#ness needs the fandom to understand him Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[swrkn]

Hihi! I see you have blue lock in your fandoms you write for, do you have any ness headcannons? thank you <3

𝐒𝐅𝐖 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐒

Alexis ness x g/n reader

Genre ; sfw , fluff

Author note ; hii , that’s my first request for blue lock so i would like to thank you for that ! English is not my first language so im sorry if there are mistakes, my request are open !!

⇨ Thoughtful Supporter

Ness is the ultimate doting partner, almost to a fault. He's incredibly attentive, always noticing the little things that make you happy, like your favorite snacks or how you prefer your tea. He's fiercely loyal and seeks validation in the relationship, similar to how he idolizes Kaiser on the field. He wants to feel like he's your number one supporter.

One evening, you casually mention craving something sweet while you're both texting. You don't think much of it and move on with your night. The next day, there's a knock at your door, and when you open it, Ness stands there with a box of pastries from your favorite bakery. "You mentioned these yesterday," he says with a shy smile, his cheeks slightly flushed. "I couldn't let you go another day without them." You're touched by his thoughtfulness, and as you both sit down to enjoy the treats, you realize how much he pays attention to even your smallest remarks.

⇨ Your Biggest Cheerleader

He's deeply invested in your personal goals and will do everything he can to support you, much like how he supports Kaiser on the field. He'll be your biggest cheerleader, no matter what. In return, he appreciates when you show interest in his soccer career, even if it's just attending his games or asking about his training.

You're working late on a project, and Ness texts you: Don't forget to take a break, okay? You're doing amazing. A few minutes later, he shows up with a coffee in hand, ready to cheer you on.

After one of his big games, you greet him with a proud smile. "You were incredible out there," you say. His eyes light up, and he pulls you into a tight hug. "Hearing that from you makes it even better," he murmurs.

⇨ The Peace Maker

Ness hates conflict and will do his best to avoid arguments. If a disagreement arises, he'll try to resolve it calmly, often prioritizing your feelings over his own. He's quick to apologize, even if he's not in the wrong, but he appreciates it when you acknowledge his feelings too.

A minor disagreement arises when your schedules don't align, and you end up snapping at Ness out of frustration. He takes a deep breath, choosing not to escalate the situation. "I'm sorry if I upset you," he says calmly, his eyes soft with concern. "I just want us to work through this together." His willingness to approach the issue with understanding rather than anger helps you cool down, and together, you find a solution. By the end of the conversation, the tension has melted away, replaced by mutual understanding and affection.

⇨ Romantic Gestures

He's a romantic at heart. Expect surprise dates, handwritten letters, and spontaneous compliments. Ness loves making you feel cherished. His favorite thing is to cook for you, insisting that he knows all your favorite dishes. Even if it doesn't turn out perfect, he'll put his heart into every meal.

One weekend, you find a small envelope on your pillow. Inside is a handwritten note from Ness, detailing how much he appreciates you. "I just wanted to remind you how amazing you are," it reads. "Thank you for being in my life."

Ness surprises you by setting up a cozy picnic at the park, complete with a blanket, snacks, and your favorite playlist. "I thought we could use some fresh air and time together," he says, beaming.

⇨ Jealousy and Insecurity

Ness is prone to jealousy but tries to hide it. If he sees you getting close to someone else, he'll quietly fume but won't confront you directly. Instead, he'll subtly seek more of your attention to reassure himself. In moments of insecurity, he'll need you to affirm that you love him for who he is and not just for how much he supports you.

After one of Ness's matches, you find yourself talking with one of his teammates, complimenting his skills. From a distance, Ness watches, his smile faltering slightly as he sees how much you're enjoying the conversation. Later, when it's just the two of you, he hesitates before asking, "You seemed really close with him... Do you think they're funnier than me?" His voice is soft, almost uncertain. You immediately cup his face, looking into his eyes. "Ness, you're the one I love. No one else comes close," you assure him, planting a gentle kiss on his lips. His expression softens, and he pulls you into a tight hug, his insecurities melting away in your embrace.

⇨ The playful Competitor

He's surprisingly competitive when playing games with you, especially if it's something like board games or trivia. He loves teasing you when he wins but takes it gracefully if you beat him.

During a trivia night, Ness surprises you with how competitive he can get. "No way you knew that answer!" you laugh after he correctly names a random historical fact. He smirks and says, "What can I say? I'm full of surprises." When you finally beat him in the final round, he dramatically clutches his chest. "You've defeated me, but I'm proud of you," he says, making you both burst out laughing.

✵

[ashboy-3]

Smash or Pass

Fandom: Danny Phantom and Batfam Prompt: https://www.tumblr.com/help-i-need-a-cool-username/719653067055906816/ashboy-3-please-tag-me-whenever-you-post-it?source=share Characters: Danny, Sam, Tucker, Jason, Batfam Words: 1908 Summary: Danny refuses to sleep and gets stopped by a reporter. Not fully knowng what she aks when questioning him about Red Hood Danny answers with a simple Smash. Now if only his crush Jason Todd would pick up on the social cues.

“So what’s the game tonight?” Danny asked, looking at the screen of the video camera to see Tucker and Sam staring back at him.

“Are you sure Danny. Isn’t it like ten over there?” Sam asked, worry clearly on her face.

“It’s not a good night for sleep Sam. Please. You two both have the day off, right?” Danny asked.

“Yeah we do dude. So I was thinking Smash or pass?” Tucker threw the idea out there.

“Oh that’s a good one. What should we do it on?” Danny asked.

“Super smash bros? It has Smash in the name?” Tucker suggested.

“Then we should totally do Pokémon!” Sam had an evil smirk.

“Oh you are both so on!” Danny quickly agreed as Tucker quickly found a full list online of the Super Smash bro fighters, sharing his screen and making sure to record, if anything for future black mail reasons.

“Alright first up Mario,” Tucker announced, both his friends knowing that he would rather be the impartial party and narrator while they have their fun.

“Pass.” Danny and Sam voiced.

“Donkey Kong.”

“Pass,” Danny quickly said.

“Smash!” Sam was quick to say as the two looked at each other.

“You want to smash a giant monkey?” Danny questioned.

“First off he’s a gorilla, second you can’t tell me that he doesn’t fuck,” she quirked her eyebrow at him.

“Fair enough,” Danny yielded holding up his drink to take a sip in her honor.

“Dude that’s water,” Tucker rolled his eyes.

“Don’t’ remind me. Who’s next!”

“Link.”

“Smash” Tucker rolled his eyes at his two friends.

“Sometimes you two are so predictable. Samus.”

“Pass,” Sam waved her off.

“Smash. Let her fuck me up, in or out of that suit!”

“Dark Samus?”

“Same,” they both agreed, to keep their answers from last time.

“Yoshi.”

“Smash!” Sam yelled out, Danny thinking about it before he to agreed.

“Why am I friends with you two? Kirby?”

“Pass,” Sam said as Danny thought abot it. “Yeah pass. I feel like Kirby is to innocent. And dude who else would you be friends with. Hit me with the next one!”

“Fox and Falco.”

“Pass on Fox smash on Falco,” Sam decided. “Pass on both,” Danny shook his head.

“How could you smash one but not the other? Their the same thing?” Danny asked.

“First off their not. I feel like Falco is more bad ass. Second, I don’t want to hear that argument when we get to pokemon.”

“Fair enough.” Danny agreed.

“Speaking of Pokemon I’m skipping them in this list since that’s our next list,” Tucker skipped the image of pikachu. They both passed on Luigi, Ness, Captain Falcon, and jigglypuff.

“I would so smash princess peach, daisy, and Rosalina. Line them up!” Danny cheered.

“Really Peach? I would only smash Rosalina. She at least had a story line,” Sam rolled her eyes.

“Bowser?”

“Smash the fucking hell out of me!” Danny cheered.

“Okay I know I’m a monster fucker, but are you sure you’re not one?” Sam asked him.

“I have never actually thought about it,” Danny shrugged. “But you still didn’t answer the question?”

“Of course, I’d smash Bowser. Pass on Wario, Waluigi, and Dr. Mario,” Sam rolled her eyes, a smile on her lips.

“Yeah, I can agree with that statement,” Danny shook his head in understanding. “We are passing on the ice climbers?” Danny asked.

“Of course!” Danny agreed. “and you know I’m smashing Sheik and Zelda!”

“Smash Sheik pass on Zelda.”

“You are aware that their the same person right?” Tucker asked her.

“I’m very aware. Sheik could kill me and Zelda is a broing princess. I know what I want in a partner.”

“point taken,” Tucker stopped his fight as he ended up pushing next multip times. Danny and Sam both agreed to pass on the fire emblem charctrers along with young link while Smashing Ganon.

“Mr. Game and Watch.”

“Pass,” Sam said quickly.

“I’d smash. I feel like he could give me a fun time. You saw how he handles that hammer. If I’m lucky he’d use it to pound me,” Danny smiled, making both of his friends laugh.

“You know Danny I agree with that statement and that’s why I’d smash meta knight.”

“To much armor for me,” Danny said, making Tucker snort.

They passed on the Pit’s, kept their same opinion on Samus and landed on Snake.

“Extra Smash!” Danny and Sam agreed.

They kept playing, ending pretty quickly with mostly passes. Danny wanting to smash Bayonets,, Ridley, and King Roll. Sam was agreeing with that list adding Isabella, claiming that she must have some evil dark side to her. This led the group to the pokemon list.

“Do we want to start with Gen 1? Or just go into chaos?” Tucker asked, knowing his friends answers as he got up the list for Gen 9.

“I’m being honest if it’s got three evolutions, I’m most likely not going to smash the first evolution. The second and third are still up for grabs,” Danny set down his rules.

“I can agree with that. So we passing on Sprigatto, Quaxly, and Fuecoco,” Tucker mumbled to himself, making sure to skip thoses options.

“I’m Smashing Floragato, Meowscarda and crocalor from the starters,” Danny stated.

“Chicken,” Sam snorted. “I’ll take your grass started and your fire second evolution and raise you a Quaxwell.”

“I feel like it’s only going to drown into madness from here,” Tucker groaned, knowing it’s not even midnight where Danny is yet and there are nine generations of pokemon.

“How can you not Smash Spidops!” Danny asked frantically.

“Are you kidding? All it does is shot webs. If I wanted to fuck something that shots webs I would fuck spiderman,” Sam rolled her eyes.

“You. . .bring out an excellent point, but I’m not changing my answer!”

“Smashing Arbolliva!” Sam slammed her hand on the desk.

‘Damn girl! I am right here! If you don’t want me then just say it,” Tucker teased her as Danny laughed.

“Smash. Samsh. Smash Ceruledge,” Danny was cheering, Sam cheering with him.

“You know it makes sense that the two of you dated in. highschool, but I can clearly tell why you two were never going to work,” Tucker observed.

“And why is that?” Danny asked, quirking his eyebrow.

“You have to similar of taste.”

“No way in hell you’re actually fucking Grafaiai. Sam do you just have a thing for monkeys or something? “Danny asked.

“I’m not the one who’s ready to throw a party for Toedscruel. I thought we agreed no judging?” She glared.

“Oh know we are judging. I think I’m the one who’s judging the worst,” Tucker laughed.

“That doesn’t count. You only have eyes for Sam. I can’t even recombed a person looks hot and fuckable to you without you saying Sam’s better,” Danny groaned.

“Yep and it’s nice to see that my girlfriend does not have the same standards for me,” Tucker was looking towards her, a playful smile on his lips. He knows she loves him and that he’s not being serious.

“Ah shit guys! I gotta go and get ready for class!” Danny said after hours of playing the smash or pass game. They did eventually make it through all of the Pokémon, but now it was 7 am and Danny had to run to get to campus and stop at his favorite coffee shop.

“Make sure you stay awake dude. If you need to skip class I can write you a doctor’s note,” Tucker said.

“I’ll be fine. I just really don’t want to sleep right now. I should be better by tonight,” Danny said bye to his friends, changing into a different shirt, making sure to grab his jacket, wallet, and keys before leaving his small apartment.

Danny loved living in Gotham, but sometimes the hustle and bustle of the city can be chaotic and stressful, especially on the days when Danny could possibly be late for class, sleep deprived, yet to have his coffee and some report is stopping him to ask him question.

“Opinion of Red Hood?” was the only thing Danny heard the reported ask.

“Smash,” was all Danny could think of as he quickly walked into the coffee shop to get his black coffee with 12 extra expresso shots. Did is taste good? No. Did it wake him up? Absolutely.

Danny didn’t realize the absolute chaos he had caused till he was back home from his classes, Sam and Tucker spamming him with memes of what he did.

Seeing no other option but to go along with it. He found the original clip that tucker sent him a link to, tunrs out the news station put it up on twitter, and re retweeted it with just two words. “I’m right.”

Meanwhile on the other side of Gotham Dick is dying of laughter as he discovered the most hilarious news clip on the planet and proceeded to send it to every single person in his contacts and to every group chat that he’s in, just in case he didn’t have someone’s contact number saved.

He even found the clip being retweeted by the same guy who claims that he’s still right with someone else tagging it #plsdon’tkillhimmr.redhoodsir.

He was making fun of Jason for it especially because turns out his brother knows the guy in real life.

“Grayson what does he even mean when he says smash?” Damain asked as Tim and Dick were making fun of Jason at the cave.

“I have to agree with Damain. The video makes know sense,” Bruce agreed.

“I’m not explaning this,” Tim quickly grabbed his coffee and walked out of the batcave.

“No it!” Jason declared running upstairs, face fully red, Dick not far behind him.

“Why is it always me,” Duke groaned as Bruce wayne lifted a questioning eye brow up at him.

“Please don’t make me explain it,” Duke begged, but sadly when Bruce Wayne wants to know something he will know something.

“Keep making fun of me for this and I will no longer show up to family dinner,” Jason glared at his older brother.

“Aww. You know you can’t avoid Alfred forever,” Dick teased.

