have, Kirk was an Action Man, level-headed, dutiful, and always loyal to his ship and his crew.  A Bold Explorer (it’s in the job description), Kirk, while not fearless per say, took the Chains of Commanding quite seriously, and would often face down hugely powerful beings, power-mad computers, or other forces beyond him in order to save his crew.  A Determinator to the last, known for his interesting ways to think outside the box and refusal to accept a ‘no win scenario’, he is the unquestionable Hero of the show, the Leader, who often throws the rules aside to do what he feels is right, in a constant battle To Be Lawful or Good.  He was a Charmer, an expert fast-talker, and very smart.  In later installations of the franchise, Kirk would become a Living Legend, much as he became in our own pop culture.

All that being said, the common cultural image of Captain Kirk isn’t quite right.  Allow me to adjust it, as best I can.

More than any other character in Star Trek, or perhaps the history of television in general, Captain Kirk is possibly the most misrepresented character of all time.  Since the ‘60s, Kirk has evolved into an icon of heroism, machismo, and brash boldness, with even the recent Star Trek reboot depicting, not Kirk, but rather, the distorted, separate idea of Kirk in the modern light.

This idea, quite frankly, is just not right.  While Kirk did have his share of romances, he was no womanizer, often entering into dubiously consented-to relationships reluctantly, in order to save the ship.  The relationships he did actively pursue, he threw himself into wholeheartedly, and he was just as crushed as the other party every time they fell apart (for proof, watch City on the Edge of Forever or The Paradise Syndrome).  Kirk was no player.  As a matter of fact, he was a deeply compassionate man who respected the women in his life as much as he respected Spock and McCoy.  It just so happened that the women in his life tended to not stick around, unlike his one true love: The Enterprise.

Even his reputation of the ‘Cowboy Captain’ isn’t accurate.  As I mentioned before, Kirk was defined by compassion.  His moments of ‘rule-breaking’ wasn’t to impose ‘the way he thinks things should be’, it’s because Kirk cannot bear to watch helpless people in trouble.  The few times where he does break the famous ‘Prime Directive’ (To not interfere with less developed races) is to help.  Kirk was a deeply moral character, determined to not stand by while people were taken advantage of.  He wasn’t rash, either.  While it may be accurate to say that the ship’s doctor, Leonard McCoy, was a bit on the hot-headed side, it is entirely inaccurate to accuse Kirk of the same.  Kirk was an extremely smart man, a level-headed captain who was an expert at thinking fast.  He trusted his instincts, but he trusted his advisors too, often finding a balance between McCoy’s impulsiveness and Spock’s cold rationality.  Kirk’s intelligence and competence is often lost, overshadowed by his more extreme companions, and some audiences have forgotten the truth of Kirk’s character: a cunning problem-solver capable of saving the day under enormous pressure, whose decisions are far from based in irrationality.  He is a romantic, duty-bound to protect his ship and crew, greatly exaggerated and mis-characterized in the years following his captaincy.

As such, Kirk was a well-rounded, balanced character, far more three-dimensional than the modern idea of him tends to give him credit for.

That’s all well and good, sure, but how does he fit as a main character in a television show?

As a matter of fact, absolutely incredibly.

Kirk serves as a wonderfully effective lead, compelling, entertaining, and interesting.  Infinitely more developed than most leads of his time, and even more modern examples, Kirk was a game-changer, a revolutionary kind of protagonist who just worked.  The perfect balance of the main trio of the series, Kirk is the perfect face for Roddenberry’s ideals: a hopeful pragmatist, an idealist who proves the best of humanity: compassion mixed with intelligence, boldness combined with understanding.  A man of action surrounded by True Companions, Kirk was an extremely gripping protagonist who felt intensely, a perfect person for the audience to connect to and be invested in.  He drove the stories, opposed the villains, and always saved the crew, as a hero should, but it’s important to note that Kirk was hugely human, possessing many of our greatest attributes, but some of our failings as well.  He wasn’t perfect.  Sometimes he made the wrong choice.  In the end, though, he was us, or us as we should strive to be: always learning and helping, and always reaching for the stars.

But of course, Kirk wasn’t alone in his position as the ‘lead’ of the show.  It’s doubtful the show would have survived in the popular culture as well as it did if it weren’t for his support team, his True Companions: Dr. Leonard McCoy, and, more famously: Mr. Spock.

If Kirk represented the best of humanity, Spock represented the critique of it.  In a previous article, I pointed out that Spock exists as a very unique character: a half alien, half human crewmember who, while equally valuable to the script and the characters as Kirk was, served a different purpose: to point out and explore humanity from the outside.

Like I’ve mentioned before, Spock is a different sort of character than Kirk is.  Where Kirk is a demonstration of the best of humanity as we see it, Spock is a demonstration of humanity as someone else might.  He served as a criticism of the human condition, a character at war with himself and his heritage, split between the emotional humans, and the rational Vulcans.  Spock is the Number One, almost Comically Serious as he eschews his more illogical half and chooses to embrace the stoicism of the Vulcan people.  A Gentleman and a Scholar, Spock has Hidden Depths, a heart of gold and deep emotions that he usually succeeds in hiding.

Most of the time.  More on that in a minute.

Spock’s role in the show was The Smart Guy, the Stoic who had all the answers, all the statistics.  He was the champion of impartial logic, of cold rationality.  His job was to give Kirk the hard answers, to bring to him the facts and give him their options, especially the unforgiving ones.  He is the cold to McCoy’s hot, a stern-faced, cold-blooded computer.

Or is he?

Much like Kirk, there is a lot more to Spock than meets the eye.  While the cultural perception of Spock has often mutated into a parody of itself, much as it has done to Kirk’s reputation, Spock remains a much deeper character than he, or a brief skim of the series, lets on.  As I said earlier, Spock is at war with himself, uncomfortable in his own skin.  He insults humans for their humanity, but has strong, deep friendships with them.  He is not above expressing frustration and their emotional natures when pushed (usually by other forces that knock his guard down), but isn’t frustration a human emotion?

Spock is a bag of contradictions, a supposedly emotionless master of sarcasm, a man without feeling who invites his close friends (emotional humans) to a private Vulcan ceremony, a cold-blooded creature with undying loyalty who occasionally makes ‘illogical’ decisions that would make Kirk proud.  A lover of music and a sympathizer to space hippies (Not one of Star Trek’s better episodes, admittedly), Spock was an outsider who fit neither fully as a Vulcan or Human, a person who was struggling to find his place in the universe.

