#no it's the typical fandom thing where only male/male pairings are allowed and female charactes are treated like shit and pushed to the side
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Can you write a junkerqueen X Male Reader smut with Reader being shorter than her and she likes carrying him and she gives him a blowjob and she's holding him up her hands around his waist his legs over her shoulder and his up against the wall
"The Weight Of A Blowjob Upon Her Shoulders"
Fandom: Overwatch / Overwatch 2
Pairing: Odessa "Dez" Stone ("Junker Queen") x Male! Reader
Rating: Lemon [š”] - (NSFW!)
Warnings/Mentions Of: MDNI, Implied Pre-Established Relationship, Female x Male Relationship, Shorter! Reader, Male Pronouns For Reader, Reverse Shoulder Riding Position, Blowjob - Male Receiving, Female Giving, Exhibitionism, Implied Cum Swallowing.
Word Count: 752 Words
If you'd like to be tagged for all posts, certain fandom posts, or certain character posts then feel free to send a message!
Whenever there happens to be a newly crowned head to a kingdom, there are bound to be some changes made that the townspeople would find surprising. There had been times where the previous leader, Mason Howl, had spent some time traversing throughout the streets of Junkertown, so why would it be any different that the new leader, Odessa āDezā Stone, does the same thing? It totally couldnāt be that she traverses through the streets of Junkertown with a short man on her shoulders. It was definitely surprising the first couple of times that the townspeople had witnessed the event. The merchants would watch as the Queen would saunter throughout the bustling streets to allow the shorter man upon her shoulders to gaze upon the wares that were being brought in, stopping whenever she or the man saw something that took their interest. It was the typical routine that Odessa and (Y/N) would find themselves doing at least twice a week, but things had ended up quite differently from their usual routine this time.
(Y/N) canāt help but to allow Odessa to take the lead with this one, and he wouldnāt deny that he actually preferred whenever she took the lead with his life, especially with their more intimate moments. Having hoisted upon his shoulders with his crotch within her face, back pressed firmly against the wall behind him. He couldnāt help those desperate, obscene noises of pleasure that escaped past his lips. Those soft whines of pleasure that end up escaping past his lips and out into the open, causing Odessa to have to firmly press her hand across (Y/N)ās mouth not to attract any unwanted attention during their risky moment of pleasure in public. Or those practically incoherent mumbles of praise that fill Odessaās ears and cause her to let out a soft, muffled moan of her own due to having (Y/N)ās cock in her mouth, which adds even more pleasure to the situation. āNngh!~ O-Oh, fuck!~ā
Oh, how she applies a firm pressure around his length with her teeth as she proceeds to bob her head to take his cock deep within her throat, and then surprising him with switching things up by flattening her tongue to create more space to begin partially taking him down her throat. While he had originally planned to question Odessa of her lack of a gag reflex, (Y/N)ās only given response from her was a playful wink as she once again attempts to take his cock deep within her throat. It was almost enough to make him cum right then and there, but he felt that he had to hold on just a little bit longer, to be able to elongate the moment longer to burn it into his memory for later purposes.
While those might have been (Y/N)ās thoughts and intentions for the remainder of the intimate moment, it seems that Odessaās thoughts were a little bit different. Enjoying those sultry sounds that slip from her loverās lips, how his body squirms against hers no matter how tightly she has a hold on him, how firmly she has him pressed up against the wall. He couldnāt even began to describe the sensation that was arising within him as she began to increase the pace of her bobbing her head against his length, hollowing her mouth to create more of a suction, and continuing to moan around him, all while those piercing eyes of eyes stared directly right into his own.
Attempting to prevent himself from going over the edge and surrendering himself to his orgasm was becoming more and more difficult and eventually he couldnāt bring himself to hold back any longer. Not whenever Odessa was causing him to feel this good. He couldnāt help but begin bucking his hips at a frantic pace, one of his hands beginning to entangle itself within the front tuft on her head, pulling her head as close as he could to his pelvis while attempting to frantically buck his hips despite being in the slightly awkward position. āF-Fuck, Odessa~ Nngh, ābout to cum!~ā It doesnāt take much more to be brought over the edge and into that plane of euphoria as his orgasm overcomes him. He canāt help the shiver that overtakes his body and senses.
āFuck aye, love~ā Odessa speaks up while licking her lips, a grin beginning to spread across her face. āSo, what do you say ābout same time, same place tomorrow, ya?~"
#overwatch#overwatch 2#odessa stone#junker queen overwatch#junker queen#junker queen x reader#junker queen x male reader#x male reader#lemon rating#x male smut#requests?! thank you<3
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in which I get progressively angrier at the various tropes of atla fandom misogyny
tbh I think it would serve all of us to have a larger conversation about the specific ways misogyny manifests in this fandom, because Iāve seen a lot of people who characterize themselves as feminists, many of whom are women themselves, discuss the female characters of atla/lok in misogynistic ways, and people donāt talk about it enough.Ā
disclaimer before I start: Iām not a woman, Iām an afab nonbinary person who is semi-closeted and thus often read as a woman. Iām speaking to things that Iāve seen that have made me uncomfy, but if any women (esp women existing along other axes of oppression, e.g. trans women, women of color, disabled women, etc) want to add onto this post, please do!
āThis female character is a total badass but Iām not even a little bit interested in exploring her as a human being.āĀ
Iāve seen a lot of people say of various female characters in atla/lok, āI love her! Sheās such a badass!ā now, this statement on its own isnāt misogynistic, but it represents a pretty pervasive form of misogyny that Iāve seen leveled in large part toward the canon female love interests of one or both of the members of a popular gay ship (*cough* zukka *cough*) Iām going to use Suki as an example of this because I see it with her most often, but it can honestly be applied to nearly every female character in atla/lok. Basically, people will say that they stan Suki, but when it comes time to engage with her as an actual character, they refuse to do it. Iāve seen meta after meta about Zukoās redemption arc, but I so rarely see people engage with Suki on any level beyondĀ ālook at this cool fight scene!ā and yeah, I love a cool Suki fight scene as much as anybody else, but Iām also interested in meta and headcanons and fics about who she is as a person, when she isnāt an accessory to Sokkaās development or doing something cool. of course, the material for this kind of engagement with Suki is scant considering she doesnāt have a canon backstory (yet) (donāt let me down Faith Erin Hicks counting on you girl) but with the way Iāve seen people in this fandom expand upon canon to flesh out male characters, I know yāall have it in you to do more with Suki, and with all the female characters, than you currently do. frankly, the most engagement Iāve seen with Suki in mainstream fandom is justifying either zukki (which again, is characterizing her in relation to male characters, one of whom she barely interacts with in canon) or one of the Suki wlw pairings. which brings me to--
āI conveniently ship this female character whose canon love interest is one of the members of my favorite non-canon ship with another female character! gay rights!āĀ
now, I will admit, two of my favorite atla ships are yueki and mailee, and so I totally understand being interested in these charactersā dynamics, even if, as is the case with yueki, theyāve never interacted canonically. however, it becomes a problem for me when these ships are always in the background of a zukka fic. at some point, it becomes obvious that you like this ship because it gets either Zuko or Sokkaās female love interests out of the way, not because you actually think the characters would mesh well together. Itās bad form to dislike a female character because she gets in the way of your gay ship, so instead, you find another girl to pair her off with and call it a day. to be clear, Iām not saying that everybody who ships either mailee or yueki (or tysuki or maisuki or yumai or whatever other wlw rarepair involving Zuko or Sokkaās canon love interests) is nefariously trying to sideline a female character while acting publicly as if sheās is one of their faves--far from it--but it is noteworthy to me how difficult it is to find content that centers wlw ships, while itās incredibly easy to find content that centers zukka in which mailee and/or yueki plays a background role.Ā
also, notice how little traction wlw Katara ships gain in this fandom. whenās the last time you saw yuetara on your dash? thereās no reason for wlw Katara ships to gain traction in a fandom that is so focused on Zuko and Sokka getting together, bc she doesnāt present an immediate obstacle to that goal (at least, not an obstacle that can be overcome by pairing her up with a woman). if you are primarily interested in Zuko and Sokkaās relationship, and your queer readings of other female characters are motivated by a desire to get them out of the way for zukka, then Kataraās canon m/f relationship isnāt a threat to you, and thus, thereās no reason to read her as potentially queer. Or even, really, to think about her at all.Ā
āKataraās here but sheās not actually going to do anything, because deep down, Iām not interested in her as a person.āĀ
the show has an enormous amount of textual evidence to support the claim that Sokka and Katara are integral parts of each otherās lives. so, she typically makes some kind of appearance in zukka content. sometimes, her presence in the story is as an actual character with layers and nuance, someone whom Sokka cares about and who cares about Sokka in return, but also has her own life and goals outside of her brother (or other male characters, for that matter.) sometimes, however, sheās just there because halfway through writing the author remembered that Sokka actually has a sister whoās a huge part of the show theyāre writing fanfiction for, and then they proceed to show her having a meetcute with Aang or helping Sokka through an emotional problem, without expressing wants or desires outside of those characters. Iām honestly really surprised that I havenāt seen more people calling out the fact that so much of Kataraās personality in fanon revolves around her connections to men? sheās Aangās girlfriend, sheās Sokkaās sister, sheās Zukoās bestie. never mind that in canon she spends an enormous amount of time fighting against (anachronistic, Westernized) sexism to establish herself as a person in her own right, outside of these connections. and that in canon she has such interesting complex relationships with other female characters (e.g. Toph, Kanna, Hama, Korra if you want to write lok content) or that there are a plethora of characters with whom she could have interesting relationships with in fanon (Mai, Suki, Ty Lee, Yue, Smellerbee, and if you want to write lok content, Kya II, Lin, Asami, Senna, etc). to me, the lack of fandom material exploring Kataraās relationships with other women or with herself speak to a profound indifference to Katara as a character. Iām not saying you have to like Katara or include her in everything you write, but I am asking you to consider why you donāt find her interesting outside of her relationships with men.
āI hate Katara because she talks about her mother dying too often.āĀ
this is something Iāve seen addressed by people far more qualified than I to address it, but I want to mention it here in part because when I asked people which fandom tropes they wanted me to talk about, this came up often, but also because I find it really disgusting that this is a thing that needs to be addressed at all. Yāall see a little girl who watched her mother be killed by the forces of an imperialist nation and say that she talks about it too much??? That is a formational, foundational event in a childās life. Of course sheās going to talk about it. Iāve seen people say that she doesnāt talk about it that often, or that she only talks about it to connect with other victims of fn imperialism e.g. Jet and Haru, but frankly, she could speak about it every episode for no plot-significant reason whatsoever and I would still be angry to see people say she talks about it too much. And before you even bring up the Sokka comparison, people deal with grief in different ways. SokkaĀ repressed a lot of his grief/channeled it into being theĀ āmanā of his village because he knew that they would come for Katara next if he gave them the opportunity. he probably would talk about his mother more if a) he didnāt feel massive guilt at not being able to remember what she looked like, and b) he was allowed to be a child processing the loss of his mother instead of having to become a tiny adult when Hakoda had to leave to help fight the fn. And this gets into an intersection with fandom racism, in that white fans (esp white American fans) are incapable of relating to the structural trauma that both Sokka and Katara experience and thus canāt see the ways in which structural trauma colors every single aspect of both of their characters, leading them to flatten nuance and to have some really bad takes. And you know what, speaking of bad fandom takes--Ā Ā
āShitting on Mai because she gets in the way of my favorite Zuko ship is actually totally okay because sheās ~abusive~āĀ
yāall WHAT.Ā
ok listen, I get not liking maiko. I didnāt like it when I first got into fandom, and later I realized that while bryke cannot write romance to save their lives, fans who like maiko sure can, so I changed my tune. but if you still donāt like it, thatās fine. no skin off my back.Ā
what IS skin off my back is taking instances in which Mai had justified anger toward Zuko, and turning it intoĀ āMai abused Zuko.ā do you not realize how ridiculous you sound? this is another thing where I get so angry about it that I donāt know how useful my analysis is actually going to be, but Iāll do my best. numerous people have noted how analysis of Mai and Zukoās breakup inĀ āThe Beachā or Mai being justifiably angry with him at Boiling Rock or her asking for FUCKING FRUIT in āNightmares and Daydreamsā that says that all of these events were her trying to gain control over him is....ahhh...lacking in reading comprehension, but Iād like to go a step further and talk about why yāall are so intent on taking down a girl who doesnāt show emotion in normative ways. obviously, thereās aĀ āZuko can do no wrongā aspect to Mai criticism (which is super weird considering how his whole arc is about how he can do lots of wrong and he has to atone for the wrong that heās done--but thatās a separate post.) But I also see slandering Mai for not expressing her emotions normatively and not putting up with Zukoās shit and slandering Katara forĀ ātalking about her mother too oftenā as two sides of the same coin. In both cases, a female character expresses emotions that make you, the viewer, uncomfortable, and so instead of attempting to understand where those emotions may have come from and why they might be manifesting the way they are, yāall just throw the whole character away. this is another instance of people in the fandom being fundamentally disinterested in engaging with the female characters of atla in a real way, except instead of shallowly āstanningā Mai, yāall hate her. so we get to this point where female characters are flattened into one of two things: perfect queens who can do no wrong, or bitches. and thatās not who they are. thatās not who anyone is. but while we as a fandom are pretty good at understanding b1 Zukoās actions as layered and multifaceted even though heās essentially an asshole then, few are willing to lend the same grace to any female character, least of all Mai.Ā
and whatās funny is sometimes this trope will intersect withĀ āI conveniently ship this female character whose canon love interest is one of the members of my favorite non-canon ship with another female character! gay rights!ā, so youāll have someone actively calling Mai toxic/problematic/abusive, and at the same time ship her with Ty Lee? make it make sense! but then again, maybe thatās happening because yāall are fundamentally disinterested in Ty Lee as a character too.Ā
āI love Ty Lee so much that Iām going to treat her like an infantilized hypersexual airhead!āĀ
there are so many things happening in yāalls characterization of Ty Lee that I struggled to synthesize it into one quippy section header. on one hand, you have the hypersexualization, and on the other hand, you have the infantilization, which just makes the hypersexualization that much worse.Ā
(of course, sexualizing or hypersexualizing ANY atla character is really not the move, considering that these are child characters in a childrenās show, but then again, thatās a separate post.)Ā
now, I understand how, from a very, very surface reading of the text, you could come to the conclusion that Ty Lee is an uncomplicated bimbo. if you grew up on Western media the way I did, youāll know that Ty Lee has a lot of the character traits we associate with bimbos: the form-fitting pink crop top, the general conventional attractiveness, the ditzy dialogue. but if you think about it for more than three seconds, youāll understand that Ty Lee has spent her whole life walking a tightrope, trying to please Azula and the rest of the royal family while also staying true to herself. Ty Lee and Azulaās relationship is a really complex and interesting topic that I donāt really have time to explore at the moment given how long this post is, but Iād argue that Ty Leeās constant, vocalĀ adulation is at least partially a product of learning to survive at court at an early age. Like Mai, she has been forced to regulate her emotions as a member of fn nobility, but unlike Mai, she also has six sisters who look exactly like her, so she has a motivation to be more peppy and more affectionate to stand out.Ā
fandom does not do the work to understand Ty Lee. as is a theme with this post, fandom is actively disinterested in investigating female characters beyond a very surface level reading of them. Thus, fandom takes Ty Leeās surface level qualities--her love of the color pink, her revealing standard outfit, and the fact that once she found a boy attractive and also once a lot of boys found her attractive--and they stretch this intoĀ āTy Lee is basically Karen Smith from Mean Girls.ā thus, Ty Lee is painted as a bimbo, or more specifically, as not smart, uncritically adoring of Azula (did yāall forget all the non-zukka bits of Boiling Rock?), and attractive to the point of hypersexualization. I saw somebody make a post that was likeĀ āI wish mailee was more popular but Iām also glad it isnāt because otherwise people would write it as Mai having to put up with her dumb gfā and honestly I have to agree!! this is one instance in which Iām glad that fandom doesnāt discuss one of my favorite characters that often because I hate the fanon interpretation of Ty Lee, I think itās rooted in misogyny (particularly misogyny against East Asian women, which often takes the form of fetishizing them and viewing them only through a Western white male gaze)Ā Ā
(side note: here at army-of-mai-lovers, we stan bimbos. bimbos are fucking awesome. I personally donāt read Ty Lee as a bimbo, but if thatās you, thatās fucking awesome. keep doing what youāre doing, queen <3 or king or monarch, itās 2021, anyone can be a bimbo, bitches <3)
āToph can and will destroy everyone here with her bare hands because sheās a meathead who likes to murder people and thatās it!āĀ Ā
Toph is, and always has been, one of my favorite ATLA characters. My very first fic in fandom was about her, and she appears prominently in a lot of my other work as well. One thing that I am always struck by with Toph is how big a heart she has. Sheās independent, yes, snarky, yes, but she cares about people--even the family that forced her to make herself smaller because they didnāt believe that their blind daughter could be powerful and strong. Her storyline is powerful and emotionally resonant, her bending is cool precisely because itās based in aĀ āwait and listenā approach instead of just smashing things indiscriminately, sheās great disabled rep, and overall one of the best characters in the show.Ā
And in fandom, she gets flattened intoĀ āsnarky murder child.āĀ
So where does this come from? Well, as we all know, Toph was originally conceived of as a male character, and retained a lot of androgyny (or as the kids call it, Gender) when she was rewritten as a female character. There are a lot of cultural ideas about androgynous/butch women being violent, and people in fandom seem to connect that larger cultural narrative with some of Tophās more violent moments in the show to create the meathead murder child trope, erasing her canon emotionality, softness, heart, and femininity in the process.Ā
This is not to say that you shouldnāt write or characterize Toph as being violent or snarky at all ever, because yeah, Toph definitely did do Earth Rumbles a lot before joining the gaang, and yeah, Toph is definitely a sarcastic person who makes fun of her friends a lot. What I am saying is that people take these traits, sans the emotional logic, marry them to their conception of androgynous/butch women as violent/unemotional/uncaring, and thus create a caricature of Toph that is not at all up to snuff. When I see Toph as a side character in a fic (because yeah, Toph never gets to be a main character, because why would a fandom obsessed with one male character in particular ever make Toph a protagonist in her own right?) sheās making fun of people, killing people, pranking people, etc, etc. Sheās never talking to people about her emotions, or palling around with her found family, or showing that she cares about her friends. Everything about her relationship with her parents, her disability, her relationship to Gender, and her love of her friends is shoved aside to focus on a version of Toph that is mean and uncaring because people have gotten it into their heads that androgynous/butch women are mean and uncaring.Ā
again, we see a female character who does not emote normatively or in a way that makes you, the viewer, comfortable, and so you warp her character until sheās completely unrecognizable and flat. and for what?Ā
Azula
no, I didnāt come up with a snappy name for this section, mainly because fanon interpretations of Azula and my own feelings toward the character are...complicated. I know there were some people who wanted me to write about Azula and the intersection of misogyny and ableism in fanon interpretations of her character, but I donāt think I can deliver on that because I personally am in a period of transition with how I see Azula. that is to say, while I still like her and believe that she can be redeemed, there is a lot of merit to disliking her. the whole point of this post is that the female characters of ATLA are complex people whom the fandom flattens into stereotypes that donāt hold up to scrutiny, or dislike for reasons that donāt make sense. Azula, however, is a different case. the rise of Azula defenders and Azula stans has led to this sentiment that Azula is a 14 y/o abuse victim who shouldnāt be held accountable for her actions. it seems to me that people are reacting to a long, horrible legacy of male ATLA fans armchair diagnosing Azula with various personality disorders (and suggesting that people with those personality disorders are inherently monstrous and unlovable which ahhhh....yikes) and then saying that those personality disorders make her unlovable, which is quite obviously bad. and hey, I get loving a character that everyone else hates and maybe getting so swept up in that love that you forget that your fave is complicated and has made some unsavory choices. it sucks that fanon takes these well-written, complex villains/antiheroes and turns them into monsters with no critical thought whatsoever. but the attitude among Azula stans that her redemption shouldnāt be hard, that her being a child excuses all of the bad things that sheās done, that she is owed redemption....all of that rubs me the wrong way. I might make another post about this in the future that discusses this in more depth, but as it stands now: while I understand that there is a legacy of misogynistic, ableist, unnuanced takes on Azula, the backlash to that does not take into account the people she hurt or the fact that in ATLA she does not make the choice to pursue redemption. and yes, Zuko had help in making that choice that Azula didnāt, and yes, Azula is a victim of abuse, but in a show about children who have gone through untold horrors and still work to better the lives of the people around them, that is not enough for me to uncritically stan her.Ā
ConclusionĀ Ā Ā
misogyny in this fandom runs rampant. while there are some tropes of fandom misogyny that are well-documented and have been debunked numerous times, there are other, subtler forms of misogyny that as far as I know have gone completely unchecked.Ā
what I find so interesting about misogyny in atla fandom is that itās clear that itās perpetrated by people who are aware of fandom misogyny who are actively trying not to be misogynistic. when I first joined atla fandom last summer, memes about how zukka fandom was better than every other fandom because they didnāt hate the female characters who got in the way of their gay ship were extremely prevalent, and there was this sense that *this* fandom was going to model respectful, fun, feminist online fandom. not all of the topes Iāve outlined are exclusive to or even largely utilized in zukka fandom, but a lot of them are. Iāve been in and out of fandom since I was eleven years old, and most of the fandom spaces Iāve been in have been majority-female, and all of them have been incredibly misogynistic. and I always want to know why. why, in these communities created in large part by women, in large part for women, does misogyny run wild? what I realize now is that thereās never going to be a one-size fits all answer to that question. whatās true for 1D fandom on Wattpad in 2012 is absolutely not true for atla fandom on tumblr in 2021. the answers that Iāve cobbled together for previous fandoms donāt work here.Ā
so, why is atla fandom like this? why did the dream of a feminist fandom almost entirely focused on the romantic relationship between two male characters fall apart? honestly, I think the notion that zukka fandom ever was this way was horrifically ignorant to begin with. from my very first moment in the fandom, I was seeing racism, widespread sexualization of minors, and yes, misogyny. these aspects of the fandom werenāt talked about as much as the crocverse or other, much more fun aspects. further, atla (specifically zukka) fandom misogyny often doesnāt look like the fandom misogyny weāve become familiar with from like, Sherlock fandom or what have you. for the most part, people donāt actively hate Suki, they justĀ āstanā without actually caring about her. they hate Mai because they believe in treating male victims of abuse equally. theyāre not characterizing Toph poorly, theyāre writing her as aĀ āstrong woman.ā in short, people are misogynistic, and then invoke a shallow, incomplete interpretation of feminist theory to shield themselves from accusations of misogyny. itās not unlike the way some people will invoke a shallow, incomplete interpretation of critical race theory to shield themselves from accusations of racism, or how theyāll talk aboutĀ āfreedom of speechā andĀ āthe suppression of womenās sexualityā to justify sexualizing minors. the performance of feminism and antiracism is whatās important, not the actual practice.Ā
if youāve made it this far, first off, hi, thanks so much for reading, I know this was a lot. second, I would seriously encourage you to be aware of these fandom tropes and to call them out when you see them. elevate the voices of fans who do the work of bringing the female characters of atla to life. invest in the wlw ships in this fandom. drop a kudos and a comment on a rangshi fic (please, drop a kudos and a comment on a rangshi fic). read some yuetara. letās all be honest about where we are now, and try to do better in the future. I believe in us.Ā
#fandom crit#longpost#like seriously long post strap in#misogyny#death tw#murder tw#abuse cw#sexualization of minors#ableism#racism#fandom racism#zukka crit#swearing tw#suki#yue#katara#ty lee#mai#toph#azula
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In another ask, you shared your thoughts on why you didnāt like 6996 etc. do you think 2795 share the same problem? I think while Tsuna and Kyoko doesnāt seem as weird as 6996 on the surface upon further speculation and reading works where Kyoko becomes this bamf vongola tenth wife who does anything for Tsuna, it sort of treads the same vibe as Chrome and Mukuro in some way. Idk I just want to hear your thoughts on maybe 2795 and maybe 2786 as well.
