#wilmon power dynamic

[raincitygirl76]

Editing to add great tags by @kikikiwi27498

no bc the power dynamic between simon and wilhelm is amazing. simon is this quiet, "poor", music nerd and wilhelm is not only a feisty badass but a literal fucking prince, yet wilhelm is the puppy-eyed romantic trying not to slip on his own drool blindly trailing behind simon while simon is the lil shit (endearing) who teases him and doesn't give a shit he technically has a higher status than himself in every single way and treats him like the dweeb he is❤️

[grapehyasynth]

au where Simon is a masterful pianist and Wille is a highly-sought-after piano tuner and they circle around each other professionally and look at each other's hands a lot

[crownedwille]

I don't know if it needs to be said but I'm gonna say it anyway - you guys do know there's nothing wrong with making Wille the top and Simon mainly the bottom in sexual scenarios, right? And that making them verse or Wille bottom has nothing to do with making them more equal and you don't need to do that as like a way to balance out their class/power differences outside, right?

And topping or bottoming are not synonyms for being dominant or submissive. And when I say they have no drawn out power dynamics in their intimate scenes that means there are no real dom/sub dynamics involved but that doesn't mean you can't have a bottom or a top because that's not the same.

Of course you can write or read whatever you want and just have a personal preference but you don't have to try and read into their scenes for proof they are versatile and oh so equal and purposefully search for clues that make Simon not the bottom because it would be degrading if he is...? Like what are you trying to prove - that Simon is also strong and 'manly' and it can't be implied that he exclusively is the bottom and likes getting fucked bc that would be disrespecting him? Isn't that kind of the exact mindset trap you're trying not to fall into?

I just want to emphasise this in case people think this - you're not taking Simon's power and agency away from him if you're making him bottom.

To sum it up, wilmon have no pronounced dom/sub dynamic and they can both surrender to the other in different ways but I do believe there is a certain position preference and it's okay if Wille is more the top (that's just my conclusion from watching/analysing their intimate scenes) and no it doesn't mean they can't ever switch bc it's not that deep but I still think canon tells us a different story than what some people desperately want to make it out to be and whatever they get up to in their sex life has nothing to do with being more or less equal or healthy outside of it.

[skibasyndrome]

why are your kinktober stories all bottom Simon heavy? I trusted we would see more bottom Wille from you /gen

Anon, up front, genuinely sorry if you meant well and are now about to get the brunt of my frustration that I've built up for over a decade of existing in fandoms and fanfic spaces surrounding queer men and their sex.

Ooookay, I try not to engage in this discourse normally because frankly? It's kinda draining, because the way queer men's sex lifes are picked apart in lots of online spaces is not okay and, frankly, hurtful. But, okay:

I have posted 10 of 31 stories

I intentionally don't tag any of my smut as top!/bottom! anything (tho I don't mind other writers doing it - go off) cause frankly? I don't believe that's something that should matter. It doesn't to me when I think of wilmon. Preferences are fine, cool, awesome, both irl and in reading, there are couples who like to do things one way only and there are couples who mix things up and there's lots of stuff in between. People love to bottom! People love to top! People love any- and everything in between and that is great for them. All of that is fun and cool and absolutely awesome if everyone involved is on board. I simply don't have any one way I headcanon wilmon, I literally just go with whatever the vibe is. That also means I don't believe in having to strike a 50/50 balance or whatever. Also because

sex between men (and, since in one of the stories Wille is a trans woman, between all people, for that matter) is about more than anal and/or penetration. I love to read and write about Wille bottoming, love to write and read about Simon bottoming. But that's noooooot all there is. One thing I do try to do with my smut is write about some of the other ways sex can look. Which includes (mutual) masturbation, hand jobs, blow jobs, intercrural, frottage, a myriad of other acts. All of these are fullfilling ways of having sex, all of these don't follow top/bottom "logic" or whatever you'd like to call it. So what do we do about that?

I know some people - not saying you do, this, anon - like to conflate topping and bottoming with power dynamics, be it sub/dom type of stuff, or just... some vague idea of who is superior or whatever. And that very much CAN be the case, I'd argue Wille bottoming in my vampire fic or even Wille during the wax play in the one fic and the intercrural afterwards is definitely bordering sub-y territory. But you know? That also very much doesn't have to be the case. In the fic that includes 69 it's Simon "calling the shots" or whatever you'd like to call it, despite being the one that's being penetrated. I have fics planned out where the opposite is the case, I have plenty of fics where bottoming doesn't have anything to do about being sub or being dom or anything like that. I think there's this idea going around that somehow, (gay) sex acts are linked to power and power exchange and that there needs to be some equilibrium or... justice??? And. No. That's not how consensual sex, be it in relationships or hookups, works in my mind. In consensual sex, there is no disadvantage in bottoming or no need for any of the partners to bottom to fix some sort of hierarchy. Because there is none. Not in the consensual sex of two (or more) partners that want to have sex to have a good time or feel close or relax or any of the other reasons people have sex.

Fair question to ask, just know that I don't write bottom anything for the sake of making a point, I just write whatever feels like the characters would enjoy it in that particular moment in time, whatever suits the POV I wanna go with. I don't keep a tally of times penetrative sex has been part of a story and who did what. If that's a no-go for you, that's fine and I won't hold it against you. I have a bunch more stories coming up with all kinds of dynamics, all kinds of sex acts, all kinds of differently written versions of our two blorbos.

hope this was concise enough and I recognize that I've definitely put all kinds of other, adjacent, points into this, but this gay man right here is kind of fucking sick and tired of seeing stuff assigned to gay sex acts that are just. sex between consenting partners

[domtheforestgnome]

So I've been wondering for some time about Alexander's role in "August fvcked up" - cases.