“Shit you’re right,” Jason groaned, knowing he was going to have to put up with his brother’s teasing no matter what.

Before anyone knew it Wednesday was upon them, which meant that Danny and Jason finished their only shared class and walked out together to get lunch.

“So did you see your famous news clip?” Jason asked, not able to look Danny in the eye.

“Yeah. I swear this I say the craziest shit when I’m sleep deprived. I stand by what I said though,” Danny got up from the table to grab his order.

“You’re not worried about Red Hood finding out or anything?” Jason asked, seeing a chaotic look within Danny’s eyes.

“Jason, I want nothing more than for Red Hood to come and find me. Hopefully then I’ll get my wish,” Danny smirked up at him, hoping his friend would catch on to the signs.

“Well one can always hope,” Jason gave an awkward laugh as Danny sighed.

Jason may be a bat, but Danny has a feeling that he’s as hopeless as he is when it comes to picking up on romantic cues. At this rate, it’s going to take a miracle to get Jason to realize that yes Danny has feelings for him.

@help-i-need-a-cool-username @spookytragedyshark @weirdfishy @meira-3919 @akikkobara @yjfk@shorterthanadverage@mistyaltair @seraphinedemort@princessdaisysolosyourfaves@idontgetpaidenoughforthisshit@thatonegaybitch68@fuck-you-too-world@stargirl1331@blackrabbitt3t@staresatyoufromaccrosstheroom@f-theworld

I think that was everyone that wanted to be tagged. I personally feel like this could you a second chapter. If I ever do decide to do that then I would definitely add more Jason moments than just having him in here at the last moment.

[animentality]

As Blue Lock fan, can I ask something? Do you think NagiReo dynamics is similar to KaiNess? I just read someone said that "KaiNess & NagiReo, both are codependent, but KaiNess is better". I know everyone is free to ship whoever, but I think both relationships are just different (so far as what I read based on canon, until now). Can I ask your thoughts, please? Also, as new fan (just started Blue Lock last year) I'm surprised with how many hate Reo got in Blue Lock fandom. To me, Reo is my favorite, no 2 is Bachira, then no 3 is Shidou (thanks for the RyuSae posts, love them!), no 4, Nagi, no 5 is Yukimiya.

Sorry for this random ask, yes I'm NagiReo shipper but I don't dislike KaiNess (they're just not my fav)

I understand why people think it's like NagiReo.

You have a talented player who's being supported by a midfielder who really believes in their talent, to an obsessive degree. On the surface level, one of them cares much more about the other one.

To the point where, they reject the midfielder, and want to go their own way. They abandon the person who supported them the entire time, and don't look back.

And from a fandom standpoint, there are a lot of people who think the striker doesn't care about the midfielder at all... and there are KaiNess shippers right now, who adamantly insist that Ness is being treated just like Reo in the early days, back before no one knew Nagi returned his feelings (just expressed poorly).

So I get why people are making parallels there... but I totally disagree.

Because while I think Kaiser definitely cares about Ness more than he cares to admit...

It's just not equal.

Reo is obsessed with Nagi, yeah... but Nagi is just as obsessed back. What they lack is communication, not obsession.

Ness has a very unhealthy obsession with him, that Kaiser doesn't share. Ness needs help, man.

Kaiser really abuses that poor kid, and deliberately manipulated him, because he saw emotional weakness...

That is NOT NagiReo...

Also, Kaiser doesn't know how to love himself, or anyone else... he's nothing like Nagi, even though Nagi is also heavily implied to not know how to love anyone either.

Nagi lacks the same malice that Kaiser has, for himself, and for others.

Also, I LOVE Reo too.

I think he's very relatable, he's incredibly sweet, and he's misunderstood as fuck.

He's just a teenage boy in love with his best friend... he's allowed to be sad that said friend left him alone in this deranged ass soccer prison...

Also, Reo, Bachira, and Shidou???

Goated fucking taste.

[uchihakeimei]

KaiNess, and why Isagi might be the villain in their story.

So, its blatantly obvious that Kaiser's only understanding of humanity is his father and that's the example he's following.

His father has scarred him deeply and that's what he believes humans do, because that's all he knows. So, he's simply repeating what he's learned, just in the context of soccer.

His relationship with Ness is another example of this. A 'master and servant/dog' relationship is the only kind of relationship he understands.

In his childhood, his father was the 'master' and he the 'loyal dog' who kept them alive and fed.

As he grew up, he became the master and Ness the 'dog' whose passes keeps their soccer career 'alive'.

Earlier, Kaiser was the soccer ball. Now Ness is the soccer ball.

(At the same time, I believe he's completely unaware of what he's doing. Yes, he knows that (or atleast believes that) he using Ness. But, he hasn't realised that this is almost the same as his father because... well... he's not beating Ness up, right? And in his own way, Kaiser even looks after Ness by keeping Ness's career alive. So he thinks that he's not the same as his father.

And funnily enough, it is true, but not for the reasons he thinks. He is not the same as his father because he does care for Ness, he just hasn't realised it yet. He volunteered information about his past when he had no reason to do so, his smile in Ness's backstory was 100% real.

In fact that's what makes him different, makes him redeemable.)

There's this one excellent Kaiser Meta that I have read which summarises the path to Kaiser's evolution excellently by @miyamiwu

While I largely agree with everything she has said (truly the best understanding of Kaiser in this fandom, imho) I do think Kaiser will evolve/awaken or atleast undergo some manner of positive change in this match, even if it's not a goal.

Kaiser has been set up as Isagi's long term rival, if not the main one. Their similarities and their differences, the depth Kaiser has been given, and most importantly, the fact that he's a non-Japanese U20 striker all lend credence to the hypothesis.

(After all, Isagi can't hope to become the best striker in the world if he can't be the best striker in Japan. Therefore, it stands to reason that his most important rival is not Japanese. It could be a newer character down the line, or it could be Kaiser or Loki. What is certain is that it won't be Noa. An opponent yes, but a rival? No)

Which is why, I think he's a little different from Rin and Nagi. Kaiser, due to being German, cannot appear in the manga with the frequency Rin and Nagi do and therefore, he cannot have the same arc they do either.

So. Kaiser needs to be developed/evolved. And it has to happen in this match or else he will lose his impact in the story. So how to do this? Because, as @miyamiwu said, Kaiser's problems run deeper, and a match is too short to resolve all of them. So, I suppose, what we do is that we skip a few steps.

1. Find a fellow “non-human.”

2. See himself as “human.”

3. Recognize love for what it is.

4. Redefine his “proof of existence”

Needless to say, Kaiser absolutely needs to, at the very least, complete steps 3 and 4.

Whether he sees himself as human or not, what he absolutely needs to realize is that he needs Ness (recognize that he loves Ness and cannot stand to lose him) and redefine (or realize) why he's playing soccer in the first place.

And this is where Isagi comes in, who plays the role of Kaiser's 'father' in this story. It has been speculated by many people that Ness would temporarily ally with Isagi (the naked king prophecy) which will result in Kaiser's goal.

Kaiser nearly lost his ball to his father and Kaiser will nearly lose Ness to Isagi.

(Another hint that Isagi will play the role of his father is that one comparison where Isagi threatened to 'kill' Kaiser.)

(This one)

(Interestingly, Ness's envy about Kaiser fixating on Isagi also seems like possible foreshadowing now. In Ness's pov, Isagi has been getting in between them since the beginning)

Except.

Ness is not an actual soccer ball. He's a human being capable of making his own choices. Ness allying with Isagi will only be read as betrayal and abandonment by Kaiser.

Abandonment quite literally means being 'unwanted' to Kaiser. With how intertwined everything is with football for Kaiser, Ness passing to Isagi will read as betrayal.

Even if he comes back, the damage has been done.

(Funnily enough, they were doomed either way because if Ness doesn't leave, then Kaiser would never realise his importance.)

Whether Kaiser evolves after this or not (personally, my money is on him evolving), KaiNess will be finished.

(Atleast temporarily, I hope)

.

.

.

(I have some theories on what might happen after this but honestly, I don't have the mental capacity rn to put them down in writing. But I had to get atleast this out because I also have an exam tomorrow and hyperfixating on german boys was not helping 😭)

(Interestingly, this particular 'betrayal' plot/theory might just be speedrunning step 3, 1 and 2 in that order. This will make Kaiser see that Ness is the soccer ball. Kaiser also recognizes himself as the soccer ball. Knowing that he loves Ness but Ness is the soccer ball but he also is the soccer ball might make him stop seeing himself as complete trash too. Or maybe just stop seeing the soccer ball as trash)

(Something something Isagi (the heart of Blue Lock) and making a mark on people, which is why he (Kaiser) is playing soccer. Because being human is making a mark on people but he went about doing it wrong because of his father. Maybe he will learn after he sees how Isagi made his mark on Ness? Or maybe he will emulate how Isagi makes his mark on Kaiser?? Learn from his 'father' once again)

(Writing that last sentence as a KaiSagi shipper was so weird 💀💀)

[xo-adeline]

Hello hihihi!

Im sorry if im interrupting u rn!

~`[Fandom:] Blue lock please!

~`[preferred name,prounouns:] She/her,they/them, And Miyaki or Miyakiwi, Or miya is fine! <3.

~`[Characters i dont wanna be paired with:] Ego,Kaiser please!

~`[Hobbies,Personality:] Im an Enfp! And my hobbies are either playing badminton,volleyball,soccer, and also drawing with a little bit of writing +Reading! Oh and listening to music too!

~`[Love Languages:] Quality time,Gift Giving? I forgot what its called.. and Words of Affirmation, and a lil bit of physical touch!

~`[Description Of appearance/Aesthethic:] i like warm and some colorful colors too! Even dark, But i truly prefer Light Academia or scene!

~`[Extra:] Take your time if needed, and please rest after this request if you can! Thank you if you did this, i am very glad <3.

I think you’d go well with…

Alexis Ness!

-> With your personality type I can see you and Ness getting along amazing! He seems like the kinda guy that would love having a relationship with somebody who can match how much he cares about the ones he loves! -> Loves that you play sports and is always willing to help you practice or anything like that! Will even learn how to play some of your other spots so that he can help you practice! And since you also play soccer he's totally down to play against you, obviously not as hard as he would go against some other pro team, more like just messing around with you instead! -> King of compliments and Quality time!! He loves just being around you, and he's already known to basically worship the ground certain people walk on, so why would you be any different? He constantly is complimenting anything you do, though if you're not the best with compliments he understands and will try to tone it down a little. Bro also has that professional soccer player money, he doesn't mind one bit spending some of it on you, and he loves to see your face when he finds something he thinks you'll really like! -> Dates with him are so fun! It can go from just kinda staying inside and doing your own thing, but being in the same room, to wandering around the city and finding cool places to visit. He'll even scope out some great scenery if you like to draw scenery and stuff! -> Would love it if you ever showed up to one of his games! Tries to wave at you the second he's not busy and he sees you. His teammates will tease him about it, but he doesn't care, he loves you and is excited to see you at his game, so why wouldn't he wave and say hi?

Other potential matchups - Isagi Yoichi and Nanase Nijiro

[fancyfade]

damian: 2,4, 6, 8. babs and cass: 2, 4,6 , 8 , 11

2 Favorite canon thing about this character?

ahhh this one is gonna be so hard to think of. I mean in like all 3 cases it's "their personality" but XD Trying to get more specific than that

Damian: the gradual-ness of his character arc and how realistic his reaction to suddenly being asked to change how he does everything is written. Damian changes his behavior (no longer killing people) long before he changes his beliefs (it's OK to kill some people). We also see how he understandably cares about saving civilians long before he cares about preserving villains lives which makes sense both from a 'duh' perspective and from a 'logically damian would be raised to believe that he's saving the world' perspective.

I also like the general rough edges his character has, like even long after he's become very conventionally 'moral' I guess (like in Robin: Son of batman where he's like undeniably heroic and trying to make up for every bad thing he did) he still doesn't come across as super conventionally 'nice'.

Babs:

Her self isolation and bad-decision making tendencies have me captivated.

ok /j but :P I love how independent she is and how she responds to trauma and how we see her incredibly reluctant to reach out to people around her. I love when she approaches problems from a nexus of control even though she would hate it if people approached her problems from that POV.

She's a fun character who often does make missteps in her personal relationships but nevertheless always tries to correct them

Cassandra:

Cass I love her perfectionism and the way she approaches her problems. even though I mentioned in Damian's answer that I loved how gradual his character arc and un-learning assassin stuff was, I also love how sudden Cass leaving Cain was*. It works completely for her characterization.

Then the way she approaches her problem (of having killed someone) is completely all-in cass-y. Cass is trying to grapple with what she did as a child (and I saw some really convincing meta about how the guilt she felt from killing the guy was not necessarily due to seeing his pain, as she'd seen pain before, but due to not understanding his death, i'll dig it up soon: EDIT FOUND IT (link)). Her thing is very simple: she killed someone so she deserves to die. She won't kill herself, but she has very little regard for her own life and is perfectly fine going out saving people. and the way she approaches her guilt pre her Shiva arc often goes from a kind of projecting on people I think (where she projects her own guilt on the guy she breaks out of death row when the mother of his victim approaches her, she gives him back to go to his death, she returns a kid to her mom who is exploiting for her talents rather than her criminal father who loves her) and then when she's dealt with her own guilt she can address people in a way that does not quite have that specter of guilt hanging over her.

*tho important note: I don't think that Cass leaving Cain was her character arc, it's a backstory detail

4: f you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

I would put them all in a well-adapted live action movie so more people know about them :P Unless this is like straight up drop them into an already existing fictional universe, it's unclear. Like I like thinking of a 'Batfam as Jedi' AU for one tumblr post for example, but I don't really care enough about 'characters in alternate universe' to need to see it in a fully developed story. A lot of what makes them unique and fun is specific to the universe.

