#have a very specific misogynistic vibe to them

[bucksandstars]

what if they were t4t ahaha....

like just because. no specific reason. i wondered how it might interact with their backstories and all so i wrote my thoughts. it's not all that well thought out lol but something to chew on if you'd like

daigo

growing up as the dojima child was always going to be rough but i think it would be infinitely worse to do so as a girl with how patriarchal the yakuza is. my sous chef introduced the idea that yayoi, knowing how awful shit would be (and considering that daigo might take on a leadership position someday or otherwise have ties to the yakuza) raised him to present as masc. and probably kept him away from the public eye for as long as possible when he was super young as some sort of protection

eventually kid daigo gains sentience and boom his presentation and gender lowkey align. (you see him in that bowtie and suspenders? transmasc canon event fr. or maybe i am just projecting)

sohei would probably be more misogynistic than truly trans-accepting which is to say that while he probably wouldn't take daigo as seriously, he would also like the idea of having a son more than having a daughter. daigo getting shown off as the heir publicly when it would benefit him etc. i mean we all know he wouldn't gaf about being a good father so not much changes there. trans-inclusive misogyny???

i say this because daigo's transition had to be held down lock and key otherwise he would be eaten alive as chairman.

as chairman? constant masculinity crisis. figuring out how to be a man for yourself and continue passing but also not fall into the toxicity of all the guys around you

mine

my guy already struggled with belonging with other boys his age and found it difficult to make connections with anyone at all growing up as an orphan, so there wasn't really anyone around to remember his early years after his adoptive father died. while this would make him very lonely it also made him free to remake himself

maybe someone left a buzzer lying around and he went bald

we don't know so much about the in-between years so i'm not exactly sure when he would begin transitioning. while being perceived as a man would probably help in climbing the corporate ladder, you do need money to do all that shit (clothes, legal name, etc. another incentive to get rich quick perhaps. and the least shallow one lol). i imagine that maybe he'd save up money and do as much research and experimentation in private as possible then bam quit job get that shit changed and start over as a new man. not exactly the most practical career-wise but society and gradual transitioning tend not to mix (unfortunately)

we already know he didn't let anyone get close to him emotionally and his inherent distrust in others which is further fueled by the need to be stealth

by the time he becomes big finance bro he's gotten his appearance down enough and he can pay big bucks to purge/rewrite his past

together

honestly if just one or the other was trans the bond would still go crazy but t4t go crazier

when they first meet they wouldn't know obviously but it would be kinda funny if as they were getting to know each other they catch some vibes but are also like "there's no way"

they could confirm in a number of ways. maybe if mine's showing his irezumi daigo recognizes the scars. or they're trying to turn that situationship into a relationship and there's mine's hesitance with vulnerability and daigo has to reach forward

either way the t4t bond is unbreakable which makes the loss of the other (mine in y3 and daigo in y4) so much worse

also it makes their little flowchart thing from the 10th anniversary book something to think about (translated by 04tenno/0nsyu-archive)

there would just be like. absolute trust between them from how deeply they can understand each other, despite the other differences in their upbringing. and the unwavering respect that they have for each other is colored a little differently now because it must be so refreshing to have that even with knowing each other's past

anyway i just wanted to get that out of my head. none of this is all that fleshed out, so feel free to agree/disagree/add on/comment, i would love to see what other people think!!

[erinarigby]

reading about how paul was two timing multiple women always pisses me off because i dislike men who think they can fuck as many women as they want and are unfaithful, however i am fine with him cheating with john i love that😊

[starsandsuch]

Observations about how men from each Nakshatra act in dating & relationships 🏹 👩‍❤️‍👨 💌

Spilling the tea on men through the nakshatras , thank me later ladies 😌😉😏

Disclaimer : Mostly observations of public figures / personal experience/ what I’ve heard from friends. Feel free to add your experience!!

TW: some of these are really honest or 18+

➽──────────────❥

Ashwini men: very childish no matter how old they are. Can be possessive, kinda psycho with a violent streak.

Bharani men: don’t have much notes about them but from what I heard they are extremely possessive// many girls haves told me they’ve been stalked by bharani men. When their love is unrequited they will never let it go. Traditional and takes care of women. Masculine.

Krittika men: goofy and funny personality. Enjoys being babied by their partner.

Rohini men: know how to be the perfect storybook gentlemen. Prince Charming vibes. Very devotional to their partner. Seemingly innocent but are very s3xual individuals. Lowkey perverts. Can be stalkers.

Strives to satisfy their sexual craving within a relationship but will cheat on their partner to do so. Don’t put anything past them.

Mrigashira men: very intentional with who they chose to date. Specific criteria that only makes sense to them. The type to have a bunch of exes that all look identical to each other.

Seem like big heauxs but are loverboys on the low. They know how to please women on a fundamental level, theee most romantic and thoughtful gifts ever.

They like dating outside of their race, they tend to like girls who are flawless looking. If a Mrigashira man likes you, just know you’re probably a 10.

They can be misogynistic but are simultaneously obsessed with the opposite sex. They are really cute when they’re in love. They love playing mind games though.

Tend to be pretty boys, I notice they often have gay allegations on their reputations. They give bisexual vibes even if they’re straight.

Ardra men: similar to Mrigashira they are lover boys. They are used to dealing with rejection or unrequited love connections. They love hard but have trouble finding the right person for them , causing heartbreak in their love lives.

They are traditional in relationships. They act sad and emotional to get girls to like them. Their sad boy act is authentic sometimes but they are huge fboys too. Emotionally manipulative. Loves doing romantic gestures for their lovers. Very thoughtful gift giver.

Punarvasu men: they are like the ideal husband archetype . Caring, traditional, effectionate, generous. They are naturally feminine and understands what a women needs. However, they are very passive tho and end up being cucks in their relationships.

They attract more assertive women that energetically over power them. Classic Jupiter dominant man trope. Gets played a lot. Often friend zoned a lot too. Has weird fantasies.

➽──────────────❥

Pushya men: traditional and like taking care of a woman. They love pretty b!tches so if a Pushya guy likes you , you’re top tier. They are heauxs tho.

Ashlesha men: have serious mommy issues that get in the way of their romantic relationships. They are innately feminine and struggle expressing their masculinity in a healthy way. Very draining individuals. Tend to be romantic and generous, they are promiscuous tho.

Magha men: enjoys princess treatment from women, they like to be pursued by women. They are withholding with their energy and resources and usually women who date them leave the relationship with less then they started with. Misogynistic tendencies.

Purva Phalguni men: they tend to have all the qualities that women desire from men in relationships. Romantic , protective, generous , they are good at s3x. They are very devoted and romantic in a monogamous relationship. However they often have scandals in their love life that spoil their relationships and reputation.

They are very sexual and will go to great lengths to satisfy their sexual desires. These men have HIGH body counts. Usually involved in taboo relationships.

Uttara phalguni men: seem innocent and orderly but are s3x freaks. They are womanizers and pretend to treat women well to keep a good reputation but can have a negative side to them in private. Pervert-Chad vibes.

➽──────────────❥

Hasta men: cheap and feminine. They lie a lot. Haven’t heard great things about them.

Chitra men: feminine and tend to be himbos. I don’t think I ever met a straight chitra man? If they are straight they like being chased by women. Pretty boys.

Swati men: “Prince Charming takes you on a whirlwind romance” they like impressing women and like to be traditional. They have hot and cold vibes tho most women find impossible to deal with. They are eccentric and flighty. Emotionally unstable.

Vishaka men: will fight for the woman they really like. “Warrior/solider who defends the honor of the princess he’s in love with”. They are thots tho. Have a lot of drama in their love lives.

Anuradha men: falls in love hard. Devotional and romantic, will do grand romantic gestures for their partners. But tend to have addictive personalities and violent tendencies. Can have s3x addiction. Will stalk their love interests. Some have really creepy vibes and weird fantasies. Emotionally turbulent.

