#not anti-tagging or tagging the women. don’t want to piss anyone off

[sasukedivorce]

i understand why most sns shippers want to ignore sasusaku and naruhina and thats completely valid but i kinda love thinking of sns in that context. like. what if you have been in love with your best friend forever and your soul is intertwined with his but for various reasons (which could be its own essay) you could never be together so you have to marry a woman who you aren’t remotely in love with so you have to yearn for eachother from a distance or have an illicit affair knowing you will never get what you want. thats some fascinating stuff. prestige tv/critically acclaimed gay indie movie/award winning novel type shit. from a shitty shounen sequel series btw. i’m incredibly normal before you ask.

[historicity-was-already-taken]

to new followers:

This is a history blog. When I comment on current events and politics, it will always be because historical context etc is necessary for a nuanced understanding of the issue at stake.

I am not here to validate anyone’s political views, or make people feel comfy and secure about their ideologies. If something I post makes you mad enough that you feel the need to derail with shit like “Russians hate Jews too why don’t you talk about THAT instead,” or “ummm bitch all genocides are equally awful the Holodomor is like the Holocaust is like all genocide,” then this is not the blog for you; or maybe it will be once you’re ready to bounce back from your cognitive dissonance temper tantrum.

You can (and should!) disagree with me/let me know if you think I’m wrong, but here’s the catch: I’m not going to engage with people who aren’t interested in having a mature, mutually respectful exchange. And yes you can do this even when you’re righteously indignant! If you’re very clearly posting/engaging because you can’t deal with how stupid I am and you want the world to know that I’m a dumbass, you do you, but I won’t engage with you, and I’ll probably block you. Like, I don’t need to see that shit.

That said, this is an anti-racist blog. If you’re calling me out on an expression of privileged, or problematic behavior, I don’t expect you to be nice or respectful or wear kid gloves with me. I did something to cause you pain, and it’s not on you to make your response comfy for me. You don’t owe me that, and I’m grateful that you took the time to call me out in the first place. It’s happened before on this blog, and while I still have White Guilt [tm] over the fact that my words hurt a segment of my readers, I’m very grateful to the person who pointed it out.

You should unfollow if: you sneer at anyone and everyone who doesn’t use Marxism as a lens of analysis for literally everything; you’re a transphobe; you don’t like confident, intelligent women; you’re an anti-Semite; you’re a left leaning person who thinks coded anti-Semitism is a valid and appropriate way to advocate for the civil and human rights of Palestinian civilians; you’re generally any other kind of bigot; you haven’t learned how to deal with cognitive dissonance temper tantrums like an adult.

I can see all the tags left on my post in reblogs, and I will comment on them directly in public if I want to. If you don’t want me to see or engage with them, then either block me, or copy and paste the post into a new one instead of reblogging. If you send me a question you want answered privately, please make that abundantly clear. 

Finally, if we’re beefing, or like, if my response to you as posted in this space is pretty clearly pissed off, and people start to send you shitty messages out of a misplaced sense of defending me, PLEASE let me know. Cyber bullying is fucked up and I’m not down for anyone being harassed...unless you’re engaging in hate speech. If you’re engaging in hate speech I don’t care if people harass you.

[betelguwuse]

I’m starting to think maybe I don’t want to get married. Hypothetically I’d love to be in a godly marriage with a man who respects me and sees me as the person that God does (and not only me but women as a whole), but realistically do christian men like that even exist? Mainstream christianity, especially gender discourse, is so watered down and twisted into something that’s more political than biblical. I feel like this is gonna piss off both the christians and feminists, even though I’m both (though some might say I’m not a real feminist, whatever idc lol). Might also tag as Side B because I feel like this is also maybe a Side B mood? But here goes.

Color coded by vague topic, bolded so it’s easier to read.

Like I recently heard of a pastor being criticized for saying it’s a woman’s duty to look good for her husband, and the boomer conservatives were acting like criticisms of this pastor was the end of christianity. There’s no way “looking good” in a biblical sense was anything more than basic hygiene, nowhere near the beauty standards of today; and that is if the idea of looking good for your husband is even in the bible. These people siding with the pastor were saying that any woman who doesn’t shave or hide her “flaws” with makeup or basically completely embody the tradwife meme are bad wives. Like what the literal hell.

Honestly the entire tradwife aesthetic seems to be the goal for a lot of young christian couples, when it’s not inherently biblical. I used to be into it myself because heck yeah staying home, housekeeping, taking care of children, and wearing cute flowery dresses sounds like a dream. But my goals aren’t universal! Some women don’t want kids. Some women want to work. Good and God-honoring women of the bible didn’t all have kids and stay home. I mean the timeline of the bible spans so long, so yeah maybe there were times when most women did. But that doesn’t mean women who didn’t were bad wives or lesser women. Not to mention there’s such a blurred line currently between cute tradwife lifestyle and creeps who fetishize the idea of a traditional (and by traditional they mean submissive) wife. Gross.

Another thing too many christian men do is say women can’t be in any position of power in the church. There is the whole specific issue of whether or not women should be the highest up actual pastor of the church, and I don’t know enough about that whole debate to validate or debunk it, but I’m not talking about that specifically here. Aside from that one position, a lot of christians think women can only teach other women and girls but not guys, even like literal child boys. That’s so weird, like imagine thinking a little boy has more authority than, or even equal to, a grown woman? Couldn’t be me. And this whole idea comes from an out of context “I do not permit women to speak in the church” from a regular human guy. And the reason he said this was that the women around him were spreading heresy. I still think it’s flawed logic to exclude all women from speaking in that situation just because most of them were wrong, but again, this wasn’t a command from God. This was just a guy recording his church experience and doing his flawed human best to manage it. Various women throughout the actual bible outside of this one leader’s timeline held positions of power in various churches. And modern day american christian men think biblical womanhood is all about subservience? Bro what bible are you reading?

I just want to make it clear that these are all just generalizations, but having been in various actual biblical communities and conservative christian communities, I can kinda pick up on the general sexist behaviors of the latter. But unfortunately in today’s political climate more and more young christians are only being exposed to political opinions that are surface level americanized good christian morals, but not actually biblical.

Even on top of that, even if a man knows of these biblical misconceptions, we live in a society. Like we’re constantly exposed to women’s sexualization, and it’s pretty impossible to escape that. I don’t want to spend my life with someone who’s grown up in a world where women are seen as weak, objects, pleasure machines, etc. And yeah we can unlearn these biases (honestly I hate the word unlearn but I can’t think of a substitute rn), but it feels like a hassle to casually figure out whether a guy can make an effort to understand what women go through, and if I were to just bring it up I’d scare them away. And that’s not to say I’m some perfect person who’s never sexualized men, we are all sinners after all and we live in a fallen world etc etc. But a whole society where women are so objectified that it’s normal for little boys to be watching porn, that just doesn’t really happen with little girls. I can’t speak for all women, but when I started seeing men sexually it was in my late teens when I realized like ‘oh I can sexualize men too? wild. ok I’m an adult lemme check it out’. Still sinful, but not ingrained in me from porn ads as a kid the way most young boys have been since like the creation of the internet.

Even the men currently in my life who genuinely want what’s best for me are so incredibly misogynistic it’s baffling. My male family members see any woman who breaks an imaginary dress code or ideology is some kind of deviant. I just want to make it clear that this is MY family and I’M the only one who gets to complain about them. We all love each other here even if the males are horribly wrong.

So I shaved my head for halloween and my dad could barely look at me, not because he was exactly mad or anything but just because I looked ugly to him. He always says ‘close the windows in your apartment because men will spy on you changing’ but after my hair was gone he was all ‘actually don’t bother because nobody will look at you looking like that’ like wow I wasn’t aware men only sexualized women for their hair. Like you really think a gross creeper is gonna be turned off by a fully naked oblivious vulnerable woman just because she’s bald? That’s not how any of this works. And just today my sister was watching a goth youtuber egirl or something, I didn’t see her makeup but my dad said stuff like ‘ew why does she look like that, maybe it’d be cool as a costume but how is she going to get a job’. Like, I’m not one to go ‘women don’t wear makeup for men’ (because most women who only use makeup to hide their insecurities and follow beauty standards very much just do it so they don’t get backlash from others, if not directly to please men), but when it’s a fun crazy look that’s not meant to be pretty, I’m all for that shit and generally I hate when men lose respect for a woman just for wearing something they don’t like. Like fashion isn’t real and your appearance should be as costumey or weird as you want without people losing respect for you. Also like...do men know that makeup isn’t permanent?? Like if she wanted a job that required no makeup she could easily wipe her face off and get one?? Not only that, but people can work from home and/or be self employed. Maybe youtube itself was this girl’s job. Who the hell cares man. And the worst thing here is my brother outright said one time “the root cause of feminism is pride”. B r u h. And this was back when I considered myself an anti-feminist, even then I knew that feminism started for good reason and I was absolutely furious. I think I kept it to myself like a coward lol, but if anyone said that to me now I’d tear them apart. In a debate I mean, not like literal violence.

Tldr: I’m not trying to say men are inherently more evil because there’s evil in everyone, but the way it takes shape in men in most societies is so insidious and inescapable. I love my family and guy friends, but I don’t want to deal with one in a romantic/sexual relationship because I don’t know if even the most educated and goodest christian boi in this world can see me as a true equal. It sucks because I want sex and children, but when the mainstream idea of hetero sex is female submission, it just makes me shrivel up and contemplate becoming a nun. I’m not even catholic. But even nuns are sexualized and degraded in coomer’s disgusting brains. In conclusion I’m going feral and starting my own woman-only church in the woods let’s go ladies.

[hellsbellschime]

“the reality is that most people in Westeros don’t want a Targaryen king or queen and they never did.” you sure about that, hun? because text suggest otherwise, but go off i guess.

“When Queen Visenya placed a Valyrian steel circlet, studded with rubies, on her brother's head and Queen Rhaenys hailed him as, "Aegon, First of His Name, King of All Westeros, and Shield of His People," the dragons roared and the lords and knights sent up a cheer...but the smallfolk, the fisherman and field hands and goodwives, shouted loudest of all.” -the world of ice and fire

“He (jaehaerys i) was nine-and-sixty at his death, and had ruled wisely and well for five-and-fifty years. Westeros mourned, and it was claimed that even in Dorne men wept and women tore their garments in lament for a king who had been so just and good.”-the world of ice and fire

“. . . elsewise, we bow only to our own lords, and the king. The true king, not Robert and his ilk." He spat. "There was Crabbs and Brunes and Boggses with Prince Rhaegar on the Trident, and in the Kingsguard too. A Hardy, a Cave, a Pyne, and three Crabbs, Clement and Rupert and Clarence the Short. Six foot tall, he was, but short compared to the real Ser Clarence. We're all good dragon men, up Crackclaw way."”-a feast for crows, brienne iv

“"It's a sin and a shame," an old man hissed. "When the old king was still alive, he'd not have stood for this."

"King Robert?" Arya asked, forgetting herself.

"King Aerys, gods grace him," the old man said, too loudly.”-a clash of kings, arya vi

“Viewing stands had been raised beneath the walls of Lannisport, and the cheers of the smallfolk had echoed off Casterly Rock like rolling thunder. They cheered Father twice as loudly as they cheered the king, the queen recalled, but only half as loudly as they cheered Prince Rhaegar.”-a feast for crows, cersei v

“The Targaryen dynasty had produced kings both bad and good, but none as beloved as Baelor, that pious gentle septon-king who loved the smallfolk and the gods in equal parts...”-a dance with dragons, cersei ii

there are numerous more instances where we are told targaryen rule was good for westeros, especially for the smallfolk, these are only the ones that come at top of my head rn. of course there were bad kings, like there are bad lords in every houses’ history. but overall they were and still are very much loved by the common people and did much good for the realm. so keep dreaming hun, the superior house has a book (and another one on the way) and a side novella written about them❤️

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

LOL I mean there’s no need to be quite this rude and condescending, perhaps we just have different perspectives and that’s fine, but... is anyone even left alive who remembers a Targaryen king besides the Mad King? And putting that aside, like I get you likely saw something I said in the anti-Dany tag and are super pissed because Dany is destined to be the greatest queen who ever lived, but GRRM’s analogies and metaphors aren’t exactly subtle. He’s an explicitly anti-war and anti-interventionist writer who made House Targaryen and Daenerys in particular into interventionist warlords who solely rule because of the threat of WMDs that only they possess, so it’s fine if you stan but clearly these characters were not created to be idealized.

 And to be honest, I’m really disturbed by this line of thinking. The idea that invading a group of relatively peaceful countries, forcing them to become one country, and making yourself the ruler over it is justifiable under any circumstance is really not the life lesson I think GRRM was trying to teach the world with ASOIAF. Obviously point of view is a huge element of the story, but what I find strange is that you’re citing quotes about characters who have done objectively bad things. The whole point here is that GRRM is trying to teach the readers that perspective can drastically differ from reality, and regardless of who liked people like Visenya, Baelor, or Rhaegar, the fact is that they did things that were objectively wrong and had very serious and deadly consequences for the realm. Sure, people were cheering Rhaegar when he was the last dragon, but were they still cheering when instead of stopping the Mad King he absconded with a highborn teenager and abandoned his wife and kingdom to illegally marry and impregnate her? Baelor is known as the blessed, but was he helping the Seven Kingdoms when he starved himself to death? And most importantly, do you think that the people of Westeros are going to be cheering for Queen Daenerys when she commits mass genocide in King’s Landing? 