6 What’s something you have in common with this character?

Babs: Self isolation. Also wheelchair using :P

Damian and Cass: General perfectionism

8 What’s something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

Damian: Either uwu baby-ifying him so whichever fave can take care of him and protect him at the expense of his canonical competence or acting like he's a terrible person and any time DC writes character assassination for him it was IC because he's always a terrible person.

Cass: forgetting she exists, having her there to just prop up Tim or Jason (Jason ???????), diminishing her competence to prop up some batboy and act like they can easily 'hack' her abilities.

Babs: babsgirl stuff. also people who remember with perfect clarity every jerk thing she hdid and use it against her t osay she's a terrible person (instead of just like. a realistic person with flaws) but conveniently ignore when their favorite batboy did similar things, oftentimes without even trying to make amends.

11 Would you date this character? (just babs and cass)

I would not date either of them sorry ladies. I love you but i'm already mentally ill I don't need more people's issues and emotional constipation

ty for asks! Asks from here (link)

[cosmodynes]

azem so cute T_T!!!!! i always thought they looked like the trans flag with the pink and blue hair but didn't want to make assumptions, was it on purpose or just because blue and pink always look good together (SINCE THEY RLLY DO !!)

thank you for sharing your art here with us <3 i cant wait for the azemet fanbook !!!!

THANK U .·°՞(≧□≦)՞°·.

pink + blue and pink + mint green are top tier combos ✌️(˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)

im making up for years of denying that i like pink things by having an extremely pink azem (and by extension, wol). although i wish i was galaxy brained enough to have done it on purpose, the colour scheme came first and the personal headcanons came later haha

i agonized deliberated over whether or not to mention that azem is trans but it is going to be an unavoidable part of a bunch of r18 works coming up so! perfect opportunity for me to just say it directly!

more chatter about ocs, identities, and navigating the trans experience in fandom as a nb person i don't think a content warning is necessary but just let me know and i'll tag properly.

anyways. azem is trans. i am not. wol is… well, they will tell me when it's relevant!

i don't generally go out of my way to talk about myself much in public spaces because i'd rather have the focus be on my creative works instead. at the same time there's been an upswing in policing identities. i don't think you should have to prove whether you can explore something in fiction, so long as your intent is not malicious. joyful and respectful exploration of marginalized groups in fiction is good though ah.. it can be very difficult if it’s not something you have lived experience with.

despite saying that, i still have (had) (will continue to have) doubts whether shrimp genders azem is something i have the right to explore as a nb person. is my OC trans enough? what does it mean to be trans in fiction? is suffering an inherent part of the trans experience, or can you simply…be? (i have trans character imposter syndrome, if you would.)

i can understand why someone would want to have a certain experience in fiction where they can control the narrative and regain agency in that regard, but it’s not something I personally need or want for my OC. azem simply is what they are, and suffering for their identity is not part of the experience I’m writing into him. azem's trans-ness is simply another aspect of their physical features like pastel pink and mint hair or being shorter than venat.

all this goes to say… i will make mistakes, probably. if i do, it's from a lack of understanding.

this was really long so thanks for reading this far and hopefully you enjoy whatever i have planned next!

[tongue---tied]

HI!!! Red Dwarf or the ask meme please! I'd much like to know your interpretations and thoughts! <3

Im throwing this under a cut because, boy, this is gonna be a long one

❤️Favorite character

This won't come as a surprise to many of any of you but, yeah, it's rimmer. I want to put him in situations, I want to take him out of situations, there's the full duality there. I relate to him a lot (which probably isn't a good sign lol) and I strongly believe you cannot have red dwarf without him (i mean, look at the ratings for season 7 even with the girlboss that is kochanski). His character itself has such good potential, the angst that comes with being a hologram, the touch-starved-ness (?), his entire childhood, his need for academic validation even 3 million years into the future when all who would care anyway are dead, I could go on forever.

👿Least favorite character

Don't do this to me man 😭 I don't even know if I have one?? At least not out of the main crew. There's no character that actually makes me vibrate with rage in a bad way... If I did really have a think it would probably be a one-off character that was only in one episode and never mentioned again. Oh! I've just remembered, some fanon interpretations of Toddhunter honestly made my skin crawl with how horrible he is, but obviously that's just fanon, and some fanon interpretations have him as honestly a really good meaning guy- looking at you, Work Thing ;)

💐Comfort character

If you can't guess at this point I honestly don't know what to say. It's rimmer, look I know I know, the comfort character who has had no comfort in his entire life/death but *slaps roof of car* this baby can fit so much projection! He's so varied, he's gay to me, he's bi to me, he's autistic to me, he has ptsd to me, he's yearning, he's in denial, he's just- HE *I am dragged away by a lone hand through the doorframe before I can continue*

😍Character you have the biggest crush on

Are you sensing a theme yet 😐 I'd say I don't wish to be perceived for this but let's be honest, my tags reveal all, and the majority of the fandom agrees. It's Rimmer. Again. Slightly outing myself as an x reader enjoyer here. *shaking him* I could fix him I really believe I could. (I'm glad you're the one who sent the ask, Lexie, we can both bond over being self shippers lol)

🤝Character you relate to the most

WHY IS IT ALWAYS RIMMER ON THIS ASK GAME PLEASE HELP😭😭😭 Hes a stickler for the rules (as long as they benefit him), he's probably autistic, he loves hammond organ music (very disappointed that he hates my main man Glenn Miller though 😔), he was an outcast for most of his childhood, he was bullied, he spirals at the slightest bad thing. I'm starting to really sense this isnt a good thing 😭 (I swear I'm doing okay I've got a good support system please don't worry)

🔥Character you think is overrated

I don't know?? 😭😭 I think all of red dwarf's characters really add to the material as a whole, and hey, it's not like this fandom is really big enough for overrating anything. I might say Duane Dibley, because yeah he's funny, Danny really performs well as that character but I don't really understand as to why he was so much of a fan favourite that they brought him back (for season 6 I think it was?) So if I had to say one character it would be Duane.

🧨Character you love to hate

*smacking my face against the doorframe* its rimmer again 😭😭😭 he's such a prick, especially in the early seasons man, I simultaneously want to look after him and throw him against a wall. I contain multitudes, it's okay

🙈Character you always forget exists

I guess I'd have to say Holly? He's got brilliant comedic timing and delivery (as Lovett and Hayridge) but the fact she was cut out in the later seasons and then brought back in season 8 and then gone again in the more recent ones just feels disjointed so she's easily forgotten sadly. (Yes I use she/he pronouns for Holly, she's genderfluid to me <3)

🐰Favorite non-human character

I'm gonna be honest, it would really have to be Holly. (I'm discounting Hologram Rimmer because he still sees himself as human in some way and he's had far too much screentime in this post). The comedic timing, the deadpan delivery, that amazing scene where she counts by smacking her head against the screen always makes me howl.

❤️‍🩹Character who deserved better

All of them. All of them. Rimmer, for reasons we've already gone into. Lister, the survivors guilt, he was SA'd at 12?!!, his entire relationship with Kochanski, his alcoholism, crushing loneliness, I could go on. The Cat, his entire species left him and his family because they were old and/or disabled, again loneliness. Kryten, literally in denial about his crew being dead, left alone for over 3 million years and still somehow hanging onto his sanity through episodes of androids, the need to do anything, literally anything to make sure he doesn't think to hard about anything other than laundry, honestly people need to talk about him more. Kochanski, losing her dave, stuck with this dave who looks exactly like hers but is so different, watching him destroy himself, having nothing in common with any of the crew, LONELINESS MAN.

Thank you so much for the ask! This was a long one phew

[alemonyoyo]

You seem cool, what are your fave South Park ships and why?

That is so nice thank you sm!

I like a lot of ships since I live in a perpetual multishipper hell, but my top 3 would be Jyle, Kyman (Sorry guys) and Climmy (What a goofy ship name).

Jyle is simply the best ship ever, and shipping my two favourite characters together is an obvious reason why I love it- But also their dynamic would be nice when taking into account their slightly higher tolerance of others in comparison to the other boys, and their little arcs in the Sponsored Content Trilogy. Both of them are just ever so slightly more understanding and tolerant of others than everyone else is, Kyle is a lot more obvious than Jimmy, but Jimmy shows a high tolerance to shit heads like Eric, he doesn't bully Butters, and he's really genuine when sticking to his morals such as in A Quest For Ratings and Sponsored content when he can't help but call out the fake journalism.

This stubborn-ness and intellectual integrity is also somthing Kyle harbours, and I feel the two would be a very intelligent duo. Also they hold hands in Super Fun Thyme, I GOTTA love that.

Both of them also had a thing for Leslie, meaning these boys are lonely, might as well bond over their mutual experience with the robot and love eachother right?

I feel like I don't really need to explain Kyman since it's such a popular ship in the fandom that I feel most people have heard the usual; "I love their dynamic, it's interesting." and "I love enemies to lovers." And a lot of people, myself included, genuinely believe Cartman has something going on for Kyle- Like mans is definitely gay for him, that's pretty hard to deny.

I also just like how they play with the idea of them, how Cartman is so comfortable with the idea of just pretending to be gay with Kyle. Also, when Kyle and Cartman are working together, such as in the first half of The Black Friday Trilogy and Crack Baby Athletic Association, I think they work really well, and I really enjoy watching that.

Climmy is just good because it has Jimmy in it and also Clyde is a silly man. This is the silly man ship for goofy guys who do darstardly deeds. Climmy is just the bromance to end all bromances since it isn't a boring friends to lovers and has two different but equally hilarious characters.

This was so long- Look most Jimmy ships are good ships, so ship Jimmy ships!

[xx-jasper-xx]

Thunderstorms and Cuddles

Original post date: 3/21/2024

Fandom: Mother 2

Relationship: Jeff & Poo

⬇️Read fic below⬇️

With night quickly approaching, the chosen four opted to stay at a hotel in Fourside. They didn't have much difficulty getting a room; with Ness being Mr. Moneybags and all. The only downside being there was one room left with two beds. Usually the chosen four get two rooms that have two beds, but this'll have to do. The night started off simple by getting the arrangements ready. Ness and Paula were to share one of the beds, while Jeff and Poo take the other. The rest of their time was spent chatting and figuring a game plan to get the next sanctuary location.

The sun has now sent and everyone has gone to bed. Everyone except Jeff, who was working on one of his many projects. He was calculated with his actions, doing his best to stay silent and not wake the others. The three of them needed the rest more than he did. Their psychic abilities really takes a lot out of them after a long day of nonstop fighting. Jeff would occasionally look over at them and noticed how peaceful they looked while sleeping. They all seemed to have a tough exterior about them, which Jeff never seemed to understand. Could it be a defense mechanism? Or is this just how they are?

All was going well until Jeff heard a loud rumbling sound. It didn't sound close, but it soon would be. Jeff's heart rate spiked at a rapid pace. He thought he was over this, but weather like this never happened in Winters. The most they got was occasional blizzards, but never a thunderstorm. Jeff was too caught up in this thoughts that he didn't hear the shuffling coming from one of the beds. He only noticed that there was movement in the room when he felt a hand in his shoulder. The blond turned his head and saw his bedmate.

"It's quite late," the prince said. "you should know better than to still be up."

Jeff could tell just by looking that he was extremely tired. He was having a difficult time keeping his eyes open. Now that he thought of it, Jeff started to feel exhausted and wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. He knew that deep down it wouldn't be that simple. Before he could say anything, Poo grabbed Jeff and dragged him back to the bed.

They took their positions in the bed with Jeff being the little spoon. He felt some comfort knowing his friend was so close to him. The storm was a lot closer now, practically on top of them now, and Jeff was silently freaking out. He tried his best not to let his friend know that he was scared. His friends would probably think differently of him if they knew he had such a stupid fear. Jeff shifted in the bed and way now facing his friend. He tried not to get too close to the prince, not wanting to invade his space. That all failed when the prince grabbed a hold of him and pulled him close. Jeff could hear his friend's heartbeat loud and clear. It was all that he could focus on. He cuddled into his friend, embracing the reality of the situation.

This feeling reminded him of Winters. There were times when he and Tony would cuddle like this. Mainly to keep warm. This feeling was so relaxing that Jeff had forgotten that he had forgotten who he was currently cuddling. That being his friend, Poo. Who was surprising okay with this. Jeff had assumed that an act like this would be forbidden to the prince. When Poo found out that Jeff had taken a liking to boys, he was slightly taken aback. He never seen anyone in his country engage in an act like that. It was all so new to him. The prince wasn't fully asleep by this point and took this limited time the two had together to ask a question.

"How did you know?" The prince spoke in a quiet tone so only Jeff could hear.

The blond didn't move. He was thinking too much about what he meant by the question. He could easily be referring to anything. After examining the situation, he understood what the prince meant.

"You just kind of know," Jeff stated, thinking about the boardinghouse. "Many of the older boys at the boardinghouse had experimented to figure out what romance was. It was only a matter of time until I realized I was quite fond of boys."

The blond could feel his checks heating up. He's never talked about this with anyone before. Then again, the only people in his life to this point have been the people in the boardinghouse. People who would understand his feeling. The blond looked at his friend to find him lost in thought. Most be curious about love and figuring out who he is. A stage of life everyone goes through.

The prince held onto Jeff a while longer. It was a nice feeling being this close to his friend. Someone who wouldn't judge him and would listen. Maybe someday he'll be able to freely express himself in his country. That will surely take time though. Trying to get his council to understand will be challenging, but it's a necessary change that has to happen. Finally feeling at ease, the two of them got some much needed sleep.

[wysteria-clad]

Moon boys dating a desi girl would include:

paring: moon boys x desi! fem! reader; established relationship

a/n:

reader is Tamil cause I need the rep :)

this for my Tamil girls in the moon knight fandom <3

I added little funny thing at nicknames, you guys are gonna love it 🤭

Y/n has loving and acceptable parents here.

genre: fluff, but sexual innuendo is there.

minors dni

gif credit

tag: (not my usual taglist, cause this is hella specific)

@mintpurplemnm

------

• Holi is super fun with your boyfriends. Chasing them with water guns with colourful holi powder mixed with water.