Jyeshta men: treat relationships like a game, they like collecting trophies and prizes, so they will date many women at once. They are generous and manly and good at manipulating women. Seemingly enjoy the attention of relationships more than the actual relationship. They like to chase. Lie a lot.

Mula men: traditional and kinda boring. Epitome of “she’s Barbie and he’s just Ken”. They are goal oriented, ambitious and logical. They tend to prioritize their career and desire a “trophy wife” to compliment them. Have stoic personalities and are straightforward and blunt.

Purva Ashdha men: traditional gentleman archetype. Very romantic in relationships. Kinda tend be players though. Pretty boys.

Uttara ashdha men: traditional and fatherly. Usually dates Sun nakshatra/ Leo women or women who have solar qualities like them. They like dating the “female version of themselves”. Doesn’t really understand the complexities of women. Typical “he’s just Ken” vibes.

➽──────────────❥

Shravana men: not really assertive in relationships. Likes hanging with the bros more than devoting self to a relationship. Not the most committed, but can be, but only if it’s connected to their social status. Usually marries their high school sweetheart. Not much notes for them.

Dhanishta men: complex relationships with women. A “bachelor” Nakshatra. Some of them hate women or only have a partner bc it’s socially acceptable. Likes the social status that comes with being with a beautiful woman. Doesn’t have successful relationships till later in life. Best suited towards “friends to lovers” relationships. Some are kinda innocent and virginal. Haven’t heard great d reports about them.

Shatabhisha men: surprisingly act very fatherly in relationships, enjoys taking care of the partner. Not the most emotional in relationships but tend to handle responsibilities well. Likes hanging w the bros prob more than their girlfriend. This nak in general is like the “ghost nakshatra” they will ghost pretty much anyone , and are hard to connect with. Sneaky & secretive. Tall & handsome.

Purvabhadrapada men: acts like a gentleman. huge heauxs. Although when they find “the one” they’ll move heaven and earth for her. Gomez and Morticia Addams vibes. Nonchalant about most relationships but women tend to go crazy for them. Usually has the hots for one women but will entertain many he doesn’t really care about. Makes great fathers.

Uttabhadrapada men: odd personalities in general. Can have trouble connecting with the opposite sex. Don’t have much notes about them. Kinda boring.

Revati men: are generous, assertive masculine. If they want you they’ll show it. Tend to like having a mommy figure as a partner. They are heauxs tho and always have a big roster. Very s3xual individuals. Major players. Immature.

[thewolfofthestars]

An extremely petty and unimportant pet peeve of mine: people (almost always English speakers) who've clearly just gone to Google Translate for words/sentences in other languages for their fanfics

For plenty of purposes, Google Translate is fine! It's (mostly) quite serviceable for neutral, polite terms and conversation, the sort of thing you learn in a 101-level language course. But for slang, swear words, insults, sexual content, anything political, anything religious--basically anything you wouldn't bring up at Thanksgiving dinner--you really, really need to ask people who speak the language directly. There are mountains upon mountains of built-up history and connotation behind these more charged topics, in any and all languages, and they are not going to be the same in English as they are in whatever other language you're using.

Very simple example: "bitch." In English, this is technically a term for a female dog. In practical use, it is almost entirely a derogatory term and an insult, primarily aimed at women, and implies objectification, domination, and feminization.

The direct, literal translation of "bitch" into German would be "Hündin." That's what Google Translate will give you.

If you use "Hündin" in German the same way you would use "bitch" in English, you will be laughed out of the room. Because it is such a textbook example of someone who's not familiar with the German language, picked out the dictionary translation, and used it without a second thought. It is a quintessential mistake for beginning learners to make.

"Hündin" in German is only ever used for its technical definition, by professional dog breeders or dog show workers, etc. It isn't used as an insult. If you want to call someone a bitch in German, you have to consider what you *mean* when you're saying it, not just the definition.

-Are you using in a sexual way? How about "Schlampe", or slut, instead?

-Are you going for more of a misogynist angle? Use "Zicke"--the direct translation is "goat", and what do goats do? They bleat, incessantly, they nag and shrew and scold. The stereotypical context for this insult is a woman in the workplace, being called Zicke for raising a fuss over inequality, harassment, sexism, etc.

-Is the vibe more of a Mean Girls thing, some bitch spreading rumors or talking behind people's backs or being rude and snotty? "Miststück" is what you're looking for; the translation here is something like "piece of shit" or "mud-talker", but specifically a girl or woman who's doing so.

-Is it meant to be just a completely non-gendered, nonspecific insult? "Arschloch" for asshole or "Schweinhund" for (something like) bastard work just fine.

-Are you really trying to cut deep, be extremely vulgar in your sexism? "Fotze", for cunt--and it carries much the same connotation that the word does in American English, exceptionally vulgar and not something to use unless you're really pulling out the big guns.

And this is a simple example for a single word, in two languages that are already very close and similar! There are loads more complicated and difficult examples out there, especially as the languages drift further and further apart.

Google Translate and other services like it can be good starting points, absolutely, and I'm not gonna knock anyone who uses them. But I encourage everyone to use them as such: starting points, not the end-all-be-all of language translation. I always double-check Google's work when I need a word or phrase in a language I don't know, even for something seemingly simple and innocuous (GT is also notoriously bad at conjugation, so even if the words are right the grammar is still wrong). Reddit is a great resource for this--a lot of the time, people have already asked your question before, and you can browse answers from folks who actually speak the language and know what they're talking about.

Does this really matter, in the grand scheme of things? Not really. The world isn't gonna end because of some clumsy Italian in someone's random fanfic with 200 views. But I am a fic author myself and cannot claim to be anything more than a pedant, so I will complain regardless

[blacklegsanjienthusiast]

Honestly with how diverse the cast is… I feel like many anime fans are showing their asses in more ways than just disliking it. Like Zoro’s actor is Japanese and it’s a Japanese property and Usopp doesn’t have enough loud fans so people won’t complain about him but with the other actors, they are showing their racism or sexism. With the main strawhats, nobody of the cast with exception of Emily is white. Like especially the way people are called ugly… I feel like Emily faces sexism as she doesn’t have an cartoon body at times but for the rest of the cast the language feels almost coded. It’s not that only white people can be called ugly but it’s obvious compared to drawing their more “ethnically” as I don’t know how to call it otherwise features are attacked.

Like Iñaki’s ugly because his eyebrows by some haters. Or the fact that Taz is constantly called ugly for not being a twink (which although lost in culture war is an abbreviation with the w standing for white) and not a true Sanji. It’s interesting that their perfect fancast never have another actor with a mixed background for Sanji in them. They only show off white actors or at best Japanese from skits but even that feel disingenuous. Like I truly feel even unconsciously calling him too old and ugly wouldn’t happen if he was 100% white. And people make it a statement because they get bad vibes from him so it’s okay to call him ugly and like… whatever not getting into that.

What Charithra posted on instagram is so sad. Especially a comment about: “Large expressive dark-blue Eyes. smooth fair skin Soft, feminine facial features” (shaking retyping it) is so racially coded. The actress has shown to have literal bambie eyes and it’s just so fucking gross she is a human not cartoon what the fuck. There is miscasting and dissapointment and truly racist bullshit. So much of what they do is expressing how they see certain facial features that don’t fit the white ideal it’s nothing but gross.