He's almost always there - serving in Forest Ridge from the beginning of the story, when we got to know him as Wille comes to Hillerska.

He wakes up other boys before school. But it looks like he also assist the Prefect - August. When Wilhelm arrives to Hillerska it's August who orders Alexander to take the suitcases.

He runs after August in that scene and it looks for me as he (as in the later scenes of YR) happens to land in wrong time and wrong place and August was probably like "Come with me, I might need you".

It makes me wonder, were that two duties so far in fact August's things to do or they are just the rules that Prefect choose younger student to assist him? Is this some kind of part of Alexander becoming prefect himself in the future? Also in season 2 when Vincent is the new prefect there is a scene where different boy wakes up the others...

So this is his introduction - first episode. Then he's gone up for thee whole episodes screen time until he comes for Wilhelm the day the prince learns about The Society.

[Side though: What is interesting to me - he's not there to help August with preparations for Parents Day. So it is even more clear to me that August is just using him this whole time for his own sake.]

So then the Society evening is happening and Alexander is there doing his thing - assisting. He leads Wilhelm to Palatset, but he doesn't have the key on his own.

We look at things through Wilhelm's eyes so there is no asking about what Alexander feels in those moments, bc everything is so big an new for Wille in those times.

So Alexander is just there doing his job - serving and assisting.

And there it is. He probably saw the most out of the other students. He has access to perspectives other first years doesn't have. Yes, the opinions can be heard in common room, but HE is present in times those royal, rich bastards are careless.

Read the subs above. My question is - would he really start to talk on them or was it August's manipulation to push the blame on Simon? We know that through the whole season, from Wilmon's first conversation at dinner, August does everything to split them.

I can imagine just this part - Alexander asking August to help him, to tell him what to do. I'm not even sure Alexander would ask the whole Society for making an effort for him.

Alexander is not THAT demanding. But someone else is... (August).

In season two the dynamic of Alexanders presence is pretty the same - he shows in episode 1 and then we forget about him for next 3 episodes. In those scenes we get to know that: - his dad paid money to make him stay in Hillerska; - he thinks it was August who framed him for drugs; - he wins with Wille in chess;

Then there is St. Valentine's Day Ball and August informs Alexander that it was actually Wilhelm who framed him for drugs, and for some reason Alexander just takes it as a truth. Which leads us to the point when he decides to help August with getting of the video case.

But again - he knows more. He's there when August shows Wilhelm the bottle of pills with Simon's father name. August feels save and powerful, bc Alexander agreed to take the blame. But maybe revealing the "in case something goes wrong" step in front of Alex wasn't that clever of him?

The question of Alexander's role in all this comes back to me over and over again the closer we get to season 3 premiere. I'm wondering what flip for the story line he will make this time. What if it will be Alexander who will send August to the bottom?

All I'm saying is - we should have our eyes wide open in episode 1 season 3, bc maybe Alexander will be our clue/hint for the ending of pills and video case later.

That's it. Take care, folks!

[writingfarintothedark]

The tent scene...and Wille's comment about Simon getting August's money

I'm back to share some thoughts/analysis, starting with the two moments which most egregiously signified how Wilmon are not in a place to be boyfriends (for now), largely in part to Wille's mental state/family situation, as this season highlighted.

The first moment is the tent scene at the end of episode 2, the second is the poisoned cake scene. Showing Simon having such distinct reactions to these moments confirmed these moments were meant to be egregious and highlight the imbalance in Wilmon's relationship. This post, I'll cover the tent scene- the infamous "shush", but even more importantly the comment Wille makes about Simon getting settlement money from August. Much of Wille's other behaviors throughout the season I could understand came from his place of grief, pressure, and trauma, but the settlement comment that Wille threw in Simon's face was one of the few times I felt Wille was just...wrong, and a bit vicious.

It was the implication that the settlement money was something Simon wanted, that Simon was chasing money, when he actually had zero power in the matter. In reality, Wille knew Simon taking the settlement deal was actually a forfeit (precisely because he has no privilege over August/the royal family), and that Simon struggled with it immensely. It was something Simon was pushed into a corner and forced to do. The comment completely understated Simon's trauma around the entire situation. It actually made me gasp at my screen and say "how dare you?!" (haha) One of the few times I was *that* angry with Wille.

Also the false equivalency that the rich kids' insane wealth, and the insane generational wealth from the literal MONARCHY, is the same as...settlement money. For one thing, on a logical level, it doesn't even make sense as a counterargument- Simon's family having this money is such a recent development, so it doesn't negate Simon's background as a working-class person, and it certainly doesn't change anything about Rosh and Ayub's financial situation, which is what the fight was initially about.

More importantly, this was money Simon was given because he was a VICTIM (along with Wille) where he was violated and had his face shown while being intimate. There's been a whole storyline of Simon wanting to get justice, and he couldn't even get that, he was hung out to dry with no protection from the royal court after Wille was forced to deny the video, and this was the *closest* thing Simon was going to get to justice after all that incredibly painful trauma.

Clearly Wille felt defensive, and because of his privilege and stress he genuinely does not understand why Wille and Simon/Rosh/Ayub's situations are nowhere near the same as his, even while Simon spelled it out for him. So he lashed out defensively, I understand that. The "shush" is still awful and made my blood boil, but tbh I could see myself forgiving Wille for that because that clearly stems from Wille thinking it is ok to do that... because that's how his parents talk to him... and that can be unlearned.