At first, this seems incongruous with the ice-cold exterior he projects, however, rather than being an example of inconsistent writing, it’s a shining example of development and nuance.

You see, Spock never gives up his following of logic.  He just begins to approach it differently.

Spock’s style changes slightly as Star Trek progresses (most notably in the films, released ten years after the show’s final season), from cold, ‘computer’ logic to something else: human logic.

One thing of especial note in the original Star Trek show is that you could see characters visibly affecting one another.  Kirk, Spock and McCoy all influenced each other in the ways they thought, reacted, and planned, and worked best as a unit.  In this, the humanity of the main cast affected Spock in his slow, reluctant appreciation of human merits.  In time, Spock began to make one or two decisions based on human logic, intelligence and emotion.  In episodes like The Menagerie or The Galileo Seven, Spock makes decisions that seem out-of-character for him, based in emotion.

Spock is, in many ways, Star Trek’s best known and favorite character.  The most visibly recognizable, as well as the most distinct, Spock is given more episodes exploring him than any other character, with installments like Amok Time and Journey to Babel, (the latter of which we explore his parents, and discover why it is that Spock has such a hard time with his human half) helping to examine Spock as a character.

The end result was a beloved science fiction icon, Kirk’s right hand man, an analytical, fascinating character as well-crafted and loved as Kirk himself.

Spock and Kirk are often remembered fondly, and are typically considered the most memorable and iconic characters of the franchise, but they don’t work alone.  Their dynamic is as effective as it is because of balance.  Spock is one extreme, and Kirk is the middle, but it’s no good without the other extreme: Dr. Leonard Horatio “Bones” McCoy.

McCoy is all hot-blooded human, the third of the main Power Trio.  An old-fashioned competent doctor who wasn’t entirely thrilled with deep space, McCoy is a deeply emotional character, duty-bound to follow his morals.  He clashed with Spock regularly, routinely criticizing him for his perceived lack of emotion.  Despite the fighting, McCoy respected Spock greatly, counting him as a close friend, despite their arguments and different perspectives.  A cantankerous pacifist (though not above getting into the action when needed), McCoy is a Super Doc and a Sarcastic Devotee, a Grumpy Old Man who serves as the Heart to Spock’s Brain (hah!), a man who values Honor Before Reason who values the Good Old Ways.  He’s a Determined Doctor who does everything he can for his patients, and a Deadpan Snarker to the point where he can match Spock in verbal sparring.

Bones represents the unpolished rawness of humanity, getting carried away with his emotions sometimes, but always with the best intentions.  Another Jerk with a Heart of Gold, McCoy’s gruff nature accompanied a deeply moral man, very concerned with human empathy and doing the right thing.  No philosophical discussion was complete without McCoy’s two cents, telling Kirk what he thought the right thing to do was.  He was the quintessential Knight in Sour Armor, who would follow Kirk to the ends of the earth, complaining the entire way.

Despite the fact that he’s not as well-known as the other two members of the Power Trio, Bones was a vital component to the True Companions dynamic.  His Vitriolic Best Buds relationship with Spock made up one of the most interesting and compelling dynamics on the show, serving as perfect counterbalances to one another.  However, although his most famous role in the show was arguing with Spock (and delivering phrases such as ‘He’s Dead, Jim’), there is another, equally important position that he held in the trio.

McCoy served as a foil to Kirk, as well as one to Spock, a confidante, a close friend, providing perspective.  While Spock was focused on the logic, Kirk on the best thing for the mission, McCoy’s focus was purely on the ‘patients’, the people, the right thing to do.  No matter the situation, McCoy was the closest to empathy with the people involved, and provided the audience with another surrogate, saying the things that the viewers are thinking.

While not being a terribly big fan of space (and liking transporters even less), Bones was the epitome of the Frontier Doctor to the stars, taking care of every patient, even if they weren’t humanoid (Devil in the Dark) or a heavily pregnant woman who refuses to listen (Friday’s Child).  McCoy was painfully human, reminding us of our most problematic traits while also holding onto that wild, fiery compassion that made him so incredibly humane, relatable, and understandable, making him just as vital to the Enterprise and her crew as Kirk or Spock.

The trio worked best together, providing a perfect main cast for an audience to follow.  The formula was an interesting one, allowing the audience to hear separate viewpoints and ideas, listen in to the philosophical banter, and truly feel the strong friendship holding the leads together.  The dynamic between them was powerful, an extremely vibrant bond that connected all three very different characters.

The result?  Extremely dynamic characters that remain iconic and memorable even to this day.

But the cast didn’t stop there.

The other characters of Star Trek, while not quite possessing the pop-culture iconography of the main trio, still hold their own rather impressive cultural footprint.

None more so than the chief engineer, Montgomery Scott.

Scotty’s job was to be a miracle worker, solving impossible problems in impossibly small amounts of time.  Whether it was the transporters, the phaser banks, the shields, or the engines, Scotty was the man for the job.  Nobody had a better understanding, or love for the Enterprise than Scotty (except maybe Kirk).  He was the king of outside-the-box solutions, and had the Enterprise jury-rigged to push her past her limits more times than can be easily counted.  As the name implies, he was also Scottish, and extremely stereotypically so.  Kilt, whiskey, haggis and all, Scotty was extremely proud of his heritage (though not quite as much as Chekov).  Fitting the traditional stereotypes, Scotty had a fiery temper, with a Berserk Button triggered by any insult to the Enterprise.  A Gadgeteer Genius (and the inventor of Scotty Time) as well as a Genius Bruiser, Scotty was both the brains and brawn, more than capable of holding his own in a fight, or thinking of a new, creative way to push the Enterprise past her capacity.

Scotty also held the distinction of being third in command, routinely taking the Captain’s chair when both Kirk and Spock were in the landing party.  He was also the focus of a few episodes, making him a rare character with a Day in the Limelight, with episodes such as Wolf in the Fold, The Lights of Zetar, By Any Other Name, and The Trouble with Tribbles giving him a little more screen time and story than is typical.  Scotty was an indispensable member of the crew, a life-saver on more than one occasion, and another of the legendary, iconic characters of the original Star Trek.

But it didn’t stop there.