Hi hi
Had to search these because I literally did not have any ships for this show until I rewatched it and just merged my favorite characters into one pair that happened to be a ship. IĀ forget the others exist...With that being said, take this with a grain of salt because I honestly donāt even think about these ships a lot, forget they even exist. How KHR was written will always make the the very idea of Tsuna with any of the female characters feel weird or odd unless youāve managed to read or create enough Fanon that changes your characterization of the original dynamic. I donāt think they share the same problem but maybe a similar one ? Tsuna and any female character compared to Mukuro and Chrome is very different in my opinion. (funnily enough itās also because Mukuro isnāt a misogynistļæ¼ shsjsjsj) 6996 could work, they actually have a relationship thatās very personal to both parties and unlike 2795 theyāre both aware of it and have a distinct unique connection with each other that consists of shared interests trust and mutual respect. itās just odd to think about because chrome looks up to Mukuro and the power imbalance feels weird, heās literally keeping her alive. (Which I know is disgustingly sweet I find it very heartwarming. )
2795 is this one sided crush with zero redeeming qualities. There was nothing remotely romantic or intriguing happening between Tsuna and Kyoko the entire series. If we took out Tsunaās inner thoughts we honestly wouldāve thought she was just this nice girl he knows from school. If we took out Tsunaās thoughts in general and left it up to the fandom pulling this ship out of their butts it would honestly be 1000% cuter. All their interactions read like
āthis girl is so lovely I really like her and sheās talking to me thatās amazingā
āThanks for the pencil. Do your best on the test okay?ā
Iām not swooning over the most lackluster interactions on the planet because he is over romanticizing it. Even the reason why he likes her is not that interesting or convincing. Which I mean I get it heās only 14 heās not thinking about all the small stuff like emotional support or validation or like not wanting to be alone etc. Itās still just youāre pretty letās be happy all the time while you hold my hand forever. He deserves that heās literally a kid. but even when i was younger i didnāt see it between them ever. On top of their interactions being boring they never give us things that make you goĀ āoh wait she might actually like him hmmmā . they could have tried a little harder to make it a little more romantic? sometimes they show us Kyoko in a pink background hands clasped surrounded by hearts and I forget sheās supposed to be viewed in that light. I forget weāre supposed to actually consider her liking him too but what are we supposed to think Kyoko is looking for in a guy that makes Tsuna a possibility when she doesn't exist past eating cake and worrying about her brother and Tsuna. I think itās also fair to note that they never imply that Tsuna actually thinks about her beyond his image of her but we see how caring he is with his friends to the point where he can point out their flaws and work through them anyways and accept them. Tsuna realizing Yamamoto was not himself during the Guardians trial is a perfect example of this, it establishes the relationship they built with one another. another example is Tsuna acknowledging that Gokudera is overwhelming and short tempered but he wouldnāt trade the guy for anyone because he is loyal and a good friend.Ā he cares for Kyoko as a person in general but he never reaches that depth when it comes to her. he doesnāt have to either because itās just a crush, how you manage to take that through the next ten years of his life I honestly donāt know.Ā
TL;DR : My ONLY problem with 2795 is the fact that there is nothing to work off of but the implication that Tsuna likes this girl and thatās why they are endgame. she matters very little, just a figurehead of his normalcy. sheās written just as badly in fics, can I blame you? no you were probably like 14 writing them. do a lot of people still do this ? yeah so iām just not interested until the fanon has changed her character for everyone.Ā
I know I sound super hypocritical becauseĀ āSprite what the fuck does 6918 have thatās soooo intriguing they actually canonically hate each other how is that any better.ā the answer: Mukuro and Hibari have a more established relationship with mutual feelings than those two, even better theyāre actually really strong feelings (of pure hatred). Bonus, despite being aloof both characters also have fully developed personalities and Opinions/Behaviors that we can mold however we please. they actually have a relationship to play around with that's what makes it fun and lets you have those āactually theyāre pretty similar in this aspectā because you know shit about both of them individually.Ā
Now for 2786,,, as i sit here and think about it Haru and Tsuna make so much more sense for all the reasons him and kyoko donāt .Ā
Kyoko and Haru were already made solely to be Tsunaās love interests (specifically Kyoko) , but then it went on to be something they didnāt even bother hiding when they reduced their characters and their interests to looking after kids and repeatedly worrying over Tsuna. The reason I donāt find it appealing is because there really wasnāt any dynamic there at all. This boy liked this girl and thatās literally all it was. She has no depth , and despite being written for him nothing about Kyoko screams youāre perfect for this kid. Nothing says, Youāre compatible, You have common interests, you two can rely on each other. She was pretty and nice and polite and thatās all they shared along with half the cast. With Haru they went the completely opposite direction, this girl likes him and is upfront about it. she's not a better candidate just because she's not the typical pretty girl whos quiet and polite and caring,(Sheās not the better written female character either, this is reborn. they all lose here.) sheās the better candidate because we actually have a personality to compare to Tuna's. she was purposely given this big personality because he was never going to be in love with her because sheās like all the other intruding figures of his life. Again we have this one sided crush, know he doesnāt like her at all but you can actually see where they do go right and wrong. sheās a complete person.Ā
Haru can handle a little wild in her life, she was the first one to know he would be a mafia boss and it didnāt phase her at all. Tsuna might need that later in life.
In the future when Tsuna finds her crying she tells him not to think her feelings have anything to do with him, completely different dynamic from kyoko whos emotions are always directly related to male characters and what they are doing.Ā
Haru and her cosplays are so perfectly absurd and she does not care how weird he finds them, she has this big embarrassing trait to her that Tsuna comically responds to but just grows to overlook and accept.Ā Ā
she actually talks to Tsuna quite a lot and helps him out whenever she can, because he doesn't like her she's allowed to actually exist in his world and he sees her fully because of it. It makes sense to see his significant other who will be involved in the mafia as an asset who he wants to protect and not just...something he needs to protect bc they honestly don't want this.
she interviews the entire cast of the show because haru just fits there, in a yamamoto like way, she can just handle it.Ā
Tsuna and Haru could have been perfect friends or a couple. they had the grounds for it. itās just not what he wanted but I can totally see them working out for each other later in life. they make so much sense! iāll have to think about them more sometime soon.Ā
Hope I answered you questions, this got long.
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I typically donāt do asks (I've only ever gotten a few), but a recent one got my gears turning and I wanted to reply.
(This is a secondary blog, so I canāt answer asks in the usual way.)
Your post about the retcon is so fucking good, I wish every critter saw it and actually thought about how shitty it was done, but then their belief in the cast and show would probably start cracking.
Thank you for liking the retcon post. Iāve seen various people in the tags thank me for making that post and have said that itās helped them āfeel less insaneā. None of us are insane. We are not delusional. We didnāt experience a mass hallucination. These things happened, and theyāve been thoroughly documented. Hundreds of hours of material over the course of three years.
The people who should read that post wonāt ever see it because I have all those assholes blocked lol. If they did manage to find it somehow, I know they would just mock it, as theyāre wont to do with any of our criticisms. Theyāre so far up CRās ass, theyāve convinced themselves that a retcon didnāt happen. Even shoving the literal definition of the word in their faces wouldnāt wake them up.
It's just so fucking weird to see how the group is acting now, and I'm pretty sure we're never gonna get a Laura&Marisha episode picture and a TM episode with those 2 for the rest of the campaign. It feels like when a non-canon wlw ship gets big on a TV show and suddenly the actresses can't be seen or interact with each other anymoreš it's the same fucking pattern and like you, I thought I wouldn't have to deal with this on a d&d show.
I specifically want to address the āIt feels like when a non-canon wlw ship gets big on a TV show and suddenly the actresses can't be seen or interact with each other anymoreā because Iāve thought about that pattern too. (Not so much with Marisha/Laura ācause them being on TM together is already a rare combo. If they donāt appear much or at all going forward, I donāt think itās because of this, though it really wouldnāt surprise me. But, I have been thinking about that specific pattern in regard to their characters.)
I can make a comparison between this situationĀ and what happened with the show A/gent Carter and the way the ship Cart/inelli was handled.
I know that might sound weird, but stay with me here lol...
I want to make it clear that Iām not comparing the relationships at all. Cart/inelli did not have nearly the same amount of build-up and depth as Beaujester, (or quite frankly, their level of possibility.) What I am comparing is the creators over-the-top reactions to these characters being shipped so hard and the extreme measures they went to in order to āremedyā that.
The ship included P/eggy Carter and A/ngie Martinelli. The show was set in New York. Angie was a waitress (who wanted to be an actress/be on Broadway) at the diner that Peggy frequented. They ended up talking quite a bit and became fairly close. That ended up kind of becoming the core relationship in the entire first season, and LOTS of people started shipping it.
At the time, no one was calling us crazy or delusional. At most it was, āThis is ABC! Theyāre not gonna pair her with a woman!ā and of course the obligatory āBut Peggyās not gay!ā. But no one was calling us names or being generally cruel. And anyone who tried it was ignored because everyone else drowned them out. The ship became extremely popular on Tumblr and Twitter. Both actresses were very positive and supportive. They regularly liked/retweeted romantic Cart/inelli fanart on Twitter. Even one of the female writers on the show got behind it too. It was asked about frequently at conventions and no one booed or rolled their eyes. The questions were never dismissed or made into a joke. (Honestly, this was one of the better overall fandom experiences Iāve had on here.)
And all of us were super excited for S2. Not just because of all the support, but because they had ended S1 with Peggy and Angie moving in together. Peggy had purchased, either it was a really fancy apartment or house (my memory is fuzzy on this), and she literally asked Angie to stay with her. Needless to say, that fueled the flames even more.
But despite the actresses and at least one writer being on board, between S1 and S2, something shifted.
Clearly, the showrunner and/or the execs, took a look at all of this and deemed it a āproblemā. When S2 finally came around, suddenly everything was different. Instead of both of them living together in New York, instead of it being an organic (Iām beginning to hate that word) continuation from where they left off, Peggy decided to move to Los Angeles to do work for some agency out there or something, and Angie stayed in New York. Itās never explained why. Itās never explained why a woman who so badly wanted to be an actress would NOT want to go to LA, where Hollywood is. LA was never mentioned in S1. There were no hints that Peggy might want to fly out to the West Coast at some point. She seemed perfectly happy in NY, basically setting up house with Angie.
And they didnāt even ease into the change. They just got rid of the character. The actress was bummed about it and Cart/inelli fans tried to put pressure on the showrunner/writers to bring Angie back, which the actress completely supported, but even that fell on deaf ears. So, Angie was simply no longer an entity on that show. Conveniently removed. All the excitement we had was crushed. And of course, the second that Peggy got out to LA, she suddenly had a very obvious male love interest. What a surprise.
The showrunner/writers were not subtle about what they thought about our ship and us. They made the most extreme, nonsensical writing decision in order to permanently separate these two characters. Because, hey, thatās the only way to get the shippers to STOP, right?
This was what I was reminded of when I started seeing the turn that post-hiatus CR was taking. It ended up being a weird combination of kneejerk erasure (BJ) and heavy-handed overcompensation (BY).
But of course, CR is not a TV show, itās D&D. And they canāt force one of their PCs to just disappear, so what do they have to resort to? Not interacting.
We all know how severely neutered Beau and Jesterās general relationship has become. Itās clear to me that both Marisha and Laura felt they had to do that. They had to suddenly have their characters stay away from each other as much as possible so they could prioritize Fjord and Yasha, and speed-run into romances with them. They started acting as if either of them giving the other one ounce of affectionate attention (like they had been doing so often and so naturally before), would be breaking some sort of hidden ārelationship codeā. Almost like if they ever hugged again, the studio would go down in flames.
The very obvious fact that they went to these lengths, to me, proves two things...
One, it proves the retcon even more, because you can tell that the way they behaved with each other DID in fact change. The frequency of interactions and the way those interactions would play out. Whenever they interact now, it seems like theyāre trying to keep it as short, thin, and almost comedic (to the point of goofiness, and not in a good way) as possible. Their engagement seems half-assed and dull. The sounds of their voices, their facial expressions... completely sanitized. Even all the physicality they had is gone; the touches, the hugs, the cuddling. Every single aspect is different and they absolutely did that intentionally. This had to happen because they needed to dupe the viewers into believing that despite overall interest waning, their threadbare connections to Fjord and Yasha are more important, and were always more important then their connection to each other, that we all watched them steadily build. (And watched them pick up steam from about ep70 onwards.)
And two, that whole intentional decision to cut themselves off from each other, proves to me that their interactions pre-hiatus were indeed tinged with āsomething extraā, that was more than just friendship. They both recognized it and thatās why they pulled back so hard. Thatās why soft touches and hugs and cuddling are no longer āallowedā. Thatās why quiet, heartfelt conversations are no longer āallowedā. Because if there was absolutely nothing there, if they didnāt see/feel any romantic chemistry simmering underneath, and it was all just platonic BFF stuff, why would they suppress their behavior so drastically?
I think that all of this really does cement what I said in my retcon post: That there are disingenuous patterns being used here that Iāve seen far too often in media. In A/gent Carter, it was a character separation, in CR it was a character dynamic separation. Both done on purpose, to make the shippers shut up, and to push a different plot.
One is scripted, the other is unscripted, but the situations feel disgustingly similar, donāt they?
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Hi Good Omens fans, ever since making this blog, and trawling through the archives for old art, I have been thinking again about trends from before the TV-show, and the way people draw Aziraphale and Crowley.Ā I wanted to make this post addressing it but this is notĀ ādiscourseā or to start a fight, in fact I would be perfectly content if all I did was make people think critically about what I am about to say and not even interact with this post at all, but I feel like I need to say it.
Talking about any racist undertones to the way people draw our two favorite boys usually makes people dig their heels in pretty fast.Ā This is not a callout post for any artist in particular, this is not me trying to be overly critical of artists especially since they have more talent and skill than I do, and Iām going to address some common counterpoints that I frankly find unsatisfactory.Ā Letās just take a moment to set aside our defensiveness and think objectively about these trends.Ā It took me a while to unlearn my dismissive attitude about these concerns so maybe I can help others get over that hurdle a little faster.Ā Now letās begin.
Iāve been kicking around the Good Omens fandom since maybe 2015 and for art based in book canon, whether it was made before the TV show came out, or because the artist is consciously drawing different, original designs, Iām going to estimate that a decent 75% of all fanart looks like this
Aziraphale is white and blonde and blue-eyed while Crowley is the typicalĀ āracially ambiguousā brown skin tone itās become so popular to draw podcast characters as nowadays.
And the question is why?Ā With the obvious answer beingĀ āitās racist,ā but letās delve a little deeper than that.
A common thing I hear is that people get appearance headcanons fixed in their mind because the coverart of the book pictures the characters a certain way.Ā My first point is this only shifts the question to why the illustratorsĀ drew them that way, when there arenāt many physical descriptions in the book.Ā My second point is that while there definitely areĀ cover arts that picture Aziraphale as cherubic, blonde, and white and Crowley as swarthy, dark-skinned, and racially ambiguous...
(side note: why is Crowleyās hand so tiny?Ā what the hell is going on in this cover?)
Itās much more common for the covers to simplified, stylized, and without any particular unambiguous skin tones
I donāt know about the UK but the most popular version in the United States is the dual black and white matching covers
And while you could make an argument that the shading on Crowleyās face could suggest a darker skintone, it seems obvious to me that lacking any color these are not supposed to suggest any particular race for either of these two, and the contrasting colors are a stylistic choice to emphasize how they are on opposite sides.Ā If anything, to me it suggests they are both white.
In short I simply do not buy the argument that people are drawing Aziraphale and Crowley this way because thatās how they were represented on the cover art of the book.Ā If you draw them the way they are on the cover then whatever, I donāt care, but I donāt believe thatās whatās driving this trend.
The second thing people will say is that Good Omens is a work of satire, and itās based in Christian mythology which has this trend of depicting angels as white, and it is embodying the trope of aĀ āwhite, cherubic angelā paired with a dark-skinned demon for the explicit purpose of subverting the trope ofĀ āwhite angel is good, dark demon is badā since Aziraphale is not an unambiguous hero and Crowley is not a villain.Ā Ā āItās not actually like that because Crowley isnāt a badĀ demon, and Aziraphale isnāt actually a perfect angelā is the argument.Ā This has a certain logic to it and allows some nuance to the topic, but to this I say:
Uncritically reproducing a trope, even in the context of a satire novel, is not enough to subvert it.Ā Good Omens is not criticising the racist history of the church, and while the book does have some pointed jabs at white British culture (such as Madam Tracy conning gullible Brits with an unbelievably ignorant stereotype of a Native American) it is not being critical of the conception of angels as white and blonde or the literal demonization of non-white people.Ā Thatās just not what the book is about.Ā So making the angel white and the demon dark-skinned, playing directly into harmful tropes and stereotypes, is not somehow subversive or counter-cultural when doing so doesnāt sayĀ anything about anything.
Please consider fully the ramifications of the conception of white and blonde people as innocent and cherubic and dark-skinned people as infernal and mischievous, especially in modern contexts...
Black people are more likely to be viewed as violent, angry, and dangerous.Ā Priming with a dark-skinned face makes people more likely to mistake a tool for a gun.Ā Black people are viewed as experiencing pain less intensely by medical professionals.Ā Ā Black men are viewed as physically larger and more imposing than they actually are.Ā The subconscious racial bias favoring light skin is so ingrained itās measurable by objective scientific studies, on top of the anecdotal evidence of things like news stories choosing flattering,Ā ācherubicā pictures of white and blond criminals while using unflattering mugshots for non-white offenders.
This is why I say that if youāre going to invoke theĀ āwhites are angelicā trope, you better have a damnĀ good subversion of it to justify it, because this idea causes real harm to real people in the real world.Ā And Aziraphale being a bit of a bastard despite being an angel, I just donāt see that as sufficient.Ā I am especially cautious of when itās my fellow white fans that make this argument, not because I believe they do this out of any sort of malice or hatred of people with dark skin, but because I know first-hand it stems from a dismissiveness rooted in not wanting to think about it for too long because it makes us uncomfortable.Ā Non-white people do not have the luxury of not thinking about it, because itās part of their life.
Now the strongest textual evidence people use, in the absence of much real descriptor, is this:
"Many people, meeting Aziraphale for the first time, formed three impressions: that he was English, that he was intelligent, and that he was gayer than a tree full of monkeys on nitrous oxide. Two of these were wrong; Heaven is not in England, whatever certain poets may have thought, and angels are sexless unless they really want to make an effort"Ā
This piece of art has circulated in the fandom for so long I donāt know the original artist and itās been used for everything from fancovers to perfume.Ā This is where I found it and itās one of the first things that come up when you google this quote about Aziraphale.Ā Ā
Doesnāt it just feel like this is the man thatās describing, some blonde effeminate gay man?Ā Well guess what, thereās theĀ āblonde as innocenceā trope rearing its ugly head again, because the stereotype of gay men and effeminacy as being a white and blonde thing is--ding ding ding you guessed it--racism.Ā And why would intelligentĀ suggest a white and blonde person, except if the stereotype of a dark-skinned person is less intelligent?
Now the point ofĀ āpeople assume Aziraphale is Britishā is another sticking point people will often use, claiming that the stereotype of a British person is white and blonde.Ā I guess this has some merit, since the British empire was one of the biggest forces behind white colonial expansion, and it seems disingenuous to assignĀ āBritishā asĀ ānonwhiteā as soon as weāre being satirical, in the same way I found it distasteful that the TV show made God female when so many of the criticisms of the church are about its misogyny and lose their teeth as soon as God is no longer male.
However consider that 1.4 million Indian people live in the UK.Ā I heard a man say aloud once that the concept of a black person having a British accent was a little funny, as though Doctor Who doesnāt exist and have black people on it.Ā And Iām not overly familiar with the social landscape of the UK, but I understand theyāre experiencing a xenophobia boom and non-white Brits arenāt consideredĀ āreally British.āĀ The stereotype of non-white people not being British only exists becauseĀ of reinforcement in media.Ā If you really want to be subversive, drawing Aziraphale as Indian goes wayĀ further than drawing him as white IMO.
Now letās talk about Crowley.Ā He is almost always drawn with a darker skin tone than Aziraphale, even when they are both white, and while Iāve outlined above how this is problematic on terms of linking light skin with innocence, I think it does have an extra layer.Ā I think it also has to do with the exotification and fetishization of brown skin and non-white people.
This artistās tumblr is gone now but their art is still on dA and while itās definitely beautiful and well-done, I think this is a very good example of what Iām talking about.
Crowley and Aziraphale necessarily contrast each other, so describing Aziraphale asĀ āBritishā might suggest that Crowley isĀ āforeign-looking.āĀ I also know *ahem* that the fandom generally thirsts over Crowley to hell and back, so making him a swarthy, tall dark and handsome is not necessarily surprising.
An interesting thing happened when the TV show came out, and everyone started drawing Michael Sheen!Aziraphale and David Tennant!Crowley more and more often:Ā Itās not ubiquitous, but it doesĀ happen that sometimes artists will draw David Tennantās skin darker than it actually is.Ā The subconscious urge to see Crowley with dark skin is for some reason that strongĀ for many people.Ā And I really encourage people doing this to think about why.Ā Not naming any names but Iāve working with fanartists before for collabs who I had to ask to lightenĀ ābad guyā demonās skin tones because it looked like they were making the skin darker on purpose to make them look scarier.Ā This person is a perfectly pleasant person who tries not to be racist!Ā And we both still fell into it accidentally, and it took me a while to notice and point it out, because the ingrained stigmatization of darker skin is pervasive yet often goes unnoticed.
