#might include romantic tension or something even more and worse than that. We don't know. They aren't aware of this stuff

[roboyomo]

speaking of the head and the claw versions of those two (<- tha kenix and azrael)

in my mind they're both completely oblivious to concept of them having free will despite literally being able to kill anyone who disagrees with them and therefore, with them being raised only as living weapons, they are also oblivious to the concept of just doing things For Themselves and not orders.

[jeannereames]

Hi, Dr. Reames! I just read your take on Song of Achilles and it got me thinking. Do you think there might be a general issue with the way women are written in mlm stories in general? Because I don't think it's the first time I've seen something like this happen.

And my next question is, could you delve further into this thing you mention about modern female authors writing women? How could we, beginner female writers, avoid falling into this awful representations of women in our writing?

Thank you for your time!

[It took a while to finish this because I wrote, re-wrote, and re-wrote it. Still not sure I like it, but I need to let it go. It could be 3xs as long.]

I’ll begin with the second half of the question, because it’s simpler. How do we, as women authors, avoid writing women in misogynistic ways?

Let me reframe that as how can we, as female authors, write negative (even quite nasty) female characters without falling into misogynistic tropes? Also, how can we write unsympathetic, but not necessarily “bad” female characters, without it turning misogynistic?

Because people are people, not genders, not all women are good, nor all men bad. Most of us are a mix. If we should avoid assuming powerful women are all bitches, by the same token, some women are bitches (powerful or not).

ALL good characterization comes down to MOTIVE. And careful characterization of minority characters involves fair REPRESENTATION. (Yes, women are a minority even if we’re 51% of the population.)

The question ANY author must ask: why am I making this female character a bitch? How does this characterization serve the larger plot and/or characterization? WHY is she acting this way?

Keep characters complex, even the “bad guys.” Should we choose to make a minority character a “bad guy,” we need to have a counter example—a real counter, not just a token who pops in briefly, then disappears. Yeah, maybe in an ideal world we could just let our characters “be,” but this isn’t an ideal world. Authors do have an audience. I’m a lot less inclined to assume stereotyping when we have various minority characters with different characterizations.

By the same token, however, don’t throw a novel against the wall if the first minority character is negative. Read further to decide if it’s a pattern. I’ve encountered reviews that slammed an author for stereotyping without the reader having finished the book. I’m thinking, “Uh…if you’d read fifty more pages….” Novels have a developmental arc. And if you’ve got a series, that, too, has a developmental arc. One can’t reach a conclusion about an author’s ultimate presentation/themes until having finished the book, or series.*

Returning to the first question, the appearance of misogyny depends not only on the author, but also on when she wrote, even why she’s writing. Authors who are concerned with matters such as theme and message are far more likely to think about such things than those who write for their own entertainment and that of others, which is more typical of Romance.

On average, Romance writers are a professionalized bunch. They have national and regional chapters of the Romance Writers of America (RWA), newsletters and workshops that discuss such matters as building plot tension, character dilemmas, show don’t tell, research tactics, etc. Yet until somewhat recently (early/mid 2010s), and a series of crises across several genres (not just Romance), treatment of minority groups hadn’t been in their cross-hairs. Now it is, with Romance publishers (and publishing houses more generally) picking up “sensitivity readers” in addition to the other editors who look at a book before its publication.

Yet sensitivity readers are hired to be sure lines like “chocolate love monkey” do not show up in a published novel. Yes, that really was used as an endearment for a black man in an M/M Romance, which (deservedly) got not just the author but the publishing house in all sorts of hot water. Yet misogyny, especially more subtle misogyny in the way of tropes, is rarely on the radar.

I should add that I wouldn’t categorize The Song of Achilles as an M/M historical Romance. In fact, I’m not sure what to call novels about myths, as myths don’t exist in actual historical periods. When should we set a novel about the Iliad? The Bronze Age, when Homer said it happened, or the Greek Dark Age, which is the culture Homer actually described? They’re pretty damn different. I’d probably call The Song of Achilles an historical fantasy, especially as mythical creatures are presented as real, like centaurs and god/desses.

Back to M/M Romance: I don’t have specific publishing stats, but it should surprise no one that (like most of the Romance genre), the vast bulk of authors of M/M Romance are women, often straight and/or bi- women. The running joke seems to be, If one hot man is good, two hot men together are better. 😉 Yes, there are also trans, non-binary and lesbian authors of M/M Romance, and of course, bi- and gay men who may write under their own name or a female pseudonym, but my understanding is that straight and bi- cis-women authors outnumber all of them.

Just being a woman, or even a person in a female body, does not protect that author from misogyny. And if she’s writing for fun, she may not be thinking a lot about what her story has to “say” in its subtext and motifs, even if she may be thinking quite hard about other aspects of story construction. This can be true of other genres as well (like historical fantasy).

What I have observed for at least some women authors is the unconscious adoption of popular tropes about women. Just as racism is systemic, so is sexism. We swim in it daily, and if one isn’t consciously considering how it affects us, we can buy into it by repeating negative ideas and acting in prescribed ways because that’s what we learned growing up. If writing in a symbol-heavy genre such as mythic-driven fantasy, it can be easy to let things slip by—even if they didn’t appear in the original myth, such as making Thetis hostile to Patroklos, the classic Bitchy Mother-in-Law archetype.

I see this sort of thing as “accidental” misogyny. Women authors repeat unkind tropes without really thinking them through because it fits their romantic vision. They may resent it and get defensive if the trope is pointed out. “Don’t harsh my squee!” We can dissect why these tropes persist, and to what degree they change across generations—but that would end up as a (probably controversial) book, not a blog entry. 😊

Yet there’s also subconscious defensive misogyny, and even conscious/semi-conscious misogyny.

Much debate/discussion has ensued regarding “Queen Bee Syndrome” in the workplace and whether it’s even a thing. I think it is, but not just for bosses. I also would argue that it’s more prevalent among certain age-groups, social demographics, and professions, which complicates recognizing it.

What is Queen Bee Syndrome? Broadly, when women get ahead at the expense of their female colleagues who they perceive as rivals, particularly in male-dominated fields, hinging on the notion that There Can Be Only One (woman). It arises from systemic sexism.