Lieutenant Nyota Uhura was another prominent character.  As the ship’s communications officer, she codified the term ‘Bridge Bunny’, although she proved herself far more useful than she’s typically thought of.  Whenever given the chance, Uhura is a capable Action Girl, intelligent, witty, and good at her job, being extremely fluent in multiple languages.  She too got her days in the limelight, with episodes such as Mirror Mirror, The Gamesters of Triskelion, and The Trouble with Tribbles giving her more to do than just sit at her station and say ‘hailing frequencies open’.  Uhura was Silk Hiding Steel, not typically in the heat of the battle, but tough as nails when she had to be.  (I’ve talked about Uhura’s extensive influence on the real world in the Legacy article, but even that doesn’t scratch the surface of what Uhura’s impact has been.)

There were others on the bridge crew of equal importance, including the ship’s helmsman, Hikaru Sulu.

Sulu was a level-headed officer, amiable and cultured, with an extensive knowledge of botany, fencing, and antiques.  Yet another Deadpan Snarker (it must run in the cast), Sulu is another Genius Bruiser, as skilled in fighting as he is in his piloting, with a great sense of humor.  He is given special attention in episodes like Mirror Mirror and The Naked Time (Albeit as evil, and Brainwashed and Crazy), but often got great character moments in multiple episodes (especially Shore Leave).  A reliable officer and loyal to the core, he made an interesting character by himself, although he did end up forming a fun ‘Those Two Guys’ dynamic with the youngest of the cast, Pavel Chekov.

Chekov was introduced in season 2 as the navigator of the Enterprise.  A bright young man with a fierce, passionate loyalty to Mother Russia (which evidently invented every good thing known to man), Chekov tended to be at the receiving end of a lot of the embarrassing agony in the series (mostly because Walter Koenig had a great scream).  Also serving as a relief science officer, Chekov was plenty smart, if a bit of a Cloudcuckoolander, and the king of Cultural Posturing.  Reckless and impulsive to balance Sulu’s calm good humor, Chekov’s temper tended to get the better of him.  Like the others, he’s given a bit more screen time in episodes such as Mirror Mirror, The Trouble with Tribbles, The Way to Eden, The Deadly Years and Spectre of the Gun, but got to shine in plenty of other episodes, demonstrating his capabilities (despite being ‘The Intern’ and the Plucky Comic Relief) as a competent officer.  Unsurprisingly, he was yet another Deadpan Snarker, lending his style of jokes well to bounce off of Sulu’s drier humor.

But there was more to the crew than the bridge.

Another crew member of note was Christine Chapel, one of the nurses who operated in the sickbay.  Chapel was notable for having an attraction to Spock, as well as being another in the long line of Enterprise Deadpan Snarkers.  One of the most caring of the Enterprise’s crew, Chapel was given larger roles in episodes like The Naked Time, What Are Little Girls Made Of?, Amok Time, and Plato’s Stepchildren.

Arguably though, one of the most important characters in all of Star Trek was the Companion Cube: the Enterprise herself.

The Enterprise was one of the most powerful ships in Starfleet, a character in her own right.  The epitome of the Cool Starship, the Enterprise was well known for Explosive Overclocking, and always coming through in the end (with a little help from Scotty).  A Lightning Bruiser of a ship, the Enterprise became as legendary as her captain and crew, as beloved as the characters themselves to the point where one of NASA’s shuttles was named after her.

The characters of Star Trek are legends, both in and out of universe, and they are for a reason.  No member of the crew is useless.  Everyone has a purpose and a job to do, and each was distinct and unique.  No two characters were the same, and each brought their own special personality and abilities to each episode they appeared in.

And that’s what made the drama of the show work so well.

Each character felt real, memorable and genuine.  We as an audience worry for them with each danger, and cheer with each victory.  We liked these people.  We cared about what happened to them.

And they worked.

In each scenario and situation, the characters found new and interesting ways to deal with the circumstances, while never losing the core elements of their personalities.  That’s important, hugely so.  These characters were loved, and still are, for a reason.  They work very well as characters, both in main and supporting roles, providing entertaining and compelling figures for the audience to invest in.  The balance between relatability and entertainment was hit perfectly for every single character, allowing everyone to shine in their own ways in each episode.  They felt real, and in the end, that’s the point of a character.

After all, one doesn’t get to be some of the most iconic television characters of all time by being boring.

Thank you guys so much for reading!  Join us next time as we discuss Star Trek’s place in the times and the culture.  If you have anything you’d like to say, don’t forget to leave an ask!  I hope to see you all in the next article.

[librained]

fool’s gold

“Granger, I need a favour.” 

  Pansy Parkinson had certainly grown up since Hogwarts. While Hermione never agreed with the pug-face insults the boys used (she thought it was rather misogynistic of them to critique her looks when her personality was much more unpalatable), she was taken aback by how striking the woman had become. 

  Her hair was shorter, hanging in soft waves just below her ears. Her bangs fell straight across her forehead, drawing attention to her blue eyes. Hermione didn’t think she’d ever seen eyes so blue. 

  “Pansy, please, sit.” Hermione watched as the witch sat in the chair in front of the desk, her ankles crossing and revealing her stocking-clad leg under her robes. “What is it I can do for you?”

  “I need you to be my girlfriend.”

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “I need a girlfriend and you are the perfect candidate.”

  Hermione chuckled kindly, “I’m sorry, Pansy, I’m not a lesbian, I don’t know what you-”

  “It wouldn’t be real, I need a fake girlfriend. For a while,” Pansy interrupted.

  “Oh.” Now Hermione was even more confused. 

  “You know the repopulation thing the Ministry is enforcing?” Hermione nodded. “I don’t want children. Not now, probably not ever, and definitely not because the government is forcing me.”

  Hermione shouldn’t have been surprised. It was perfectly normal for a woman to not want children, however, she would have assumed that there was some sort of Pureblood rules about having an heir. 

  Hermione nodded, “I understand, I’m just not quite sure how I’m involved in this.”

  “You don’t want children either. That’s why you and Weasley divorced, is it not?”

  Hermione bristled at her bluntness. “Where did you hear that?”

  Pansy shrugged her off. “Doesn’t matter. The Ministry is ensuring that every heterosexual person, or at bears some attraction to the opposite sex, is responsible for procreating. You know as well as I do that means the one with the uterus is going to end up bearing the brunt of the work.”