What is the solution?Ā I donāt know, and as a white person Iām not really qualified to make that call.Ā Do we draw them both with the exact same skin tone?Ā Is it better to make them both white?Ā Should we make both of them non-white?Ā Should we only make Aziraphale non-white?Ā I am consciously aware of the fact that the Good Omens fandom is mostly white people, so most of the art we make is being both made by and consumed by white people, so I donāt feel comfortable sayingĀ ādraw these characters of color specificallyā because that can alsoĀ veer into fetishization territory very quickly.Ā This is not specific to good omens but I think we should pay attention to what fans of color say in all fandom spaces and weigh our choices even if they seem insignificant.Ā And itās important to realize that fans of color will not be a monolith in their opinion either, and itās our responsibility to recognize that everyone can be affected by racism and social issues differently, the same way all women are affected by misogyny differently so just because one woman says such as such is misogynistic and another says itās not.Ā Iām sure there are non-white fans who think itās perfectly fine to draw Aziraphale as white and Crowley as ambiguously non-white.Ā Iām not saying theyāre wrong.Ā And Iām not saying you canāt reblog this kind of art, or that people who make or made it should feel bad about themselves.Ā But so often this sort of thing goes unaddressed just because people donāt like thinking about it, and well, avoiding hard questions never really goes well I think.
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(This shit is long so bear with me.)
Canāt Eat, Canāt Sleep, Reach for the Stars
I havenāt felt this way in awhile. This ācan't eat, can't sleep, reach for the stars, over the fence, world series kind of love.āĀ
Itās hard to describe. The last time I was all-consumed like this by a TV show and a ship, that TV show was The 100, that ship was Clexa, and my world was, quite honestly, turned upside down by it.
I used the first two seasons of The 100 as background noise as I wrote my Masterās Thesis in 2015. To be honest, I didnāt really know exactly what was happening until Bodyguard of Lies (an episode anyone reading this post probably remembers well) came on. And a passionate kiss between two world leaders left me speechless and shocked. I was blindsided by it, unaware that that kiss would be the beginning of not only finding myself, but also accepting myself, and then finding a chosen family I never knew that I needed because of it.
Thereās been alot of (okay, not a lot, but more) f/f ships on TV since then. Maggie and Alex. Nicole and Waverly. Elena and Syd. Kat and Adena. Anissa and Grace. Stef and Lena. Karolina and Nico. And the list goes onā¦ While each of these ships is equally important, and each one represents another push towards more inclusive storytelling, there was never a ship that hit me as hard as Clarke and Lexa did.
Until now.
Harold, Theyāre Lesbians
Gay. Witches.
Motherland: Fort Salem said the words. And I fucking came running.
Okay, so it took me a few weeksā¦ Thank you, twitter timeline, for finally getting my ass on board. Itās not that I didnāt want to start the show. Itās that my anxiety-ridden brain had other plans for me in mid-March. Like spending the majority of my time researching a global pandemic and then crawling into a depression hole because of itā¦ Or something like that.
But nonetheless, Iām here now. And Iām fucking staying.
I knew Iād love this show. The concept of witches peppered with the idea that sexuality is irrelevant is honestly my one and only weakness. So I went into episode one with high hopes. And I sure as hell was not disappointed.
Episode 1 gave me even more than I couldāve asked for. We meet three uniquely powerful individuals, who all come from three uniquely interesting backgrounds. Abigail Bellweather, born into a lineage of the most powerful and elite witches Fort Salem has ever seen. Tally Craven, the last one standing in her familyās long-line of service, selflessly choosing to say the oath when she didnāt technically have to. And Raelle Collar, who has an unparalleled set of powers, combining her motherās Christo-Pagan ways with those of the seeds learned at Fort Salem.
Rounding out that already brilliant cast is Scylla Ramshorm, the āsexy weirdā Necro who may or may not be evil (but we love her all the same). General Sarah Alder, the original witch who signed the Salem Accord, selling out every future witch to the United States Army, and whose ego quite often gets the best of her. And Anacostia Quartermaine, the Bellweather Unitās Drill Sergeant who has a peculiar fondness (and leniency) for Raelle Collar.
The fact that this television show is entirely female centered (like, weāre talking 60 seconds of male screen time in the pilot), is what separates this show from most. Men exist in the world of Fort Salem as characters to exclusively propel the female leads forward, which is a stark contrast to the majority of shows right now.Ā And not only is the entire main cast female, the main lead is gay. And honestly, the sexuality of every character on the show is questionably debatable as well. Except for Abigail, who quite clearly is into any and all men, and Tally, who grew up on a Matrifocal Compound and ended up in Fort Salem as a virgin. Which, of course, no shade to her, but it did strike me as odd when Abigail immediately assumed Tallyās virgin-ness when growing up in an all-female world was brought up.
So letās start there, shall we?
Ā The Heteronormative Narrative (or notā¦)
Something I did find puzzling about Motherland: Fort Salem (and the only thing, really) is how they portray sexuality, relationships, and love. In regards to sexuality, Eliot Laurence, the creator and executive producer, has been incredibly forward in interviews with the narrative that āyour sexual preference doesnāt matter in this world.ā Which I appreciate to the fullest, trust me. But pardon my slight hesitation when I hear that line, because I think weāve all been burned by it once before.
Motherland: Fort Salem has done a tremendous job of this. Theyāve allowed characters to own their sexuality without question. It was never a thing when Raelle started dating Scylla. At Beltane, everyone went off with whomever the dance paired them with - even if that meant the same gender, and even if that meant three or four or five of them. Sexuality, in regards to same-sex partners, is never a character arc in this show, and itās never there to create a plot point.Ā
HowEVER, there were a few things I noticed that confused that fact.Ā
Like I said about Abigail in the very first episode, when the Bellweather Unit is meeting for the first time, why was Abigail so quick to question Tallyās virginity after learning she comes from a Matrifocal Compound? If there are no heteronorms in the world of Motherland: Fort Salem, then why is it assumed that losing your virginity is related to relations with a man? Even though Tally is (wellā¦ was) a virgin, why would that question be brought up? If roles were reversed and it was Raelle living on the Matrifocal Compound, the conversation wouldāve gone strikingly different, and it wouldāve supported this heteronormative narrative that I thought we were trying to avoid. Iām just going to blame this one line on how badly Abigail wants the D, so sleeping with a woman wouldnāt even cross her mind.
But then what about the idea of this āfive-year marriage contractā? Itās simply about producing a child, so I assume a woman could never have that sort of thing with another woman, and that those women could never add to their lineage (unless they entered into a five-year marriage contract simply to reproduce). Doesnāt this, alone, signify a heteronormative world without even meaning to do so? While they accept LGBTQ+ relationships, how do they actually fit into the society and culture that this show has created? Wouldnāt the gay witches be seen as almost inadequate in carrying on the gene if they donāt have a child? (AmI just thinking too much into this...?)
But then again, the whole concept of āloveā in Fort Salem is rather insignificant itself. As Gerit mentions, no one is supposed to spend their life with just one person. Witches are committed to one another in five-year partnerships to reproduce, and then thatās it. So in a way, I understand that nobody, no matter what their sexuality is, really gets to experience this fairytale ending that weāre used to seeing in a (*cough* heterosexual) ship on TV. And in a way, I also think thatās what makes this show all the more fascinating. Eliot Laurence gave everyone a level playing field by just removing the idea of a happily ever after altogether. In Laurenceās world, witches are meant to train and fight and die for their country. Love is their weakness. But whatās so compelling about that is even though love is their weakness, he made sure that love also manifests into their greatest strength.
From what Iāve seen in interviews for Laurence, every single thing has a purpose. So Iām quick to let this go, and see where he takes us. Heās been building this world inside his head for nine years, so I know that thereās so much more to this story than what can be told in a 10-episode season.
Ā But Back to the Lesbians
Anyway, back to love. Specifically gay love. I wish I could put into simple words my obsession with Raelle and Scylla.Ā
From the incredible chemistry that Taylor Hickson and Amalia Holm share on-screen together to the directors and writers whoāve portrayed their love story so magically, Raelle and Scylla are truly something special. Theyāve taken the place of a ship this queer fandom lost when Lexa was killed. Itās a ship that you want to hate, because every part of this story tells me to hate Scylla. Sheās Spree. Sheās vindictive. Sheās dangerous. Yet every part of my brain tells me to love her. And to love them together.
I donāt like easy stories. I want stories that make the ending worth it. I want hardships and pain and hurt and work when it comes to love. Which is why I like the story of Raelle and Scylla. There was a spark between them in their very first scene together- a spark you could feel through the TV. It was believable and real. They come from similar backgrounds of loss and solitude, and thatās what originally bound them together. And over the next seven episodes, we watched their relationship grow. We saw their vulnerabilities, their growth, their passion. But now weāre going to see the hardship. The pain, the anger, the betrayal.Ā
I appreciate that theyāre not skimping on telling any part of their story. The two are special together, and so far, this show has proved that.
Ā Sheās Special
I want to break down Raelle Collar before bringing up anything else, because, well, obviously sheās the main character, but sheās also got a lot going on. The fact that Raelle channels her power through something other than the typical āseedā is something that will be of importance to why sheās so powerful. Petra Bellweather, herself, claims that Raelleās mom, Willa, used unconventional methods that delivered incredible results. āShe was the fixer every unit wanted to deploy with.āĀ
While all witches in Basic Training are learning about utilizing their extra set of vocal cords to create magic songs, Raelle can do it in a way thatās reminiscent of where she grew up- Chippewa Cession. In the very first episode, she makes note that her family was there before it became a Cession. Aka, before the land was given to the Chippewa tribe in exchange for their magic.
Raelle comes from a line of witches that all have more unique abilities than whatās taught at Basic Training. She uses a combination of Native American spirituality/Christo-Paganism skills during her days at Fort Salem, which brings up questions (and judgment) from other witches. It seems as though that kind of magic was the way witches used to do things before Sarah Alder released her song into the world and created a vocalizing army with it. Raelleās peers look disgusted when they see her still using the same ways witches once did. Itās particularly noticeable when she heals people, and recites Matthew 7:7, āAsk, and it shall be given to you; seek and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.ā The entire theme of the Book of Matthew, in regards to Christianity, is about prayer. Asking and receiving. That God will provide you with whatās needed, and nothing more. But when it comes to Paganism, itās about the law of attraction and return in our universe. It outlines that there is no life without balance - that all prayers can be answered, but theyāll be answered with things that are taken from elsewhere. All prayers almost have a consequence. Just like all magic has a consequence.Ā
Raelleās power, at least what she knows of it up until now, is based on a consensual balance, bringing the theme of Paganismās Matthew 7:7 into the type of witchcraft she practices. She can heal someone, but what she heals them from will be transferred onto her. Balance. Consequence.
Bringing General Sarah Alder back into this, this is the same type of magic that she traded for back in the 1700ās when she granted the Chippewa Tribe the entire length of the Mississippi River. In exchange, she gained the magic that could keep her eternally young. But just like the magic that Raelle does, this age defying practice has consequences too, and requires balance. Every 50-60 additional years that General Alder adds on to her endless life, a young witch must be sacrificed to take on those years, and must stand by General Alder the rest of her short-lived life.Ā
But where does the balance go?
Adil is such a great addition to the cast because he sheds a light on something so crucially ignored on campus. All magic has balance. This is teased throughout the season, like when General Alder hits turbulence on her way to The Hague and jokes (but not really jokes), āI assume I have one of you to blame for that.ā Or how Raelle soaks up her āpatientsā illness. But itās not truly smacked in our faces until Adil says it.
As Abigail is flaunting her ability to *one day* āgrind iron into ore and mountains into dust,ā Adil drops a truth bomb on her. āAll that weather you fight with has a cost. Floods. Failing crops. Famine. Every war, people starve.ā Sheās quick to reply that the good they do far outweighs the bad. But to who? Certainly not to Adil and his people. Meeting him is going to give our recruits a serious insight into just how consequential their āworkā can be. Heās going to play a crucial role in realizing how manipulative and egotistical General Alder has been.Ā
Not only is weather an issue, but plagues. āLike the one attacking my sister.ā Adil and Khalida come into the storyline because Khalida is sick with a deathly black webbing wrapped around her body. When they first make it to the Military Outpost (somewhere in the dessert between Russia and China?), the Soldier who meets them at the gate yells, ātheyāre here.ā So were they expecting them?Ā
Raelle eventually is the one who heals Khalida, (by using her Christo-pagan means) but instead of taking up the illness like it usually does, instead, it infects the giant mushroom that Raelle touched earlier.Ā
The balance of Mother Mushroom.
I go back and forth between theories for the giant mushroom growing under Fort Salem. But today, Iām convinced the mushroom is attached to General Alderās vitality. And consequently, the entire vitality of Fort Salem as well. In one episode, Berryessa reminds us that all life on campus is directly connected to Alder. And if what Scylla says in My Witches, that ālife becomes death, which becomes life again,ā is relative to the life on campus and how General Alder parallels that, then this theme of balance throughout the series is more prominent than we realize.
The giant mushroom living under campus is clearly important. It has hands and replicates faces and takes on diseases and Izadora is not a fan ofĀ anyone touching it. So yes, you could say this fungi is a main character now.
But. Why?
āIn the kingdom of plants, mushrooms occupy the underworld. Nothing ever really dies.ā Mushrooms have an entire underground network of language to one another. And they are responsible for the breakdown and decomposition of death so that organic matter can become something else. Necros have an obvious connection to this ecological process too, so they must have a connection to the continuous process that General Alder goes through to support and sustain life on her campus.Ā
I think that the āMother Myceliumā signifies each and every consequence that Fort Salem has accumulated. It holds the hurt and death and pain and regret of everything General Alder has created. And now that the Mushroom is infected with whatever plague Khalida had, I think itās going to wreak havoc on Fort Salem. Magic is based on balance, and I think massive consequences are coming to make up for years of disparity.Ā
One last thing on my mushroom-thoughts, is when Helen Graves said āthe dead make excellent eyes and ears.ā An underground network of mushrooms all connected to recently dead organisms would certainly be a great way to gain insight too. Scylla mentions that she needs something recently dead to grow her deathcap, so does this Mushroom need to be constantly āfedā with death to continue the creation of life?Ā
Does Alder know about that? Are the mass-murders that the Spree are doing related to this? Killing hundreds of people at a time would definitely be a good way to keep the mushroom oā death fed. Is Alder behind the Spree!?
Ā Sexy WeirdĀ
Speaking of Spree... Can we talk Scylla now? First of all, what the hell is this girlās timeline? When we first meet her, sheās a cadet (second year) in War College already, meaning she wouldāve had to enlist on Conscription Day the year before Raelle. Yes? In Mother Mycelium, we see that she *might* (still donāt believe it) have been the person behind that first Spree attack on Conscription Day of this year (so when Raelle, Tally, and Abigail enlisted), so was she at Basic Training for an entire year before deciding to become Spree? Did she enlist knowing that she would eventually be Spree? Does this ever get addressed in the show?
Since weāre here, I might as well say thereās no way Scylla did that. Iāll never believe it. And Iām using my one semester of Greek Mythology in college to tell you why (who knew that class would eventually come in handy)
In My Witches, when Tally, Abigail, and Glory first meet Scylla, Tally makes it clear that āScyllaā is a Greek name. Okay. Greek. Cool. Mythology. Letās go. I already knew that Eliot Laurence doesnāt waste any minute of screen time when it comes to plot development and storytelling, so my meta brain did a little digging.
In Greek Mythology, Scylla was a sea-monster who haunted the rocks of a very narrow strait, opposite of the whirlpool of Charybdis. The monsterās purpose was to lead ships and boats towards the whirlpool, which was lethal to all who attempted to pass. Scylla was used to lure boats towards Charybdis, but was never meant for actually destroying them. Scylla was a fear tactic, not a murderous monster. In poetry, itās often said that Scylla isnāt a monster at all, just born into a monstrous family. In conclusion (from my 4 months of Freshman-level Greek Mythology and a little refreshment on Google) I think Scylla is simply being used to lure people to the Spree, but not actually doing the mass-murdering that is being shown in the episode.Ā
What I do know is that Scylla Ramshorn is absolutely Amalia Holm. Mainly because I refuse to accept that Raelle is falling for the red head (sorry, red head). But also because at the end of the Pilot, when Scylla (in red head disguise) looked into the mirror, the balloon was her reflection, and it followed everything that she did. But in other scenes, when Scyllaās face is the normal Scylla face, she can see her own reflection. So the redhead girl is unimportant. Plus, IMDB says she never appears again this season...Ā
We Are The SpreeĀ
As much as I hate to believe that Raelleās mom (or Aunt!) is alive and leading the Spree, the connections between the two entities do add up. Both (Spree and Collarās) are against the authority and power that the Witch Army has over populations of witches. Theyāre both against General Sarah Alder. I believe they both use spoken word magic rather than just vocalized magic. When the Spree carry out their attacks, theyāre whispering words under their breath, not singing any song. Which is reminiscent of how the Collarās do magic. Additionally, it would make sense as to why the Spree would want Scylla to bring them Raelle. And I still canāt get over the conversation between Raelle and Tally when Raelle explains her familyās combat charm. āA bowerbirdās foot. They love anything blue.ā
Blue? Why. WHY.Ā
Maybe Willa Collar was captured by the Spree? Or the Aunt was? Or the Spree needs Raelle to heal someone?Ā
One last weird very unthought out theory goes with the other Biblical verse Raelle recites - Isaiah 43:2. āWhen you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.ā The fact that all Spree attacks have happened with something to do water- in the snow, at the pool, on a cruiseship. And the fact that the last line of that verse is literally, āyou will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.ā This type of witchcraft has to relate to how the Spree does magic. Right??
Now Iām re-talking myself into the fact that the Collarās might be somehow leading Spree...
Ā But whoās āweā?
If the Collarās are in charge of Spree then this next theory would actually check out.Ā
Anacostia has been a little more over-bearing with Raelle than any of the other girls. On multiple occasions, sheās said how Raelle is gifted. In fact, they all have. Even Abigail in Hail Beltane mentions that āRaelle didnāt go outside of canon, sheās naturally gifted.ā They all know sheās gifted. It would make sense if the Collarās were the ones running Spree, and that Anacostia, aka. General Alderās head bitch, was sent to protect Raelle from ever joining them. Alder wants to capitalize on the powers that Raelle has, and keep them in the Witch Army.Ā
But I also think Anacostia could be playing General Alder. There have been too many times where she stares at Alder just a little bit too intently, and I canāt stop thinking that she might be in some sort of rebellious group too. Maybe a certain cell of Spree?
Because you canāt deny that Anacostia has also taken in interest in Scylla, particular to keep her away from Raelle.Ā When Anacostia first caught them flying high on Salva, she told Scylla to stay away from Raelle, and it seemed as though she (tried) to use some sort of coercion magic while doing so. When Anacostia then saw them together at the Bellweather wedding, she almost sounded shocked, āI expressly told you to stay away from her.ā Did Anacostia attempt coercion magic on Scylla and it didnāt work? And if she did, why didnāt it work?
That entire exchange felt odd yet familiar. Like the two have history. āYour name wouldnāt have been on the list. Youāre not supposed to be here.ā Particularly the āyouāre not supposed to be here.ā Did Anacostia know about the attack on the Bellweatherās? And did she think it would be threatened with Scylla there? Or did she know that Scylla was supposed to bring Raelle to the Spree at 6pm. And was sent to make sure Scylla never completed that task.Ā
I found it interesting that Anacostia was never seen fighting off the balloons like every other Witch was when they appeared. And her being at the actual wedding felt odd too. Especially if sheās General Alderās right-hand (wo)man, because last time I checked, Alder and Petra Bellweather werenāt on the greatest terms. In fact, none of the Generalās are on great terms with Alder.Ā
Since weāre now on Bellweather season...
Camarilla. No, not Carmilla.
Thereās certainly a second threat in this show. And they were the ones behind the attack at the Bellweatherās. Not only has this already been proven by Jessica Sutton on Twitter (lols) but the clues were literally all there. They didnāt use any magic to fight. They had to use a mechanized sound machine to stop Abigail and Petra from using their powers. Then they covered themselves with gasoline and lit themselves on fire before the mother-daughter duo blew them away. It wasnāt Spree. But it was meant to look like Spree. And I think the balloons were simply a distraction, so all efforts and power would be outside fighting off the balloons while the civilian waiterās could attack.Ā
But who is doing this?
Itās been brought up that there are alot of humans who donāt agree with the Witch Army that Alder leads. Even the President of the United States is hesitant about them. āYou, too, are bound by rule of law to the will of the American people, who have elected me to represent their interests and protect them. Donāt you forget it. Or you may find yourself reminded.ā Then Tally gets confronted later in that episode by a civilian who says, āItās witches who are committing these attacks. Itās your kind of people .ā And then even later in the series, thereās talk of a āgrowing debate in congress to revoke the Accord and disband the army.ā So you could say there are definite opinions about this Army by civilians.Ā
In A Biddyās Life, thereās a shot when Raelle and Scylla are in the room with weapons once used to kill witches. Thereās an undeniably important shot of the Camarilla Scythe. Camarilla, itself, is defined as a small group of people acting as private advisers to a ruler or politician with a shared and nefarious purpose to carry out secret plots.Ā
Since civilians are the ones that are most opposed to the Witch Army, it makes sense that maybe the President, herself, is the one behind these attacks. Sheās trying to take down the most Elite of the Witches (the Bellweatherās), hence inhibiting the Army from being as successful as itās been in the past. And what better way than to kill the most elite witches of child-bearing age.Ā
While this theory checks out, I canāt help but to also think that Petra Bellweather could be behind the attacks. I know, itās a stretch, (specifically because itās her own family thatās being targeted) but I do love that āgood powers, bad peopleā trope. And what better way to make sure nobody questions your efforts if youāre the last one theyād suspect? Petra Bellweather has been itching to boot Alder from head witch honcho for awhile. Since killing Bellweatherās is the ultimate attack against witches, this would be a great strategy to showcase that Alder is inept in dealing with these enemies, creating a fall in power. And eventually, a rise in another. A Bellweather.Ā
Okay, I know what youāre all probably thinking. āSo youāre saying that she wanted her own daughter killed!?ā Not necessarily. When you watch Bellweather Season, and specifically the wedding scenes, they put an insane emphasis on timing. And I donāt believe that thatās just because of Scylla trying to get Raelle out of there by 6pm. When you watch the sequence back, the Bellweather Unit was supposed to be having their interview with the Dean of War College, starting at 5:30ish. If the interview took a good bit, say 30-45 minutes, this would strategically put Abigail not in the line of fire (aka Charvelās room) at 6pm when they struck.Ā
But on the complete other hand, Abigail was supposed to be up with Charvel at that time helping her get ready. Meaning if it wasnāt Petra Bellweather, someone perfectly timed both Bellweatherās of childbearing age to conveniently be in the same place at the same time.Ā
Then the fact that Scylla was meant to leave with Raelle at 6pm (the exact moment the waiterās and balloons struck), canāt go unnoticed. Did they want her to leave with Raelle at 6pm because the Spree knew about the attack? Did someone warn them? Does this explain why Anacostia was shocked to see Scyalla. āYouāre not supposed to be here.ā Why wasnāt she supposed to be there????
