#theres something here to be said about the age/generational gap i think

[consultingfujoshi]

THE THING IS THE THING IS. is that irving and helly get each other!!! they're both fucking suicidal and that sounds ridiculous but that's exactly why irv did that! he knows helly would rather die than be used as a pawn in lumon's game and he knows that because HE FEELS THE SAME WAY! ever since the start of this season when he tried to kill himself because he saw more meaning in choosing death than continuing to serve a regime that took everything from him. for both of them at one point or another dying has been their only means of fighting back. and irv knows this. he knows what he's doing is probably going to be the last thing he ever does, and he does it anyway because helly would never forgive him if he let her be used like that. and up until his last moment his conviction never wavers. he would die just to prove they don't own him. he would die just to prove they don't own helly. or any of them. he would die to give helly another chance to fight back. I can only hope she does not squander that chance he gave his life for

[mysterious-ocarina]

amazing work! consider this… gn reader is chuuyas coworker who’s emotionless and keeps their distance from him and their colleagues… chuuya starts to like them but doesn’t know how to bridge the gap…. and on a mission with chuuya, (there was only one bed!!) an asphrodiac gets put in their drink… so they come to him begging him to help them because they don’t know what to do… and fluff and smut ensues!!

Because You Want Me To (NSFW)

Chuuya Nakahara x fem!reader

A/N Im so sorry, i really meant to keep it gn but then i just got caught up with the feminism idea cuz i mean come on, theres no way chuuya isnt a woman respecter. I also was not sure how to write gn smut. If you dont like it, i can totally write it again but definitely gn and less feminism involved. Pls lmk also pls tell me what termonology to use for. . . certain body parts cuz lately everything just sounds wrong

please give me recommendations for books to use as abilities or just abilities in general for bsd content

Main Masterlist BSD Masterlist Requests AO3

(4.0k words)

Sitting hunched over your desk filling out paperwork was getting real old, really quick. You sighed as you leaned back in your chair. Some may call you a workaholic but you were simply strong-willed and determined. Growing up the way you did, you learned to be very independent and how to make your own spot in the world. You joined the Port Mafia at the age of sixteen and have worked the hardest you could to be the strongest.

Your ability did not give you a fighting advantage but you did have a clairvoyant advantage. You were able to speak to animals and your pet raven was your second pair of eyes and ears. It was a normal occurrence for people to see you walking around the halls with Ace clinging to your shoulders. More often than not, he was your partner on missions considering you preferred to work alone.

Becoming an Executive to the Port Mafia was hard work but there wasn’t anything that you would allow to stand in your way. You were very feared and very respected, which is exactly how you like it. You only conversed with your coworkers when it was needed. You were here to do your job, not make pointless relations with coworkers. It was pretty easy for you to avoid interactions with most people in the Port Mafia. The only exceptions were the boss and the other executives, one in particular.

Chuuya Nakahara was. . . different. You weren’t really sure what it was (you do but you’re in denial) but there is something about him that makes him more bearable than anyone else in the mafia that you’ve met. Whenever you were paired together for missions, which was pretty often, he always pulled his weight. There were times when you were paired with people who just wouldn’t do the job they were assigned to do because of egos or whatever. It bothered you to no end when you had to pick up their slack. Chuuya was a great mafioso and incredibly strong which was something you greatly respected.

You still did your best to avoid him, outside of missions. There was no reason why someone, let alone a man, should distract you from your job.

Ace squawked next to you, breaking you from your thoughts. Is something the matter?

You chuckled, thinking about how your best friend was a raven and that he knew you well enough. You brushed him off, “Nothing’s the matter.”

Ace left the perch by the window and landed on your armrest. He nipped your arm with his beak before squawking again. I bet I know exactly what you're thinking about.

Stupid bird, you thought as you glared at him. “Shut your beak.”

Ace climbed to your shoulder as a knock was heard on your office door. You muttered "come in" before Chuuya made an appearance. He walked in, fashionable as ever, and closed the door behind him. He looked a bit fidgety and you had to stop yourself from asking him if he was okay. It was none of your concern.

“I’ve got good and bad news,” Chuuya said as a greeting, straight to the point, something that gave him a point in your head, not that you were keeping track of stuff he did that you liked.

You raised your eyebrow at him, motioning for him to continue. He sat down and placed his hat in his lap. Pulling a small bag from his jacket pocket, he dumped an assortment of nuts in a bowl on your desk for Ace. You tried really hard to stop a smile from covering your face but your lips slightly curled up. A point for him.

Ace hopped from your shoulder, squawking. I like him.

Your smile faded at his smug tone, snapping, “Well, no one asked for your opinion.”

Chuuya gazed at the both of you, “Does he not like them?”

“That’s not it. You had news?” you questioned, changing the subject.

Immediately Chuuya got serious and professional. Another point. “Yes. The good news is that we have a mission together. Just simple intel gathering.”

You were glad it was only intel and not a fight because you weren’t in the mood to fight anyone. That doesn’t mean it would go smoothly. If you weren’t careful, intel gathering could turn nasty incredibly quick. You stared back at Chuuya, “What’s the bad news?”

Chuuya looked at you, apologetically, “We’ll need to stay overnight and I know you hate overnight missions. The event we are going to is hours away and by the time it’s over, it will be too late at night to get back. Mori already booked us a hotel room.”

You sighed and ignored the fact that he knew you wouldn’t be happy. Rubbing your temples, you asked, “When are we leaving? I���ll read the files in the car.”

That’s how you found yourself, riding passenger in one of the mafia’s cars. The back window was open for Ace to come and go as he pleased, something Chuuya did before you had to even ask. Another point. You spent the entire drive reading over the files for subjects and information you were supposed to be looking for tonight. You could tell that Chuuya wanted to talk to you as a way to pass the time but you kept your head in the files, refusing to let him distract you.

You joined the mafia around the same time as him but you never interacted with him, or anyone for that matter. It wasn’t until you were both executives when you would be paired for missions and forced to get to know each other. You didn’t hate getting to know him but you kept the talk about yourself to a minimum.

When you first became an executive, there were rumors going around that you had slept with the boss to make it to where you were. You know, the typical rumors that follow a powerful woman. The rumors didn’t outwardly bother you, “let dickbags believe whatever they want” you would always say if someone asked you about it. But when you found out that the only people who didn’t believe the rumors were Kouyou and Chuuya, you felt a sense of security in your position. Kouyou understood the difficulty of being a woman in power and Chuuya. . . well you weren’t too sure why he didn’t believe the rumors.

“What?” he muttered. You must have been staring at him for too long because he was looking at you with a red face, embarrassed maybe.

“When I first became an executive, why didn’t you believe the rumors that I slept my way there,” you asked, blunt and intrigued.

He seemed very surprised by your question, stammerings, “I-I don’t know. Why would. . .”

He paused for a bit, seeming unsure what to say. You just stared at him, an impassive expression on your face.

He sighed, keeping his focus on the road instead of you, “Do you really think I’m that immature to believe rumors like that?”

You sensed a little insecurity in his voice but ignored it. You replied, “It’s not like I gave you any reason to believe I wouldn’t. You didn’t know me.”

“You didn’t give me a reason to believe that you would either.”

You paused, unsure of how to respond. Being a woman in a male dominant field was difficult and it seemed that Chuuya understood how baseless those kinds of rumors could be. Another point.

Facing the window, you spoke up, “I didn’t. Just so you know.”

“I know,” he replied without hesitation.

You didn’t fight the smile that formed on your face this time. You just hoped Chuuya couldn’t see it because you were facing the other way.

He did and he will cherish the image forever.

By the time you got to the hotel, you were significantly less unhappy about the assignment you had been given, not that you outwardly showed it. Something about your conversation with Chuuya in the car sparked something within you. Your denial of how much you cared for the red head next to you was melting away. Usually this would bother you but you had a feeling that Chuuya or the feelings you hold for him will not get in your way of your job, which brought you great comfort and security. It looked like Chuuya respected you and your work ethic.

Chuuya grabbed your guy’s bags as you made your way into the hotel and to the front desk to check in.

Politely, you greeted, “Hello, there should be a room reserved for me.”

The pretty receptionist gave you a kind smile and when Chuuya came up beside you, she gave him a sweeter one. She kept staring at Chuuya, making him blush, “What name will it be under?”

Haughtily, you replied, “Ougai Mori. It’s for my partner and I.”

Calling Chuuya your partner wasn’t wrong, he was your partner for this mission. But you knew that the receptionist would take it the wrong way, which brought you a little bit of satisfaction.

She looked at you with a forced smile. She handed you your key cards before dismissing you, “Room 115, it’s at the end of the hall on the left.”

You gave her a smug smile, “Thank you.”

You walked through the hall in search of your room, Chuuya trailing behind you. He walked beside you, giving you a look, “What was that?”

You kept walking, face empty, “What was what?”

“Back there, with the receptionist. You guys were being passive aggressive with each other. Is there some kind of woman thing I'm not understanding?” Chuuya asked, confused.

You briefly glanced at him and shrugged, only replying, “Sure.”

He sighed next to you but decided against asking about it anymore, knowing you wouldn’t answer him how he wanted.

Unlocking the room door, the both of you made your way into.

“Shit,” you explained. The room that the two of you would be staying in tonight only had a single bed.

Chuuya sighed next to you and asked, “Want me to go to the front desk?”

Not wanting him to interact with the receptionist, you shook your head, “No, we can figure it out later. I’m going to shower and get ready for the event.”

Chuuya placed both your bags on the bed and rifled through his, “I’ll get the garment bags from the car with our outfits in them.”

You were already in the bathroom in the shower when you heard Chuuya come back into the room. You also heard a little kawing so you assumed he let Ace into the room. A point.

You spent a lot of time in the bathroom after you finished your shower. In the shower, images of Chuuya were flooding your mind. You had to keep reminding yourself that he was just in the other room and you shouldn’t do anything unprofessional. Even if your cunt prickled with neediness.

Eventually realizing that Chuuya will want to shower too, you calmed your body down and left the bathroom. You had dried your hair and done all of your makeup but didn’t have the dress you were wearing. Covered in only a towel, you walked over to the garment bag on the bed.

While looking at his phone, Chuuya said to you, “That bag is yours. I talked to Mori and it looks like it was an error in the hotel system. He advised that we just keep the room as is.”

Chuuya ran  a hand through his hair, annoyed, and looked up at you. He blushed when he noticed that you were only in a towel and averted his gaze. He muttered, “I can sleep on the floor.”

You glared at the back of his head, “I won’t make you sleep on the dirty floor. We can figure out the sleeping arrangements when we get back. Now go get dressed, I do not want to attract unwanted attention for being late.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Chuuya replied with a smirk. You sighed in faux annoyance with a blush on your face as he silently made his way to the bathroom with his garment bag.

You slipped into the dress. It was tight fitting but not uncomfortable with a slit up your thigh. It was also an alluring shade of red which made you immediately think of Chuuya. For a second, you were curious how he would react seeing you in this dress but you shook the thoughts from your head.

You sat at the desk and mirror set up in the room to do your hair and makeup for the night, taking note that Chuuya seemed to be taking an awfully long time in the shower. You put your brush down and went to the bathroom door to ask if Chuuya was okay. But right before you were going to ask, you heard a sound that had you shutting up and blushing. It sounded like Chuuya was groaning and saying your name.

You backed up until the back of your legs hit the bed and sat down. Was Chuuya. . . masturbating in the shower? Thinking about you, no less? You were thankful that Ace wasn’t in the room to squawk and add to your embarrassment.

You were extremely flustered but flattered that Chuuya thought of you that way. It offered you comfort to know that you weren’t alone in thinking unprofessionally of your partner. Maybe after the mission was over, you would have the chance to talk to Chuuya about the possibility of expanding your relationship. But for now, you need to get your head out of the gutter and focus on your job.

When Chuuya finally came out of the bathroom, he was looking especially handsome in his suit. He stopped in his tracks as he looked at you. When he saw your crossed legs and the slit of the dress exposing your thigh, he thought he might faint. Red in the face he coughed, “You look beautiful.”

You thought it was really endearing that he wouldn’t look you in the eye. “Thank you. You clean up pretty nicely as well.”

You did your best to not stare at him but you could feel the tension between you guys building. You grabbed the necklace you were going to wear and placed it into Chuuya’s hand. “Could you put this on for me?”

You turned around, not waiting for an answer. Chuuya, ever so slowly, wrapped the small chain around your neck and clasped it. He pulled your hair out from under it and set it back in place cascading down your back. His hand lightly grazed your neck and you failed to contain the shivers that went through your body.

You quickly turned back around and ignored the butterflies in your stomach. You stared at Chuuya’s face, finding adoration covering it.

“Let’s go, handsome,” you announced, now nervous of your distracting partner.

“Yes ma’am,” Chuuya repeated, a smile painted on his face. You turned and walked out the door not bothering to hide the small smile that appeared on your face.

-

This had to be the hardest mission you’ve ever been on. Now it wasn’t really intellectually hard, intel gathering was as simple as knowing how to charm others into talking about whatever you wanted. But at some point you couldn’t focus on any conversations you were a part of, Chuuya having to pick up your slack, something that would have bothered you to no end if you didn’t feel the way you did right now.

With his arm around your waist, Chuuya pulled you to one of the tables and chairs scattered about the event. He sat you down and grabbed the champagne glass from your hands, “I wouldn’t pin you as a lightweight.”

Your face was flush and your entire body felt like it was on fire, “I’m not drunk, Chuuya. Something is wrong.”

Chuuya stared at you worriedly but you couldn’t stand to look at him. You could barely stand to have his arm around you and standing so close to you. Anywhere his skin touched yours sent shivers down your spine and the smell of him was driving you crazy. Vanilla and Sandalwood. You clenched your thighs, hoping to relieve the tension that was forming in your bottom half.

“Shit,” you exclaimed when you figured out what happened. Your breathing was extremely labored as you explained, “I-I need you to take me to the hotel. . . and lock me in the room for the night. Some. . . one must have drugged me, I’ll explain more later. Did you get all the information we needed?”

“Yes, we should have everything we need. What’s going on?” Chuuya asked, voice a bit tense.

He put his arm around your waist to help you up and it took everything in you to not moan at the feeling of his touch. You couldn’t muster up the strength to speak as he brought you outside and to the car. He started driving back to the hotel, looking at you every few seconds to see if you were alright. The way he was worried about you was making your head spin with adoration and your thighs clench with lust.

Panting, you replied, “I think someone knew we were there and drugged me as a distraction. I think I’ve been given an aphrodisiac.”

Chuuya stared at your panting and sweaty body, beyond confused, “What kind of drug is that? You better not be dying on me?”

At the hotel, Chuuya brought you back to the room and laid you on the bed. He seemed antsy and a bit annoyed that you weren’t answering him.

You put him out of his misery by explaining, “An aphrodisiac is a drug that. . . in simple terms makes the victim like an animal in heat.”