Especially as the actress of Robin got some initial criticism for being Russian… but now the teaser is out it’s more about her styling than her background. Even when early anime coloring gave her more of a tan and so she is “inaccurate” in some way. Fascinating…

this will probably end up quite long but it’s an important topic that i do have a lot to say on.

firstly, although i’ve not seen it come up on tumblr, something i want to make very clear is that i absolutely echo the sentiment emily shared on twitter yesterday under a tweet regarding the hate charithra has been receiving which is that the criticism of vivi’s casting and the upset at her not being MENA are absolutely valid because the erasure of arab representation in hollywood is a prevalent issue and is something that studios should be held accountable for and my condemnation of the behaviours of people online towards charithra is never intended to negate that fact. that being said hurling racist abuse and hate to an individual is not productive nor is it the solution. i have seen charithra attacked simply because she is not white and also specifically because she is indian and neither of those behaviours are never acceptable.

secondly you are very right about everything you said. the one piece fandom as always had issue with misogyny and racism and it seems opla is bringing out the worst in those people.

i see constant misogyny in the fandom both towards female characters and fans, and every female cast members gets it too. i see so many disgusting comments about emily’s body because these misogynistic, porn addicted men can’t comprehend what a real, living women looks like and it makes me so mad. negative comments about actors body’s in any way are horrible and i’m sick of seeing it. and yeah comments saying “they’re ugly” and it’s simply because they aren’t white and therefore don’t fit into what they deem as attractive are far too prevalent and i’ve seen it a lot in recents days in regards to charithra.

how the fandom treats jacob is actually something i’ve wanted to touch on because you’re right in saying there has never been a lot of verbal backlash and racism towards his casting and i think that comes from the fact that usopp’s being black despite how he is portrayed in the animanga is pretty agreed upon (because he is) and isn’t really a topic of discourse but i do see discrepancies in how he’s treated compared to the rest of the cast. for example if you look at the views of the lego videos on both the instagram and tiktok accounts jacob’s video is behind by far. on instagram his video has 770k views whilst everyone else’s have almost and over two million, even taz’s which was posted a solid 9 hours after jacob’s. that is a difference that is very telling and the fact that it’s the same on tiktok makes it more so because whilst jacob is not the only POC in the main cast he is the only dark skinned actor and that difference in views and engagement is not a coincidence.

i see this more subtle racism in how people talk about peter as well, usually in tiktok comments sections. under any video with shanks there’s a constant stream of comments, namely saying he doesn’t fit shanks or that there’s something off about him (despite him absolutely embodying the shanks we see in luffy’s flashbacks in the animanga) and yet zero explanation as to why they think that and zero comments about any of the other (white) actors the videos may include. this subtle discrimination towards POC in the show and in films in general is far too common and should be called out. another instance that sticks in my head is someone saying that iñaki’s voice annoys them and that they don’t know why but he’s the only cast member that does. iñaki is the only cast member who does not have a western accent because his first language is not english and i cannot think of any reason that his voice alone would “annoy” you other then prejudice that this person might not have even be aware of.

the hate lera received also really annoyed me because it’s another instance of attacking an individual for an issue that is not their fault. the actions of the russian government against ukraine are inexcusable and should be condemned. the people of ukraine will always have my full support and anyone who is in support of russia’s actions can fuck right off* but it is pointless to send hate to an actress who has not lived in russian since well before the war began (which was in 2014, lera moved to germany when she was 13 so 2005) and has never shared anything in support of the russian governments actions.

(*this goes for i*real as well. zionism and any support of the israeli government and it’s actions are not welcome here ever. it always has been and always will be free palestine and fuck i*real and if you disagree with that block me)

all that to say i am consistently appalled by this fandom and it’s casual bigotry, both in regards to the animanga and opla and it is something we should continue to call out and bring attention to. bigotry of any kind and that sort of behaviour will never be tolerated here and should never be tolerated ever.

[societyoftheblindeye]

I feel like the way fidds and Stan are presented is so interesting like the masculinity they both give feels soooo very intentional and very modeled off of such specific ideals outside of their upbringings. They both come from areas that one would assume to be kind of hypermasculine in very specific ways like for instance a hog farm in rural Tennessee and very clean pressed neighborhood near the Jersey shore but they both kind of find themselves gravitating towards a more lax and artistic kind of vibe, specifically disco. And they still incorporate textures and patterns and staple pieces from the men of their upbringing into it while also branching out towards more flamboyant personas. Like, this is smth I wrote for a fiddlestan diddy a while back:

Stan was masculine in a way that Fiddleford wasn't used to. He was so used to masculinity being used as a shield. Something to hide behind; something rigid and and unchanging. A strict expectation that was the same from man to man, leaving little room for Fiddleford's silk shirts and flared jeans and shaggy hair. But Stanley's masculinity, in his tank top with his mullet and his curiosity, came off as more inviting. More fluid. It felt like a tide that kept flicking up around Fiddleford's ankles, and the looseness made his knees feel weak. Fiddleford licked his lips at the realization of how well they complimented each other.

Like they both have smth abt them that is so obviously “out of place” to a lot of potential random onlookers but is integral to how they feel abt themselves bc this is how they’re choosing to present themselves to the world ESPECIALLY Stan bc he lives so much of his life as a character rather than just as himself bc that’s the only way he feels he can survive bc being himself has hurt him so much in his life. But even when Fiddleford DOES achieve what the normal expectations for a man would be - a wife and a child and a home and a chance to own his own business - he still throws it all away for the chance to be close to ford. Who I think at this point is safe to call a canonically queer character. So there is smth in him that is very willing to forego all the traditional masculinity he’s managed to maintain for the chance to be close to someone who might understand why he feels TRAPPED by that traditional masculinity

“Oh but it was the 70’s, disco was popular, it was fine to dress like that” just… as someone who also grew up in Appalachia with family who were in their 20’s and 30’s in the 1970’s who still would have ridiculed or even threatened anyone who dressed like this… not always. Just because styles are popular in music or television doesn’t mean that they would be acceptable to someone’s upbringing or their peers, and I just know from growing up in the same kind of environment as Fiddleford that it would be likely and realistic that he rly was only able to dress like this BECAUSE of the distance he had put between himself and his family. And the reason I brought up disco specifically being a big source of inspiration for both of their fashion senses, in relation to them both having a kind of queer sense of masculinity, was bc disco was heavily influenced by ppl who were facing social persecution at the time (feminists and gay men and black ppl) and the genre was in itself a sense of community and social liberation. And even when it was at the height of its popularity disco was attacked and forced out of fashion by racist, misogynistic, and homophobic rock n roll fans in what ultimately became a riot led by a popular macho manliness preaching shock jock named Steve Dahl who started the “disco sucks” movement. So like… disco DID have its time in the spotlight, but it WAS still a source of sexual freedom in a time when that was very much not okay. There was a huge evangelical revival going on the 70’s that specifically attacked the small bit of sexual freedom that society experienced in the 60’s, and it was very much a time when ppl were saying that sexual freedom would turn ppl into actual murderers. So even tho disco was commercially successful, it still wasn’t ideal to be associated with it in a lot of places

But also i don’t think EITHER of them are Fem. I do think they’re both masc bc like… yeah. Like I said, even tho Fiddleford’s style is very disco heavy, he IS bringing in those textures and patterns and staples from his upbringing. And the way he was brought up, he would have most likely seen cowboys as the ideal masculine archetype. And while disco was a heated topic in the 70’s, the same silhouettes were still kind of floating around the country scene. Jeans were flared, just not full on bell bottoms. There were wide collared shirts, but not as deep a cut on the neck. And paisley was a pattern that kind of bridges the two groups. So he’s rly marrying the freedom from disco with the flair of 70’s country, which IS kind of a masculine approach to take when flirting with disco fashion. I also think a lot of ppl conflate body type with gender expression (waify, skinny = feminine/fat, broad = masculine) so they see a thinner guy who’s kind of faggy and go “oh he must be Fem” while disregarding EVERYTHING else abt him.

Like what was the point of us getting this picture if you’re just gonna ignore everything but ford’s stupid shorts?

No parents, no wife, no small town church culture. It’s rly him at his most free and his mustache isn’t even the push broom style of mustache that was commonly associated with cowboys in the early 1970’s. This style of mustache was more associated with bikers at the time, and American biker culture has its roots in the post-war gay community. It’s the same origin as the leather community (as in leather daddy) which is why they share so many stylistic staples. So like… that’s yet another display of affinity towards a more masculine style

I don’t know… I just think they’re both so fascinating & I think considering a character’s wardrobe and styling is rly important to understanding them better

[cringesdead]

REVIEW OF KING OF DRAG S1E1, BY A DRAG KING

I just gotta talk about it okay. Spoilers for the episode structure, but no spoilers for this week’s winner and loser.