So I think this tent scene was a turning point this season, because it showed how these two still have to develop a lot more before their dynamic is healthy. I would not call it toxic, because I hate when people throw that term around, but honestly that (potential?) breakup in episode 5 was a long time coming because they both needed to heal.

[saynomorefic]

20 Questions For Fic Writers

thank you @darktwistedgenderplural <3 so sweet of you to tag me hehe

How many works do you have on Ao3?

15 - 5 YR and 10 one direction that I wrote like 10 years ago lol

What's your total Ao3 word count?

81,454 :0

What fandoms do you write for?

Young Royals, that's it <3

Top five fics by kudos: (I'm doing my top 3 young royals fics because I reaally don't want people re-reading my old 1d fic lol)(It is in the [public] archives)

Falling for you

All the rules to this game I bend

You Kill Me & Like birds do, I need to fly south (tied)

Do you respond to comments?

YES always!! I tend to have pretty long responses bc I love learning what people like and having a conversation <3

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I'd say I won't treat you like you're oh so typical. However, this is a WIP and so I'm just going off of where I left things.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Hmm most of them have happy endings! My fluffiest fic is Like birds do, beginning to end.

Do you get hate on fics?

No

Do you write smut?

Yes I do! Not all my fics have smut though. I will say I prefer writing my characters talk about sex, and exploring their sexuality as a major theme, to writing actual smut, not because I don't enjoy it but because it's hard!! I sometimes struggle to be creative.

Craziest crossover:

None

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No!

Have you ever had a fic translated?

No although I'd love to

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I've gifted works, but never co-written anything. That would be so fun!

All time favourite ship?

Wilmon ofc <3

What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

That one's hard. I hesitate to say because sometimes I get inspired by old ideas. I had one that is Wille as a new cat dad with a rascal of a cat who keeps breaking things, and Simon is called as a cat whisperer. The catch: Simon's methods are unique and involve him spending three days 24/7 at Wille's apartment. I just am not capable of this level of fluff lol

What are your writing strengths?

I think I develop really elaborate ideas and worlds in my head, and I do try to make them as convincing as possible. I only write AUs, so I think this is a big part of that. I like writing descriptively bc of my liberal arts degree, and I also try to work in as many life experiences and make things feel relevant to the world around us, aka writing from a critical perspective even if it's fictional. I hope I'm achieving this even slightly!

What are your writing weaknesses?

Oh god lol. I get writing exhaustion pretty hard because of idea overload, and I look back at the page and feel like I've lost my voice or style completely. I think I struggle with varying the sentence structure so things feel natural. I'm also working on incorporating metaphors and symbolism effectively - I've been writing papers for so long in college that metaphors don't come as easily anymore.

Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

I think it's great, although sometimes I won't do it because google translate is unreliable and I don't have a beta reader currently. However, I like throwing in phrases here and there we see on YR a lot :-)

First fandom you wrote in?

One direction

Favourite fic you've written?

It would have to be You Kill Me, although it's not done. I put so much into their world and have so much more to show!! I'm proud of directly tackling a lot of the power dynamics and their intimate effects (on Simon especially) that I feel weren't addressed fully in the show, albeit in another universe. (Also yay for Felice and Simon's friendship and talking about racial issues together <3) The recent love for it has been so amazing and inspired me to keep going.

I tag: @nothingadoaboutnothing @youngroyalsforeversposts <3

thank you so much! <3

[groenendaelfic]

ˏˋ°*♡➷ get to know me ༊*·˚

Thank you @sflow-er for the tag!

The aim of this tag game was to take your favorite movie, character, animal, drink, song, season, book, color and hobby and create a mood board.

I apologize for the super long delay. Was there a common tag everyone used? I was on a grief retreat mountain wondering about the meaning of life and so missed everyone's entries and I'd love to catch up.

Movie: Enter the Phoenix (2004) this movie is full of my favorite tropes. Secret & mistaken identity, power dynamics, competence kink, enemies to lovers friends, swords, loyalty. It also has a well written and portrayed out and proud queer lead. It didn't age super well, but it makes me nostalgic of the Hong Kong that once was, especially from a queer perspective, and remains my favorite comfort comedy.

Character: Methos from Highlander the Series. Wilhelm is my precious and my baby and I love him, but Methos has had an almost thirty year head start, okay? Maybe after season 3 and with some time to digest things will change, but for now it's still Methos all the way.

Animal: Elephant. I also like cats and guinea pigs but elephants always made me feel safe (as a kid elephants where about as real to me as dinosaurs)

Drink: Assam tea. Never come near me with Darjeeling. In a pinch a strong espresso macchiato will do. Bonus points if there's some vanilla in there as well. (Ostfriesen Sonntagstee ftw, even if it's kinda tricky to get here)

Song: Sogno di Volare by Christopher Tin. I've had musical anhedonia since I was eleven so I don't really listen to music, but hearing this always brings be joy because it means I have hours of playing Civ ahead of me. Also the lyrics are cool.

Season: Summer all the way. You can be outside, the days are long and I've always associated that time with freedom and carefreeness.

Book: 琅琊榜 by 海晏. I adore this book. All the tropes from above (except not explicitly queer) and with bonus historical low fantasy elements and lots of elaborate politics. Also all the idioms and very well written. Better known by the title of the excellent tv series it inspired and which I never have the time to rewatch called Nirvana in Fire. (won because it's great and because the three defining book (series) of my youth turned out to be written by authors of varying degrees of horridness)

Color: light turquoise green. Is that what it's called? Anyway that color.