You writhed in the bed, sweat dripping off of you. You so badly wished that Chuuya would just shut up and take care of your neediest spots but it looks like you won’t get what you want just yet.

Staring at you, a blushing mess, Chuuya questioned, “How do you know that’s what you’ve been given?”

You groaned, annoyed with having to deal with this. Inappropriate thoughts of your partner were flooding your mind and making it almost impossible for you to pay attention to his line of questioning. “Because. . . Chuuya. I can’t get the thought of you and that pretty face of yours out of my head. All I want to do right now is push you down on this bed and ride you until I pass out.”

You basically moaned at the flustered look Chuuya was giving you. After a few labored breaths you spoke up again, “Now. I heard you in the shower so I know you want me.”

Unable to bear it any longer, you stripped off your dress. Now fully naked in front of Chuuya. He coughed again but looked away, “I would only want to have sex with you if it was because you wanted me to and not some drug making you. That’s not fair to you.”

Chuuya turned around and just before he was about to walk away, you grabbed the sleeve of his suit jacket, “Trust me. This is not how I would have wanted this to go but-” you paused, finding the words stuck in your mouth. You moaned again when Chuuya’s fingers slipped into yours, unable to contain yourself, “I really do want you Chuuya. And I know you have enough respect for me to not ruin our relationship or my relationship with my work.”

Chuuya stared at you, flustered and undeniably hard but unsure of what to do. You took the final step by pulling his arm, forcing him to fall on top of you. You grabbed the back of his head to pull him closer to you. He didn’t resist as you slotted your lips into his.

It was a ferocious kiss that was filled with lust, passion, and neediness. You ran your hands through Chuuya’s hair and down his front making him groan into your mouth. You tried to pull the belt from his pants but your hands were too shaky. You whined when he pulled your hands away from him and brought them to rest above you. He used one hand to hold yours in place and the other to undo his pants.

Chuuya chuckled, “If you need me that bad, how come you can’t even get my pants off of me?”

“Stop teasing, please Chuuya,” you begged, moaning when he brought his mouth back down to yours.

Chuuya got off of you and stood in front of you and the bed. He sighed, content, “I’ve been waiting for this forever. I don’t know if it’s obliviousness or stubbornness that kept you away from me.”

You couldn’t help but stare at the man in front of you as he stripped, breathlessly you replied, “A bit of both. . . But no more.”

Chuuya gave you a dazzling smile, climbing back on top of you. He laid kisses down your stomach as he spoke, “No more.”

You whined as he laid kiss after kiss on your body, wanting more. He finally took his hands and soothingly rubbed your thighs, “Do you want me to touch you?”

“Yes, Chuuya. Please just do what you want to me. I’ll take anything,” you begged, desperate to be touched by him.

Instead of teasing you further like you thought he would, Chuuya gets to work pleasuring you. Moving his hands from your thighs, Chuuya brings them to your dripping cunt. Slowly but surely, he presses two fingers into you while rubbing his thumb on your clit.

You writhed on the bed, holding back your moans. Chuuya wouldn’t have that.

“Now, now, princess. I’d like to hear who’s making you feel so good,” Chuuya chided, fingering you faster and harder.

“Chuuya, I’m going to-” you moaned, overwhelmed with pleasure.

He brought his mouth up to your breasts, licking and biting as he went, “It’s okay. You can come.”

His mouth on your body and his permission was the last thing holding you back. You came with a loud scream, convulsing around his fingers.

When you had calmed down and Chuuya pulled his fingers out of you, you grabbed the back of his head to bring his lips to yours. You made out for what felt like ages before Chuuya  chose to break the kiss to speak, “How do you feel now, princess?”

“I feel like, I need you to fuck me. Please, Chuuya,” you begged, pulling his body as close to you as you could. His erection was pressed into your thighs, making you whine in want.

Chuuya groaned and marked around your neck. He whispered, “As you wish.”

Before long, Chuuya was hovering over you and rubbing his cock through your folds. The both of you moaned at the contact before he slipped into you with ease.

He kept still, letting you adjust, until you wiggled your hips to encourage him to move. Any self control he had up to this point all but vanished. Chuuya pounded into you ferociously, coaxing you into a moaning and whining mess.

You were too distracted with pleasure to do anything but moan Chuuya’s name. One hand on your waist to keep you where he wanted, he used his other hand to bring your hands back up over your head.

He brought his lips down to yours to give you a lustful kiss. You struggled to keep up with his pace, too busy moaning, but he didn’t care. With how feral he was being right now, you would have thought that he was the one who was drugged.

Eventually his hips started to stutter, notifying you of both his and your approaching orgasm. Chuuya brought his hand down to your clit, rubbing in time with his thrusts. You blacked out as you came, screaming and overloaded with pleasure. When you finally came to, Chuuya was slowing down his thrusts, still prolonging the pleasure.

When he finally stopped moving and pulled out of you, you could feel his juices seeping out of you. You laid on the bed, too dazed to move, and watched as Chuuya grabbed a wet cloth from the bathroom and cleaned you up.

“I think that was a successful mission. We got what we needed and we finally slept together,” Chuuya joked. You cracked a small smile and chuckled at him. How could you ever think that being with Chuuya wouldn’t go well?

[theonehitwonder]

Im not anon but ive been trying to put this into words. Tldr i think the age gap between a minor and an adult is terrible because it won't ever be a balanced relationship. Like one has more resources, money, freedoms and experience generally while the other does not because theyre, you know, a child.

Plus why CHOOSE a minor -especially one in the throes of puberty - instead of an adult? Whats the appeal of someone in such a different stage of life theres no overlap at all with your own? Most importantly: relationship desires/long term goals are important. Like how could they be lining up? (Context: im in my 20s and even 16 y/os look like babies to me. Plus theres no substance behind long term relationship goals other than maybe start a family in your teens vs now when im not willing to be w someone who wont do chores, wont contribute to a shared household fund, wont look at every family planning option and so on) (btw. Dont feel like you need to publish/respond, its more food for thought)

mmmmm. see, i can get where this argument comes from, and it absolutely applies in certain situations- like, you know, actual relationships where actual commitment is a thing. but in something closer to the situation I was talking about, where the entire thing's stakes were pretty much emotional- it was online and blocking her had no consequences except on my mental health lol- who can buy a house has no bearing on the situation. and like! she didn't have that power! she lived with her parents who she fought with constantly because she was disabled and couldn't move out! (Or like. claimed to. some of her details did not match up and she absolutely made up some of the things she said, but even so it doesn't really make up a difference either way.)

and like- yeah, it's sketchy as fuck, we're all aware, especially cause she had a goddamn myriad of options besides me, including a literal girlfriend. but the sketchiness, while like I'm 100% sure is connected to the reason it was so bad, isn't like. the *actual* reason it was so bad. a symptom rather than a cause, if you will- things being weird or nonsensical doesn't make it morally reprehensible- but clearly something here was!! so!!! what are we doing!!!

[transhoverfish]

I FOUND IT

Like I get where this person is comming from but when Ryley landed on 4546B Bart would be 29

I think that the game made it very clear that the Degasi crashed a decade before Aurora and Bart was 19 at that time.. which means (in combination of Subnautica lore and math) that IF Bart survived the 10 long years he would obviously age up

Maybe reading the PDAs is something that should be done even if you wouldn't get addicted to the game... just saying🤷🏻‍♀️

[I just remembered that I saw someone on Instagram ranting about how shipping Ryley and Bart is weird (or 'fucked up', I don't remember exactly what they said) because Ryley is like 25-30 or something like that and Bart is 19 and I was like "do your math pls" So yeah... I ended up laughing for like 5 minutes (Too bad I didn't take a screenshot)]

yeah ok i get the concern here but like yeah as you said!! this isnt like one of those "taking a 15yo and aging them up to 18 to make them legal", bart's already 19, and he's 19 a DECADE before the events of the game, including any possibility of meeting ryley.

assuming ryley is 25-30 - which his age is never mentioned either, so for all we know, ryley could be 19 himself!! - but we're gonna assume he's 22-30 based on his job, general appearance and maturity in a high stress situation. in the ten years that pass between bart and ryley EVER crossing paths, bart would be 26-31, give or take a few years for that mentioned decade to be possibly rounded.

bart could be OLDER than ryley for all we know. worse case, these guys can't have more than like, maybe a 6 year age gap. and that's entirely dependent on someone's personal reading of ryley. his age is NEVER mentioned or hinted at. the youngest he could be is 18. oldest maybe 40. but who's to say?? it's never brought up!

taking the decade jump into account though,, yeah ryley and bart are like the same age. they're probably within 5 years of each other, both in their late twenties by the events of sub1. its just the time skip between the degasi and aurora that creates this weird "Bart's 19, Ryley's 26" mentality.

like an example off the top of my head would be like, saying you cant ship nathan drake with chloe because they show nate as a kid a couple of times. kind of arbitrary.

but on the other hand, yeah, i guess this ship is founded on bart's 19 year old personality. which is weird at face value now that im thinking about it. but even then, ryley doesn't have a personality to begin with, outside survival knowledge. and bart clearly isn't some super naive child; he goes through some massive maturing character development just over the span of the months the degasi were all alive. bart can clearly take care of himself and speak up on problems, and we don't know if he had another birthday after the crash or not. we don't know exactly how long the degasi were there! or how long they had been in space prior! bart could have been 20 when he died, he was definitely an adult by that point. young, but cmon.

if anybody is shipping bart in degasi era, where he's like explicitly 19, ie shipping him with marg, then YEAH thats obviously a problem. but ryley/bart is, in my experience, almost always written in a bart lives story where he spends 10 more years maturing before being introduced to ryley.

they're,,,, they're the same age. almost always, if theres some odd story out there making it not always, expressly written where bart is nearly 30, making him typically older than ryley. the central idea with this person's take is that bart is not, and should not, be written as his Recent Post-Crash self. bart is Post Reaper Incident, and gets added several more years on top of that. i think it's a misconstruction on the lore/fandom ideas of ages, but otherwise not a horrible thing to point out ig??

(some of the bart ships DEFINITELY NEED TO BE LOOKED INTO. ryley is like, the most tame option, and thankfully why its likely the most popular!)

[omegawolverine]

Plesse tell me about queerness in the get down!!

okay okay queerness in the get down let's fuckn goooo

disclaimer: I havent watched this show in full for like 5 months at least, probably gonna get something wrong and/or forget some more important bits. also this wasnt proof read I just word vomited

tws: period typical homophobia, abuse mention, f slur use, bury your gays trope, overdose mention, mention of a creepy possible age gap (the age gap hasnt been confirmed so that's why its possible), cops

going from least to most prominent queer characters, let's start with mylene cruz!

so, from the beginning of this show she has an established romantic relationship with ezekiel (although the status of their actual relationship changes frequently throughout the show) and though this was a relationship she was hesitant to pursue, it is clear that she does have romantic feelings for him and if not for them both having growing careers in very different music genres (zeke specifically working in a genre that she repeatedly labels as bad because she thinks they're ruining records + that it isnt real music because they're using someone elses piece and rapping over it, that's not really important here tho lol) they probably wouldve had a much healthier, smooth sailing romance. that being said theres a few things that happen in the show that, while not explicitly clear, or even really good coding at that—to the point where you wont catch if you really arent looking for it (and trust me, I always look for coding, hers was just so little that it flew over my head until I saw someone else mention it)—are still cool to think about!

so, for starters, I wanna mention the toy box performance, which was performed by mylene and regina, who are best friends. that's all cool and shit, and you dont really think much about it...until you hear about the fact that the show runners purposely colored a lot of the scenes in that performance with the bi colors. like. the writers after the show ended basically said "oh yeah there was plans to make her coding more explicit, but our shit got cancelled soooo" and then dropped the fact that she was gonna be bi (or at least implies bi) in the series, which puts a new twist on a few things.

now, besides the bi coloring in the background of the toy box performance (which was mostly on scenes with her and regina, which involved a lot of uh,, lowkey lewd dancing. with each other. in very revealing outfits. wooooo), there's her music! I dont tend to read too much into this one bc, like I said before, her coding is fucking light and the writers themselves said they didnt really get to do much with it, but I think some stuff with her music is interesting. specifically how her, yolanda and regina's song set me free blew up because dizzee, resident (lowkey enby coded) bicon, got their song played in a queer club. also that the song was majorly important to dizzee and started playing literally right as he kissed a boy for the first time and realized "oh shit I like boys that's bonkers". also that the song can be taken in a gay way since literally the entire thing is about becoming your true self, fully and unapologetically, which is what both dizzee and mylene's entire character arcs are about. dizzee (and a lot of other queer people, apparently), heard this song about being set free and it resonated with them so much that they got that shit most of its popularity.

speaking of dizzee and mylene, they parallel each other a lot in the way that their arcs are about them realizing who they are, coming into themselves and no longer just letting people treat them like shit in a sense (dizzee starting to tell people essentially that they can call him weird all they want, they can make fun of how he acts, what he likes, how he dresses, etc. but he likes how he is and quite literally saying "it's okay to be an alien" as he has consistently compared himself to one throughout the show vs mylene learning that if she wants to be a disco singer she needs to put her foot down, not let anyone, not even the love of her life, not even her abusive father, stop her from achieving her dreams, etc. and continuing to pursue her career with or without their support). one more little parallel that I think is interesting is during I think s2 towards the end of the show is when dizzee and thor are shown together having fun with each other, painting all over the building and each other and are basically just being happy and in love together and then they have these clips of them being interspersed with clips of mylene at a party where she is starting to realize that if she wants to get anywhere she needs to be her own main priority and that she needs to put her career and her dream, which is what makes her the happiest, above all else if she wants to succeed. idk I just think how the show made these two into a weird parallel, accidental or not, is neat. maybe not an explicitly queer parallel, but I think at least how her music and whatnot helped dizzee, the main queer character in this show, blossom, is important.

moving on we got shaolin fantastic also known as "oh no your internalized homophobia is showing-"

so, heres a quick list of...interesting shao facts:

Consistently referred to as fag/faggot (shaolin fanfaggot is my personal favorite); he gets really defensive about this despite nobody actually thinking he's queer, it's just people being assholes to be assholes, and he is the only character consistently referred to using a slur, especially a homophobic one, especially for a "straight" character. dizzee, a canonically queer character, is called a fag less than shaolin is even though dizzee actively goes to gay clubs, has a not so secret dude he "hangs out with" and wont let anyone properly meet, paints his nails, wears less than straight clothes even by the 70s standards and is just all around the definition of fucking queer (and I mean like in the weird way, not the gay way). in fact theres only like once I can remember him being called a fag and it had nothing to do with him actually being gay it was literally just like thrown out there the same way you would call someone a bitch.