I have not looked too closely at the critical reception on Reddit because Dragula Reddit burned me too hard with its braindead takes and occasional misogynistic pile ons. The two criticisms I’m vaguely aware of are that the production value is low and than the elimination challenge was weird and bad.

Let me say that, compared to season 1 of both RuPaul and Dragula, the cast of King of Drag blows them out of the water. These are polished, extraordinary artists the lot of them and I am SO FUCKING HAPPY to see them on tv. Crazy that Kings did not get their own show (or were ever cast on Drag Race) until 2025 but I think this cast is very reflective of the fact that-

Drag Kings have always had to work harder to get the same recognition, attention, and pay that drag queens get. This is true across the board from the highest level down to your local Friday night audience. I come from a smaller scene and while the actual drag artists make great efforts to be inclusive and recognize diverse expression, audiences on the whole tend not to get it unless you’re very dolled up and/or do burlesque or some other kind of sexy performance. The drag king starting out doing silly shit in a cheap suit largely does not get the same praise and attention as the new queen doing dips in a thrifted corset.

King of Drag S1’s production value is: very good and cute! I like the stop motion paper style, the kind of highly colorful highly art focused opening is very charming (RPDR could never), the set is nice, the stage is perfectly serviceable. I don’t understand what complaints about production value come from especially compared to season 1 of the other shows. Huh????

The pacing and flow of the show was: decent to serviceable. I’ll talk about the elimination challenge in a moment, which is definitely the part where this episode falls off for literally one minute. I really appreciated the focus on the contestants drag philosophy and experiences, and I think it’s the right choice to have a focus on taking up space and celebrating the fact that drag kings finally have their own show. I do not know if that takes away from the average viewer’s entertainment or not but I truly do not care.

I do think there was a kind of strange underlying dissonance between the masculinity of the challenges vs what a lot of drag kings (as represented by this fantastic cast) actually do? I too would have trouble doing a sports anything. I hope the challenges broaden in scope at least some, but we’ll see. The set is also kind of hypermasculine and doesn’t quite capture the spectrum of king drag like the cast does. I wonder and worry if a drag watching audience has much connection to things like sports or if hypermasculine aesthetics appeal to them. This is purely worry for their numbers and ability to retain an audience- RPDR and Dragula both have a specific aesthetic scope that is better rounded out by the artistic interpretation of their talented casts.

Some people say the king’s court (judges panel) is too big. I have no opinion either way. I think them voting for elimination down the line is good classic reality tv tension.

And now for the elephant in the room: the breakdance elimination challenge-

It does feel awkward and weird. No one really attempts a breakdance, they just vibe to the music for a bit, like it was a lip sync except there’s no words. Maybe they did the attempt but it didn’t make the edit, who knows! I watched this episode at a local gay bar and the room was very confused about why the elimination challenge was breakdance based, and the perplexed reaction lasted all the way through the performance.

In art competition shows, the elimination matters. Audiences want to feel like the contestants are being judged based on the merits of whatever art the show is about.

In RPDR, it’s a lip sync battle- a staple of drag performance and a head to head comparison of charisma uniqueness nerve and talent. It’s a very natural way to do it, and very engaging to watch.

In Dragula, which has fear factor style elimination challenges, they rarely do anything directly related to drag but they plainly lay out their philosophy- conquer your fears to find success. For me at least, this is deeply tied to being a drag artist (especially an alternative drag artist) and it’s also just flat out the queer experience for a lot of people. It’s scary. It hurts. It comes with a real threat of bodily harm at times. But you do it because the other side is more than worth it. It’s also high stakes and engaging to watch.

Drag is a crazy fucking art form. It takes a ton of different skills to do and you can fold an infinite amount of skills into it. I’ve used things from every art I’ve ever done- drawing, writing, music (composing, singing)- and I’ve had to learn a ton more like makeup and sewing and performing on a stage to even start. I feel like I’m learning three new skills per look, and there’s still a metric fuck ton I want to learn (I’ve been putting off wigs for a while now lol). All that to say, there is a LOT you can pull from for an elimination challenge, and drag is so broad of an art form that if you go in a more philosophical direction there’s tons and tons options for you.

Breakdancing, which has not been mentioned in the entire episode up to the elimination challenge, does not fill the audience’s need to witness the merits of the contestants. On top of that, no one actually Did Breakdancing (in the edit) and this was never acknowledged in the show that I saw. I wonder if they were embarrassed about it in the editing room?

I think a very simple fix to this would be to present the elimination challenge as: This is a new show and we’re going to ask you to do new things. As drag artists and especially as kings, we have to adapt while preserving our artistic vision. Therefore, give us your best drag breakdance.

I think it also would’ve helped to see them go at it one at a time, in this case, and the confessional can talk about their feelings on breakdancing and how they intend to approach the challenge with their character. What we actually got seemed rushed and swept under the rug.

Overall it was a great episode and I loved it!!!

Miscellaneous thoughts:

Big D is extremely similar to my drag dad and it makes me miss them like craazzyyyy.

I don’t have any favorites, I love them all and I want all of them to win.

Writing, recording, and choreographing a boy band number with 4 strangers after being in drag all day sounds like an absolute nightmare.

Sending the eliminated contestant off with the cast throwing flower petals over them is very sweet, I like it a lot, and I think it nicely reflects how kind and supportive drag kings are (#NotAllKings, but I stg on the whole kings are the sweetest people you’ll ever meet).

Anyway tune in next week for another review.

[idrawweirdstuffnominors]

"You say I'm changing- sorry I didn't know I had to stay the same."

Summary: Understanding your boyfriend don't forget sometimes the boys need reassurance and compliments. Yes,even bill.

Tw: angst!!! But other than that wholesome vibes <3

Bill Dickey

The Good:

As a partner even bill has his moments of letting those annoying ass walls down. Even if it is mostly doing whatever he wants in that specific moment. Seeing him geek out and constantly yap about how every consistent detail matters, is endearing. The way he just comes to life when he finds a super rare collectable, or when he arrogantly goes on a tangent about comic book timelines and trivia. You can't deny that his annoying arrogance has a charm to it. You find amazement in how passionate and obsessive he is with every little detail he knows about Fandom. Sometimes you wonder to yourself "god...doesn't he have a life?" He does. He just doesn't like it. Bill may be a stubborn, insufferable know-it-all, but when he gets lost in his passions, it’s almost… endearing. Seeing him light up over some obscure comic book fact or a rare collectible is one of the few times he’s genuinely himself, not hiding behind sarcasm or arrogance. When he gets into one of his rants—talking way too fast, hands gesturing wildly—you can’t help but watch, even if half of what he’s saying goes over your head.

And sure, his enthusiasm is a lot, but there’s something intoxicating about how much he cares. Whether he’s debating the best era of a franchise or trashing a reboot he swears ruined everything, he commits to it with the same intensity as someone fighting for their life. He doesn’t just love things—he obsesses over them, analyzes every detail, and expects everyone else to care just as much.

Of course, that arrogance of his never disappears. He loves correcting you, loves having the right opinion, and if you dare to challenge him, he’ll scoff, roll his eyes, and launch into a lecture just to make sure you know how wrong you are. And yet, despite how annoying it is, despite how much you want to smack that smug grin off his face, you can’t help but admire the passion underneath all that attitude. Because for all his faults, Bill feels things deeply—even if he’d never admit it.