"It's not fair" you whine, playfully. "You used your skills"

Not really a fair competition against Marc and Jake's aiming skills, I know. But, come on, the laughter on their faces when you smeared Holi powder on their faces was totally worth it.

"It's not fair to use your cuteness too, princesa" Jake retorted with a little smirk.

Lighting up earthen lamps and placing it on the corners of your house during Deepam.

Your boyfriends help you light it, it's one of the cutest sights to see Marc cradling a lamp in his hand, cupping it to prevent the wind blowing it off.

• Your parents adore your boyfriends. Not gonna lie, it was difficult and quite hard for them to understand at first. But after they met them and truly got to know about them eventually, they couldn't help but love them. I mean, how could they say no to Steven's well impeccable politeness, Marc's charisma and Jake's charm. And they made you genuinely happy.

"I swear, ma. It's like you prefer my boyfriends over me" you joke to your mom.

"Oh, I do, chellam" she replies with a small smile on her face.

"Ma!"

She laughs, kissing your forehead.

"Innu konjom sapdu, kanna" she lovingly adds another chapathi to Marc's plate with a beaming smile on her face and patting his arm.

He is absolutely overwhelmed by her motherly affection and he gets teary eyed by her genuine love. You knew it is new for Marc, you reach out to brush your thumb over his knuckles in soothing gesture. He smiles at you, reassuring you.

Steven and your history nerd dad bonding over their nerdy-ness. You smile to yourself, shaking your head fondly watching them bond.

Your mom showing Indian cooking tricks to Jake, him doing reciprocating the gesture by telling her to make Spanish dishes.

Whenever she visits, she makes you and your boyfriends stand closer and does the gesture that removes evil eye.

Your mom spoils your boyfriends every time she visits by bringing them homemade snacks, food or buying them clothes, even though they protest.

"No one can stop me from spoiling my sons" she announces casually, making them freeze. They swore to protect your mother at all costs.

They didn't protest after that, they accept her love and care without guilt or resistance after getting used to it.

• Singing to yourself 'Chammak challo' when doing dishes with headphones. You don't realise when Marc comes back. He watches you move your hips with a goofy grin on his face. Your eyes lit up when you see him, without breaking character, you sing the song, gesturing at him.

Shawty I am gonna getcha,

You know I am gonna getcha,

You know I will even letcha

Letcha be my Chammak Challo

And you dance with him, and he indulges in your dance, chuckling, not caring about your soapy hands.

• Calling them sweet nicknames.

When Steven asked you, "How do I look?" wearing a new shirt he really liked.

You did the gesture that removes evil eye, you know the one when you touch someone's face and bring it to your face as if taking away the evil eye and cracking your fingers, that one.

"Ada, thenada!" you exclaim, giggling.

He thinks you are teasing him, you assure him with a kiss to his pouty lips and tell him it means 'honeycomb'

At that, he smiles adorably, making you kiss his lips again.

• Calling them cheesy Tamil nicknames when you want to tease them.

"Ammukutty, en chellakutty, jhangri, boondhi, umma" at 'umma' you lean down to press a sloppy kiss on Jake's forehead. He was resting his head on your lap.

"You are just getting be back for calling you 'jabón' that day" he chuckles, thinking you are calling him random, ridiculous things.

"Jake Lockley," you let out a fake gasp, "I would never"

He smiles, taking a loose strand of your hair between his fingers and twirls it.

"I'm not vengeful," you tease him, "those are the cheesiest names for a lover"

"I think I prefer the ridiculous ones" he jokes, making you hit his chest playfully.

• The boys losing their minds when they see you in saree for the first time, cause miss ma'am, you looked like an ethereal painting. It was for your cousin's wedding.

Jasmine flowers in your hair, when you walked by Steven, he closed his eyes inhaling the sweet scent of jasmines wafting around you.

Marc was mesmerized seeing few loose strands of fair framing your face perfectly, matching bindhi on your forehead your glass bangles clinking together whenever you moved your hands, the melodious sound of silver anklets when your feet moved.

The teasing exposure of your bare skin on your waist was too much for Jake. He came up behind you and kissed your exposed skin above your blouse and below your neck. "Eres hermosa, mi amor"

You looked like one of a celestial nymphs from Indra Logam.

The boys decide to grow moustache for Jake for a while. And when you saw Jake trying on white shirt and vetti with golden border, and his moustache, you swooned on the spot. I mean, he is already handsome but this, your knees almost buckle at the sight of him. You let out a dreamy sigh.

• Food. Instant bonding with Jake over love for spicy food. The man loves chicken briyani. Jake is a good cook, he introduces you Spanish dishes.

Steven favourite is potato stuffed samosas.

Marc enjoys chapathi and chicken gravy.

When you made gulab jamun for the first time, you teasingly swiped the sugar syrup dripping down Marc's lips with your thumb, then put in inside your mouth, sucking it.

"You are a tease, babe"

You winked at him, feeding him another gulab jamun with your hand and smiling.

All three of them love gulab jamun, you make the best ones.

• Your slangs and usual vocabulary casually slipping into theirs and vice versa.

• You and Steven getting little bit competitive whenever there is a cricket match England vs India.

Whichever team wins, depending on that, you and Steven settle it with either a tickling match or in bedroom.

• Whisper sweet things in Tamil during soft, sensual moments.

"En idhaya thudipe neethan" you whisper to Marc when he dozes off in your arms. You smile and kiss his forehead.

"En uyir moochu nee" you breathe softly, cupping Steven's face, cuddling him.

"En uyira neethan da" you let out a sigh of content, looking down at Jake, who is resting his head on your lap. He reaches out to pull your face closer to his lips to kiss you softly.

• One word. Kamasutra. Your sex life is amazing. Your boyfriends hit the jackpot. You feel the same about them. Trying different positions and kinks.

• Having a Jewish - Hindu wedding like Schmidt & Cece from 'New Girl'. Your wedding is personal, small, beautiful, meaningful with only closest friends and family.

• Your children growing up in a loving, multicultural household.

--------

Tamil (not 100% literal translation)

Thenada - honeycomb

chellam - sweetie

Indra Logam - Heaven (Specifically, court of Indra dev, King of Heaven)

Innu konjom sapdu, kanna - Eat more, dear

Ammukutty/chellakutty - sweetheart

Jhangri - a type of Indian sweet

Boondhi - savoury or sweet Indian dessert

En idhaya thudipe neethan - you are the beats of my heart/my heart beats for you.

En uyir moochu nee - you are the breath of my life

En uyira neethan da - you are my soul

español

Jabón - soap

Eres hermosa mi amor - You are gorgeous, my love.

[johnnyutah]

i love when people are like “oh you have to get into [this fandom] it’s so good” and if you’re like “ok well how do i do that” they’re like “It’s easy you just need to watch 4 movies, one is from 1977 one is from 1979 one is from 2011 and one is a short film but i have a vimeo link for it but it really helps establish an important plot thing. and then theres a comic run but you dont need to read ALL the graphic novels you just need to read #1, #2, #3, #5... okay wait four is SO good nvm you have to read #4 too. okay but before you get into any of that the whole series is based on a series of video games which you have to play in chronological order. the first three games are only available to play on a console that stopped being produced eighty-two years ago when the developers all got drafted into wwii but i think i have a link to download an emulator copy somewhere. and the rest of the games you can just watch let’s plays for but you need to watch multiple let’s plays because there are parts where you have to make different choices. anyway the movies are based on a tv show that actually has your dad’s favourite actor in it! it has 15 seasons but production got suspended in 1347 when the black plague came to europe but i promise it’s REALLY worth watching. oh also if you like this one character theres a book series about him and theyre actually turning the book series into a new netflix animated show starring jonathan van ness from queer eye so you dont even need to read the books you can just watch the cartoon if you wanna know about him! oh but before you watch the cartoon you have to know about that character’s dad’s backstory but it’s fine because my best friend george beard and i have a treehouse where we make comics about the dad and in issue #581 we do a deep dive into his backstory- oh wait but i just remembered it’s kind of spoilery for the video games but it’s okay because it’s technically a separate timeline. the wiki does a really good job of making everything clear and explaining what’s happening in which universe. but obviously don’t read the wiki until after you’ve finished the movies and the comics and the games and the tv show and the books and the tv show and the comics and the games because you might get spoiled for what happens to Qkwadriassian XB-9 Laura Smithson and he’s like my favourite character omg youre gonna love him. anyway after you get into all that i have a really good fanfic i want you to read it’s set in canon but it’s just about two of my ocs. but if you really want to understand their backstory you obviously have to listen to this interview the creators of the series did in 2011 at a convention the panel is one hour long and they spend most of it talking about inside jokes from production but they’re really funny i promise. actually i think the best starting place is the way i got into it which is from this podcast that does reviews of movies and shows and stuff and they did a review of- you know mystery science three thousand? Haha it’s kind of like mystery science theatre three thousand and they did a review of the third movie and it’s like a video review but they talk about other things not just the movie but it’s a really good place to start” and you’re like “yeah man i’ll check that out!”

[fanfictasia]

Disclaimer: WE’RE ONLY IN TWO FANDOMS WHICH LUCKILY CAN BE MASSIVELY BROKEN DOWN XD

Also, thanks for the tag @galaxythreads ! :D

Anakin Skywalker (Star Wars: Prequel Trilogy)

Do we even need a reason to adore Anakin? Lol. I have so many feels about him, it’s hard to put it into words. He came into our lives at the time we needed him most, and the sheer everything-ness of his life is so relatable. The hopelessness, the abusiveness, and the everything-ness of his whole entire life, of virtually everyone in his family, with how he managed to stay so overwhelmingly good throughout everything? That he still cares about them so much? That he'd do anything for them, no matter how they treat him? The redemption thing? Even by that point? I wish everyone could be that strong. <3 

2. Ahsoka Tano (Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi)

I have sooooo many mixed feels about Ahsoka. xD But as Anakin’s padawan-sister-daughter-something, she’s definitely easiest for me to project onto. I adore all versions of Ahsoka, but her from TotJ is definitely the most humanly relatable for me to understand. 

3. Hunter (Star Wars: Bad Batch)

He’s so… calm. So level headed. So reasonable, but he always puts his siblings before himself, and he’s just so, so emotional even if he hides it well. And as the sole acting adult of this random band of children?? Who’s caught up in something way over his head? And desperately wants someone to care for him, but there’s just no one? Not even the brothers he grew up with, because they always look to him like he should be capable of fixing things? And the sheer drama with his little brother trying to murder him? And Omega just being Omega and stressing them to death and being so… insensitive of him? Of Echo just walking out on him, and leaving Hunter behind to take care of the others alone? They’ve addressed his rapidly spiraling emotional state so, so well. &lt;3 (Not to turn this into a boo-hoo-poor-me, but as someone who doesn’t have parents, well, it’s very, very relatable.) SOMEBODY HUG HIM, PLEASE, JUST NOT WHEN HE HAS BROKEN RIBS OMEGA!!! I could write an entire essay about the delightful sibling drama and trauma in the Bad Batch and about how this is literally the first thing in SW trauma wasn’t ignored, but I better just move on. 

4. Ezra Bridger (Star Wars: Rebels)

Well, I loved everyone in Rebels, but I’d say Ezra’s probably my favorite. His character arc growth from a thief into one of the greatest Jedi of his time, maybe ever, was just… <3 

5. Sabine Wren (Star Wars: Ahsoka)

FIRST OF ALL I MISS HER HAIR

Okay, seriously, a Mandalorian Jedi is just… <3<3 I’ve wanted to see one for a long time, and I didn’t think we’d ever get one in SW Canon. The absolute perfect disaster to continue the lineage of disaster. Don’t know what else there is to say. xD But her arc, like Ezra’s, is amazing, and it’s so heartwarming to see someone who’s willing to do anything for their little brother. <3

6. Loki NoLastNameBecauseWhoReallyNeedsOne (MCU: Loki)

How could he NOT be my absolute favorite? Everyone is just so awful to him all the time but he’s always so nice to anyone he considers friends. His parents and Thor are just UGH which is so relatable. Everyone’s always bullying and ignoring him in favor of Thor, until his friends at the TVA, which is also very relatable. And he’s so goofy and chaotic it’s adorableeee <3 And he’s a writer to deal with his trauma. Why do I see NO ONE talk about that???????? And knives. Obviously. I adored Loki from the Thor movies, and even Avengers, but it wasn’t until the Loki series I was able to start seeing him as a person and as him instead of constantly being shadowed through Thor’s eyes. Loki getting to live his own life and make his own choices was so heartwarmingly amazing. <3 No matter how much the ending hurt.

7. Bucky Barnes (MCU: Captain America)

Maybe I just have a soft spot for evil mind-controlled snipers who try to murder their little blond-haired siblings – okay, that’s my Bad Batch obsession talking. But really. I just adore how caring he is of Steve and how he still managed to remember that. Besides, I couldn’t be my little Lassie’s older sister if I didn’t love him. sniffles xD And he just needs a hug. And some plums. :’)

8. Steve Rogers (MCU: Avengers)

Honestly, I like all the Avengers a lot, but Steve’s insane level of patience is. Uh. Impressive. I would’ve thrown everybody else out an airlock into space centuries ago. :( 

9. Hela (MCU: What If?)

I think it’s obvious why I prefer glowly-gorgeous over darkly-murderous? Maybe? Lol. But Hela’s redemption arc was so, so perfect in What If, it’s absolutely one of the best written villain redemption arcs ever. And FINALLY A REDEMPTION ARC WHERE THE PERSON GOT TO LIVE!! Okay death+redemption is typically a SW thing, but really. Her sarcasm and sass and just. <3<3<3 I love how she has the sense of self to snark back at Odin instead of just yelling. I wish everyone in abusive environments could be that way. And that she redeemed herself just to spite him??? Was like. The best thing in the whole universe. <3 AND THE GLOWYNESS AT THE END AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

10. Rocket (MCU: Guardians of the Galaxy)

MY ADORABLE FLUFF BALL DO I NEED A REASON TO LOVE YOU

If any of y'all want to join... :) @asteral-feileacan @pat-the-togorian @sinvulkt @myfairkatiecat

10 Fandoms, 10 Characters, 10 Tags

Thank you so much @idle-brit for tagging me!This was lots of fun :) 💖

My tags: @delyth88, @elymusplant, @galaxythreads, @chemical-processes. No pressure to answer, of course :)

1. Loki (MCU)

As much as I love everyone on this list, there is absolutely no competition for number 1. Loki has been my favourite character of all time for nearly 6 years now (because clearly the best time to join someone's fandom is after they've just been murdered), and is showing absolutely no signs of being replaced anytime soon. I have a Loki blog, for god's sake. The brodinsons are my favourite relationship in any kind of media, ever. I love them so, so much. Loki's a million different things and feelings, all at the same time, all fighting with each other, which makes for a wonderfully complex and nuanced character. Also, he's hilarious. Look at that eye roll. This is a man who hates his life, which makes me feel better about mine. Thanks, Loki.