Has only shown sexual interest in women, yet refuses to have deeper relationships with women in general (possibly because of trauma but who knows) but takes his relationships with his "brothers", specifically zeke, very seriously

Tells zeke and zeke ONLY his real name when zeke was planning to stop being his friend bc shao more or less got boo boo, a like 14 year old black kid, arrested for selling hard drugs; he was clearly scared and trying to do anything to keep zeke around, literally chasing him down the street and hounding him until he got zeke to stop and argue with him

Kept threatening to beat up zeke in the end but couldn't actually bring himself to do so, instead saying that zeke is "fucking lucky" before walking away

Let's zeke get away with things that nobody else can, in general just has a weird soft spot for ezekiel that he shows with nobody else

when shao found dizzee with thor in a vaguely compromising situation (like they were just shirtless covered in paint sleeping next to each other but shao had also seen everything they painted on the walls ((which some of it was sus)), it was clear they had painted on each others bodies and dizzee had been routinely disappearing with this guy for weeks now yet not producing nearly as much art, at least, as far as we audience members know) he didnt judge him but instead, waited for him to get cleaned up and then told him something along the lines of "theres a reason why im so secretive blah blah blah [not everyone needs to know everything about me]", which, in context, kinda implies that he might be a lil. a lil homiesexual. jus a lil.

whenever even the possibility of zeke leaving him comes up he absolutely loses it. he has literally cost ezekiel life changing opportunities because he thought zeke would just up and leave him for them. this could be abandonment issues bc he's a severely traumatized character, and that probably does contribute to it, but it also is just not a reaction he has to any of their other friends just randomly dipping in and out of his life soooooo

generally speaking, this mfer has got either bisexual with a big hard on for zeke coding or homosexual with terrible internalized homophobia and still a hard on for zeke coding. either fucking way, that nigga gay. he gay as hell. gay as fuck man. there wasn't really much to analyze here tbh bc the coding is just so fucking obvious if you look for it or you are/have been a gay person who's dealt with at least a little bit of internalized homophobia.

also, just a sidenote, idk how fucking old shao, but I'm praying hes like at max 19 bc I'm pretty sure zeke is a minor in this show and shao definetly is not so the whole him being heavily implied to have a crush on ezekiel thing is kinda. oof. not oof if zeke is like 17 but any younger than that? OOF.

edit: apparently the characters are only supposed to be a year apart in age but i had no clue about that before writing this post and since shaos age was never actually stated in the show i naturally assumed he was an adult since his actor Looks Like An Adult. this is definetly on me to a certain extent, but i also never saw anything about this when trying to find our their ages so 🤷‍♀️ maybe i just didnt look deep enough, sorry!

now moving on to the main event...marcus dizzee kipling :]

so, first things first, let's talk enby coding bc him being bisexual was already confirmed!

um, to start off, I just wanna say I dont think this enby coding was intentional or even really coding, it's just moreso me being a dizzee kin on main and knowing as a transmasc enby he has very transmasc enby vibes. for example:

cool, gender neutral nickname that everyone calls him

paints nails various different colors

the whole wardrobe is just a transmasc enby heaven...fishnet shirts, jean overalls, jackets and cuffed pants galore, the big colorful pins, etc

gender neutral hairstyle (when I had my fro it was very sexy and made it easy to transition between hyper masc and vaguely fem, which is pog)

comparing himself to/representing himself consistently with an alien character (though this is meant to represent his sexuality, it could also double as a gender thing too, not neccesarily bc of the whole nonbinary alien trope but bc an enby who likes aliens might heavily identify or compare themselves to whatever their idea of an alien is, whether that just be a genderless entity or a motherfucker with fly style and no need to be perceived as anything other Wacky As Hell)

moving on from there, let's talk about how his queerness is presented to us and how, while it may be a really good piece of representation, especially coming from netflix, it still lacks in A Lot of places.

so, let's start with good things!

i personally really like the get down's queer rep with dizzee bc it's (for the most part) nonsexualized and very very soft, about dizzee figuring himself out and realizing there is a place where he fits in, and about two teenagers in the 70s falling in love over their shared passion for street art. it also features an interracial couple where both boys challenge stereotypes both about queer men and men of color, which is epic poggers and very sexy. this piece of rep specifically is very important to me bc I am a queer black person and even tho interracial relationships are mostly normalized now, I've still had people give me shit for primarily dating white people in a town that is...primarily white lol

mm anyways, I can also appreciate how in the get down, dizzee being represented by rumi the alien is not a thing specifically related to gender (as it often is) and instead is about his sexuality and just in general weirdness and how it has led to him being alienated amongst his peers, poc or otherwise. him seeing himself as an alien is not about just his queerness, which is important, it is about him being a queer black man who talks different, acts different, dresses different and is "soft"—he isnt a walking black male stereotype and he wouldnt have been seen as masculine back in the 70s by any stretch of the imagination. this can be relatable to a wide spectrum of queer poc, from queer black men currently who still have to deal with this shit or to people like myself who are afab neurodivergent mixed race enbies that have always been signaled out as weird and alienated for it. dizzee is god rep bc while he has a small part in this show, his parts are very impactful, hard hitting and show queer poc of all ages that they arent alone and that it's okay to "weird", you just need to embrace it because somebody will love you for you, as thor did for dizzee.

that being said theres um. some minor problemas here,,,

namely:

dizzee and thors first kiss

the lack of development this pairing got

the way dizzee was confirmed bisexual off screen, he never said the words himself, just showed interest in both genders

the way dizzee and thor were never even confirmed boyfriends or just fwb so most of the fandom just calls them boyfriends bc Why Not

dizzee was implied fucking DEAD??? AT THE END OF THE SERIES?????? AND THOR WAS IMPLIED ARRESTED?????????????

now, these might have been things that wouldve been fine had the show been given it's full run but it wasnt which is why we are now left with probelms.

so, from the top, let's go over these: dizzee and thor's first (and only "on screen") kiss was one that was shown in a montage of other queer people making over and doing other vaguely romantic/sexual things, one of those things being a whole ass naked titty being mouthed at, but the actual kiss...was just not shown? like they really did just say "yes they kissed <3 you know this from the context clues of it being in a montage with kissing, hickey giving and titty sucking <3 but no we will not show it <3" LIKE HELLO? I SAW A NAKED BOOBIE BUT NOT TWO MEN KISS??? HUH????????

also, dizzee and thor were both fucking high as hell during this bit like this isnt a terrible thing but it's also like sometimes you do shit when you're high that you wouldnt do sober and they just never kissed again on screen so like?? like idk that's not that bad but it does kinda irk me since they deadass got no other on screen intimacy after that unless you including painting on eacher other or sleeping next to each other on a shitty mattress but not touching at all during it bc they were both at opposite ends of the mattress like half way off it

so yeah, that was trash. then we got lack of development, which kinda goes with the "dizzee being a bisexual but he never says it in canon" thing cause like...okay dizzee was already sort of a side character from the get go like he wasnt the mc by any means, but he became way more of a background character as things continued until we basically only saw him for performances or when he was with thor, yet they got no fucking development as a pairing other than "dizzee realize he gay, he like thor, he and thor spend time together and ig probably do some gay stuff but we dont really know bc we only ever see them do graffiti together now" like?? tf am I supposed to do with that shit. answer. quickly. and then theres dizzee not being confirmed bisexual, which is just a running problem with shows literally doing everything to say a character is bi except for having the character just...say they're bi? which would be so easy? like a good way dizzee and thor couldve had some development is by thor teaching dizzee things about the queer community that he didnt even know existed, thor couldve helped him understand what being bi meant and helped him label himself and whatnot but instead we got an off screen confirmation that the writers had bisexual in mind when writing him. which is garbagé.

the whole thor and dizzee never having a confirmed relationship status is also a development problem cause like literally nobody knows if they were just friends who made out, maybe fucked, who knows, or if they were dating bc dizzee does give a love confession but a love confession doesn't mean there is a relationship, especially since thor didn't say he was in love either (as far as I remember, I could be wrong, plus whether or not that really happened or was apart of dizzee literally overdosing during a performance is unclear so 🤪)

and now for the biggest issue...bury your gays trope.

during the season 2 finale, dizzee and thor are chased by cops after they are found doing graffiti, one of the cops is able to catch thor while the other chases dizzee into a train tunnel and there is a train seen headed straight for him before the show cuts to black on a train horn. the show writers claim that if they had gotten another season, dizzee wouldve been alive but since they didnt and since that's essentially super fan trivia knowledge, most people dont fucking know that and instead had to watch a black queer teenager chose death over being fucking arrested by a white cop. on top of that, thor didnt see any of that shit because he was caught and the cop started hauling him off while dizzee was still being chased so thor literally has no clue where his friend/possible boyfriend fucking is or that he's likely dead in a goddamn tunnel all alone, unless you count the fucking pig that chased him in there who wouldve died too. this shows rep was so fucking good as far as most shows go on not having major fucking problems, on not being toxic and over sexualized, etc, etc. and then they just. killed a black queer teenager for no fucking reason. like it was literally the last episode ever, it would add nothing to the plot, it would just devastate fans and devastate it fucking did. I dont cry easy but seeing a character I identified with, who I had hyperfixated on, die because he'd rather that than be arrested is terrible. it fucking sucked.

so yeah. that's my all too extensive thoughts/analysis on the get down's queerness. theres definitely stuff I missed, or misinterpreted, or looked too much into, etc, etc., but this was a fun thing to spend time writing sooo yeah!! thanks for the ask anon, sorry this was just a big rambley info dump, but hopefully you get some enjoyment out of it since it took like 3 hours at least 😭😭 feel free to ask clarifying questions lol

[jiyuus]

Say My Name.

Iida x fem!reader Fluff  (cause I’m feeling lonely, even though I’m single as a Pringle- I also am suddenly on an Iida kick so~ and I have this scenario in my head a lot I also REFUSE to believe that the Iida family doesn’t know English almost fluently due to the generation of heroes, and them wanting to help ALL- even foreigners- and Iida calling you his star or my love just makes my heart 🥺)

Word Count: 2,133 Little Summary: You’re a pro-hero from Japan that moved after going on hiatus when you somehow met Iida. When you’re invited to be a guest “speaker” at UA for the heroes course, Iida is in for a little surprised. TW: Long Distance Relationship; None that I can think of~ . ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ . . ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Being a pro-hero was hard. Being one at a young age was even harder. So When you went on hiatus, you went back to school to catch up on everything you missed. And one of the assignments that you had to do when you got back- a letter exchange.

That’s you met Iida, Purely for a school assignment. Write a letter to someone in a different country, compare your cultures, all that jazz. Somehow you both ended up wanting to talk to each other more- not wanting to wait on the letters being delivered half way cross the world, so you gave him whatever forms of social media you had and waited.

Lucky for the both of you, he sent you a message within a week. Telling you that he made an account specifically for you both to talk. Which Warmed your heart. After the letter exchange, you and Iida continued to talk and after a year of talking decided to start a long distance relationship. You were now a senior in America and Iida was in his third year in Japan, having known each other for nearly 3 years and dating for almost a year- you both had never met in person.

Sure, you’ve face-timed each other when the other was awake, just waking up, or wasn’t busy. But when Iida started to train more to be a hero, you heard less and less from him- the once hours long calls turned to five minute ones, and the conversations of text that would be miles long within an hour, turned to simple good mornings and good nights.

And while you knew what it was like to be a pro, and having trained since you were little. You still felt like you weren’t worth his time anymore, always making the first moves. Until one day your guardian got a call from your manager about an opportunity to speak to up-coming heroes, and more specifically UA. Almost instantly an idea popped into your mind, and you instantly agreed to talk to the heroes in training.

With this new information, you text his brother, Tensei to help you figure somethings out. 

You had met Tensei by pure accident.You had called Tenya when your relationship was new, and instead of him- you saw someone who looked like him, but older. You instantly hung up and waited for Tenya to text you about who that was, but instead the ringing of your phone returned and you hesitantly answered- only to see the same person from before. Which caused you to drop your phone out of shook. But you could still hear Tenya yelling about how he wanted his phone back, and how this was an invasion of privacy- that’s basically how you meet and befriended his brother.

“I’m going to that same talk, but why are you calling me about it?”

“Tensei, I got invited as well.” There was a long pause before Tensei asked the very important question.

“You’re a hero?” You quickly explained that you were in deed a hero that even worked in Japan, your quirk allowing you to gather information on a person by looking them in the eyes, even if it’s for a split second. You told him why you were on hiatus, but still did some work on a smaller scale for local heroes.

“But that’s not why I called,” you laughed after hearing his reaction. “I wanted to get there a few days earlier to surprise Tenya.” 

“They’re really busy at UA-”

“I can try to get in contact with one of the teachers, all I need is another excuse to see him.”

“So I’m an excuse now?” He teases, an evident smile on his face as he agreed to help you with your little plan.

A week or so before the initial date, you found yourself on a plan to the closest airport to Musutafu with your guardian.

You were beyond nervous, having never seen Tenya in person, wondering if he was the same person he was on the phone. You knew he was, but you can’t help but wonder- let your mind wander as you spent 10+ hours on two/three different planes. The whole way there was a big blur until you met Tensei in the airport and were in your hotel room.

Which you crashed as soon as you were changed and on a comfortable surface. The next day is when your plan really started.

So the next day, Tensei picked you up and helped you into UA and the dorms. having one of their teachers help with this- you waited for Tenya to return to his room after class. You waited in his room for hours, looking at everything you had around and even reading some of the books he had laying around. It wasn’t until you heard yelling from downstairs did you realize that classes were over.

You put the book you were reading down and smoothed out your clothes, your nerves starting to act up as you patiently waited. Hearing chatter outside the door, you stood and waited.

“Make sure you don’t stay up to late! Despite tomorrow being a weekend, keeping a god schedule is important!” You smiled and made sure you weren’t in the line of sight from anyone in the doorway.

“You too, Iida-kun.” A somewhat higher pitched voice said before Tenya nodded, closing the door and sighing, taking his glasses off, rubbing his eyes.

“Tenya?” His ears perked up at the sound of your voice, he instantly put his glasses back on and finding where your voice came from. When he found you standing in his room, questions came to his mind- were you really here? How were you here? Why? What? When?

“My star?” When he snapped out of his questioning state he hesitantly made his way towards you, his voice timid like he was scared this was a dream.

“My love,” you closed the gap and engulfed as much as you could hold in a hug, feeling his body stiffen before relaxing. He was so happy that you were here, but he still had questions. Pulling away from the hug, he cupped your cheeks softly.

“My star, why are you here? How did you get here, and into UA?”

Smiling you answered, “I thought it was about time we met- I was also getting tired of the lack of conversations.” That statement made Tenya’s brows furrow, he was going to respond but you cut him off. “I also had help from a certain Engine hero.” Tenya could only roll his eyes at the information, that is brother helped sneak you into UA just to see him.

“That’s highly irresponsible of both of you-”

“Tenya, you can reprimand us later, but I just want to hold you for now.” Tenya couldn’t argue and only agreed, leading you to his bed and cuddle for the rest of the night.