  Pansy’s burgundy lips smirked while she spoke, showing she knew just how to appeal to Hermione’s feminist side. And gods if it wasn’t working. She nodded, not wanting to interrupt Pansy’s clearly well-thought-out argument. 

  “Homosexuals are exempt. While the Wizarding world does not discriminate based on orientation, same-sex couples are no use to the Ministry as they can’t reproduce.”

  “But they can, there are a variety of scientific methods-”

  “Ah, ah, Granger,” Pansy cut her off playfully. Hermione felt effectively chastised. “They can’t reproduce magically , which is all the Ministry cares about.”

  Hermione stared at the witch before her. Pansy used a manicured finger to brush her bangs from where they were falling into her eyes. Her nails matched her lipstick and were kept short, clean, unlike the traditional claw-like length of most witches. 

  “Alright, Parkinson. I am intrigued by your plan. If I agreed, how would you propose we proceed?”

  Pansy’s smirk deepened, clearly recognizing she was close to closing the deal. “Simple. When the Ministry sends out the official summons, we reply stating we are exempt due to our relationship. When asked, we tell people we had been keeping it a secret due to our tumultuous history and the conservative nature of your Muggle family,” Hermione’s eyebrows raised. “We have enough mutual friends that it isn’t inconceivable that we would have reconnected over the years. Your resistance to motherhood is a help, as being unable to conceive a child with a woman would make sense to the simpleminded like Weasley.

  “Then, when the law is overturned or when the baby boom begins, whatever comes first, we split amicably and go our separate ways. Maybe you have an epiphany and realize you were just waiting for the right man or some other offensive explanation for bisexuality, and we live the rest of our lives childless and happy.”

  Hermione contemplated the plan. It seemed Pansy was thorough, and, while Hermione was not opposed to finding someone to spend the rest of her life with, she was in no rush to stop working the number of hours she did to be able to develop a relationship. Waiting a few years while fake-dating Pansy wouldn’t really impact her daily life all too much. 

  “Before I agree, I hope you don’t mind me asking, are you a lesbian?”

  “Come on, Granger, do you really think Draco Malfoy could have dumped me if I wasn’t?” She gestured to, what Hermione could admit, was her very attractive body. 

  Hermione laughed nervously, “Right, well, you have a deal.” 

  She stuck her hand out to shake. 

  Pansy stared at the proffered hand, then looked up at Hermione through dark lashes. “I think you can do better than that, Granger.”

  She stood from her chair, placing her hands on the edge of the desk and leaning over so she was almost eye level with where Hermione sat, eyes wide. 

  “Have you ever kissed a girl, Hermione?” Pansy whispered

  Hermione gulped, then quickly shook her head. 

  Pansy closed the distance between them, applying firm but restrained pressure on Hermione’s lips. Hermione began to kiss back, trying to stand to deepen it, but Pansy pulled away. 

  “My lipstick suits you, Granger.” 

  At that, Pansy made her way to the door of Hermione’s office. Hermione didn’t hear anything she said after that, something about owling for dinner later. She just stood behind her desk, cheeks hot, chest heaving, listening to the sound of Pansy’s heels click down the marble floors away from her. 

fool's gold - pansy x hermione One Shot

part of flourish and blotts by librain

[tanoraqui]

*sighs in “I meant to do significantly more work this afternoon, but it’s hot and I have plot bunnies”* This happens somewhere over the course of this part of the Burial Mounds-induced amnesia au.

If Nie Huaisang had one real moral failing, it was curiosity.

Okay, so he had a lot of real moral failings. But curiosity was the only one which actively interfered with the others, which tended more toward variations on laziness, cowardice, etc. Curiosity, his brother had snapped, might really get him in trouble one day.

He wasn’t stupid about it, though. He always waited until he wasn’t going to get caught for whatever he was trying. For instance, today he waited until Jiang Cheng was leading the (mostly still new) Jiang Sect disciples through more advanced sword forms, which required spiritual energy to accomplish, so Wei Wuxian was left on the edges. At first he called advice to struggling disciples - he still remembered all of this, which was typical, really - but after a couple circuits of the group, he slid into a vague melancholy. Missing something he couldn’t remember.

“Hey, Wei-xiong,” said Nie Huaisang, strolling beside him. He pointed at random to one of the Jiang disciples, a young woman with a purple scarf tied around her right bicep. “Would you kill that one, if I asked?”

Wei Wuxian stopped walking and looked at him in surprise. “What? Why?”

“She insulted me,” Nie Huaisang extemporized. “And my brother.”

Wei Wuxian looked at woman with something dark in his eyes, but he spoke hesitantly. “But she’s...you know, with the...” One hand passed over his own right bicep, then drifted up to the play with the ribbon in his hair - bright purple, these days, instead of his signature red. Nie Huaisang suspected Jiang Yanli.

“Shouldn’t you ask her, whatsit, Sect Leader?” he managed, though his other hand had fallen to the flute at his waist. “Or First Disciple - those are usually in charge of discipline.”

“I am asking her First Disciple,” said Nie Huaisang, and watched Wei Wuxian give the vague smile he always gave while he waited for someone to say something that made sense through the haze of this strange curse. No names could get through except his own, and fake ones for a minute or so - a distinction that meant on some level he knew the real name, not that it helped - and nothing about how he related to others.

Nie Huaisang changed tack, and pointed at a man in servants’ garb cleaning ashes from a nearby fire pit. “What about him? Same thing - totally insulted me. My brother. My favorite pet oriole.”

“You have a pet orioles?” Wei Wuxian asked, distracted by odd new entertainment. “Wait - you have multiple pet orioles, and a favorite?”

“I have three,” Nie Huaisang said proudly, “and a dozen other birds. But Lu Si is the best songbird of them all - you should hear her sometime!” It wasn’t the first time he’d said it, but it was a little fun to have someone to whom he could just go on and on about his favorite hobbies, over and over, without boring the audience. 

But he was still conducting an experiment here, so he reiterated his pointing at the man cleaning up the campsite. “So, insults can’t be forgiven, you know? So...”

“If you’re sure...” Wei Wuxian spoke uncertainly - but he drew his black flute like it was already part of his hand, wisps of dark resentful energy floating around it and reflecting in his eyes. His gaze looked hungry. The temperature seemed to drop.

