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atsadi-shenanigans · 12 hours ago

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FSBE 11 - Faerunian Birth Control

You learn about tea.

On AO3.

You emerge into what passes for morning. Or midnight. It’s fucking miserable, is what it is.

Every joint grinds and aches as you shuffle towards the dim glow of the almost campfire. Your legs move like an arthritic eighty-year-old granny, muscles stiff and creaking, and your head feels even worse.

Still catch yourself looking for white hair.

Astarion didn’t come back. You woke up alone. Again.

Some people is like that. You already know that. He ain’t even, like, alive, let alone being human. And y’all’s relationship (you do not blush over that word) (hopefully not so much other people notice) is still so new. Can barely stand itself up, let alone walk. Y’all’re figuring everything out, is all. And he was probably embarrassed.

You still look to his quiet tent as hurt twists your gut.

“Feeling better?” Gale says. Hands you a mug of cool tea. Fire won’t get hot enough to boil it hot, but y’all don’t got ice and Mr. Wizard don’t wanna use magic on that when he might need it to not get bit in the face again. So y’all get this tepid nonsense.

Still. It’s got some caffeine.

God almighty, you miss coffee.

You grunt a response. Feel all scraped thin again. Content to sit there by yourself and nurse your tea (and your feelings).

Gale tries to take a sip of his own mug and grimaces. Catches you looking. “Sorry. I just can’t bear a proper leaf at less than scorching.”

Maybe it’s cause his accent translates to your ears (thank you dirt potion) as British, but the man is not a fan of iced tea.

“Ain’t proper iced tea, neither,” you say. It ain’t sweet enough, on top of the ice shortage.

“What was it you called the drink again?” he says. It’s in English, carries a southern twang (ha), and comes out, “This drink speak what?”

You hide a smile on your next sip. Anybody ever follows after you (if y’all survive this shit mess), they are gonna have some questions if they run into Gale.

A short English lesson begins (iced tea). It’s harder for him than learning Faerunese (Common) or Chondathan is for you. English is a bastard of a language on its good days, and ugly sounding to boot.

“But there’s no clear system of grammatical rules applying a plurality,” Gale mutters after a good five minutes. “The pronoun doesn’t change at all, unless it does, but then it changes the entire word and there’s no clear indication which nouns that even applies to! How do you—and I say this as an archmage, if you please—remember which is which?”

“Context” you say. Take a sip. “And plain old memorization. I don’t even get it right all the time. I don’t really think about it.”

“And the word do.” He drawls that one out. “What even is that word? It seems to have no set meaning, yet you say it isn’t a placeholder—”

Movement to the right. White on red. Astarion emerges. Usually, after he bites you, man is downright peppy. Eyes bright, hair glossy, crops watered. Now he’s got dark smears under his eyes, and blinks groggily at the dim sky.

“Ah,” Gale says. His mouth twists up in a half grin. “I see your attention has been rather stolen.”

Astarion looks over at that.

“Sorry,” you say, snapping back to Gale. Which is stupid. It’s not like Astarion didn’t notice. It’s not like he didn’t have his hand in your pants last night and then came— “I heard ‘do’ is a borrowed verb, possibly from a different language that got folded in a couple centuries ago.”

But Gale holds up a hand. Smile softer, now. “It’s quite alright. I understand the effect having a partner can have on one’s focus.”

Huh. That actually makes this all worse.

The scent of flowers drifts over you with a cool breeze. You try not to shudder as Shadowheart comes to a stop over you, her lips pressed thin.

“I…think I may see if our dear friend Karlach can do something with this awful tea,” Gale says and stands before you can even form a “wait”.

You lift a cup in salute to his retreat. Wish you could follow. But have to look up to catch Shadowheart dropping into the spot in the dirt next to you.

“Morning?” you say.

“I haven’t the faintest idea,” she says, because everybody in this camp is allergic to polite goddamn greetings. Except Wyll, who lifts his own cup of cool tea in a gesture of solidarity.

Then Shadowheart hands you a purple pouch the size of your fist.

“Uh,” you say.

“Nararoot,” she says. “You can slice off a piece about the size of a fingernail and eat it directly, or steep it into tea. It’s less bitter as tea, which I’ve heard you prefer.”

You take the pouch. Inside is what looks a lot like a cluster of ginger, except a purple-maroon color.

“Okay?” you say. Stare at her.

She holds that stare so long you’re sure she’s just gonna leave you hanging. Seems bemused about it, too. Then, “I assume you don’t want to be with child during all this? Take that twice a tenday, and you shouldn’t have to take other precautions.”

It’s…oh. Oh. She done gave you the Faerunian pill.

The rest of camp is suddenly real invested in downing cold breakfast and packing up. Astarion’s whole head is hidden behind an open book but…that fucker’s shoulders tremble. That bitch is laughing.

“I, uh,” you say. “I don’t think—”

Shadowheart leans forward, expression soft but real focused. “I don’t know what you’ve heard of vampires, but they can—very rarely—father a child. With our luck running the way it has been, I’d rather be cautious than not.”

It really ain’t about—also, y’all haven’t been doing the kinda stuff that would even result in that.