Honestly there is absolutely nothing wrong with loving certain characters and certain houses, but I mean this sincerely, if you’re solely looking for certain houses or characters to be the one dimensional beloved heroes and you’re ignoring every obvious flaw that GRRM is putting in the subtext, then you’re missing an enormous part of what makes ASOIAF such an amazing read.

[miggydiaz]

for the salty ask: 3, 7, 10, 11, 15, 16, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 27 for spn

I had to do this one today because I have a LOT of Supernatural feelings and so a lot of these are even longer than my CK one. But thanks for the ask @wonderwolfballoon!

UNPOPULAR SUPERNATURAL OPINIONS AHOY: INCLUDES ANTI-DESTIEL SENTIMENTS AND OTHER UNSAVORY ELEMENTS

3. Have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion? 100000000% I have unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion in the SPN fandom. SPN was the fandom that taught me to make JUDICIOUS use of the blocking feature tumblr offers in order to curate my experience. I would actually encourage anyone and everyone to use the blocking feature if they disagree with people. Honestly, we don’t owe anyone our time or energy, especially on the internet! It is much healthier than sending or responding to hate, IMO. 7. Is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now?* This is actually a hard one for me to answer, so let me start by saying -- I have not seen a SINGLE episode since 9x05? I think? Whichever episode was the Dr. Deanlittle one where he talks to animals. I just couldn’t do it anymore. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the first 5 seasons, and they are all I watch anymore and I pretend nothing else exists after that (except The French Mistake because that episode is hilarious). But uh... I guess the simple answer is when I was originally watching it, I really loved Dean. He was brash, snarky, rough around the edges... but kind of soft in a I’m too toxically masculine to deal with my softness sort of way that I love seeing characters grow out of as they mature. But when I go back and rewatch now, much older than I was in 2006 when I first started watching, I see how awful a lot of his older behavior truly was. I still love Dean, and I will be a Dean girl until I die probably, but sometimes you gotta remind yourself that your faves have been problematic in the past so you don’t put them up on fandom constructed pedestals.

10. Most disliked arc? Why? AND AS A BONUS, MY ANSWER to 11. Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why? I could write a literal essay about all of the problems I have with the later seasons (the ones I watched, which encompasses 6, 7, 8, and a few episodes of 9). But by far and away, the thing I hated most, was the Men of Letters.

Okay, this is where I am going to recognize my love of certain characters is at FUNDAMENTAL ODDS with how that character develops later and what history and background we get later on them. I RECOGNIZE this character is problematic, and I would NEVER STAND for his shit IRL, but fiction is complicated and nuanced, and fantastic circumstances do not make for normal behaviors. That being said, with all warnings I could possibly give, and with the full understanding that what I am about to say is basically fandom blasphemy of the highest order...

I like John Winchester’s character.

I know, I know. If you wanna stop reading and block me now, you are free to do that. I will not hold it against you. I am not about to apologize for anything he has done. I just need to contextualize why I have such an issue with the MOL storyline and it starts with the simple fact that I liked John Winchester as he was originally presented.

To me, and with the full understanding that I am answering this from the perspective of someone who DOES NOT regard anything past season 5 as personal canon, John Winchester is the perfect example of a truly complicated character. Here’s a parent who, if we take the pilot and the original s2 Djinn episodes at face value, could have been a great parent, who then got shoved into a fantastically impossible situation and made terrible choices that he thought were necessary in order to keep himself and his sons safe. That does not EXCUSE the heaps of abuse that he piled onto Dean in any way. We know John and Mary didn’t have a great marriage. But we also know from the pilot that John was at least a caring and present father, mostly,  for the 4 years he got to parent in a normal world, and that if Mary had lived, John would’ve been a softball playing dad who raised his kids and had a loving marriage with his wife. (Again, I need to reiterate, I did not watch anything past the early episodes of s9. If there is later canon that negates this, I do not know about it, nor do I want to because I don’t think of anything past 5 as canon) This is all important to me because these things emphasize that John was “NORMAL”. He was a mechanic, from a family of mechanics, whose father didn’t bail on him (a man in the episode where Dean is transported back in time to Lawrence tells John to ‘say hi to your old man for me’ or something to that effect). He was just a midwestern dude. Giving John Winchester a fantastical background through this Men of Letters bullshit made me SO MAD. First of all, I hate when later canon negates previous canon. I cannon TELL you how much I hate it. And the later seasons of Supernatural are riddled with stuff that doesn’t make any damn sense in the context of original, Kripke written canon, which is exactly why I stopped watching. That’s not ~Evolution of the show.~ That’s conveniently forgetting stuff that made your show and its premise so successful to begin with in order to keep filming episodes so you can keep making money. It’s the sacrifice of art for capitalism and yes I know this is a stupid TV show but as a writer myself it PISSES ME OFF.

/rant

ALSO, the idea that this toxically masculine family was set on this path by Heaven, and inherited this curse that put them on this path from their mother was such a good plot twist in its heyday. We spent four seasons thinking of Mary Winchester as a victim of circumstance, whose fate could not have been avoided because she was the mother to Sam, who is effectively cursed. And then, we learn that its BECAUSE of Mary that this ball even got rolling in the first place. IDK if you were around for that time in the fandom but at least in my circle, this was a big fucking deal. There had been so much (rightful) discourse about John before this, and what kind of parent he was, that Mary became almost deified in the same way Dean deifies her. And then we find out that this whole story gets set in motion by a decision she made because this was the life she found herself in. This was great. It was interesting. And even though the MOL doesn’t negate any of this, it does give John this weirdly fantastical that isn’t necessary. Let this guy be just some Joe Schmoe who fell in love with a kick ass hunter and had no idea any of this even existed. Let Mary and her want to be ‘normal’ be a complicated moral choice that fundamentally altered the paths of her husband and sons. It’s good tv!

Also, I fucking hate the bunker. The best episodes are Dean and Sam having moments in the car, or while in motel rooms on their cases, or whatever. I don’t mind them having a home base. I’m fine with that. But if a building could ever be a Mary Sue character, the bunker is it. I hate all of the MOL storyline, starting with this place.

I may not even tag this as Supernatural, I don’t need angry later season stans in my inbox.

15. Unpopular opinion about the manga/show?

There’s nothing good about anything that happened after season 6. It’s all a bunch of retconning bullshit. Season 6 had its moments where it was interesting, so I cut it a little bit of slack, but as far as I’m concerned, the show ended in season 5. I’m not sure that’s necessarily unpopular, but it does feel that way on tumblr, so. 

16. If you could change anything in the show, what would you change?

Aside from ending it in season 5?

Oooh, I’m about to blaspheme again. I am definitely not tagging this as Supernatural.

I would never have introduced Castiel, and I would’ve given that entire storyline to Anna. Or, alternatively, I would’ve flipped their story lines.

Look, for whatever it’s worth... I agree with the idea that Dean Winchester is a repressed bisexual. His Dr. Sexy love, the entire storyline with Benny in season 8, etc. I just don’t think he feels romantically about Castiel. And like, that’s okay! Just because you’re not into someone who is into you doesn’t mean you owe them a relationship or anything, no matter what the fandom thinks.

But I also think Dean has a big problem when it comes to women. Again, obviously later on in the series, Dean shifts and Charlie happens and Claire Novak and I know all of these things from gifs okay, context is not applicable here because I have none. But early on, Dean struggles A LOT with thinking of women as A) capable and B) trustworthy. He exists in a perpetual state of identifying women along the Madonna/Whore binary. Even Jo, however you feel about her, and to be clear, I loved Jo, but he doesn’t stop thinking of her really as a kid until they’re about to shoot the devil. Up until then, he’s genuinely surprised Ellen lets her out of the damn house.

Giving him a strong, capable woman who rebels against Heaven for HIM would have fundamentally altered Dean’s perceptions of women much earlier on than we get and would have forced him to examine some of that misogyny head on.

Dean has no problems trusting men. This is why the entire Gordon fiasco happens, right? It was less work for him to trust Castiel because Castiel is the inverse of Ruby. Angel to her Demon. Angels and demons don’t really have genders, but for the sake of presentation of vessels, man to her woman. Not even getting me started on the problematic parts of having significant demons mostly symbolized by women (Meg, Ruby, Lilith) and having significant angels mostly represented by Men (Castiel, Michael, Lucifer, Zachariah, Gabriel, Raphael), and how that ties into the idea of Original Sin and yada yada, but just like it’s interesting to have Mary and her decisions be the catalyst for the story, it’s interesting to have this badass warrior angel in Anna who marches down to Hell to yank Dean out, and through her interactions with him, decide to rebel against the ultimate patriarchy, while Dean gets an equally strong female counterpart to Sam’s Ruby, a woman for all intents and purposes that he respects as a soldier and an ally and not just a potential piece of ass.

Also, Castiel fans being literally unbearable is why I left the fandom. Nothing against Misha or anything, and not even anything against Cas as a character (who I very much enjoyed in seasons 4 and 5), but his fans have always been the worst and they try to insert him into everything.

19. What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom?

Castiel/Destiel fans, which even though I also hated the direction the show was going, drove me out of the fandom. Not like, personally or directly, but just the sheer mental hoops they had to jump through in order to make their ship work and I just got tired of seeing all of the contrived meta on my dash. Oh, and the rampant misogyny that came out of those early Castiel fans. I didn’t appreciate it from the Wincest corner, and I definitely didn’t appreciate it from the fans of the new guy. Gross.

22. Popular character you hate?

Oof. I don’t know. I don’t really hate Castiel, because again, I liked him a lot in seasons 4 and 5. Even 6 was interesting, even if I don’t regard it as my own personal show canon. I don’t think there was a popular character in those first five seasons I ever really hated. I didn’t fundamentally hate a character at all until the MOL stuff came around. Um. Yeah, I don’t really have an answer for this.

23. Unpopular character you love?

Pretty much every female character ever. Jo, Ellen, Ruby, Meg... although Meg became more popular as the series went on, Anna. Um. OH, BELA. Bela ESPECIALLY, I recently rewatched season 3 and I cannot emphasize how MUCH I love Bela. She was the best purely human foil ever. Bela is hands down the character I love most that the fandom had frothing at the mouth hatred for. It doesn’t help that I legitimately think Lauren Cohan is one of the most beautiful women on the planet. But seriously, Bela. Hands down.

24. Would you recommend XXX to a friend? Why or why not? 

I have! Many of times, and ALWAYS WITH THE CAVEAT to stop at the end of season 5. Not a single one of them has listened to me and almost all of them came to me at the end of the finale and were like WHY DID I WASTE SO MUCH TIME, and I don’t want to say I told them so, but like, I explicitly in neon colored text once told them so, so like, idk what to tell them. But yes! I think if someone is interested in some classic mystery television that has an overarching theme of family and forgiveness and striking out against the boxes that life tries to put us all into, SPN is a great show. But only the first 5 seasons. Also, be prepared for some thematically problematic parts of the show because there’s a lot of cishet toxic masculinity in those early seasons, and we should examine our media critically. There’s also a lot of good though too, and IMO, the good outweighs the bad.

25. How would you end XXX/Would you change the ending of XXX?

I would’ve ended it at season 5. I would’ve had Sam escape the pit and seen him standing under the street lamp, but then I would’ve had him walking away to leave Dean with Lisa (btw, side note, I DIDN’T like Lisa because I don’t think Dean would ever be truly happy with someone completely outside the life). Not because Sam doesn’t love his brother, but because he *does* love his brother, and because he would want Dean to be happy, even though Dean and Sam’s ideas of what makes the other happy have always been a little bit screwed up.. but that’s a different story.

27. Least shippable character?

Probably Zachariah. God, could you imagine? And... maybe Alastair, but I’m sure there are fics out there that I do not want to think about.

[rubyredsundae]

Mass Effect Trilogy Tag!

I was not tagged by anyone, I just really wanted to join in. If you see this and want to as well, please do! I've been loving reading through everyone's :)

I am a fan since… 2011ish? Definitely at least a year before ME3 came out. I remember watching my brother play ME2 and thinking it was so cool. While he was away it was a huge comfort for me to play it in his room, kind of like a bonding or cathartic experience for someone who wasn't there at the time.

When ME3 came out, me and him went to the midnight release at a gamestop like 40 minutes away or something, wearing clothes we threw together to kind of fit the N7 color scheme. Even though we don't talk anymore, those memories are still really precious to me. Also, the nostalgia of playing ME1 after-school or on the weekend, running to get my easy mac from the microwave during a cutscene, stuffing too hot mouthfuls while speeding the Mako towards the conduit on Ilos.

Favorite game of the series: It's a tough call between ME1 and ME2, but I'd say ME2. It's the game I get the urge to replay the most.