2. Klaus Hargreeves (The Umbrella Academy)

As will become obvious throughout this list, I love me an emotionally traumatised crazy person. Klaus is that. One of the characters who makes me laugh the most, ever, show-stopping dress sense, and a bucketload of unresolved trauma which goes largely ignored by Klaus, the other characters and the narrative itself? It was love at first sight. Their banter with the other characters, especially Ghost Ben (rip) is one of my favourite aspects of the show. Here's to hoping that Klaus won't be getting the Allison treatment in season 4!

3. Pippa Fitz-Amobi (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder)

I binge-read the entire AGGTM series earlier this year, and instantly fell in love with it. Pip is one of my favourite protagonists ever. Impossibly clever, compassionate, obsessive, badass, and a teensy bit unhinged. What's not to love? I would die for her. I'd say that I'd kill for her, but I think she's got that covered. I think she's written in a very realistic way, firstly as a genius 17 year old girl who doesn't really know what she's getting into, and later as a haunted individual who wants to stop investigating but can't. The way she politely knocks on people's front doors to dig up their traumas, accuse them of murder and all-round ruin their lives is everything to me. She is my blorbo. I am so, so excited for the show to come out, and I'm sure that Emma Myers will do a wonderful job as Pip!

4. Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games)

One of the best-written characters, in one of the best-written series ever. Reading from her perspective is such a delight- she's endlessly suspicious of everyone around her, constantly on survival mode, trusting very few people and relying on exactly no one (to begin with, at least). She's a random teenage girl, from the poorest district, and she wins the Hunger Games. She's so mentally unstable that she has to be sedated, and still she's made to be the face of a rebellion. She's rude, and kind of unlikeable. She adopts all the weakest tributes, at risk to herself, knowing that they won't win. She's doomed to fail by the narrative. She's the it girl of 2010s dystopian YA fiction. Jennifer Lawrence is an amazing actress, who does a beautiful job portraying the depth and conflict of Katniss in the films. The themes and social commentary of the Hunger Games is one of its (many) strong points, and I am so so glad that people are talking about it again, because it is my favourite book series out there.

5. Mitchell Pritchett (Modern Family)

I have no idea what to say about this man, I just love him. He just like me fr. What an icon. Impeccable music taste. I've started saying, "no my god" now, and nobody understands what I'm talking about. Even in a sitcom, my favourite is the one with issues that he refuses to talk about or fix. The episode where he's trying to hide that he dressed up as spiderman makes me cry-laugh. Claire's speech at his wedding makes me just cry. He's not a perfect man, but he's certainly better than everyone else.

6. Shin Tsukimi (Your Turn to Die)

My favourite cringefail loser! I said Katniss was doomed by the narrative in a metaphorical way. This idiot is actually doomed.

No but in all seriousness, I do really love him. Before the beginning of the game, he was just a relatively normal young man- but, when confronted with the inevitability of his own death, he made himself into a monster to survive. He has a violent vendetta against the local badass teenage girl, who is traumatised as hell already and does not need Shin chipping in as well, thank you very much. I love his relationship with Kanna, his biological sister; how he uses her, manipulates her, and still cares for her so much that he dies for her with a smile on his face in the Emotion route. Conversely, in the Logic route, his actions are a direct cause of her death, and I just love how much YTTD hates siblings. I hope that his past with Midori is explored more in either a mini-episode or the final part of the game, because I find it sooo interesting. I'm super excited to see whether he actually has no chance of survival, or whether he makes it out, against the odds, on one of the routes. He's a bit useless, so I won't get my hopes up.

7. Rue Bennett (Euphoria)

I think it goes without saying that Euphoria has its issues, lol. Sam Levinson is an idiot. While a lot of the show (especially season 2) feels shallow and like it doesn't care about its characters, Rue's storylines always have heart and depth and I am so invested in her arc. It's no wonder that Zendaya won 2 Emmys for this role, because her acting is phenomenal! Rue feels so real to me, in the way that she's trying so hard to stay sober but she falls down and relapses time and time again. Recovery isn't linear, but she's getting there, and I adore her with all my heart. Her relationships with Lexi, her mother, her sister, and her sponsor, Ali, are my favourites, and the healthiest for her, in my opinion. Her brief friendship/ romance with Jules may have kept her more solidly sober than anything else in the show, but Jules (understandably) cracks under the pressure of Rue's mental health, and can't be there for her. Rue needs to heal for herself, which she appears to be doing at the end of S2.

8. Max Mayfield (Stranger Things)

Duffer brothers, please just let her be happy.

Despite only being introduced in Season 2, Max has, in my opinion, had the best character development out of everyone on the show. Her growth from someone standoffish, rude, and uninterested in the group (maybe I'm being a bit harsh. She was, like, 12) to someone who is willing to risk her life to help her friends and Hawkins means so much to me. The scene in "Dear Billy" (S4, Ep4) where she escapes from Vecna remains my favourite in the whole show and will probably be burned into my brain forever. Her relationships with Lucas and El are very sweet, and some of my favourites in Stranger Things. Her final line in S4, after all her struggles over the season, being that she doesn't want to die literally breaks my heart. I hope she gets some degree of a happy ending in the final season. She was my first profile picture when I joined this hellsite, and I love her a lot.

9. Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables)

The shenanigans that this girl gets up to never fail to make me laugh. The bit where she accidentally dyes her hair green and then has to hack it all off makes me feel awful for her, but. it's hilarious. Sorry, Anne. Her friendship with Diana is so sweet but also so funny to me because they really are the most chaotic duo of the 1880s. The scene where Anne accidentally gives her alcohol instead of fruit juice is so mortifying but so, so funny. Amidst all of the insane situations that Anne gets into are a lot of really heartwarming moments and relationships. Matthew and Marilla adopting Anne, even though they wanted a boy, because she's so endearing and alone in the world is probably what made me who I am today. I still haven't gotten around to watching Anne with an E, but I've heard it's amazing. I look forward to watching it when I have the time :).

10. Daphne Blake (Scooby Doo)

My first ever favourite character! Another one who I don't have a tonne to say about. She's an icon, she's a legend, and she is the moment. She has done nothing wrong, ever. She knows martial arts, so watch out.

Honourable mentions: Thor (MCU), Finnick Odair (The Hunger Games), Gretchen Weiners (Mean Girls), Jake Peralta (Brooklyn 99), Maurice Moss (The IT Crowd), The Eleventh Doctor (Doctor Who), James (The End of the F***ing World), Ali Abdul (Squid Game).

If you read all of this then thanks, and have a great day!

[narutakijune]

About ATLA Relationship Arcs

So, this is me, finally trying to write some meta after lurking in my little tumblr corner for months! Hi!

Although I’ve tried to tag properly, if you are a Kat*anger and just want to enjoy your favourite couple in peace, this might not be the post for you. I am not trying to bash characters but I do have a lot of critical stuff to say about the writing.

Anyway, you have been warned and here is my story about my personal first Atla experience: I watched the show this year for the first time, and after the end of Book 1 I decided to look up spoilers, because after what happened to Yue, I wanted to make sure that Zuko and Iroh would be ok. So I knew what was going to happen: Kat*ang endgame and absolutely no Zutara at all. Still, by the end of Book 3, I was convinced that I had read wrong - that there would be an epilogue with a different ending or at least that Aang would only get together with Katara post-show- in that Korra series or something - because anything else wouldn’t make sense- right?

….

After I got over my shock and surprise, I went online and found out about that decade-long aggressive passionate ship war and how even the showrunners got involved.

And then I really worried that I might have missed a few points. Apparently ”Aang and Katara were the DNA of the show”, according to the creators themselves, and “Zutara could never have happened”.

Another popular anti-ZK argument I found was: Why do you always go on about Katara and Zuko? Just look at Zuko and Aang! They are the hero/ anti-hero and each other’s foils, their relationship is much more meaningful!”

So I tried to find out what it was that I apparently couldn’t see.

(Another disclaimer: I love analysing stories (like many Zutarians apparently) and this will get long and rambly. If you get bored to tears when people start talking about “narrative structure” you will probably not like this.)

Talking about narrative structure, I do believe that, in order to let your story, your characters and their relationships really shine, a good basic structure is important. There should be a recognizable development and individual parts of the story that build upon each other and lead to consequences and change, until there is a completed arc - because it is all about the journey that takes you to a satisfying ending, right? So that’s what I tried to do, with my personal Kat*ang vs. Zutara take, I tried to look at the structure and development of their relationship arcs.

The argument that threw me off track for a while is that compared to Aang and Zuko, Zuko and Katara’s relationship is not supposed to be that relevant for the plot. After all, Zuko is the foil, the anti-hero, the deuteragonist to Aang, who is the hero protagonist.

This is all true of course. But then why is it that in every finale, Zuko’s main opponent (and later ally) is not Aang but Katara? Why is it that their sun/moon, red/blue, fire/water dichotomy is so obviously highlighted?

I think one reason why Zuko and Katara are paired off so frequently in the story - as opposite elements, as opponents and as allies - is that they BOTH are Aang’s deuteragonists. While Zuko also acts as antagonist and Aang’s foil/mirror, Katara takes over the more traditional deuteragonist role of confidant / best friend/ narrator.

Protagonist Aang is what connects them, although they are on opposite sides: Both need Aang because he represents their hope to save their world. Very simply put, Katara protects him, so he can make the world a safer place again, and Zuko wants to capture him, so he can go home and be safe again. That rivalry between them is already established in the first episode, even before they meet each other: Katara, who hopes that the Avatar will return (as she tells everyone in the intro), and Zuko, who seems to be obsessed with finding him for more sinister reasons.

And just to make sure, I am not talking here about the characters’ feelings and emotions! This is just about the abstract roles they have been assigned within the narrative.

When regarding Zutara’s special connection to Aang and their rivalry with each other, it makes absolute sense to stress their “same but different”ness as well, visually and metaphorically: Red and blue, fire and water, sun and moon, arguably Painted Lady/Blue Spirit, and, when you put into account their story arc, also Oma and Shu.

With this basis, which puts them together and sets them apart simultaneously, their relationship already becomes very dynamic and interesting, even before you consider any romantic potential.

And here’s another thing, Zuko and Katara also have their own story arc within the main plot. Although they don’t have many scenes together before Zuko joins the Gaang, when they do meet there is always a new shift in their relationship and in quite a few cases their interactions are important for the main plot as well. If you just look at their “end fights” at each book’s finale, there is an obvious and consequential build-up, like any decent story arc should have:

Book 1 starts with Zuko as the powered-up enemy and Katara as the weak newbie waterbender. Both are battling over Aang. At the end of Book 1, they are finally established as equally powerful fighters but still fundamentally different (You rise with the moon, I rise with the sun!)

In CoD at the end of Book 2 happens the next step: they realize that they are not different at all! But Aang still doesn’t represent the same for them and they end up on opposing sides of the war again.

In the Book 3 finale, when Zuko has completed his own (anti-) hero's journey and Aang represents the same “hope” for both of them, they do not only join forces: Their “same but different”- traits make them such a uniquely suited match that they are even able to save each other’s lives during their fight with Azula (who in turn happens to be Katara and Zuko’s antagonist/mirror/foil).

And in addition to their own story arc they even get an individual recurring theme, which also appears in every book whenever their relationship status changes: The lost mothers, especially Katara’s mother.

In Book 1, Katara’s necklace (the symbol of Kiya) plays not only a major part in two of Zuko’s capture attempts, it is the reason for their very first one-one one encounter in the story.

Their first friendly connection in COD in Book 2 happens because they start talking about their mothers. And in Book 3, their final reconciliation (sealed with a very cathartic hug) happens after their life-changing trip which is, of course, all about Katara’s mother.

Again, I am not even trying to analyse their characters and motivations within the story - there are many metas that have already done that much better, more detailed and with screenshots. This is just dry structure and tropes and themes. But I think people recognize and connect with a well-structured arc, even subconsciously, which is one of the reasons that makes Zutara such a compelling couple. They complete and contrast each other, their relationship dynamic constantly changes, builds up, falls apart, reconnects. Such a setup is the perfect playground for a lot of creative takes on what-ifs and alternative scenarios and of course, shipping them romantically is extremely tempting - think of all the possibilities! It’s no wonder that the Zutara fandom is still so active decades after the end of the show. And it’s also no wonder that the Zutarians are known for “over-analysing everything”. You can only over-analyse if there is anything that gives you enough food to analyse to begin with. Which brings me to

KAT*ANG

I just go right to the top and take the quote from Br*yke themselves:

Kata*ng was in the DNA of the thing from the start…. [Zutara] was just dark and intriguing.