“I really don’t—”

“Unless you do want a child?” Shadowheart says, and there comes the judgmental eyebrow. Good god, she’s good at that.

Wyll chats with Lae’zel about y’all’s path for the day. Gale has found Karlach, who holds his mug between her hands—now glowing hot red—as she grins in a way that makes your seated-ass knees weak.

“I can’t,” you say. “Get pregnant.”

As the entire camp comes to one of them natural, unforeseen lulls in conversation at the same. Goddamn. Time the words leave your mouth.

“Fuck yeah!” Karlach says. The mug looks a bit soft in her hands, the liquid visibly boiling. She looks up, eyes wide. “Oh, uh, I meant. Sorry.”

Jesus strike you dead. You bring a hand up over your face.

“Oh,” Shadowheart says, blinking fast. “I, I had no idea. I’m sorry.”

And now she thinks she’s the one who done fucked up. God fucking damnit all.

“No,” you say. “It’s not. It ain’t nothing bad, I mean. I did it. Or, I had a doctor do it. A procedure.”

Queue the stealth glances you feel crawling over your scalp. Except from Lae’zel, who stares outright. And Astarion…still hiding behind his book but at least he ain’t laughing no more.

Is that something that’d bug him? Shadowheart said he might, maybe be able to knock up somebody. But it ain’t come up cause y’all’ve been together like that twice now in about a week.

But some people get real weird about that. Even when they think it’s a biological thing. If they learn you up and got your insurance to pay for it? Took the time outta your day to track down a doctor willing?

They get real fucking judgy and weird.

“It’s a procedure I asked for,” you say. “They take out two, small bits so you can’t. Not like, the whole thing. Just, uh, the parts that connect them. I ain’t never gonna get pregnant.”

“Right,” Shadowheart says. Glances away. Is…is she blushing? There certainly seems to be a touch of pink on them cheeks. She flashes you a strained smile. “It appears I’ve overstepped. I am sorry. I, well…”

She don’t look over to the red tent and the pale man lounging out in the front, pretending like he can’t hear every word.

You smile. Just a little. “You was doing your cleric thing and looking out for me. I appreciate it. Really.”

She stares another moment, searching for something in your face. Seems to find it and nods.

“You can, y’know. Might want this back.” You hold out the pouch, cause you ain’t sure how much the pill is here, but she takes it, so it ain’t like it just grows on the side of the road.

She more or less skedaddles after that. Nobody says shit. They leave you to sit there and finish off your room temperature tea. Which you do your best with, and shake the dribbles out. Can’t afford to use the limited water left to rinse it. Hopefully, Wyll was right and that inn ain’t far. Y’all got dried rations enough, but with no water, that ain’t gonna matter very long. And Astarion…

Lae’zel at least lets you know she’s coming this time, by approaching straight from the front. You look up. She stands there, arms crossed, peering down.

“Morning?” you try, because you are gonna get one of these fuckheads to say it back to you someday.

“Hmm,” she says, which is a step closer than last time. “You allow your physicians to gut you so you may use your body as you wish?”

That…is not any kinda description of what you said. All you can picture now is that space horror movie where that girl got into a machine to cut out the alien thing growing inside her.

“I have heard your kind cannot control when they lay an egg, as we githyanki do. I am surprised your people would go through such lengths in order to alter themselves. I thought them like you: too soft and weak to bear it.”

Huh. That’s…huh.

It was a pain in the ass to find a doctor that didn’t make you jump through a dozen “I really mean it, I never want kids and here’s eight referrals saying so and five years’ documentation to back that up” hoops.

And there’s a history with Native women and forced, unknowing sterilization, courtesy Uncle Sam. You never actually told nobody from your family what you done. Except Uncle Randy, who drove you to the appointment and back, all drugged up (and got you pizza afterwards, to eat on the couch with an ice packet on your belly). They all just figured you was gay and hiding it.

“Sure,” you say slowly. “Thanks?”

Lae’zel nods. Considers you again. “You will join me tomorrow so I may teach you how to wield your new weapon. You will join me all the mornings after as well. Consider that when you make your nightly…courtships.”

That last word all, dare you say it, awkward.

Nobody watches you now. That’s nice. It’s nice not being the main entertainment for the group.

“Right,” you say. “Thank you, Lae’zel.”

She nods. Stalks off.

Astarion ain’t out front of his tent no more.

Note: Between 1970 and 1976, the US sterilized Natives (and other minorities) without their full consent or sometimes knowledge. A conservative estimate is that 25% of childbearing Natives were sterilized.