-----

The following week, after spending a lot of time with Tenya and Tensei. You and Tensei made your way to UA, you both in versions of your make shift hero costumes, despite Tensei having passed down his costume to Tenya.

“What’s with your costume?” Tensei laughed, all you had on that was from your costume was a black face mask with sheer fabric laced at each bend of the arm with it ending at the base of your middle finger.

“I made it when I was like 14- I haven’t really had the chance to change it, but I’m also not wearing all of it.” You said as you stopped in front of gym gamma, taking a deep breath you looked at Tensei before nodding and entered the gym, standing behind the other students. Hearing Eraserhead say they had some special guest to help them with training today. You and Tensei smiled at they intently listened to their teacher. 

“Eraserhead!” Tensei shouted as soon as he was done talking. Everyone turned around surprised to see the retired hero and some random girl behind them.

“All of you know who this is,” Erasure said while walking in front of the group and motioning to Tensei. “But, you may not know who this is.”

“Hello! I’m Intel, I’m basically an underground hero who worked with big names before going on hiatus!” As you spoke, Tenya was trying to figure out why you sounded so familiar- not knowing it was you. “Erasure asked us here to help you, either with teamwork building or stealth.” Tensei read out the people who would work with him first, leaving you with the rest.

“I worked with people like All Might, Endeavor, Fatgum, more of the bigger heroes who couldn’t fit into small spaces and sneak around.”

“How old are you?” A guy with Yellow hair and a dark brown lighting bolt in his hair asked.

You giggled, “I’m actually your age.” That giggle is what connected the dots for Tenya. Intel was (Y/N), Intel was you.

“Let’s play a little game!” You suggested, “I had Cementos make this terrain, 5 of you will be patrolling and I will try to get this ball from one side to the other without getting caught.” The others didn’t believe you could do it and instantly agreed, having the other 15 watch what was about to happen. 

The first 5 that went in weren’t back, but you got the ball from one side to the other in a matter of minutes. The second group was a bit harder, but that only lasted for the first few minutes as you got to the other side. The third group had a similar plan to the second, having someone at the entrance and exit purely to catch you- not knowing that you could get passed them.

The fourth group almost caught you, they were tactful from having watched the other groups. But something that they had yet to learn was your quirk. While you could simply learn theres once they looked in your direction, they didn’t have to see you, but you had to see them.

Deciding that you wanted a little challenge, you decided to yell. “Over here!” Before you ran into the shadows, only Tenya was in this group and you came to where your taunt was very quickly. Soon the others also came and that made it easier for you to creak away and win. After you won that round you had them either take a break or talk to Tensei, but you didn’t expect Tenya coming up to you and asking you to talk.

“Intel, may I speak wth you?”

“Sure, what would you like to talk about?” Tenya took off his helmet and looked around you both before stepping a bit closer.

“(Y/N),” the tone of your name and the seriousness of his voice made you wonder what he wanted to talk about. “Say my name.” Okay, what?

“Huh?”

“Say my name, please, I would like to confirm something.” He said, lowering his head and his voice, “Say Tenya, please.” You took a deep breath and, bit your lip.

“Tenya.” His eyes snapped up to yours, his dark blue eyes boring into your (E/C) eyes. He nodded and stepped closer to you again, patting your head and walking away. You knew he would talk about this more later but for now, you were happy to be able to help him follow his dreams.

--------

“SaY mY nAmE.” You mocked as you walked out of UA, having just finished talking to Nezu and thanking him for this wonderful opportunity. Tensei had left earlier than you, having to finish paperwork at his office. The gesture left your heart racing for the rest of the day, wishing that you saw this side to him a bit more- even if you were oceans away.

As you were leaving, you heard your name being called.

“(Y/N)!” You knew who it was without having to turn around.

“Tenya, what are you doing? Don’t you have homework?”

“I do, but I wanted to see you off for a long as I could.” You smiled and continued to walk to the gate, now with Tenya by your side. You could tell he wanted to ask you something, but didn’t know how to bring it up.

“Tenya,” you stopped walking and turned toward him, “if you’re wondering why I didn’t tell you I was a hero, the simple answer is- it never came up. I would’ve told you when if it did, but it never did.” Tenya was quiet after that, grabbing your hands.

“Can you... can you say my name, one more time, my star?” You giggled and nodded before saying his name, his grip on your hands tightened a bit before you asked why he wanted to hear his name.

“It sounds different in person.”

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ . . ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

This sucks cause it’s like 6:30 am when I wrote this, and spent like 2/3 hours on it. I know it’s not going to get a lot of notes like Please  Cause Iida is underrated

But I was in an Iida mood and become sad then sleep deprivation kicked in and this story lost all the angst- but i hope you enjoy!

[rickriordanfandam]

opinions on riordanverse ; my edition

a lot of people have been doing this so i decided why not right. probably gna lose some followers or smth but anyways. pls respect my opinions! if u disagree, thats fine, but please be polite. unless any of my opinions strikes u as morally wrong then pls point it out to me respectfully. thanks!

- i actually liked drew. im so sorry to everyone who hates her but full offence, why. think about it this way ok, first of all drew became hc because silena died. silena was the traitor, the one who betrayed chb, yet after she died campers celebrated her as a hero? and then drew suddenly has to replace her and live up to idk that legacy she left behind,, when all of a sudden this girl named piper swoops in and takes her place. idk abt u but i wld be salty abt that too. not only that, but as an asian, the chances of drew having faced racism/bullying as a child is pretty high (she studies at brooklyn academy). which means that when she finds out shes a demigod, and arrives at chb where most of the campers are white (this is an assumption btw), she’d obviously be scared of being bullied for her skin color right?? so the first thing she wld do before the campers get to bully her is to bully them before they can do so. (sentence structure here is wack i apologize) ofc this might not even have happened, drew could have had a perfect childhood && was a b1tch for no reason, BUT EVEN THEN HER ROLE AS A BULLY WAS PRETTY VITAL BECAUSE THAT FURTHER SHOWED THE CONTRAST BETWEEN HER AND PIPER,, HIGHLIGHTING PIPER AS A HERO//GOOD CHARACTER,, AND THEREFORE MAKING READERS LIKE PIPER MORE. anyway stop hating on drew please. ALSO WHY IS THIS SO LONGA SDFJHG

- jason isnt bland, the fandom just kinda erased his backstory (thanks to @pjohoo-memes for the phrasing lol)

- reynabeth wouldnt have lasted/would have broken up several times. idk i just see them as two extremely powerful characters who have firm opinions and will definitely clash at some point. in a platonic relationship,, i can see them as really good friends but as lovers? idk i just think theyll break up

- PIPABETH

- i dont really like jercy,, i see them as better friends than lovers. also idt jason and percy were that close..?

- the dam and not my type jokes are srsly cringey and were never funny. ik that seems hypocritical since my username literally makes use of the dam joke but honestly i dont actually like the joke. its not funny to me and has never been funny

- the seven were not best friends. they definitely argued,, and honestly probably werent as close as the fandom makes them seem. like ure dumped with 6 other people, out of which u only know a few. my introverted ass would have jumped off the argo 2 quicker than leo valdez could bomb camp jupiter up. also leo was a dick to frank. so what if frank is bigger sized?? thats not a valid reason to tease him

- the fandom needs to stop hating on octavian while worshipping luke. if u hate luke and u say u hate octavian too, then okay. but if u tell me ure a luke stan but u despise octavian?? imma disagree w u. luke was worse than octavian im sorry. first of all, octavian being a dick was kinda justified. hes been after the praetor position for so long, and everyone keeps saying to “wait for jason” when suddenly this dude, whos a son of NEPTUNE (neptune wasnt liked much by romans), and the camp decides to make him praetor?? dude i would be pissed off big time. and then afterwards, he finds out that greek demigods are real and the dude they made praetor is greek. AND THEN GREEK DEMIGODS COME TO CJ AND ONE OF THEM BOMB IT UP?? octavian has been told all his life that greeks are scum and this dude called leo valdez attacks cj. sure it was an accident, but did octavian know that? no. so it was honestly justified that he was such a salty prick im just saying. also some of yall be hating on octavian for cutting a teddy bear open and thats the funniest shit ive ever heard i swear 

- luke didnt go to elysium

- travis and connor stoll r way too underrated. the two have been head counselors of the hermes cabin since luke was revealed as a traitor, can u imagine the stress? luke, the person they probably looked up to as a brother, betrayed them. and they didnt even have time to process this when they were  thrown the roles of being hcs. that would have been so stressful and i would probably have broken down if i were them. the stoll brothers taking turns to wake up at ungodly hours because a new camper is crying and homesick and terrified, the stoll brothers having to comfort and take care of new campers, having to deal with the amount of people in that cramped space because not enough campers are being claimed fast enough. having to resolve issues between campers in the hermes cabin all the time. the stolls arent just comedic relief, and we need to stop treating them as such

- tratie shldve been canon idc idc

- demigods of the demeter cabin arent talked about enough and i love the fact that meg was demeters kid. like she isnt the child of one of the big three yet shes so powerful.

- we need to hype clarisse up more her character arc was phucking amazing 

- rachel is overhated. sis found out greek gods exist and regularly come down to earth to fuck around and went “ok cool”. queen shit behavior methinks

- the floor 19 crew of mcga is srsly underrated. like do u even remember halfborn gunderson, mallory keen, tj, etc??? bc i feel like we only remember samirah, magnus, alex, and sometimes blitz and hearthstone

- sadie (tkc) was kinda annoying at first. i like her more now tho but i rmb not liking her for a phat while

- tkc and mcga need more love

- carter kane and jason grace arent boring. theyre just really sweet boys who are too good for this world and yes yes yes 

- hazel and frank (especially frank) need to be hyped up more. i hardly ever see anything about them. also yall seem to forget that frank was literally made praetor and that even hecate admired hazel and was willing to fight beside her because of how powerful she was

- frazels age gap is kinda sketch but i still think theyre really cute

- nico definitely had trauma from going to tartarus on his own

- GROVER IS PERCYS BEST FRIEND

- annabeth isnt smarter than leo but neither is leo smarter than annabeth. ive seen a lot of discussions about who is smarter and heres my hot take on it: neither. theyre equally smart, just in different ways. leos a genius mathematically speaking. he has no issues solving math problems meant for people much, much older than him. annabeth on the otherhand, is great at strategies etc. she can make an army of 1000 more powerful than the enemy, even if theyre outnumbered. so in my opinion, both are equally as smart//u cant compare their intelligence, because their talents lie in two different areas.

- while i do agree rick riordan isnt a god and that hes bound to make mistakes,, AND that hes given us a lot of representation,, if the representation offends the people its sposed to represent, then theres a problem. im talking about piper as a poc and wearing feathers in her hair. im not a poc, so i cant speak for them on whether or not its wrong, because i dont know either. HOWEVER, i have seen multiple posts BY pocs talking about how they didnt really like rick’s representation of piper, and thats an issue. pocs have been and are still oppressed and discriminated against by many. as a white cis man, we cant really blame him for not knowing (tho he could have done a research,, asked some pocs,, idk), but by representing pocs in that manner, hes influencing impressionable kids/teens into thinking “oh pocs wear feathers in their hair all the time” etc, which isnt true. the pjo/hoo series is extremely successful, and kids who read the books will probably start forming inaccurate opinions on pocs. the amount of fan art that depicts piper with feathers in her hair dont help either. “but rick said so in the books, so its canon” yeah well rick isnt a god and he can get some things wrong at times. im not saying we should cancel him, im saying we should start educating ourselves and not spread false info like pocs wearing feathers in their hair all the time. also that snake song shit where she sang Summertime was just- yeah. bc heres the thing you can be racist, and still include minorities, but portray them in a racist way. And even then, ignorance isn't a thing to admire. Getting those facts wrong still has a major impact. It continues to perpetuate racist stereotypes.

“ With the feather thing, I looked it up myself; it takes less than five minutes to figure out that Cherokees don't braid feathers into their hair. I didn't grow up in the country where my parents are from. I have many other first/second generation American friends who have also been through that, with a bit of a disconnect from their culture. But something that most of us have in common is that when we didn't know something, and when our parents weren't that big of a help, we looked it up. We sought out resources online and through other people from our culture to be able to connect more with where we came from. Some of that took a Google search. So I find it hard to believe that Piper, a girl who Rick's trying to portray as someone who is attempting to connect with her culture and is totally against racist stereotypes, wouldn't know that eagle feathers aren't supposed to be braided into your hair casually. She may be disconnected from her culture, but she's also shown to want to connect back to it. Piper wouldn't be casually braiding feathers into her hair while also telling off people for being racist. It makes no sense.” - reddit thread (down below) 

for those of yall who wanna know more please please read this, it has a lot of things i wanna add in here : https://www.reddit.com/r/camphalfblood/comments/gy3gl2/piper_mcleans_portrayal_is_innacurate/ 

as well as https://finding-my-culture.tumblr.com/post/189422373260/maxie-ratties-and-cattie-finding-my-culture 

i will be posting screenshots of these in future posts so if ure viewing this on ig and u dont have tumblr,, dont worry 

- the fact that most of the strong female characters in the series refuse to be “girly”, and ngl i dont really like that. just because ure girly doesnt mean u cant be strong. 

- piper would have been a great way for him to start making the strong characters act girlier, but instead he went with the “I’m not like other girls” trope which is quite obnoxious to hear constantly, and I don’t think it’s necessarily great for younger girls to read that idea growing up.  the closest we've ever had to a strong female character who was also into "girly" things was Silena. when I was younger I admired Piper's "I'm not like other girls" thing, but then I got older and realized that the whole mentality of "not like other girls" is super obnoxious, and a little bit toxic

i have a heck load more that i cant rmb rn but yeah feel free to add more 

[duketectivecomics]

You might've answered this already and I just didn't find it, but one thing that always perplexed me about Duke was how old he was in comparison to the other Batkids. It's obvious he's younger than Dick and Babs, and I pretty sure he's younger than Jason and Cass, and older than Damian, but I cannot tell if he's meant to be Tim and Steph's ages, younger, or older. Could you help me?

You’re all kinds of good here, anon!!! I answered a similar ask abt the Order of Adoption but didn’t dive into specific ages on that post BECAUSE well they didn’t ask lmaooo but ALSO:

Comic ages are very fluid usually! While Years™️ might pass in the canon proper, or while time seems to slow to a crawl, having a character’s age outright stated is something that occurs very rarely for most characters, if at all!

Because it’s always much easier to have a floating age range to work and play around in! It’s easier to keep a character Perpetually 12 or 16 or 25 or mid-40s or- you get the idea. SO, with that in mind. Let’s do our Best to Break Down What Age Duke Might Be Currently A N D how it might interact with the Other Batkids!

(Warning for a Very Long Post, lots of issue citations, and a LOT of comics terminology regarding specific runs/events/continunity. I’m gonna try to keep it as clear/concise as possible ofc but plz keep these things in mind! If you’re not at least marginally familiar with Bat-Comics, you might find yourself feeling a little lost here!)