MaleShep or FemShep? Femshep all the way. I only play MShep when I want to do his exclusive romances. No offense to BroShep, but ME was the first game I ever played that let me not just be a girl, but customizable. Not just to be the already generated token girl character in a pack of boys. And not only can you play Femshep, but every game you are surrounded by smart, funny, tough women as squadmates. It was such a huge deal to me, and still is. Femshep represents so much. As Jennifer Hale put it, FemShep was a military grade boot to the video game industry glass ceiling.

Earthborn, Colonist or Spacer? I personally tend to lean spacer in-game, but I tend to use Earthborn when I'm writing fics.

Paragon or Renegade? Usually Paragon, but Renegade playthroughs can be really interesting, especially if I have a detailed background about why Shep is the way they are. My first Renegade, Krystle, is pretty bigoted and anti-alien until she meets Liara. Krystle is naturally guarded and quick to anger, so meeting someone who seemed to accept her and listen to her without judgment really opens her mind.

By the 2nd game, she wakes up in the cerberus lab with new biotic powers, having previously been a regular foot soldier. This makes her seeth, having someone completely take her agency, agreeing with the illusive man on the surface but plotting against him the entire time. She starts to lean more Paragon, if only to piss him off. She has the biggest smirk on her face when she blows up the collector base.

Biotics or Tech? Oooh, this is hard. Maybe biotics just the tiniest smidge because of Jack/Samara biotic bubble throw during the suicide mission. I don't know if we'll ever get a screen adaptation but THAT is a moment I would pay to see done with a big SFX budget behind it.

Favorite class: Sentinel! I don't know how much this reflects on my class preference in gaming in general, but I love the 'jack of all trades'ness of it. By the time I get an assault rifle, I don't really feel the need for anyone else to make up for something I lack. Also, tech armor in ME2? Where your shields regenerate automatically when it breaks, and the cool down is when you initially active it, instead of when you detonate it? Chef's kiss. I understand why it was nerfed in 3 but I'm still mad.

Favorite companion: Ho boy. This is obviously very difficult to choose but I'm gonna say Miranda. I've always loved and identified with her character, I love the accent, and she's always useful on missions. I was so happy when I learned she could be a squadmate in the armax arena.

Honorable mention to Ashley in ME1. Her character is rarely used to exposition lore, so she just gets to have her personality fleshed out. I don't always agree with her but she does seem genuinely willing to listen. ME3 tosses her out the airlock though; partially because her content was bugged and never restored, leaving her inclusion feel half-baked, and partly because Ash and Kaidan have to be able to serve the same plot function as each other and it negatively affects her character more than his. This could also be intentional on bioware's part, to try to flesh out kaidan's personality and tone down Ashley's as a response to criticisms of them from ME1.

Least favorite companion: Also difficult, because I don't really hate anyone as much as I am just less interested in some. I didn't like Zaeed for a long time, but I think he's much better and really funny in ME3. James was pushed on me too much at the beginning and it made me really dislike him, but I think he's greatly improved and also pretty funny in Citadel DLC. I'm also pretty indifferent to Jacob; I don't think he's a bad character, just disappointing because there was a lot of potential.

Not that every character has to go on and do some grand quest to be interesting, but I don't feel like Jacob every really got a big hero moment like everyone else. He is a very calm and introverted person (imo) who doesn't really share his feelings, so it's always been hard for to to connect with him on anything.

My squad selection: Depends on the game, but it usually involves Garrus lol. Typically it's Liara/Garrus in ME1, Miranda/Garrus for ME2, and Liara/Garrus again in ME3. I am very boring and predictable! If you have any suggestions for me to try out and mix things up, let me know!

Favorite in-game romance: Also depends on the game. ME1 it's Liara, hands down. It was the first game, really the first piece of media, where I was told two women could fall in love and be happy and that was okay. The amount of enlightenment and comfort in figuring out that I was bi these games brought me is kind of wild to look back on.

ME2 is a toss-up between Garrus and Thane. They are both wonderful but in completely different ways. I tend to now romance Thane on characters I don't plan on importing to ME3, or if I do, to just have a really depressed fucking Shepard lol. I hate how much Thane was brushed off, especially if you romanced him.

Other pairings I like: l love Miranda so much, but I'm a gay girl so I ship her and Femshep. Same goes for Tali, Jack, Ashley... damn I'm just really gay for straight girls huh :/

I don't really have any other ships for non-Shep related pairings.

Favorite NPC: Shiala is really cool to me, I wish we got to see her in 3. Emily Wong is also cool, also wish we saw her in 3. There's probably a lot more that when I come across them next I'll be like, "you! I love you! You're my favorite."

Oh also Joker! And EDI! But not together. Idk I feel like ME3 threw a curveball at me with "do you support organic/non-organic relationships?" Like m'am please don't ask me, I accidentally drank turian liquor last year, I'm not qualified to be an expert on this.

Favorite antagonist: Tbh I really dig Saren. I think his reasoning is super fascinating, both to set up how someone who's indoctrinated can rationalize to themselves that they are still in control; and as a foil to Shepard, to show what can happen when you become too isolated and the ends justify the means. I think his VA does a great job of walking the line between desperate survivor and madman. He's also the only antagonist in the trilogy that we ever fight 1 on 1 (ignoring squadmates) and it feels more personal. I think he's such a fantastic foe for the first entry in a trilogy and I don't think he gets enough credit.

Favorite mission: Is it cliche to say the suicide mission? It's honestly close to perfect. The stakes, the sequencing, the cinematics, the score. Everything works so well.

Favorite loyalty mission: Kasumi's and Tali's are really cool, as we all know. Samara's is also cool because it is entirely non-combat based. Shepard has to prove they can accomplish what seems impossible without a gun or biotics.

The confrontation at the end with Morinth always haunts me a little, because they are both right in their own way. Morinth's final line, "and they say I'm the monster", as you let Samara kill her, watch her scrambling backwards in fear... I know that she's a remorseless killer, but it gets me every time.

Favorite DLC: It's Citadel, obviously. Turns out what I really wanted was quality time and a party with all my friends. I love mass effect for many reasons, but simulating friends and affection when I had none has always made me bond to this series like other games don't. Is it sad? Sure! But I don't think love and affection for fictional characters should ever be shameful until it makes you hurt other people.

Control, Synthesis or Destroy? I'd say destroy. If the other options were presented earlier and we had time to stew with it, maybe I'd be more split. But all of this in 5 minutes? It's not like the collector base where the implications are obvious and the choice is just down to what Shepard believes. The 3 choices all seem like space magic out of nowhere, and none of them seem to really offer any insight on what Shepard should believe. So I say destroy, just because it's what Shep has intended and is most consistent with their character and their admiration of Anderson.

Favorite weapon: The spectre level assault rifle in ME1. Never have I felt more powerful.

Favorite place: Idk why but I just thought of the creepy lab with all the scientists during the leviathan DLC. I really love when Mass Effect leans into the Lovecraftian horror aspect of things. Talking to Sovereign and Vigil in ME1 gave me goosebumps my first few playthroughs.

A quote I like: I have hundreds, but the one off the top of my head is, "After time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and through shoals of dust, I will return to where I began." I have a poster of it up on my wall right now!

[smallblueandloud]

hi essbie!! you seem super awesome❤️❤️ if you would like to talk to me about the west wing i would love that! i’m watching for the first time now and i’m in LOVE with it- tell me all your thoughts! otps, favorite episodes, arcs, characters... anything!

oh my god, this is my FAVORITE ASK THAT I HAVE EVER RECEIVED EVER. i’m so happy to talk about the west wing because the fandom that’s still alive today seems to be TINY (although high-spirited!!). thank you for asking!! i will endeavor to talk a lot.... which isn’t hard for me, lol.

(psst, before we begin, can i recommend you check out @donnajosh, who posts gorgeous new gifsets of tww pretty regularly [and also has gifs tagged by episode so you can find the right post to reblog when you’re liveblogging, shh], @etraytin, who’s written some AMAZING multichaps that have gotten me through this very stressful week, and @cassiesinsanity, who’s just plain genuinely amazing?? okay. now that that’s out of the way.)

i tried to figure out from your blog where you are in the show, but i can’t find anything more detailed than “probably has finished in the shadow of two gunmen”, so i’m just gonna keep things anti-spoilers. there are some really, really cool plot developments in tww, and i don’t recommend you spoil yourself for things on purpose! but also like. i DEFINITELY spoil things for myself all the time. so what the hell, don’t listen to me lol.

(i tried to put this under a cut, but tumblr glitched. sorry, peeps who don’t care about the west wing. also, WATCH THE WEST WING.)

my ALL TIME, dearest headcanon is adhd josh. i just. i love my boy so much. i love my impulsive, ridiculously-sensitive-to-perceived-rejection, loud, hyperfixated boy so much. i don’t know everything about adhd, but from what i know josh is TEXTBOOK. or at least he’s a lot like me! and i’m reasonably sure i have adhd. so. i’m REALLY, REALLY into that headcanon and everything about it. (i actually wrote a fic in which i wrote him the way i see his adhd presenting, because i love him so much. hmm, i should write a fic about josh being adhd. what kind of stims would josh like??)

i love and adore josh/donna, like many many other people. i like zoey/charlie, just because i think they make each other happy and both of them deserve that. i... like cj/danny? sorta? i think they’re adorable, and they have some REALLY good moments (no spoilers but. oh my god. danny really out here chugging his respect women juice and i love him for it). but also i am EXTREMELY ATTACHED to cj/toby and more specifically cj/toby/andy.

HEAR ME OUT. cj has EXTREME wlw energy and cj and toby have A LOT of married energy but then toby and andy... love each other so much, it’s so clear, in literally everything they do, i don’t know if you’ve gotten to the end of s5 yet but i cry. so like?? obviously, because i am who i am, polyamory is the answer! basically the rundown is: andy and toby are a typical couple except that they fight a lot. cj is kinda in the middle. if gay marriage had been legal / socially acceptable in the 80s (because god knows this ot3 has been thinking about optics since they graduated college), cj and andy would’ve gotten married and toby would’ve come and gone depending on who he’d pissed off recently, and everything would’ve been perfect. instead, andy and toby got married and it didn’t work because they really just couldn’t function as a unit, especially since their getting married meant that cj isolated herself a bit more. definitely cj and toby have a couple of SCREAMING arguments about the whole relationship. idk.

but just like. imagine with me, if you will, cj and toby... not dating, while working in the white house, but being exes. friendly exes. friendly exes who are still in love with each other and know it. please imagine that and then think about “i love you desperately / i know” and “you wanna make out with me right now, don’t you? / well, when don’t i?” and “we had it good there for a while / yeah, we did” and then join me in the pit of sadness.

(sidenote i have a sense8 au for the west wing and the second story is just me being emotional about their cluster for 5k. i have another story vaguely planned that i’ll probably never write about the development of the ot3 and about their cluster and how it functions. but don’t read that story until you finish... the first half of s7? or thereabouts? actually probably you should finish the show before you read the sense8 au in general if you’re avoiding spoilers.)

(when i say “i’ll probably never write”, i mean “until the next time i get obsessed with the west wing”. which will probably be years from now. oh, well, we can all hope the muse actually does something efficient for once.)

so yeah. those are my ships. i know a lot of people shipped josh/sam, but i don’t really see it? sam always seemed Way Too Straight for that to work lol, although i DO like the idea of sam pining tragically for josh for years just like donna does. (can you tell i read such a winter’s day a few days ago? it’s amazing. i haven’t left a review yet because i have not been a human being recently, but go read it!! it’s awesome!!)

also, i love the idea of bartlet/abbey/leo, although i can’t really visualize it lol. but there’s some amazing fic for them out there. maybe one day my stupid brain will realize the angst potential and actually let me write something for them, hopefully within the sense8 au. (sam also has a cluster! and i would love to write about them! .....but my brain doesn’t do what i tell it to. ever.)

my favorite arc.... i don’t know. i really loved the early seasons, which were a little more episodic, but ALSO i actually really liked the tone after aaron sorkin left after s4? it takes some getting used to, but it’s WAY more emotional, and i am ALL HERE FOR THAT. i definitely have a least favoite arc, or at least a least-favorite way-that-they-handled-a-storyline (spoiler alert: i hated how they handled the end of bartlet’s presidency in the white house. like. SHE’S ALL ALONE IN THERE- anyways. trying not to give detailed spoilers!)

favorite episodes: hmm. i love the thanksgiving episodes. i loved any episode with the ainsley-and-sam dynamic. noel is a phenomenal episode. 26 could make anyone weep. the flashbacks are the best. the fucking- the fucking what’s next motif.

honestly, probably i’d have to say my favorite episode is either 4x20 (evidence of things not seen, for “stupidly noble cluster” reasons and cj/toby reasons and bartlet & charlie reasons. also i feel like there’s some good josh/donna there too but i can’t remember exactly?) or 7x21 (institutional memory, because i’m pretty sure the writers reached into my id and pulled out EXACTLY what i needed from them to be okay with the show ending. jesus CHRIST i have never felt so satisfied after an episode. literally everything i ever could have wanted happened in that episode. i’m STILL reeling. it’s a perfect episode.)

my favorite characters are... literally everyone? i know that’s cheating but i love them all SO MUCH (except mandy and amy, of course). josh is my favorite, always and forever, but i love cj more than words and sometimes i can’t breathe for love of toby. leo and bartlet and charlie and sam and donna- here i was thinking i was gonna resent will forever but i LOVE will. ainsley is an amazing woman. abbey is such a good character, god, talk about a flawed woman who’s allowed to be a good person.