#fsbe #these two shitheads #astarion #astarion x tav #tavstarion #bg3 #eleanor's got issues

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cinnamoncilla · 13 hours ago

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Iconic things i say w/context-Fame Dr edition

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“um… it was weird but who got the Grammy’s..me”-Chappel fans in uproar about me winning every nomination we were both in categories for and i was responding to the haters in an interview (love chappel i just need drama😞)

“is this what Hollywood is like”- i’m drunk walking around the streets of LA with a group of friends when paparazzi are taking pictures and videos it goes viral and ppl make edits of it😋

“i’m on SNL and you’re not”- no context needed😍

“i don’t know..delusion?”- when being asked in an interview about what inspires my songwriting

“step one if you wanna be Cassiopeia you got think like Cassiopeia… Cassiopeia is a mindset *winks at camera* ’’- context never needed love Tara yummy

“i do have media training… they tell me what to do but i don’t listen’’-when being asked in an interview why i say the things i do

the renee. rapp buddy interview-iykyk and if you don’t search it up

interviewer- “Do you believe in the famous line ‘blondes have more fun?’” oh wtv blondes have more fun cuz the bleach is in their head..let’s talk about it”-i love my blonde girlies out there I SWEAR😞🙏🏽

“WHY IS EVERY PRETTY GIRL WITH A UGLY MAN?!”-I this on a live stream with a friend

“people make up rumors all the time saying that my walk was staged and i don’t actually walk like that..but it’s not my fault im just naturally blessed”-said on a live stream when my paparazzi video went viral of me walking down the street and people started calling it the “it girl walk”

“lipstick lasts longer but lipgloss is more fun”-if you what gossip girl is then you know but i said this in my vogue beauty secrets interview during my Fem labs brand announcement

interviewer:“what’s the thinnest layer of the earth called” me: “the thinnest layer of the earth” interviewer: “correct” me:” oh thank you got a point”-it was a random question during an interview and i decided to mess with him so i said that but people took it seriously so now i never live it down 😞…at least i got edits made out of it

“paparazzi: “how have you been Cassiopeia” me:”i’ve been sexy” paparazzi: “you look sexy” me: “ i know”- i said that while walking to the car out of a club

“all i want for Christmas is…a pink bentley”-i got asked this during an interview around christmas time

ok i got lazy that’s all 🧍‍♀️

#shiftblr #shifting antis dni #shifting community #reality shifting #shifting blog #fame desired reality #fame dr #shifters #shifting #shifting consciousness #shifting script #shifting motivation #shiftingrealities #shifting diary #fame shifting

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maxdibert · 1 day ago

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I hate the excuse "Snape was only bullied bc he was into the dark arts and believed in blood purity" Nah man, most of the "hot" popular guys in my HS were racist as shit and watched liveleak execution videos on their phones in class and they sure as fuck didnt get bullied for being massive pieces of shit (or in any official trouble, "we cant do anything if you have no proof", fucking hell), but do you know who did get bullied and in trouble? The quiet "ugly" kids who were into innocuous stuff like anime or emo fashion and just wanted to be left alone. Getting bullied every day for no reason other than existing, and then getting punished when you finally break and lash out at the bullies once, while they get away with years of constant attacks on you and your friends.

I love Snape, because I see myself in him. Liking him tricked me into realising I didn't deserve what happened to me. I love all the people who stick up for his character, you're kind and understanding.

Love your blog, I've been going through reading all your posts and I couldn't help messaging, you write so well and it made me emotional. I hope you are well and have a wonderful day ❤️

That's a shitty excuse.

First, because canon doesn’t support it. Canon makes it very clear that James was the one who started the whole conflict. James, without anyone saying anything to him, approached Severus and mocked him for the first time on the Hogwarts Express during their first year. At that point, Severus hadn’t said anything about liking the Dark Arts, and James wasn’t born a Legilimens to magically know it. He simply thought he could butt into a conversation and make a shitty comment, and that was it. Canon also clearly establishes that when James stripped Severus in front of the whole school, it was because Sirius was bored, and his way of having fun was to corner “Snivellus” and publicly humiliate him. At no point are the Dark Arts mentioned. At no point is his association with Slytherins mentioned. The only one who brings it up is Lily, not James. This makes it very clear that James’s motive wasn’t ideological—he just enjoyed tormenting Severus because he liked having someone to take it out on. That’s it.

And second, that’s still not an excuse to torment someone in a position of inferiority. I’ve met plenty of people with garbage mindsets throughout my life, and I’ve never beaten them up for it—unless we were at a protest and they started getting violent. I have friends who were very popular in school, with leftist and combative mentalities, and it never crossed their minds to go after a marginalized kid, no matter how shitty their beliefs were, and publicly humiliate them. It’s ridiculous. Social justice isn’t about being a rich, spoiled brat abusing your social and economic power to pretend you care about people’s rights by using violence against someone who clearly can’t defend themselves or doesn’t have the same opportunities and tools you do. Social justice is about real actions with real impacts on society. So even if James’s excuse had been that—which it wasn’t—it would still have been just as wrong. And if anyone thinks otherwise, they’re either sociopaths or literal children who still don’t have hair on their legs and have no clue how the world works.

I wasn’t bullied in school, but I have met plenty of James Potter types throughout my life, and they’ve always disgusted me. White men, with money and resources, who think they can do and say whatever they want and treat people however they please. The ones who make “jokes” that aren’t jokes, the ones whose jokes have repulsive undertones. Guys I absolutely would punch in the face. Guys I’ve had to deal with all my life because, at the end of the day, they’re just gutless bags of shit.