Iām just going to tap out of this theory now.Ā
But One More Thing
This might be a totally aggressive theory, and I have to credit the initial spark of this idea to my girlfriend, because during my 67th rewatch of this show, she brought up something Iād never thought of before. She asked me what Scyllaās purpose of attending the wedding was, and if the person she was supposed to bring to Penelope Road at 6pm really was Raelle?Ā
This got thinkING. What if it was someone else???
When you look back at all the times Scylla spends talking to her balloon mirror, they never actually say Raelleās name. Sure, weāre meant to believe that Raelle is the obvious target. But what if thatās a cover?? What if sheās using Raelle to infiltrate something else and get to someone else??
It would make sense to use Raelle to target Abigail instead- an elite Bellweather. Like I said, this is a very unlikely theory but it would definitely be a shock to literally everyone (except my girlfriend apparently)...
Has the entirety of the show been leading us down a path to distract us from something else going on!? With every other ounce of brilliance here, I wouldnāt even doubt it.
In Conclusion
I went into this show expecting to be seen and represented as a queer woman, but what I actually got was so much more. What I got from this show is the realization that me being queer doesnāt have to have anything to do with me being a woman at all. My strength, and will, and mistakes, and growth, and grace, and support, and passion, are what make me a woman. Each of our stories are deserving enough to be told just because we are women.
Iāve struggled with that fact my entire life - my womanhood.
Femininity, feminism, and female empowerment are all things Iāve only recently connected with. I was raised in the culture of traditional gender roles. My dad went to work and my mom stayed home.Ā Itās not that I was necessarily taught that men and women must occupy those roles; itās just thatās all I knew. To even further confuse my adolescent existentialism, not only was my mother a stay-at-home mom, she was also in the Marine Corps. And she never really understood the fact that not all women are as strong as she is.
My momās a badass, donāt get me wrong. Sheās one of my heroās. She came from a family who didnāt have much, and after realizing that she couldnāt afford to go to college, she enlisted instead. Six years later, she went to Penn State on a full-ride. Sheās worked for every ounce of success that sheās seen, and sheās worked her ass off for it. But because of that, she struggles with the idea of feminism.
I canāt blame her too much. I understand the mindset sheās coming from. Growing up with that being instilled in my mind was hard though. Because it was expected that I, too, grow up to be a strong independent woman.Ā
I graduated in the predominantly male industry of agriculture (I want to be a farmer, okay!?). All through college, grad school, and post-grad school, I worked on farm after farm after farm. And it was there that I was introduced to the idea of toxic masculinity. I tolerated comments that I wonāt even say out loud. Iāve āaccidentallyā been touched in more ways than I care to count. And what I hate the most about it all, is that I fucking tolerated it. Iād laugh it off, and then Iād walk away, mortified at what Iād actually just put up with. And while by no means do I blame my upbringing and home life on this, I do blame the upbringing and home life on the female characters I saw on television. If Brooke Davis was constantly and overly sexualized in high school then I guess I was supposed to, too. Right??
Sure, I still hear comments that I wish I didnāt. But Iām also surrounded by people and characters who taught me to never put up with the shit I once did. Female characters are portraying a storyline that people take more seriously now. Theyāre persevering. And that jumps off the screen in Motherland: Fort Salem.Ā
Itās taken me a while to realize how Raelle and Scylla have affected me as much as Clakre and Lexa did (two characters who literally awakened my sexuality). But I think I get it now.Ā
I love both Raelle and Scylla. Each one. Individually. As witches. As warriors. As females. As humans. As strong female characters. So, in a way, watching this show has awakened something else in me that Iāve also been suppressing all along. My femininity. My strength. My perseverance.Ā
Sure, Raelle and Scylla are my favorite ship right now, but it wasnāt them being together that made me fall in love with this show. Oddly enough, it was them being apart. Itās the fact that each one stands on her own as a unique and beautifully complicated story. And itās the fact that I, too, am deserving of a beautifully complicated story.
Last Section, I SwearĀ
Motherland: Fort Salem is a magical mix of intense story building, relatable character development, and fascinating cinematography, all while being told through a gender and sexuality normative opposite of what weāre used to seeing. Itās a show that encompasses female strength unlike anything Iāve experienced before, where men are the background noise who aid in pushing the plot forward. Itās a show that deserves another season. And another and another and another and another.Ā
Itās a show I needed ten+ years ago, at 18 years old, freshly out of high school and wondering why the fuck I never had crushes on guys like everyone else my age did. Itās the show I needed so I didnāt always wonder why I was so obsessed with Peyton Sawyer and Summer Roberts and why I was the only one I knew who thought Torrance and Missy shouldāve ended up together. Itās the show I needed to learn that my femininity doesnāt make me any less tough than my male counterparts. Itās the show I needed so I never put up with anyoneās shit. Itās the show I needed to teach me that I am storm and I am fury.Ā
Itās the show I needed then. But itās also the show Iām so happy that I have now.
#motherlandfortsalem#motherland fort salem#raylla#clexa#motherland fort salem theory#scylla ramshorn#scylla#raelle#raelleandscylla#raelle collar#lgbtq#this is so long i'm so sorry#abigail bellweather#tally craven
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Rules:
I am a minor. As such, smut can not be requested and can not be written. As a compromise, smutty themes can be used as overtones or undertones, often vaguely or simply eluded to. But pure smut? Not for a few months, which is when Iāll be 18. Sorry horndogs.Ā
Please request through the submissionĀ inbox, or my direct messages. Further more, be polite. Be clear. If I ask a question to clear something up, answer it. Donāt let it dangle. I will always ask if thereās anything else you so desire (a word count, any details) so please tell me if thereāsĀ nothing else or if there is. English is also not my first language.Ā
Do not request something against canon. I have written like that before and did not enjoy that. This means if something is considered canon, say Star Wars, such as a line of dialogue or something shown on screen, I would refuse to write you into it. I feel that it distorts the fiction so much you wouldnāt really be in it, and the characters wouldnāt be themselves anymore. Allow me to write you into the world as a side character, as something not shown directly but something that could fit into canon.Ā
Some fictional characters have different versions of them. For example, Movie Anakin Skywalker, and the Clone Wars Anakin Skywalker. Ben Affleck Batman, or Christian Bale Batman? Or even, Comic Accurate Batman? Specify for me. If not specified after asking for it, I will write the character with headcanon information pulled from multipleĀ ācanonā sources. This will be referred to as āheadcanoned canonā.
Reblog my stuff? Absolutely. I see all my reblogs. But take it an post it to a different site? No. Donāt do that. Maybe Iāll spread over to Ao3 one day, but for now, please donāt.Ā
Last one I can think of for now. But luckily this can be updated over time. I donāt write drabbles. I know! But just imagine all the times youāve read a fic so good, only for it to end so soon. I like the thought of writing something both high quality and high quantity, which means I wonāt be satisfied with anything under 2,000 words. Unfortunately, this may sometimes come at the expense of time. Especially if what you requested doesnāt fit into my current hyperfixation.Ā
List of Characters Iāve Written, or Am Open to Writing:
Aayla Secura, Star Wars (Clone Wars)
Ahsoka Tano, Star Wars (Clone Wars and Live Action)
Anakin Skywalker, Star Wars (Clone Wars and Live Action)
Asaaj Ventress, Star Wars (Clone Wars and Books)
Boba Fett, Star Wars (Live Action Original Movies and The Mandalorian)
Bodhi Rook, Star Wars (Rogue One)
Bo-Katan Kryze, Star Wars (Clone Wars and The Mandalorian)
Cal Kestis, Star Wars (Jedi: Fallen Order, Beginning and End of Game)
Cassian Andor, Star Wars (Rogue One)
Darth Maul, Star Wars (Clone Wars)
Din Djarin, Star Wars (The Mandalorian)
Finn, Star Wars (Live Action Sequel Trilogy)
Jyn Erso, Star Wars (Rogue One)
Leia Skywalker, Star Wars (Live Action Original Movies)
Obi-WanĀ āBenā Kenobi, Star Wars (Clone Wars and Live Action)
Padme Amidala, Star Wars (Clone Wars and Live Action)
Poe Dameron, Star Wars (Live Action Sequel Trilogy)
Rey, Star Wars (Live Action Sequel Trilogy)
Rex, Star Wars (Clone Wars)
.ā«*ļ¾ļ½„ļ¾ļ½”.ā
.*ļ½”ļ½„ļ¾ā«*.
Batman, DC Comics (All Live Action, All Comic, Arkhamverse, All Animated, Headcanoned Canon)
Bane, DC Comics (Games)
Barry Allen/The Flash, DC Comics (All Live Action, Headcanoned Canon)
Black Canary, DC Comics (Birds of Prey Live Action Movie)
Bruce Wayne, DC Comics (All Live Action, Headcanoned Canon)
Catwoman/Selina Kyle, DC Comics (Headcanoned Canon)
Christopher Smith/Peacemaker, DCEU (All Live Action, Headcanoned Canon)
Cleo Cazo/Ratcatcher 2, DCEU (Live Action)
Conner Kent/Superboy, DC Comics (Titans, All Animated)
Damian Wayne, DC Comics (Animated and Injustice)
Dick Grayson, DC Comics (Titans, All Comic, Arkhamverse, All Animated, All Versions)
Harley Quinn, DC Comics (All Live Action, All Comic, Arkhamverse, All Animated Versions)
Jason Todd/Red Hood, DC Comics (Headcanoned Canon, Arkhamverse, All Animated, Titans, All Versions)
Katana, DC Comics (2016 Suicide Squad Live Action Movie)
Poison Ivy, DC Comics (Arkhamverse, All Comic, All Animated, Headcanoned Canon)
Tim Drake/Red Robin, DC ComicsĀ (Arkhamverse, All Comic, All Animated, Headcanoned Canon)
Raven, DC Comics (Headcanoned Canon, All Animated, All Comics, All Titans)
Robert Dubois/Bloodsport, DC Comics (DCEU Live Action)
Scarecrow/Johnathon Crane, DC Comics(All Live Action, Arkhamverse, Headcanoned Canon)
Starfire/Koriandār, DC Comics (Titans, All Comics, All Animated, Headcanoned Canon)
Superman/Clark Kent, DC Comics (Cavillās Live Action, All Animated, All Comics)
.ā«*ļ¾ļ½„ļ¾ļ½”.ā
.*ļ½”ļ½„ļ¾ā«*.
Annie Leonhardt, Shingeki no Kyojin (Marley Resident, Season 1-3, Season 4, Titan Form)
Bertholdt Hoover, Shingeki no Kyojin (Marley Resident, Season 1-3)
Carla Jaeger, Shingeki no Kyojin (Pre Beginning)
Eren Jaeger, Shingeki no Kyojin (Season 1-3, Season 4, Titan Form)
Hanji Zoe, Shingeki no Kyojin (All Seasons and OVA)
Jean Kirchstein, Shingeki no Kyojin (Season 1-3, Season 4)
Levi Ackerman, Shingeki no Kyojin (All Seasons and OVA)
Marco Bodt, Shingeki no Kyojin (Season 1)
Mikasa Ackerman, Shingeki no Kyojin (Season 1-3, Season 4)
Moblit Berner, Shingeki no Kyojin (All Seasons and OVA)
Sasha Braus, Shingeki no Kyojin (Season 1-3, Season 4)
L Lawliet, Death Note (Season 1)
Ryuk, Death Note (Season 1)
Touta Matsuda, Death Note (Season 1)
Raye Penber and Naomi Matsura (Season 1, Pre Beginning, Throuple Headcanon Canoned)
.ā«*ļ¾ļ½„ļ¾ļ½”.ā
.*ļ½”ļ½„ļ¾ā«*.
Connor RK800, Detroit: Become Human (Deviant, Android, Mid and Post Game)
Chloe RT600, Detroit: Become Human (Deviant, Android, Pre, Mid, and Post Game)
Gavin Reed, Detroit: Become Human (Mid and Post Game)
Kara AX400, Detroit: Become Human (Post Game)
Luther TR400, Detroit: Become Human (Pre and Post Game)
Markus RK200, Detroit: Become Human (Pre, Mid, and Post Game)
Nines RK900, Detroit: Become Human (Post Game)
North WR400, Detroit: Become Human (Pre, Mid, and Post Game)
Other Worlds and Fandoms Coming Soon.Ā
.ā«*ļ¾ļ½„ļ¾ļ½”.ā
.*ļ½”ļ½„ļ¾ā«*.
What You Can Expect From Me:
Fanfiction
Headcanons- While Iād consider all of my fanfiction headcanons, Iām referring to those little bullet point things youāll see writers do. Hereās my deal on that. I wonāt do romantic headcanons for the characters listed above. By that I mean you wonāt see anything titled, āHow Poe Dameron Would Cuddleā, or anything of that sort. But you probably will see just my own little headcanons for fun. Like, little fun facts. You know, āSupermanās favorite food is ____ā, āNines hates ratsā.
However, I will write romantic headcanons for my OCās. But thatās for later.
Further regarding fanfiction, I typically write angst. Not sure why, itās just what I started with because I thought the plots were strongest and I wanted to see where I could take it. Like I said, no smut, but youāll find allusions to it. Fluff? Yeah, itās there. Hard for me to write fluff without a plot, but it does exist on my page.Ā
Original Stories
Most people ignore this, but if you see that Iāve posted it wonāt always be something regarding your favorite character. I write my own little stories thatās basically just glorified, book length headcanons for a few worlds, but mostly the Star Wars galaxy. Donāt worry, thereās no need to pay attention to it if you donāt want. Itās something I do in my spare time besides x readers and oneshots.Ā
Spontaneous Posting
What I mean by this, is that unlike a lot of writers, I donāt work on a schedule. Thereās noĀ āonce a week postingā, or anything like that. What I finish and give the okay to, is posted. If youāve requested something, Iāll let you know that itās about to go out. So sometimes a burst of fics may be pumped out in a week, or none will for up to a month.
Going by EST, I typically am most active at night and early morning. Especially in the summer. During fall this may change.
I rarely put out a post that is unrelated to my writings. If it is related to my personal life instead, it will be posted, but not saved. Documented and available, but never pinned or anything.Ā
FAQ:
Do you write queer pairings?
Yes. My earlier works usually elude to a female reader and itās blaringly obvious, though itās shifting into androgyny for ease of reader. I would prefer to have an androgynous reader instead of a set in stone male or female one.Ā
Am I reading a queer fanfic written by a straight person?
You are not. I am androgynous myself in terms of gender and unlabeled in terms of sexuality.Ā
Do you write for poc?
This question shocks me, though Iāve gotten it twice. Then I realized- itās because so many writers forget the point of a reader. The reader may be described as blonde, or white, or thin, or female. You will not find that here. There will be no set in stone appearance for the reader except for mentions of whatever hair you may possess (apologies to those without hair). There will be no talk ofĀ ālight skinā, orĀ ācurvy figureā. The farthest Iāll go is describing you as pale, if say, you were sick. Because any race or skin tone can go pale, you know? The only thing Iād do- rarely- is give you a real age. But only to further the plot if needed.
Ā My point is, āY/Nā is not just a pretty white person with long hair. Itās inclusive to anyone. Iāll stand by that.Ā
Do you write headcanons?
Answered in the above section. Long story short, Iām working on it, but on my terms.Ā
Do you write song fics?
I havenāt before. Why? They make me cringe. I donāt know why. Iāll write a fic based on a song, or with undertones of a song. But those little paragraphs with the lyrics that arenāt even in time with what youāre reading if you were to read and listen at the same time? I donāt think so.Ā
Do you know what sex is?
I do.Ā
Will you have e-sex with me in the direct message chatbox?
I will not.Ā
Why do you write on tumblr?
I started writing just to share an old word document with over 300 pages worth of an Original Star Wars story. I tried my hand at fanfiction because, while I donāt read it often myself, I know a lot of people do. It helps them escape reality. And, Iām a pretty good writer, I think. At least I can only get better. Iām just one more person trying to put something out for people to enjoy, and maybe even rely on.Ā
Will you ever write for real people?
If I ever wrote a fanfiction about Christian Bale or like Barack Obama I think I would just disappear. I canāt do it. Itās like warping my own reality.Ā
How often do you post?
I donāt know.Ā
Do you have a taglist?
I did! But only for Star Wars. If you want to be tagged in something, let me know. But you have to be specific. Just for a certain character? For a certain fandom? A certain plot? Just og stories? Be clear.Ā
Dynamics I Enjoy Writing:
Man simps for person who almost wants nothing to do with them.Ā
Hero simps for villain or villain simps for hero despite the obvious consequences.
Two jokesters destroy some area while left alone together. May get along better than they would admit.Ā
Two people who are not expected to get along, get along well.Ā
Hero and villain are best friends but wonāt admit it.
Basically if Iām left to my own mind most of my fics will fall under one of these dynamics. Not always- definitely not always. But I kinda like them.Ā
Numbers:
800-273-8255 USA National Suicide Hotline
1 (300) 22 4636Ā Australia Suicide and Anxiety Line
1 (833) 456 4566Ā Canada Suicide Hotline
800-810-1117Ā China Suicide Hotline
0145394000Ā France Suicide Hotline
08001810771Ā Germany Suicide Hotline
8888817666 Ā India Suicide Hotline
810352869090Ā Japan Suicide Hotline
0078202577577Ā Russia Suicide Hotline
08457909090Ā UK Suicide Hotline
4408457909090Ā Ireland Emergency Hotline
1-800-656-4673 US National Sexual Assault Hotline
741-741 National Panic Hotline (for people who prefer to text)
Anything else?Ā
Nope. Canāt think of anything. Weāll see if anything changes. Thanks for checking it out.Ā
Header Credits to: @moonknightsā
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Jonaās Top 10 Dramas of 2019
A couple words about how I do these lists. Firstly, I only count asĀ ā2019 dramasā shows that finished airing in 2019, therefore dramas that started airing in 2018 but finished in the early months of 2019 have been included in my process, but dramas that are currently airing and will finish in 2020 have not been included. Secondly, this list is more based on my subjective experience with each of these dramas than my objective assessment on things like acting, writing and production values, though naturally I take the latter into account when forming my opinions.
Also: Yay! This year I managed to write a full review on every drama that wound up in my top ten, so feel free to click the link on each title and check those out if you want to read my detailed thoughts.
10. Hotel Del Luna
I have a somewhat Stockholm Syndrome-y relationship with Hong Sisters dramas. Though a lot of them are not excellent, or stumble a bit in the execution, I canāt seem to stop watching them. And yes, Iāve seen them all. Something about their particular blend of fantasy, romance and camp just works for me. I do think Hotel Del LunaĀ plays to their strengths. Somewhat like if they got to take a second run at Masterās SunĀ but with their dream budget, and itās just fun. This drama is gorgeous to look at. However, it is Lee Ji Eun, aka IU, who carries the entire drama on her lovely shoulders with her mesmerizing presence as Jang Man Wol.
Bottom Line: It shouldnāt be this way, but itās so rare to get a mainstream drama where the female lead is allowed to be truly dark and flawed, or for a drama to fully focus on its heroineās journey through the whole run.
9. Encounter
I was somewhat disappointed by the ending of this drama, and I think that might have made me unduly harsh when I looked back at it earlier in the year. However, I got the chance to rewatch episodes with a friend and was reminded of the soft, romantic escapism of this drama. Ultimately thatās the reason this ended up in the list. I like that it plays the rich woman/poor man, noona-romance tropes entirely straight and I liked the quixotic fairy tale it was unapologetically trying to sell me. Park Bo Gum and Song Hye Gyo are a noona-romance dream team up that Iām glad I got to see at least once in my lifetime.
Bottom Line: If you donāt like your dramas slow-paced and highly sentimental then this might not be the show for you, but I can appreciate a drama that knows exactly what kind of show it is and tries to do one thing well.
8. The Light in Your Eyes
If thereās any common theme to these favorites lists in previous years, itās that they usually include dramas that took me by surprise and did something I havenāt seen before. The Light In Your EyesĀ fits that description so well, not just because of oddly dark tone or the quirky premise it presents in the first episodes, but because itās a drama dedicated to showcasing the talents of the veteran actress, Kim Hye Ja, with whom the lead character shares a name. Of the dramas on the list this one made me cry the hardest.
Bottom Line: The Light In Your EyesĀ is a drama that has a greater emotional coherence than it does logical sense. In fact, if you think about the plot too hard it falls apart entirely. But it feelsĀ true, and thatās why it hit me so hard.
7. Search WWW
In my review I called Search aĀ āfemale power fantasyā and I still think thatās a good description. Itās also sexy romantic fantasy, twice a noona romance, and a corporate drama focused on the very contemporary issues of powerful search engine companies and how they affect the information we see and the way we view the world. I think any of those is an interesting enough angle to make a drama about, maybe several dramas. If this show has one major flaw, it might be trying to wear too many hats at once. But I salute the creators for trying to make us something different than the typical pretty boy chaebol story, and giving us not one but three female characters filling those typically male roles.
Bottom Line: I do believe this drama deserves more love and respect than it got from a fandom that at least in theory cares about womenās stories. But I also understand why a lot of people didnāt connect with the lead character or the business stuff. But for me there was something about the lead couple that rang true and resonated with me.
6. WATCHER
Every time I watch a thriller, Iām hoping for something like WATCHER. Something with deep, complex, gray characters and a story full of twists and turns that keeps me engaged and guessing from episode one until the finale. Add on top of that a powerful cast who can really do justice to these substantial characters, youāve got a winning recipe. OCN produces a lot of dramas in this genre, and they seem to be more prone to produce sequels than most other networks. Unfortunately, that also means a lot of the dramas they make feel paint-by-numbers and empty on the inside. WATCHER is one of those shows that reminds me why I keep coming back to this network and this kind of story time and again.