Hobbies: writing about power dynamics Wilmon fic

[unfortunate17]

Ooo so what fics have you been imagining exactly??

Right now, I’ve gone down the Wilmon/Young Royals hole when it comes to fics so that’s what I’ll talk about here. There are SO MANY things I want to write/read in this fandom, but some of the headcanons have been stronger than others and there’s too many for them all to be written. Anyway, without further ado:

1. I want to explore how Wilmon’s sexual dynamic changes after the video gets published. This fic would be canon compliant and take place after a lot of the events of the series have shaken out and Wilmon finally have the chance to just be. Except now they have so much time and sometimes, when you have a lot of time, things Simon’s been ignoring start to come out of the woodwork. Namely - everyone on the internet has seen him have sex. When the video first came out, while Wilhelm totally shut out the world, I want Simon to have watched it back over and over and over again, picking himself apart and drowning in the embarrassment and regret of it all. I want it so that he feels exposed now whenever he’s intimate, doesn’t want Wilhelm to get him off, doesn't want Wilhelm to even look at him, wants to be in control, and is deeply, deeply unhappy. I have this vision of the ending where Simon would finally relax again, allow himself to be vulnerable, and Wilhelm would take over with a kind of there you are, I’ve got you kind of vibe.

2. Another exploration of Simon’s arc as Wilhelm grows out of his anxiety with the support of therapy and age and friends/family. I have this line rattling around in my brain: Simon has always held a fundamental belief that Wilhelm’s hurt runs deeper than his own, that his pain is somehow more important than his own. Throughout the series, Simon takes great pride in being able to take care of or protect people, often to his own detriment. He likes being needed. And I don’t think he truly understands the difference between being needed and being wanted. As Wilhelm starts to stand on his own feet and rely less and less on Simon for emotional stability, I want Simon to feel the conflicted horror of realizing that he doesn’t want Wilhelm to get better - because what if he doesn’t need Simon anymore then? What purpose would he have in Wilhelm’s life? What if he is unwanted?

3. (I think I’m going to write this next maybe): Wilhelm is a student at Hillerska, a secretive, expensive boarding school for mutant teenagers, loosely based off of the X-Men comics. I want him to have Storm’s powers of controlling the weather/having the weather reflect his mood. While he’s at Hillerska, he meets Simon, who has seemingly no powers. Mutants are a secret to the rest of the world, and Simon says he’s basically only there because his sister is a mutant (she can talk to animals) and it would be safer for the sake of the secret and if they both boarded at Hillerska. Wille has never seen such an exception made, but he’s not about to question it because he fucking adores having Simon around. They fall for eachother slowly but surely, but Simon keeps pulling away, like he’s afraid. Long story short, Simon does have a power - a very rare one - hint hint, Rogue is my favorite character.

4. (Or maybe I’ll finish this one first instead of the super hero one) I want a fic mainly just for the dynamic of Simon getting a whiplash of Wille’s personality HAHA and I’ve never written an office romance before sooo. Wilhelm would be in some position of corporate power, a senior partner at some firm, a director somewhere etc. And he definitely only got this position because of his family connections. While he’s good at his job, he’s a little too young and a little too inexperienced to have actually worked his way up there. Simon joins in an entry-level position and he’s shocked to learn that his skip level leader is his age but when the CEO says that Wille is her son, it all starts to come together. It also doesn’t help that Wilhelm is a bit detached and uncaring as a people leader but Simon doesn’t have room to complain, he really needs to keep this job so he shuts his mouth and puts his head down. His manager, August, might potentially be worse than Simon - he keeps taking credit for other people’s work and while Simon often takes no shit, again he really needs this fucking job. Eventually, one day, Wilhelm comes over to speak to him and to Simon’s shock, he asks him out. All of Simon’s friends tell Simon not to go, that Wille is likely just using him, but Simon is too fucking curious for his own good and Wille’s easy on the eyes so he does - and it turns out that Wilhelm is actually the nicest person ever? LOL

5. (this is not going to be like, irl accurate but idc) A really angsty/melo-dramatic fic that’s summed up with: If this is their happily ever after, why aren’t they happy? I want Wilmon to be married, but for Wilhelm to remain Crown Prince. Simon absolutely loathes royal life, but he loves Wilhelm. And Wilhelm still feels a strong sense of guilt induced duty, especially now that he’s been allowed to keep Simon at his side. Still, some days he feels as though he can barely bear it. One day, they have a blow-up argument about something trivially silly and Simon goes back to his mom’s house for a few weeks to cool off. He tells Wille that he needs to reevaluate their relationship and their priorities and Wilhelm doesn’t think he’s ever been as cold as he is at that moment. The main problem is that the things that Simon hates about their life cannot be fixed - whether or not Wilhelm abdicates, he will be hounded for the rest of his life, he will never be allowed to live in a normal apartment, he will always need to have security, and the press will only become more invasive. Simon had once said that Wilhelm was worth it, but now Wilhelm’s not so sure that Simon means it anymore. Security follows Simon back to Bjarstad, where unbeknownst to Simon, they keep sending Wilhelm updates on his whereabouts and doings. Wilhelm wants them to stop, but he also misses Simon like a missing limb, so he doesn’t say anything even if he knows it's wrong. Pretty soon, Wille is looking at pictures of Simon laughing in restaurants and playing soccer out on the old field and volunteering at the local church. And despite all the benefits of Wilhelm’s wealth and power and privilege that they both have enjoyed over the years, the sentiment that Wilhelm has ruined Simon’s life has never felt more real.