Thanks for reading my blog. I’m glad it made you feel good. Big hug <3

#james potter #james potter was a bully #james potter was a prick #james potter was a piece of shit #anti james potter should be called anti privileged dicks #severus snape #pro severus snape #severus snape fandom #severus snape defense #pro snape #snapedom

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daisywords · 1 year ago

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rereading Fairest bc I have my own copy now (yay $2.50 at a used bookstore!) and so far it's as lovely as I remember

but anyway I do like how Aza's "ugliness" is characterized by people actually treating her badly because of it. People talk about the stereotype of YA protagonists being like "oh poor me I'm so ugly" in an attempt to make them relatable but the narrative actually treats them like they are gorgeous and every character that isn't a villain finds them attractive.

Vs. here it's like. yeah her self perception is all tied up in cultural ideas of beauty and she's definitely not objective either, and a lot of what she thinks is inherent to her ugliness is all wrapped up her related social anxiety, etc.

but! It's very refreshing to see a book that deals so much with beauty standards actually commit to it! It's not like she's just vain and obsessed with looks! You can tell she wants to be beautiful because she wants to be treated like a person! The way it is just that blatant! Most people are rude to her or ignore her! And she makes it worse in her head and compounds the problem by letting her own insecurity draw attention to herself, but at the end of the day, she's right! People would treat her better if she looked different!

The details that we get about her appearance are not even "ugly" traits, either! Like we get the pale skin, black hair, red lips combo pulled directly from the traditional Snow White fairy tale, where those traits are supposed to be beautiful and desirable! But in this culture, apparently those traits are a part of her ugliness, which just perfectly highlights how the beauty standards are inherently arbitrary! And yet! They affect her life in real ways! It doesn't matter much how we, the reader, picture her; we believe that she is ugly because people treat her like she is!

Anyway I especially love how her insecurity regarding her size is portrayed. The combo of feeling small and meek and timid on the outside but being large and imposing on the outside. She feels like she takes up too much space. She doesn't want to wear anything at all attention grabbing. She doesn't know what to do with her limbs. Her biggest fear about demonstrating her magical singing trick is that she would have to show people how she moves her stomach (the horror!)

anyway everyone ever should read Fairest. I could write 12.5 dissertations on it. fantasy books for 12-year-old girls are the most serious fiction in the world actually

#gail carson levine #fairest #daisyreads #anyway what I'm saying is there's a reason why I kept coming back to this book as a very shy girl with a large frame #ough the way her sister is like ''and your eyes are gorgeous''#the kind of conditional compliments. and they way people including her family that loves her acknowledge the pragmatic aspects #like yeah let's have you avoid the customer facing tasks. you could get famous with your singing if you were better looking #anyway. like being told irl when trying on clothes ''well what matters is if you feel confident''#thanks! that's what you say to ugly people!#(for the record I do not think I'm particularly ugly. I am pretty average imo)#but I do think that I would be perceived differently in a lot of ways if I were prettier! (and smaller! oof)#and it's nice to have that acknowledged as a real thing in fiction #instead of assuring us that the protag isn't perfect looking but giving her all the pretty privileges anyway #wow I had more to say abt this than i thought lol

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ceofcatgirls · 7 months ago

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//suggestive

Going to finally make a post about this bc its been haunting my mind for a good month or two at this point--

This is a brief-ish post about guns being used as a metaphor for masculinity, power, and potential stand-in for phallus imagery in the dollars trilogy. I'll also be speaking about these things from a general stand point too, but I'll try to focus on how and where they interconnect.

I doubt most ppl will read all of this but I have brainworms so I need to put this out somewhere .

I think a lot of these points can be said about Westerns in general, btw. Not just Leone movies. However I'll focus on the dollar trilogy because this is already too long and needs to have a focus.

Now, I'm sure masculinity will need no defining, but I'll briefly show what definition of phallic imagery I use;

(Yes I'll eventually tie all this to the homoeroticism present in the movies, with a slight feminist bent to this analysis)

(I want you to keep in mind throughout this post that guns are metaphoric stand ins for dicks lol, just so i dont have to keep repeating that all the time)

I think this definition is quite good as it incorporates the concept of power into itself, which imo is a must-have when discussing masculinity in artwork.

As expected, there is an undeniable connection between phallic imagery and masculinity, which is also tied to power. A lot of masculinity throughout human history has relied upon genitals (even if not completely) to assert itself, which in turn, would affect the power relations men and women have, but also between men themselves. After all, the patriarchy is dependent on gender, with the male gender having the upper hand. This would mean, within a patriarchal society, men with more masculinity have more power, so we can see how sexuality is so tied to the patriarchy also, and how men will inevitably compete.

I'll start with perhaps one of the most obvious examples of this from the trilogy; which also conveniently has phallic imagery, or phallic metaphors.

Specifically, I'll start with the first proper interaction Colonel Mortimer and Manco have in For a Few Dollars More

(I'll link the clip just in case)

youtube

I'll state the obvious first; this is obviously a competition to define who would have the most power (and thus upper hand) in their relationship. That's why neither character backs down, and why there is a tense animosity between the two. Of course its also more complicated than that; Manco, the youngest of the two, is obviously taking this more seriously and is the more antagonistic. Mortimer seems to just be entertaining him at times, whilst also trying to show that his years of experience can give him the upper hand. Its a perfect scene presenting power, age, experience, who the characters are, and how their relationship will be forward from this.

And of course, as any western, guns are used for this.