Yes, someone can be a Queen Bee even with one (or two) women buddies, or while claiming to be a feminist, supporting feminist causes, or writing feminist literature. I’ve met a few. What comes out of our mouths doesn’t necessarily jive with how we behave. And ticking all the boxes isn’t necessary if you’re ticking most of them. That said, being ambitious, or just an unpleasant boss/colleague—if its equal opportunity—does not a Queen Bee make. There must be gender unequal behavior involved.

What does any of that have to do with M/M fiction?

The author sees the women characters in her novel as rivals for the male protagonists. It gets worse if the women characters have some “ownership” of the men: mothers, sisters, former girlfriends/wives/lovers. I know that may sound a bit batty. You’re thinking, Um, aren’t these characters gay or at least bi- and involved with another man, plus—they’re fictional? Doesn’t matter. Call it fantasizing, authorial displacement, or gender-flipped authorial insert. We authors (and I include myself in this) can get rather territorial about our characters. We live in their heads and they live in ours for months on end, or in many cases, years. They’re real to us. Those who aren't authors often don’t quite get that aspect of being an author. So yes, sometimes a woman author acts like a Queen Bee to her women characters. This is hardly all, or even most, but it is one cause of creeping misogyny in M/M Romance.

Let’s turn to a related problem: women who want to be honorary men. While I view this as much more pronounced in prior generations, it’s by no means disappeared. Again, it’s a function of systemic sexism, but further along the misogyny line than Queen Bees. Most Queen Bees I’ve known act/react defensively, and many are (imo) emotionally insecure. It’s largely subconscious. More, they want to be THE woman, not an honorary man.

By contrast, women who want to be honorary men seem to be at least semi-conscious of their misogyny, even if they resist calling it that. These are women who, for the most part, dislike other women, regard most of “womankind” as either a problem or worthless, and think of themselves as having risen above their gender.

And NO, this is not necessarily religious—sometimes its specifically a-religious.

“I want to be an honorary man” women absolutely should NOT be conflated with butch lesbians, gender non-conformists, or frustrated FTMs. That plays right into myths the queer community has combated for decades. There’s a big difference between expressing one’s yang or being a trans man, and a desire to escape one’s womanhood or the company of other women. “Honorary men” women aren’t necessarily queer. I want to underscore that because the concrete example I’m about to give does happen to be queer.

I’ve talked before about Mary Renault’s problematic portrayal of women in her Greek novels (albeit her earlier hospital romances don’t show it as much). Her own recorded comments make it clear that she and her partner Julie Mullard didn’t want to be associated with other lesbians, or with women much at all. She was also born in 1905, living at a time when non-conforming women struggled. If extremely active in anti-apartheid movements in South Africa, Renault and Mullard were far less enthused by the Gay Rights Movement. Renault even criticized it, although she wrote back kindly to her gay fans.

The women in Renault’s Greek novels tend to be either bitches or helpless, reflecting popular male perceptions of women: both in ancient Greece and Renault’s own day. If we might argue she’s just being realistic, that ignores the fact one can write powerful women in historical novels and still keep it attitudinally accurate. June Rachuy Brindel, born in 1919, author of Ariadne and Phaedra, didn’t have the same problem, nor did Martha Rofheart, born in 1917, with My Name is Sappho. Brindel’s Ariadne is much more sympathetic than Renault’s (in The King Must Die).

Renault typically elevates (and identifies with) the “rational” male versus the “irrational” female. This isn’t just presenting how the Greeks viewed women; it reflects who she makes the heroes and villains in her books. Overall, “good” women are the compliant ones, and the compliant women are tertiary characters.

Women in earlier eras who were exceptional had to fight multiple layers of systemic misogyny. Some did feel they had to become honorary men in order to be taken seriously. I’d submit Renault bought into that, and it (unfortunately) shows in her fiction, as much as I admire other aspects of her novels.

So I think those are the three chief reasons we see women negatively portrayed in M/M Romance (or fiction more generally), despite being written by women authors.

------------------------------------

*Yeah, yeah, sometimes it’s such 2D, shallow, stereotypical presentation that I, as a reader, can conclude this author isn’t going to get any better. Also, the publication date might give me a clue. If I’m reading something published 50 years ago, casual misogyny or racism is probably not a surprise. If I don’t feel like dealing with that, I close the book and put it away.

But I do try to give the author a chance. I may skim ahead to see if things change, or at least suggest some sort of character development. This is even more the case with a series. Some series take a loooong view, and characters alter across several novels. Our instant-gratification world has made us impatient. Although by the same token, if one has to deal with racism or sexism constantly in the real world, one may not want to have to watch it unfold in a novel—even if it’s “fixed” later. If that’s you, put the book down and walk away. But I’d just suggest not writing a scathing review of a novel (or series) you haven’t finished. 😉

[nightswithkookmin]

RE JIKOOK IS ESTRANGED

Them

Me

Lol

JUMP CUT ALERT: This is a continuation of an ongoing discussion behind the scenes.

DISCLAIMERS:

Article 19, UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Every person has the right to freedom of opinion and expression which includes the freedom to hold an opinion without interference through any media.

Misinterpretation of my opinion, my words constitute a violation of my human rights. Please do not take my words out of context, share it on another platform in furtherance of your own agenda. If you do hold yourself accountable first. You are the author of your own intentions and interpretations.

I do not intend malice by my words nor do I seek to be disrespectful of any member mentioned in here. I simply enjoy mentally stimulating conversations and thought provoking discussions.

Let the records show.

MATTER OF THE DAY

Thanks to everyone that's shared your thoughts on this matter with me and thanks to that person that brought this matter to my attention.

I haven't looked into it and I don't know how severe this issue is.

I think people have the right to believe in anything they want to believe in. Personally, I don't think Santa is real but clearly others do, doesn't mean I'm sane or that they are crazy.

I don't think discussions of this nature should be about who is right or who is wrong. Everyone's opinion is valid and holds true to their own delusions. Lol.

Frankly, I prefer this kind of ship wars to the slurs and abuses and they are distributing hard core porn now?? What is going on! Chileee.

I have never believed JK and Tae to be anything more than friends. At one point, I wondered if they were even friends at all lol but since they admitted to having had a falling out themselves at one point the topic is now moot.