Bottom Line: This is one of those dramas that has you second guessing yourself even when they come right out and give you the answer, keeping you in a perpetual state of distrust along with the characters. But itās built on the strong backbone of complicated and dynamic character relationships, which is why it is one of this yearās best.
5. Be Melodramatic
The higher I get up this list the harder time I have boiling down my thoughts on these dramas to one pithy paragraph. Often even I donāt know what kind of dramas are going to steal my heart. I have a particular weakness for dramas that can make me both laugh and cry, and then laugh through the tears. Dramas like Go Back CoupleĀ and Matrimonial ChaosĀ that have deep heartache folded intoĀ the shenanigans. I love a funny drama. I like to laugh, but that doesnāt count for much unless I really care about the characters and their lives at the end of the day. Thatās what makes me go from liking a drama to loving it, and thatās ultimately what Iām going to remember about a drama when itās over. Be MelodramaticĀ is special for the way it deals with heavy subjects in a gentle and lighthearted way, and somehow without losing the emotional impact.
Bottom Line: Be Melodramatic is a drama with tongue firmly planted in cheek, lots of laughs, lots of clever dialogue as well as a meta look at the drama industry from the inside, but the reason it works so well is the vein of heart, love and loss that runs all through the story.
4. One Spring Night
Itās so gratifying when a drama delivers exactly the experience you hoped it would. One Spring Night was a drama that ended up on my radar on the strength of the previews and posters, which promised me understated, romantic slice-of-life. Iād really enjoyed Han Ji Min in The Light in Your EyesĀ and have been fond of Jung Hae In since While You Were Sleeping. The pairing immediately seemed to have potential, but because the drama was picked up by Netflix, in the US I had to wait until it finished airing before I could give it a shot. A lot of the time when that happens, I see enough of the drama through gifs and screencaps that my interest fades. In this case I was only more intrigued. Iāve still never watched Something In The RainĀ but watching this dramaĀ has made me consider that might have been an oversight on my part. And yet I worry that if I watched it now I wouldnāt be able to help unfavorably comparing it to One Spring Night.Ā This drama is truly something special.
Bottom Line: Because of the restrained, faithful realism of this drama and the two leads who seamlessly embody their characters, this drama has the almost voyeuristic quality of peeking into something intimate and private. Itās a palpable and thoroughly involving love story.
3. Nokdu Flower
I can hardly recommend this underrated gem of a show enough. I know nearly every historical gets compared either favorably or otherwise to Six Flying Dragons, which is kind of the recent high-water mark of sageuks, and Iām going to do that again here because Nokdu Flower is really the first historical drama Iāve watched since SFD that is at the same level of quality. One thing that sticks out about my experience watching both dramas is getting actual shivers watching these charismatic leaders rally their followers around them, and understanding at least in some small part why someone would leave behind everything they knew, pick up arms, and risk their lives for an ideal. Nokdu Flower captures the fearful power of revolutionary ideas in the hands of common people, but doesnāt descend into mere jingoism or sand off the rough edges or try to white wash the dark parts of human nature while itās at it.
Bottom Line: At its most basic level Nokdu FlowerĀ is a story of revolution, and one of flawed characters either finding their humanity or having it burned out of them in the crucible of war. As that description would suggest itās not an easy watch, but itās a good and worthwhile one and definitely one any sageuk fan should check out.
2. My Country: The New Age
Compared to the far more traditional and grounded Nokdu Flower, My Country is almost fantastical in tone and at times eschews logic and realism for set pieces, sword fights and close range shotgun blasts of pathos. Thatās probably why I love it. The larger-than-life sensationalism of this drama is what pushes it higher on this list than the carefully crafted Nokdu Flower, because this drama appealed to me on a more primal way. Itās so unrestrained and epic in everything from the set design, the soundtrack, the cinematography to the characters themselves and the performances of the actors playing them. Lurid, melodramatic, passionate, intense, suspenseful, romantic, raw, angsty, dark...Iāve basically run out of new adjectives to use while describing this drama elsewhere on this site. Basically, My CountryĀ is my id on a plate. Bon appetit.
Bottom Line: While there are definitely misguided and flawed elements to the writing and execution in this drama, somehow all of that is swept away in the sheer pleasure of watching it. If it had been specifically designed to appeal to every narrative kink I have, they couldnāt have made a more perfect drama for my tastes.
1. Children of Nobody
I finished my favorite drama of 2019 back in January, and then got to wait around 11 and a half months to see if anything else I watched last year would knock Children of Nobody from the top spot. Itās a mixed blessing to peak that early in the year. On the one hand, there was nowhere to go but down from here. On the other, Iāve had a lot of time to digest this very heavy show, which is something I definitely needed. I mentioned in my original review of this drama that each of the characters is an iceberg, so much more going on beneath the surface than what we can see. And what Iāve realized over the course of the past year is that the whole drama is like that, in a way. Itās an iceberg of a story, and I was able to pour a lot of myself into it, to try to understand it, and thatās part of the reason it was such an emotional watch for me. I donāt know when or if Iām going to be able to rewatch Children of Nobody, but I hope I can do it some day because I feel certain I would appreciate it even more upon a second viewing.Ā The fact that this is a murder mystery and a thriller is almost incidental to the emotional core of the story, which is deeper and more lingering than that. The secrets, once revealed, do not diminish the story but only turn it slightly so that you can see it from a different angle.
Bottom Line: This drama is certainly not going to be for everyone. I donāt know if I would say it was underrated so much as itās niche. The difficult subject matter is naturally going to narrow its appeal. But I do think that dramas that require the most from me, mentally and emotionally, are often the ones that stick with me the longest and make me bend and grow as a person.
I sure hope youāve enjoyed my top 10 list this year and I wish you joy, success and profound wellbeing in 2020. Thank you again--and thank you always--for following me. Iāve got great things planned for us this year.
Jona
#kdramas 2019#end of year reviews#top 10#children of nobody#my country#my country: the new age#nokdu flower#one spring night#be melodramatic#melo is my nature#WATCHER#search: www#the light in your eyes#encounter#boyfriend#hotel del luna
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the reason i posted again is because i think the baiting royal is doing is deeply homophobic, and the fact that fans just accept it because they like angst above all else, they like the ability for a ship to potentially be unhealthy or else it wouldnāt be popular if it was resolved, is everything i hate about current fandomĀ
companies like atlus know baiting sells more than canon gay, they know that angst sells more than giving characters a happy ending. no girls are the canon girl but persona has never suffered from the lack of m/f representation, and neither has most media.
most media has hero/villain as corruption. i know kylo ren and his horrible writing has ruined redemption for most people, but itās really not common to get hero/villain with the villain redeeming themselves as an endgame ship at all. corruption is the common one, or the villain is gay and dies. thatās it. itās not subversive or new to say a corruption arc is better for a medium where any healthy gay relationships donāt exist at all. the only endgame hero/villain ship was catradora, and fans actually wanted catra to be redeemed. wlw fandom overall is more critical of misery and female characters are allowed to show their feelings. male characters donāt have to and can just be an asshole forever and thatās considered good writing even though thatās typical.
what iāve never seen critiqued with royal is that shuake only blew up when it was baited and when people wanted it to be miserable. people wanted joker to be corrupt or unhappy because of his feelings for another boy. a gay romance is tragic, ruins heroes, makes them miserable and alone. none of the straight ships do that, theyāre all wholesome, and loving.Ā
the ship only blew up because, as shippers admitted, they can twist akechiās personality -because heās so horribly written- to anything they want and itās popular because people want it to be unhealthy. we know unhealthy mlm ships. weāre uncomfortable with two men being actually healthy together, thatāsĀ āuwuā, itās unrealistic. we donāt have any narratives in mainstream fiction for people to see how it could work in a healthy way because people know the script for villainizing gays.
i hate that people accept this because atlus knows this, and the most popular baited pairings or even canon pairings in works that are not bl end like this. people are giving the ship attention because it can be what they want, which actual closure and setting them up to be healthy would take away. the shippers donāt want happy gays because it doesnāt interest them, and thatās what we keep getting. because of who akechi is and why people like him, i knew this would be a bad thing because the fans do not want akechi to not be feral and violent and easy to make as a crazy yandere gay. one of the biggest antis for the ship, who i donāt agree with at all, would rather he be evil and keep killing for fun than to ever be gay and possibly happy. thatās what the fandom is more comfortable with and itās not above criticism just because you like angst. the opposite of these messages, challenging it, giving gays a happy ending, is not uwu fluff. itās not boring when we barely have any of it.
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Yo I'm sorry but I read your answer to that one ask about nsfw stuff in one day/19 days. And for the most part I agree, exept for one thing. Please, for the love of god, don't say this is a comic "for" women. Yes it's bl BUT Old Xian is not a god damn fujoshi. He is male and uses he/him pronouns. This is not a story focused to please female viewers. This is a story about boys in love by a man not some god damn fetish for women. Just because it has a "manga style" doesn't mean it's a "Yaoi" :')
Good afternoon, dear anon-san!
And thank you for your comment regarding my earlier answer about 19 Days being NSFW. Iām glad to hear you felt like you could agree with most of it even though there was something that rubbed you the wrong way. I have no problem with people disagreeing with me or coming forward if they take issue with whatever I have said. But I would be lying if I said answering your comment doesnāt make me nervous. BL and fujoshis are quite controversial topics that Iām sure will divide people reading this or following me. But I donāt think I would be doing anyone a favor if I wasnāt honest even if what I have to say is controversial. I would like to think I have always tried to be open to all kinds of opinions and perspectives even if they differ from mine, and I hope people will extend me the courtesy.Ā
āYes itās bl BUT Old Xian is not a god damn fujoshi. He is male and uses he/him pronouns.ā
I donāt think I said OldXian was a fujoshi, but I can see how that might have been implied by me saying 19 Days is a work of BL. As a genre, BL is typically targeted at a female audience by female authors. However, that is just how it usually goes. BL has plenty of male fans, too, and theyāre called fudanshi. Iām not saying OX is a fudanshi but rather that all kinds of people can be fans of BL. Itās not tied to oneās gender.
Also, while males writing BL certainly isnāt typical, itās not unheard of, either. Sadly, the authorās gender is somehow considered relevant even these days which has resulted in many male BL authors using female aliases (and vice versa when it comes to females writing genres that are typically written by male authors). But there are some BL authors who are openly males, too. For example, D. Jun ā the author of Guang Xiang and Here U Are ā is apparently a male.
āThis is not a story focused to please female viewers. This is a story about boys in love by a man not some god damn fetish for women. Just because it has a āmanga styleā doesnāt mean itās a āYaoiāā
No, having āmanga styleā doesnāt make 19 Days a yaoi. The fact that one of its major themes is gay love makes it a BL, though. Especially in the context of it being an Asian publication. Are there other kinds of relationships and themes included, too? Yes, most definitely! And theyāre all intriguing and essential to the story. The comic is also about friendship, families, and coming of age, to name a few. But it canāt be denied a pretty significant part of it revolves around homoerotic love, and that kind of theme is mainly consumed by a prominently female audience. They are also more often than not heavily targeted at female readers and to appeal to their tastes.
Case in point, the good-looking male protagonists with lean muscles and the author not exactly shying away from drawing them at least half-naked. You could also say He Tianās character is the kind that typically appeals to females ā a dark bad boy with a hot bod and vulnerable, tragic past. And what do you know, heās at least the second fan favorite - if not the most liked, even. Are we really going to pretend these aspects arenāt attracting and appealing to female readers? Am I really the only one seeing readers drool and squeal whenever OX publishes chapters featuring shirtless HT, moments of tender gay affection, or illustrations of suggestive poses (homoerotic or otherwise)? Is OX doing it intentionally to appeal to female readers? No one but OX can answer to that, but does it really matter? I donāt think it changes the end result; it attracts largely females and Iām sure many of them are avid consumers of BL, too.
I donāt think this has escaped OX, either. A couple of times by now, the comic has made references to BL genre, girls being fans of cute guys together and how that kind of material attracts the female attention (ch. 151, 295, and 296):
(Sorry for the cencor, but Tumblr wouldnāt let me post this otherwise...)
Those moments can basically be taken both as OX making light of the genre and the comic being self-aware. 19 Days makes funny metafictional references while also utilizing the BL conventions itself. Itās also a clever way if the author wants to take a stand on how their work is different from its predecessors in the same genre. Because I think 19 Days is quite one of a kind compared to other BL publications. And it has sparked conversations regarding the BL conventions, for example, ukes vs. semes. It can do all that and still be a BL as such that it appeals to females or fans of the genre in general.
Now, does any of that mean 19 Days canāt appeal to other kinds of fans, too? Of course, not! In fact, you yourself dear anon-san, are an excellent example of that. I think 19 Days is one of the few Asian BL comics that has attracted countless of Western fans, too, who are perhaps not that familiar with Asian BL. It should also be noted that m/m ships are hugely popular in the Western fandoms, too. They are just more tied to the original works and not really separated to become a genre of its own as has happened with BL in Asia, especially in Japan. As it happens, the stats of the Top 100 Ships on AO3 in 2019 were just published the other day, and whopping 69 of them are slash aka m/m. Do you think that is completely unrelated to the fact that fanfiction is mostly written and read by females? Iām not saying itās the only reason because itās more complicated than that, but it certainly indicates Western female audiences are also big fans of homoerotic content. And they, too, are often accused of āmaking everything gayā.
I also donāt have a problem admitting this: If 19 Days didnāt have homoerotic themes whatsoever and the boys were having crushes on females, I doubt I would have been interested in the comic. The other themes I mentioned above are interesting to me, but on their own and paired up with m/f endgame relationships they wouldnāt be enough for me. I donāt read 19 Days just for the gay content, but it is a significant reason why I originally checked it out and why I keep loving it. Personally, I donāt think being attracted to the gay aspect and loving the story and characters, too, has to be an either-or kind of deal. You can very well do both. Does saying this somehow make me less of a fan of 19 Days? Iām sure it does in some peopleās eyes but frankly, I donāt need otherās approval to love and be interested in something.
So far, I have pretty much disagreed with everything you said, but allow me to offer you an olive branch, dear anon-san. I get why my BL-related notions may have upset you. I get where you are coming from with saying 19 Days isnāt a āfetish for womenā. You donāt want something you love to be associated with something you clearly despise. Yaoi and fujoshis have a bad rep, and Iām not trying to pretend like itās completely underserved. I read a lot of BL but donāt really agree with the hardcore fujoshi mentality or identify with them as a group. I also think BL works have many tropes and conventions that do not represent realistic gay relationships and are highly problematic. However, BL is a fictional genre with its own history, development, conventions, and target audience. And as an avid BL reader, I think just because something appeals to me in a fictional setting it doesnāt mean Iām advocating the same things in real life.
To be honest, talking about this kind of makes my stomach twist with dread and nerves because I realize many people might get upset over this. And putting yourself in this kind of position on Tumblr especially can be a bit risky. So, let me say it once again: People are welcome to disagree with me or think Iām as wrong as humanly possible. And I would most probably understand where they are coming from. However, I would also like to remind anyone feeling angry with me that this is just me coming from a different point of view. Just like you are, dear anon-san. As far as Iām concerned, you are free to enjoy 19 Days from your own perspective and me from mine without it having to mean weāre somehow robbing each other of something.
#19 days#answered ask#yeah i was kinda expecting to get at least one comment about this#i don't know if i have anything to add to this really#in case anyone wants to continue this conversation
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Sorry this is so long......How TV Creators Are Handling Subtext And Shipping
TV series creators have a hard time not tailoring content towards a strictly heteronormative audience, refusing to lean in to queer context, no matter howlarge an LGBTQ following a show may have.
Once a fictional character is put out for public consumption, it ceases to be the one thing itās described as on paper. This is especially the case with TV and film, where said character goes through so many hands before hitting the screen and becoming public property.
There are three kinds of creators when it comes to queer content on TV. The first (and sadly, most typical) is the creator who will deny any intention of creating queer content, and who will also refuse to acknowledge a queer audienceās interpretation., This often results in an instant backlash, as theĀ Supergirlcast and creators experienced after an embarrassing interview with MTV last summer. When prompted to recap the latest season, the cast broke into a cringeworthy song that mocked fansā interest in the Supergirl/Lena Luthor pairing, with Jeremy Jordan repeatedly exclaiming that the two will never get together. It continued despite Katie McGrathās attempt to save the interview saying, āThe great thing about what we do is, like any art, anyone can read into it what they want.ā Chris Wood then chimed in with āSexuality is all about othersā perception of yours, right?ā
SupergirlĀ is a show with a large female following that from the beginning has gravitated toward the female relationships it portrays, with emphasis on those relationships with strong queer energy. At first, there was a group of internet fans that were drawn to the chemistry between Melissa Benoist and Calista Flockhart, which was maximized due to the charactersā intense mentor/mentee relationship, and that was fine, and for the most part went unacknowledged by the show.
However, upon Flockhartās exit, Lena Luthor was introduced, played by Katie McGrath. Kara Danvers and Lena Luthor became fast friends, and fansā fascination withĀ Supergirlās queer vibes grew strong enough for the the cast to take notice. One would think that by having Alex Danvers and Maggie Sawyer, two queer characters already in their orbit, fan speculation about others wouldnāt be such an inconvenience that it would have to be addressed by aggressively singing āTheyāre only friends!ā over and over, as if the pairing were unfathomable.
ButĀ SupergirlĀ hasnāt been the only show to outright reject queer interpretations. In fact, a few years back, the long-running seriesĀ SupernaturalĀ was called out by its fans for purposefully inserting homoerotic subtext within storylines pertaining to male characters Dean and Castiel, and for rather indirectly addressing said subtext inĀ interviews. In one of them, Misha Collins (Castiel) stated that in certain scenes with Jensen Ackles (Dean) he was directed to portray his character as a ājilted lover.ā
During a Toronto Con panel inĀ 2013, it was revealed that a line was changed by Ackles ā who last year specifically requested no questions about the popular pairing be allowed during the Q portion of a panel for the show atĀ New Jersey Conāfrom āI love youā to āWeāre family. I need youā because the Actor didnāt think it suited his character. Despite fandomās interest in the pairing, it hasnāt been enough forĀ Supernaturalto follow through with an actual queer storyline, aside from the one recurring lesbian character, Charlie, who was ultimately killed off. It turns out our tolerance for queerbaiting does have its limits.
Another show that failed to address the sapphic energy between its leads, in effect rejecting a great opportunity to add a bonus layer to an already complex relationship between two women, wasĀ Damages. The thriller starred Glenn Close as powerhouse prosecutor Patty Hewes, and Rose Byrne as her protĆ©gĆ©e, Ellen Parsons. The series went on for five seasons and throughout, though it benefitted from incredible writing, its highlight was clearly the tension and undecipherable relationship between Patty and Ellen.
While there was never any doubt that their connection was what kept the the showās palpable tension dial at a 10, anytime the subject was brought up to either cast or creators it was denied or waved offĀ asĀ āwishful thinking,ā as Glenn Close put it. When pressed further, she added, āI think thereās something seductive about Patty and she just seduces people and sheāll lead people on. I think that can come across as pure seduction.ā
WithĀ Person of Interest, Sameen Shaw (Sarah Shahi) and Root (Amy Acker) first connected under very unique, very dark circumstances in which one was holding the other against their will in a life threatening situation. But there was a sizzle there that the audience immediately responded to, and while both cast and writers admitted that was not their intention, something amazing happenedthey took that audience reaction and ran with it. In the end, Shaw and Rootās romance became one of the showās more compelling storylines.
Jane the VirginĀ did the same. When a character, Petra, who wasnāt intentionally written as queer read queer to LGBTQ viewers, the writers saw no problem taking the interpretation and adopting it as canon. After years of keeping Petra as a sort of peripheral player within Jane/Rafael storylines, the character of Jane Ramos was introduced as Petraās defense attorney and eventual love interest.
The third type of creator is everyoneās favorite. This is the one that takes whatever gay subtext or context there is, embraces it, and expands upon it, recognizing that itās there from the beginning.Ā In the FleshĀ andĀ Killing EveĀ are true representatives of queer entertainment that isnāt trying to steer its characters toward a path they werenāt organically wanting to go.
In the Flesh, a BAFTA-award winning series from BBC 3, was easily one of the best shows that no one watched; a zombie show with depth, which isnāt easy to accomplish. The story takes place years after a virus epidemic that turned the infected into flesh-eating monsters is cured, and the rehabilitated are returning home. Its main character is Luke, one of the former infected, suffering from memories of the terrible things he did while sick, and tortured by his own suicide, which was prompted by the loss of love interest, Rick.
The series ran for only two seasons, with a total of nine episodes. It was inventive and creative and stands as one of the greats right next to shows likeĀ HannibalĀ andĀ The Exorcist, which was unfortunately canceled by Fox this year after only two seasons of sacrilege, beautiful cinematography, Alfonso Herrera (Sense8) and a bisexual Father Marcus, played by Ben Daniels.
Killing EveĀ is a female-led thriller that proves that the secret to making great TV is treating characters like human beings with the capacity to change. Eve, who, when we meet her, is living a life that doesnāt seem particularly terrible, whose marriage appears to be solid, her job secure, is lured into potentially life threatening situations for the sake of following her inexplicable attraction to a female assassin. As if beneath the surface there is a dormant unrest that is awakened with the arrival of Villanelle in her life, and though she does not stop to examine exactly what she expects to get from it, she craves and wants more of these moments that have stirred her awake. Sheās both excited and frightened by Villanelleās audaciousness, by the intrusion into her life,
both figuratively and literally.
The seasonās got a few episodes left, yet the most compelling, and most attentively queer moment is part of the fifth episode, in which the two women finally come face to face in Eveās home. Eve is sopping wet in a gorgeous dress Villanelleās purchased for her, sheās cold and visibly uncomfortable, therefore Villanelle suggests Eve should change, before proceeding to peel the dress off her herself. It is a scene that doesnāt downplay the very real danger Eve is in by having Villanelle in her home. However there is also an erotic aspect to it that is very purposeful, and as series creator Phoebe Waller-BridgeĀ points out, the attraction is definitely mutual, āI knew that the first moment they see each other. I labeled that moment as ālove at first sight.ā But I didnāt want it to be constrained to romance, or to lust, or anything like that. Thereās something waking in Eve every day that she spends imagining what this woman is doing.ā
This type of storytelling allows characters to evolve the way that they want to evolve as opposed to forcing them into a first page description. There is loyalty to the authenticity of the story, which comes from meticulous attention paid to the writing, which Waller-Green explains is all about going against clichĆ©: āThe moment something feels predictable, thereās a roar in me to just go to the most surprising place. I donāt want to bore myself.ā
Often times, when female queer characters are introduced, it is done in order to titillate, and their storylines are the product of a male gaze fantasy.Ā Killing EveĀ manages to avoid all of that with Villanelle, a character who seems to have no specific preference when it comes to sexual partners, and yet doesnāt feel the need to use her sexuality to get what she wants. In addition to that and the meaty tension between the two leads (Villanelle and the titular Eve, played by Sandra Oh), the attention paid to the very queer theme of the show is evident in backstories of characters that would normally go without one, like that of Eveās former boss and best friend Bill, an older man in a heterosexual relationship who casually reveals heās loved āhundredsā of men, much to Eveās surprise, and further reveals he is in an open relationship, and happily so.