So from the Zero Year arc we see a common Trend that plays out pretty consistently with Batfam comics: a Life-Changing Event Occuring while the protag is Young™️.

(Batman (2011) #30)

With how Duke is drawn in these particular issues, and given the trends of the past, I’d place him in the 8-12 range. The historic precedent being ofc that that is the same range that canon usually places both Bruce and Dick at for their Tragedies™; the more benign reason being that he... just very much Looks to be drawn in that Range. He’s very clearly an Older/Prepubescent child here.

Fast Forward to his Next Appearance in the Endgame arc and-

(Batman (2011) #37)

He’s definitely older! He’s wiser! And he’s giving Batman a fistbump lmao. Again, no strict age given here BUT, since they condensed each Robin to a Year or Two tops with Bruce (its n52 and its fucked up is what it is), we can assume it’s been at least 4-5 since Zero Year (which would mean if we go off the age range I proposed for that year, then theoretically he could be anywhere from 12-16 here, and I think that tracks pretty well. Not Perfectly and Certainly Not so well with Pre52 continuity ofc, but I’ll talk about that later!)

In We Are Robin, while its not stated Directly In The Text, it IS given as an Informational Tidbit that Duke is 16 (specifically this can be found at the end of issue #4)! (Sweet sweet canon confirmation FINALLY)

We know that WAR takes place Fairly Soon after Endgame (almost immediately, give or take a month or two given that Duke’s been placed in a few foster homes at this point and has racked up Quite A File) now, again id like to remind y’all that while this is a NICE starting point to have, keep in mind that comics are fluid and this may be retconned slightly/ignored in later stories bc Keeping Duke 16-ish is in DC’s Best Interest at the moment. (Having Relatable Teen Characters afterall is a Good Marketing strategy™️. And the longer they can Keep them Young, the Better)

With that in mind let’s take a moment to Highlight the fact that Duke and Damian have crossed paths at this point AND the storylines that have occurred during this year that were meant to be in conjunction with one another!

Because Prior to Endgame, Damian had Died! And just a year (in real, meat-space time) before We Are Robin, he was resurrected and had begun his “Year of Atonement” in the Robin: Son of Batman maxiseries. Midway through both this series and WAR (and, we can assume, midway thru this “Year” for Damian) the Robin War begins/ends and we see at least one major Moment between these two boys who will soon call one another brothers:

(Robin War #2)

Given that R:SoB is followed up VERY quickly by Teen Titans Rebirth (in which Damian celebrates his 13th birthday), we can conclude that Damian would be 12 during this time (well, 12 and 1/2 to play it safe lmao). That being said, this Confirms about a 4yr gap between Duke and Damian! (One Batkid down at least! but he’s the key to the others so put a pin in him!)

As We Are Robin draws to its conclusion, DC was releasing another arc that would eventually flow into the Rebirth Era, by the end of which, Bruce would approach Duke with an Idea (which involves Bruce becoming Dukes temporary guardian & as he states Many Times “Trying Something New” with Duke).

And thus the Rebirth Era begins, and Duke began his Year of training (most directly encapsulated by the Cursed Wheel arc in the All-Star Batman run:

(All-Star Batman #1 (back-up story))

Bruce introduces Duke to a training regimen that Alfred has named “the Cursed Wheel”. It encompasses all the training Bruce and the other bats have undergone and condenses it down into color-coordinated segments that will take Duke a Year to Complete.

It can be assumed that by the End of this Year Duke will somehow miraculously still be 16, despite, again, an entire ass year passing.

There’s one story that takes place mid-year in All-Star Batman, and the Cursed Wheel is meant to be capped off by Duke’s first Official Day as the Signal (in the titular Batman & the Signal ofc) BUT, near as I can tell after this story, Dukes age is not brought up again. So until they DO bring it up either in Batman & the Outsiders or whatever future run Duke becomes involved in, we can assume DC will be working with the idea that he’s meant to be in that 16-18 range from here on out (ie still a minor).

But, dear anon, you might be saying “okay, that’s cool, but how does that relate to my question abt how he falls in with the other Bats?” You’ll have to be a little patient with me here, but I think I may have cracked the code!

Keep in mind I’m gonna be addressing both the Post-Crisis to Flashpoint Continuity (ie mid-80s to 2010 in comics history) and the N52-slash-Rebirth Era (2010-Today). Its generally agreed by fandom and DC alike that these points of rebooting &/or Major Events constitute the era of “Modern” comics, and that everything from the 80s-on might more or less be canon on some level, even if not All of it is.

(Plus, most of fandom usually likes to borrow elements from both eras and much more rarely from stories before it, SO-)

Lets do a quick rundown of how everyone who’s Closer to Duke’s Age, Relates to each other first, age-wise:

Given that Jason was 15 when he died, in A Lonely Place of Dying its established that Bruce had become increasingly reckless since his death, and by the end of the story, Tim has stepped in to fill Robin’s shoes (he states that he’s 13 during this story btw). Pretty soon after, Stephanie Brown is introduced & established to be about a year older than Tim (wish I could pin-point a specific issue BUT, i unfortunately haven’t read any Tim OR Steph-involved comics that predate No Man’s Land... Besides the aforementioned Lonely Place and Young Justice technically, but im working on remedying that soon!)

NOW, during the No Man’s Land event, Cassandra is introduced, and pretty soon into her Batgirl run, its revealed that she’s around the same age as Jason (or at least how old he Would Have Been, had he not died.) Now, given that Jay has an August bday and Cass has a January one, fandom sometimes likes to play around with the idea of one being older than the other (OR even speculating/placing them in an AU as twins/siblings, given that Lady Shiva (Cass’ mom) was a Possible Candidate to be Jason’s biological mother but that’s a Whole Other Thing i wont get into here.)

The point being, Cass, in this era of comics, IS slightly older than Tim and Steph. At Tim’s start as Robin, their ages could either line up like: Tim-13, Steph-14, Cass-15 (being a few months ‘behind’ Jay), then Jason at 15/16 (depending on how soon Tim filled the role after Jay died in April) OR Jason-15/16, Cass-16/17 (in this case she’d be a few months ‘ahead’ now instead)

So brief detour to talk New 52, however! Because Tim, Steph & Cass all got switched around from where DC originally left them prior to the reboot! Now I haven’t read much of them in this era, other than Batman & Robin: Eternal, so my Understanding of their current ages is Spotty at Best. The general consensus seems to be that while before N52, Stephanie had been attending her first year of College (& doing VERY WELL i might add), with the reboot she was set back a few years alongside Tim to a vague Late-Teen state (so 16-18-ish, instead of a Very Clearly Established 18/19). Cass is probably the worst off for this reboot, given that B&R:E basically constitutes her new origin for the new continuity, and does nothing to confirm her age (all I really know is that she’s a Vague Late-Teen too... Probably? Maybe?), given how much they infantilize her, and subsequently how fandom in turn has taken to infantilizing her too, theres a semi-popular fanon that places her Younger that Tim and Steph. And I, for one, propose that we ignore that bc its Weak Sauce my dudes.

Some fans chose to ignore N52 continuity due to this vagueness, and will stick to the ages established before the N52/Rebirth reboots. But its something to keep in mind regardless bc we’re all obviously going to pull from what’s most familiar to us!

But WHERE could we place Duke with regards to them, then? Because them being “Late Teens” is certainly much too vague to work with!

This is Where Damian is the key!

Because Damian is one of those rare exceptions to the Reboot Rule. His story flowed almost seamlessly over from before to after. While he was made a Robin at the age of 10, he continued to grow and learn even after the universe was being rewritten to suit the whims of DC editorial. 

If we choose to ignore how everyone else’s ages and origins were swapped around, and stick with the growth that was presented before the reboot, then we can draw some interesting conclusions!

Firstly, though Stephanie also had Died and subsequently Returned, she hadn’t lost much, if any time, from the Ordeal. At the start of her Batgirl run, she is enrolled at a Gotham university and making headway with a more firm foot in the Batfamily (even to the point that she and Damian spend a few issues bonding. At this point in time, Damian is definitely 11, and again, Steph can be assumed to be 18/19 during the course of her run. We’ll assume 18 for clarity’s sake.)

So, then when Damian is 11, now our line up is as Follows:

Dami - 11, Steph - 18, Tim - 17, Cass 19-21 (the range depending again, if you subscribe to Cass being either older/younger than Jason).

WHICH MEANS, If during Robin War Damian is 12 (and a half) THEN We’ve got an age line-up that Potentially looks Like This:

Dami -12(and 1/2), Duke - 16, Tim - 18, Steph - 19, Cass - 20-22 (And Obvsly Jason, Babs & Dick at their varying Older Ages than everyone here)

and im just now realizing i Didnt include Harper in this line-up, but thats bc she’d also throw a big wrench in all this.  I’d personally throw her in with being Steph’s age, but I’m pretty sure she was supposed to be either that, or between Steph and Cass (again, since its N52, i believe Cass was/is assumed to be Younger than Steph, but that contradicts the assumed following of pre52 canon that we have for the above line-up, obvsly, and so we ignore that lmao) 

All this to say, however, that canon and fandom is what you make of it, and if you want to wiggle these ages around a little, you’re more than allowed! God Knows i usually like to skew the Tim-Steph-Cass age group to be a tad older than this in my own fic writing, and I like to have Duke start as a Robin at 14/15 instead of 16, but that’s just bc I like the dynamic potential it could bring with them being Definitively Older that him, and thus in a more secure place to be Mentoring him right alongside Bruce & the others.

But you might see these age ranges and want to do something Different (say, making Tim, Steph, Cass, & Duke all the Same Age at 17 instead! And that very well tracks with how current comics kinda looks right now!) and you’re absolutely valid to do so! Because again, comic character’s ages are meant to be fluid, not fixed!

And at the end of the day, its all about wanting to see these teen heroes kick serious ass haha

[boycottyashahime]

Hey pls feel free to delete this but one of the posts you just reblogged mentioned "making nsfw content of fictional kids" Im not quite an adult yet and Im a couple years older than the fictional teens but I feel guilty for consuming nsfw content of them because the contents made by and for adults, theres rly no escaping this and cause Im nearly an adult Im kinda feeling guilty for thinking of these characters in a nsfw way, Its not the same situation but I still feel off? Idk how to feel?

I'm very sorry that I reblogged something that induced guilt in you. I had to go back and read what it said to make sure I didn't accidentally reblog something that unequivocally indicated that a teenager should feel bad about indulging in a little sexually exploratory content of their favorite show. I do think I understand why you would get nervous about the hard line the OP was drawing, though.

But let me assure you that I don't believe your situation fits the criteria of that particular post at all. Even if you're a few years older than the characters being depicted, enjoying NSFW content of them isn't necessarily terrible. You grew up with the character, eventually surpassed them in age, and will continue to widen that gap as time goes on. You may grow out of the want for NSFW content for those characters eventually (I know I did), but it'll take a while, because there's a bit of cognitive dissonance associated with being attracted to a "person" who isn't ever going to age along with you. It's a weird feeling for sure, but a lot of NSFW content explicitly states the character is aged up to an adult to help ease the weirdness.

That aside, I believe the post was more explicitly condemning grown adult women who make their indulgence in NSFW content of underage characters a public spectacle, and share this spectacle with underage fans, thereby creating a very inappropriate relationship between themselves and REAL CHILDREN. An adult who produces NSFW content and is posting it in places fully accessible to children, distributing it to children, reveling in creating a sexually charged environment for underaged fans, and claiming that lewd public displays like this are their right to express their sexuality are predators in the making. The concern here is not just the consumption of NSFW content of underaged CHARACTERS, or by underaged fans, but the desensitization of actual underage people, making them vulnerable to advances from adults who may prey on them.

I had thought that message was clearer than it was, and I didn't mean to hurt your feelings and make you think you were inappropriate yourself by reblogging it, querent. I think you should feel fine, as long as you aren't being lewd and sharing this content openly with other underage fans, just being discreet in general. Also being wary of the adults who create this kind of stuff if they attempt to build a relationship with you around their art.

Meanwhile I'll be more mindful to make sure the posts I reblog are much more clear in the future as to with whom the condemnation lies.

[illfoandillfie]

omg my initials are J and his are B and i was wondering to get a love/relationship/sexual reading? he’s a new guy i’m talking to but the issue is he is a bit older than me as in 11 years. if you can’t do this it’s fine ❤️❤️

strap yourself in cause this is a bit of a long one lmao

tarot: 9 of pentacles/the hermit, knight of pentacles/the star, 7 of pentacles, 2 of wands, 7 of cups, king of swords, the empress, the hierophant 

Okay so this is kind of just some general info regarding this connection.

The hermit represents seeking something and the 7 of cups is related to fantasies so these cards in the same row indicate that you’re looking for something, something you’ve been fantasising about, maybe dreaming about. The 9 of pentacles is a sign of rewards or things paying off so to me that indicates this connection is what you’re looking for. 

The knight of pentacles represents you. In the jane austen deck is also doubles as the star which shows a hopefulness but with the energy of the knight, there is effort being made too. You’re not one to sit back and wait if you know what it is you want. When the king came out to clarify it i literally said “oh of course” out loud because with an 11 year age gap, he was bound to be a king to your knight. The king of swords is very disciplined though and theres a sense of power and authority as well. He’s intelligent too and often puts his head over his heart when making decisions. 

Then we have the 7 of pentacles and the empress. The seven of pentacles is about hard work and perseverance. There’s progress being made. But the empress can represent clandestine matters so it feels like you’re hiding this from someone. Maybe people you know, friends or family, would be opposed to you being with someone so much older than you. However, the empress is also a sign that this is a good time for romance to bloom and that a relationship could be deepening soon. She can also symbolise like really good sex too so that’s fun, but as she is also tied to fertility, there is also a warning here to use protection if the risk of pregnancy is involved and not something you want right now. 

Finally the two of wands is about hesitating and deliberating over a decision. With the hierophant under it, it seems like the age gap is probably what’s holding you back. The hierophant is about tradition and conformity and obviously a relationship with such a large age gap isn’t exactly traditional. It probably goes against the conventions and ideals imposed on you by others as well as pre-conceived ideas about yourself. But the hierophant can also be a good sign for a relationship. 

tarot: 10 of pentacles, queen of pentacles, 8 of wands, king of swords/the emperor, judgement, queen of cups, 4 of swords, 7 of cups, page of pentacles, 2 of swords

So with these cards I wanted more info on where this relationship could go, what the outcome might be. 

The 10 of pentacles is a good place to start. It’s a sign of a happy home, prosperity and success in family matters. Under it is the queen of cups who represents comfort and calm. She’s sometimes described as the wife card because the cups suit ties to emotions and relationships. And Judgement is a sign of renewal and rebirth, so it feels like this could be the start of something good. 