Tae and JK have- had- have a really special bond. To me anyways. I always saw them as the evil power twins of BTS due their ability to come together to wreck havoc especially on Bang PD's scripts. Lol. I think I have mentioned this a few times now.

I smiled to myself when I heard them call themselves partners in crime. The bond is there no two ways about it- you either appreciate it for what it is or you don't. personally I love their bond. Can't stand their shippers but I love their bond. They keep the drama going for me- love it. Lol

The question has always been whether their bond is as profound as their shippers make it seem. I argue it's not and I will always argue it is not. Lol

I think it's only fair that they also question whether Jikook's bond is as profound as we make it sound. I really can't be mad at that. All is fair in love and war- at the very least we can agree to disagree.

I mean even Jikookers themselves question the extent of JK and JM's bond. Some think they are just very special friends and nothing more. I think I talked about this in my is Jikook real post when I mentioned labels and the degree of love between JK and JM?

We know JK and JM have a unique bond. The question then is how far does that bond go. Is it just platonic, romantic or something in between?

This is the question I was aiming to answer with my is Jikook real post. My objective was to try and dismantle all the nuances that keep us from seeing the 'truth' about Jikook- that they are real. At least the way I see them.

I talked about unrealistic expectations we have of Jikook, false conditionings that often leads us to see Jikook as something more than they are- the amplified Jikook. We get used to highlight reels of Jikook's interactions in edits such that we feel there is something wrong with them when we see them in real time.

I mentioned that Jimin's nurturing nature often also estops people from reading more into his relationship with JK. He is nurturing of everyone, JK ain't special- they argue, just as this person is doing.

I talked about Jimin's Idol persona, the facade of the boy in love with JK- Jimin's role within BTS since debut and how that can equally blind us into thinking Jikook is something more or less than they really are. I have a post dedicated to this topic sitting in my drafts so I will not go into the details of it here. Please look forward to that.

But this person's post touches on another aspect of Jimin's personality that I feel is one of the things that often keeps us from seeing his relationship with JK for what it really is- his inclination for professionalism.

I keep saying this, several times now, that Jimin's Idol persona to me seems well developed, elaborate and very elusive.

I have mentioned a few times how I think during Jikook break ups that they keep it civil and professional for the sake of the team and that you might not even notice the difference especially if you place high value on their skinship.

The skinship would be there, the cordiality and civility would equally be there- except for moments when they are fighting, that gets bloody. Lol. They are best friends at the very least. It is why it's important to reevaluate the metrics we use to determine whether or not they are a couple.

I wish I could dialogue with this person to understand her assessment of Jikook and what she is using to determine whether or not Jikook are a couple and what makes her think Tae and JK are. Know what I mean?

What makes her think Jikook were a couple before 2017? What makes y'all think Jikook are a couple at all? I would like to hear from y'all- but come at me with the skinship bit and I'll block you deadass. Lol

So on this person's post, I think I agree with her assessment of JM's persona but I don't agree with the Jikook have been broken up since 2017. And I think I understand where this is coming from... I think some of us do. Yes they had a few fights that year especially leading up to Jimin's birthday- August was it? but we all know JK more than made up for it with the damn GCFs. Lol. kindly visit the timeline, peruse as many content as you can and form your own opinion on it. This is just mine.

Are Jikook Jikooking all the time? Absolutely not. They are human too. They fight, they make up, they break up they get back together, they have introverted, extroverted moments, they go up, they go down- have bad hair days, it's all part of their dynamics I'm afraid. From my point of view of course.

I feel some people notice these things too and when they sense Jikook aren't in a good place they bow out and Jump ship- I don't blame them. They are shippers not supporters. What Jikook need are supporters not shippers- or maybe both, do you.

Could this person be one such people? DNF shippers? Given up on Jikook before the end of their story? I don't know. May be.

Jikook is not a fantasy that you ship. It's a relationship that you support. You can't escape into them. They are an ongoing love story- chapters close, chapters open, you just have to ride it out till the very end.

I think the challenge of their post for me is whether or not Jikook is a performance. Her post leans into the whole Jikook is fanservice bull especially in light of the recent photoshoot video which some are using as evidence Jikook don't 'click' when the cameras are off- the lies they tell on Beyonce's internet!

I think I have speculated on this and shared my thoughts on this whole Jikook is fanservice bit. I will delve deeper into it in my next post on Jimin's idol persona but as I've already said, Jikook is fanservice is equally a misnomer.

Yes Jikook does fanservice sometimes, but they are not fanservice. Fanservice is the cover for their relationship. It's their glass ceiling- nothing to see here folks just two snakes under glass. Keep it pushing. (Sorry. Couldn't help myself. Lol)

But you do raise a valid question, what is Jikook like when the cameras are not filming?

Is the mood of Jikook in that footage the general mood of Jikook behind cameras as Tuktukkers are claiming? They barely interact, JM doesn't pay much attention to Kook, yadda yadda yadda?

And the part that gives me a complex, that JK only interacts with JM when they are the center of attention. Huh???????????

Sigh.

I feel caught between a rock and a hard place on this one.

The theory you pointed out in support of this assertion isn't mine and I think I made it clear I didn't share the same thoughts on it. I said it was valid nevertheless. Chilee, this is hard. Lol

Yes JK is an introvert, Jimin is an extrovert, JM doesn't live for JK, all that is true and some Jikookers have said that too- so when you ask, if this is who they are when the cameras are off does that mean what they do when the cameras turn on is fanservice-

I-👁👄👁

I don't know the thought process that went into that theory so I can't confidently defend it. I'll ask? Lol.

Personally, I'd like to know whether or not they see the tension in that footage as tension in the first place. Chileee I don't know.

I see it as tension. Not a very serious one though. So we'd have to agree to disagree on that one.

But the part I can argue, the part I agree with is Jikook aren't hyper super duper lovey dovey on each other all the time. They aren't cuddly all the time. They have their moments of quiet- Jimin seems like the more affectionate kind who'd rub all over JK in the comfort of their homes but still...