The Bad:

Though it may seem like Bill is an abrasive asshole, he's annoyingly so much more than a misogynistic loser. Which you saw the more you got introduced in his life and behavioral patterns. Even though he doesn't want to admit it, he is very affected by his parents divorce. He's neglected by both parents leading to him to not having a sense of a male role model. Or a sense of what it's like to be comforted and feel safe by anyone. Bill surrounds himself with fandom and comics to escape the shitty reality that is his home life. Arguments between parents, a sister who 'hates' his guts, a group of friends with similar broken family's or situations, bullies, lack of a support system. No wonder he's the way he is, but beyond those sexist comments, warped views on women and the world. There is something you fell in love with. Bill isn’t just an abrasive asshole—he’s a product of his environment, whether he wants to admit it or not. He acts like he doesn’t care, like nothing gets to him, but you’ve seen the cracks in his armor. The way he stiffens when family is brought up, how his jaw clenches when someone casually mentions their dad teaching them how to drive or fixing something around the house. The bitterness that creeps into his voice when he talks about his mom, the subtle frustration when his sister barely acknowledges his existence. He pretends it’s all fine, that he’s just above caring, but deep down, you know he’s been carrying that weight for years.

It’s not hard to see why he retreats into fandom the way he does. Comics, collectibles, debates over continuity—it’s all a distraction, a way to drown out the real world. In a world that makes him feel powerless, he clings to the one place where he knows he’s right, where his knowledge means something. He surrounds himself with people just as bitter, just as lost, because at least they get it. Even if they constantly rip on each other, even if half the time they seem like they barely tolerate one another, there’s an unspoken understanding: We’re all we’ve got.

And yeah, he says some awful shit sometimes. He parrots toxic ideas, doubles down on them just to prove a point, because being challenged makes him dig his heels in even deeper. But underneath all that, you see the parts of him that he doesn’t show just anyone. The way he hesitates before making a cruel joke, the way he occasionally—begrudgingly—admits when he’s wrong, the way he clings to the people he actually cares about even if he refuses to say it outright.

For all his flaws, for all the walls he builds up, there’s something in him that’s still good—buried under all that bitterness and bravado, but there. And somehow, against all logic, that’s the part of him you fell in love with.

The ugly:

Bill honestly isn't even physically ugly, sure he isn't 'conventionally attractive' but he does have some beautiful features about him. Like his eyes, his messy hair, the way he condescendingly calls you 'Babe.' Mid argument purposely to get under your skin. You hate and secretly love when he does that, but you would never admit to it because you know he'd make fun of you. Bill isn’t physically repulsive, but what really makes him ugly is his personality. He’s smug, constantly looking for ways to feel superior, whether through his encyclopedic knowledge of comics or his cutting remarks. He has a bad habit of dismissing anything he doesn’t personally like as trash, and god forbid you enjoy something he deems unworthy—he’ll go on an exhausting, self-important rant about real fans and fake geeks.

His arrogance is insufferable, especially when he’s right about something. He lives for the moments he can correct you, arms crossed, smirking like he’s just solved the greatest mystery in the world. And he’s relentless in arguments. If he gets the upper hand, he won’t just let it go—he’ll rub it in, make a joke at your expense, and then call you babe in that condescending tone that makes you want to strangle him.

Then there’s his stubbornness. Apologies? Rare. Admitting when he’s wrong? Almost unheard of. Even if he knows he messed up, he’ll find some roundabout way to make it seem like you overreacted. He’s petty, too—he’ll bring up old arguments just to win them retroactively, holding grudges over the dumbest things.

But what really makes him difficult is how emotionally closed-off he is. He acts like nothing really affects him, like he’s above caring, but you know that’s a lie. He hides behind sarcasm, humor, and superiority, using them as armor. When things get too real, he deflects, shuts down, or just gets mean. And yet, despite all that, there’s something there—some part of him that’s trying to be better, even if he’s too damn proud to admit it.

[frankingsteinery]

for some reason people seem to think that mary somehow stumbled into writing a commentary on marriage/incest accidentally, and that the themes of frankenstein are all about her trauma due to her experiences as a victim of the patriarchy, as a woman and a mother surrounded by men - as if she wasnt the child of radical liberals who publicly renounced marriage, as if she herself as well as percy shelley had similar politics on marriage, as if she would not go on to write a novel where the central theme is explicitly that of father/daughter incest years later…

the most obvious and frequent critique of victor i see is of his attempt to create life - the creature - without female presence. it’s taught in schools, wrote about by academics, talked about in fandom spaces - mary shelley was a feminist who wrote about feminism by making victor a misogynist. he’s misogynistic because he invented a method of procreation without involving women purely out of male entitlement and masculine arrogance and superiority, and shelley demonstrates the consequences of subverting women in the creation process/and by extension the patriarchy because this method fails terribly - his son in a monster, and victor is punished for his arrogance via the murder of his entire family; thus there is no place for procreation without the presence of women, right?

while this interpretation – though far from my favorite – is not without merit, i see it thrown around as The interpretation, which i feel does a great disservice to the other themes surrounding victor, the creature, the relationship between mother and child, parenthood, marriage, etc.

this argument also, ironically, tends to undermine the agency and power of frankenstein’s female characters, because it often relies on interpreting them as being solely passive, demure archetypes to establish their distinction from the 3 male narrators, who in contrast are performing violent and/or reprehensible actions while all the woman stay home (i.e., shelley paradoxically critiques the patriarchy by making all her female characters the reductive stereotypes that were enforced during her time period, so the flaws of our male narrators arise due to this social inequality).

in doing so it completely strips elizabeth (and caroline and justine to a lesser extent) of the power of the actions that she DID take — standing up in front of a corrupt court, speaking against the injustice of the system and attempting to fight against its verdict, lamenting the state of female social status that prevented her from visiting victor at ingolstadt, subverting traditional gender roles by offering victor an out to their arranged marriage as opposed to the other way around, taking part in determining ernest’s career and education in direct opposition to alphonse, etc. it also comes off as a very “i could fix him,” vibe, that is, it suggests if women were given equal social standing to men then elizabeth would have been able to rein victor in so to speak and prevent the events of the book from happening. which is a demeaning expectation/obligation in of itself and only reinforces the reductive passive, motherly archetypes that these same people are speaking against

it is also not very well supported: most of the argument rests on ignoring female character’s actual characterization and focusing one specific quote, often taken out of context (“a new species would bless me as its creator and source…no father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as i should deserve theirs”) which “proves” victor’s sense of male superiority, and on victors treatment/perception of elizabeth, primarily from a line of thinking he had at five years old, where he objectified her by thinking of her (or rather — being told so by caroline) as a gift to him. again, the morality of victor’s character is being determined by thoughts he had at five years old.

obviously this is not at all to say i think their relationship was a healthy one - i dont think victor and elizabeth’s marriage was ever intended to be perceived as good, but more importantly, writing their relationship this way was a deliberate critique of marriage culture.

[maxdibert]

I think the difference between marauders and harry potter fandom as a whole is just the difference in demographics. most of the marauders fandom is teens and young adults, queer, and kinda distanced from the larger fandom in a way. like, you mention that the current marauders fandom doesn’t like canon and sticks to fanfic and “delusion” and well. yeah. for a lot, that’s the point. if that’s not your cup of tea, that’s great! fandom is for everyone, and there’s definitely a mix of everything in a fandom so large as the hp fandom. it’s not really a bad thing that this specific subsection of the fandom is more detached from canon though.

i definitely agree there are some issues with marauders era characterizations, like severus being completely demonized for no apparent reason (i’ve never been a severus fan, but that’s bc i didn’t vibe with his character as an adult. young sev was just a kid) and a big thing with the fandom is the rise of jegulus and people changing the DE characterizations. but the entire fandom isn’t a cesspool full of dull characters and atrocious headcannons, it’s just very different from the canon. and that’s something a lot of people don’t like, which is valid, but there are those who do like jegulus and slytherin “skittles” content, which is valid too

Honestly, this idea that JKR was always obviously a misogynist because she loved Snape and made him a romantic hero is such a chronologically confused take that I can’t help but assume it comes from someone who was either a child or not even born yet when the books were at their peak because LOL. Like… no. In the 2000s, absolutely nobody in mainstream discourse was calling JKR a misogynist. In fact, she was widely held up as a feminist icon. Hermione was seen as a symbol of girl power, and people genuinely cited her as a positive role model. Feminist discourse wasn’t nearly as accessible or viral back then, it was mostly confined to academic or niche spaces. There was no generalized critical lens on popular media like there is now. So let’s not rewrite history pretending people were dissecting internalized misogyny in Harry Potter on fórums and Fanfiction.net in 2005. They weren’t.