Nie Huaisang yelped a nervous laugh and latched onto his arm before the flute could reach his lips. “Wei-xiong, I’m kidding! Please don’t kill anyone - don’t worry, no one would dare insult Lu Si, she’s too lovely, and no one insults me because da-ge would kick their ass!”

Wei Wuxian let his arm be held, but he didn’t lower the flute himself, nor did the the dark hunger leave his gaze as he watched the oblivious servant by the fire.

“WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING!” Wei Wuxian’s stare was disrupted by Jiang Cheng dropping directly in front of them, Sandu settling into his hand. He glowered like a storm. “Wei Wuxian, you’re supposed to be critiquing people! Nie Huaisang, if you’re just going to be distracting, get out of here! Some of us are training!”

“I’m sorry, Jiang-xiong!” Nie Huaisang cowered about 2/3 as much as he would from his brother. “Everyone was doing so well on their own, we just started joking around!��� 

“Joking?” Jiang Cheng demanded. “About what?”

“Oh, you know,” said Wei Wuxian, and waved a lazy hand. “Stuff.”

The hand he waved still held the black flute, but he’d relaxed, or at least, adopted a deliberately careless posture. And he radiated the warm affection he always did around Jiang Cheng, these days. The vulnerability would be kind of freaky if it weren’t for the many much freakier aspects of Wei Wuxian these days. 

Also, thank fuck for instinctive co-conspirator-hood, apparently?

“I asked Wei-xiong if he could play nice things on his flute, too.” Nie Huaisang flicked out a fan to hide behind and rushed his words like he was cracking under pressure. “I bet he couldn’t sound as nice as my songbirds.”

Wei Wuxian shot him a narrow-eyed, assessing glance, but Jiang Cheng didn’t notice as he rolled his eyes to the Heavens for aid and patience. 

“Obviously you don’t play sweet music on that thing! For one thing, it’s a- a  powerful cultivation tool! For another, it’s completely consumed by resentful energy!”

“Ah, you doubt my skill?!” Wei Wuxian slapped his chest with dramatic injury. “I’ll have you know I played an entirely sweet duet with that beautiful man with a guqin just the other day, and he definitely uses that thing for cultivation. With this flute, I could play the softest lullaby. I could woo the gentlest maiden!”

Nie Huaisang giggled behind his fan. Jiang Cheng glared at them both. 

“Come on, you can fuck around with Nie Huaisang later,” he said as he grabbed Wei Wuxian by the arm and dragged him around, back toward the Jiang disciples. “Cheng Mei needs extra help on his footwork, and then we’re doing archery drills.”

“Okay, okay!” Wei Wuxian grinned and waved over his shoulder. “I’ll see you later!”

“Have fun getting all sweaty and gross!” Nie Huaisang waved back, and was rewarded with a laugh - and maybe the slightest sliver of suspicion, but that was okay. As far as he could tell, Wei Wuxian could still change his opinion of people, but he wouldn’t remember any particulars of why after just a couple days, and Nie Huaisang didn’t think he’d put such a dent into their friendship that it couldn’t be smoothed over soon. Not with how lightly Wei Wuxian took killing, now. 

(And he did want to sooth it over. Wei Wuxian was still fun to hang out with, even with...everything. At minimum, Nie Huaisang could talk his ears off about birds and art and poetry, in return for continuously losing at cards because nothing had gone wrong with Wei Wuxian’s skill there, either. That is, his skill at out-cheating Nie Huaisang, because apparently the only thing that taught slight-of-hand better than soldiers was the street.)

Nie Huaisang had absolutely no ambitions of aiming the Yiling Patriarch on his own. In fact, he had no doubt that, were Jiang Cheng, Jiang Yanli, and Lan Wangji all somehow incapacitated, he himself would either already be dead or very soon dead, along with everyone else in about 50 miles of the Wei Wuxian. But it was still nice to figure out where he ranked in the meantime, in the man’s (literally) absentminded regard. 

[gdwessel]

Rumors About Ospreay + Unrest In The NJPW Locker Room; Government Adds Okinawa to State Of Emergency, Another Extension Possible; Quick Review of DSOTR Collision In Korea; Shota Umino News!; Ren Narita on Dark Elevation; Satoshi Kojima In Impact Next Week

Strap in because this is going to be a long one.

There are rumors and reports coming out now (mostly from one source, the Voices of Wrestling website, from behind a Patreon paywall) that Will Ospreay's injury may not be what it seems, and there is growing discontent to the point of "mutiny" among the non-Japanese wrestlers regarding the state of emergency, the last-minute decision to resume touring when some were already travelling out of Japan, and the constant need for quarantining when coming back into Japan. Unfortunately this is as much as I can say, because this is behind a paywall, so until it gets made for public consumption I’m kinda limited in what I can say.

I can totally buy that all is not well within NJPW, especially after the COVID-19 bubble has burst. I've already discussed the creative malaise happening in the company right now. That there seems to be backstage dissent shows possible signs of trouble ahead for the promotion, and this golden period that we've been accustomed to is well and truly over. (I mean, it already was once lockdown happened, but they did the best they could, in my honest opinion, including a Pretty Good if not great WK15. Right now, creatively, we are below 2nd-half 2018 levels of poor.) But NJPW has weathered these storms before, although not with a global pandemic looming over everything. I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt that Ospreay is indeed injured, because a) they haven't exactly been shy about wrestlers being injured and needing to vacate titles before b) if Ospreay is legit injured, he is far more likely to receive treatment as a citizen of the UK from the (somehow still alive if not totally hobbled by Brexit) NHS, as opposed to Japan's healthcare system which is far more like the US model. Some wrestlers are swearing up and down he is injured, from the rumors. Ospreay certainly hasn’t said anything in his own words, beyond RTing NJPW’s announcement of his injury and vacating the title, and posting a pic of himself kissing the belt. RevPro kinda sorta said something but were also pretty vague. But for an injury suffered on 5/4/2021, this pic posted on 5/18 does not look like someone who just had such a severe neck injury they need to fly back to the UK (mind you, it COULD have been taken much earlier than that). Indeed, Ospreay’s still-active Twitter is more focused on Hana Kimura at the moment*. All this said, professional wrestling by it’s very nature has a baked-in amount of bullshit as part of it, so that this injury might be phony is always a distinct possibility.