If you ask me though, I think Jikook are tamer on cameras than they are behind scenes. I always talk about the fear and panic in the members' eyes when they see Jikook gravitating towards each other- it's probably because they know the extent of Jikook's shenanigans. They know how worse it can be because they've seen it all.

And when JK panics sometimes when JM gets closer too you just know dude is scared perhaps because of his Mochi chick's devil may care shamelessly in love policies- Jimin wild. Bless him.

I did say also that Memories 2019 is equally eye opening. These were censored bits. BigHit was holding all of that and giving us crumbs- stingy mfs. Bless.

All that said, again I don't think Jikook are hyper lovey on eachother behind the scenes. Another part I diverge from that view is that this is not exactly off camera. It was just behind the scenes of a photoshoot. Something we've seen a countless times.

This is not BTS's first ever behind scenes photoshoot. It's just a different angle that's all.

They were working. They were at work. This wasn't an alone private space for them so they can't base on this to say Jikook don't interact when the cameras are off.

The cameras were rolling. We saw them interact, JM was interacting with everyone the way he always does on camera all the time except he wasn't interacting with JK the way he does all the time, grainy footage or not- I mean let's call a spade a spade and not a big fat spoon. Lol

As to why he was doing that- let's just say there are many schools of thoughts.

My thought as I've said is JM was freezing JK out. I think with anyone that's recognized and is familiar with Jikook fights, that mood is all too familiar as I mentioned earlier.

If JM was being courteous and not mad at his man then he would have kept it 'professional' and done the 'fanservice' bit with Jk as per usual just as this person is saying since the cameras were still rolling.

Jikook is not fanservice. They are real.

I have refrained from providing a detailed analysis of that '5 minutes' footage for reasons I will explain later when I do share my thoughts on that footage- eventually. Some day.

But my hypothesis remains the same that I think Jikook were fighting or had a minor issue. As to why they were fighting, chileee I don't know. The confirmation bias in me feel it had something to do with JM's birthday but honestly it could have been over anything at all- dumplings, microphones- we all saw that slap on stage, a certain Iphone notification perhaps, did JinMin make a secret VLive without Kook again? Lol

There are plethora of reasons, I can only speculate on a few. And I think we've all seen Jimin when he is not 'Jimining' with the others, JK included. Take his mood with Tae at GDA for example- since this is not a VMin post I won't go into it.

But it seems they squashed whatever beef they were having on stage when JM extended his hands to Tae and they shaked it out.

We've seen him and Suga bicker too- which again, I am not gonna to get into out of respect for their shippers but I can point you to the On comeback VLive early this year when Suga touched JM and JM mouthed Hajima to him- which I think had something to do with what was going on with him and JK at the time but that is besides the point. Every shipper for themselves.

I contrast his 'fights' with Suga and V to show you the difference between Jimin being professional and courteous and Jimin being rah rah. He was sat next to suga, talking and laughing with him but snapped the moment Suga held his back.

He did the same in the Dynamite MV Vlive, smiling and laughing with Suga but the moment JK teased him with the Yoonmin comment his countenance fell.

Jimin is not that good of an actor if you ask me. I have said he is very Kumbaya in nature, often makes compromises for the sake of the team but that don't mean he is a pushover or one to trifle with- he scares me when he is mad. Lmho.

The scene in that footage didn't look to me as that he was being nice and courteous to JK- is that y'all's definition of professional courtesy? Damn.

If they were having a lover's squabble then the 'icy' mood of Jikook we saw in that footage is not the general mood of Jikook when the camera's are turned off.

I have to state again that I don't know much of what goes on behind the cameras and most of the things we see sometimes are equally missing context.

That been said we have seen enough of Jikook 'behind cameras' and they are more intimate than we can imagine. A certain cozy selfie at the back of an abandoned truck comes to mind. Whatever they were doing at the back of the track wasn't intended for the cameras judging from JK's reaction.

We've had glimpses of Jikook when they are not the center of attention enough to have a fair idea of what they are when cameras are off and I don't think it is that mood we saw in that footage.

We saw them at Jingle ball bell, towards the end of 2019. We saw them in their own space doing what they do best- making us feel single as fuck. Bless them.

We've seen them at awards, we've seen JK eating Jimin's ear nom nom to calm him down- like I would have just bought him icecream to calm down his nerves or rubbed his back but whatever JK. He is your man; you know him best. Good for him. Good for both of you. Now come back and feed us.

And the bit about JK only laughing with JM when he noticed he was on the Bangtan Bomb cameras in that footage- now that's nasty below the belts phony ass ass! I felt that one straight in my chest, shit. Lol

Dude was in a doghouse it seemed and I noticed them stealing glances at each other and.... sigh.

I just think JK was looking for an opening to warm his way back into JM's good graces- it's really nothing we haven't seen before.... sigh.

This is 2020 that narrative of JK hates Jimin, JK doesn't like JM needs to stop. It's dead. Pack it up. Chileee, y'all tried it with this one.

Jk is nice to JM only when the cameras are on him? Nice try.

JK is so fake and fraudulent he glared RM down till he stepped away from Jimin- again, in the very same photoshoot footage y'all swear to God is proof Jikook is not real.

Find it. RM stood next to JM. Looks up see's something- or someone. Does his tell- the hand to head thingy he does when JK glares at him over Jimin. He backs away inches from JM.

Cut to JK. Dudes a mood. Jin bumps into him, stares at him but JK wouldn't even look at him and then deadass looks away grumpyly- talk of professionalism. You doing great swidy keep going!

You can hide a relationship, fake it on God but you can never hide the intimacy. Taekook just lack that intimacy, I'm sorry. Even in that 'estranged' moment Jikook's intimacy was still there-

Even in whatever mood JK was in- which again, I believe was just due to their lover's squabble- JK still was claiming his man and exercising his right of authority over him. That's how you know they are not broken up. In my opinion. Chileee. I'm gonna get in trouble. Deep sigh.

Y'all think JK was hovering over Jimin because he was preparing to strike him down like a censored censored censored? Yea, he was preparing to strike alright- All the corners of Jimin's heart. Y'all better stop before I find you. Lol

I said I wasn't going to analyze the footage in this post but damn. This man out here serving us all kinds of brooding assorted jeonlous as his man takes a time out or two to wiggle wiggle wiggle on him Malfroy style and y'all are out here peddling nonsense. Strike one.