Perhaps it's the perfect genre for what Sergio Leone wanted to present. Guns are the perfect metaphor for a phallus; they display power, they display masculinity, and they even have the shape! They can define life or death, much like how male sexuality, and therefore a phallus, can define a man's position in the patriarchy.

The shootout ends in a draw, as both Mortimer and Manco are skilled with their guns. Their stand-off for power and dominance led to a standstill and an equilibrium between the two. This will then define their relationship, as they form a equal partnership.

(And of course, perhaps Mortimer was being kind to Manco and held back a bit. He did the same in the end of the movie, by letting him take all the rewards. To Mortimer, there is more to gunslinging than an attempt to assert masculinity. And the fact that he holds back in his competition with Manco presents a level of respect he has for him, which adds on to the already existing homoeroticism of two men using guns to assert their dominance onto each other. I'd even argue that's what makes the homoeroticism purposeful, in this movie's case.)

There are other examples of guns bring used to impose masculinity throughout For a Few Dollars More. That is the crux of every final duel after all. But Mortimer and El Indio don't have significant homoerotic undertones so I won't get into it.

My other favourite example of this occurance in the dollars trilogy, is in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

It's a quick, small moment in a wider, longer scene. However I like how it gets across its message in a simple way.

It's the end of the scene where Angel Eyes forces a partnership onto Blondie.

I think it's important to mention how this is how Sergio Leone chose to end a scene where Angel Eyes and Blondie form a partnership. Its basically telling the viewer that Blondie consents to working with Angel Eyes. On a surface level, Blondie is sliding the gun to its holster to show that he's making peace with Angel Eyes. However, further introspection on the subtext also reveals other things.

For starters. The slow sliding in and the zoom in on the gun, with it becoming the centre point of the scene, easily becomes homoerotic (I don't think I need to explain how sexually suggestive it looks), but with it being seen as a sign of peace, it can also be seen as a sign of not only consent, but also submissiveness. Blondie here is admitting that he's under the thumb of Angel Eyes, and he can't do anything about it, not even with a gun. He can't challenge his power, nor his masculinity. The phallic imagery here only adds on to all of these points, for reasons mentioned previously.

Moving on from specific scenes, I'll mention something present throughout the movie that the definition I used above also mentions; cigars can also been stand-ins for phallic imagery, and masculinity.

Do I really have to mention how The Man With No Name is literally always having a cigar in his mouth ??? Its a very obvious oral fixation, one that Sergio Leone uses to his advantage.

Leone doesn't just use a cigar to make TMWNN look cool. The cigar, much like how a gun was used to represent Manco and Mortimer's, and Blondie's and Angel Eyes', relationships and partnerships, its also used to represent the relationship between Blondie and Tuco.

The scene where, imo, Blondie's and Tuco's relationship changes, is where Blondie offers Tuco a cigar after eavesdropping the conversation between Tuco and his brother.

And Tuco takes it, smokes it and grins!

Notably, Tuco's and Blondie's changing relationship is shown through a cigar rather than a gun, which is objectively significantly less violent, which sets them apart from the other relationships. There is also a closer contact between them, as in the other iterations of TMWNN never gave his gun to any ally of his, much less shared such a close contact as mouth-to-mouth.

The homoeroticism is rather obvious, and in this cade, it's present without power but still with phallic imagery.

(Another notable example was, if my memory serves correctly, in a Fistful of Dollars, Joe lights up a cigar for Ramone. But I won't mention that much since I could be confusing this for another movie, but if it did happen, it's also another scene packed with symbolism, and quite the opposite to Tuco's and Blondie's cigar scene).

Continuing to speak more generally, there are often focus and zoom ins on the guns in the movies. This peaks at the final Mexican standoff in GBU, where the guns are in their holsters and belts. Its natural that they'd be near their crotches too, but that only emphasises the masculinity, power and phallic imagery already present in the movie (as well as tension in the scene).

It comes with no surprise when Blondie chose Angel Eyes to shoot at. After all, Tuco and he had already made peace with each other. The only true masculine competition was between Angel Eyes and Blondie + Tuco.

There are also scenes where TMWNN shows off his skills with his gun; displaying his masculinity again through phallic imagery, so it's no wonder he went to become a figure of masculinity.

There is also the scene where Tuco acquires a new gun after being abandoned by Blondie. That represents what was mentioned previously; how men often fight for power. In this case Blondie takes away Tuco's power and masculinity by humiliating him in a desert. Tuco acquiring a new, polished and refined gun is his way of reclaiming his masculinity after Blondie emasculated him.

I won't speak much about A Fistful of Dollars, because the relationship between Joe and Ramone isn't as developed as the other relationships in the other movies. But it's also worth noting how a focal point in the final duel includes Joe's pistol and Ramone's supposedly stronger gun.

"When a man with a .45 meets a man with a rifle, you said the man with the pistol is a dead man. Let's see if that's true. Go ahead, load up and shoot."

In here, Joe reclaims his masculinity through a final duel. I wish the movie had been longer so I could connect potential homoeroticism to this scene like I did with the other examples, but I think it's a good scene, so I mentioned it nonetheless.