It is utterly believable there is conflict between wrestlers and management, and communication is piss-poor at best. It is also believable that NJPW and Bushiroad are only taking their cues from a government Hell-bent on holding an Olympics an overwhelming majority of those polled are against, and who are treating the extended state of emergency as a vague suggestion rather than as a, you know, state of emergency. Pretending everything is hunky dory hasn't worked so far, so not sure why NJPW, nor the Japanese government, think eventually it will. (And NOAH is on my shit list right now too.) On that note, the government has now officially added Okinawa to the state of emergency. There is also talk that it will be extended further, as a government subcommittee member is quoted in the article as saying “it is difficult to think” that it will be lifted on 5/31/2021. Among that talk is word that Tokyo particularly will be under a stricter lockdown if this goes on. On a piece of actual GOOD news, it has been announced that the government has approved both the Moderna and AstraZeneca versions of the vaccine, so perhaps the vaccination rates will start to go up at last.

* - The anniversary of Hana Kimura’s tragic death is tomorrow (5/23/2021). I still sometimes struggle with the idea she is gone. Tonight at 10:30pm EDT (which is 5/23/2021 12:30pm in JST), FITE TV will be showing a live Hana Kimura tribute show put on by her mother, Kiyoko Kimura. Have a look in if you can

I was able to watch the Vice Dark Side Of The Ring episode on Collision in Korea, the two-night joint NJPW & WCW show from May Day Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea, on 4/28 & 4/29/1995, as it aired Thursday. It will hit YouTube here pretty soon. I am working on a podcast project about this documentary, and the (WCW version of the**) show itself, with the good lads at the Days Of Thunder podcast, so I won't talk too much here, but I will say a few things about it:

I did appreciate the detail here, as well as being able to get an interview with Antonio Inoki for this, especially as he was the principal driver of this show happening. I did also like that they took time to detail Inoki's mentor, and the "father of puroresu," Rikidozan, who himself was a North Korean national by birth. I did not appreciate the mythical pathos they added to the death of Rikidozan, which by all accounts was a random street fight with yakuza over a perceived insult (stepping on Rikidozan's shoe). I also felt they could have done a better job explaining the situation between Japan and North Korea at the time. When the event was first proposed to the NJPW roster, Scott Norton recounts Masahiro Chono telling Norton that "they want us dead," but it took until introducing former CNN foreign correspondent Mike Chinoy nearly halfway through the documentary to (briefly) explain the brutal colonialism that Japan wreaked on North Korea in the first part of the 20th century.

Also, as salacious as DSOTR can get, I am very surprised one of the most famous rumors/stories about this show did not get discussed, the internet wrestling legend that Kensuke Sasaki and Akira Hokuto were, erm, Quite Vocal when they were together, which of course did eventually lead to their marriage four months later which continues to this very day. But that was also part of another critique I had, which is, they mainly focused on the WCW part of the events, when this was an NJPW promoted show. The way it was told on DSOTR, the only Japanese wrestlers there were Antonio Inoki, Shinya Hashimoto, Akira Hokuto and Bull Nakano. I'd love to hear more from the NJPW side of things, besides how proud Inoki was of this political stunt that did not get him re-elected to the Diet anyway.

Overall, I do recommend watching this when and how you can, because it is absolutely bonkers. I will definitely keep you posted on when the podcast project for this drops. ** - I've tried looking for the NJPW version and have failed so far. NJPWWorld only has two matches from this, Antonio Inoki v. Ric Flair, and Akira Hokuto v. Bull Nakano. The WCW version is not officially released, even on WWE Network, so yeah search the internet to see it.

We finally have an update on Shooter! That is, Shota Umino. Earlier in the week, RevPro's official Twitter had a tweet saying This Summer, showing Umino in not only his white/pink Tanahashi-esque tights, but holding his Death Riders jacket from Jon Moxley, that Shota retweeted, making this his first tweet since September 2019. Two days later, a hype video appeared with footage of Shooter, including performing Death Rider. Now a Sports Illustrated article is claiming that Shooter was supposed to have reunited with Mox on the NJPW Strong episode that had Mox & Chris Dickinson face Yuji Nagata & Ren Narita, but Umino had an unspecified injury preventing that. (They further say that Mox v. Nagata’s IWGP US title match was originally set for Strong but Tony Khan convinced NJPW to hold it on AEW Dynamite.) Umino's last match listed on Cagematch was on 3/14/2020 in ATTACK! Wrestling in Cardiff, Wales, on the winning side of a 6-man tag match with Kyle Fletcher & Kid Lykos II defeating Shigehiro Irie, Chief Deupty Dunne & Los Federales Santos, Jr. It's great to have him back wrestling again, and I hope we get that reunion with Moxley soon enough too.

As an update to an item from an earlier post, it appears that the Ren Narita v. Royce Isaacs match that was teased but then not aired on AEW Dark this past Tuesday will actually be on AEW Dark: Elevation this coming Monday instead. Also part of that will be approximately 35 other matches (I only slightly kid), one of those being Rocky Romero v. JD Drake. This usually drops on YouTube at 7pm EDT / 6pm CDT Mondays.

This past Thursday on Impact, a video package showed that Satoshi Kojima would be appearing on next week's episode. This will be Kojima's first time ever wrestling in Impact under any name, as the last time NJPW and TNA were working together, Kojima was still away in All Japan Pro Wrestling. No word as to what he will be doing or whom he will be wrestling.

Also on Impact, Juice Robinson & David Finlay Jr. successfully defended the Impact World Tag Team titles against Ace Austin & Madman Fulton... before getting blindsided by two members of the Violent By Design unit (in this case, ECW veteran Rhino and former AJPW Triple Crown champion + cancer beater Joe Doering) with whatever Impact's version of a Anytime Anywhere Challenge is, and took the belts from FinJuice. They claimed FinJuice were going back to Japan, but, erm, who knows if that's the case or if it was for a time period when Wrestle Grand Slam was still a thing that was happening.

Also also, it seems Don Callis is no longer in any executive capacity at Impact. This is a little significant as it seems it was Callis who opened the negotiations back up for Impact to work with NJPW. Of course, lately he's spent more time as an on-screen heel manager for Kenny Omega, the Good Brothers and now the Young Bucks on both AEW and Impact programming. We'll see how much longer Kenny Omega's belt collector shtick goes on for with Callis no longer part of creative or management.

And that is actually it for now! Yipes!