The series proves not only that queer characters are marketablethe BBC series was renewed for a second season before the first even airedbut that straight creators are capable of writing queer content that isnāt offensive or over-sexualized. Phoebe Waller-Bridge credits the authenticity of the series to a collaborative effort, stating, āBecause itās all about the characters, the little details that link the two worlds, everyoneās really made it a psychological piece rather than just an artistic painting of two different peopleās worlds,ā but it really just goes to show that that negative aspects of queer representation that include the dreaded male gaze perspective can be avoided as long as the bar is set high enough by the showrunner.
It only takes a little bit of creativity and imagination, and a willingness to challenge the idea that heterosexual-based television makes for the best and most successful stories.
Alex Velazquez is a writer, photographer, and queer Mexican living in Los Angeles, CA.
#sherlock#killing eve#supernatural#supergirl#queerbaiting#shipping#lgbt#in the flesh#jane the virgin#person of interest
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Harry Potter Fic Rec List
Iāve practically been reading Harry Potter fics since I was out of the womb and unsurprisingly, I recently ran out and have been searching the web for stories that I havenāt yet read.Ā
I figured that with all of my fanfiction knowledge, I should make a list like the ones that have helped me to find interesting and well written fics and so, I present to you a list with my favourite Harry Potter Fanfictions. Some are Classics, some are Muggle Auās, but theyāre all worth a read.
GelosaĆ¾ in ĆcnesseĀ by Batsutousai | Completed | 98.5k | Mature
Pairing: Salazar Slytherin/ Harry Potter
Summary:Ā Caught in the backlash of Voldemort's Killing Curse, Harry is thrown through time to a world so very different from his own.
Notes: Itās a time travel fic! I have a special place in my heart for that trope and I love this one particularly. The pairing is one Iād never even seen before and at first, I was a bit sceptical at first but I was pleasantly surprised the way everyone interacted with each other and the amount of research that clearly went into this fic. In my experience, every work ofĀ Batsutousaiās is a good read.
Gray Skye Mourning by KneazleGriff | Completed | 183.4k | Mature
Pairing: Severus Snape/ Harry Potter
Summary: As Severus Snape lay dying on the filthy floor of the Shrieking Shack, bleeding in the arms of Harry Potter, a profound, devastating realization awakens a long lost love, latent for years, torn asunder by timeās cruel fate. Is love strong enough to overcome the pain of the past and ensure severusā survival? Time-Travel fic. SSHP
Notes: Okay, I know the summary is kind of cheesy but this fic is fantastic. It explains why Snape was such an ass in canon and itās really touching. Itās a very emotional fic. There are a few smutty scenes so youāll want to make sure youāre okay with reading that. Also SSHP fics that I enjoy are pretty rare since I usually steer clear of Teacher-student relationships as well as Minor-Adult relationships.(Part of why I love time travel fics so much)Ā
Zubats, Zubats Everywhere by RenderedReversed | WIP | 16.8k | Teen and Up
Pairing: Harry Potter/ Tom Riddle
Summary:Ā In which Harry is pretty sure his PokĆ©mon journey isnāt supposed to have such a copious amount of Zubatsāor just the figurative one, since Arceus knows Tom Riddle pops up in his life often enough to be a Zubat in disguise.
Notes: This fic is adorable. They have Pokemon Pet names, they buy each other stuffed animals and accidental stalking? Itās more of a Oneshot Collection than a continuous fic but donāt let that stop you. Comedy, Fluff and Harry Potter. What else could you need?Ā
Away Childish Things by lettered | Completed | 153.8k | Teen and Up
Pairing: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Summary: Harry gets de-aged. Malfoy has to help him.
Notes: This fic. The way lettered handled the wholeĀ āpeople from the wizarding world find out about Harryās home lifeā amazingly. The characterization of the characters, their younger selves and their opinions of themselves is just... *Chefās kiss*. Iāve read this one over and over and I donāt plan on stopping anytime soon.Ā
Harry Potter and the Boy Who Lived by Santi | WIP | 147.7k | Mature
Pairing: Harry Potter/ Female OC
Summary:Ā Harry Potter loves, and is loved by, his parents, his godfather, and his brother. He isnāt mistreated, abused, or neglected. So why is he a Dark Wizard? NonBWL!Harry. Not your typical Harryās brother is the Boy Who Lived story.
Notes: One of the only āWrong boy who livedā Fics Iāve enjoyed. Technically, Harry twin brother is the actual BWL so itās not exactly the wrong one. This Harry is very OOC, keeping only his name and his physical features. His twin brother is really more āHarry Potterā Personality-wise. Despite all of this, I absolutely loved this fic. The way Durmstrang operates is amazing and much better than Hogwarts.
The Spellmaker by SonnyGietzel | WIP | 166.7k | Mature
Pairing: Harry Potter/ Tom Riddle | Voldemort
Summary: Latin; a dead language with no practical applications except perhaps the deciphering of old texts and as a particularly quaint party trick.Thankfully, as Harry finds out, Latin is not as dead as he was first taught when he decided to learn the language. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, of course; he loved Latin, and would have been proud to know it even had it been as useless as it was pretty. But in the world of Wizards, the world of Magic, Harry realizes his rare talent with words is particularly valuable, and allows him to use magic that no one's ever heard of, that no one's ever seen. But as time goes on, and he becomes more and more entangled in the webs spun by those around him, he starts to realize just how deep the magical rabbit hole goes and how dangerous power like his can be.All Harry had ever wanted was for the world to make sense.
Notes: Latin? Hell yeah! Harryās spell casting by knowing latin and understanding science is so cool. Plus I just really love the librarian. Itās still updating too so youāre not just torturing yourself for the sake of entertainment if you read it,
SCHOOLED by WyrdSmith | WIP | 113.6k | Explicit
Pairing: Harry Potter/ Tom Riddle
Summary:Ā 7th Year Gryffindors learn why it is never a good idea to piss off Ravenclaw Hadrian Morgan. His payback during Professor Slytherin's class is BEAUTIFUL. In carrying it out, orphaned pureblood Hadrian catches the interest and libido of the present Lord Marvolo Slytherin, who -- with the assistance of the entire Slytherin student body as well as a few other surprising characters -- tries to lure Morgan into his life and his bed. But just how naive is Hadrian Morgan, really?1945-era mash-up of most major and minor characters of HP and other fandoms, as well as historical characters. [WAIT, PLEASE! .... ahem.... If you just heard a mental screech of brakes, please understand that this is not a farce, nor crack, nor crap. This has many reviews from now-devoted readers who almost bypassed it, but are now glad they accepted the dare to just try chapter one.]
Notes: My opinion on this fic is complicated. Itās brilliantly written. Harry is witty, sneaky and ruthless and I just love him. Tom is just a lil bit predatory. You should definitely give it a read because itās awesome, just make sure to properly read the tags and the summary first.Ā
Time to Put Your Galleons Where Your Mouth Is by Tsume Yuki | Completed | 46.3k | Teen and Up
Pairing: None
Summary:Ā Harry had never been able to comprehend a sibling relationship before, but he always thought he'd be great at it. Until, as Master of Death, he's reborn one Turais Rigel Black, older brother to Sirius and Regulus. (Rebirth/time travel and Master of Death Harry)
Notes: I love this. I love this so much. Harry is so great To Sirius and Regulus. He may be a bit OP but heās honestly just a king in every single way other than literally. This was an amazing read and a great change from the more romance-centric fics that usually catch my eye.Ā
Kudosed, Bookmarked, Subscribed by maquira | WIP | 49.6k | Explicit
Pairing: Harry Potter/ Tom Riddle | VoldemortĀ
Summary: By day, Harry works as a lowly assistant to his boss: the cruel, controlling Tom Riddle.By night, he lives, breathes, and writes fanfiction. And when he's not writing, he's obsessing over the work of his favorite Ao3 author: Lord_Voldemort_.So, of course, itās only a matter of time before Harry gets caught reading Voldemortās latest fanfiction at workā¦ by none other than his boss.
Notes: I know itās Harry Potter and the nearly everything about the books has to do with magic but Muggle Auās are my guilty pleasure. Pair that with maquiraās beautiful writing and Iām hooked. Really, check out any of maquiraās other fics, theyāre all just as good.Ā
Letās Start the Show by Terrific Lunacy | WIP | 29.9k | Mature
Pairing: Kind of Harry Potter/ Tom Riddle
Summary:Ā It started as a game. When two highborn lords come looking for a distraction from boredom, they merge the worlds of the highest class with those of the lowest class. An invitation sets things in motion that were supposed to stay locked away. Because a kingdom on the verge of collapse, a noble without a past and a circus performer with a secret are not a good combination.
Notes: Something about this fic just captivated me when I first read it. It still does, really. I love the plot, I love Harryās cheek and youāll love it too.
Dreams and Darkness Collide by Epic Solemnity | WIP | 209.5k | MatureĀ
Pairing: Harry Potter/Voldemort
Summary: Though he was raised without the expectation of saving the world, Harry still possesses a savior complex. Only, it's so dark and twistedly immoral, he created an alter ego to practice vigilantism. His second identity makes a name for himself and immediately ensnares Minister Riddle's complete and obsessive attention. A game of cat and mouse begins and morals are questioned.
Notes: Iāve read this so many times I could probably recite it by heart but I could still read it a thousand more times.Ā
My Name is Cameron Sage by thesewarmstars | Completed | 41.8k | Explicit
Pairing: Harry Potter/ Severus Snape
Summary: Things are going poorly for the side of the light, and in a last-ditch effort to fulfill his destiny, Harry goes back in time to try again.
Notes: Another Time travel fic! A particularly smutty one but Sevvy has a friend for once in his life and theyāre so sarcastic but theyāre also really sweet.Ā
Consuming Shadows by Child_OTKW | WIP | 312.2k | Mature
Pairing: Harry Potter/ Voldemort, Harry Potter/ Male OC
Summary:Ā On the night of the attack, Lily managed to escape with her infant son, but at the cost of her husbandās life. Distraught and distrusting of her friends, she fled to France with Harry, to raise him away from the corruption in Britain and the rising influence of the Dark Lord. She trains him to the best of her abilities, shaping him into a dangerous, intelligent and powerful wizard.But when Britain re-establishes the Triwizard Tournament, and Harry is forced to return to his once-home, he finds himself questioning whether he really wants to kill the Dark Lord. Voldemort finds an unexpected challenge in the child, and as his intrigue and amusement grows, so too does the desire to possess the spark in those defiant green eyes.
Notes: Harry attending foreign schools is also a favourite trope of mine. I love the different interpretations of different wizarding schools. Bonus points if he visits Hogwarts to attend or participate in the Triwizard Tournament.Ā
To be Set Free by Merrinpippy | Completed | 35.8k | Teen and Up
Pairing: Harry Potter/ Tom Riddle
Summary:Ā Harry Potter, raised and abused by the Dursleys ever since his parents died, lives in the cupboard under the stairs. He has no friends or family who love him and his life is dull until one day a letter arrives arrives for him, written in green ink, that promises freedom. Sounds familiar, right?King Thomas Riddle's illness combined with his political paranoia pushes him to arrange three royal balls, after which his son, Prince Tom Riddle, must choose a guest to marry, thereby securing the kingdom's future and solidifying their strength in the eyes of their allies/enemies. Tom is convinced that he will be able to defy his father and choose no-one, or at least he is until at the first ball he meets an attractive stranger with dark hair and glasses who won't tell anyone his name...
Notes: Fairytale Auās are magical and this fic just proves it. You barely even need to put a spin on cinderella to fit Harry into his role in the story, which is sad but also absolutely perfect.
Azoth by zeigeistic | Completed | 88.7k | Explicit
Pairing: Harry Potter/ Draco Malfoy
Summary: Now that Harry is back at Hogwarts with Hermione for eighth year, he realises that somethingās missing from his life, and it either has to do with Ron, his boggart, Snape, or Malfoy. Furthermore, what, exactly, does it mean when oneās life is defined by the desire to simultaneously impress and annoy a portrait? Harry has no idea; heās too busy trying not to be in love with Malfoy to care.
Notes: Portrait Snape. Thatās it. Thatās all I have to say.
Death of Today by Epic Solemnity | Completed | 500.8k | MatureĀ
Pairing: Harry Potter/ VoldemortĀ
Summary: Raised in a Muggle orphanage, Harry arrives at Hogwarts a bitter boy. Unusually intelligent, he's recruited by the Unspeakables and the Death Eaters at a young age. As he grows older, he constantly has to struggle to keep his footing around a manipulative and bored Dark Lord, who fancies mind games and intellectual entertainment.
Notes: In all honesty, I donāt have much to add. Epic Solemnity is a fantastic author though so make sure to check out their other works.
Hermione Grangerās Hogwarts Crammer for Delinquents on the Run by waspabi | Completed | 93.3k | Teen and Up
Pairing: Harry Potter/ Draco Malfoy
Summary:Ā 'You're a wizard, Harry' is easier to hear from a half-giant when you're eleven, rather than from some kids on a tube platform when you're seventeen and late for work.
Notes: I live for this Au. I would give my right hand and make quite a few human sacrifices for a sequel to this story.Ā
Rebirth by Athey | WIP | 269.7k | MatureĀ
Pairing: Harry Potter/ Tom Riddle
Summary:Ā Two boys grow up together in an orphanage, grow powerful at school, are torn apart by death and brought back together by rebirth. Horcruxes aren't the only way to live forever. Necromancy, reincarnation, TR/HP Slash dark!Harry.
Notes: Ah, reincarnation. I always figured that Harryās type of immortality would be much more interesting than tomās in this story. A little bit of smut near the end there so you might want to watch out for that.Ā
#harry potter#fanfiction#tomarrymort#tomarry#drarry#snarry#rec list#Salazar slytherin#Honestly#i just love these
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Why Do Certain Ships Become So Popular? (And Why Should Writers Rethink When They Do?) - Part 2
<- Start back at part 1 or youāre going to be very confused!
This time my victim of choice example is Klance (and Allurance and Lotura too).
In a previous post, I established the premise that shippers focus their efforts and attention on ships between characters who exhibit the most compelling dynamism, the greatest amount of emotional energy--good feelings or bad--that directly relates to one or more of the charactersā growth arcs... or the two characters whose emotional interactions most significantly affect a storyās main plot.
This idea (that shippers are looking for strong, dynamic emotional interactions that are directly tied to plot) feeds directly into my second premise: part of the popularity of slash ships comes from the fact that, very often, the strongest and most plot-relevant emotional events donāt occur between male characters and female characters, but between male protagonists and other male characters--due to a combination of 1) a much smaller number of female characters, 2) a majority of writers for anime/manga and American shows being male; 3) under-developed or poorly written female characters, and 4) the tendency to situate males in the hero, sidekick, and villain positions, increasing the chance that their actions will have greater importance in the storyās main plot.
In short, writers can unintentionally cause fans to prefer non-canon slash ships by writing more dynamic, better developed, and more plot-relevant interactions between their male leads than between the main character and his designated female love interest. Ā
Now hang on. Before you get all up in arms, yes, Iām perfectly aware there are plenty of other reasons slash ships are popular, including:
A huge desire among LGBT+ fans for positive representation
The fact that m/m interactions appeal to straight women/others the same way w/w interactions are sexy to straight men/others
The tendency of shows, particularly from Japan, to deliberately queer-bait
The fact that many women vicariously ship male characters together because it allows them to imagine a relationship of āgenuine equals,ā particularly in areas where women feel they are still not treated equally to men
The tendency for āpair the sparesā to result in m/m ships simply due to a lower number of available female characters
And so on
This isnāt written to negate any of those reasons or to imply that they arenāt major factors in the popularity of slash ships, not at all, but it has always, always struck me as reductive when I hear things like āSlash ships are only popular because girls think two dudes together is hotā (the fetish argument) or āGirls will ship any two good-looking male characters together regardless of canon. They just hate het shipsā (the fetish argument with a side dish of misogyny).
In particular, this last one--an argument Iāve heard from a lot of male fandom members (but of course not all)--has always gotten under my skin, because it implies that girls who ship arenāt capable of critically analyzing the media we consume and identifying characters who have meaningful interactions and interesting potential. That we, unlike those viewers who adhere to the canon (typically heterosexual) relationships, are somehow reading these stories wrong, blind to ārealā romance (namely the one between the male hero and his best girl/waifu), and/or misusing male characters with zero regard for their personalities--worse, this argument also implies that female fans deliberately hate or under-appreciate oh-so-perfectly written female characters whose romantic subplots are totally natural and not at all an unfortunate side effect of their position as the token chick on the team...
At its best, the statement: āGirls will ship any two good-looking male charactersā is demeaning in its dismissal of a majority of slash shippers and their ability to read characters. At its worse, itās this exact dismissal that continues to allow so many (primarily male) authors to write under-developed, unimportant, token female love interests: āItās the girls [or the slash shippers] who are weird; thereās nothing wrong with the way weāre doing things.ā
But guess what happens when well-written female characters whose actions are central to a storyās main plot are introduced and highlighted? Guess what happens when the emotional energy between a female lead and her male counterpart is the most compelling and dynamic in the series?
The (often canon) het ship suddenly--somehow--magically becomes well-liked by fans!
Zutara and Kataang vastly out-strip any slash Avatar pairings in popularity. Noragamiās Yatori commands a staggering following in the fandom. Is there anyone in their right mind who thinks Alucard/Integra wasnāt the best pairing to end Hellsing with? No one debates whether or not Ahiru and Fakir from Princess Tutu are true love. In Doctor Who, Rose and the Doctor reign so far supreme in the fandom that none of the other ships even need to exist though I actually prefer River. Terra and Aqua from Kingdom Hearts beat out every other Terra or Aqua ship by a mile (and this is in a series notorious for hating and under-shipping its female characters). Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-Kun has no problem juggling three very well-accepted het ships--even while having a scene in which two male characters sit down and draw a gay manga together. Aināt nobody suggesting Mr. Bates and Anna from Downton Abbey should be with anyone else, right? And this is just in the handful of shows I personally have time to watch. Anyone who reads or watches a series with well-written female characters can play this exact same game!
The obvious conclusion? Female fans are perfectly willing to ship heterosexual pairings--if theyāre well-written.
Itās the same story all over again: when the real emotional energy, the dynamic core, the most plot-relevant interactions occur between a male and female character, they too can become the fan-preferred couple. (Shocking!)
Yes, yes, I hear you saying āB-But wait, sometimes the m/m ship is more popular even though the het love interest is well-written!ā or āSometimes girls ship guy characters who have never even met!ā or āSo what youāre saying is female fans wouldnāt ship slash if there were better het options available?ā
1) Donāt get me wrong--there are certainly always exceptions. Iām pointing out a trend, not a rule. Sometimes a fandom has a separate, specific reason for elevating a non-canon slash ship above a well-written canon het ship. (Someone who is actually in the Fullmetal Alchemist fandom might be able to explain why Ed/Roy is more popular than Roy/Riza, probably?) And in situations where a slash ship and a het ship in a series both have equally strong emotional energy, my bet is that the slash ship will always come out on top because it gets the added benefit of people liking LGBT+ rep and straight girls (and anyone else) who just think m/m is hot.
2) Crack ships definitely do exist. But usually when a crack ship actually manages to become popular, itās because fans have recognized the potential for a strong emotional energy between two characters. If the two characters could reasonably have strong tension because of similarities, differences, or other elements of their characters, then crack ships are still following the trend of aligning with emotional energy, even if that energy is only anticipated at the moment.
3) I definitely donāt mean to suggest that slash ships are shoddy seconds to fans who would ānaturallyā prefer het ships if good het ships were available. What Iām suggesting is only that itās no surprise slash ships are so extremely and consistently popular across so many fandoms, because in terms of plot relevance, depth of writing, and meaningful interactions with each other, male characters so rarely have any real competition. A desire for LGBT+ representation and people living out power or equality fantasies through slash are certainly motivating factors and good and worthy reasons to write slash. But one unfortunate contributor to the popularity of slash ships is that male characters continue to occupy a place of privilege in modern narratives. Our heroes remain overwhelmingly male. Our sidekick/lancer/buddy characters remain overwhelmingly male. Our villain characters remain overwhelmingly male. That is to say: male characters continue to dominate all the most āplot relevantā roles in our narratives, and so long as male leads continue to be placed in roles where their most compelling emotional interactions and greatest sources of character growth are other male characters, slash ships will continue to dominate fandomsā online presences.
(Hilarious: the dude bros who complain about the number of slash ships in their favorite series are often the very same ones supporting and becoming the writers whose shallow portrayals of female characters further bolster the popularity of said slash ships in the first place...)
Okay, Iāve made you wait long enough.
What does all of this have to do with Voltron?
Well, youāve probably figured that part out already, actually.
If we consider the āemotional energyā and tension among Voltronās main characters, thereās absolutely no question who is at the core, where the most plot relevant and meaningful emotional interactions have occurred, where the āheartā of the story is, in essence...
Hint: Itās Keith.
(Just a heads up: Iām going to use Klance as the example because itās the most popular Voltron pairing according to the numbers, but any Sheith fan worth their salt could obviously very, very easily apply these ideas one-for-one to that ship, because clearly Shiroās interactions with Keith are some of the most emotionally tense and compelling in the entire Voltron series--they are a consistent core of feeling energy for the show which naturally leads many people to support this ship. A large part of the reason that this post is tagged Sheith is because I am absolutely inviting Sheith shippers to use the theory and lens in this essay to analyze Sheith--using this idea to analyze Sheith will reveal a lot of intense emotional energy to discuss and validate that ship. Iām very tempted to put this paragraph in all caps or something so the Sheith shippers will actually read it and stop badgering me...)
Keith (and his relation with other characters) is the core of Voltronās main plot, both in that he is positioned as the leader/the hero/the protagonist, and because, obviously, almost all of the seriesā emotional high points (with the exception of āCrystal Venomā and Pidgeās search for Matt) somehow feature him.Ā
Keith isnāt just central in the main plot though; heās also central in the individual arcs of two other characters: Lance and Shiro. Heās a motivating and driving factor in both of these charactersā stories and change throughout the series, affecting their actions, attitudes, and self-worth, and so it should come as absolutely no surprise that Sheith and Klance are the seriesā most popular ships.