Sergio Leone movies are very much centred around men. That's generally how westerns work, too. But I think it's interesting, as it adds aligns with the analysis that men uphold the patriarchy between themselves, and this is even more true with Leone movies as they include little to no women (whereas many westerns have at least one or two), so most interactions are between men.

I'm not suggesting Sergio Leone intended all this. I do think the homoeroticism, phallic imagery and masculinity is purposeful. He was a Marxist, so perhaps the feminist angle to all this was also purposeful, but I don't think that's the case. Much like his contemporaries, Leone focused on class analysis when critiquing power structures (this mostly in his other movies), so the patriarchal angle was perhaps unintentional. I like to give the benefit of the doubt to artists when analysing their art, though, so I'm always happy to be proven wrong.

As I said. This is way too long and no one will probably read all of it. There are far more examples but I won't include every bc this is already a long asf post.

What the conclusion? I need to stop thinking about gay people!!!!!!!!!

A look into how my braincells look whenever I think about these homos a bit too much;

And this is how I felt writing this post:

And the thing is there's so much more I can say but I don't wanna make this too long esp since this is me ranting more than a proper analysis but jfc Leone always made sure to make his movies so damn gay it's actually insane

#my brain is so cooked thanks leone #western actors and directors would be unemployed on the streets if gay people didnt exist #everyone say thank you sergio leone for inventing gay people #this post wasnt meant to be deep or that serious but i kinda steered off that at times sorry #no ones reading all that bro 😭😭😭😭😭#dollars trilogy #the good the bad and the ugly #for a few dollars more #a fistful of dollars #the man with no name #sergio leone #yes ik what blondie smokes isnt called a cigar but its a shorter name and easier to write ok

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wickmitz · 5 months ago

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How do you think about Frepper? I'm neutral about this ship, but the fans Frepper attitude towards confuses me, Ivy and Freckle have only been dating for a week and know each other superficially, but everyone already thinks that by the end of the comic they will get married, I think differently, I think that in the end they will break up with each other because they are too different personalities, I literally can't imagine that both of them will be happy with each other in marriage, Ivy is assertive and active, on the other hand Freckle is passive and just agrees with Ivy, this is not a guarantee of a healthy relationship where a partner completely dominates the other, plus to all that, I will not forget how their relationship started, Ivy just decided that they were dating, and without asking Freckle's permission, she just KISSED him, again without his permission, Frepper fans think that it's cute, but when I saw it, I thought "what the hell did I just see?", in general, it's strange for me that Frepper fans are okay with such things, of course later Freckle shows attraction to Ivy, showing that he likes her in some way too, but I still won't forget how their relationship started and how Freckle used to try to escape from Ivy when she squeezed his hand tightly and forced him to her …

I'm not against Frepper, but I don't understand his fans who don't see these issues and who treat other points of view on their relationship (like mine) as … um, as nonconformity? Fans from reddit are just obsessed with Frepper, I don't know about other networks but that's how it is on reddit, I think there are people who have my opinion but are afraid to say it because of fans, of course, I met Frepper fans there who normally accept such an opinion, but still there is a feeling that such a opinion cannot be told

Simply put, Ivy and Freckle are a couple that will eventually break up with each other unless there's an event between them in the comic that changes my opinion of this couple, but that's how I feel about Freckle for now. I didn't plan to express my opinion, but it happened that way, I hope you don't mind it

first and foremost, i don’t mind seeing someone express their opinion in my inbox! you and anyone else are free to do so, even if i may disagree. this blog’s entire existence was made for me to share my opinions ( and love! ) for lackadaisy, as well as engaging with other fans, because what else is the point of a fandom blog? and as far as i’m aware, this is unpopular opinion central! most of my thoughts aren’t exactly the ones with the most voice behind them i’ve found, so i welcome all manner of different views. every fan is entitled to their own perspectives and opinions, and should be allowed to share them as they please! but with that disclaimer out of the way, i’m more than willing to discuss frepper in its entirety.

for me, there’s little confusion i carry where it concerns this ship’s popularity amongst the fandom. freckle and ivy, if we are to strip them down to their bare essentials, are a rather stereotypically ‘cute’ relationship : people enjoy opposites ( see zibwick or vikdecai for example ) and there’s an endearing quality found in puppy love dynamics. seeing ivy wear the pants and drag a shy freckle around by his ankle makes for quality content in a way! think the ‘excuse me, but he asked for no pickles!’ meme … ivy and freckle very much fit that sort of mold, and it helps that most fans are too scared to ship them with other characters in the cast too, due to what they perceive to be a lack of options. thus, frepper is an extremely ‘safe’ ship! you cannot get in trouble for enjoying something that is not only canon, but is relatively adorable ; and so i don’t believe a lot of the fans are actually thinking too deeply about the likely endgame of it all. most don’t! it’s fun to ship, and that’s all they really need i think. it’s also very easy to dismiss ivy’s forwardness as a quirk of being a young girl who’s of her temperament, recklessly boycrazy although still carrying sweet intent. this behavior is easier to hand wave when neither ivy or freckle are experienced at the dating scene as well … freckle due to his extremely religious upbringing and hermit nature, and ivy because of viktor’s constant meddling, which would hold her back more than you’d think. with that said, i don’t think any of this is excessively complicated. some shippers are rather simple minded and do not care for details and characterization all too deeply. enjoying dynamics is, at its core, supposed to be fun -- which makes simple ships like frepper prime targets for a very vocal and tight knit fanbase. there are other things i could speculate about why these two may hit so pleasantly for others, like how there’s an underlying queer theme to it ( what with ivy being the pursuer and freckle the shy, blushing flower ) or that it’s tropey enough to hit the right spots for others … though it all boils back to mere speculation. perhaps they still have time to escape this gangster lifestyle and live happily ever after? and that appeals to the lackadaisy fans who still want some sort of happy ending? it’s all a combination of frepper being easy, i think, and containing two young cats who still haven’t done anything particularly ‘unforgivable’ yet action wise. this is a ship you can root for without an ounce of worry in your heart, and so on and so forth.