AND THEN THEY MADE ME ROOT FOR A REPUBLICAN. again, i doubt you’ve gotten to s7, but the republican nominee in the last election... jesus christ. i love that man so much. arguably, i’m very biased, but also how D A R E they expect me to root against him. how DARE.

(i swear this will make more sense once you meet him. i just love the actor a lot, okay?)

anyways. this got ridiculously long. i would LOVE to talk about the west wing with you, feel free to reblog this with your own thoughts or tag me in your own post or message me or something. i would love to hear your reactions!! it’s such a good show, and such a smart show, and every character is so mcfreaking good at what they do and i adore it. enjoy the ride because there’s nothing as perfect and as quality as the west wing. if you’ll please excuse me, i’m going to go cry about 7x21 again.

[bzrcdragons942]

It’s not WIP Wednesday because it’s... Finished Work Wednesday?... What I Wrote Wednesday? Yeah, that one. Alliteration! I figured I should post this before I drive myself insane nitpicking at it. It’s the new longest thing I’ve written at 1616 words. (1612 excluding translations but 1616 is so much better)

Summary:  @nakmor-leigh‘s Inquisitor Krystal Trevelyan introduces her advisors to who she hopes is the newest addition to the Inquisition, the ex-Venatori, not ex-blood mage, Tirena. Two out of three somewhat agreeing to her presence is acceptable. (I haven’t written it, but Tirena’s recruitment quest starts with information gathered in the Western Approach about a traitor within the Venatori and ends with locating and entering the hidden, horrible prison in the Approach or even the Hissing Wastes that Tirena is actively trying to break out of. This previous one shot shows her connection to Livius Erimond. Mind the tags in that one.)

Tags: anti cullen (just in case), smoking

“A blood mage?! We are trying to stop the crazed fanatics not invite them in!"

From her position against the side wall, Tirena observed the Inquisition’s Templar pace part of the vaulted room where worldly decisions were made. It wasn't a coincidence his route defended the only rational exit. Shame if those windows were damaged.

The Inquisitor, out of armor and in a gown more fitting to her… soft personality, was unaffected by this predictable outburst. It was the norm. The Inquisitor’s sweet and accepting approach was not.

"I wanted all of you to hear this in person, not through a letter. Tirena just has a different set of skills, like every member helping the Inquisition."

"I'll admit it's not what I expected... but we already combat outrageous rumor and speculation about Lord Pavus. However, this will be used to further question your judgement, Krystal," the Antivan Ambassador spoke at the Inquisitor's side around papers and more papers.

The Inquisitor nodded but her quiet "I know" was overridden.

“I have relented on many questionable decisions, Inquisitor, but you cannot ally us with a blood mage. I won’t allow it!”

“She has been our ally behind the curtain since we settled at Skyhold. Unknown until the correct dots were connected. Many of our people live because of her actions.”

Tirena's eyebrows twitched up at the clear admiration and defense in Nightingale's voice.

The Inquisitor confirmed those words in her too gentle way, “She isn't our enemy. Together, all different kinds of us, we've lasted this long, and Tirena has been a part of that in her own way.”

The Templar persisted with teeth clenched as hard as the hand on his sword, “I strongly advise against this. Blood magic is forbidden for good reasons. It’s dangerous, manipulative, infectious. Demons are loose all over Thedas and you walk one right into Skyhold!”

“Uncontrollable,” Tirena finally spoke up, pushing off from the wall. Tired of this fool and pointless circles. “That is the word you mean. Your Chantry despises not having a chain for anything and everything. And I despise being talked about as if I’m not standing twenty feet from you.”

He stopped pacing at her movement, addressing the room but focusing on her. “Your likes or dislikes are not a concern while we discuss having a Venatori blood mage among us. Why isn’t she locked in a cell until a decision is made?”

“Put me in chains and you’ll die like the others who did,” Tirena bared her teeth and snarled, overriding anyone else attempting to speak. 

“At the very least, I insist on a Templar guard, an inspection that she isn’t an abomination-”

“Piss me off further, and you'll pray to your Maker for a simple abomination!”

“Please!” 

Their advance stopped short of each other with, well, a short, pleading obstacle. Tirena halted before the overly affectionate Inquisitor touched her, while the Inquisitor placed a hand on piccolo soldato's (little soldier) sword arm. 

"Attacking each other won't help."

And Tirena was indeed ready to attack. She had been fine with his left handed grip on his pommel, a centering, comfort thing she understood well, but his right arm crossing his body was a threat and a defense simultaneously. Not for the first time, or last, Tirena took pleasure in her height that forced him to glare up at her.

"Cullen, I know you experienced horrors, but your pain keeps blinding you. Please, keep an open mind and trust me." The Inquisitor soothed as privately as she could to him in an unbearable sympathetic voice- Tirena supposed as a mother should sound- before turning to Tirena. "Please don't threaten my people. Anger won't solve this."

No… that was unbearable.

Tirena glanced down at the Inquisitor's unique purple eyes. Her round face was the face of a stranger, but the emotion behind it was not. It used to stare back at Tirena, at eye level, the face of her bro- Seraph. His bleeding heart didn't exist quite so much on his sleeve, but the similarities were there. All about healing and "save the world", soothe and not burn… and showing her all the ways she couldn't see.

"I don't make threats. Only promises," Tirena said, stepping back from the Inquisitor.

The two opposing forces took up posts on opposite sides of the table, and Tirena traded running her nails over her thumb pad for a smoke to keep her occupied and calmer. The Templar's lip curled at her lighting the elfroot and blood lotus blend with her middle finger. Petty and childish? Yes. But she was above only so many things.

"I'm not one of your Circle beaten mages you pushed to desperation. This is my craft and my mind is my own, Templar."

"I am Commander of the Inquisition and a Templar no longer."

"Sure you are," Tirena said with a grin anything but kind and blew smoke out her nose.

A gentle throat clearing from the Inquisitor stopped further escalation but it was the Ambassador who spoke.

"We're here for a common cause. Commander, the Inquisition needs information about Magister Erimond and the… rituals he performs, and you, Miss Amphion, cannot storm a fortress on your own."

Infiltrating Adamant wasn't the problem. Dying before she killed Livius was. But fighting alongside the Inquisition posed another problem.

"You won't be able to 'save' him," Tirena directed at the Inquisitor. "Livius denies it, but he is a follower to the individual who provides him the most power. His father, the Magisterium, and now a being claiming to be straight from his nation's proud ancient history. He believes in the cause and will defend it with his dying breath."

There was an uncomfortable pause as the Inquisitor retreated into herself then murmured, "The future he's fighting for isn't what he thinks. I've seen it. At Redcliffe. Dorian, too. It's horrible."

Tirena hesitated with her smoke near her lips, waiting for the joke, the lie, the disbelief. The crestfallen look the Advisors had was nothing compared to the Inquisitor's. A retelling rather than firsthand experience.

"Even if he were to miraculously believe that, it matters not. I am going to kill him. Say no to that and I leave. Your Templar's wish fulfilled."

The three looked expectantly to their leader -after a piercing look between Tirena and the Templar- whose sad turned to thinking face oddly turned to a smile.

"A siege takes a lot of planning. I'll have time to change your mind."

Tirena stared at the confident optimist.

Somehow. Someway. Seraph is laughing at me right now.

Nightingale brought her away from thinking about unattainable things. Twice in the span of minutes made her head hurt. And bury her heart.

"You have intimate knowledge on more than Erimond. I expect reports whether you're leaving or not, on the ones still alive."

There was the famed and feared Spymaster.

"That information is with a reputable bookbinder." Tirena flicked her smoke away in a small burst of fire and looked at the Ambassador. "The same one who repairs your found tomes."

Piccolo soldato huffed, "You expect us to believe you know nothing?"

"Only close to nothing. If you want coherent details, collect the journal. Immediate retention and recall aren't my finest abilities."

Tirena pointed to her damaged ear and the scars adorning the side of her face and neck. The scars that unfortunately went much further than skin deep. They could believe her or not.

Distracting herself from lighting another smoke, Tirena wrote down the simple instructions, adding another paper to the Ambassador's pile. They discussed her staying in Skyhold until the information was confirmed, what would be at her disposal, to not flaunt her magic all while the Inquisitor and her Ambassador did their best to ease the regrowing hostility between blood mage and Templar as the conversation dragged on. Tirena's answers became clipped and vague, special half truths to cover the things she didn't remember at the moment and deterring the more personal inquiries.

Tirena failed to stick with one smoke. It was either that or begin pacing, or lose the little diplomatic skills she had remaining. And those skills were dwindling fast.

"The subject of me in this meeting is over. You have plans and decisions I want nothing to do with," Tirena motioned to the pieces set aside, off the map.

Despite her abrasive way to excuse herself, the other four agreed that she was no longer needed, with the Inquisitor suggesting Tirena rest and make herself at home. Tirena could have scoffed.

"As long as you don't leave Skyhold."

"Were you struck deaf when that was established?... I will remain, for now, but keep your distance, Templar, and I'll keep mine."

"Agreed… maleficar."

The Ambassador broke the increased tension, again, always showing more steel than expected, "I have an assistant outside who will show you to your new quarters."

"And we put together some welcome things for you. Clothes, soaps, snacks," The Inquisitor added.

"You'll find a map to Skyhold's common areas and a schedule for meals."

Tirena nodded her head in acknowledgement at the two women, "Grazie."

With that, Tirena left the war room. An odd name for an Inquisitor so opposed to violence. She refused to slow for the escort scrambling after her. Movement. She needed movement. And new outlets and coping. Tirena doubted the Inquisition would be like the Venatori and allow her to leave and murder as she pleased. Not without the proper permissions.

"Ah, Miss Amphion, I know I'm to take you to your quarters, but there's a problem with your things. Your dracolisk. It's, well, it's not letting anyone near.

Buono fanciullo. (Good boy)

"Lead on to the stables."

[ingayderzim]

not to be that person who asks a googleable question but wtf is hazbin hotel bc i googled it and the only “critical” thing i could find was a typo-ridden article of someone saying it has good animation and its haters are stupid. i was able to glean what it is/what it’s about but idk about the discourse lmao

Im actually so glad u asked this. Here's the lowdown, this is my definitive answer to hazbin shit from here on out, unless new info comes about of course.

Hazbin hotel is an independent cartoon by vivziepop. Most people (that ive seen) have agreed that the pilot of the show really isnt that great but the reason it has so many fans is bc of the entertaining livestreams, massive amounts of canon content produced (she has had these characters for years), unique art style, and the characters. (Ass ugly but unique.)

Its haters are totally justified bc of some of the "controversial" (read: bad) things vivziepop has done. Here's the conclusion that my friends and classmates (several of whom are Black, one Hispanic woman, and one trans woman...nellie if ur reading this i 💜 u) and i came to after discussing this stuff. I am NOT saying "well my black/trans friend said it's ok so i dont have to think about it!" this is based on a few different conversations that my friends and i have had about this topic so what im saying is that my opinion was formed by talking about this situation with multiple people affected by the controversy.

One controversial thing is a drawing u can easily find on google (called beastiality.jpg i believe?) It's a cropped (chest and up, but hes obv naked) drawing of vivziepops character, drawn by vivziepop, moaning, with a snake around him. The character is 17. Many people have interpreted this as child porn. I dont think this image is pornographic, i think it's a stupid joke (it was even tagged as a joke iirc) and completely inappropriate but since it's 8 years old on top of not being porn, i think it's just an example of a dumb drawing. That being said, i would NEVER argue that someone who is uncomfortable w the drawing (im uncomfortable with it! It's gross just not porn) or considers it porn is wrong. They are entitled to that opinion and i would never expose them to vivziepops work or talk about her stuff around them if they expressed to me that they disliked the image.

Another thing is that she drew a doodle of two racist TERFs. This is the one where my friends of color, my friends who are black, and my friends who are trans women took the lead. I sat back for this part and here's their and my opinion on this after talking about it and verbally going through this whole situation.

She was following these women (who had done blackface and stuff) and drew art of them. The art was a "quick doodle" that she did apologize for and she said she didn't realize the extent of their beliefs. She knew they werent great but hadnt consumed much of their content in depth. I believe her bc while ive never followed anyone as bad, ive certainly followed some pieces of shit and didnt notice for months simply bc im not online all the time and bc of the volume of people i follow, combined with the non chronological algorithms lately.