But since Klance is the most popular pairing, the person I really want to talk about is Lance.
You can say a lot of things about Lance and the raging debates that occurred over whether or not Lance is a straight loverboy trope or not, but I donāt think any viewer of Voltron would deny that, if we consider the main cast members (Team Voltron plus Lotor), the core of Lanceās emotional energy and tension is Keith. His interactions with Keith--not even in a romantic sense, simply in a storytelling sense--are more important and dynamic than his on-screen interactions with any other main character.
From his laser focus on Keith at Garrison that caused him to invent a rivalry (this word is basically just a synonym for āemotional energyā at this point):
To comedic banter:
To the infamous bonding moment:
To a fledgling āright hand manā partnership:
To Lanceās insecurities:
The story of Voltron itself continuously reiterates that Lanceās interactions with Keith are more dynamic, more intense (even if weāre talking about āRawr, I hate you, weāre rivals!ā emotions instead of lovey-dovey stuff), and more plot relevant than Lanceās interactions with other characters in the series. Lanceās emotional arc is irrevocably centered on Keith until very, very late in the series.
More importantly: Lanceās motivation and personal plot line as a whole are centered on Keith. At itās most basic, Lanceās character arc seems like it was supposed to center on Lanceās sense of self-worth--despite acting confident, Lance was actually insecure about his ability to help save the universe. Theoretically, his narrative should have focused on him becoming confident about his place on the team and his value as both a friend and fellow paladin to the other main characters. His arc should have been (and I guess theoretically still is? Itās just not... ever given much attention?) about him overcoming his insecurity by learning to recognize his own unique talents and discovering the things that only he can do to help Team Voltron succeed. (Hell, the entire Allurance thing could have been framed as āSheās completely out of my leagueā ---> āWhoa, originally I was putting Allura on a pedestal but actually sheās as much a member of this team as me--weāre in this together, side-by-side.ā)
Whether or not the semi-incoherent narrative of Voltron actually delivered on this promise is iffy, but the set up in season 1-3ish is all there and all Keith:
At Garrison, Lance viewed Keith as a road block in his quest to becoming a fighter class student. Keithās achievements and talent became a measuring stick for Lanceās own capabilities. He imagined a rivalry to make himself feel better/less insecure. His drive not to lose out to Keith is what dragged Hunk and Pidge along to Shiroās rescue and ultimately led to the discovery of the Blue Lion. Lance comparing himself unfavorably to Keith as a paladin and pilot contributed to (mostly) one-sided animosity throughout the early seasons that gave way to a scene of Lance attempting to step down from the team because he didnāt see himself worthy of the position in comparison to Keith:
The logical conclusion that I think most fans would draw from these many scenes is that, as part of Lanceās overall character growth across the whole series, he needed to have a moment in which he recognized that he isnāt--and has never been--inferior to Keith.
Ultimately, the first five seasons continually reiterate the idea that, in terms of interactions, energy, and dynamic character growth, the most important main character in Lanceās story (other than Lance) is Keith.
Keithās interactions with Lance are directly and immediately tied to Lanceās individual character arc/growth, and Keith is definitely the focus of Lanceās most meaningful emotional tension throughout seasons 1-5 at least.
Which means it shouldnāt come as any surprise that Klance is the most popular Lance ship, particularly when you set it side-by-side with the (increasingly canon) Allurance.
I just want to make this abundantly clear before I begin: I have absolutely nothing against Allurance shippers and, until it was done so poorly in season 5-6 (and potentially 7, I still havenāt even finished that one), I actually was okay with the possibility of Allurance being endgame because I thought there was potential for it to be done well. After what weāve been given, I actually feel the Allurance shippers have been horribly shortchanged by the showās real writing, and that I canāt personally support the ship the way itās being written, but thatās not the fault of the characters themselves or anything inherently āwrongā with the ship. So please donāt take the rest of what I say here as ship hate--this is just observations from a literary analysis standpoint.
What has prevented Lance and Allura from gaining significant traction with the fans despite the fact that itās edging close to canon territory if it isnāt canon already?
Well, one problem might be that Lanceās emotional energy has no bearing on Alluraās individual character development--and Alluraās emotional peaks have no bearing on Lanceās personal arc either (at least as far as it was established in early seasons and then left essentially unresolved).
Alluraās arc has, throughout the course of the show, centered on her ability to defeat her familyās foes, her grief for her lost people and planet, and her desire to follow in her fatherās footsteps as a leader and in the Altean traditions as well. None of this has much of anything to do with Lance. Her growth as a character occurs--with the exception of the single shining scene on Naxela--completely independently of Lance. She lets her fatherās memory go on her own in āCrystal Venom.ā She faces Zarkon head-to-head by herself after rescuing Shiro. Itās Shiro who stops her from over-working herself to aid the coalition, not Lance. Itās Keithās whose Galra blood forces her to re-examine and overcome some of her universal hatred for the Galra. Itās Lotor who helps her reach Oriande, and her own ingenuity that allows her to tame the White Lion and learn the secrets of Altean alchemy.
With the exception of the scene on Naxela where it was specifically Lanceās speech that motivated Allura to save the day, virtually all of her most charged emotions occurred elsewhere and with other characters, and thereās nothing in her personal goals--to be a strong leader, to revive her culture, to save the universe--that is intrinsically tied with Lance. He can encourage and aid her in those pursuits, but so can Shiro, Keith, Pidge, Hunk, and Coran. The role of fellow paladin and supporting ally isnāt unique to Lance. His interactions with her donāt fill a niche that drives her personal plot lines outside of the romance subplot.
And the same thing is true in reverse.
We get this nice scene of Allura encouraging Lance and helping him work on his insecurity... And then it is promptly never mentioned again. (Where did the sword go, guys? Where???) Lance gives up Blue to Allura and sheās almost immediately gifted at piloting the Blue Lion, while Lance is shown struggling with Red (once more in Keithās shadow) and still hadnāt, as of the end of season 6, seemed to have mastered it to the same extent as Keith. Itās Keith, Laika (an alien dog--not Allura guys, an alien dog) and the SPACE MICE that Lance expresses his insecurities to, and itās Coran who is there for Lanceās touching scene expressing his longing to return to Earth. Lanceās personal arc about growing into the paladin role and becoming a selfless person who puts the team before his own desire for glory once again occurs independently of Allura, with little to no interaction, and even fewer emotional high points between them, in the entire first half of the show.
For both of these characters, their āreal emotional energyā--their tension both positive and negative--occurs with other characters. The ābelievabilityā and energy of this ship is diminished by the fact that it simply isnāt the most well-written of character pairs in the series. The romance subplot isnāt organically tied to either of their personal plot lines, and the depth of their one-on-one interactions pales in comparison to their, particularly Lanceās, interactions with other characters.
But huh... would you look at that... When a potential romantic interest came along whose interactions with Allura were both directly tied to her personal arc, her central character motivations, and her emotional high points...
Isnāt it amazing how well it was received by the fandom--despite the fact that no one was really sure whether Lotor was evil or not? Now of course, Iām not going to ignore the fact that Lotura was probably helped along by leaving Keith, Lance, and Shiro free to ship elsewhere, but I donāt think the actual chemistry in the seriesā writing itself should be ignored.
There was significantly, significantly more tension and nuance to Allura and Lotorās interactions that any of Alluraās interactions with any of the other main cast, and their interactions operated not just in a romantic capacity, but also as a vehicle for Alluraās personal character growth:
The push and pull of these two characters and their scenes together sparked change in both of them, which augmented and increased the quality of their romantic arc while also furthering both of their own individual goals as characters.
The story painted them as equals with mutual interests, a shared interest in Altean culture, both victims (at least initially) of their parentsā war, both distrusting but ultimately lonely people who were longing for connection to, in Alluraās case, what had been lost, and in Lotorās case, what he theoretically had never been able to have (except the writers did him dirty so jk).
I just donāt think there are many people who would argue that Allurance--or Alluraās interactions with any other male character--have been written with near as much depth, engagement, and integration with her motivations as Lotor and Alluraās were. Their plot literally got more screen time one-on-one in a single seven episode season than Allura and Lance did in the 43+ other episodes...
And for the the short time that it lasted, this pairing was embraced by many fans. I might be biased because I immediately went out and followed every Lotura blog I could find, but to me it seems like it was well-liked and generally well-regarded among shippers until the colony reveal (and by many still after). I was very excited by the writing of this ship and definitely wanted something meaningful to come out of it. Part of the fandomās immense outrage at Lotorās reveal was, I think, linked to the fact that this ship had been so convincingly written into the series before it.
This, to me, is a perfect example of a situation in which the emotional exchange between two characters exceeds the strength and depth of their interactions with others, leading to immediate adoption and approval as a ship by the fandom. Where the real energy is, there are the shippers.
PHEW! Let me take a deep breath and come up for air. Thereās a lot going on here, but boiling it down to the basic point Iām trying to make, and which Iāll address in a lot more depth in the third and final part of this: the way that a story is written profoundly affects what ships will or will not become popular with fans. Shipping isnāt an unpredictable beast that grows completely independently of its source material. The ways writers craft interactions between their characters--and the places where they invest the most and infuse the most life--are powerful tools that impact how fans view and come to love seeing characters both separately and in romantic relationships.
To that end, while there are numerous reasons slash ships are popular and continue to grow in popularity, one reason that should be considered seriously by all creative writers--fanfiction authors or aspiring original novelists--is the notion that shipping often aligns with the core of a storyās or characterās emotional energy, the pairs with the highest tension, the electric pulse of the storyās most meaningful moments. Non-canon ships of any sexuality swell to mega-popularity when fans perceive more depth and significance in the interactions of characters outside the canon pair, when the emotional work of the story is happening somewhere outside the intentional romantic plot line. Sometimes this is fine. But more often, this is a bad sign for creators--a sign that youāve fumbled in the writing of your main romantic leads.
As writers, questions we rarely ask ourselves but often should are: āWhere is the core of the tension in my story? Whose interactions are deepest and most central to the development of my main character?ā
In other words: Where is the real emotional energy in my story?
In part 3 Iām going to provide one more excellent case-in-point, and then close out with a discussion of some take-aways for writers from all this that might help strengthen your romantic subplots, whatever your genre or whoever your characters.
Go on to Part 3 ->
#klance#sheith#allurance#lotura#voltron#voltron meta#voltron legendary defender#slash ships#het ships#writing advice#fanfiction writing advice#shipping#fandom meta#popular ships#writing romance#female characters#writing female characters#my poor ladies#all so mistreated#part two of the nerdiest essay ever written
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Yuletide 2019
dear yuletide writer,
hello and happy yuletide! this is my fifth year taking part and my longest letter yet so iām just going to jump right in. the suggestions are guidelines. if youāve got a great idea, go for it. i only ask that you steer clear of my dislikes.
feel free to go through my tumblr for each of these fandoms. i should have tags for them, tho your mileage may vary. i might even have more stuff on my side blog: here. likes:
dysfunctional relationships eg. codependency, messed up father/son dynamics, enemies to lovers, power imbalances.
found family
big loyalty kink. love it when trust is earned and kept.
praise kink
vulnerability in men
open and honest communication between partners
i love ot3s. itās the journey of them getting together and making it work that interests me the most. or how an established pair goes about bringing in a third person.
stories set in canon. or a divergence of canon.
dark/bleak fics. donāt be afraid to drag characters through the mud. happy endings are welcome but i like the struggle.
iām fine with anything from gen to porn but would be happiest with something in the middle. i love first times.
canon typical violence is fine and to be expected from some of my choices of fandoms.
detective stories/film noir
magical realism/cosmic horror. weird hints of it in an otherwise normal universe
redemption arcs
characters and relationships are more important than plot for me
dislikes:
AUs that are completely disconnected from canon e.g. coffee shop AUs.
established relationships
crossovers
genderbending
feminisation of male characters
fics that are entirely fluff
A/B/O fics
PWP
mpregĀ
scat/watersports
first person fics (i have no problem with second person fics tho if you think that could work. they really wow me when done well.)
The Departed (2006) *Billy Costigan Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā *Sean Dignam
one of my favourite films ever. i request it every year so you can't really go wrong with this as i am thirsty for anything. most of my love is for dignam and his tough love attitude towards his job and the undercovers he's responsible for. it's obvious he cares, i don't think you could do a job like that and not care, but those rare and few moments when he softens around billy --we need you, pal-- that's what i would like to see more of. i have written a couple of departed fics myself, centred around costigan/dignam, but in all honesty, i would be happy with anything involving them both. shipping is preferred but whatever you are comfortable with is fine. due to the nature of the film, i am perfectly comfortable with violence and the screwed up relationship they are bound to have. the friction born of the situation vs the fact that they need each other to get through this is what i am all about.
codependency, power imbalances and enemies to lovers tropes are abound here.
fics where billy lives are my usual go-to. the survivability of being shot in the head, that kind of stuff can be hand waved away in fic, and i'd love something that explores the angst of billy's āwhere the hell were you when i needed youā reaction towards dignam following that ending.
or a canon divergence fic with their totally antagonistic relationship being front and centre. i just ask that there be an underlying level of affection, no matter how buried. when billy is undercover, thereās a special kind of relationship that comes with dignam and queenan being the only people he can talk to.
something iāve never seen for this but would actually love: a time loop/groundhog day fic
Jurassic Park Original Trilogy (Movies)
*Sarah HardingĀ Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā *Ian Malcolm Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā *Nick Van Owen
i originally wasnāt going to ask for this again this year (i was lucky enough to get treated with a fic a couple of years ago) but then someone other than myself nominated nick van owen which surprised and delighted me and i figured why the hell not.
my passion here is the ot3 potential. i view these three in the same way i view the trio in the first film, meaning i see them as three people who have bonded over a traumatic experience and come out of it forever linked in some way. they spend the entire film looking out for each other and keeping each other safe, and they all separately take care of ianās daughter at one point and i am fascinated by this and how that could continue in the future. (in fact, i love stories where adults treat kids like adults, not talking down to themāsee any shane black film.) iām looking for an actual relationship between them but would be happy with anything that showcased a connection with every side of this triangle.
anything post-film with them dealing or not dealing with what happened would be amazing. there are quite a few fics based around this idea for the first filmās trio, iād love to see something like that for these three. (iāve always been kind of bitter about the way nick just disappears for the last act but ĀÆ\_(ć)_/ĀÆ thatās what fics are for, i guess.)
i donāt like the jurassic world films but iām fine with fics that take that future into account. a lot of the trauma for these characters comes from the idea that the parks still exist and continue to fuck people up.
Godless (TV 2017)
*Roy GoodeĀ Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā *Bill McNueĀ Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā *Alice Fletcher
iām a massive fan of westerns. the harsh way of life, the violence, the isolation, drawn out revenge plots, the murkiness of good vs evil or sheriff vs anti-hero, the importance of honour and heroism and how that differs for men and women, especially in this universe with its town full of widows. having said all that, iām still very much a sucker for cool cowboys in a shallow female way.
as youāve probably already gathered my favourite thing is turning every love triangle into an ot3. so iād love a fic post canon where roy comes back after realising found family is just as important as real family despite frankās influence. i imagine bill would try to do the gentlemanly/self depreciating thing of bowing out and letting roy and alice be together but iād love for alice to actually get a say in this where she wasnāt allowed in the show. however you jigsaw them together my main thing is that bill doesnāt get left out.
i feel the roy/bill aspect in particular could be explored a lot more. i love that they donāt hate each on sight. they learn mutual respect and then smoothly move around each other during the gunfight at the end. (billās deteriorating eyesight side plot also fascinates me, how it goes with his loss of purpose -ālosing his shadowā- and comes back when teaming up with roy to defend the town. maybe thereās a fic possibility where it flares up again due to his insecurity of roy coming between him and alice. either way, the hints of magical realism here and with frankās repeated insistence that heās seen his death and this aināt it are great and i wouldnāt mind seeing more of that.)
the usual ideas of western masculinity get all twisted around when roy and bill are in the presence of alice and they both seem kind of subby towards her, which yes please. the way alice kisses the scar she gave roy and the fact that he simply lets her is *chef kiss* because i also love the parallel that bill got shot in the hip trying to get revenge for alice. they all have scars that tie them together.
iām actually very okay with letting them be soft with each other after all of their tragedy.
honest communication between partners could work wonders here.
Barry (TV 2018)
*Barry BerkmanĀ Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā *Monroe Fuches
i expected to like this show. dark comedy, depressed hitman, henry winkler, itās a perfect combination of things. i didnāt expect to get obsessed with barryās obvious fucked up father-figure hangups. but hey ho, i was pleasantly surprised.
pretty much every one of barryās relationships in this show has an element of fucked-upness but the barry/fuches one is by far the worst. itās codependent, itās manipulative, itās a little abusive, the power is constantly flip-flopping and most importantly thereās the father/son dynamic that could so easily tip over into something sexual. itās everything i love. any time fuches calls barry āhis boyā it kills me. and i am fascinated by the way barry can go from needy and touch starved to a rampaging killer hunting fuches down by the end and still have that dynamic going strong.
the parallels between them and the barry/gene cousineau relationship, which is fucked up too just in a very different way, are great. love the jealousy it brings and i would even be into a fic set post the season 2 ending, if you could find a way to swing that. though, while i like a little darkness, i would still rather see them fall back into old unhealthy habits than kill each other.
any kind of prequel fic would be amazing too.
and just to be clear iām more than okay with a sexual relationship between these two but if you donāt want to write it thatās fine. Iād just like all the other aspects of their shitty relationship delved into.
L.A. Confidential (1997)
*Bud WhiteĀ Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā *Ed Exley
pretty much all of my bullet pointed likes come into play here. iāve nominated two characters but iād be happy with almost any combination of the characters available in the tagset as long as exley is involved in some way.
ships i like: bud/exley, Ā exley/vincennes, Ā bud/exley/lynn
but if we matched purely on both bud and exley then:
i love the opposites attract partnership bud and exley have and i like that they both seem angry at their attraction to each other. hate-sex with reluctant feelings? always good. i'd love anything that deals with their perceived difference in intellect and/or education. bud being turned-on by exley's smarts, exley realizing how much he's underestimated bud, them being mutually impressed by each other.
if you choose to go down the ot3 route then:
i love fics where exley shows up in arizona and they fall into weird domesticity. i love seeing how three people--especially three people who aren't used to the idea of poly relationships--work their way towards realizing and accepting what they want.
and while iām not sure what you could do with this knowledge, iād just like to add that iāve read the book and iām somewhat obsessed with the existence of dream-a-dreamland in general. if you could incorporate that in any way iād be hugely impressed.
POKEMON Detective Pikachu (2019)
*Harry GoodmanĀ Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā *Hide Yoshida
this is totally a last minute request that iāve edited in but is by no means less wanted than the others. i watched this film back when it came out and was honestly surprised by how much i enjoyed it. iām a massive pokemon fan and have been since i got my pokemon red when i was seven years old and, let me tell you, getting to see all those growlithes waddling about the real world was like a childhood dream come true.
i had a good time and i moved on.
a few days ago i stumbled on a piece of art : here : and it was like the little goblin that is my brain just sat up straight. the very concept of these characters together had never crossed my mind before that but then suddenly the desire for this just casually strolled through my entire headspace, turning on every light as it went.
i love detective stories, i love cop partnerships, i love hot single dads who happen to be cops with cute little pokemon cop partners. i love that harry is kind of a shitty father but heās now trying his best. i love that hide had nothing but praise and respect for harry when he meets with tim and that he knew things like tim wanting to be a pokemon trainer when he was younger (meaning he and harry had talked about stuff like this.) i love that hide inexplicably has a spare key to harryās apartment in his desk drawer. i love how absolutely certain hide was in saying harry loved his son more than anything in the world.
thereās history there is what iām saying, and iād love to know more about it.
anything set pre-film would be cool. loose cannon harry throwing his whole being into his job to deal with the loss of his wife and his fractured relationship with his son. hide the tired lieutenant trying to rein him in, quietly talking about tim together, keeping him grounded and safe. all up until he canāt, that is. (great angst potential with hide genuinely believing harry is dead.)
anything set post-film would be even better. harry struggling to find balance between being a father and a cop. probably doing a shitty job at it in the beginning. hide trying to help. would love for tim to be an actual presence (outsider POV could be amazing here.)
may sound strange but my favourite thing that used to happen in digimon a lot is when characters would interact with each other digimon partner. i would be massively into a fic about the two of them growing closer through each otherās pokemon partner.
thank you writer and best of luck.
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I'm greedy... all the questions for the ask meme
Iām sorry that this took so freaking long. Between thinking about my answers, work, school, and my laptop getting pased around, itās been hard to get it done lol. But thanks so much!Ā
I answered 6, 11, 25 here: http://lukesandwalker.tumblr.com/post/173277826118/6-11-25
And 30 here: http://lukesandwalker.tumblr.com/post/173275820343/i-would-like-30-please-because-i-live-to-see
But hereās the rest of them:
1: Top 3 heroes/protagonists
To narrow it down a little, iām going to consider this as meaning MAIN protagonists.
Luke Skywalker (Star Wars) (Surprise surprise) Iāve already gushed so much about why I love Luke so iāll keep it short this time. But I love that heās a male lead in a science fiction movie series heavily geared towards dudebros that defies so many of the toxic tropes that usually come with male leads in that genre. Lukeās journey is about refusing to succumb to the darkness even while people from both sides of the conflict are urging him to do so. And he ultimately wins via compassion and his belief of inherent goodness. Heās a male lead thatās ultimately led by his heart, which is so refreshing. I remember being so surprised by how much I loved him the first time I finally sat down and watched Star Wars.
Buffy Summers (Buffy: The Vampire Slayer) Buffy was one of the first female protagonists of a TV like BTVS that I was ever fully invested in and she was a good place to start. Buffy doesnāt fall into the typical trope of being emotion-free or hateful towards other women like so many people believe a ābadassā female character like her needs to be. Buffy loves and cares about her friends and family and even craves romance, and none of that detracts from the fact that sheās also the slayer and kicks ass. Sheāll always be one of my role models.
James Flint (Black Sails) Iāll admit that calling Flint a hero is a stretch sinceā¦heās done some bad things, but I couldnāt not include him in this. Heās such a rarityā¦I donāt know of any other lead protagonists that are like him. The writers could have easily made him the typical straight douchebag that are usually in shows like this (a la Jax Teller). But instead, heās a gay man with a lot of righteous anger towards the world for the unfairness of homophobic society. And heās NOT ashamed of being gay! One of his most iconic speeches is about refusing to apologize to England because in his mind, he did nothing wrong. And he has multiple profound relationships with women that do not boil down to him wanting to fuck them and are actually filled with respect. I justā¦.James Flint man. I could talk about him all day.