It’s a little odd we have another queen card (and one in the line of sight of our returning king of swords). Judgement can also be an indication of reflection or that something isn’t working so maybe check he isn’t talking to anyone else right now. But the rest of the cards don’t really indicate a 3 party situation so I wouldn’t be worried. The queen may be referring to a past relationship of his, especially with the 4 of swords under it. Perhaps he’s divorced or separated from a former partner. Of course, the queen of pentacles can also represent security, wellbeing and abundance so she might just be another sign that this would be a positive relationship for you. The 4 of swords can deal with peace so that would confirm that positive message. 

Then we have the 8 of wands. The sex card. There’s physical attraction here for sure. It’s being clarified by the 7 of cups so again, fantasies. A possibly sign that this guy thinks about you while he masturbates (especially with the 7 of cups next to the 4 of swords). The page of pentacles is related to desire as well so this definitely indicates a healthy, passionate sex life. 

And finally, the king of swords over the two of swords. Obviously the king of swords came up before and represented B but it’s interesting that under him is the 2 of swords. That’s a card of indecision and difficult choices. The pessimistic part of me is a little worried about that other queen and what she might have to do with this decision. Perhaps it’s just that he’s concerned about the age thing as well - he’s wondering if he shouldn’t find someone a bit closer to his age (a queen rather than a knight). Like I said before, the king of sword puts his head over his heart so it may be that he wants you but feels it wouldn’t be right or that he shouldn’t. This might also be a warning for you to not do that same thing. Right now you’re deciding whether to pursue this connection or not. But overall these are some pretty positive cards and I think these last two might be telling you to think things through but don’t discount what you feel. It might seem unusual to people you know, it might sound odd on paper, but if you want it and you feel like it could work, then go for it. 

I should also mention that the king of swords doubles as the emperor in the jane austen deck. So over the two readings we had empress and emperor show up. The emperor is also a symbol of male power/authority as well as stability and protection. It could be that he’s a little dominant or maybe just more experienced than you. But the stability indicates a steady relationship and the protection shows that he’s want to look after you. 

Your romance angel oracles are: Passion - allow your heart and soul to sing with joy! / Flirt - extend your lighthearted energy to others! / Playfulness - to recapture romance, allow your inner youthful spirit of fun to shine!

Passion is obviously there with the 8 of wands and flirt makes sense too. I think it’s very interesting that the playfulness card mentions “youthful spirit” and I think it’s saying that your age is not a downside, it is in fact a positive. 

Your love oracle is Plato: At the touch of a lover, everyone becomes a poet / love is simply the name for the desire and the pursuit of the whole / the madness of love is the greatest of heaven’s blessings. 

Your hearts say: If you could do anything what would it be? The answer dwells in your heart not your mind, for the heart is the gateway to the soul. and Acceptance is the key to inner peace. At times, we must accept things as they are. There is no point trying to change that which is beyond our control.

Very interesting! That middle bit on the plato card definitely ties into the idea of going after what you want. That first heart card definitely ties into the king of swords, head vs heart thing i mentioned and the second heart seems to be reminding you that age isn’t something we can change. 

And then 3 words from my destiny cards - satisfaction, acceptance, enthusiasm. 

Acceptance again! Right near the heart that talked about the same! Satisfaction and enthusiasm are both good signs too. They might be related to sex or just a general positive energy within the relationship. 

The world, the fool, ace of swords, ace of wands, the chariot.

A quick look at sexual chemistry. The fool says there is chemistry for sure. He’s the first card in the tarot and represents the beginning of a journey so it’s still a spark but it has potential to grow into a flame. He’s also a sign that good things can happen when we let go of our fears and trust your heart.

The world is a sign that you would absolutely enjoy it if you had sex with B. It’s a card of completion and fulfilment. And he’s got the ace of swords which is one of the few positive swords cards. But it’s about triumph, clarity and accomplishment. So you’d both enjoy yourselves. 

To describe the sex we have the ace of wands which is fantastic. the ace of wands is about desire, inspiration and vitality. Wands are related to passion and energy and the ace is basically the purest form of that, it’s essence. So this sex would be passionate, vigorous and satisfying. The ace of wands can also be about creativity and inspiration so it’s also possible you’d try some things you haven’t done before which could be part of why the 7 of cups showed up before. 

And will you have sex? The chariot. Yes. The chariot is a card of movement and ambition so theres a sense that you both want this, that you’re both pushing for it to happen.

More details on the sex - Rip my panties off / You are sooo delicious / wicked games / handcuffs. 

Theres a possibility things will get kinda kinky, which ties into that creative energy of the ace of wands. With B coming up as a king and the emperor i wouldn’t be surprised if he enjoyed playing with dom/sub dynamics. Enthusiasm also came up before and rip my panties off definitely sound enthusiastic and eager. You are sooo delicious implies oral sex too.  

[vixenofthemist]

Angry Rant About how We Should've Known More About Almyra bc I am Mad

Sure wish we knew more about Almyra bc how the fuck do they apparently go from hating Claude's very existence and trying to murder him to following him willingly even tho he hasn't even been in their country since he was 15/16.

Like don't get me wrong, I love Claude being the Almyran prince and ascending the throne and I know in all other endings but Byleth it takes him a few years- but besides the fact that I'm a Claudleth ho I just think they're incredibly fucking wasted in the story and that ending just makes me think of how little we know.

Them following Claude just makes an odd mix of contradicting everything we've been told about them but also not and it pisses me off bc we are never told clearly anything about Almyra and that would've been the fucking time to show us straight what Almyrans are actually like instead of leaving it all for us to assume and pick up from the small hints we're given.

Clearly Claude is right, they aren't just bloodthirsty brutes like Fódlan thinks, but also, Claude talks about them trying to kill him as a kid for being part Fodlan and that is. Really fucked up. But worse, we're never told something else to balance it out. We just know they hated Claude, shunned him, and tried to assasinate him a few times, and are left with nothing else substantial about anyone outside of his parents and Nader (and even then we know jack shit akshs)

But since Claude himself speaks so honestly about how Fódlan has the wrong idea of Almyra - and all the important Almyran characters we meet are good - that obviously tells us that he's right - but then we are never told specifics! We're just left with "They hated me so much that I developed severe trust issuses and dont trust anybody and had to learn POISONS at a young age to defend myself- but they're good people I swear."

If they're good people (which i believe they are) than Claude or SOMEONE should've told tell us in clear examples, not in vague, beating around the bush sentences bc we can't know Claude's from Almyra. (even tho we figured it out when he and Cyril both say their home values wyvern riding pre-skip)

And by good people I dont mean that they all have to be goody two shoes, "murder bad" sort of folks, they're a warrior society and thats badass and I don't mind that! We fight in a war for goodness sakes im not here to judge them. What I mean, is I want to see what are the good, indepth parts of their society that made Claude look at them and decide "I want to help" Instead of hating them. We are given all the hints that theres so much more to Almyra- but they lead nowhere.

Honestly, it being decided that Claude is hiding the fact that he's Almyran for the ENTIRE GAME until the LITERAL END was a horrible decision bc he never gets to talk about Almyra openly because of it, having to dodge around the topic whenever its brought up and alluding to the fact thru small hints like how they celebrate after fights and their feasts - but thats all very bare stuff that isnt personal. Like yes, they honor fighting and celebrate battled whether they win or lose- interesting shit. Elite warriors fighting atop wyverns is fascinating and i love it. All those things are a large part of their culture- but it doesnt tell us enough. Claude isn't fighting for open borders between the countries bc Almyra throws great feasts- there has to be more to it but we. Aren't. Freaking. TOLD!! i can't even think of another thing to list that isnt related to fighting or their feasts and even those go together. Like, where's the personal accounts to help us understand Almyra outside of what we are shown at face value? Where are they?

The only other Almyran we can talk to for any signigicant length of time is Cyril, who shares Fódlans views on Almyra because he was a kid who lived in the seemingly shittily governed part of Almyra who was orphaned bc of Almyrans fighting and he blames the king for not watching out for them. (Which also brings into question wtf was has the king been doing? All that we know about him is that he opened up trade with Fódlan more than his dad did which hints that he wants to mend the gap between the countries, and ofc he married Claude's mom, but thats it. What has he been doing??) But anyway thats another rant.

Since Claude can't talk about the good parts of Almyra explicitely, bc that would give away that he's Almyran, and Nader is undercover when we meet him, we don't learn any personal accounts about Almyra besides second hand info from Hilda (who is biased) and Cyril (who was an orphaned kid who's scope of Almyra was tbh quite small) so we aren't given enough information to fill in the gaps between -> hating Claude -> Loyally following their new king Claude into battle to defend Fódlan, and it just leaves so many questions for me.

WHATS THE ALMYRA LORE?? WHATS BEEN HAPPENING IN ALMYRA?? WHAT CHANGED HAVE HAPPENED THERE SINCE CLAUDE WAS LAST THERE??

Of course I could be missing a few things I'll admit that, I haven't gotten all of Claude's supports so there could be some lines im missing - but as far as I can remember we just aren't told enough to have it make sense.

And theres so many ways they couldve made it understandable! Just a few lines from someone to help us have a little bit of a grasp on whats going on in Almyra would have done it.

Like, if Claude's mom has been working hard to change the general peoples view by being their queen for years and earning their respect - Boom, there it is! A concievable but brief explanation that tells us whats going on without having to go deep. Heck, could even be said by a merchant so it doesn't spoil Claude's heritage but hints at it in a fun, subtle way so that when it is revealed who Claude's parents are players can go "Oh dam that queen was his mom, that makes SENSE!"

Anyway I'll stop now bc I've been writing this for too long and am tired akdhsh im sorry if you read all of this its been building up for awhile akshs

[blatherkatt]

I know y'all have a lotta AUs, so I gotta ask: what would the Blumenthal Drei's relationship be like had Caleb never had his breakdown? I know the circumstances have dramatically changed in the fic (re: Astrid may uh, may wanna murder Caleb, which ain't, y'know, conducive to friendship), so I'm curious how the relationship would be at a "base state." We get glimpses of the relationship's natural state through flashbacks, so I'm curious how that would've evolved with time had Shit Not Hit The Fan

The sort of scenario I think you’re describing here is one that we haven’t really talked about much honestly, and on top of that if we did it’d still give some tangential spoilers unfortunately. However, I am instead going to use this as an opportunity to talk instead about what Ed and I have been calling the “Allura Drei AU”, aka The One Where Trent Was Visiting The Area Around Draconia Right When It Fell And Friggin Died And The Blumenkids Got To Grow Up Without His Nonsense

it’s what he deserves. 

ANYWAY. 

im gonna give a general overview without going into toooo much detail on the kinda things we imagine here because we’ve talked about a lot of stuff, this one’s a happy place favorite, but like, this is the golden timeline, lets put it that way. so. without trent in the picture, the three kids were noticed and mentored by probably someone else at Soltryce, or potentially might’ve just gone through it as normal students and just generally done great there, but they all stick together when they graduate and after hanging around doing stuff in Rexxentrum for a while eventually decide they wanna set up a proper tower somewhere quieter than the city, so they pack up and move out to Felderwin. 

Is this confusing and kind of alarming for the people of Felderwin? Yes. yes, it is. ANYWAY the extremely short summary is that the three of them befriend the Brenattos because they need to get components somewhere and it makes sense to be good friends w/ the local apothecary, plus their little family group has a kid about the same age as Luc so it just sorta makes sense, and they’re all very saddened when Veth dies etc etc. but when the Krynn attack Felderwin the three of them chase off the attack and, upon noticing that Yeza’s been apparently caught up in some nasty stuff that has him wanted by both sides, promptly decide the best course of action is to lowkey kidnap him themselves (he’s ok with it actually) and keep him in their tower without telling anyone. and just. let both sides think the other has him while they figure out what’s going on. 

and then through a series of shenanigans involving molly (who is still alive because this is the Good Timeline Okay caduceus is still here too its an au let us have this) getting to know the boys and astrid being stuck in some trouble she cant get out of on her own and needing rescue, the three wind up basically serving as an Allura-equivalent for the mighty nein. its very cute and very good. 

but to answer more of your actual question now that the stage is set: 

when thing were working well between the three of them, and there wasn’t a certain bastard man around to screw things up, the three sort of keep each other in balance ~~especially with sig around too but i still cant talk too much about him and i am dying, i want to so bad ok~~ 

Astrid and Bren have been fierce rivals since they were kids and that’d likely continue, but Eodwulf functions as an emotional center and a mediator, keeping tensions from boiling over and making sure that it stays just as a playful rivalry. They push each other to do better, and that’s part of why they’re both (Really, all three, honestly) are constantly improving at the rate they have ever since childhood. Bren and Astrid can both get too caught up in things, but Eodwulf is real good at keeping that from ever going too far.

Astrid and Eodwulf, meanwhile, like I’ve said previously, have very different languages, so to speak, but she and Bren have been on an extremely similar wavelength since pretty much the moment they met. But at the same time, Bren’s also good at reading Eodwulf. Astrid and Eodwulf are opposites in a lot of ways, and Bren’s a good happy medium who can help bridge the gap and serve as a translator where it’s needed. The two of them can do alright without him, as you can see in Ghosts, but there’s hiccups. They do best when they have a third party to help bridge the gaps in communication that sorta naturally happen between them. Plus, without Bren, they really never would’ve become friends in the first place, so that’s another reason he’s important to the triad. And then there’s Bren and Eodwulf–they do real well on their own, and would by this point definitely be married in this timeline, since, uh, canon stuff never happened. But. Even if it’s not as bad as it would be with trent’s trauma, Eodwulf is still somewhat conflict averse and struggles with RSD a lot, and Bren can, yknow, get caught in his head, plus he’s always been the natural at everything so wouldn’t really push himself as much on his own. Astrid drags them both out of their comfort zone, pushes Bren to keep improving because of the looming threat of her surpassing him always lingering, and Eodwulf straight up wouldn’t do a lot of the things he’s tried if Astrid weren’t around. She’s constantly pushing herself, seeing how far she can go, and she’s caused both of the boys to do so as well!

She’s also, weirdly enough, the moral center of the three in this scenario, if only because her morals are the least flexible. Like, she’s always up to pull pranks and mess around, but she’ll be the first one to really call someone out on something she thinks is Actually Wrong, even if the person doing it is someone she cares for deeply. Trent unfortunately poisoned her sense of morality and shaped it to suit his own purposes in canon, but since in this AU that didn’t happen, she’s really the one keeping the two of them from crossing certain lines. Her sense of morality doesn’t leave a lot of room for nuance, which is, yknow, not great, not to mention the whole reason she’s such a problem in Ghosts, but it’s good to have someone who can draw a line in the sand and say “no, actually” especially when dealing with extremely powerful wizards. 