Btw saying JKR loved Snape and wanted him to be a “romantic hero” is… bizarre to me. If anything, I’d argue the opposite: I don’t think she liked him much at all. Yes, she wrote him as a complex and pivotal character, but she never treated him with real compassion. Severus is never given the benefit of the doubt in the narrative. He’s constantly described through Harry’s lens in deeply unflattering terms, physically and emotionally. The way his appearance is picked apart, the language used to present him as greasy, sour, bitter… it’s intentionally dehumanizing. And it’s relentless. She frames him almost exclusively through his worst traits until after he dies. That’s not what it looks like when a writer has a soft spot for a character.

Compare that to how James, Sirius, Lupin—even Dumbledore—are treated. All of them are given redemption arcs without having to earn them in the same brutal way Snape does. His suffering is constantly diminished or brushed off, even outright mocked by the same characters the narrative wants us to admire. His abusers are romanticized. Their worst actions are glossed over with nostalgia and cheeky boyhood charm. Meanwhile, Severus is dragged through the mud, left to rot, and only given his flowers in the last fifty pages after he’s dead and can no longer challenge the narrative. So If Rowling had a “crush” on Severus, she had a funny way of showing it.

That said, I do think Severus arc evolved over time. It’s totally plausible that he started off as a more caricatured antagonist—your classic bitter teacher—and then Rowling realized midway through the series that there was more depth to mine in him. That happens to a lot of writers, especially with long projects. Characters take on lives of their own, and initial plans shift as you grow, as your writing evolves, as your own worldview changes. So maybe she didn’t know what to do with him at first. But by the time she figured it out, she still didn’t frame him with the narrative care she offers her actual favorites.Because let’s be real, JKR does have clear favorites and Severus isn’t one of them.

I write too. I’ve created characters I adore, and sure, some of them have tragic ends, but if I love a character, you’ll feel it. Even in their downfall, you’ll know they were precious to me. With Severus, you get the opposite. You get disdain masquerading as complexity. You get narrative punishment with just enough nuance to keep him interesting, but not enough to make him feel truly seen.

So no, she didn’t “love” him. She tolerated him. She found him narratively useful. But she never gave him the softness or reverence she gave to her golden boys.

[onedeadkitty]

Mizus Gender

He/him they/them she/her pronouns for Mizu

I know the writers of the show wrote blue eye samurai with Mizu as a woman disguised as a man in a way similar ish to Mulan but uh

They accidentally made it deeper than that ??

If you removed like 2 lines of dialogue in episode 5 you could even make an argument for trans masc Mizu. Or at the least gender queer.

Being transgender is not a concept in this time period. But trust. People have always wanted to be other genders, probably for the entirety of human history. And how someone would go about being trans in a world with no true understanding of the concept, might be similar to what Mizu IS DOING RIGHT NOW.

Living as a man. PERMANENTLY. Not temporarily to achieve some near goal like Mulan and the many other stories with this concept. Mizu has lived as a man nearly their entire life and no intention to ever live as a woman in the future.

Mizu admires their freshly binded chest in the mirror as a teen.

When alone Mizu refers to himself as a man.

When alone with Ringo, (someone who knows the secret) Ringo also refers to Mizu as a man.

Mizu threatens to straight kill Ringo at the the very use of the word “girl”.

When, and ONLY when seeing 2 MEN kiss does he think of Taigen.

Not to mention madame Kajis indelicate insinuation of gay sex to Mizu, something I believe wasn’t for no reason. OR Madams iconic line “you are more man than ANY come through my door” (I’m convinced she has an idea of Mizus true sex but doesn’t care to accuse or call them out for it)

They HAD lived as a woman in the past. Only for about a year, and they did it to get married for her mothers sake. To save her from a life of prostitution. She was able to be happy, because it IS POSSIBLE to be happy while not presenting how you like. It’s a strain and some can never be happy doing so but it’s possible and people do it all the time to make their lives easier or to keep the peace with family or for many other reasons.

Episode 5 gave HUGE VIBES of going back into the closet when living with your parents or just visiting. And Mizu looked SO uncomfortable and awkward in woman’s clothing and doing “wife things” (partly cause they have never done that before) and maybe it was my own projecting but I felt so uncomfortable FOR Mizu.

These things don’t necessarily mean being a transgender man specifically. Gender is actually really complicated and has ALOT to do with what society deems it.

Mizu is a masculine person. Being what Japan wants women to be isn’t in line with what Mizu is. A violent, practical, stoic, cold, masculine, confident and capable warrior.

dressing up as a woman with the makeup ONLY to try and make her husband happy. She didn’t WANT to. “To soften her husbands heart, the bride… danced” performed femininity FOR HIM. Only for Mikio to betray her for, in his eyes, being more masculine than him, by beating him in a physical fight.

Mizu is both the ronin and the bride. Mizu will be whatever they need to in order to achieve their owed deaths. They HAVE to be a man to get their revenge but that doesn’t mean Mizu WANTS to be a woman. (To be fair who WOULD in that time but I digress) and it doesn’t mean they WANT to be a man. They WANT their revenge. Everything is secondary to that.

Mizu is so different from other characters…

I grew up in a kinda misogynistic place and my mom really didn’t let me “do boy stuff” or dress masculine in any sense until my late teens. I my self don’t know if I can even call myself Trans. But I’m masculine, I like looking like a man and dressing as one but I don’t WANT to be a man necessarily. But I don’t WANT to be a woman. I feel like we as a society put to much distinction between the two and the people who don’t fit either side get left out at times.

Mizu is such a relatable character to me, like no other characters complicated feelings about their own sex and gender have ever come close.

They are for those who don’t have a strong sense of their own gender. Especially those who are biologically female and hesitant to lean into their sex because of the societal baggage.

Once people realize that how you dress, how you act, and what you do in reality have nothing to do with your bio sex and everything with what society has forced people to do based on factors out of our control is the day we can finally stop having these conversations.

Do what you want, gender is fake.

But Mizu is forever 🫶

[pickastitch]

so gem being a woman is impactful in basically all of her series since it makes her a minority, but overall, if she were to be a man, the core of the series wouldn't change

except for e1!gem, her being a woman is so fundamental to her character. yeah, in theory, it could still work if she was a man, but it would dullen the story. it is clear that she is forced with responsibility repeatedly with fwhip's bombs, sausage's wither flowers, corrupted sausage, ender dragon egg, xornoth, and so much else. she is always forced into maintaining peace, being a passive figure. with the codhead arc, jimmy (i feel) unfairly asks her to help him against her main alliance, and there is an implication that gem feels she has to help

specifically, with fwhip and sausage, she is constantly being talked over. gem pushes for them to not cause a war, but is ignored by them and almost gives a "oh it's a 2 v 1 vote so your opinion doesn't matter" type of vibe. when sausage was getting into dark magic, gem very explicitly told him that he should be cautious about it. then when he gets corrupted by xornoth via the whole dark magic fwhip looks to her to clean up his mess

with xornoth, there is a silent expectation and agreement that she needs to help solve the issue. although the blame very obviously lies on joey, sausage, and fwhip she is the only one who actively helps in getting rid of them because she has much more pressure on her