He was a mood alright. Did y'all see Tae rubbing his chest, arms and legs, ears did y'all see any body else in there doing that for him? Y'all's falcon cannot hear his falconer give it up and sorry, Jikook can't relate.

As I've posited, JM I feel was mad as hell for whatever reason and wasn't in the space to be that person JK needed him to be- in that moment. Doesn't mean they are like that behind scenes all the time.

And before I get attacked again for causing drama, being toxic etc by Jikookers understand that I am just a delusional person shipping these two in a way that makes sense to me. Write me off as delulu, and go please.

Whatever ambiguity surrounds that moment, to me, Jin and RM's reaction to JK clarifies things a bit. Jikook were boiling hot. JK was still keeping an eye on his man. Lol. Bless them. That's my conclusion. I'm running miles with that. Catch me. Lol

Feel free to come up with your own theory in a way that makes sense to you.

I'm not sure how long that fight lasted but from the rain day incident I'm hoping it wasn't that long. Jikook are fine I believe- I hope. Judging from the way JM drew JK out in his VLive with the whole I miss JK comment? Did that not sound familiar to y'all? And that Mickey mouse thingy- JM ain't slick. Bless him.

JM is the perched akekeke whisperer whispering all kinds of things in JK's ear, feeding JK news of what goes on on social media and what not. Dude don told his man they won a BB on his birthday, told his man Jin wasn't happy he chose his bag over his- definitely told his man Army was missing him- what? I'm going with that too sue me. Lol

Did you or did you not see Jk coming out to do a live log afterwards? And JK seemed less grumpy, in very high spirits? Wedding bells- I'm manifesting it for JK. Manifest with me.

Remember when JM did a log and talked nonsense about JK, and JK did a rebuttal log to respond to JM and address some of the things JM had said about him? Remember that? It's a jikook thing and it's back😌

I have said JM uses social media to connect with Army while JK uses it as an outlet to express himself. Through out his Live he kept talking about how he wasn't prepared to do a live and it shows in the way he kept saying it was awkward, he just kept it business and didn't know what else to share... I wonder who put his paws on him, dragged his ass to turn on the camera because Armys had asked of him- a certain quick tempered chick who dragged his man out on social media to do the whole Chuseok greetings 2020 on Twitter perhaps?

And JK is so whipped he'd do just about all the hoops to appease his man- Jikook AU written by Goldy. High five. No but seriously...

Behind the scenes, JK sneaks into JM's bed at night- Taekook does it too? Please! The look on JM's face when RM spilled that tea is enough said.

There's only two people in BTS that panic and don't want us to know they lay one on God in bed and it's not Tae Kook.

JK: Jimin hyung and I will sleep here

JM: how about we let the others choose first

Everyone shares a room:

Footage:🦄🍲🐯🧀🐺🍟���🥛🐑🛏

JIKOOK share a room:

Footage: 🚪👀

Behind the cameras Jikook sneak into each others bed- camera caught them live. You saw JM's face, I can't make this shit up. Lol

Behind the scenes, Jikook do laundry at 1am. *insert JM pervy face meme.

Chileee, y'all making me trip with this one. Deep breaths.

Jikook have their moments. This was one of them. Can they be human? Please. Thank you.

At this point, these folks are not even shippers. They is shoppers shopping a man for their bias. Lol. Just admit y'all want Jeon thick thighs strong butt for your bias and go. Just admit you want some tall glass of Tiger charming face husky voice strong chest for your bunny and go. Lmho

Chilee, when we say Tae and Kook had a falling out we don't mean they freeze eachother out behind cameras. Hell, we don't even mean they fake their bond or interactions. C'mon! Tae and JK admitted they are not lovers and y'all is bitter. That's why y'all is making up this nonsense about Jikook. Speak the truth and shame the devil. Peter would be proud.

When we say Tae Kook is not real, We just mean JM spends JK's birthday with him while every one including Tae is out there cruising for Jesus with friends. We just mean Jikook claim eachother even when they beefing. That ship beefed and didn't even know they was beefing and they are real? Damn.

We just mean Jikook make efforts for each other even when they are having bad days- Had it not been for Jimin they'd still be gnashing on these cold streets. Place some respect on his name, y'all's ungrateful. Lol

Tae and JK don't want each other they both want Jimin- there. I said it.

Thanks for attending my Tedtalk. 👁👄👁

Now where was I? Never mind. I'm just gonna go burn some sage. There's too much negativity going on around. Hakuna matata!

There is nothing wrong with Taekook as a ship. Personally, I'm a multishipper I ship all the ships but I support Kookmin. I don't mind their shippers calling them whatever, but my eyes twitch when people who claim they support Jikook act wishy washy with Jikook. Lol. Like are you going to withdraw your support of Kookmin if JK sits on Tae's lap?👀 Yall make me nervous. How can you think Jikook is real but then look at Taekook and go huh??? What are y'all seeing that I can't see?

Like those are two completely different dynamics. It's the skinship isn't it? Talk to me. Jikookers who see something nonplatonic in Taekook honestly give me trust issues. Y'all have me out here looking over my shoulders.

I am delusional but I'm confident in my delusions because to me it is about the love and support for JM and JK as LGBTQ plus couples. Please stop shipping Jikook, stop shopping JK and JM for eachother and start supporting them because they are real.

IN MY OPINION.

Signed,

GOLDY

[sunnys-rewatch-blog]

S1 Wrap Up

Part 2

Moving on to some other notes:

I already said this, but I would have liked to explore LuHanna (Lucas x Hanna; not sure if this is the official name but I'm using it and you can't stop me) or even MoHanna (Mona x Hanna). I do love Haleb and I'm not disappointed that it happened, but I still feel like it could have added something to the story if they'd explored one of those some. It might at least have been cool to see Mona try to come out to Emily as bi. For that matter, it would be nice for these shows not to treat "bi" like a bad word.