[yodawgiherd]

Somewhere Out There

>>>Read on AO3<<<

Happy Holidays everyone! ^^ And since I prolly won't do anything new for some time again, happy new year too :P Annie heard about the woman she was matched with today. A known name in the MMA scene, she was among the top-ranked - steadily placing high in various tournaments. Experienced, dangerous, and strong, a welcome change from her first fight and that egoistic wrestler. Annie was looking forward to the challenge. The bell rang and they both moved at the same time.

At first, it was her enemy throwing punches, testing the waters, looking for openings. But Annie didn’t budge. Using the technique she learned from Reiner “the Armor”, she turtled with her hands raised, absorbing the hits. The pain didn’t mean anything, and as long as she protected the important parts of her body, she could safely ignore it. Only a very good striker could get through the armor, find the gaps and slide the damage in, but this girl couldn’t do it and Annie shrugged her hits off. Seeing that there was no progress to be made there, she bit the bait and went in.

The woman went low, Annie went high and they met in the middle, grasping at each other. A grappler then, same as she was. Muscles straining, they fell on the ground, their duel continuing there as they tried to get a submission hold on each other. Her enemy was about the same in both height and weight as Annie and their struggling was more or less equal. Yet as it continued, it was clear that Annie had something the other woman didn’t – cold-blooded dedication. While she was running out of breath, the blonde wasn’t even winded, coiling herself around her like a vice, never letting go, never lessening the pressure. But before she could truly put her choking techniques to work, the woman simply tapped out.

Confused, Annie let go and they disentangled from one another. For whatever reason, the defeated party was wearing a huge smile anyway, almost immediately offering the victor a hand to shake.

“I shouldn’t have taken you to the ground.”, she said, “You’re insane there. Do you ever get tired?”

There was joy in her voice, enjoyment even, and Annie didn’t get it. She got crushed, so why did she look like that she was having fun?

“You don’t mind that you lost?”

“Nah, I kind of expected that to happen sooner or later.”

“Why’s that? Don’t you have faith in what you do?”

“I do, but I know that there are others out there who are class above normal people. I found out about it a few months back.”

Despite not being here to make friends, Annie was interested.

“How so?”

“You see, I was competing in an MMA tournament, all hyped up and ready to go. I was counted between the favorites to win the whole thing, and that did wonders to my ego. It inflated even further when I breezed through my matches. But then I met her.”

Annie didn’t even realize that she was holding her breath, immersed in the story. A bit embarrassed by how easily she was drawn in, she huffed it out, waiting for the other girl to continue.

“She had an impressive streak, but was a newbie, only recently switching to our scene. No worries, I thought, I’ll show her what MMA is about.”, she shook her head, “ I have never been so wrong. She was fast, insanely fast, and far stronger than her build suggested. I did my best, I gave the match my all, but she crushed me anyway and that’s when I realized that some people are just built differently. She was a prodigy, I am not.”

If there was someone like that out there, it would be helpful to keep tabs on her. Hell, she might be even competing in this very tournament.

“What was her name?”, Annie asked, “How did she look like?”

“Asian girl, black hair, pale skin, a scar on her cheek. Her name was Mikasa.”

Annie’s next breath was a deep inhale as she struggled to keep herself calm. The night still haunted her, that fight in the rain, the one where she almost got beaten to death. The naked steel in Mikasa’s eyes when she raised the bloodied fist, that was something Annie would never forget.

“You know, she was giving me a similar feeling you do.”, the girl went on, “Do you know her?”

“N-No.”, Annie lied, shaking her head vehemently, “Never heard of her.”

“Oh well, if you go on like this, I’m sure you two will meet somewhere in the bracket.”

With that, the woman tapped Annie on the shoulder and left the ring. Gritting her teeth, clenching her fists, the blonde’s dedication to winning had reached a whole new level. Because now, she knew that her worst rival was here too. Because now, she knew that she could crush her demons on the way to the top. And Annie would enjoy that.

Eren didn’t even know how they ended up like this, on the couch with Mikasa straddling him. She came down from the bedroom, he wished her good morning, so she kissed him in return and things somewhat escalated from there. Not that he was complaining. She was still in her sleeping attire, a shirt and a pair of panties, meaning that her bare legs were all his for the taking.

And everything was great, until she pulled back, grasping his chin and casting an inspecting eye over the beard Eren was cultivating for a few days.

“You really should shave babe, I’m not sure I approve of that homeless vibe.”

“You’re the one the talk.”

“What’s that?”

Fine then, if Mikasa wanted to play this game, he was in. Eren liked that beard, and shaving was a pain the ass anyway. To tease her, he swapped the circuit in his brain from horny to asshole, the one that was usually reserved for Jean.

“Well, you are… you know…”, it was hard searching for an insult with Mikasa on his lap, so Eren just blurted the first word that stumbled on his tongue, “ugly.”

“Ugly? You think I’m ugly?“

“Yep. Hideous even.“

“Care to elaborate?”

“Well, for starters, look at your hair.”, his hand came up, dragging through the short locks, “So short, so black. And a dyed red streak? How old are you?”, he shook his head, “Everyone knows that long blonde is the best.”

Her own hands found purchase on Eren’s shoulders as Mikasa anchored herself, listening.

“Go on.”, she prompted.

“Your shoulders are too broad, biceps too big..”, tracing that lovely shape, he went on, “what do you need muscles for?”

“I beat people up for a living.”, she grinned down at him, “But continue.”

It was only a half-truth by now, but they both knew that. Taking full advantage of her position, Eren slid his hands to her breasts, cupping them through the fabric of her shirt. Mikasa didn’t wear bra to bed, obviously, so he could feel her nipples through it.

“Your chest is way too small to be attractive, you look like a man. I mean, everyone knows that the bigger the better.”

Amused, Mikasa made a happy noise in the back of her throat. But when Eren’s hands kept groping the same area, she raised an eyebrow.

“Hello?”

He reluctantly let go of her breasts.

“R-Right. Sorry.”

Torn from his trance, as it was always so much fun to play with her chest. Eren quickly repositioned his grasp to her hips, the move itself a herculean effort. Mikasa was patient, playing with the ends of his overlong hair, smug on her throne.

“Your stomach is too hard,”, poking her abs, Eren faked his best scowl, “woman is supposed to be soft to the touch.”

Five years back, all this critique would send Mikasa’s confidence crashing down, especially if it would come from her own boyfriend. But now all she did was smirk, watching him pull those words out of his ass. Self-growth is a wonderful thing.