AND we have the whole baby dragon thing. when the mother dies, she feels responsible for her death and takes up the egg. she is putting all the responsibility upon herself as she doesn't flaunt that she has the egg around. when corrupted sausage comes to visit and steal the dragon egg, one of the main motivators of dueling sausage in that moment was to protect the dragon. the freeing xornoth thing was just a bonus. when the eggs show signs of hatching, she does everything in her power to help her. going so far as to burn down an entire village. just generally, people need to think about e1gem and her being a mother wayyy more

now with the whole schooling thing, it's no secret that most teachers are women. this does come back to gem's constant need to give back, just this time it's information. the main thing is her and scott, where she pushes him beyond his limit, and scott throws ice everywhere. i've always interpreted this scene as gem holding herself to such a high standard and expects that of other people by accident (projection!!!). and idk what girlhood is other than expectation being so pressurizing that it spills out onto the people around you

e1gem is obviously a caretaker, but i don't think it is by choice. there is a silent expectation by the people, and specifically the men, around her that, "oh it doesn't matter what we'll do gem will always fix it," and she internalizes that and interprets it as the only way she'll be wanted, making the cycle repeat. now i don't think many of the actions are intentionally misogynistic, but subconsciously gem is being placed into this generic woman box by the men around her in canon (to clarify i'm not saying any of these cc are purposely misogynistic, just that their unconscious biases could be interpreted into their characters)

so why does gem accept and play into these roles? she is a people pleaser, but also, yeah, this whole post is why transfem gem makes the most logical sense. we never see her be explicitly uncomfortable with the role itself, just how the role affects her. i would argue that gem is taking on more responsibility by choice, with the most obvious one being the ender dragon egg. even when she is already swamped with work, she just keeps on taking more and more, almost like she has something to prove. she needs to be useful. she needs to fall into these stereotypes. she needs to be seen as a woman in any way possible

[allastoredeer]

Aren't you guys kinda over feminizing Alastor a little bit????? like I get it that we want him to sub/bottom, but aren't you guys doing the same thing you hate that people do with Lucifer???? Like Alastor to me would never wear a dress? unless like he's joking or something??

....Alastor wore a nun outfit....out of the two, he's canonically worn a dress.

If you're going just by the show--no headcanons, no fanon, no tropes, no fan-art--Alastor has exhibited more fem-like qualities, has acted more feminine, than Lucifer ever has. I'd go as far to say that Lucifer is actually pretty masculine in the show, he just happens to have a pretty face.

And I mean, we don't know if Lucifer would wear a dress either. He's only ever worn pants, shirt, and a jacket, we have no evidence that he would wear a dress. But people like to put him in them anyway because of ✨vibes✨ - which I totally get. Vibes are important. It's not like I don't think Lucifer wouldn't wear a dress. I totally think he would and he'd rock it.

As for Alastor only ever wearing a dress for a joke, I definitely agree, but I think that guy would do anything for the bit. He'll do whatever it takes to get the last laugh. He trolls for the sake of trolling. He's a menace. But it's not like he wore the nun outfit as a joke, it was more of a manipulation tactic when you think about it. He's as faithful as a nun 🙏 see how faithful he is, Charlie? He'll never lead you astray.

I love Alastor's masculine and feminine sides. He does both so well. If I have been leaning more into feminine Alastor recently, well, it could be on account that I haven't come across a lot of content of him being feminine, and make the content you wanna see, right?

But thing is, I don't think we have been over-feminizing Alastor, at least not to the extent that Lucifer has been feminized, in my opinion. I mean, Lucifer has been feminized to the point that he's--in some cases, not in all cases--unrecognizable from the show. Whereas with Alastor, at most, I've been posting gifs from the show of him being his girlypop self. Something's not mathing, because it's not adding up. These two things feel very different.

Tell me if I'm wrong, cuz I very well might be, but I'm getting the vibes that this is going back to Alastor's ego being the reason he wouldn't wear or act in a specific way.

I just don't see how his ego would stop him from wearing a dress. It's not like he has anything against feminine clothes or attributes, nor do we have any evidence at all that he would be against it. If anything, I get the vibes that he appreciates and respects femininity more than masculinity. I don't see why he would be against being in a dress, or appearing feminine, when he's done both in the show.

It smells of misogyny. My boy is many things, but a misogynist he ain't.

[lovelornloserboy]

controversial opinions on characters? (specifically harry potter)

hi anon! thanks for the ask :)

hmmmm i have quite a few

i don't like luna lovegood. i think she's very irritating as a person and i would absolutely go batshit if i had to interact with her in real life. she is the wizard equivalent of a flat earther and an anti vaxxer, not a spiritual guide. hermione wasn't narrow minded for doubting her and xeno, they were the narrow minded ones for never questioning their beliefs despite the MOUNTAINS of evidence against them. rahhh she makes me so angry. (i hate that i have to specify, but this isn't misogynistic, i would feel the same if she was a guy.)

lucius malfoy is a relatively harmless guy, he's just slippery. he gives me such peacock vibes. he just wants to show off and look rich and not be questioned. (also he def dotes on narcissa and draco which is adorable to explore in fics <3 i think he would be an amazing father to a little girl and would have loved a daughter which i like exploring in my fics, but that's just a headcanon)

draco is the same way, i feel. iirc he's usually too scared to start shit unless crabbe and goyle are there, he just makes me laugh tbh. of course he does do and say some shitty things but i am just. unable to take him seriously. this may be because i haven't thought about his character in a while, but as of right now, i don't really see him as evil OR a sympathetic little boy. he's just. a little dude. (he is more dangerous than his father though, i'll give him that.) i mean if marauders stans are allowed to glorify james potter and put him on a pedestal, i'm allowed to have this.

percy weasley! i love percy so much, i think this is an uncommon opinion but i don't really know. i think he's amazing, i've already talked about him a lot on my blog so ye :)

i think the weasley family is dysfunctional asf. i don't think i personally can explain it, but this post by @/arkadijxpancakes does a great job of comprehensively analyzing their history and dynamics as well as showing why each weasley is the way they are. super good read!

albus dumbledore: i don't know why this is controversial but i actually think he was a good character, all things considered. yes, he did some bad things, but they were to help save the wizarding world in the end. he set it all up.

severus snape: i think he's awesome, deserved WAY better, and was a traumatized character who is severely overhated. please don't try to fight me on this, you'll just give me a headache.

lily evans: this is a very new opinion of mine but... i don't think she was a great person. i used to wonder 'how could james potter, a shitty little twit twat, end up with such a wonderful and kind and amazing person?' but i've come to realize, she's really not those things. she was kind of a bad friend from what we know. i still think she's very interesting, but not necessarily a good person.

harry potter!! i want to include him because i think that quite frankly he is an awesome little dude but is super underrated and borderline disliked by a big part of the fandom. though i personally feel like he could have been written better in some ways, i still love him tons and i think he deserves more appreciation <33 (also i adore the idea of an oddly specific au where percy and oliver team up to take care of lil tiny first year harry)

neville longbottom: this may be the most controversial one yet but i just don't feel the hype. i feel like he was largely unimportant in the first six books besides as a side character (but it's been a while since i read most of them, so correct me if i'm wrong) and yeah he was cool in the seventh, but like... i still don't feel it. he was pretty boring imo. i think i logically understand why he's loved, but i don't personally relate :/

(canon) james potter: hate him. -100000000/10. he can go die. (OH WAIT HE ALREADY DID!) i'm sorry, i just cannot like him. fanon james is awesome and super cute and lovable, but fanon james is a whole different person than canon james. if we compare young severus to harry, james is dudley dursley in literally every way. rich, privileged, gets away with everything, and loves picking on powerless and vulnerable people for fun. the only difference is that james potter tended to do it with a partner/group, and dudley could do it on his own. oh, and dudley apologized, i guess. it was pretty half assed but we did see him trying to be better with the teacup and stuff. they both suck, obviously, but at least dudley had a slight turning point. maybe i just don't like james because we never saw him be apologetic or regret anything in canon? idk.

cho chang: i honestly really liked her! i thought she and harry could have been super cute ever since i read the third book. now obviously valentines day of 1996 was a disaster, but i still think that if she and harry had met up again after the war and after they had figured themselves out, they could have sort of talked and apologized and moved on and possibly rekindled. idk, this isn't really as ~controversial~ as some of the others because i feel like cho chang is just more forgotten than unpopular or controversial, but i don't see a lot of charry content out there so i'm putting this here :]

one last thing i almost forgot, VIKTOR KRUM IS A FUCKING CREEP!! i used to be more hesitant about voicing this opinion because he's so loved in the fandom, but GOD DAMN he's a creep. as a famous, rich, popular adult, he asks out a 15 year old and is super nice to her and appreciates her intellect and is generally very sweet to her, but that just. that literally just sounds like grooming to me?? wtf?? i mean if i was asked out at 15 by an 18 year old, i would be VERY creeped out. also he comments on how attractive ginny (15 at the time) is at bill's wedding when HE IS IN HIS 20s. he then makes a comment along the lines of 'what's the point of being famous if all the good looking girls are taken?' HEY HERE'S AN IDEA, FIND A WOMAN INSTEAD OF A GIRL??

there's gotta be more controversial opinions i have but no one else comes to mind right now; feel free to request opinions on specific characters! i have a lot of those :]

[turtlechemt]

Why I think WYB is gay so strongly

So I'm piggybacking a lot off of and was personally convinced by Rainbowsky's collected analysis here + Rainbowsky post 2, but I do have my own spin to put on things.