At the risk of screwing myself, im going to admit that there was about a year or so of my life where i enjoyed The Amazing Atheist. I was even subbed to him. I was a nonbinary lesbian (2 things he cant stand lmaoo) in catholic school and therefore i strictly watched his videos about theological stuff since thats what was frustrating me at the time. I had no clue the type of evil racist, transphobic, homophobic (yes ik hes bi), misogynistic things he thought, said, and did, bc i didnt watch those videos. I literally only watched select theological ones that could be of use to me while edgily debating my teachers (sorry mrs macdougal but u had it coming). I was about 15 at the time and im 19 now. Im sorry to everyone i hurt by ever having supported him. I had one of his quotes written in the inside of my religion notebook in high school. I regretted it and ripped the page out the moment i discovered the truth about him. I cant stress enough how much I HATE HIM. Thats an example of what i think happened here tho.

One of my friends who is a trans woman said (paraphrasing) "i think the worst thing shes done is that terf art but i believe the apology especially bc it was a quick drawing."

That being said, i would NEVER argue with someone who wanted nothing to do w vivziepop bc of this. That's their right. 100%. I would never expose them to her work after that.

The last thing i remember is something about a pedophilic couple in a comic but i heard it was a 17 year old and a 19 year old. Im 19 and if one of my peers did that i wouldnt say pedophile but id say ur a fucking weirdo, BUT, the kids were fake and being written by an adult so i can totally see her thinking that age gap is much less of a big deal than it really is. Like she forgot what it's like at this age. Idk how true any of that part is tho, i heard that info entirely secondhand.

Another thing to do with racism is that there's a joke within the show where one character says to the other

"don't get your taco in a twist"

"Was that supposed to be racist or sexist?"

"Whichever one pisses you off more"

I thought that was gross but one of my friends pointed out that vivziepop is of el salvadorian descent so that's her business. Like if i made a lesbian joke of equal or greater offensiveness than that and someone tried to call me lesbophobic over it id be like "that's literally my territory."

Oh speaking of which that character's name is vaggie and shes a lesbian but it's not pronounced w the same G you'd hear in "vagina." Vivziepop seems to name characters weirdly (like how in helluva boss theres a guy named blitzo and the o is silent) so maybe it's a pussy joke but i have no idea.

The animation was.................better than i could do, i wanna say the faces and gestures were good but god i remember there was a part with a car and my gf had to pause so i could laugh my ass off at it. I wouldn't describe the animation as a highlight but i liked the style in motion i thought it was a fun change. Vivziepops style is not appealing imo but i appreciate it as an art student and as someone whose friends all like she ra and steven universe where every character looks the goddamn motherfucking same, and while its chaotic and i dont care for it, the style actually works way better in motion than you'd think.

A good rule that i def use is to assume hazbin fans are guilty until proven innocent. If someone says they dont care about the discourse surrounding it and like it no matter what, RUN! They would support the show even if the creator was in fact a pedophile, or had done the blackface/was a terf herself! They probably support some horrible ppl and are probably "anti antis." A lot of them are minors tho so i'd say block and move on.

So, do i like it or not? Im an art student and all my friends like it so while i didnt think it was funny, i do fuck with it. At the convention this weekend my friends and i had a convo that led to me drawing an ahego hoodie where the faces were angel dust (a character's) face. It was a joke that i could make a killing by selling that in a booth at a con.

Theres really nothing compelling about the show but my friends like it so i join in on their conversations, and i do have a soft spot for angel dust bc he's like a worse, less amazing and gorgeous version of one of my characters, Candy, the love of my life.

A lot of people say the show was edgy/offensive and maybe im just desensitized but besides the taco thing i didnt pick up on that whatsoever??? The Archer episode "Swiss Miss" is worse than helluva boss and hazbin combined and even archer isn't offensive.

Im probably not aware of all the "discourse" (aka people being reasonably uncomfortable by weird and bad shit this random woman has done, and other ppl saying their opinions are wrong when it's literally just an opinion about a show) so if anything she's done isnt included in here it's not to defend vivziepop, this is genuinely all i know. I wouldnt describe myself as a fan of hers.

[axther]

🗨️ Hi! Can I please request a Bnha matchup, if it’s not too much to ask. I’m a 5’1 pan female with long hair that fades from red to blonde. I am very curvy/busty and I am very insecure about it, which leads to me shutting myself out from others. I am very soft-spoken, intelligent, and extremely patient. I love to play the ukulele and sing! I really just want someone who can defend me, I have been bullied for most of my life because I am really shy. I’m also an INTJ. Thank you so much!

Let’s get this show on the road babeeyyyy!!!! Finna go off!!!! 

#1 is...Bakugou! 

Okokokok so the aforementioned patience?? 

You’re gonna need a lot of it 

The first time y’all met he probably was going off about the new transfer who was too quiet

And how he wanted to beat the shit out of her to prove his dominance 

And you’re just like ‘ok :|’ 

And bakugou?? 

Scared.exe

Why??? 

This is the first time he can remember in forever that someone didn’t really react negatively to his comments 

Midoriya always had a sort of ‘no kaachan!!’ reaction

Kirishima would tell him it wasn’t manly

And even Todoroki would just tell him that he didn’t stand a chance 

So why did this foreign chick so cool about it??

At first it really pissed him off, but then he realised several things. 

One, you never really tried to defend yourself when people said something that would’ve at least irked anyone else 

Two, you didn’t socialise a whole lot compared to the rest of the class. It was comparable to Tamaki Amajiki in terms a shyness, though you never turned to face a wall. 

Three, you were cute. 

Like, really cute.

like... 

T

Tiddy 

This boy would love it 

He does his best not to show it nor to oogle but 

He really likes your body 

Plus a redhead??? 

Exotic isn’t the right word but here it is 

So you’ve definitely caught his attention

He realises very quickly that bullying you isn’t the solution to gaining your respect

He just sees that it makes you withdraw even more 

So he begins lowkey befriending you 

Now 

His way of going about it kinda sucks 

But he’s trying 

This includes, but is not limited to: 

Going off on Mineta and Kaminari if they comment on your body 

Studying together 

Listening to you play the ukelele

Slowly but surely he realises that regular boy/girl friends don’t have sleepovers at each other’s dorms 

And that he doesn’t smile around everyone else as he does with you 

And that his heart doesn’t jump around when he’s around the others as opposed to being alone with you 

And that his eyes don’t wander the same as when he-

yeah so he realises he has a crush 

And because he’s emotionally constipated, this has him screwed over 

He lays in bed at night, face bright red, thinking about the most scandalous thing ever-premarital holding hands 

He’s whipped 

If you catch him staring at you, he’s spin away and just say that he was looking at something else 

And he has no idea what to do about this 

So he just keeps quiet 

Until one day 

Monoma is talking shit about you and how you’re so shy for someone trying to be a hero

And see now, Bakugou usually just either ignores it or says something sharp and then ignores it. 

But this time? Something in him snaps 

He has no idea what it was, but he spins around and begins ripping Monoma apart, almost literally. 

He’s got him by the neck of his shirt and is howling into his face. 

‘She’s better and stronger then you’ll ever be, you fucking dipshit quirk thief! At least she can rely on herself for her own fights, while you have to whimper and mope around waiting to touch somebody like a fucking pervert! You wish you could be her with how much you talk about her, huh? You know a lot for someone who’s supposed to hate her! Back the fuck off of my girl!” 

And the hall drops silent. 

Everyone’s side-eyeing everyone, there’s a confused silence, Monoma’s eye is twitching while he slowly turns blue, before Bakugou realises what he said. 

‘I fucking said what I said, assholes! She’s my fucking girl!’ 

Takes your hand and runs all the way back to his dorm 

There he turns and looks down at the ground, trying to find the words he wants to say because this was not how he wanted you to find out, if at all 

He hates being so blushy and nervous and he feels like a schoolgirl and he wants to blow it to oblivion 

But he glances up and sees the heavy blush on your face and his heart just goes 🥴

‘I..’

He hesitates, before clenching his fists and spewing it out without looking at you in the eyes. 

‘I fucking love you.’ 

#2 is...Kirishima! 

Now 

He’s very very extroverted 

We all know this 

And he wants to be friends with everyone in the class

So when he notices that you don’t really talk to people, he’s all over it!! 

Before you know it, he’s tagging along with you to places and he’s talking about a new restaurant and if maybe you would want to go 

And let’s be honest 

The boy knows he has a crush on you since day one 

He sees this beauty walk through the door and he just goes ‘😳🤔🥴🤔’ 

So there’s that going for him

He’s surprisingly good at hiding his crush?? 

He always acts super chill and sweet with everyone so you don’t suspect a thing 

Until one day you’re talking with Mina and she’s like ‘I tried asking Kiri if he wanted to go see Killer Slayer 300 Part 7 but he said he already had a date to see it with someone!’ 

And you’re like ‘...it’s me. I’m the date. I’m the DATE????’ 

And then the secret’s out 

Mina spills it to EVERYONE and the boy is so embarrassed

He feels really bad like was tricking you or something and he starts trying to avoiding you 

And I am so sorry 

But you have to make a move 

He will think forever that he was emotionally...deceitful??? Something along those lines.  

Like he didn’t want you to think that he was one-sidedly dating you 

So when you hunt him down this means several things

One, that you had enough initiative to talk to him despite being so shy, so that already tells him that you really want to talk about this 

Two, that you really did like him

And three, that nonetheless, you wanted to see him 

This makes his heart ‘!!’ and through the entire talk he’s got a blush and he’s trying to avoid saying outright that he loves you in case it derails the entire conversation

So when you talk the leap and say it first, he fucking SHOUTS it. 

‘What?! For real?! I love so so much babe!!!’ 

#3 is...Momo!

Big tiddy gang 

There was an unspoken allegiance the first time you two met eyes 

And instantly you two are hangin out 😤

Every night is spent in each other’s dorms, just vibing and talking about life 

Momo needs that kind of casual support, and oh boy is she getting it 

And you are getting a kinship with a fellow intellectual lady!! 

You two are super patient together, and if anyone has a problem, the momo-y/n gang has got them 

You become a mom figure despite being so shy, because momo does her best to help you out of your shell 

And naturally 

You guys formed an anti mineta union 🙅🏻‍♀️

He said one (1) word about your boobages and Momo, for the first time in her life, genuinely went OFF 

‘That is so disrespectful! How do you intend to become a hero if you always harass women? If we wanted to, all of us girls could have you expelled and even potentially sent to jail! If you do not stop this behaviour towards Y/N, then I will have a word with not only Aizawa-san, but also with Principal Nezu!’ 

Everyone, much like Bakugou going off, is shook but on a much greater scale. 

Momo?? Capable of rage on this level?? 

Impossible 

Mineta is cowering, and while he thinks it’s also kinda hot, he is also very aware that his entire existence is on the line 

You’re watching Momo with shock, but also a mix of blushy embarrassment, pride, and ‘oh god that’s my wife’ 

Later that night while you two are chilling in Momo’s dorm, she looks over and tells you, very quietly

‘I think I’m in love with you.’ 

You look over with a soft, shy smile. 

‘I think I love you, too.’ 

@shslpotato

[flowerpowell]

You Drive Me Crazy (Colt x MC)

PART FOUR

Hey all! Here’s part four and we’re almost half way through the series! As always I dont own the characters, they belong to Pixelberry. The story is set in an AU that’s why it doesn’t follow any RoD events. I hope you’ll like it!

Rating: PG

Word count: 2110

Tagging: @agent-bossypants @brightpinkpeppercorn @confessionsofabrokegirl @lovehugsandcandy @choicessa @walkerduchess @choicesarehard @going-down-downtown @long-gone-girl @client-327 @desireepow30 @i-only-signed-up-for-fanfiction @umiumichan @powdesiree1986 ♥

Colt woke up blinded by the little rays of sun peeking through the window. He tried to pull the blinds but a sudden wave of nausea and a sharp pain in this head stopped him. The hangover was killing him, that’s for sure.

He turned slowly to the other side of the bed and spotted a half-naked woman, still sleeping. He tried to recall her name but the only one he could come up with was Ellie. And that was definitely not Ellie. Sadly.

As quietly as he possibly could, Colt got up and quickly got dressed. He wanted to get out of the unknown house before the woman woke up. Again.

For the last two weeks, that was what his days looked like: getting up with a hangover, realizing he was not in his room, quickly leaving the house before anyone woke up, spending the day in his safe place, going clubbing in the evening again, drinking too much and ending up with random women in their beds.

He felt awful, not because he couldn’t remember any of their names, but because he knew he was doing it because of Ellie. Instead of telling her how he really felt, he was running away.

He hadn’t seen Ellie, or Mona, or anyone for that matter, for almost two weeks. His phone was turned off as he felt like he couldn’t be bothered with everyone asking about him. Or maybe he just didn’t want to know what was between Ellie and Landon. Or maybe Lucas? Luke? Logan?

Ehh, who cares.

Staggering, he managed to get outside and started looking for his motorcycle. It wasn’t the best idea to drive it in his condition, but he stopped caring about anything the moment he realized he was in love with his best friend. And she would never fall for him.

“Hey! Colt, right?” He heard a familiar voice behind him and prayed it wasn’t the person he thought it would be.

Please don’t be him, please don’t be--

“I’m Logan, remember?”

Uhh, please no!