[peopledonttalkabout]

018A | LOVE AMONG ROYALS PT. 1: Head Bitch in Charge [1x02] -- follow the link below to listen!!

(TW: References to casual sex and mastrubation)

(SPOILER WARNING: This episode contains implicit and explicit spoilers for the 2004 movie Mean Girls)

It's time for Anton and Margaret to once again venture beyond Wilmon to the other character relationships in Young Royals Season 1, Episode 2. While agreeing to once again get through August as fast as humanly possible, Anton focuses in on the episode's previously-mentioned "straight boy nonsense," and Margaret makes a powerful connection to a classic of mid-2000's U.S. teen movies.

Check out our Instagram @peopledonttalkabout for all pod-related announcements and updates!

Also, we have an X (formerly Twitter) -- @pdtapodcast -- if you have bravely chosen to remain there post-Elon Musk. Check out Margaret's random musings while also receiving the weekly update when a new episode drops!

The theme music for People Don't Talk About... Young Royals is a dynamically-modified version of a selected portion of "The Lowest Place on Earth" by REW<;<.

[bluedalahorse]

The Saraugust tag on AO3 and other thoughts

I track saraugust on AO3. I know I talk about what their fanfic landscape looks like a lot, so I wanted to mention the actual numbers. There are about 90 fics tagged Sara Eriksson/August Horn of Årnäs on AO3, in a fandom that’s currently sitting at about 5000 works. Of those 90 fics:

The vast majority of them are fics focused on another pairing, with summaries that hint of Sara/August comes up it’s because it’s mentioned, and not a developed subplot.

Of the ones focused on another pairing, handful of these focus on another pairing including either Sara or August (e.g. Sara/Felice or August/Vincent) and include Sara/August because it’s part of the backstory. Fair enough!

Some of the fics that do include Sara/August include it just to sink it or make it tragic. (Admittedly this includes two of my own fics; I have a goal of writing them with a more hopeful ending in the future but we’re not there yet until we finish grad school. And I’m a slut for tragedy so I can deal with a tragic take on their relationship. That said, I have also discovered mean-spirited fic among the stuff that purports to be tragic, which I feel less good about.)

A small number of fics include a kink that is Not My Kink enough that it’s a squick for me. While I’m a firm believer in trying almost anything, I feel the polite thing to do with squicks is to salute the author from afar but also not read the fic myself. YKINMKATO, as we used to say in the old days.

The remaining handful of Sara/August fics are fics I have already read or written.

So when I call sargust or saraugust a rarepair, I promise I’m not just being dramatic and whiny. I mean I am a bit, but ;) I know there are pairs that are rarer, that don’t actually get canon screentime. I probably can’t complain too much, because my imagination is active enough that I write fics for the characters in my head, and those would also be written to my tastes. So you know, I manage.

On a pure level of fandom sociology, relatively independent of my own feelings, this fascinates me. I had initially assumed that Sara and August would pick up some kind of organized following after season 2. They kind of fit an archetype that a portion of fandom kids go wild for (the reylo/darklina/delena/chair/dramione/zutara/hopefully you know what I mean by now archetype) but they also kind of… don’t fit that at all? I didn’t expect (or want!) anything that pervasive and juggernaut-ish, goodness no, but given the sort of “nostalgic for livejournal era fandom” quality of YR’s writing and its appeal to people of many ages, I thought Sara and August might pick up some “I shipped [whatever pairing] back in the day and this made me nostalgic for it but I also want to think a little more deeply about it than I did in the past” fans. I figure Wilhelm and Simon were picking up those kinds of fans, too—the way they are written also makes me nostalgic for a certain era of fanfiction, and part of what I like about wilmon is that chance to feel nostalgic but also to reflect on some of the power dynamics at hand. Especially after season 3, I see both ships as ones I approach with my critical lenses nearby.

Anyway. The show is making commentary on and deconstructing the notion of a bad boy crush (that has to be true, given August’s “award” at third year dinner and how much he wants to reject it) but it’s also leaning into the earnestness of Sara’s feelings. Lisa’s approach to writing that fascinated me and drew me in—it felt so much more raw and honest than leaning into a bad boy fantasy entirely without questioning it, or on the other side of things, rolling one’s eyes at the fantasy and saying “of course we’re too enlightened for this, unlike the Other Girls.” I never really had a full-on reylo/darklina/delena/chair/dramione/zutara/whatever era growing up—well, ok, I was into Devil’s Minion back before it was cool and the Vampire Chronicles was only books, maybe that counts even though it’s m/m? Maybe reading Jane Eyre counts? Idk. I am not like the other girls but I am exactly like the other girls. We are both at once.

But maybe, Sara and August are also sort of sitting in this uncanny valley, and that uncanny valley puts a lot of people off. I love that about them and I’ve built myself a house here and been very comfortable, but one day I poked my head outside the window and gone, “my goodness! We sure are in an uncanny valley. Why do I have so few neighbors?”

And I also can’t ignore the bullying anon (and not anon) comments I’ve seen out there in the internet wild, and the role they play in discouraging people from writing fic/making edits/etc. The general consensus is that YR fandom is very nice and I have seen that, but I have also seen times when it isn’t. In any fandom, there are outside forces that shape AO3 numbers.