“Thighs, again too strong. What for?”

“Choking people out.”, she scratched his nape slightly, “Maybe you too if you ask nicely.”

A low growl left Eren as the scenario flashed through his mind, fingers digging into those beautiful legs for a second before he re-composed himself. With a deep breath, he moved his hands to the last part of his inspection.

“And your ass…. Your ass…. Err….”

“What’s that?”

“I mean… Uhm…”

But how was he supposed to say anything? Granted, his insults were lame to begin with, but at least he could try to look at it from someone else’s perspective to pass her strengths as faults. However, what was the play here? To reassure himself that there is indeed nothing he could latch on, he ran his hands over Mikasa’s backside, the “inspection” taking much longer than needed. That made her giggle.

“I’ve got nothing.”, he finally surrendered, “Your butt is perfect.”

Mikasa didn’t say anything for a time, simply looked down at him, the smug smirk never leaving her lips. And then she did that the one thing that Eren feared she would do to completely destroy his arguments. She stirred her hips. Just a little, a tiny rock back and forth on top of him, but she was experienced and he was weak, so fucking weak for her, that the little slide almost immediately began producing results. His traitorous body refused to cooperate with the mind, and Eren was hard before he even realized how it happened. With Mikasa on his lap, the change was rather obvious to both parties involved, and her smug smile became even smugger. Worst of all, Eren knew that she’s probably not going to do anything about it and leave him blueballed, because while she knew that he spoke only to tease her, Mikasa preferred her teasing to be done in a more physical way. And to Eren’s dismay, she was damn good at it.

“Still, you raised some valid critique.”, Mikasa suddenly said, halting her movements, “So tell me, with all these faults, why do I have this?”

She wiggled her engagement ring at him.

“That’s easy.”, he replied, summoning his blood to his brain back from the crotch “I love you.”

“Even with my wide shoulders and hard stomach?”

“Precisely because of that.”

“Well..”, she leaned closer, whispering, “You are lucky that I love you too. Even with your girly hair and hobo beard.”

And just as Eren moved in for a kiss, she slipped out of his lap and was gone.

“Mmmhhh……. W-Where are you going?”, he called after her, even more desperate than before.

“I’ve got training with Levi.”, she called right back, her voice accompanied by the sounds of her getting dressed.

“Now? Can’t you go in like… five minutes?”

“Aw, I’m sorry babe.”, Mikasa appeared in the doorway, already wearing her signature leather biker jacket, “But you know how punctual Levi is.”

“Miki…”

“I have to run, but I’m sure that you and your…”, her eyes dipped between Eren’s legs before coming back to his face, “right hand can figure out the issue.”

Disappearing with a wink, Eren soon heard the door click and he was alone. Knocking his head back against the couch, he barked out a laugh. How could someone not love Mikasa Ackerman, that was completely beyond him. Well, time to shave.

If anything, Levi was even harder on her now. Mikasa’s training was more extreme than ever, pushing limits of both her strength and endurance above and beyond. But she didn’t complain. She knew that the road would be hard and rocky, and Levi was simply trying to prepare for the worst. Yet when her brother said that she should develop a new move, something not seen before, she had to ask.

“Why? Don’t I have enough shit in my repertoire?”

“You do, but they will know that. An ace up your sleeve might be worth investing some time into.”

“What do you mean?

“Rest assured that they will scout you. Watch your past matches, learn what you do and how to counter it.”

“Really?”

“Of course. You haven’t lost yet after switching to MMA, not even once, and now you went and knocked one of the top contenders down on his ass.”

“I see…”, Mikasa scratched the back of her neck, a new idea popping in, “If they do that, shouldn’t we do the same?”

“Way ahead of you. I’ve already done some serious research and, I’ll be honest with you, it’s not looking pretty.”

“How so?”

“There are some serious monsters out there. Last night, I watched a tattooed giant completely brutalize some poor fellow’s face with his elbows. That’s the thing about this tournament. On the bright side, the next to no rules means that you get to fight a wide variety of people, a lot of great experience. But on the other hand, guys like him can be as brutal as they want to without any drawback.”

“I know what I was getting into.”, Mikasa countered.

“Still, be extra careful. Especially if you get into the ring with the guys I picked out.”

Levi had spent about a week or so on this, combing through the huge-ass number of matches, looking for individuals who stood out the most. Those that would be most dangerous to his sister.

“I’ve compiled them into a file with all the info I could dig out, videos of their fights and whatnot. Sometimes it's not much, but it’s better than nothing. I’ll send you an email with the file.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it. Really.”

He nodded back, turning and leaving back into the gym. Mikasa got out, kicked the bike awake, the engine roaring, and soon she was on her way back home with a new set of things to ponder.

When Eren came home, Mikasa was already deep in her research, looking at the laptop screen with a focused look on her face. He sat down next to her, eager to see who she would be facing later on. There was a guy on the screen right now, a real tank. Blonde, tall and very heavily muscled, with a somewhat sad look on his face.

“Damn, look at this dude, he’s built like a space marine.”

Mikasa blinked at him.

“A what?”

“A space ma-, nevermind. I’ll educate you some other time.”

Eren and his fantasy worlds. Focusing on the page instead, Mikasa read out loud.

“Reiner Braun - Germany. Specialty: grappling – long history of Judo and Wrestling.”

“Dude’s heavy as shit.” Eren noted over her shoulder, “If he ever gets you on the ground you’re finished.”

Mikasa had to agree with him. She was strong, but there was no way she was getting over a hundred kilos of pure muscle from her chest. Worrying her bottom lip with her teeth, she scrolled down.

“Fahkumram - Thailand. Specialty: Muay Thai – also known as the god of Muay Thai.”

Talk about an imposing figure. Over two meters tall with almost unnaturally broad shoulders, arms and legs bulging. Numerous tattoos covered the man’s skin, Mikasa’s own paling in comparison. She could almost hear Eren’s worry increasing. Levi wasn’t lying, these guys were truly monsters, far beyond anything she had faced until now. Hoping for someone that would take their mind from that German tank and abnormal Thai warrior, she scrolled down. And her heart skipped a beat.

“Is that….”, Eren whispered next to her, “No way…”

But there was no mistaking it. Exchanging a bewildered look with her boyfriend, Mikasa’s eyes slid over the page, reading.

“Annie Leonhart – Germany.”