“Unfortunately,” Colt answered not even bothering to look at Logan.

“Do you feel alright, man? You look sick,” Logan’s voice was full of concern but somehow it made Colt even angrier.

“I don’t have enough middle fingers to let you know how I feel, if we’re being honest.”

“Whoa, I was trying to be nice!”

“Then don’t. Just go away, kid.”

Logan shook his head, “Ellie’s told me many good things about you, I guess she was wrong.”

“Ellie? Leave her out of it! She deserves better than you!” Colt yelled, flinching a little, still struggling with the effects of his hangover.

“Better than me? You’re talking about yourself?” Logan laughed and Colt clenched his fists. “I like Ellie and she likes me. If you have a problem with it then maybe grow up. And if you think you’re a better match for her, maybe you should answer her calls more often. Or check in with her once in a while? If you bothered to talk to her at all, you’d know her father is in hospital again. And she needed you but you never called her. Great friend indeed, huh?”

Shit.

Colt watched as Logan walked away, standing stunned, not sure what to do.

Ellie’s father was in the hospital again?

Oh no, oh no, oh no.

He disappointed her. Again. He was constantly disappoining her. Hell, he disappointed himself too.

I don’t deserve her, I don’t deserve anything.

Without thinking too much, he hopped on his bike and drove to the hospital, hoping Ellie would be there with her father.

She was.

When he spotted her, his heart sunk and he felt like the worst person on Earth. She was sleeping on a chair, next to her father’s bed, squeezing his hand. It’d been only two weeks, but she looked tinier than the last time he saw her.

Hesitantly, he walked up to them and put his arm on Ellie’s shoulder waking her.

“Mmm...Colt?” she asked opening her eyes and he squeezed her hand reassuringly.

“I’m sorry, El. I’m so, so sorry,” he whispered, fighting back his tears. How could he do this to her? To the only person who actually still cared about him?

“Colt,” she threw her arms around his neck and he pulled her closer.

“Shh, I’m here, El. I’m here.”

“He’s okay,” she finally pulled away and motioned to her father. “The doctors say he can come back home today. He’s overworked himself, again.”

“Again?” he asked remembering the last time it happened. Ellie was fourteen when  her father was admitted to the hospital and she was scared to death. Colt would come over to her house and slept in her room with her so she wouldn’t feel lonely. He noticed that even though she was twenty now, she didn’t look any less scared. He wondered who kept her company at night. Was it Logan?

Don’t go there, don’t go there.

“I’m, errr, sorry I wasn’t there for you. I had to deal with some...stuff.”

Smooth.

“It’s okay, I understand. I’ve noticed you’ve been rather distant and I thought maybe you needed some space. Don’t worry, I’ve been taken a good care of!” She smiled at him reassuringly but he felt even worse.

“Oh. By who?”

“Well, Mona patted me on the back but I figured she’s not the type to be super affectionate. Toby and Ximena kept me busy and I didn’t have the time to panic and Logan--”

“Time’s up, kids! I need to take Mr. Wheeler to run some tests. Only his closest family can be present,” the nurse who just came into the room started waking up Ellie’s father and Colt looked at his friend, mentally begging her to continue what she was about to say.

“Later,” instead she said, “come to the garage in the evening, I have some exciting news!”