but although i understand why others are so vocal about them, i don’t exactly agree with fanon’s views either! while i heavily enjoy frepper, i enjoy them as they are, and that includes their looming flaws and inevitable tragedy. they are bound to break each other’s hearts a lot on their current path ; even if they were entirely perfect for one another, this lifestyle isn’t kind to anyone, meaning if they don’t separate, they could always be forced apart via bullets and such anyway. they are young and woefully inexperienced in a manner of things, the last thing they need is the stress of a rumrunner life driving their every action, you know? i know people see them getting out together, and that is likely on the table! i do see that in many ways, but i’m also of the opinion that ivy and freckle will diverge onto different paths at some point and temporarily call it quits. from where the comic currently stands and given my view on ivy’s arc, i see her growing disillusioned with where she is and the honor and fun she saw within it as a royal spectator will fade ; she will become wary, fearful, and her resilience will die … meanwhile freckle will embrace it, similar to his cousin, fully understanding what it is and what he’s getting into ( like rocky, again ) but being unable to leave his refuge. i know lots of people think freckle will leave the lackadaisy first, but given his old concepts and former title as one of mitzi’s ‘trouble boys’, i think he will become lost in the sauce for a myriad of reasons. frankly i enjoy that twist on their relationship! since i believe ivy’s character development will revolve around maturing, changing as time stretches forward, because her character is ever growing, what with her entire schtick being the fact she’s everything a 1920s girl was during those times. she embodies that unladylike youth and manipulative sweetness, so i’d imagine a lot of her path is falling from such naive thrill seeking and stumbling upon a harsh reality. she will mature, and the very thing that should make their relationship stronger will be what divides them indefinitely. everything they have is founded on this bloody, varnished soaked ground after all … they are young adults who are experiencing what closeness feels like outside of family or platonic friends for the first time, so naturally they will overindulge in their own amateur games ; find respite in the boogie and kiss like couples do on the silver screen, laugh about it, talk about everything and nothing at all … relish in each other’s warmth and stupidly loyal protection. i’m sure frepper will grow closer before any falling out, because as it stands, it’s one of the few things they have in such a scary situation that feels comforting and kind. they will impact each other in the fundamental ways first relationships do and, to move towards your biggest gripe, do things they’ll regret or allow things to happen to them that they’re not entirely okay with.

ivy is very forceful with freckle initially, albeit in her typical saturated way ; and i can see why that would be hard to parse! especially when freckle spends a majority of their first scenes together squirming away and hiding, trying to duck her affections and bolt for it. there is a lot of boundary crossing between them! but not in a necessarily malicious way … like most things with frepper, this circles back to their mutual inexperience and how, in a lot of ways, this is their first ‘serious’ romantic relationship ever. and it’s rather common for such firsts to involve gray areas, since neither party is entirely sure of what their own boundaries are just yet! while freckle did appear frightened by ivy at first, it’s important to note that tracy’s mentioned him having a flight response whenever girls flirt with him … he is prone to run away instinctively, which if you consider his extremely religious upbringing, isn’t exactly a surprise. nina would no doubt look down upon freckle engaging with girls his age due to what most girls his age are currently doing in the roaring 20s they’re living in. sneaking out and engaging in illegal activities, dancing in a way that would disgust most of the more traditional and older generation, casually engaging in any manner of sexual activity before marriage, etc etc. and this isn’t even listing freckle’s cagey nature due to an incident we know was bad enough to send rocky packing for years, and fundamentally changed freckle himself at such a young and impressionable age. he is … very troubled! and rather scared of himself and the world around him … at this stage in life, freckle is perpetually unable to make any progress towards anything he may want, and so i have little problem myself with ivy mostly taking the lead. when left to his own devices and allowed to choose outside of influence, freckle did in fact sneak out of his mother’s house to go to the lackadaisy, surely well aware that ivy’s intention had been romantically inclined. so, to me, he has always liked her ; perhaps found her cute, in a shallow way, saw her eccentric behavior as endearing and frightening in equal measure, and while he’s still wading into this whirlwind pool unsteady and shaken, he -- wouldn’t mind it if ivy pushed a little more, or moved him around to her ( and what she perceives to be, their ) liking. perhaps this dynamic is familiar enough to him that it becomes comforting, since rocky was very much the same way in their adolescence. tugging freckle around and pulling his tail for whatever rocky wanted them to do, with little care for whatever his baby cousin desired at the time, ignoring his protests and chasing him ; nobody’s at fault here either, kids are extremely self absorbed and this is a flaw they’ll usually mature past, and while ivy and freckle are adults during the comic, i don’t think ivy’s outgrown this linear view on things just yet. she is extremely entitled! she is used to being the apple of everyone’s eye at the speakeasy due to her jazz baby status as atlas may’s goddaughter, and this gangster connection excites and awes the ladies she attends classes with at her university too. ivy pepper is used to getting her way and this has only fueled her determined attitude, her ‘pull it up by the bootstraps’ mindset, and in many ways, this is something of a flaw for her. it’s not bad to be confident and headstrong, although when you add that into a dangerous mix of rumrunning and gunslinging, it may become a problem rather quickly. but i digress! point is, ivy and freckle are hardly at fault for the awkward way they handled the start of their relationship, when it’s so new and fresh to them both.