Emily does not need so many romantic subplots. I understand that having your only wlw protagonist (*at the moment) come out but never have any love interests wouldn't have felt like representation, but towards the end of S1 she literally has three romantic subplots going on- four if you count the dead girl (mourning Alison, Maya's plotline isn't officially over, Paige, and Samara). Some of the scenes are fun and nice to watch, but by the time Samara's introduced, there's just too much and it's distracting. There's a lot more to being LGBTQ+ than dating. Emily could have started a GSA, and queers crave other queers' friendships. She doesn't need to be in a relationship every second she's in the show to be valid.

That said, if they had made Samara relevant to the rest of the story, that would have been cool. They could have given us confirmation early on that Alison was bi/M-spec and that she had feelings for Emily, and that would make her loss all the more tragic and devastating. Information like that could have given us an Emily Fields meltdown.

In general, I would have liked more tender, humanizing scenes with Alison. They do well at giving us a sense that she was powerful and a bully, they show us that she hurt people- including her own friends- but I wanted to see more of what they liked about her. What it was about her that made them feel like they were part of something special. They have a few scenes, I just want more.

Spencer and Emily have a criminally underutilized dynamic. I would have loved to see their friendship help them both grow as people. Both are highly intelligent and athletic, but Spencer overextends herself to feed the blind ambition she inherited from her family and Emily short-changes herself and passes up opportunities to develop skills in her passion. She didn't even want to take the swim team lead opportunity, which Spencer would have taken in a heartbeat. We don't even see that Spencer finds any joy in what she does, while Emily only does what she's passionate about.

I don't know if it would have been better or worse to have the kids' parents more realistically invested; usually, I hate shows that focus on both kids and their parents because of all the tension they create between those two groups. However, there are a lot of places where the tension could have been avoided or minimized if the adults acted like normal humans. It's kind of disturbing how little they care that Alison was murdered. It's like they knew what happened. At the very least they should have their kids in therapy.

I wish they had started the show in chronological order instead of using these flashbacks to put things in context. There are enough flashbacks in this show to make up their own season.

I also have a small gripe with the legal system in this story working like how an 8-year-old would think it works. I get that it's not a police procedural and I don't want to see the story get bogged down in police technicalities, but they could have at least had their terms right. None of us really want to watch a show where the legal system does it right, we want to watch the main characters figure it out- I get that- but could you just...learn the difference between "suspect" and "person of interest?" A Google search should be sufficient.

I would talk a little more about the ED stuff, but I said so much already. It's really something that needs to be portrayed accurately if you want to claim you're bringing awareness to it; doing it wrong only causes more harm and furthers the stigma. We need more well-informed, culture-shifting representation. Not more of...whatever this is.

Can we stop making "I would love you even if you were fat" synonymous with true love? It's like saying "Wow, 'fat' is worst thing you could possibly be and he would love you even then!!" No, bitch. The bar is in hell. Raise it.

[babbushka]

My favorite trope: Enemies to best friends to lovers. Hear me out: I love the thought of Person A meeting Person B and they just feel nothing but pure hate towards each other for whatever reason that is. And because there's only hate and anger in this relationship they don't feel like they have to be on their best behavior while interacting (like we usually do on our day-to-day interactions with people) instead they both make an effort to show the other their worse side because "that person only deserve the worse of me".

(I know, toxic as hell, stay with me please)

But they have to overcome that hate to somehow work together and achieve their goal (most time it's a mutual goal with different motivations). So on the time they spend together it doesn't matter if they're trying to not despise one another, they'll get to know more about each other and start thinking "hey, we actually have some things in common" or "I held people like you in extremely low regard but you're actually a good person (even if I'm not)".

And they don't instantly become friends, they slowly remove the barriers around themselves to start building a relationship that revolves around respect and above all, trust (because that is what was missing in the first place). And that doesn't happen overnight, it takes time, and they'll cry and be anxious and suffer a lot on the way.

BUT when they finally come into the friendship stage its fluff all the way through. I'm talking about teasing each other about silly things, responding their sarcasm with sarcasm, Person A being like "I should have killed you when I had the chance" and Person B being like "Haha to late, you're stuck with me now". And just best friend stuff like hanging out all the time, and caring, and looking out, and worring about one another. And it's just pure platonic sincere love.

And then the final stage: romantic love. When they realize they know that person more than anybody else (and vice versa) and that they would die for them and live for them, they just can't picture a life that doesn't include that person. Is the type of love where Person A is "You're the most important thing to me in the whole world." and Person B is "You're the light in my life, and bad days will come but we will face it together". It's sincere, familiar and comes from the heart, it may not be perfect (because nothing is) but it's theirs.

In conclusion: Why do I love that trope? It's about falling in love with someone that showed you how bad of a person they can be, someone that put it all on the table and let you see the dark side we all have but we don't show anyone, and that person falling for you as well when you did the same. But you two aren't in love because there's sexual tension, you love each other because you have been through it all together, and you felt everything together: anger, happiness, love, joy, jealous, sadness. Everything, not only the good part. If you can know a person that much and love them it's a bond it won't break easily.

Some examples that might work: Hero x Villain; Criminal x Agent; Vampire x Hunter; and it goes on

(Please forgive me, I know this is unnecessarily way too long but ADHD won't let me get my thoughts straight for the life of me, but I hope I made myself clear tho) Sending u so much love

I couldn’t agree with you more my dear anon! This is exactly why I love the kylux ship so much, lol.

There’s something really wonderful about watching characters grow, I think. It’s rewarding, being able to see them develop from a place of animosity, to understanding, to appreciation, and then adoration. Especially when they have to work together and are forced to spend time together that makes them realize their differences aren’t entirely that plentiful, just as you mentioned! Like just sit down and talk to one another, dammit! Lol 

I don’t write this trope that often, not because I dislike it, but because for me personally, seeing healthy and happy established relationships (marriages particularly) is fulfilling and rewarding for me in a different way. Maybe because I was in an abusive relationship for so long, idk, but the premise that these characters would do anything for one another and love each other so much right from page 1, is important to me. 

I think you’ve hit the nail on the head in all of your points, and I thank you very much for sending this in! I’m sending you tons of love right back, and I hope you’re having a great day today :)

[fly-pow-bye]

DuckTales 2017 - “The Outlaw Scrooge McDuck!”