Colt only nodded as the nurse closed the door right in front of his face. He only hoped Ellie’s news wouln’t be about Logan.

~~~~

“Well, well, well! Look who decided to show up at last! Are you sure you’re in the right place?” Mona mocked him the second Colt entered the garage. He rolled his eyes in response but his face fell when he saw Logan working on something in the corner.

“Who invited this dickhead here?! Should I show him the exit?” He asked clenching his fists.

“Whoaa, someone needs some anger management therapy! He didn’t do anything to you, Colt.”

“I don’t need any anger management therapy, I need him to stop pissing me off! What is he doing here?”

“Your father hired him. You know, after one employee took a two-week break he had to find some replacement.”

“HE. IS NOT. MY. REPLACEMENT. And he will never be!” He gritted his teeth and Mona took a step back.

“Whoa, what did he even do to you? Is that about Ellie?”

“TADAAAA!” Both Mona and Colt turned to see Ellie standing in front of them in the tank top showing her new tattoo. Mona nodded approvingly but Colt was standing still, his mouth wide open.

“MONA?” He finally turned to Mona, “WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY FRIEND?!”

“Me? Nothing. But Ximena mentioned she was a tattoo artist and asked if Ellie wanted one and she did,” she shrugged.

“AND YOU APPROVED?”

“Umm? I’m twenty, I don’t need anyone’s approval, you know that, right?” Ellie interjected and Mona quietly left the two of them alone.

“I’m—just shocked. That you would do it... I mean, I was gone for two weeks and I come back and you have your arm covered in ink. But it’s cool. Really. If you say you’ve also changed your name I won’t be surprised. Go ahead. Hit me.”

Ellie laughed and Colt smiled. He missed that sound.

“Nope, only the tattoo for now. But,” she lowered her voice, “there is one more thing I crossed out of my bucket list. And one another I’m about to cross out this weekend.”

“Another one? What did you cross out?” He asked confused and Ellie bit her lip.

“I had my first kiss a few days ago,” she nodded towards Logan and Colt felt as if a bucket full ice-cold water was thrown on him.

“With... Logan?”

“Yes! He was so gentle and sweet--”

“I don’t want to hear about it.” He quickly cut the conversation short. The fact that she didn’t remember  Colt and her kissed, that he could survive. But the fact that she thought her first kiss was with Logan, it was too much.

“Sooo... What have you been up to?” Ellie finally asked.

“Oh, you know, just...stuff.”

“Meaning the usual: alcohol, girls and races?” she asked innocently but it somehow made Colt angry.

“Well, I’m not a saint like Logan, you know about it,” he shrugged and then asked, “so what have you been up to? Probably not alcohol, boys and races, huh?”

“I spent most of my time with Logan. He gave me a few driving lessons actually and said I was pretty good!”

“Kiss ass,” Colt muttered.

“We got pretty close. I really like him, Colt. I think he might be my first serious boyfriend.”

“Him?! No way, El. Do you know anything about him? He’s Mona friend, that suspicious. Don’t rush into things, he’s no good news.”

“Why are you so anti-Logan? He’s a great guy! He’s--”

“I don’t wanna hear about him, okay? Just saying you should stay away from him before things get too serious.”

“Might be a bit too late for that,” she whispered and he turned to her quickly, shocked expression on his face.

Don’t say that, don’t say that, don’t say that.

“Do you mean you... slept with him?” he asked praying for a “no.”

“Not yet. But remember when I said about this other thing from my bucket list that I’m about to cross out? He’s taking me for a weekend trip! My dad agreed, he likes Logan too. And I think I’m ready.” Ellie said blushing.

“You can’t do that! You’re not ready!”

“I am!”

“You’re not! You just met him!” Colt tried to argue, slowly losing his patience.

“And you know all these women you sleep with every day?”

“This is...That’s not...It’s different!”

“It’s not. You told me to start living the way I want and I want it. I don’t even know I’m telling you all of this. I just figured since you’re my best friend and we’ve never had secrets I’d tell you but I guess I was wrong,” she glared at him.

“You are not losing your virginity to Logan!!” Colt yelled making Mona, who just entered the room, drop the screwdriver.

“Okaaay, I clearly wasn’t done in the other room,” she murmured and escaped as quickly as possible.

“Not so loud, you moron!” Ellie hushed him. “You’re not my father. You’re not me. You don’t get to decide.”

“Oh yeah? Maybe I’m not your friend either?”

“Rememeber when we had our first fight? You told me if was a mistake to be friends with a girl like me. That we shouldn’t be friends and it was a bad idea. Maybe you were right. Maybe we shouldn’t be friends since you clearly don’t want me to be happy!” Ellie exclaimed and Colt stood stunned.

Was she... breaking up with him?

“Ellie...”

“I’m sick and tired of people telling me what to do. You told me to set up my own rules. You told me to live the way I want to. And when I try to, you stop me. I’m sick of it, I’m done!”

“Ellie, please...”

“No, Colt. I need to get going, Logan’s waiting. You won’t ruin this for me.”

“Ellie...” Colt pleaded but she already left and got in Logan’s car. They drove off and Colt couldn’t get rid of the feeling of loss.

“Well, that’s quite a show you put up here. If you only fought for her the way you fought for her virginity, maybe you two would be a couple by now,” Mona joked earning a diguisted look from Colt.

“I’ve lost her. The only person I think I might even love, I lost her.”

[forever-forgotten-angel]

To Be Named Soon Strip Club Fic (Prologue)

Prologue / Chapter 1 / Chapter 2

Warning: I am currently planning this to have some Thomas/Virgil romantic elements, if that’s not your thing please move on and have a wonderful day! In addition, this story involves strippers and will likely have some explicit content at some point, so if that isn’t you thing, also please move on and have a wonderful day! Summary: Sanders Sides Strip Club AU, with a newbie Virgil who still isn’t sure about performing in front of actual people and protective club owner Thomas who just wants his employees to be happy and reach their full potential.

Pairings: Patton/Emile, Logan/Roman, Thomas/Virgil, Virgil/Remy, possibly Thomas/Virgil/Remy depending on how things go. More couples may be added. 

Hello! So if you follow myself or @organizeddiscord (which you totally should because she’s awesome, but that’s just my opinion) you’ll probably have already seen the conversation about a Stripper AU for the sides. This is what I have come up with. Hope you enjoy! PS: If anyone has a good suggestion for a name for this fic please tell me, I couldn’t think of one I liked. 

Virgil was an utter mess at fifteen.

 Granted he doesn’t think he’s that much better at present, but he thinks (or at least hopes) he’s got it a little more together.

 He’d always felt off, different. Just saying hi to people, or asking a teacher he’d had for months for a bathroom pass was hard for him. He tried so hard not to care. But he was constantly plagued with thoughts of what everyone was thinking, and saying. Still, he put on the mask of the uncaring person he wished he could be.

 He was a loner. He had very few friends, and the ones he did have were more acquaintances than anything. People he didn’t think would kick him away if he sat at their lunch table, but no one he really talked to or hung out with outside of school.

 The person he talked to the most was probably Mr. Greene, the school counselor. He was a quiet but kind man who never complained when Virgil dumped all of his problems on him. Mr. Greene had urged Virgil to get a true therapist, one who could properly diagnose his anxiety and maybe prescribe him something to help. The sweet counselor had even talked to his parents about it.

 His parents didn’t believe in therapy. They didn’t think there was anything wrong with him. He just wasn’t trying hard enough. He was too lazy. Too scared. Too weak. “Just stop being so damn shy and talk to some people like a normal human being. We don’t need to pay good money for you to talk to some old hack who’s going to put you on pills that you don’t need and will only cost us more.” His parents had tried to ban him from talking to Mr. Greene as well but they couldn’t really do that. After all, the school counselor was there for all the students

 It pissed Virgil off more than anything, because deep down he truly thought some professional help could really help him. Yet, his parents’ words wormed their way into his mind. Was there really nothing wrong with him besides being too much of a scaredy-cat to actually approach anyone?” No, that wasn’t all there was to it. He knew it wasn’t. Didn’t he?

 It was hard to remember with it constantly being shoved down his throat. “You’re just not trying hard enough.” “Stop being so anti-social.” “Join a club.” “Make some friends.” “Get involved with a physical activity.”

 That was another thing. His parents kept pushing for him to get into a sport of some kind. They’d even signed him up for a few sports at the community center they were members of. No offense to the sports themselves or those who enjoyed them, but it was just too much for Virgil. Close aggressive contact and shouting everywhere. He’d quit as soon as he could much to his parents dismay.

 It was at the community center, after a swim in the pool (one of the few activities he liked, though he enjoyed the leisure of swimming and didn’t think he’d enjoy the pressure of a competition), that he saw the flyer. Pole dancing classes free at the community center. Must be sixteen or older to apply without parental permission.

 Virgil remembered his father and mother talking about strippers once. The utter condemnation and disgust in their tone. But hey, they were the ones who wanted him to get involved in a ‘physical activity’, right?

 Virgil waited quietly until sixteenth birthday, and celebrated by signing up.

 His parents had been livid, but there was nothing they could do. Virgil was signed up, and of age to do so himself. They couldn’t cancel his membership until the end of the year. They couldn’t stop him from going, as Virgil had found ways to sneak out years ago (thank you family parties that he’d felt the need to escape from, the only thing those parties had been good for). They just had to deal.  

 Virgil was relieved when he showed up for the class and only a couple others were there. The class apparently wasn’t too popular. This didn’t seem to bother the teacher, a woman that looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties, and was quite beautiful. Certainly someone Virgil would be attracted to, if he had any interest in women that is.

 The teacher’s name was Alina and she was quite laid back. She was fun and personable with the students, staring them off with some basic moves. Virgil picked up on it fairly easily, and enjoyed it far more than he would have thought he would.

 The class became his escape. Away from his peers, his parents, his worries He didn’t have to think of what everyone else is doing or if they’re going to affect him at all. He just had to be aware of his own body, his own movement, and his own limits. It was just him and the pole, a steady, unchanging, predictable partner.

 He starts showing up for the class early, eager to warm up so he can get right to dancing. It’s on one of these days that he sees Alina dancing her best for the fist time. She is up on the pole, flipping, and spinning, and swinging upside down. It’s entrancing.

 He begged the teacher to teach him how to do that. She regretfully informed him that it takes quite a bit of training to have the strength to dance like that. Luckily, Virgil used be in an advanced gymnastics class (until his parents had decided that wasn’t an ‘appropriate’ sport for him) and, while he was a bit rusty, he had kept up his body strength fairly well. Alina offered to let him give it a try.

 It was difficult at first. He gained even more respect for the people who dance like this for a living. The strength and flexibility and precision that it took was far beyond what he would have guessed. But he kept at it, coming to class early and staying late to work with Alina. And he got good. Really good. And he loved it. Being up at the top of the pole, close enough to the world to still experience it but up just high enough to be feel above his worries.

 He worked as hard as he could, building his arm strength, and his core strength, and his leg strength, until he could flip, and spin, and twirl as good as his wonderful mentor.

 His parents had been right when they said a physical activity really could help him, just not for the reasons they thought. He wasn’t cured by any means, but he felt better. And it showed in his attitude, his grades, and just his mindset in general. He had something he felt he was good at could be proud of and provided him an outlet that he desperately needed.

 He cried for a week when the end of the year comes and his parents announce that they are cancelling his membership to the center. He went to thank Alina, bringing her some lovely flowers to show his gratitude for all the extra work she put in with him, and regretfully informs her he has to quit coming to class. The surprised teacher immediately wheedles the story out of him. To his absolute shock, after hearing about his parents, she offered to continue teaching him at the club she works at, assuring him no one would be there during the day and she could clear it with her boss no problem.

 He insisted she’d be wasting her valuable time as, while he loved dancing, he knows he could never perform for a crowd. She insisted right back at him that as long as it’s making him happy and helping him then it is far from a waste of her time. She wrapped him in a hug as a few tears welled up in his eyes. He doesn’t like to admit just how tightly he hugged her back.

 And so that’s what they did. Virgil trained whenever he could with Alina, and eventually of couple of the other club dancers as well, and he kept getting better. And better. And better. The manager of the club even offered him a job a few times once he turned eighteen, somewhat joking (but not really), but Virgil remained steady in the fact that he just can’t perform in front of people.

 It was a sad day when he had to go off to college in a city that’s quite a ways away from the club. But he’d gotten a partial scholarship from the school that had really helped, as his relationship with his parents had only degraded as time went on and they hadn’t given him much and what he’d saved wasn’t enough.

 He knew almost everyone who worked at the club at that point, and they’d thrown him a going away party. There had been drinks, cake, and he’d been given a new bag for college filled with the dancers’ tips from a couple nights. He’d tried to refuse the money but they’d insisted.

 He said his goodbyes to everyone, saving Alina for last. He hugged her tightly as she assured him he’d do great in college and if not, he’d always have his dancing to fall back on, any club would hire him in a heartbeat. He laughed and once again repeated how he could never dance in front of people. She shrugged and gave him a coy look. “You never know.”

But Virgil did know.

 Or at least he’d thought he knew.

I know @organizeddiscord wanted to be tagged in this and I think @nightmarejasmine wanted to be tagged as well, actually I think they asked to be tagged twice so @nightmarejasmine lol :P. If anyone else wants to be tagged let me know. 

[xxbluecullenwritingxx]

Binding of Beau || Chapter Two

|Index|

Beau had Mike with her to walk to her biology class, the boy tried desperately to start up a meaningful conversation but Beau didn't feel like talking so she gave him bluntly, and boring answers. She felt a little bad, seeing as Mike was being so nice to her, but she just didn't have it in her to talk to him in depth about Arizona or even about her favorite books to read, she just wanted some time alone, but she doubted she would get at school.

They entered the small rectangular building, each one looked so much alike besides to the small number by the outside door and sometimes how the decoration inside was different, this one had a fake skeleton in the corner of the room next to the teachers desk, dressed in a suit, and small name tag that said ‘GREG' on it in big bold letters, along with a few dead things in jars on some shelves. She wondered if the name on the skeleton was given by the teacher or the students. Her eyes flickered from the skeleton to Edward who was sitting at a table by himself spinning pen, he looked up meeting Beau's gaze. Beau felt unsure of what to do so she gave a smile, as she walked closer to the front desk past the fan sitting by it, a bit of her hair blowing from its place.

Edward gripped the table as the overwhelming smell hit him. He closed his eyes and turned his head away in an attempt to stop the smell from taking over him any more than it already did to his dismay, it didn't work. Beau noticed the shift in behavior and furrowed her eyebrows as the teacher signed her slip.

"and you can take a seat..." Mr.Marlo glanced around before gesturing to the seat next to Edward "right next to Mr.Cullen over there" he said.

Beau could have sworn she saw the boy cringe before moving to stare at nothing out the window. Beau took a deep breath trying to collect herself before walking over and sitting down, placing her backpack on the floor next to her. She tried to hide the fact she was looking over at Edward by letting her hair fall in front of her face and taking small glances. The boy couldn't have been further away from her without jumping out the window, he was pressed against the wall part way off his seat staring intensely at her with his black eyes. Beau felt a small bit of fear spark in her, she wasn't scared of Edward, but fear that she might have smelled bad. She sniffed at her hair, which smelled like her coconut shampoo, then her clothes, which smelt like the perfume she forced herself to put on every morning.

Again she glanced over, she noticed something that she could only describe as hatred toward her in his eyes... did he judge her that quickly? she hadn't done anything to him, she hadn't even said hi and head already judging her? how dare he judge me without even knowing me . At this Beau grabbed her pencil slightly tighter, and tried to focus on the teacher at the front of the class. But she couldn't, not when Edward eyes were burning holes into the side of her head. I'm going to give him a piece of my mind when the class is over . She had made up her mind that she was going to ask this boy, who didn't know her, what his problem was, however when the bell rang he was gone, faster than she could ever even hope to move, she sat there looking after him and unfortunately Mike was able to get to her before she could pack up.

"Did you stab Edward Cullen with a pencil or what?" Mike asked.

"Sorry?" Beau asked putting her bag back over her shoulder.

"I have never seen him look that pissed before," Beau noticed that Mike seemed a little too happy about that.

"Yeah... I don't know what his problem is" Beau huffed.

"That's all the Cullen's, they think their so much better than everyone else," Mike said as they walked out.

"Oh?" Beau asked.

"Yeah they're a bunch of anti-social rich kids, that won't talk to anyone in this school besides each other just because their adoptive parents have money," Mike said, "Carlisle Cullen's the only sociable one in that family" he added.

"Carlisle… the one Angela mentioned right?" Beau asked as they started walking toward the main building again.

Mike seemed board of the conversation but Beau couldn't help but be interested and hoped that she could get Mike to give up a bit more information.

"Yeah, he's a doctor here, he's pretty good at what he does, he did my check up for me before school started, he's really nice so I'm surprised any of those kids live with him," Mike said.

"I see" Beau mumbled "...Hey thanks for showing me around Mike, I know I haven't been the most talkative but honestly, I was kinda hoping for people to just ignore me today... but you haven't been so bad" she said, realizing she should try and show some gratitude toward the boy.

Mike lite up at that and gave a big smile "No problem, anytime you need me, I'll be there!" he said before glanced at the door of the main building "I should get home, I have a work, but I'll see you tomorrow Bella!" he said before waving and cheerfully running off.

Well if I can make one guy day... Beau walked into the office, pausing a moment when she saw Edward Cullen standing at the front desk having what looked to be a heated conversation with the receptionist.

"There has to be something, anything to replace that hour, I don't want to be in biology anymore, I'll take anything, anything you have" he seemed to be demanding and pleading with the women all at the same time.

"I'm sorry but we don't have anything, you’ll just have to make do," Mrs. Mongo said.

Beau notice Edward tense again, leaning against the counter, for some reason she guessed that his eyes probably closed for a second.

"Just a second dear" Mrs. Mongo said.

"Just... never mind forget it" Edward stormed away from the front desk, away from Beau and a very worried looking Mrs. Mongo.

The receptionist shook her head before giving Beau a smile and Beau forced onto her own features before putting down the slip.

"have a good first-day hun?" she asked.