Incidentally, bestie @coruscantrhapsody and I have discussed it a lot. She is in Star Wars fandom and is a huge Anidala shipper, and sees some similar trends in the Anidala tag. There’s more fics there of course, because Star Wars is a much much bigger fandom, but proportion-wise, she sees similar trends in that Anidala will be tagged in a lot of fics but will not actually feature. (Many of the fics are Codywan or maybe Obikin or something.) Plus there is also a fair amount of discourse (TM) around like, being an Anidala shipper means you’re somehow brainwashed by hetero trad patriarchy or something.

(Why do we always assume that shipping an m/f pairing makes you brainwashed by the heterosexual patriarchy? I’m queer, about 80% of the art I like is queer queer queer—that’s how I found YR after all—god forbid the pairing my brain fixates on in that show is m/f! I’m not going to call them straight because hey, do we really know that? We don’t.)

Anyway. I’m thinking about all this today because today marks the beginning of my graduate school work, and outside of Heart and Homeland there will be no more work on fics until mid January. I’m hoping I’ll be able to pick up my saraugust fics again, so I can at least put my money where my mouth is and write what I want to read, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to do that for sure, and I’m also not sure if I have more than one fic in me. And that… kind of makes me a little bit sad. So I just wanted to acknowledge that I’m feeling sad about the fics I’ll probably only get to daydream about and never write, and about other fics by other people that I would have loved to read but were probably never written for whatever reason.

So that’s where we are. I’ve made this post unrebloggable and untagged because I don’t want a Big Fandom Discussion or discourse about it. I don’t mind replies and people sharing their thoughts though, as long as:

You don’t tell me you’re sorry I don’t have more fanfic to my liking. I mostly say this because people have very kindly said sorry, and I very much do appreciate the sympathy most days. But today I don’t think I need sympathy so much as willingness to sit with me and analyze what’s going on. I’m in analysis place.

You don’t say something reductive along the lines of “Well actually August sucks!” Because yeah, yeah he does, quite a lot. I am up for discussion of his flaws in a nuanced way but the absolute flattening of him to villainspace is not something I wanna do today either. Fandom also has a time-honored tradition of meaningfully engaging with characters who suck. Writers have a time-honored tradition of meaningfully engaging with characters who suck. It’s one of the things that we do! You know, as people.

So anyway those are my thoughts. Thank you for reading this far! Would appreciate the thoughts of others who are up for it.

[thevalleyisjolly]

Hmm, I agree that Cassian expresses a lot more doubt in Andor than he does in Rogue One, such that it can be difficult to connect the two points in time, but there are a few things that make me pause before completely differentiating the two.

The first is that character journeys aren't always linear - heck, real life people seldom follow linear journeys of growth. People make commitments and waver and recommit and waver again. They devote themselves to a cause or belief, they doubt, they're reinvigorated, they doubt again. We meet Cassian in Rogue One for a handful of days at the end of his life; in Andor, we follow Cassian across five years of his life (albeit with multiple time skips in the last four). There's a definite critique about too much telling, not enough showing in Season 2 - we're told he's done a lot for the Rebellion but we're only shown a portion of that work. We therefore have to take him on faith when he tells us that he's given everything and he feels he's done all he can- and of course, he also says that after directly witnessing and escaping a graphic genocide.

In Rogue One, Cassian says in his big speech, "Everything I did, I did for the Rebellion. And every time I walked away from something I wanted to forget, I told myself it was for a cause that I believed in. A cause that was worth it. Without that, we're lost." Those are the words of someone who has been thinking a lot about what that cause is, what he believes in. Like you said, there's definite guilt there for the things he's seen and done. I'd also argue that they point to someone who's struggled with multiple crises of faith. He has to keep telling himself, reminding himself, what he fights for.

In Andor S2, we see some of those same themes percolating. When he's helping Mon escape the Senate, she tells him "I don't know what I'm doing" and he responds "Welcome to the Rebellion." Later, when she asks him how she can thank him, he says "Make it worth it." And then on the flip side, going back to that line of "Every time I walked away from something I wanted to forget, I told myself it was for a cause that I believed in." And I think about the Cassian escaping from Ghorman at the end of Episode 8, having just left Wilmon behind...and the entire time he's listening to Dreena plead for help on the radio as her people are massacred. How do you walk away from a massacre, the screams still literally in your ears, and hear yourself saying that the fight is worth it? Maybe some people can do it easily, without hesitation, but not everyone.

Another consideration I'm conscious of is that the Alliance, as of the start of Arc 3, is still a fairly loose organization, one which Cassian has not actually committed to. Generals Dodonna and Draven seem to command on Yavin, but apart from lecturing Cassian about his loyalties, Draven doesn't actually exert that much formal power. People come and go, Wilmon and Cassian still take missions from Luthen. Draven's even less formal, more conversational with Cassian, asking if he wants to watch Mon's broadcast in his office. It doesn't look like they're at a point yet where they follow a strict superior officer-subordinate hierarchy- and yes, that characterization is quite surprising given their dynamic in Rogue One. I wish we'd been able to see more of how their relationship evolved into what we know it is in Rogue One, but I don't think that's likely in the final arc.

The last thing I'm thinking about (and I'm ready to be very wrong on this because the season has definitely shaken up a lot of my expectations) is that there's still one more arc before the events of Rogue One. And while the writers' room has lost a good deal of credit due to some incredibly poor decisions this season, I'm personally willing to wait and see how they wrap the story up next week, especially now that the major Ghorman plot line is mostly over and there's less pressure to fit the characters within that massive canon event.