For example, this post (link is my reblog on my main blog OP was talking about Pedr.o Pascal, who I don't really know) is sooo similar to how I feel about WYB. I do think if WYB wasn't a celebrity & one in a country that's unfriendly to queerness, he would be out on the DL like he is about his ADHD, and especially because of the 'no promoting effeminate men' policy he currently restricts his presentation.

(actually, being on the DL about ADHD is probably an effect of its stigma that's only started decreasing in the recent past (my impression is it's still more stigmatized in China too). so. who knows maybe he'd be loud about both in a different context)

Of the things in the Rainbowsky posts, the ones that stand out to me are this cql BTS (post linked at the end of post 1) (the captions on this one aren't the best but it's hard to find specific BTS :( if you have a better version send it and i'll replace the link), and the spit take (post 2) from a friend of yibo's at someone else saying "Yibo is always quiet with women... but he has a lot to say to men!" Here's another person's post talking about that one.

On the BTS: it's not clear, but the vibes are that they're switching in the middle of a conversation which is very 👀 I thought for a second XZ was trying to talk about the exclusivity of their relationship at large (but not with intensity; he has a lighthearted affect before), but I realized I was reading too much into the connotations of checking "just, you haven't?" in English (...and I may be too fanfic brained to have that connotation in the first place lol) and the rest of the conversation points to it being a situational question caused by XZ noticing Yibo is on wechat a lot. Yibo barely tries to be serious, immediately teasing xz, and XZ quickly starts teasing back. But I feel XZ was actually uncertain if Yibo was talking to other guys to merit the switch to English.

they're so obvious in that clip! and i didn't even think too much about it way back when i first say it because I didn't expect it from a video that was just there in my youtube recs.

My original contributions:

This video ("Is Yibo truly mean to girls?"), made by an Yibo-focused fan, is one of the things where after you think he's gay, watching it is "Wow he really is gay. it was in front of me all along!" His actions make it really clear he's not attracted to women. The channel also has this "savage dating question answers" video. There's also this video because there is seriously that much material of Yibo not reciprocating flirting from girls.

The scenes of Yibo being attentive to women around him at the end of first video (+ him helping his costar with her dress at an award show isn't in there but comes to mind) make it pretty clear it's not that he's really super misogynistic and thinks women aren't worth his time. Side note: Yibo def does hold some sexist ideas, but small ones about there being differences between women and men and what's suitable for them -- not that kind of misogyny. You could also argue he's just shy at first, but there are times when he reacts not with shyness that make it clear that his shyness is mostly a natural reaction to being flattered or being in an awkward situation.

These videos show he's uncomfortable interacting in a dating context with women, and that he's uncomfortable being shipped with women/seen as a "ladies' man". Because he's gay.

(well, I didn't establish that he's attracted to men, so theoretically him being ace is a possibility. but it's not: he's gay. because he's attracted to men. rainbowsky does the legwork of showing he's attracted to men in post 1. Everything makes sense in a new way if he's gay.)

in conclusion:

I know for certain Wang Ylbo is gay.

peace out!

[lonelyroommp3]

i do want you to elaborate on eposette and how you would write the exr dynamic if you had to

omg okay i've been sitting on this ask for days trying to muster up the urge to be a cunt. my big issue with eposette is that it always has a bit of an "eat your vegetables" vibe to me - not necessarily in the ship itself, because i think it has good and interesting bones as a dynamic even though i personally am not interested in it at all as a shipper - but certainly in how people approach it. i'm always left with the overwhelming impression that because the les mis fandom is soooo heavily focused on men people become self aware about this - which is a good thing - and then rapidly overcompensate by fixating on a female character (e.g. musichetta got a load of this in 2014) or a femslash ship (this is always eposette, because they are the only two female characters the fandom can, for $1, name who isn't already breaking boundaries for feminism by being in - checks notes - a throuple with two guys).

and then the ship is frequently not done especially well because, yknow, fanonbrain knows no gender and just because you're progressive enough to include women in your fanworks doesn't mean you're immune to ooc writing, reducing them to stereotypes, or making them the hypercompetent foils to the men who it's really abundantly clear are still your main focus. BUT there's now the added side effect that caring about this ship becomes fandom shorthand for "caring about women, full stop" and DISLIKING this ship for any reason practically makes you a violent misogynist. i was seeing so fucking much of this in the shipping showdown - like "oh they've got to win because they're lesbians", "misogyny website" when they were getting beaten by an m/m ship, etc. and it was so tiring

however, i will say to the credit of the shippers that introducing the stealing mechanism within the tournament did lead to some fanworks that made me think oh thank god, there ARE some clever and talented people out there who actually care about this ship because they like these two characters and have put genuine thought and care into portraying their relationship, and as much as i'm personally pressed about eposette stealing the quarter finals from valvert i am also extremely relieved and mildly humbled in my bitchiness that they eventually made it to the final on genuine fannish merit and not from people just clicking the lesbian button for the sake of it, because i really thought that was what was going to happen lol

anyway onto e/r and what i personally would prefer to read, i just want stuff that actually reflects their canon relationship. like i think especially in modern aus, where everything becomes a bit more grounded and relatable, the quasi-religious nature of grantaire's devotion gets easily downplayed into "he just has a really big crush" and to me that's boring. i also want to see more fanworks really leaning into the stakes of the whole thing - "they died holding hands" is an e/r mantra so frequently repeated that i think it's almost lost its meaning because oh my god sometimes i'll read the book or watch an adaptation and go hey what the fuck. they literally DIED HOLDING HANDS. and again for me i feel like very few modern au fics in particular reach that level of catharsis when they finally get together. in all honesty i am not a fan of fics where enjolras is actively pining for grantaire in return except in VERY specific circumstances that i will go into shortly, i just really really really love that of;pd gets to be The moment where they finally share a moment of mutual respect and love and it literally only lasts about 30 seconds start to finish because then they both DIE. that's ROMANCE and it's that level of tragedy that makes the ship so compelling to me and which i feel like very few fanworks successfully replicate. and whatever i guess a lot of people saw that death scene and thought "god i wish i could exist in a world where they just fell in love normally and were happy" and fair play to them but it doesn't interest me in the slightest

(back when i was like 15 i had this massive sweeping concept for a reincarnation AU fic that was mainly centred around enjoltaire and a big part of the overarching conflict was like. on the one hand you have an enjolras who has not only suddenly remembered this absolutely horrific trauma he went through, but he's also suddenly developed this enormous new level of respect - and, frankly, love, although how quickly he identifies that feeling for what it is is up in the air - for grantaire that he would never ever have thought possible in his past life. but on the other hand grantaire, because one dying moment of heroism is not quite enough to rewire years of unhealthy practices, largely copes with his trauma by falling back into his old patterns of drinking and being a dick PLUS there's this weirdness with the enjolras dynamic because this new, traumatised enjolras isn't the beacon of idealism and hope grantaire pinned himself to in the past. and i think to answer your question if i had to write an e/r fic THAT would probably still be the approach i was drawn to)