If you read this quote and then start watching the show, I would (grudgingly) agree that:

Aang and Katara understand and complement each other really well. Aang gives her the chance to have fun and go on adventures and in turn, Katara is his fiercest supporter from the very beginning, something that he really needs after he lost all his people AND has to find out that the world thinks the war is sort of his fault. In turn, the journey to the North Pole is as important to Katara as it is to Aang, because it is her dream to learn waterbending properly. That’s what she literally says when Sokka & Co try to banish Aang: (Sokka: Where do you think you’re going? Katara: To find a waterbender. Aang is taking me to the North Pole.) In that way, they are friends who give and take equally and are equally taken care of. They even have the last Airbender/ last Southern Waterbender status that connects them. The few times they have a fight, Aang does something in the end to redeem himself (perform some heroic feat) and Katara sees that she is right to believe in him.

Aang has this very sweet crush on her and it will be very sweet and wholesome when Katara will return his feelings at the end of their adventure after he has hit puberty. On the other side, there is also some heavy shipbaiting with Zuko: I save you from the pirates. The betrothal necklace. June and her excellent shipping taste. But in the end they are enemies, they barely know each other and, come on, it would be too dark and intriguing! There is no real threat against friends to lovers Kat*ang, the soft heart of the story. It’s very straightforward and there are a lot of simple “the hero saves the day” scenes for Aang but that’s fine! It’s not really my kind of ship but that’s not the point, it works for the story they want to tell.

End of Book 1.

In my - probably harsh- opinion, everything you really need to know about the Kat*ang relationship has been told by this point. If you want to be really mean, already by Book 1, episode 3.

That explains maybe why many (not all! but many) pro-KA arguments sound as if their shippers have not watched Book 2 and 3 at all. The Book 1 synopsis also perfectly sums up Bry*ke’s quote above. But then Book 2 and 3 are still there and I don’t know what happened but it seems as if they somehow decided that the Kat*ang story does not need any new and lasting input. Maybe because they were afraid that too much new development and change would stray too far away from their original Kat*ang vision. But there are still 2 more books and more adventures and Kat*ang somehow has to be kept apart until the finale.

So the tension in their potential romance is based largely on the question whether or not Katara will return Aang’s feelings. In general I don’t have a problem with that will-she-won’t she-technique. It works well in books where the love interest is not a POV or in shows/ movies where the love interest is not one of the main characters. But Katara is not only the female lead but also arguably the narrative voice of the whole story! As a result, this kind of writing makes Katara look as if she doesn’t have any agency in their relationship, which is not surprisingly a very popular anti-KA criticism.

Additionally, since her dream - learning waterbending - has been fulfilled by the end of Book 1, the relationship work becomes a bit one-sided. Of course Aang is the hero and his journey is the heart of the story. But in order to highlight their special connection it would have helped to give Katara another personal agenda, which Aang could have supported in some way. She is still the last Southern Waterbender and he the Last Airbender but this is not really explored in the Kat*ang relationship. And her other personal agenda, her mother, is already reserved for the Zutara arc.

Instead, in Book 2 and 3 the Kat*ang story is somehow all over the place. Of course there is new conflict and a few romantic scenes as well. But obstacles are either introduced too late or just dropped when not needed anymore, conflict is not resolved and their flirty, romantic moments never lead anywhere- and if they do, they lead to more conflict that is not resolved (yes, I am looking at you, EIP Kiss!).

Take for example Katara’s very sudden argument that they cannot be together now because there is a war going on. We hear her saying that for the first time in the very last episode (EIP) before the 4-part finale. That is too late to have any impact! That she has these kinds of thoughts was never even alluded to before. Not once.

Or the pattern Aang runs away/ is flaky - Katara is upset - Aang comes back and does his hero thing - Katara is relieved. In regards to their relationship arc, nothing changes here between Book 1 and the finale, only the stakes for Aang’s heroic performances get higher.

Or Katara being the one who is able to calm Aang down when he cannot control the Avatar state (which, in my personal opinion, is neither romantic nor healthy). This is also connected to the problem with the seventh Chakra, that Aang needs to let go of his attachment for her. I will be angry forever with how they wasted this for a possible relationship development! That Aang has to decide to either do his duty or save his forever girl (because let’s be fair, he did try to let go and only ran when he had the vision of Katara in danger) - that’s a fantastic setup!

But no, it doesn’t have any real consequences for Kat*ang at all. Instead there were only half-baked attempts – Aang does lie about his failed practice with Guru Pathik but the ultimate reason why his chakra is blocked is Azula, not his decision to run. Aang does try to let go of Katara for a little bit but then Azula shoots him. Nothing in Book 3 shows any change in his feelings that could have been a result of his instant let-it-go. If anything, he gets weirdly obsessive - which could have been used as a side effect of his blocked chakra but – again, no, nothing happens.

I suspect the whole thing was just introduced to create temporary drama for poor Aang, but it is never explained why Katara holds him back, what aspect of the attachment is blocking him or what would happen if he did let her go. Maybe they tried to make a statement about how love is more important than Avatar rules – which would have been fine but it’s also never properly explored. Instead, as soon as that plot point becomes inconvenient it’s simply dropped like a random rock™.

Compare all that to the Zutara arc, where both characters’ feelings about each other are always very much in the open, and where every interaction causes lasting effects in their relationship. Yes, it is unfair to compare that to Kat*ang, because up to the end of Book 3, Zuko and Katara almost never meet, while Aang and Katara spend almost every episode together – of course they cannot do meaningful things all the time. But on the other side, with Kat*ang, there would have been a great chance to show a subtle, gradual build-up instead.

It also doesn’t help that the Zutara arc seems hellbent on sabotaging every romantic moment Aang is allowed to enjoy:

There is Kat*angs first maybe-kiss in the dark before the background of the Oma and Shu legend. But it does not lead anywhere. Instead, Zuko and Katara almost reenact the legend itself in the Book 2 finale as two real enemies to almost-friends, including a glowy rocks-backdrop and the right costume colours, just so nobody misses the message.

In Footloose The Headband, Aang and Katara have a really sweet dance together, and everybody can see how they almost intuitively know each other's moves. This could be a great hint on how well they will fight together in the finale. But is it plot-relevant? No, because the final tag team is Katara and Zuko! While Aang gets paired off with random rock™.

Then there is Aang’s riding off to battle- kiss in DotBS, which Katara is not even allowed to enjoy, because keeping her feelings vague is apparently more important than character development at this point. It is the only romantic moment that gets mentioned again, but in a way that sinks the former cute and wholesome ship into the deep ocean, and the reason is - Aang is jealous of Zuko!

If all of this was only done for the sake of shipbaiting, then it really went out of control at some point.

In the end, the showrunners still had their reasons to choose Kat*ang, maybe because that corresponded more to their own vision, and there are still enough people out there who agree with them. Which is absolutely fine! In the end, what matters most is how you personally connect to the characters and nobody needs to defend their personal taste. But the typical anti-ZK claim, that all the Zutarians with their crazy analysis and rambling meta essays are reaching and delusional and that they desperately try to construct something that isn’t there, is not only a very lazy argument but simply not true.

And I’d claim that in spite of the canon choice, Zutara is technically the better written relationship. By far.

[potteresque-ire]

Can you talk more about the usage of the word "wife" to talk about men in the BL context? I've noticed it in BJYX (particularly with GG), in the (English translations) of MDZS, and then it came up in your recent posts about Danmei-101 (which were super helpful btw) with articles connecting the "little fresh meat" type to fans calling an actor "wife." My initial reaction as a westerner is like "this is very problematic," but I think I'm missing a lot of language/cultural context. Any thoughts?

Hello! First of all, for those who’re interested, here’s a link to the referred posts. Under the cut is arguably the 4th post of the series. As usual, I apologise for the length!

(Topics: seme and uke; more about “leftover women”; roster of feminisation terms; Daji, Bao Si & the origin of BJYX; roster of beautiful, ancient Chinese men; Chairman Mao (not part of the roster) ...)

[TW: feminisation of men]

In the traditional BL characterisation, the M/M (double male) lead pairing is essentially a cis-het relationship in disguise, in which one of the M leads is viewed as the “wife” by the creator and audience. This lead often possesses some of the features of the traditional, stereotypical female, but retaining his male appearance. 

In BL terms, the “wife” is the “uke”. “Seme” and “uke” are the respective roles taken by the two male leads, and designated by the creator of the material. Literally, “seme” (攻め) means the dominant, the attacking / aggressive partner in the relationship and “uke” (受け), the passive / recipient (of actions) partner who tends to follow the seme’s lead. The terms themselves do not have any sexual / gender context.  However, as male and female are viewed as aggressive and passive by their traditional social roles, and the attacker and recipient by their traditional sexual roles respectively, BL fandoms have long assigned uke, the passive, sexual “bottom”, as the “woman”, the “wife”. 

Danmei has kept this “semi” and uke” tradition from BL, taking the kanji of the Japanese terms for designation ~ 攻 (”attack” is therefore the “husband”, and 受 (”receive”), the “wife”. The designations are often specified in the introduction / summary of Danmei works as warning / enticement. For MDZS, for example, MXTX wrote:

高貴冷豔悶騷 攻 × 邪魅狂狷風騷 受

高貴冷豔悶騷 攻 = noble, coolly beautiful and boring seme (referring to LWJ)  邪魅狂狷風騷 受 = devilishly charming, wild, and flirty uke (referring to WWX) 

The traditional, stereotypical female traits given to the “uke”, the “wife” in Danmei and their associated fanworks range from their personality to behaviour to even biological functions. Those who have read the sex scenes in MDZS may be aware of their lack of mention of lube, while WWX was written as getting (very) wet from fluids from his colon (腸道) ~ implying that his colon, much like a vagina, was supplying the necessarily lubrication for sex. This is obviously biologically inaccurate; however, Danmei is exempt from having to be realistic by its original Tanbi definition. The genre’s primary audience is cishet females, and sex scenes such as this one aren’t aiming for realism. Rather, the primary goal of these sex scenes is to generate fantasy, and the purpose of the biologically female functions in one of the leads (WWX) is to ease the readers into imagining themselves as the one engaging in the sex.

Indeed, these practices of assigning as males and female the M/M sexual top and bottom, of emphasising of who is the top and who is the bottom, have been falling out of favour in Western slash fandoms ~ I joined fandom about 15 years ago, and top and bottom designations in slash pairings (and fights about them) were much more common than it is now.  The generally more open, more progressive environments in which Western fandomers are immersed in probably have something to do with it: they transfer their RL knowledge, their views on biology, on different social into their fandom works and discourses. 

I’d venture to say this: in the English-speaking fandoms, fandom values and mainstream values are converging. “Cancel culture” reflects an attempt to enforce RL values in the fictional worlds in fandom. Fandom culture is slowly, but surely, leaving its subculture status and becoming part of mainstream culture. 

I’d hesitate to call c-Danmei fandoms backward compared to Western slash for this reason. There’s little hope for Danmei to converge with China’s mainstream culture in the short term ~ the necessity of replacing Danmei with Dangai in visual media already reflects that. Danmei is and will likely remain subculture in the foreseeable future, and subcultures, at heart, are protests against the mainstream. Unless China and the West define “mainstream” very similarly (and they don’t), it is difficult to compare the “progressiveness”—and its dark side, the “problematic-ness”—of the protests, which are shaped by what they’re protesting against. The “shaper” in this scenario, the mainstream values and culture, are also far more forceful under China’s authoritarian government than they are in the free(-er) world. 

Danmei, therefore, necessarily takes on a different form in China than BL or slash outside China. As a creative pursuit, it serves to fulfil psychological needs that are reflective of its surrounding culture and sociopolitical environment. The genre’s “problematic” / out of place aspects in the eyes of Western fandoms are therefore, like all other aspects of the genre, tailor-made by its millions of fans to be comforting / cathartic for the unique culture and sociopolitical background it and they find themselves in. 

I briefly detoured to talk about the Chinese government’s campaign to pressure young, educated Chinese women into matrimony and motherhood in the post for this reason, as it is an example of how, despite Western fandoms’ progressiveness, they may be inadequate, distant for c-Danmei fans. Again, this article is a short and a ... morbidly-entertaining read on what has been said about China’s “leftover women” (剩女) — women who are unmarried and over 27-years-old). I talked about it, because “Women should enter marriage and parenthood in their late 20s” may no longer a mainstream value in many Western societies, but where it still is, it exerts a strong influence on how women view romance, and by extension, how they interact with romantic fiction, including Danmei.

In China, this influence is made even stronger by the fact that Chinese tradition  places a strong emphasis on education and holds a conservative attitude towards romance and sex. Dating while studying therefore remains discouraged in many Chinese families. University-educated Chinese women therefore have an extremely short time frame — between graduation (~23 years old) and their 27th birthday — to find “the right one” and get married, before they are labelled as “leftovers” and deemed undesirable. (Saving) face being an important aspect in Chinese culture introduces yet another layer of pressure: traditionally, women who don’t get married by the age agreed by social norms have been viewed as failures of upbringing, in that the unmarried women’s parents not having taught/trained their daughters well. Filial, unmarried women therefore try to get married “on time” just to avoid bringing shame to their family.

The outcome is this: despite the strong women characters we may see in Chinese visual media, many young Chinese women nowadays do not expect themselves to be able to marry for love. Below, I offer a “book jacket summary” of a popular internet novel in China, which shows how the associated despair also affects cis-het fictional romance. Book reviews praise this novel for being “boring”: the man and woman leads are both common working class people, the “you-and-I”’s; the mundaneness of them trying build their careers and their love life is lit by one shining light: he loves her and she loves him. 