neither of them have boundaries at this moment, as they either have no clue what those are or simply haven’t realized they should set them. so, in turn, there are things that the other may do that could cause their partner discomfort … and it’s mostly done out of obliviousness and good intentions and your classic dose of intense affection. doesn’t mean it isn’t messed up to a degree, but i think it’s rather realistic, and is a hard truth that comes with many first relationships of that sort. sometimes you don’t know how to say ‘no,’ or you agree and regret agreeing later, or perhaps you simply don’t understand there’s certain things you aren’t ready for or genuinely just don’t like. again, it’s a very muddied area, and the two of them are vaguely navigating what is mostly foreign to them. they’re bound to mess up! so i ivy some slack here, and applaud tracy on the realistic writing more than anything usually. young love also happens to be a great device to use for inexperienced characters finding themselves, through the good and bad of their relationship, and frepper is all about that. maybe freckle will inevitably bring up how he feels like he would’ve preferred it had ivy asked him out properly, or gave him time to court her in a traditional fashion … and she will be surprised ( and a little wounded ) by this, since she had never considered it before … too used to her way of things to realize there’s another path they could take. i think this aspect of the relationship is important, and i can understand wishing that more frepper shippers would view it as such, or comment on it's morally gray nature without just calling it ‘cute’ and leaving it at that.

tldr : they will most certainly break up at some point, maybe even multiple times! tracy has said before that they both have some serious maturing to do if their relationship is to be long lasting, and i doubt that maturing will happen to them both at once … since they have different things to work on emotionally. but they will probably strongarm some major personal development within each other, as well as love one another with a fierceless abandon that most kids do. i could see them getting married, i could see them not, but i agree that if they were to be wed happily, they’d have significant hurdles to overcome. but personally, frepper is something i adore mostly due to the impact they’re bound to cause each other, and even if they are to separate and find someone new and more fitting, they’ll always remember one another -- perhaps fondly, and sadly, and with some anger. a time they’d like to forget, but a person they’d like to remember … which is my cup of tea overall! they much more interest me as they presently are anyway, where i can fiddle around with their budding romance and friendship bonding. and as lackadaisy grows in popularity, i do hope there’s more frepper fans who see their complexity and flaws and explore them with all of it in mind.

anyway! i hope this was coherent, and that it was obvious that i agreed with you for the most part. i haven’t really talked about frepper before with anyone so many of these thoughts sort of burst out of me! and i feel like i have more to elaborate upon, but for the sake of simplicity i kept this short. oh well! surely this is enjoyable and informative regardless.

#my asks.#lackadaisy analysis.#lackadaisy #freckle mcmurray #ivy pepper #as always frepper fans who just like them for their cute potential is SO valid #ship what you want how you want yada yada! i support you!!#but i’m here for discussing the good the bad and the ugly … so i was very happy to recieve this ask! thank you so much!!#i also understand what its like to share what you or others perceive to be the ‘wrong’ opinion about a ship or a character or something #so you have my sympathies and i hope you find better spaces to express yourself lackadaisy wise!!#anyway. yeah. i do think people are prone to view ivy as extremely experienced due to her many boyfriends!!#but given the fact she doesn’t date them LONG is. well it’s not an accurate assessment.#viktor ( bless his well intentioned heart ) has drastically thwarted that brand of maturity on ivy’s end #and has likely caused a sort of insecurity … by maiming her boyfriends and having them leave her. acting as if she has the plague!#that would hurt any girl’s feelings — if they didn’t know why. and i think these short lived flames have caused ivy to like …#speedrun her relationships? she is very quick to jump in and stay … because she fears the time limit perhaps. which adds to her forwardness #again! she had no idea it was viktor until the comic’s current events where she’s already WITH freckle. which is important to me #she is inexperienced in her own ways … freckle’s inexperience just happens to be more obvious due to the simplicity of it #god this was so fun to answer <3 thank you! again! hope my thoughts on the matter were decent enough #i’ll hush now with my over analyzing ass ( <- is it obvious my fave thing ever is characterization yet? lol )#( also cannot state enough freckle and ivy are Adults To Me. not five year olds!#but saying ‘young’ and ‘kid’ was easier than being like … emotionally immature and stunted adults every five seconds. so!#that is what i went with. for simplicity’s sake. but that are adults!! that is important! just very inexperienced ones )

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