Story by: Francisco Angones, Madison Bateman, Colleen Evanson, Christian Magalhaes, Bob Snow

Written by: Christian Magalhaes

Storyboard by: Vince Aparo, Emmy Cicirega, Ben Holm

Directed by: Tanner Johnson

Part 2 of the big catch-up!

The episode begins with the Ottoman Empire. No, not that one, Djinn, it's the TV-show-within-a-TV-show. In this episode, one of the hosts tries to host by himself, rebelling against his co-host who thinks he can not. He then forgets the half of the slogan his co-host usually says.

Outside of one more cameo of the show, which I will get to later, this gag only appears in this opening. I assume this is just a "character watches something on TV with a cheap gag" opener.

That character being Louie, who is moping on the couch. Scrooge offers him some misprinted business cards he can easily permanent marker into Louie Inc. cards. Not only does Louie not know what a business card is, because those kids and their social media, but he wants to give up this whole Louie Inc. thing. There were five people in line at the patent office, and that obstacle was enough to make him give up. "Classic Louie", even Louie himself says.

Scrooge is not going to accept that, and decides to tell him a story in an attempt to get his determination back. Really, this is all just a framing device for an old-timey story about grit and determination. Even Louie knows it, as that's a direct quote from him. Not the framing device part, anyway; this episode's fourth wall breaks are far more subtle.

The real story starts back when the Old West was the current west, in a small town called Gumption. A young Scrooge McDuck, with his unfailing sense of where gold is, bought a plot of land that may contain a large amount of gold. He was starving but determined, and he wants to claim his destiny.

He finds a small gold nugget in the rocks, a clear sign that something much, much bigger must be nearby. He grabs his stick of dynamite, and quickly climbs up the ladder, only for a part of the ladder to break, causing him to fall right into an explosion.

Of course, he survives, I wouldn't have wanted that twist. However, he does get his foot caught in the rubble. However, unlike a certain person in real life or a certain moon dweller in the universe I'm looking over, at least he had his pickaxe within reach. He does get some additional help from an oddly familiar fellow.

Oddly Familiar Fellow: Howdy, friend!

Meet Sheriff Marshall Cabrera, clearly either Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera's grandfather or another relative of that sort. It's cool to see that the Cabrera family line has always been about justice, whether it be a robotic superhero, a police officer, or, in this character's case, a town sheriff. A sheriff named Marshall; they do make a joke about that.

He says that he wants to let all the prospectors know that a big-shot is coming to bring fortune to Gumption. Ignoring the big-shot, Scrooge is more ticked about how he referred to a plural amount prospectors when he's the only one. Turns out, it’s a two prospector town now! He marches towards a tent, preparing to wallop whoever this guy is, and then, right behind his back...

Goldie O'Gilt: Hootie-hoo, Scroogie!

Scrooge: Of course.

Goldie O'Gilt, his long time ex-rival, ex-partner, and pain in the tail, followed Scrooge in an attempt to steal whatever loot he gets. Scrooge is not happy about this new turn in this plot.

Louie shares that unhappiness, though for different reasons. He thinks this is just going to turn into more "old people love". A lot of the humor of the episode consists of commentary from Louie. Scrooge still denies any sort of romantic tension between them, though he can't disagree that there isn't any hand-holding...

...it's just not the kind Louie was talking about. Because that interruption wasn't enough, Louie then complains about all the prospector slang they're using. As much as the interruptions sometimes interrupts the flow of the story, we do get to hear David Tennant say “you’re killing my vibe, dude!” I could see that as how Scrooge thinks the young'ns talk. Thankfully, Louie changes his mind about that, and lets the story continue.

They both decide to compete to see which one is going to get the gold first. Making matters worse for Scrooge is that Goldie bought all of the dynamite. They work day and night, though we only see her using the dynamite at night. Not sure if that means she's just confident enough to use the Tortoise and the Hare strategy, and didn't read to the end of that fable.

In the end, it turns out to be a three-way tie.

No, that's not a typo, another potential rival comes in and grabs the giant nugget with a far stronger grasp due to using a mobile crane. Continuing the trend of bringing comic characters to animation for the first time, this rival turns out to be the first animated appearance of John D. Rockerduck. Really rich with money, but not rich with kindness.

Case in point, he shakes the hand of his fellow prospector, and then immediately takes off the gloves and asked if they would be burned. Already from the beginning, he shows himself as a rather despicable being, but don't tell that to the town and their sheriff. This was the big shot he was talking about, and he's going to use what he christens the "Rockerduck Nugget" to make the town wealthy.

Obviously, Scrooge is not too happy about yet another prospector coming to town to steal what he would christen the "McDuck Nugget". Goldie throws fuel to the fire by talking about how legendary Scrooge is, leading to some good ol' fashioned fisticuffs.

Rockerduck is definitely far less jokey than, say, Glomgold, but him attempting to fight Scrooge is probably his funniest moment. Sheriff Marshall breaks up the fight before anyone gets seriously hurt.

Of course, this is all just a plan to distract the other two while she steals what she might call the Goldie Nugget and the mobile crane. Unfortunately, she gets stopped by Jeeves, Rockerduck’s bodyguard, assistant, and wearer of silver teeth. Man, these reboots really love parodies of Jaws from the James Bond films. He's not much of a talker, never mind an answerer of questions.

...wow, I'm old.

Unfortunately, the law is the law, and Scrooge and Goldie are put behind bars. This seems like the usual cliche of the innocent heroes getting framed while the true bad guy gets away with it, but they did just commit assault and grand theft auto, respectively. Even Goldie admits they would have been better off if the sheriff was crooked. Granted, him owning the town probably skewed the scales a bit. Suddenly, that rebellious host of Ottoman Empire shows up and teases the conclusion will happen after the break!

It turns out, Louie turned on the TV, much to Scrooge's chagrin, and he tries to defend himself by saying he was trying to record it later. As much as I want to say that this interruption just takes up some time, there is one little thing I do like about it: we actually see him quickly hit the record button. It was clearly not his intention.

However, another character does seemingly invade the story, and it's not because of Louie.

This "nameless stranger" happened to be hiding under the sheets of the bunk bed. It may as well be the same Gyro Gearloose from the present...because it is due to some time travel shenanigans, though he denies it to the onlookers. I did look it up, Gyro Gearloose did have a world-travelling grandfather in the comics, but they decided to go with him time-travelling to the past. Maybe they felt it would be too coincidental to have every grandparent just show up in this plot, and there's a few other reasons, too.