I think it's painfully realistic that Cassian wants to stop fighting, and I don't think it undermines the truth of his arc in Season 1. Season 1 showed how an ordinary person becomes radicalized, how the injustices Cassian suffers drives him to honestly commit himself to the Rebellion. And then Season 2 shows the continual toll that rebellion takes. He has to leave his loved ones behind, again and again, and in his absence they are no less at risk. They suffer and they die. He's mistrusted and challenged by the people on his own side. He's seriously injured with lasting wounds that affect his ability to live his life. He witnesses atrocities and is himself forced to kill or be killed. Anyone going through just one of those things, no matter how much they believe in the rightness of their cause, would find it difficult to go on. Anyone could and would despair, yearn for an end to it all.

Yes, some people are able to fight on through solely the strength of their convictions, and yes, for people who are able to do that, it's frustrating, even insulting, when others constantly speak of quitting. But not everyone can do that. Not everyone is able to fight forever without a shred of doubt, a shred of exhaustion. And for Cassian, who has been fighting since he was six years old, I don't think wanting to stop shows a weak will or lack of conviction at all. It's anyone's natural response to a struggle that often seems impossible. You can wholeheartedly commit to a cause and still experience complete burnout.

I don't argue with interpretations that see Cassian as being forced to stay with the Rebellion solely because Bix leaves, there's textual evidence to understand the scene that way, but I would like to gently propose another view of the characters. Especially through Arc 3, Cassian has been looking for ways to stop - though not at the cost of the mission, he'll finish the mission first. On the flip side, Bix has been trying to stay involved, looking for purpose. The weapons that Luthen passes on to her for analysis, wanting to go with Cassian on assignments, building relationships with the other people on Yavin. By the end of Arc 3, Cassian is fully exhausted and Bix is fully awake. She feels the presence of a great narrative beyond any one person.

Yes, she leaves, and Cassian can no longer use their life together as a reason to stop. But was Cassian ever actually going to stop? He looked at a crushed security droid and his thought wasn't to leave it there but to go through the considerable extra effort of bringing it back to the Rebellion, see what could be done with it. He told Kleya that the Senate was his last mission- literal hours after surviving a massacre and seeing Wilmon stand his ground with the Ghor and refuse to flee, Wilmon who was only on Ghorman in the first place because Luthen put him there. And it's not as if Cassian can't fly a ship and isn't willing to leave the base without waiting for permission. We literally see him in Episode 7 defying Draven and leaving Yavin at a moment's notice. There is nothing actually stopping him from going after Bix, spending the rest of his life searching for her- and he doesn't. He listens to her message and he ultimately stays.

For all his talk of stopping, he never goes through with it. He could. It's clear that Luthen no longer has as much control over his operatives, Cassian has not yet sworn allegiance to the Alliance, and he has the means and the ability to leave and go after Bix if he really, truly wanted to quit. But he doesn't. And combined with everything he's been through, it makes for a narrative of hope amidst pain and difficulty. The constant struggle has worn him out, traumatized him, he doubts whether he has anything more left to give...and after all that, he still goes on, all the way to Scarif. And particularly now, I think that can be just as meaningful a story as that of someone who is always able to fight on tirelessly against fascism without a moment of fear or doubt.

[omar-rudeberg]

So I have what may be an unpopular opinion / spicy take, but stay with me - the more I watch the Wilhelm and Simon end of episode 5 scene (the Lucia hug), the more I find it tears my heart to pieces rather than providing any kind of coming together or cathartic release.

Has anyone else felt the same?

Because the longer I've had to ruminate on the progression of the relationship between Wilhelm and Simon, the way they crash together, the way there's so much left unsaid, unrevealed, avoided before them being torn apart, I just, I find the Lucia scene so fucking painful.

For both of them, but honestly a big part of my heart breaks for Simon. He asks, So you blamed everything on Alexander? And what does he hear from Wilhelm here? No one said anything about you. But Simon's not having that shit, his last conversation with his (Prince, crush, friend; now Crown Prince and lover) was a shit fight where he realised Wilhelm thought - heard Wilhelm say - that he considered the reputation of his family first and any negative consequences for Simon second. Simon shakes his head, shakes his head again, no, no, no. Do you expect me to thank you? Or what. And it's inflection is: thank you for not throwing me under this bus filled with you and your noble white privileged cronies taking their free ride through life; thank you for finally realising this may have been some of my shit but this is also definitely some of your shit too; thank you for instead pulling the trolley lever to crush the only other body in the equation that looked least like you, talked least like you, behaved and moralised least like you, how fucking kind of you.

(And Wilhelm was in a tough spot, I'm not denying that, but shit, it really is just wealth begets power begets safety in this world, isn't it? Does Wille even clock that?)

He says, I just wanted you to know and Simon's still shaking his head, shaking his head (his face tells us he's again thinking, how fucking kind of you).

Wilhelm says, I just didn't want to lose you. You're the only one here I feel I can actually talk to. And at this, at the painful surrender from Wilhelm, Simon freezes. Pauses, and we know he's thinking, dear God there's no way in hell I want to lose you either, and at the combination of this and Wilhelm looking up at him with wet lashes, and Simon crumbles.

He crumbles, splinters, the grains of sand composing his existence falling through his own two hands, own ten fingers where he stretches them out to clutch at Wilhelm, hold him, show him he's needed, give him the love that makes him burn so bright, laugh so loud, stand so tall upright and proud.