Written in her POV, this summary reflects, perhaps, the disquiet felt by many contemporary Chinese women university graduates:

曾經以為，自己這輩子都等不到了—— 世界這麼大，我又走得這麼慢，要是遇不到良人要怎麼辦？早過了「全球三十幾億男人，中國七億男人，天涯何處無芳草」的猖狂歲月，越來越清楚，循規蹈矩的生���中，我們能熟悉進而深交的異性實在太有限了，有限到我都做好了「接受他人的牽線，找個適合的男人慢慢煨熟，再平淡無奇地進入婚姻」的準備，卻在生命意外的拐彎處迎來自己的另一半。

I once thought, my wait will never come to fruition for the rest of my life — the world is so big, I’m so slow in treading it, what if I’ll never meet the one? I’ve long passed the wild days of thinking “3 billion men exist on Earth, 0.7 of which are Chinese. There is plenty more fish in the sea.” I’m seeing, with increasing clarity, that in our disciplined lives, the number of opposite-sex we can get to know, and get to know well, is so limited. It’s so limited that I’m prepared to accept someone’s matchmaking, find a suitable man and slowly, slowly, warm up to him, and then, to enter marriage with without excitement, without wonder. But then, an accidental turn in my life welcomes in my other half.

— Oath of Love (餘生，請多指教) (Yes, this is the novel Gg’d upcoming drama is based on.) 

Heteronormativity is, of course, very real in China. However, that hasn’t exempted Chinese women, even its large cis-het population, from having their freedom to pursue their true love taken away from them. Even for cis-het relationships, being able to marry for love has become a fantasy —a fantasy scorned by the state. Remember this quote from Article O3 in the original post? 

耽改故事大多远离现实，有些年轻受众却将其与生活混为一谈，产生不以结婚和繁衍为目的才是真爱之类的偏颇认知。

Most Dangai stories are far removed from reality; some young audience nonetheless mix them up with real life, develop biased understanding such as “only love that doesn’t treat matrimony and reproduction as destinations is true love”. 

I didn’t focus on it in the previous posts, in an effort to keep the discussion on topic. But why did the op-ed piece pick this as an example of fantasy-that-shouldn’t-be-mixed-up-with-real-life, in the middle of a discussion about perceived femininity of men that actually has little to do with matrimony and reproduction? 

Because the whole point behind the state’s “leftover women” campaign is precisely to get women to treat matrimony and reproduction as destinations, not beautiful sceneries that happen along the way. And they’re the state’s destination as more children = higher birth rate that leads to higher future productivity. The article is therefore calling out Danmei for challenging this “mainstream value”.

Therefore, while the statement True love doesn’t treat matrimony and reproduction as destinations may be trite for many of us while it may be a point few, if any, English-speaking fandoms may pay attention to, to the mainstream culture Danmei lives in, to the mainstream values dictated by the state, it is borderline subversive.

As much as Danmei may appear “tame” for its emphasis on beauty and romance, for it to have stood for so long, so firmly against China’s (very) forceful mainstream culture, the genre is also fundamentally rebellious.  Remember: Danmei has little hope of converging with China’s mainstream unless it “sells its soul” and removes its homoerotic elements. 

With rebelliousness, too, comes a bit of tongue-in-cheek.

And so, when c-Danmei fans, most of whom being cishet women who interact with the genre by its traditional BL definition, call one of the leads 老婆 (wife), it can and often take on a different flavour. As said before, it can be less about feminizing the lead than about identifying with the lead. The nickname 老婆 (wife) can be less about being disrespectful and more about humorously expressing an aspiration—the aspiration to have a husband who truly loves them, who they do want to get married and have babies with but out of freedom and not obligation.

Admittedly, I had been confused, and bothered by these “can-be”s myself. Just because there are alternate reasons for the feminisation to happen doesn’t mean the feminisation itself is excusable. But why the feminisation of M/M leads doesn’t sound as awful to me in Chinese as in English? How can calling a self-identified man 老婆 (wife) get away with not sounding being predominantly disrespectful to my ears, when I would’ve frowned at the same thing said in my vicinity in English?

I had an old hypothesis: when I was little, it was common to hear people calling acquaintances in Chinese by their unflattering traits:  “Deaf-Eared Chan” (Mr Chan, who’s deaf), “Fat Old Woman Lan” (Ah-Lan, who’s an overweight woman) etc—and the acquaintances were perfectly at ease with such identifications, even introducing themselves to strangers that way. Comparatively speaking then, 老婆 (wife) is harmless, even endearing. 

老婆, which literally means “old old-lady” (implying wife = the woman one gets old with), first became popularised as a colloquial, casual way of calling “wife” in Hong Kong and its Cantonese dialect, despite the term itself being about 1,500 years old. As older generations of Chinese were usually very shy about talking about their love lives, those who couldn’t help themselves and regularly spoke of their 老婆 tended to be those who loved their wives in my memory. 老婆, as a term, probably became endearing to me that way. 

Maybe this is why the feminisation of M/M leads didn’t sound so bad to me?

This hypothesis was inadequate, however. This custom of identifying people by their (unflattering) traits has been diminishing in Hong Kong and China, for similar reasons it has been considered inappropriate in the West.

Also, 老婆 (wife) is not the only term used for / associated with feminisation. I’ve tried to limit the discussion to Danmei, the fictional genre; now, I’ll jump to its associated RPS genre, and specifically, the YiZhan fandoms. The purpose of this jump: with real people involved, feminisation’s effect is potentially more harmful, more acute. Easier to feel. 

YiZhan fans predominantly entered the fandoms through The Untamed, and they’ve also transferred Danmei’s  “seme”/“uke” customs into YiZhan. There are, therefore, three c-YiZhan fandoms:

博君一肖 (BJYX): seme Dd, uke Gg 戰山為王 (ZSWW): seme Gg, uke Dd 連瑣反應 (LSFY): riba Gg and Dd. Riba = “reversible”, and unlike “seme” and “uke”, is a frequently-used term in the Japanese gay community. 

BJYX is by far the largest of the three, likely due to Gg having played WWX, the “uke” in MDZS / TU. I’ll therefore focus on this fandom, ie. Gg is the “uke”, the “wife”.

For Gg alone, I’ve seen him being also referred to by YiZhan fans as (and this is far from a complete list):

* 姐姐 (sister) * 嫂子 (wife of elder brother; Dd being the elder brother implied) * 妃妃 (based on the very first YiZhan CP name, 太妃糖 Toffee Candy, a portmanteau of sorts from Dd being the 太子 “prince” of his management company and Gg being the prince’s wife, 太子妃. 糖 = “candy”. 太妃 sounds like toffee in English and has been used as the latter’s Chinese translation.) * 美人 (beauty, as in 肖美人 “Beauty Xiao”) * Daji 妲己 (as in 肖妲己, “Daji Xiao”). 

The last one needs historical context, which will also become important for explaining the new hypothesis I have.

Daji was a consort who lived three thousand years ago, whose beauty was blamed for the fall of the Shang dynasty. Gg (and men sharing similar traits, who are exceptionally rare) has been compared to Daji 妲己 for his alternatively innocent, alternatively seductive beauty ~ the kind of beauty that, in Chinese historical texts and folk lores, lead to the fall of kingdoms when possessed by the king’s beloved woman. This kind of “I-get-to-ruin-her-virginity”, “she’s a slut in MY bedroom” beauty is, of course, a stereotypical fantasy for many (cis-het) men, which included the authors of these historical texts and folklores. However, it also contained some truth: the purity / innocence, the image of a virgin, was required for an ancient woman to be chosen as a consort; the seduction, meanwhile, helped her to become the top consort, and monopolise the attention of kings and emperors who often had hundreds of wives ~ wives who often put each other in danger to eliminate competition. 

Nowadays, women of tremendous beauty are still referred to by the Chinese idiom 傾國傾城, literally, ”falling countries, falling cities”. The beauty is also implied to be natural, expressed in a can’t-help-itself way, perhaps reflecting the fact that the ancient beauties on which this idiom has been used couldn’t possibly have plastic surgeries, and most of them didn’t meet a good end ~ that they had to pay a price for their beauty, and often, with their lowly status as women, as consorts, they didn’t get to choose whether they wanted to pay this price or not. This adjective is considered to be very flattering. Gg’s famous smile from the Thailand Fanmeet has been described, praised as 傾城一笑: “a smile that topples a city”.

I’m explaining Daji and 傾國傾城 because the Chinese idiom 博君一笑 “doing anything to get a smile from you”, from which the ship’s name BJYX 博君一肖  was derived (笑 and 肖 are both pronounced “xiao”), is connected to yet another of such dynasty-falling beauty, Bao Si 褒姒. Like Daji before her, Bao Si was blamed for the end of the Zhou Dynasty in 771 BC. 

The legend went like this: Bao Si was melancholic, and to get her to smile, her king lit warning beacons and got his nobles to rush in from the nearby vassal states with their armies to come and rescue him, despite not being in actual danger. The nobles, in their haste, looked so frantic and dishevelled that Bao Si found it funny and smiled. Longing to see more of the smile of his favourite woman, the king would fool his nobles again and again, until his nobles no longer heeded the warning beacons when an actual rebellion came. 

What the king did has been described as 博紅顏一笑, with 紅顏 (”red/flushed face”) meaning a beautiful woman, referring to Bao Si. Replace 紅顏 with the respectful “you”, 君, we get 博君一笑. If one searches the origin of the phrase 博 [fill_in_the_blank]一笑 online, Bao Si’s story shows up.

The “anything” in ”doing anything to get a smile from you” in 博君一笑, therefore, is not any favour, but something as momentous as giving away one’s own kingdom. c-turtles have remarked, to their amusement and admittedly mine, that “king”, in Chinese, is written as 王, which is Dd’s surname, and very occasionally, they jokingly compare him to the hopeless kings who’d give away everything for their love. Much like 傾國傾城 has become a flattering idiom despite the negative reputations of Daji and Bao Si for their “men-ruining ways”, 博君一笑 has become a flattering phrase, emphasising on the devotion and love rather than the ... stupidity behind the smile-inducing acts. 

(Bao Si’s story, BTW, was a lie made up by historians who also lived later but also thousands of years ago, to absolve the uselessness of the king. Warning beacons didn’t exist at her time.)  

Gg is arguably feminized even in his CP’s name. Gg’s feminisation is everywhere. 

And here comes my confession time ~ I’ve been amused by most of the feminisation terms above. 肖妲己 (”Daji Xiao”) captures my imagination, and I remain quite partial to the CP name BJYX. Somehow, there’s something ... somewhat forgivable when the feminisation is based on Gg’s beauty, especially in the context of the historical Danmei / Dangai setting of MDZS/TU ~ something that, while doesn’t cancel, dampens the “problematic-ness” of the gender mis-identification.

What, exactly, is this something?

Here’s my new hypothesis, and hopefully I’ll manage to explain it well ~

The hypothesis is this: the unisex beauty standard for historical Chinese men and women, which is also breathtakingly similar to the modern beauty standard for Chinese women, makes feminisation in the context of Danmei (especially historical Danmei) flattering, and easier to accept.

What defined beauty in historical Chinese men? If I am to create a classically beautiful Chinese man for my new historical Danmei, how would I describe him based on what I’ve read, my cultural knowledge?

Here’s a list:

* Skin fair and smooth as white jade * Thin, even frail; narrow/slanted shoulders; tall * Dark irises and bright, starry eyes * Not too dense, neat eyebrows that are shaped like swords ~ pointed slightly upwards from the center towards the sides of the face * Depending on the dynasty, nice makeup.

Imagine these traits. How “macho” are they? How much do they fit the ideal Chinese masculine beauty advertised by Chinese government, which looks like below?

Propaganda poster, 1969. The caption says “Defeat Imperialist US! Defeat Social Imperialism!” The book’s name is “Quotations from Mao Zedong”. (Source)

Where did that list of traits I’ve written com from? Fair like jade, frail ... why are they so far from the ... “macho”ness of the men in the poster? 

What has Chinese history said about its beautiful men? 

Wei Jie (衛玠 286-312 BCE), one of the four most beautiful ancient Chinese men (古代四大美男) recorded in Chinese history famously passed away when fans of his beauty gathered and formed a wall around him, blocking his way. History recorded Wei as being frail with chronic illness, and was only 27 years old when he died. Arguably the first historical account of “crazy fans killing their idol”, this incident left the idiom 看殺衛玠 ~ “Wei Jie being watched to death.” ~ a not very “macho” way to die at all.

潘安 (Pan An; 247-300 BCE), another one of the four most beautiful ancient Chinese men, also had hoards of fangirls, who threw fruits and flowers at him whenever he ventured outside. The Chinese idiom 擲果盈車 “thrown fruit filling a cart” was based on Pan and ... his fandom, and denotes such scenarios of men being so beautiful that women openly displayed their affections for them. 

Meanwhile, when Pan went out with his equally beautiful male friend, 夏侯湛 Xiahou Zhan, folks around them called them 連璧 ~ two connected pieces of perfect jade. Chinese Jade is white, smooth, faintly glowing in light, so delicate that it gives the impression of being somewhat transparent.

Aren’t Wei Jie and Pan An reminiscent of modern day Chinese idols, the “effeminate” “Little Fresh Meat”s (小鲜肉) so panned by Article O3? Their stories, BTW, also elucidated the historical reference in LWJ’s description of being jade-like in MDZS, and in WWX and LWJ being thrown pippas along the Gusu river bank. 

Danmei, therefore, didn’t create a trend of androgynous beauty in men as much as it has borrowed the ancient, traditional definition of masculine Chinese beauty ~ the beauty that was more feminine than masculine by modern standards.  

[Perhaps, CPs should be renamed 連璧 (”two connected pieces of perfect jade”) as a reminder of the aesthetics’ historical roots.]

Someone may exclaim now: But. But!! Yet another one of the four most beautiful ancient Chinese men, 高長恭 (Gao Changgong, 541-573 BCE), far better known by his title, 蘭陵王 (”the Prince of Lanling”), was a famous general. He had to be “macho”, right?

... As it turns out, not at all. Historical texts have described Gao as “貌柔心壮，音容兼美” (”soft in looks and strong at heart, beautiful face and voice”), “白美類婦人” (”fair and beautiful as a woman”), “貌若婦人” (”face like a woman”). Legends have it that The Prince of Lanling’s beauty was so soft, so lacking in authority that he had to wear a savage mask to get his soldiers to listen to his command (and win) on the battlefield (《樂府雜錄》: 以其顏貌無威，每入陣即著面具，後乃百戰百勝).