One of the big reasons is that he comes with the knowledge that history will paint Rockerduck as a crook, swindling every city he said he would help.

Sheriff Marshall doesn't believe this strange man, by saying Rockerduck made a lot of cities rich, and then names all of his previous towns. With each finger he pulls up, his expression changes to show that those towns probably didn't get that much philanthropy. Usually, the saying is show and not tell, but I think this telling is powerful. After realizing this, he decides to let them go, and even joins them in their quest to, well, let's let Scrooge say it.

Scrooge: The outlaw Scrooge McDuck has a train to rob!

Ooh, just like the title!

Gyro, or that nameless stranger to everyone else here, also brings the knowledge of building rocket horses out of wood. He tried to make some organic ones with actual horses, but we see that those didn't turn out so well. It's funnier than it sounds, trust me.

Scrooge and Goldie decide to put on disguises to make them look more like upper-class citizens. Goldie thinks Scrooge can’t pull off a rich man look, but with a top hat and cane stolen from the Mayor, he looks the part. This almost leads to a big romantic scene. Keyword: almost, as she praises that it covers the bald spot. It’s a running gag that lasts throughout the episode, and the last one featuring Goldie, come to think of it. It is practically a relationship trait in itself.

With the help of those rocket horses, Scrooge and Goldie are able to catch the train. The Sheriff completely believes that ordinary horses could have easily caught up with the train, too, but Gyro's response is that he's irritatingly familiar.

We see Rockerduck commanding the people on the train to laugh at his selfish acts, and having Jeeves throw someone off the train for questioning them. You know, just in case anyone didn't know he was evil. Scrooge and Goldie have to steal a key to the boxcar that contains the nugget, but it's currently hanging on Rockerduck's suit. What does Goldie do?

She asks the piano player to play a new song she makes up on the fly. In the middle, she pretends to flirt with Rockerduck, pushing aside Scrooge at the same time. Then, she tells Scrooge to hurry up, using that command as lyrics to her song. There's some great bits in there.

Thanks to this song and dance, Scrooge manages to get the key without anyone noticing. That song proved to be a good distraction for everyone outside of one minor exception.

Meanwhile, Gyro and Sheriff Marshall try to operate Gyro’s rocket horse and buggy, which I assume is what was supposed to carry that nugget, and the untrained sheriff accidentally makes it blow up instead. This knocks out Gyro.

If you’re wondering how Scrooge would know about this, you’re not alone, as Louie, after a long time after the Ottoman Empire gag, gets to interrupt the story again pointing out that very plot hole! Scrooge's response?

Scrooge: Look who’s suddenly invested.

Louie: It's just...ugh, Just keep going!

Yes, please keep going.

Back to the story, Sheriff Marshall accidentally stumbles backwards, getting his hand stuck in a wooden gauntlet. That wooden gauntlet ends up guiding him into the background. One big hint of what's going on: he says "Blathering Blatherskite". I guess that was a family tradition that goes back, too.

Just as soon as they get into the boxcar with the nugget, that one minor exception shows up. Scrooge tries to give this overly large guy a wallop, and he does about as well as one might expect. This was apparently before he learned how to use a cane, after all.

Just before we get a Jeeves Punch, Scrooge Down, he manages to get punched through the door by...a superhero?

Marshall is back, wearing a superpowered suit that turns him into...okay, they never really give Steam-Powered GizmoDuck a name. If he does have a name, he does not have a chance to say it as he loses control as soon as he starts carrying the nugget.

Even that wooden punch didn't do too much to Jeeves, as he just picks them both back up. I guess if Gyro and his inventions did too much, he would mess up the entire time stream. To quote young Donald in Last Christmas!...

Young Donald: Did you ever see any movie?!

Anyway, since fighting him is out of the question, Scrooge decides to appeal to the lower-class bouncer that he is. He tells him that Rockerduck doesn’t care about him, and he should do what is right. With that nugget of truth, he decides to let them go.

Then again, giving him that little actual nugget of gold from the beginning of the story probably helped without. It's nice to see something from the beginning be a major part in the end. They are thrown onto to the golden nugget that WoodenDuck is carrying, and Rockerduck looks at this, and pretty much just shrugs it off. They only defeated one of his schemes, anyway.

Unfortunately, the GizmoDuck of the past is just as prone to overheating, as it overheats and begins to self-destruct. To indirectly keep Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera from disappearing, he jumps out of the suit as it carries the nugget right over a gulch.

The suit explodes, with the golden nugget. Scrooge begins to open his mouth, and it immediately cuts to Louie yelling a big no. This is the first genuine reaction out of Louie that isn't boredom or nitpicking. How fitting of Louie's character.

Thankfully, the pieces of the nugget that washed in the gulch went right back to Gumption, much to the joy of the townsfolk. Everything turned out alright; Goldie managed to deck Scrooge in the face and get most of the gold, the townspeople are happy, and even Gyro managed to get back to his home time with a bathtub time machine. I wonder how that came to be; maybe he'll make a movie about it.

As for Scrooge, while he was not necessarily happy with this ending, he did manage to make a panning venture out of it. That venture did lead to a war, but this is the part where Louie decides to just tell him to stop. Louie wanted a happy ending, but to Scrooge, money-making ventures never end.

In the end, Scrooge asks Louie how he wants to make his fortune. He could be a con-man like Rockerduck, be a shifty operator like Goldie, or be an industrious self-made man like his Uncle Scrooge. His answer to this is this episode's big teaser, and it certainly fits Louie's rebellious character.

...wait, is that what the Ottoman Empire joke from the beginning was alluding to? We are just going to have to wait and see.

How does it stack up?

Definitely liked this episode better than the episode with her first appearance, and while it's not necessarily because of Goldie, she doesn't detriment the episode. I would love to see more stories like this, maybe without the Louie commentary, though I wouldn't say he ruined the episode either. How best to say this episode wasn't ruined. How about this?

Next, Scrooge actually losing money?

← Treasure of the Found Lamp! 🦆 The 87 Cent Solution! →