(It’s worth noting too though, that’s a thing I forgot to say about her in the ask about her relationship w/ eodwulf, and i also forgot to say likewise that Eodwulf helps remind her to slow down now and then; stop and smell the flowers, that sort of thing–he’s good at noticing bright spots and at spoiling himself and others, and that’s a thing Astrid wouldn’t be as good at on her own without people to keep her tethered. In this AU eodwulf’s extra good at that because he wouldn’t be such a MASSIVE misanthrope, and bren probably helps slow Astrid down now and then too, albeit to a lesser degree.) 

anyway they’re an insanely good team and that highkey freaks out the rest of the wizards of the assembly, since wizards kinda have a well deserved reputation of not getting along w/ other wizards due to being a bunch of intellectuals with Opinions and Complexes and seeing three actually LIKE each other to the degree that they all live together and such is confusing and distressing and so the assembly largely just…..leaves them alone,,, 

are parts  of this probably very unrealistic? yeah. do i care? no its great feel free to ask more about it theres a lot to talk about 

also all four of the adults (including sig who is not a wizard but, yknow, astrid’s here so he’s here) absolutely dote on brand who i cant talk about yet either im still dying whats up

[ofcowardiceandkings]

okay guys this is a Weird Thing but we’re kinda stuck for what to do about it and this is a good a place to ask as any so some advice would be helpful

cw for discussion of potential child abuse / neglect ???

okay so um, As Said Previously, we (myself and tomás @flippwizard) moved out of my parents house a short while ago into a (good) shoebox of a maisonette beneath a flat , this is all good thats fine its going well etc but the walls and ceilings arent ?? amazing for sound dampening lets just say and that means to the flat above as well ... we dont know that they know we can hear basically everything above indoor voices in their place either

also as a general thing we’ll say that we both have anxiety that gets pretty bad at times , and while we obvs dont have kids and dont have a huge amount of experience with younger children when we were old enough to like Get It , we do Know some shit about how parents behaviour affects children hm

weve never actually met our upstairs neighbours or even seen them tbh , especially since we work kind of weird hours , but id rather not at this point lol. all we know is theres at least 1 young kid and a woman who we think is the carer there. we THINK the kid is about 3 - 5, definitely not older than 5 unless he’s developmentally delayed in some way.

anyway, pretty much every day at least once, and often earlier in the morning or later at night - which is LATE for normal people bc tomás finished work at midnight - we hear said woman full volume shouting in a very aggressive and kind of erratic way at the child, often involving some stomping and clattering around. we’ll say up front we dont think theres any heavy physical abuse happening but i wouldn’t be surprised if there was a slap or two ...

like, to start with shouting at a kid and especially a young kid is NOT gonna be very helpful , and honestly it ALWAYS sounds like its over something incredibly pointless. really sounds like some classic ‘please get some anger management’ stuff ... todays example literally half an hour ago “go find your dummy! i told you go find it! youre not listening!” or something to that effect. im fairly sure ive heard “shut up” a fair few times as well. theres no or very little swearing, but at the same time i swear a lot but id never swear AT someone without a gooooood reason and especially not a child. also, the amount of times “Go away” gets yelled at this kid feels very concerning lol , like either a kid wants something or is bored (ie wanting entertainment) at that age, jus fuckin look after the kid or find someone else to do it if youre busy ...

and second off im getting a bit speculative here but it kind of worries me how much said kid DOESNT cry after being spoken to like that , like damn if it was me i would DIE , and when we actually have heard him actually cry anymore than kind of a screech it comes in a stompy gap that could POSSIBLY be slap-related. this is just a guess of course but that bit feels real weird ,, when he does cry - at least audibly - its only for a few seconds as well which also feels odd

so like .. Obviouslyyyy, we feel incredibly uncomfortable about this and it can get pretty upsetting ... aside from not very ?? idk socially considerate i guess ?? one of the reasons it sticks out so much is because it often happens when we’re still trying to sleep on account of working weird hours ..... so for the past month or so ive been wondering about it on and off probably a bit much because what do you even do , and we didnt want to be Those Interfering New Neighbours and if we actually said anything directly were not sure how petty they would be about it esp living in such close quarters BUT today was the last focking straw

starting from just past 9 on a friday and continuing for a good half an hour or so at least where we can hear it in both rooms of the ground floor (tomás has a hell cold so got up to lurk on the sofa while i was still trying to sleep), and said yelling and stomping was telling a child explicitly young enough to have a dummy/pacifier to go and find it and to go away with some added crying ?? nope

so uh .. what would you think was the best thing to do ???? we’d rather remain anonymous because of the above mentioned not wanting drama or pettiness but weve had enough of not knowing what to do about it because its really quite distressing :’/

ofc theres the nspcc but we’re not sure how much they can do with only the scant information we actually HAVE ....... another idea would be to ask the council about antisocial behaviours because like i said its really quite bothersome and the very loud stairs stomping / movement around the flat and the shitty bland rap music played loudly during the day isnt GREAT either (weve noticed this shit more right now because we’re both sick & at home) idk like ANY idea would be nice, we’d rather not have to put a letter through their door asking to please be careful since we’re both ill and work shitty hours but honestly ive been so close to just finding the broom and banging the ceiling for the past few days lol

so .. yeah uh thats that i guess >:’/

[zerochanges]

Valentine’s Chocolates and Glass Masks

The romance genre in anime is a little weird, and honestly on the whole the majority of the genre in anime is probably a bit too slow for its own good. “Will they or won’t they” is something most romantic fiction is guilty of, but I think you’d be hard press to come across 150 episode TV series dedicated solely to that premise anywhere else. And this has nothing on the pure silliness that can come with the genre; hand holding, indirect kisses, masked secret admirers, all that good stuff. Really, I’m not here to trash talk romantic anime though, but as I sat down and tried to think about writing a Valentine's Day blog post I just couldn't help but think to myself how romance anime might be the hardest to explain to anyone not in the fandom. I mean, I think I’d have an easier time explaining the plot of any given saga in DBZ than I would explaining “Notice me, senpai” to somebody.

You know what though, I kind of ironically enjoy all of this. Yeah, pure romance anime can be cheesy, but it’s just the right amount cheese that it’s like, c’mon, how can you not enjoy this? Perhaps the worst (or best!) offender of this are older shoujo titles where they can seem almost downright like a soap opera at times. Shows like these are just so full of bizarre, off-the-walls, and over-the-top melodrama that they manage to suck me completely in. They’re heartbreaking, they’re engaging, and the times when they fail at being those things they are hilarious. 

My most recent experience with an older shoujo title like this would have to be studio Eiken’s 1984 adaptation of Glass Mask. Now Glass Mask (or Glass no Kamen as it is known by some) is a manga that started life in 1976 and to this day has yet to be finished, with the manga creator Suzue Miuchi stating she would like to finish it soon, but hasn't quite figured out when that will be (move over Hunter x Hunter fans). Having been one of the earlier shoujo titles starting back in the mid-70’s the series is full to the brim with pretty much every cliche and trope you can think of for shoujo anime, and to a modern audience it can often be almost hilarious at times to sit through. It is important to remember that for its time Glass Mask was a trend-setter and arguably if not the creator than certainly the reason why a lot of these cliches became cliches in the first place. Over the years Glass Mask has received its fair share of adaptations and even parodies, and currently has 3 different animes as well as a live action drama series and real life stage plays based on it. I heard the most recent anime, the 2005 TMS adaptation of Glass Mask, does a pretty great job at modernizing several aspects of the series, but unfortunately I have yet to watch that to weigh in so all I can say is that I was inundated with more cliches than I could count and laughed a ton while watching the 1984 series and I loved every minute of it. 

Glass Mask is the story of a young 13 year old girl Maya Kitajima, who has a dream to be a great theatre actress. Unfortunately for Maya she’s from a very poor family, and even more unfortunately for her, she is incredibly average looking with no flair--and don’t worry, the anime will remind you of that fact countless times every episode. Despite her damnable curse of “just looking kind of average” Maya will stop at nothing to pursue her dream and eventually runs away from home after getting a scholarship for an acting school. There, the enigmatic Chigusa Tsukikage notices Maya’s talents and takes her on as her protege. Soon, Maya learns that her mentor Tsukikage was once a legendary actress thought to be truly one of the all time greats who due to a tragic Phantom of the Opera style accident had her face hideously scarred and retreated out of the spotlight. 

Tsukikage is looking to pass on her talents to the future generation and eventually pass on her greatest possession, the rights to the elusive Crimson Goddess play--a supposed legendary masterpiece that has not been seen by anyone in decades; not since Tsukikage’s career ruining accident. For some reason the director and creator of the the Crimson Goddess play saw it fit to beseech all the rights to his masterpiece to Tsukikage and thus nobody else has been able to produce this elusive phantom play since. It won’t be easy for Maya and the Tsukikage acting school, as media conglomerate and mega corporation Daito Entertainment will stop at nothing to get the rights to the Crimson Goddess, and isn't afraid to sabotage them at every step of the way. Perhaps Maya’s greatest rival however is the young Ayumi Himekawa, the daughter of an already famous actress who is said to be the favorite to inherit the Crimson Goddess role, and is everything Maya isn't; beautiful, rich, famous and well loved by all, and while not a student of Tsukikage she is more than willing to pass on the rights to Himekawa if Maya fails to prove herself.

It’s easy to already see the cheesiness just from me trying my best to summarize the basic plot, and we haven’t even gotten into the romances yet. Maya’s relationship with the young Yu Sakurakoji is fairly simple at first, as he helped rescue her from a feral dog and despite being in rival acting schools--one affiliated under Daito no less, he’s a pretty chill guy that enjoys spending time with her and doesn't care about all that stuff. It’s only after Maya starts to take off in her career that Sakurakoji starts to spiral into this insane inferiority complex centered around her, where he thinks she has become too good an actress for him to be around anymore and starts to give her the cold shoulder all because of his own make-believe shortcomings. It’s very odd and sudden, and the entire thing is blown out of proportions as Maya clearly does not think that and Sakurakoji eventually has to be lectured by bad boy Masumi of all people to come around and start spending time with Maya again. Even after this however it isn't like the old days anymore and the gap that was created from his own complex still lingers.

And oh boy, don’t get me started on Masumi, he’s quite the character. Masumi Hayami is the 24 year old son of the president of Daito Entertainment and is currently running the corporation in his father’s stead. Masumi serves as both an antagonist and love interest (because of course he can be both) in the early parts of the story and is often behind some (but not all) the sabotage done to Tsukikage’s acting school. Masumi will eventually take a more reasonable approach when it comes to trying to yank the rights of the Crimson Goddess away from Tsukikage’s hands as the anime progresses, often just by having his acting school beating Tsukikage’s students in contest and the like, and it’s here where we usually see Masumi’s employees that work under him being the more underhanded characters instead of Masumi directly engaging in the conflict.

Despite being on different sides, so to speak, Masumi catches one of Maya’s earliest performances, her role as Beth in Little Women, and falls in love with the young girl, impressed by both her potential as an actress and her fortitude for going on with the show despite suffering from a dangerously high fever and immediately being rushed to the doctors after the curtains fall. From this point on her takes the role of “Mr Purple Rose” named for the bouquet of purple roses he sends to her at every show. As her secret admirer and the first fan Maya has ever had he means a lot to her yet as his true identity of Masumi he’s an enemy that Maya cannot stand to breathe the same air as. So in short, Masumi is just your average 24 year old CEO of a mega corporation crushing on a 13 year old girl from a small acting school he is trying to ruin and also her secret admirer. Somehow Masumi is one of the best characters in the series, and is my best boy. Only in shoujo!

So far I've been having some cheap laughs at the expense of the 1984 Glass Mask anime but it’s not all like this. The over-the-top bombardment of old school shoujo cliches and the laughs I got from them may be one of the most memorable component of my viewing but there’s actually a lot more to this anime than that. When you get beyond the silly age gap romances and the flowery melodrama of young teenage love, Glass Mask is a story of artists trying to pursue their passions and dedicating their everything to them. Maya may be cursed to forever be “only average looking” but I really respect her drive to dedicate her entire life to theatre. 

Well, that is to say, the times when she isn't acting like punching bag to the rest of the cast (Glass Mask has a tendency to make Maya into a Cinderella surrounded by tons of wicked stepsisters). When Maya is written not as a Cinderella she’s fiercely determined, and never backs down despite some straight-up abusive behavior she is put through. At times her mentor Tsukikage is absolutely savage, regularly beating Maya and putting her through some training that is definitely highly illegal, at least for today’s standards. For instance she once threw Maya in a shed and locked the door refusing to let her out until she finally understood her character she was assigned. Did I mention it was in the middle of the freezing cold winter and snowing out and Maya only had the clothes on her back for warmth? She was out there for days with no food, water, or even warmth. But don’t worry, she had her script to read and that made it all okay. Like goddamn, somebody call child protective services on this lady.

Speaking about “the art” and everyone’s passions, the more you watch the series the more it becomes obvious that the creator, Suzue Miuchi, really cares for theatre and isn't just using it as a vehicle to propel her own story. There are countless renditions of classic plays shown in Glass Mask, such as the mentioned already Little Women, The Miracle Worker, and Wuthering Heights, just to name a few. Some of these plays are presented without any changes while others may have reinterpretations made to them by the characters who are trying to give their roles a life of their own away from the original source material. Miuchi very much understands theatre and does a great job converting many famous plays into a more compressed and easily digestible form of entertainment that can be viewed on a week by week bases. The analysis characters give about the plays and other characters’ performances, the ways characters interpret their parts, and how the plays that we are privy to see in the series end up all show a deeper understanding of the medium. Watching Glass Mask is almost like taking a beginning course in theatre that covers all the classics, only with way more melodrama and over-the-top romance than you will find in your local theatre group. I hope.

What’s the most impressive however goes beyond just Miuchi’s renditions of other classic works and instead are her own plays that she creates herself. As not only does Glass Mask use pre-existing plays it also has its own original productions that will spring up in-between the real world plays. A lot of these self created plays are very enjoyable too, and some feel way more fleshed out than they have any right to be and you often find yourself regretting that you are only privy to a small part of the performance and not able to just sit there and watch the entire play like the characters in the anime do. Maybe that’s why it shouldn't be too much of a surprise that some of the plays Miuchi has created for her manga have later been adapted into real life plays in Japanese theatres. This is probably the greatest testament to the series’ popularity right there, where its own fictional works are turned real. I can’t think of many examples of something like that happening before.

I’d be remiss not to mention the visual aspect of this series before wrapping up my thoughts on it too. While certainly no powerhouse in animation, Glass Mask 1984 goes for a more picturesque route, and does a great job with tons of beautiful still shots and intricately detailed background images. It’s a humble production but with the right use of lighting a lot of scenes can really shine (pardon the terrible pun it was an accident), especially the night shots which can be pure art. Hang it in a museum, I say. I’m almost surprised we don’t see more “aesthetic” anime blogs mining images from this series. Veteran director Gisaburo Sugii (Dororo, Touch, Osamu Tezuka’s Phoenix) leads the production with skilled marksmanship you would expect from his previous (and future) pedigree, and along with legendary animator the late Shingo Araki (Ashita no Joe, Galaxy Express 999, Saint Seiya) the series has a wonderful 80’s flair to it that just fills any retro anime fan full of nostalgia whether or not they have seen the show before.