Beau couldn't help but glance after Edward who was long gone "yeah... it was good" she mumbled. She got everything she needed to be done in the office before being able to leave the school finally.

◈ ━━━━━━━ ⸙ ━━━━━━━ ◈

Home felt amazing after the day Beau had. She wanted to be alone for a little bit, and lucky for her Charlie wouldn't be home for another couple of hours. She walked upstairs and sat down on the desk chair, logging into the computer, that took forever to boot up, then she sat for another ten minutes listening to the horrible dial-up sound that computer made. Definitely looking at some laptops. Beau grabbed her phone from her bag and turned it back on, several notifications of missed calls from her mother made her sigh. She clicked on one of the notifications and called her back. As soon as the phone was picked up Beau started.

"Mom calm down, I just got home"

"You didn't call or text me last night, not even an email I got worried" her mother worried voice came through the phone "anyway how was school?" she asked after a few moments of coming down from the frenzied state she was in.

"It was... okay," she said with a small sigh.

"What's wrong are the kids in school being mean?" she asked.

"No mom... everyone's been really nice," Beau said shifting her phone to hold it between her shoulder and her ear as she logged into her email.

The first email at the top of the list was James' that he told her to look at, Beau clicked it.

"Then what's the matter?" her mother asked.

"Nothing mom, I'm just still getting used to everything" Beau admitted.

"We can always bring you home"

"No mom, I'm fine really... I like it here" she lied through her teeth, Beau had never been a good lier but she didn't know what else today.

Beau's eyes flicked to the email that had loaded up.

I think you need to check this out, don't get mad at me.

- James

Beau frowned a bit before clicking the link, she knew it would probably take forever to load but she had her mother on the phone to calm down. She gently started a swaying motion in her chair as she talked, taking the phone back into her hand.

"Are you sure?" Renee asked.

"Charlie likes that I'm here," Beau said, "I already made some friend" she steered the conversation another way.

"Really, well tell me about them!" her mother seemed excited.

"Well there was this girl named Angela, she runs the school newspaper, she's really down to earth and nice to me," she said "then..." she paused to think "Mike, he's really nice, he showed me around the school," she said.

"Oooh a boy, is he cute?" her mother urged.

"Mom... no, I really don't thin-" Beau's eyes went back to the screen reading the title of the article, the slight swaying motion she had going stopping.

"Bella? What is it? is something wrong?" her mother voice broke her attention away from the screen.

"No... No mom, I have to go.... homework and stuff, and I told James I'd call him after school" Beau said.

Beau was quick with the goodbyes before grabbing the mouse and scrolling through the article.

She didn't even get through half before she grabbed her phone and went to the messages between her and James.

What's this all about? I'm not... I can't be... James, we have talked about this once before! Why are you bringing it up again now?

You won't even say it will you? Beau, it's fine, and I'm bringing it up again because I see you, I know you, I've known you for a long time... I want you to be comfortable is all. Can you tell me that without a doubt your comfortable and sure of who you are?

Beau paused reading the text again before leaning back into the chair and thinking for a moment.

No...

Why are you so scared that you might be transgender?

There it was, that word, one that sent panic to Beau's heart, she didn't know why it scared her so much, the point where she couldn't even read the article completely. She couldn't be... She was scared beyond belief that she might be, and she didn't know how to calm that fear in her. She always stifled all her feelings about it down.

I... I can't be... I don't want to be damn it! I want to be normal, I have to be, the chief's daughter can't be transgender, it would kill my mom

But what about you Beau?

Beau felt tears prick her eyes and she cursed at herself before hearing a car pull up outside. Fuck is that time already? she quickly got up and looked out the window to see her father police car parked in the driveway next to her truck. Beau quickly closed out of the browser and shut off the computer.

James Charlie's home, we'll talk later

Beau started down the stairs when her phone when off once more.

Beau, you know it’s not the worst thing you can be... I'll love you no matter what and always be there for you, and your father is probably just so happy your with him that he'll accept just about anything... and god your mother loves you too much to lose you over something you can't help... you don't have to decide now... but please look more into it and think about it. Be you, Beau, even when the world doesn't understand it.

[ilickedanenvelopeandilikedit]

“The fact that he supports trans women means that he supports misogyny”

okay ur rant is bullshit on so many levels and I know I’m not going to change ur mind but the fact that ur calling something that has brought so SO many trans people hope and happiness is pissing me off so anyway.

this is the definition of misogynist:

Now let’s look at Gerard way, a beautiful person who has never as far as I know (and please do correct me with evidence if I’m wrong) said anything to discredit the experience of cis women. One of the synonyms it suggests is “anti feminist”. You tagged ur thing as “gender critical” or some shit like that so I’m assuming ur a TERF. I would very much be interested in hearing ur definition of feminism, but to me feminism means “the fight for every single person to be able to express their gender without criticism and for them to be able to live outside of toxic standards that have been held for too long.” So by that definition, how exactly is Gerard way an anti feminist? They are expressing the gender that they have wanted to live as for so long and they’re happy. And you’re right, they have not gone through the same struggles that a cis girl has. But when- when the fuck- has someone had to go through the exact same thing as someone else to be considered valid? And to say that they are making a clown of themself when they are happy and having fun with their friends and bringing joy to thousands is literally the stupidest thing I’ve heard in a while. Oh, but it’s because “it’s like he’s making fun of all women” girl I’m sorry that ur femininity is so fucking fragile that ur offended by a AMAB person wearing a dress but you need to grow the fuck up sweetheart, okay? And ur statements are conflicting “he’s insulting all women!” “He supports trans women!” Which is it. Trans women ARE women and if you don’t understand basic human decency then it too fucking early in the morning for me to explain it to you. You talk about trans women doing shit to “actual” (🤮 god I hate that term) women. And maybe ur right. I have not read up on everything ever so maybe there are some trans women that have done bad things to cis women. I am not disputing that and I am not calling every trans person a saint. But hello, hi, 👋, yeah, you ever heard of a thing called over generalization???? (I think that’s the term) but like assuming just cuz there are some bad apples that the entire tree should be chopped? Yeah grow up and look at the fact that this person (Gerard way) is an amazing person because they are inspiring thousands and showing them that it is okay to be who you are and be happy.

personally, as a trans guy, you have no idea how much these pictures that “disgusted” you meant to me. I almost started crying when I got up this morning and saw that this person had dressed up last night, had so much fun and completely fucked gender norms and any hope that anyone had of them conforming to heteronormativity. They are queer just like I am and you have no idea how beautiful it was to see someone on a stage flaunting that queerness that runs in our veins. They were happy. And to us, the trans and gnc kids who aren’t grown up or out or free yet, that meant so much. That fact that there is another person like us someone that we look up to that can hold their head high and look beautiful doing it was amazing. They were happy and that means that we can be happy too.

I don’t know how else to explain this but basically, if Gerard Way dressing up in a skirt and being happy and bringing joy and hope to so many people makes you ‘disgusted’ then maybe you really need to examine why you care so much that they weren’t born with tits.

I hope they know how much love and support we have for them tonight. I desperately hope they know.

[overthinkingkdrama]

Jona's Top 5 Second Male Leads Who Deserved to End Up Alone

[Disclaimer: This list is intended for entertainment purposes. It includes spoilers for the tagged shows. This is just my personal opinion, so I apologize in advance if I’m bashing your fave. I just woke up this morning and thought, “You know, I haven’t pissed anyone off in a while.”]

In the Kdrama fandom much is made of SLS, or Second Lead Syndrome, that is the condition of sympathizing with the secondary character, usually male and usually the hypotenuse of a love triangle, over and above the actual hero and wishing he would get with the female lead instead. Most of the time because the hero is an asshole and the second lead treats her like a human being. There are occasionally examples of SLS regarding the second female characters, but it is far more common with male, because unfortunately second female leads have a tendency to be stock characters or finger-steepling jealousy monsters, instead of fully fleshed out people. God knows I’ve had my share of SLS in every flavor…

But this isn’t a list about SLS, but rather the opposite of that. This is about the second leads I had no patience for. The ones who are a waste of air and screen time. The ones who annoyed me with their shitty “nice guy” attitudes or frustrated me with their passivity. The ones I immediately wanted to punch in the face. In short, the second leads who deserved to end up alone.

5. Kang Shin Woo/ You’re Beautiful

I’ve gone off several times in the past on the infuriating species infesting dramaland I’ve termed the “passive pining second lead”. I really dislike this character type, it drives me up a tree. So you knew going in one of these boys was going to end up on this list.

It didn’t have to be Kang Shin Woo. It could easily have been Ji Hoo from BoF or Kang Woo from Master’s Sun. Or any number of other second leads who fit this archetype. But it had to be one of them.

I can’t really explain to you why Shin Woo earned my particular ire. Maybe it was just teeth-grinding frustration I felt with each successive, convoluted attempt to woo Mi Nyeo. Maybe it was the weirdness of that let-me-stalk-you-via-telephone-while-you-go-on-a-solo-date thing. Or that fact that the male lead was such an unmitigated moron.

Shin Woo managed to miss his window while Mi Nyeo was still crushing on him hard. He had countless opportunities to confess his feelings and just waited and waited until she was almost obliged to fall for Tae Kyung out of sheer impatience. This is the kind of character that makes me want to tear my hair and yell at the screen “USE YOUR FRICKEN WORDS!”

Luckily, there’s an appealing “third lead” in You're Beautiful who saves it from mediocrity, and the drama is otherwise such dopey, fluffy fun that you can’t help but be endeared. Jeremy saves this from being higher on the list.

4. Lee Ji Hoon/ The Best Hit

Talk about a character who has one of the worst cases of “Nice Guy” syndrome I’ve ever seen. Lee Ji Hoon was one of those characters I was initially rooting for, since Best Hit’s ambiguous love lines appear to leave things open ended as far as the end game couple was concerned. For the first half of the drama it seemed like things could go either way, and the friends-to-lovers dynamic between Ji Hoon and Woo Seung was endearing and heartfelt.

Also Kim Min Jae is pretty. So, so pretty…

For a while I was worried he was going to fall into the “passive pining” category, remaining silent, and losing his chance. But finally he made up his mind to confess and I was ecstatic. Yes! Go for it! And that was just about when it all went wrong.

The way a male character handles rejection and disappointment is make or break in my book. It takes them farther than charisma, looks and even moral fiber. (Give me a pirate or a conman over an entitled asshole.) And for me Ji Hoon totally failed this very important test. After Woo Seung told him she didn’t return his feelings Ji Hoon continually badgered and attempted to win her over even when she asked him to stop, intentionally made her uncomfortable, and thrust a surprise kiss on her. My frustration with his character grew until the point were he told Woo Seung that he regretted meeting her first as his friend, after which point he was dead to me.

Despite the potential ickiness of timetravel paternity shenanigans, I was so relieved when Hyun Jae ended up being our male lead. The Best Hit remains one of my very favorite dramas of the year and I still highly recommend it. But if you want to come at me about SLS for poor, poor Ji Hoon, kindly get out of my house.

3. Han Tae Jin/ Another Oh Hae Young

Han Tae Jin had all the makings of a really interesting, sympathetic anti-hero. After all, he comes across like the obvious wronged party in this love triangle. Due to a case of mistaken identity, Tae Jin becomes the target of the jealous spite of our male lead, Park Do Kyung, ultimately causing the ruin of his business, the breaking of his engagement with the titular Hae Young, and getting him sent to prison! Ouch. That’s a lot of angst wrapped in an attractive Lee “Chiseled Jaw For Days” Jae Yoon.

And yet, instead of cutting a fetchingly tragic figure, Tae Jin turned out to be a vengeful, bitter, violent man incapable of letting go of a grudge even for the woman he supposedly loved. He was such an emotionally unstable, loose canon that I was frequently uncomfortable when he was onscreen. If I’m not very much mistaken he assaults Do Kyung not once, but several times, to such a degree that Hae Young ends meeting him to beg him not to hurt Do Kyung anymore. It struck me as incredibly messed up.

I really didn’t want Lee Jae Yoon on this list twice– I have nothing against the actor–which is the only reason his Cruel City character Detective Ji Hyung Min wasn’t on this list instead. I actually like Lee Jae Yoon! Just not the characters he tends to play…Luckily, Cruel City wasn’t extremely focused on the love triangle, it was focused on the pain. I chose his character in OHYA instead because, being a romance focused drama the way they handled the love polygon was more important to me. By the end of the drama they attempted to redeem him and it just didn’t work for me at all. Keep this dude the hell away from me.

2. Lee Joon Hee/ Falling for Innocence

There are a variety of strategies drama writers use to make us root for the jerk chaebol hero over and against the started-from-the-bottom second lead with treats the female lead with tenderness and respect. They give their heroes tragic backstories, slowly grow them into human beings, build UST, and give them melodramatic redemption arcs. The options are basically endless.

But why go through all of that when you can just make your second lead a secret scumbag murderer! There…all sorted.

This was honestly the most confounding bait and switch love line I’ve probably ever seen. When the reveal of who was ultimately responsible for the death of Sung Joon’s fiancé finally happened I very nearly threw my tablet across the room. They go to a lot of trouble to give Joon Hee a sympathetic long time unrequited love backstory as well as motivation for his sometimes morally dubious corporate ladder climbing. They also give him frequent shippy scenes with Sung Joon where he takes care of her and worries about her or vice versa. While in contrast Min Ho is absolutely horrible to her for a good portion of the show, the only thing that redeems him being a literal personality transplant.

They go out of their way to present this like it’s a legitimate love triangle, when given all of the facts it’s nothing of the kind. It makes me wonder why they even bothered trying to get me invested in the character since it turns out he’s actually evil.

Upon rewatch (started this one again rather recently) I had a lot more fun with this drama. Since I already knew what I was getting into I had the resounding pleasure of yelling at the screen every time Joon Hee and Sung Joon get a cutsy or romantic scene, which is very satisfying. The real reason to watch this show, Min Ho’s horrid behavior in the first episodes notwithstanding, is because Jung Kyung Ho is absolutely hysterical. For me it’s still kind of a garbage show with a garbage plot, but, hey, I love garbage.

1. Goo Jung Hee/ Ms. Perfect

There are very few characters in drama land that inspire in me the kind of hatred I felt for Jung Hee throughout this series. There are villians that don’t fill me with such seething rage. There’s a lot of adjectives I could use to describe Jung Hee. Loathsome comes to mind. An incomplete list of others would include: spineless, selfish, sniveling, and “the slimiest weakling ever to crawl the earth.”

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. I hate this so called man. And yet, to my eternal confusion he is loved by and romantically involved with not one, not two, but three different women throughout the course of the show.

Actually, this entry poses a little bit of a problem regarding what we actually consider to be a “second male lead”. For the majority of the list so far I’ve been using the definition of the “second romantic lead” or, in brief, “the member of the obligatory love triangle who doesn’t get the girl” rather than “a male character with lesser narrative importance and/or subordinate billing to the male lead.”

In Kdrama the two things are usually one in the same. Usually, but not always. The reason is a) most dramas place a heavy emphasis on romance b) romantic fulfillment is usually the overt goal or the overt reward of the hero’s character arc and c) if a show ends without romantic closure (dating, marriage, babies ever after) it’s not generally seen as “satisfying”. But there are cases where the character with top billing or greater narrative importance is not meant to be our romantic lead, or even necessarily someone we root for. Jung Hee falls into this category, which made me wonder if I should even include him on this list.

Because Yoon Sang Hyun received top billing and was considered, by all reports, the lead in Ms. Perfect there was a great deal of disagreement and turbulence surrounding the intended endgame of the drama. Sung Joon’s Kang Bong Goo readily fits the mold of the romantic lead but his screen time is about half of Jung Hee’s, so I can readily understand where these concerns came from.

I’m happy to report that Jung Hee remained a subject of sometimes pity, but more often disgust, and the only thing that really disappointment me with his plot trajectory was that he didn’t end up dying in a fire at the end of the show. Missed opportunity IMO. While certainly a weird and flawed drama, Ms. Perfect remained entertaining throughout its run and I honestly would recommend it if for no other reason that Shim Jae Bok is a goodamn queen. There is the notable downside that this character has forever ruined Yoon Sang Hyun for me as an actor, as I can’t even see his face without feeling slightly ill.

I hope you enjoyed my top fave LEAST favorite male leads. This list was requested anonymously and I would be interested in producing other, similar lists in the future. If you have a subject you’d like me to cover please send me an ask or reply to this post and I’ll take it under consideration.

Jona

[oathkeptroxas]

Someone reblogged one of my anti olicity posts and tagged it with "I don't mind the ship but that might be because I've never read a comic book in my life and the show did black canary badly"

I am amazed at the stupidity and the contradiction in that.

1) I don't even ship laurel/Oliver. The post didnt mention laurel at all. I actually want Olivers dick to shrivel up and fall off. He has an awful habit of disrespecting the women in his life and being exempt from his mistakes. He needs to work on repairing his emotional/mental health and take a long hard look in the mirror before he even attempts a relationship

2) by bringing up laurel at all this person implied that the only reason anyone would dislike olicity is somehow linked to laurel, which is absolutely false. In fact, most of my laurel lance defence squad mutuals DON'T ship her with Oliver at all. And by trying to make it into a ship war, people are dismissing the well founded complaints that viewers have (it's actually a toxic tactic that olicity fans use to silence/talk over/dismiss anyone who doesn't agree with them)

3) if you, by your own admission, have never read a comic book. You are also admitting you don't know SHIT about black canary. So how could you POSSIBLY know if the show did her wrong? Of course you're entitled to dislike the plot/character but you are not informed to make judgements on how the show handled black canary if you don't know her. In fact, laurels charactization is 1000000% more accurate to the comics than Olivers is. But no one says anything about fucking Green Batman Lite (tm) which will never NOT piss me off.