Honorable mention to Harry James Potter, who I love a lot as well.
2: Top 3 villains/antagonists
Azula (Avatar: The Last Airbender) One of the most complex and well written female villains ever. Sheās never redeemed, but she was still given enough genuine qualities and backstory to feel sympathy for her. But at the same timeā¦.sheās also just really twisted and awful at times. āDonāt flatter yourself. You were never even a player.ā How iconic??? (Also, the reason Zuko is not on this list is because I donāt really consider him a villain. At least not in the classic sense).
Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker (Star Wars) He scares the shit out of me and actually has enough of a story and background to be interesting. Kylo Ren who?
Cersei Lannister (ASOIAF/GOT) Such an evil bitchā¦.but once in a while, I find myself rooting for her lol. Sheās the only typical villain that I really love in ASOIAF though.
3: Top 3 supporting characters
(Oh godā¦.in no particular order. And iām not even 100% sure of these answers lol. And for this, iām assuming they just mean not the #1 main character.)
Bonnie Bennett (The Vampire Diaries) Ā I donāt talk about her much anymore because iām pretty much over TVD but she was the first character I ever stanned in a typical fandom way and therefor will always have a special place in my heart. Iāll be forever angry about how that demon show treated her.
Sansa Stark (ASOIAF/GOT) Iām not sure who would be considered the main character of ASOIAF. (I think Ned might have been the main character in the first book but after thatā¦.idk) but iām going to go on a limb and assume that Sansa would be considered a supporting character lol. I love my survivor wolf daughter who is underestimated but manages to outsmart everyone.
Max (Black Sails) I pretty much love all of the female characters in Black Sails but Max would have to be #1 for me. (Although Eleanor is a veeeeeery close second. And sometimes theyāre tied). I love how much of an enigma of a character she is. Sheās manipulative but also one of the most genuinely compassionate characters on the show. And she has one of the most profound overall arcs on the show imo. Alsoā¦.a lesbian icon.
Honorable mentions: Eleanor Guthrie (Black Sails), Tara Knowles (SOA), Arya Stark (GOT/ASOIAF), Michonne (TWD), Faith Lehane (BTVS), Leia Organa (Star Wars)
4: Top 3 background characters or side characters (Skipping this one because I honestly have no clue what to put lol)
5: Top 3 romantic relationships between characters
(Soā¦.iām only going to include relationships that are already explicitly romantic in canon. So that excludes ships like Zutara, Bamon, and Fuffy).
Max & Anne (Black Sails) My tender pirate lesbians. I love them so much
Chloe & Max (Life is Strange) The childhood best friends to lovers trope. Theyāll literally go to the ends of the earth for each other.
Ian & Mickey (Shameless) Siiiiiiigggggghhhhs. I hate Shameless.
7: Top 3 fictional families
The Starks (ASOIAF/GOT) Itās a hard life being a Stark stan butā¦I really do love my tragic wolf family so much. And I only hope that the surviving members of it can one day find some semblance of peace.
The Skywalkers Obviously not a traditional family, but I love my trashy dramatic space family. And iāll forever hate Disney for killing them. No Star Wars without Skywalkers imo.
The Weasleys (Harry Potter) Weasley stan forever and always. They took Harry under their wing as much as they were allowed to and probably would have adopted him if Dumbledore had let them. And they did all that even though they werenāt well off themselves.
8: Top 3 fictional parents
Ned & Catelyn Stark (ASOIAF/GOT) Ā (Although if iām being honest, mainly just Catelyn lol.)
Stef & Lena Adams-Foster (The Fosters) My beautiful lesbian moms
Jack & Emily Spier (Love, Simon) Going by the movie and not the book. But they were lovely
9: Top 3 fictional siblings
Luke & Leia (Star Wars) My beautiful space twins who absolutely adore each other
The Starklings (ASOIAF/GOT) And this includes several different combinations. Arya/Jon, Sansa/Arya, Sansa/Jon, Robb/Jon, Robb/Bran, ect.
The Gallagher siblings (Shameless): Theyāre trashy and downright awful to each other sometimes butā¦I still get the feels. My favorite pairs are Fiona/Lip, Ian/Lip, and Fiona/Carl.
Honorable mention to Damon/Stefan from TVD (Trash, trash, trash but stillā¦.feelings). And once upon a time Bellamy/Octavia would be on this list if I hadnāt stopped caring about The 100 lol.
10: Top 3 child characters
(Iām going to define this as meaning really little kids, not teenagers)
Lilo (Lilo & Stitch)
Rickon Stark (ASOIAF)
Boo (Monsterās Inc)
(I feel like I cheated my having 2/3 of them being Disney characters butā¦I donāt have a lot of child faves)
12: Top 3 fictional animals/pets
Appa & Momo (Avatar: The Last Airbender) (Theyāre both pretty prominent and sort of go together so iām counting them as one.)
Hedwig (Harry Potter) (RIP :( )
Ghost (ASOIAF/GOT) (Along with all of the direwolves tbh. Where is Ghost @GoT?????)
13: Top 3 fictional locations
Hogwarts (There are sooo many HP answers in this, I know. Even though I donāt like J.K R*wling anymore, I canāt erase the years iāve spent loving this series).
Ba Sing Se (Avatar: The Last Airbender) (Not so much because of the location itself but because some of the best and most intense episodes of ATLA took place in that location).
Winterfell (ASOIAF/GOT) (The origins of my wolf family :( Althoughā¦.my love for it probably stems more from the books now.)
14: Top 3 fictional gadgets/devices
The Skywalker Lightsaber (Star Wars) (RIPā¦..I hate Disney/Lucasfilm)
The Millennium Falcon (Star Wars) (Not really a device or gadget since itās a space ship butā¦.iām going to go ahead and count it anyway.)
The Marauderās Map (Harry Potter)
15: Top 3 character backstories
James Flint (Black Sails): I will never get over the fact that not only did they make their lead character on a violent TV show like this gay, but that they also made a lot of his motivations revolve around his sexuality and the loss of a man that he was in love with. Sometimes I wish I went into this show completely blind because the āFlint and Thomas reveal were in loveā reveal would have hurt and shocked me in the best way. Itās one of the biggest reasons why Black Sails is one of my favorite shows despite the issues I do have with it.
Zuko (ATLA): His backstory is really sad but his character wouldnāt have been the same without it. The two prominent episodes that showed his backstory (The Storm and Zuko Alone) are both in my top 5 ATLA episodes. It also makes his eventual happy ending seem even more rewarding.
Severus Snape (Harry Potter): Iām not a Snape apologist but iād be lying if I said that the reveal that he was a double agent against Voldemort the entire series didnāt fuck me up for months after I finished reading Deathly Hallows lol. I did not see it coming, I was so shocked.
16: Top 3 characters who die
Eleanor Guthrie (Black Sails) Sometimes I legit have to pretend that she didnāt die in order to fully enjoy my Black Sails experience tbh. My biconic queen deserved so much better :( Iāll die mad about it.
Poussey Washington (OITNB): Her death was the final nail in the coffin of me caring about that show. They killed her off when she was finally getting some semblance of happiness :(
Tara Knowles (Sons of Anarchy): All she wanted to do was protect her sons and she was rewarded for it by being brutally murdered by Gemma and being taken for granted by Jax for seasons. FOREVER BITTER
17: Top 3 non-human characters
Ahsoka Tano (Star Wars: The Clone Wars/Rebels)
Katherine Pierce (TVD)
Rebekah Mikaelson (TVD/TO)
(Lol I feel sort of wrong for including any TVD characters that arenāt Bonnie Bennett sinceā¦.I really donāt care about the majority of it anymore. But once upon a time I did love Katherine and Rebekah.
18: Top 3 fictional worlds/universes
The Avatar Universe/Four nations (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
The Wizarding World (Harry Potter)
The Star Wars universe (IDK what else itād be called lol)
19: Top 3 animated series
Avatar: The Last Airbender: Iāve loved this show since I was a kid and still love it immensely. Such a good show with a great plot and amazingly developed characters. The only thing that sucks about it is the majority of the canon romances lol)
Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Iām not a prequel hater butā¦.this show had soooo much better writing in terms of developing Anakinās character. Alsoā¦.Ahsoka Tano! And the tragic friendship between the two of them will forever make me emo.
And I think the third would just be comprised of some of the cartoons I liked as a kid. Hey Arnold!, Rugrats, Kim Possible, American Dragon, Spongebob, The Wild Thornberries, and ect.
20: Top 3 live-action series
Black Sails
Buffy: The Vampire Slayer
How I Met Your Mother (even though that god awful finale ruined it for me for a long time)
21: Top 3 animated movies
(Ooooooh boy. The only one iām 100% sure of it the first one. And yes, I know iām cliche for it lol)
The Lion King (Disney)
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (Dreamworks) This movie is sooooo underrated
Anastasia (Idk the studio that made itā¦but I know itās a Don Bluth movie)
22. Top 3 live-action movies
(Again, not completely sure of my answers hereā¦.there are a lot of movies that I love)
Love, Simon God this movie was so gpoy
The Parent Trap (1998)
Juno
23: Top 3 books
The Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling: Siiiiiiiggghhs
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
The Abyss Surrounds Us by Emily Skrutskie Evvvvvveeerrryone should read this book! It has such a good f/f slow-burn romance.
Honorable mentions: The Storyteller by Jodi Piccoult, The Darkest Powers series by Kelly Armstrong, The Outsiders by S.E Hinton, A Song of Ice and Fire series by G.R.R Martin
24: Top 3 comics/webcomics
Top 3 obscure series/movies/books I recommend
Idk I donāt think I have any answers for this one either? Most of the stuff iām really into is at least kind of known.
27: Top 3 musicals or plays
The only musical iāve seen in person so far has been The Lion King. But it was fantastic. I also watched all of the A Very Potter Musical plays on YouTube if that counts.
28: Top 3 songs from musicals
Iām going to go by musical movies for some of these.
Breaking Free (High School Musical) (Lol)
Summer Nights (Grease)
Defying Gravity (Wicked) (This one is actually from a musical. I listened to it on YouTube and loved it).
29: Top 3 funny moments in fiction
1.That scene in Prisoner of Azkaban when Ron used a phone for the first time to call Harry over the summer and ended up screaming into the phone when Vernon answered it lol. (Harry Potter)
2. Katara: Youāve been hallucinating on cactus juice all day, and now you lick something you find stuck to a wall of a cave?!
Sokka: I have a natural curiosity (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
3. All of the Catherine and Henry scenes in that one episode of Regin when Henry accidentally killed that noble lady and they were trying to cover it up. (Reign)
31: Top 3 heartwarming moments in fiction
1. Sansa and Jonās reunion (Game of Thrones)
The only good Stark reunion on the show so far (Sansa and Arya were cute until they ruined it with that bullshit storyline). It has everything. The slow approach after they first see each other, the initial shock slowly melting away as they leap into a hug, all while the Stark theme plays in the background. I have hopes that all the Starks will get better reunions in the books but until thenā¦.I truly do love this scene.
2. Zuko and Irohās reunion (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
This scene makes me emotionalā¦.pretty much every time I watch it. Zuko approaches Iroh cautiously out of a shame for his betrayal of him and because heās positive that Iroh is going to be furious with him and reluctant to forgive. But then he doesnāt even have to fully finish his apology before Iroh is pulling him into a hug. Itās the unconditional love that he never got from his biological father.
3. Flint and Thomasā reunion (Black Sails)
The fact that the very last shot of James Flint was him reuniting with the man he loved after ten years of believing him to be dead is something that I will never forget.Ā
(I realize that all of these moments are reunions butā¦.ohhhh well.)
32: Top 3 scary moments in fiction
I canāt really think of too many scary moments because I donāt watch a lot of horrorĀ stuff. Iām sure if I thought deeply about it I could come up with stuff from shows like The Walking Dead or Hemlock Grove but since itās been so long since iāve watched either of those shows, my mind is coming up blank.
But I will sayā¦that scene where Matilda and Miss Honey were trying to escape Trunchbullās house always used to scare me as a kid lol.
33: Top 3 awesome moments in fiction
(Another one where iām very unsure of my answers because there are a lot of awesome moments in fiction that I love. But iām just going to list the ones that come to mind first.)
1. Zuko leaves the Fire Nation and tells off Ozai (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
For so long, all I wanted was for you to love me, to accept me. I thought it was my honor I wanted, but really, I was just trying to please you. You, my father, who banished me just for talking out of turn. My father, who challenged me, a thirteen-year-old boy, to an Agni Kai. How could you possibly justify a duel with a child?
The scene goes on longer than that but iām not going to post the full transcript for the sake of not making it insanely long. But I loved it because it was a full display of how far Zuko had come in his character development. And he finally, after almost the full duration of the series, came to fully understand that his abuse wasnāt his fault. And got to fully confront his abuser. I justā¦this scene is so important.Ā
2. Maxās speech to Anne in 4x08 (Black Sails)Ā
I remember when I first met Eleanor, how stunned I was. A woman who spoke the way she did, who had no fear of the world or the men who reigned over it.mWhen I became her lover, I watched the decisions she made and resolved to learn from them. When I became her rival, I watched the mistakes she made and resolved never to repeat them. But at the end, when I felt I had surpassed her in every way, it seemed as though there was something she was still trying to say to me. Surrendering everything she had sacrificed so dearly for, because it would have come at the expense of the one she loved. She was trying to tell me, I just could not hear her, about what is truly important. I said no to Marion Guthrieās plan, despite having no alternative and at the risk of losing the entire endeavor, because I refuse to situate a man in a position where he might interfere one day with my ability to repair things with you.Ā You are the bravest person I have ever known. The truest person I have ever known. And I betrayed you and it sickens me. Iām so sorry for trying so hard to protect the wrong things. For failing to see that there is nothing important that does not include you.
Iāll always be upset that Eleanor died and that this was the last Maxanne scenes of the series (side-eyes the finale) but I will forever love this scene because it represents so much about what I love about the Maxanne and Maxanor relationships. The fact that Max, a lesbian character, had her arc and development throughout the show so beautifully shaped by her relationships with two women (both of whom were her lovers at some point) will forever make me emotional.Ā
3. Luke refuses to fall to the dark side (Star Wars)
Never. Iāll never turn to the Dark Side. You have failed, Your Highness. I am a Jedi, like my father before me.
Iāve already talked at length about why I love this scene so I wonāt go into it too much. But it represents everything I love about Lukeās character. The ending of his journey is not the typical violent fest that most male protagonists in this genre end with it, itās refusing to fall into the same trap that Palpatine had lured Anakin into years before. I justā¦freaking love Luke Skywalker.Ā
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hi~ i read your about page where you said you might write up your reasons for not liking some ft ships like the whole debate with fraxus/miraxus & chendy/rowen but i couldn't find anything on it on your blog so i wondered what were your thoughts on that? i know there's fandom arguments about homophobia and crackshipping there too. iām a multishipper but i really like your anti posts for naruto so i thought if you had any ft ones then they might be as good! ļæ½
Thank you! Iām really glad youthat like my Naruto posts. Theyāre pretty controversial, so nice commentsare always appreciated! š
Dude, I havenāt updatedbyĀ āaboutā page in months,Ā so doing that write-up completely passedmy mindā¦ Thanks for being interested though! I guess Iāll spill:
Right, this might be quitecontroversial, so remember that any opinions expressed are justĀ personalpreferences/reasons, okay? ā ļø
Like I said on my page, āIhave a āmanga > animeā complex thanks to Studio Pierrot, so I only readFT. I wanted to avoid filler brainwashing, bias and only know of canon withthis series, after the mess with Narutoā¦ā Therefore, I only really ship thatwhich I believe is substantially depicted/suggested in canon, and kind of havea bit of a pet peeve for anything outside of that.[ #1 justificationdisclaimer!Ā ]
( 1 ) Mir/axus [ &Fraxus ]
So I was genuinelysurprised that Mir/axus was even a thing when I started searching the fandomās tag,Ā onceIādĀ caught up. I donāt know if theyāve been implied in filler, but theywere non-existent as a romantic pair in the manga. Honestly, theyhardly had any on-panel interactionā¦ Like, the only evidence that came tomind forĀ ālogicalāĀ reasoning behind them was chapter 380ās cover art.(Maybe 329ās,Ā at a push.) I even tried to find somesupposedĀ āmomentsā under their Wikia page, but that listed was merelyscarceĀ interaction with no romantic subtext; each synopsis was pretty muchgrasping for straws.
Hereās the thingĀ āyouĀ mentioned the fandom discourse ofĀ āhomophobicāĀ accusations,right? Now, I too hate when shippers (in any fandom) cry thatĀ simplybecause othersĀ donātĀ ship a queer pairing. Like, cāmon.Ā But, inthis case (and Wendyās), I must admit thatĀ I do find it somewhatrelevantā¦ Idk if this shipās popularity (and, more so, acceptance alongsidethe actual semi-canon pairs) isĀ because most have been influenced byexternal material or if itās just because thereās no other member of the opposite sex that theyāreĀ paired with,Ā but Fraxus was actually suggested in canon; emphaticallyfrom Freedās point of view! Even on Laxusā side, numerous chapters have moments thatĀ ā hereāsĀ the thing āĀ anyone would undeniablyaccept if either Freed or Laxus were female*.
[ My earlier volumes are enclosed in my bookcase, but I have 49Ā āĀ 57 (AvatarĀ ā Alvarez) on-handĀ beside my bed, so I skimmed through to find (max.) five pages to evidence Laxusā P.O.V. ācause this post will already be long enough.Ā ]
Chapter 416:Ā āAt this rate, I wonāt be able to protect whatās important to me.ā
Itās also worth noting that theĀ official tankÅbon/volume translation of this reads:Ā āIām not strong enough to protect the people I love yet.ā
Chapter 460.
Chapter 462:Ā āBut that aināt important now. All Iāve got on my mindā¦ Is bringing the pain to the bastard who took out Freed and the others.ā
Chapter 472:Ā āSo youāre the one who did a number on Freed and the others?ā
Chapter 473:Ā āThanks a lot, Freedā¦ Thereās no wizard that could break your spellsā¦ā
*Thatās the key considerationĀ āĀ that if you were to replace eitherās gender for that of the opposite sex, it changes how these scenes are perceived.Ā TheseĀ panels, forĀ example, are dismissed by those who oppose Fraxus, butĀ they would be regarded as āship momentsā and a validation of Laxusā affection if you were to replace Freedās name in the dialogue and/or presence in the panels with a female (Mira)!
Thatās why I can kind ofunderstand these claims,Ā ācause the existence and general fandomacceptance of these ships is very heteronormative in that respect (i.e.ignoring present queer pairings for heterosexual ācrack-shipsā) whichĀ makes it kind of discriminatory; reminiscent of homophobia perhaps. Although, I agree that term is a little extreme, as it doesnāt seemĀ intentionally prejudiced.Ā And whilst Freed is emphatically portrayed as queer, Laxusā sexualityis a little more implicit, yet he is assumedĀ straight by defaultā¦Ā Itāsironic/hypocritical becauseĀ the majority of ships across all fandoms are typically founded upon onecharacterās feelings, whilst neither Mira nor Laxus have shown said romanticinterest in each-other.
( 2 ) Ro/Wen [ &Chendy ]
Again, I hate Ro/Wen dueto a similar reasoning. Finding out that they even existed as a ship wasbaffling, tbh! I mean, at least Mir/axus had the cover as some rationale,but Ro/Wen is based solely on them being the same ageā¦ Talk aboutheteronormative? Also, technically, thatās an incorrect claim, due to the sevenyear time-skip in which she remained frozen. Like,Ā sheāsĀ actually thesame age as Sting & Rogue. But you donāt find her forced with them. Why,because theyāre older and thatāsĀ frowned upon? You know, despite the samepremise applying to Ro/Wen; since Romeo was half Wendyās age when she wasintroduced (6 & 12).
The ship canāt even besupported with evidence,Ā since theyĀ had no significant canoninteraction until the Alvarez Arc. Their only other contact was in an omake.YetĀ their age difference is evident in both; dismissing any reach atromantic subtext. In the omake, Romeo refers to Wendy asĀ ānee[-chan]ā.Similarly, sheĀ is presented comforting him like a child in their limitedĀ Alvarez panels, with him lookingup to her as that same sister figure.Ā I have seen some of these shippers disregard Chendy asbeingĀ āplatonicā,Ā when Romeo and WendyāsĀ dynamic isactuallyĀ ā canonically and strictlyĀ ā such.
Chendy, however, do have asubstantial, visibly and literally present, mutual bond. They have extensive,plentiful interaction, as well as actually present romanticsubtextā¦ I know that it may be difficult for (I guess) anyone outside of theLGBT+ communityĀ or a trulyĀ āopenā oneĀ to understand, due to ourheteronormative societyĀ ā as Chendy are often disregarded asĀ ājustfriendsā (š)Ā ā but many of theirmoments transcendĀ platonic affection and bear intense likeness to theother romantic pairsā depictions. For example,Ā they are also featuredalongside the semi-canon couples in art-work, like Mashimaās couple sketches onTwitter.
Not to mention thatfriendship is the foundation of any healthy, romantic relationship! Of coursetheyāre going to be best friends before engaging in such, particularly in thecase of same-sex pairs.Ā Yet no-one uses thisĀ dialogue (of labellingeach-other as āfriendsā)Ā against NaLu,Ā despite them stating the otheras that same description on numerous occasions. But despite the justification mentioned above,Chendy are still dismissed.Ā Again, if either were the male, it would be a completely different situationā¦Ā I mean,Ā since people shipcharacters based solely on covers and all ā chapter 421ās cover (amongothers)?
Summary:
Obviously thereās nothingwrong with crack-shipping! And, no, not liking a queer pair [more than astraight one] doesnāt make you āhomophobicā. But ā in the case ofFraxus š Mir/axus& Chendy š Ro/Wen āI think that there is something kind of messed up with arrogantly defying acharacterās canon depicted/suggested sexuality and/or romantic interest(s).There is something somewhat discriminatory about disregarding theirother prevalent, significant and actually developed bonds, to the extent that someoneāsheteronormativity is so severe that they substitute a same-sex character foran irrelevant one of the opposite sex, who does not even have decentinteraction with the character in question; fabricated entirely from theridiculous, inaccurate [R/W] rationale of them being āthe same ageā or merelysharing a chapter cover.
That sounds much harsherthan IĀ intended, Iām so sorry! Btw, I donāt blame shippersĀ āeveryoneĀ is (obviously) allowed to ship what they want! WhatāsĀ stated above issimply why Iām against Mir/axus and Ro/Wen, especially as an avidsupporter of the LGBTQ+ community, a bisexual myself and a university scholar who has studied/written about this field.
[ Iāve updated byĀ āaboutā page now too, btw! ]
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