Studio Eiken’s 1984 Glass Mask adaptation is a short, briskly paced 22 episode series that is easy on the eyes and not hard at all to still sit through for modern audiences. It’s full of tons of laughs (both ironic and sincere) as well as tons of melodrama and over-the-top romance. Most importantly though, it’s a full of passion; lots and lots of passion. During its short episode count the series watches Maya progress as an actress and grow older, with her finishing middle school and beginning high school while also balancing full time acting jobs on the side. The ending is left open--and let’s face it the manga hasn't even ended some 35 years later still--but there’s enough forward momentum in the series to really feel like your time with the characters wasn't wasted and that they were able to accomplish something--not to mention the ending spot is a pretty decent one leaving the viewer wanting more but enjoying a satisfying conclusion to one of the more interesting story arcs adapted. Overall I think anyone who enjoys cheesy anime romance can sit down with this series and have a fun Valentine’s.

[mrmallardsmobileposts]

Fans & Shipping

I did a fandom post a while back that was mostly defensive of fandom and fans, while acknowledging that super-fans and stans can and do take their fandom way too goddamn far and alienate people.

But I've been a part of fandom, and with a fanfiction I'm publishing rn with a lot of ship tease in it, I'm worried that I'm going to be judged with the full fury of an active fanbase. And that's made me think about my values and my stance on fandom. Because as much as I can distance myself from fan culture due to the negativity I've experienced, I regularly engage with it. I am, for all intents and purposes, a fan. And a big part of my fandom experience has been with shipping.

So - shipping.

I understand why shipping is such a hotly contested aspect of fandom - to ship is to express a piece of yourself through a pair of characters. It's taking a piece of yourself and putting it into a character, then acting out something that means a lot to you. This can get ugly when you see this token of your self-expression being used in a way that you find jarring. I don't dislike this practice, or this reason for shipping - ultimately we're all trying to express ourselves and achieve that creative catharsis through our craft of choice. I also understand (at least one reason) why people get so defensive about ships. I get it, it happens.

With that being said, the lengths that some people go to in the name of protecting these feelings from harm? It's fucked up. Yeah, this ship may be precious to you for any number of reasons - going into a blind rage because someone doesn't share your vision of it still isn't acceptable, no matter how ingrained it is to your personality or your soul. People troll and gloat and act shitty, and that's worth a bit of backlash. But being so hurt over the thought of Person A piping Person C when you want them to pipe Person B, to the point of lashing out in anger - it's not healthy. There is a limit at which you need to step back and ask yourself if the emotions you feel are what you signed up for. There's a point where you need to wake up, shake out the cobwebs, and take a step back.

My big shipping fandom used to be Avatar: The Last Airbender. From 12 to 15, Avatar was my shit - I was around before the show ended, it was a big part of my childhood. I got caught up in shipping wars, I shipped Kataang and the "big enemy" was Zutara, and I was basically inducted into this shitty little community of shit where these two groups of shippers couldn't co-exist. But even when I was farting around this group, I was flexible in my shipping preferences.

I liked Kataang, but you know what else fucking rocked? Taang - Toph and Aang. There's one high school AU story with OCs and stuff that I ever read and enjoyed, and it was a Taang story. Another good one was Tokka - Toph and Sokka. Reminder, I was like 12 or 13 and I wasn't thinking about this like "wow theres an age gap", I was thinking about it like "I am 12 years old, and this is ~^~ROMANCE~^~". I preferred Tokka over Sukka, since I didn't watch a lot of season 2 or 3 for years. Yes, these are real ship names.

The point I'm trying to make is that even at my worst fandom periods, when I was indoctrinated with all this shipping war horseshit, I was never outright tied to a ship. I appreciated the different approaches that each ship took, I enjoyed the difference in dynamics. Yeah, Kataang was the endgame couple for me - they're sweet and they love each other and they can build a solid relationship built out if respect and love for each other. But Taang has reckless abandon being tempered by serenity, and unwavering dutifulness in turn being challenged by a selfish streak a mile wide.

It's fun to see characters affect each other like that. And Toph and Sokka were Snark Bros! Of course they'd grow up into endlessly snarking shitheads who can't fuckin spit it out already! Shipping was a way to explore and enjoy multiple facets of my personality, my tastes. It was fun.

How can you take an emotion like that - something that's meant to be sweet and good, something that's meant to make you feel good - and use it to scream at children who are half your age for not sharing your vision?

No joke - when I looked up Avatar fandom on Tumblr in 2013, there were 20 year olds stuck in the same shipping mentality that persisted when I was a kid, getting buttmad at 14 year olds for asking about the schism, for bringing fan negativity into the tag. Adults yelling at kids and treating them like shit.

When does a ship take over your life to the point that you're an actual grown-ass adult yelling at kids for not understanding it like you do? How do you become that selfish How do you stray from a path that used to make you so happy, and use it to harass and accost others?

Shipping is nice. I support shipping, I enjoy shipping. But I loathe people who take romantic pairings of fictional characters and use it to tie themselves in knots and torture themselves with grief when they're exposed to a thought they don't like. You can't keep living like that, and treating the people around you with contempt over it.

Keep in mind - I understand that ships can have problematic elements that personally repulse you or evoke personal memories that are incredibly unpleasant for you. I'm not talking about these ships, and telling you to get over the severe emotional hurdles that make the ships such a bad experience for you. Incest, underage, ships that are based on incredibly rapey undertones/overtones - all three, or any other distasteful combination of factors.

This post isn't intended to troll or shame people for hating a story about someone having sex with their siblings, for example. This is a callout post for people who see one ship, being shipped in good faith out of affection for the characters and their pairing, and have a nuclear fucking meltdown because "HOW DARE THEY WRITE HER AS DATING HIM, WHEN SHE BELONGS WITH THIS BOY INSTEAD!!!!!" Insert whichever pronouns or character names you like here, I'm speaking generally.

Also - I'm well aware that people have preferences! People find different things to love about their ships, and they can be as strict and adherent to their favorite ships as they like. Only shipping a single couple doesn't make you an asshole. It's when you see anything that dares to deviate from your one beloved path, to the point that you're feeling an urge to thrash someone over it. It's being a massive fucking douche-fuck to make people ashamed of an innocent crush they have on fictional characters, to make them afraid to express a genuine affection for what they're engaging in, because it opposes this one true path you keep bullshitting about.

In summary: fuck shipping wars, chill the fuck out. This pastime is meant to evoke positive feelings, not make you feel like vomiting. If you feel that bent out of shape over some genuine, innocent bullshit that does not, and will never, affect you outside of a small bubble of influence that you can step away from and moderate to your heart's content - step back, find something that's more emotionally enriching in your life and/or find a way to engage with your fandom on a healthy level. Getting this fucked up over shipping hurts everyone around you - but it also hurts you on a more meaningful level than you may realise.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

posts about things with absolutely no introduction but it's because i was reminded of the topic the other day

this one's for those of us in the lifelong isolation no friends society, i know sometimes there's other people out there!! anyways i've been thinking about how like, personally, obviously, b/c idk how other ppl do it b/c we aren't friends with each other lol, its just a fuckin wild thing to deal with in part cuz its one of those answers to which there's not necessarily any Right Way to handle things or Answer or Solution or anything. isolation p much = more isolation and plus not having friends makes ppl less likely to socialize with you so that's rough; anyways yknow, the point is just oops you can't Choose to like, obtain a friend. u can try to get ppl interested but you can't control it beyond that, so, yknow

anyways what am i getting to? yeah so i've never had close friends in that i was never able to share personally honest things anyways for the longest time for a couple reasons, and also, people just didn't like me. the double whammy of "oh no its abuse" and "oh no you're lowkey socially ostracized by your peers from preschool on without end" is like, good luck to little me getting friends! i had sort-of friends in like a couple ppl who'd hang out with me regularly and on occasion we'd go to each others houses or smthing but it wasnt able to be like, the normal fun event it should. oh well. middle school was a little better and a little worse but i didnt keep up w ppl cuz i went to a different school later and its that situation where you're friends-ish Because you're at the same school right...smh...didnt thrive in college magically, but one essential thing was i was away from home more often than not so, that was real important ultimately. but anyways in the end i had like a handful of college friends-ish (accepted by other friends groups lol) and theres a couple of them i still talk to now and again

so like, yknow, friends, mostly friendly acquaintances, my siblings i'd classify as friendly acquaintances, i'm very glad about all of them really. just unfortunately i've only just started to have friendships that are like a decade old and the "longtime close" friendship is nonexistent b/c college is just four years and then you go other places, and i'm not at the heart of friend groups and not "good" at communication in other ways so its hard to keep in touch in ways. smh!!

funnily enough i'm also not good at internet stuff though it's been absolutely essential, god knows. that's why i'm able to talk to anyone rn!! but i can't do group chats and i only like approaching things "one on one" aka i don't like feeling like im in the midst of a group even outside group chats. if you get what i'm saying. like even back being in the small early mh fandom of like, three dozen ppl, in retrospect i didnt like having to be in the entire Group yknow. lemme just be over here. which is what i do now.

anyways for additional reasonsl, communicating has been trickier these past few years and for the most part its been kind of a situation where i wasn't necessarily going to get to talk to someone every day, though usually it'd maybe only be like, a gap of a day or two. and anyways, the thing is that, over the past ten years especially its started to be Distressing like wanting friends, not as much having them, and also having it be more obvious that there was some kind of deficiency keeping me from having (and having had) friends like other people did. not fun! but what i'm getting around to here, whats been wild, is just this like, decade-ish (or two decade-ish if you want) Personal Effort to just figure out how the fuck to stop having to feel like shit about it all the time right? then you're lonely AND stressed and probably self loathing also

so like yeah, the thing is that the other day something was going on about like, yknow, the idea of the longtime close friend with a steadfast presence in your life, and that's just always like, lfjdglmao what!!! sounds nice. i had a friend for a week in second grade and im not sure we ever spoke and then the teacher made us sit on opposite sides of the classroom and it was too embarrassing to be friends anymore. that's kinda close but lol for real......it's not only the lack of friends to tackle but also like, i don't assume to have friends in the future. it's something that like, i would obviously theoretically want, and be happy if it happened, but i can't say i hope for it, because that implies too much being expectant or whatever. and it's weird!! its a weird time just kind of presuming friendlessness until otherwise occurs. and it's not great, i'm definitely still unhappy about all this shit. its just that i've also like, been able to shave off how distressing the issue mightve been in earlier years yknow

like it sounds all depressing to say like, i've just had to be less emotionally invested in the whole thing, but it's kind of true. not by ignoring it or ignoring the feelings so much as like...just acknowledging that this is how it is and there's only so much i can do but not hating myself about it is a start. and yeah it's like "oh, feeling less, depressing" but also frankly when i decided also that its less horrible to be friendless than to feel stuck w crap ppl / ppl who you aren't too important to / etc, i figured that i'd also rather be friendless and just enjoy being myself than try to make myself easier to talk to. i'm not like intimidating or anything, i just can't hold a conversation. but i'm not very interested anymore in trying to convince ppl to like me, yknow, i'm out here, and if i'm ever going to have friends i'd like them to be people to like me For Who I Am, wipe tear. what i'm just saying is "a weird dumbass" b/c its just vague social weirdness that ppl don't necessarily like, loathe, but probably they'd rather talk to someone else. i'm not great at socializing stuff, like i said, hence social rejection since age 4

oh and i meant to say!! i've been able to turn up my emotions by turning down my investment in the idea of Needing To Always Be Trying To Make Friends b/c, as anyone might know, all i like to do is talk at great length about whatever weird, niche shit i'm into at any given point. and that's pretty much it. i'm not pretending to be deep by not really knowing how to do small talk. lmao you guys know what i'm talking about. and obviously not everybody is into Getting Enthusiastic or super focused on whatever weird thing at any point, and i'm not Into getting my passion all fired up and being brushed off or anything, so we can all avoid each other, and i get to continue entertaining myself

so that's a way i've been able to turn my feelings up actually lol.....dunno how to segue into it so i won't but it's also just like, not saying that i Truly Don't Care about not having friends, or that it doesn't hurt that i've had this relative friendless past and the futures looking bleak, b/c it does!! it's still distressing. but like, its turned down. the whole general issue can be a very Bitter one for sure!!!! and it has been in the past sometimes and like.....it's still there basically, i've just been able to turn down the volume a lot on a bunch of these shit feelings like "that's upsetting" or "i'm bitter about that" and just kind of calmly let it simmer back down b/c i'm sort more familiarish with what sets it off and more familiar with Dealing With It Always overall

no idea if i've made the point i was setting out for there. dealing with the No Friends Isolation Life society life is not fun but we're out here, sometimes. it continues to be not fun. "oh well," is an often relevant sentiment. c'est la vie. c'est ce que c'est? i think. and i think it's nice that after years and years of just like, struggling to figure this shit out myself, and probably feeling like shit most of the time, i've at least managed to go "shh" at some Bad Feelings. definitely still there. but this time it doesn't heap extra shittiness on top b/c of having to deal with the intensity of it and feel bad about that too etc etc. it's all weird! getting more familiar with dealing with some shit which is just, the way that it is in part because of bad luck and of course i'm jealous of everybody who does have friends. but oh well. b/c c'est la vie. im also glad for everybody who has friends, obv. it's all complicated!! which is just part of why this post exists. it has no real point, i'm just kinda going like, weird, huh? and kind of good, and kind of a bummer. oh well

also im aware this is a suddenly long, technically depressing post at like circa midnight for a lot of people, but basically this is just me in normal mood. sometimes it's depressing posts time out of nowhere, but i'm not especially depressed!! nighttime is just more of my Peak Hours. night owl 4 life. thanks

oh and ps. another thing i would think about (with more distress in the past, and like, no distress now) is that its also funny cuz, one thing i’ve generally had to do is be aware that it’s a bigger deal for you (me) to get a new Friend than it is for them to be getting you as a friend, b/c math says so. and so i’ve had to push myself to not be overly hopeful or invested in order to be both fair to them and myself. and nowadays that’s just kind of how i view the no-friends-ness of it all, like. i’m not mad that i’m not for some reason way closer to anybody i know. why would i be. and i don’t expect anybody to think like “oh my god we have to be Good Friends” because like. not in a self deprecating way but like, why would any random person want that. and i dont expect to be better friends with ppl im just casual friends with, which is great, cus like Friendly Acquaintances and other lite friendships are fantastic and im very grateful. but i am aware there’s plenty of reasons making it difficult to just like, pick up a Close Buddy and i’m not like “oh i demand one from somewhere, from some reason.” so what i am trying to say is that keeping my expectations honestly realistic is an effort to be fair to both other ppl and myself and i think it works. no friends!! we out here!!!!