But this moment, this exhale, flutter of Simon's lashes, nudge of his head is, to me, beginning to look like... Not the beginning (another beginning) of Simon's promise to Wilhelm, but the end (another end) of a promise Simon's made to himself long ago, before we met him. A promise to know his worth, to speak his mind, to never compromise where it's non-negotiable to allow him to sleep at night, to speak with love, to pride himself in and speak of his love. Simon came into this room wanting something from Wilhelm, and I don't believe he received it. He instead falls back into his pattern of boundless caring, of overcompensating, of making himself, his thoughts and his words smaller to lovingly cradle the emotional needs of everyone else in the room, fighting their demons with no thought to his own monsters under the bed, in the cupboard, in his head.

In this moment, Wilhelm doesn't give him enough. You're the only one here I feel I can actually talk to is not enough. It's not. Simon deserves at least an I'm sorry (and Wilhelm does as well, for that matter, there's plenty Simon's left unsaid too). And Simon just takes these tiny puzzle pieces of truth Wilhelm's willing to give, adds a chunk of himself he really can't afford to lose into the package and wraps Wilhelm up in this blanket of love because fuck, they love each other, they really fucking do, but is that enough? Is that enough?!

I believe this moment is one Simon looks back on, when considering what to say to Wilhelm when he returns from the Palace in episode 6. Think he clutches tightly to this moment, to steady his spine. I believe this is a moment Simon never wants to repeat, because it must have been so fucking scary, the feeling of loving someone so much you feel yourself remoulding your existence to fit the shape of them, and looking back realising they were holding steady to their concrete frame and expecting you to pour yourself like custard into their unchanging entity.

This scene tears me to fucking pieces, because it's the two of them at their lowest, both falling back on trauma-acquired behaviours that don't serve any long term relationship of theirs, placing a bandaid over a stab wound. I want to yell at them that this hit the femoral artery, that they're bleeding out, that it's just a matter of time.

But I know they won't listen, can't hear me, because what reason would they have to believe me? They're in each other's arms, right? That's enough, right? (For now, perhaps. Perhaps for now.)

[taxivodka]

Can’t exactly explain why but it pisses me off when in S2E2 Simon tries to make a move on Marcus and he makes a whole speech about how he ”really likes Simon and didn’t invite him over just for sex”.

Umm… Ok, but what if Simon actually just wanted to suggest sex and that’s it?? Obviously it’s ok for Marcus to not consent, but why turn it into a big thing about really liking or not liking? People can have sex AND be actually into each other (krhm… wilmon) or just do it casually. The way Marcus talks about it makes it sound like there’s something dirty in getting to action quickly, or like Simon just wanted to put out to please him or whatever. Like he could sleep with Simon but doesn’t want to take advantage ’cause he’s such a nice guy. It feels like building a power dynamic, and in the scene it feels like he makes Simon embarrassed. Boy if you’re not ready, just say that.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk 😅

[ellieaka]

Other than the Wilmon content I craved, I'm very much ENJOY the power dynamics shift in season two. From the trailer we see Wilhelm actually excercises his power within the boys group and challenge August's domination. It's like Wilhelm is becoming the new alpha male now while August backing down.

Some scenes that Wilhelm let his power shows from the trailer and clips:

1. Not talking to the Queen, shuts door at her. (Kristina really is one of the worst parents isn't she)

2. Pointing a loaded shotgun on August's head and shoots the sky. (Pretty sure that's Wilhelm since we see him shoots the sky using the same shotgun)

3. Challenging August and other seniors on the dining table, refuse to serve them. (Dining table revolution?)

4. Making threats on the royal family and gets taken away from Hillerska by force. (Malin I don't like you anymore 😡)

I love to see these power dynamics shifts and watch how Wilhelm handles the power that he realizes he actually has. I'm vibing rn can't wait to watch the whole season.

[groenendaelfic]

I really loved your latest a pack of two chapter! I love that Wille is all about SIMON! And oh how I loved the switch in topping! I do hope he will get to do him from behind at some point though

thank you so much for your lovely words and reassurance!

tbh I was very nervous about that, because I am used to fandoms having VERY strong negative opinions about switching, especially when it comes to abo dynamics, and so I am super glad to hear that I'm not the only one who thinks that wilmon switch things up in bed.

I mean I do very much see Wille as generally having a preference for topping, and Simon liking to bottom, but I'm 100% sure they still switch from time to time because they like to be playful in bed and to try out everything they can think of that makes them feel good.

Also just like in the fic, I can't see Wille ever being like, 'oh, I love this, I'll never let Simon experience this ever'. No, Wille is going to be like, 'Topping rocks! You have to try it as well, Simon. Right now! It feels soooo good!!!'

He will. Not soon, but further down the line, once Wille's come to terms with the fact that he has his own internalized stereotypes, and that enjoying the classic 'selfish Alpha' position doesn't mean that he's turning into the stereotypical Alpha or disrespecting Simon, it just means that he and Simon enjoy variety in bed.

Wille's biggest point of character growth however will be to let Simon blow him, in general and while on his knees, but that's still far in the future, as Wille first needs to learn to become A LOT more comfortable with himself and his presentation.

also it will totally require Simon calling him out on it, because Wilhelm loves sucking Simon's cock, and the fact that Simon doesn't get to reciprocate will become harder and harder for Simon to ignore

(Simon's will be the realization that he has a voice now, and that while he might not like the reason why people in power suddenly listen to his opinions, he can still use it to change things for the better)