This should be emphasised: Gao’s explicitly feminine descriptions were recorded in historical texts as arguments *for* his beauty. Authors of these texts, therefore, didn’t view the feminisation as insult. In fact, they used the feminisation to drive the point home, to convince their readers that men like the Prince of Lanling were truly, absolutely good looking.

Being beautiful like a women was therefore high praise for men in, at least, significant periods in Chinese history ~ periods long and important enough for these records to survive until today. Beauty, and so it goes, had once been largely free of distinctions between the masculine and feminine.

One more example of an image of an ancient Chinese male beauty being similar to its female counterpart, because the history nerd in me finds this fun. 

何晏 (He Yan, ?-249 BCE) lived in the Wei Jin era (between 2nd to 4th century), during which makeup was really en vogue. Known for his beauty, he was also famous for his love of grooming himself. The emperor, convinced that He Yan’s very fair skin was from the powder he was wearing, gave He Yan some very hot foods to eat in the middle of the summer. He Yan began to sweat, had to wipe himself with his sleeves and in the process, revealed to the emperor that his fair beauty was 100% natural ~ his skin glowed even more with the cosmetics removed (《世說新語·容止第十四》: 何平叔美姿儀，面至白。魏明帝疑其傅粉，正夏月，與熱湯餅。既啖，大汗出，以朱衣自拭，色轉皎然). His kick-cosmetics’-ass fairness won him the nickname 傅粉何郎 (”powder-wearing Mr He”).

Not only would He Yan very likely be mistaken as a woman if this scene is transferred to a modern setting, but this scene can very well fit inside a Danmei story of the 21st century and is very, very likely to get axed by the Chinese censorship board for its visualisation. 

[Important observation from this anecdote: the emperor was totally into this trend too.]

The adjectives and phrases used above to describe these beautiful ancient Chinese men ~ 貌柔, 音容兼美, 白美, 美姿儀, 皎然 ~ have all become pretty much reserved for describing beauty in women nowadays. Beauty standards in ancient China were, as mentioned before, had gone through significantly long periods in which they were largely genderless. The character for beauty 美 (also in Danmei, 耽美) used to have little to no gender association. Free of gender associations as well were the names of many flowers. The characters for orchid (蘭) and lotus (蓮), for example, were commonly found in men’s names as late as the Republican era (early 20th century), but are now almost exclusively found in women’s names. Both orchid and lotus have historically been used to indicate 君子 (junzi, roughly, “gentlemen”), which have always been men. MDZS also has an example of a man named after a flower: Jin Ling’s courtesy name, given to him by WWX,  was 如蘭 (”like an orchid”). 

A related question may be this: why does ancient China associate beauty with fairness, with softness, with frailty? Likely, because Confucianist philosophy and customs put a heavy emphasis on scholarship ~ and scholars have mostly consisted of soft-spoken, not muscular, not working-under-the-sun type of men. More importantly, Confucianist scholars also occupied powerful government positions. Being, and looking like a Confucianist scholar was therefore associated with status. Indeed, it’s very difficult to look like jade when one was a farmer or a soldier, for example, who constantly had to toil under the sun, whose skin was constantly being dried and roughened by the elements. Having what are viewed as “macho” beauty traits as in the poster above ~ tanned skin, bulging muscles, bony structures (which also take away the jade’s smoothness) ~ were associated with hard labour, poverty and famine.

Along that line, 手無縛雞之力 (“hands without the strength to restrain a chicken”) has long been a phrase used to describe ancient scholars and students, and without scorn or derision. Love stories of old, which often centred around scholars were, accordingly, largely devoid of the plot lines of husbands physically protecting the wives, performing the equivalent of climbing up castle walls and fighting dragons etc. Instead, the faithful husbands wrote poems, combed their wife’s hair, traced their wife’s eyebrows with cosmetics (畫眉)...all activities that didn’t require much physical strength, and many of which are considered “feminine” nowadays.

Were there periods in Chinese history in which more ... sporty men and women were appreciated? Yes. the Tang dynasty, for example, and the Yuan and Qing dynasties. The Tang dynasty, as a very powerful, very open era in Chinese history, was known for its relations to the West (via the Silk Road). The Yuan and Qing dynasties, meanwhile, were established by Mongolians and Manchus respectively, who, as non-Han people, had not been under the influence of Confucian culture and grew up on horsebacks, rather than in schools.

The idea that beautiful Chinese men should have “macho” attributes was, therefore, largely a consequence of non-Han-Chinese influence, especially after early 20th century. That was when the characters for beauty (美), orchid (蘭), lotus (蓮) etc began their ... feminisation. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which started its reign of the country starting 1949, also has foreign roots, being a derivative of the Soviets, and its portrayal of ideal men has been based on the party’s ideology, painting them as members of the People’s Liberation Army (Chinese army) and its two major proletariat classes, farmers and industrial workers ~ all occupations that are “macho” in their aesthetics, but held at very poor esteem in ancient Chinese societies. All occupations that, to this day, may be hailed as noble by Chinese women, but not really deemed attractive by them.

Beauty, being an instinct, is perhaps much more resistant to propaganda.

If anything, the three terms Article O3 used to describe “effeminate” men ~ 奶油小生 “cream young men” (popularised in 1980s) , 花美男 “flowery beautiful men” (early 2000s), 小鲜肉 “little fresh meat” (coined in 2014 and still popular now) ~ only informs me how incredibly consistent the modern Chinese women’s view of ideal male beauty has been. It’s the same beauty the Chinese Communist Party has called feminine. It’s the same beauty found in Danmei. It’s the same beauty that, when witnessed in men in ancient China, was so revered that historians recorded it for their descendants to remember. It doesn’t mean there aren’t any women who appreciate the "macho” type ~ it’s just that, the appreciation for the non-macho type has never really gone out of fashion, never really changed. The only thing that is really changing is the name of the type, the name’s positive or negative connotations.

(Personally, I’m far more uncomfortable with the name “Little fresh meat” (小鲜肉) than 老婆 (wife). I find it much more insulting.)

Anyway, what I’d like to say is this: feminisation in Danmei ~ a genre that, by definition, is hyper-focused on aesthetics ~ may not be as "problematic” in Chinese as it is in English, because the Chinese tradition didn’t make that much of a differentiation between masculine and feminine beauty. Once again, this isn’t to say such mis-gendering isn’t disrespectful; it’s just that, perhaps, it is less disrespectful because Chinese still retains a cultural memory in which equating a beautiful man to a beautiful woman was the utmost flattery. 

I must put a disclaimer here: I cannot vouch for this being true for the general Chinese population. This is something that is buried deep enough inside me that it took a lot of thought for me to tease out, to articulate. More importantly, while I grow up in a Chinese-speaking environment, I’ve never lived inside China. My history knowledge, while isn’t shabby, hasn’t been filtered through the state education system.

I’d also like to point out as well, along this line of thought, that in *certain* (definitely not all) aspects, Chinese society isn’t as sexist as the West. While historically, China has periods of extreme sexism against women, with the final dynasties of Ming and Qing being examples, I must (reluctantly) acknowledge Chairman Mao for significantly lifting the status of women during his rule. Here’s a famous quote of his from 1955:

婦女能頂半邊天 Women can lift half the skies

The first marriage code, passed in 1950, outlawed forced marriages, polygamy, and ensured equal rights between husband and wife.  For the first time in centuries, women were encouraged to go outside of their homes and work. Men resisted at first, wanting to keep their wives at home; women who did work were judged poorly for their performance and given less than 50% of men’s wage, which further fuelled the men’s resistance. Mao said the above quote after a commune in Guizhou introduced the “same-work-same-wage” system to increase its productivity, and he asked for the same system to to be replicated across the country. (Source)

When Chairman Mao wanted something, it happened. Today, Chinese women’s contribution to the country’s GDP remains among the highest in the world.  They make up more than half of the country’s top-scoring students. They’re the dominant gender in universities, in the ranks of local employees of international corporations in the Shanghai and Beijing central business districts—among the most sought after jobs in the country. While the inequality between men and women in the workplace is no where near wiped out — stories about women having to sleep with higher-ups to climb the career ladder, or even get their PhDs are not unheard of, and the central rulership of the Chinese Communist Party has been famously short of women — the leap in women’s rights has been significant over the past century, perhaps because of how little rights there had been before ~ at the start of the 20th century, most Chinese women from relatively well-to-do families still practised foot-binding, in which their feet were literally crushed during childhood in the name of beauty, of status symbol. They couldn’t even walk properly.

Perhaps, the contemporary Chinese women’s economic contribution makes the sexism they encounter in their lives, from the lack of reproductive rights to the “leftover women” label, even harder to swallow. It makes their fantasies fly to even higher, more defiant heights. The popularity of Dangai right now is pretty much driven by women, as acknowledged by Article O3. Young women, especially, female fans who people have dismissed as “immature”, “crazy”, are responsible for the threat the Chinese government is feeling now by the genre.

This is no small feat. While the Chinese government complains about the “effeminate” men from Danmei / Dangai, its propaganda has been heavily reliant on stars who have risen to popularity to these genres. The film Dd is currently shooting, Chinese Peacekeeping Force (維和部隊), also stars Huang Jingyu (黄景瑜), and Zhang Zhehan (張哲瀚) ~ the three actors having shot to fame from The Untamed (Dangai), Addicted (Danmei), and Word of Honour (Dangai) respectively.  Zhang, in particular, played the “uke” role in Word of Honour and has also been called 老婆 (wife) by his fans. The quote in Article O3, “Ten years as a tough man known by none; one day as a beauty known by all” was also implicitly referring to him.

Perhaps, the government will eventually realise that millennia-old standards of beauty are difficult to bend, and by extension, what is considered appropriate gender expression of Chinese men and women. 

In the metas I’ve posted, therefore, I’ve hesitated in using terms such as homophobia, sexism, and ageism etc, opting instead to make long-winded explanations that essentially amount to these terms (thank you everyone who’s reading for your patience!). Because while the consequence is similar—certain fraction of the populations are subjected to systemic discrimination, abuse, given less rights, treated as inferior etc—these words, in English, also come with their own context, their own assumptions that may not apply to the situation. It reminds me of what Leo Tolstoy wrote in Anna Karenina,

“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

Discrimination in each country, each culture is humiliating, unhappy in its own way. Both sexism and homophobia are rampant in China, but as their roots are different from those of the West, the ways they manifest are different, and so must the paths to their dissolution. I’ve also hesitated on calling out individual behaviours or confronting individuals for this reason. i-Danmei fandoms are where i-fans and c-fans meet, where English-speaking doesn’t guarantee a non-Chinese sociopolitical background (there may be students from China, for example; I’m also ... not entirely Western), and I find it difficult to articulate appropriate, convincing arguments without knowing individual backgrounds.

Frankly, I’m not sure if I’ve done the right thing. Because I do hope feminisation will soon fade into extinction, especially in i-Danmei fandoms that, if they continue to prosper on international platforms, may eventually split from c-Danmei fandoms along the cultural (not language) line due to the vast differences in environmental constraints. My hope is especially true when real people are involved, and c-fandoms, I’d like to note, are not unaware of the issues surrounding feminisation ~ it has already been explicitly forbidden in BJYX’s supertopic on Weibo. 

At the same time, I’ve spent so many words above to try to explain why beauty can *sometimes* lurk behind such feminisations. Please allow me to end this post with one example of feminisation that I deeply dislike—and I’ve seen it used by fans on Gg as well—is 綠茶 (”green tea”), from 綠茶婊 (”green tea whore”) that means women who look pure / innocent but are, deep down, promiscuous / lustful. In some ways, its meaning isn’t so different from Daji 妲己, the consort blamed for the fall of the Shang dynasty. However, to me at least, the flattery in the feminisation is gone, perhaps because of the character “whore” (婊), because the term originated in 2013 from a notorious sex party rather than from a legendary beauty so maligned that The Investiture of the Gods (��神演義), the seminal Chinese fiction written ~2,600 years after Daji’s death, re-imagined her as a malevolent fox spirit (狐狸精) that many still remembers her as today.

Ah, to be caught between two cultures. :)

[impossiblyizzy]

2-5 for the writing wrapped!

Thanks Fee!!

2) Did you have any writing goals? Did you meet them or not?

I don’t remember! If I was aiming to rewrite my novel, I failed. If I wanted to finish Prospect Heights, I definitely succeeded!

3) How many projects did you work on this year?

Too many!! In addition to PH I posted four fics across three fandoms and started many more that never went anywhere, although hopefully a couple of them will eventually turn into something I can post.

4) Favorite paragraph you wrote this year?

Oh this one’s hard! I’m going to go with this paragraph from All Or Nothing:

Jake has been out as ace for a few years. He’s totally secure in his identity! He makes, like, ten percent less overcompensating sex jokes now. He took a break from dating while he figured himself out, and then he realised he was in love with his best friend, and then he realised that his best friend was obviously in love with him too, and here they are. There’s been a lot of hand-holding and a lot of kissing, and he found an old bit of paperwork with Charles Peralta written on it a bunch of times. Things seem to be going pretty well, romantic stylez.

I feel like it packs a lot into one paragraph, establishing Jake's ace-ness for anyone who hasn't read Aced It and bridging the gap between the two fics in a succinct and funny way.

5) Favorite line of dialogue you wrote this year?

I really like this part of In Your Arms:

‘When I was growing up I thought I was the only person in the world who felt like this,’ the Captain says. ‘And then, when I was in the army – well, you hear stories. But I never met anyone first-hand. It still felt like it was just me. But I understand now, really understand, that the world is full of…’

‘People like us?’ Pat says.

The Captain and Pat manage to come out to each other without actually *saying* anything, because it felt tonally in keeping with the show and the time periods they lived through, and also because they both already *know* so there’s no real need to spell it out to each other.

Ask me writing questions!